TO The Israeli Backpackers Letter - A letter from an Australian backpacker to the average Israeli backpacker contains some painful truths. It’s called, A Letter to My Ugly Brother.
Yossi, Yonni, Yael … I’m not sure of your name, but I think you know who you are. You have a pair of Shoresh sandals on your feet, a big black backpack cover on your pack, and you like to check out Lametayel’s website for travel tips. Maybe you have just finished the army and are feeling tough enough to take on the world. At least, I hope you are, because you might not like some of the things I have to say. But what I am going to tell you, I assure you, is out of love.
…
Then, as my journey wore on, I recognized that there were in fact two types of Israelis: the good kind, and the bad. The “good” kind were incredibly friendly, funny and interesting. They also liked to go undercover – wear brands of sandals other than Shoresh and mix with the general backpacker community; whereas the “bad” kind were the ones yelling across hotels and making jokes at others’ expense.
Problem was, I realized, it was the loud, obnoxious type who were immediately identifiable as Israeli and giving the whole country a bad name.
