It’s a trait that makes this present generation of Israelis one of the best-looking on the planet. Asian features combine with European physiques and produce tall, strong young guys and women who turn a hundred heads every time they walk down the street.
But what’s more noteworthy is the melting-pot of traditions that this marriage of ethnic backgrounds represents. Although technically all of the same ancestral descent, the lives of Jews scraping a few carrots from the frozen soil of Poland were hugely different to those seeking a living in the crowded markets of Baghdad.
Every family brought with it the language of their country in which they’d been living along with the cuisine, traditions and attitudes of the place too. Israelis of Polish descent have the reputation to be deeply materialistic while those from North Africa are said to share the unpredictable nature and bigheartedness of their Arabic hosts.
After more than fifty years since the birth of the state, many of these differences have subsided in the search for a national identity. The younger generation have little time for the past suspicions that existed between Jews of...