Soldier sushi sous chefs coming soon

What do you get when you combine xenophobic national politics and mandatory military service?  Bad sushi!  As if Israel’s sushi wasn’t lousy enough, now politicians are getting involved, a move that may effectively rid the foreign delicacy of all foreignness.

The Israeli Defense Ministry has revealed that this summer, it will fund some one million shekels (nearly $300,000) of a sushi chef training course for post-service soldiers.  According to officials behind the program, the scheme is a win-win idea.  One ministry official told Ha’aretz newspaper:

There is a lack of Israeli workers in this area, and that is why we are building a program that allows them to learn, get a job, and has lots of ‘treats’ for those taking the course.

So in theory, not only does this program provide job-training for young men (and perhaps a few women), but in the long-term it will release Israel of its dependence on Asian laborers.  There’s a name for these woes: RWGP, or “Rich White Girl Problems.”  It falls along the lines of: “Uch, I’m going to be late to my sunset pilates class because my Maserati needs a check-up and the only luxury body shop is all the way on the other side of Beverly Hills.”  Ironic, too, that while the US, theoretically, is trying to discover new ways to wean itself off of Middle East oil dependence, Israel is trying to concoct new schemes to deal with its wasabi addiction.

Moon sushi exterior, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2010 (Flickr/cc: MaMaVe)
Moon sushi exterior, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2010 (Flickr/cc: MaMaVe)

It is true that Israelis serve in the military, as is required by law.  And most do so selflessly with little to show for it afterwards.  It is also true that the government (and any government, for that matter) should provide programs – and creative ones at that – to push people, to give them opportunities, to give them that extra bit of drive.  However the latter exists on its own, regardless of the former.  Meaning, a government doesn’t have to serve its people only because its people serve the government.  That seems pretty logical.

But this isn’t exactly about altruistic governance.  In Israel, it is easy to sell an idea when one ties it to soldiers.  They are, after all, “our sons and our brothers.”  And who would deny them of something they deserve, “after everything they’ve done for us?”  But politicians in Israel are exploiting that sentiment to promote an anti-foreigner agenda.  Imagine if the thousands of American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan were directed into filling positions held by Latino migrants?  Such a suggestion would be seen as disrespectful and met with outrage.  Unemployed former soldiers and dependence on foreign labor – two different issues.  Why even mix them?

Still, amid Israel’s nationalist fervor, mixing them is quite simple.  All across the world – not just in the West – laborers are easy targets.  Why?  Because they rarely have a voice in the national dialogue, they are easy to spot because they look different, and they are a problem that’s simple to solve, one that can be exported.  But the truth is that foreign laborers do many of the jobs that local nationals can’t do, like making authentic sushi, or won’t do, like genuinely caring for our elderly.

My grandfather, of blessed memory, lived to be nearly 102 years old.  He aged at home and aged in dignity, thanks in large part to a Pilipina (Filipinna) caretaker who toiled humbly at his side.  His mind was always engaged (she learned Hebrew proficiently to speak with him).  And he was always high-spirited, even after my grandmother, of blessed memory, passed away.  His skin was always soft, thanks to the frequent lotion she applied.  And she was as sincere as she was gentle.  She was in Israel for a number of years earning an income that she sent back home.  Her payment was modest enough that we could afford her, but significant enough that it provided for a private education for her two daughters being raised by her husband.   It was a sacrifice that few others I know could and would make.   And I frequently thanked her. 

Rather than targeting people like her, we should be showing our gratitude.  I wonder if the Defense Ministry can train demobilized soldiers to do her job?  With the same dignity?  With the same grace?  With the same humility?  Until it can, Israel should stop targeting the people who serve it so humbly, especially by using those who serve it so selflessly.