Tovia Goldman and the New Immigrants

Much has been written and said about the new wave of immigrants from the Former Soviet Union. However, only every once in a while does someone show up from Sweden. Interestingly, I had that experience, as I wrote, several years ago with a young immigrant from Sweden, Tovia Goldman. Like many of the Russian immigrants, Goldman is of mixed background-the bi-product of assimilation in the exile. No matter, Goldman has made his apparent home Israel.


Disturbingly, like some the immigrants from the FSU, he carried with him lingering self-hatred from the exile and in some cases-as with him-a hatred of Jews that runs deep. Listed below are segments of the subsequent conversations I've had with Tunia:

I'd kick your...ass.

Yeah I remember you were into this whole Sephardi pride bullshit, I for one would have hoped you'd matured away from that."

..you meet with me face to face and I'll beat the shit out of you

..you have no fear of G-d when you knowingly transgress the commandments of Lashon Hara and Halbanat Pnei Chavero Be-Rabim

But if you continue I might have to talk to other people about you...so they know who you are, I think i'll be entitled to that according to Halacha.

...that's between you and your G-d

You seem to have this superficial, ritualistic view of Judaism within any concept of its depth and inner soul.

And for people like that the Torah becomes a Sam Chayim, something which is used for bad purposes, and which can even give the rasha more strength to pursue his bad plans. and these are the basics, if you don't know how to relate to your fellow human being you have no business putting on tfillin or putting all that pride in your kippah as you seem to do and so on. Because of people like you the Second Temple was destroyed-Sinat Chinam...

Put up or shut up, as you told me. I'll be coming to Jerusalem next week to kick your...ass, and agree to this as a man and shut the f**k up.

Yehudo-Nazi

Hi Jewish skinhead

I'll write you as long as I feel like it f**face.
and I don't give a f**k about your nerd/blog which apart from you and your Mom and a few other fascist closet homosexuals might read. you even tried to get me in on it, "please read my pathetic little blog". haha

Here is a someone of Jewish background struggling with his Jewish identity. Unfortunately, he is like so many Europeans in Tel Aviv, whose liberal politics is only a front for their elitism and racist ethos, hearkening back to a period of Jewish secularism from pre-World War II Germany. There the Jew tried to do everything he could to distance himself from his Jewish identity-to fit into an "accepting" Western society. Coming back to Israel after having been through the moral freezer of Europe, the Russian/European immigrant doesn't understand the religious faith of his Sephardic (or Mizrachi-a Jew from an Arab country) counterpart. Whereas the Sephardic Jew clung to traditionalism in the exile, the Ashkenazic Jew (often) eschewed it. Hence, his dismay, revulsion, and hostility towards his fellow Jew. He, the European Jew was taught not to be a shanda l-goyim-an embarrassment before the gentiles. But, now that he is in his own homeland, he still carries with him the habits and customs of his former spiritual imprisonment of Europe. Above he writes "...that's between you and your G-d," as if there is more than one להבדיל-one for me and one for him? Those Jews outside of Israel often ask me what I experience being here in Israel for years on end. Here was some of it...