in israeli culture, to be honest or self-sacrificial is to be a "freier" or sucker, and so dying bravely in battle for your country isn't really honorable. to avoid being a "freier" israelis will do anything to avoid being seen as honest or taken advantage of, including cutting in line, not returning the shopping cart, cutting people off in traffic, cheating on your taxes, stealing land from an israeli blog: > "here's a good example. a friend of mine's son had just gotten out of the army. when he was a new recruit, he had won the chayal mistayin, which means outstanding soldier, in his basic training. at the time, he was quite proud of it. he did what he was told to do. he wanted to be a good soldier. now it was about three years later, and he had just finished his mandatory service. and now, he was embarrassed at how he was "such a fryer." when he entered the army, he still had an american immigrant mentality, but by the time he got out, he was fully israeli and nobody's fryer." > "those of us who come from america are groomed to be fryers. my wife used to tell me when we first got married that i was square, an american. i would argue with her, "no, i am not!" i never understood what she meant until i visited israel. for israelis, laws are more like suggestions. americans are rule keepers (until pushed), and we tend to reward fryer-like behavior. if we get pulled over by a police officer, we are all, "yes sir, no sir." it's very different in the "holy land." if you are too polite when getting pulled over, the police officer might think there's something wrong with you." 1/2
Norway