Are the most beautiful people on earth a little too feisty in the drink?
Yesterday, Nick Carroll, whom you know well, reported on the violence, real and implied, women face when they surf. The story comes just as Mark Thomson, a well-known inflatable mat-rider from Lennox Head, is due to face court for the alleged assault of eighties pro surfer Jodie Cooper.
In the piece, called The Feeling of Threat, and which you can read here, one woman described being turned on by an Israeli surfer.
An incident in Sri Lanka, when she confronted an Israeli man who’d dropped in on her, almost went very badly. The Israeli’s legrope was tangled around her arm, causing her a lot of pain. “I came up and lost it at him and he then started threatening to kill me… I was very angry at the time but his aggression and intentions were very visible and I really did get very scared for my well-being… I went in crying and had a huge purply, green and black bruise on the inside of my arm for months.”
Now, Israelis are pretty touchy about how they’re portrayed in the press. And you can get it.
For seventy years they’ve been held to a higher moral plane than their Middle Eastern neighbours, told to hold their arm while the Jew-haters plot their annihilation and so on.
So when they hear one of their brothers is behaving poorly, it shakes ’em up. An ol pal of mine, the Deaf-Big-Wave-Riding-Jew Ido Dar-el, whom I profiled here, wrote to Nick Carroll directly (via FB):
I was in tears of anger and shame reading this caption.
Many israeli surfers dont have proper etiquette in the worlds line up,similiar to brazilians we come from over crowded impatient scene in beachbreaks.i have done several articles and posts in the israeli media educating the proper way of line up and crowds universally.
We have a booming surfing and sup scene of women here.
I dont recall anyone threathening a woman in surfing in israel.since its a small country and uncool behave that way.
I apologize from the depth of my heart in the name of all cool exprienced israeli surfers for that incident.
Im going to publish this screen shot in every fb surfing israeli page.
No way it could be performed again.
Of course, Israeli surfers do have an image problem. Great on land, feisty as hell in the water. Most surfs over there in the Holy Land, and I love the joint, I’d swing in with a headache from all the hassling.
I ain’t sure whether its that genetic thing of having to fight for everything they’ve got and, who knows, a katyusha might land on their heads any second so y’might as well grab every wave that comes, or that they’re at that same point on the surf culture evolution table Brazilians were ten years ago, Australians thirty.
Another question: why do we mention the nationality in the first place?
Because of that preconceived notion?
This whole comment section makes me want to go back to the snow. “Hey my fucking chairlift bitch!! Fuck you (*Gives person bruise*). Yeah..can’t really picture it..
Every surf clique is guaranteed to posses a bevy of moranic surf etiquette, and yes Derek, some more than others. Growing up surfing reefs with firm hierarchical regulation like Hawaii and regions of California, rotation and the totem pole are made obvious due to the fixed take off zones. Of course that can be fucked up when a surf school shows up, but it’s less frenzied as dogshit beach break. With that said, yes, my encounters with Jewish surfers have not been enjoyable. One guy who could barely stand up decided to drop in over my head at Outside Corner on a single fin, narrowly scalping me and at Pavones there were two Jewish fellas who could surf well enough to paddle battle you and just sour the entire lineup. Your friend’s statement was awesome– it’s cool for him to wear that one on the chin and help explain why this behavior occurs. Santa Cruz doesn’t have the best rap, but for the most part there’s a lot of insanely talented and humble surfers.
Just goes to show, there’s always just enough truth in a good conspiracy theory. As Paul Simon would say, “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”…now i’m pretty sure I did see him at the ‘gog, he was sitting up the back next to Bob.
I think you meant Austria,
Not Australia you anti-Semite kook!
Seig Heil!!!!
Yes, I saw Rupert at the Synagogue at Yom Kippur, what you say is true.
Shongololo for the win https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
your saying Israeli men are ruder than Aussie men are to women?
Wow now that is fucking rude!
Yet again religion is the problem, well that and Israel.
Living in Colombia, there was this weird hostel-type building a few doors down that had crazy parties all the time, but obviously wasn’t a public establishment. Lots of prostitutes and sketchy people going in and out. Everyone in the neighborhood hated the place. Found out pretty quick it was a crash pad for Israeli dudes who were finishing with military service and came out to party, do coke, and get laid…unfortunately they were almost universally unfriendly and rude to the locals. Definitely was not doing any benefit to the country’s reputation in that part of the world.
Exactly – from all my travels Aussie often not seen in best light!!! Always best to sit back and assess – the load ones usually the knobs. Cut through that to find some quality ones and hang with the locals while being respectful always works
Unfortunately for the fledgling Sri Lankan tourism industry post tamal tigers 80/90’s tsunami 00’s the Israeli attitude in the Sri Lankan water is know globally and does affect people’s decision to visit.
I worked sportfishing for an Israeli millionaire, a good guy all in all, but very demanding and never happy no matter how clean the boat was or how many fish were caught. Definitely a cultural thing.
What if the story read like this:
A MAN reported an incident in Sri Lanka, when HE confronted an Israeli man who’d dropped in on HIM, almost went very badly. The Israeli’s legrope was tangled around HIS arm, causing HIM a lot of pain. “I came up and lost it at him and he then started threatening to kill me… I was very angry at the time but his aggression and intentions were very visible and I really did get very scared for my well-being… I went in crying and had a huge purply, green and black bruise on the inside of my arm for months.”
They have the worst reputation in the world. Why don’t you interview the guys who run one of the famous surf camps in the Maldives and see what they tell you. Like the time one of the assholes held a little Japanese surfer girl underwater trying to drown her while shouting “don’t mess with Israel!” Or how they would try and sneak aboard the Dhonis going to the other spots without paying. They even surf with $50 bills in their boardshorts in case they get kidnapped or something. They leave their Star of David Surf Team stickers all over everything but once they leave the stickers ‘mysteriously’ disappear. I mean, FFS the Maldives is a muslim country.
I once met an Israeli at Greenmount. He thought I was macho because he didn’t know Victorians don’t wear wetsuits in Queensland. And he was a cool guy. It’s when they travel in the developing world that they make cunts of themselves because they surf in aggressive packs and intimidate everyone. They only ever misbehave in countries where locals don’t surf. If they tried it in the water in Australia they would get run out of town.
I know they are all fresh out of Army and are mind fucked but we are all accountable for our own actions. We can’t just say “poor Israelis, everyone else hates them” and give them a free pass to make cunts of themselves.
And as for the comment about ‘most beautiful people in the world’, firstly, what the fuck does that have to do with them being a bunch of cunts (surely it doesn’t justify them!?), and secondly, you need to visit Venezuela or Colombia or Puerto Rico. Unless the author is interested in men?????
Don’t blame the sweet and tender hooligans. They are the victims here, don’t you know?
It’s worse than you think, because nobody ever asked one of my surfing friend if he was a pro!
Lets take them camping again!
You’re fucked
come on guys, ask yourself do u have any israelu jew surfer friend? these guys are the worst down in El Salvador they do the exact same thing i beat the shit out of one them once at el sunzal ( a really shitty pointbreak) everybody hate their faces down there the people that own the lodges abd hotels cant stand them my local friend that owns a mid size lodge got to the point of baning them. They have their jew price strategy tgey show up a all 30 of them them they book for a week some rooms 2 days latter they tell the owner they found a cheaper place and if he dont bring the price down ( wich was already agreed two days ago from both sides the local onwer and t fkn jews) they will all leave, they always do that i ve seen it happening in rio nexpa and in el salvador they do the same, nobody its lying its tge true about these people.
I can’t say why, but nobody ever asked me if I was a pro…
take the “gluten intolerance approach”. don’t wait to be asked, just tell.
shooitng children throwing rocks?
they dont have a PR problem they have behaviour problem.