Avreimi Rot: Customs, Food, Israel, Religion,

Avreimi Rot: Customs, Food, Israel, Religion,

Life History: Cork; Ireland: Israel

Avreimi grew up in Jerusalem, Israel in a strict orthodox community until he was 14 when he moved to a less religious neighbourhood. He came to Ireland when he was 21. His father became ill with multiple sclerosis when Avreimi was a child.

From a young child his day was spent going to school, studying the bible and religious scripts. It was just his education and he enjoyed it.

Avreimi relates how his family came out of the orthodox way of life. They had to live almost under cover for years. There were sections of Jerusalem that are strictly religious and defined by clothes and certain behaviours on Sabat.
He describes the food and the symbolic meaning of food they ate on Religious festivals like Jewish New Year and Passover.
Avreimi came to Ireland after doing national service. He did not want to participate in the war. He came to Ireland through an invite to work on an organic farm in Carrigaline.
He was struck by how kind and friendly everyone was. Gives a humorous account of how he misunderstood the meaning of hand and body gestures.

There are few Israelis in Ireland. His friends are from a range of cultures.
Discusses how he sees that Ireland is politically insular and lacking awareness of world issues.

Note; This interview was conducted as part of the Cork 2005 Project

16 September 2004

CFP_SR00337_rot_2004

Cork: Ireland; Israel; 1990s - 2000s;

Cork 2005 Collection Catalogue Numbers:

CFP_SR00329_mccarthy_2004;
CFP_SR00330_odriscoll_2004;
CFP_SR00331_claffey_2004;
CFP_SR00332_hanover_2004;
CFP_SR00333_desplanques_2004;
CFP_SR00334_bale_2004;
CFP_SR00335_sheridan_1996;
CFP_SR00336_steiner-scott_2004;
CFP_SR00338_stafford_2004;
CFP_SR00339_odonoghue_2004;
CFP_SR00340_hawkins_2004;
CFP_SR00341_ocarroll_2004;
CFP_SR00342_ikebuasi_2004;
CFP_SR00343_ogeallabhain_2004;
CFP_SR00344_geaney_2004;
CFP_SR00345_wulff_2004;
CFP_SR00346_abdoulbaneeva_2004;
CFP_SR00347_gunes_2004;
CFP_SR00348_fourie_2004;
CFP_SR00349_henderson_2004;
CFP_SR00350_valdman_2004;
CFP_SR00351_carmody_2004;
CFP_SR00352_osullivan_2004;
CFP_SR00353_mahknanov_2004;
CFP_SR00354_oflynn_2004;
CFP_SR00355_akhter_2004;
CFP_SR00356_walker_2004;
CFP_SR00357_kelleher_2004;
CFP_SR00358_manresa_2004;
CFP_SR00359_wimpenny_2005;
CFP_SR00360_skotarczak_2005;
CFP_SR00361_vermeulen_2005;
CFP_SR00362_owen_2005;
CFP_SR00363_dsouza_2005;
CFP_SR00364_setter_2005;
CFP_SR00365_obrien_2005;
CFP_SR00366_botan_2005:

Published Material:
‘How’s it Goin’, Boy? radio series (six thirty-minute episodes, broadcast 2005 and available on the Cork Folklore Project website)

O'Carroll, Clíona for the Cork Northside Folklore Project (2006) How's it goin', boy? Dublin: Nonsuch Publishing.

Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive

English

Sound

1 .wav File

33m 49s

Cork City, Cork Ireland

MiniDisc

16bit / 44.1kHz

The following is a short extract from the interview transcript, copyright of the Cork Folklore Project. If you wish to access further archival material please contact CFP, folklorearchive@gmail.com

J.M: OK fine, so back to the English language, do you have any stories about misunderstandings that might have occurred because of the difference of language, or because people do things differently here in Ireland?

A.R: I remember working as a security officer, I had to, I was working near the airport in the Business Park, I was working in the gate, and there were cars arriving, and I was on the gate, and sometimes I had to tell the car to stop. And it would be more visual communication, because I was there in the booth, and I couldn’t speak with them, and I had to make a sign to stop, and the sign in Israel would be like putting your hand forward with your palm up and in front of the person and it would mean eh to stop but they did not understand this one and they just waved me hallo and the other way is to ask somebody what is the sign to make a sign to make it stop, and the other officer told me you take your index finger and putting it up and then it would mean just wait one moment, well like or the way people say hello here with the head it wouldn’t be like putting it up and down, it would be in Israel, if you meet somebody in the street and you don’t actually say hello just sign it with your head it would be like getting your head up and down while in here it would be like right and left kind of half way right and left, it took me time to understand this kind of thing as well, of course with language as well but I don’t the physical the visual . . .