Israel Matzav

To smile or not to smile?

There's a message here somewhere. This morning, I went to the Ministry of the Interior to replace my Israeli identification card (teudat zehut), which has been missing for about six months now. I did not have the appropriate passport-like pictures, so after I took a number, I ran downstairs to the photographer next door and had my picture taken for the teudat zehut.

On the way out of the building, I remembered that my US passport hit the magic 'six months to expiration' while I was there last month, and therefore it must be replaced sometime before my next trip. So on the way out of the Interior Ministry office, I stopped at the photographer and asked him whether he still had my pictures in the camera, and whether he could print out another set (the set required for the US passport is larger than the set required for the teudat zehut) for me to have when I renew the US passport (The US consulate in Jerusalem recently moved and I am told that there is no photographer nearby there).

He said that the picture had already been deleted, but it would not have mattered anyway, because one is allowed to smile for an Israeli teudat zehut (or passport) picture, while one is not allowed to smile or to have any teeth showing for a US passport picture.

There's a message there somewhere. Perhaps that's why every survey I see ranks Israelis among the happiest people in the world, while Americans are (sorry guys) nowhere to be found in such surveys.

Maybe once Obama is gone things will change?

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, teudat zehut, US passports

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:40 AM