'Ost' means 'East' in German. Today I want to discuss a particular kind of established 'Orientalism' against (a) Israeli Arabs, (b) immigrant women from the Former Soviet Union (FSU), and (c) their relationships.

I heard a rather disturbing story about Tel Aviv municipality chanelling thousands for a special programme to 'treat' (!) girls 'at risk' (!) of dating Arab and non-Jewish immigrant men. Read this blog entry about the issue. Even though the problem is deep and painful, and one-sided judgements on either side should be avoided, I couldn't agree more with the author of the entry, saying that the response is primitive and inappropriate.