There are many things you witness in Israel where it is obvious that they were copied from the German system: education, welfare, healthcare and other public infrastructures. But there are also many things in Israel that are obvious testimonies to the fact that Israeli society had done everything possible to turn against its German heritage. There is no “Sie” in Israel, just “Du”, even if you speak to the president, there is a complete disbelief in authority unless it proves otherwise, and in Israel improvisation is the structure.

I can understand that. Actually it was something I would expect Germans to do. To understand that everything that happened before 1933 was up to doubt. I am still amazed by how much rules of behavior are important here. I mean: I am sure that people that had excellent table manners had executed kids after their lunch, why should I care to hold the fork in my left hand?

I was thinking about it while driving back from the airport. Our taxi driver was driving in complete disregard to the other cars around him. I don’t mean that he wasn’t driving carefully, but that he was completely confident that the other drivers will do the right move, just like he did. So when the lane curved, he just curved with it, expecting the car on the left to curve accordingly.

I know that it sounds obvious, but after driving for two weeks in Israel it is not so obvious. Actually, drivers in Israel expect other drivers to behave in the most abnormal way. There is zero trust involved. It’s exhausting.

But it’s more humane in a way. German drivers are excellent drivers (on a daily basis and on the Grand Prix tour) and they are well trained, but try to cross a road where the car has the right to go first and you will see the car accelerate instead of slowing down. If you try to cross a road with a Kinderwagon, you can forget about drivers giving you the go ahead.

That’s why I think that Germans are the worst best drivers in the world. If they are entitled to something on the road, they will take it no matter what are the circumstances. Like, if they run into someone and it was his fault then it is OK. I think that the way Germans and Israelis drive reflects a lot about the entire society: caring with complete disregard to the law against blind faith in the rules with zero effort to analyze them according to the situation.