Levi

=Iris Levi=

Podcast
media type="custom" key="12081283"

BIOGRAPHICAL/GEOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Iris was born 1960 in Tel Aviv, Israel. She lived in Israel her whole childhood, with her two brothers, five sisters and parents. Her parents grew up in Iraq and then immigrated to Israel. Her family was Jewish, as most of the people in Israel are. She attended school, where she learned how to speak English, as did her siblings. She moved to the United States of America in 1981, with her husband and two children. Levi’s family came to America because her husband had family in the States and because they wanted to see how people lived in the United States of America. They started a business with auto repair and selling cars on North Main Street, Dayton, Ohio. Israel is located in Asia, boarding the Mediterranean Sea. It is about the size of New Jersey, with a population of 7,473,052 people. The major religion is Jewish; there are other religions that are practiced, Muslim and Christian. The official language is Hebrew. It is one of the very few Democratic counties in the Middle East. Most of Israel’s exports are agricultural and industrial products. Which supports the statement that most of Israel’s terrain is plains with all the agricultural products being sold there.

=Creative Writing=

By: Maria Burks
For Now

Love Love of my country

Where people are alive Where people have a choice me A choice of who you can be A choice of who you are

You choose what you believe You choose what you want to do in your life You choose to be free

But I am leaving my country But I am not sure if I want to

I am leaving I am leaving for the United States

A place there is supposed to be freedom A place of democracy

We are only visiting We are only going to stay awhile

Then come back to Israel Then come back to family Then come back home

We are stuck in the United States We are trapped

We do not have money We do not see family We do not go back home

This country is okay This country is alright

However it not my country However it is not my home

In the country I am always rushing In this country I am always working

This is a place of variety This is where we do not know about each other

Where we do not understand one another Where we do not ignore stereotypes Where we do not understand difference

I wish I were in Israel I wish I were home

I want to be alive again I want to not have to worry so much

In Israel you go out every night In Israel you don't worry about the bills In Israel you feel alive

But for now I am here But for now I am happy

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Your Name: Maria Burks

Your Interviewee's Name: Iris Levi

This is an interview with Iris Levi. The interview was conducted on November 22, 2011. The interviewer is Maria Burks, representing the Dayton Regional STEM School.

M. Burks: First I want to start off asking, what is your name?

Levi: Iris Levi.

M. Burks: What country did you come from to immigrate to the United States?

Levi: Israel, Tel Aviv

M. Burks: What was it like there? Life? Do you have family there?

Levi: I have a big family down there and it is a amazing life. (Smiles)

M. Burks: Did you have a lot of siblings?

Levi: Yeah. I have five sisters and two brothers.

M. Burks: Was it hard having that many siblings?

Levi: No. It was awesome. Yeah, I love it. (Smiles)

M. Burks: Was it hard for your parents having that many kids?

Levi: (Shakes head) No. We had a big house. Everyone had their own bed rooms. Had a huge living room. All I remember is my mom cleaning and cooking. (Laughs) After all of us.

M. Burks: Did you have education in Israel?

Levi: Yeah. You can go to school, high school, collage, just like the United States. It’s just the same way. Its democracy and you go to school just like here.

M. Burks: What culture influenced you the most? Like religion?

Levi: I mean we are Jewish so this is our religion. (Pause) And I was born Jew so no other culture. Just Jewish culture.

M. Burks: Why did you come to the U.S.?

Levi: My husband’s family was here and we came to see how it is. We really came for a year and we just got stuck here.

M. Burks: When did you come?

Levi: 81. In the 80s.

M. Burks: Did you come on a plane or something?

Levi: Yeah, on a plane. That’s the only way to come here. (Pauses) I mean, I think you can come in a boat but I’m not sure. But mostly it’s on a plane.

M. Burks: What were your first thoughts when you came to America?

Levi: Are you going to edit this? I thought, “What the hell are we doing here.” (Laughs) Edit that. Honestly, just talking me and you, we came to see how other people live. Because we were always interested and we figured it out very fast. But we got stuck here and we really wanted to go back. (Pause) We really wanted to go back.

M. Burks: Did you come with other people besides your husband?

Levi: Me and my husband and two kids.

M. Burks: Do you have sons or daughters?

Levi: A daughter and a son.

M. Burks: What are their names?

Levi: Karen and Rorwie.

M. Burks: Did you leave any family back at home?

Levi: All my family is back there. All of them, and they don’t want to come here. (Laughs)

M. Burks: What are your favorite things about Israel? Back at home.

Levi: The life style. The people are friendly. And it’s 24/7 around the clock, party time. (Pauses) Alive. It’s a alive place. To make it easy for you, are you familiar with New York, Las Angles? Just put those two together, in a foreign land, this is Israel. You can walk in the streets and it’s safe. It’s safer than here walking in the streets. I mean, I can walk downtown Tel Aviv, safer than I can downtown Dayton. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?

M. Burks: Yeah.

Levi: You are alive there. People walking in the streets, shopping. Coffee shops are full. People coming from all over the world. You hear languages you’ve never heard before in your life. Languages that I’ve never heard before in my life. It’s a choice country. Israel is a choice country. So it’s like New York, like Chicago, like LA, Florida.

M. Burks: So there’s a lot of variety of people?

Levi: From all over the world. [Repeats] From all over the world. See, like my parents were born in Iraq. See you have the Middle- Eastern Jews and you have the European Jews. See you have the European Jews, blond, blue eyes and light completion. Then you have Suva tic Jews like me, dark hair, dark eyes. So you have culture. You have people that came from Germany, Syria, Romania, France. From Europe. So you had people that looked different. Then you had people like me from Iraq, my parent were from Iraq, Libra, Syria, Egypt so you have all those languages.

M. Burks: Did it ever bother you if you couldn’t understand people?

Levi: No, because everyone speak Hebrew.

M. Burks: Everybody?

Levi: Everybody speak Hebrew. It’s the older generation, like your grandmother. Like the grandparents speak the language they came with. But your mom’s generation, my generation, your generation would speak Hebrew.

K. Burks: How did all the different races act with each other?

Levi: Christians, Muslims and Jews and they all get along. Amazing. I grew up and everybody got along with everybody. I mean we used to go to their people. They used to come to us. We love their food. They love are food. It was together.

K. Burks: Like people here in the U.S. tend to gravitate a certain neighborhoods. I wasn’t sure…

Levi: No. Here, where I live now it’s all Christian, Catholic and Muslim. Where I live here. I don’t live in a Jewish neighborhood because there is no Jewish neighborhood here.

K. Burks: You have sections, but not…

Levi: No, I mean you have Jewish houses and streets, that aren’t Jewish. There are no sections because there are Jewish people in Oakwood, Centerville, Vandalia, Dayton, there’re everywhere. In Israel everybody is Jewish. Except there are a few cities like Nazareth, Haifa, Jerusalem. Jerusalem you have Christians, Jews and Muslims, and for years they all live in peace. They all live in peace. Something happened to start all of that.

K. Burks: Yeah I’ve never been to Europe or Asia and I’ve only been to South America once.

Levi: Where did you go in South America? My sister live there for a few years…

K. Burks: Colombia.

Levi: …In Chile.

K. Burks: Actually I did a six week immersion experience. Saw a lot of the poverty and problems.

Levi: It breaks your heart.

K. Burks: [talking about Israel] Except on for what I heard on TV, which isn’t that accurate…

Levi: -They always exaggerate.

K. Burks: …I don’t know that much about the culture and outside problems.

Levi: Israel is just like here. It’d the same thing. There’re wearing the same clothes, walking the same walk…

K. Burks: -The bigger things, it’s the same.

Levi: …So Israel is like you combine Florida, Chicago, Los Angles, New York, all the big cities we have here. Like here in Ohio we are behind on so many things. It’s amazing. I mean I would not get caught dead wearing sweats. In here in Dayton everybody wears sweats. I yell at my kids, my daughter wears sweat. Sweats you go to bed. Sweats you clean the house. You don’t walk outside. In Israel, in New York you wouldn’t catch someone wearing sweats outside the house. Florida, Chicago, LA again. It’s cultural, it’s different and it’s American. People in Florida are American and they don’t, Columbus for God’s sake! Go there, its nicer! [Now talking about Columbus, Ohio] It’s different.

K. Burks: I think we’re just so… (Pauses) I mean I haven’t been out of the country since the experience. I just think the most average U.S. citizen has such a twisted view…

Levi: It’s not average U.S. citizen. It’s Dayton average citizen. Honestly. I’ve been all over the United States. It’s Dayton average.

K. Burks: Well our group of Cincinnati, which is probably civiler enough.

Levi: Cincinnati, there are so many Jews there, so everybody is aware of it. Everybody knows. People in Dayton will ask if, “Israel is the 50th country of the United States? Where is it in the United States?” I’m mean… (Looking exasperated) I mean I’ve always wanted be one of America’s countries [countries meaning states], I wish we were here and not there. [Meaning Israel] I mean if you can move the whole country and move it here, I would be the happiest. Because we would be safer. Down there we aren’t safe. I mean we have all those other countries around.

K. Burks: When you’re talking about being safer in Tal Aviv, what I know about it I’m like, “Oh God.” Like pictures I’ve seen their where they’ve bombed. (Laughs nervously)

Levi: But it’s like being bombed in New Jersey… to Dayton.

K. Burks: Yeah.

Levi: If you didn’t go to New Jersey you wouldn’t see it. You wouldn’t feel it. If you saw it on the news you would see it. [Meaning if you saw it on the news you wouldn’t get the full effect]

K. Burks: Yeah that’s what I know about it. [The bombing in Israel]

Levi: It’s too far!

K. Burks: You know what I mean?

Levi: Yeah, but it’s far. And Tel Aviv is huge! So let’s say if it happened in Tel Aviv, [Bombing] it’s like Cincinnati. [A compared distance to show how far she was from the bombing in Israel] It’s far! Israel is the size of New Jersey. So you’re saying there is a bomb on Third Street [A street in downtown Dayton] it’s pretty far.

K. Burks: Yeah.

Levi: I mean, I give you a small example. A short one. If you say there is a bomb in Tal Aviv, it’s like in Columbus and we are that far. So if you didn’t go to Columbus you wouldn’t see the bomb. You know what I’m trying to say?

K. Burks: No, I know.

Levi: Yeah.

K. Burks: It’s so interesting to hear you say that.

Levi: And honestly, you feel safer there than here.

K. Burks: Dayton is not a safe city.

Levi: No.

K. Burks: It’s actually…

Levi: -We are on forth of the chart, in crime in Dayton.

K. Burks: …I told Maria this once, this was about 20 years ago…

Levi: -I used to leave my door open 20 years ago. I never locked my car.

K. Burks: …I was working in a outer facility, with some people with pain.

Levi: Yeah.

K. Burks: I was working with an FBI agent and he said, “Dayton was one of the most dangerous…”

Levi: -20 years ago?

K. Burks: 20 years ago, was one of the most dangerous places for a FBI agent because of 70 and 75, [Highways] because of the drug people, they were the middle, the people selling and using. The bigger cities at that time were mostly just managing and things like that. But once people were using…

Levi: I remember 20 years ago.

K. Burks: But that makes sense with all of what you’re seeing now. People are you know…

Levi: People are desperate and do stupid things. But 20 to 30 years ago, my door to the house was open. I never locked my car. Today, I lock it twice.

K. Burks: Sorry, you can ask questions now. [To M. Burks]

M. Burks: What were the most major changes when you came to the U.S.?

Levi: The language.

M. Burks: Was it kind of hard for you to learn or…?

Levi: No, it was easy to learn. (Pauses) I mean if you ask my kids they would tell you it’s harder to learn Hebrew. But for me English was harder and they teach at school [in Israel] English. But the slang you pick up here is harder. I mean just like in third grade here, they teach you Spanish. Or they teach you Spanish or French. In Israel it’s either Arabic or English. English is a must in Israel. A must, from third grade. If you don’t pass it, you don’t graduate. Because English is an international language.

M. Burks: Okay I forgot to ask you this before the interview, but are you a American citizen?

Levi: (Laughs) I am a American citizen. You know what and I’m proud of it. Yeah. I choose to become a American, and some people just take it for granted. I did not have to give up my citizenship. And you can take it from me I am Jewish, Israeli and a American.

M. Burks: Was it hard when you weren’t a citizen in America.

Levi: No I became very fast American citizen. Because I wanted to vote and make a difference and I knew if I wasn’t a American citizen I couldn’t vote. So that’s why I became. [An American citizen]

M. Burks: People that know you are a immigrant, did they treat you any differently?

Levi: No. People always look at you as a Jew. It didn’t matter if I was a immigrant or not. I was always the, “Dirty Jew go back to where you came from.” I still get it, but it’s okay. I’m used to it now.

K. Burks: I would have excepted that nationality would be a bigger issue than being Jewish is.

Levi: Yeah. It the smart people that know, they respect you and they love you no matter what. Because you are Jewish, they tell you, “You are the chosen people,” and I love you. It’s the people who are not educated. Because I have a priest here and he teaches me a lot about Jewish people. Because I don’t know a lot. I mean there are holidays that I don’t even know why we do. So I ask him why and he says, ‘come here and I’ll tell you everything’. And he’s the priest he goes to Israel once a year, and he always gives me gifts. He’s amazing. He’s teaching me a lot. But it’s only in small towns like this. [People are mean to her because she is Jewish]

K. Burks: That’s too bad.

Levi: Yeah. I remember Karen had a problem at UD, [University of Dayton] but she was smart about it and made a big argument about it and headed down to a Wright State. There is a huge community of our people here. And it’s amazing how here we can be best friends. I mean we were in till September 11th. And then it’s gone. It’s more about politics.

M. Burks: So you just brought up 9-11, did people after 9-11 that guessed that you from Israel and stuff. Did they ever say you were a terrorist?

Levi: 30% of the people in the twin buildings were Jewish. My son worked in one of the twin towers and he just called me a few weeks before and he said, “Mom I have two weeks off, pick the date.” And I said, “The 7th to the 24th.”My family didn’t know he was home and my friends in the United States didn’t know he was home. So everybody was calling me, not knowing that he was here. I must have done something good because he was here and I picked the date, 7th to the 24th. So I was lucky. Thank God! But if had happened a few hours after it would have been a lot worse. There were 50 thousand people. Later in the day there would have been 150 thousand people. Because it was early in the morning, but a lot of his friends were there.

M. Burks: How you would describe your life in the U.S.?

Levi: I need to be honest.(pauses) It’s okay.

M. Burks: Could you elaborate on that?

Levi: I’m trying. I’m trying to think about it. (Laughs) You know there is a saying. Never mind I shouldn’t say. It’s different. You miss your family. You miss life. Here it’s like life is passing you by. It’s like your routine. You’re doing everything the same thing. The same thing every day. You go to work, you have to hustle, you have to work hard. And then you go home, it’s your second shift, you clean and you cook and you do laundry. So your rushing all the time, it’s the fun life style, there you are alive. [Now talking about Israel] you go out, you walk in the streets, you sit in the coffee shops. People are walking and going constantly.

M. Burks: In Israel did you have to work a lot?

Levi: No, you work less and you have more fun. Because people go out every night. I mean if you go out to the coffee shop it’s packed. If you go the mall, there’re packed.

M. Burks: Even it’s not, say around a holiday?

Levi: It doesn’t matter, every day of the year; it doesn’t have to be a holiday or nothing special. You just take a walk in the mall and you’ll see the restaurants are full of people, the coffee shops. And they don’t have money, but everyone is still out having fun.

M. Burks: Would you move back to Israel, if you had the chance?

Levi: Just like that. (Snaps)

M. Burks: Are you just ever tempted to just go?

Levi: If I could I would have gone yesterday. Honestly, if I could, I would have left yesterday.

K. Burks: Is it because of the business? [Meaning is she staying because of her and her family’s business]

Levi: I mean, if someone said that I’ll buy all the cars from you and the business, I would leave. Not even thinking twice, I would leave. And I don’t know if I’m saying this, because my parents are sick and they need me and I feel that I need to be there or if it’s everything. I honestly don’t know. I mean it’s not like I’m complaining. We have an okay life. You know? But you are alive there. [In Israel] It’s like… (Pauses) It’s like here, you are sitting and planning things, and things are happening and you aren’t even paying attention. And there it’s constant. Constant fun and going and doing. And here it’s like, “Where the hell am I going to get the money to pay the second bill?” It’s always a struggle. Always a struggle. And sometimes I wouldn’t say a word because people didn’t ask me or look at me. You know what I’m saying. I know the second I say something, they something or they look at me. [Someone would disagree or they would like she is crazy] But it’s in Dayton. Not everywhere.

M. Burks: That makes me feel bad about our country. (Nervously laughs)

Levi: No, no, no. It’s mainly here. Mainly, mainly, here. I mean, I am Mrs. Toyota, to all the people here in Dayton. (Laughs) They call me Mrs. Toyota because I’m foreign.

M. Burks: I guess you already, kinda answered this, but what are the major differences in between the U.S. and Israel?

Levi: Honestly there isn’t a lot. Really there is no difference. I mean, people are living the same way, dressing the same way. I mean, it doesn’t matter if you’re dressing less modern or more modern. Everybody is going out and having fun, just like here. It’s the same exact life. Exactly the same life. I mean, I remember when my kids used to play with the bubbles. My kids used love to do that and people would say, “What they don’t have those in Israel?” It’s the same. We have those in Israel. But kids will giggle about bubbles anywhere in the world. It doesn’t matter if it’s Israel or the United States.

M. Burks: If you could change anything about the U.S. what would it be?

Levi: It is so hard to do. [Choose] Everything and nothing. Honestly, everything and nothing. I wish people were more educated, because it’s the people who are not educated the ones you have to careful from. Immediately when you say you are from Israel or Jewish, some people would ask if you are a terrorist. They are confused. Or people would ask will ask me why I am not wearing the veil. People don’t know. They have no idea. How can you walk like this? How can you walk like that? Why isn’t your head covered? So people have no idea. So that’s what you have to change. The knowledge of people. To know this is Iraq, this is Syria, this is Libya, this is Israel. And because we are Democrat we are hated, among the Arab countries. Because we are the only Democrat country in the Middle-East. Because we are living like Americans, because this is the way we are. Always been. That’s why they don’t like anything about us. Because a women’s place to them, is to where the thing around their head, to stay home, raise kids and cook.

M. Burks: Like, with that I just don’t get it. I feel strongly about women’s rights and being treated equal.

Levi: Exactly.

M. Burks: I know this is a little off topic but have you heard Beyonce’s new song, “Girl’s Run the World?”

Levi: No, but they do. (Smiles)

M. Burks: Yeah, like me and my friend had about an hour long discussion about how girls…

Levi: I mean look at Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, who was the Israeli prime minster, Hillary Clinton, I mean, I voted for her, I thought she could make a difference, she can change. If she got chosen, but… (Shrugs) That’s beside the point. But girls do, women do. And you can too someday.

M. Burks: I’ll probably just be a doctor or something.

Levi: Just a doctor. (Smiles)

M. Burks: What is your overall feeling of immigration experience?

Levi: For us, it is the fun it that, we feel today. Before you immigrated to the United States, you had to go through a procedure. I wish that they never changed it over the years. When I had to do it, it took a year to come here. They checked you from top to bottom, if you have any disease, sickness. Why are you coming? Why are you staying? We came because my husband had family here. And it takes a year. They take a back check on you and though the years they’ve kind of dropped it and let everybody else come through. And that’s when the problems started. Honestly, that’s when the problem’s started. People can come and go whenever they want, and nobody paid attention. In Hebrew we say, ‘you sleeping standing up.’ And that’s what is happening in the United States. We were sleeping standing up and not watching what is happening. I mean, it’s a shame. They should take it back to the way it was and check out everyone that comes in and out. You can’t let anyone come to your home. I mean, you wouldn’t open your door to anybody. So you shouldn’t open the United States to anybody. Check them before they come in. And if someone buying a one way ticket, check them twice, because they are up too no good. I mean that’s how September 11th happened. When somebody buys one way something is wrong.

K. Burks: I’m wondering what makes the working in Israel easier and different?

Levi: I think what is different, is working with different types of people. Maybe it’s the people. Maybe it’s the group of business like that. I don’t know. I can’t tell you because I have customers from top to bottom. [Rich to poor] Top, top. Bottom, bottom. So it’s… I can’t say. I think it’s the atmosphere. It’s like… We just did a reunion for my class, we haven’t seen each other for 30years, and we met again on Facebook. And it was like going home. Because friends in Israel, are friends for life. Here, you do one thing wrong and nobody would look at you. I had a friend that had cancer, born and raised in the United States, from Dayton, because she had cancer nobody wanted to have anything to do with her, because cancer is “Contagious.” (Pauses) Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. It’s a lot of things. You know how we say, “There are red lines and you should never cross them.” Every line has been crossed in Dayton, Ohio. Every line has been crossed. Kids doing things, kids get away with murder. Kids today do. They are getting away with so many things they are doing. And I know it’s bad and the worse it gets the worse the kids become. Because the parents are going to work longer. Nobody’s watching the kids. And all those kids need are their parents. That’s all they want and what parents are doing is going to work. Because it’s so hard. They have to go to work. It’s a cycle. It’s like… (Pauses) I can’t even explain how it is. Only if you go there and see it, [Israel] will you somewhat understand what I’m trying to tell you.

K. Burks: Yeah, we’re not living there so it’s hard.

Levi: It’s like here in the United States, you are 18 and for most kids it’s like, “Get out of my house I’m done with you. Go.” In Israel it’s not like that. In Israel you have to go to the army and they look up to you because you do go to the army. If you don’t go to the army they look less of you. And here it’s like, “Oh, you went to the army.” I mean, today it’s different, because we are at war and people are going, so we look up to them. But years ago you were a loser, you didn’t go to college. Army is part of life. That’s another thing that is very different.

K. Burks: Yeah. Levi: Everybody wants to go to the army. Today, here, it’s changed because we are in this situation. But before-oh, you have to go to the army? You don’t go to college first? No, you go to the army first. So that’s another thing that goes different. They’re looking at people going to the army as leaders. If you go to the army, they’ll think more of you. If you don’t, they’ll think less of you. Like I feel like I’m a loser because I didn’t go to the army. I mean, now it’s different. But then, it wasn’t. Like, the Vietnam War. Everybody thought the soldiers acted like they were killers, like murderers. They didn’t get the respect they deserved from the war. Respect-we live safe here because there’s a war, they’re protecting us there. But when the people from the army came from Vietnam, we thought they are killers they are not good people. They are good people. They protected you. They didn’t want to kill people. They didn’t want the war, but they had to. Otherwise people here would be killed. I’m trying to explain myself; I hope I’m doing that. Do you know what I mean? I mean, you weren’t even thought of yet. That was so many years ago. But when people came after the war, in Vietnam, they looked terrible. They didn’t give them the respect they deserved. Even today, the kids coming from Iraq, there’re messed up. But at least we respect them. Today.

K. Burks: Yeah, I think that has improved.

Iris: Yes. Definitely. They are heroes. Anybody that wears a uniform today has my respect. Because only God knows what they saw there. In Afghanistan, in Iraq, in all those places. Only God knows what they see and what they go through. So they deserve our respect, because they are protecting us. All of us.

M. Burks: Whenever I think of the Middle-East, the first thought that comes to my mind is terrorists, war and just violence. Is it really that big of a thing or is it just certain parts?

Levi: It’s not as big of a thing as there’re making it up to be. It’s coming and going. But it shows you now, after September 11th, it can happen here too. It can happen anywhere. Everywhere, any second of the day. A least when it happens today, people are working in it harder to stop it before it happens. And sometimes in Israel they succeed and sometimes they don’t. I mean when you see kids coming, you think they need help. You don’t know if they have bomb on them. You don’t understand how people don’t value life, because we do. Their thought is, “I’m going to die, but it’s okay because I’m going to kill another 100 people with me. So it’s okay.” For me, I don’t want to die. I want to be alive, and I don’t want any other people to die around me, because I believe in life. They don’t.

K. Burks: And that’s a small segment too, of even those countries.

Levi: They are so full of hate, that you don’t even know where it’s coming from anymore. Honestly. It can be a ten year old kid. It can be a pregnant woman, because it happened. If you go under terrorist you will see there was a pregnant with a bomb on her. Or two kids with a box of chocolate that was strapped with a bomb. And sometimes they say, “Are they all like that, or some of them are like that?” So you don’t understand anymore. You don’t know. Because they are full of hate they are teaching them to hate American and Jews. [“Them” being al-Qaeda] Because we are Democrats. Because we are open-minded. Because we believe women ruling the world and going and doing. We are not like them, backwards. [Crazy] Because they are backwards. I mean, anybody that doesn’t value life is backwards. (Pauses) It’s scary. Very scary.

M. Burks: Yeah, me and my mom were talking about one of the things that make them so scary is that they will die for what people have taught them. And what they believe is right.

Levi: They are brainwashing them. Nobody can brain wash me, to die and kill others. Where is the logic in it? (Pauses) Maybe they are willing to be brainwashed. I don’t know. But they can look like me and you and you don’t know where it’s coming from. I mean there is at least someone getting caught in the United States, at least once a mouth, trying to do something. At least once a month. But at least we are checking and looking. We are not like what we used to be.

M. Burks: With all the violence happening in the Middle- East, do you think it’s just because there getting away with more? Is it just because there is so many of them [terrorist]. Or that the Government isn’t that strong?

Levi: I know, I mean, I’m not positive, but I can feel and I can hear something huge is just going to happen. I mean, you can see it. You can feel it coming. There is a talk in between England, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Israel, France. You can see that something is coming. Some people say before the end of this month, were going to have a huge war. I mean they are talking about it. Iran is coming with nuclear bombs. This one is saying that, and this country is saying that. So you know something huge is going to happen.

M. Burks: Yeah, like also when I think of all the wars and stuff, I just think, “why would we make those?” Because if we make those, they will get into the wrong hands. Like, it is just going to happen. It’s unavoidable.

Levi: That’s why I’m against guns. For the longest time if you have a gun do not come to my office. I am so against guns. So against it.

M. Burks: It’s just so easy to kill somebody. All you have to do is pull a trigger.

Levi: But, if you’re talking about it, look at the Palestinian there’re throwing rocks. Those rocks can kill too. We are bombing them with smoke and guns, and they are throwing rocks. Do you know how many wounded people did from rocks?

M. Burks: I would guess a lot.

Levi: Yeah. I mean just think about this huge rock coming to your head.

M. Burks: To me, I think, that in war we are all terrorists. Like we’re terrorist to each other.

Levi: No. I think you are wrong. I think we are people that like to live and let live. Like, I don’t bother you, you don’t bother me. But they want everybody to be like them. That’s the difference. I mean, Democracy, American we always said live and let live. You can do whatever you want in your house. But don’t make me do what you do in your house. Because this is what I believe, I believe in Democracy. I believe in women’s rights. In your country you can do whatever you want. Make your wife whatever you want. If she doesn’t stand up for herself, than that’s her problem. Not mine. But do whatever you want in your country. But do whatever you want in your country, but not in mine. You cannot make me what I did not grow up to be. Thank God I wasn’t born there, or I would be dead a long time ago. For not wearing this thingy, (points to her head) or doing something wrong. (pauses) Did you see the movie, “Not Without My Daughter?”

M. Burks: I haven’t.

Levi: It’s a very old movie. But I can still watch it and I’ve watched it about 100 times and every time I watch it, it breaks my heart all over again. With Sally Felone.

M. Burks: Is it like an older movie?

Levi: Very old. It’s an amazing, amazing movie and it was a true story and there are so many that I read after. I’m not trying to say that all of us, all the Jews are dead or all the Christian are dead. [Dead saying that we are all not alike] You have extremists in every religion. You have extremist in every religion. Except we value life. I would not go out of my way to hurt somebody. And I am sure you are like that. And it seems like they will. [Terrorists] They will. I mean I am terrified of them, they scary, they hide their face and I don’t wish anybody to fall into their hands. (Pauses) Because they don’t value life. Honestly I am more scared of the women than the guys.

M. Burks: Yeah, because they are probably more brainwashed.

Levi: Yes. They are witches. They are more scarier than the guys. I mean, I don’t know if you remember but, a few years ago there were two people from the Fox network that got kidnapped. Two of them, and when they came out, I was bawling my eyes in. They were terrified for their life. They were news media. Why would you kidnap them? Just tell them to leave. You don’t want them to interview in this country. Don’t kidnap them and put them through hell. Scare the daylight out of them. I was afraid that they weren’t going to let them come back. And the two girls… Do you remember that story? And they were there for two or three years, then Hillary Clinton spoke for them and they just got released this year.

M. Burks: Yeah, I think I saw that on the news.

Levi: Yeah, it’s scary. That’s very scary. So that’s the difference we believed in Democracy, in life. That’s the difference and that’s why I think they hate us. Because they are not Democracy and they can’t do what they want to do. And there is a lot of them here in Dayton. [People who do not believe in Democracy] And do you know what they think about us? Israelis think about Americans. That we are, there are sex and drugs everywhere, all over the United States. And their looking at shows and saying, “we know all about you.” Stop. This is the trash of the trash. This is not America. Because this what, “Jerry Springer” is, the show that they watch and they think this is America. Drugs, drugs, sex and drugs. This is what is happening in America. Everybody is sluts. I said, “Excuse me, but this is not America.” This is trash and it’s happening all over the world, not just in America. And there is trash in Israel too. Everywhere. Everywhere.

K. Burks: And also there’re giving free night at a hotel and beer. [What the show giving people who come on the show]

Levi: And I think half of it is lies.

K. Burks: No, that’s what I mean half of them are lies, because people have come on after and said they were all lies.

Levi: So they’ll tell you whatever. They’ll tell you anything, just give them a couple bucks and beers. So this is not America. So you see how they are looking at us?

K. Burks: But it’s sad that Americans are willing to do that.

Levi: Some people think this how we are. For real, and it’s not. And I said, “No this is not America, this is trash.” It can happen in Israel, this can happen in Italy, this can happen in France. This is trash in the world. This is not the United States, because it’s not. I man not all of us are like that. Sorry, to burst their bubble.

K. Burks: And I know in almost any country we are not liked.

Levi: Yeah, but you know what? Nobody is looking at themselves. I mean Italy, they are having sex at nine years old and they didn’t just start it. In the States it just started. And it Italy they are having sex at nine and ten years old and it started 20 years ago. In Spain, they have drug issues. In Holland, you can smoke dope in the streets anywhere. So I think in the United States we’re okay. We’re okay. We are better than all of them and we are smarter than all of them.

M. Burks: The only problem I have with America is the Government. Because when our economy went down they went on vacation and all they did when they came back was the power of the Republican, the power of the Democrat.

Levi: But do you know it’s all over the world like that. The Government suck everywhere. Everywhere.

K. Burks: Whenever you give people power.

Levi: Like you have people starving to death, here in downtown Dayton. The richer getting richer and the poorer getting poorer. I’m sorry. No. It cannot be like this. And you have people throwing away stuff that a whole family can live off. It’s too rich and too poor! (Pauses) I’m glad we did this. I found out new things about myself.

ANALYSIS
In this interview I learned that not all immigrants leave their native country to escape a problem which they are having in leave their native country because of a problem there and the immigrants did not want to live in their native country. Those immigrants could have left because of disease, war, overpopulation and famine, like the potato famine, which was when the Irish could not grow their crops properly. Other reasons for immigrants to leave their native country included government, religious freedom and economy, like when young male Chinese immigrants immigrated to the United States to earn money and send it back to their family in China. However my interviewee, Iris Levi left Israel her native country to, “… see how other people live.” She said, “We were always curious.” But she, “…really wanted to go back,” when they, “…got stuck here...” So I learned that not all immigrants have the same reason to leave their native country. For example in a video we watched in class it showed the story of different people and their reasons and experience of immigrating to the United States of America. A group of the people, a family, from Nigeria left because there is a lot of poverty there, people were getting executed by their government and they were not happy there. Another person, from the Dominican Republic left because she didn’t want to be what women were supposed to be in her native country, cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, staying home, etc. Also I learned the immigrants do not always want to stay in the country they immigrated to. Like my immigrant, Iris Levi, she does not want to stay here in America. She would like to go back to her home country, Israel. It’s not that she does not like America, she would just be happier with her family back in Israel. their native country. We have learned in U.S. History class that most immigrants did indeed