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August 31, 2007
The Taiwanese Zionist
Borhan Jiang immerses himself in Israeli culture.
FREEMAN PORITZ
Taiwanese-Canadian Borhan Jiang visited Israel for six weeks in
the summer of 2006. Now, he can't wait to go back.
"I actually didn't expect much [from Israel]," he said.
"I didn't do a lot of research before I went. But once I was
in Israel, my first impressions were – 'this feels like Taiwan!'
The way the roads are designed and the abundance of scooters.
"A very good friend of mine went to Israel. He invited me to
go and visit him there. I spent about a month-and-a-half there and
I had an amazing time. I enjoyed life in Tel-Aviv and volunteered
for Sar-El – [a volunteer program associated with the Israel
Defence Forces]," he added.
Jiang was born in Taichung, Taiwan, and moved to Vancouver when
he was 16. He completed high school at South Burnaby Secondary School
before pursuing post-secondary studies at Langara College and the
University of Ottawa. He graduated in 2007 from the University of
Ottawa with a bachelor of arts in history.
"Israeli society is very straightforward when compared to Canadian
society. It's more exciting. There are always things going on. And
the human relationship has more honesty and truth to it, although
it's less diplomatic," he said in a recent interview.
Jiang also had a military edge to him. He served in the artillery
branch of the Canadian Army Reserves from October 2003 until August
2007, in both Vancouver and Ottawa. As an army reservist, he worked
at military installations in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and New
Brunswick. "[In Israel] you see soldiers everywhere,"
he observed. "Sometimes you see more soldiers than civilians.
I find that very cool and interesting. I wore a uniform in the Canadian
Army Reserves, but it just didn't fit. You feel like something outside
the society. As a Canadian soldier, you feel something different.
But in Israel, everyone is wearing a uniform. You feel they're part
of the society."
Upon returning to the University of Ottawa from Israel in 2006,
Jiang joined the Jewish Students' Association and started to study
Hebrew with a private tutor. "I actually enjoy speaking Hebrew,"
he said.
His desire to return to Israel has almost become an obsession. "I
had a really great time there," he said. "When I was a
kid, I always saw Canadians – North Americans – come to
Taiwan to teach English. They had such an amazing time in Taiwan,
immersing themselves in a different culture. I would like to have
the same experience in Israel. I couldn't find the same experience
while being a Taiwanese person in Canada, because I'm an immigrant
... there is a different feeling. It's not really a choice. I feel
an identity crisis with regards to how I introduce myself. I mean,
I'm a Taiwanese-Canadian. Sometimes I say I'm Canadian. Sometimes
I say I'm from Taiwan. It doesn't really matter where I'm from.
They [Israelis] always treat me with a lot of interest and respect.
It doesn't matter where you're from, but how you behave."
Jiang plans to travel to Israel next month to spend at least five
months working on a kibbutz and studying Hebrew.
He insisted that the serenity of the kibbutz would not blur his
view of the political situation. "I definitely think that Israel
has every right to defend itself, to protect itself," he said,
"but in the process, they have to be more careful. I know it's
a very hard situation, but I believe they [the Israelis] can pull
it out, because they have to. I think internationally, the world
is being very critical and not very fair to Israel. They tend to
care more about the weaker group, and Israel is now considered to
be stronger.
"I think that a lot of the time, Israel is not being very fair
to the Palestinians. But it's understandable. Israeli soldiers are
only human – they're not saints. I mean, they're 18 years old.
Most Canadian 18-year-olds are playing basketball and dating girls.
In Israel, 18- and 19-year-olds are sent to combat and are being
shot at. I think a lot of times, this clouds them with emotions."
Many people are drawn to Israel in their search for spirituality,
but Jiang is adamant that, in his case, this is not so. He has no
plans to convert to Judaism. "I'm not religious," he said.
Perhaps, however, a career in Middle East diplomacy could be in
the offing. "I now have several good friends in Israel,"
said Jiang. "I'm thinking about joining the RCMP later. Maybe
I'd like to be a diplomat in the Middle East, if I have the background,
if I can speak Hebrew. I mean, how many Asians speak Hebrew?"
Freeman Poritz is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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