Whoever wrote this has a point: the new generation that's come about in the Western democracies is pretty far removed from the realities of life in the "other half"of the world--perhaps more than ever before. On the other hand, I must say I find this piece annoying. Many of us from North America or western Europe have had to deal with the dismissive (I wouldn't quite call it condescending) attitude of Israelis. I can't count how many times I've been told that I can't possibly understand the Arab "mentality," how the world works, or even what it's like to struggle in life, etc, etc. If Israelis want to heap scorn upon clueless Kiwi backpackers, I'm all for it. The problem is that they see virtually everyone this way. Fits in well with the Israeli mentality of always having to be right, I guess. Wait, I forgot, I can't possibly know anything about the Israeli mentality...