Israeli businessman Ronnie Maman wants to teach his fellow countrymen some manners. Maman, who lived in San Diego for 26 years and moved back to Israel two years ago, has announced that he will award $60,000 to anyone who comes up with the best way to teach Israelis how to be more considerate of one another.

Contestants may submit their proposals to Maman’s Web site, www.derech-eretz.org, and the winner will be chosen next year. The contest was announced earlier this week, and Maman says that he has already received hundreds of proposals. Maman moved back to Israel when his son decided he wanted to join the Israeli army, and his son’s choice was part of Maman’s inspiration for the etiquette initiative.

“If my son wants to sacrifice his life for the country, I should do something myself for the country,” Maman told The Shmooze. “Many people unfortunately really don’t care for each other very much anymore. People became materialistic and angry. It’s worldwide, but in Israel it’s really personal because we have a lot of enemies and we’re all sitting on the same bench.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Maman also cites his time spent in the United States as a motivating factor for launching the contest.

“I think that being in the United States for many years really changed me. I’m sure I learned much better manners. One of the things I really liked is people greeting each other when they walked on the streets. Here on the elevators, people don’t greet each other.”

He added, “People here have a lot of chutzpah, and I think that we can change it. And it’s crucial for Israel.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount