Approprate?

[+releasethedogs]

When ever my wife and I travel we like to hold GC events. In the cache description I like to "dress up" our GC team mascot (a robotic dog) with clothing from the country or area we are visiting. For example I've put him in a Fez when we went to Turkey, A coolie hat when we went to Vietnam, a Pagri when in India ect ect. We will soon go to the middle east including Israel and I am not sure if it would be ok for me to "dress up" our mascot as a Hasidic Jew ( i.e. black hat with long curls). Is this, no pun intended kosher? Or is it offensive? I love people of all races and all faiths but it seems it is quite a bit easier to be labeled an anti-semite then an anti-other-non-jewish-person. Id like to avoid being labeled anti-whoever which is why I am asking. What do you think?

Edited June 27, 2011 by releasethedogs

[+Fjordi]

It is a bit offtopic, but may I ask you, how you organize an event in a foreign country where you have never been before?

[+briansnat]

I'm not Jewish but Hasidic garb has religious significance. People can be a bit sensitive when it comes to religion. I'd probably think of something else.

[+buttaskotch]

I'm not Jewish but Hasidic garb has religious significance. People can be a bit sensitive when it comes to religion. I'd probably think of something else.

 

How abt a Yarmulke or get a small t-shirt that says geocaching in Hebrew That doesn't seem as....polarizing.

I say this very loosely. I understand your caution, its a slippery slope.

 

@Fjordi From the events I have been to where it was organized by someone visiting, they either look to a local group for suggestions or find an all purpose pub centrally located and has loose restrictions on purchase with assembly.

I went to an event in Stockholm put together by a visiting German, I asked him that very question and he gave me the reply above.

[+Walts Hunting]

It's not that hard to host an event when traveling/. We had one in our area called meet a traveling cacher. It did it at a loal pizza parlor and it was well attended. I didn't get there. just post it and they will vome.

[+Fjordi]

I'm not Jewish but Hasidic garb has religious significance. People can be a bit sensitive when it comes to religion. I'd probably think of something else.

 

How abt a Yarmulke or get a small t-shirt that says geocaching in Hebrew That doesn't seem as....polarizing.

I say this very loosely. I understand your caution, its a slippery slope.

 

@Fjordi From the events I have been to where it was organized by someone visiting, they either look to a local group for suggestions or find an all purpose pub centrally located and has loose restrictions on purchase with assembly.

I went to an event in Stockholm put together by a visiting German, I asked him that very question and he gave me the reply above.

 

For me that sounds like a "safety cache" to be sure to be able to log a cache in an area / a country with very few caches.

To get a new flag in the statistics on gc.com

Of course that may not be true for all who host an event abroad - that's only my personal opinion...

But if it is reviewed and published, then I suppose it is ok.

 

But that's too much offtopic

[+buttaskotch]

I'm not Jewish but Hasidic garb has religious significance. People can be a bit sensitive when it comes to religion. I'd probably think of something else.

 

How abt a Yarmulke or get a small t-shirt that says geocaching in Hebrew That doesn't seem as....polarizing.

I say this very loosely. I understand your caution, its a slippery slope.

 

@Fjordi From the events I have been to where it was organized by someone visiting, they either look to a local group for suggestions or find an all purpose pub centrally located and has loose restrictions on purchase with assembly.

I went to an event in Stockholm put together by a visiting German, I asked him that very question and he gave me the reply above.

 

For me that sounds like a "safety cache" to be sure to be able to log a cache in an area / a country with very few caches.

To get a new flag in the statistics on gc.com

Of course that may not be true for all who host an event abroad - that's only my personal opinion...

But if it is reviewed and published, then I suppose it is ok.

 

But that's too much offtopic

So, by your logic, going to an event in another country while travelling is a "safety cache:

Whatever floats your boat.

But the cachers I know, do it to meet local cachers, talk about many topics and arrange a time where the locals can take them around to the fun spots for caching or sightseeing. But of course, that's only my personal opinion.

[+Fjordi]

As I wrote, that may not apply to all cachers.

But I know some cachers who do something like this only for their stats (sometimes they even create a new username - for whatever reason)

 

If I hosted an event abroad, I would do it for your mentioned reasons, too.

[+buttaskotch]

As I wrote, that may not apply to all cachers.

But I know some cachers who do something like this only for their stats (sometimes they even create a new username - for whatever reason)

 

If I hosted an event abroad, I would do it for your mentioned reasons, too.

 

I do too, one cacher decided to host flash mob events in every port of call on the Alaskan cruise after GeoWoodstock last summer.

That cacher ran into problems with 1 reviewer. Don't know (and don't care) what the outcome was but whatever. Everyone plays differently.

As long as rules are followed and no laws are broken integrity belongs to a cacher alone.

[+Panther&Pine]

I'm not Jewish but Hasidic garb has religious significance. People can be a bit sensitive when it comes to religion. I'd probably think of something else.

 

How abt a Yarmulke or get a small t-shirt that says geocaching in Hebrew That doesn't seem as....polarizing.

I say this very loosely. I understand your caution, its a slippery slope.

 

I'd go with the Yarmulke and/or the shirt.

 

Rather like you'd probably not put the dog in a hijab if you where in a Muslim county, but a head scarf would be fine.

 

Actually a head scarf wouldn't be a bad choice either, it isn't that uncommon to find Jewish women who still wear a headscarf (although I guess it depends on if your dog is concerned about what gender clothing it is wearing).

[+Mom-n-Andy]

I'm not Jewish, but I think a yarmulke might also have religious significance. Maybe you could contact a geocache reviewer in Israel and ask about what might be appropriate.

[+Panther&Pine]

I'm not Jewish, but I think a yarmulke might also have religious significance. Maybe you could contact a geocache reviewer in Israel and ask about what might be appropriate.

It does, rather like the little lace caps the Catholic women (gee can you tell I'm not Catholic?) wear in church.

They are worn by observant men all the time, in synagogue by all men, and there are even funny little teardrop shaped ones (kippot?) for women to wear if they'd like. (Gee can you tell I'm not a conservative Jew?).

[+wimseyguy]

Both the traditional Hasidic attire and yarmulkes have religious significance. I would suggest finding another way to make your toy mascot appear to be one of the locals without offending anyone.

[+Panther&Pine]

Both the traditional Hasidic attire and yarmulkes have religious significance. I would suggest finding another way to make your toy mascot appear to be one of the locals without offending anyone.

I've been given enough stuffed animals wearing yarmulkes over the years it can't be that odd to put one on a robotic dog. I can't say I've ever been given one wearing the Hasidic attire (I must now go search Etsy for one...).

 

Apparently there are lots of teddy bear t-shirts with various Jewish themes (Pickles, no pork, that sort of things), but no luck on specifics of the appropriateness of dressing up the robot dog in question.

Edited June 27, 2011 by MooseJawSpruce

[+Fianccetto]

what about an Israeli soccer team shirt, or scarf?

[AZcachemeister]

what about an Israeli soccer team shirt, or scarf?

 

Ya, I'd try to do something without bringing religion into it.

Certainly most Israelis are Jewish, but it's Israel, not Jew-land.

[+releasethedogs]

what about an Israeli soccer team shirt, or scarf?

 

Ya, I'd try to do something without bringing religion into it.

Certainly most Israelis are Jewish, but it's Israel, not Jew-land.

 

easier said then done...

any ideas?

[+Panther&Pine]

what about an Israeli soccer team shirt, or scarf?

 

Ya, I'd try to do something without bringing religion into it.

Certainly most Israelis are Jewish, but it's Israel, not Jew-land.

 

easier said then done...

any ideas?

Ummm, you do know what the Israel country flag looks like, right?

[+releasethedogs]

i guess i'll just forgo the graphic all together on this one.

Edited June 28, 2011 by releasethedogs

[AZcachemeister]

what about an Israeli soccer team shirt, or scarf?

 

This should be un-offensive to most...

[+releasethedogs]

what about an Israeli soccer team shirt, or scarf?

 

This should be un-offensive to most...

the mascots pose makes it so you can not see a shirt. Thats why i usually do hats.

As for a scarf, do you mean a Tallit?

[+Fjordi]

I like the idea with the flag!

[+tozainamboku]

Since a hat is what you use, I think a yarmulke would be appropriate. I find it somewhat surprising that people think these head covering have a religious significance (beyond the head covering - in Judaism the head is covered as a sign of respect to God). I think the Hasidic hat and peios (the long sideburns) would not offend anyone - though the Israelis might wonder why you used this for Israel. I doubt you will find any Hasidic geocachers in Israel.

 

If you want a non-religious hat, a somewhat dated hat is the kova tembel. The hat was associated with pre-state Zionism and the early state of Israel. No one wears it now, but it still has the association in politic cartoons and comics.

 

Another option is a military beret. The Israeli army official headgear is a military beret in a variety of colors and insignia to indicate the corp or special unit. Since military service is universal, this headgear would have meaning for the Israelis.

[+Fianccetto]

what about an Israeli soccer team shirt, or scarf?

 

This should be un-offensive to most...

the mascots pose makes it so you can not see a shirt. Thats why i usually do hats.

As for a scarf, do you mean a Tallit?

No, I mean an official soccer scarf, like the ones on their website - their colours are blue and white (like the national flag) and the scarf has some Hebrew on it, and looks pretty cool. If you are very good at replicating the Hebrew, with a bit of Israeli translation you could make your own scaled down version out of whatever materials you have to hand, maybe. Football is a major sport in Israel, and most of the Israelis I've met have been pretty enthusiastic about it (understatement)! Also food...women (but now we're getting into those difficult areas again! ) Basketball is another major sport.

 

A baseball hat with the Israeli flag might work too.

[+releasethedogs]

I contacted several Israeli cachers, and several Israeli-American cachers and they all told me that only a very small portion of the population would find it in bad taste and those people are very unlikely to be cachers anyways. So in light of this I have posted my graphic.

 

Mods please close topic.

[+TheMasses]

 

If you want a non-religious hat, a somewhat dated hat is the kova tembel. The hat was associated with pre-state Zionism and the early state of Israel. No one wears it now, but it still has the association in politic cartoons and comics.

 

I was going to suggest the same - and a maccabi tel aviv shirt or another football (soccer) team