Sometimes a usually toxic stereotype can play out harmlessly, charmingly even, before your eyes. It happened to me at Jewish Book Week (JBW) yesterday. I was in a queue at the bookshop, minding my own business as the couple ahead moved to the check-out.
They were an odd pair at first glance. He was tall and dishevelled, his kippah threatening to escape from his head. She was short, but beautiful — immaculate clothes, lustrous dark hair and handsome features. Her movements were precise as she advanced on the cashier, while he lingered a yard or so behind.
She asked, ‘Is there a discount if you buy more than one?’ The cashier said that there was not. There was a pause in which she collected herself. She flapped the book, a glossy hardback covered in Hebrew lettering, in her left hand and said, ‘My friend bought this at a competitor for less.
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