December 25, 2009 | 11:22 am

“AVATAR”—HOLIDAY BLUES

Posted by Tiferet Peterseil

Do you know how the movie theaters stay open around Christmas time, and there’s that usher at the theater cursing out those 2 people who just had to see a movie, thus preventing him from staying home for the Holiday? Well, I’m normally one of those 2 people.

What better time for Jews to enjoy a nice, quiet cinema outing than Christmas?

Except, in Tel Aviv, where the population is mainly Jewish, it wasn’t just me and my date watching AVATAR—there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.  Thank God even the Ushers are Jewish, so hopefully they’re not resentful about missing the Jingle Bell Fiesta.

Apparently, the fact that the tickets to the 3D film Avatar are 6 shekel more expensive than a regular ticket didn’t deter the crowd. After all, if James Cameron could spend almost $500 million to make the film, we could spend 41 NIS to see it.

All week I’d been waiting to see the movie, but last night my Christmas Cheer all but dissipated. It’s not because of the movie, not even because of my date…
…it’s because 40 minutes earlier I had sent someone to the Hospital.

A homeless man had stopped me in the street and called me over. I nervously stayed my distance, trying to understand what it is he wanted. He had this strange look in his eyes – a mixture of pain and pleading – and finally managed to whisper “Call an Ambulance” as the scent of alcohol invaded my nostrils. Then he grabbed his chest, grimacing. I made the call, telling the operator he might be having a heart attack.

Suspicious of his motives, I kept a distance, but still waited with him until the ambulance came. Maybe I’ve been in the city too long. I was so wary that he might try to mug me or worse, that I never even asked his name, let alone sat near him.

When the ambulance came they put him on a gurney and as he passed by me he reached out his hand. I hesitantly took it, almost wincing. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it, then leveled his gaze to mine and whispered “Todah, malach”, Thank you, angel. That’s when I saw the tear fall. And that’s when I realized he probably wasn’t having a heart attack…He was having a loneliness attack.

The movie? By the time I got to the theater I was ready for anything that would take my mind off what had just happened. Guilt, among other emotions, primed me for the hype that seemed to emplasticize the entire theater. This clearly was the movie of the century.

Truth is, I have to hand it to Cameron, he managed to build a beautiful, inspiring world, with magnificent humanoid creatures. I’m sure everyone seeing the movie wished they were chosen to be transported to the planet “Pandora” and bask in the ultra violet glows of the forest (although I’m not sure how good that is for you).

Cameron’s imagination combined with modern technology left an awesome impact on me. You don’t need the 3D glasses to feel impressed with the way he’s successfully combined real live actors on realistic sets with animated figures, in a make-believe world. In fact, the transition was so swift and seamless, I’m still not sure if it was a cartoon or a real-people movie.

Unfortunately, the movie didn’t live up to the expectations; the plot was okay (at best) and the action good (but not great). It was a little long and drawn out, and too many times I found myself wandering back to the homeless man who I sent into an ambulance—by himself.

AVATAR preaches the warning we’ve heard many times before: How we are destroying our planet, each other, and our moral imperative to do the right thing in life. You could practically predict every twist in the storyline, and the strong moral conveyed of “think green before there’s nothing left to live for”, had nothing too new to teach me. As far as I was concerned the movie was preaching to the converted.

Leaving the theater, I suddenly felt my money could have been put to better use, and made the monumental (for me) decision to find my homeless, loveless, vagabond.

My date, whom I barely knew, offered to accompany me to the hospital. But after 2 hours of searching, I never did find what became of him. Without a name it’s sort of hard to find someone in a hospital, unless you’re a cop or a detective. Hospitals are very stingy about giving out personal information.

Around the Holidays, people tend to get the blues, even those who have forgotten their families and whose families have probably forgotten them. If I learned anything from the experience it’s that people have to be more important than things, even humanoid things, even the-greatest-movie-of-the-century things. Connecting with someone who’s alone has to be more important than connecting with another escape mechanism, and that you’d better realize that if you try to go against the patterns you’ve been taught since childhood you’re going to feel very, very guilty.

I wish I could take back time, and board the ambulance with him. Even at the risk of standing-up my date, and missing out on Cameron’s out-of-this world Blue Entities.

Truthfully, if you just want to get away and enjoy a really good animated movie, AVATAR fits the bill. So go ahead and have a great time. Just don’t expect it to take away those Holiday Blues.

Happy Holidays.

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December 24, 2009 | 6:23 pm

SANTA IN TEL AVIV?

Posted by Tiferet Peterseil

Just when we think we can breathe a sigh of relief, that after gorging ourselves with Hanukkah Sufganiyot for 8 days we can finally put the Holidays behind us for a couple of months, along comes one more. 

Don’t tell me you didn’t know Christmas is a Jewish Holiday?

Truth is, I wasn’t so sure about it myself. It was one thing when I lived in Los Angeles, where it seemed to me that being American – Jewish or Gentile—was intertwined with celebrating some form of Christmas, whether just exchanging gifts, attending a party or two, or placing a “token” tree in the living room “so we’ll have someplace to put the gifts.” 

But here in Israel, in Tel Aviv, I certainly didn’t expect to get a sled-load of invitations to Christmas Parties, many with decidedly Jewish themes. The invites promised eggnog, scantily clad female (and male) elves, and one party even had a mandatory dress code – yes, you guessed it – traditional red and green.

And why not? Watching the news this evening report Holiday preparations around the world, you sort of get caught up in the mad shopping sprees that are the hallmark of Christmas. Then they pan to the pristine snow covering the ground, reindeer pulling a sled, egg nog, a warm cozy fire – hey, how much joy can one person take? Check the Websites that list “Santa’s worldwide route” and yes, once again the little country of Israel is nowhere to be found. It’s one thing when CNN forgets about us, but a guy with a long, white beard has to pay us a visit…at least a chimney stop in Jerusalem.

No one likes to be left out. Especially when the rest of the world seems to be having so much fun! So is it any wonder we want to celebrate Christmas? Now to find that Jewish theme….

Actually, it’s elementary my dear reader: If Christ was Jewish doesn’t it stand to reason that Christmas was probably Jewish at one time as well?

Think about it: A short, stout man with a long beard and a hat, a warm smile but not fawning, clearly a charismatic figure, devout helpers announcing his coming, and of course he only visits the good for only the good can be rewarded. 

Sound Familiar?

No, I’m not talking about the Messiah – although a case for that could be made too. I’m talking about Elijah the Prophet, the spirit that comes to every bris and has a special cup of wine prepared for him at the Seder table (of course, he comes through the door). Is it just coincidence that the germatria (numerical value – dropping all the zeros) for the Hebrew word “Santa” just happens to be the equivalent of the combination of words Elijah and Seder as well as Elijah and Bris? Of course not. 

Santa the eternal visitor and Elijah the eternal visitor have certain common traits. They both evoke a certain spirit; they both have long white beards; and of course, they both ride chariots in the sky. 

See the Jewish link?

Just in case you don’t. As I note the red and greed colors decorating my invitations,  I’m reminded of the Purim story, of how a person is supposed to drink so much that he can’t tell the difference between Haman, the villain and Mordechai, the hero, and it dawns on me: Why are the colors of Christmas red and green? Clearly, because a person is supposed to drink so much until he can’t tell the difference between Red – stop! and Green – go! 

So, we might have thought the Holidays were behind us, but here they are again. Purim, Passover, they’ve all been mixed up, rearranged, and reworked so that the rest of the world can enjoy them as well.

‘Tis the season….

Other Posts by HOLLYWOOD EAST that may interest you:
I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE HANUKKAH
HANUKKAH—LET’S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF!
HEEL THE WORLD
Follow HOLLYWOOD EAST on Twitter!

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December 22, 2009 | 8:22 pm

ISRAEL SAYS “YES” TO GUNS, “NO” TO ALCOHOL

Posted by Tiferet Peterseil

Many of you may have heard of the new law Israel is trying to pass: Alcohol to be sold only to those over 21. The logic behind this is that 18 year olds are still kids, and not responsible enough to drink.

The sad truth is that Israel suffers from a large amount of DUI’s most of which seem to be committed by people under the age of 22.  The even bigger problem is that adolescents UNDER the age of 18 already consume large amounts of alcohol, since they can easily pick up a bottle at any corner makolet (grocery store). 

The law still has to pass through the “Knesset”, but the motion has already created a buzz.

Until now, the legal drinking age in Israel was 18. And why not? After all, as soon as Israeli youth finish high school, we pack up our “young adults” and shift them off to the army. They undergo brutal physical training, psychological trauma’s and experience exceptionally harsh conditions. We expect our youth to be Zionistic and enlist out of sense of loyalty; to be gung-ho, protect and fight for their country. But the truth is, neither the kids nor the government really has much of a choice. Israel is surrounded by potential annihilators and our standing army is sometimes the only thing that keeps them at bay. 

While in the USA most 19 year olds are living it up at frat parties, or sight-seeing Europe, Israeli “oldalescents” are government property. Their body, choices and everyday routine are controlled by the army for at least three years after they finish high school. A post-high school kid quickly learns responsibility and takes on the trappings of adulthood way before his U.S. peer. That’s a lot of pressure for an 18 year to be under, wouldn’t you think? So the question is, do you have to be sober to do it?

I remember what it was like for one of my brothers who fought in an elite unit in the army. There was a point during the first Intifada when he was fighting in Jenin, doing God-knows-what. I remember noticing his face beginning to change. Not only did he lose weight, his complexion darken from the repeated frost-bite, but he became withdrawn and quiet, and the sparkle in his eyes all but vanished. He reminded me more of a loan wolf, than my older brother. Thank God he survived his ordeal, but not without significant trauma.

In those trying times, when he finally came home for the weekend, I recall him going out with friends. Drinking seemed to be a major pastime, and an obvious way to ease the pain. And though it was only momentary relief, it was an opportunity to take the load off, just the same. A well needed, and earned, break.

On the other hand, I know a 16 old girl who recently played a part in a high-school student film. Her character was supposed to be that of a young girl drinking beer. Not knowing any better, she abided by the 17-year-old director’s instructions, and consumed a whopping 2 liters of beer throughout the takes.

She called me to the set, to see her in “action”.

“Don’t worry,” the toddler on heels reassured me, “I’m a professional. I can handle my liquor.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I told her, looking around at the table of teens shouting “Chug! Chug! Chug!” as the co-star was preparing to get into character. “Remember, you want to be a member of the acting profession, not a member of AA,” I admonished her.

“But Tiferet,” she argued, “don’t all professional characters have to get into the role? Mine is supposed to be a girl who’s drunk.”

“For pretend,” I reminded her. “Do you think actors always get high when their characters are supposed to be smoking a joint? You think they actually have real-live sex for a sex-scene?!”

“They don’t?” was her amazed response, and I like to think I saved her from a life of porno flicks.

“Hey,” a pimple-faced 15 year old called out, trying to impress me with his metal braced smile. “Wanta’ have a contest? I bet I could drink more shots of Arak than you.”

“I bet I can PRETEND to drink more shots of Arak than you,” I countered.

Now switch to Los Angeles where I once tried to buy some sweet kiddush wine for a family who had invited me for Friday night dinner. Imagine my shock when I was “carded” at the supermarket, and the bottle of wine confiscated.

“Believe me,” I told the teller. “If I were going to get drunk, it wouldn’t be on Manischewitz. This is just a gift. I can’t go empty handed.”

But she wouldn’t hear of it, and I was forced to buy Sparkling peach wannabe wine. Alcoholic content minus 20%.

And was I ever surprised when, in L.A., sharing a bottle of wine on a date, the pub-owner called out “Last Call”, and the crowd paid their bill and went home. I couldn’t get over how disciplined everyone was. I could never see something like that taking place in Israel.

Of course, you’re right, 18 is not the age kids should be drinking. And sure everybody’s worried about the scourge of drinking, both here and abroad. But unlike the U.S., in Israel it seems to make more sense to allow those who are risking their lives to control their lives, at least as far as liquor is concerned. After all, if you’re giving a kid a gun, dressing him in army fatigues, sending him on dangerous missions and telling him to kill or be killed, then I think when his R&R time comes it should be – drinks all around.

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December 21, 2009 | 5:27 pm

HOLOCAUST SIGN FOUND—STILL TOO SOON TO CELEBRATE

Posted by Tiferet Peterseil

Israel breathes a sigh of relief as news of the “Arbeit Macht Frei” (work makes free) sign was found, although in 3 pieces. According to Krakow police, the sign was stolen for financial purposes, not as an act of neo-Nazism. Five suspects were arrested and further investigation is required.

Last Friday, people around the world were furious to learn that the sign above the Auschwitz Death camp was stolen. But in Israel this was a “sign of the times”.

Were the perpetrators attempting to erase traces of the Holocaust? Obviously, the theft of such an important historical monument was a statement against Jews, a provocative gesture insinuating that the war is not over, or an attempt to deny the war took place altogether.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud) referred to the theft as a “critical failure of the Polish police.”

Germany was quick to raise their donations for the new Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, now holding at $87 million.

But wait a moment! Isn’t history – even Holocaust history – open to all sorts of interpretations these days? Could it be that there never was a sign over the entrance of the Auschwitz Death Camp? Clearly, much of the world believe that “if it didn’t happen in my lifetime it just didn’t happen!”

Take my younger sister, #2. After seeing “Inglorious Basterds” last week, I had to assure her that Hitler, Himmler and the rest of the Nazi vermin were not blown up while viewing a movie.

Don’t get me wrong: I love Tarantino, and I really enjoyed the film. But at the end of the movie my father, who’s mother survived two and a half years in Auschwitz, shook his head and smiled. “I wish those inglorious bastards had existed. I’d probably have grown up with grandparents if they had.”

There’s entertainment and then there’s history. When you put them in the hands of someone like Tarantino you get entertaining history which most young people treat as historical documentaries. These people believe what they see, and why not? It looked realistic to me.

So I have to wonder: Are we placing our heritage in the right hands?

Although there were certainly many heroes during the Holocaust, both Jewish and Gentile, the catastrophic outcome of this madman’s dream led to millions dead, despite the heroic efforts of some.

When my Grandmother went to see “Life Is Beautiful” she really loved the movie, especially the way the barracks were so clean and the prisoner’s outfits well-ironed.

“If only the Camps were like that!” she lamented. “By the end of the War we were lined up in the snow totally naked for the ‘counting’, the final decider of who would live and who would die. Oh, I just wish the war was like the movies.”
 
As the years go by, more and more misinformation about the Holocaust blurs our understanding of the facts. Yes indeed, facts are sometimes stranger than fiction, but fiction can make mincemeat of facts.  Movies, as important as they are for documenting real life events, still have to add the spices of love, adventure, action, etc. to make their concoction palatable to their audiences. Right now, the Nazis are always the bad guys. But what if a wealthy Holocaust Denier (and there are wealthy ones) decides to make a movie showing how dedicated the Nazi soldiers and officers were to the Fatherland and how it was the Jews’ fault they were murdered? Sounds impossible? That’s what they said about the Holocaust in 1933.

When I went to Poland with my Grandmother who wanted to revisit Auschwitz, she showed me the hard, wood bed she and 11 other women slept in. She pointed to the spot where she last saw her Mother torn from her arms. She relived the terrifying memory of the cries and pleas of those gagging to death in the gas chambers.

We heard our guide explain about the conditions in the Camp, about the tortures, about the kapos, and the sadism of the Nazis. After the lecture and tour, my younger brother turned to me and said, “You know how the war ended, don’t you? Hitler killed himself.”

“Yeah, so the rumor has it,” I confirmed.

He nodded solemnly. “And do you know why he killed himself,” he asked me, daring me to know the answer, the answer he had learned in school, from a friend. “It was because the gas bill was too high. He couldn’t afford it.”

No, my little brother didn’t realize he was joking.

Or the time my young sister took a practical joke literally, and on Holocaust Day in school, publicly announced that Chihuahuas were the number one killer dogs during the Holocaust, responsible for the murder of many Jews. To this day she shakes uncontrollably whenever she sees a picture of Paris Hilton and her pocket sized dog in her purse.

As a child someone convinced me that Hitler was responsible for inventing cigarettes, in order to give Jews lung cancer.

It all boils down to whether we even want to know the facts. You can create as many Holocaust museums as you want, but if the crowds are all lined up to see a bunch of inglorious basterds destroy the Nazis single-handedly, then there may, God forbid, come a time when entertainment becomes a place of reality and the museums become a home for the discarded relics of the past, things like the sign above the Auschwitz Concentration camp.

And Chihuahuas will take the place of Doberman Pinchers.

And Hitler will have killed himself because he couldn’t “afford” to keep killing Jews.

And, darn, if only the Master Race hadn’t made those silly mistakes we’d all be demi-gods today.

It’s time to give the Holocaust a reality check… today.

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December 20, 2009 | 8:30 pm

BRITNEY MURPHY DIES…. BY ACCIDENT?

Posted by Tiferet Peterseil

I heard about it a little after midnight, Sunday Night. I was catching up on the daily online news, when one of the Israeli sites I normally visit, reported the tragedy: Britney Murphy had passed away a few hours ago from cardiac arrest, in Los Angeles.

My first thought is, this is Israel, what do we know? And immediately I set out to get the “real” news, from news sites across the globe. To my surprise, almost every online newspaper was reporting the same; the young actress died this morning after apparently going into cardiac arrest in the shower. She was 32.

I still can’t wrap my mind around it. How does someone so young go into cardiac arrest out of the blue? While I’m still trying to get over the shock, I’m even more surprised when I start scrolling down the “comments” random readers have posted, in response to the articles.

The news of the Murphy’s death is still “hot off the press” and already the rumors have begun. Although many do express their sorrow, most readers seem busy lambasting the mysterious circumstances of the young actresses’ death.

“Well what do you expect, eating a cucumber for breakfast lunch and dinner will do that to you,” one ‘fan” comments. Another adds, “so do drugs.”

In fact, hundreds of people seemed to have the time to post their thoughts on the speculated drug addiction, to the rumored Bulimia Murphy may have had.

Why is everyone awake now? I wonder, and doesn’t anyone have anything better to do than badmouth a young actress who has barely crossed over to the other side yet??

But I suppose that when bad things happen in America, we still feel it strongly in Israel. And when bad things happen to famous people, it strikes a cord with any average Joe.

A few days ago a friend of mine was trying to discourage me from continuing my acting career.

“Tiferet,” he had said. “Don’t you see how it always ends? The higher you climb, the bigger the fall. Don’t you see how all the big stars end up?”

I tried to argue that “making it big” did not necessarily mean “making it bad”. But it was a hard point to argue after he brought in the examples of Tiger Woods’ infidelity, Heath Ledgers mysterious death, Lindsay Lohans’ eating disorders as well as the many actors who continue to fight a drug addiction, if they haven’t already Over-Dosed. Even in Israel, many of my actor friend grapple with the challenges of “making it to the top”, and others simple can’t handle the pressure at the summit, and crack.

Is the price of Success worth it? Does it always have to end with Divorce, or Rehab or mysterious deaths? Are the Rich and Famous doomed?

I don’t’ know how Britney Murphy died. But I know she was much too young. By any standard.

I’d like to think her death has nothing to do with all these rumors. That her early stardom was not the obstacle of her mortality. That no one is untouchable, including celebrities. Simple tragedies happen to them too, and that’s all there is to it. I’d like to think that all the vicious rumors revolving around Murphys death have no basis and are nothing more than a tabloid stunt to sell more papers.

I’d like to think we lost a wonderful actress, but there was nothing anyone could have done to stop it. Who could predict cardiac arrest? She could never have seen it coming.

Or so I’d like to think…. So I think tomorrow, I just won’t buy the morning paper….

Other Posts by HOLLYWOOD EAST that may interest you:
LOOK WHO’S ON FACEBOOK!
2012—IT CAN’T ALWAYS BE WORSE
HOLOCAUST SIGN FOUND—STILL TOO SOON TO CELEBRATE
Follow HOLLYWOOD EAST on Twitter!

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December 17, 2009 | 4:44 pm

I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE HANUKKAH

Posted by Tiferet Peterseil

I’ll never forget my first Hanukkah in Los Angeles. It was beautiful. All the colorful lights, the festive atmosphere, people rushing to buy last-minute gifts, the backed-up, gridlock traffic – it all reminded me of Hanukkah in Israel.

Although I still have to wonder—Did anyone burn down a Christmas tree this year?

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December 10, 2009 | 9:07 pm

HANUKKAH—Let’s CALL the whole thing off!!

Posted by Tiferet Peterseil

In acting school, you learn all sorts of techniques. But nothing really prepared me for the phone call I was about to make. Determined to get an audition that was supposedly “closed to the public”, I saw no choice but to call the producer and convince him it was worth his while to invite me to audition. I had to make this call before the Hanukkah vacation rush when he might go on vacation.

Al Hanisim…

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December 8, 2009 | 1:39 pm

“2012” - IT CAN’T ALWAYS BE WORSE!

Posted by Tiferet Peterseil

http://2012-movie-trailer.blogspot.com

“When an estimated 16,500 delegates, activists and reporters descend upon Copenhagen Monday for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, a lot of hot air will follow.

The U.N. estimates that the 12-day conference will create 40,584 tons of carbon dioxide roughly equivalent to the carbon emissions of Morocco in 2006.” (By Michelle Malkin, www.michellemalkin.com)

It all started at about midnight, when I found myself “sleepless in Tel-Aviv”. I’d had a rough day, but it didn’t help much when I tried to wind down reading the news on the Internet.

“The largest and most important U.N. climate change conference in history opened Monday, with organizers warning diplomats from 192 nations that this could be the best, last chance for a deal to protect the world from calamitous global warming.” (www.chron.com, article by Arthur Max.)

I grip the sides of my seat, as the suspense rises while nations from different countries attempt to “buy” their way to safety from the apocalyptic predicaments.

“The poorest nations in the world – such as Pacific Island states, low-lying Asian countries and African nations – say they are the least responsible for the legacy of greenhouse gas emissions but will be the hardest hit. Rising sea-levels, temperature increases, and more droughts and floods are among their concerns. (www.news.com, article by Graham Readfearn.)

We’re at the point in the film where delegates from each country need to express their moral opinion, and a vote is being taken to reach a final decision.

“Yesterday, Netanyahu’s headquarters already announced that the Prime minister was considering canceling his flight due to costly hotel expenses.”
(Ma’ariv newspaper, article by Aviv Lavi.)

In fact, throughout the movie many countries and religions are given their “15 minutes of fame”, including a whole scene dominated by the head of an Arab nation. Yet, aside from a two second image of Chareidi Jews praying, Israel is not even mentioned. But I wonder if that is just the usual “Israel exclusion”, or whether our prime-minister simply decided there were no cheap hotels in the area.

“But the most fun is always had by the great and good, the most highly esteemed and wisest members of our society:  the Hollywood movie stars!....  First there’s Oprah and her Gulfstream IV (it holds 13 people!).  And Al Gore.  And Paris Hilton. And Bob Geldorf.  And Jennifer Aniston.  There are hundreds more… there is something a bit bizarre in these people having permission to preach to others what they don’t do themselves.” (www.humanevents.com, article by Terry Easton)

On que, the skies open and a downpour soaks us. We give each other knowing glances –

“CoP-15, the official term for the Copenhagen meeting, The 15th Conference of Parties, to negotiate a new global climate treaty to replace or extend the 1997 Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012.” (www.livemint.com, article by Samar Halarnkar)

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