February 8, 2013 | 12:31 pm

One Israeli Creation for the Weekend

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

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Guy Rotem is a 23 years old musician, on the verge of his big breakthrough. He writes his own songs, and accompanies his voice with percussion. I came across his music while wandering around the virtual halls of YouTube, and found it absolutely beautiful and soulful.

In a short interview to "Israelife", he said: "I've been listening to Turkish and Persian music since I was a newborn, and it became a big influence on the music I make. In about six months I am planning on leaving Israel and moving to Istanbul, Turkey. There, I plan to learn from the best of the best in the field and return to Israel with new, interesting music."

Ruchot Karot (Cold winds)

 

Ale BaShalechet (A leafe in the fall)

February 6, 2013 | 11:13 am

Will we finally be visa-free?

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

"A bipartisan, bicameral group of congressmen has drafted legislation that would allow Israelis to visit the United States for 90 days without a visa."  These words opened an article in The Jerusalem Post a couple of weeks ago. You may read this and think to yourself "well, that's nice, but what is the big deal?"

Well, let me tell you something- this news  is AWESOME! It is the biggest deal since the moon landing! In case this legislation will be approved, it will change the most exhausting process Israelis go through (yes, more exhausting than the IDF recruitment day) - Issuing a visa to the U.S.

Anyone traveling on an Israeli passport needs a visa to enter the United States. This visa is required whether your visit lasts several months, or merely a weekend. There are several kinds of visas, from tourist to working to cultural exchange , every visit to the States. When landing, we must stand in a long, tiring  line and wait for a serious, sometimes frowning clerk who checks the dates on the visa, making sure it is not expired. An expired visa means one thing- a round trip back home. This visa can have a life that lasts from four months to ten years, depending on several criteria, some reasonable, and some rather random.

In my lifetime, I have issued four visas. The first two were tourist visas (b1), and they were issued for me, when I was a child. The second one expired when I was 19, and serving in the IDF. Then, I  was issued a third visa, a cultural exchange visa (J1) after my military service, when I was sent by the Jewish Agency as an Israeli delegate to a summer camp. This visa expired after four months (for the two months period of camp, and another two months of traveling). This visa was very easy to issue, because I was sent by an organization. The fourth visa was issued several months ago.

Up until then, I had no idea what a tiring process this is. How hard will I have to work in order to get a taste of Manhattan? Now that I know what it takes, I can tell you- it's not worth it! Well, not really, but it is, in fact , a very long procedure that treats us all as unentitled for the honor of visiting the U.S, until we prove ourselves to be worthy.

The first step is to schedule an appointment at the U.S Embassy in Tel-Aviv. It is done online, through the Embassy's website. A smart person will schedule an appointment as early in the morning as possible, in order to avoid experiencing the word "delay" like never before.  Prior to the day of the appointment, there is a form we need to fill  out online. It's called "DS-160 application" and it is one long son of a pigeon… It is filled with countless questions that dig into every single aspect of your life, demanding to know every step you've ever made and your intentions for the future.

In this form, you need to give exact information (as much as possible) about your next planned visit (with whom you intend to travel, for how long, what are your plans, what is the exact address you'll stay in, etc.…); give your travel history to the States (which is quite a long list in my case); give information about your relationship status; describe your professional history and give full information about your current occupation; disqualify any criminal history or criminal intentions, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. It takes several hours to fill out, and usually requires several recesses. The problem is, the webpage expires after 30 minutes or so, and it can be quite disappointing if you forgot to save your progress. Oops.

The next step is the interview itself. This is one of the most nerve- wracking day in a visa-aspiring Israeli's life, for this is the big judgment day. This day can either end with a big smile, or with a session of screaming into a pillow. It all depends on your personal evaluation, made by one American clerk, which will determine whether you are worthy of having a visa.

You might think I sound over-dramatic, but this is the exact feeling you get from the moment you enter the Embassy. The first step is a security check. Because you obviously did not schedule your appointment to earlier than 8am because you mistakenly thought a good night's sleep is priceless, it will take about an hour for you to actually enter the building, due to a very long line. It is forbidden to enter the building with purses, backpacks or cell phones. All you can and must carry with are the printed DS-160 form, ID, passport, scheduled interview authorization and two passport pictures (where you cannot wear glasses, hat or earrings, and it is forbidden to smile).

Once you're in, there are three stations you go through. The first one is Fingerprint verification. During this stage, your fingerprints are being verified. This one is a bit stressing, because you cannot help but feeling you are a soon-to-be-convicted criminal, but it doesn't take so long. The second station, which is the most serious, nerve-wrecking part, is the interview with an American consular officer.  Most consular officers speak Hebrew, as well as some other languages such as Russian, Arabic, Spanish, but if your English is fluent, the interview will be in English.

In the interview, the consular officer asks you questions to determine your reasons for traveling to the United States. He or she will ask many questions similar to the ones on the DS-160, when your main goal is to prove that you have no intentions that are more than the ones you state (if you are travelling as a tourist, you cannot plan to work there…)

The Officer may require that you provide more documents in order to make a decision about your qualifications for a visa. I, for once, was asked to provide a student ID (to prove that I am, in fact, a student), as well as a letter from my boss, proving that I am being occupied by a place of work that expects me back after my visit. Usually, when you are in your 20's (after you IDF service), have no job or you are not a University or a College student, and show no documents of a certain event in the States that you're invited to, your chances of getting a visa are pretty low. Why is that, you ask? Because at this stage of life, there are great chances that you will stay in the States and work illegally. Such chances, the Embassy is not willing to take…

After the interview, one of the three will happen:
1. The officer will announce that your visa was approved. You will skip back home and won't be able to take the smile off your face. I was lucky enough to experience this scenario.

2. The officer will tell you your visa application will be considered, or you will be requested to provide more information/documents.

3. Your visa will be denied, and you will not be able to try and apply for it again for at least six months and even that only in case there is a significant change in your    life (a job, higher education, marriage). This is one big bummer, especially if you already have your trip all planned out. This also means you won't be able to skip all your way back home, and you will probably crawl instead. This means you've wasted hundreds of Shekels and a lot of your precious time.

It took me a while to get there, but this is basically why legislation that would allow Israelis to visit the United States for 90 days without a visa is big, big news!

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February 4, 2013 | 12:01 pm

This week from Israel

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Supporting Olim entrepreneurs

When wanting to succeed in business, "connections" is the key word. Building networks of customers, bankers, supporters, etc., can be especially difficult when you're new in town. The Hive was created for that purpose exactly. It is a unique tech accelerator that provides help for new immigrants to Israel with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Read more here and here.
 

Elections on Yom Kippur?

September 14, 2013, was announced to be the national Election Day in Australia. This date, however, turned to be Yom Kippur, which means that the country's population of 110,000 Jews might have to decide whether to vote or to find an alternative arrangement for submitting their ballots. Opposition in the Australian government has shown objection to this decision.

Read more here.

Israeli Hotel tycoon to purchase 22 hotels in Germany

Israeli businessman and hotel tycoon, David Fattal, is the owner of many hotels in Israel. If you've ever visited Israel, especially Eilat or the Dead Sea, there is a big chance you stayed in one of his hotels. Now, Fattal may expand his business to Germany.
According to reports, Fattal is holding negotiations for acquisition of Holiday Inn hotels in Munich, Cologne.The deal is estimated at some €300 million (about $400 million) and will be funded by Fattal and financial partners.

Read more here.

PETA vs Iran

You've all probably heard on the Iranian monkey's voyage to space last Monday. The monkey was launched successfully, while held inside a research pod. According to Iran, both the pod and the monkey were recovered safely after the landing, however, PETA, the animal rights group, was not pleased...

Read more here.

 

Israelis and Palestinians reaching "aGREENment"

While politicians on both sides are trying, unsuccessfully, to reach an agreement, Israel and the PA have been reaching a "green agreement"- "agreenment.". Both sides have been cooperating extensively to preserve the environment of the entire landmass west of the Jordan River. Together, both sides are working on keeping water clean, expanding agricultural opportunities for farmers, and ensuring safe disposal of waste and trash.

Read more here.
 

 

TLV at its glory

Besides clubs, beaches, coffee shops and entertainment, Tel Aviv has a great historic value and many cultural sites and places to visit and see. Here is a beautiful article about our "city that never sleeps."

Read more here.
 

 

Austrian Opera in commemoration of International Holocaust Memorial Day

Last Friday, just several days before the International Holocaust Memorial Day, a new opera, depicting how the Nazis methodically killed mentally or physically deficient children at a Vienna hospital during World War II, premiered in Austria's Parliament. The opera, "Spiegelgrund," tells that horrible story, of nearly 800 children which were killed at Vienna's Spiegelgrund psychiatric ward at the time. At the legislators were joined in the audience by diplomats, Holocaust survivors, and former Spiegelgrund patients.

Read more here.

 

20th birthday to Vertigo
20 years ago, Noa Wertheim and Adi Sha’al established the Vertigo Dance Company. In this time, Vertigo has become an international movement, promoting beautiful, innovative dance performances. Their 20th "birthday" celebrations will begin with a new performance, Vertigo 20, which will be presented in theaters around the country in the coming weeks.

Read more here.
 

An Israeli hero in the Big Apple

Guy Preissler, an Israeli currently living in NYC, became the hero of the day after taking over the wheel of a bus when the driver suddenly lost consciousness, managing to bring the runaway vehicle to a halt without serious injuries to any passengers or passersby.

Read more here.
 

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February 1, 2013 | 11:41 am

10 years to the Columbia Disaster

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

February 1st, 2003, 16:30 pm. My family and I were all sitting in the car, on our way to visit long distance family members. This was supposed to be a big day: Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli Astronaut and an old family friend, was supposed to land at Cape Canaveral, along with six fellow Astronauts. Ilan Ramon's voyage to space was the most talked about topic in the Israeli media. We all followed Ilan and his family from the moment of the takeoff, through his videos from space, and the romantic song his wife dedicated to him from millions of miles away. We all saw him as a symbol of Israeli achievement. He was the one we all believed in, the one we were all united in admiring.

We all waited for February 1st, when Ramon would step out of the space shuttle, wave to the cheering crowd, hug his wife and kids, and return home a hero. Even while on the road, we did not want to miss the historic moment, and my father turned on the radio, where the landing was recorded and broadcast. I will never forget that moment when we realized something went wrong. I remember my mother starting to cry, and my father catching his breath. I remember me asking what happened, and slowly gaining the understanding that Ilan Ramon will not step outside of the shuttle, and won't be reunited with his family. I don't remember Ilan very well. I grew up with his son, Tal, as both families lived in a family-residence next to an Air Force base. Both our dads were officers in the Air Force, and worked together. Tal and I were good friends in kindergarten, and our ways separated when my family and I moved back to the city when I was six. A few years later, I remember my dad asking me if I remember Tal's father, and saying that he might become an astronaut. Since space was my main interest at that time, my dad said that maybe someday I could meet with Ilan and he would tell me all about space. In the meantime, the Ramon’s moved to the States, and both families drifted apart. But even though I haven't spoken to Tal in years, when Columbia had left the atmosphere, I bragged to the entire school that it is the father of one of my closest childhood friends up there…

When Ilan Ramon boarded the Columbia, he had become an Israeli hero, a symbol of success beyond imagination, a realization of a dream. February 1st, 2003, was meant to become an historic day for the state of Israel. That day was meant to be written as the day when Israel stepped out of its borders and left a mark on the world's history. That day did become an historic day, but one we would rather we could erase. In that moment when the countdown ended, and the clock started counting back up, that day turned from a day of excitement into a day of grief.

It's been ten years now, and Ilan Ramon's smile is still in our hearts. Ramon, and the six other astronauts that assembled the Columbia team are all heroes. They will always be a symbol of achievement beyond any imagination, a symbol of national and worldwide pride, and an inspiration. May they all rest in peace.

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