December 26, 2012 | 11:18 am

All about my IDF (part two)

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

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I've wanted to tell you about my military service for a while now, but I never knew exactly what I want to say. However, since foreign media take a very negative, false approach towards the IDF, and more and more false accusations pop up every day, I feel I can't wait any longer and will tell you what the IDF is really like through my personal story.

(This is the second part of this story. Read the first part here.) 

As you all probably know, we all must recruit when we graduate high-school ( There are no colleges in Israel, and we each start higher education studies in universities when we finish our service.) Of course there are exceptions, and people with certain physical and mental issues are being released from their service. Same goes for religious people who choose not to serve (an issue I've spoken against many times before). Those who do recruit, serve a mandatory service for two or three years. Usually girls serve two and guys three, but girls in combat or other special units also serve for three years. Once you are done with your mandatory service, you usually have the option to stay and serve extra time, either by going to officers' training course or by staying in your position (and maybe advance later on) without becoming an officer.

In the 11th grade, we go through a special "screening day" in the IDF's recruitment center. During this day we go through physical and mental tests and also answer questions in math and language. This day is meant for the army to try and find the recommended course for each one. After that, most people go through more tests and interviews for several courses and parts in the next year or two. Some parts are unique and require special skills, some are not, but all parts are important. As they told us on the first day of boot camp: take out the smallest screw and the whole building collapses.

I was lucky to get the part I got, and was blessed with new skills and amazing environment.  I think that what I loved the most about what I did and the place I served in was that my opinion always mattered. My commander listened to what I said and took my notes seriously. This made me feel I was there for a reason, and that even the lowest-ranked soldier can contribute to an important process. This is not something to be taken for granted, and definitely not something that comes to mind when you hear the word "military." Some of my friends did experience the military you have in your mind, but I wasn't the only one who had a slightly different experience. I had a friend who experienced the "other side" while serving as a commander. Another served on the national radio station broadcast by soldiers and officers. I also had a friend who was a photographer for the IDF's spokesperson and another was a singer in one of the IDF's singing groups in charge of the soldiers' morale. There is a variety of roles in the IDF. You can be a scientist or a secretary or an investigator of small crimes committed by soldiers. And I believe that in spite of the perception some have of the service as a punishment, it can contribute a large part to one's resume', and reveal new skills and interests. Some even make a career out of their unique service.  But the one thing that relies to all of us- is how our IDF service made us much more mature and responsible, even later on in our lives.

Another thing I can tell you about the IDF is that some services are life-changing. Mine, as great as it was, wasn't quite life- changing. But a friend of mine surely had a service as such. She was a bit shy in school, didn't have much confidence and always came in last in Physical Ed classes.  Then, in her recruitment note she received a message that took her by surprise: she is going to become a commander for rookies in boot-camp. After six months of rough training, she served away from home, and for two years, became a role model for young, fresh soldiers. She became a confident person, who is not afraid to say what's on her mind, and is willing to raise her voice when needed. But most importantly, she touched lives like she never imagined before, and even now, two years later, people turn to her on the street and say: "you were my commander in boot-camp. Thank you for what you did for me." What started as a nightmare of a service for her, turned into something she'll never forget and as I am certain, will open doors for her in the future.

I hope I managed to show not everything about the IDF is fighting, and nothing is haunting down the weak. I know you might feel a bit confused, because of the contradiction of the information I just gave you and what you see on the news. But I do hope you take some of this with you, and remember it the next time you or one of your friends are about to jump to a conclusion. I wrote here everything I could think of regarding my IDF experience, but probably missed a lot.

 

You are more than welcome to ask me anything, here, via E-mail (noga.gurarieh@gmail.com) or on Israelife's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jewishjournalisraelife

December 24, 2012 | 11:30 am

This week from Israel

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, IDF Former Chief of Staff, Dies at 68

Former Israel Defense Force Chief of Staff, Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, died this Thursday after a long battle with cancer, at age 68. He was a significant figure in Israeli history, and will be remembered as a kind, one of a kind person.

"I remember that day when he called me and told me about his illness, after he found out that one of the newspapers was going to publish it as a scoop," recalled Benayahu. "I think he beat the illness and not the other way around. It played hide and seek with him and he was able to avoid it for more than 20 years. And I think he left a great legacy behind."

Read more here.

 

Tziporela in English

After making hundreds of thousands of Israelis laugh until their stomachs hurt, the independent comedic ensemble Tziporela will now be performing in English as well! This award winning ensemble has been performing for eight years, with acts that feature situations from daily life, with an added serving of nonsense.

Read more here. 

 

Israeli-Developed Breast Cancer Treatment

A new form of treatment, developed by the Israeli company IceCure Medical, will provide doctors with a new, non-surgical way to treat breast cancer patients. This will be made possible through a technique that freezes the tumors, thereby destroying them.

Read more here. 

 

Israelis and Spare Time- What Do We Do With It?

It turns out that Israelis do not, in fact, spend our days sitting at home thinking about war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Don't believe me? Take a look at the new survey released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.
Read more here. 

 

Yay! Rain!

Wish you were here this weekend! My hometown, Raanana, looked like Venice with all that rain, and my car was practically swimming on the road. But the best part of this wet weekend was sitting in front of the television, covered in a blanket, with the rain pouring outside. Blessed rain, indeed.
Read more here. 

 

Shahar Peer, National Champion

In a tennis match this Friday, Peer defeated Julia Glushko, winning back the national champion title. She now hopes to climb back up the world ranking, where she had dropped from 11th to the 74th place.
Read more here. 

 

Israeli delegation to New Delhi advances urban water collaboration

Last February, Jerusalem had signed an agreement with New-Delhi to cooperate in an urban water management project. Last week, an Israeli delegation of expertise arrived in New-Delhi in order to further collaboration.
Read more here. 

 

Have you seen the highlights of Tel-Aviv's fashion week?

Check them out here!

 

Model UN Style

Check out the Israeli Model UN parody of “Gangnam Style”!

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December 21, 2012 | 1:10 pm

One Israeli Creation for the Weekend

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

This weekend, I invite you to enjoy the music of Uzi Hitman: singer, sonwriter and an Israeli television personality. Hitman's music is a milestone in Israeli culture. With his music, Hitman raised a generation of children, including myself, and touched the hearts of many adults. Even now, 37 years after the beginning of his career, and almost 9 years after his sudden death, his music continues to take a big part our lives.

His career began in 1976, when he composed a popular melody for Adon Olam, and his popularity grew mostly during the 1980s and 1990s. Overall, he composed and wrote over 650 songs. His most famous songs include Noladati Lashalom (I Was Born for Peace), Ratziti Sheteda (I Wanted You to Know), Todah (Thank you), Mi Yada' Sh'kach Yihiye (Who Knew It Would Be Like This) and Kan (Here), which reached 3rd place in the 1991 Eurovision Singing Contest. Hitman also stared in the children's shows: Parpar Nehmad, Hopa Hey, and Shirim Ktanim, for which he also composed the music. In 2004, at the age of 52, he died after having a heart attack. His death took many by surprise, but even though he is no longer here to create and perform, his spirit will always continue to live through his amazing songs.

Hitman is one of my favorite musicians, and has been my one and only favorite back when I was an infant. My parents always remind me of how I would sit every day in front of the television screen, watching one of his tapes, and "singing with Uzi."

Toda (Thank you)

 

Shirei Yaldoot (Childhood Songs))- from the children's tape: "Shirim Ktanim"

 

Ratziti She'Teda (I wanted you to know)

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December 18, 2012 | 12:39 pm

An outsider’s viewpoint on the Sandy Hook shooting

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

First and foremost, I would like to say that my heart goes to the victim's family and friends. This is a terrible loss of innocent people whose only crime was to go to school. Here, in Israel, the story reached the first pages of the newspapers, and shock stroke us all. In the name of all of Israel, I would like to embrace the families who lost their dearests. Nothing we will say or do can bring them back, and I can only hope justice will be served to its fullest.

Secondly, I would like to point out that this post contains a certain amount of criticism. I am fully aware of the fact that I am an outside viewer, and therefore, do not possess all the information regarding the subject. As an Israeli, I receive a lot of criticism from people who think they know everything, but they actually don't. Experiences of such taught me to never assume I know better than the people who experience situation first hand. With that being said, I have a lot to say about the recent events in the States, with the information I currently have, by using my point of view as an outside viewer. I am not trying to make decisions for you, and I am not claiming I must be right- I am only trying to show you my point of view.

"The term "school shooting" is most commonly used to describe acts committed by a student or intruders upon the school campus. They are to be distinguished from crowd-containment shootings by law-enforcement personnel, such as the shootings at South Carolina State, Kent State and Jackson State universities in the United States…"

This quote from Wikipedia tells me much more than a definition of a phrase. It is, to me, a story of a terrible, sad reality, and a wrong perspective on life. It tells the story of Americans who already take brutal attacks of such as a solid fact that cannot be changed. It tells the story of Americans who cry every year for yet another victim. But the most awful part is that it tells the story of Americans who instead of preventing the next time, starting to think how short life is, and wishing it won't be them the next time.

Chardon High School, Chardon, Ohio- three dead; Banks County High school, Homer, Georgia- one dead; Stillwater Junior High School,  Stillwater, Oklahoma- one dead; Casper College, Casper, Wyoming- three dead;  Sandy Hook Elementary,  Connecticut- 28 dead. These are only the school shootings that occurred this year alone. Overall, in the history of the United States, there were reportedly, 136 school shootings. Most of them, if not all, were by Americans with certain mental issues (after all, no normal person would be able to commit murder) that had a gun in reach, which was held by themselves or by their family members, legally.  As I'm sure you all know, thanks to the Second Amendment, every American has the right to keep and bear arms.

In a way, it is very important that every person would have the right to defend oneself. I also understand why it is so hard to change the law now, almost 250 years after it was adopted. Every single time a disaster like this happens, and innocent people are brutally killed for no reason, the discussion regarding the Second Amendment rises, over and over again. Every single time, Republican Presidents, as well as Democrats Presidents, do nothing on that matter. They are scared of the consequences of the suggestion to limit the right to carry a weapon, because it might be interpreted as a limitation of one's freedom of protection. Instead, they shed a tear, say how much they now appreciate life, and basically wait for the next time some complicated and confused teenager will take his mother's gun and unleash his rage.

I admit it's not that simple. The Second Amendment is a symbol of freedom and democracy, which are two values that shape the United States of America. People want to feel safe, and they don't need any limitations when wanting to purchase a gun for protection. But now, I would like you to give another thought about the last couple of sentences. Can children in schools feel safe, when almost every year students lose their lives because of someone's right to protect oneself?  And for those who say that if the teachers would also carry a weapon, things like that wouldn't happen- think again! Let's say the teacher carries a gun in her purse, unless she is on guard at all times, and is an excellent sniper, she would never be able to protect her children from a surprise mad visitor at school.

The main function of weapons such as hand guns or rifles is offense, not defense. The fact that anyone can carry a weapon of such means that no one can ever feel safe. It does not mean the contrary. In the past couple of days, I've been reading many of my friends' Facebook statuses, talking about their renewed appreciation of life, because they now understand how suddenly it can end. I've read these statuses before. It was right after the shooting at the Batman premier in Colorado. It is almost as if you already know for sure there will be a next time. You are right; there will be a next time. History shows that. 

When I look at this reality from a distant viewer's point of view, I see a sort of helplessness. I see people who have already came to a complete understanding that this is just the way things are. It seems to me as if you look at these horrible murders as a solid fact that cannot be changed. You cry and ache every single time, but you are weak to the power of the law. It happens not only in the States, but all over the world. People start thinking of  things that must be changed as unchangeable, and it must stop. We must stop. I, personally, find it quite unbelievable that no President so far has taken the first step in truly protecting his citizens from becoming a part of the School Shooting statistics. Obama should  more than promise a change, he must make that change.He must truly try to prevent the next time from happening.

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December 17, 2012 | 12:01 pm

This week from Israel

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Local Testimony- 2012

The 2012 World Press Photo exhibition opened last week at Tel Aviv’s Eretz Israel Museum. The traveling international exhibition is accompanied by the thrilling Israeli Local Testimony exhibition, presenting the best of Israeli photojournalism. Dozens of photographers from Israel and abroad are participating in both exhibits, presenting a sequence of events in selected pictures from the past year on topics related to war and peace, politics and society, culture and art, nature and the environment, sports, portraits, multimedia presentations, etc.
The photos presented in Local Testimony shows various points of view of the Israeli being. Take a look at some of the photos here

Israeli students are now ranked 7th in Math

The findings of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) for 2011 indicate a rise in the achievements of Israeli pupils. According to the TIMSS, which examined the level of eighth graders in math and sciences, Israeli students scored 516 points in math, well above the 467 point average, and 516 in science, above the 477 point average.
Read more here.

 

New British Tech Ambassador to Israel

UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced this past Tuesday the appointment of Saul Klein, as the UK's tech envoy to Israel, as a part of the UK-Israel Tech Hub. The Tech Hub was launched in October 2011. It is tasked with promoting economic growth and innovation in the UK and Israel, by creating a partnership in the field of technology. Klein will lead the UK tech mission to Israel and will also bring Israeli start-ups to Britain.
Read more here.

 

The 9th Israel Conference: Global Mobile & More

Last week, the 9th Israel Conference: Global Mobile & More took place in NewYork and in Philadelphia. The Conference afforded leading industry professionals, investors, customers, integrators and strategic partners an opportunity to meet with Israeli mobility companies. It was hosted by Greenberg Traurig LLP, in conjunction with the Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, and the Israel Economic Mission, with the support of Mobile Monday Midatlantic.
Read more here.

 

On our way to the Academy Awards…

Two Israeli documentaries have been included on the shortlist of 15 films eligible for consideration for an Academy Award nomination for best documentary film. From this shortlist, only five films will be selected for the nomination for Best Documentary Feature in the Academy Awards ceremony which will take place on February 24, 2013. The two Israeli magnificent (and somewhat controversial) documentaries are Dror Moreh's The Gatekeepers, and  Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi's 5 Broken Cameras
Read more here. 

 

Israeli playwright Anat Gov succumbs to cancer at age 59

Gov chose to not undergo any treatments, and fought the deadly disease with humor. Gov is one of the most appreciated Israeli playwrights, and she stands behind many  Israeli cultural milestones. Her creations usually revolved powerful, cynical women, and some of them contained many taboo topics. Her latest creation, the musical-play: "Happy ending", told the story of women fighting cancer with humor. It was based on her own experiences, and won many theater awards. In an interview she once said: "Humor is the best remedy, more than any scientific medicine. And it is free." At her request, the song "Always Look at the Bright Side of Life" was played as she was lead to eternal rest.

Read more here.

E-1 Settlements plan causes boycott of Eilat Music Festival

Netanyahu's reaction to the Palestinian resolution at the U.N General Assembly, caused some radical reactions from State leaders in Europe. But as it turns out, the world of music also suffered from the consequences.

Read More here.

 

 

Eye2Israel Flash Mob

Check out the Eye2Israel students in a flash mob video shot at the Zichron Ya'akov Pedestrian Mall ("Midrachov"), during the 2012 Hanukkah Seminar.

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December 14, 2012 | 1:37 pm

One Israeli Creation for the Weekend

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

This weekend, I would like to introduce you to Israel's most international musician- Idan Raichel. He is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his Idan Raichel Project. The members of the project are 70 Israeli musicians from a wide variety of backgrounds, including Ethiopian Jews, Arabs, traditional Yemenite vocalists, a  percussionist from Suriname and a South African singer, among others. Led by Raichel, they create and perform with traditional Hebrew texts, and Middle Eastern and Ethiopian music.

The Idan Raichel Project made a major change in Israeli music, when they first broke into the music industry in 2002, and since then earned the rank of one of the best musical groups in Israel. Besides making it locally, Idan is gradually making a name for himself abroad. In November 2006, a greatest hits album was launched to target an international audience. The Idan Raichel Project is a single CD album published by the record label Cumbancha and shipped outside Israel to an international audience for the first time. When on tour, the Idan Raichel Project perform in Israel, as well as in several states in Africa, Asia, America and Europe.

 

Todas las Palabras

 

Milim Yafot Me'ele' (Words more beautiful then these)

MiMaa'makim (From the depths)

 

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December 12, 2012 | 11:29 am

Two Israeli-Jewish projects you should know about

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

1. This year, as part of the international Holocaust Memorial Day commemorated on January 27th, a new song will be released too national radio stations in Israel. This song is a co-production of holocaust survivors and popular musicians in Israel. This initiative, called 'Insights' includes a production of a song, made entirely from Holocaust survivors' messages to the next generation.

The project was dreamed and organized by 22 year old Na'ama Winetraub, as a response to what she refers to as "indifference of the contemporary Jewish and Israeli generation to their grandparents' stories and insights from surviving the holocaust." Winetraub, born and raised in Israel, is herself a third generation to holocaust survivors. She is a B.A student in brain research, and works as a personal trainer. The idea for the project came to her mind during summer break, and since then, she has been working on this project in her spare time, and on a completely voluntary basis. "The kick off wasn't easy at all," says Winetraub, " I am not well acquainted with the Israeli music scene and what was simple and obvious to studio and production personnel, was completely new and unfamiliar to me. Finding survivors who would be willing to collaborate, was also quite a challenge. I got lucky when two of my trainees, Tal Segev and Ohad Ben-Avi, who come from the local music scene, decided to join me, also voluntarily."

If you too, know any holocaust survivors who would be interested in telling their story, Winetraub and her crew would love to receive their name and contact info, as well as 3-4 sentences with the insights they wish to share with future generations.

Even though the musicians and crew work pro-bono, the studio hours where the song is being composed and recorded, cost money, and the crew would like your help: tellers and donors who are willing to support this initiative may contact Naama at: insightsproject.shy@gmail.com

 

 

2. Season two of The Israeli Film Festival on Public Television is on its way to national television in the US! All that's needed are your donations! The Israeli Film Festival on Public Television is a cultural documentary series, which serves as a cultural bridge between Israelis and Americans. The documentaries show Israelis of all backgrounds living their daily lives, as well as the very beautiful sides of Israel. What makes those Israeli documentaries special is that unlike many, they don't focus on any of the Israeli political conflicts.

Season one of the Israeli Film Festival on Public Television was a test run. The series featured three documentaries made by Duki Dror: My Fantasia, Raging Dove and The Journey of Vaan Nguyen. The films were released to all PBS stations in August 2010 and to date the films have aired 508 times on 68 stations in 42 markets covering 36% of U.S. Designated Markets including 52% of the Top 25 markets. These airings have garnered at least 2.5 million viewers. The majority of airings are in prime time and late fringe prime. These stats will continue to climb as the stations have the broadcast rights for one more year. The funding for the first season came from a grant from the Israel Film Fund of the Manhattan JCC and from personal investments of funding and labor from Cynthia Zeiden and Duki Dror.

Season Two will include thirteen, hour-long documentaries produced and directed by various Israeli Filmmakers. They will be offered through a national public television distributor and fed by satellite to all PBS stations in the United States. Each documentary will be given a three year broadcast rights period and PBS stations will be able to air them an unlimited number of times within that period. The series has an informational website with trailers for each film and local airdate information.

The goal of the project is to have the documentaries air on as many PBS stations as possible as many times as possible to gain the maximum number of viewers. In order for the creators of the project to have it aired, they need to raise 180,000$. This includes paying license fees to the producers of the documentaries, editing and formatting each for United States television broadcasts, closed captioning, satellite feed fees, public television promotional event, marketing materials and DVD mailing, a series website and the labor of the personnel to implement the project. Once all of the preparations are made, the duration of this project is three years. For further information and donation pledges, go here

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December 10, 2012 | 12:30 am

This week from Israel

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

* When Osher Grencel found out she was pregnant, she decided she wanted to remember every little bit of the process of her becoming a mother for the first time. Her husband, Tomer, had the most original idea. He decided to use his editing, writing and directing skills to create an original memoire of the nine month long process. He took 1000 pictures of his wife which he edited and uploaded. In the video description Tomer writes, "it was nine months of a growing belly and one month of video editing".  The original stop-motion video soon became a hit in Israel and abroad. The video received massive exposure and was talked about in many newspapers and websites in Europe and in the States and the couple will even soon be hosted in Good Morning America. On their website, the couple continues uploading funny photos of their newborn.

* Canadian singer and songwriter Alanis Morissette, which I'm sure you all know, performed in Israel last Monday. The concert, which took place in the Nokia Arena in Tel-Aviv, was Morissette's second performance in Israel. She last visited in 2000, in the highlight of her musical career, and now, much like back then, she wowed the audience with an electrifying performance. Her arrival in Israel wasn't a simple matter. Prior to her landing in Israel, she received threats on her, and her son’s life from anti-Israeli organization which called on her to cancel her performance. Instead of giving in to them, like many others have done before, Morissette landed on Saturday and toured the country for a couple of days prior to her concert. She visited the Western Wall, worked on her tan at one of Tel-Aviv's beaches (yes, our December is quite sunny…) and hung out with her husband and son.

* While German Chancellor Angela Merkel disagrees with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on the question of settlements, she still agrees with Israel on one of the most important issues: Neo-Nazism. Last Wednesday, Germany's government started the process of legally banning the 6,300-member Neo-Nazi political party, NPD.. This historical move will be officially approved in a week's time, after the German authorities manage to collect enough intelligence and legal information to make NPD illegal. The official reason for this decision is that this party believes in values such as racism, violence and anti-Semitism, which contradicts the German constitution. What prompted the need for such action was last year's revelation of a Neo- Nazi terror cell, which worked for years right under the authorities' noses. The members of this terror cell murdered nine immigrants and a German cop, and were later discovered to be connected to the NPD.

* According to Dr. E. Williams Colglazier, science and technology adviser to the US secretary of state, "Israel is a world leader and a model not only for small countries but for all countries." Colglazier said those words at The Chief Scientist’s Annual Conference for Research and Development, held at Airport City, as he addressed Israel's achievements in the translation of innovative success into development. Other entrepreneurs from around the world, who were present at the conference, agreed that when it comes to innovation, Israel is a role model.  Colglazier also said that in the era of globalization, there is potential for rapid economic growth and to achieve this, governments need to invest in science education. Colgazier also added that Israel  has managed to create an "innovation ecosystem" by providing more research and development opportunities for scientists, sometimes even through joint programs with the U.S.

* On December 1st, the Junior Eurovision contest took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands, which allows children from all over Europe to participate. The Junior Eurovision operates in a similar way to the official annual Eurovision song contest, where each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and radio and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular one in the competition. While Israel has participated in the official contest since 1973, and has won three times,, this year was the first time that an Israeli delegation was invited to take part in the Junior Eurovision.. The Israeli delegation, starring six junior singers, ages 10-14, performed a song named "Let the Music Win," and came in 8th place.

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