May 31, 2013 | 12:53 pm

One Israeli Creation for the Weekend

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

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Refaeli/ Wikipedia.

Bar Refaeli (26) is an international model, often referred to as the most beautiful Israeli creations nowadays. Refaeli's modeling career started at the age of 8 months, when baby Bar starred in a commercial. At the age of 15, she appeared in campaigns for the Israeli fashion brands Castro and Pilpel, and also starred in several commercials on television.

Throughout her career, she starred in many fashion campaigns for Israeli brands and companies, and also acted a little bit, but what got her the status of an Israeli symbol is her success abroad. Refaeli appeared on the covers of Elle (France), Maxim and GQ (Italy) magazines , and in 2007, appeared in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and she was the covermodel of the 2009 issue. This made her the first Israeli model to appear in the magazine.  In 2008, Refaeli became the presenter of the clothing line Hurley, and of Diddy's cologne, "I am King." In 2009, she became the spokesperson of Garnier International  and these are just the top of the iceberg of her busy career. Besides her modeling career, Refaeli was also known for being Leonardo DiCaprio's girlfriend for some time, and recently, she was highly noticed during the  2013 Super Bowl, where she starred in the much talked about GoDaddy commercial. 

Even though she did not serve in the IDF (an issue that received a high dose of criticism here,) Refaeli is an international ambassador of Israel, being proud of her nationality, and promoting the beautiful place that we live in.

GoDaddy's commercial from the 2013 Super Bowl

On Letterman

Bar Posing for Sports Illustrated  With Rafael Nadal, Michael Phelps and Chris Pau

Bar starring in a campaign promoting Israeli creations

May 29, 2013 | 12:40 pm

Blood and hate are flooding Europe

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

"The people were so busy being captured by the "Israel is the enemy and the source of all our problems" illusion, that they missed the ticking time bomb that was right under their noses."

Muslim communities in Europe are not something new. Many people suffered in middle-eastern lands, went searching for a new home where there is freedom of speech and equal rights, and started to settle in various European countries.  With time, they became more and more noticed. It started with good intentions, when they claimed national recognition of their religious lifestyle, for example.  But with time, their numbers grew, and groups of extremists arose in their midst. Islamists, with fire in their eyes, stopped being grateful to their host countries that, by dint of kindness, did not expel them.  And the demands of Europe’s Islamists grew.

The citizens of those countries, however, did not notice the growing danger. Instead, they were blinded by propaganda, and willfully adopted the belief that Israel is, in fact, the problem. BDS actions and burning Israeli flags made us, Israelis, choose our European traveling destinations carefully, and even avoid certain countries that became well-known for their anti-Israeli agenda.  A few of the leaders of those countries condemned Israel on every international stage, but even those who did not, did not stand by our side very often. But what was far worse than declarations by world leaders were the actions taken by Europeans themselves. The people called for boycotting Israel, marched against us while smearing IDF soldiers as "killers," and burnt our national flag.

They didn't care about knowing the facts. They were caught up in the anti-Israeli atmosphere generated by parts of the Muslim communities in their midst, and that was enough.  Of course, I am not talking about all Europeans, but when the group of haters is big enough to be widely heard, it is a fair enough reason to believe that it is quite a massive group. And this massive group made it scary for me to return to London and Paris- places I loved to visit as a child. I want to go there, but the images of burning Israeli flags and people calling words of hate towards my country, my being, is something that's painful enough for me to see from the safe place in front of the television screen, not to mention in encountering in person.

The people were so busy being captured by the "Israel is the enemy and the source of all our problems" illusion, that they missed the ticking time bomb that was right under their noses. I don't know why or how it happened; perhaps it was because it was easier for them to focus their anger on a place far-far away instead of trying to look at their own neighborhoods. But the bottom line is that many Europeans have lost their lives, and it wasn't because of Israel.

In the past week alone, a British soldier was beheaded in London itself, a French soldier was stabbed in Paris, and Sweden was lit on fire.  These were all intentional acts of terrorism in the name of Islam. This series of attacks did not come out of the blue. There were warning signs along the way, but they were all missed, time and again. Last year, for example, there were the Toulouse and Montauban shootings, where French soldiers and people of the Jewish community were murdered.  And we all remember the 2005 London bombings, where 52 civilians were killed and more than 700 injured. All of the above were outcomes of escalating Islamic extremism, and it was no secret. But for some reason, the voice that continues to rise from Europe is the anti-Israeli one…

Now, side by side, European citizens are burning Israeli flags and calling IDF soldiers "killers", and Islamic extremists are filling Europe with terror. Unexplainable, unreasonable.  But, hopefully, changeable.

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May 27, 2013 | 12:34 pm

This week from Israel

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

King David's at the top!

The lifestyle magazine Robb Report, has selected the King David Hotel in Jerusalem and Hotel Montefiore in Tel Aviv as two of the world's top 100 hotels in the African and Middle East categories.  The King David hotel is one of the most prestigious hotels in Israel, and has hosted a respected list of world leaders and other famous figures, including former US Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jordan's late King Hussein, Britain's Prince Charles, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prince Felipe of Spain, as well as Irish musician Bono, British supermodel Naomi Campbell, American television personality Martha Stewart, British actor Roger Moore and many others.

Read more here.

US imams visited Auschwitz

The US envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC,) the US diplomatic envoy to combat anti-Semitism and a delegation of imams visited Poland this week, where they met with Jewish communities, the site of the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and other Holocaust historical sites.

Read more here.

First ever Israeli exhibition at the Louvre

The Lod mosaic, which was uncovered in an archeological excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority, is the first official Israeli exhibition to be displayed at the Louvre museum in France. The mosaic has been shown so far at five museums in the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It will be on display in the Cour du Sphinx (Sphinx Courtyard) in the Roman wing of the museum until August 19th.

Read more here. 

Suntech to develop solar projects in Israel and revive Israel's solar industry

Suntech announced that it would develop two large photovoltaic projects for the Israeli construction company Shikun Binui. This assumed to be 20 million dollar deal, would be one of biggest single deals in recent years in the Israeli solar industry. The solar panels will be supplied by Enerpoint Israel, a large distributor of Suntech products in Israel. The projects will generate up to 19.91 gigawatt/hours of electricity per year, replacing about 13,000 tons of coal.

Read more here.

Israeli director spins heads at Cannes Film Festival

Israeli director Ari Folman, has directed Robin Wright and Jon Hamm in a head-spinning part animated part live action film, The Congress. In the movie, Wright agrees to become a "scanned actor," a digital avatar owned by her studio. The digital Wright can be endlessly, agelessly used in new movies – the studio makes her "Agent Robin" in a sci-fi action series – while the flesh-and-blood person grows old in obscurity. Folman is the man behind the 2008 film,  "Waltz With Bashir," an Academy Award-nominated animated film about his experiences as a young Israeli soldier in Lebanon in the 1980s.

Read more here.

UK and Israel to continue scientific cooperation

Recently, there has been a growing call from citizens of Britain to boycott Israel. More and more people are joining BDS groups, and put the British government under a lot of pressure. But In spite of these attempts to destroy Israel, Britain and Israel have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand their scientific cooperation.  It was signed in Jerusalem on Thursday by Science, Technology and Space Minister Yaakov Peri and British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Read more here.

An Israeli program to improve lives of children of AIDS patients

A program developed by the Israeli prize-winning Prof. Pnina Klein, Director of Bar-Ilan University's Edward I. and Fannie Baker Center for the Study of Development Disorders in Infants and Young Children, can give children of AIDS patients, and infants or toddlers with AIDS, a better shot at prosperity by improving their early-childhood development.

Read more here.

Anonymous just won't face a defeat

The massive cyber-attack by Anonymous, aimed to "erase" Israel from the internet, failed to cause any serious danger. The April operation, named #OpIsrael, was blocked by Israeli hackers, who managed to make this whole thing practically harmless. A month later, a similar attack, this time aimed for the US, also failed, due to cooperation between Israeli and American hackers. On Saturday, a second round of hack attacks against Israeli sites, “OpIsrael Reloaded,” started. Once again, they failed. Why won't they just give up?

Read more here.

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May 24, 2013 | 12:20 pm

One Israeli Creation for the Weekend

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Sarit Hadad/ Wikipedia.

Sarit Hadad is one of Israel's most successful singers, known by her out of this world voice. Recognized as a child prodigy, Hadad began performing at the age of eight, while playing the piano at a local club. At the age of 15, she joined the a local Youth Band, and was officially "discovered" at the age of 16, by Avi Gueta. Who is her manager up to this day.

In 2002, Hadad was chosen to represent Israel in the Eurovision singing contest. On December 2006, Hadad drew crowds in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles with her "Sing with Sarit" tour. On July 2007, Madonna revealed that she is a fan of Hadad, and enjoys listening to her music. In 2012, she became a "mentor" on the Israeli version of The Voice.

Hadad's career as a  singer has been highly successful, with many of her songs topping the Israeli charts. She is only 34, but already recorded 21 albums, some earned the titles of Gold and Platinum records. While most of her songs are in Hebrew, some are in English and in Arabic.  What makes her special, in my eyes, is the beautiful combination she makes of pop music and oriental sounds. Moreover, her voice as an impressive range, which enables her to touch hearts simply by opening her mouth.

Hagiga (Celebration)

Light a Candle (from the 2002 Eurovision singing contest)

Ba'Hom Shel Tel-Aviv (In the Heat of Tel-Aviv)

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May 23, 2013 | 12:33 pm

When we don’t play fair

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

I want to start this post by saying it took me a long time to write what I'm about to write. It is something I'm thinking, but I never really had the guts to say, especially to people outside of Israel. The reason I did not want to write it down, was my belief that outside of Israel, people hear mostly negative things about us, and I wanted to use the stage I've been given to shine a bright light on my country, by giving the full picture. I wanted to show that there are many things you don't see or hear about on the news, and that many of the things the foreign media do present are partial truths.That is why it is very important to me to state that what I'm about to write, although containing a certain amount of criticism, does not reflect the big picture, or my full opinion about all political aspects regarding Israel. It is a criticism aimed for the here and now, and does not mean anything that isn't written.

Now, after a long prologue, I can cut to the chase: Israel is not perfect. It has great people, beautiful scenery, and has made tremendous contributions to the world's advancement in many fields of research, but it is also run by people who sometimes make mistakes. Israel also in the center of a serious conflict, which, in the eyes of the world is presented as if it was caused and maintained solely by Israel. You all already know how and why it is presented that way. You all have read the countless posts I've written so far about the David and Goliath effect, which causes affection and sympathy for the underdog. You've all read about the easy way false horror stories and lies about Israel are spread by haters in the internet age. Foreign media truly took a firm stand against Israel, but it is not entirely the media's fault that we look so bad in the eyes of the world.

I naively believe that the people from both sides want peace. Violence arises from haters from both sides (yes, both), but overall, I truly believe we want this conflict to end. I also believe that the decision makers from both sides do not want to settle on anything, and therefore, don't want peace. When I read about a one-sided Palestinian decision to address the UN and demand an independent state status instead of sitting and talking, it brought my nerves to a boiling point. But the same goes when I read about an Israeli decision to legalize four new settlements, just like that, overnight.

I know that there are people living there, and I respect their right to live in their homes, but if a territory isn't quite ours, why claim it? We live in a small place, and, true, territories were taken away from us as people were kicked out of their homes. But the same happened to people from the other side a few decades ago. And although we fought many wars to win and maintain our borders, which we needed to protect even though they were given to us by an official UN vote, we must accept our boundaries "de facto," and not "steal" some more. We cannot just stick a flag and claim a piece of land.

I don't appreciate such actions, although they are made by my government, which I and my fellow Israelis elected. We live in a democracy, and we chose the people to represent us. We elected them because we trusted them and their pure agenda to work for us. However, they don't always do that. I know they can't consult every single one of us before making decisions (which is one of the consequences of representative democracy) and there are many actions taken and decisions being made for us regarding homeland affairs, but when it comes to decisions directly affecting the outside, I cannot describe to you my frustration when something like that is being decided.

If we want peace, we must play fair. I know we were given half of this land in 1947, and after the other side refused to share, we got the entire territory and spent many years fighting for it. I also know they were here before, and we were here before that and so on and so forth. But I also know that in the 21st century, both sides must adjust and develop. A fair game is one where nobody places a hotel on their "property", or steals money from the "bank" when the other one is looking the other way. A fair game is also when both players feel good with themselves, because they know they could cheat, but they chose to enjoy the game and maintain good relationship with the other player. A fair game though, must go both ways. Working behind the other side's back not only gives the foreign media something to talk about, it also pushes peace further away.

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May 21, 2013 | 12:22 pm

Propaganda lies in a disguise

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Is the propaganda pro-peace or anti-Israel?

Muhammad al-Durrah, the little boy who became the symbol of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, is returning to the headlines after a decade. A photo of him, crying, leaning against a wall with his father trying to protect him from the fire of IDF soldiers, was taken on September 30th 2000 during a fire exchange between IDF soldiers and a raging Palestinian crowd. It presented the IDF as a killing machine, and it was widely published that the boy was shot and killed on purpose.

Muhammad’s father, Jamal, showed the world his scarred body. A damage made by the IDF. This attack, he said to the world press, paralyzed his arm and damaged his leg. All that on top of losing his son to the vicious attacks, aimed at citizens for no apparent reason, made by the Israeli army. Last year, it was proven that the damage done to Jamal A-Dura wasn’t the outcome of that so called Israeli attack. His medical file was exposed, and showed that his arm was paralyzed in 1992. This damage was caused by the terror organization Hamas, which attacked A-Dura, probably due to his relations with a rival group, Fatach.

It seems that the scandal revolving this story has yet to dim, because an investigation led by an Israeli committee has managed to prove that the boy, Muhammad, was not killed in the incident. After reviewing and revising the footage of the fire exchange, members of the committee have found that even though the boy was claimed to be shot in the stomach, there is no blood in the area. They also found that the boy moved his arm after his alleged death. There might be an international investigation as well, due to Jamal's request, but after last year's lies were exposed, it seems like al-Durrah's story is mostly yet another part of the attempt to demonize Israel.

Although this story is the most famous one, there are countless more lies that are being spread online as a part of an anti-Israeli/ Pro- Palestinian propaganda. Just a couple of days ago I bumped into a picture being "shared" around Facebook, showing a Middle-eastern looking man, holding a crying child with no arm. The title of this picture: "Many families find it very difficult to access health services due to the high cost of treatments, border closures and access restrictions by Israel Army." This was very strange for me to read, especially when just the day before, I saw a video of a group of Israeli doctors visiting Palestinian neighborhoods and providing a free medical treatment. It is also well-known that Israeli hospitals bring in Palestinians who need a medical care, and treat them. Later on, I noticed another version of this picture. This time, it was added with another headline, and was "shared" by a pro-Israeli group. Turns out (and I double checked it myself to be sure,) that this photo was taken from the General News Single category of the World Press Photo 2006 contest. It's real title is "Father and son in field hospital, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, 30 October." It was taken in 2005, by American photographer, David Guttenfelder.

Many pictures of such have been spread around the web during the Pillar of Defense operation this winter. Some were exposed, some are still out there, lying to people who have no idea what the truth is. When I look at the amount of lies that the anti-Israeli propaganda is spreading around, I realize that they simply don't have any real footage that shows an Israeli policy of abuse towards Palestinians. They know the truth. They know that in this reality of conflict, Israelis are doing their best in helping all people who need a medical care.  In fact, in many times, Israeli doctors have treated suicide bombers that while killing innocent people, did not die themselves. This is the real face of Israel.

Under false accusations and claims of wanting peace, anti-Israeli groups spread lies, hoping people will believe them before the truth is exposed. They don't have real footage of Israeli abuse, but they want to show it, so they fabricate stories and paste them over pictures of a rough reality in places that really need humanitarian assistance. This propaganda calls for peace, but its true intentions are to start a war. They don't really care about the Palestinians' health or welfare, they only care about filling the world with hate, and hate, as we all know, only pushes peace further away.

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May 20, 2013 | 12:39 pm

This week from Israel

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

A 1500 year old mosaic discovered in Israel

Israel is a place full of history. In thousands of years, many nations, tribes and empires of many cultures settled here, built and ruined, and left many discoveries to be found. With time, more and more beautiful memories are being found, including remains of palaces, old cities, ancient artwork and more. An archeological excavation of the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered a colorful mosaic dating back to the Byzantine period. It was exposed in the fields of Kibbutz Bet Kama in the Negev desert.

Read more here. 

"Google glass" for the blind

Israeli researchers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa have developed an innovative tool, which one day in the not-so-distant future, people blinded by RP may see beyond shadows once again. This tool will provide a futuristic and bionic way to bypass neural circuitry and directly stimulate restored vision cells with a computer-driven technique called holography.

Read more here. 

NY Center  for Jewish History gives artwork to Google Art

New York City's Center for Jewish History is contributing more than 600 high-resolution artworks to the Google Art Project, which uses technology to put art, archives, heritage sites and other cultural material online. The center's contribution includes paintings and works on paper that survived the Holocaust, as well as portraits of Sigmund Freud.

Read more here. 

A digital revolution is coming to Tel-Aviv

Mayor of Tel-Aviv, Ron Huldai, portrayed a "digital revolution" his city is planned to undergo in the next few months. “Digi-Tel,” will allow residents to do all municipal business online, from paying real estate taxes to filing requests for permits, license applications, and renewals. Residents will also be able get tailor-made information about events in their neighborhoods based on their preferences, reserve and pay for tickets to the theater and sporting events, sign kids up for school and more.

Read more here. 

A hit Palestinian reality show allows people to pretend to run for President

"The President" is a reality show, broadcast weekly on the Palestinian TV station, Maan TV.  The show offers contestants the chance to tell what they would do on a variety of subjects, if elected President. Since the Palestinians haven't elected President since 2005, the show allows them to vote contestants off and choose a winner, something that they cannot do in real life.

Read more here. 

Israeli students using science to help poor African communities

High school students from Tel-Aviv are developing a system to convert highly nutritious spirulina alga into powder, for distribution in poor African communities. It is not able to solve the world hunger, but it can prevent malnutrition, which causes death in developing countries.

Read more here. 

A new TAU - US team discovery

A team of astronomers from Tel Aviv University and from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) has discovered a planet outside our solar system using a method based on Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

Read more here. 

Gene Simmons insults Muslims on an interview

Rock legends and "Kiss" bassist, Gene Simmons, sparked outrage in Australia, where he was touring earlier this month. On an interview for a Melbourne radio station, Simmons made some anti-Muslim comments, calling it a "vile culture," and insinuating that the West was under threat.

Read more here.

Ashton Kutcher visits Israel

Ashton Kutcher arrived in Israel on Monday for a visit. The actor stayed in Tel-Aviv, where he met with some local startup companies. Kutcher is a big fan of Israel. This is his fifth visit here, and just like the four times before, he did not forget to mention his impression with this country to his fans and followers.

Read more here. 

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May 17, 2013 | 12:33 pm

One Israeli Creation for the Weekend

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Rotem Shefy. An overnight success.

Rotem Shefy is a 28 year old Israeli singer, and the voice of the most unique cover of Radiohead's Karma Police.

Shefy's oriental version of Karma Police was uploaded to YouTube on April 23rd and in less than two weeks reached over 210,000 views, becoming a must hear song. In an interview to Israelife, Shefy, a singer from Tel-Aviv, seems quite surprised from the clip's overnight success, and explains that it actually started as a private joke:

"In 2009, I started my first year in the music academy- Rimon. In my second year there, I joined a Radiohead ensemble, which performed covers of the band's songs. There, I met cellist Leat Sabbah, and we became very close friends. Karma Police started as a private joke between the two of us, and then between all members of the group. Before we started playing Karma Police, I would sing a short oriental version of a part of the song and everyone would laugh. After we graduated, this "private joke" of us became the real deal, as we decided to turn Karma Police around and rearrange in into a middle-eastern song. We started a Kickstarter campaign and raised the money for the production. After recording, we filmed the video, where we created those new fun characters, and the rest is history…"

Did you have any ideas it would become such a great hit?

"None of us imagined it would become such a viral hit. The song was born out of respect to Radiohead, when our main goal was to enjoy ourselves and have fun."

Will we be hearing more from you in the near future?

"Both Liat and I are musicians, and we work both together and separately. In the past two years, I've been working on my own original material and perform with a band. Soon, we will start recording.

My plans for the future is to never stop creating music, whether it is original or covers that inspire me, record everything and then release them. I also hope I would combine acting with my musical life."

Karma Police:

Vocals: Rotem Shefy (https://www.facebook.com/RotemShefy?f...)
Cello: Leat Sabbah (https://www.facebook.com/leatsabbahcello)
Oud: Yaniv Taichman
Percussion: Ori Dekel
Produced: Rotem Shefy & Leat Sabbah
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered: Avi Ein Zur

THE CREW:
Producer: Roi Kurland- green productions www.greenproductions.co.il
Director & Editor: Amos Geva
Director of Photography: Shay Druyak
Assistant Camera: Orr Weiner
Concept: Nir Raizes
Color Grading: Oren Agami
Co-Producer: Yael Gal
Set Dressing: Danny Bar shay "HaKol Dvash"
Hair/Makeup: Elran Efargan
Cast: Idan Shefy, Erez Solow, Yogev Ben-Ami, Beata Garber, Einav Yaacoby, Snir Shefy-Shalev, Eitan Shalev

Executive Producers: Riki Cohen, Barbara Trommer, Paul Sabbah, Ilan Tamir, Nitzan Canetty, Guy & Einat Cohen, Eran Sisam, Carmela Segal Nielsen & Erik and dahlia Nielsen, Yaron Shefy

Special thanks to Kickstarter Donators:
Erez Keynan, Rotem Tamir, Anyssa Neumann, Mark Kuzmack, Aviv Pressburger, Jessica Schutzman, Dana, Sarah Aroeste, Noam Liebeskind, Noah Temple, Martyna, Michal Weiner, Daniel Shahar, Asaf Meidan, Hagar Levy, Ella Joy Meir, Jechiel Herschensen, Ryan Frank, Michael Fridman, Daniel Koren, Marta Bagratuni, Yemi Gonzales, Laurence Cohen, Dor Shemer, Nitzan Tzifroni, Laura Kegeles, Daniel Allen, Gillian Berkowitz, Neta Doppelt, Jechiel Evers, Nehemia Shefy, Ron Dotan, Roby Fayer, Daya Tolkatzir, Ayelet Shabani, Jonathan Maimon, Itamar Feitlovich, Dorit Shefy, Alicia Horwitz, Shai Bachar, Gil Epstein, Hana Rosen, Jonathan Meister, David Meister, Roy Niederhoffer, Hari Bernstein, Tsfania Sangauker, Idan Shefy, Anastasia Lekatsas

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