April 22, 2013 | 12:17 pm

This week from Israel

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

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The Israeli pictures based social network

There are almost 13,000 photo apps on the App Store, and still, a group of Israelis managed to create one that will draw everyone's attention.  The free app is called Pixplit, and it is a social network complete with user profiles and the ability for friends to follow each other. The app allows people not only to share photos, but also to create art. Simply upload a picture you took via your Smartphone to a split template, and let others complete it.

Read more here and here.

 

The south flourishes

After an extremely rainy Israeli winter, the south of Israel, also known as the Negev, is colored green, and is filled with beautiful spring flowers.  In the past few weeks, thousands of Israelis enjoyed the beautiful sight of a carpet of red anemones ("kalaniot" in Hebrew), growing on roadsides and in fields, forests and nature reserves. If you're planning a visit soon, don't forget to pay a visit to the Negev, and enjoy the "Darom Adom" (Red South) festival.

Read more here.

 

Remembering the Patisans

This year's Holocaust Remembrance day was one with a special remark- 70 years ago, a group of Jews called the Partisans, started an uprising in the Warsaw ghetto and tried to fight back. They thought their battle would last less than a day, but eventually they fought for a month, killing many Nazis. This week, around 100 people gathered at Warsaw's synagogue to pay tribute to the Jews who took part in the Warsaw ghetto uprising.

Read more here.

 

Roger Waters reconsiders Israel's boycott

After calling musicians to boycott Israel (and succeeding at times,) until the Israeli government "ends the occupation of the Palestinian people," Former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters said in an interview to the Huffington post that he is now rethinking that position.

Read more here.

 

Human Rights activists are impressed with Israel

Two leading European human rights activists recently visited Israel to take part in KKL-JNF (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Jewish National Fund) projects, aimed to promote coexistence between Jews and Arabs.

Read more here.

 

The boy who decided to learn Hebrew

Timothy Doner, a 17 year old teenager from New-York, speaks no less than 20 languages, including French, Latin, ancient Greek, Japanese, Arabic and Swahili. Now, the polyglot is digging deep into the Hebrew language, and on the way, learns Israeli history and enjoys Israeli music.

Read more here.

 

 Independence party, High-tech style

I guess you all know that Israel is also known as "the start-up nation", being the home of dozens of R&D labs that belong to multinational tech companies, some of them the principal development facility for their parent corporation. For Israel's 65th Independence Day, Israel’s high-tech industry  threw itself a Day party in Tel Aviv, with guests including Economics Minister Naftali Bennett and the ambassadors and diplomatic staff from 41 countries.

Read more here.

 

Honduras vs. Israel

Honduras will play a friendly game against Israel at Citi Field on June 2 in preparation for three World Cup qualifiers.The game was announced Tuesday and will be played on the same day as the Celebrate Israel Parade in Manhattan.

Read more here.

 

Palestinian start-up innovations

Dozens of young Palestinians took part in the West Bank’s premier start-up conference. The goal of the conference was to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit and lay a foundation for a thriving high-tech industry, inspired by Israel's success in that field. According to this report from The Times of Israel, dozens of Palestinian firms perform outsourcing work for Israeli-based companies nowadays, making technology a rare area of cooperation between the sides.

Read more here.

April 19, 2013 | 12:02 pm

A heart to heart letter from an Israeli to Americans

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Dear Americans,

What you've dealt with this week is not new to me, I'm afraid. In fact, it is something I almost got used to. Why almost? Because no matter how many times you hear about an "event" on the news, no matter how many times you call all your friends and family to make sure they're alive and well, this feeling still takes you off balance.

We've been following the Boston bombing here every day. Newspapers, websites and news broadcasts gave us updates, and even from afar, we were there with you, wishing you well, and grieving with the families who lost their loved ones just like that, out of the blue, in one second that changed everything.

I know this feeling. I've spent too many years of my life carrying this feeling. The uncertainty, the fear, the shock. That moment when you sit at home, or at school or at work, and suddenly feel that something has happened. At first, you notice a strange look of shock on people's faces, as they face their laptop or Smartphone. Then, you hear the whispering around you, saying "Something's happened."  No need to add more words to that sentence to understand exactly what this "something" is. The next step is to figure out where and what. You just sit in front of the screen and refresh the page until the news website you're at will upload more details. At that moment, you don't speak, hardly breath, and just sit nervous on your chair, bouncing your feet and looking sideways to see if someone knows something.

Then, you see it: "A bus exploded in Tel-Aviv," and then, the scariest part begins. It is when you try to call everyone you know to make sure they are alive and well. You start with people you know live close by to the "event's" location. Then, you zoom out, because maybe someone you know and love and have a car, decided to take a bus that day for god knows why. You don't seek for logic, you just want to know everyone's okay. Then, in the middle of the calling list, the phone lines fall, because everyone else in the country is also making the very same type of calls.  It happens almost every time, and you know it's coming, but when it does, and you can't reach someone, you can never be sure if it is because of the lines that just fell or because he or she was there.

It's scary. These two or three minutes that last forever. It's scary even in the 20th time it happens, because the fear of losing someone you love to terror is something you can never get used to. I spent my entire childhood like that and went through that experience a few more times later, the last one being only a few of months ago, when a bus exploded in Tel-Aviv. I remember that time clearly. I was having lunch on campus at Tel-Aviv University, laughing with my friends, when the whispering started. I especially remember seeing my friend, who lives in Tel-Aviv, going back and forth across the patio we were sitting in, trying to reach people before the lines will fall. I also remember receiving a call from my mother, half an hour later, when for 30 minutes we could not reach each other because of the busy lines.

This experience of uncertainty, of fear from the possibility of a next time, of the shock and the worrying that threatens to stop your heart from beating-all feelings I am familiar with, and could never get used to. You went through this several days ago, and even though I was miles and miles away, I felt your fear and shock and uncertainty. . I know I've been through more than enough of experiences of such, but I still can't even begin to fully understand what you went through, how you felt, and what went through your minds, because each one of us experiences it differently.  All I can say now is that I pray that you will never feel those feelings again, and that "events" of such will never become a routine part of your life.

Ideology, despair, boredom- the reason doesn't matter. All that matters is the result: the anxiety and the pain. One country that goes through this on a weekly basis is more than enough to this world, and even this is one country too much. I hope your loved ones are well. May God be with you, and may hate will vanish from this world before the next time.

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April 17, 2013 | 12:01 pm

65 Years of Israel- capturing the Israeli essence (Part 2)

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Continuing the birthday present for Israel's 65th birthday, here is part 2 of the Israeli-essence slideshow. Enjoy, and always remember- a picture may be worth a thousand words, but even countless pictures will not be equal to the thrill and beauty of an actual eye sight. 

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April 16, 2013 | 12:33 pm

65 Years of Israel- capturing the Israeli essence (Part 1)

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Israel, my home, celebrate its 65th birthday.  That’s really not much. It’s almost nothing on a scale of countries to age, but in this short period of time, we sure have been through a lot. In 65 years, Israel has been through wars, diplomatic issues, growing population, ground development and many other things every newborn country is going through. To me, what makes Israel so special is the atmosphere, created by the variety of people who live here. This gathering of so many cultures makes Israel the special, beautiful place it is.

Today is the happiest day of the year for Israelis. Celebrations are everywhere, from the streets to the rooftops- everyone is celebrating our 65th year of existence. However, this day is also here to remind us that the battle for our independence is far from being over. The Israeli independence day comes right after our Memorial Day, and a week after the Holocaust remembrance day. It is no coincidence. This is what reminds us the past- the holocaust survivors who, against all odds, escaped the horrors to build a place where they will no longer be hunted; the present- the thousands of soldiers and civilians who lost their lives while defending our country from those still believe we have no right to exist; the future- the many years to come, for our country, our Israel, to grow, develop, and be a home for the hunted. The future of the place our grandparents built in order to promise that the Holocaust will never happen again. Independence day is the last stop of the 3-day journey of Israel's story. It is a time for celebration and gratitude, for appreciation and thanks. For strength and hope. 

Last year, I wrote the things I love most about living in Israel and being an Israeli. This year, I decided it was best to simply show you the essence of Israel, so I asked a few photographers to capture their Israel through the camera lens.... Enjoy the slideshow, and always remember- a picture may be worth a thousand words, but even countless pictures will not be equal to the thrill and beauty of an actual eye sight 

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April 15, 2013 | 12:20 pm

In their memory…

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Something quite extraordinary happened last night:  25,578 stars shined bright. All together, all of a sudden. It was in the middle of my town square, as thousands of citizens shared an hour of remembrance and respect for 25,578 Fallen Israeli Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism. We all stood there together, shoulder to shoulder, and listened to names being read, stories being told and candles being lit. It was so cramped I could feel the people behind, in front, and next to me breathing. At times, I could hear someone break into tears, as others embrace him or her, supporting, physically and mentally. When the cantor started chanting the El Male' Rachamin ("God, abounding in mercy") prayer, I looked to the sky, and noticed how all the stars turned brighter and sparkled like never before. It was them, our heroes. Still watching, still guarding, still young and smiling, just like in the pictures we see.

On this day, our Memorial Day, we are all together. On this day it seems, more than ever, like all of Israel are brothers and sisters. On this day, we all salute the young boys and girls who died while protecting Israel and Israelis from the enemies who try to take us down, over and over again, since 1948. Every year, more names appear on the memorial wall. More names who were once people, who could have lived a full life if it wasn't for our everlasting battle for our home.

The Israeli soldiers, who lost their lives in wars since 1948 to this very day, took the bullet for my family and me, so we could sleep at night. Some were 18 year olds, young men and women who just finished high-school and were getting ready to begin their lives. Others were older people with families who were called to serve again, just for the war-time. When thinking about those veterans, there is no left wing or right wing. Sometimes it doesn't matter whether deaths were in vain or for a higher cause. The only thing that matters is the loss, and the support we can provide for the families who experience this loss for another 364 days.

Everything is different that day: the radio only plays quiet songs, the television broadcasts Memorial Day specials and most of the stores are closed. Every working place, campus, military base and school, conducts a ceremony, and a national ceremony is held in Jerusalem. On 11am, everyone stops everything they're doing, and we all bow our heads in a 2 minute long siren, heard all over the country.  But it is not just the official atmosphere which is different; it's also what each and every one of us feels inside. None of us pretends, and it is not a façade- it is real. We are all Israelis, and we share that Israeli experience every day. We all know each other, and we all share the grief with the families who lost their loved ones. For one day, all citizens of Israel share that loss with them, and show the proper respect for those who fought for our right to continue to live here, and for those who did nothing but living, and were killed by suicide terrorists for no reason.

Tomorrow, we will celebrate our 65th Independence Day. Many are against placing the saddest day of the year only a few hours before the happiest one. They say it is not right to abruptly switch grief with joy. For some, this transition is impossible, and for years they skipped the Independence Day celebration. I am not sure what I think of that, but I do know one thing: Israel has turned 65 on Tuesday thanks to the 25,578 stars which are now shining bright in the sky. For 65 years, we feel protected and safe thanks to those stars, and we owe our lives to them.

I read this sentence I just wrote, and can't believe the words. Israel has been a state for 65 years now, and for some reason, it still fights for its existence. How can this be? How did it happen? Can you imagine still needing to fight for your home? It is absurd, but somehow it is just the way things have been here for 65 years now.

Every year, those who recruit to the IDF carry the same prayer in their hearts: May my children will not need to recruit, may we have no need in the IDF in the future…My parents said this prayer 30 yeas ago, I said it four years ago, and my brother said it a year and a half ago. Now all I can pray for is that this long chain of prayers will finally stop. That there will be no more deaths for the sake of our people and for the sake of our home. That we could all finally live in peace, here and in the area.

In memory of those who are no longer with us, who, like flowers, were picked up in their bloom, I light a candle. For their family members, I salute you. May they all rest in peace and may there be no more early deaths.

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April 14, 2013 | 2:00 pm

This week from Israel

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

How expensive is Tel-Aviv's food?

According to the 2013 Corporate Travel Index, Tel-Aviv is the 24th most expensive city in terms of the total cost per night for business people, out of 100 cities checked. However, while Tel-Aviv's hotel prices were ranked in the 17th place, the high-quality food turned out  to be not so expensive, balancing the expensive business visits prices…In case you were wondering, the most expensive city (US cities not included) is Tokyo…

Read more here.

 

Would you wear a dress made by an anti-Semite?

Moran Mazor, the Israeli singer to represent us at the Eurovision singing contest, has made a deal with the famous designer John Galliano, to wear a dress designed by him at the contest. However, since Galliano has publicly made racist and anti-Semitic comments in the past, the Israel Broadcasting Authority has prohibited Mazor to wear his dress while representing Israel.

Read more here.

 

A poster to commemorate the Holocaust

The Yad Vashem memorial center and the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs have initiated a poster design competition to commemorate the victims of the holocaust. Out of 108 posters, the judges chose Dea Giladi's (23) design. Her poster shows a tree with deep roots, whose branches have been cut off.

Read more here.

 

Is Ireland supporting Israel boycott?

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has called on the government of Ireland to publicly reiterate its opposition to boycotts of Israel in response to the decision by the Teachers’ Union of Ireland to adopt an academic and cultural boycott of Israel.

Read more here.

 

Anti Semitism 2.0

The internet has provided us with tools to pass and spread information in almost no time. But while most of us make good use of the "information era," many haters go online and spread words of hatred and lies. "Kill a Jew day," holocaust denials and Jewish conspiracies, all being spread to innocent, clueless people, who believe the lies they see and hear. We must fight back. We must provide a proper answer.

Read more here and here.

 

HBO telling one of the many stories of the Holocaust

This Friday, American television channel HBO aired a full-length film about a couple who saved  dozens of Jewish children from the Holocaust in 1939. The documentary is called “50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus." The film, narrated by Alan Alda and Mamie Gummer ,  tells the inspiring story of an American couple from Philadelphia that went into the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe, risking their personal safely to save 50 Jewish children from the Shoah.

Read more here.

 

 

When Chinease cinema and Israeli scenery meet

A well-known Chinese production company is set to shoot scenes in Israel this month for a Chinese epic called “Old Cinderella,” which is expected to be a blockbuster movie thanks to stars such as Zhang Jingchu (“Rush Hour 3”) and director Lu Chuan. The production team chose Tel-Aviv, Jaffa, Jerusalem and the Dead Sea as their locations.

Read more here.

 

A wave of good musical news!

After it has been announced that Barbra Streisand, Alicia Keys, and Rihanna will perform in Israel this year, another name adds to the list! After performing in Israel four years ago, British pop duo The Pet Shop Boys is returning  this summer for one concert at Tel Aviv's Nokia Arena on June 23.

Read more here.

 

How Israel is helping to save our planet

Since 1948, Israel has set itself a task of finding creative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. To celebrate Israel’s 65th birthday, ISRAEL21c looks at some of the best achievements. On the list: assistance after the earthquake in Haiti, aggregation technologies, first wildlife law-enforcement NGO in Africa, and more…

Read more here.

 

LA celebrities celebrating Israel independence day

For Israel's 65th birthday, celebrated tomorrow, the local consulate in LA has decided to divert from the tradition of a holiday reception, and instead offer pro-Israel celebrities in the West Coast of the United States a taste of Israeli wine and gourmet food. The event will be attended by actor Sean Penn, film producer Harvey Weinstein, musician David Foster, tennis player Tommy Haas, "Homeland" creator Howard Gordon, the owners of the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers basketball teams, the owners of the Nordstrom fashion chain, the owners of California Pizza Kitchen, Israeli producer Haim Saban and dozens of heads of production companies and PR agencies in Hollywood.

Read more here.

 

Shahar Pe'er advancing

Shahar Pe'er, the Israeli tennis player ranked 118th in the world, advanced to her first WTA Tour quarterfinal since January 2012 on Thursday, beating Jill Craybas 6-1, 6-3 to reach the last eight in Katowice, Poland.

Read more here.

 

Israel Technion ranked high in entrepreneurship and innovation

A survey conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), ranked the Israeli Technion in sixth place in the world for entrepreneurship and innovation. The survey aimed to identify the most innovative universities around the world, and the Technion was one of only two of the top 10 universities worldwide outside the US and Europe.

Read more here.

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April 12, 2013 | 1:05 pm

One Israeli Creation for the Weekend

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

Describing Svika Pick from miles away is almost impossible. Pick is simply a phenomenon you have to see to believe. His hair, his clothing, his attitude, his connection with the fans and his everlasting 70's facade- all make him a one of a kind Israeli persona. However, in his 40 year long career, Pick proved himself to be much more that a unique personality...

In the 70's, Pick broke into the Israeli music industry with pop-disco songs that made him a leading musician. During that decade, he earned several respected musical titles, such as "Israeli male singer of the year," and also played the role of Claude Bukowski in the Hebrew version of the hit musical Hair. In 1998, Pick wrote the melody for the song "Diva" which was performed by Dana International in the Eurovision song contest that year, and ranked Israel in the first place. Since then, Pick has composed songs for both Israeli and foreign singers to perform in the contest. In 2002, Israel's national theater, Habima, staged a musical called Mary Lou based on Pick's old hits. In 2009, a television series named Tamid Oto Halom (Forever, the same dream), which was based on Pick's songs, aired in Israel.

More than all of that, which is merely the tip of the iceberg, what really makes Pick the important Israeli that he is, is his music. Pick is a true virtuoso, composing music like no other. His various songs range from soft ballads to pumping disco songs, combining notes brilliantly into beautiful, fun, catchy music. I tend to call Pick "The Israeli Elton John," now you'll be the judges...

Ani Ohev Otach, Leah (I love you, Leah)

 

 

HaRakdan HaOtomati (The automatic dancer)- Svika Pick and Ruty Navon

 

A medley of Pick's "Gavriel" and "Yad BeYad" (Hand in Hand) from the television series Tamid Oto Halom

 

Mala, Mala (Higher and higher)- a song all about the elevated feeling we get from listening to music

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April 9, 2013 | 12:37 pm

Anti-Semitism 2.0: Who are the modern anti-Semites?

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

On Sunday, our national Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israel's Channel 2 aired a documentary about modern anti-Semitism. At some point, a man was interviewed, saying that the Jews are to blame for all the troubles of the world, and that "Hitler was too nice." This, like many claims of such, gave me the goosebumps, but what got me into a state of shock was the fact that this man was not a European skinhead with a swastika tattoo on his forehead, but your average Joe. An American, medium sized, wearing glasses, articulate, with a hint of shyness. At that moment I realized – this is the face of modern anti-Semitism: not criminals, but your next-door neighbor, your bus driver, your child's teacher…

I assume you, much like myself, encounter anti-Semitic comments and accusations online. They are few, but they're everywhere: in social networks, on news websites, in forums, comments or any other internet-age form. I receive such comments right here, or on Israelife's Facebook page, almost on a monthly basis, and although I got used to them, they still hit me right in the gut every single time. "What a shame Hitler didn't finish what he started;" "You stinking Jew; "It is all the Jews' fault. You are the cause of the world's sorrows." Those are all comments I received months ago, but I cannot get out of my head. I always assumed that the people behind such comments are minorities, violent European bullies whose grandparents were Nazis, who grew up on the values of hatred and terror.

This assumption kept me strong when facing these comments, because I knew that as long as I stay out of dark alleys and remember to hide my Judaism while traveling to Europe, I will be safe. I knew that they can't harm me, because the world will not let them. I knew I could trust the enlightened world to always keep those haters under control, so that the Holocaust will never happen again. I was sure that the world will remember and never forget, and keep reminding others. This assumption blew up in my face, after watching this documentary. At that moment, hope turned to fear. Certainty turned to horror. That man who said those things, he IS "the enlightened world." He is the one I counted on to not let the horrors of the Holocaust happen again. What's even more scary is that this man is not alone. There are millions like him worldwide. Normative people from normative families who truly and utterly believe that poverty, violence, the 2008 financial crisis – all the Jews' fault.

It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?! Absurd, even. But it's true. At the beginning of the 20th century, one man managed to convince a small group of people that the solutions to the world's problems is the mass destruction of people of a certain religion. That small group soon managed to convince a mass of people that were at times of trouble that what caused their problems is not the consequences of WW1, but the Jews. Soon, a nation was convinced that genocide, a mass murder of men, women and children, the Final Solution, is the best solution.

Up to this day, no one really knows just how all those people were convinced of such nonsense. How can normal people from normal families believe in this racial theory with no grip of reality. Maybe there is no logical explanation. Maybe this is simply what people do when they are in trouble- follow a charismatic man who has all the answers, ridiculous as they might be. In the beginning of the 20th century, it took this one man several years to convince a mass of people. Imagine how quickly it will take in the 21st century.

Now, in the Internet age, information passes more quickly than anyone could imagine 70 years ago. With time, Holocaust survivors are fewer, and allegations about usage of photoshop on pictures from the Holocaust become more common. Nowadays, just like in the beginning of the 20th century, the world struggles to recover from a grand financial crisis, and it seems like a major war is right around the corner. People are in trouble, and need someone to blame. That is the point where common sense disappears and the human mind is willing to absorb anything that can explain and provide a solution. That makes them believe that Jews CAN be the blame, and this belief gets constant support from online forums of Facebook groups, which also help in spreading the information to more people in no time.

Sunday's documentary opened my eyes, and left me with no hope. Only a few days ago I was positive that anti-Semitism will never rise again as the opinion of a majority. Now, after seeing that man, that American next-door neighbor, now I am scared. It was only a few years ago when anti-Semitism was something to be ashamed of and hide from the public. Now, it IS the public. I honestly don't know if we can stop this from spreading further, but we can certainly try. We must continue the vow from seven decades ago, to remember and never forget. But now, we can add another part to that oath, and not only remember, but also to share, so that others, who may already forget, remember yet again, and keep anti-Semitism where it belongs – in hiding.

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