IDF battles swine flu with extra leave
Whether you call it swine flu or Mexican flu, the number of cases of the virus H1N1 in Israel continues to creep up.
Please don't lick that pig...
Earlier this week, the IDF decided to take some preventative measures, after an increasing number of troops came down with the illness.
The problem, the IDF discovered, was with soldiers who had come into contact with Jewish American youngsters as part of the Jewish Agency’s Taglit-Birthright program, where they bring Jewish kids from the US to Israel to experience the country.
According to Ynet, some 20 soldiers working with Taglit youth contracted the H1N1 virus over the last few weeks. These soldiers then returned to their units, and infected their fellow comrades, raising the number of sick servicemen to several dozens. Units affected – including one Navy torpedo boat - had no choice but to declare a temporary shutdown.
Now the IDF has decided not to take any more chances. This is the nation’s security we’re talking about after all. The army’s chief medical officer has ordered soldiers who work with Taglit to take five-days leave to make sure they are flu-free.
Out in the civilian world as well, flu continues to spread. Last week, the PM, Bibi Netanyahu canceled all his meetings after a close associate tested positive for swine flu.
The health maintenance funds (Kupat Holim), now responsible for treating swine flu patients, are also feeling the crunch. When my husband phoned a contact in his health fund to try to bring forward a doctor’s appointment it took him three days to get hold of her, and when he finally did she said she was too busy dealing with swine flu cases to talk.
Now there’s talk of testing all the 5,000 or so visiting athletes due to fly in any day to take part in this month’s Maccabiah games. Any that test positive will be refused entry. Deputy Health Minister, Ya’akov Litzman told reporters: “I don’t want to reach a situation in which another 5,000 people come here and just increase [the incidence of] the disease.”
Well, it’s still early days yet. Like much of Europe, flu season in these parts usually only begins in November. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.
Our first NBA pick
You may have read about it already, but I need to express my excitement about Omri Casspi becoming the first Israeli player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft. Yes, it’s not the final, final stage in this nail-biting process, but hey, it’s the NBA and he’s Israeli and it’s looking pretty good.
In case you didn’t know, Casspi is 6′9″, 20, and a forward for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He was selected 23rd overall by the Sacramento Kings, and as Ha’aretz noted, “is the focus of a national obsession with the idea of an Israeli making it into the NBA, in which some 20 percent of the players are foreigners.”
The country’s obsession should have been requited ten years ago when Oded Katash had a two-year contract with the New York Knicks — the New York Knicks! — but lost his marbles during the 1999 player lockout. I know, insane.
There have been others since; Doron Shefer, Lior Eliyahu and Yotam Halperin, all drafted, all in the second round. But they didn’t make it. Casspi, on the other hand, is in. Will he get a contract? Will he get off the bench? Hard to say. But hey. Very hopeful.
According to the New York Jewish Week, Casspi’s selection also smacks of a coexistence bid, natch, as the King’s co-owners, Joe and Gavin Maloof, are popular Sacramento businessmen and philanthropists who come from a Lebanese Arab family. That appears to be a first.
So what’ve we got? An Israeli basketball player signed to the NBA, and a coexistence play in progress. All good signs.
From high school into the frying pan
High school graduations are a unique creature in Israel. They’re nothing like the solemn mortar board and cape graduation, and rented tux prom that I experienced growing up in the US. And thank God for that.
It’s almost like going to a musical. My daughter’s event took place last night at a posh events hall in downtown Jerusalem, equipped with a comfortable auditorium complete with state of the art sound and video systems.
And the show was dazzling. Because there’s no prom in Israel, the girls wore their slinky dresses, and even the boys tended to not wear t-shirts.
Some of the kids had travelled to Tel Aviv last week to lay down vocal tracks at a recording studio for musical extravaganzas they performed in between the speeches and awards. A professional director and producer helped the graduating class script and rehearse a 45-minute play that - within its humorous framework replete with cutting principal and teacher imitations - touched on national issues of tolerance, freedom of expression, and the schism within Israeli society as personified by the extremes of gay pride and haredi devoutness.
And then there was the de rigueur professionally made video recapping the year, including the class trips, the volleyball games, and the the events that make up senior year. And of course, the diplomas and special awards (my tear ducts started leaking when the daughter was singled out for an award for Excellence in Sports Achievement).
At the same time, I had to laugh at the background music someone chose to play while each student in the 5 classes of 35 kids was called up. Israelis usually ignore the lyrics of English songs, preferring to make their choose on the musical vibe. So, as our kids were receiving their certificates, we were treated to a Nina Simone soundalike performing easy listening cocktail jazz versions of songs like “Pride (In the Name of Love” by U2 with its lyrics “Shots rang out in the Memphis night,” and The Police’s “Roxanne” about a prosititute.
No matter, the evening was a grand success, and even though it lasted well over three hours, it remained engaging throughout. At midnight, a bus pulled up to take the graduates to a well-deserved all-night beach party at Nitznanim.
My lasting impression though, was watching the whole class hug and dance onstage after the grand finale in a show of elation. 99% of the graduates will be entering the IDF within the next year, the principal had announced earlier in the evening. Looking out at the boys and girls turned into men and women, there was more than a touch of sadness, knowing that this would be the last time they would all be together, that they were awaiting an unknown and potentially dangerous immediate future. High school is over - here’s your gun. Let’s hope they’re all around for their 25th high school reunion.
Cafe Birnbaum
Tel Aviv is a city with many a cafe, and not all of them have appeared in the Aroma/Cafe Hillel stream of the last ten years. One of the best-loved, and with mighty tasty grub, is Cafe Birnbaum, owned the Birnbaum sisters, Penina and Sima. They took over from their father who ran the space as a bakery for many years, and turned it into a vegetarian cafe, although that term doesn’t really do it justice.
The retro front window tells newcomers that Cafe Birnbaum has been in existence since 1962, but the interior of Birnbaum’s is white, light and airy, and bustling with the activity of Penina and Sima, both with short gray hair and sharp, Tel Aviv-y black pants, shirts and red aprons. Penina runs around with a cigarette in hand, although there is a clear No Smoking sign, and the food is vegetarian and pointedly meat-less, although not crunchy granola, and neither is the crowd. There’s no menu; it’s grab a plate and fill up with as many of the fresh vegetable and grain salads as you can fit on your thick white diner dish. For the second course, you can choose from a selection of vegetable pies and bean and grain dishes, which Penina will warm for you in the oven (although I ate my mine room temp; it was a hot day). And that’s all for NIS 45. Drinks are extra, as are the delectable-looking desserts, which included a plummy fruitcake and sweet noodle kugel last Thursday.
Once you’ve settled in with your very tasty choices, it’s time to sit back and look around, while enjoying eating. Birnbaum’s is always busy, and it’s apparent, even on a first visit or if you haven’t been there for a while, that it’s a well-loved restaurant. The walls — and ceiling — are covered with art and some poetry, much of it by well-known Israeli artists such as Menashe Kadishman and Motty Golan who created pieces of and for the sisters.
Kadishman's gift to the sisters
Golan's portrait of the sisters
An ode to Birnbaum's
Cafe Birnbaum, 31 Nachalat Binyamin
Nostalgia Sunday - Pop Star
Do Israelis know from the Jackson-5? Puh-leez! This is the country whose government banned the Beatles from performing in the early Sixties on the grounds that they were a degenerate influence on the nation’s youth. But they did know Michael Jackson. In the mid-Seventies, with the advent of third radio broadcaster Reshet Gimmel, which played pop music, and pirate radio station The Voice of Peace, Israelis did become exposed to the international pop music. “Maariv LaNoar”, a weekly magazine for young people, reinvented itself as the local version of “Tiger Beat” with covers like this one:
Israelis tended (and still tend) to be exposed to Euro-pop, rather than good old American rock and soul but Michael Jackson was a massive musical crossover artist, with huge cultural influence all over the Middle East. Once “Thriller” hit, every country had their own ringleted version of Michael Jackson. Israel too*.
His Pied Piper persona already in full-swing, Michael Jackson held particular appeal for the younger set (by this I mean people who are now in their late Thirties) and in the mid Eighties you couldn’t go to any wedding or bar mitzva without the kids breaking out into song: “Triller! Tee lai lai… la lee la la la la la la la la la la la la… Triller! Tee lai lai…” and so on, ad infinitum.
But by the late Eighties, Israel’s media had fallen into lock-step with its international counterparts and stories about Jackson — whom “Spy” magazine once described as “the American version of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria” — focused on the weirdness.
And then, in 1992, speculation began that he was coming to perform in Israel. And he did in 1993.
During the past decade, new albums like “History”, regularly made the mainstream Israeli press, like this cover of Yediot Aharonot’s weekend supplement from 2002 of Jackson pulling his famous crotch-grab move. Famous but not original; the move was copped from Prince-produced Minneapolis band The Time, who doubtless stole the move from some other uncredited act.
Now Michael Jackson is dead and, as a good friend posted the other day on Facebook, in-between all the big hits, “the airwaves are filled with a whole ouevre of repetitive music that we fortunately never had to listen to.” Because our memories are not of Euro-perception post-”Bad” crap. We over-forties remember the J-5 hits, the Jacksons and, of course “Off The Wall” — little of which are being played here. Sadly, Israeli radio — whose knowledge of soul music is limited to the Blues Brothers movies parts 1 & 2 — is as usual, regurgitating only what it knows, not doing any research and depriving listeners of that truly joyous, wonderful music. Personally, I blame it on the boogie.
*Izhar Cohen, he of the Eurovision Europop mega-hit A-ba-ni-bi.
Michael Jackson mourned in Israel
Uri Geller with Michael Jackson.
The British press has been full of interviews with Uri Geller, the Israeli psychic, who called Jackson his best friend. Geller says the stress of readying for a 50-show stint in London this summer may have contributed to his untimely demise.
‘He was in good shape. I’m not a doctor, but I can only assume he was under immense stresses and pressures, and you can ask any doctor, stress is a killer.’
Uri, 62, reckons Michael should never have agreed to perform 50 shows at London’s 02 Arena this summer.
‘The pressure of these concerts, putting under huge pressures, he was a perfectionist,’ Uri tells Sky News. ‘That could have been what did it. But that’s just my opinion.
‘I think it was a mistake to target 50 shows…3, 4, 5 maybe 10 shows is enough.’
Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, where Jackson performed in 1993 on the second leg of the Dangerous world tour, fans gathered in Dizengoff Square in an impromptu show of sorrow for the musical icon.
“We connect to Michael not just through dance and music but also on a spiritual level,” one fan told Ha’aretz. “He supported peace, he supporting accepting people without discriminating based on religion or race. He is a kind of spiritual leader that we lost, and it’s tough. It’s heartbreaking.”
The fans lit candles and comforted each other and commisserated with each other.
Neor Zuberi, a 22-year-old musician from Tel Aviv, told Ha’aretz that Jackson had influenced culture, music, dancing.
“He also supported the IDF and visited an army base when he came to Israel. The things he did and the values he upheld influenced me. He inspired me to volunteer, like running a break dancing workshop in Sderot,” he said.
Watch a clip from Jackson’s show at Hayarkon Park in 1993 here.
Fraternities come to Israeli university
The university I attended in the US was not big on fraternities - we were mostly too busy getting wasted without an organized framework to bother with the hazing, initiation rites, etc..
But frats are an American institution, including popular Jewish brotherhoods like Alpha Epsilon Pi, with over 140 branches throughout the country. And now, they’ve moved into our neighborhood, launching the first-ever Israeli frat at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center.
According to Ival Erenfroind-Cohen, an Israeli who spent time working with the AEP community in San Francisco and who works with Hillel at the IDC, the founding of the local branch, “is an opportunity to show Israelis the North American way of preserving the Jewish community that would be great to translate to here [in Israel].
Ynet reported that The IDC is being used as the launching pad for AEP’s expansion in Israel because it is a strong international school with many American students who already understand the concept of a fraternity and who can help bring together the international and Israeli students on campus.
Steven Kaplan, Director of Expansion for AEP said: “I think that this is the perfect time for AEP to come to Israel because we can provide an outlet to bridge the gap between the North American Jewish community and the Israeli Jewish community.”
Some 150 North American brothers travelled to Israel this month to attend the local branch’s inauguration ceremony at Jerusalem’s Sheraton Hotel.
Ron Bernstein, one of the founding fathers and scribe of the new IDC chapter explained that, “At first I thought opening a fraternity in Israel was a ridiculous idea, but I jumped on board because I realized that this is not just a cookie cutter fraternity. We are an outpost with shades and colors of Israel that are specific to living here and we get to be a part of shaping that.
Bernstein added that the frat was going to help mold the next generation of Israeli leaders. But I don’t know if they’ll ever be able to teach any of the pledges to eat jello or chug Jack Daniels like Bluto did.
Foto Friday - Butterflies
Gideon Pisanty is a biologist from Israel with an interest in botany, evolution, ecology, genetics, and conservation biology. He is also a prolific photographer of Israel’s flora and its fauna as well. Pisanty is a steady contributor of lepidiotric images to Wikipedia — just search Wikimedia Commons for “Israel” “butterflies” and you’ll see what I mean — along with a few other enthusiasts. Before butterfly season ends (it began a few weeks ago before the high heat of summer) here are a few images to enjoy.
Archon apollinus bellargus - Photo by Gideon Pisanty
Gonepteryx cleopatra taurica - Photo by Gideon Pisanty
Melitaea phoebe (mating*) - Photo by Gideon Pisanty
Apharitis cilissa - Photo by Gideon Pisanty
Apharitis acamas acamas - Photo by Gideon Pisanty
There are plenty more photos at Wikimedia. To learn more about the local Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths to you and me), visit the Israeli Lepidopterists Society homepage. Or read this book: Lepidoptera in Israel; it was very well-reviewed. Or go out for a hike - the butterflies are all around.
*Yes, they are having sex.
Jerusalem online
The city of Jerusalem went online today with the launch of Jerusalem.com, a website that hopes to become the Jerusalem gateway to pretty much anyone who has anything to do with Jerusalem. We’re talking Jews, Christians, Arabs; pilgrims; tourists; property buyers and shoppers.
What it’s aiming to do is offer an overall picture of everything that’s going on in Jerusalem. So if you want to come visit Jerusalem, it has all the tourist services and information you may seek, from hotel reservations to tourist sites, wrapped in six hubs offering the information and services about the city. If you want to buy an apartment in Jerusalem, it has listings, and I have to say, they seem fairly authentic. There’s a gift shop, and it includes everything from Israeli wine, Emmanuel Judaica and Wissotzky tea boxes to Hebrew name necklaces, Ahava products and Israeli tee-shirts.
With the aim of becoming the hub for all three religions, Jerusalem.com also has a patented feature, the ability to submit vocal prayers and have them heard via speakers overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City. The site is reporting that hundreds of prayers have already been submitted from more than 72 different countries the world over. You can also light a candle at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, letting “the flame of your faith burn in Jerusalem.”
According to Jerusalem.com’s press officer, the company invited Princess Padmaja from Rajistan, India, who has been visiting Jerusalem for the past days, to post a 
to be heard in Jerusalem’s old city.
Good luck to Jerusalem.com
Taking a thong turn in Tel Aviv
Just how cool is Tel Aviv? When The Israel Bicycle Association and the Tel Aviv Rollers decided to stage a protest ride to oppose the lack of government support for urban bike riding as well a bill that would stiffen a required helmet law for cyclists, they did it in style.
On Tuesday night, hundreds of cyclist and roller skaters donned thongs and rode through the streets of the city - with the final destination being a thong party at a local club. Watch some video footage from Israel’s Channel 2 here
According to The Jerusalem Post, two weeks ago, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation decided not to throw the government’s support behind the bill to encourage bike-riding as transportation. The bill would mandate the inclusion of bike trails in urban plans and would allow bikes to be taken on intercity public transportation like trains and buses. It would also smooth the way for specially designated parking areas for bikes, and incentives to employers and employees who made the bicycle a primary form of transportation to work. The bill suggested a budget of NIS 100 million to build bike lanes and parking areas.
As far as the helmet law, the Association says that the best way to keep bikers safe is not through requiring a helmet, but through making new separate bike lanes.
“The government doesn’t seem to really understand what biking is - a daily means of transportation for hundreds of people. It’s not just a hobby for a select few mountain bikers,” bike association head Yotam Avizohar said.
“In the three countries which have a similar Helmet Law to ours - Australia, New Zealand and South Africa - there’s been a sharp dropoff in riders. Whereas there isn’t such a sweeping law in Denmark or Holland, yet they are serious biking countries,” Avizohar added.
“The government doesn’t seem to really understand what biking is - a daily means of transportation for hundreds of people,” said Avizohar.
And it’s a great excuse to get out at night wearing only a thong.
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