The temperature outside is…

September 28, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Israeliness, Life 

Those are four words you never hear on the radio in Israel. And I don’t understand why.

Israelis aren’t as obsessed with the weather like Americans are – basically from April through September, the forecasts are various degrees of ‘hot’. It’s not like you have to know whether to bring an umbrella or a long sleeve shirt for that picnic at dusk.

But Israelis are certainly obsessed with the news. On the hour every hour. And of course, at the end of every new bulletin, Israel Radio and Army Radio always present their weather report.

“And the temperatures today, in the Galil from 84 degrees (Farenheit) down to 66 tonight, Tel Aviv 86 to 70 Jerusalem 82 to 64″, etc. etc etc.

They can even tell us what the water temperatures are in the Mediterranean. But did you ever wonder why they never say, ” The temperature outside in Tel Aviv is 83 degrees”?

With all their advanced satellite tracking systems and the ability to provide a two week forecast, the Israel Weather Service, and subsequently radio and TV broadcasters around the country are incapable of letting the citizens of Israel know what the damn temperature is!

How difficult could this be?

I have one of those stick-um thermometers outside my window. Of course with the sun beating downdirectly on it, it usually registers around 110 degrees. But I’m sure within their yearly budget, the weather bureau could provide a little more sophisticated equipment in the major cities in the country to track the daily temperatures.

And if that’s too scientific, lets’ make it a little less complicated – Israel Radio could find 10 volunteers around the country to call or email in once an hour and let them know the temperature in their city. Hell, I’ll volunteer for Jerusalem. Of course, it will always be 110 degrees.

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Suburban Cowboy

September 22, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Life 

They call my town “The City of the Future.” Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, Modi’in is Israel’s only planned city. It’s currently houses 50,000 residents and hope to eventually have 250,000 residents, becoming the fifth largest city in Israel. There isn’t much to report about life in Modi’in. It’s just another Israeli suburb, albeit with clean streets. The most exciting thing that’s happened within the past few months was the opening of the town’s first uber-supermarket. They brought in Hip-Hop star Subliminal and Mizrachi singer Eyal Golan to celebrate it’s opening. I decided to celebrate from the comfort of my couch. For me, the best thing about Modi’in is it’s proximity to Tel Aviv.

Anyway, on the outskirts of Modi’in lies something truly unique to Israel. An ecological farm/education center that teaches about the environment, ecology and recycling. The farm is called Hava V’Adam. I was privy to a tour a few weeks back and have to say the entire operation is quite impressive. It’s completely self-sustaining and almost all the structures are built with mud, stones and hay. I have to say I was most impressed with the bathrooms that are situated in mud huts. It was remarkable. It’s definately the first outhouse that I have been in that didn’t stink. The farm also offer residents of Modi’in 30 meter lots to grow organic fruits, vegetables and herbs for the absurdly low price of twenty dollars a month. The price includes water, organic compost, fertilizer and all the advice you can ever ask for about what to grow, when to grow and what vegetable and fruit compliments each other. Quite a deal. I’ve decided to invest in a small plot with an urban friend of mine. We’ve been waiting on starting because the first thing that needs to be done is toiling the land. It’s doesn’t rain here from May to October so there is absolutely no moisture in the ground. Toiling the “soil” right now would be an exhaustive nightmare so we are planning on getting started in early November once the ground softens a bit. I’m looking forward to growing decorative gourds, baby bok choy and lemongrass. Three items nearly impossible to find in the supermarket. Good times.

This post was written by Harry of The View from Here blog and podcast.

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If at first you don’t succeed…

September 20, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Food, General 

When Starbuck’s closed its Israel operations two years ago, it left behind a case study to fuel a dozen marketing dissertations. There are dozens of theories as to why the chain, which has been a huge success in almost every market it has tried to penetrate, was such a complete failure in Israel.

Some say the timing was bad, pointing out that Starbucks opened here right as the Intifada started. Others believe that Israelis are sophisticated coffee drinkers who prefer the taste of Italian-style espresso drinks. You could also chalk it up to the fact that almost every other global chain has failed to take root in Israel. (Save for McDonalds — another thesis there).

Personally, I think Starbucks tanked because the food there was lousy. Israelis generally like to sit and have a nosh with their coffee, and by “nosh” I mean something better than a stail croissant.

At any rate, after less than two years Starbucks folded. But, you got to hand it to them. They have stick-to-itiveness. It seems that the chain is planning another assault on the local market. They are looking for a new local partner and working on a different deployment strategy.

Now, I’m not a Starbucks basher. Far from it; I think in the States it’s about as good as any coffee you’re going to find. However, I suspect that their second attempt to conquer Israel won’t be any more successful as their first.

Sure, the Intifada has calmed down. However, in the meantime three local coffee chains — Arcaffe, Ilan’s, and Aroma — have sprouted all over the place. They serve better coffee and much better food (albeit rather overpriced in the case of Ilan’s and Arcaffe) than Starbucks. Also, I get a sense of local patriotism amongst Israeli coffee drinkers. Some of them even take pride in the thought that Israel managed to defeat the mighty Starbucks machine.

Anyway, good luck to Starbucks I guess. Let’s see if this go round is a success or just another appendix for that doctoral thesis.

(Originally posted at Sha!)

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First day of kindergarten

September 19, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Israeliness, Life 

I understand that I must pay the price for siring four children into this world. But I didn’t realize what a heavy toll it would be until I was forced to sit through the annual ‘beginning of the year’ parents’ meeting at our local kindergarten.

Maybe I had forgotten how excruciating it could be since there was a seven year gap between my third and fourth child – I had perhaps blocked it out of my mind like a defense mechanism against other horrible thoughts.

Due to the untimely fact that we also had a 6th grade parents meeting the same night, I chose the kindergarten route, figuring that in 6th grade the teacher may actually say something important about my child’s education, and I would be forced to pay attention. Wrong decision.

I have no experience with the American process, but in Israel, the parents all sit around in a three sided-square in chairs designed for 5 year old tushies.

Within 30 seconds, my back began to feel numbness, which rapidly passed down through my legs and toes.

What should have taken a half hour tops – basic no-brainer topics covered were no chocolate spread sandwiches, dress them in clothes you don’t mind getting full of sand from the playground, and don’t send your kid if he has a temperature – turned into a tortuous two-hour free for all.

Now, I don’t want to cast aspersions on any particular gender, but I was the only male there amid 28 women with attitudes. And opinions. On everything.

By midway through the second hour, the numbness had spread to my neck and head, and I was praying for one of the ladies to have a shotgun in her purse so they could put me out of my misery.

But like all good things, the parley wound down, and all of the outstanding issues had been resolved – including the perennial hair lice issue, whether to make Friday birthday parties dairy or parve because young Zohar had an allergic reaction to milk products (the vote was parve), and whether the kids could bring toys from home if they kept them in their knapsacks (no).

Thanking the lord that I was still able to walk even in a stooped over manner, I bid farewell with the hopeful thought that this was the last kindergarten meeting I would ever have to attend.

But just as I was savoring that thought, Yael, the teacher, said, “We’ll see you all together again for the Hannukah party in December!”

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Serenity Now

September 18, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General 

You think it can’t exist. But it does. A place in Israel of utter tranquility, where adults – no kids — pad around in white robes and slippers, give each other lots of personal space and and either speak in quiet, hushed tones, or, get this, are TOTALLY SILENT.

And there are large signs all over the place forbidding both smoking and the use of cell phones – and people actually PAY ATTENTION to the signs!

Those who have been there know what I am talking about. The beautiful and luxurious Carmel Forest Spa, set among the pine trees atop a hill just south of Haifa.

What a place. I was there shortly after it opened in 1998, and I can’t believe I let so much time pass before returning there. It’s a cliché, but I could, actually hear myself think. It made me realize how I usually can’t…

Not cheap, I know, but I’m telling you – finding this kind of tranquility within the borders of our small country is worth a lot. So I advise any other busy harried working parents in Israel — find a sitter or friendly grandparents, check out the mid-week specials if you are on a budget, and go get yourself a hot oil massage and some tranquility.

Even if it’s only for 24 hours, you’ll come back with your batteries recharged and ready to face noisy reality.

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