Exciting News for Booklovers
Welcome news for those of us who desperately miss Barnes & Noble:
Marking a change in strategy from its smaller, walk-in stores, Steimatzky is preparing to open its first cafe-style bookstore in Jerusalem by Pessah next year.
“The new store will be bigger, will have a sit down caf area and will offer DVDs and music, but the main theme will, of course, be books,” said Roee Freibach, newly appointed vice president marketing and sales at Steimatzky.
The store will cover about 750 square meters, compared to the average 60-100 square meter stores the chain currently operates and will be located in the new Mamilla development opposite the Old City’s Jaffa Gate. Freibach said the store’s opening was pending completion of the development, which has been plagued by delays and legal complications. Freibach added that he has been told the section where Steimatzky will be located will be ready by April 2007.
Rather than comparing the new store to the popular Barnes & Noble stores in the US, Freibach said it would be on a smaller scale and more be in the mould of the French chain “Fnac,” which combines the book theme with sales of electronic and music products and gives customers the opportunity to buy coffee and sit in the store viewing the products.
Free Hugs II . . . coming soon to a roadblock near you?
Filed under: A New Reality, Israeliness, Politics, Pop Culture
The Free Hugs movement in Israel (video posted on Israelity here) is gaining momentum, and Yohay is thinking about taking it to the West Bank:
Contrary to my previous experience, this time I wasn’t cynical. It was quite fun. At the end, I also raised a Free Hug sign and offered hugs. I had to work hard to convince someone to come out of the car and hug me, but it was nice. I missed out on the media celebration (working late). Well, like this I got to speak to the people behind this campaign. Maybe knowing the people helps you get closer to the whole campaign. I also got to know a few other nice people that joined in like myself. Everybody was very nice. I guess that when you hug a stranger, you instantly feel like you can open up to them.
The main guy behind it set a goal of 10,000 hugs. Well, after the push from the media, I’m sure that he and his companions will get lots of help from people who were exposed to this great campaign. I heard that other groups in Israel consider opening “branches” in other places across the country.
Except reporting, where am I in all this story? Well, I came from curiosity, and then was asked for pictures, which of course I gave. Now I’m sure that they have lots of material. Tonight I spent an hour with these good people, participated shortly, and talked to them. I can now say that I am a supporter.
And what’s next? My political mind threw a joke at the end of my previous post, about trying this thing in West Bank blockades. Meanwhile I found out that I wasn’t the sole person thinking about this issue. So, there is some chance that this joke I popped will turn into something that I’ll do. I’m sure that this is far from the intentions of the initiators of the campaign. They just want to hug, be hugged and create warmth between people, not sexual and not political. Going with such a sign to hug Israeli soldiers and Palestinians will have a political left wing stamp. When you are hugging passers by in Tel Aviv, it is different from stepping out and hugging people who you usually hate. Well, l still have to think it over, and see if and how to do it.
Anyway, I had lots of fun with the good people handing out free hugs for everyone. A Hebrew post will shortly follow.
And I hope to report from the next free hugs!
Younger, but not as spry
Filed under: General, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Life, Travel
On a sukkot-festival hike on Mount Carmel, Jerusalem Gypsy discovers where she sits on the fitness spectrum:
It was organized by an English speaking group called ESRA (English Speaking Residents Association). The hike was classified as being “moderate” but I’m always nervous about heights and those extremely narrow and seemingly dangerous hiking paths that one slip off can land you down a cliff. And there are no railings to hang onto. What is moderate for some people can be awfully difficult for others. As the bus picked up more passengers from Raanana, Hadera, Netanya, I noticed most were older than me – in their 50’s and 60’s – and some even in their early 70s. I no longer felt frightened of the “moderacy” of the hike and figured it HAS to be on the easy side for these people.
I was quite wrong. These people outpaced me for most of the hike, as I lagged behind among the 1/3 lagging behind. We continuously climbed over rocks to get up the mountain in Wadi Bustan, dodging branches overhead and thorns on our sides. I felt the Fall season as I tread on brown leaves beneath my feet. The Fall season was something I always missed (however briefly) from Canada. I missed walking on these giant fallen multicolored maple leaves. These leaves weren’t maple leaves – I think they were mostly acorn leaves, as there were an abundance of acorn and carob trees on our paths. At the end the path was steep and narrow I quipped that only an anti-semite could have drawn up these JNF (Jerusalem National Forest) trails. Three hours later we were on top of the mountain, having our lunch, me looking longingly at the luxurious Carmel Forest Spa across from us. Man – what would I give for a nice dip in a jacuzzi. It was hot and we were all sweaty. The view of the sea was magnificent from the summit and I felt my feet giving way, but fortunately for me others did too. The guide wanted to go another two hours. We had already hiked five. We asked him for a shorter route. That would take an hour. The way down the mountain was more pleasant and I was jealous at these sixty-something men whizzing by me effortlessly.
A photo from her hike:
‘Mike’s Place,’ Tel Aviv keeps rockin’ the blues
Filed under: Art, General, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture, War
Blues jammers extrordinaire, Dov and Assaf put on a great show for the crowd at Mike’s Place bar, on the Tel Aviv shore Wednesday night, Oct, 11.
The nationally famous pub was the scene of a suicide bombing on 30.4.2003 that killed three and wounded over 50, perpetrated by two Hamas – dispatched British Muslims.
Despite the lethal attack, Mike’s Place reopened on Israel’s Independence Day, and continues hosting a full house most nights and is a blues and classic rock-and-roll magnet in Israel.
More about Mike’s Place: here, here, and a feature-length film, “Blues By The Beach.“
More about Dov and Assaf is here.
(Cross-posted at Israel At Level Ground)
Bring Back the Noise
In a post about “memories of Sukkot-holidays past,” StillRuleAll touches on one of the more annoying aspects of the holiday, for those of us who go to sleep early: The noise from the many festive parties in people’s sukkahs, some of which run well into the night. StillRuleAll was part of the party in Bet Shemesh, where Americans flock every Sukkot for the annual music concert there, but got his own back soon enough:
We went to the Bet Shemesh concert tonight. It was fun, although definitely a different feeling then when I went there drunk as a single guy. I called a friend of mine who lives in Bet Shemesh and he met me there. He lives opposite the field where the concert was, and I laughed as he told me how every year all the Americans pile into their area and blast music until late. All the neighbors are Israeli, and he only came to the concert to meet me. I laughed at him some more and reminded him that not only does he have to deal with the noise, but his tax dollars help pay for it. Then I went home, and Mercaz HaRav is having a simchat Bet Hashuava, with music blaring into our house from across the street. It’s around 12:30 AM, and they have cut to quieter songs, but we still feel it.
Nexus of Religion, History, and Film
Rahel writes about a visit to one of Israel’s little-known cultural treasures, a film school that caters to religious and culturally-steeped Jews, and produces some very high-level, thought-provoking work:
Tonight I met some friends at the Ma’ale School of Film, Television and the Arts, where we watched four films by their graduates. They were amazing, and what was even better was that I got to meet a good friend who is herself a graduate of Ma’ale and whom I hadn’t seen for some time.
What’s extraordinary about Ma’ale is that its students come from the religious population … and no subject is taboo. The school’s students and graduates do fantastic work, often making films about topics that require a great deal of courage to take on.
Here is a list of what will be showing when. Highly recommended. I hope to go back tomorrow night as well.
Homesick
Katherine explains how it is that her one-year trip to Israel turned, almost by accident, into immigration . . . and that though she has decided that she likes it here, she misses her family in Cape Town terribly:
The problem now is this. While we have acquired some really good friends here, and we have all of Bob’s family here (which means a lot of family), we have left behind in South Africa both very good friends, and all of my family. This was evident at the two wedding parties, where in Cape Town maybe 10% of the guests were there for Bob, and in Israel even less than 10% were here for me. At first I was here in this country because Bob convinced me it was a great place, and we would enjoy a good quality of life here. In the beginning I was not so convinced, and neither was he, truth be told. It seems visiting is a different thing to living here. Slowly though I have become convinced here about the quality of life, and the relative advantages of living here compared to Cape Town. If Bob were to suddenly settle for a newer fresher less talkative model, I would still stay here to do my Phd. So it appears in my head I am convinced living here, while difficult at plenty of times, is also something sweet.
My heart on the other hand is somehow not so convinced. My heart is confused and would like to buy a magic flying carpet which could allow me to live here, and to see my family on a regular basis. In our first year here, I think I was back in South Africa 3 or 4 times. It has now been 6 months since my last visit back, with the next visit only tentatively scheduled for possibly April or July next year. Studying full time with half a salary does not allow much leeway for international flight tickets at 1200 dollars a pop. While I know that inevitably one moves away from one’s family, I find it a very difficult thing to deal with. It is even more difficult when not only do I miss them, but I worry about them too. While my brother would like nothing better than to tangle with a would be criminal, and my sister seems to lead a charmed criminal free life in Johannesburg, a little old lady was murdered in the little seaside village where my mother lives, not 5 minutes up the road. This is the sort of thing that makes me feel bad that I am so far away, and that there is effectively nothing I can do to make her safer. If I was there I would probably also not be able to do anything about it, but at least I would not feel so far away.
At the same time, I also feel like I am missing out on experiencing what is going on in my siblings and my mother’s life. I don’t know if this is something that would naturally have happened, if we would have gone somewhere else, or if my brother would have gone and lived somewhere overseas. My sister left Cape Town a good few years back, but still moving cities is not the same as moving countries. I really don’t know how people do it, coming here, leaving all their family behind, and with the intention of staying permanently. I don’t think I could have made such a difficult decision, rather that decision, at least for the next few years, somehow just got made.
A Hike in the Hills
Yael has some great pictures and explanatory captions from her hike near Bet Shemesh (a large town between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv)
Click here for more.
Woo hoo!
Great news for fans of Israeli soccer!!! The under-21 team is headed for the European Championship!!!!
Israel’s under-21 soccer team qualified for the European Championship for the first time last night, beating France 1-0 in Herzliya to complete a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Amir Tega scored the winning goal in injury time, after picking up a deflection off a French defender and slotting the ball into an empty, with the visiting goalkeeper stranded. Tega had come on as a substitute only four minutes earlier.
France had dominated the first half, but at 9:20 P.M., the fireworks went off over the Municipal Stadium in Herzliya to celebrate Israel’s historic victory.
Only eight minutes earlier, the 7,500 fans in Herzliya skipped a heart beat when Albin Ebondo sent a shot crashing against the post for France. Memories of previous occasions when Israel had failed at the last moment haunted both the fans and the Israeli bench, but this time things were to be different as Tega blasted the ball into an open net to put things beyond doubt with less than a minutes remaining.
Coach Guy Levi had said all along that he would play to win even though a goalless draw would have been enough to send Israel through to a place among Europe’s top eight. The first half provided little coverage for Levi’s bold predictions.
. . . . France piled on the pressure in the final minutes and suddenly it looked as if a goalless draw might be to much to ask; but in the end, Tom Almadon in the Israel goal stopped the visitors from ruining the party, and Tamuz set up Tega for the finale – and the celebrations began.
Annual Sukkot Parade (of our non-Jewish friends)
Thousands of years ago, back when the Jewish Temple stood on the Temple Mount, its doors were thrown open on the first day of Sukkot so that any non-Jew who wished to worship there could do so.
Today, the tradition continues, with an annual parade of non-Jewish supporters of Israel during the intermediary days of Sukkot.
Dan Sieradski was there with his camera. His complete album of the parade, replete with beautiful photos (and snarky comments, and a snarkier soundrack) is here.
A taste:
The Brazilian contingent
Our friends from the Philippines
One of many Christian Zionist groups
Um, I think, based on Dan’s caption, that this is a group from Israel’s Postal Service workers. Not positive though.
Happy Holidays. :-)
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