Happy 2008!!

December 31, 2007 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Holidays, Life, Pop Culture 

Who sez it better than ABBA? No, this isn’t their Israel tour circa 80′s…It’s simply…ABBA!

Here’s wishing all of our readers, friends and neighbors a happy & prosperous 2008 filled with good health, good fortune, advancement of peace and stability in all regions.

Your friends @ Israelity

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Pass the Joint

December 31, 2007 by · 6 Comments
Filed under: Life, Pop Culture 

Anyone who lives in San Francisco long enough eventually comes across the identifiable markings of the city’s medical marijuana clinics.

Characterized by foot traffic, the same population frequenting a facility day in and out, “stoop hangers” chatting quietly or staring vacantly for hours, blacked clinic windows and unmarked doors, these are the places sick people go to legally buy pot.

Of course there are those who slip past the powers that be and receive medical marijuana cards regardless of whether or not they suffer from any illness stronger than an addiction to marijuana. The card entitles them entry to clubs where they can purchase top grade pot and hang out getting stoned all day. That’s the downside, say medical marijuana critics.

The upside is when the medical marijuana gets to the people who are really really sick and really really need it. Because it really really helps. Chemo patients manage pain and nausea with pot and grand mal seizure sufferers can control episodes by lighting up.

Looks like Israel is trying out medical marijuana clinics too. An unmarked, unnamed facility has opened in Tel Aviv, one of the Hebrew local papers reported over the weekend, and the pro-medical cannabis activists are thrilled.

“I welcome the initiative. I can use my member card and buy marijuana here twice a week. This definitely saves me money,” reports medical marijuana advocate and cancer patient Erez Petkovitch.

Hopefully the measure will help those who need it.

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L’chaim or vashe zdarovye!

December 31, 2007 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Food, General, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Life, Pop Culture 

Got sent this nice piece from Deborah Frenkel, who’s been helping out at ISRAEL21c for awhile, so thought I’d share it with you:

The real new year may be months away according to the Jewish calendar – but that doesn’t mean that Israelis won’t be partying hard tonight. New Year’s Eve – or ‘Sylvester,’ as Sabras call it – is always a fun affair in Israel, marking the end of the business year, the middle of a festive winter season, and the beginning of new chapter for many groups within Israel’s diverse society.

Take, for example, the millions of Russian olim, both new and veteran, who use December 31 as a great pretext for a vodka-sodden proclamation of vashe zdarovye! According to a recent survey conduced by McCann Culture, immigrants from the former Soviet Union will have spent the equivalent of $20 million in preparations for the event, including an average $100 on customary gifts for family and friends.

‘Sylvester,’ with its name borrowed from the European, originally Catholic name for the final day of December, is the celebration of choice for many religiously unaffiliated Russians who celebrate neither Jewish nor Christian festivals. During decades of communist rule, Sylvester celebrations developed into a unique tradition in their own right, with a customary family dinner involving Champagne, caviar, the diced vegetable and potato dish known as Olivier’s salad, as well as other accoutrements more traditionally associated with Christmas, such as a tree, lights, and ornaments. With a huge percentage of Israelis hailing from the former Soviet Union, the event sets off its own economic ripples, and many savvy restaurateurs have jumped on the bandwagon, with special Sylvester menus featuring European-style delicacies.

But for many Anglo immigrants also, the day carries its own secular associations of firework-lit revelry – just as in London or New York. In Israel, towns with strong communities of olim like Beit Shemesh and Ra’anana will be partying especially hard. In the most exclusive bars and clubs in Tel Aviv, entry prices can top $250 for the privilege of welcoming in 2008 with a bit of style – where the toast of choice might be a Golan Heights Winery brut or a Yarden blanc de blancs sparkling wine.

So whichever way you celebrate it, Sylvester sameach! Happy 2008!

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Hired Help These Days…tsk tsk

December 31, 2007 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: History and Culture, Holidays 

You know the saying: It’s soooooo hard to find good, reliable hired help these days.

And who to know that better than the Armenian and Greek Orthodox priests minding Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, hmmmm?

You didn’t hear?

Well then allow us to fill in the gaps:

Apparently the two sects got into a “stick, stone and broom fight” two days post-Christmas over church clean-up duty.

Or at least that’s the story according to Sky News.

It was really about turf wars. The Greeks were in for a pre-holiday cleaning – they’re on a slightly different Christmas schedule than the others – and they stepped into the Armenian section of the church sparking the violence.

Will wonders never cease? Gentlemen. Gentlemen.

What is it the bumper sticker sez? What would Jesus do?

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Privacy? What Privacy?

December 31, 2007 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Blogging, Pop Culture, Technology 

Wondering just how much of your real self to share on Facebook? Which pictures should be public and which are best left private? What apps are safe and which are not? Who is trolling and why?

You’re not alone.

And next week at Tel Aviv University, a panel of social network “in the knowsters” will address & discuss “The Social Network versus Privacy Dilemma”.

January 7th starting at 16:00. Go here for details (in Hebrew)

Thanks to panelist Ouriel for the tip off.

Have questions or topic suggestions for Ouriel? Then get yee to his blog and drop a line…

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