The tourist cycles
The Israeli government’s recent aggressive courting of various niche tourist markets has targeted the Chinese and the gay, and now officials seem bent on attracting the cycling crowd.
Members of a subculture that espouses environmentalist as well as fitness values, bicyclists have been gaining momentum in Israel as of late, through expanded local and national cycle-friendly development endeavors as well as cycling community activities. There was even a highly publicized event that combined the ever-growing wine tourism niche with the cycling niche – and a Jewish holiday (not sure how that one turned out).
Back in the heady days of August, local environmentalism blog Green Prophet quoted Tourism Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balili on Israel’s bicycle tourism development plans:
“The Tourism Ministry leads the development of the cycling tourism industry as part of its policy to position Israel as a unique and quality tourist destination at an international level. This is in light of the worldwide trend in the tourism industry that places cycling tourism as a significant and developing market segment. Developing the industry will improve Israel’s image around the world and increase tourist traffic, while preserving the environment.”
Last week, the blog followed up with the latest details on the budget and where it’s going. Some NIS 20 million in “short-term” (through 2013) spending is said to cover the planning and creation of cycling paths all over the country, including a north-to-south Israel-spanning cycling route and regional loop trails that circle the perimeters of population clusters and bodies of water.
Image courtesy TLVshac from Flickr under a Creative Commons license.
13 years and counting
It’s hard to imagine it was 13 years ago that Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
No-one can forget where they were or what they were doing when the news came.
I was actually at the rally itself, standing on a building looking out over what is now Rabin Square. We left before the end, bouyed by the incredible mood of hope and optimism at the demonstration. There were so many people there – 300,000 out of a population which was then only five million or so – we thought that this time peace really had a chance.
We drove to a friend’s house just a short distance away and as we walked in the door, they told us he’d been shot.
Minutes later, as we watched the TV, we heard in disbelief that he was dead.
Here, for the 13th anniversary, is a video celebrating Rabin’s life.
Nostalgia Sunday – Powdered instant coffee
Filed under: Food, General, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture
For those who don’t understand the billboards now plastered all over town, Elite has just relaunched their “Hot Water, Small Glass” campaign for its Turkish coffee. The ads feature a charming Israeli commercial airline pilot who travels the world requesting that various waiters, stewardesses, bedouin “zula” proprieters and other serving persons, bring him “hot water, small glass” so that he can mix up a cup of that brown colored swill so beloved here, popularly known as “botz”.
“Botz” means mud, so you see that even three and four generations ago, our forefathers understood this brew was not quality, to put it mildly. For those unable to stomach even the sight of botz — not to mention botz with milk — there was one other option: Elite powdered coffee.
That’s right, kids. Israel used to have only bad coffee. There were no Lavazza home espresso-makers, no Bodum cafetiers, no Chemexes or Melittas with paper filters — and even if there were, all there would be to put in them would have been ground up cardamom-flavored mystery beans. All we had, children, was bad bad bad coffee that came in a small tin.
Visitors from the US were asked to bring salvation in a jar that looked like this:
Eventually, good coffee came to Israel but visit any office kitchenette in this country and you’ll still see a small (or large) tin of Elite powdered coffee. Even I drink it – it tastes good to me now.
The Game is On: The U.S. Presidential Election…What’s Your Vote?
With the U.S. Presidential Election just a couple of days away, do ex-pats in Israel, Israelis and foreigners know which candidate will be better for Israel? For me the best candidate would be the one that said, “Israel we’re just going to stay out of this. No more three-ways, scrappy peace documents, or lame promises–if you vote me for President, I’ll stay the hell out of it and focus on my own country.”
But since that probably is not going to happen, just like a kosher Mexican restaurant popping up in Jerusalem’s city center or a real gym built on EmeK Refaim ain’t gonna happen, my group of kids went to the heart of Jerusalem to find out what other people, besides bitter me have to say.
Check out what these folks had to say about the better candidate for Israel: McCain or Obama?
Originally post on The Big Felafel.
Time for sachlab!
I enjoyed my first sachlab of the season yesterday. As far as I’m concerned, the only places I truly enjoy a nice cup of sachlab are Abulafia in Jaffa and Mifgash HaShech in Jerusalem. Mifgash HaShech has been serving up Sachlab for many years (but certainly not 125 like Abulafia) in Talpiot and is open 24 hours a day, but not on Shabbat. They flirted with a more “upscale” location at one point but it proved to be an epic failure.
Silly me. There must be some of you who have no idea what Sachlab is. Allow me to explain. Take some vanilla orchid root and milk, mix it up, sprinkle on a generous amount of cinnamon, peanuts (sometimes walnuts) and coconut and you have a hot, creamy concoction that is Middle Eastern comfort food at it’s best. It’s the perfect drink for cold Jerusalem nights. Yeah, so the sachlab was alright. Not the best I’ve had, but satisfying. My friend said it was watery. I disagreed. While it wasn’t the thickest I’ve had, it definitely wasn’t kool aid consistency. I don’t like it too thick anyway. Thicker sachlab tends to taste very starchy. So I’d take a thinner sachlab with flavor over a sachlab pudding any day. And this sachlab certainly didn’t lack flavor. And doesn’t it look fantastic?
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