Lights, camera, Shalom
Academy Award nominee Waltz With Bashir
But one area where the local film industry hasn’t done so well is in attracting foreign film producers to shoot their movies here. It’s a shame, because Israel has such cinematic locations – the beach, the desert, the Golan, the old cities of Jerusalem and Acre.
But until now, it’s been too expensive to bring a huge crew and equipment over, so foreign productions have been few and far between. I was an extra once in 1988 in Appointment with Death, an adaption of an Agatha Christie novel, starring Peter Ustinov, Sir John Gielgud and my personal favorite, David (Starsky) Soul that was filmed in Jerusalem. My portrayal of a British soldier in Palestine circa 1930s did irreparable damage to the reputation of Israeli actors, and since then, we’ve been suffering.
Even Adam Sandler’s Zohan filmed the scenes that are supposedly in Israel in some other location like Hawaii.
But now, things may change. The Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry has announced that Israel will offer foreign film producers tax breaks of 20 percent if they collaborate with Israeli production companies.
The announcement was made a day ahead of the opening of the Cannes Film Festival, and one of the sessions there featuring producers will focus on Israel as a location for making movies and TV shows. The ministry will also man a booth at the festival distributing pamphlets listing the advantages of filming here.
The Jerusalem Post reported that according to the pamphlet to be distributed at Cannes, Israel has several selling points: a vast pool of actors and extras of varying ethnicities representing more than 100 countries, many different types of locations within easy driving distance, and 120 production companies, 10 production studios and 30 post-production facilities.
Israeli producer Gal Uchovsky, the business partner of director Eytan Fox (Walk on Water, The Bubble) said that he was pleased with the move.
“Countries [that] have offered such incentives drew a lot of producers. Morocco and Ireland, for example, have made a lot of effort to draw in foreign filmmakers and it has paid off.
“This is a very good financial decision. It will provide an income for much of the local industry and will raise the local industry’s standards,” said Uchovsky.
We may not see Brad and Angie here tomorrow, but hopefully the government decision will help Israelwood get off the ground.
Seal of approval
My nephew gave me a gift the other day; a Tav Chevrati card to plunk down on tables in cafes and restaurants that don’t have the Tav Chevrati ‘seal of approval.’
Created in 2004, Tav Chevrati (social seal) is the creation of Bema’aglei Tzedek (in the circles of justice), an organization of young social activists who wanted to do something to help improve socioeconomic conditions in Israel. The certificate is just one of their projects, but one of the best-known. It’s free, and has been awarded to 350 restaurants, cafes and wedding halls throughout Israel that abide by certain guidelines regarding workers’ rights.
Businesses that have the Tav pay at least minimum wage, grant the basic package of social benefits required by Israeli law, pay salaries on time and are accessible to people with disabilities. The Tav Chevrati certificate is blue and usually hangs right next to the kosher certificate in restaurants.
For my limited purposes these days, Aroma franchises generally have the Tav, while Cafe Hillel does not. So it makes that one decision easier, even if the coffee is better at Aroma. More importantly, it means that you’ll see people with special needs working and eating at the Tav locations, and you can be sure that they’re getting paid and treated decently.
It’s not often that Israel is doing something socially conscious before the U.S., but we are in terms of the Tav. Social justice group Uri L’Tzedek recently gave the Tav HaYosher (ethical seal) to seven kosher restaurants in New York City that treat their workers fairly and obey labor laws. The seal followed the efforts of the Heksher Tzedek commission, a group with Conservative roots that aimed to certify kosher food production following the discovery of dubious working conditions at Agriprocessors, a kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa. (For a great read on that subject, check out Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America by Stephen Bloom.)
The two groups are Facebook friends, natch, and it’s good to be seeing do-good organizations begetting other organizations with the same goals. In the meantime, I’ve got the Tav card in my pocket, ready to do some good of my own.
A history lesson in Jerusalem
The Night Spectacular sound and light show at the Tower of David Museum in Jersualem’s Old City is indeed spectacular.
On a gorgeous Jerusalem Saturday night, the stands were full, as the 45-minute multi-media extravaganza was projected on the ancient walls of the Tower of David’s Citadel. Interspersed with trippy Fantasia-worthy interludes, the show covered the history of Jerusalem, from creation until modern times… almost.
From King David playing his harp on the rooftops of old buildings, to the Queen of Sheba visiting King Solomon’s Palace, the images are evocative, vivid and breathtaking. Particularly well done are the scenes depicting the destruction of the First and Second Temples and the exile of the Jews.
Since there isn’t any narration or subtitles -with only a striking musical accompaniment – you need to refer to the leaflet that’s handed out at the entrance to determine the various periods in which the city was ruled by the Crusaders, the Mameluks and the Turks.
All was mesmerizing until we arrived at modern times, which was depicted by in the British Mandate period with well-dressed British visitors strolling around Jaffa Gate. From there, it was a lightning jump to today with hundreds of school-aged kids filling up the screen and singing a song about peace. When they finished, the audience didn’t know whether to clap or not, until the lights in the courtyard came back on. There was nothing about 1948, 1967, or the relative coexistence that we enjoy todahy.
While filing out, audience members stopped to talk to our gracious host Caroline, who attempted to explain that the museum didn’t want to enter into the politics of latter day Jerusalem, and decided that depicting the history of 20th century Jerusalem would somehow end up offending somebody and not satisfy anyone.
Perhaps, but due to its omissions, The Night Spectacular ended a little less spectacularly than it began. It’s still a magical night out, one not to be missed.
Nostalgia Sunday – Matchboxes
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture
Before the electronic sparker and the electric stove-top, kids, there were matches and matchboxes, some so decorative they became collectible items.
My parents, like many others, had two huge glass vases filled with matchbooks amassed from trips across the US, Europe and Israel. These served as a conversation pieces — and of course, as firepower for social smokers at cocktail parties.
The rise of the cheap lighter, cheaper imports, and the decline in smoking has put many match-makers out of business. Veteran Israeli manufacturer Nur still exists, but mainly as an importer and repackager of safety matches; their website is sadly disappointing — no gallery, no history.
We present, therefore, a few memorable “tobacciana” relics, (many available for sale on Ebay), starting on the left with the classic Nur deer logo, and a mod version done in the go-go Eighties.
Ebay seller Avi has some really good examples of classic matchbook graphics, including the Tribes of Israel…
…and this series of Israel Air Force aircraft.
El Al commissioned artist Jean David to create this series of historic cities in Israel.
I think my parents had one of this series of long boxes made for tourists. I seem to recall a picture of Jaffa…
A nice, inexpensive, if flammable, hobby!
Roadblock blues
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Travel, War
I don’t think this happens much in other countries, unless you drive into a parking lot through the out entrance. But it’s just another one of those things that keeps us on our toes in Israel.
A true story that happened to a neighbor this week. A bit of background – when you drive into Jerusalem from Ma’aleh Adumim, you need to pass through a three-lane checkpoint manned by soldiers, military police and/or border policemen. You slow down and get waved through – if you don’t look Arab – and clomp over a small metal barrier on the road. (If you do look Arab, then you have to produce ID.)
The barrier evidently houses those sharp spikes you find in parking lot exits, that can be ejected with the touch of a button if one of the authorities wants to stop a vehicle from passing.
Unfortunately, that’s what happened to the neighbor’s husband – or at least to the car next to his. As he was passing through the checkpoint, the checkers evidently spotted a susicious car that wasn’t stopping in another lane and activated the road spikes.
However, all three sets of spikes rose simultaneously– one in each lane- just as my husband, unluckily, was passing through. The result? two punctured tires, ruined beyond repair.
When two tires are punctured, having a single spare is of no help. My husband had to wait for a tow truck–then was towed back to the Maaleh Adumim tire repair place.The tow truck cost NIS 242, two new tires cost NIS 700. It also cost him hours of work and, naturally, aggravation. Reporting the incident at the Ma’aleh Adumim police station today, I was told that the Border Police, not they, deal with this, to check back in a week to see if they have received my complaint. and then to wait quietly until our recompense (which hopefully covers all costs) is arranged. In the meantime, we are out nearly NIS 1,000.
Security, security, but this is ridiculous! At the very least, payments should be immediate -not entailing endless phone calls, and running from office to office. Besides–why, if a car in one lane must be stopped, do all the spikes emerge?
So friends, as you pass the roadblock, look left and right. If nearby cars look suspicious, beware. Though you are innocent, you may reap their punishment with them.
After reading that, working at home seems like a viable option.
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