Picture of the week: October in the Old City
It’s October.
The evenings are getting cooler and Jerusalem is one of the first places in the country to feel the change in seasons.
In the evenings, the Old City walls are lit up, creating interesting shadows. Photo by Miriam Alster/FLASH90.
Body shop makes a dent in insurance premiums
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, General, Israeliness, Life
In a country where there’s nary a car that’s not pocked with dents, scrapes, and nicks, I’ve been extremely fortunate to have escaped being involved with any road accidents that required involving insurance companies. Until last week.
An older lady turned right at a stop sign, without really looking left, and sideswiped my car as I drove by. When we pulled over, I really wanted to wail on her, over how she typified the aggressive, sloppy Israeli driving style. But she was so apologetic and shaken up that I ended up telling her it wasn’t so bad and that she shouldn’t worry.
And it wasn’t that bad, just some paint scraped away, one door guard ripped off and a slight dent. I told her I would bring it to the body shop next door to my usual mechanic and see how much it cost. It the estimate was less than her NIS 1,000 deductible, which I was sure it would be, then we could avoid going through our insurance companies and the accompanying hassles.
The next day, I brought the car to the body shop and was given an estimate for NIS 1,600. So I tried a couple other places, but received similar estimates. Of course, at that point, the lady decided to go through her insurance company, which triggered a series of bureaucratic forms, faxes, phone calls and a visit to an accident assessor that over the next few days kept me busy for hours.
It’s an odd arrangement when the victim of an accident ends up having to do all the work to repair the damage caused by the other person. But that’s just a sideline to the main point here – yes, there is one.
I finally got the car repairs completed yesterday at the original body shop I went to and went to the office to settle up (I also didn’t know that I had to pay for all the repairs and accident assessor costs, and then file a claim with the lady’s insurance company to get reimbursed.)
When I asked the manager who to make the NIS 1,600 check out to, he said ‘no, that’s not how much it cost – it’s NIS 3,450.’
Now, I’m getting reimbursed anyway, but I couldn’t resist asking him, ‘You told me when I was going to do the repair privately that it would be NIS 1,600. You’re doubling the price because the insurance company is paying for it?’
He just shrugged and said the Hebrew equivalent of ‘That’s the way it is.’
Maybe I’m just naive, and this is the way of the world, not only in Israel but in most countries when it comes to insurance claims. But it just doesn’t seem right, does it. I’ve always wondered why our car insurance premiums are so outrageously high. And yesterday, I found out why.
The Mohawk Returns to TA
Filed under: design, General, Israeliness, Music, Pop Culture
An Israeli with a Mohawk at Nitzanim Beach (Photo credit: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)
But given the centrality of hair in my life for the last week, I paid special attention to a Haaretz Gallery article this week about the increase of Mohawk haircuts on the streets of the Big Orange. It’s a look that attracts attention, as pointed out by Haaretz writer Tahel Frosh — whether it’s a modified, messed up or done up Mohawk. And given the recent harkening back to the 80s in the fashion world, it’s not a big surprise that this particular Punk style — and my mushroom head — is back.
According to stylist Maayan Goldman, the fashion statement being made by the current Israeli variation says, “I am not radical in any way, but I am here. I have fashion sense, but I’m not going to die for it.”
I mean, after all, it is just hair. It grows back.
Jerusalem to become accessible to the disabled
Jerusalem’s Old City is one of the top tourist attractions in the world, but with its ancient alleyways and endless stairs, much of the area has been inaccessible for visitors with handicaps. That’s set to change.
An article in Ynet today reported that the Jerusalem Development Authority recently allotted NIS 10 million (about $ 2.7 million) to make the Old City of Jerusalem fully accessible to the physically disabled. The money comes from a special fund in the National Insurance Institute (Israel’s version of Social Security).
Among the improvements: making Jaffa Gate and its surroundings wheelchair-friendly; preparing accessible walking paths in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Quarters; and possibly buying a car to drive handicapped people around the Old City.
Other tourist attractions to be upgraded include the Tower of David Museum, the Jerusalem Archaeological Park and Davidson Center, the City of David and the Herodian Quarter and Wohl Archaeological Museum in the Jewish Quarter.
Most intriguing: the project includes technologically innovative services for deaf and blind people, such as three-dimensional models which can be touched, vocal signs and visual transcriptions.
As someone who’s father was never able to visit Jerusalem due to the relative lack of physical consideration for people with disabilities, I applaud the city’s efforts. But there’s much more work to be done in the capital and around all of Israel.
Back to school daze
280,000 students started attending classes this week at universities and colleges throughout Israel. No strikes this year, which comes as a pleasant surprise.
An article in Yediot Aharonot over the weekend offered some interesting facts and stats about the the face of Israeli higher education which might be eye-opening for some, such as…
– There are 66 institutions of higher learning in the country, including 34 academic colleges (or junior colleges as they’re called Stateside) and 24 vocational schools.
– Tel Aviv University boast the biggest student body of the nation’s eight universities with 25,800 students, followed by Hebrew University with 23,000, Bar-Ilan University with 22,00, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev with 20,600, University of Haifa with 18,000, the Technion with 13,000, Ariel College with 11,000 and the IDC in Herzilya with 5,200 students. Evidently the Weizmann Institute – the home of recent Israeli Nobel prize winner Ada Yonath is considered a ‘research institute’ and not listed as one of the country’s universities.
– Out of the 221,000 students studying for a bachelor’s degree, 55% are women, and out of those studying for a master’s, 57% are women.
– Onto more important matters, the university cafeteria with the least expensive sandwiches for sale is Tel Aviv University, with a basic sandwich going for only 3 shekels (not sure what’s in that one, maybe just two slices of bread. While the most costly cafeteria sandwich is found at the Technion for 12 shekels (must be organic brain food).
– For a full meal, Bar-Ilan University tips the scales as the most expensive at 27 shekels ($7) with the University of Haifa trailing the field by offering some entrees at 15 shekels.
– Prices of dormitories also fluctuate with Hebrew University costing the most (between 900-1,300 shekels a month) and the Technion being the cheapest at 360-790 shekels.
With tuition becoming more costly each year, students and their parents are sure to be looking at these extra costs in deciding which institution to apply for. My daughter joined the ranks of the 280,000 students as she began classes this week at the instructional college Muzik, a Tel Aviv-based music school. I know that we’ll be urging her to eat meals in her apartment as much as possible.
Subscribe
Subscribe to Israelity via email:
Social Media
Categories
- A New Reality
- Art
- Blogging
- Business
- coexistence
- Crime
- design
- education
- Entertainment
- Environment
- Food
- Foto Friday
- General
- health
- History and Culture
- Holidays
- Immigrant Moments
- Israeliness
- Life
- Medical Breakthroughs
- Movies
- Music
- News
- Nostalgia Sunday
- Picture of the Week
- Politics
- Pop Culture
- Profiles
- Religion
- Science
- Social Justice
- Sports
- Technology
- Travel
- tv
- War
The Face of Israel Today
-
About Israelity
Free newsletter
Stories from ISRAEL21c.orgPopular Posts