Krav Maga, for everyone
You’ve heard of it, maybe you’ve even tried it, especially if you’re a gnarly Hollywood type who’s gotta get into shape for your next flick. It, is Krav Maga, the Israeli-created self-defense training program honed in the IDF for battling the bad guys.
And yes, it’s been used by J. Lo for workouts, in action flicks such as The Bourne Ultimatum, and in video games GTA and Splinter Cell. “How I Met Your Mother” actor Joe Manganiello claims it helped get him a part in the recently cast “True Blood,” and Bionic Woman’s Michelle Ryan also used it to get in shape. And of course our very own Bar Refaeli uses it to keep her curves svelte.
But now anyone can try it online, and for much less than the cost of a single lesson with a personal trainer. Lee Rivnay and Amir Student, two Israelis who were looking for a good idea, launched KravMagaBootCamp.Com two years ago. They keep their site fresh with constant updates to the materials and methods of Krav Maga and offer instant access to Ran Nakash, who headed up the Krav Maga training division of the IDF.
What’s impressive about Rivnay and Student is not their Krav Maga skills; I’m not sure they have any. What they do have is ideas, as they’ve been clearly looking around for start-up possibilities, having first launched Girls Teach Guys, a website community that “facilitates communication and knowledge transfer between men and women. Trust me, it’s a lot raunchier than Krav Maga. But hey, it’s all about Israeli ingenuity. And Krav Maga is certainly one of those Israeli inventions that has found a global market.
Is Israeli airport security the way to go?
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Technology, Travel
Whenever the American comedians who make up the annual Comedy for Koby shows in Israel gather fresh material upon their arrival here, they usually end up commenting on the security personnel at Ben-Gurion Airport.
Like the Mossad, tank drivers, and air force pilots, Israeli airport security have that reputation for super hero, no-nonsense, get to the point directness and efficiency. “Who packed your bags?” “What was your bar mitzah portion?” “Why are you even here visiting?” The rat-a-tat- interrogation can be disarming, but most of us here now take it for granted.
In light of the recent attempt to detonate explosives aboard an airliner from Amsterdam, the tactics employed at Ben-Gurion are increasingly being looked at as the way to go to safeguard passengers.
The Toronto Star recently ran a story touting the ‘Israelification’ of North American airports, that is, how to make airports more like Israel’s, which deal with far greater terror threat with far less inconvenience.
“It is mindboggling for us Israelis to look at what happens in North America, because we went through this 50 years ago,” said Rafi Sela, the president of AR Challenges, a global transportation security consultancy. He’s worked with the RCMP, the U.S. Navy Seals and airports around the world.
“Israelis, unlike Canadians and Americans, don’t take s— from anybody. When the security agency in Israel (the ISA) started to tighten security and we had to wait in line for — not for hours — but 30 or 40 minutes, all hell broke loose here. We said, ‘We’re not going to do this. You’re going to find a way that will take care of security without touching the efficiency of the airport.”
That, in a nutshell is “Israelification” – a system that protects life and limb without annoying you to death.
I’ve met Rafi Sela, and he’s a straight shooter, one of those Israelis who you know you would immediately trust in an emergency to know exactly what to do. According to Rafi, the whole issue of profiling has been distorted as a political catchword. What the screeners are targeting isn’t race, but behavior.
The layer of actual security that greets travellers at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport is a roadside check. All drivers are stopped and asked two questions: How are you? Where are you coming from?
“Two benign questions. The questions aren’t important. The way people act when they answer them is,” Sela said.
Officers are looking for nervousness or other signs of “distress” — behavioural profiling. Sela rejects the argument that profiling is discriminatory.
“The word ‘profiling’ is a political invention by people who don’t want to do security,” he said. “To us, it doesn’t matter if he’s black, white, young or old. It’s just his behavior. So what kind of privacy am I really stepping on when I’m doing this?”
Whether the methods employed at Ben-Gurion are eventually adopted elsewhere remains to be seen. But I know that I breathe a sigh of relief whenever one of those earnest young security personnel start asking me who packed my bags.
Israelity’s top 10 stories of 2009
What a year. We started with the war in Gaza, and ended with a rash of terror attacks in the West Bank. And in between there was the water shortage, the Goldstone report, posturing and threats between Israel and Iran, and endless and bitter bargaining over the release of Gilad Shalit.
It was also, however, a year in which the Israeli economy weathered the global financial storm in extremely good shape, when new Israeli innovations in health and technology made good on the world markets, when Israeli charities gave life-saving aid to developing nations, and when Israel’s financial and technological success was finally recognized worldwide.
So what did our viewers enjoy reading the most in 2009? Well, the choice was as diverse as the year, ranging from the serious – the humanitarian aid webcam at the crossing into Gaza during the war, to the sublime – a YouTube mash created by an Israeli musician, and of course the ridiculous – the Bollywood style advert created by missile maker Rafael for the Indian market.
And, let’s face it, you all love to read about sex, scandals and supermodels as well.
Check out Israelity’s top 10 stories of 2009 below.
1. Foto Friday – Sexy Tel Aviv
In July, Rachel wrote a piece about gay clubbing in Tel Aviv during the hot summer months. The city has a lively gay scene and it abounds with great dance clubs and bars. Combine that with the great weather, and you’ve got a wild night out. Check out David Shankbone’s pictures in this post to see for yourself.
2. Israeli model Esti Ginzberg shot in New York
Fed up with all the hype about Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli (yes, yes, the one who dated Leonardo DiCaprio), in March Harry decided it was time to write about a different supermodel – an upcoming one.
Esti Ginzberg, is a Tel Aviv teenager who featured in 2009′s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, and carried out modeling campaigns for international chains like Tommy Hilfiger and Pull and Bear. She’s been featured on the cover of the French version of Elle Magazine, and this year also became a Victoria’s Secret model.
Not long ago, Ginzberg joined the IDF for two years of army service. Check out our video interview with Ginzberg in uniform on YouTube.
3. Human body parts invade Haifa
It’s created controversy wherever it went on show. Israel proved to be no different. As David pointed out in March, the exhibition, Body Worlds, by German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, raised hackles with Israel’s religious community the moment it went on show in Haifa.
The exhibition, of human anatomical specimens which use plastic to replace the fat and water in human body parts, has been seen by over 26 million people around the world. In Israel, the Haredi population protested the opening, and rumors abounded that Michael Jackson had asked von Hagens if he too could be plastinated when he died – an event that most likely came much sooner than he expected.
4. Humanitarian aid webcam Gaza
In January, right in the midst of the Gaza conflict, the IDF decided to start operating a live feed of the Keren Shalom border crossing – the largest checkpoint between Israel and Gaza – showing humanitarian aid being transferred to the Palestinians.
Karin, who interviewed Peter Lerner, an IDF spokesperson working at the border crossing, wrote a blog post on the news with a link to the webcam, which operated for three hours every day, during the daily ceasefire.
5. Bar Refaeli proof that Israel is a land of wonder
She’s inescapable. Bar Refaeli made the headlines again and again and again this year. Either for upsetting the Haredi with her revealing ad campaigns , for appearing on the side of an airliner, or – in May –, for being voted the third “hottest” woman in the world by men’s mag Maxim.
Under her picture, the editors wrote: “If there’s any evidence that the Middle East is a land of beauty and wonder – not just unending turbulence – Bar is it.” Amazing what a pretty face can do. Not sure Refaeli is the right ambassador, however.
Read more
Picture of the week: I’ll have it on ice please
Filed under: Food, General, Picture of the Week, Pop Culture
I don’t really get the attraction myself, but since my kids first read the Guinness Book of Records, they’ve been planning various record-breaking attempts. Person to kneel on a fit ball longest – that’s one idea, or what about person to eat the most chocolate at one sitting (they haven’t reached the age when they realize how awful that suggestion actually is), or even person to make the biggest ball from elastic bands.
None of these seemingly ludicrous ideas are actually any more ridiculous than some of the record-breaking feats actually being carried out by people for the book itself.
Hence Israeli magician, Chezi Dean is now attempting to break the Guinness world record of staying in ice. Dean, who served as a magician for the IDF during his military service, hopes to break the record set by David Blaine, then 27, who encased himself in a block of ice for 58 hours, right in the center of Times Square.
Dean, wearing just trousers and a hat, entered the ice structure right in the heart of Tel Aviv on December 29th, and plans to leave the ice on New Year’s Eve – six hours longer than Blaine. Photo by Roni Schutzer/Flash90.
This isn’t the only record-breaking attempt going on at the moment. On January 8th, Juadat Ibrahim, owner of the Abu Gosh restaurant in Abu Gosh will be trying to break the world record for the biggest platter of hummus – a record that was just broken in October this year by Lebanon.
Then 250 chefs got together to create the dish using 2.976 pounds of chickpeas and 13,525 ounces of lemon juice. The final dish weighed in at more than two tons, beating the previous record, which was held by an Israeli company.
At Abu Gosh, the goal is to create a four-ton platter of hummus and some of the country’s best chefs will be on hand to do it. The event will be attended by government ministers, ambassadors and Jewish and Arab professionals, who will no doubt be feasting on hummus afterwards.
Dancing by the sea
Okay, we’re a little behind on this one, but I was so charmed by the concept that I wanted to mention it. Word has it that just over two weeks ago, the World Latin Championship, was held in seaside Ashdod as part of the Ashdod Dance Festival. And it’s not just my word, we’ve got Youtube links to prove it.
The world’s best Latin American dancers — think Rhumba, Cha-Cha, Samba — gathered in Ashdod (of all places!), from 25 countries around the world. Israeli dancers Boris Zaltzman and Maria Troyansky didn’t win — they only made it to the semi-finals (although they do appear on Israel’s version of Dancing with the Stars), which is too bad, because the winners made off with 15,000 euros. Instead, Russian champions Evgeniy Imrekov and Elizaveta Divak made off with the prize, and I have to say, their dancing is fab-o.
And here’s a fun link to an excerpt of Israel’s Dancing With the Stars…which includes one of Israel’s champion dancers, Boris Zaltzman. You can catch a glimpse of him toward the end:
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