Foto Friday – New Year for Acasias

January 21, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Environment, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Holidays 

The tree known as Acacia tortilis or Umbrella Thorn is a medium to large canopied tree native primarily to Northeast Africa. It also grows in the Middle East, where it is known to botanists as the Israeli Babool or to the rest of us by its Hebrew name “shitta” (pronounced “shee-ta”). Hmmm… it sounds better in Hebrew.


Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Although it’s the flowering almond tree that generally gets the glory on Tu b’ Shvat, the Jewish New Year for the trees, this year two others take central stage: planting conifers in the Galilee (though not at the Carmel Forest, which is being allowed to lie fallow and recover from December’s fire). And there is acacia tree planting in the Central Arava as the Adopt an Acacia project enters its second year.


Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Over the decades, the Central Arava has embodied the vision of making the desert bloom. But human habitation and agricultural progress have their price. Although the hardy acacia can withstand drought and the desert climate, it has faltered in the face of human progress. The water that was once available to the trees was now diverted before reaching the aquifer. The result: dead and dying trees.

The project — led by the KKL-JNF — has its volunteers plant acacia trees near villages and in other easily accessible areas, so that the caretakers can ensure their seedlings are properly cared for as they begin to strike root.


Photo: KKL-JNF

After all, there is a long-standing relationship between children of Israel and the acacia tree, which was used in the construction of the Tabernacle that served as a portable house of worship in the wilderness, as well as its furnishings — including the Ark of the Covenant.

Since those biblical times, the acacia has continued as an important part of the desert economy. Just like that animal whose every part is used “except for the squeal,” so the acasia has served as a multi-purpose resource. Its pods, leaves and flowers are eaten by desert animals fodder, the bark is a source of tannin, the sap can be used as glue and all of the above-mentioned can be found in items as diverse as decoration, weaponry and folk medicine.


Photo: Wikimedia Commons

There are species of acacia all over the world, from Australia and Argentina. to the Americas and Africa. In our region — the Negev, Sinai and Jordan — there are three species: Acacia tortilis, Acacia albida and Acacia iraqensis.

For more amazing photos in the spirit of Tu b’ Shvat, visit Free Israel Photos, Flowers in Israel and the JNF-KKL, which has two lovely screensaversfor download, free of charge. And tree-planting activities will continue throughout the month – check the JNF-KKL website for details.

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But is that McFalafel kosher?

January 20, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Food, Israeliness 

Kosher McDonald's have a differeng logo

David wrote yesterday on Israelity about the introduction to the Israeli market of the McFalafel. While I’m not running out to make McDonald’s my new falafel joint (Falafel Oved in Jerusalem is the best in the country – and I’ve written about it before, so it must be true, right?), there were a few interesting tidbits in this article on YNET about the new McCulinary offering.

Specifically, did you know that 30% of all McDonald’s in Israel are kosher? That number was quite surprising. When McDonald’s first opened, there were exactly three kosher branches – in Ra’anana, Beit Shean and Meveseret Zion. The big restaurant in the center of Jerusalem, with the hulking Ronald McDonald statue – treife.

At the time, McDonald’s Israel CEO Omri Padan was quite outspoken about his anti-religious opinions; opening even those three McDonald’s was a concession to coercive market forces, he hinted at the time.

And then when he wanted to actually open a kosher McDonald’s in Jerusalem after all, the Rabbinate refused, saying that all outlets of the same chain in the city needed to be kosher. And so, the McDonald’s in the Central Bus Station served only kosher meat, no cheeseburgers and was closed on Shabbat – but without kashrut certification.

In the last couple of years, McDonald’s has figured out how to get around the Rabbinate’s injunction, by opening a sub-brand which replaces the red background on which “McDonald’s” is written with a blue strip, along with prominent text in English and Hebrew reading “Kosher.” The fabled arches remain their traditional yellow.

The truth is, I’ve long since stopped caring about being able to get my hands on a Big Mac. What was once a delicacy in my youth (I lived in a suburb where McDonald’s only arrived when I graduated high school) is now just a source of unnecessary weight gain (although, as David points out in his post, McDonald’s claims the new McFalafel only has 499 calories – not 500, mind you – and a moderate 6.7% fat.

Padan also shared the results of a McDonald’s survey which found that “the majority of the secular public, 70%, wants kosher meat, 15% says it doesn’t matter, and only 5% want non-kosher meat.”

Does that mean that, if you squint your eyes really tight, McDonald’s is actually kosher? Not so fast. While McDonald’s Israel won’t sell you anything with bacon (there goes my old favorite, the Egg McMuffin), there are still cheeseburgers available. But, as “only 0.25% of adults ask for it,” Padan says, “we’ve slowly lowered its profile. Why should we openly display the cheeseburger if no child asks for it?”

For the kosher (and non-kosher) eating public, though, there’s another reason why McDonald’s might not be as attractive in Israel as overseas: the price. A Big Mac can easily set you back $10 or more. That’s certainly not what I’d call a happy meal.

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Macy Gray stands up to pressure to scrap Tel Aviv shows

January 20, 2011 by · 8 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, Blogging, coexistence, Entertainment, General, Israeliness, Music, News, Pop Culture 

It’s happened too often in the recent past – high-profile international performers like Elvis Costello and the Pixies who book and sell out shows in Israel, and then turn around and cancel them.

The pro-Palestinian presence on the Web and in campaigns calling for these artists to boycott Israel by using catch phrases like “Apartheid state” and focusing on its treatment of Palestinians is usually the main reason for the turn around in the artists’ decision to scrap their plans.

And at least on the surface, it’s what prompted American soul singer Macy Gray to post a status on her Facebook fan page questioning whether she should honor her contract to appear in Tel Aviv at the Reading 3 club on February 11 and 12.

“I’m booked for two shows in Tel Aviv,” Gray wrote. “I’m getting a lot of
letters from activists urging and begging me to boycott by not performing in protest of apartheid against the Palestinians. What the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinians is disgusting, but I want to go. I have a lot of fans there that I don’t want to cancel on, and I don’t know how my not going changes anything. What do you think? Stay or go?”

Around 2,000 people reacted to Gray’s status update, with the majority
writing messages like “cultural boycott is an integral part of the fight
against apartheid” and “cancel your tour and stand up for human rights.”

Others responded differently. “Please don’t give in to the haters – they claim that Israel practices Apartheid, but the last time you played in Israel, the Arab students of Israel’s Hebrew University were equally able to watch you play. That’s not apartheid; that’s freedom!” wrote one referring to her last performance here in 2008.

Having evidently weighed the various responses, Gray, who has performed three previous times in Israel, announced via Twitter on Wednesday that she had decided to honor her commitment to perform in Tel Aviv. “Dear Israel fans. Me and the band will be there in 20 days. Can’t wait. See you then. Peace,” she wrote.

While the case seems closed, it apparently isn’t. According to a couple insiders in the concert promotion business, it’s not so much the performer’s conscience that suddenly lights up when met by the pro-Palestinian onslaught – it’s something much more concrete.

“Some of these artists are getting death threats,” said one member of a production team in Tel Aviv. “They’re generally apolitical and don’t know or understand the issues of the region. But when they are threatened, it suddenly jolts them. Hearing or reading ‘if you play in Israel, we’ll kill you’ can cause some people to cancel.”

That allegedly happened to Paul McCartney a few hours before his giant show in Tel Aviv in 2008, when a caller reportedly threatened to shoot him if he went onstage. Sir Paul didn’t give in and the show went on as planned.

Whether Macy Gray – despite her apparent decision to buck the boycott calls – will have the gumption to do the same, if the haters of Israel resort to such uncivilized tactics, remains to be seen.

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Um, I’ll have McFalafel with cheese

January 19, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, Food, General, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture 

Something about this just isn’t right.

McDonald’s in Israel has announced that this week a new item will begin appearing on menus in the 160 branches dotting the country – the McFalafel!

I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised. The McKebab has already been a staple on the menu for a while, in an effort by the chain, according to Israel CEO Omri Padan, to adjust their products to “the Israeli taste.”

The McFalafel will be sold either inside Iraqi pita bread with tahini and chopped salad, in a box containing three to five pieces with tahini, or as a meal with fries or green salad and a drink.

A Ynet report on the culinary development says that chickpea delicacy and Israeli fast food staple will be fried in canola oil and will meet the health standards set by the chain (which if you watched Supersize Me are obviously rigid). It contains 499 calories and only 6.7% fat.

It remains to be seen, with the thousands of falafel servers around the country, offering the fried balls in every imaginable combination, consistency and style, why someone who would choose to go to McDonald’s in the first place would choose to order the newest item on the menu.

But I remember thinking the same thing when I was growing up in New England and my local McDonald’s branches started making lobster rolls (I can’t remember if it was called McLobster or McClaw). The item is apparently still on the menu. And apparently, the McFalafel has been a popular item at McDonald’s outlets in Egypt and other Arab countries for years.

So there’s hope for the McFalafel in Israel – just wondering if there’ll be a ‘with cheese’ option.

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Foraging for salad

January 19, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Blogging, Environment, Food, General, health, History and Culture, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness 

Mallow

I have a certain fondness for weeds. Not just the ones that threaten to strangle my grass during the late winter/early spring, but the ones that you can imbibe with your salad. Now, granted, I don’t just blithely pick the weeds in my garden, rinse them and toss them in the salad.

Slender nettle

But there are a few well-known weeds out there — stinging nettle and a scattering of mallow in my backyard, thanks to the advice given by a variety of gardeners I’ve gotten to know — that you can easily find and pick without worrying about any nasty after-effects. And now, thanks to a selection of Negev farmers, you’ll be able to just pick up some purslane, sea aster, Mediterranean saltbush and desert stork’s bill at the local greengrocer (or yarkan, as we say in these parts). It’s thanks to the Bedouin living in the Negev that we know which weeds to eat, according to an article in today’s Ha’aretz, and the Negev region is now promoting their wild plants. Stork’s bill is considered a sweetener, while sea aster serves as more of a vegetable and purslane, a succulent found in many home gardens, that is great cooked or tossed in salad.

Historically, the mallow, which is also called Jew’s Mallow, although I haven’t found out why, played an important role during the siege on Jerusalem in 1948. When the food convoys couldn’t reach the city, Jerusalem residents went out to the fields to pick mallow leaves, which are rich in iron and vitamins. The Jerusalem radio station broadcast instructions for cooking mallow and when those broadcasts were picked up in Amman, the Jordanians assumed that because the Jews were down to eating leaves, they must be dying of starvation and ready to surrender.

You can also use mallow in kubeh hamousta soup, for a sharp, slighty sour flavor (Courtesy Cafe Liz)

For figuring out how to use these wild things, check out a few food blogs. I like Food Bridge by Sarah Melamed, another local who writes about her cooking and her boys. And Karin Kloosterman had a great post last year identifying and defining your garden edibles. Head to the Eucalyptus restaurant in Jerusalem’s Hutzot Hayotzer artists’ lane and hear from chef Moshe Basson about foraging for herbs from the local ‘biblical chef.’, or eat a bowl of kubeh hamousteh soup anywhere around town.

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