Katsav sentence – A sad day for Israel, a great day for Israel’s democratic system

March 22, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Crime, General, Israeliness, Life, News, Social Justice 

The long, painful saga that has gripped Israel for over five years gained closure today when former president Moshe Katsav was sentenced to seven years in prison and two years probation on his December conviction of rape, sexual harassment, committing an indecent act while using force, harassing a witness and obstruction of justice.

Judge George Karra read out the argument for sentencing, and justified the harsh sentencing by saying, “Katsav’s high rank can’t be taken to his credit, on the contrary it makes his acts more severe. The higher the rank, the greater the disappointment.”

Katsav was unrepentant, reportedly breaking down in tears when he received his seven year jail sentence at Tel Aviv District Court, and saying, ” they are wrong. They made a serious mistake it will be proven. The lie won the day, you will all see.”

“The women know that they lied. I was not given a chance to defend myself… you kept interrupting my testimony,” he added.

In a moment of unity, all of the country was glued to their radios and TVs when the sentencing was announced. One Facebook commentator wrote on his status update immediately after the sentencing: ‘A sad day for Israel’s democratic government. A great day for Israel’s democratic system.’

That seems to be the general assessment as Israel’s one-time number one citizen appears headed to prison for a long time. The implementation of the sentencing has been postponed until early May ahead of expected appeals by Katsav’s lawyers, but the end seems inevitable. And the country is breathing a collective sigh of relief.

Tags:

Trinny and Susannah did Israel

March 22, 2011 by · 2 Comments
Filed under: design, Entertainment, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Religion, tv 

It might have gotten overlooked with all the excitement about Purim, but yes, fashionista advice givers Trinny and Susannah of What Not To Wear were here in the last few weeks, promoting their episodes about Israeli fashion or the lack of, in their opinion.

They had traveled to a kibbutz, and were astounded to find people who just do not think about fashion at all, and haven’t work a dress in many a decade. And yet, they were impressed with that reality. They took to Tel Aviv, and didn’t like all the drab colors — lots of black and gray — or the fact that no one there seemed to wear skirts either. In the end, they ‘dressed’ women from outside the big cities, where they found more of a desire for femininity, which is one of their hallmarks, combined with bad taste but a surprising readiness to accept their sharp criticisms.

I wasn’t surprised to hear any of that, as the tendency toward too-tight pants shoved into knee-high boots, much exposure of cleavage and backsides and over blow-dried hair is seen throughout Israel, but particularly in the smaller cities. As for Trinny and Susannah’s comments about the lack of ‘day-dresses’ and skirts on Israeli women, that’s probably due to the Israeli woman’s desire to not be mistakenly identified as ‘religious’, given the deep societal differences on that subject. I know that I rarely put on a skirt, particularly in the winter when I can’t offset it with a sleeveless t-shirt to ensure that I’m not seen as a woman who only wears skirts for religious reasons. And I identify as an observant Jew.

All that said, and Trinny and Susannah say it all in such an amusing way, what they didn’t hit upon was the local fashion scene, which is certainly not only designed in monochromatic tones (and what’s wrong with that anyway??). Not sure why they weren’t taken to Gan Hachashmal, Kikar Masryk and Jaffa where the Israeli fashionistas hang out, perhaps to offer that more striking What Not to Wear humor which works better on the streets of Holon than in Gan Hachashmal’s coffee bars.

In any case, they had a grand time, and that’s what’s important. For a glimpse into what they had to say, see this video taken back in December, and start from minute 2:06.

Tags: , , , ,

The pause that refreshes

March 22, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Life 

Tastes better in a glass

Purim in Jerusalem…and all the restaurants are booked solid. That didn’t stop our party of 11 from joining the merrymaking mosaic of Israeli society out to celebrate the defeat of the evil Haman some 2,000 years ago.

My wife Jody had the foresight to reserve a table at the uber-popular Caffit café far in advance. There was already a line out the door for the more spontaneous in spirit. With every seat taken, the poor waiters were overtaxed and, despite the faux-hula skirt costumes and the promise of big tips, their smiles were strained.

Our waiter did his best to take all 11 orders, including multiple shared meals, amid repeated requests for ice and extra napkins.

It was as the drinks came out that it happened. I didn’t see it coming – no one did. Suddenly there was a crash and a cascade of cold sticky liquid onto my hair, face, shirt and pants. Or maybe it was the other way around. Somehow, the waiter had dropped a ceramic tray with a glass of Coke Zero onto my head.

It took me a few seconds to take in my new wet reality. Every face at the table was staring at me in shock. The waiter behind me was quickly joined by another and then the manager, all instantly offering apologies and protestations that nothing like this had ever happened before. They were probably right.

As the wait staff mopped up around me, I checked for glass – miraculously I had been spared. Had the glass cracked over my head, I could have been sitting there in my own blood not just a mess of highly caffeinated (but no calorie) chemicals and syrup.

I was remarkably sanguine about the entire incident. My daughter took me to the bathroom but the Coke was already drying. As I walked back to the table, I felt like a mini-celebrity, as the restaurant staff appeared unusually deferential – perhaps they feared a lawsuit were I to pull a glass shard out of my favorite polo shirt.

The rest of the meal went off as well as could be expected given the overcapacity crowd – slow service, a couple of mixed up orders, but a truly extraordinary fried halumi cheese and mushroom medley over a bed of caramelized onions and mashed potatoes. The restaurant brought us dessert on the house.

When it came time to pay, Jody made sure that the bill didn’t include a charge for the smashed Coke. Not that I didn’t drink it – I’m sure I imbibed a considerable amount through my pores. But next time, I’ll take a straw, please.

Tags: , , ,

Facebook acquires first Israeli company

March 21, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, General, News, Pop Culture, Technology 

Facebook has acquired its first Israeli startup, paying $60-70 million for Snaptu, which has developed Internet applications for mobile phones.

Founded by Israelis Lior Tal, Ran Makavy, Micha Berdichevsky, and Barak Naveh, Snaptu allows mobile phones – even those less advanced than an iPhone or Android phone – to access mobile Internet.

According to a press release issued about the acquisition, Snaptu will provide a base for Facebook’s R&D center in Israel. “Earlier this year, we announced the launch of a new Facebook mobile application to give people a great mobile experience on a broad range of feature phones,” Snaptu announced. “We soon decided that working as part of the Facebook team offered the best opportunity to keep accelerating the pace of our product development. And joining Facebook means we can make an even bigger impact on the world.”
As I was checking my FB statuses after reading the news reports about the deal, I started thinking about the differences between my Israeli and American Facebook friends’ usage of the ubiquitous social network site.

While everyone, regardless of their geography, uses their status updated for shameless self-promotion, the Americans more often treat their Facebook page as mostly a ‘social’ site, commenting on films, events, family and pop culture.

The Israelis (and most of the American Jewish friends) tend to use as an information vehicle about Israel – linking to news items, slamming the Palestinians (or Israelis as the case may be) or changing their profile photo to Gilad Schalit.

Snaptu’s application will apparently help everyone do their own thing a little more easily, and will undoubtedly not be the last time we hear about a Facebook-Israel connection.

Tags:

Nostalgia Sunday – Old Central Bus Station: Jerusalem

March 21, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: design, General, History and Culture, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life, Nostalgia Sunday, Travel 

Remember this place? It doesn’t exist any more. But for many of us, Jerusalem’s old Central Bus Station played a pivotal role in our immigration and absorption experience. Before everyone in Israel had a car or two, kids, we traveled by bus. Here is the front…

But out back was where all the action happened. Photographer Jonathan Levirer happened to catch the station in a rare quiet moment — clearly not on a Friday afternoon — so the benches and railings that were usually crawling with humanity appear almost inviting…

This is more like it! People sitting on any available surface while awaiting the bus that was invariably, tortuously late…

It was while standing on one such line in one such crowd that my hair was singed by a carelessly waved cigarette…

And as in any other bus or train station, there were beggars who made their living there…

These photos, dating from 1984 — the year of my aliya, coincidentally — come courtesy of the PikiWiki project, a joint venture of the Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL), the Israeli Wikimedia chapter and the Center for Educational Technology (CET) as part of promoting the concept of free content on the Web. There are plenty more pictures — old and new — to enjoy and download. And if you, like Jonathan Levirer, have some good content you’d like to share with the online community, you’re invited to upload it, too.

Tags:

Page 4 of 11« First...23456...10...Last »

 

© 2012 ISRAELITY | Site by illuminea | Sitemap