DJ saved my life

August 29, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Crime, Entertainment, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, News, Pop Culture, War 

While East Coast Americans were hunkering down as Tropical Storm Irene wreaked havoc along the eastern sea board, in Tel Aviv, high school students were gathering at the famed Haoman 17 nightclub for a back to school dance party.

Internationally known Israeli DJ Yinon Yahel was spinning the discs inside, and 1,000 teens crammed the club for one of their last free nights ahead of the school year which begins on Thursday.

Unbeknownst to them, however, right outside a drama was unfolding, as a terrorist, rammed a stolen taxi into the police barrier right outside the club. He then emerged from the taxi and went on a stabbing spree, injuring seven people, five Border Police officers, a security guard and one civilian.

The suspect was tackled, taken into custody, and brought to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon in light condition. Inside the club, Yahel was informed about a terror attack outside the club shortly after it happened, but was asked by management to keep playing.

“The management came and told me that there was an attack outside the club, but told me to keep playing and not to say anything, so that people wouldn’t panic. Everyone was inside by then so they didn’t seem to know what was going on,” Yahel told The Jerusalem Post.

An hour later, around 3 a.m. when the attacker had been subdued and the scene restored to order, the club was finally ordered evacuated and the teens sent home.

For the 33-year-old Yahel, who performs at some of the top clubs around the world, and is an in-demand remix specialist for dance artists ranging from Kristine W and Deborah Cox to Christina Aguilera and P Diddy, it wasn’t a typical evening.

When I talked to him last year for a story, he said that his music usually brings people together, regardless of their origin.

“I get Palestinians and Lebanese attending my shows and coming up to me to talk. In a club, we’re all just people,” he said.

Sunday night in Tel Aviv, his music almost became the backdrop for a horror movie, one that was thankfully averted. While the club goers interviewed by the Post made light of the situation after the fact when they found out about, it’s likely bound to be a back to school event they’ll never forget.

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Agunot in the NYPost

July 20, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Crime, General, Immigrant Moments, Life, Religion 

What’s the Israel-related news in today’s New York Post? The goon-hired kidnapping, beating and handcuffing of a Jerusalem rabbi’s son who has refused to grant his wife a ‘get,’ a religious divorce, making her into an ‘aguna.’

Orchestrated by a New Jersey rabbi and his wife, the couple lured Yisrael Briskman to their home to discuss work on the rabbi’s book research, but got him into their bedroom where two goons punched, blindfolded and handcuffed Briskman. They repeatedly asked him to consent to his wife’s divorce and then called his father in Israel, telling him to fork over $100,000 to the daughter-in-law’s family, or they would receive a “special gift” of a bullet in Rabbi Briskman’s head.

They then dropped Briskman — the son — at a cousin’s home, told him not to squeal to the cops, and ended up surrendering to the FBI.

A confusing story to be sure, although their motives — getting Briskman, who has been denying his wife a divorce for years, and has been on the run for some time from the Israeli authorities — are sort of understandable, given the grief he has caused his ex-wife.

And from my perspective, seeing this front page of the Post while wandering through the NYC subway system? Bizarre and not what you want to be seeing about fellow Americans who have made aliyah. But is anything surprising any longer?

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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.

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Peter Yarrow helps young Israelis respect themselves

March 9, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, Crime, education, General, Israeliness, Life, Music 

One third of the classic folk music group Peter, Paul and Mary is in Israel this week to launch his pet project – Operation Respect.

Peter Yarrow, who along with Mary Travers and Paul Stookey, entered into American folklore by performing standards like “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “Puff the Magic Dragon,” has focused much of his attention in recent years on the innovative education program against youth violence that was developed in the US.

Yarrow is chairman of the international program that has pledged to eradicate violence among adolescents is going to be at the Sheba Medical Center on Thursday to chair a conference on using Operation Respect to combat the rising violence among youth in Israel in schools, homes and the community.

“Israel will be a model that will prove that joining forces from the fields of education and health contributes to a significant decrease in violence,” said Yarrow, who has visited Israel before to tout Operation Respect. Yarrow will also perform at the conference with Israeli musical counterpart David Broza

One outcome of the conference is expected to be the formation of an educational health-care task force headed by Sheba Medical Center and the Israel Government Center for Technological Education (Matach) which will lead to an experimental project uniting experts from both fields to create a new prototype that can be implemented in the effort to prevent and reduce manifestations of violence.

Among the topics to be discussed at the conference – conducted under the auspices of US Ambassador James Cunningham – are implications of violence for health and education; origins of humiliation and violence; the culture of bullying in the educational system and in the community; and manifestations of violence and frequency – Israel versus other countries

Thankfully, raising four kids in the Israeli school system, we haven’t experienced many incidents of violence in the schools, but we have heard horror stories from others. If the seeds are planted here by Operation Respect and Yarrow that will decrease violence among youth in Israel, the US and around the world, then the effort will have been well worth it.

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Little red corvette

February 24, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, coexistence, Crime, Entertainment, General 

Lior Suchard is one of Israel’s leading mentalists – mind reading and object moving are specialties. After winning the Uri Geller reality show in 2007, The Successor, Suchard’s career has taken off, with Las Vegas bookings, appearances on the Jay Leno show and even being named one of the sexiest men alive by People Magazine last year.

When things started to go his way and he began to see some money from his labors a couple years ago, Suchard splurged and bought a red Corvette convertible to tool around in.

Unfortunately, soon after, it was stolen and Suchard thought he had seen the last of his beloved vehicle. In reality, though, it began a two-year adventure with the thieves, Palestinians in the Ramallah area, making contact with Suchard offering the car back in return for ransom.

That began a long process of sensitive negotiations, eventually involving the police, and culminating last month in Suchard and his father Eddi driving from Tel Aviv to the Atarot industrial area outside of Jerusalem to pick up the car.

Suchard was aghast that it was painted school bus yellow, but overjoyed to get the vehicle back in his possession. Showing it off to me outside a Jerusalem restaurant later the same day he got the car back, he wouldn’t disclose what he had to give in return for the booty, but acknowledged that he would do it again.

“I just can’t wait to paint it red, though.”

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