Foto Friday – Guide Dog Center
Filed under: education, Foto Friday, General, health, History and Culture, Life, Picture of the Week, Profiles
Israel has over 27,000 registered blind people, although unofficial estimates place this figure much higher. Of these, about 250 are guide dog assisted, but this number is growing steadily thanks to the efforts of the The Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind.
The Center’s mission is “to improve the quality of life of blind people by providing them with safe mobility, independence and self-confidence through the faithful assistance of guide dogs”.
The Center fulfills a vast need for guide dogs trained to respond to Hebrew commands. For many years, guide dogs were a rarity in Israel. Blind Israelis could be sent to guide dog schools in the US but only those with good English were able to benefit, and follow-up services — so essential to a successful blind person-dog “partnership”– were unavailable.
All this began to change in 1991 with the Center’s founding. The dogs — and their masters – are trained in Hebrew. Dogs are trained to guide in Israel’s physical environment “and maneuver around typically Israeli obstacles such as bus-stand posts or streetlights in the middle of sidewalks; concrete barriers at street corners or cars parked half on the sidewalk and half on the road.” (They said it, not me: typically Israeli!). And of course, aftercare assistance is just a phone call away.
The Center’s preferred breeds are Labradors, Golden Retrievers and their first-crosses, as these are highly trainable, responsive, intelligent and have calm temperaments. But there are German Shepherds as well. You can read more about the training process here.
Over the years, the Center has gone from strength to strength, and recently purchased a property adjacent to the existing campus for a planned expansion in an effort to keep up with the growing demand for “partnerships”. They valuable work they do has been recognized by officials such as President Shimon Peres, who received a group of volunteer trainers and dogs at the his residence.
The Center is funded by donors and is happy to welcome visitors at its campus at Beit Oved, 20 minutes out of Tel Aviv. There is a Mitzva Club for group fundraising and a Puppy Sponsorship program to assist in raising the dogs in their first year ($500 includes all of their food, toys and immunizations).
In addition, the Center’s Tandem Bike Team joins blind riders together with sighted partners for on and off-road adventures in different parts of Israel almost every weekend.
They’ll be holding a special ride from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv on September 29 and 30, 2010 – including a visit to the Center. Click here for information and to learn more about this good cause.
Foto Friday – Richard Margolis’ outdoor sculpture hunt
Filed under: Art, Blogging, design, Environment, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Life, Picture of the Week, Pop Culture, Travel
Richard Margolis hails from Rochester, New York, the “Center of Photography” but this year makes his home in Tel Aviv. In Rochester, birthplace of the Eastman-Kodak company, Margolis generally works in black and white but the sights and sounds of “the City That Never Stops” has had a colorful effect on his current work.
IsraelPublicArt.com is his new project: an online catalogue dedicated to Israel’s creative artists. “I am new here and impressed with the variety and quantity of public art, and with the lack of information about it. This is my attempt to contribute.”
Traveling mostly by foot, on each outing Margolis tries to find more artworks to add. “I’ve delayed uploading the list because each day I find more that ought to be included, but, clearly, it won’t ever be complete.”
The list ranges from Israeli classics such as Nathan Rappaport’s Monument to Mordechai Anilewicz at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai to Ezra Orion’s virtual Inter-Galactic Sculpture, which cannot be seen and is described online here.
Margolis defines “Public” to mean “that no restrictions are imposed or admission charged. Most items are out-of-doors, but could be inside. Usually, they are in prominent locations and easy to find.”
The project is important because it brings attention to those works that, despite being well-displayed in central locations, are sometimes barely noticed. For example, Nordo Gordiano by Gideon Graetz. How many Tel Avivians know its name?
Or this untitled sculpture by Gedalia Sucho (Suchowolsky) at Tel Aviv University, passed by thousands of students every day, yet barely given a glance.
And there are those well-intentioned projects gone awry, such as Ship of the Desert by Nitzan Refaeli, one of a planned eight sound sculptures (only four were created before funding ran dry).
There are whimsical installations, like Cup by Tanya Preminger in suburban Ganei Tikva.
And successful ones, like The Choir by Ofra Zimbalista, a popular sculpture decorating the balcony of venture capital group Evergreen on Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard.
As for that tricky word, “Art”, Margolis says “The best art creates a response in viewers. Sometimes it provokes emotion or thought, but I am not judging quality. If the work is finished, installed and I find it, then I include it.”
IsraelPublicArt.com is intended to be a resource “that will call attention to an important cultural resource: The art, monuments, sculpture, and memorials in Israel. Margolis is trying to collect as much information about each item, sculpture, mural, installation, or other pieces of public artwork as can be identified.
There are currently 141 items and 271 photographs now on the site, with more to be added monthly. Margolis invites visitors “to fill in missing, or incorrect, information, including artist’s names, titles, locations, references, or point out typos and glitches.” Comments or suggestions are welcome.
Foto Friday – Deborah Sinai’s Working Women
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Profiles
Milan-born Deborah Sinai is an internationally published photographer who currently works as a freelancer for news agencies in Italy, Israel and the UK. Sinai also puts her passion for documentation into independent projects, profiling subjects of personal interest.
Women in Men’s Jobs, completed last year, is a series of portraits of Israeli women working in non-traditional workplaces. The project, states Sinai, “aims to explore the themes of confidence and determination, passion and ambition, through the photographs of Israeli women participating in activities typically reserved for men.”
These range from sign-maker Sharonit Haziza, who says, “some clients are a bit surprised about it but they appreciate the final faultless work”…
…to motorbike mechanic Tal Perevolotsky who finds her clientele “feel that their motorcycles [are] treated better just because I’m a woman.”
Sinai states, “Perhaps the biggest challenge these women face is the reception by their co-workers and clients. How others treat them is extremely varied, offering insight into Israel’s social conscience. These women sometimes face gossip and negative comments condemning their break with traditional female roles.”
That problem is faced head-on by construction manager Lior Carmi who tells Sinai, “My work crew, obviously, have no problem to work and to take instructions from a woman. Those that do don’t work for me!”
There are those, like electrician-plumber Rachel Halamish Zemach, who “love[s] dressing in a feminine way even when I am getting filthy” and finds that many female customers prefer a handywoman to a handyman, particularly those “that do not feel comfortable or secure with male workers in their home.”
One factor all the women Sinai interviewed have in common is a streak of perfectionism or going the extra mile. “I like to do my best in any given situation,” says carpenter Orit Goren.
The element of self-fulfillment — and love for the job — is another unifying factor, like that of pilot Ravit Naor who began flying at the age of 39 once she “understood that I could not let my dreams wait any longer.” Today, she tells Sinai, “I have the best office in the world, and with a great view!”
More Women in Men’s Jobs can be found on Deborah Sinai’s website, where other works — featured in national and international magazines and newspapers such as the British Journal of Photograohy and RPS magazine, La Stampa, Photovision and Israel’s Masa Aher — can also be viewed and purchased.
Foto Friday – Beating the Heat at the Biblical Zoo
Filed under: Art, education, Environment, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Life, Religion, Travel
This little fellow, a Grey-headed fruit bat, makes his home in the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in southwestern Jerusalem. Popularly known as The Biblical Zoo, it was recently named Israel’s top tourist attraction.
The zoo was in the news today because of the hot weather that’s keeping the animals indoors or – in the case of the resident hippos – in the water.
The zoo collection features animals from the Land of Israel, with special emphasis on those species mentioned in the Bible. For example, this Black python (Desert Cobra), mentioned no less than 25 times in the bible.
And the leopard, famous for this quote from Isaiah 11:6: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.’
Exodus 19:4: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles‘ wings and brought you to myself.”
The Bible doesn’t specifically mention elephants, but Chronicles 2:9, 17 does mention their still treasured but now contraband byproduct: “Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.”
Photo: Ruthie Shuler
Our little pal the fruit bat, by the way, is mentioned in Leviticus 11:19, rounding up the list of flying birds of prey and scavengers that are absolutely unkosher and not to be eaten by Jews. So Mr. Bat can continue his peaceful daylight sleep. At night, he’ll have to duke it out for mice with the local owls — and there are many here. We’ll meet them another Friday.
Foto Friday – Jerusalem Lights Up
Filed under: Art, design, Foto Friday, General, Picture of the Week, Travel
The Light in Jerusalem 2010 festival opened Wednesday night. This unique art event, which runs from June 9-16th, features 70 light sculptures, outdoor performances, a lighting fixtures design fair, and illuminated parade – all created especially for Jerusalem’s Old City, by artists from Israel and abroad.
The event centers around five different paths that lead visitors from exhibit to exhibit. Some of the highlights:
What Do Trees Do at Night? created by animation and video artist Joseph Meir Jimmy, explores the life and memories of an huge, ancient tree standing beside the Old City wall.
Designer Gil Teichman will light up the Kidron Valley with Fans of Light. Teichman owns Israel’s leading lighting company, designing and implementing lighting for private and business oriented events and large-scale technological projects.
Light Sculptures Along Hativot Etzioni Street is a humorous take of the role of art in public spaces by multidisciplinary artist Bernardo Scolnik.
A Mound Comes to Life is a projection and lighting installation in the City of David created by TR Lighting Design. The piece can be viewed –- in three parts — on YouTube.
French company Blachere will present the city of Jerusalem with Solar Tree, a unique tree statue composed of thousands of LED lights that work on solar energy. The tree, which illuminates the courtyard of the German Church, will remain there as a gift to the city.
The History of Light, a sound and light performance incorporating acrobatics, dance, video, lighting effects and pyrotechnics, will be presented throughout the festival. Tickets can be purchased from Bimot ; Tel: 02-6237000.
This is the second year for this international light festival. Last year’s festival had over 200,000 visitors – it was pretty crowded but definitely worthwhile. Take a look:
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