Belly dancing on the Red Sea
Filed under: coexistence, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Pop Culture
In a trend that runs parallel to the exploding popularity of pole dancing lessons among North American soccer moms, Israeli women – even Baby Boom-generation Ashkenaziot (Jews of Eastern European descent) – have been flocking to belly dancing activities and workshops in recent years.
The art form’s renaissance in Israeli culture, which always seems to be searching for ways to marry Middle Eastern folk arts with contemporary lifestyles, was on display in full force this past weekend in Eilat, where the fifth annual International Belly Dance Festival took place with much fanfare at the Golden Tulip hotel, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Workshops with over 20 instructors from around the world introduced participants to a variety of schools of thought on the subject of abdominal writhing. A wares fair offered goods like Turkish outfits, Indian jewelry and Egyptian recordings. A belly dance-off allowed participants from Russia, France, Germany Belgium and Israel to compete for a slot in an upcoming Berlin competition as part of that city’s Bazar Oriental festival.
And recital performances kept those in attendance entertained, thanks to shimmying from the likes of Egyptian-bred Magdy El-Leisy and Moroccan-raised Mayodi.
Image of an Israeli belly dancer courtesy YanivG from Flickr under a Creative Commons license.
Crash course
The scene of yesterday's bus crash
Watching the scenes from the crash on the afternoon TV bulletins, one thought kept recurring – why doesn’t this happen more often here? Because despite some claims that the poor roads are the main cause of our prolific traffic fatality toll, it’s clear the real reason is because of the drivers.
The 39-year-old bus driver of the private tour bus, who sustained serious injuries, had 22 prior traffic convictions, a toll police admitted wasn’t unusual for a driver with 20 years on the road. Seems like alot to me.
I take an Egged bus from Jerusalem to Ma’aleh Adumim – a 20 minute drive – on the average of three times a week. There’s nary one journey in which the driver, a trained professional, doesn’t exceed the speed limit, careening down the steep incline heading out of Jerusalem toward the Dead Sea. I’ve learned to close my eyes and turn up the MP3 volume, because every time I’ve ever cautioned the driver, I’ve always received the same answer – ‘Al tidag, yihye b’seder’ don’t worry, it’ll be fine.
Likewise, when I’m waiting for the bus at the bus stop close to my home, it’s right next to a stop sign in which the driver is required to turn left, or head straight into a one-way street the wrong way. An informal study I’ve conducted over the last year indicates that only 40% of the drivers come to a complete stop, with 20% easing through, and a whopping 40% driving through the stop sign as if it didn’t exist.
When I’m driving from Jerusalem to Tiberias on the Jordan Valley road, through narrow, windy, roads, I stick to the speed limit because I honestly don’t think I would have full control of the car if I exceeded that speed of 90 kilometers an hour. Well, I’m flashed with the brights and passed by virtually every other car on the 30 or 40 kilometer journey. Simply put, Israelis think they’re invincible on the road.
These are the norms of driving that we live with – and die with – here. And until every driver internalizes the fact that the rules of the road exist to protect them, then accidents like yesterday’s will continue at an unabated pace.
The Golden Hour
Filed under: General, Life, Medical Breakthroughs, Technology, War
If there’s one thing Israeli medics are good at, it’s first aid. As a result of battlefield experience over 60 years of war, chovshim, as they are called in the IDF, have learned how to treat serious injuries with few supplies under heavily pressure.
The lessons learned on the battlefield prove invaluable for major civilian emergencies as well, such as the tragic bus crash outside Eilat. Sixty Russian tourists on a junket to Eilat plunged off the side of a narrow, twisty road to a ravine nearly 200 feet deep. Twenty four people died, and the rest were all in serious condition, as of Tuesday night. While many were killed on the spot, several died of the injuries they sustained later on,
What if the injured had gotten treatment sooner? Could they have been saved? Maybe, say doctors who advocate the Golden Hour theory that even severely injured people have a higher chance of surviving if they get substantial, emergency room style treatment within the first hour after they’re injured. The problem is getting them to the treatment site especially under difficult field conditions, such as when a bus is stuck at the bottom of a ravine, with no path or road to the top, and no place for a helicopter to land. Not to mention that moving the injured often makes things worse, exacerbating the problem and making treatment at the facility more complicated.
There is a solution on the horizon, though. As it happens, I spoke to Dr. Eran Shenkar today, a battlefield medical expert who has helped develop a new concept vehicle for remote medical care, called the MedUAV. Interviewing Dr. Shenkar and others at the Fisher Institute in Herzliya in preparation for an article for 21C (look for it soon!), I had no idea how relevant the conversation would be just a few hours later.
The MedUAV, says Dr. Shenkar, can essentially bring the emergency room to the field. Developed for the battlefield, it’s also ideal for civilian emergencies in difficult to reach circumstances. As a remote UAV, it’s smaller, cheaper, and more compact than a helicopter meaning it can go places a helicopter can’t, and, in times of war, there’s nobody to shoot down. The MedUAV can land or take off vertically, meaning it’s ideal for use in, say, a narrow ravine where there’s no place for a helicopter to land. The MedUAV can carry sophisticated equipment equipped with Wi-fi sensors, allowing a field medic to hook up a patient and allow a doctor to provide remote treatment, by giving instructions to the medic. And, after it delivers its supplies, the MedUAV can transport patients back to the medical tent, where they can be transported to hospitals by helicopter.
It’s a great solution to the golden hour problem and when it’s ready for field use, chances are good that tragedies like today’s bus crash will end up being a bit less tragic, with perhaps many more of the injured being restored to good health more quickly.
A Big Plate of Hummus, Mud Massage and Happy Hour Everyday, it’s Good to be a Tourist in Israel
Filed under: Food, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture, Travel
While it is technically the beginning of the Jewish New Year, it is also the end of the holiday season. And that means it is the end of tourist season. And while I can’t say that I miss the tourists, it does hurt our economy when they’re not around. But not to worry because the Ministry of Tourism has got our back, and they have figured out a way to bring the next batch of picture-taking, money spending, falafel eating, dead sea swimming, tourists to Israel.
Their plan is simple: The World Travel Market Fair. What exactly is this, you ask. Well it’s only the second largest tourism fair in the world being held in London from November 10-14th. Countries are able to set up shop in a booth and try to entice potential travelers to their fantasy vacation. And if they didn’t know it already, their dream destination is Israel.
So how does the Ministry of Tourism make the Israel vacation getaway look like a cup of tea? How about the biggest plate of hummus in the world? That’s right, while we are being sued by Lebanon over who is the baby daddy of hummus (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027016.html), the ministry is piling it on a plate in the hopes of brining new hungry tourists to the Holy Land.
From hummus to mud, the Israel exhibit will also feature Dead Sea mud treatments and massages for those indecisive (and truly lucky) fair goers. I feel that the potential tourist should be warned; while a trip to the Dead Sea in Israel has no admission fee, there is no such thing as a free mud massage. The closest you’ll get to that is your traveling buddy wiping the real stuff on your tummy while you float on your back and try to capture it in a picture.
If the massages won’t get the tourists here, then how about a free trip to Israel. Yep, the Israel stand will include a Happy Hour every day of the fair where they will raffle off trips to Israel. That’s right; we plan to get these fair goers buzzed on beer in order to get them buzzed on Israel. There will of course be entertainment at the booth, including the Balbalu street theater company operating, “Israel-themed activities relating to, among others, the kibbutz, Eilat, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.” I put that in direct quotes because I still don’t understand what the ministry means. Are the actors going to act out kibbutz life, living in Jerusalem, and clubbing in Tel Aviv?
The Ministry of Tourism has made sure to bring along an additional 50 commercial hotel chains, airline companies and tour operators to close the deal.
Now, I don’t claim to be a tourism expert, but I have a few suggestions of my own. I say instead of actors bring the real people, the real taste of Israel. So, if the Ministry of Tourism is reading this, please feel free to steal my ideas!
People to Bring:
• At least two loud shuk vendors with their fruits and vegetables sans half-dead fish (make sure to sample food)
• Israeli soldiers in uniform (everyone loves a man or woman in uniform. It’s hot. Minus the gun.)
• The Israeli Jewish mama that will sit you down and stuff you until your buttons pop (there’s more than just hummus)
• Tel Aviv clubbers that will help you dance off the calories or just make room for more (you’ll need a lot of energy for this)
Do you have an idea to add to this list? Share them and be heard or at least let the Ministry of Tourism know what else they should put on the plate besides hummus!
Weird Wednesday – Joker the dolphin
There’s a dog who lives in Eilat called Joker. Everyone there knows him. He’s a hairy mutt. Cute, but pretty smelly to be honest, and he’s not that keen on human company. But there’s one thing very special about Joker – he’s adopted a pod of dolphins.
In fact, he probably thinks he is a dolphin.
Five years ago Joker found his way to Dolphin Reef, a beautiful beach on the south side of Eilat where people swim and dive with dolphins. He trotted down to the wooden piers that jut out into the sea, and gazed at the dolphins swimming below him. It was love at first sight.
The staff chased him off. But the next day Joker was back, and the day after that, each time spending hours staring at the dolphins as they swam by. One day he summoned up his courage and leapt in.
The dolphins, being curious creatures, were fascinated by their new four-legged companion, and after a few weeks of daily swims began to accept him as one of their own.
Since then, Joker makes the trip to the Dolphin Reef, a few kilometers away from his home, every single day. At first he used to walk the distance. In recent years he’s started hitchhiking.
He stands by the road in Eilat until someone recognizes him and picks him up and drops him at the beach. On the way back, he begs another lift from the staff, following them from the reef and then leaping in as they open the car doors.
“I have a blanket in my car specially for him,” admits Nir Avni, the founder and manager of the beach. “I can’t refuse him.”
One day he took a trip with the wrong person, however, and ended up 100 kilometers away at a kindergarten in Kibbutz Yotvata. Avni put an advert in a national paper for a missing dog, and finally after several weeks absence Joker was reunited with his dolphins once more.
You can see Joker whenever you visit Dolphin Reef. He pads about the place as if he were the owner, sitting on the pier for long hot hours in the baking Eilat heat gazing at his friends in the clear blue water below. When the mood takes him, he dives in, and starts to play with his dolphin family.
If you see him, you can try to call him over. But he’ll probably ignore you, unless you’re offering him a lift. He’s only really got eyes for his dolphins.
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