Duggars in the land

November 29, 2011 - 11:53 AM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Blogging, Business, Entertainment, General, health, Israeliness, Life, Religion, Travel, tv 

Duggars on ElAl

I can’t believe I missed this when it was happening, but it appears that the Duggars, that conservative Baptist family of 19 (!) children (all stars of “19 Kids and Counting”), — soon to be 20, cuz Mom Michelle is pregnant again — recently visited Israel while on a grand world tour, tv crew included.

Duggars heading into the Kinneret

They clearly had very little press while they were here, because it wasn’t mentioned on the news or in the papers at the time. Then again, families with many children traveling around is not that uncommon around here, although 19, soon to be 20, is worth mentioning, even in this land of large families. Highlights included a boat ride on the Kinneret, baptizing in the Jordan River, eating falafel and pita, a camel ride, floating in the Dead Sea, buying pickles in Jerusalem’s Old City (not clear about this one, did they mean Machane Yehuda?), and other famed Christian sites, including the Garden Tomb.

Outside Yad Sarah

What did bring the Duggars to local attention was their visit to emergency clinic Terem and then aid organization Yad Sarah, when Josie, the baby, was heavily congested and required a doctor’s visit as well as extra oxygen to help her through the illness. As reported on Ynet, their guide brought them straight to Yad Sarah for the equipment, and then Mama Duggar, one of the older daughters and Josie, the youngest, ended up staying in Israel for another week while the rest of the family headed home.

Here’s a clip of their stop in London; the Israel part of the trip isn’t online yet, as it just aired on Sunday.

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Talking about the weather

December 12, 2010 - 12:00 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Environment, General, Israeliness, Life, News 

A week ago, we were worrying about the country burning down, today we’re alarmed about it blowing away.

The much-touted first winter storm has so far been largely a wind storm, although some dirty, sand-filled rain has fallen throughout the country leaving cars and windows a globby mess. But mostly, there has been lots of dust, sand, fallen trees, garbage flying in the air and power outages around the country as we await a good, strong rain.

At least in the North, heavy rain fell in the Galilee and 10 centimeters of snow fell on the Hermon in the Golan, with the ski resort there hopeful about opening up this week.

It’s hard to believe that a week ago, the fire in the Carmel was still raging. If these gale winds had been blowing then without rain, the results of the fire could have been much worse.

Does anyone remember the season called Autumn? It seems to have passed us by here completely once again, moving from sultry to frigid in the blink of an eye. At least, with all this talk about the weather, we can almost pretend that we’re like any normal country for a couple days. Until the next political, military social or diplomatic bombshell hits.

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For the birds

November 27, 2010 - 6:38 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Environment, General, Social Justice, Travel 

We didn’t really expect the Hula Argamon bird sanctuary to be so crowded when we stopped by for a visit last week while on a vacarion in the Galilee.

But it was packed – not with people, although there were plenty of human visitors riding around the 10-kilometer circular trail on rented vehicles including standard mountain bikes, family-style bikes for four, or golf carts. But I’m talking about the winged-guests, in the guise of over 40,000 cranes who have planted themselves at the Hula expanse.

It’s part of the Crane Project, initiated by the Jewish National Fund, to aid local farmers during the cranes’ migration to and from Africa twice a year. The cranes have traditionally stopped at farmers fields and ravaged their crops, until the JNF initiated the project.

To protect the farmer’s crops, approximately 280 acres have been set aside to be scattered every day with two tons of corn seed for the cranes. The cranes have enjoyed the hospitality so much, they’ve told their friends about it, and the Agamon has been inundated in recent weeks with the feathered creatures who have created a living carpet on the Hula grounds.

It’s a sight to behold, and you can still see it for the next few weeks, as well as enjoy everything else the Hula has to offer. You can read all about the Agamon from Israel’s most knowledgeable naturist, Aviva Bar-Am, here.

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Foto Friday – Olives take center stage

November 5, 2010 - 5:27 PM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Business, coexistence, Environment, Foto Friday, General, health, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Politics, Social Justice, Travel 

The humble olive finds itself in the eye of a political storm this year with reports of violence and vandalism from all sides. (Perhaps the fairest assessment of the situation comes from a new Oxfam report which puts the blame squarely on… well… everyone, which is kind of refreshing). Meanwhile, the fruit of the Olea Europaea tree is ripening and olive-picking activities – also on all sides – are at their peak.

The annual Galilee and Golan Olive Branch Festival started last week and features two weekends of activities for tourists to Israel’s northern region. The festival, a joint initiative of the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, the Galilee Development Authority and the Israel Olive Board is being held under the slogan “A Tribute to the Olive in Different Cultures”.

Activities include visits to olive presses, workshops, hikes, cycling tours, spas and gourmet eating. In addition, an Open House initiative offers visitors a glimpse into the lives of Galilee residents – Jews, Arabs, Druze, Circassian – including traditional food, music and crafts.

Hananya Farm is one of the country’s major producers of olive oil. Located in the Western Galilee, it is both the headquarters of the Olive Board and one of the festival’s four information centers, offering a wide range of workshops and activities.

These include picking and pressing the olives in an old-fashioned press, guided olive oil tasting, explanations about the olive harvest, an arts and crafts fair, farmers market and musical performances beneath the olive trees. Guided hikes (many with KKL-JNF guides), cycle and jeep tours are also available.

A few words about the Olive Board. A statutory body representing the interests of Israel’s olive producers, it sets standards for olive oil quality and production. In recent years it has adopted an additional aim: promoting the health benefits related to olive oil consumption. Their website contains a range of information, from the history of the olive in Mediterranean culture to the varieties of olives grown in Israel, like Barnea, which was bred specifically for modern olive and olive oil production methods. Truth be told (and it’s worth reading the Oxfam report with this in mind) stone presses are nice for promotional festivals and niche markets but that’s not really how this stuff gets made – or makes it – in the mass market.

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Ravishing Rosh Pina

August 22, 2010 - 9:54 AM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Holidays, Israeliness, Life, Travel 

With Turkey off the natural list of prime destinations for Israelis this summer, more and more vacationers have been looking closer to home for some r&r.

The ‘tzimmer’ – or bed and breakfast industry – has flourished here in recent years, especially in the Galilee. You can’t go ten feet without another private home advertising luxurious or rustic surroundings for couples or families.

And nowhere has the b&b explosion hit more squarely than in Rosh Pina, the quaint, hillside town just east of Safed. Stocked with new age craft stores, natural food cafes, cobblestone roads and incredible views, the once-sleepy town is now alive with Israeli tourists looking for a little bit of Switzerland in their own backyard.

On our recent visit there, we chose a tzimmer called “Love in the Orchard,” an adorable four-tzimmer establishment run by Yoram and Zahava Shamai, two salt of the earth Rosh Pina veterans. They turned their huge backyard into a beautiful orchard with fruit trees, surrounded by two cottages (with another two on the top floor of their house).

Each room is meticulously decorated, and stocked with a huge jacuzzi, giant double bed, kitchenette, LCD tv with cable and DVD, wireless, and every other anemity imaginable. Not only that, there’s a decent-sized swimming pook in the back yard with a relaxing patio – perfect for early evening swims with a glass of wine.

The ‘breakfast’ part of the the b&b comes via an option for a breakfast complete with herb omelettes, sparkling wne, fresh whole wheat rolls, cheeses, fruit and cider. By the second day, we had to beg off because there was just too much food.

Rosh Pina, besides, being a great location to stroll around in despite the steep inclines, is a perfect jumping off point to explore the Galilee, whether you head toward Safed, Kiryat Shmona or stick close to home and the amazing Tel Hazor archeological site 10 minutes away.

A few years ago, there was a rumor that Madonna was negotiating over buying a place in Rosh Pina, so she could be close to the sources of Kabbala in Safed. Now we can understand why.

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