Ido Tadmor is Dancing for the Dead Sea
Internationally-acclaimed dance Ido Tadmor does an enigmatic dance for the Dead Sea at Kalya Beach. (image by Inbal Marmari)
Becoming one of seven natural wonders can have enormous benefits for tourism, though competition is steep. Among the 28 candidates for the present campaign are the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos, and the Grand Canyon. Scores of people, even Harley Davidson riders, have shown their support for the Dead Sea campaign, which will be a boon to Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories. But there’s more to the campaign than generating money. The founder, Bernard Weber, intended for this global initiative to protect remaining beautiful places, to generate unity and respect. Perhaps more than any other pledge of support, Ido Tadmor’s Dead Sea dance – choreographed by him – does just that. Read more
Peter Yarrow helps young Israelis respect themselves
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.
Pamela Anderson brings Biblical message to the streets of Tel Aviv
Filed under: A New Reality, Art, Entertainment, General, health, Life, Pop Culture, Social Justice, tv
Pop culture icon Pamela Anderson was just in Israel last November for a guest stint in our version of Dancing With the Stars, but she’s already returning today – this time for a pet project, no pun intended.
The actress and pinup girl will be unveiling a pro-animal rights advertisement and appearing on behalf of PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals), an organization that she’s been very active with for years.
When Anderson was here last year, she met with Knesset members to lobby for a bill to prevent the import of clothing made from fur, and this time, she’ll be flanked by giant tablets reading, “Thou Shalt Not Kill … Animals”, as she greets diners outside the vegetarian Buddha Burgers restaurant in central Tel Aviv.
Anderson will also be signing copies of her new ad for PETA in Hebrew (pictured), with its banner headline: Every living thing has the same organs.
Chilean miners to get heroes’ welcome in Israel
Filed under: A New Reality, General, History and Culture, News, Religion, Social Justice, Travel
Israel will be getting some important visitors this week when 31 of the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped for 68 days underground last year are due to arrive for a week-long tour as guests of the Tourism Ministry.
The miners and their families will be given the red carpet treatment, with an emphasis on Christian holy sites and national institutions.
After an official welcome by Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, the entourage will have a packed itinerary, including visits to the Old City where they’ll see a number of churches and the Kotel, and visits to the Knesset and Yad Vashem. On Saturday they plan to tour Bethlehem, and next week head to Masada and the Dead Sea, Nazareth, Megiddo, the Golan Heights, Tiberias, and the Kinneret.
The visit took a while to get on the books because the miners reportedly insisted that their spouses also get their ticket and expenses paid for by their Israeli hosts. And seeing the tourism and PR advantage, the government finally coughed up the budget for the whole group, numbering 68.
Tourism pros in Israel have been targeting South American tourists more aggressively in recent years, even as South American countries line up to recognize a Palestinian state. According to the Forward’s Nathan Burstein, for several years, GoIsrael.com, the country’s official tourism website, has been available in Spanish and Portuguese, and last month the Tourism Ministry announced the creation of a new pilgrimage itinerary catering to Catholic tourists focusing on the life of the Virgin Mary.
Whether the miners’ visit will open up the floodgates of tourists from Chile and neighboring countries or not, their visit will likely be a heartfelt and unforgettable experience for those who suffered such a huge trauma not so long ago. So if you see them on the street, give them a hug.
Chickens (and Eggs) in Jaffa
From a long line of egg farmers, Karin’s dad finally builds her a chicken coop
Imagine getting fresh, free-range organic eggs every day? When my parents came to visit me in Jaffa a few months ago, Dad found himself bored. Back in Holland, my family the Van Der Meers were one of the biggest egg producers in the country before the Depression. So you could say, eggs are in our genes. With Dad nothing to do for a few weeks, I brought up the idea of having him build me a chicken coop. That got him kind of excited. He foraged for wood in my backyard and came up with a coop that resembles a bus stop. Read more
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