I know someone who knows someone who can help
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, General, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life
Protekzia makes the world go round, especially if you’re in Israel. The term – meaning having someone on the inside to enable you to bypass normal social protocol – is coveted here. And most immigrants never find the key to unlock their inner protekzia, as it’s usually about who you know in high or powerful places.
I finally felt like a veteran Israeli this week, around the fourth that I’ve been undergoing tests for a mysterious ache in my upper arm and shoulder.
Not having had to test the efficiency of my socialized health plan beyond ordinary family doctor visits and tests since I’ve lived here, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the way things work. So far, I’ve been x-rayed, had a stress test, met with an orthopedic doctor and had an ultrasound. On the positive side, I’m healthy as an ox. On the negative side, there’s still no diagnosis for my nagging ailment.
The next step is to undergo something called a nerve collection EMG, some kind of test conducted at Haddasah Hospital involving inserting needles in the nerves of my arms. I called up to make an appointment, and the receptionist said, “You can have either 1:30 pm or 2 pm on… November 3rd.”
After overcoming my shock, I told her that I was busy at 2 pm so I’d take the 1:30. She didn’t even laugh.
Later, after thinking about the four month wait for something that’s bothering me now, I remembered that a friend knew some important personnel at the hospital. I called her and asked if there was anything she thought she could do. She said she’d make a phone call, and I gave her all the info.
A few minutes later, I got a call from a Hadassah rep saying that there had been a cancellation for July 28th and it was mine if I wanted. From four months down to three weeks, all because of a phone call.
Even if my arm still hurts, I felt better at having succeeded in penetrating the labrynthe of Israeli protekzia.
Nostalgia Sunday – Netanyahu’s fixer upper
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Movies, Music, Nostalgia Sunday, Politics
The members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet went on a little trip today up to visit historic Tel Hai in the Galilee. Going on tiyul is quite common this season — dozens of people are hiking Shvil Yisrael, the Israel National Trail this month — but it’s unusual for members of Knesset to move en masse out of their comfort zone and into the periphery.
However, this was a special occasion. Today being the 90th anniversary of the battle at the Tel Hai compound — itself refurbished thanks to the efforts of The Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites (SPIHS) — it was selected as an appropriate time and place for a cabinet meeting to approve a comprehensive plan, the largest ever, to “strengthen the national heritage infrastructures of the State of Israel”.
What is a national heritage infrastructure? As set out in Netanyahu’s plan (called TAMAR which in Hebrew is the acronym for “national heritage infrastructure”) it consists of about 150 “tangible/material cultural resources” (archaeological and historic sites) and “intangible/nonmaterial cultural resources” (archives and collections of literature, poetry, philosophy, arts, crafts, music and song, dance, theater, film, traditions, holidays, festivals, ceremonies, etc.) all in need of rehabilitation and/or enrichment. TAMAR will cost almost NIS 400 million, and will be funded by private donations to be matched by allocations from the budgets of 16 government ministries.
The list of sites — which is not yet finalized — includes 37 archaeological sites, 39 museums and collections, and 62 sites relating to Israel’s Jewish and Zionist heritage — many literally crumbling to bits, such as the magnificent painted ceiling in Jerusalem’s Meah Shearim Yeshiva. There are also 13 projects in the “intangible/nonmaterial” category that would restore cultural resources like the backlog of yet-uncatalogued movies still in cartons at the Israel Film Archive – as well as upgrade the archive building itself.
Two additional trails will be created in addition to Shvil Yisrael, promised Netanyahu, one a historic trail of archaeological sites from the biblical, Second Temple and other eras in the history of the Land of Israel, the other a trail tracing the places and events that gave rise to the modern-day State of Israel.
Netanyahu couldn’t have given a better example than this one: dowdy, dingy Independence Hall in Tel Aviv. “It is good that the city is open to the world and good that the city is alive and moving forward. But at 16 Rothschild Boulevard, there is a small auditorium in which the State of Israel was declared. There, David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, declared the State of Israel.
“The hall is run-down. I am not saying that it is about to fall over but as far as the many young people and others, who flock to the street, to Rothschild Boulevard, are concerned, they do not know it. They do not visit it at all. And therefore, we will rehabilitate Independence Hall.”
The long-term payoff for TAMAR, say the plan’s authors, will be NIS 630 million in annual tourism revenue, job creation in the amount of 3,500 permanent positions plus 800 more during the 5-year period of the plan’s execution, and development of tourism to the Negev and Galilee regions. Later this week, the cabinet is due to approve the national transportation plan joining the Galilee and other regions to an accessible national transportation grid.
The cabinet also made a separate decision today on a new building for Israel’s National Library, funded by a donation from Yad Hanadiv (the Rothschild Foundation).
Just another ghost in the Wall
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, coexistence, General, Technology
A poster for ther G.ho.st launch on the security barrier near Beit Jallah. (AP)
For this startup, the product may be less important than the people who created it.
According to the Associated Press, Israeli entrepreneur Zvi Schreiber partnered with Palestinian engineers to launch G.ho.st Virtual Computer, a Web-based operating system based in Jerusalem and Ramallah that recreates the attributes of a personal computer’s desktop from any computer with an Internet connection.
“Our idea is simply to use the Internet to give people a computing environment that is not just stored on a physical device, but is available on a Web page or any mobile device and gives you everything you need: your desktop, your files, your programs,” G.ho.st CEO Schreiber said at the launch, in the West Bank town of Beit Jalla, close to Jerusalem’s southern edge.
The company started more than three years ago after Schreiber sold his second high tech startup. He had never worked with Palestinians and knew very little about the fledgling software industry in the West Bank.
“I wanted to combine my technological interests with my social interests. I always wanted to do something to help resolve the complete mess that we’ve all made of this part of the world,” he said.
According to Schreiber, the company’s name refers not only to the virtual computer’s ability to float through the boundaries of a physical computer, but also to the G.ho.st team’s cross-border collaboration.
There’s a Palestinian staff of nearly 30 workers who confer with their Israeli counterparts mostly by video conference. Many of the engineers living in the West Bank aren’t able to get the permits needed to get into Israel, while Israelis are barred from most Palestinian areas in the West Bank due to security concerns. Schreiber has never been to the company’s Ramallah office.
Tuesday’s launch in Beit Jallah was against the backdrop of the security barrier – an intentional decision.
“Ghosts go through walls and the very first wall that G.ho.st goes through is the … wall and fence that Israel is building in the West Bank between itself and the Palestinians and which physically divides the G.ho.st team into two,” the firm’s Web site says.
AP reported that International Mideast peace envoy Tony Blair attended the launch, commended G.ho.st’s initiative and called for more such partnerships across the Israeli-Palestinian divide.
“One thing we know is of course we need a political solution, but we also know it’s not just about politics. It’s about business,” Blair said.
It would be nice if G.ho.st succeeded, not only with its Internet platform, but in forging real ties between people on both sides of the wall.
Foto Friday – Running Around the Holyland
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Sports, Travel
The sixth annual Pope John Paul II Pilgrimage Peace Marathon took place on Thursday. Although not truly a marathon — it is best described as a non-competitive 10k walk-run from Manger Square in Bethlehem to Notre Dame outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls — it is nonetheless a unique and truly moving event.
Italian and Palestinian participants did the first 2k within the Palestinian Authority, then met up with their Israeli counterparts — myself included — at the Rachel Crossing checkpoint, and ran the remaining distance together. The photo is of the festive ceremony at Notre Dame where everyone got a medal…
…including my pal Yaron Rochin, of Jerusalem’s Beit HaLohem, who organized the Israeli group.
Yaron is quite a story in an of himself. An IDF veteran with legs wounded by shrapnel, he is nonetheless a fixture at all Israeli running events where he always picks up the rear — which is where you can find me — with his infectious energy.
Yaron led the Papal Peace Pilgrimage pack with cries of “Yalla, hevre!” and the next day, did the Tel Aviv Marathon — a true 42.2k — in a hand-powered bicycle.
More about this unique event can be found in a previous post and on this YouTube video, courtesy of Italian news service Rome Reports:
As for the Tel Aviv Marathon, the energy and spirit among participants was great and, hopefully, the city’s residents won’t be too hateful and the event will be allowed to continue and grow. Here’s the starting line. I’m the one in the orange shirt.
Yaron crossing the finish line.
And the winner, Daniel Kones of Kenya, who finished in 2:38:06.
More information about running in Israel, as well as registration for events, can be found at Shvoong. The site is, unfortunately, only in Hebrew. Another event organizer is ProSport – and they do have an English site. On-on and happy trails!
Nostalgia Sunday – Mekorot’s water portfolio
Filed under: Environment, General, History and Culture, Nostalgia Sunday
To celebrate Tel Aviv’s Centennial anniversary, Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, has dug into its photo archive and released images from the construction of the Tel Aviv water pipeline project. Check out the kovaei tembel, the soft cloth hats that once symbolized the Israeli pioneer worker.
These images are from 1963. The original Western Pipeline – Yarkon-Negev Plant pipeline was completed in 1955 but as Tel Aviv’s population grew, along with demand for water, it was decided to add the additional Dan pipeline to boost the water supply. The project was completed in the mid-60s.
Today, Mekorot is considered one of the world’s most technologically advanced water companies and a world leader in desalination, water reclamation, water project engineering, water safety, water security and water quality. Its all-important task is formulating and implementing the country’s national water policy.
Over the past 12 months, Mekorot has embarked on a number of major projects, including the construction of a fifth pipeline to Jerusalem…
…construction of the desalination facility in Ashdod with a capacity of 100 million cubic meters a year and linking of the desalination facilities along the coastline — such as the world’s largest such plant at Ashkelon, pictured here — with the national water system…
…plus other projects aimed at increasing the supply of water, for example, cloud seeding in the winter months. Mekorot has engaged in “rain-enhancement” for over 45 years and has managed to increase the annual rainfall in the Sea of Galilee catchment by 13%-18%.
Mekorot facilities have visitors centers with guided tours. As for the archive, it isn’t presently online but give them time. And, given their technological edge, it will be amazing to think of what pictures Mekorot will release when Tel Aviv’s 200th rolls along.
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