Baligam
If you’re looking for online group bargains afield, that is, outside of Jerusalem and into the more Hebrew-speaking regions of Tel Aviv and the Sharon plain — the northern half of the coastal plain of Israel that stretches from Haifa to the edge of Tel Aviv and includes all the ‘burbs in between — try Baligam. It’s the Israeli/Hebrew-speaking predecessor to Groopbuy, and the name, Ba-li-gam, which means ‘I also want it’, is the essence of online group buying.
It is, of course, the very same concept, in which the site offers great deals on all kinds of products and services, and what makes it work is the volume of customers, all wanting in on the same deal. Baligam differs from Groopbuy in its more innate Israeliness, while Groopbuy is more ‘Anglo,’ or at least in some ways.
Baligam has more deals on Israeli chains, such as clothing store Castro and Home Center, which makes me think that it may just be easier for the Israelis behind Baligam to maneuver the deals with their fellow Sabras than for Groopbuy Anglo entrepreneur and recent immigrant David Shadpour “who turned his frustration at being unable to bargain and haggle in local stores due to language restrictions into a business idea.”
Whatever. Doesn’t really matter. The point is, if you live in Jerusalem and are looking for Sharon-centric deals, look no further than Baligam for those things that you just can’t find in J’lem. But you’ll have to do it in Hebrew.
Encountering Jerusalem’s finest
Filed under: A New Reality, Crime, General, Israeliness, Life
Most Israelis go through life without ever seeing the inside of a police station, which is probably a good thing. It’s not a very nice place – cold, impersonal, miserable people generally milling about, and surly cops.
I know this because I did get to see the inside of a Jerusalem police station last week – not because of anything I did, but because my teenage son had bear witness in a case.
It was a combination of circumstances that led to police involvement in the case. Among them was group of macho seniors playing ‘heavy’ with my son, a junior, in order to find out who painted some derogatory graffiti about them on a school wall. Another was a zero tolerance policy toward violence implemented by the school principal.
The result was, instead of an in-house investigation and punishment, a call to the local police and the opening of a ‘tik’. That meant a call home from the shaken boy to tell his parents to come get him and bring him to the police station.
First of all, nobody tells you where to go, so after 20 minutes of trying to find the right wing of the massive structure in Jerusalem’s Talpiot neighborhood, we finally located the ‘youth wing.’ There were no painting of butterflies on the walls, believe me – just a delipidated corridor facing a reinforced locked door.
Every once in a while, some scruffy adult individual or another would emerge – evidently a police man in plain clothes – leading an also scruffy younger person. Whenever I told one of them why we had been sent there, they just said, ‘stay here, someone will come get you.’
Within an hour, that did happen, and we were led inside the reinforced door into another neglected corridor with offices. After another long wait, we were ushered into one of them, where an officer, also in civilian dress, and with the personality of… a cop, sat us down and demanded to get a play by play of my son’s ordeal. He wanted names, places, who did what, who said what, and when my son faltered, he yelled at him that his time was being wasted.
Reminding him to differentiate between the victim and the perpetrator, I gently steered the investigation back toward civil territory, as the officer gamely typed the testimony into the computer. At the end of a the two-hour stay, he simply said, ‘you can go now.’
We weren’t even sure why we had been summoned. We hadn’t called the police in, and my son was now scared that there would be physical retribution for his testimony from the senior bullies. My wifw said later that the principal had done the right thing by bringing the police into the matter, because if she hadn’t, and it the situation had escalated into one of real violence, everyone would have said, ‘why didn’t she call the police?’
On the other hand, some parents were outraged that what they called a high school prank gone bad might now scar the records of these boys who, within a year, will be joining the IDF.
I didn’t really care either way, I was just happy to walk out of that police station, and like the vast majority of Israelis, return that aspect of our society back to the far reaches of my mind.
An Ancient Pawprint Among Roman Bath Finds in Jerusalem
Filed under: Environment, Religion
Dating back to the second century CE, archeologists uncover Roman-era paw print this week.
It’s not just ancient Roman baths being uncovered in Jerusalem this week. The Israel Antiquities Authorities are reporting a Roman-era dog’s paw print among its finds. Says Dr. Ofer Sion, excavation director in the Old City of Jerusalem: “Another interesting discovery that caused excitement during the excavation is the paw print of a dog that probably belonged to one of the soldiers. The paw print was impressed on the symbol of the legion on one of the roof tiles and it could have happened accidentally or have been intended as a joke.”
Excavations started before the construction of a Jewish mikveh, ritual bath, began. The Roman ruins have been dated to 1,800 years ago and it is believed to be a bath used by the Tenth Legion. These were the Roman soldiers who destroyed the Jewish Temple.
The discovery of the ancient bath, and paw prints!, puts new light on the Aelia Capitolina, the Roman city founded on the Second Temple period ruins of Jerusalem. It is Aelia Capitolina that defines the character of the Old City of Jerusalem as we know it today. Even though dogs aren’t really tolerated in the Old City (I tried walking mine around the city to the fright of Arabs and Jews alike), it just shows you how man’s best friend has been around for some time.
Finding friends on the trail
Filed under: A New Reality, Environment, General, Israeliness, Life, Travel
I really like going hiking on Shabbat at one of the multitude of wonderful nature sites within a short car ride of Jerusalem. It’s not so much for the sites, the beauty, the communion with nature, but rubbing shoulders with the Israelis who choose to do the same thing.
Unfortunately, the religiously observant among us are unable to join the pack on Shabbat, usually cramming their outdoor excursions into hol hamoed Pessah or Succot. That leaves secular, or somewhat traditional, Israeli backpackers on the trails on Shabbat.
There’s something about these hearty, trailblazing Israeli who decides to get out in the sun for the day instead of sitting around the house glued to mobile devices or cable TV that warms the cockles of my heart.
And it turns out that, for the most part, they’re really nice – not loud, pick up after themselves, respectful of their surroundings. It’s as if the shuk didn’t exist in this country!
Today, we were hiking Nahal Arugot at Ein Gedi, and stopped at one of the many pools on the way for some shade, swim and water. Among the others at the oasis was a group of eight or nine couples in their 50s who apparently go hiking together regularly. Sitting nearby was a young family with one or two small children, about three or four years old.
One of the veteran hikers called out, “Is there a little girl named Tali Hagar here?” And it just so turned out that one of the small children called out, “That’s me!”
“Then if you close your eyes, you’ll get something that you’re missing,” the man replied. Tali’s parents looked quizically at him, while Tali closed her eyes, and the man produced a hat out of his pocket. “Is this yours?”
The hat she had evidently lost near the beginning of the trail was now back on her head, and the parents effusively thanked the manand they got to talking. Turns out the group of veterans were actually veterans – former IDF career officers living in Kochav Yair who regularly go out together on Israeli trails.
The two new groups of friends bade each other farewell, and set out on their respective routes. In the gorgeous surroundings of Shabbat in Ein Gedi, everyone’s just a little kinder and friendlier.
Online group buying comes to Israel
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, Food, General, Israeliness, Life
It was only a matter of time until someone in the English-speaking population in Jerusalem came up with it – an online group buying site.
While hundreds exist in the US like Groupon, offering substantial bargains on everything from dental checkups to restaurant menus, the concept hadn’t yet arrived in Israel until David Shadpour, a native of Los Angeles and a recent immigrant here, launched the deals site GroopBuy.
According to a story in In Jerusalem, Shadpour turned his frustration at being unable to bargain and haggle in local stores do to language restrictions in to a business idea.
Groopbuy promotes a daily offer that Shadpour calls “outrageous deals” from a variety of business and services, all set at more than 60 percent off the regular price. A minimum number of people must purchase the deal through the site before the offer closes. If this minimum is not reached, buyers receive an e-mail informing them that their credit card has not been charged. However, if enough people do sign up, as soon as the deal ends the credit card transaction goes through and customers receive a printable coupon via e-mail.
“The success is in the volume,” says Shadpour. “It only works if enough people buy the deals.”
Presently, Groopbuy is operational only in Jerusalem, but there are plans to roll out in Tel Aviv and Ra’anana, before eventually taking the model nationwide.
Already there are more than 100 deals set to appear on the site, and firms are contacting the company daily to get their business online, according to Shadpour.
Bargains that have been posted on the site in recent weeks include manicures and pedicures, laser hair removal, piano lessons, horseback riding, paragliding, ulpan lessons, and take away sushi.
But Shadpour said that he’s turned many companies down for not reaching the level of service and standards that Anglo consumers expect and demand.
“I’m not going to include businesses just because they offer a good deal,” he explains. “If they give bad customer service, I am not interested in featuring them on the site.”
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