Foto Friday – Oded Dayan – Bird Migration Across the Hula
Filed under: Environment, Foto Friday, Travel
The days are getting shorter and bird migration across the Rift Valley — otherwise known as our little corner of the Middle East — is at its height.
Israel is something of a paradise for birdwatchers, with 500 million birds migrating south from Europe to warmer climates in Asia and Africa each fall. The Israel Ornithology Center, which operates three bird watching centers, has recorded more than 540 different species of birds in Israel at various seasons in the year.
Photographer Oded Dayan, who works with the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – JNF, produced this series of images documenting Lake Agmon, the heart of the re-flooded Hula Valley in Northern Israel.
Agmon is one of the best-known birding centers with a developed tourist infrastructure. According to the Ministry of Tourism, “approximately 35,000 cranes fill the fields and wetlands during the fall migration, with about 25,000 staying for the winter.”
“Visitors can take advantage of the camouflaged bird observation points and choose to tour the area on foot, by bicycle, golf cart, safari wagon or train. This is also a center for bird research and a station for bird ringing.”
More information about Lake Agmon can be found on the KKL-JNF website, or on the Ministry of Tourism website. And of course, ISRAEL21c has reported extensively on the rehabilitation of the now-flourishing Hula Valley.
Liev and Naomi’s Israeli vacation
Filed under: General, Israeliness, Movies, Pop Culture
Liev, Sacha, Naomi and baby Samuel under a diaper
The itinerary was planned by KKL-JNF, “caretakers of the land of Israel for more than 107 years,” and the family’s first official stop was planting a tree up north in the Galilee. According to the JNF spokesperson, Naomi read the tree planting blessing, while Liev looked to place the pistachio sapling in the ground but first had to remove his two-year-old son Sacha who had placed himself in the hole.
Schreiber said his grandfather was a strong Zionist who had always begged him to go to Israel. His grandfather died before he could make that happen, so this trip resonates for him. It may also have additional meaning following his most recent role as Zus Bielski in “Defiance,” the Holocaust movie recounting the Bielski brothers, Jewish partisans who lived and rebelled against the Nazis from a Bellarussian forest with a band of fellow refugees.
I grew up in the Lower East Side of New York, and I’m half-Jewish. Anything that has resonance for me about my family history, because I don’t know much about it, I’m drawn to. That’s part of why I think I choose projects like this. Less because I’m right for them, but because I want to know if I’m right for them.”
Nostalgia Sunday – Blue Box Redux
Filed under: Environment, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Nostalgia Sunday, Politics, Pop Culture
Here’s a fun fact: Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with more trees than it had at the beginning of the 20th century. For years, tree-planting in Israel was synonymous with the Jewish National Fund, which itself was synonymous with the small blue coin collection tin. Some of these are now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, as part of an exhibit entitled The Map of Israel as Illustration, Artwork, and Icon.
The exhibit, curated by Orna Granot, looks at the map not in geopolitical terms but as a graphic element used “to increase the viewer’s familiarity with the land [of Israel] and to strengthen love of the land in experiential, educational, and aesthetic ways”.
Etzleinu be-Khitah Alef (In Our First Grade) by Shlomo Kadesh, Illustrations: Shlomo Cohen; Ever Publishers, Jerusalem, 1952. Courtesy of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Of course, the Blue Box is a wonderful icon in itself. So much so that Keren Kayemet-JNF, has re-launched the beloved “pushke” after a 30-year absence. This time though, says KKL-JNF world chairman Efi Stenzler, rather than land acquisition, the coins collected will go to furthering Israeli environmental conservation projects. As part of the relaunch, Stenzler has been distributing Blue Boxes to dignitaries of note, including Pope Benedict XVI, who plans to visit Israel in May.
Given the season – political, not meteorological – Israeli party candidates have been also been getting on the KKL-JNF bandwagon. Benjamin Netanyahu today planted one of 7 million saplings KKL-JNF has planned for the next several years. And here’s Ehud Barak with his 2009 model pushke.
The KKL-JNF website has a lovely timeline of Blue Boxes throughout history – it’s in Hebrew only but definitely worth a look.
It’s also a good opportunity to plant a tree in honor of Tu B’Shvat and to take a moment to consider Israel’s green future and how to best “strengthen love of the land”.
Nostalgia Sunday – Sallah Shabati
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Immigrant Moments, Movies, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture
If you don’t know the film Sallah Shabati then go out and rent it right away because you don’t know Israel. Yes, that’s how strongly I feel about it. Go, go, go out and get it now.
Okay, are you back? Good. Without giving away anything of the plot, Sallah is a film about the immigrant experience and although Israel has changed since 1964 when the movie was made, there are certain constants of Israeli society that humorist Ephraim Kishon put his finger on 44 years ago which still remain the same – bureaucracy, cronyism, societal divides, JNF tree plantings – all the things from which great humor is derived.
The film stars Haim Topol – who went on to have a successful international careers, as well as a very young Arik Einstein, an equally young Gila Almagor and a host of other well-known Israeli actors. It won two Golden Globes and was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category.
Now, the Cameri Theater is reviving the highly successful musical version of Sallah, which first premiered at Habima in 1988. It promises to be good. Here’s the movie version of Sallah’s big number, “Mashiach HaZaken.”
And a clip from the 1988 stage version starring Zeev Revah.
The cleaner the better
Filed under: A New Reality, Environment, coexistence
Many of us were raised singing songs about how we should “Clean up / Clean up / Everybody everywhere,” but we might not have thought about that on a global scale until around the time Al Gore won an Oscar.
When Clean Up Australia merged with the United Nations Environment Programme in 1993, Clean Up the World was born. Held each fall, member communities participate in Clean Up the World Day, with over 35 million people picking garbage out of their neighborhoods’ flora, fauna, beaches, urban landscapes, etc.
Locally, grassroots efforts to clean up after our less conscientious peers have been active for years, but never institutionalized on a major scale.
With a statement from President Shimon Peres that we ought to “Take the broom and together we will make Israel clean, healthy and green,” the Israeli government (in partnership with the JNF) kicked off its own version of International Cleaning Day one day just over a year ago.
As part of that campaign, which enlisted the help of some 17,000 local volunteers, the JNF organized a mixed crew of Jews and Muslims in the Bedouin village of Rahat for some collecting of strewn garbage. Talal al-Qarnawi, Rahat’s mayor, was glowing at the time:
“JNF not only plants trees, it spreads love between people with a common goal. Today, when Jewish and Bedouin children cleaned the streets of Rahat with their green garbage bags, I saw how much this meant for the residents of my city. JNF is building our common future, and together we will create a better and cleaner Negev for all to share.”
Now Israel’s National Cleaning Day is becoming even more official, according to a recent report on YNet. This week, the Knesset ratified a law to involve the national government in 2009’s festivities, enlisting students, civil servants and IDF conscripts to help in the efforts – which will involve not only actual cleaning up, but also educational activities aimed at minimizing 2010’s workload.
Image courtesy Eitan B from Flickr under a Creative Commons license.
Foto Friday – Israel’s National Photo Collection
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Movies, Pop Culture, Travel
Ten years ago, at the time of Israel’s jubilee anniversary celebration, the Government Press Office launched a unique website of its images archive. The National Photo Collection is indeed the personal photo album of the State of Israel and it is an amazing if somewhat overlooked trove of treasure for anyone interested in Israeli history – political, social and cultural. Personally, I go for the pop culture, so here are three images from the 60s and 70s of glamorous celebrities visiting and supporting Israel. There are plenty more.
Sophia Loren Arriving at Lod Airport For Filming of the Movie “Judith” In Israel, 1964
Photograph: Fritz Cohen. Israel GPO National Photo Collection
Film Stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Visiting Western Wall Plaza In Jerusalem, 1975
Photograph: Sa’ar Ya’acov, Israel GPO National Photo Collection
Hollywood Singer And Actress Diana Ross Making P.M. Itzhak Rabin Join In Her Song During The ‘Salute To Israel’ Gala Dinner In Los Angeles, 1976
Photograph: Sa’ar Ya’acov, Israel GPO National Photo Collection
Back to nature
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel
The Shabbat between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is referred to as ‘Shabbat Shuva’ – literally, a return to God and one’s self. Falling during the ten days of repentance, it’s the time for introspection and reflection, ahead of the upcoming Yom Kippur fast.
While we usually observe Shabbat Shuva at our synagogue in Jerusalem, this year, we decided on a more novel approach – a scenic hike along Sataf, in the Jerusalem hills.
Located only a few minutes outside of Jerusalem, close to Hadassah Hospital, Ein Kerem, Sataf is a 250-acre thing of beauty, maintained by the Jewish National Fund. The downhill trail along the terraced mountainside includes the remains of a 4,000 BCE Chalcolithic village with some of the oldest agricultural traces in the region, the remains of a pre-1948 Arab village, an observation post overlooking the western entrance to Jerusalem, an abundance of fig and olive trees, and the Ein Sataf water spring.
According to the site, Gems in Israel, most of the remains found in Sataf are from the Byzantine era.
There is no mention of a village named Sataf in the Bible and the first occurrence of the name in writing, is from Ein Karem, during the Mamluk era. Most of the remains found in the Sataf are from the Byzantine era. The Arab village of Sataf numbered about 450 people around the middle of the 19th century. A short time after the War of Independence, a small group of immigrants from North Africa settled here – but they were only here for a few months. Later, the area served as a training area for the IDF’s 101st and paratrooper units. In 1985, the KKL-JNF began the restoration of ancient agricultural practices in the area, with the help JNF supporters from Switzerland.
The primary crops in the Judean Hills in ancient times included vineyards, olives, figs and pomegranates. In this rocky-hilly region, dry farming (which relies only on rainfall for irrigation) was practiced using an elaborate system of terraces and tunnels. The springs here were not plentiful, so the existing water supply had to maximized. This was achieved by tunneling into the water-bearing strata. An ingenious system of channels (parts of which are clearly visible) conducted the water that was stored in large pools to the terraced plots.
The place was packed with nature-loving Israelis, some taking advantage of the bicycle rental stand in the parking lot, to cycle down the steep road circling the terraces. But the hiking trails – ranging from 500 yards to two miles – are the main attraction. The trail floors of full of brown pine needles, reminding me of new England hikes of yore. And when you reach the bottom, and the Sataf pool, there’s a short water tunnel that the two seven-year-olds in tow had no problem going through at least 15 times in an hour, in between munching on a picnic lunch.
Despite the hordes of hikers, the trail didn’t feel congested, and until we reached the pool, we rarely saw anyone else. And unlike many public Israeli situations, these outdoor enthusiasts were respectful of both the surroundings and the people around them. No litter, loud music or barbecues here.
I even got a few moments alone to contemplate the year, the world and myself. I might have been able to do the same at ‘beit knesset’, but the surroundings at Sataf were certainly more inspiring. Now if we could only figure out a way to get there for Yom Kippur without driving, that would sure be a fast to remember.
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