Ravishing Rosh Pina
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.
An American Idol like an Israeli rose
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, tv
I admit it – I’m an American Idol junkie. And watching the prelims last week (which are screened here on Saturday night, a few days after their US screening), our family’s ears perked up when we heard a contestant introduced as “Didi Ben Ami.”
“Gotta be Israeli,” my son said. But the young woman who came out and sang “Hey Jude” with a slightly southern twang, and delicately broke down while talking about her late best friend who inspired her to pursue music hardly appeared to be a Sabra.
However, since then, a look at her MySpace page as well as reports on the Web and news reports confirm that Ben Ami has an Israeli connection.
Her given name is ‘Vered Benami’, she’s aged 22, from Tennessee, and now living in LA and working as a waitress. On the American Idol Web site, she pronounces her name, first with an American accent and then with an Israeli one.
Her MySpace page explains that “Vered” means “rose” in Hebrew, and the page lists “faith that some day there will be peace in Israel.” According to Ynet, Benami was born in New York to a “family of Israelis.”
However, a number of Christian music web sites which list American Idol contestants with a connection to Christian music and values list Benami among them. So who know? Meanwhile, Benami has passed the first round of elimination on the way to securing the final 24 candidates to make the finals of the show. If she makes, she’ll join
Elliott Yamin, who placed third on the show’s fifth season, as an Israeli Idol. Yasmin has an American Jewish mother and an Israeli father.
Benami isn’t the only Israeli who’s floating around the show this year. Among the names touted to be replacing departing judge Simon Cowell next year is Guy Oseary, the Israeli-born LA music mogul and manager of Madonna.
Oseary is allegedly in the final pack of possible successors, along with Howard Stern, Jamie Foxx and former Sony music boss Tommy Mottola.
According to Ha’aretz, Jerusalem-born Oseary has made several guest appearances in TV and films such as blockbusters Charlie’s Angels and You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, and has also authored four books including Jews Who Rock, about Jews in the music industry.
If he is chosen, I wonder if we’ll start hearing some Cowell-like insults in Hebrew next year.
Yoram, more wine please…
Filed under: A New Reality, Food, General, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture, Religion
Karen Berg, and her husband Rabbi Philip Berg
On the day after the superstar’s second sold out show in Tel Aviv last week, I was offered a chance to interview Karen Berg, the Los Angeles-based co-founder of the Kabbalah Center, and the person most identified hooking Madonna up with the ancient Jewish mysticsm.
At first, the meeting was supposed to take place at the Kabbalah Center in downtown Tel Aviv, but the night before, one of Berg’s assistants called and asked if I would be willing to drive a little farther north to a private villa in a small, exclusive community north of Netanya, where Berg would be spending the afternoon. Sure, I answered, with visions of entering the home and finding Madonna reclining on a chaise lounge poolside, chatting with Justin Timberlake.
Well, it wasn’t quite that heady. But the house was magnificent, there was a beautiful pool, and there were people lounging around outside. It turns out the home belonged to a young couple who were students at the Tel Aviv center, and had invited a few people to lunch, with Berg as the guest of honor.
As I was sitting in the gigantic living room interviewing Berg, a hired chef in a white apron and chef’s hat was stoking the grill and flipping thick steaks and skewered chicken (all kosher of course). Guests began arriving including Madonna’s longtime Kabbalah teacher Eitan Yardeni, Berg’s son Michael, and a young couple who greeted Berg – and then she whispered to me ‘That’s Gwyneth Paltrow’s sister.’
As I was getting ready to leave and the guests were sitting down for lunch, the husband host came up to me and said, ‘won’t you join us?’
It would have been rude to refuse, so for an hour, I ate, drank, and talked about Israeli politics, the differences between raising children in Israel and the US, Madonna’s after-party the night before (attended by Natalie Portman, Sasha Baron Cohen and Bar Refaeli), and, it turned out, very little Kabbalah. One of the Kabbalah Center people whispered in my ear that the rule was that everything said was off the record, and I nodded affirmatively, because I was too busy eating to think about taking notes or remembering anything for later,
I could have stayed for hours, but I remembered I had a job, profusely thanked my hosts, and started the long drive back to Jerusalem. Thanks Madonna, I owe you one.
An independent gathering in Tel Aviv
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, General, Israeliness, Music, Pop Culture
From left: Indie icon Sharon Cantor, Dinosaur Jr. manager Brian Schwartz, Faith No More bassist Billy Gould, Monotonix vocalist Ami Shalev and moderator Quami.
Last week, while Madonna was preparing to perform the first of two sold out shows in Tel Aviv, just a few meters across the street at the Israel Trade Fair Center seminar rooms, a few hundred quirky-looking individuals were gathering to discuss the ins and outs of the music business, specifically that antithesis of mass pop culture – indie rock.
Patterned after the heralded SXSW (South by Southwest) conference that takes place annually in Austin, the two-day Heineken Music Conference, billed Israel’s first international music conference, brought together local musicians, fans and music industry professionals with international band managers, record company executives, agents and musicians to tackle issues such as new trends in music, how new media is affecting the industry and how to develop and nurture an artist.
By day, the indie crowd heard from the likes of top tier industry pros like Jerry Blair, who has guided the careers of Mariah Carey and Destiny’s Child, and today manages Mika, Ray Jefford, the manager of Israeli jazz master Avishai Cohen, Billy Gould, bassist for Faith No More, and MGMT manager Mark Kates. By night, they rocked to sounds by Faith No More, MGMT, Dinosaur Jr. and LCD Sound System.
The local Israeli community was well represented too, with Quami, the host of the popular Galgalatz radio program “Hakatzeh” (The Edge), journalist Sharon Kantor, Ami Shalev, vocalist for Israeli indie band Monotonix, musician and critic Sharon Moldavi, and Ronni Braun, CEO of Helicon Records.
Cantor, who has appeared on both sides of the stage as a singer for The Girls, TV host, and journalist, recounted the ‘Galgalatz dilemma,’ referring to the popular youth-oriented radio station.
“Some artists write and record a song solely thinking about whether this will be commercial enough to get on Galgalatz,” she said, bemoaning the dearth of a real ‘indie’ scene here.
“I just got a press release from Earsay Records [Israel's top indie label] announcing a marketing deal with Castro – one of the most conventional, established chains in the country. What’s alternative about that?” she said.
Ray Jefford, who has enjoyed a long management relationship with Israeli jazz bassist Avishai Cohen, said that there were a lot of quality musicians in Israel, but they often lack the drive to go all the way in pursuit of success.
“Usually, they’re not willing to go out and put themselves on the line, and to take big risks to achieve their long term goals,” he said, referring to the grind of constantly playing shows and traveling, sometimes without making any money.
“You have to get used to sleeping in vans, or if you’re lucky, on couches,” said Cantor. “You can’t believe some of the conditions you have to put up with.”
Ami Shalev, the hippie-looking vocalist for Israeli indie band Monotonix, remained quiet through much of the session he was participating in. But when the topic came around to giving advice to young artists who are deliberating about whether to go abroad even though they have no following, he suddenly became animated and said, “Go!”
“If you say that now’s not the right time, then you’ll never get there. Even if you have no money, start working a day job and save up enough for a plane ticket. You’ll be able to work out a deal with a band there to share equipment. If you think you’re good enough, then people will start coming to hear you,” he said.
Much of the fun at the conference was mingling in the corridors between sessions, with artists handing demos to managers, agents making contacts, and everyone looking around to see who was there – just like LA and New York.
Another Madonna controversy in Israel
Filed under: A New Reality, Art, General, Israeliness, Religion
We just can’t seem to get enough of Madonna here – even when we’re not referring to the singer. The latest ‘Madonna’ controversy broke on Thursday when a Tel Aviv art exhibit depicting various female Palestinian suicide bombers as the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus caused an uproar.
The exhibit at Beit Sokolov, which houses the Israeli Journalists Association, was quickly taken down following an outcry from the families of those killed or wounded in the attacks, as well as by organizations that represent terror victims.
According to media reports, the exhibit, which featured the work of local artists Galina Bleich and Liliah Check, consisted of a series of paintings of the women – some with halos around their heads – rendered to look like Renaissance-era portraits of Catholic saints.
The artists defended their work on Thursday, with Bleich telling Ynet that she didn’t understand how the exhibit was misconstrued as glorifying suicide bombers.
“I don’t understand how this turned into an insult to bereaved families. We came actually to emphasize the exact opposite. The baby in Madonna’s hands is in danger. This really needs to disturb people. It isn’t just an Israeli problem, but a global one. Therefore, we chose Madonna, who is a symbol of Christianity.
“This issue came up for me after I personally experienced a trauma when I was next to a terror attack on French Hill in Jerusalem. Ever since, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It isn’t at all a political issue, but a personal issue. We are trying to ask how a woman, who is meant to love and give birth, became a source of hatred and murder. I don’t at all go into politics. But because we are such a political country, everyone is trying to figure out if we are left-wing or not,” explained Bleich.
“I hope it will all be okay this evening. If it impacts people so much, this means that the message is getting across. We wanted to think together with the audience about what is happening, and, apparently, now they are reflecting on it. Modern art can speak in a free language without a framework. Modern art is actually a language that shakes up the subjects that are painful to us. It’s not only flowers in a vase. Art asks questions and doesn’t provide answers,” said Bleich.
However, not everybody agreed with that assessment. The Jerusalem Post reported that Dalit Levy, whose 17-year-old stepdaughter Rachel was killed in a suicide bombing as she shopped at the Supersol supermarket in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood on March 29, 2002, along with the store’s security guard, Haim Smadar, 55, arrived outside Sokolov House on Thursday afternoon with an Israeli flag draped over her shoulders, and placed plastic sheeting on the sidewalk.
“You want art?” she asked a group of reporters who had gathered around her. “Here’s art!” she said, before spilling a can of red paint next to a photograph of her stepdaughter and two memorial candles. “This is the blood of our children!”
Almagor, The Association for Terror Victims in Israel, also issued a stern response to the exhibit, and threatened to take legal action if the portraits were not taken down.
“Nahum Sokolov [for whom Sokolov House is named] is rolling in his grave today,” Almagor’s chairman, Meir Indor, told The Post.
There was no word on what the real Madonna, sightseeing in Jordn yesterday, had to say about her namesake’s controversy.
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