Nostalgia Sunday – Arye Deri is back
Filed under: A New Reality, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, News, Nostalgia Sunday, Politics, Pop Culture, Profiles, Religion
Arye Deri is making his long-awaited return to the political arena which makes this the perfect time for the following exercise. Say it together with me: “Prime Minister Arye Deri… Prime Minister Arye Deri”. Rolls nicely off the tongue, doesn’t it? I’m not saying I like this prognostication. I’m just saying, get used to it.
Of course, I’m not the first person to predict Deri’s future. That was done a long time ago when Deri first burst on the scene to take the reins of the Shas Party, becoming the youngest minister in the State’s history. Legend has it that party elders said, “That young man will either go to jail or become Prime Minister.”
Well, he’s done the jail part — convicted in 2000 of bribe-taking, served a jail sentence and lived under sanction from political activity — and now he’s back, still the darling of the secular population for his perceived ability to unite factions, and a divisive element among the religious for approximately the same reason.
And he’s about to do it again. There’s been some buzz about his running for mayor of Jerusalem where he recently made the local Time Out’s “50 Sexiest Jerusalemites” list, (though that may say more about Jerusalem than Deri).
In an interview with Maariv on Friday, Deri said that he was “working on establishing a new socio-economic party that would bridge between religious and secular, Right and Left, Ashkenazi and Sephardi and rich and poor.”
In previous go-rounds, he was able to capture a great many former Labor and Likud party voters, including voters from the Arab sector who appreciated the fairness he displayed as Minister of the Interior.
To mark the return of Deri, we’ve gone back to the archives of Yom HaShishi, a now-defunct weekly newspaper for the religious sector. Yom HaShishi made waves back in the 1990s for its bold use of photo-illustrated political cartoons on its covers — something that hadn’t been seen before. The artworks were executed by Jonathan Sierra of Icons, a studio that pioneered the use of Photoshop, photo-montage and multimedia in Israel.
Sierra notes that Yom HaShishi was very, very literal in its humor. So, if Deri’s was breaking bonds with Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, then that was shown.
And if Deri and fellow Shas party leader Shlmo Benizri were “tailoring a suit for someone” (the phrase also means, “to frame someone”), then they were shown tailoring a suit!
(Benizri is, by the way, currently serving a jail sentence also for taking bribes).
In the early nineties, the protracted investigation into Deri’s financial affairs and consequent trial had a profound effect on Israeli society. “Hu zakai” (“he is innocent” or “free from guilt”) became a famous pro-Deri catchphrase, particularly among Shas voters who saw the whole matter as the Israeli establishment’s persecution of their party, the religious sector and Sephardic Jews in general.
The topsy-turvy atmosphere of the day is reflected in this Purim holiday cartoon from 1993. According to Jewish tradition, on Purim, everything is upside-down. Therefore, Deri was shown as a policeman while Police Commissioner Yaakov Terner was shown in religious garb. Twirling a noisemaker in the background: Moshe Shahal, then Minister of Police.
At the time, Deri’s popularity was such that people said the harder you hit him, the stronger Shas became. Imagine, then, what he can do now with a broad-based party.
Let’s face it, Arye Deri is the only politician on the Israeli scene with genuine charisma. So do your exercises and get ready for what’s coming next.
Classroom politics
Filed under: A New Reality, education, General, Israeliness, Life, Politics, Social Justice
My son received a first-hand lesson in democracy and politics this week.
His fourth-grade class had elections to choose a representative to the school student council, a body that meets once a month and lobbies for improvements to student life at the grammar school.
No matter who runs for the council, there’s a perennial promise to establish a cafeteria at the school, a pie in the sky notion that no group of adult parents have been able to achieve for years, let alone students.
Matan, along with the other seven students in the class of 26 that were running for the slot, had to prepare a campaign poster, listing the planks of his platform and then he had to give a speech outlining his campaign. Among his promises were to work for putting in vending machines with healthy snacks (a more modest proposal than a cafeteria), establishing a petting farm in the courtyard run by the students, and holding an art show with proceeds going to charity.
The next day, he handed out little homemade tags with his name on them (students were specifically banned from giving out candy and other treats as campaign bribes).
On the day of the vote, the students were told they could each vote for three candidates, and the ballots were handed out. Matan topped the vote getters, besting his nearest oppenent by one. He came home in a triumphant mood, elated that his hard work had paid off, and looking forward to attending the student council meetings in the lofty teachers’ room.
However, his teacher told the class that because three students were out sick, they would be allowed to vote the next day, which could sway the close race. And sure enough, when the final votes were tallied, Matan ended up one under, and not one over his closest competitor. So like Shimon Peres and Adlai Stevenson, to name a couple, he had defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.
Matan took it well, though, and said that it didn’t bother him. But I’m not so sure. I think that a future prime ministerial candidate’s career might have been sunk before it even got off the ground.
Ladies and gentlemen, in Jerusalem, Jim Gaffigan
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Holidays, Life, Pop Culture, Profiles, tv
The proliferation of comedy clubs in Israel has lagged behind the US – not because we’re not funny people, we are.
But maybe Israelis have been reluctant to pay for their laughs when they can get it for free on the streets. Whatever the reasons, standup has grown in stature in recent years, and there’s even quite a bit of English language comedy if you know where to look for it.
Our friend Benji Lovitt is among the trailblazers, along with other splendid Anglo-comics like Charlie Warady and David Klimnick, who runs the cozy Off the Wall Comedy Club in downtown Jerusalem.
As inviting a venue as it is, it’s a tiny place, more fitting to go see your friends perform than to expect a well-honed, Las Vegas-worthy act. So it was a double take moment when I saw the headline act appearing this Saturday night – Jim Gaffigan.
One of the most high-profile comics working today, the Irish-Catholic ‘King Baby’ Gaffigan can boast of over 30 appearances on the David Letterman & Conan O’Brien shows, his own Comedy Central specials and DVDs including the career-defining ‘Beyond the Pale,’ roles in films and TV shows including Sex & the City, Law & Order, That 70’s Show, high-profile TV commercials, and of course, a wildly successful stand up act consisting of his ‘clean’ observations on everything from Catholicism to eating habits.
So what’s he doing playing for clearly a fraction of his normal asking price at a cozy neighborhood club on a Saturday night in Jerusalem with little or no advertising?
It turns out that Gaffigan is here on vacation with his family, touring the Christian sites in the Holy Land. And through his friend, LA comedian Avi Liberman, who annually brings over American colleagues to Israel for a benefit show for the Koby Mandell Foundation, Gaffigan hooked up with the local English comedy crowd. When Lovitt and friends offered to arrange a couple small shows for Gaffigan during his stay, the affable guy couldn’t refuse.
So, last week, he performed at the Arab-Hebrew Theater in Jaffa and this Saturday night in Jerusalem.
“I’m really here on a religious pilgrimage, we’re Catholic and we decided to spend the holy week in Jerusalem,” Gaffigan told me on his cell phone as he was taking his three children, aged 5, 4 and 10 months to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo on erev Pessah.
Gaffigan said that the Tel Aviv show was a blast, a sentiment echoed by Lovitt, who opened up for the star.
“Be it Paul McCartney or whomever, it’s always great to see such high-level entertainment in this country and this was no different, especially in such a small, intimate environment,” said Lovitt. “Those who have tickets for Saturday night will get their money’s worth and then some.”
Gaffigan’s routine can generally translate into any environment, but the comic said that he was intent on incorporating some new material based on his observations while in Israel.
“I could do my ‘bacon’ routine, but you kind of pick and choose which material to use when you’re not performing for a home audience. But since I’m an observational, comic, there’s not much that I need to do too differently. Plus there were a lot of Americans at the Tel Aviv show, so it didn’t really matter,” he said, revealing one joke that he had garnered since his arrival.
While Gaffigan’s All American, fair-haired, look has established him in a world dominated by Jewish comics, he feels a strong bond with his Semitic colleagues. And unlike the dentist character in a classic episode of Seinfeld, who felt compelled to convert to Judaism for the material, he feels free to ingratiate himself from the outside.
“I feel a Jewish attachment, because I know a lot of Yiddish, and I know and like so many Jewish comedians,” said Gaffigan. “Anyway, Catholics are only very liberal Jews.”
Foto Friday – Post-Election Fun
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Israeliness, Politics, Pop Culture
This just in: President Shimon Peres has tasked Benjamin Netanyahu with forming the government. And so, the coalition-building process begins. Against the background of political posturing, jockeying for positions and a moment before disillusionment sets in, Tomeriko, photographer, photo editor and informal archivist of Israeli press photographers, has posted a new series of images on his Israel Press Flickr photostream. Entitled Elections 2009, it provides a humorous behind-the-scenes peek at the recent elections.
Photo by Koko, courtesy of Israel Press
The series, contributed by any number of Israeli press photographers working for various media outlets, deals with the run-up to election day, including things that people living outside Israel might not have known about.
Photo by Koko, courtesy of Israel Press
For example, Kadima party head Tzipi Livni on the cover of womens magazine La’Isha. When she was a little girl, could she ever have imagined this day would come?
Photo by Idan Kenan, courtesy of Israel Press
Inevitably, there are instances of campaign poster abuse…
Photo by Aviad Herman, courtesy of Israel Press
With some enthusiastic party workers perhaps taking the “green” message a tad to far…
Photo by Tamar Matsafi, courtesy of Israel Press
There are those who use election day to promote their own personal agenda…
Photo by Adi Yisrael, courtesy of Israel Press
And some who just tag along…
Photo by Alex Kolomoisky, courtesy of Israel Press
But the big question remains: do we know which way we’re actually going?
Photo by Adi Yisrael, courtesy of Israel Press
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”.
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