Judaism from a vending machine in Jerusalem
Forget Life in a Pita, the popular album by Teapacks. We’ve now got Judaism in a vending machine. You can get just about anything in vending machines in Israel that you can get anywhere else – drinks, candy, sandwiches. But I think this must be a uniquely Israeli offering.
At Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station, you can put your money in a vending machine and receive booklets on Jewish laws and traditions. Intrepid Internet maven Jacob Richman took these photographs of the machine, which is stocked by the religious educational outreach organization Hadaf Hayomi (The Daily Page).
I asked an intern yesterday to go to the bus station and stake out the machine to see if anyone was filling up with knowledge instead of empty calories. But despite most of the booklets being depleted, he reported that most people were choosing tortilla chips instead of Talmud. Evidently, it may take some time to replace ‘food for thought’ with ‘thought for food’.
Beitar Crocs
Filed under: Business, design, History and Culture, Sports
I’ve gotten used to the ubiquitousness of Crocs in Israel, the way these resin-made clogs have become the hottest shoe in Israel since Nimrod’s biblical sandals. They’re so popular, the company that imports them has been accused of instituting a Crocs cartel, and has convinced Israelis to pay approximately $17 more for them in these parts.
I myself resisted buying any Crocs for some time, but gave in last summer when I purchased their forgiving flip-flops for my fat, pregnant feet, and then the ‘Audrey Hepburn’ style for the colder months.
And then, today, I saw yellow Crocs emblazoned with the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team emblem displayed outside a local store. There they were, sitting next to the fleece-lined Crocs and the Mary Jane Crocs. I took a closer look, figuring they were fakes, but they actually sported the Crocs emblem, right next to the black and yellow Beitar menorah symbol. The shop owner told me that they were a special Crocs order, just being sold in Jerusalem for Beitar-crazed fans, and were available at his store, and other local shops selling Crocs.
The thing is, I can’t really picture Beitar Jerusalem fans wearing Crocs, given their penchant for storming the field whenever they’re upset with the results of a game, and where else would you wear your Beitar Crocs, except to a soccer game? And I was also surprised to see Beitar Crocs being sold at this particular sports store, which is situated in Baka, home to transplanted Americans and generally genteel, secular Israelis. Your average Beitar fan? Not so genteel. Not very Baka. But the shop owner was informative on that account as well, and said you’d be surprised who’s a Beitar fan…and that he had more than one American customer picking up a pair to bring home.
Rocket rockumentary
Filed under: Blogging, History and Culture, Life, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, War
35-year-old filmmaker Laura Bialis moved from Los Angeles to Sderot just over a year ago. Her latest documentary, Sderot: Rock in the Red Zone, set for distribution in 2009, is currently in post-production, but given the latest developments in the south, we wouldn’t be surprised if some newer footage crept in to the final cut as well. As Bialis puts it on the movie’s website, “This is a story about what its like to live through a never-ending war. Not just to survive, but to keep living.”
Bialis has been blogging since the current Gaza war has begun, with her words lending a personal face to her project’s subject matter, as well as the way the movie is shaping up:
I used to have a crew, but my two usual shooters are afraid to come to Sderot right now. So I’m on my own, except for my husband, who has become my assistant cameraperson because he won’t let me out of his sight. We’ve made a pact to try to stay together as much as possible so we don’t worry about each other….
When I first came to Sderot I didn’t run to the shelter. The threat seemed so random. It seemed almost impossible that you were going to be hurt. The fear of Qassams is something that takes a while. It grows on you. Because now, I know too many people with near misses.
A lover of history, Bialis founded and heads the Foundation for Documentary Projects, which serves as an umbrella for her various projects, which have in the past focused on the Holocaust and Soviet Refusenik culture. Along the way, she has garnered awards from the Vermont International Film Festival and the Anti-Defamation League.
Sderot: Rock in the Red Zone (check out the heart-wrenchingly poignant trailer here) does what it can to convey what life is like in a sleepy development town which has absorbed thousands of terrorist rocket attacks over the past several years, but the movie accomplishes this feat in an unconventional manner, by focusing on Sderot’s status as a musical hotbed.
Acts like Sfatayim, Teapacks and Knessiat Hasechel, all huge Israeli pop bands, all hail from the town, where loads of up-and-comers are enjoying an artistic renaissance, largely through the hub of Sderock, an incubator/rehearsal space that’s also a performance stage – and also an underground bomb shelter. Sderot: Rock in the Red Zone tells the story of life in Sderot through the eyes of the town’s vibrant music scene and that scene’s key players.
For more details on Sderot’s rock scene and full profile of Bialis please read this story at ISRAEL21c.
Teapacks retires…
Referencing the once flourishing music scene they once called Sderot the “Seattle” of Israel due to the influential bands coming out of the area. The most popular of these bands was Teapacks who went on to be one of the top selling bands in the country and even represented Israel at the Eurovision song competition. Now before I moved to Israel back in 1997 my taste in Israeli music… was…uh…misguided. I’ll save myself the embarrassment and hold off on the listening habits of a previous life. I have my army buddies to thank for getting me in line.
When I was enrolled in Ulpan (intensive Hebrew course) I listened to Teapack’s earlier albums endlessly. They were an amalgamation of ethnic music and rock with somewhat witty lyrics. I learned a tremendous amount of Hebrew transcribing their lyrics. Their live show was always better than their records and I had the opportunity to see them probably about ten times.
As is the case with bands that have integrity, their sound evolved. My music tastes evolved as well and I no longer connected to their more disco pop oriented sound (though their lyrics remained filled with humor and wit). They are widely known for their song “Push the Button” which they performed at Eurovision in 2007 which was all about the threat of Nuclear destruction. I didn’t get it and certainly couldn’t connect with lyrics such as “I wanna see the flowers bloom/Don’t wanna go kaput kaboom.”
After over 18 years as a band, ten albums and numerous hits Teapacks is calling it quits. And not a moment too soon.
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