Dating an Environmentalist in Israel (A 5 Tip Survival Guide)
In Israel and around the planet – our big global village – it’s a tough dating world out there, as the most recent Valentine’s Day may have reminded us. Whether we’re lucky enough to meet someone through a chance encounter on a beach in Tel Aviv, or through directories that list free dating sites, or even through some good old fashioned Jewish matchmaking – meeting someone is only half the battle. The other half? Making it work. This can be especially tough sometimes when your love interest has strong ideals about something that you are… ahem… less passionate about. For those of you that are just starting to date an environmentalist in Israel (or dating an environmentalist in the Middle East at large), watch out for these five potential deal breakers: Read more
Egypt revolt strangely missing Israeli element
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, General, Life, News, Politics, War
A demonstrator in Cairo - where's Israel? (Photo: Melanie Lidman)
Notwithstanding unfounded rumors that President Hosni Mubarak might find refuge if he flees his country in Tel Aviv, or fear of what an Islamic takeover of Egypt will mean for our southern border and future ties with the Arab country we’ve had a peace treaty with for over 30 years, the most glaring element of the whole revolt is how little Israel has to do with it.
As Herb Keinon wrote in The Jerusalem Post on Sunday, “for the tens of thousands of protesters who took to Egypt’s streets over the weekend, defying the curfew and calling for the departure of President Hosni Mubarak, Israel and the Palestinians were simply not on the agenda.
“And the same was the case during the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia earlier this month, and in the demonstrations intermittently taking place in Jordan, Yemen, Algeria and Morocco. No cries of death to Israel, no signs to “lift the siege” of Gaza, no chants against housing projects in Ariel.”
Melanie Lidman, the Post’s report in Cairo, wrote that anti-US and anti-Israel sentiment is growing over those country’s lack of overt support for the popular uprising. But from an Israeli perspective, it’s refreshing to have demonstrations and riots in the region that seemingly have nothing to do with us.
Which doesn’t diminish our vested interested in what transpires an iota. While the anti-government, pro-democracy demonstrators are demanding Mubarak’s ouster, there’s the extremist Muslim Brotherhood just waiting for a vacuum to rush in and turn Egypt into another Iran, this one with borders abutting Israel.
No matter how it turns out, one thing is clear. Settlements, Jerusalem and Israel’s policy on Gaza are not the main issues threatening stability in the Middle East.
Foto Friday – Behind the Urban Outfitters Scene
Filed under: Art, Blogging, Business, design, Entertainment, Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Travel
A few weeks ago, Jessica reported that Urban Outfitters had come to Israel for a catalogue shoot. Urban Outfitters has since posted a sneak peek on Facebook at their Early Spring line, which includes some gorgeous shots of some equally gorgeous people making our drab winter surroundings that much brighter.
Along with the fashion shots, there are also some interesting artistic ones as well. That’s because three of the models — Coco Young, Marcel Castenmiller and Jonas Kesseler — are also photographers in their own right. Urban Outfitters who, despite their retro aesthetic, are ever on the cutting edge, asked the trio to document their Israel experience with a Behind the Scenes look.
The result: “Their photos reveal the little unexpected moments that make a trip special – snacks, late nights and the people that you meet for a second but will remember forever.”
The full exhibition is posted on the Urban Outfitters blog, along with interviews with the artists. Coco Young said that the Dead Sea was one of the trip’s highlights.
Photo by Coco Young
She also kept an eye out for unusual fashion statements.
Photo by Coco Young
The Dead Sea was also a highlight for Marcel Castenmiller but his favorite part of the day, he said, was “Getting back to the hotel room and staying up late with Coco and Jonas drinking wine.”
Photo by Marcel Castenmiller
And the absurd little details of a country where a kitchen clock gets tied to a street lamp — for heaven knows what reason — didn’t escape his notice.
Photo by Marcel Castenmiller
Jonas Kesseler said the funniest moment of his trip was arriving at the airport only to be strip-searched on his way into Israel. Glad to hear he kept a sense of humor about it. Certainly, that wit is reflected in his work.
Photos by Jonas Kesseler
Kesseler’s website, by the way, features a photo and drawing essay about his “wandering the endless streets of Tokyo”. Here’s hoping that a new edition — the lighter side of coming hard up against the finite borders of our little country, perhaps? — will turn up in the near future. As for Urban Outfitters, a radio commentator put it best today when he said, “Next time you come, please could you bring a branch of your store with you, too?”
Sharon and Nimrod invite Facebook ‘matchmaker’ to their Tel Aviv wedding
Filed under: A New Reality, Blogging, General, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture
Here’s a case of either extreme Israeli chutzpah or a prime example of how we get things done and aren’t stymied by details, class, or obstacles.
Nimrod and Sharon are two young Israelis who met on Facebook and are getting married on Purim day, March 17 at the Tel Aviv Port. Since they credit Facebook with the ‘matchmaking,’ they decided to invite the site’s founder Mark Zuckerberg to the wedding. And they recorded a YouTube invite for the celebrated tycoon.
You’ve gotta love Sharon and Nimrod’s gumption and their humor as well. “If money is an issue, we’ll pay for the ticket” is the kicker that brightens up the clip and just might get Zuckerberg to accept. Who knows? Maybe he’ll find the match of his own at Sharon and Nimrod’s wedding.
Macy Gray stands up to pressure to scrap Tel Aviv shows
Filed under: A New Reality, Blogging, coexistence, Entertainment, General, Israeliness, Music, News, Pop Culture
It’s happened too often in the recent past – high-profile international performers like Elvis Costello and the Pixies who book and sell out shows in Israel, and then turn around and cancel them.
The pro-Palestinian presence on the Web and in campaigns calling for these artists to boycott Israel by using catch phrases like “Apartheid state” and focusing on its treatment of Palestinians is usually the main reason for the turn around in the artists’ decision to scrap their plans.
And at least on the surface, it’s what prompted American soul singer Macy Gray to post a status on her Facebook fan page questioning whether she should honor her contract to appear in Tel Aviv at the Reading 3 club on February 11 and 12.
“I’m booked for two shows in Tel Aviv,” Gray wrote. “I’m getting a lot of
letters from activists urging and begging me to boycott by not performing in protest of apartheid against the Palestinians. What the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinians is disgusting, but I want to go. I have a lot of fans there that I don’t want to cancel on, and I don’t know how my not going changes anything. What do you think? Stay or go?”
Around 2,000 people reacted to Gray’s status update, with the majority
writing messages like “cultural boycott is an integral part of the fight
against apartheid” and “cancel your tour and stand up for human rights.”
Others responded differently. “Please don’t give in to the haters – they claim that Israel practices Apartheid, but the last time you played in Israel, the Arab students of Israel’s Hebrew University were equally able to watch you play. That’s not apartheid; that’s freedom!” wrote one referring to her last performance here in 2008.
Having evidently weighed the various responses, Gray, who has performed three previous times in Israel, announced via Twitter on Wednesday that she had decided to honor her commitment to perform in Tel Aviv. “Dear Israel fans. Me and the band will be there in 20 days. Can’t wait. See you then. Peace,” she wrote.
While the case seems closed, it apparently isn’t. According to a couple insiders in the concert promotion business, it’s not so much the performer’s conscience that suddenly lights up when met by the pro-Palestinian onslaught – it’s something much more concrete.
“Some of these artists are getting death threats,” said one member of a production team in Tel Aviv. “They’re generally apolitical and don’t know or understand the issues of the region. But when they are threatened, it suddenly jolts them. Hearing or reading ‘if you play in Israel, we’ll kill you’ can cause some people to cancel.”
That allegedly happened to Paul McCartney a few hours before his giant show in Tel Aviv in 2008, when a caller reportedly threatened to shoot him if he went onstage. Sir Paul didn’t give in and the show went on as planned.
Whether Macy Gray – despite her apparent decision to buck the boycott calls – will have the gumption to do the same, if the haters of Israel resort to such uncivilized tactics, remains to be seen.
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