Boston Globe goes beyond the conflict? Really?
Surprisingly, the following is not from ISRAEL21c.
We all know the Israel of wars, oppression, and precarious security, but what about Israel of the humming economy with 90 Israel-related companies on NASDAQ? What about Israeli films garnishing honors around the world: “Jellyfish” and “The Band’s Visit” at Cannes, “Beaufort” in Berlin, “My Father My Lord” in Tribeca, “Sweet Mud” at Sundance, and “Aviva, My Love” in Shanghai?
What of Israeli solar power in California that has been saving 2 million barrels of oil annually for nearly 20 years? What of Arava Valley high-tech agriculture, with exports exceeding $100 million? Natafim, the drip irrigation system patented by Kibbutz Hatzerim, is now a multinational conglomerate selling millions of systems throughout the world. What of the Israel that is taking in Darfur refugees, and what of the first Israeli-initiated UN resolution, calling upon countries to share agricultural technology with developing countries, adopted overwhelmingly this month?
It’s this other Israel that’s underreported.
The above was written by H.D.S. Greeway. Its shockingly from the Boston Globe in a feature where Globe columnists wrote about the most underreported stories of the year. (link)
Sacha Baron Cohen cast as Abbie Hoffman in new Spielberg flick
The Times of London is reporting that Steven Spielberg has cast Sacha Baron Cohen in his upcoming “Chicago Seven” movie as Abbie Hoffman. Who else were you expecting him to play? Bobby Seale? (Yes, I know that Seale was removed from the trial). Wow. I can’t think of anyone more perfect for the role of Abbie Hoffman than Sacha Baron Cohen. Maybe Judah Friedlander actually. But he doesn’t exactly have the box office pull that Cohen has. Cohen, a student of American history himself (he wrote his master’s thesis on Jewish involvement in the American civil right’s movement) is perfect casting.
I recall vividly my first introduction to this time in history. HBO broadcast a docudrama in 1987 called “Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8.” I made numerous trips to the library and digested books about the Yippies and the Black Panthers. It was at this age that I really started to be engaged with history.
The movie, written by West Wing scribe Aaron Sorkin, will not likely involve a lot of walking in hallways due to the courtroom location. Sorkin’s trademark witty banter will be evident however. If Sorkin is basing his script on the actual transcript of the trial it is unavoidable. Hoffman entertained all participants and consistently joked with the judge whose last name was also Hoffman. Though he also called him a “disgrace to the Jews,” which certainly didn’t endear him. I can’t wait for this film.
For once, a good idea from the Prime Minister’s office
The Prime Minister’s office (PMO) has been urging IKEA to open up their second store in the town of Lod, one of the poorest towns in all of Israel. To all of you who believe American trends hit Israel years later, here is another one for you. Lod is notorious for its drug deals and thousands come to the city every day to buy crack and heroin fixes. Yes, crack. However whack it is in America these days, its gained some traction here. Despite the large crackdown (uh, absolutely no pun intended) a few years ago against the infamous drug ATMs (you put your money through a mail slot and you get your drugs - no face to face with the dealer) they quickly returned and Lod’s problems persist.
Enter Ilan Harari, Lod’s current Mayor who was appointed after Benny Regev was removed due to rampant corruption. Regev, highly influenced by Rudy Giuliani, has a plan. Increase visible police presence, security cameras and set up roadblocks in the town to prevent junkies from coming in. A decent plan, but when 1 out of 130 residents of your town has a drug file with the Police the cards are stacked against you. (More here)
Enter Ikea. According to today’s Globes (Israel’s daily business paper) the PMO has offered 3-4 Million shekels (roughly one million dollars) towards the infrastructure of the building should IKEA choose to open in Lod.
At a meeting held on October 16, 2005 (parallel to IKEA Israel’s negotiations with the Rishon LeZion municipality), with the then mayor of Lod Benny Regev, Avishai Cohen, then head of the PMO Division for Coordination, Follow-Up and Control, said the state would give the project a “green track,” and that “it would not be a problem for the division to attend to the necessary business with the Ministries of Interior an Industry, Trade and Labor regarding the Investment Promotion Center and discounts for superstores.”
A document obtained by “Globes” reveals that the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) has been promoting the opening of a branch of Swedish home furniture chain Ikea in Lod and even offered IKEA Israel various benefits, including NIS 3-4 million in aid through the Lod Municipality, which would be used to develop a superstore in the city.
Cohen also declared at the meeting that, “beyond that, we will, as a rule, be on your side.” He went on to say that the PMO could not be of help with regard to discounts to employers since these are usually given only in frontline regions, but suggested a way round this. “We’ll find a special way in which to help a project of this scale. Instead of giving grants, the municipality will receive a one-time budget for infrastructures of NIS 3-4 million.”
(link)
I believe that opening a branch of Ikea in Lod would be a godsend for the community. It will provide hundreds (potentially thousands) of jobs and bring hundreds of thousands of shekels in revenue to the struggling town. It will also be the impetus for other businesses to open nearby. One just has to look at Ikea in Netanya as an example. Since opening, numerous specialty supermarkets, cafes, restaurants and other stores have opened within the vicinity. Opening Ikea in Lod will without a doubt create a snowball effect that will only have a positive influence on the city.
If Times Square can be cleaned up, why can’t Lod? Granted, I’m not an urban planner nor a criminologist, but my gut feeling tells me this is a great idea. Lod is easily accessible from both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (direct train!). And soon with the advent of the southern part of Road 6, Beersheva.
What do you think? Would the opening of Ikea in one of Israel’s most criminal cities help the city or just backfire?
Help support coexistence in Israel
UPDATE: If you use Stumbleupon, please “stumble” this post. Also, if you have a Digg account I’d appreciate if you “dug” it as well. You can do so here.
My dear friend Yochai sends his two of his children to the Gesher Al Hawadi (Giser Al Hawadi/Bridge Over the Valley) school, created in 2003 is the first (and currently only) Jewish/Arab school in Israel located in an Arab Village (Kfar Kara). It is part of a network of bi-lingual, bi-cultural schools called Yad B’ Yad (Hand in Hand) and it serves to bring Israeli Jewish and Israeli Arab children from all over the Wadi Ara region closer through education.
Please read an article about the school here.
Financial support for this cause is mandatory for its survival and as well as for making it available to any and all interested parties.
There is currently a “Giving Challenge” on Facebook. There is a daily award of $1000 dollars for the cause with the most unique donors for that day. Just yesterday, a cause with 38 donors won the challenge. We figured that since tomorrow is Christmas day, Internet traffic will be low, so if we mobilize we’ll be able to easily win the daily prize. This contest will continue through February 1st when they will award $50,000 to the cause with the most unique donors. If you have a Facebook account and are interested in joining the cause that is making a real difference in children’s lives and can donate $10 ( though more would be appreciated of course) please click here. Gesher Al Hawadi subsidizes tuition so all who want to participate can enroll. One thousand dollars will cover tuition for a student for four months. So again, your small donation will make a huge difference.
Remember, the key here is donate on December 25 (Christmas Day). One thousand dollars may not sound like a lot of money to you but rest assured it can go a long way for the school.
Click here to join the cause.
Check out these videos about the school. I warn you, the second is soooooo cheesy.
My Favorite Things: Siobhan Donaghy
If you are not American, you might remember Siobhan Donaghy as the very serious looking redhead in the first line-up of the much better than average British girl vocal group, Sugababes. Slightly darker, tougher, and edgier than your average pop vocal group the UK’s Sugababes’ shelf life have far surpassed that of the numerous disposable chart topping pop tarts whose one hit wonders (sometimes two) popularity waned within a few months of charting. Their undeniably intriguing first single “Destination” was a breath of fresh air in 1998 as the airwaves at the time were saturated with substandard manufactured pop (read: Spice Girls). The video was all about movement, matching nicely with the consistent climbing bass line and inter-dispersed dirty guitar riffage.
Siobhan left the group in 2001 in the midst of a Japanese promotional tour allegedly due to bullying by the other girls. It’s been a long time and Donaghy has released two albums since her departure. Upon hearing “Ghosts”, her sophomore effort released this year, I was shocked to hear an original album far from the manufactured pop of her Sugababe days. It’s left field pop, saturated in synths, trippy beats - though highly influenced by Kate Bush and the Cocteau Twins - completely modern. It’s highly melodic and I found the urgency in Donaghy’s voice aligned with the somewhat desperation in her lyrics very appealing. This is the type of album that can certainly satiate your average pop fan and also go down smoothly for your run of the mill uber-music fan who is desperately trying to hold onto their credibility (like myself).
Frankly, I’m surprised that “Ghosts” didn’t end up on more “Best of” lists. It is certainly on mine.
Siobhan Donaghy - Ghosts
Siobhan Donaghy - Medevac
Red Kubbeh Soup (Marak Kubbeh Adom)
Back when I lived in Jerusalem I used to hit Mordoch in the Machaneh Yehuda market every Friday for a nice big hearty bowl of kubbe soup. Since moving to Modi’in, I go once every couple of weeks for lunch and certainly not as often as I would like. Now that winter has rolled in and we are experiencing our first cold weekend (well, at least cold for us) I can’t think of better time to make some homemade soup. Since I don’t have the hands, experience or time of a Kurdish grandmother I buy the kubbe (meat filled semolina dumplings) in the frozen section of our local supermarket. There are many brands and not all of them very good. I only go with Yasmin. Their kubbe are better than I have had in some restaurants, though not quite as good as the kubbe I used to get from my Kurdish neighbor many years ago. Since I don’t make the dumplings myself I put all my effort into the broth.
Red Kubbeh Soup (Marak Kubbeh Adom)
Olive oil, 3 Tablespoons
Onion, chopped
Tomato Paste, 3 Tablespoons
Chicken stock, 2 1/2 liters (most Israelis use water and add 2 Tablespoons of chicken bouillon)
Salt, 1 Teaspoon
Pepper, 1/2 Teaspoon
Sweet Paprika, 1 1/2 Teaspoons
Sugar, 1 Tablespoon
Swiss Chard, a bunch of leaves
Lemon Salt, 1 Tablespoon
You have a lot of options for vegetables. I’ve had kubbeh soup with zucchini, squash, celery, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots and beets. Most include chard as well. Since it is now winter here in Israel, I really wanted a sweet and earthy taste so use a lot of beets, carrots and sweet potato. Chard is the most common green used in Kubbeh soup and its bitterness contrasts wonderfully with the sweetness of the vegetables.
Heat the oil in a soup pot and cook the onions, once cooked to your satisfaction add the beets and carrots. Marvel at the color the onions mixed with the beets. Cook for about five minutes and add the tomato paste stirring in order to prevent burning. I usually add the paprika at this point as well.
Remembering Whale Boy
I was at Second City in Chicago the night Chris Farley got the call that he was going to be a new cast member on Saturday Night Live. Maybe. Or perhaps they were just mentioning it to the audience and he had found out earlier. My memory is a little fuzzy. It was seventeen years ago. Perhaps one of my friends who was there with me that night can confirm. For Farley and the rest of his improv troupe it was obviously a joyous occasion. He was visibly trashed yet incredibly “on” that night. I’ll always remember this one sketch featuring Farley as “Whale Boy,” a boy raised by whales later to be adopted by a high class family. He wore a helmet with a spout. It was really bizarre and involved a lot of flopping around on the floor. I distinctly remember his fellow cast members not being able to keep it together. It was so over the top but the audience ate it up.
It’s hard to believe that it has been ten years since Farley’s death. Farley’s comedy was often hit or miss for me. I don’t think I ever laughed at his Matt Foley motivational speaker character. However two of my favorite SNL skits feature Farley. The first being an audition for Chippendale’s with Patrick Swayze, and the second being this parody commercial (Schmitts Gay Beer anyone?) with Adam Sandler.
The NY Post has a nice article remembering Farley.
RSS? Is this thing on?
Dan did some sort of merge/uber-redirect with my old feed into a feedburner feed. So as of right now I have just one subscriber. There are at least seventy something of you who subscribed to my old feed so hopefully you will get this message. If it doesn’t work for whatever reason, please note that my new feed can be found here.
Subscribe at your own risk.
Update: Apparently the feed is still all messed up. Working to resolve.
This ain’t viral marketing!
The good folks of funnyordie.com have put up a nice little promo for Walk Hard. It features a nice fight between Judd Apatow and Craig Robinson. Take a look at Craig Robinson’s shirt. Guess he picked it up earlier this year on his visit. As you see the shenanigans unfold in this video you’ll see how it becomes an ironic t-shirt.
via slashfilm.com
Adventures in Babysitting
Ziva has been in the states for the past three days for a whirlwind trip to America in order to be the matron of honor at her cousin’s wedding (Mazal Tov Eli!). For the first time in my life I’ve be the sole caretaker for little Tzofie. I actually started to write this post as Ziva left but never finished. Just to get into my head space at the time check this out:
It’s not a big deal yet it is a big deal. Not a big deal because I’ve been involved in taking care of her for the past 10 months, so at this point I should know what I am doing. Routine. Routine. Routine. Just stick to the routine Harry and you’ll be alright. She respects you, you entertain her and she is comforted when she is around you. Though if you pass another kidney stone, your arthritis flares up or your back goes out again you are screwed. As is she. What if she freaks out if Ziva isn’t around?
All of my fears were unwarranted. First of all I’ve been totally healthy. Though she obviously misses Ziva a lot (she is always looking around for her , especially when I say “Mama.” These past few days have been among the most rewarding of my life. Tzofia and I are pretty tight. We speak our own language (people think I’m insane), have a mutual respect for both Salacious B. Crumb and Ghoel the Wol Cabashite (Jabba’s minions who sit on the bookcase and with whom we bid goodnight to every night), love music and enjoy each other’s company tremendously. Tzofie has been saying Dada fairly frequently lately (Much to my dismay Nighthawk never really caught on) but for the past two mornings she has woken up in a joyous mood. This morning was a real treat. I heard movement in her room and she began calling for me with obvious excitement in her voice. I walked in and she was standing in her crib for the first time. When she saw me she gave me the biggest smile, yelled “Dada” really loudly and reached for me. I really don’t know how to say this without being sounding absurdly cliché and incredibly cheesy but it was a defining moment and a major turning point in our relationship. I feel closer to her than ever and can’t wait for Ziva to get back already to share in my joy and rejoin the family lovefest. And to change the nasty poop filled morning diapers. That would be helpful as well.
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