http://www.jewpi.com Jewish Press International Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:14:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.jewpi.com/tu-bshvat-was-here-1328826247/ http://www.jewpi.com/tu-bshvat-was-here-1328826247/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:24:07 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/tu-bshvat-was-here-1328826247/ The Levinski market in TLV (photo credit: FreeIsraelPhotos.com) Tu B’shvat, Israel’s Arbor Day, is finally behind us, and I say finally because I just have to separate myself from dried-fruit-feasting. There comes a point when you cannot look at another dried fig or date, and I’m glad that the moment has arrived. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/mozart-vs-madonna-1328792165/ http://www.jewpi.com/mozart-vs-madonna-1328792165/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:56:05 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/mozart-vs-madonna-1328792165/ With news of Madonna ‘s return visit to Israel, I cranked up the stereo with The Material Girl’s hits. I was not expecting the reactions my kids gave me. My eldest son asked me what “that noise” was. My youngest son said “is that music?” Fortunately my daughter said nothing (which means she did not [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/no-more-lying-for-%e2%80%9creligious%e2%80%9d-girls-1328694368/ http://www.jewpi.com/no-more-lying-for-%e2%80%9creligious%e2%80%9d-girls-1328694368/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:46:08 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/no-more-lying-for-%e2%80%9creligious%e2%80%9d-girls-1328694368/ IDF insignia We know a girl named Liat who lied to get out of doing army service. Despite living a secular lifestyle, she told the army she was religious, which gave her an automatic exemption. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/from-material-girl-to-zionist-1328693766/ http://www.jewpi.com/from-material-girl-to-zionist-1328693766/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:36:06 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/from-material-girl-to-zionist-1328693766/ Madonna performing in Tel Aviv in 2009 with an Israeli flag draped over her. Is it just the luck of the draw that the Queen of Pop, Madonna, has decided to open her 2012 world tour in Israel? I think not. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/bebe-in-israel-1328560452/ http://www.jewpi.com/bebe-in-israel-1328560452/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:34:12 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/bebe-in-israel-1328560452/ Baby in Bamba It’s the new Tiger Mom. Now it’s not just Chinese mothers who are superior, raising extra-capable, skilled intelligent children, but French mothers too. Oui, oui. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-kol-israel-archive-open-to-all-1328479569/ http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-kol-israel-archive-open-to-all-1328479569/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:06:09 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-kol-israel-archive-open-to-all-1328479569/ As the child of a folksinger , it was more than exciting to read that the archive of American ethno-musicologist Alan Lomax has finally be digitized and 17,000 music tracks made accessible online through the Association for Cultural Equity (ACE). Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/in-the-red-south-1328445490/ http://www.jewpi.com/in-the-red-south-1328445490/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:38:10 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/in-the-red-south-1328445490/ Anemones carpet the Negev. (Photo: Viva Sarah Press) After consecutive weeks of rainy weekends, Israelis flocked outdoors this weekend to feel the nature. Several went to the beach. Some headed north to the Galilee and Golan Heights. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/israeli-tv-ad-too-hot-for-iran-to-handle-1328432645/ http://www.jewpi.com/israeli-tv-ad-too-hot-for-iran-to-handle-1328432645/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:04:05 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/israeli-tv-ad-too-hot-for-iran-to-handle-1328432645/ Click here to view the embedded video. One thing Israelis can take pride in is their dark, subversive sense of humor. Iran’s aiming to complete their nuclear program and aim missiles at Tel Aviv? No problem, let’s use it as a comedic backdrop. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/iicfbd-1328382505/ http://www.jewpi.com/iicfbd-1328382505/#comments Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:08:25 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/iicfbd-1328382505/ Ben and Jerry’s Israel ad for their ice cream club According to my calendar, today was International Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/israel-now-the-second-most-educated-country-in-the-world-1328375660/ http://www.jewpi.com/israel-now-the-second-most-educated-country-in-the-world-1328375660/#comments Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:14:20 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/israel-now-the-second-most-educated-country-in-the-world-1328375660/ Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Photo by milan.sk, under a GNU free documentation license It seems like we only hear bad news when it comes to Israel’s educational rankings these days. Where once we were known for our prowess in math and science in particular, annual polls consistently put us near the bottom of the list [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-winter-wildflower-wonderland-1328294298/ http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-winter-wildflower-wonderland-1328294298/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:38:18 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-winter-wildflower-wonderland-1328294298/ I am not a great fan of rain and so this winter has been a particularly miserable one. Rain, rain, rain and more rain. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/jerusalems-ugliest-building-hint-its-not-the-holyland-1328273051/ http://www.jewpi.com/jerusalems-ugliest-building-hint-its-not-the-holyland-1328273051/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:44:11 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/jerusalems-ugliest-building-hint-its-not-the-holyland-1328273051/ The Amir Center in Jerusalem For years, whenever I have driven down King George Street, near the Great Synagogue and the Leonardo (formerly Sheraton) Plaza Hotel, the building at the corner with Agron Street has pained me – a tremendously ugly, Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/in-english-or-hebrew-its-yael-deckelbaum-1328176844/ http://www.jewpi.com/in-english-or-hebrew-its-yael-deckelbaum-1328176844/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:00:44 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/in-english-or-hebrew-its-yael-deckelbaum-1328176844/ The number of Israel rock and pop artists singing in English in recent years has exploded. Between Assaf Avidan, Geva Alon , Tamar Eisenman, and a plethora of others, it seems sometimes like there’s more English than Hebrew out there. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/sabras-battle-it-out-in-court-1328086809/ http://www.jewpi.com/sabras-battle-it-out-in-court-1328086809/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:00:09 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/sabras-battle-it-out-in-court-1328086809/ Kishkashta and Shpitzik – separated at birth? We all know that the nickname for Israelis is sabra. Now, I’m not saying that our natives are really prickly, argumentative and volatile, but it appears that in our country, even cartoon cacti can’t get along. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/castration-clinic-1328045894/ http://www.jewpi.com/castration-clinic-1328045894/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:38:14 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/castration-clinic-1328045894/ Monty: before At first glance, it looks like any other veterinarian’s office. Pictures of dogs and cats on the walls, efficient and busy animal doctors flitting around in blue cotton smocks. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/rimby-1328027291/ http://www.jewpi.com/rimby-1328027291/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:28:11 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/rimby-1328027291/ In all its glory…my local recycling cage. Exciting news on my block, sort of IMBY, or RIMBY, instead of NIMBY: After numerous calls over the years to the iriya , the municipality, we finally have a plastic bottle/disc case/battery recycling cage just down the street, smack next to the newspaper recycling bin. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/eretz-nehederet-takes-on-birthright-1327912327/ http://www.jewpi.com/eretz-nehederet-takes-on-birthright-1327912327/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:32:07 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/eretz-nehederet-takes-on-birthright-1327912327/ Eretz Nehederet actors portraying American-Jewish participants of a Birthright trip in ecstacy over learning they’re going to visit Yad Vashem. The increasingly blurry relationship between Israel and American Jews continues to be a subject for discussion, criticism and parody. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-cinema-savion-saved-1327877049/ http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-cinema-savion-saved-1327877049/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:44:09 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-cinema-savion-saved-1327877049/ The best sort of mayor, it is said, is one who can keep real estate developers under control. Look at some of the architectural monstrosities surrounding us and one has to conclude that modern Israel has had very bad luck with city management. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/the-sandwich-generation-1327851980/ http://www.jewpi.com/the-sandwich-generation-1327851980/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:46:20 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/the-sandwich-generation-1327851980/ From Julie Winokur’s documentary, The Sandwich Generation More helpful information about couplehood, parenthood and general adulthood from BGU, otherwise known as Ben-Gurion University of the Negev . Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/snake-vs-kid-%e2%80%93-snake-loses-head-kid-wins-1327778648/ http://www.jewpi.com/snake-vs-kid-%e2%80%93-snake-loses-head-kid-wins-1327778648/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:24:08 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/snake-vs-kid-%e2%80%93-snake-loses-head-kid-wins-1327778648/ Imad and his dad (without the snake) Indiana Jones famously didn’t like snakes. Neither, apparently, did a one-year-old baby in Israel: he bit off its head and killed it. The kid is Imad Gadir from Shfaram. At some point in the early hours of the morning, little Imad noticed a “coin snake” in his bedroom. [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/not-just-a-footnote-in-israeli-cinema-1327769764/ http://www.jewpi.com/not-just-a-footnote-in-israeli-cinema-1327769764/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:56:04 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/not-just-a-footnote-in-israeli-cinema-1327769764/ From right: director Joseph Cedar, actor Shlomo Bar Aba, and producer Moshe Edry stand together during a press conference after the film ‘Footnote’ was nominated for an Oscar last week. (AP) It’s happened four times now in the past five years. An Israeli film has been nominated for an Oscar. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-never-forget-1327675939/ http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-never-forget-1327675939/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:52:19 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-never-forget-1327675939/ Keeping The Memory Alive (Children in the Holocaust) is a poster contest being mounted across the world to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is today (Friday). Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/olive-pit-spitting-dont-try-this-at-home-kids-1327657133/ http://www.jewpi.com/olive-pit-spitting-dont-try-this-at-home-kids-1327657133/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:38:53 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/olive-pit-spitting-dont-try-this-at-home-kids-1327657133/ Pit spitting in Spain If its organizers were not so earnest, this would definitely qualify for the world’s wackiest competitive sport: olive pit spitting. Yes, there is an association, the International Federation of Olive Pit Spitting that operates out of Spain and is promoting pit spitting to be included as an official sport at the [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/first-laundry-1327612777/ http://www.jewpi.com/first-laundry-1327612777/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:19:37 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/first-laundry-1327612777/ By Avi (Alden) Solovy The scene: the basement laundry room in a new off-campus housing complex for students and guests of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I’m with Ellen, a remarkably sweet woman from Albany, NY, who’s showing me how to work the machines. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/shoe-shopping-1327578504/ http://www.jewpi.com/shoe-shopping-1327578504/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:48:24 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/shoe-shopping-1327578504/ Need shoes? Then again, does one ever, really, need shoes? After years of not enough shoes in Israel, unattractive imported shoes or too-familiar, Teva Naot , Nimrod and other sandal-focuse d shoes — Israeli shoe designers have been multiplying at a welcome rate, joined by their brethren in spirit and style, accessories designers. Read More [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/internet-medicine-is-coming-doctors-protest-1327577768/ http://www.jewpi.com/internet-medicine-is-coming-doctors-protest-1327577768/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:36:08 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/internet-medicine-is-coming-doctors-protest-1327577768/ In my last post, I wrote about how I managed to get an MRI done in a hurry by arranging it in Beer Sheva, rather than Jerusalem where I live. The trip was a schlep , but the best part of the experience was actually after the fact. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/gay-friendly-israel-touted-in-washington-post-1327488964/ http://www.jewpi.com/gay-friendly-israel-touted-in-washington-post-1327488964/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:56:04 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/gay-friendly-israel-touted-in-washington-post-1327488964/ Israel’s growing image as one of the world’s premiere gay destinations just keeps gaining steam. Only a couple weeks after Tel Aviv was named by the website Gay Cities as the Best Gay City of 2011 , The Washington Post has published an AP feature touting the fact that Israel is one of the world’s [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/a-mobile-mri-1327392028/ http://www.jewpi.com/a-mobile-mri-1327392028/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:00:28 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/a-mobile-mri-1327392028/ The mobile MRI truck in Beer Sheva Following the unexpected clean bill of health I received from my “shocking” EMG test a few weeks ago, the search for the cause (and cure) of my sciatica continued last week as I underwent an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/habima-gets-facelift-1327316174/ http://www.jewpi.com/habima-gets-facelift-1327316174/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:56:14 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/habima-gets-facelift-1327316174/ The renovated Habima Theater (Photo: Haaretz) The national theater of Israel, The Habima, unveiled an extravagant facelift on Sunday in Tel Aviv, following four years of renovations that cost around $20 million. The Habima was one of the first Hebrew language theaters, emerging out of Russian origins after the 1905 revolution. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-archives-to-arad-1327272133/ http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-archives-to-arad-1327272133/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:42:13 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-archives-to-arad-1327272133/ Machinations are afoot that could affect historical research in Israel. Last week, employees of the State of Israel National Archives announced a labor dispute between them and management over the privatization of the State Archive’s storage facilities. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/tel-aviv-nights-%e2%80%93-the-ballad-of-alon-day-1327222827/ http://www.jewpi.com/tel-aviv-nights-%e2%80%93-the-ballad-of-alon-day-1327222827/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:00:27 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/tel-aviv-nights-%e2%80%93-the-ballad-of-alon-day-1327222827/ The fact that a major US auto racing team has signed up an Israeli to be America’s first Sabra race care driver begs the question: Aren’t all Israelis race car drivers? Whatever the answer, Alon Day undoubtedly will bring his rich experience on Israeli roads to Belardi Auto Racing’s Firestone Indy Lights 2012 roster. Read [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-retrospective-for-fashion-forward-mula-eshet-1327019766/ http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-retrospective-for-fashion-forward-mula-eshet-1327019766/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:36:06 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-retrospective-for-fashion-forward-mula-eshet-1327019766/ In our time, photo manipulation has become as much a part of fashion photography as the photographers themselves. Without Photoshop , a new photo exhibition, opening this week at Holon’s Beit Meirov Art Gallery , takes that concept to task, presenting works from the 60s, 70s, and 80s by fashion photographer Mula Eshet. Read More [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/broza-on-board-1326976954/ http://www.jewpi.com/broza-on-board-1326976954/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:42:34 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/broza-on-board-1326976954/ It’s clearly video week for me, but this does not mean I spend all my time on YouTube. That said, here is an absolutely fabulous one, of singer/songwriter David Broza giving an impromptu, private performance to a group of El Al flight attendants in the back galley kitchen. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/israels-big-jump-1326969254/ http://www.jewpi.com/israels-big-jump-1326969254/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:34:14 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/israels-big-jump-1326969254/ It’s not something you see every day – or even every 15 years apparently. Not that anyone other than those that participated actually saw anything, but overnight earlier this week, about 1,000 paratroopers in the IDF conducted a brigade-level parachute jump exercise. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/a-cheesy-metaphor-1326835448/ http://www.jewpi.com/a-cheesy-metaphor-1326835448/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:24:08 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/a-cheesy-metaphor-1326835448/ More about food. Sort of. The Gad cheese grandfather In this clever, tongue-in-cheek video by second-year film students at Hebrew University’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, the faces of an assortment of familiar Israeli and imported food Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/haagen-dazs-not-kosher-enough-for-israel-1326806046/ http://www.jewpi.com/haagen-dazs-not-kosher-enough-for-israel-1326806046/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:14:06 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/haagen-dazs-not-kosher-enough-for-israel-1326806046/ Haagen Dazs white almond raspberry truffle I have to admit that I prefer Ben and Jerry’s to Häagen-Dazs. Maybe it’s the fact that Ben went to my college or that their ice cream is simply more available in Israel. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/the-nfl-vs-sudanese-refugees-in-israel-1326713292/ http://www.jewpi.com/the-nfl-vs-sudanese-refugees-in-israel-1326713292/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:28:12 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/the-nfl-vs-sudanese-refugees-in-israel-1326713292/ New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning wasn’t thinking about Sudanese refugees on the field Sunday against Green Bay. (AP) I was participating in a quintessentially American past time Sunday night of watching the NFL playoffs with three friends in a spacious Modi’in home. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-old-israeli-songs-1326670335/ http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-old-israeli-songs-1326670335/#comments Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:32:15 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-old-israeli-songs-1326670335/ Last week was a busy one in the world of Israeli musical nostalgia. David Sela, a prolific online archivist and proprietor of the wonderful Nostal site, launched his latest labor of love: Radio Nostalgia an online music channel playing Israeli hits of yesteryear, 24/7. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/in-their-tracks-1326663738/ http://www.jewpi.com/in-their-tracks-1326663738/#comments Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:42:18 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/in-their-tracks-1326663738/ This photo, of which there was a similar one in today’s Ha’aretz, shows deer walking around in the Odem or Red Forest, the largest nature reserve in the Golan Heights. I love the photo because it doesn’t seem like it could have been taken in Israel, as deer with antlers, romping in the snow, look [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/another-convert-to-jerusalem-1326629171/ http://www.jewpi.com/another-convert-to-jerusalem-1326629171/#comments Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:06:11 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/another-convert-to-jerusalem-1326629171/ Jerusalem has received a huge shout out in The New York Times travel section with an extensive 2,000-word travelogue by Matt Gross, the former Frugal Traveler. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/changes-to-immigration-law-good-or-bad-for-the-jews-1326626170/ http://www.jewpi.com/changes-to-immigration-law-good-or-bad-for-the-jews-1326626170/#comments Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:16:10 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/changes-to-immigration-law-good-or-bad-for-the-jews-1326626170/ Avraham Michaeli, sponsor of the new bill I first arrived in Israel in January 1984. At the time there was a rule from the Interior Ministry that one could only remain in Israel 365 days on a tourist visa before one’s “ aliyah rights” started to kick in. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/false-flags-fast-friends-bang-boom-1326489169/ http://www.jewpi.com/false-flags-fast-friends-bang-boom-1326489169/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:12:49 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/false-flags-fast-friends-bang-boom-1326489169/ Holy Moly. Foreign Policy magazine’s Mark Perry has ruffled feathers with its exclusive investigation into Mossad/ Jundallah links and a spate of killings targeting nuke scientists inside Iran,  based on some Bush-era CIA memos and follow-up reporting. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/the-voice-%e2%80%93-israeli-style-1326445354/ http://www.jewpi.com/the-voice-%e2%80%93-israeli-style-1326445354/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:02:34 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/the-voice-%e2%80%93-israeli-style-1326445354/ The Voice has conquered Israel. The singing competition/reality show which captivated the US last year debuted here last week and broke TV ratings records. The first episode – aired by Reshet on Channel 2 on Saturday night – scored 43.4 percent rating of 1.6 million viewers. Remember, we only have eight million people in the [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-tal-menkes-dreadful-delights-1326409871/ http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-tal-menkes-dreadful-delights-1326409871/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:11:11 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-tal-menkes-dreadful-delights-1326409871/ Tal Menkes is a copywriter at advertising agency Mccann Erickson, Tel-Aviv, Israel. In addition to his day job of penning award-winning ads , Menkes’ fevered brain works overtime several times a week to create Mutzar Ayom , a photoblog of seemingly useful yet cheerfully useless objects. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/you-got-chocolate-in-my-wine-no-you-got-wine-in-my-chocolate-1326379448/ http://www.jewpi.com/you-got-chocolate-in-my-wine-no-you-got-wine-in-my-chocolate-1326379448/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:44:08 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/you-got-chocolate-in-my-wine-no-you-got-wine-in-my-chocolate-1326379448/ Wine and chocolate at Tishbi I’m a big fan of wine tastings. And an even bigger fan of chocolate. So when I had the opportunity to visit the new Tishbi tasting center , which combines both wine and gourmet imported French chocolate, my interest was piqued. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/tel-aviv-voted-worlds-best-gay-city-1326279846/ http://www.jewpi.com/tel-aviv-voted-worlds-best-gay-city-1326279846/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:04:06 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/tel-aviv-voted-worlds-best-gay-city-1326279846/ With all the recent coverage around the world of the gender segregation issues in Israel with haredim, it would be safe to assume that some people are getting the impression that our society is being overrun by Taliban-type extremist elements. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/footwear-pr-1326229222/ http://www.jewpi.com/footwear-pr-1326229222/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:00:22 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/footwear-pr-1326229222/ I’ve written before about Kobi Levi ‘s ironic, iconic and clever shoe designs, possibly about platforms, but was pleased to see him garnering some publicity for himself through more unusual efforts. Check out his shoe calendar , via the UK Calendar Club , with a 2012 wall calendar that features 12 Kobi Levi shoe designs. [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/pacha-sleeping-mama-1326194770/ http://www.jewpi.com/pacha-sleeping-mama-1326194770/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:26:10 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/pacha-sleeping-mama-1326194770/ The Pachamama Alliance is a worldwide organization that aims to raise awareness of the environmental dangers facing planet Earth – from catastrophic climate change to the mass extinction of species. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/israeli-dancers-defy-ultra-orthodox-public-orders-1326145451/ http://www.jewpi.com/israeli-dancers-defy-ultra-orthodox-public-orders-1326145451/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:44:11 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/israeli-dancers-defy-ultra-orthodox-public-orders-1326145451/ Check out this flash-mob of Israeli women who converged on the town square at Beit Shamesh last Friday to stage a protest dance and counter ultra-orthodox attempts to  segregate this town by gender and ban women from singing and dancing in public. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/women-do-it-for-themselves-in-beit-shemesh-1326097209/ http://www.jewpi.com/women-do-it-for-themselves-in-beit-shemesh-1326097209/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:20:09 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/women-do-it-for-themselves-in-beit-shemesh-1326097209/ Click here to view the embedded video. When the going gets tough, the only solution is to… organize a flash mob. Residents of Beit Shemesh, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, have been stigmatized recently by the behavior towards women of certain haredi elements within certain neighborhoods of the city. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-yaffa-yarkoni-1326043571/ http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-yaffa-yarkoni-1326043571/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:26:11 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-yaffa-yarkoni-1326043571/ It would be remiss of me if I did not mention the death of singer Yaffa Yarkoni at the age of 86 last week. The papers, both local and international, reported on her passing — she was indeed the symbol of the War of Independence generation and a singer of some of Israel’s most beloved [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/no-cultural-boycott-of-israel-for-janis-ian-1325966529/ http://www.jewpi.com/no-cultural-boycott-of-israel-for-janis-ian-1325966529/#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:02:09 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/no-cultural-boycott-of-israel-for-janis-ian-1325966529/ Janis Ian in Israel in the early 1980s with top DJ Yoav Kutner Thirty years after last performing in Israel, 1970s-era singer/songwriter Janis Ian is coming back this month. And it appears that Israelis haven’t forgotten her. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-lunchbox-cooking-up-a-photo-project-1325852650/ http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-lunchbox-cooking-up-a-photo-project-1325852650/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:24:10 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/foto-friday-%e2%80%93-lunchbox-cooking-up-a-photo-project-1325852650/ Publishing house LunchBox specializes in creating beautifully designed cookbooks that are as fun to read as they are to use. The Tel Aviv-based company is the brainchild of Ofer Vardi, established journalist and foodie, who last year published the first Israeli cookbook app for iPhone and iPad. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/tel-aviv-named-one-of-the-worlds-most-creative-cities-1325770577/ http://www.jewpi.com/tel-aviv-named-one-of-the-worlds-most-creative-cities-1325770577/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:36:17 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/tel-aviv-named-one-of-the-worlds-most-creative-cities-1325770577/ Tel Aviv’s Waze makes the list The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail has named Tel Aviv one of the world’s most creative cities. Tel Aviv shared the honors with London Sydney, Stockholm and Shanghai. The article itself is a whopping 21 pages; Israel takes up the first four. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/in-israel-everything-is-debatable/ http://www.jewpi.com/in-israel-everything-is-debatable/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:04:12 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/in-israel-everything-is-debatable/ The Nevo brothers with their debating trophy. Israelis are known to be verbose types, and now we have official recognition of it. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/new-jew-to-teva/ http://www.jewpi.com/new-jew-to-teva/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:26:22 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/new-jew-to-teva/ The new guy There’s another fairly well-known American running around town, and he’s making aliyah for the sake of his job, unlike long-time Israel Museum director James Snyder but similar to Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer . Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/sabras-in-jliving/ http://www.jewpi.com/sabras-in-jliving/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:44:16 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/sabras-in-jliving/ As a writer/journalist type around here — writing about the fun stuff, granted, very little politics and diplomacy crossing my computer — I tend to be mostly familiar with many of my stories. That is, I know a little bit about many different subjects and issues, having written about them at one time or another. [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/bluegrass-in-jerusalem/ http://www.jewpi.com/bluegrass-in-jerusalem/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:50:10 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/bluegrass-in-jerusalem/ Click here to view the embedded video. You might not expect Israel to cultivate a big Americana roots music scene, and you’d be right. Read More »]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-a-look-way-back/ http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-a-look-way-back/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:58:19 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/nostalgia-sunday-%e2%80%93-a-look-way-back/ It’s the first day of 2012. A good day to check what was happening in Israel a decade ago, courtesy of the wonderful Wayback Machine , an online historical archive of preserved web pages going back to 1996. The Wayback Machine crawls the Internet, taking “snapshots” of websites which are added to the archive. Read [...]]]> 0 http://www.jewpi.com/365-days-of-inspiration-in-new-app/ http://www.jewpi.com/365-days-of-inspiration-in-new-app/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:44:13 +0000 admin http://www.jewpi.com/365-days-of-inspiration-in-new-app/ Israel365 app Got an iPhone? Love the diverse and often dazzling landscapes of Israel? Enjoy a bible quote every now and then? Then a free iPhone app from a newly minted immigrant, Rabbi Tuly Weisz, should keep your fingers swiping in inspirational bliss. Weisz’s app, Israel365 , is a visual calendar of sorts. Read More [...]]]> 0