Israel’s News Blog Magazine: Daily Stories Video and Photos

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve

But for all I knew it was goodbye Tel Aviv: I had told work I was leaving, I had told family and friends I would soon be home and I had not renewed the contract on the flat I had shared with Grizzly for the last year, leaving my room with its view over the crumbling rooftops dotted with water boilers for him and his girlfriend to use as their work space.

A couple of friends came over to the flat and we were squirming back a few shots of vodka before heading out for the night, as we always did back then – maybe because the drinks were so expensive in the bars, or maybe to take that edge off thinking this could be the night that someone happens to stroll in the bar and blow themselves up.

I don’t think that in all the time I have been in Tel Aviv that thought has ever left me, even when it got pushed all the way to the back of my mind, was repressed under the attempts to convince myself otherwise, buried under the brave fronts or hidden by a seemingly cool abandon. I can be sitting in a bar or a coffee shop and even hours can go by and I won’t think it, but the thought will always come round – that maybe it could happen.

And always on the buses. Every time. Even when they stopped blowing up so much. Every time I get on the bus, I think that maybe this could be the one, and step inside and walk all the way to the back seat, watching the door and feeling uncomfortable as the middle corridor fills with standing passengers and the bus heads into the dusty, dirty streets of South Tel Aviv, where the explosions always happen, because that’s where Arab faces mingle with Jewish faces and everybody looks so alike.

So a few shots always helped dilute the adrenalin and as we stepped cheerfully outside and started to walk down Allenby Street, it seemed the advantages of being able to wander the streets of Tel Aviv in a strappy vest and jeans in the first week of November far outweighed the disadvantages of possibly being ripped to shreds by the metal-shard-packed explosives belt of a suicide bomber. Isn’t it amazing what a few milliliters of Smirnoff can do?

And we headed for Lilenblum – Lilienblum of strutting singles, of cruisers and boozers, of straps and stilettos, stares and insinuating smiles, where the girls squeezed themselves into their clothes then squeezed through the crowds that swarmed around the outdoor bars, when guys eyed, tried and implied, where numbers were swapped and desire satisfied. Lilienblum, where music clashed from neighboring venues, mingling with the sizzling grilling of cheap burgers from pavement eateries, where black-clad, oversized bouncers stood outside each door and inside the undoubtedly gorgeous bar staff threw and spun bottles in the air, thinking it would impress one of the faces in the sea of eager lipstick that swayed in front of them into staying till the end of their shift – which invariably it always did.

My friend Tanya had insisted we go there, having just split up from a boyfriend of eight years, who had then been her husband for another two and who since moving to Tel Aviv from the hot, dry suburbs of Be’er Sheva, where she shared a house and what was to turn out to be a short-lived marriage with her high school sweetheart, had thrown herself into a rampant joyride of singledom that should be a remindful warning to all women to get such things out of their systems before getting a ring on their finger and vowing to a lifetime of fidelity. Grizzly had come along too, taking the opportunity of his girlfriend being away in the north for the weekend to come out, sit back chain-smoking his Marlboro red and indulge in guilt-free staring at all the women he just might have had a chance with were he single.

We wandered from bar to bar for a while, leaving behind us clutters of empty glasses dotted with the passion fruit pips of vodka cocktails and by about 3 in the morning were making our way to the king of “peek aps” as they say here – the Golden Bar.

And it was there, in that den of flesh and one-night desire, one week after I had split up with Boaz and three weeks before I was due to fly back home to England; it was there of all places and of all times, that I met Sa’ar.

And it really wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did, and everything changed.

School year’s begun, so teenagers are safely back in school; the French Invasion is over, since les Vacances sont finis (really, for a while you could think French is the second official language here in Israel). It’s not as hot as mid August, you can actually feel some breeze, and, well – who needs reasons to go to the beach anyway?

I just love the beach. There’s nothing in this world that matches lying on the soft sand under the strong sun, a bottle of beer in one hand, a book in the other… I don’t care if the whole house fills with sand. I don’t care about unattractive, not very self-conscious men’s pick up lines (*), or even the fact that I’m gonna get all wrinkled up when I’m 64 (or 46 and suffering from skin cancer, for that matter).

Now I’m not the person who would go to the beach just to watch the sunset and listen to the waves, nor do I usually have the time to sprawl myself on the sand without an excuse (swimming, meeting friends, or reading the whole syllabus of my “Epos and Saga” course). Actually, coming to think of it, I had to answer a similar question in one of those nasty 300-question personal tests when applying to a certain job: do you sometimes go aimlessly to the beach and listen to the relaxing sound of the waves?
So, no, of course I don’t do anything aimlessly, but – oh, yeah… I just looove the beach.

(*) Some advice for the ladies here: if you take a book with you to the beach, try to conceal the fact that you’re reading something in English (or any other “exotic” language) if you don’t want to hear “What you read? Good? Good?” all too often.

(Photograph courtesy of: Tel Aviv in Focus)

What do city people have to say about life? And where do they get their inspiration from? I mean, poets around here don’t go outside to the open fields and admire blooming nature, nor do they chase gazelles up a wild forest. And I don’t think there are many attics in Israel, or feather pens for that matter.

Actually, I wonder what urban life is all about, anyway. Working 9 to 5 (or 7), going out to pubs, listening to avant-garde music, meeting snazzy people, refusing to settle down, livin’ la vida loca … Or maybe – being tired and lonely, trying to make ends meet, losing consciousness as well as the will to live…?

Oh, all those damned clichés.

About city life in Israel I can tell you that it ain’t L.A. or Harlem, so you shouldn’t expect any Bukowski or Langston Hughes, nor is this smoggy London, so no Blake either. But I guess it is indeed a sort of an insane mixture of constant change, infinite possibilities, high aspirations, Great Expectations, self-consciousness, loneliness and depression. Add to it some booze, some drugs, and a lot of sex. Let’s see…

The buildings are grey
And so is my life
Shall I go out and play
Or finally find myself
A wife?

Well, you can’t say I didn’t try (don’t bother with the meter! This is a modern piece of poetry, after all).

…Want to know what real Israeli poets think of urban life? Do yourself a favour and read David Avidan.

And if you’re around and feel comfy enough with your Hebrew, visit the “Library” branch of the bookstore chain Tzomet Sefarim (”the Book Junction”), where contemporary poets will be reading their poems inspired by and dedicated to the city.
Wednesday, 27th Sep., 19:30. Dizengoff Center Mall

Went to the T-Market this weekend, where they sold limited editions of unique T-shirts. My friend got herself a cool though pretty expensive T with some abstract print we both couldn’t really make out. For me it was less exciting than I’d expected to be honest. Guess I’m not into T’s that much, myself. Anyhow, that’s not the interesting part of the story.

What can I say; the place was packed with people. I shouldn’t complain about that, though, ’cause that’s what you usually get at popular mass-events like this. What was interesting was the fact that at the minute my friend and I walked in each of us noticed two people we had known, and later on met another mutual friend. A small world? A kibbutz!

Now, I suppose it could be sometimes fun to bump into people you used to know and had somehow lost touch with. The only problem is that in some cases there would be a reason for you not to keep in touch with the people that you now see nearing towards you with a recognizing smile on their faces. Old colleagues you never had anything in common with? Neighbors you never bother to say hello to? Add in friends that got all boring and uninteresting (and don’t tell me you can’t sympathize with that one, we all have some ditched friends in our closets). And let us not forget the number one threat – ex-boyfriends/girlfriends, of course…

So, I say: be prepared. When coming across a Past Acquaintance, look away quickly and re-evaluate the situation: try to remember the reason why you became friends and the reason you parted ways. Most importantly – consider whether you’d be interested in renewing the long-lost friendship. Try calculating these three factors and act accordingly (on a high to low grade scale):

1 – Stop walking, smile and say “hi”
2 – Smile and say “hi” but wait for them to stop
3 – Just smile and see what happens
4 – Raise your eyebrows without changing expression
5 – Smirk!
6 – Avoid eye contact, duck & cover

One more thing. Generally speaking, it is safe to always keep a minimal Mona Lisa expression on your face – after all, you don’t want to scare away new *potential friends*!

Pope Benedictus XVI appeared sincere enough when he appeared Sunday before the crowds waiting in the rain outside St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. His remarks of being “deeply shocked and saddened” by the angry reactions of Muslims all over the world will hopefully calm things down a bit before Muslims resort to further violence against Christians and church property – whether Catholic or not. All Christians were in danger from outraged Muslim mobs, and this was indicative of their burning effigies of the Pope and committing some acts of vandalism against churches in Muslim dominated countries, including two churches in Gaza. The Gaza churches, by the way, were not Catholic; which made the Pope’s quick apology even more important.

The Pope’s remarks, in which he stated that the quoted words from the 14th century medieval text did not reflect his personal opinion, makes one wonder why they were uttered in the first place. After all, doesn’t His Holiness have both speech writers, as well as person advisors in respect to possible Islamic sensitivities that might result from this kind of rhetoric? Even though he said he had ‘felt at home’ within the academic confines of the German university in which he addressed the faculty and student body, he should have taken into account that reporters would be present, and perhaps a number of Muslims as well (academics, professors, and the like).

As a result of this ’slip of the tongue’ Vatican officials, including the Pope himself, are more acutely aware of the growing strength, and influence, of Islam all over the world; including this reality in Europe. Italy, once under nearly complete dominance by the Catholic Church, who even had control of what was known as the “Papal States”, now find themselves being encroached on by Muslims from North Africa (especially Egypt, Libya and Morocco) and other countries as well. Mohammad Habib, an official in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, said that he accepted the Pope’s apology but “would like to know the Pope’s personal views concerning Islam”.

In light of the events of the past few days, however, these ‘views’ will most likely not be forthcoming; although an acceptance of the Popes apology by one such high official in an organization such as the E.M.B. is a good sign that the international Muslim community is interested in restoring calm. In the future, Benedictus XVI will most likely be a bit more candid in his remarks regarding Islam.

This episode doesn’t begin to hide the fact that there are definite strains emerging between two of the world’s largest religions, whose combined followers make up around 45% of the entire population of this planet. Islamic terrorism, on the rise since the now infamous “9-11″ attacks in America, will cause further stress between the world’s Christian and Muslim communities. These kind of remarks, even if made ‘out of context’ do not help efforts to bring about any kind of reconciliation; and only add more fuel to a fire that is now progressing well beyond the ’smoldering embers phase’.

Remarks made by Pope Benedictus IVI on Sept. 12 at an address in the University of Regensburg during his visit to Germany, appear to be creating an even greater storm in the Islamic world than the Danish ‘cartoon incident’ did several months back. Most likely, His Holiness did not imagine the controversy the would be created when he mentioned an early 14th Century Medieval text containing a dialogue between Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleollogus and a Persian academic scholar regarding the true ‘message’ of Islam. The dialogue, reputed to have taken place during the siege of Constantinople between 1394 and 1402 by the Muslim Ottoman Turks, evolved a particular comment by the Emperor: “show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you find things only evil and inhuman; such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached”.

Obviously, the beleaguered emperor was under a bit of pressure in so much as the last vestiges of the Eastern Roman Empire, a small area surrounding Constantinople, was being besieged by the Turks, who themselves had been subservient to the Byzantine Christian administration for literally hundreds of years, prior to the rise of Islam. While Pope Benedictus went on to say that Manuel II told his “Persian interlocutor” that “spreading faith by violence was something unreasonable, and that violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul” appears to be a bit ‘one sided’ if one looks into the historical spread of Christianity itself.

The Crusades, that questionable period of European Christian history, revolved around attempts by European Christian rulers to wrestle control of the Holy Land and it’s places sacred to Christendom out of the hands of Muslims who had conquered the entire area from the Byzantine Empire in the 7th and 8th Centuries. These crusades, originally led by an itinerate monk named Peter the Hermit, considered even non-European Christians , including Byzantines, to be ‘infidels’ due to their different customs and religious worship practices (the Byzantines were not under the Church of Rome). Literally thousands of Byzantine Christians, Jews, and others were put to the sword or forced to convert to Catholicism during the Crusaders march to what they called Tierra Sancta. This bit of historical reality was not mentioned by the Pope during his address; nor did he touch on another dark period of Christian history, the Holy Inquisition, in which European Jews and Muslims were either expelled from their long residences in Spain, Portugal and Italy; or forced to convert to Christianity. The Inquisition, which officially lasted until the end of the 19th Century, brought untold suffering to those who became its victims; many of whom suffered horrible torture and death. In other words, it appears that Christianity has used the sword a bit throughout history to spread its ‘good words’ as well.

The Pope, while meaning to create a bridge between the faiths by intelligent dialogue, has now created something else altogether. He even went on to note that the ethos of modern Christianity was formed in Europe, and not through their ancient origins, including those of the Greeks, who made the first translation of the Bible into a European language.

What this new theological controversy is boiling down to is a major confrontation between the world’s billion plus Catholic Church, with its headquarters in Rome, and more than 1.2 billion members of the “Umma” or World Community of Islam.

With the growing presence of Muslims throughout Europe, including Italy where the Holy See is located, how long will it be before a future Pope, himself under siege, will have a similar discussion with a scholarly ‘Islamic interlocutor’ like Byzantine emperor Manuel II did upon seeing the ‘Saracens’ gathering outside his castle walls.

(Photograph courtesy of www.geocities.com)

“Coming soon, to a theatre near you”

Observations by Mr. Giora Eiland, former head of Israel’s National Security Council, one of the country’s major ‘’think tanks” concerning matters of national security, do not bode well regarding Iran’s quest to obtain nuclear weapons. In a recent interview with a reporter of The Jerusalem Post, Eiland was very pessimistic in regards to any possible efforts to prevent the Islamic Republic from “going nuclear”. “In the end, Iran will obtain nuclear (arms) capability” Eiland stated.

Eiland, a 30 year veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, who recently retired from the NSC, has been involved in research and investigation of Iran’s nuclear program for several years. He came to his fearful conclusion after seeing that no countries in the world, including his own and the United States have the ability to prevent Iran, either diplomatically or militarily, from obtaining this goal.

Eiland was very critical of his country’s present government, especially Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, for not speaking out more against what may be the greatest threat to the Jewish State, if not the entire world, in recent times. “The Prime Minister doesn’t accept this assessment as fact, and still believes that Iran can be persuaded diplomatically to give in and cease its nuclear weapons ambitions” he continued. Eiland also added that Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, if granted total decision making power, will sacrifice everything “even his entire country” just to have the satisfaction of destroying Israel. In regards to his previous estimate that the Iranian leader would be prepared to sacrifice half his country’s population for this purpose, Eiland went one step further: to the realm of total apocalypse.

America’s capability of using military force against Iran has been diminished considerably by that country’s involvement in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Eiland went on. He also noted by the US President, George W. Bush, is now in a weakened state politically; and does not have the means to launch an effective strike. The U.S. also isn’t in position to offer Iran enough incentives to cease its nuclear arms program; since American political leaders, including the President, refuse to talk directly with Iranian leaders. “Since both the ‘carrot’ being offered and the ’stick’ behind it are small, there’s no reason for Iran not to go ahead with its nuclear program” Eiland noted.

(more…)

Has anyone ever thought that the butterflies in Israel could be in extermination danger? Apparently they are. According to an article published yesterday in “Ha’Aretz” daily newspaper there are about 150 different species of butterflies living in Israel. They are mainly active during spring and fall. But as a result of uncontrolled expansion of construction projects, environmental pollution and illegal capturing of butterflies, at least four species of butterflies are in extreme danger and some have already been extinct. The members of “the Israeli Association of Butterflies’ Fans” decided to conduct public campaigns to save those delicate creatures. Their two main and urgent goals are to protect several natural butterflies’ habitats and to declare 14 species as protected. What else needs to happen to make us realize that we are ruining the very place we are living in?

Butterflies Visit Tel Aviv:

A butterfly farm was opened few years ago in the Hulah Valley and was supposed to attract many visitors during the summer. During the war up north, there were no visitors in the farm. Amir Bramli, the farm’s owner, says that the animals were suffering from the noise of the bombing and the farm was at the risk of shutting down. In cooperation with the Azrieli group, all the butterflies were transferred to the rooftop of Azrieli Center Towers. Now, you can come and visit, walk thru the colorful butterflies and enjoy the view. Maybe that will help to increase the awareness to these beautiful creatures!

The exhibition is open all week long, 9:30-17:00, until the end of October. Entrance fee: 15 shekels.

(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)

Yes, People; the ‘civi’ model of this car is very popular!

They may be driving that Toyota Yaris or ubiquitous Mazda or Ford ‘lease-mobile’ in everyday life. But when many Israelis go abroad, they choose to pamper themselves by hiring the biggest Boss 4X4 or most luxurious Mercedes that can be found in the destination country’s rental car corral.

Recent studies of what people choose to drive on their vacation treks outside of Israel, found that a good 65% of them hire either a family size “jeep shetach” (on or off the road vehicle) or an ultra upper class family style salon with “all the bells and whistles” available. Of the above percentage, 33% of these holiday makes actually did choose the 4X4 , including extra large ones like Toyota Land Cruisers or those upscale American made jobbies like Buick or Lincoln ‘city trekkers’, designed more for roughing it at the mall than climbing Pikes Peak. The price difference between what one can afford while vacationing in America, as opposed to European countries, makes a big difference concerning what kind of ‘bang’ you can get for your buck, or Euro as the case the may be. With fuel prices still being considerable cheaper in the U.S., leasing these four wheel drive gas guzzlers, especially ones like the Hummer, is far more attractive as well.

“The Israeli tourist loves to be spoiled while abroad, commented Ophir, manager of a travel company that specializes in reserving and providing Israeli tourists with cars they know they can never own in the “Land of Milk and Honey”. He went on to say, that besides booking the most luxurious accommodations (they would never be caught dead staying in 3 Star class hotels or ‘Motel 6′ type of establishments (even if they leave the light on for you).

Those who don’t care for the 4X4, as 35 % of the total choose more luxurious family cars (whose family anyway, Paris Hilton’s?) like Mercedes Benzes or BMW’s (if touring around Europe); or the many types of American vehicles, such as Cadillac or Lincoln.

The age of these tourists is also a factor, as younger ones (those who have money that is) prefer the ‘jeeps’ while older ones prefer to drive what their American cousins drive in those “sunshine city” retirement communities. What’s even more interesting is that a whopping 46% of these Israelis living in the Sharon or coastal plain, all ages mind you prefer the jeeps. The only conclusion from this is that parking places have always been more plentiful in Raanana and other Sharon area communities than in crowded North Tel Aviv.

Of course, this survey didn’t take into consideration those going to India, Thailand, or Manaus Brazil, where hiring any kind of vehicle may be out of the question. For those places, more practical items, like plenty of toilet paper, might be the better choice.

(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)

One of the most searched for items or personalities lately is “LonelyGirl15″ who has created a phenomenon amongst web viewers young and old.

For those who aren’t familiar, videos by LonelyGirl15 started appearing on YouTube over the summer and she’s is supposedly a teenager who is home schooled by religious parents who don’t know she’s creating videos online. As she is a “novice” movie maker, her friend Daniel helps her with the videos and they often talk back and forth across their videos.

As the videos became more and more popular, they were covered by media from across the globe, both on and offline; they spread like a true virus.

I personally think that this was a brilliant viral marketing experiment and a hoax which is showing the true voyeuristic and inquisitive nature of today’s society, commercially and otherwise.

Visit her profile site at “LonelyGirl15″ and view her past videos, you be the judge, is this a hoax ???

A sample clip of her’s is below,