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

The British football tabloids and other news media sources are having a field day regarding the pending appointment of former Israeli National Team coach Avraham Grant to coach the Premier League team, other known as “The Blues”. Grant replaces Jose Mourinho who suddenly quit the Chelsea team on Wednesday following adverse publicity concerning the teams’ recent performance including a lackluster 1-1 Champions League match draw against the much inferior German Rosenborg team.

Grant, age 51, was born in the Israeli City of Petach Tikvah in 1956. His football career includes being head coach of the Israeli Premier League football clubs Macabbee Haifa, and Macabbee Tel Aviv, as well as being coach of the Israeli national team which almost made it into the World Cup team line up in 2006. He was hired last July by Chelsea Club owner Roman Abramovich to assist the now departing Mourinho. Grant, though virtually unknown in the U.K., is known in Israel a tough, experienced coach whose game strategies have resulted in scores of victories. When interviewed on the street in the team’s home “territory” in S.W. London, most Chelsea fans said “Avraham Who?” in regards to their knowledge of this man from a very controversial country, as far as most Brits are concerned.

Mourinho formerly coached the successful Portugese team FC Porto before being hired to coach the Blues in 2003. He has often called himself “The Special One” in regards to his talent and skills.

Chelsea’s fortunes have been dampened in recent years, with a number of disappointing losses and ties which have reduced the Blue’s former luster. These disappointments are said to be part of the reason for Jose Mourinho’s sudden departure from his position as head coach. Grant will be assisted by Bill Clark, a former Chelsea player and experienced game strategist.

Chelsea is currently ranked at No. 5 in Premier League standings. They face another high ranking team, Manchester United, in a very crucial game on Sunday. Many people are wondering if Grant, being Jewish, will be present during Chelsea practices on Friday and Saturday, which is also the Jewish Holy Day of Yom Kippur.

That speculation is anybody’s guess, and it might bode well for Avraham Grant to take time off to pray in a London synagogue since Yom Kippur is Judaism’s holiest day and is one in which God seals a person’s fate for the coming year. That might be an important ’strategy’ for both Mr. Grant, as well as his new position.

This is a political case. This man managed to beat the system and now its pay back time. The fact is that the prosecution cut a deal with this scumbag criminal just so they can get OJ. Just face it, he may have committed a crime but a court of law found him innocent and he is now being prosecuted for it…

FREE OJ !!!

No sooner did Israelis get over the capsizing of a ferry boat, and the death of a young man on his honeymoon in southern Thailand, did tragedy strike Israelis again in that country – this time with even more fury.

A passenger plane with 130 aboard crashed and burned on the runway of Phuket International Airport on Sunday, September 16. At least 88 people are said to have been killed when the airliner, from the discount airline, One Two Go Company, broke apart and burst into flames when it tried to land during a heavy rain storm. At least 10 Israelis were believed to be on this flight, including two recently married couples from Netanya and Kfar Yona. 40 people managed to survive the crash, including two Israelis, who were located by Chabad volunteers who had rushed to the crash scene from Bangkok after learning the news of the tragedy.

Of the ten Israelis believed to be on board, two have been confirmed dead and at least another six still unaccounted for.

Survivors who were interviewed afterwards said that the pilot had tried to make a landing during the storm, but appeared to have not approached the runway soon enough and tried to rear off the runway, but didn’t succeed in doing so. “I think the wind must have hit us” an Australian passenger named David Borland said afterwards. Borland said that his own pants caught fire as he crawled to an exit and was pulled out by rescuers.

Magan David Adom forensic experts, as well as distressed relatives of the missing Israeli passengers have arrived on the scene to try to identify the remains of other Israelis who were killed. Of the two recently married couples, one of them, from Netanya, had only been married four days before arriving in Thailand.

The Island of Phuket, as well as other islands on Thailand’s southern Andaman Sea coast are popular vacation spots for Israeli and other foreign tourists. This same area received widespread damage and loss of life in the tsunami tidal wave disaster of December 26, 2004.

Thai authorities are offering a sum of 100,000 Bhat, an equivalent to about $3,500, for ‘expenses’ involved in taking deceased passengers home, hotel expenses for relatives, and other sundry expenses. The plane’s two “black box” recorders were recovered, but investigating authorities said that it is still two early to try to retrieve any information from them.

Sunday’s crash was the worst plane crash in Thailand since 1998, when a Thai Airlines jet with 146 persons on aboard crashed under similar circumstances while trying to land at southern the city of Surat Thani, located about 75 km northeast of Phuket. In that crash, 101 people were killed, and 45 survived.

Representatives of the Israeli Foreign Ministry have opened a command center in Phuket to help administer assistance to Israeli survivors and relatives of both survivors and the deceased. Local F.M. phone numbers in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are available for persons wishing to make inquiries.

Pop music star, Madonna, arrived back in Israel to celebrate the High Holidays at a special international Kabbalah conference being held in Tel Aviv. She wasn’t alone this time, as besides arriving with her husband, Guy Ritchie (shown here with Israel President Shimon Peres), she was accompanied by an entourage of other celebrities including actress Demi Moore, actor Ashton Kutcher, and comedian Rosie O’Donnel.

Madonna appears to be getting into Kabbalistic study, and she presented President Peres with a copy of the Zohar, the ancient book of Jewish mysticism upon which the study of Kabbalah is based. Peres in turn presented her with a copy of the Old Testament Bible in Hebrew at a special reception held at his home in “Bet Hanasei” in central Jerusalem. The pop star has also become renowned for her humanitarian work, including adopting at least two children from impoverished African countries. She always wears the “Kabbalah Red String” on her left wrist, which is alleged by Kaballah believers to ward of the dangers of The Evil Eye. Her children are also seen wearing this amulet as well.

Orthodox Jews, especially ones trained in Kaballistic studies take a dim view of Madonna’s enthusiasm and even her participation as “an abomination” due to her not being Jewish, as well as her ‘interesting’ lifestyle. The singer’s fans don’t seem to mind, however; and even appear to admire her interest in this area. The other celebrities who came with her, have not appeared to get any real attention at all, including fashion designer Donna Karan, who perhaps came to become inspired to create some new fashion design that is influenced by Kabbalistic symbolism.

When questioned by reporters regarding her giving a copy of the Zohar, or Book of Splendor as it is known in English, to President Peres, she said that she was thrilled to give such a book to President Peres as it is very special to her and is “very popular in Hollywood”. She also went to say that she considers herself as “an ambassador for Judaism”.

As for Kutcher, a well known Hollywood character actor, he said that involvement in Kaballistic studies has improved his life and made him “a better actor”.

Rosie O’Donnel, who is well known for her “no holds barred” comments and ‘alternative life style’ may also be looking for some kind of inspiration to improve her life. This may also be so following her recent feud with billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump.

Madonna, who was raised in the Roman Catholic faith, plans to stay several more days in Israel and will visit a number of sacred Kabbalah sites. She last visited Israel three years ago on a trip that was also connected with the Kaballah. She considers her visit during the Jewish High Holy Days as “a dream come true”.

The Kabbalah is a very involved study that most Jews, mostly men, only become involved in after age 40. It may be that the singing star, whose last big public appearance was in London during the recent Live Earth ecology song fest, may finally be coming to terms with her age which is “somewhere in her 40’s”. In fact, it wasn’t too long ago that she said of U.S. actress and pop singer, Cher (who herself is Jewish and now in her late 50’s), that “Cher is aging gracefully”.

Perhaps, with the help of the “Book of Splendor”, Madonna, who also calls herself by the Hebrew name of Esther, is beginning to “age gracefully” herself.

Looks like Arkady Gaydamak made a big mistake when he backed out of the deal he made to buy the Tiv Taam Supermarket chain. I’m sure that a couple million Israelis will agree that it’s very convenient for this quality supermarket chain to be open for business during the recent three day Rosh Hashanah holiday. I mean three days because the holiday fell just before the weekend meaning that people had to stock up on provisions for three days – a big problem if you need items like dairy products, bread items and fresh veggies.

Gaydamak’s plan was to “kosher” the chain which would have meant not only ridding it of a number of food items, including “fruit du mer”, as well as closing the stores on the Jewish Sabbath and religious holidays. Naturally, this act would have destroyed the ‘character’ of this supermarket chain which advertises itself as being open when its competitors are closed.

Despite a lot of adverse publicity as a result of selling poultry and other items (including eggs) past their allowed selling date, and the finding of unusually high counts of E-Colli bacteria and other germs in these food items, the chain still does plenty of business. Many stores have added extra departments of kitchenware, spices, and prepared ‘take out’ items so more and more people will shop there; even those who have otherwise have been reluctant to go to the supermarket’s expanding network of stores.

A good example of recent changes has been in the Tiv Taam store in Netanya’s south or Sapir Industrial Zone, where Tiv Taam is now located in a sophisticated shopping complex which includes an ARCAFE restaurant, a Best Buy appliance store, and a number of upscale clothing and notions stores. By being located behind the Ikea furniture store, and close to the Poleg traffic interchange, the Netanya Tiv Taam store has enjoyed a very strategic location which has undoubtedly helped in its total revenues. Even the recent opening of the Eden whole foods supermarket, only 100 meters away, hasn’t slowed Tiv Taam’s business down as they simply “re-arranged” things a bit compete with that “veggie store” down the road. Anybody who has been to both establishments will agree that if you want items like beer and soda pop, as well as numerous other things, they simply won’t be found in the “veggie store”. Besides, only Tiv Taam is open till 8 p.m. on Fridays and all day Saturday and holidays – except Yom Kippur, of course.

A lot of Israelis, even those who do cook and travel on Shabbat, will still boycott Tiv Taam stores due to their selling pork and other non-kosher products. That’s certainly their privilege; but for many others, it’s nice to have a clean and upscale place to go to when you run out of milk, bread, and scores of other items that wouldn’t be available without driving a long way to one of those Kibbutz run establishments, or perhaps all the way out to some place like Gan Shmuel.

Arkady, think again before turning down a good thing. It’s better than making cell phone commercials!

This is a great JibJab video that is my personal favorite and is as true now as it was when it first came out. I like the fact that they include Kim Jon-Il in this and us of course. Sing along - its real catchy !

Now boys and girls, this is what happens when you play with mortars and try to fire on Israel…
ALLAH OH AKBAR INDEED!!

Israel is in the middle of the Rosh Hashanah or New Year Holy Day. During this two day event Jews all over the world say prayers not only to usher in the Jewish New Year but take time for personal soul searching when “the Gates of Heaven” are opened by the Almighty for repentance prior to the Day of Atonement 10 days hence when the “Gates of Heaven” are closed and a person’s fate is sealed for the coming year. One of the prayers most relevant (and not always practiced by all) are those said in the afternoon of the first day of the holiday and known as Tashlich or casting ones sins into the “depths of the ocean “.

These prayers can be said near a free flowing stream or a lake if the “ocean” is not available. Israel is fortunately blessed with a long seacoast on the sunny Mediterranean Sea, as well as having other bodies of water available such as the Sea of Galilee and of course the pristine Jordan River, known since biblical times as a source for various religious practices. One rabbi so eloquently stated in days of yore: “just as free swimming fish may some day find themselves trapped in the fisherman’s net; so must we mortal humans repent our sins to the Almighty as we become old and approach our ultimate destiny”.

Israelis who belong to the country’s 76% Jewish majority certainly have a lot to stake stock of in regards to what has transpired during the past year; and this pertains particularly to the country’s political leaders in the wake of what has happened during the past few years – especially since the summer of 2005. This began with the decision by Israel’s government to uproot a group of more than 7,000 people living in 25 settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, destroying their livelihood and making many of them still homeless and without a viable source of income more than two years later. The result has been an even worsening of the security situation between Israel and a now Hamas controlled Gaza strip from where deadly Kassam rockets rain down almost daily on Israeli towns, settlements and even army bases (most recently resulting in more than 63 young soldiers being injured ).

The ‘disengagement’ from Gaza eventually resulted in events which led up to the Lebanon II war in July/August 2006, which caused immense damage and human suffering to both sides of the conflict, and was commanded by an army Chief of Staff who first sought it necessary to put his own financial “house” in order: and by government ministers, including the prime minister and defense minister who were found to be incapable of adequately performing their duties. Although the army COS did finally resign in the aftermath of this event, the two ministers refused to do so; and one of them, the defense minister, had to finally be voted out of office by members of his own political party. The prime minister still holds on tenuously to power though himself is under investigation for various forms of corruption, including those of a financial nature.

Things haven’t really improved much since these events took place and presently, the security situation in Israel is not any better, and perhaps even worse. Three Israeli solders are still in enemy hands with no real sign of when, or if, they will be released.

And finally, let’s not forget the President of the State who ended his tenure under allegations of a number of sexually related crimes, including rape; and another well known politician who ‘cut a deal’ on his sexual offenses and is now back in the government. Both of these men should have been cast out entirely; instead, they were both allowed to plead guilty to “lesser offenses”.

These are just a few of the many things, along with normal examples of everyday sins and corruption that need to be dealt with and accounted for by many. And perhaps a token attempt to set things right might be to make a greater effort by all to “cast their sins into the depths of the ocean” and begin anew. We still have time before the “Gates of Heaven” are sealed again for another year.

This is not the typical post I would have in mind for the New Year and in case I forget later SHANA TOVA folks… I just can’t help it, as I am sitting here waiting to get into the car and drive with the masses to my in laws I hear about the Syrians calling in their reserve army units and escalating their air defense troops. It reminds me of these guys that after they get pushed or shoved, tell their friends to hold them back or they will just go ballistic (pun ??) on their would be opponents. These are also usually the guys that after the smoke clears are the ones on their way to hospital.

Another school yard antic is this delayed response, and getting all riled up a week after the deed. When this alleged attack happened Wednesday night last week the Syrian papers and media said nothing. The Israeli side, in an uncommon act of control, didn’t even acknowledge anything happened (I am so proud of this quiet by the way). But then the local papers and the media started heating things up. The Turkish government wasn’t happy with the silence from Israel, then the North Koreans came out with a scathing statement about how shitty we are and how we deserve to get our ass kicked (back to that later).

Yesterday, CNN laid out the whole thing and Christian Amanpour started giving us all a play by play of what happened in the desert that night. By last night CNN said:

“One Bush administration official said Israel had recently carried out reconnaissance flights over Syria, taking pictures of possible nuclear installations that Israeli officials believed might have been supplied with material from North Korea,” the paper wrote. “The administration official said Israeli officials believed that North Korea might be unloading some of its nuclear material on Syria”.

So today, a week after the attack, the Syrians are going on alert. Basically after the cow was taken out of the barn, screwed up the ass, milked and tattood, they are now locking down the barn….Interesting.

I am not sure about the details (and like it that way), but I like the connection with North Korea and it explains why they got all huffy. I mean they got all that cash to stop their nuclear program and they quickly turned around and gave whatever they had to the one group of idiots that is likely to use it (I want to suggest the North Koreans get the Noble Peace prize by the way). What I like even more is the fact that now the Hamas and Hezbollah are supporting Syria and encouraging it to take action. Assad is behaving like he is asking his friends to hold him back.

Last night our new president Shimon Peres spoke and you know what, he was great. I think he finally found his true calling. He was asked about the Syrians and he smiled and said, Assad doesn’t want peace. We wanted to talk and he refused. He is constantly trying to help Hezbollah turn Lebanon into another Iran and we won’t let that happen. For the first time I can remember Peres was clear, concise and down to earth.
And that’s the bottom line. Assad has been cruising for a bruising for a long time and last week he got it. He has been playing the field on behalf of the Iranians, killing off any chance for a stable Lebanon and lately making threats of war towards Israel. So last week, we allegedly, smacked his ass silly!

The 2 caricatures are from Moshik - One is Assad celebrating the Second Lebanon War and getting the blessing “May the next war be yours”, the second is Assad writing on the blackboard that he promises to be a bad boy. These were sent to me a while ago and I never used them. I think that now they are relevant reminders as to why Assad got smacked.

Shana Tova Everyone

Remembering is a tricky thing. When is it okay to forget? We are people that are a little sensitive to the whole forgetting thing. I mean just look at today’s post about the Petach Tikvah Nazis and you’ll see that the reminders can pop up even at home (as unbelievable as that seems….).

I read the papers today about 9/11 and about how some are saying that its time to forget. How Americans should put it behind them. So I was wondering when is it enough? When should we put away painful memories? Should we just downgrade 9/11? I personally can’t put away the horrible pictures from that disaster, like the falling man for example. If it was my family member that was killed in those buildings, I could never forget. I also think that as an ex New Yorker (not sure there is such a thing) I still am very much aware of the gash left behind in the city I love.

I think that beyond the unthinkable numbers of dead and horrendous destruction of 9/11 there is a different reason I can’t forget. Like other turning points in history, that for me include the murder of Rabin, Kennedy’s assassination and the destruction of New Orleans, this is a pivotal event in world history. It’s a reminder that even after the year 2000, we are only as socially and morally advanced as the weakest link on our planet. It also proved once and for all that nothing is sacred and that we need to be ready for anything. It was also the official marking of what has in essence was the start of the 3rd World War.

I found that Haim Harari in his “View From The Eye of The Storm” really covers it:

The events of the last few years have amplified four issues, which have always existed, but have never been as rampant as in the present upheaval in the region. These are the four main pillars of the current World Conflict, or perhaps we should already refer to it as “the undeclared World War III”. I have no better name for the present situation. A few more years may pass before everybody acknowledges that it is a World War, but we are already well into it.