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The Wicked Witch of Caesaria

Editor — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:03:00 +0000

A former housekeeper has filed a lawsuit accusing the Israeli prime minister’s wife of abusing her.
Lillian Peretz, who worked as the Netanyahu’s housekeeper at their beachside home in the town of Caesaria for six years, claims that Sara Netanyahu verbally abused her and forced her to change clothes and shower several times a day to maintain a “sterile” environment. It also alleges that she was paid less than minimum wage and forced to work on the Jewish Sabbath despite the fact that she is an observant Jew.
The prime minister’s office claimed that the lawsuit is “false and full of lies and defamation” and that the housekeeper is part of a media-orchestrated political conspiracy.
Peretz is asking for about $80,000 in the lawsuit filed last week and publicized on Friday in the Yediot Ahronot daily.
Sara Netanyahu, a former flight attendant who is now a practicing psychologist, also got attention during her husband’s first term as prime minister from 1996 to 1999. She came under fire for squabbling with her staff, flaunting her young children in public and meddling in state affairs. Among these scandals, she was accused of firing a nanny for burning a pot of soup and of throwing a pair of shoes at an assistant.
According to the lawsuit, Sara Netanyahu

“like in the story of Cinderella, burdened her (Peretz) with impossible chores, tyrannized her and screamed to the point of terror.”

The lawsuit also alleges that Peretz was not allowed to drink the family’s bottled water, only tap water.
The Netanyahu’s dismissed the allegations, saying that Peretz had warm and loving treatment in the home. They produced pictures of the two women embracing, a copy of Peretz’s letter of resignation, signed

“with lots of love and appreciation,”

and a newspaper clipping of Peretz expressing her love for Sara Netanyahu.

Levels of Jewish in Israel Explained to “Strange Workers”

Editor — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:41:10 +0000

Yair Nitzani explains to foreign workers in Israel (Strange Workers) about the different levels of Jewish in Israeli society.

Cheap Shot

Editor — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:04:32 +0000

I know this is a cheap shot literally but we can’t help it. A reader sent this in and well, you be the judge.

This is the official statement from Tiger

Goldstone Indicted a Fictional Character of War Crimes in the Past

Editor — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:03:16 +0000

It seems that Judge Richard Goldstone – the selfsame jurist in charge of the Goldstone Report accusing the IDF of “war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity” in Gaza this past winter – indicted a fictional Serbian character for war crimes back in 1995.

While we all know that fictional characters can often be really really bad and evil, indicting them as part of an international criminal tribunal is perhaps taking it a bit too far. And is the step from indicting fictional characters to indicting real people for fictional crimes really that big of a leap?

So the story goes, as first reported by Makor Rishon newspaper in Israel, that back when Yugoslavia was breaking up, Goldstone presented an indictment of several Serbs for crimes against humanity. Among those was a man named Gruban, with a silhouette for a picture, charged with raping Muslim prisoners in a Serbian concentration camp. The witness to these crimes was supposedly “Witness F,” who claimed to suffer at the hands of Gruban.

As the picture of Gruban’s silhouette was distributed, all of his details – including description, father’s name, location, and age, were listed as “unknown.” Later identified as Gruban Malic, he was found to have been a fictional character from a Serbian World War II novel called Hero on a Donkey.

The hoax began because some American journalist really, really wanted to see a real live war criminal. So a Yugoslavian war correspondent who probably read Hero on a Donkey, told the journalist about Gruban Malic, likely trying to get the journalist off his back, or simply pulling his leg. He later wrote his own book, Hero on a Donkey Goes to The Hague, capitalizing on the fascination with the silhouetted war criminal with no known description, and how his comment to an American Journalist took off suddenly into an indictment.

The charges were dropped in 1998 for lack of evidence. (Note: Not lack of reality though.) I wonder when the charges against Israel will be dropped as well. Does it even matter?

Poor Piggy

Editor — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:17:21 +0000

Just a bad time to be a pig….

Sleeping To The Sound of Cellcom

Editor — Sat, 02 May 2009 14:39:42 +0000

In the background of this cute Pug sleeping with open eyes you can hear the current commercial for Cellcom.

Maybe that’s why her eyes are a little “freaky”…

A Cake to Die For

Editor — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:47:08 +0000

This is apparently the real thing. I can’t say if its been manipulated or not, but regardless its an interesting and original idea for a tombstone.

I mean if everyone chose cool topics for their tombstones then going to visit someone in the cemetery would be a much more pleasant (and in this case even useful) experience. I would even say that the likelihood that more people would remember the people in the ground would substantially improve.

BTW, the recipe on the tombstone is for Yankale’s Yiest Cake. I guess Yiest cake is the only way to translate it although it sounds a little funny. It’s a great cake to have with coffee and is sort of a favorite. I guess this one was so good that the couple decided to share it with anyone who came to visit.

AGAIN, no guarantees on the authenticity of this picture

Americobsession: An Application

Editor — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:19:39 +0000

Part 4

We have recently defined Freud’s terms, the id, ego, and superego for the sake of playing with a new understanding of what it is about American pop-culture that sends young Israelis flying to the mall for the latest Rihanna album or happy meal. Allow us to divide young Israel in the same fashion as the mind: the id would be the part of this group that endlessly craves all of the food, attention, and love it can get. The ego would be that part that tries to rationalize the basic desires by performing a balancing act between the id and the superego, the latter of which takes in the societal rules and regulations. I would like to argue, then, that it is the id of young Israeli culture that most thirstily craves American pop-culture, for it is the kind of goods coming out of MTV and McDonalds that are most immediately satisfying: they are the cheapest, take the shortest amount of time to achieve, and take the least amount of conscious thought. The battle between the id, ego, and superego of young Israel is clear: id-ruled young ones want it all, and ego-rationality belongs only to those who can differentiate between the movies that one can watch while talking on the phone and eating a burger, and those that take concentration and, if I may say, intellect. But who, then, informs the ego so that it may protect the id from receiving every bit it pleases? As we learned, it is the superego that learns to cope by first, living with and imitating parents, and second, by following the rules and regulations of society. The difficulty would seem in our case, then, that what society is dishing out is aimed at the id, rendering the ego helpless in the face of such juicy junk as Top Model and 90210.

After all of what’s been discussed, one thing we can say for sure is this: American pop-culture, by its very nature, will always be the most accessible and masturbatory form of food and entertainment. It aims to satisfy—it goes straight for the id—and in such a young and, as I said, “culturally vulnerable” place like Israel, it seems the only thing that will stop its ultimate takeover is very early education. And what about the networks and companies that are allowing the dribbling in of this crap? They are more or less completely unstoppable – they in fact are paying for the leakage. And they now have a hold of what we crave, so much to the point that they’ve picked on what White Castle has reminded Americans endlessly: “It’s What You Crave!”

Maybe, despite the repugnance that I’ve expressed in these posts, you still may, “but is American popular culture really so awful?” No, it can be quite fascinating actually. The real concern arises out of the thought of every new generation of Israelis acting more and more like infants to later and later stages of life, until one day – if there are no other forms of cultural entertainment besides all that dribble I’ve mentioned – we may cease concerning ourselves with anything else, including how to remain the historically rich, diverse, and culturally remarkable place that we in fact really are.

In the next and final post of this series, we’ll hear from some Israelis and Americans on the subject, both here and in the States, in order to find out if my concern is such a concern for others. Perhaps what defines Israeli culture is all a matter of personal perspective, or it could be that the infusion of American into Israeli culture is somehow seen as necessary for the future; in any case, it seems a topic worth discussing.

Written by Alana Sobelman

Americobsession – Part 3

Editor — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:30:12 +0000

As I’ve explained in the previous post, it is my aim to examine the “psyche” of Israeli culture in very broad (and no doubt very stereotypical) terms in order to get to the bottom of the “Americobsession” that has its shiny little hands in nearly every corner of Israeli life. This cultural “psyche”, I’ve explained, contains the same elements that Freud gave to the human psyche: the id, the ego, and the superego. All three, Freud made clear, need to be in reasonable balance for relative psychic stability. The id, the most primitive feature of the psychic structure, contains our primal wants and desires. It functions in that part of the mind that is irrational and emotional. The id of course, then, is equated with the newborn infant. It is the part of the mind that does not take “no” for an answer and its entire existence is based on immediate satisfaction. The ego responds to the id by rationalizing the primal wants and desires and by predicting the long-term consequences of the id’s rudimentary needs. The ego is considered our very consciousness. And finally, there is the superego, the last part of Freud’s structure of the mind to develop, and the part that is most affected by outside stimuli. The superego becomes a holding cell for parental and later societal rules and regulations.

I have denied Freud’s notions the ability to express themselves fully and hence justly, but if we can nonetheless play around with the idea for a moment, we will most definitely be entertained by what we’ll find out about Israelis and the “Americobsession”.

Fucking Piece of Shit

Editor — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:06:49 +0000

Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn’t Fucking Work

I’m sure most of you have bought some kind of electronic gizmo for either your computer or home TV or sound system that is virtually impossible to figure our how to use – or appears to have no useful value whatsoever. Now, the SONY Corporation seems to be offering just that: an electronic thing-a-ma-jig that is so non-friendly, as well as non-useful, that it is being called by a very appropriate name, i.e. the Fucking Piece of Shit.

OK, many of you who may be known as electronic or computer geeks can surely find a use for this device which those who have bought it say has no useful function, other than to fuck up your existing system, or cause you to drink more beer (or harder stuff) on a weekend while trying to figure out the virtually impossible schematics. The device looks like some kind of a converter box, and it even comes with a remote control device (to fuck up your day or evening even more by pushing buttons on it).

So if this thing was as worthless as people claim it is, why the hell would you buy it in the first place? The answer is Why the hell not?

Everybody knows that a fancy Gizmo is bound to be obsolete the moment the store clerk swipes your VISA Card on the cash register. And once you get home with it, all you’ve really got is another electronic gizmo that will eventually be thrown out in the trash (to further pollute our already polluted environment) or “recycled” to make an even more frustrating electronic thing-a-ma-jigs.

But I’m sure this hunk of plastic, microchips and… other stuff… could be a big hit in a country like Israel, as people living in this country just love electronic gizmos of all kinds. This phenomenon is truly amazing in a country where there were no television stations for the first 19 years of the country’s existence and where people had to wait for as long as 7 years to have a telephone line installed. Now, virtually everyone above the age of 3 has at least one cellular phone and 60% percent of all households have one or more computers. As for other electronic stuff, such as DVD’s, iPOD’s, plasma TV’s, LCD’s, etc., the amount of that crap in most households is really mind boggling.

So adding the Fucking Piece of Shit to all the other stuff in our homes shouldn’t be a problem at all. It’d just be another thing to throw out every spring when people chunk out all that broken or worthless electronic stuff and sell it to the “alte-zachen” (rag pickers), who stack it on their trucks. Who knows? Maybe they can find some kind of use for this thing!

A Creative Strike

Editor — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Many employees of the Israeli movie and television industry are opening a three-day strike tomorrow to object the fact that the major TV networks in Israel do not meet the minimum requirements of original Israeli productions. Money that should have been used to create Israeli drama and Israeli film, has been “illegally” diverted to other routes.

Well, no more. Scores of Israeli actors, producers, screenwriters and more are preparing a large happening that will take place in Rabin Square this Thursday. Come to support them. The happening will include a free screening of Waltz with Bashir, that unfortunately did not win Best Foreign Film at the Oscars last night.

Bar Refaeli Conquers America

Editor — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:13:50 +0000

The annual release of the Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated is practically a national holiday in the States. Supermodels are defined by their appearance in the Swimsuit Issue. The entire media is abuzz with excitement and awe whenever a new Swimsuit issue comes out. And this year… our very own Bar Rafaeli has been chosen as the front cover girl!

This undated image released by Sports Illustrated/Raphael Mazzucco, shows model Bar Refaeli on the cover of the Feb. 14, 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, on sale now. (AP Photo/Sports Illustrated, Raphael Mazzucco) **NORTH AMERICAN USE ONLY FOR THREE WEEKS, ENDING MARCH 6, 2009. NO SALES. ONE TIME USE ONLY, NO ARCHIVES** **MANDATORY CREDIT: SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, RAPHAEL MAZZUCCO**

She is only 23, but Bar Refaeli is already an international sensation. She grew up in Hod HaSharon, a suburban city southeast of Tel Aviv, and has been modeling her entire life. For the past 3 years, she’s been dating the “Titanic” Leonardo DiCaprio.

Mind you, Bar already made an appearance in the 2007 Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated on the inset page. However, this year she is spread over the front cover itself. A gigantic copy of the cover page has been plastered in Times Square, New York, causing serious traffic jams.

Bar is a Hebrew adjective which means “Wild and Raw”.

Do We Really Need These Cars?

Editor — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 01:39:30 +0000

Recent TV and other advertisements portraying a new line of luxury sport vehicles being introduced into Israel makes one wonder if people are really aware of the economic and environmental crises that both Israel and the world is going through now. Although luxury cars are nothing new to Israel, where cars like BMW and Mercedes Benz have been around for years, why would automobile importers want to try to introduce another high-line brand of car here, when the emphasis should be on downsizing to smaller, more economical and eco-friendly vehicles?

Toyota and Nissan’s top of the line Lexus and Infiniti models have been cruising around most major Western countries for years, but were not being marketed in Israel, until recently when Toyota’s Lexus line finally began to be imported into the country under its own brand name. Now Nissan, Japan’s number two or three automobile manufacturer (depending on how they finish in competition with Honda each year) is bringing in its luxury version to satisfy the vanity of those wealthy Israelis who want to be the first in their apartment block or “Cottage” neighborhood to own one.

Photo by MotorPix.com

Nissan’s Israel representative, Carasso Auto Distributers Ltd, under their subsidiary, Pacific Auto Importers Ltd, are currently importing the Infiniti G37 and EX 37 line of “midrange” Infiniti models which also include a super revved up EX Sports SUV. Prices of these “glitz-mobiles” are sure to be through the roof when all the customs duties and purchase taxes are added on, including VAT. After all, luxury cars with engines over 2,000 CC are penalized with much higher duties than lower priced and more economical vehicles with smaller engines. For example, if a standard Infiniti G37 Saloon with a 3.7 Litre V-6 engine sells for 42,500 Euro (US 54,500) in European Union markets, then the price here in Israel will surely be in excess of N.S. 380,000, or US $95,000 at current exchange rates.

So taking all of this into account, and in light of the current economic calamity Israel is involved in, with increasing mass layoffs of workers in even prestigious high tech industries; and with the results of global warming causing a water shortage crises almost unparalleled in the history of Israel, just why do we need another super luxury car to add to the already clogged motorways of this country? Unless some of these cars are hybrids (combination gasoline and electric motor driven vehicles), and then only well-to-do people will be able to purchase them; all these new luxury models will do will be to add more exhaust emission pollution to an already over-polluted environment, especially in Israel’s major cities.

Looking back a bit nostalgically into America’s worst economic historical era, the Great Depression, some of the auto industry’s most sporty and luxurious models were produced and marketed during this ten year period when a small segment of Americans were among the privileged elite while millions of their countrymen were standing in soup kitchen lines and living in “Hooverville” shanty towns. Models such as the Duisenberg, Studebaker and Packard, Mercedes Benz Excalibur, and a host of other long gone automobile greats plied America’s motorways and stood outside the luxurious houses of popular Hollywood movie stars.

Be that as it may, it does seem that in these troubled times, we can do without another line of luxury cars being sold and driven in this country.

They Told Me There Was a Debate Yesterday

Editor — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:14:30 +0000

I woke up this morning and read the news. Apparently there had been a televised debate on Channel 2 last night, between the three major contestants for the PM seat: Binyamin Netanyahu, Tzipi Livni, and Ehud Barak. Despite being a longtime advocate of such a debate — and as a self-admitted news junkie — I had no idea such an event was taking place last night.

Hosted by Dana Weiss, the so-called debate was in fact a condensed version of three separate mock interviews, where fierce journalistic inquiries were replaced by relatively dull questions submitted by internet surfers via YouTube. In other words, Livni, Bibi, and Barak weren’t debating each other. They weren’t even debating Dana Weiss. They simply answered questions for people who weren’t there in the studio!

Again, since I wasn’t aware of this “debate” last night, I hadn’t watched it, and this account of events is based on news reports who have dryly mentioned the televised spectacle this morning. To my defense, I can say that I knew of such a debate being in consideration, yet personally I didn’t catch any pre-event promos or sensed any hype about it, neither in the blogosphere, on the radio, or in the printed media. I don’t watch televised news much, so I can’t really tell whether this was promoted in advance by Channel 2 itself — though I assume it was.

They told me there was a debate yesterday. So much for a debate.

YouTube Interview

Survival

Editor — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:10:46 +0000

The Israeli reality “Survivor 2″ is picking up the pace. Although it is lacking the hype that the first season had, it is slowly becoming Channel 10’s strongest card — and frankly, probably the only card it has in the moment.

The challenges are more extreme this season, and the social atmosphere more intense. One contestant has had to leave the game after an unfortunate injury, and according to the promos, come Wednesday we shall see another contestant prematurely leaving the game, due to inappropriate behavior.

This brings me to my other point. The long promos have been phenomenal this year. Much better than the episodes themselves. They generate interest in the characters, and that’s exactly what needs to be done, because the characters are the show.

During the war in Gaza, Channel 10 featured a musical promo that asks us “What are they doing in the meanwhile on the island?”. And in the past few days we’ve been exposed to a promo that reveals the forging relationships between the various characters.

While the castaways are doing their bit of survival on the island, Channel 10 is the one truly fighting for survival at the moment.

Israel's News & Views Blog » Bored ?

The Wicked Witch of Caesaria

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