Israel is home to many amazing beaches, and some pretty awesome water sports too!
Check this out…
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Rolling Stones confirm June 4 Israel show!
On March 13th, we reported that the chances of a Rolling Stones concert in Israel this summer were growing. Today, Israeli producer Shuki Weiss confirmed that the Legendary British band finally has set a date for a concert in Tel Aviv for their 14 on Fire World Tour, on June 4!
Tickets for the concert are to go on sale on Sunday, March 30, at 9 am. The tickets cost NIS 695 ($200) for the cheapest spaces, NIS 1,790 ($515) for the “golden ring”, and NIS 2,850 ($820) for VIP seats.
“For the first time in my 35 years in the business I have no words to express the size of an event of this kind in Israel,” Weiss told reporters as he announced the concert.
Regarding the ticket prices, Weiss said that they were cheaper than the sums the band charged in other places around the world, and that the concert would boost tourism to Israel. “We are expecting thousands of tourists to come to the show,” he said.
He pointed out that Rolling Stones tickets for other venues that went on sale yesterday had already been sold out.
Ynet reported two weeks ago that Yarkon Park had been reserved on June 4 as the venue for the legendary British rock group’s performance, and that the date had been approved by the band’s representatives.
The previous date requested by the band members, in late May, created a problem for the Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan municipalities, as Justin Timberlake‘s concert had already been set for May 28 and, in favor of the area’s residents, major events cannot be held at the park on dates so close to one another.=
Other than Weiss, several leading producers, including Marcel Avraham and Gadi Oron, had been fighting for the privilege to bring the Stones to Israel. The lucky winner gets to produce the prestigious show for an estimated $5 million.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Facebook opening direct marketing office in Israel
The U.S. company is also tapping Ginger Software chairwoman Adi Soffer-Teeni to lead its team in Israel.
Facebook is opening a direct marketing office in Israel, augmenting the Israelis who work out of the company’s offices in Dublin, the U.S. social-networking giant said Monday.
Leading the efforts at Tel Aviv suburb Ramat Gan will be Adi Soffer-Teeni, who has been appointed head of Facebook Israel. Soffer-Teeni, currently chairwoman of Ginger Software, will be putting together her own team.
“Millions of people in this country use our service every day; they connect to one another and share what’s important to them,” Soffer-Teeni said on Facebook. “Businesses are discovering the value of being part of this … both major brand names and small and medium-sized businesses.”
Before Ginger Software, Soffer-Teeni was director of the business-to-consumer division at 888.com, an online casino and poker website. She was also chief executive of the Kidum Group, a private education company.
Israel Ranked as Best Country for Women in Middle East
World Economic Forum poll puts Israel way ahead of its Muslim neighbors in terms of women’s basic rights and freedoms.
Israel is the best country in the Middle East for women’s rights and freedoms, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap survey concluded this week.
The survey, which has been conducted since 2006, ranks 110 countries in terms of gender equality and inequality, using a variety of factors including demographic data, socioeconomic figures, and a close look at women in the legal system.
In 2013, Israel ranked #53 for women’s rights worldwide – up two places since 2012 – but top for the Middle East overall. Middle Eastern and Muslim countries ranked lower on the list, possibly due to their lower human rights records overall.
Thomson-Reuters noted recently that several Middle Eastern countries – Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and others – have a poor track record for violence against women, reproductive rights, as well as the treatment and role of women. Egypt bottomed out the list.
The report noted that the Comoros Islands have the best track record for treatment of women in the Arab world; while the tiny nation did not appear on the WEF list, Oman – which ranked second for the Arab world in the Reuters poll – ranked 122nd in this week’s survey. Kuwait, which ranked third on the Reuters list, stands at just 118.
The survey’s results were published in honor of International Women’s Day, which was on March 8, and surfaces within days of reports that the Saudi Arabian royal family has been holding princessescaptive against their will for several years.
Israel received the Reducing the Gender Gap prize in 2013 from the European Parliament for its efforts in championing women’s rights.
Time Out Hong Kong: Discover Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv is the cultural capital of Israel, renowned for its partying, culinary and art scenes. The Time Out Israel team picks out the highlights of one of the most vibrant cities in the Middle East
With an influx of 2.5 million international visitors every year, Tel Aviv is one of the most visited cities in the Middle East. A lively 24-hour carousel of activity, the only uniform aspect of Israel’s second city – though many locals consider it the country’s first – is its continuous ability to surprise.
With inbound Jewish influences from the East Coast of the United States to Ashkenazi Eastern Europe and the Mizrachi Yemen – and in recent decades, overwhelmingly, Russia – Tel Aviv is a cacophonous mixtape of backgrounds.
In contrast to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv is avowedly a secular city. It is known for its 24-hour nightlife, and is seen as licentious by many Israelis who live outside of ‘the Bubble’, as proud hedonist Tel Avivim refer to their town. Perched on the Mediterranean coast, and blessed with a strip of perfect white-sand beach that runs almost the length of the city itself, there is plenty to offer by way of wild party nights and lazy sunny afternoons. You’ll find an array of modern restaurants, clubs, cafes and bars dominate the blocks by the beach and the centre of town.
Read the full story at Time Out Hong Kong
Blair Underwood Visits Israel
Award winning actor and director Blair Underwood has been tweeting throughout his current visit to Israel
Upon arriving to Israel, Blair met with Miss Mehereta Baruch Deputy Mayor of Tel-Aviv at his hotel. Mehereta is an Ethiopian Jew and came to Israel with her family. She arrived in Israel at age 10 without her parents, who followed years later and now she is the Deputy Mayor of a major city like Tel Aviv.
During his second day, Blair toured a military base in Tel Aviv. Growing up in a military family, he always had tremendous respect for military personnel. Underwood especially admired the fact that every young person in the State of Israel must spend (3 years for boys and 2 years for girls), in The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Read more here, and follow Blair’s trip on his twitter account
Emmy Eats Israel Part 2 | More Israeli treats
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Tasting more of Israeli snacks with packaging written in Hebrew it's all a mystery to me. :) A big thank you to viewer Mr. T who kindly sent me this package. New videos every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday!
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Pocky Sampler
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Cute Bear Pancakes
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Mr. T sent me a FB message listing the names of the snacks. :)
Shtuhim - pretzel ring chips 0:41
coconut bar 1:43
Kifli Batzal - onion snack rings 2:31
Alma cinnamon gum 3:11
Bamba Aduma - strawberry Bamba 3:45
gliliot - Rolladin cookies 5:00
Bamba 6:19
toffi Fizzer 7:01
Kif Ket maklot - hazelnut chocolate sticks 7:18
layered fruit candy 8:19
Shalom music courtesy of audionetwork.com and royalty-free Sprightly from iMovie. If you're reading this you know that pet dinosaurs are cool. Comment "To infinity and beyond!" below. :)
Celebrating Five Innovative Israeli Water Technologies for World Water Day
In honour of World Water Day, we have put together a list of five hot Israeli tech companies that focus on water! Situated on the edge of the desert with limited access to fresh water, Israelis have leveraged cutting edge technologies to improve and ensure access to water while sharing these technologies around the world. In 2012, exports of water technologies totaled $2B, representing an increase of 170% over six years. In no particular order:
The company that invented drip irrigation innovation through smart drip and micro-irrigation solutions is now leading the way with greenhouse solutions to foster growth in arid and otherwise challenging climates. From potatoes in China to pomegranates in Israel, tea in Tanzania, and cotton in India, this firm is succeeding in growing a range of key crops in all corners of the world.
A world leader in water treatment, this company specializes in all aspects of water desalination, from development and engineering to the construction and operation of plants. Through the work of companies like IDE, the prospect of Israel becoming a country with a water surplus becomes a very real possibility!
This company is in the business of developing novel methods for storing, preserving, and moving water for use in various industries such as construction and mining and in emergencies and disaster relief.
TACount recently won the Massachusetts water industry competition, Water Export Technology (WET) Revolution. Global Water Intelligence ranked TACount in the top 20 most viable water technologies, and the Office of the Israel Chief Scientist selected it as one of Israel’s most promising start-up companies. Their proprietary technology allows for real-time microbial detection, massively improving delivery of data, with typical technologies taking days or even weeks!
Amiad has been on the water tech scene for more than 40 years, working to develop state-of-the-art filtration technologies. Their unique technology is environmentally sound, using no chemicals, polymers, minimal back flush water, and reduced energy. Some of their systems do not even require electricity.
The holy city of Jerusalem is now a break dancing mecca, too
Well, the quality doesn’t yet meet Bronx standards, but Israeli immigrants from Russia, Ukraine and Ethiopia are putting together their own weird style.
They have names like Elastic, G-Rock, Aladdin, Pac Man and Splinter. They sport hoodies, backwards baseball caps and Adidas footwear. They dance in circles, but they don’t do the hora; they’re Israeli b-boys and b-girls, and they have serious flavor.
Israel’s top break dancers took part in the “Prove Yourself B-Boy Jam” on Thursday, competing in head-to-head battles before a transfixed crowd of students and friends at the Israel Goldstein Youth Village in Jerusalem. The dancers, mostly young men in their late teens and early 20s, executed flips, windmills, head spins and freezes, earning cheers from the crowd and praise from the guest judge, a professional b-boy from Ukraine.
“I’ve been to many countries, and the skill level in Israel is high, but not the highest,” said the judge, Minik of the East Side B-Boys, adding that “the dancers are headed in the right direction.”
Break dancing emerged in New York in the 1970s and ‘80s, alongside DJing, MCing and graffiti art — the main elements of a new culture created by poor black and Latino youths that would later be called hip hop. Today, hip hop is a global force in music and fashion, and break dancing “crews” have sprung up throughout the Middle East in recent years, from Tunisia to Gaza.
In Israel, the dance form and its counterculture ethos have been embraced by immigrants from Russia, Ukraine and Ethiopia. A handful of crews with a dozen or more members meet regularly to practice and compete. The country also hosts Floor Masterz, an international break dancing competition now in its fifth year that draws participants from as far away as Japan and the United States.
The local break dancing scene has grown dramatically in the last decade, according to Dima Peisahov, the manager of Urban Project, a company that offers break dancing classes at four different studios around the country and organizes Floor Masterz.
“I’ve been on the scene since 2002, and there were a lot fewer people then,” said Peisahov, who is 27 and immigrated with his family from Russia when he was 11. “When we had the first Floor Masterz in 2010, there were 350 people. Last year, about 1,000 people came, half to participate and half to watch.”
He said the competition, which will be held this year on April 10 in Hadera, doesn’t have any sponsors; the costs are covered by ticket sales.
Several dancers said in interviews Thursday that break dancing helps them channel their frustrations with life in Israel into something creative and positive. In break dancing, unlike in life, there are no rules.
“I like how you can express yourself however you want,” said 22-year-old Artyom Golovam, who goes by the b-boy name Artik (popsicle in Hebrew) and is a member of a predominantly Russian crew called Unstoppabullz. “You can incorporate folk dancing, capoeira, kung fu, gymnastics. It’s completely free.”
Several dancers, including Golovam, said they support themselves by performing at bar and bat mitzvahs and weddings, as well as by teaching.
“My dream is to bring b-boying to all of Israel, to inspire the next generation,” said Itamar Greenberg, aka Pita, after finishing second in the freestyle portion of the competition Thursday. As sweat poured down his face, Greenberg, 19, told Haaretz he was skipping the army to devote himself to dancing full time.
In addition to teaching both children and adults in Hadera and Ramat Gan as a member of the Urban Project team, Greenberg has competed in Switzerland, Greece and France. “When the other dancers ask me where I’m from, I tell them and they’re like, ‘Yo, you’re from Israel? That’s cool. You have a weird style,’” he said. “There’s no politics involved.”
Shanit Eleazer of Tel Aviv was one of only three women who took part Thursday, advancing to the semifinals of the “top rock” part of the competition, which emphasizes moves performed in an upright position. Eleazer, 19, said she studied ballet for years and first became interested in break dancing after seeing a performance in Tel Aviv.
“I asked myself, why aren’t there any girls on stage?” recalled Eleazar, who is currently serving in the army. “I see it as a challenge to show that I can compete with the guys.” Now she travels to competitions overseas and is part of an all-female break dancing crew called the Funky Chicas.
For Roman Chorny of the Tel Aviv-based Breakerholics Your Troubles crew, break dancing is more than a dance form, it’s a lifestyle.
“During the day I’m a hair cutter at a salon on Dizengoff Street, and after eight I’m a b-boy,” said the 25-year-old known as Spyda. “Even when I’m exhausted, I have to dance.” So where does he practice? “The boardwalk, the port, the bus station, wherever there’s an open floor, I’m there.”
Source: Haaretz.com
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