Social seating: First airlines, then everything else

An exclusive look at one social-seating system that hopes to completely change how we travel and go out

You can escape your country, but you cannot escape Facebook.

This year the social networking site could pass 1 billion users, and if certain members in the travel industry have their way, many of them will be using the network while they book their flights.

Already KLM and Malaysia Airlines are using Facebook to show if any of your friends are on board — you can then select a seat next to them.

But they are both proprietary systems, unavailable to other airlines. Now, Eran Savir, the 37-year-old CEO and co-founder of SeatID, plans to make so-called “social seating” a natural feature of ticket purchases across the whole airline sector.

His brainchild, which he runs out of Israel with CTO David Rachamim, 36, and plans to launch around September this year, is the latest of the next-gen social-seating systems to be made available to any airline that wants it, and we’ve been given an exclusive first look at how it works. (Scroll down)

Moreover, Savir says flights are just the first step in a plan he has to completely change how we travel and go out.

“Trains, sport events, music events, theaters — everywhere where people book a seat, social seating can be relevant,” he says.

Then again, he would say that.

As of yet SeatID has zero confirmed partners, despite Savir meeting with “over 20 airlines so far, from America (North and South), Europe, Asia and the Middle East, high-end and low-cost carriers. We plan to eventually speak with all the airlines.”

He’s even willing to offer it to clients for free for the first year, but not everyone is taken by the notion.

“Personally I think it’s a horrendous idea. I don’t think I want people to know where I’m sitting — it just seems like a bit of a gimmick,” says one airline insider in Hong Kong.

Have your say: Tell us in the comments if you’d use social seating when booking your next flight

Nevertheless, it takes a brave punter to write off anything with the word “social” in it these days, and both KLM and Malaysia Airlines say they’ve had success with their own systems.

Some 30,000 people use Malaysia Airlines’ MHbuddy system on a monthly basis according to Mohd Hisham Saleh, head of social media and innovation. “And it’s growing at a steady rate,” he adds. “We have built a pool of loyal users. Seventy percent of MHbuddy users are repeat customers.”

KLM’s Meet & Seat system has convinced 2,200 people to share their profiles, and its launch just last week across intercontinental flights too should see that increase “exponentially” according to Lisette Ebeling-Koning in the press office.

The fact that one of the world’s biggest booking engines, Ticketmaster, has joined the world of social seating also suggests it’s no fad.

Want to know how it works… check out the full story Via CNN

Iran and Israel Can Agree on This: Rita Jahanforuz Totally Rocks

Jewish Star Remakes Persian Oldies in Tel Aviv and Her Fans in Tehran Can’t Get Enough

Music-loving Iranians craving nostalgic Persian songs of a bygone era, or the upbeat dance music that is banned in their Islamic state, have new darling: Rita, the Israeli singing sensation.

Rita Jahanforuz, 50 years old, is Israel’s most famous female singer—and suddenly she’s big in Iran. Iranian-born and fluent in Persian, Rita, as she is universally known, moved to Israel as a child and has lived there ever since. Her latest album, “All My Joys,” revives old-time Persian hits, giving them an upbeat Mediterranean flavor that caters to the Israeli ear.

The album went gold in Israel in just three weeks, despite being sung entirely in Persian. It also propelled Rita onto the music scene in Iran, where she was all but unknown outside of Iran’s small Jewish population.

Now, from nightclubs in Tel Aviv to secret underground parties in Tehran, Israelis and Iranians alike go wild when the DJ plays her hit “Beegharar,” or “Restless.”

Rita’s fans within Iran, where the government heavily filters the Internet, use tricky software to furtively download her songs online. Bootleg CD sellers in the back alley of Tehran’s old bazaar wrap her albums in unmarked packages and hush any inquiries when asked if they sell her music.

“Shhh…don’t mention Israel. Just say music by ‘Rita Khanum,’ ” which means “Ms. Rita,” said a young man named Reza selling bootleg music CDs and DVDs of Hollywood movies.

The governments of Iran and Israel are each other’s sworn enemies, and within Iran it is considered a taboo to publicly endorse anything that has to do with Israel. Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has said Israel should be wiped off the map. Israel has said it would consider pre-emptively bombing Iran to prevent it from building a nuclear weapon.

Rita, however, with her striking beauty and bubbly demeanor, has emerged as an unexpected bond between ordinary Iranians and Israelis—part cultural ambassador, part antiwar spokeswoman. A picture of Rita with the banner, “Iranians we will never bomb your country,” is posted on her Facebook page.

“These days, people only know the language of war and violence and hatred,” said Rita, referring to Israelis’ view of the Persian language, during a recent interview in Tel Aviv. After she started receiving emails from Iranian fans, she realized music can “puncture the wall” of tension.

Rita’s family immigrated to Israel in 1970. She grew up in a suburb near Tel Aviv listening to her mother sing melodies from their homeland as she cooked in the kitchen.

Her singing career kicked off when Rita joined a band in the Israeli army in the 1980s. She rose to stardom quickly, singing solo and mostly in Hebrew or English, packing concert halls and performing for Israeli officials and foreign delegates.

A year ago, she decided to revisit what she tells audiences is the “soundtrack of my childhood” by adapting Persian classics that most Iranians know by heart. Her 2011 single “Shaneh” is based on a traditional song that Iranian grandmothers are known to whisper to their grandchildren as they comb their hair. An homage to a lover, it includes lines such as, “Oh, love, don’t comb your hair because my heart rests in its waves.” Rita reworked the song, staying true to the lyrics but giving it a more modern sound, somewhere between pop and Jewish gypsy music.

Iranian fans responded overwhelmingly, bombarding her with emails and messages online. “Rita, I want one of these concerts in Iran. You have an amazing voice and you are another pride for Iran,” wrote an Iranian fan on one of her videos on YouTube.

In September, when Rita visited Radio Ran, a Persian-language Internet radio station based in a Tel Aviv suburb, the studio was flooded with calls from Iranians around the world.

In an Israeli television interview, speaking of her Iranian fans, she joked that if she ever traveled to Iran, she would like to sing a duet with Mr. Ahmadinejad, “Maybe I can soften him with my feminine charm,” she said.

Iran’s government has taken notice. Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards Corps, wrote last July that Rita is Israel’s “latest plot in a soft war” to gain access to the hearts and minds of Iranians.

Iranian hard-line websites and blogs expressed particular displeasure at Rita for sending a message to Iranians this past March for the Norouz New Year, via a video posted on the Persian website of Israel’s Foreign Ministry. Norouz messages are considered highly political and usually a tactic used by politicians like President Barack Obama and Iran’s opposition leaders.

“I hope that we all live alongside each other by dancing and singing because this is what will last,” Rita said in her Norouz message.

In May, Rita performed a sold-out concert in the city of Ashkelon, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, singing mostly Persian songs. Fans crowded the stage and danced the aisles.

After the show, concert goers said they were swept away. “Listen, I’m not Persian,” said Meir Kanto, a 72-year-old farmer. “But the culture is so colorful and so beautiful, from my perspective, let them conquer us. It wouldn’t hurt.”

In Tehran, guests at a recent engagement party jumped to their feet shimmying their hips and shoulders when Rita’s voice echoed from the speakers, mixing the rhythms of an old and uniquely southern Iranian song to techno dance beats. Even middle-age couples joined in.

“She is singing from her heart. So what if she is from Israel?” said Manijeh, a 43-year-old relative of the bride who asked that her surname not be published. “We love her.”

Source: Wall street Journal

An Australian’s Response to the anti-Israel American Professor

In breakout session of the “Academic Boycott of Israel” initiative, Amy Kaplan, professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania spoke about how teachers can most effectively demonize Israel in every classroom as well as the “positive aspects” of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.



In response to this terrible occurrence, an Australian man named Ernest Taylor took action to send a very strong letter to the University of Pennsylvania regarding professor Amy Kaplan.

Below is a copy of his letter:

Dear Madam,

I read with considerable disgust the comments of your; and I use the term loosely, Professor Kaplan and her efforts to demonize the State of Israel by way of using English classes. That one of your staff is of this benighted opinion is to say the least, unfortunate, but for her to express this opinion and to foster such in the context of educating students is appalling. This ‘professor’ needs an update in just what the State of Israel has done for the world, including the Islamic world. She needs to realize that boycotting Israel would be cutting off 60 – 70% of the world’s scientific discoveries.

We saw this action in the past in Nazi Germany, one needs to remember that “those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.” I have no problem with what a person may think or do, providing they do no harm. This breaks that right. Yes she has the right to her thoughts and words, even her actions, but she has the responsibility to ensure that those rights cause no harm.



With the hope that you give this all consideration,

Sincerely,

Ernest J Taylor

Copies were also sent to the US President, State Governor, Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and Representative Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.

We encourage you to email the English Department chairperson as well as the “professor”:

Chairperson Nancy Bentley: nbentley@english.upenn.edu
Professor Amy Kaplan: amkaplan@english.upenn.edu

Stand with Israel in Turning Terror into Beauty

The residents of Israel have endured
years of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.

Over 12,000 rockets have been fired since 2001, endangering the lives of innocent civilians and traumatizing many more.
"The Kassam Rocket is every bit as much an instrument of terror as an explosive or a suicide bomber's belt", said Josh Adler, co-founder of Operation Lifeshield, an organization that provides shelters in vulnerable and endangered areas throughout Israel.

In the summer of 2005, Israel took the very painful step of evacuating 10,000 of its citizens from 21 communities in the Gaza region. Families were uprooted, synagogues were abandoned, schools and businesses were closed forever - all in the hope of a peaceful future.

"There will be no more rockets fired into Israeli communities", was the Israeli position, "since Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip has ended." Unfortunately, disengagement from Gaza had the opposite effect.

The once flourishing Israeli communities were turned into bases of terror, from which thousands of rockets were launched daily, deep into Israeli territory. As rocket attacks intensified, fear, panic and destruction became the norm.



As sirens wailed "Code Red", residents had 15 seconds to run for their lives. Israel's response was muted, in the hope that perseverance and restraint would lead to a diplomatic solution. But restraint only encouraged more rocket attacks.



Operation Cast Lead was launched in December 2008 as a last-resort attempt to bring about the elusive peace and security that its citizens rightfully deserved. Although a military success, the operation was a diplomatic nightmare, as the UN's Goldstone Report condemned Israel for its' aggression.

Israel's basic right of self-defense was ignored and its' obligation to protect its citizens, denied. It seems that the world forget about all of those rockets.

While the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza was significantly damaged, it was not eliminated, and rocket fire continues to terrorize Israel's citizens. But the people of Israel are resilient - their spirit remains high and their dreams for a peaceful future remain very much alive.

They live by their biblical promise that, "Swords will be turned into plowshares" (Isaiah 2:4). Out of destruction comes growth. "Am Yisrael Chai" - the people of Israel will endure.

In the remote Israeli town of Yated, just a stone's throw from Israel's border with both Egypt and Gaza, metal sculptor, blacksmith and part-time computer teacher Yaron Bob, has found his way of turning "swords into plowshares". He turns Kassam rockets that were fired into Israel by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, into beautiful hand-sculpted pieces of art - magnificent roses.




Following years of relentless rocket attacks into Israeli communities so close to home, Yaron was driven to create something positive from these objects of destruction and death.



"I find it fascinating to make a work of art from a piece of metal. It is powerfully meaningful when a missile that is used for killing is turned into a sign of beauty, growth and prosperity", Yaron said.

The Israeli police enthusiastically support Yaron's work. While most of the rockets are stockpiled in police stations throughout southern Israel, some are made available for Yaron's project.

With just a hammer, anvil and furnace, Yaron melts, moulds and sculpts rocket metal into gorgeous flowers. It is our hope that Yaron's roses remain very limited edition pieces.

Each rose is different - and takes 3 to 4 hours to sculpt. The stem is welded onto a metal base shaped as the map of Israel, with the rose "growing" from the very place where most of the rockets landed. A plaque mounted on the base indicates the month and year that particular rocket landed. A signed and numbered certificate of authenticity accompanies each rose.

Yaron's roses are truly a piece of history - living proof that Israel has endured missile attacks for years. They have been presented to dignitaries such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

A portion of the proceeds of each item sold will be donated to Operation Lifeshield to build bomb shelters in the city of Ashkelon.

The city of Ashkelon and Yaron Bob are most grateful for your support. And please refer all your friends, family and associates to our site. We would appreciate your help in spreading this powerful life changing message of Rockets into Roses around the world.

http://www.rocketsintoroses.com


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Click: http://rocketsintoroses.com - Support Israel by purchasing beautiful art and jewelry made from terrorist rockets that landed in Israel. Link: http://rocketsintoroses.com

Arabs for Israel - Muslims for Israel - Sheikh Abdul Hadi

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Who has the right to Jerusalem? Arab for Israel and Muslim for Israel, Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi, a Syrian Muslims Cleric from Italy's Muslim community explains through the Quran and history that the real people who arrived their first were the Jews and that in the Quran it says that Allah gave the land to the people of Israel. He is an Arab and Muslim who proudly supports the State of Israel because of his righteous reasons.

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Abdul Hadi Palazzi (Arabic: شيخ عبد الهادي بالاتسي‎), legally named Massimo Palazzi, is the secretary general of the Italian Muslim Assembly, and the Khalifah for Europe of the Qadiri Sufi Order. He is a co-founder and a co-chairman of the Islam-Israel Fellowship, based on what Palazzi believes are the authentic teachings of Muhammad as expressed in the Qur'an and the Hadith.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Hadi_Palazzi#Views_On_Israel

Israeli innovation at Microsoft Israel's ThinkNext

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http://www.israel.org

Israeli innovation at ThinkNext, Microsoft Israel R&D center:

An application that advises on what's good (or bad) for you to eat, a service which encourages safe driving and an application which reminds you to take your medication on time, are just a few out of many new exciting technologies that were presented at the Israel innovation at Microsoft Israel's ThinkNext convention.

Please credit the MFA of the state of Israel for any use of this video.

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The world is dancing to Israeli club music

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TYP, recently signed with Universal Music, is popularizing 'this crazy mixture of East and West' that describes Israeli music.

They may look like two average guys in a Tel Aviv park, but they're actually the hottest band in Israel today:

The Young Professionals (TYP). The group is putting Israeli club music on the world's dance floor.

Says TVP's Ivri Lider: "The Israelis are this crazy mixture of East and West; that's what we're trying to be.

We're not trying to be, 'Okay, we're from Israel but we've put aside everything Israeli and Middle Eastern because we want to be a part of Europe.' On the contrary, we say, 'Oh, we totally embrace everything we have here because it makes us interesting and a bit different.'"

Universal Music seems to agree, having recently signed a three-album deal with TYP.

"For us it's a giant step. It's a giant opportunity to really take our stuff forward," says Lider, speculating that the band is headed for global performances. "Now we're releasing in Europe and the US and we're so much in that moment I don't think any of us are thinking what's next."

Please credit the MFA of the state of Israel for any use of this video.

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Madonna Kicks Off MDNA Tour! Perez Reviews!

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A bridge to peace at the boxing hall

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http://www.israel.org

Kufur Yasif, an Arab village in northern Israel, hosts the main center for boxers in Israel.

Dr. William Shehade, Director General of the Israel Boxing Association and a resident of the village, talks about the Olympic boxing hall, where Jews and Arabs train together.

The center has produced many local and international champions. In addition to teaching jabs and punches, it also educates the trainees in sportsmanship, respect and friendship, serving as a bridge to peace as they get to know each other at close hand.

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