Category: Wisdom Gained

A New Girl Crush on a New Soul

by: Molly

There is this new song that Galgalatz is already starting to overplay on the radio. It is called “New Soul”, and it is bubbly and fun. After listening to it twice, you’ll get the melody and the lyrics stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Best of all, as I discovered yesterday, the singer, Yael Naim, is Israeli. Not only that, but her album has Hebrew songs on it! Did I mention she sings her own version of Britney Spear’s, “Toxic” on the album too? And, she recently won best album of the year in France (she was born in France and moved to Israel as a child). Do I smell another inappropriate girl crush?

Her music is awesome and getting praise, not to mention air time, all over the world. And because I don’t want to be the only one with an inappropriate girl crush, I have attached links below so you can have one too (unless you’re a boy and then it is just a crush).

LINKS!                                            

Listen to Yashanti at http://www.myspace.com/yaelnaim
Watch the video for New Soul at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YUxbDEPFiM

Watch the video for her version of Britney Spear’s Toxic at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5pP55u9s10


Check out Yael Naim’s website and make sure to read her bio at http://www.yaelweb.com/
Read about her Best New Album award at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3517130,00.html

Don’t you love when an Israeli is in the news and it is not about lies, the political situation or terrorism!

March 26, 2008 | Easily Amused, Videos, Wisdom Gained | 1 Comment

The 74? That seems logical

by: Rebecca

When it’s all color coded and has diamonds behind it, I could almost get excited about the new Egged bus lines. New bus lines? Well, Jerusalem has been planning a light rail for many years now, but only now are they actually dealing with the traffic nightmares it could possibly cause. It’s not that I’m disrespecting their efforts, I can’t wait to get from one end of Herzl street to the other, it’s just that I get a little confused when I see the 74 bus stop show up. Sorry to readers not living in Jerusalem, this may not be all that riveting…

Here’s what I find funny. The 14 bus has turned into the 21(more or less) and the 21 turned into the 74 (more or less)… so the real question is… why not keep the original bus numbers and just have a slight change of route!

Brian from This Normal Life quotes the Jerusalem Post article which really demonstrates the lack of communication among the city’s transportation units.

March 15, 2008 | Jerusalem Scene, Wisdom Gained | 3 Comments

Don’t Listen to Beilin’s Broken Record

by: Molly

beilin.JPGThis is an Opinion Piece in response to Beilin’s Ynet Article, Don’t repeat mistake of 2000, on March 8, 2008.

Mr.Beilin it is hard to take you seriously when your advice seems to end with a punch line rather than a message. It is you, and your past that has brought the Israeli people to the current situation, and not, as you claimed, “The IDF’s harsh response to Palestinian violence in 2000.”

In your article, you had the audacity to ask that we do not “repeat mistakes” again. Your request is a joke because it is the mistakes we made during Oslo that we are now repeating. During the Oslo Accords our country was made to believe that shootings were not “real terrorist attacks.” Shootings became like roadblocks; somehow it was believed that we needed them in order to obtain peace. According to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from the signing of the Declaration of Principles between Israel and the PLO (the Oslo Accords) on September 13, 1993, until September 2000, 256 civilians and soldiers were killed in terrorist attacks in Israel.

The quiet that you spoke of in 2007, was nothing more than a waiting period until the next uprising, war, or whatever term fits the crime. It was not as though in 2007, Fatah, Hamas and other terrorist groups thought to themselves, “You know the Jews aren’t that bad. This living side-by-side thing seems like a great idea. Let’s give peace a chance.” In fact, it is embracing the quiet of 2007, rather than interpreting its silence that has brought the days of relentless rocket fire to the South, and the Yeshiva shooting to Jerusalem (not to mention the other terrorist attacks that have happened in the past few years). Continue »

March 9, 2008 | If I ran Israel, Wisdom Gained | 7 Comments

Netflix arrives Israeli style at DVD Yashir, plus 12 Movie mini-reviews

by: Rebecca

dvdyashir1.png

Slowly, but surely, Israel is catching up with the convenient services available in America like supermarket deliveries, second-hand marketplaces, and most recently, unlimited movie rentals through the mail with DVD Yashir.

In the notorious style of Hebrew websites, DVD Yashir sports the required scrolling text and flashing images, but at least it works in Firefox.

If you can get past the distractions and navigate your way through the site, you’ll learn that they sell and rent movies, and claim to be offering video rental in the “American style” with different fixed monthly rental plans. The cheapest plan costs 19 shekels for the first month and then 59 shekels for every month after that but doesn’t seem to include new releases. They let you keep a movie as long as you like and request new movies as often as you like, and like Netflix, it runs through the mail. But, let’s play this scenario out logistically in Israel. Just thinking about finding the nearest mailbox that would fit a dvd or attempting to go to the post office at a time when it’s open is starting to give me an anxiety attack.

While this service does seem to be promising, I’m a little skeptical of the reliability and convenience of the Israeli post office/mailbox thing and 59 shekels seems like quite a lot to shell out each month considering the dvd machine near my house is 16 shekels. So only if I rent more than 4 movies a month does it start to become worth it. I think I’ll stick to watching movies online for free.

Mini Movie Reviews

If you decide to try out the service, here are some mini movie reviews to give you some ideas of what to rent — or what not to rent. Continue »

March 6, 2008 | Wisdom Gained | 1 Comment

Sderot or Your City? The Click To Care Campaign

by: Molly

sderotThe barrage of rockets continues to hit Sderot, and have now made their way to Ashkelon. While I worry about where and when the next rocket will hit, I can’t help but wonder if I am the only one. It is clear that we can not leave it up to the government to effectively run this country or military operations-but I still have faith in the people.The below video is a part of a Click to Care Campaign that I hope all of your will participate in. By clicking on this video and passing it on to friends and family, I hope we can get the word out about Sderot. We must educate the world in order to be heard.

Watch the video- click to care- and pass it on. Below, you will also find a list of organizations dedicated to helping Sderot and victims of terror. There are many ways to support Sderot: volunteer, donate, speak out, and make your voice heard with the click of a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-D7zW2YENs

HELP!
Sderot in our Hearts: http://www.sderotinourhearts.com/
Being run by a number of organization including OU Israel and Nefesh B’Nefesh, Sderot in our Hearts is dedicated to bringing Purim joy to the traumatized children of Sderot.

Challot from Sderot by Standing Together: www.stogether.org/sderotchallot
Standing Together is dedicated to helping brighten the day of a soldier. This project allows Israelis to order challot and other baked goods directly from bakeries in Sderot for pick-up at different locations in Yerushalyim (and elsewhere) on Friday mornings.

One Family Fund:www.onefamilyfund.org
Raises money for victims of terror.

Connections Israel: www.connectionsisrael.comsderot
This Purim, Connections Israel plans to deliver a holiday gift basket to every family in Sderot (10,000 families in total) with a letter of support from a Jewish family overseas. This project will connect families and communities in a major expression of Jewish unity.

Amit: http://www.amitchildren.org/sup2n.asp
Amit’s Campaign for Sderot has helped hundreds of children to advance in their studies, to continue their education, and to succeed in school despite tremendous obstacles.

 Table to Table: www.tabletotable.org.il
Table to Table with the assistance of private donors is bolstering Sderot’s food industry through the purchase of food from local caterers, bakeries, butchers and grocers.

Chabad of Sderot: http://www.helpsderot.com/

Sderot Media Center: www.sderot-media.com
SMC aims to convey the Kassam rocket reality in Sderot and Western Negev to the Israeli and international community through media documentation and investigative journalism.

The Israel Project: http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.3831671/

israel project
The Israel Project is providing journalists with royalty free pictures of Sderot, in order to promote Sderot’s image in the media. They also have informative links about the current situation and history.

Children of Sderot Summer Relief Project - http://www.SderotKids.org

The directors of 11 large Jewish summer camps from Boston to Montreal to California have joined together to create this ambitious project to airlift 110 children out of missile-bombarded Sderot and bring them to North America to experience the summer of their lives at these camps.

Continue »

March 4, 2008 | Essentials, Videos, Wisdom Gained | 5 Comments

Where to go dancing in Jerusalem: Salsa, Israeli, Clubs, Belly, and more

by: Rebecca

salsa dancer

Thank goodness there are places in Jerusalem to let go of my pent-up energy after long days spent staring at a computer screen. Unfortunately, I felt like the information for different kinds of dancing in Jerusalem like salsa, Israeli/folk dancing, clubs, belly dancing, and others was all over the place. So, I sat myself down and gathered what I could into one central, organized place (I love lists, what can I say?). Make sure to call the person or venue to verify any information below. If you would like to add any dance venues, please leave a comment below.

In related Salsa news, while I was searching for everything Salsa and Israel, I came across the 7th Annual Mediterranean Salsa Congress’ , which is hoping to create peace in Israel through salsa. If you’re still skeptical, just watch this clip. How come no one thought of this before?!

Salsa

  • Merkaz Hamagshimim
    Tuesdays at 8pm
    Includes: Salsa, Marengue, Roueda, Cha Cha and Kumbia and Bacheta.
    Cost: 25 NIS
    Location: The Merkaz, 7a Dor Dor VeDorshav St.
    Phone: Dudu 050-856-3117
  • Candela Club
    Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays:
    21:00-22:30 - Learning Salsa LA style
    22:30-02:00 - Salsa Party
    Cost: 40 NIS
    Location: Rav Chen Mall, 16 Haoman St. Talpiot
    Phone: 050-565-3997
  • Mirage Club (really nice teachers, and even if you’re just learning, lots of good people to watch)
    Thursdays: Continue »

    February 25, 2008 | Essentials, Wisdom Gained | 10 Comments

    Jerusalem supermarket price wars target caffeine-addicted, chicken-lovin’, messy babies

    by: Rebecca

    I am no official Hebrew translator, but I do believe Ynet is telling me there is a massive price war happening between the Talpiot supermarkets Mega and Rami Levi. It was probably my post about ridiculous supermarket prices that really got things moving. Ha!

    The price wars are centered around the price of chicken, which is at an all time low at Rami Levi for 89 agurot a kilo (if you spend over 200 shekels). At Mega, it’s now 99 agurot a kilo ( if you spend over 150 shekels).

    I went to Mega firsthand tonight to see for myself. There was in fact 99 agurot a kilo chicken as well as hour long lines to take any joy and fun away. It was also Tuesday, Mega’s shuk night where fruit and veggies are very cheap.

    I’m still trying to figure out what all the items featured in the price war have in common, but I can’t exactly put my finger on it. The items are

    • Chicken: 89 agurot/kilo at Rami Levi; 99 agurot/kilo at Mega
    • Elite Coffee: 9.99 NIS at Mega
    • Pampers Diapers - 33.90 NIS at Rami Levi, 39.99 NIS atMega
    • Colon Clothing Detergent - 34.99 NIS at Mega
    • CocaCola 6 bottles - 19.99 NIS at Mega
    • Soft Toilet Paper 32 rolls - 19.99 NIS at Mega

    I guess they figure there must be a lot of caffeine-addicted, chicken-lovin’ messy babies crawling around out there. Anyone got any better ideas?Mega has declared that it wants the Mega in Talpiot to be the cheapest in Israel. Truly amazing. I wonder if people will come in all the way from Haifa…

    Thanks for the tip, Ari.

    Update Feb 15: Rami Levy ain’t chickening out, and at 0.79 per kilo, everyone’s fleeing

    February 13, 2008 | Jerusalem Scene, Tips on saving NIS, Wisdom Gained | 2 Comments

    Free Rice - addictive, davka

    by: Rebecca

    I recently discovered the website FreeRice.com and it takes me back to my studying-for-the-SAT days.  Weeee! FreeRice.com is a very simple concept - for every vocab question you get right, they donate rice to Africa, thanks to the advertisers.

    I never thought it would happen to me, but it seems I’ve become like other anglos in Israel who can’t seem to keep their languages separate. I’m starting to notice that I’m slowly losing my vocabulary and every once in a while words like davka, matim, and lahefech creep into my conversations without even noticing.

    Sometimes I even click my tongue to say no. No, Gd forbid I should ever start doing that. But I don’t think Free Rice could help much with that anyway…

    I am so happy I found this site as a way to refresh my vocab. And how cool to know that by improving my vocab, I’m donating rice. Who thinks of these things? Genius.

    February 12, 2008 | Wisdom Gained | Leave a Comment

    Top 6 Bargains in Israel (and the runner-ups)

    by: Rebecca

    Shuk Mahane Yehuda Jerusalem Israel

    After being in Israel for over 3 years, I think I have established the top 6 bargains in Israel. But please, if I forgot any, leave a comment and tell me all about it.

    1. Tablecloths for 18 shekels
       I found pretty Shabbat tablecloths that just about everyone seems to have for 18 shek. This deal is so good, it turns out, that every time my mom comes to visit, it is the only thing she stocks up on.
      Where: Agrippas St in Jerusalem, coming up from King George toward the Mahane Yehuda shuk. It is on the left hand side and they usually have the tablecloths displayed on the street.
    2. Haircut for 35 shekels
      We previously wrote about how you can get a 35 shekel haircut by a hair-cutting student at Shuki Zukri Diri in downtown Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
      Phone: 02-624-0171
    3. Nesher Shared Taxi Sherut for 45 shekels
      For 45 shekels you get door-to-door service from anywhere in Jerusalem to the airport. My friend said he had a hard time finding Nesher’s phone number online so I thought I’d post them. Make sure to call a day or two before to reserve a spot. Here’s a Nesher-specific “Did you know”. Did you know that they don’t have Nesher in Tel Aviv? I mean, I guess it makes sense since it’s so close to the airport but… how do they survive?
      Phone numbers: 02-623-1231, 02-625-7227
    4. Iced Coffee for 5 shekel
      Personally, I like the smooth iced coffee without the icy chunks. But the Iced Coffee from Marzipan in the shuk is so cheap that I just wait for it to melt.
      Where: The Legendary Marzipan bakery is on Agrippas St. but you probably already knew that and just got up to check the fridge to see if you have any rugalech left over.
    5. Autenti clothes 20-50 shekels.
      Autenti sells hippie-ish clothes between 20 and 50 shekels and usually have cute skirts.
      Where: Stores on Yaffo St. and Agrippas St.
    6. 30 pitas for 10 shekels
      Stop by the shuk at night around 8-9:30 as it’s closing to find good deals on pita and other stuff they’re trying to get rid of.
      Where: Try on Yaffo St by the entrance.

    Runner-ups

    • Stove Lighters for 5 shekels from the dollar store. Obviously the conversion rate of the dollar needs a little update.
    • Duvsheinit Challah for 6 shekels from the shuk
    • Soup Festival at the David Citadel for 48 shekels. The all-you-can-eat soup is from 10am to 11pm every day until the end of March for 48 Shekels. They also have wireless internet, so you can pretty much just move in and set up your office right next to the soup buffet.

    These deals are updated as of February 5, 2008, so they are likely to change due to inflation. No guarantees.

    February 6, 2008 | Essentials, Tips on saving NIS, Wisdom Gained | 8 Comments

    Nir Barkat and the Soup Festival

    by: Rebecca

    Nir Barkat

    Last week, we attend the Jerusalem Business Networking Forum’s evening with Nir Barkat, who is running for mayor of Jerusalem.

    We wanted to see, if elected, would he take care of the most pressing issues in Jerusalem:

    • get rid of the ridiculous TV tax
    • install a ticket machine at the Central Bus Station that assigns seats for inter-city travel
    • teach city office workers to be pleasant, polite and helpful

    Soup Festival Jerusalem

    Although he didn’t give a direct answer, he did talk about bringing 10 million tourists here over the next few years and mentioned a website he started called gojerusalem for finding out about what’s going on in Jerusalem.

    This is how I found out about the soup festival which I plan on attending. I don’t know if I would actually call it a “festival” but rather a good deal on soup that gives you entrance into the fancy David Citadel Hotel. But I guess that title wouldn’t be as catchy.

    If you need me, I’ll be in the David Citadel from 10am-11pm packing in the all-you-can-eat soup for 48 shekels.

    January 31, 2008 | Jerusalem Scene, Wisdom Gained | 5 Comments