‘Be My BFF’ Campaign: Sarah Silverman Be My Friend
This is what our friendship would look like
A few years ago famous comedian Sarah Silverman took part in a campaign geared towards getting young Jews to make sure their grandparents in Florida voted for then presidential candidate Barak Obama, in ‘The Great Schlep’.
Fast forward a few years later to present day, famous comedian Sarah Silverman is about to partake in another schlep, The Really Great Schlep, as she makes her way to the Jewish Homeland. That’s right, Silverman, obviously a big Jew, will be in Israel on tour and at this year’s President’s conference in about a week.
I am sure she will have an awesome trip, hang out with her family, and see some Jewish stuff while she is here. But more importantly, she needs to come and hang out with me, because we are destined to be BFFs. Is there a way to say that, write that, without sounding creepy or stalkerish?
So, just like Sarah Silverman once campaigned to make a difference, it appears it is now my turn to do the same. Perhaps my campaign is much smaller, really just for me and my friends and my comedy troupe, but I believe it will have a profound effect on the nation, on Jews as a whole, and perhaps even milk prices.
Sarah Silverman this is my ‘Be My BFF’ campaign and I will do everything that I can until you and I are wearing friendship bracelets, posing in front of the Western Wall with our shoulders covered (thanks to the old lady-shmata-police at the Kotel who hand out dirty scarves to make sure G-d doesn’t get a peep show in the holiest place in the world) and leftover hummus and pita in our teeth.
There are a lot of reasons that you should be my friend and meet me on your trip to Israel. I will now list just a few. Also, I will make sure to tweet it up, Facebook and get my friends involved in my campaign. I will not sleep or eat until you are my friend. Mainly I won’t be sleeping because my eight-month-old son is teething and wakes up every two hours throughout the night. And when I say I won’t eat, what I mean is, I won’t eat too much, except for Shabbat when calories don’t count.
A List of Just a Few Reasons Why We Should be BFF:
We are both Jewish ( I only use this as a reason, because people think when they are setting people up, as long as they have one thing in common, like age, race or religion, that they must be perfect for each other…just trying to cover my bases. And this is kind of like the perfect shidduch).
I have a tiny comedy troupe, in a tiny city, in a tiny country. We are Hahafuch (it means upside down) the premiere English speaking comedy troupe in all of Israel. The only English speaking comedy troupe in all of Israel. We do improv and comedy sketches, making fun of Israel. We would love to have you for practice. Then you can check off “do improv with a bunch of new immigrants in Jerusalem” from your bucket list.
My husband is an archaeologist and can show you a private tour of his dig where they find really old stuff. He can also show you and your family awesome, really old secret places all over Jerusalem that you don’t know about.
I will take you to Bazaar Strauss in Talpiot, which is like a smaller, crappier version of Target. I will buy you anything you want, as long as it’s under NIS 10. It might not sound like much, but you could get a lot of stuff there for that price: underwear (never used, I might add), salad tongs, or half of a Purim costume (I say half because the other half is gone but they are still selling it).
I go to this Yoga-Pilates fusion class that you would love. Not because of the workout, but because the teacher wears these amazing pants, that are so wrong in all the wrong places. It is truly a body and mind challenge to get through the class. But as BFFs I know we could do it together.
I will take you to the Jerusalem Mahane Yehuda Shuk and you can meet a real busta (stall) owner in the Iraqi part, and I can guarantee he will give you some candy and tell you cool stories about his life. I will then buy you NIS 5 ice coffee from marzipan and get you some of their famous rugelach if you insist. We will look at really pretty vegetables and take another picture, that I would probably make my Facebook profile for life.
You’re invited for Shabbat. I will make sure to have a table of awesome people, even if it means I have to become more than Facebook friends with them and possibly have to pay them. For a BFF, I would do that.
There’s more reasons of course, but I have to leave something for Twitter and Facebook. I will post reasons daily and I hope you will check them out and I will win you over. Like I said I will do anything. I can’t promise peace in the Middle East, but I can promise it like a politician does- which is about the same and worth a Nobel Prize if nothing else.
I know if we had the chance to hang out that it would be just another day in your world but for me it would kind of make my life. I moved to Israel after college and while I love it here, sometimes it’s hard to get through the day. Not because of terrorists. No I’m talking about something more evil than that- bureaucracy. So, I am just saying that you would make a big difference in someone’s life. And that difference will have a huge effect throughout the Anglo-Immigrant community in Israel. That’s a big deal. A really big deal. So on your Really Big Schlep, please just consider taking an hour or two to meet your Middle East BFF.
He wants to be BFFs too!
Also, I have a dog. He’s a Jerusalem mix and knows how to high five and roll over. We rescued him. He does not make white dog poop from the 70′s, but I can have my Israeli husband sing that song to you. He has it memorized.
To hang out you can email here. Or tweet me @FelafelBalls
Can’t wait!
Jerusalem Day Special: HaTikva’s scandalous past and its relevance today
In honor of Jerusalem Day, The Big Felafel received an excellent guest post about HaTikva, Israel’s national anthem.
The Impossible Dream
By Ariella Gottesman
Many years ago, I heard a speaker – a self-proclaimed Zionist – taking HaTikvah to task. In her opinion, it didn’t speak to the Zionist dream, the true feeling of the Jewish heart aching to return home, or the mission of Zionism. She suggested that The Impossible Dream from the hit Broadway musical “The Man of La Mancha” take its place as the Israeli national anthem. The very words, she thought, encapsulated everything Zionism and Israel stands for:
To dream the impossible dream,
To fight the unbeatable foe,
To bear with unbearable sorrow,
To run where the brave dare not go…
I was quite taken with this idea as a child, with the notion that this stirring song about reaching “the unreachable star” could serve as a more fitting national anthem for our homeland. I took out the CD from the library and listened to the song countless times, smiling as I internalized the lyrics. It struck a chord within me, far deeper than HaTikvah ever had.
So, why shouldn’t this song represent the Zionist dream? What does HaTikvah really have over The Impossible Dream?
Recently, I hit the books (and the Internet) to figure it all out. What I discovered was fascinating.
Similar to The Star Spangled Banner, which is actually a four paragraph poem with only the first verse known, HaTikvah has seven other stanzas, which nobody knows.
HaTikvah was originally a nine stanza poem written by Naphtali Herz Imber, a relatively unsuccessful poet, loafer, and womanizer who lived in the late nineteenth century. The original title was actually Tikvateinu – Our Hope – and it was the anthem of several settlements in the 1880s. Imber later died of alcohol induced liver disease, a glorious way for the writer of Israel’s national anthem to pass.
Samuel Cohen later put these rhymes to a Romanian folk song, Carul cu Boi. Though he slowed down the rhythm and refined the sound, when one listens to Carul cu Boi, it is clear that the two songs are related. The tune that makes Jews worldwide rise and put their hands to their hearts means, in Romanian, “Cart and Oxen,” and the original is a dancing tune.
The more I uncovered in my research, the more the case was made for The Impossible Dream to take center stage.
Yet, HaTikvah, with its interesting, and perhaps scandalous, past, still has a unique quality that The Impossible Dream cannot and never will have. This quality fills the heart of the Jew. It makes us smile, it makes us cry, it defines us, and it makes HaTikvah our national anthem.
On May 12, 1948, before David Ben-Gurion read the Israeli Declaration of Independence, the audience spontaneously sang HaTikvah in unison. After the Declaration was signed, the crowd once again rose and sang:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
No one in that room, or anywhere in that newly born country, would have envisioned owning all of Jerusalem. Not under the White Paper, nor under the UNSCOP Partition Plan, nor by any other conceivable course of events. At best, they thought, it would wind up under UN jurisdiction. At worst, it would fall into the hands of the Arabs, who would in all likelihood deny Jews access. Indeed, by the end of the 1948 war, when the smoke had cleared, Jerusalem was still not under Israeli control.
Yet, Jews still dreamed of Jerusalem. Their eyes still looked towards Zion. The city where David camped was still in their hearts. And, in 1967, against all odds, we claimed our birthright.
The Impossible Dream is a wonderful song. I smile and cry every time I listen to it. But it does not focus on Jerusalem. As such, it cannot possibly represent the Zionist dream because it is impossible to fulfill the Zionist dream without our Golden Jerusalem.
Ariella Gottesman is an undergraduate student at Stern College for Women and the president of the Yeshiva University Israel Club.
And the winner is…Israel: Behind the Scenes of Footnote
This week Israel made it in the news a lot. Mostly you read about politics, lame speeches and overused terms, but if you dug a little deeper you might have found out about Joseph Cedar, an Israeli film director who won best screenplay at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Whenever an Israeli wins something anywhere in the world, an Israeli citizen feels entitled to enjoy the moment and share the good news, almost as though they are the ones accepting the honor. I think this is where you can definitely say, “we’re all family here.” When Natalie Portman took home the Oscar for best actress at the Academy Awards this year, she might as well have been playing for Team Israel, because she was celebrated as though she brought home the gold. I don’t even know what makes her Israeli (obviously her mom or dad), but I shed a tear (not really) when she gave her acceptance speech— it was like Hebrew to my ears.
So when Joseph Cedar, an Israeli, clinched the Cannes award for best screenplay, I just wanted to give someone, anyone a high five and pop the champagne bottle (more like cheap fantasia, but you get the picture) open and celebrate.
Cedar is a gifted young director, who is no stranger to winning awards. His first movie, “Time of Favor” won six Ofir Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 2007 his critically acclaimed film, “Beaufort” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie is based on his own experiences during his army service where he served in Lebanon.
His latest win at Cannes is for his new movie “Footnote”, which premiered there. The movie is a dramedy that examines the relationship between father and son, both of whom are competing researchers of Talmud at an Israeli university. The film is set to premiere on June 2.
I had the chance to sit down with Joseph Cedar’s father, Prof. Howard Cedar and talk about his son’s continued success. But what makes the conversation even more interesting, is that Prof. Howard Cedar is also gifted and no stranger to awards— however, this is not a son following in his father’s footsteps story, but quite the opposite, Prof. Cedar is a world renowned scientist. Known in the medical world as the ‘Father of methylation’, Cedar has won many awards for his work including his recent honor, the Canada Gairdner International award for his contribution to medical science. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if his contribution ultimately leads to a Nobel Prize.
Prof. Cedar has been teaching and continuing his investigative research at The Hebrew University’s Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada since the 1970′s when he moved to Israel. That’s where I interviewed him, in between his busy day of researching and being a top scientist.
By the way, for all the praise I am giving him, it is just as important that you know he is a really nice guy. He sits relaxed on his couch and enjoys speaking to me about his son’s good news. He also makes sure to tell me he is proud of all his kids. Awesome! You can check out the video interview to see what he says about the movie, Cannes and what’s next for Joseph.
And just before you do that, let me leave you with this, so you really get a picture of how great of a father he is— not just in the science world but as a family man too. I told him that I don’t know how he must feel having his son achieve such a great honor. I said my son is sitting up now (he is almost 8-months-old), and for me as a mother it feels incredible. I burst with joy and glee and I couldn’t be more proud. He told me it’s the same feeling.
116 useful updates about living in Israel you may have missed
Here are some useful updates about living in Israel that I’ve tweeted or put on Facebook in the last 2 months. And now that I’m posting the links here, I’m not limited by the Twitter 140 character limit and can sit in the peanut (Bamba?) gallery and offer additional commentary! For more Israel-related real-time updates, you can follow The Big Felafel on Twitter, Facebook, or by blog updates via email.
- Watching Am Segula – Mah Kashur’s new comedy series. Verrry similar to their previous series, Yisraelim. Well, it is the same guys, so it makes sense.
- Join the Koby Mandell Foundation FB page and double your chances of winning 2 free tix to @comedyforkoby.
- Site-specific art installations by Bezalel students transform downtown Jerusalem’s bars Oh bars. I think those days are pretty much over for me or is it cool to bring a 7 month old with?
- Festivals and More Festivals in Jerusalem (via @janglo) I think Israel has set a world record for most amount of festivals per capita or per season or however it is that we measure festival records.
- Contest for Design of New Banknotes in Israel. Weird set of qualifications: graphic design AND certified bookkeeper. Good luck with that, State O’Israel.
- Israeli family names their baby “Like” There was also an Egyptian family who named their baby Facebook. And they say we can’t get along with our neighbors. We have weird names in common. Isn’t that enough?
- Fox pulls Israeli sitcom Traffic Light after 13 episodes Ramzor, the Hebrew version, was such an Israeli-type show, I was wondering how that would work out. I guess it didn’t.
- ISRAEL21c invited to global cancer fellowship Impressive.
- Intern in Israel program gets boost from U.S. firms I went to this Masa event and met some awesome recruiters from Urban Outfitters, Citibank and other big names. Great job Masa for really putting in lots of effort to run successful internship programs in Israel
- Love the @benjilovitt 63 Reasons why I love Israel As usual, Benji outdoes himself with his Israel love.
- Ayalim, a nonprofit in the Negev and Galil building sustainable student housing village. Inspiring for Yom Ha’atzmaut
- New Yom Ha’atzmaut video by Aish. How many people do you recognize? I counted 2.
- Huge Naked Art installation to be in the Dead Sea or Mea Shearim. Hope no one gets angry…
- Way off track / Fast train to Jerusalem will have to wait Originally, the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem fast train was planned to be finished by 2017. But since that seems too close.. they’ve now postponed it until two thousand and never. Oh well. It’s the thought that counts, right?
- Anglodeals Amazing! All the daily group deal sites in English!
- J’lem haredim find gentile hametz buyer has taken it! Hilarious! Bet you never thought someone would actually come and get your chametz.
- @hebrewU and eTeacher Group Offer Aramaic Language via Online Program (via @religion_state) I totally think there should be Aramaic Ulpan. Sign me up.
- New Noise Laws in Israel (via @ahoova) No more loud car alarms. Huh? Isn’t that the point of car alarms.
- New Jerusalem Culture site launched (on Drupal.. in case you’re as nerdy as I am and wanted to check) Good source for upcoming cultural events like the Light Festival and Opera Festival and even the Festival Festival. Bet you never heard of that one.
- Funny shorts about Pini, an Israeli living in London Really short episodes which is great for someone with a short attention span like me. I just watched all of them straight through. The series is in English and Hebrew and could be a good ulpan tool – just read the subtitles the whole time.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to visit Rabbi Lau in Israel What a crazy story. Turns out that Kareem’s father was in the army during WWII and liberated Rabbi Lau. Why do I keep thinking about the movie Airplane?
- Gevalt! Israel launches a cellphone in Yiddish Reminds me of my college days and my semester of Yiddish. Now I see where that knowledge could be useful again!
- Oldie but a goodie Matzah Ball Rap A great Passover video that doesn’t get old. And it stars my old kitchen… and friends!
- Answers.com being sold for $127 million Wow. Kol Hakavod. Answers.com is such a great part of the local Jerusalem community, sponsoring events, hiring Israelis, etc.
- Hilarious report on the English spoken by service providers in Israel (thanks @felafelballs) Reads like a comedy script for a sketch by… hahafuch (Jerusalem’s comedy troupe)
- Artists coming to perform in Israel 2011 featuring Megadeath, Bon Jovi, Enrique Iglesias via @igoogledisrael.com
- Vanessa Mae is coming to perform in Israel via @igoogledisrael.com
- In Latest Discovery, Have They Found the Nails Used to Crucify Jesus?
- 50 things to do in Jerusalem this spring – GoJerusalem.com
- ‘Amazing Israel Race’ Kicks Off in Boston. It’s not happening in Israel, but such a great idea, I wish they would do something like that in Israel.
- In Israel, a check of supermarkets shows consumers should stick to stores they find most convenient, and leave paltry price differences behind.(via Haaretz)
- Al Gore invests $10m. in Israeli solar energy projects Israeli solar on a roll! First Google then Al Gore!
- Google invests $168m in Brightsource solar project – Globes
- Bieber visits the Western Wall
- iPhone app by @rustybrick gets rid of chametz (via @janglo)
- Four Israeli divas serenade traffic from atop Jerusalem bridge via Haaretz
- Justin Bieber performs tonight in Tel Aviv. Won’t get to meet Bibi.I was so hoping that Bibi would meet with Bieber. But what would they talk about?
- Donald Trump sues Israeli co selling “Trump Vodka” – Globes I’m so surprised this is the only Israeli counterfeit being caught. What about stores in Israel that are called Best Buy and Versace that have no connection to the real brands?
- Israeli App Testing Company Turns From Google And Microsoft To Startups (via @NoCamels)
- New Glasses from $6.95! – Janglo (link no longer available)
- Payless ShoeSource arrives in Israel Petach Tikva and Beer Sheva. avg price for shoes: 100 NIS (via @janglo)
- 5 day program in Jerusalem this summer to help residents improve their neighborhoods and green the city
- Tel Aviv University @telavivuniv Computer Project Funded By Google featured on @mashable!
- Regional C’ttee approves Jerusalem’s Cinema City – Globes
- Really? Tel Aviv ranked Israel’s greenest city – Globes
- Ophir Tours offers $95,000 space trips – Globes
- Such a nice video about Shir Hadash! Feat. Rabbi Pear
- The Bezalel Art Fair now happening every Friday from 9am – 3pm
- Mirs and Xfone win wireless tender (Source:Globes). New cellphone numbers will be 058 and 053 (Source: israel Hayom)
- Cellular competition starts today for 2 new providers in Israel Reminds me to watch this video again
- VIDEO: “Ya’alili” by 8th Day: The official music video (via @janglo)
- Google Exodus – very cute Passover video from Aish.
- Jon Stewart’s Hilarious Eruv Video
So funny! The Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac goes to Long Island to investigate the Eruv controversy and finds a solution by creating the Eruv hat! Love!
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Guide to Passover Activities in Israel 2011
To get you in the mood, here’s an awesome Passover video that asks, What if Moses had facebook?
Bezalel Street Arts and Crafts Fair
Opens April 1, 2011
Artists show off their crafts, jewelry, photography and more at this funky street festival.
9am to 3pm
Shatz St., downtown Jerusalem
Free Entrance
More info
AHAVA festival 2011
April 19-23, 2011
at the Dead Sea featuring Yehuda Poliker, Ehud Banai, Eviatar Banai, Mosh Ben Ari, Hadag Nachash, and more
More info
The Jerusalem Marathon and You! (Next Year in Jerusalem Indeed!)
Picture yourself somewhere in this crowd!
If you weren’t one of the 10,000 people that ran in the Jerusalem Marathon, Half-marathon, 10k or 4.2k race this past Friday, I am here to tell you that you better be next year. If you want a challenge, if you want to be healthy and if you want to eat pasta like it’s nobody’s business then sign up for the 2012 race now.
I am writing this to you, sore legs and all, to say that everyone has the potential to run in a race like this, and if you don’t do it then you are missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. And to run the Jerusalem track, that’s the cherry on the top. Running through the streets of Jerusalem, hills and all, is an incredible feeling. Running with others who are sharing in your excitement and pain as you climb yet another incline, is so amazing I wish I could do it again this Friday!
Let’s get this straight. I don’t consider myself a runner. I am a woman who became a mommy and didn’t have the time or money to go to a gym with a newborn to take care of. So I made it my goal to get back in shape with a few DVDs (those postnatal workouts with cheesy trainers telling you you’ll be as fit as ever) and a light jog every now and then. No matter where you run in Jerusalem you are bound to face a hill, so I figured a good twenty minute run was plenty and would keep me healthy.
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Guide to Childcare in Israel and 15 questions every parent should ask
If there is one thing harder than birth, we would say it is trying to register your child for day care. Unlike the birthing process, there’s no Lamaze class to teach you breathing techniques as you try to register your child for day care in Israel.
But lucky for our readers, you can learn through our mistakes and questions as we navigate the childcare system in Israel. And let us say right off the bat, that we encourage and beg you to add info in the comments section in order to help the new parent community.
It is barely spring, but according to Israel you need to secure a place for your child for the fall. You must sign up before spaces fill up, and that means that even if you don’t know what part of town, or even what part of the country you are living in, well that’s too bad.
Check out our guide below that explains the different types of daycare options in Israel.
Public/Government Run Childcare:
Maon (Daycare)
Definition: This is large-scale daycare run by various organizations (usually women’s organizations). The government supervises and dictates policy. You must register for these and be accepted (registration starts April 27, 2011). Full-time working mothers have top priority.
Groups:
- 3-15 months: 1 adult for every 6 children, maximum 15 in a group.
- 15 months – 2 years: 1:9 ratio, maximum 23 in a group
- 2-3 years: 1:11 ratio, maximum 27 in a group
Opening Hours:
- Sunday-Thursday: 7:00am-4:00pm (though some go as late as 5:00pm)
- Friday: 7:00 am-1:00pm
- Holidays: Government policy: three weeks in August (of which you pay a full month’s worth of tuition), a week before Pesach and the whole holiday, the other major Jewish holidays and the week of Sukkot.
Prices: NIS1550- NIS 2050, scale-based subsides payments based on household salaries and siblings
What is included: Food (and sometimes sheets)
What you need to bring: diapers, baby wipes, clothes, pacifiers, bottles, (sheet for the bed)
Maons in Jerusalem:
Mishpachton (pre-nursery in someone’s home)
Definition: This is daycare that is run out of a private home. The government supervises and dictates policy. There can be a maximum of 5 children (without getting special permission for more) and no more than 2 children under the age of one. If there are more children an additional caregiver must be present.
Hours and Holidays:
- 6 Day a week Mishpachton: Sun-Thur 7:00am-4:00pm, Fri: 7:00am-12:00pm
- 5 Day a week Mishpachton: Sun-Thur 7:00am-4:30pm or 7:30am-5:00pm (although some places are only until 4:00pm)
- Holidays: They must abide by the government set holiday schedule. This includes taking off three weeks in August (of which you pay a full month’s worth of tuition), a week before Pesach and the whole holiday, the other major Jewish holidays and the week of Sukkot.
Prices: More or less the same price as a Maon, approximately NIS 1550, scale-based subsides payments based on household salaries and siblings.
What is included: Food
What you need to bring: diapers, baby wipes, clothes, pacifiers, bottles, sheet for the bed
Running in Jerusalem or How to Make Buns of Steel!
As I train for the Jerusalem half-marathon, I have come to realize that the Holiest city in the world was meant to be a land filled with extremely fit people. You cannot run five minutes without finding yourself climbing up another hill or flying down one. And when you’re running in your first half-marathon – that’s 21.1 kilometers or 13 miles – you realize that maybe Jerusalem isn’t the best place to start. Then again when you live here, there isn’t much of a choice!
Thanks to the new Gmaps Pedometer, creating my running routes has been easy— but there’s nothing easy about the actual runs. Every route has hills, it is unavoidable. Not only that, Jerusalem doesn’t have a beach, a lake or a boardwalk (I know there is the Haas Promenade in Talpiot, but really not the same as a boardwalk), that could make the run more visually exciting. Sure there is the Jerusalem Forest, but that is just more of the same, with crazy hills and inclines that my legs, butt and thighs will just not accept. And true, we do have the Old City which is a cool place to run through, if you like thousands of tourists getting in your way, cars trying to squeeze through the narrow streets, and broken roads that make for embarrassing and painful (being embarrassed hurts more than bruises) falls.
But I have challenged myself, body and mind, to run this year’s Jerusalem half-marathon and March 25th I hope to achieve my goal with thousands of others. While I am super excited about the half, the real deal is the first full Jerusalem marathon taking place the same day. With over 10,000 people registered, it looks like this will be the country’s biggest marathon, so take that Tel Aviv (with your beautiful beaches, boardwalks and HaYakron!).
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25+ Daily Deal and Group Deal websites in Israel
Update: Groopbuy is no longer around. But most of the other ones on this list are live and rockin’!
While there are plenty of daily deal sites to choose from, and it seems like every day a new site pops up, we here at The Big Felafel are big fans of GroopBuy.
And not just because of the Holy Bagel NIS 20 dozen that I purchased last month.
David Shadpour, the founder of GroopBuy and an American living in Jerusalem, has tailored the site to Jerusalem’s English-speaking community. We are the ones that often miss out on deals because we just don’t read Hebrew all that well (yet), know how to bargain or we are friars (suckers). David is my friend and if you didn’t know it he is your friend too, by giving us the opportunity to enjoy stores, restaurants and even gyms for more than half price (and often even upwards of 70% off the price).
Obsessed with GroopBuy as I am, I got a chance to sit down with David and hear what he had to say. “GroopBuy is the only daily deal website that gives deals everyday,” David explains to me. And it is true. A lot of these sites have deals for three days running which misses the point of buyer power and obviously the daily deal part. Not only that but David tells me, “Our discounts are 15 to 20 percent larger than other sites.” Another fact I love. GroopBuy also makes sure to have a variety of deals so you can enjoy paintball one day and a stylish hair cut another.
GroopBuy does its homework. The company has a very high standard of requirements in order to accept a deal. “We have over 60 deals that have not happened because they did not meet our requirements,” he says, adding that “of course there is always trial and error, but most importantly we want to hear from our customers about what they think about the places. If we hear something negative then chances are we aren’t going to re-sign them for another deal.” I love hearing that since I know that the person behind the site really believes in the places he promotes.
In addition to promoting quality places, GroopBuy also tries to spotlight new immigrant vendors, helping them get on their feet. David is committed to giving “protectsia” to the Anglo community. David says, “We’re in this together.” And he’s right. If I could buy that statement on GroopBuy, I would even pay full price.
Here are some quick tips for using Daily Deal websites:
- Check to see if the site accepts Israeli or international credit cards. If your order doesn’t go through, it’s probably because of the credit card you’re using.
- Make sure you carefully read the fine print before buying a deal.
- Always print your coupon and bring it with you.
- Always make reservations for restaurants, hotels, etc.
- If you see a deal that you think your friends would like, make sure to send it to them or even buy it for them!
- GroopBuy in English
Cities: for Jerusalem only (Tel Aviv coming soon)
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express, both Israeli and international - Grouper in Hebrew
Cities: Tel Aviv, Hod Hasharon, Haifa, Jerusalem, Ranana, Rishon Ltzion
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - Groupon in Hebrew (English coming soon)
Read about the recent announcement that Groupon is worth a measly $15 billion, and that they’ve acquired Grouper.co.il for $8million in order to enter the Israeli market.
Cities: All of Israel
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - Baligam in Hebrew
Cities: Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Hasharon
Payment Options: PayPal or credit card - Kantina in Hebrew
Cities: Jerusalem only (Tel Aviv coming soon)
Payment Options: International credit card only - Buy2 in Hebrew
Cities: Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv/center, the south
Payment Options: Doesn’t specify - Deal Hayom in Hebrew
Cities: Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Be’er Sheva, Rishon Letzion
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - Coupo in Hebrew
Cities: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Be’er Sheva
Payment Options: International credit card only - Wallashops in Hebrew
Cities: Jerusalem, The north, The center, The south
Payment Options: Doesn’t specify - Gozrim in Hebrew
Focus on pregnancy, birth, and parenthood
Cities: Jerusalem, The north, The center, The south
Payment Options: All credit cards except for Diners - Ima Like - in Hebrew
Focus on pregnancy, birth, and parenthood
Cities: All of Israel, with a focus on the Tel Aviv area
Payment Options: All credit cards except for Diners - Big Deal by Ynet in Hebrew
Cities: All of Israel, focus on the Tel Aviv area
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express, Leumi Card - BesTours in Hebrew
Travel site with vacations, package deals, mostly in Europe
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express, Diners, Eurocard - Groupli in Hebrew
Cities: Tel Aviv area only
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - Gargir in Hebrew
Cities: Mostly Tel Aviv area
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - Coupona in Hebrew
Cities: Mostly Tel Aviv area
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - Buddies in Hebrew
Cities: Tel Aviv/center area only
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - BuyCell in Hebrew
Cities: Mostly Tel Aviv area
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, American Express - Yemama in Hebrew
Cities: Tel Aviv, Haifa (Jerusalem coming soon)
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - DealZone in Hebrew
Cities: Tel Aviv area (Jerusalem and Haifa coming soon)
Payment Options: All credit cards except for Diners - ExpressDeal in Hebrew
Cities: Mostly Tel Aviv area
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express, Leumi Card - YallaBuy in Hebrew (as in, Az Yalla Bye.. love the name!)
Cities: Mostly Tel Aviv area
Payment Options: Doesn’t specify - Shave in Hebrew
Cities: not sure, couldn’t see past deals
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - Groupunch in Hebrew
Cities: not sure, couldn’t see past deals
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - DealOn in Hebrew and English
Cities: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Be’er Sheva - Jewpon in English
Cities: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, American Express - GroopScoop in English
Hasn’t really launched yet - Group-E in Hebrew for the religious
Cities: All over Israel
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, Leumi Card - Rak Ayom in Hebrew
Cities: North, Center, Sharon, South
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, Isracard, American Express - Deal4All in Hebrew in Hebrew
Cities: North, Center, Jerusalem area, South - BaBeTov – in Hebrew geared toward the religious
- DealCity – in Hebrew
- Grouping (coming soon) in Hebrew
- Zing – in Hebrew
- Alut – in Hebrew
- Israel Coupon – in Hebrew
- YouToo – in Hebrew
Deal Aggregates
- JangloDeals on facebook, a listing of deals in Israel in English
- Ideals
- DayDeals on facebook or the website
- Everydeal
- Get it All
- DailyD
- Cliqa
- Tavo
- Zap
Hadassah Baby Hotel = heaven
Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital
A while ago I wrote about finding maternity clothes in Israel and as you might have figured out, after buying the maternity clothes and going through pregnancy, it was time to have a baby! You can read Molly’s guide to giving birth in Jerusalem here. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at Hadassah Ein Karem in Jerusalem. My experience at the hospital was mixed – I had a great experience in the delivery room (if such a thing is possible) with the amazing midwives but my experience in the maternity ward afterward was disappointing. After going through the craziness that is labor (I’ll leave out the gory gory), my emotions were as stable as the Scream Machine roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure, that is to say, not very. When I arrived in the maternity ward, I hoped for a welcoming party with balloons and cake, a birth-day party, if you will. But no. We were temporarily placed in the hallway and greeted by a handful of unfriendly nurses who could have been a little more helpful and informative about what the heck a new mother is supposed to do – how to breastfeed, how to take care of the umbilical cord, etc. The other non-welcoming party was the cafeteria. It felt like high school all over again with cliques at the different tables – mostly determined by what language you speak. And the food was nothin’ to write home about – large chunks of cucumber for breakfast, smaller cubes of cucumber for lunch, and cucumber pie for dinner. So, as you can imagine, I was more than eager to leave the hospital when the time came and head over to the Hadassah Baby Hotel. (By the way, Molly wanted me to let you know that she was on the rooming-in floor in the hospital and had a great experience.)
Hadassah Baby Hotel
The Hadassah Baby Hotel was just up the elevator, up the stairs, down the hall, down the escalator, and down another elevator away from the hospital, but it was a whole different world. When I arrived to the hotel’s special baby floor, the nurses smiled, sat with me as if they had all the time in the world, and listened to all my questions. To top it off, the hotel rooms were complete with a changing table, diapers, a nursing pillow, and other baby items. They also had a 24 hour nursery so that you can run up to the delicious buffet and eat, or run to the bathroom, or do whatever it is you need to run to do and know that someone is watching the baby and will call you when they are crying and need to eat. The nursery also offers to give your baby formula at night so that you can sleep a few more hours and speed up your recuperation. Also, a doctor comes every day to check on your baby and tells you if there’s anything you should be concerned about. From Sunday to Wednesday, the hotel offers a workshop each day for a few hours on baby development, nutrition, breastfeeding, and baby massage. I thought the workshops were a nice way of meeting the other mamas on the floor, and asking an expert any questions I had.
Since there is a floor of the hotel dedicated to babies and mamas, you can imagine my surprise when I walked back to my room after feeding my daughter, the lights dimmed low at 1am, only to bump into a Greek Orthodox priest in his jammies praying next to my door. I guess they ran out of rooms on the other floors of the hotel. Maybe he was praying to move to a different floor so he wouldn’t have to hear crying babies. In the morning, I awoke to find the same priest and 5 of his priest friends now fully dressed in long black robes, hats, and larger than life jeweled cross necklaces heading to the elevator. We stepped into the elevator together, 6 priests and a nursing mother, trying not to make eye contact, eager to get to the breakfast buffet.
