Good news...

I have been ambivalent, at best, about Barack Obama. I have not been inspired by him in the way millions of Americans have. He appeared, to me, to be to far to the left to produce truly effective leadership.

However, the recent news about Obama's choice for chief of staff has done a lot to quell my fears. Rahm Emanuel appears to be much more of a centrist, which leads me to believe that an Obama presidency will not be as left as advertised. Also, having an Orthodox Jew serving as the right hand to the President has also somewhat assuaged my fears about Obama's plans for Israel.

I was in fact very happen to read this morning a headline expressing concern about the choice.

Is Obama Screwing His Base with Rahm Emanuel Selection?
By Stephen Zunes, AlterNet. Posted November 7, 2008.
Obama has asked conservative Clinton vet Rahm Emanuel to be his chief of staff -- it's not a good sign for progressives.

That's music to my ears.

Israeli Media Exageration

If there is one thing the Israeli media is good at, it's making the situation in Israel seem a lot worse than it actually is. The love to make dire conclusions about life here and about the government. Take a look at these recent headlines about a recent report comparing the Israeli education system to the OECD countries.

Israeli teachers earn less than half the global average

OECD report paints bleak picture of Israeli education

OECD: Israelis in last place for science, math

Well it certainly looks as if the sky is falling. Does this mean Israel has somehow lost the Jewish commitment to education. Is the government not spending enough money on education. The answers are of course no and no.

Israel spends plenty on education. In fact all of these articles missed the most interesting piece of information to come from this report. As a percentage of its GDP Israel spends more than any other OECD country. What this means is that Israel is in fact on the right course.

Yes, these articles do make important points about areas in which Israel is trailing and I'm not arguing that the system is perfect. But these stories fail to point out the huge amount of money Israel is spending to educate its children. By failing to accurately describe the reality of the situation the media is preventing the public from drawing the right conclusions about how to move forward and actually make things better.

What Israel really needs to do is grow its economy. Israel could then spend the same percentage on education but have the total equal a lot more. The Israeli economy has performed wonderfully over the last several years and has grown a lot faster than the OECD average.

Why hasn't the media talked about this? Those headlines should have instead said something like this, "Israel makes progress in Education over last several years."

Israeli Perspective ...

I've seen this commercial on a number of occasions now and just had to post it. This commercial is funny because of the way the Americans pronounce the Israeli names but it also offers a unique window into Israeli perspectives on America.  Remember this is an Israeli commercial for an Israeli audience and yet there is almost no Hebrew.

For any one wondering why I moved to Tel Aviv, this article is a must read. It's not that the New York Times can explain the wonder of Tel Aviv better than I can (well maybe), it's more that people are more likely to pay attention to them.

Two Posts for the Price of One

The Neighbors Don't Care For Us Very Much ...

I stumbled on this article in the New York Times from some random corner of the internet. It is disturbing to say the least. The article details the results of a new poll about the Palestinians views' on violence towards Israel. I thought I would share just a few of the highlights.

According to the poll, conducted last week with 1,270 Palestinians in face-to-face interviews, 84 percent supported the March 6 attack on the Mercaz Harav yeshiva, one of Israel’s most prominent centers of religious Zionism and ideological wellspring of the settler movement in the West Bank. Mr. Shikaki said that this is the single highest support for an act of violence in his 15 years of polling here. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Here's another gem:

The pollster, Khalil Shikaki, said he was shocked because the survey showed greater support for violence than any other he had conducted over the past 15 years in the Palestinian areas. Never before, he said, had a majority favored an end to negotiations or the shooting of rockets at Israel.

“There is real reason to be concerned,” Mr. Shikaki said in an interview at his West Bank office.

You don't say?


The Best Blog Post Ever ...

No description, just go read now! Blue and White homegrown Israeli Grindhouse flick

Shouldn't the choice be obvious ...

The sad news from Sderot today is that the Qassams coming from Gaza have claimed another victim.  A man was killed while waiting in his car near Sapir college in Sderot.  He is just the last in a line of people who have been killed or injured by the so called "harmless" rockets from Gaza.

This news comes on top of a recent revealing article in Haaretz that talks about the anti-missile defense system being developed by Israel to counter the Qassam threat.  Israel has chosen to develop a system called "Iron Dome" which targets the incoming missiles with another missile, much like the Patriot or Arrow system.  The article points out that due to economics and a host of other factors, the "Iron Dome" system will be completely ineffective against the Qassams.

This has always seemed obvious to me.  Why counter a $750 dollar Qassam with a $100,000 dollar missile?  Why build a new missile when there are already better options available?

In my mind I always imagined that Israel would employ the Skyguard anti-missile laser.  After all, it had helped develop the Nautilus prototype.  To see just how effective the system can be check out this video.

David at Treppenwitz has also talked about this issue a couple of times.  He suggested a currently operational system called the "Vulcan Phalanx," which is right now protecting American troops in Iraq.

Whatever system is chosen, it seems obvious that there are options, and options that are available now.  I simply can't understand what the Israeli government was thinking, or how they thought no one would notice.  I mean doesn't it seem obvious?

Because My Dad Can Use It ...

I was reading this story over on Engadget about the popularity of different cellphone makers. Coming in way ahead of the pack is Apple with their iPhone followed closely by Blackberry maker RIM. Check out the story and the cool graph.

I was trying to figure out how Apple, who has just released their very first cell phone, was able to storm to first place in customer satisfaction. Of course as an avid Mac user I'm not surprised, but nevertheless it is still quite remarkable that Apple could hit such a big home run with their first phone.

After pondering the question for a bit, I remembered a conversation I had with my dad recently. He was kvelling about his new iPhone and all the fun things he's doing with it. Now my dad is a smart guy, and he's fairly technologically savvy for someone of his generation, but the iPhone has a lot of features that I thought he simply wouldn't use or wouldn't bother with. However, my dad rattled of all the things he was doing with his phone as if they were no big deal.

And that is the reason for Apple's iPhone success. They built a very capable phone, but designed it such a way so that people can actually use it. They built a phone that my dad can use.

On the other hand my job has given me a very fancy Nokia smart phone that probably has a lot of features that the iPhone doesn't. But the thing is so wonky* and difficult to use that I don't use any of the special features and to be honest I can barely make phone calls with it.

Back in July when I was in the states, I went to the Apple store to play with the iPhone. From the moment I picked it up I was able to understand it and make it work. It really is the classic example of the Apple slogan - it just works.

*Not the proper use of the word wonky.

Numbers ...

A couple of years ago a group of Israeli and American researchers released a controversial report on the demographics of the West Bank and Gaza.  The group, AIDRG, claimed that the official population estimates of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics were grossly exaggerated.

Basing their argument on a number of factors — double counting of populations, inclusion of foreign residents, overestimation of births and immigration — they contended that the Arab population in the West Bank and Gaza is actually 1.5 million less than suggested by the Palestinian Authority, 2.5 million instead of 3.8.

I don't want to discuss the validity of their arguments.  I am not a demographer and I can't offer an informed opinion on the matter.

I can say, as a reasonably intelligent person, that the arguments they make seem logical and possible.  The Palestinian Authority has never been known as a bastion of accountability or truthfulness, and it wouldn't surprise me if they had inflated their population numbers.  I also happen to personally know one of the researchers, giving me more reason to trust their results.

But I do have a reason for discussing this two year old report today.  I mentioned it to my coworker the other day during a conversation on politics and the situation here in Israel.  My coworker happens to be an officer in the IDF and served a fair bit of time in the West Bank.

I mentioned the report to him to see what he thought.  When I mentioned the numbers involved he nodded his head in agreement.

"That makes sense," he said.  "The IDF sees the Palestinian population at about 2.5 million.  That's the number we use when we plan operations for the territories."

He said this in a very casual way, as if this were no major revelation.  I was stunned, since 1.5 million people is an incredible number.  That these people could simply vanish is frightening in the implications for this region.  The conflict in this part of the world is more about perception than anything else.  Figuring out just how many people are involved in this conflict will go a long way towards bringing perception in line with reality.

Why Take them THERE?

So I was walking to the bus today near the intersection of Allenby and Rothschild when I noticed a group of Birthright kids getting off their bus. I thought Allenby was a strange place to take a bunch of young Americans, but I figured they had simply parked there and were going to explore Rothschild.

To my surprise they started walking the other way, in the direction of Yehuda Ha-Levy. As the bus was pulling away I noticed a group of them grabbing some lunch at a bakery where Allenby intersects with Yehuda Ha-Levy.

What, are we trying to scare the crap out of these kids? Is Birthright choosing the grimy and dirty parts of Tel Aviv over the nice parts? I just don't get it. Rothschild was two steps away with all its cafes and pretty buildings and yet some madrich pointed these kids in the opposite direction.

This is just another example of a larger problem. I once heard a friend complain that the new Terminal at Ben Gurion Airport was too nice, to clean, and to high tech. Israelis are constantly saying that the recent progress here isn't real and that everything is dysfunctional. I think Israelis have some sentimental attachment to their country being a poor and underdeveloped place. They feel they have to show the poverty that exists because somehow that is more "real."

To me that's BS. G-d forbid anyone should see the potential in this place. We wouldn't want anyone to think that this city and this country could become beautiful and prosperous. No, because if that happened the Israelis would have to learn to stop complaining about everything that happens here.

It's Raining Outside ...

The raindrops are falling outside. It's dark, as it should be at two in the morning. My wife is sitting next to me on the couch.

The rain is a good thing. Sitting next to my wife is a good thing. The darkness outside ... well I don't think I'll ever really get used to it.

A Post to Confuse Middle America ...

Here is a Jewish song, sung by a talented young Jewish man, with music from a group of Jews and Arabs. Let's see that one compute.



Here is some info on the song, and here is a link to the group of performers.

Well That's a Little Different ...

So apparently some British singer's new fangled version of Hava Nagila is vying to be the #1 song in the UK this Christmas. We'll, I guess you see something new everyday.

Here it is, as performed by 17-year-old Brit Lauren Rose.

That Song Stuck in Your Head ...

Everyone has experienced it. You hear a song and it's instantly stuck in your brain. Sometimes the song is pleasant and it helps you through the day. Sometimes the song is annoying and you wish you could think of something else, anything else. But sometimes you hear a song and it simply enters straight into your soul and does something there that you can't explain.

I had that experience recently. I was checking out Jewlicious the other day and saw a post for a Youtube video. The video was really just a slide show of photos from Israel but the song in the background sounded familiar. I knew that I had heard parts of it before here and there on the radio or at work. However, I had never listened to the song the whole way through.

I listened to it and read a little bit about in the comments on Youtube. The song simply captured my imagination. It is what I would call hauntingly beautiful.

The song is "Kol Galgal" ( קול גלגל) or "The Voice of the Wheel." It's sung by a group called "Shotei Hanevua" (שוטי הנבואה) or "The Fools of Prophecy." Apparently the lyrics come from the Zohar, which is the text that forms the basis of Kabalah(the real kind not the Madonna and Britney version).

I wanted to find out the meaning of the lyrics and to get a good translation when I remembered that Tafat's aunt teaches a course on Kabalah. Posted below is the translation that she provided along with some notes on the meaning.

THE MUSIC (Voice) OF THE CHARIOT* WHEELS
RISES FROM THE EARTH TO THE SKY
HIDDEN MERKAVOT (Chariots) ARE ROLLING OVER AND OVER

A HEAVENLY VOICE LIFTS UP AND GOES DOWN,
SAILING AROUND THE WORLD........

THE SOUND OF THE SHOFAR DESCENDS
TO THE DEPTHS OF THE SEFIROT**
AND THE CHARIOT KEEPS ROLLING OVER...........

*THE CHARIOT is the divine Merkava that man builds with his inner contemplation and values

**THE SEFIROT are the degrees, the madregot in hebrew, 10 of them that are the lights and vessels between the finite and the Infinite.

My Favorite "Building To Be" ...

So I have this hobby of photographing and reading about Skyscrapers and other buildings. I've spent a good portion of my time in this city looking up and around at all the different buildings here; the ones that are finished as well as the ones that are still being built.

If you look at the right side of the blog you'll find some links to some skyscraper websites and forums. These sites provide all kinds of great info on the plans for new buildings and renovations, as well as photos of buildings under construction.

I took the photo above of the First International Bank Tower that is currently under construction on Rothschild Blvd in Tel Aviv. The tower is being built by the same firm that designed the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, and the design is a deliberate homage to that building. Here is a render of what the building will look like when finished.



I find it fascinating to think about the way a city can change as it's continually being built and rebuilt all over again. I can only wonder what Tel Aviv will look like after all the towers that are currently planned are finally finished.

A World Map Where You Can Actually See Israel

I stumbled upon this map a while ago and thought it would make for an interesting post. It distorts the map of the world so that a countries size depends on how many internet users it has.

Israel suddenly pops out a bit on this map while Africa shrivels up into almost nothing.

It's nice that Israel is visible at least in certain world measurements. Most of the time the country is a tiny speck that is almost impossible to find.

Pretty things on parade ...

Well they're not all pretty. In fact some are downright ugly. But hey, its art right? And its right there on the street near our apartment.

So the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange sponsored an art display that is being presented on Rothschild Blvd. here in Tel Aviv. Artists were given these big globes to decorate. The whole thing is being sponsored by a bunch of the companies listed on the TASE.

I don't know why they're doing it, I don't know what it means, and I don't particularly care. If you do, read more here.

Anyway being the geek that I am, I had to go out and take a few pics. Here are some of the best, or the least horrible.

Nieghborhood changes ...

One of our good friends here, Yaniv, runs the hair salon around the corner from our apartment. It's become a regular hangout for us, and especially for Tafat as Yaniv has become one of her best friends here.

I often pass by the salon on my way home, stopping for a quick chat or to find Tafat. However, last night Yaniv told us that the little shop is closing down.

The news is a little hard to handle, as the Salon has become something of a fixture in our lives. I guess people just always have a hard time adjusting to change.

Why I'm exctited about a Wednesday ....

Normally Wednesday is not a very popular day. It falls right in the middle of the week, and is therefore known as "hump-day", it generally doesn't have very good TV shows to watch, and it should be spelled "Wensday" instead of the screwy actual spelling.

However, on this particular coming Wednesday, also known as tomorrow, Apple is having one of their spiffy media events at which they will unveil some fancy new bit of technological goodness. The current candidates right now are a transfigured iPod Nano, and a wide screen iPod with touch controls a la the iPhone.

Check out the usual suspects for the latest rumors. I'll try to post my thoughts once there is something real to talk about.

A breath of fresh air ...

This open letter published in the IHT is a welcome change in tone from Europe, often the source of vehement and unfair criticism of Israel. Several prominent European officials have openly denounced the upcoming conference of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), which is being hosted by the European Parliament.

It signals an awareness that endlessly blaming Israel for the ills of the region is not only inaccurate, but is detrimental to the cause of peace.

The CEIRPP casts a shadow on the UN role in the Middle East conflict and is first and foremost harmful to the UN. Its work only reinforces a long held Israeli suspicion vis-a-vis the UN and contributes nothing to the cause of peace. A recent example is a plan of action calling for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

Will today's conference, in the halls of the European Parliament, issue similar directives? Though of little practical consequence, this conference, especially under the banner and auspices of the European Parliament, will harm the cause of peace and also damage European credibility as an honest broker.

I don't really know what to say ...

You have to check out this YouTube clip. You need to be a little familiar with Israel to really appreciate this but it's very interesting. From the YouTube description:

This is a Yemenite Israeli doing "Abir," (Knight, & acronym for religious verses) an ancient Yemenite martial art. He is speaking heavily inflected Hebrew.

He uses Chi-Gong and Tai Chi-like movements, which he says have been handed down for centuries, and copy the shapes of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Lessons begin on a mystical, spiritual note with Jewish prayers. The turban and side curls are traditional Yemenite. This ain't your usual bagels and lox Judaism ...