lizrael update

Camels and TV channels? Hasbara misses the point.

Israel’s new Ministry of Hasbara and Diaspora is not a shocking development, though probably ten years late. The thing is, it seems it’s completely missing the point. The heart is in the right place, but the message is… a bit off.

The videos on the homepage: Do British people honestly think we ride camels? Who cares if the Spanish don’t think we cook in indoor kitchens? The only one of the video examples on the new government-funded hasbara website that might actually make sense is the French woman reporting on gun shots heard all over Israel all the time. Acceptable, as it’s what a lot of people abroad (Jewish or not) truly tend to think after watching news coverage.

Then there are the tips offered when speaking to non-Israelis on your travels. Connect to someone by using broad hand motions, wavering voice tone and good body posture when speaking about Israel to someone else.  Ok, I’m simplifying it, a lot of the advice makes sense - body language is important. But. It’s a shame there is no mention of learning about the other culture before you go; studying the etiquette and ways of that region so you don’t make a wrong gesture or tone of voice and offend your hosts. I find that cultural-awareness and respect for other kinds of people is a problem, even inside our borders.

But the biggest thing the campaign completely misses: Derech eretz. Remembering who you are wherever you are, minding your manners and being a good example. Israelis have a reputation for traveling with no etiquette, no empathy and no concept that everyone is watching and making judgments. When you’re a guest in an another country, you have to play by their rules, or, yes, feel unwelcome.

And I don’t know that jumping on every native, waving your hands in a loud voice, talking up your own country is going to do just that. Maybe the best thing is to be a polite, appreciative, curious, memorable person who sets a great example of what Israel is deep down.

In three years.

In the last three years, give or take, I’ve gotten married, visited my husband’s home country located across the world, moved to the suburbs, got pregnant, completed the coursework for my Masters degree, gave birth to a son, grown three years older, three years wiser and three years happier.

What have you done in the last three years?

What has Gilad Shalit done?

Dream come true.

As many Jerusalem-based olim probably have figured out, the Jerusalem Post is the most persistent paper as far as telemarketing for business goes. The English-language papers vie for the olim off the plane, and strike deals with Nefesh b’Nefesh to offer free subscriptions with follow-up deals. I’ve been called 493676745 times since I made aliyah about buying a subscription with the latest deal. And quite a few times I’ve taken the deal (they are sometimes pretty good deals) so it’s my own fault I’m on their list. But I haven’t been subscribed to a paper in about two years.

Anyway. That bit mixed with this bit: the fact that they have native Israelis doing the telemarketing (in Hebrew, for an English-language paper? huh?) so they can be pretty aggressive with the sales pitch.

Today one rep calls me about a deal. Finally, after all these years, I got to give her the answer I’ve always wanted to give a newspaper sales(wo)man:

Rep: So you can get three months of just paying for the weekend paper,  but get the paper all week.

Me: Uh huh. No thanks.

Rep: But if you buy the weekend paper, you’re getting the whole week free. Do you buy the weekend paper?

Me: Nope.

Rep: Really? How about sometimes? Do you buy it sometimes?

Me: Nope. Never.

Rep: Really? Why not?

Me: I stopped reading the news altogether.

Rep: Why???

Me: It’s too sad. It makes me too sad.

Rep: Um… But the weekend paper has all kinds of other stuff, like Design, Fashion, Art…

Me: It’s ok, thanks.

Rep: But… You don’t have to read the rest of the paper.

Me: It will make me too sad to get it. It’s just too sad. No thanks.

Reminds me a little of when I called to cancel our Hot cable and the woman on the other end, offering even more deals, asked why we were canceling.

Me: We’re selling our TV.

Rep: Why?

Me: We became charedi.

Rep: silence…

I guess weird excuses work. But the first story here was the honest one…

Facing the streets.

I like this. Especially since reading the Israeli news lately has been painful (then again, when is it not?). Look at Barkat being all cultural and whatnot:

Jerusalem streets to put a face to name

Capital’s municipality to replace all street signs named after famous people with new signs featuring personality’s image, story

You’re driving through the city and you pass by all kinds of streets - Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Henrietta Szold, Golda Meir, Yigal Alon. How many of you actually know who these people are and what they look like?

Well, a new Jerusalem initiative will enable passersby to get better acquainted with the personality behind the street name.

Israel’s cities are full of boulevards and streets named after various personalities, both Israeli and foreign. Sometimes you know exactly who the name behind the street is and what they looked like, in other cases you may just have a general idea, and there are times when you have no idea whatsoever who the street is referring to. 

This is why the Jerusalem Municipality has decided to embark on an operation, the first of its kind in Israel, that will allow residents to enrich their general knowledge on significant personalities. (ynet)

The article makes an interesting point at the end: How will the charedi community feel about seeing women’s faces on the streets of Jerusalem? Not like they don’t already with advertisements, but they often get ripped down or spray-painted over. Then again, Golda Meir’s mug is not exactly… womanly.

Drama of a dual citizen.

A key element of being a dual citizen is the dual drama.

I always get homesick with these bouts of New York City drama:

Investigators believe all passengers and crew, more than 150 people, survive a plane crashing into New York’s Hudson River.

I prefer NYC drama to the Israel brand these days…

Report: Israel, Hamas agree on 2-week truce

Israel says killed Hamas interior minister

False alarm sounds in Jerusalem

Glad to hear the US Airways passengers and crew are safe. Looking forward to hearing from the pilot.

Hoping for the safety of Israeli and Palestinian citizens.

Hoping for it all to end.

Avoiding headaches over Yom Kippur, Jerusalem-style.

Ok, coolest thing ever.

It’s not the fact that there might be a way to prevent headaches over fast days; I’m not much of a headache-sufferer myself.

It’s the fact that Shaare Tzedek - the Jerusalem hospital that is conducting the study - totally started it and framed it in a way trying to ease fasting headaches so people can enjoy Yom Kippur for what it’s meant to be, a holy day of reflection and angelic experience rather than a torture chamber of hunger and headaches.

Here’s some info about the study; I emailed them at ykheadache@gmail.com and got this message right after:

Thank you for your interest in the the Yom Kippur Headache Study.

Please make sure that you have emailed us a phone number where you can be reached, so that we may contact regarding the Study.  You may contact us at any time at 054 627 2867.

The following is an overview of the study which should answer any of your questions, and help you decide if you would like to participate.

The intention of the study is to test whether taking a pill before a prolonged Fast will decrease the incidence of Headache during the fast, and to test whether it will decrease the incidence of people breaking their fast.  The drug being tested is in common clinical use for pain control and is not an experimental drug.   If the drug is found to be effective in preventing Headaches during a Fast, we stand to ease the fasts of Headache Sufferers.

Who is eligible for the study?

People who are generally healthy, are between the ages of 18-65, and usually suffer from headaches when fasting are eligible.

How will the Study be Performed?

Study Participants will be divided into two groups.

A. One group will take the study drug when eating their Seudah Mafseket.
B. One group will take a placebo drug (”sugar pill”) when eating their Seudah Mafseket.

We intend to investigate the incidence of Headaches in the two groups during the fast.

When will the pill be taken?

The pill will be taken a short time before the fast, which lasts 25 hours.  After the fast, each participant will fill out a questionnaire about their fast.

How do I stand to benefit?

We anticipate an easier fast for a significant portion of participants. The pill being studied is not inexpensive, and we will be providing it, obviously, free of charge.

Are their any risks involved?

We do not anticipate any significant risks from taking one dose of the drug.  There is, as with any drug, a possibility of an allergic reaction.  Extremely rare complications of gastrointestinal Bleed, Renal, and Liver Problems have been reported.

Could there be any side effects?

Abdominal Pain, Dizziness, and Diarrhea have been reported as side effects of this medicine, although rare when taking one dose of this medicine.

How do I volunteer for the Study?

Please email us your phone number, and we will contact you. Signing up for the study will only take you a few minutes.

Here’s an article from the Jpost reporting the study details.

Look at that jobless punim.

The Kadima primaries began this morning and will end in about 40 minutes. We’ll know who gets the prize possession of being Ehud Olmert’s successor (in technicality and not job skill, we hope).

I wonder what he’s got planned as soon as he’s off-duty… Maybe he and Bush will go to Cancun together, smoke cigars.  Buy some property. Who knows.

(ynet)

A wee bit of an overreaction, eh, JPost?

I suppose with the panic in the markets, a bit of hysteria is to be expected. But this might qualify as too much…

A coworker sent over this image from today’s Jerusalem Post; read the caption under the image to the left:

A bit harsh, I’d say.

Another bulldozer attack.

I get a URL sent to me at work. I open it. I’m about to reply to my coworker, why are you sending me old news articles? when I decide to look at the date. July 22nd. That’s… today.

I didn’t write about the first tractor attack in Jerusalem in the beginning of the month, because in my head I dismissed it as a case of a mentally unstable drug addict who went haywire. Sometimes you have to do that here in Israel; make excuses for your peace of mind.

This just happened 20 minutes ago but already looks more like a terrorist attack than anything else.

As my secular friend would say, Hashem yishmor.

Tonight’s rally for the release of Gilad Shalit.

Amidst the cries for Olmert to quit, be embarrassed and work harder towards the release of the kidnapped soldiers, there was plenty of emotion to go round.

Of course, the major focal point of sentiment came from Noam Shalit’s short but necessary speech to open the rally outside the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem.

It’s an absolute shame when fathers have to become politicians. It’s everything wrong.