Category: what a country
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On kids, memorials, and what brings them together.
So it’s come to this: I go to Holocaust memorial services in Israel and all I can think about is how my kids may turn out in this culture. Well, in the first place, I have yet to be impressed by an Israeli-made Holocaust memorial service. They’ve lacked intensity, empathy and authenticity so far. It…
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No business like mohel business.
Guess where the best place to shop for a mohel is? Yes, a brit mila. We stopped by the brit of friends’ new boy this morning and as we walked out the mohel was leaving too. My baby daddy recognized him from another brit we went to at the beginning of my pregnancy. The mohel…
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Everybody loves a pregnant lady.
Something I’ve discovered – maybe now that I’m so obviously pregnant or that I’ve actually realized I’m so obviously pregnant (it took a while) – is that in Israel, or maybe just Jerusalem, everybody loves a pregnant lady. The old guy scooping me ice cream? Big smiles and bigger scoops. “Have some more, it’s good…
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The Messiah: Oren Zarif-style.
If you are looking for a laugh – a reprieve from some annoyingly tedious Israeli political news lately – how about yet another Oren Zarif adventure: Healer hails TV personality Yaron London as official messiah If you ask Oren Zarif, a self-styled super-healer, the messiah has been here for some time. Meanwhile, the messiah continues…
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Only classy chocolate for the little one.
Here’s what you get when your OB-GYN is a French-Israeli: “Basically, just make sure you’re feeling movements. Check when you are relaxed and at peace. Make sure you feel some in a half an hour’s time and if not, after an hour, give it some Brenner*… <insert us laughing here> No, really. Give it Brenner…
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Yellow haze, yellow sky, yellow rain.
Here’s the view from my office as we sit in the middle of a traditional (but intense) Israeli dust storm. At least it’s supposed to rain tonight… Though that won’t be much of a pretty sight, either. That’s supposed to be Malcha up there… The sun eclipsed by dust… Beware open windows…
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Election fever, Israeli-style.
I’m sitting in my office, listening as every single person who leaves for the day calls out in the hallway: “Happy voting!” “אל תשכח להצביע מחר” “!ללכת לקלפי, להצביע ולהשפיע” “Vote wisely!” At lunch, I walked past a lively discussion on the strategy of voting and throughout the day have been pepper-sprayed with water cooler…
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What I like today.
I like that my company is sending gift baskets to two of our employees who are currently serving in the reserves. I like that the card made for them on behalf of the office is signed, “with love, from (the company) family.” I like that there’s this familyness to Israeli companies, Israeli society.
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Israeli Consulate hosting a Twitter Q&A session.
And now, for something new and different. So… here in Israel, we are more computers than people. And I know I was a bit snobbish when I wrote about the Israeli elections campaigns using internet tech and themes from their American counterparts. But this actually tops all that for real: The Israeli Consulate has its…
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Good old fashion chutzpah.
Looks like Israeli Santa brought me a present this Chanukah, in the form of some tradional and terrible Israeli marketing tactics – one minor and one major. Allow me to share them with you: Learn how to communicate with your potential customers This morning, I wake up to the buzzing of my phone, a call…
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An *enlightening* discovery.
They say lightening never strikes twice, but that is simply untrue when it comes to the palms of Oren Zarif’s hands. A while back I brought him up when I discovered the Mizrachi healer’s website. Then, a couple weeks ago, I was walking through Talpiot when from the corner of my eye I spotted the…
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The British know what they're doing.
Everyone knows that Israelis can’t drink. I mean, anything classier than vodka-red bulls. Well, they might be able to sip a nice whiskey if they actually tried it once in a while. So how do we expect them to not tax good liquor a million percent, thus reducing any chance of making decent booze affordable…