All Entries in the "Updates" Category
Champions League glory (ahem…) awaits Hapoel Tel Aviv!
OK, so a little less of the glory. Let’s just say if they grab a point and score a goal or two they’ll have done OK. Or at least better than last year’s Israeli effort, from Maccabi Haifa, who didn’t grab one single point or score one little goal.
Thursday’s draw for the Champions League groups stages, which Hapoel Tel Aviv have reached for the first time in their history, saw them draw Lyon, Benfica and Schalke. Not the biggest of the European giants they could have ended up with, but still tough, tough games.
We wish ‘em luck!
Ladies, you snooze you lose – Ashton Kutcher in Israel!
Sex God Ashton Kutcher was in Israel this past weekend, apparently to attend the birthday party for the founder of the Kabbalah Center in Jerusalem. The American actor arrived here on Friday and was already gone on Sunday morning. He had been accompanied by his wife’s 19 year old daughter, Scout Willis.
Kutcher was in Jerusalem to attend the party for Rabbi Shraga Berg, who created the Kabbalah center that has become a hit with some of the biggest names in showbiz, including, of course, Madonna.
Nice to hear that Ashton also got in some tourist sightseeing before he left. Apparently the Tower of David and the Wailing Wall were the awesome parts of that amazing Holy City he got to visit, while he also stopped over at Abu Ghosh (for some legendary hummus?).
War in Tel Aviv! It’s OK, it’s the 2010 Water War!
Last week saw the annual water fight in Kikar Rabin in Tel Aviv. It’s fast become an annual happening in Tel Aviv (I think it only started 4 or 5 years ago, if that) and plenty of photographers turn up. Guess that might be something to do with those wet t-shirts…Here’s a clip to give you a taste of what happened.
Sunflowers and Cherries
This week it’s all about sunflowers and cherries, the last two remnants of slightly cooler days - before the long hot summer comes and smacks us in the face! Both the fields of sunflowers in fields around where I live (and elsewhere throughout Israel) and the containers of cherries in the local shops don’t last long, but while they last they’re very very sweet…and just a reminder of the amazing variety of fruits and flora in the Holy Land!
Meet Julie, the igoogledisrael.com bitch
With us now for approximately a month, Julie is the in-house alarm system that will hopefully prevent another break-in…and she’s pretty cute too!
Independence Day Chorus Line
Yesterday was, of course, Independence Day in Israel, the day of the grill and of eating as many kebabs as is humanly possible. It’s a nice little holiday with lots of food and socialising and no, I’m not offended by the fact that Israel is celebrating emancipation from its British Mandate slavemaster. He, he.
Here on the moshav, they make it all communal and everyone takes part. Me, I had to prepare a table or two, but it was the wife who gave it her most…check out the clip of her below as she struts her stuff to an Arik Einstein (an Israeli icon from the 60s and 70s) number. You can guess which one’s her, right?
Remembering: Yom HaZikaron (Remembrance Day) in Israel
Another “only in Israel” moment, as the country slows to a crawl and remembers its fallen soldiers and then heads into party mode tonight, to celebrate Independence Day (this year Israel celebrates 62 years of freedom!). But that’s quite a contrast in emotions and attitudes, all wrapped up in the space of 24 hours.
Me, I don’t know anyone who’s had the misfortune to have lost a relative or someone close, though one of the wife’s classmates was killed during his military service and we used to visit his grave on Yom HaZikaron. Today we’ll probably catch some of the very moving documentaries broadcast on TV, before heading into a party atmosphere for the shindig on our moshav later tonight. More of that to come in the shape of pics and videos…
Remembering: Two minutes in Tel Aviv
Holocaust Day in Israel is taken very seriously, as I’ve mentioned before. Here’s a clip of the main traffic artery in Tel Aviv grinding to a standstill yesterday as the sirens wail. It’s quite a stunning reminder of how the past still plays an important role in Israel’s present…
I was actually on the road up in the north of Israel when the sirens went off. I stopped at the side of the road, but to my surprise many didn’t. As they often say, “only in Tel Aviv”…
