Because nobody’s ever questioned me about my involvement with Israel’s top-secret spy agency, the Mossad, I’m now ready and willing to talk. It all began while I was still living in Toronto and planning my escape to Israel. One day I stumbled upon an advert in a national Canadian newspaper inviting people to join the Mossad ...
Stepping into one of the sleek and shiny new light rail vehicles set to zip through Jerusalem in the next year and a half, it’s hard to imagine the controversy the system’s roll out has engendered. CityPass, the international corporation that is building and operating the Jerusalem light rail system, recently opened the doors to its hi-tech transit depot and we joined the tour. We learned more than we wanted to know about the ...
Some folks make aliyah for religious reasons, others for nationalist reasons. And then there are songwriters like me who come to Israel for no apparent reason, and decide to stay, until they're asked to leave. Being the wandering Jewsician that I am, I've recorded in a number of major studios in Toronto, Montreal and New York. But there's no place like ...
The just concluded Jerusalem election, while certainly not as important on a world stage as last week’s U.S. presidential contest, was in many ways spookily similar to its overseas counterpart. For those who supported Nir Barkat, who beat his main competitor Meir Porush by a commanding 9 points (52 to 43 percent), the sheer jubilance that erupted across the city (though certainly not in all ...
Yesterday morning, while going through the 150 or so feeds I try to keep up with, I came upon this video. A report on Jeff Pulver's breaksfast in Tel Aviv pans and interviews some of the attendees. Low and behold if two Jewneric authors weren't there... Ezra Butler and Brian Blum. Pulver, a big name in technology and telecommunications, has ...
I don’t usually write about the same topic two weeks in a row, but, with less than a week to go, the upcoming Jerusalem mayoral elections is so important that I feel compelled to post again. Last Friday, Haaretz published an editorial slamming mayoral candidate Nir Barkat and endorsing “a responsible haredi” (a code word for Meir Porush, the only ultra Orthodox candidate running for the position). Many Jerusalemites like me were outraged. The reason ...
Several weeks ago I gave an Israeli take on the upcoming U.S. elections. But there’s another vote in November that may prove to be just as momentous for this country. I’m talking about the Jerusalem mayoral elections. Five years ago, the status quo was broken when the ultra-Orthodox (haredi) community fielded a candidate for mayor for the first time…and won. Before that, haredi ...
Just when you think you’ve seen all that Jerusalem has to offer, along comes a surprise in the most unusual of spaces. For weeks, the Jerusalem municipality has been running full-page ads promoting Art Jerusalem 08, an exhibition with hundreds of mostly new and unknown artists. The setting was the Underground Prisoner's Museum, just off Kikar Safra (City Hall Plaza) in the Russian Compound neighborhood. The fair was fabulous, ranging from under appreciated impressionists like ...
I just received my absentee ballot for the upcoming U.S. elections in the mail and I’m psyched. Yes, I know that some critics will question whether an American living outside the country has the moral right to vote for a president of a country in which he is no longer living. But I plan on exercising my democratic right. So, here’s my take on U.S. politics – from an Israeli point of view. First of all, ...
In the upcoming election, we have two very qualified choices for President. John McCain has been a government servant for 26 years, and nobody can deny his heroism in Vietnam. Barack Obama is an inspiring speaker and has many people believing that government can do good for the people of this country and that he is the man to lead us. They have different opinions on a variety of issues. However, ...
