Nathan Jeffay
By Nathan Jeffay
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Life Offbeat Israel: Japan’s Falafel Connoisseurs
They say that all Israelis reckon they are experts on falafel – where the country’s finest can be found, in what order the pita should be stuffed, which salads deserve to be included. Well that was before sushi arrived. Now that virtually every shopping street in the country has a bar serving up the Japanese…
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News Haredi Jews Urged To Avoid El Al
Orthodox Jews are being urged shun El Al, Israel’s national air carrier, over its in-flight entertainment — a push that is widely viewed as a gambit in a larger struggle with the airline. The Rabbinical Transportation Committee, an influential body representing a cross-section of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, community, has published a guide telling people…
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Life Israel Grants ‘Maternity Leave’ for Gay Father, Even as Homophobia Abounds
New research indicates that homophobia is rife in Israel. Responding to a survey conducted by the school of psychology at the Center for Academic Studies in Or Yehuda, one-third of people said they are “disgusted” by sex between men. Only 6% of respondents said the same about sex between women. Some 19% of parents said…
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Culture Offbeat Israel: Seductive Water and a Shul That Takes Plastic
Many Israelis considered it sexiest advertisement of the year. According to the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO), it is also worthy of a more dubious accolade — the most sexist. It is an advertisement for mineral water brand Eden Springs that features model Bar Refaeli posed seductively in the male protagonist’s kitchen. “The bar you…
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Culture Offbeat Israel: The Bollywood-Style Video Taking Israel By Storm
The video that has Israel talking this week is, believe it or not, a Bollywood-style musical by the country’s leading weapon’s manufacturer, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It has emerged that at Aero India, a trade fair organized last month by India’s Ministry of Defense, Rafael screened a movie of Israeli dancers in Indian costumes singing…
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Life Offbeat Israel: This Purim, a Monkey Costume Would Be Unwise
Oh dear. Two monkeys have escaped from Jerusalem’s Tisch Family Zoological Gardens, better known as the Biblical Zoo — the same zoo at which Rabbi Marc, an Asian lion, resides. The monkeys broke free yesterday morning, and at time of writing one has been found but the other is still on the loose. It’s hard…
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Culture Offbeat Israel: Mishloach Manot for Hard Times
The animation director of Waltz With Bashir has released a short movie intended to rally opinion against the Gaza blockade. Yoni Goodman’s new film, “Closed Zone,” consists of animation and real footage from Gaza, and addresses the lack of freedom of movement for Gazans. In it, a young boy pursues a flying bird — a…
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News Israelis Wary of Palestinian Unity Push
Following reconciliation talks in Egypt at the end of February, efforts to reconcile rival Palestinian factions and form a unity government appear to be gaining momentum. Hamas and Fatah have formed committees to reach agreements on a range of issues. These include the formation of a transitional unity administration to govern until elections in early…
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