Israeli Flag, Super Sized!

Weighing at 5.2 tons and stretching out at 200 meters by 100 meters, this may be the largest Israeli flag ever made (if not within the top five).

(One Jerusalem) When you're driving to and from Jerusalem, in a field in the Latrun area there is a huge flag recently laid out for the upcoming 60 Independence Day Celebrations[.]

Note: Is it me, or does this flag look almost like the one made by the Filipino business woman?

Image Credit: Parks.org.il, who was also responsible for rolling out the flag.

Random: Picking Up Hebrew

With all the busyness that life throws at you, I've decided to finally bite the bullet and seriously consider learning Hebrew.

I'm signing up with Hebrew Online, although my class officially begins in March of this year (sigh).

This is exciting as it will help me to understand Israel more in depth, as well as help me navigate the country later on this year when I visit (no official date posted, although it probably will be in the fall).

I'll provide updates on how my classes go here, as this is my first second attempt at learning Hebrew, although this time I'll actually have someone who speaks it fluently to help me along.

Note: If any of you are fluent in Hebrew (whether it is your mother tongue or not) let me know as I'll probably need all the practice I can get. :-)

Israel 21st Century Gets A Face Lift

One of my favorite news sites about Israel (one that I frequently reference here on IsraGood) has recently gone through a "cosmetic face lift" giving it a modern look to reflect the Israeli spirit.

(Israel 21^st Century) We welcome you warmly to ISRAEL21c's new, enriched and vastly expanded website. Not only do we have an improved version of our traditional ISRAEL21c news service website, but we've integrated our award-winning blog, Israelity, the journal of the reality of daily life in Israel. [...]

We've created this website to make it simple and easy to share virtually anything on the site with others through emailing, adding to your website as widgets, or posting feeds to your blogs, your Facebook or MySpace pages.

So welcome to our new world, one that we hope you'll find more engaging, interesting and useful.

The site is a definite improvement over the previous version, which had just the "bare bones" of a news site, but nothing more.

While the site does boast a talkback feature, hopefully the team would be more open to a friendlier commenting service such as Intense Debate (which I briefly tested on this site).

Aside from that, their new layout is very user friendly, and hopefully they will inspire other Israel news sites (such as the Jerusalem Post and Ynet News) to revamp their sites as well.

Note: Their site Israel21c.org seems to be redirecting to Israel21c.net (their beta site) although ".org" URL's will appear with the new look.

2010 To Be A Good Year For Israel?

It looks as if some analysts are predicting that Israel's electric and tech industries will reach a value of $32 billion within a few years, which is probably good news for anyone investing in Israel (or seeking to become one).

(EETimes.com) Israel's electronics and software industries are expected to reach an annual market value of $32 billion in 2010, according to Elisha Yanay, chairman of the Israeli Association of Electronics and Software Industries (IAESI). [...]

Yanay noted that Israel has 3.2 million fixed line telephone subscribers, 7.18 million mobile phone devices and 2.5 million internet users. In 2006, he said, the local technology industry reached $18.7 billion.

Ironically 2010 is not the only date in which Israel is suppose to experience a multitude of blessings.

On that year, the Jewish state is also forcasted to triple its trade with China, strengthen its ties with India, and finally have direct flights to Japan.

Coincidence?

Jerusalem Post: Stephen Wins Israel Trip Raffle

It looks as if Stephen from Rhode Island (USA) will be enjoying a free stay in the holy land thanks to a raffle by the Jerusalem Post.

(Jerusalem Post) JPost.com is happy to announce that the winner of the Israel trip registration raffle is Stephen Mamber from Rhode Island, USA.

Stephen won roundtrip airfare for two from New York to Tel Aviv - courtesy of Israir, a seven-night hotel stay - courtesy of Prima Hotels, and a car rental for seven days - courtesy of Best Car Rental.

Congrats to Stephen, and the lucky friend who will be enjoying a week's worth of fun exploring Israel.

Hopefully the Jerusalem Post (as well as other groups) will conduct another raffle like this, as it is a great way to spark interest for Americans to check out Israel for themselves.

Video: The Israeli Facts You Never Knew

(Hat Tip: Isrealli.org)

Although very similar to a previous video, this one highlights some of the more "every day" technologies that we use in the world, such as USB key chains, to camera phones, to the health industry.

Did I mention the music is better the second time around?

Enjoy!

Note: As soon as I get some time, I'll be posting some more interesting videos from Israeli's here.

IsraelPlug: Another Kosher News Weblog

(Hat Tip: Anglican Friends of Israel)



It looks as if another "kosher news weblog" has entered the scene, and by kosher I mean a site highlighting the side of Israeli life that often does not make the small screen.

Called IsraelPlug, this site's purpose is to highlight innovative side of Jews in the holy land. The site has been around since March of this year, and they have already published around 40 articles in this month alone!

Since "kosher news blogs" are becoming more common (either that or I am discovering more of them online) I thought I'd start an official kosher roll (on the sidebar) where readers can browse through other sites similar to this one.

Note: I have about ten listed thus far, although if anybody knows of any others out there, please let me know!

Images Of Israel (From Heavens Viewpoint)

Ofir Ben Tove, an aerial photographer who served in the Israeli military has some incredible images of the holy land taken from what some may call "God's viewpoint."

(Forward.com) Photographer Ofir Ben Tov approaches Israel from a lofty perch: the sky. His aerial images create a narrative that connects the biblical sages to modern-day Israelis through the trees, mountains and oceans that have always been there, bearing witness to our complicated history. [...]

"The holy land of Israel, stripped of politics and strife, [is] an amazing canvas from the sky," he said.

Amazing indeed. Readers can view these images over at IsraelImageBank.com, although if you would like to use any of these images you may have to purchase them (hence the reason why none were shown here).

Note: Be sure to also check out JerusalemShots.com, which also has some excellent photo's of Israel.

El Al To (Finally) Allow Bicycles On Planes

It looks like cyclists around the holy land can rejoice! The Israeli Airline, El Al, has decided to allow passengers to bring their bikes to and from Israel without charging an "arm and a leg" for extra baggage.

(Israel National News) Bicyclists now can fly their bicycles around the world via El Al, which is offering passengers the opportunity to load their bikes free of charge and without considering them as extra baggage. Previously, passengers had to pay up to $10 a pound.

Perhaps when I visit Israel I will bring a bike with me, as I hear the traffic their can be fierce.

Israel Becoming A Popular Place For Marriages?

It looks like more and more Jews from the Diaspora are choosing their eternal homeland as the place to tie the knot rather than more exotic destinations in their countries of origin.

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency) In recent years an increasing number of Jewish couples from abroad looking for an alternative to a formal wedding at home or a more typical remote destination in the Caribbean or Tuscany have decided on Israel as the place to break the glass and officially start their lives together.

"We are very casual and would not have had a black-tie wedding," said Gena Bresgi, 23, of New York City, who was married last year in a large glass hall amid the lush gardens of a kibbutz. "Our wedding had a nice feel, very relaxed. There was not that high pressure."

It was her husband's first visit to Israel, and together the two families toured the country. Close friends and relatives who came used the wedding as part of an Israeli vacation, too.

The cool thing about this is that many Israeli's claim that the weddings in Israel are cheaper than say in Europe and America. They are also less formal than their western counterparts (which may help relieve some stress) which is something that surprised me very much.

Hopefully the Israeli government can convince some of these people to stay (or commit Aliyah at a future date) as this would be a great opportunity to show case what Israel is all about.

Was Thomas Jefferson Jewish?

Researches think they may have found some DNA evidence linking the American President Thomas Jefferson with some mysterious mid-eastern roots.

(Forward) As The New York Times reported Wednesday, "Researchers studying Jefferson's Y chromosome have found it belongs to a lineage that is rare in Europe but common in the Middle East, raising the possibility that the third president of the United States had a Jewish ancestor many generations ago."

Although Jefferson was probably not a full Jew (or even half) there may be a case displaying kosher roots deep in American history (either that, or this sounds like a great rumor to start ;-)).

Another Day, Another Jew Comes Into The World

(Hat Tip: Jewlicious)

But it's not just any Jew. It's Harry and Ziva's new daughter (who they named Tzofia).

Congrats to the duo (but mostly to Ziva) for bringing Tzofia into the world.

Note: How do women do this stuff? I know the answer, but I'm amazed they willingly go through this. Props to them!