Dolphins in Tel Aviv? Did Flipper "Mit-fa-lep"?

Dolphins are starting to warm up to Tel Aviv. This Saturday, 15 dolphins were spotted off of the coast of Tel Aviv and Hertzliya, leading experts to believe that the bottle-nose of these under water mammals might be a due to a Jewish gene in their DNA.

No, but, for serious folks.  They may not be Jewish, but they love the warm waters of Tel Aviv as much as anyone.  And they've been loving it more and more, and researchers believe that they are making the Mediterranean waters of Israel their home. 

According to Haaretz, Tel Aviv is on it's way to becoming a dolphin spotters paradise. 

"We believe there are between 300 and 400 Mediterranean bottlenose dolphins near Israel's shoreline," Dr. Aviad Scheinin chairman of the research center, which is a non-profit group, said yesterday. "The data of the past year strengthens research I did at the University of Haifa showing that the bottlenose dolphin has a permanent population near Israel's shores and is an inseparable part of Israel's flora and fauna."

Read More! 

Video: Tel Aviv Nightlife is Hot Hot Hot!

Comedian Benji Lovitt, a native of the U.S.A who made Aliyah and now does stand up in Israel, goes into the hottest Tel Aviv nightclubs to find out what makes Tel Aviv such a super sexy hot spot.

Sponsored by "Size Doesn't Matter", a Canadian Israeli advocacy group, the "Man on the Street" video is actually really fun.  You should check out the Size Doesn't Matter website :  it's really nicely done, and there are some great shots of Israel- specifically Tel Aviv.

I agree with what most people say: the nightlife in Tel Aviv is hard to beat. People in this city work hard and party hard.  They like their dance clubs, their pick-up bars, their chic cafes, and their comfortable pubs.

Let's see how Benji tells it:

Make Aliyah From Your Hand!

OMG, there is seriously an iPhone application for everything.

Now, if you are thinking of making aliyah, you can do it from the palm of your hand with your snazzy i.Aliyah iPhone and iPod Touch application.  Just download the app, and be on your way to downloading a brand new Israeli citizenship.

Yes, this is very cool. But, let's be honest. The Jewish Agency's (JA) new Aliyah app takes all the fun out of making Aliyah.

I mean, what happened to the old school Aliyah method of going from bureaucratic building to bureaucratic building, sitting for hours in uncomfortable waiting room chairs only to realize that you haven't taken a number because there is no sign, but somehow everyone else seemed to know that you need to take one and no one decided to tell you...and then getting yelled at by the overworked woman at the window who hates her job and doesn't speak English....?

The new i.Aliyah proposed to help make the whole process a little bit easier.  The JA is spoonfeeding you Aliyah through your phone.  Amazing.

Helen Thomas Hates Jews?

You may know her from every single White House press conference that ever was.  Or, if you don't enjoy watching C-SPAN in your free time, you might recognize her from the movie "Dave".

Helen Thomas, a dinosaur of American journalism, has been fired from her job and has lost her front row seat in the White House press room after she made flagrant anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements.

She's now claiming that she's not anti-Semitic, and that she deserves her job back. What do you think?




Source 

Top Ten Phrases in Hebrew Slang that I Love Because They Make No Sense

Photo Credit: Missiontripzambia.com

10. La'Asot Chayim ("לעשות חיים"):
Literally translates to 'To make life' and figuratively means 'to have a good time'. I might use it in a sentence to describe a trip we took to Barcelona, without going into much detail.
"We really did "make life" when we were in Barcelona over Christmas break. It was great fun!"
"עשינו חיים בברצלונה בחופשת הכריסמס והיה ממש כיף"

Tel Aviv Hot Spot: The Hoodna

I'm as surprised as you are that I'm writing up the Hoodna (הודנא), since, at this point, I think it's a well known Tel Aviv attraction of sorts. But, since it was my neighborhood Tel Aviv bar for over a year, and the first bar I ever sipped a beer at in Tel Aviv, I have to pay tribute.

Ehud Barak Quits Labor Party To Start New Party

Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced that he will be stepping down from his position as Labor Party Chairman on Monday morning, January 17th.

Israeli Technology Delays Iranian Neuclear Bomb: Stuxnet Computer Worm Tested By Mossad

Sometimes, I have to hand it to the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency. According to recent reports over the weekend,   the US-Israeli joint Stuxnet computer worm, an effort to stunt Iran's nuclear arms developments, was tested and found successful on Israeli territory.

Tel Aviv Peace Now Protest: Thousands of Left-Wing Activists March to Save Democracy

Photo Credit: Tal Cohen

Over night, Tel Aviv has become a beacon of hope for left-wing Israeli activists.

 Finally.

Yesterday over 15,000 people gathered in Central Tel Aviv At Gan Meir (גן מאיר- Meir Park) to protest recent "anti-democratic trends" in Israel's Knesset.

Sivan at Bank Leumi Should Die and Go to Hell

That's right I said it. I said it virtually out loud in a facebook post ...that I hope someone dies.  And what's more, I added that I hope that this person's afterlife is full of searing hot pain conjured up by Satan, or whoever that guy is who controls hell.

And boy, did that stir up some interesting responses.
Let's take a look:

Israeli Scientists Care About Your Mojo

Source: From Rawnaq, To the World

There's been lots of press covering this fascinating story about women's tears and men's mojos and how they just don't mix.  By this point, most of you have probably read about it in the New York Times, in the sassy online magazine The Hairpin, or you saw it on tv (See video below.)

But what must be pointed about this amazing discovery that women's tears apparently repress men's sexual desire, is that this entire research endeavor was conducted on the Weizmann campus in Rehovot, Israel which was highlighted by Israel21c.org in their coverage of the entertaining research.

Israeli Art Shines on Omanoot.com

Forget Achbar HaIR or Time Out Israel. If you want to know what's going on in Israel's art world, a brand new Israeli website was launched yesterday to help you out: Omanoot.com.

Omanoot.com, (Omanoot -אמנות- meaning "art" in Hebrew) is the web site that I've been waiting for since the moment I arrived in Israel. Welcome to the first well-designed, accesible web site/ magazine dedicated to the arts. This includes the areas of dance, film, visual arts, literature and music. And what does this new website promise? I'll outline a few of the fantastic features for you here:

Israeli Airline El Al Gets Good Press!

You may not believe it, but Israeli Airline, El Al, got fantastic press this week when brandrepublic.com's blog "the campaign" did a piece on Israeli airline security.

Israel's Immigrant Anglo Students Don't Want to Learn Hebrew. Shocker!

English speaking students at Bar Ilan University protested high prices for test translations and unfair conditions for new immigrants who don't speak Hebrew.

Are any of us surprised that English speakers feel no need at all to learn another language when the move to a new country? I'm not. Why? Well, because I see this happen every day.

Americans who don't know sh#$t about Israel.

I know these things are always edited to showcase the dumbest of the dumb...but really?!  I mean, seriously?

Watch this and you will feel smart.

These college kids must have killed all of their brain cells doing bong hits and keg stands at some crazy frat party.

Is Netanyahu a little boy or a parody of himself?

Photo Credit: Donkey Hotey

I know what you're thinking: the gray hair, the wrinkles, the suit.  But if you take a look at the way Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu interacts with the media, you might think he was a little boy. Either that, or he's a complete parody of himself. I can't decide.

Photo Credit: HuffPost

Let's take a closer look and examine...

The Evidence

Exhibit A) Can't say "I'm sorry".
Everyone knows that killing and war is bad and peace and compromise is good, but sometimes bad things happen. What happened with Turkey and the flotilla, may have been avoidable, or it may not.  But the bottom line is that 9 people died, the Turks got really mad, and the rest of the world also seemed pretty upset. Now the Turks want an apology. But noooooooooooo.  That would be far too mature.

Exhibit B) Can't take responsibility.
It was less than a month ago that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman took the opportunity to smear Turkey, the PA and the Prime Minister Netanyahu himself, and Netanyahu didn't do much to stop or admonish him.

Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer criticized Lieberman, saying he should not be representing the government. Speaking to Israel Radio, Ben-Eliezer said that Netanyahu should stop Lieberman from publicly expressing opinions which are not those of the government.

Also speaking Monday, opposition leader Tzipi Livni said that Netanyahu is not correct in saying that the foreign minister does not represent the government's position. Rather, she said, Netanyahu is responsible for Lieberman. (S ource)


Exhibit C) Loves to play the blame game.
It's never his fault that things work out.  In fact, if you ask Netanyahu, Israel has done absolutely everything right when it comes to the peace process. It's the PA and White House that keep playing games and messing things up.

"The government, in my leadership, is striving to achieve peace. This is our target and objective – to reach an agreement in negotiations with the Palestinians," Netanyahu said Thursday. "Unfortunately, the Palestinians have thus far been evading negotiations." (Source)


Netanyahu said that contrary to what was reported, "I told Obama that I am prepared to go with this to the cabinet and that I will be able to enforce [the settlement freeze], but then I received the surprising phone call from the Americans who said they no longer demand that Israel extends the freeze." (Source)


Exhibit D) Always looks really weird on TV and in interviews...like he's made of rubber or something.
Is it just me? Check him out on Bill Mahr in 2006, and now look at him on Larry King Live in 2010.  Is this really him, or is it a parody of him? Or is it a little boy comedian in a Netanyahu suit? I seriously can't tell.

Photo Credit: John Springs for  The New York Review of Books

Members of the jury.... I leave it to you to decide!