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Elie Tahari with Israel Bonds Women's Division

Elie Tahari with Israel Bonds Women's Division
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Jihadists

Jihadists
French director, Claude Lanzmann, interviewed about Jihadists.

Decades ago the distinguished German philosopher Juergen Habermas identified in a seminar in New York as one of the principle problems of advanced industrial society its inability to develop a plausible belief system or renew an existing one which provides motivating symbols and is grounded in interpersonal communication. Its absence can certainly be noted when observers of conflicts with radical movements often labeled as terrorist deplore our vacuum of ideas which could overcome the growing opposition the west faces in much of the world and point out the obvious to wit, socially grounded radicalism cannot be overcome with bombs.

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On the Map

On the Map

When does sport and national fervor come together. The Olympics, World Cup soccer are the events that come to mind. The "miracle on ice", when the Olympic hockey team of the USA defeated the Soviet Union, in 1980 was an American moment of sport and nationalistic fervor. The movie "On the Map, directed by Dani Menkin," tells the story of the Israeli counterpart. A "miracle on the hardwood" Maccabi Tel Aviv's defeat of CSKA, the Soviet Unions, Red Army basketball team, and winning the 1977 European Basketball championship.

American, drafted to be in the NBA, but who chooses to play for Maccabi and creates enthusiasm and interest for basketball in Israel. The film weaves Israeli history and politics with first hand accounts and exciting film of the pivotal games. Images of Moshe Dayan attending the games, and Yitzhak Rabin's devotion to the team provide incite to the mingling of nation with sport.

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Babylonian Talmud's $12.5 Million Makeover

Babylonian Talmud's $12.5 Million Makeover

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American and Israeli Jews:
Twin Portraits From Pew Research Center Surveys

If you are Jewish, odds are that you live in Israel or the United States. Four out of every five Jews in the world live in these two countries, with approximately 6 million Jews in each.

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Getting the Message Straight

Shanah Tovah - A Good New Year, everyone.  So good to see you all in a new space for a new year.  The holidays should not only be a time for accepting apology and granting forgiveness, but also for expressions of appreciation and gratitude for what we have been given during the year.   And I want to begin with a thank you to you all.  I want to thank you for teaching me so much and sharing your wisdom with me.  When I listen to you, your challenges and frustrations, the lessons you have gained through professional and personal experience, I gain a great deal-with almost every interaction I have with you.  And the insights you give me, the perspectives you grant to me are greatly appreciated.  That kind of knowledge you've imparted to me cannot necessarily be found in books-secular or sacred-which make those lessons all the more special.

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Jerusalem to Welcome Delegation of Leading
US Artists for Cultural Exchange

The Mossad, Israel's superbly famous intelligence agency, was shocked on 9/11. The following information is based on the excellent professional analytical autobiography of ex-Mossad head, Efraim Halevy (1998-2002). Halevy wrote, in his book, (by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London), Man in the Shadows, "Israel, on the afternoon of September 11, 2001"

I was attending a meeting chaired by Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, in the cabinet room in Jerusalem devoted to an issue concerning the Palestinian territories. I well recall that the discussion was calm and orderly when suddenly a young female soldier entered the room and handed a piece of paper to the military secretary and to the prime minister. He read it himself and then told us all in the room that there had been an attack from the air against the Twin Towers in New York.

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1,000 Year Old Crusader Hospital Building

1,000 Year Old Crusader Hospital Building
Views of the 1,000 year old Crusaders? hospital building in the Old City of Jerusalem, dating back to the Crusader period (1099-1291 CE). Situated in the heart of the Christian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem it is now revealed by the Israel Antiquities Authority. Photos: Courtesy The Israel Antiquities Authority

Part of an enormous 1,000 year old hospital building has been revealed to the public in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Israel Antiquities Authority conducted an excavation in the impressive Crusader building, which is similar in appearance to the Knights Halls in Akko and stands 6 meters high, prior to the construction of a restaurant by the Grand Bazaar Company

Part of an enormous structure dating to the Crusader period (1099-1291 CE), which was a busy hospital, has currently been revealed to the public following excavations and research by the Israel Antiquities Authority there in cooperation with the Grand Bazaar Company of East Jerusalem.

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Archaeological Findings: History's Garbage Dump

Archaeological Findings: History's Garbage Dump
Left: Workers in the Apollonia excavations. Right: (top) Bronze rings that were uncovered in the excavation are presented. Photos: Assaf Peretz. Photos courtesy of The Israel Antiquities Authority. (bottom) A cluster of beautiful and in very good shape Samaritan lamps found at the Apollonia excavations site. Photo: Pavel Shargo. Photo courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University

Researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Tel Aviv University are examining what 400 Byzantine coins, 200 Samaritan lamps, an ancient ring with an inscription and gold jewelry were doing in a refuse pit from the Byzantine period?

The archaeological excavations on behalf of the Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority have given rise to a mystery. The excavations, funded by the Israel Land Authority prior to expanding the city of Herzliya, are being conducted between the coastal road and the Israel Militaries Industries plant in an area located between Kfar Shmaryahu and Rishpon.

Numerous finds dating to the Late Byzantine period (fifth, sixth and seventh centuries CE) were among the antiquities discovered in excavations conducted in the agricultural hinterland of the ancient city of Apollonia-Arsuf, located east of the site. Among the finds uncovered are installations for processing the agricultural produce such as wine presses, and what also might be the remains of an olive press, as well as remains of walls that were apparently part of the ancillary buildings that were meant to serve local farmers.

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Ron Nachman: The Soul of Ariel

Emma Lazarus: Jews need a territory
Ron Nachman, Ariel's energetic Mayor: “The city of Ariel is a very important strategical center of the State of Israel. It's mission is to defend the 'soft belly' of the country, blocking any potential enemy.”

Ron Nachman is the famous Mayor of Ariel. For 28 years, Nachman has been the soul of this important city located in Judea, Samaria. Nachman was a manager in the Israeli radio industry, a former member of the Knesset, and a new national pioneer: After the Six Day War, he decided, with a few friends, to establish Ariel. As early as 1972, motivated by a national mission and a personal contribution to Israel's defense and security, Ron Nachman dedicated his life and career to the well-being of Ariel and its non-stop development.

Ariel was founded by Ron Nachman and forty families in 1978. The Israeli government was led by Menacham Begin and the Likud when these pioneers settled on top of a rocky and barren hill. Ariel, with its achievements, economic and cultural activities, and a growing population of 20,000 residents also had 13,000 students of its university center. It was continually attacked by the U.S. State Department, Israel's enemies, as well as those Israelis on the left who are fighting for the rights of the Palestinians and who claim to be dreamers of peace with those who dream to eliminate Ariel and Israel.

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Opportunities Abound in Israel's Negev Desert

Opportunities Abound in the Negev Desert

Arava Journal - An Inside Look at Israel's Most Isolated Region

Seeming desolate and inhospitable, the Arava desert is in reality the site of innovative approaches to agriculture, water resources and scientific research.
Seeming desolate and inhospitable, the Arava desert is in reality the site of innovative approaches to agriculture, water resources and scientific research. Members of one of the Arava's five 'moshavim' (farming villages) plant crops at the start of the new agricultural season.  There are more than 600 farmers in the region.
Members of one of the Arava's five "moshavim" (farming villages) plant crops at the start of the new agricultural season. There are more than 600 farmers in the region.   Greenhouses in the desert are fulfilling Ben-Gurion's vision of a flourishing Negev desert and also providing 60 percent of Israel's agricultural exports to Europe.
Greenhouses in the desert are fulfilling Ben-Gurion's vision of a flourishing Negev desert and also providing 60 percent of Israel's agricultural exports to Europe.

Situated in a remote part of the eastern Negev, the Arava is Israel's most isolated region. Water resources are scarce. Temperatures can soar past 120 degrees. In every direction, the landscape is bleak and desolate. A mission mounted by the British Palestine Exploration Fund in 1865 proclaimed the area "unfit for human habitation."

Yet, where others saw an inhospitable, unforgiving environment, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion saw potential. It was here, Ben-Gurion proclaimed, that "the people and State of Israel will . . . accomplish the great mission of populating the wilderness and bringing it to flourish." A visitor from Development Corporation for Israel, also known as Israel Bonds - an organization known for helping Israel achieve the impossible - discovered that through ingenuity and determination, Arava's resilient residents have realized achievements that would astonish even Ben-Gurion, including accounting for 60 percent of the country's vegetable exports to Europe and 10 percent of its cut flower exports.

Noa Zer, who lives on one of five moshavim in the Arava - the first was established in 1959 - is proud to play her part in "fulfilling Ben-Gurion's vision." She says this as someone who, two years ago, left the vibrant scene of cosmopolitan Tel Aviv for a place where an errand as routine as going to the bank - which necessitates driving either to Eilat or Beer Sheba - can take an entire day. While the adjustment has been daunting, Zer embraces the Arava's "strong sense of community and belonging."

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Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus' 125th Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty

Emma Lazarus: ?Jews need a territory?.
Emma Lazarus: ?Jews need a territory?.

The legendary writer-poet, Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) was ignored, for many years, by this country. She was excluded from the American national pantheon. The Statue of Liberty does not have a soul without Lazarus' unique, legendary sonata, The New Colossus. Lazarus, who died at the age of 38, wrote this great sonata in 1883. Thanks to her friend, Georgia Schuyler, this sonata was inscribed, in 1903, on a bronze tablet inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Lazarus called her the 'lady with the torch'. The mother of exiles.

This sonata expresses, and symbolizes, the essence of the spirit of America: a frontier of salvation, of freedom of the masses of newcomers, immigrants, homeless, poor victims of persecutions and hate who are yearning to breathe free. Lazarus, a Sephardic-Jewish poet-writer of many essays, is still waiting for national recognition. Recently, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a living memorial to the Holocaust (36 Battery Place, tel: 646-437-4200), celebrated the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty with a special exhibition through the summer of 2012. It is very educational inasmuch as it enriches all visitors with the story of Emma Lazarus.

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Shen Yun 2012

Building Cross-Cultural Bridges around the World


Aliya Cheskis-Cotel: Educator/Agent Extraordinaire

Educator/agent Aliya-Cheskis-Cotel. Kolot Management has a strict policy of only representing Jewish, not necesserily religious, artists, performers, educators that are committed to the Jewish community.
Educator/agent Aliya-Cheskis-Cotel. Kolot Management has a strict policy of only representing Jewish, not necesserily religious, artists, performers, educators that are committed to the Jewish community.

A mother and daughter were about to arrive for their joint bat mitzvah lessons as Aliya finished the interview. Tea and delicious homemade cake had been enjoyed. Aliya Cheskis-Cotel, prominent in the field of Jewish education, is known for tutoring students who, for whatever reason, cannot successfully learn through traditional methods. She has been an educator, for over twenty-five years, tailoring her teaching approach individually for each student.

But the interview was not about Aliya's amazing success as a teacher -- rather about tragedy and life-changing events. Aliya was married to a remarkable man, a gifted musician, pianist, and composer, Moshe Cotel. At the age of sixty Moshe Cotel became a rabbi. He developed a repertoire of performances that he called Chronicles: A Jewish Life at the Classical Piano. Rabbi Cotel used these performances to teach Torah through classical music.

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Ron Eliran: Israel's Ambassador of Songs

Israeli performers, Yaffa Yarkoni (left) and Ron Eliran, perfor-ming on stage at the Palais (Palace) de Shallot in Paris, France, in 1958 during the 10th anniversary celebrations in honor of the State of Israel.
Israeli performers, Yaffa Yarkoni (left) and Ron Eliran, perfor-ming on stage at the Palais (Palace) de Shallot in Paris, France, in 1958 during the 10th anniversary celebrations in honor of the State of Israel.

In 1948, the classical Israeli culture of songs, music, and lyrics was born. Russian music was popular, but the idea of Hebrew revival influenced this culture through the music and the tempo There were songs based on the bible, songs of the land of Canaan, songs of shepherds ('roim' in Hebrew). The idea was to express the Zionist world. The culture of songs had been "black and white" or dogmatic. I think that since the 1930?s, this culture has been revolutionized. Israeli poets influenced the songs: Expressing personal, intimate feelings. No more dogma but more individualism. The concept has been inward.

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Fairway Kosher

Moshe Morrison, Fairway?s Director of Kosher Foods.
Moshe Morrison, Fairway?s Director of Kosher Foods.

For kosher foodies, Fairway is a revelation. The iconic New York grocery store and specialty food market is proud to be home to a wonderful, inimitable kosher selection.

From fresh baked breads and pastries to cheeses and dairy to fragrant coffee ground on premises, Fairway's extensive array of kosher products mean you can find everything you're looking for, and discover new delicious finds while you're at it.

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2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Israeli

Israeli scientist, Prof. Daniel Shechtman, has won the 2011 Nobel Prize in chemistry, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced. The Academy honored Shechtman for the discovery of 'quasicrystals' - patterns in atoms which were thought impossible, adding that Shechtman's discovery in 1982 had fundamentally changed the way chemists look at solid matter. Photo: Assaf Shilo/Israel Sun

Israeli scientist, Prof. Daniel Shechtman, has won the 2011 Nobel Prize in chemistry, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced. The Academy honored Shechtman for the discovery of "quasicrystals" - patterns in atoms which were thought impossible, adding that Shechtman's discovery in 1982 had fundamentally changed the way chemists look at solid matter. Photo: Assaf Shilo/Israel Sun

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The Mossad Was Shocked on 9/11

The Mossad, Israel's superbly famous intelligence agency, was shocked on 9/11. The following information is based on the excellent professional analytical autobiography of ex-Mossad head, Efraim Halevy (1998-2002). Halevy wrote, in his book, (by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London), Man in the Shadows, "Israel, on the afternoon of September 11, 2001"

I was attending a meeting chaired by Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, in the cabinet room in Jerusalem devoted to an issue concerning the Palestinian territories. I well recall that the discussion was calm and orderly when suddenly a young female soldier entered the room and handed a piece of paper to the military secretary and to the prime minister. He read it himself and then told us all in the room that there had been an attack from the air against the Twin Towers in New York.

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