Seeing the forest for the trees

Two academics, Dr. Rachel Barkan of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Professor Shai Danziger of Tel Aviv University spent more than a little time examining the areas of choice and advice, and their findings look a little bit like the conclusions of writer Malcolm Gladwell in his book, The Tipping Point, but maybe that’s just me. They’re not looking for Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen, nor how a trend is made, but rather Advisers and Choosers, and how and whether positive reinforcement makes a difference.

“It is a matter of seeing the forest for the trees,” Barkan explains, “The advice we give is not anchored in the choice we would make. When we give advice, we do not consider what we would have done in the same situation. Instead, our role as adviser distances us from the dilemma at hand. From afar we see the forest. We consider long term goals that are worthy and desirable. As advisers, we overlook the trees and discount obstacles and impediments on the way to this goal. As Choosers however, we cannot avoid seeing the trees – sometimes to the extent of losing the forest. As choosers, our mindset is oriented toward implementation and we give more weight to concrete details of feasibility and pragmatism.

In other words, are you an Adviser or a Chooser? The goal-reacher or onlooker? It seems clear that the world is filled both kinds of people, and even more possibly, that we all fill both roles at different times in our lives. Clearly, we need advisers when looking to follow a dream, to hear from those who are cheering us on, as well as receive the pragmatic, ‘look at the trees’ advice so that we can anticipate some of the obstacles ahead.

In the research gathered, Barkan and Danziger found that advisers tend to be more idealistic than pragmatic, on the ‘why’ rather than the ‘how’ and tend to act as cheerleaders. And so, they concluded, in order to follow a dream, there need to be two people in the equation, the one who believes in the dream, and cheers on the person actually following the dream.

In other words, positive reinforcement isn’t a waste of time, it may actually help make something happen. Go on, help someone fulfill their dream.

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This has been a glorious spring in Israel and we still have a few more weeks to enjoy it before the dog days of summer set in and the great green countryside begins its inexorable slide into brown and yellow until the rains return in the fall sometime after the Sukkot holiday.

While everything is still green, I found myself thinking back to this past winter during which, for the first time in seven years, we received the amount of rain Israeli meteorologists and farmers hoped we would. In each of the six years before this one, the official “weather people” at the Israel Meteorological Society have declared a drought. The results were obvious to anyone strolling in city parks or traveling in Israel’s rural areas.

This year, though, things have been different. Along with thousands of other Israelis, I have gone on a binge of hiking and outdoor touring to take in all the newly beautiful and green sites. My wife moved to this country six years ago after having spent the previous 20 living in an especially verdant part of Japan and she is just amazed to see the countryside looking as pretty as it does because she has never seen it this way before.

In mid-March we headed out to a place called Lupine Hill (Givat HaTurmosim in Hebrew) in the Elah Valley where tradition has it that David slew Goliath with pebbles from the stream there. After hiking all day we stopped in the Elah Valley winery and bought five bottles for the Passover Seder. The week before Passover we went up north to see the blooming Gilboa Iris and we hiked there and among the waterfalls of Wadi Parod. During Passover, we made it to the new hanging trail in the Banias National Park and it was as gorgeous and full of water as I remember it 20 years ago.

With the Shavuot holiday coming up, get out of town and enjoy some of Israel’s beautiful natural places yourselves! Enjoy the Israeli spring!

Took this shot of a Gilboa Iris with my iPhone.

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Motta Gur before entering the Old City in 1967

I’m never quite sure what to think of Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day in English. The day commemorates the reunification of the city following the Six Day War in 1967 – 45 years ago today – and is for some a day of great joy – a miracle even – while for others is alternatively a catastrophe or at least a major sticking point on the road to the creation of a Palestinian state.

It’s hard to argue that the city of Jerusalem, without the treacherous wall that existed from 1948 until 1967, dividing the city and from which Jordanian snipers would take shots at civilians living near the seam line, is not a better place today. And yet, overly boisterous celebrations around Jerusalem Day always seem to me to have an inherently confrontational tone, one that says, “it’s ours, it always has been and always will be.”

Now that may indeed become the case, and I would hate to see the city divided again in any way, but let’s be straight: that outcome is far from de facto. East Jerusalem’s future status is in no way a done deal, despite what certain politicians may claim. There is a lot of work to be done…including compromise on both sides.

That doesn’t seem to be the understanding on the streets though. Jerusalem Day in recent years has been hijacked; no longer is it a day of unification among Israelis of different religious and political persuasions.

Just check out the annual flag parade that snakes down Jaffa Street towards the Old City: the message has become one of military and miraculous conquest, as the “parade” surrounds the Old City like Joshua and the biblical Jericho. Shouldn’t it be more of a ceremony marking the end of an historic and tragic wrong, where the historic Jewish Quarter was emptied of its residents and many of its synagogues and structures were pillaged and destroyed? Why can’t we celebrate Jerusalem Day bathed with words of love, not war; togetherness not antipathy?

I read in the newspaper over the weekend something else that disturbed me. When the march reaches the Old City, the sexes will be segregated. Men will go towards the Western Wall via the Dung Gate while women will enter through Jaffa Gate.

That left me feeling both saddened and angry. How can we untangle the conflicting narratives of this most complicated city if we can’t even keep our men and women together? It seems that my ambivalence about Jerusalem Day will continue for some time to come.

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This what the Old City looked like, just days after the war ended.
(Click on image to view larger).

Israeli citizens began flooding to the Western Wall…

Soldiers and civilians alike (you can count my parents among them) took a close look at enemy weaponry…

A makeshift memorial of flowers and a small plaque was set up in memory of five paratroopers from Division 80 Reconnaissance Unit 75 who were killed in the battle for Jerusalem…

This was eventually replaced with a larger memorial, by sculptress Yona Palombo, for Paratrooper Division 80′s fallen. Today, it includes the names of 47 more soldiers killed in Israel’s wars and stands on the outskirts of the Old City.

This photo courtesy of the Paratrooper Brigade website. All other photos graciously provided by Moshe Lavi.

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© Pes & Lev

One such oasis is the Wohl Rose Park (Gan HaVradim), located opposite the Knesset and government precinct, at the foot of the Israeli Supreme Court. Established in 1981, the park has over 400 varieties of roses, and is one of the few parks of its kind in the Middle East.

© pmos_nmos

© RomKri

Jerusalem is seldom described as green and yet the city’s neighborhoods are dotted with flowers, flower boxes and flowering trees…

© RomKri

© Pes & Lev

The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens (JBG) is another great place for those who love flora and fauna. It’s also located adjacent to Givat Ram and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

© RomKri

All photos are courtesy of the excellent Jerusalem Shots website where there are plenty more images to enjoy.

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Etgar Keret not being bothered in Tel Aviv. (Marc Israel Sellem)

Who can forget the Kotel dustup between Leo’s bodyguards and photographers when he and Bar Raphaeli went to pay a visit, or Bieber escaping the hordes on a moped and running over the foot of a lensman?

But aside from teeny boppers who hang out in hotel lobbies hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite performer or artist, I think most Israelis are respectful – and even blasé about spotting celebs.

Earlier this week, I met Israeli author Etgar Keret (whom Brian wrote about attending the International Writers Festival) at a café in his Tel Aviv neighborhood.

Now, I’m not attempting to compare Keret to an international celebrity like Madonna, but he is one of Israel’s top authors and on his way to becoming an international icon in the short story field, with glowing reviews in the New York Times for his latest collection Suddenly, A Knock at the Door.

I think most Israelis who read probably know what he looks like (as opposed, say to how few Americans would recognize John Grisham at a local Taco Bell). However, he sat at that café for almost two hours, and aside from the server calling him by his first name (which could be due to the fact that he’s a regular), not one patron or passerby looked, approached or talked to Keret.

Maybe it’s because Israelis have a cool quotient that prevents them from acknowledging things like that – or maybe it’s because there just isn’t that gap between every day people and celebs here. They eat at the same places, take their kids to gan with your kids, and have the same complaints about long lines at the supermarket. In other words, our celebrities – in their own environment – aren’t glamorous, which is kind of nice.

However, if I see Bar Raphaeli in a Tel Aviv café, all bets are off.

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Etgar Keret

Gary Shteyngart

The International Writer’s Festival has returned to Jerusalem packing heat. The biennial event, which kicked off on Monday, has nearly as many international writers present as Israelis, many of whom defied pressure back home to steer clear of Israel, according to Uri Dromi, director general of Mishkenot Sha’ananim, the main location of the festival (events are also taking place at cafes, cinemas and even the Mahane Yehuda market all during the week).

Dromi was speaking at the opening to an enjoyable, often raucously funny meet-up between American writer Gary Shteyngart and Israeli surreal short story’ist Etgar Keret. My wife and I always try to attend at least one session during the festival, as much for the atmosphere – hundreds of Israelis who have come together for literature! – as well as the specific authors.

At the sold out dialogue between Keret and Shteyngart, the latter read from his latest book, “Super Sad True Love Story,” set in a dystopian future where everyone wears a necklace of sorts that broadcasts one’s social status and financial status – it’s Facebook gone crazy with any hints of privacy entirely eviscerated.

Keret mostly played the interviewer although he peppered his questions with a few stories of his own, mostly about his father who passed away six weeks ago. In a touching and original way, Keret has replaced the religious “Kaddish” that is traditionally said for a year after a parent dies with a pledge to speak about his dad in any public appearance he makes. His main story at the Shteyngart meet-up involved cancer, coughing and coffee.

The Mishkenot Sha’ananim setting is, to indulge in a cliché, picture perfect. Our session was held in a large white tent erected specially for the festival, open on one side, with a spectacular view of the Old City.

Other international writers appearing at the festival include Lukas Barfuss from Switzerland, Aimee Bender from the U.S. (whose latest book has the unflappable title “The Girl with the Flammable Skirt”), Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbo, and Tracy Chevalier whose best known work, “The Girl with the Pearl Earring,” sold four million copies and was made into a successful movie.

Tracy Chevalier

Chevalier was in the audience for the Shteyngart–Keret shindig, which was a treat for me because we both went to Oberlin College, graduating a year apart. I was sure that we must have known each other (I was a Creative Writing major, she was in the English department), but alas, it seems we never crossed paths and my chance at reminiscing with a true literary celebrity was reduced to a few friendly words and some pleasant small talk.

If you’re in Jerusalem and you have an hour or two to spare, the International Writer’s Festival continues until Thursday.

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Back in 2007, after the death of former model Hila Elmalich who was 34 and weighed less than sixty pounds, he told me the following for Women’s Wear Daily:

“The problem is with society, and the low self-esteem of these girls,” says Barkan. “We need to put this out there, to make it a societal norm in Israel and the rest of the world. People need to see these anorexic bodies and move their butts and do something about this.”

Israel21c interviewed Barkan several times about the issue, and posted the following video:

In March, his perseverance paid off, as the Knesset passed what is being called the Photoshop law, for the aspect of the law that regulates the use of Photoshop to make women appear perfect in advertisements. That’s a huge accomplishment. The bulk — no pun intended — of the law focuses on banning underweight models based on their BMI, or Body Mass Index.

The law is making waves in Israel, and around the world. Can Israel set the precedent for changing the way the fashion industry views and uses models’ bodies?

Interestingly enough, it was on Israel’s new fashion channel, Fashion.net., that a panel of fashion professionals, including clothing designer Yosef and a local fashion magazine editor, agreed that despite the new law and its groundbreaking potential, the fashion world will still view impossibly thin model bodies as the ultimate in goal.

“No one wants to see a curvy, zaftig model,” said Naama Chaisin, who is the second generation in the Tovale designer line of clothing. “And I say that as someone who is curvy and has fought to lose weight my whole life.”

Here’s to hoping she’s wrong.

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YouPhone is one of the new cellular carriers hitting the Israeli market

Israelis won’t be saying “hallo” on their cell phones, but that doesn’t mean low prices aren’t coming.

A few weeks ago, a much-rumored new discount-priced Israeli cellular phone company called Hallo dropped its plans to launch after it emerged the company didn’t have the contacts in place it needed to operate . The company had promised an incredible deal – NIS 99 for unlimited talk time, unlimited messages and 2 GB of data surfing. A similar offer at one of the big three carriers – Orange, Cellcom and Pelephone, would cost at least double that.

But this week, three new operators hit the market with innovative pricing that will further shake up the cell phone market in Israel. It brings to five the number of “mobile virtual network operators” (or MVNO’s), a fancy way for saying that the new guys buy time from the existing carriers, piggybacking for a price on the antennas and infrastructure already built.

One of the new guys, Golan Telecom has the exact same attractive pricing that Hallo promised. Another, HOT Mobile, has a fee structure includes unlimited talk and text for just NIS 89 – NIS 10 less than Golan – but doesn’t include data in the price.

HOT Mobile also has a plan for “light users” – no monthly fee at all, then 10 agorot per minute and the same per text message and per megabyte of Internet access. Golan’s light user plan costs NIS 10 a month and includes 60 minutes of talk time, 60 text messages and 10 megabytes of Internet access. The third operator, YouPhone, will be charging NIS 18 a month, then 18 agorot per minute of talk time and 15 agorot for messages. Internet will also be 15 agorot per megabyte.

The different packages for each carrier sound confusing, but they’re actually a bit clearer (although not much) than the traditional cell phone deals which include x number of minutes free to other subscribers on the same network, another package of minutes to family and friends, discounts if you bought a phone via the carrier and speak at least 200 minutes a month…it got so confusing that Orange, one of the big three, came out with its own “clear” package that sets a base price of NIS 69 (and as a result, the cost of purchasing the phone through the company listed is listed separately).

If you’re a heavy mobile Internet user, HOT Mobile’s offer of 10 agorot per megabyte can add up. 2 GB = NIS 200, so the NIS 99 all you can eat package is a much better deal. If your Internet usage is less – say 250 MB a month like me, that’s only NIS 25. If you then talk 200 minutes a month and send, say, 100 text messages, that’s another NIS 30/month, making the combined price less than at the big carriers.

YouPhone’s doesn’t offer a more expensive package with a higher data level, so if you like to surf on-the-go, stick with Golan or HOT.

Perhaps the most intriguing element – at least for immigrants with strong ties to the “old country” – is Golan’s offer of free overseas calling to landlines in 29 countries. HOT’s overseas calling price is a shekel a minute.

On the other hand, YouPhone has a deal with the Mega chain of supermarkets and Alon gas stations (the same holding company owns all three) so that if you buy groceries or gas, you get free minutes. For every NIS 100 customers spend, they will receive 10 minutes of airtime at no charge, up to a maximum of 200 minutes per month per customer. The idea is that talking on the phone is as much a necessity as eating and traveling in your car, but that pricing brings us back to the familiar complexity the new companies seem to have been trying to avoid.

The other two MVNOs are associated with the Rami Levy supermarket chain and the Home Center DIY chain.

If you want a full service cellular carrier with a proper office and repair facility, you won’t get that with the newbies – YouPhone and Rami Levy are using their supermarkets and gas stations to sell their services and Golan has just a website – they’ll send you a SIM card in the mail.

The bottom line: if you’re willing to shop around, you can save a lot in the new cellular landscape. And that’s good news for competition. Now if only it would extend to cottage cheese.

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But even when it looks like easy street, there is danger at your door. And I’m not talking about existential threats… but earthquakes.

Friday night was gorgeous, one of those spring evenings with a beautiful breeze that provided a nip to the air. We had dinner outside in our back yard with a few guests, including one visitor from the US on a 10-day tour of Israel.

After filling up on the great food, including delicious challot from Russell’s Bakery in Mahane Yehuda, we were sitting around the table munching on fresh fruit salad and rogelah from Marzipan.

I didn’t know it then, but it was precisely 9:48 pm when I felt my garden chair below being to vibrate. I immediately looked around to see if either of the people sitting to my left and right were shaking their legs against my chair, and was surprised that they weren’t.

After about five seconds, the vibrations stopped. I looked around at the seven people sitting around the table, and none of them had stopped, or expressed any kind of surprise in their faces. Well, I thought, maybe I was experiencing some kind of drug-induced flashback from my wild youth, because nobody else seems to have felt what I felt. So I didn’t mention it.

Imagine my surprise, when on Saturday night, after Shabbat, I went online to check out the news of the last 24 hours and read that a 5.3 magnitude earthquake shook the eastern Mediterranean on Friday night at 9.48 pm.

Thousands of Israelis evidently called the police to report the tremors which were felt from Rishon Lezion in the south to Safed in the north. Luckily, no damages or injuries were reported. Political pundits noted that the quake was probably just the seismic aftershocks of last week’s cataclysmic events in the government. Talk about thunder and lightning…

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