Photo: Wikimedia

We’re pleased to announce the winners of the Idan Raichel Quiz! We’d like to thank all the respondents who took part in the questionnaire, as well as the hundreds who have taken an interest in the upcoming show. And the winners are:

• Tom Ballingall
• Donna Divon
• Issac Nuell

Congratulations, and thank you all for participating! See you at the show. Sincerely, the Isrealli team

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Photo: Flickr

While every new sibling to a family is usually a blessing, the staff of Ramat Gan Safari have lately realized that sometimes kids can be a little bit of a hassle. This is especially true when your baby weighs around 85 pounds and consumes up to 150 pounds of food per day.

Over the last couple of months, the Safari has been blessed with no less than 14 hippos. Combine these youngsters with another 80 hippos already living in the Safari, and the population starts to get out of hand.

Since the Ramat Gan Hippos are bred in captivity, they can’t really return to the wild, but as far as other zoos are concerned, the hippos are a hit.

In recent weeks, Israeli-born hippos have found their way to zoos in Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam. While there is no real profit in the hippo business, the children who will meet these strange mammals will most definitely gain.

Read more.

Photo attribution:http://www.flickr.com/photos/lovingshiva/ / CC BY 2.0

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Photo: Gadi Dagon

Israeli dancer and choreographer, Ohad Naharin, has been awarded the 2009 Dance magazine award, honoring the greatest talents in the dance world.

Fifty-seven-year-old Naharin started his career as a dancer in Israel, but soon realized that his true calling is choreography. In 1980, he opened the Ohad Naharin Dance Company, but later returned to Israel to take the position of director at the Batsheva Dance Company.

One of Naharin’s greatest contributions to world of dance is Gaga, a technique that he developed and is currently taught around the world to dancers and even ordinary people who simply have the urge to move it.

The editors of Dance magazine say that the prize goes to Naharin for revolutionizing international dance: “During the last two decades, Naharin’s pioneering approach and unforgettable choreography injected a catalyzing, invigorating force into Israel’s rising dance scene. Meanwhile, the choreographer’s influence can be felt abroad, where there is a growing clamor for Gaga classes and an insatiable appetite for his creations.”

Read more here.

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Illustration: Getty Images

The American National Institute of Health has awarded a $2.1 million dollar grant to researchers at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, for future research into the genetic origins and possible treatment of schizophrenia.

The grant, aka the G.O. grant (Grand Opportunity), is part of President Obama’s stimulus package to the advancement of scientific research. For this reason it shall be led by a U.S. team that will try to track the gene that is believed to be over-expressed in Jews of European decent.

It has long been known that schizophrenia – a complex brain disease marked by often-frightening hallucinations and delusions – tends to run in families and therefore has a genetic component to its cause. However, scientists have struggled to conclusively identify the genes that contribute to risk for this disease.

“Current evidence suggests that many genes are likely to be involved in schizophrenia, which theoretically should provide a large target for scientists,” said Dr. Lencz, who will head the Feinstein Institute’s team. “Unfortunately, these genes are individually either very rare or very weak in effect, making them very elusive to traditional forms of genetic analysis.”

More than 4,000 people will take part in the upcoming research, all of them with specific genetic backgrounds that will enable any genetic anomalies to stand out clearer.

“The unique demographic history of the Jewish Ashkenazi population results in a more homogeneous genetic background compared to the general population. This should allow disease-related genetic signals to stand out more clearly in our analysis,” said Prof. Darvasi of the Hebrew University. “Additionally, this study will utilize the most advanced genetic technologies, which will permit examination of many more pieces of the genetic code than prior generations of research.”

It is hoped that the results of this research will lead to more accurate prediction, treatment and prevention of serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

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Photo: Israeli Consulate NY

The New York Public Library has had its share of interesting talks with authors, but we can safely say that none of them were as funny as the meeting between This American Life host, Ira Glass, and Israeli author Etgar Keret.

More than 300 people showed up at the library to hear the conversation, titled “Is Reality Overrated?” that started off with Keret’s obscure thought: “I wonder what a good day for a guy giving body searches is? I mean what can he find there that can possibly be a good day? A cupcake? A lottery ticket?”

We thank the people of the Public Library for the podcast and encourage all of you to listen in.

One word of warning: some of the content is explicit and might not suit younger listeners.

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Just park and go

Petah Tikva went down in Israel’s history as the first village in Israel, the place were scholars turned into farmers. Today, Petah Tikva is poised to be the first city in Israel to allow free parking for hybrid cars.

This week the municipality of Petah Tikva decided to pass a by-law that will allow owners of hybrid cars to steer free of parking meters, and live without the constant fear that the traffic police might be waiting for them.

In order to make sure that no polluters enjoy a free ride (or in this case, a free park). Traffic officers in Petah Tikva will be handed a list of all hybrid car models sold in Israel. That way they’ll be able to distinguish the green cars from the rest.

The city’s officials hope that the free parking passes will serve as an incentive that might convince potential car buyers  to purchase lower-emission cars. While they know they might lose a bit of income from parking meters and fines, the city believes that it will lead to quality of life going up, and with it the city’s revenue.

In the last few years, Israel has come up with several incentives to keep cars green, igniting a mini green driving revolution. What started off with a decrease of 45% on the sales tax for hybrid cars, was followed by a higher tax on gas guzzlers. While these may seem minor financial changes, they have done their part. If 4 years ago only 7 hybrid cars were seen on Israel’s streets, today the number is over 5,000 and keeps rising.

Photo attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougletterman/ / CC BY 2.0

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Photo: Flickr

Though the beer gardens of Germany couldn’t be farther away from the olive groves of the Judean hills, the two have something in common — a love for beer.

This month, the Taybeh Brewery marked Oktoberfest with a Palestinian twist: kebabs instead of sausages, and traditional Arabic dancing. The party and the clinking glasses proved once more to Nadim Khoury, the owner of the brewery, that his dream is slowly but surely coming to life.

Fifteen years ago, Khoury returned from Boston to the small Christian village of Taybeh, in the West Bank, with a desire to ignite the Palestinian economy…  through a sparkling summery beverage. Together with his brother they opened the microbrewery, which is to date the only one in the Palestinian Authority.

What started as a local trend has now expanded to the entire West Bank, with another 40% of the beer shipped to neighboring Israeli bars in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and to farther away markets in Europe, and even Japan.

Time Magazine has more on this story.

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chopped liver with fresh sliced cucumbers

Is there anything more heartening than Friday-afternoon slice of bread with chopped liver? Yes, with a glass of chilled dark beer and the Friday paper. This Jewish Ashkenazi delight is a classic appetizer for a Shabbat dinner and a must on a holiday table. In Israel, you can find this dish in many “Jewish restaurants”. Funny enough this usually refers only to eateries from the Ashkenazi tradition. Locals always argue which one is the best and where you can find the most delicious chopped liver in Tel Aviv: “Cafe Batya” – my favorite, “Elimelech” or “Kiton”. Cafe Batya is a very  friendly restaurant located in the north of Tel Aviv. Since 1941, it has been famous for its Chopped Liver and wonderful Chulent.  On wintry Saturday lunch people pack the place for the lunchtime Chulent feast.

I got the recipe below from Michal, a beautiful girl that used to be a waitress at the legendary “Minzar” pub, another great place to have a drink with a nice side dish of chopped liver. Here in NYC you can always count on Russ & Daughters‘ Bagel with chopped liver to be nothing less than perfect.

Chopped Chicken Liver
Ingredients

• 1 lbs chicken livers (clean and chopped)

• 2-4 spoons of goose fat (or canola oil)

• 3 large white onions, coarsely chopped

• 4 hard-boiled eggs

• 2 tbs cognac

• Salt and ground black pepper

Method
1. Heat the goose fat (or the oil) in a large skillet over high heat.
2. Add the chopped onions and fry till they get a nice golden color.
3. Add the livers, season with salt and pepper, and cook them on a low-medium heat until ready (about 7 min).
4. Place the onions and livers (and some of the juices) in a large bowl and let cool. Keep the remaining juices.
5. Add the hard-boiled eggs and the cognac. Mix everything roughly with a knife.
6. Use an electric spoon or a food processor to mix till you get a nice smooth texture. Add the remaining liquid if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
7. Chill in the refrigerator before serving.

Serve with:
Fresh scallion chunks on top or crunchy fried onions
Fantastic on a slice of Challa bread, with horseradish and side of sliced cucumbers.

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Terry Poison live in NYC

Last night was hot at DROM! Tel Aviv’s notorious electrock&roll group, Terry Poison, made its New York City debut during the annual CMJ music festival.

Arriving straight from a performance at L.A.’s Fashion Week, this underground electro group took the stage for an explosive concert at DROM in the East Village.

With platinum blonde Louise on vocals, sexy Petite on keyboards, Anna on guitar, Gili on synth guitar, and Bruno rounding out the group as the self-proclaimed pimp on synth bass, Terry Poison is an all-live explosion.

Rising from the sweaty underground, Terry Poison has been performing together relentlessly all over Europe since 2004. Putting a great emphasis on music, staging and fashion—supported by two of TLV’s most renowned stylists—Terry Poison’s music and live shows have been described as nothing short of “American sleaze with European finesse,” “A true love-child of samplers and guitar riffs, analogue synths and apocalyptic beats”, and their favorite: “The Tarantino of pop”.

Terry Poison has hit the mainstream in Israel with their three massive hits that made it No. 1 on national radio. They were the warm-up act for electro-pop legends Depeche Mode during their opening tour concert in May 2009.

If you missed them last night, you can still catch them in NYC this weekend:

Fri. Oct. 23, 2009, 10:00 PM – Roxy Cottontail Event @ Tribeca Grand

Sat. Oct. 24, 2009, 10:00 PM – Highline Ball Room

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photo: Getty images

Ask an Israeli what image pops to mind when thinking of health and prosperity, and chances are it’s that of Eli Hurwitz, Chairman of Teva Pharmaceutical. Why, you may ask?

Because over the past fifty years, Teva Pharmaceutical has become the biggest manufacturer of generic drugs in North America and one of the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

Lately this feeling has been bolstered by BusinessWeek magazine, which ranked Teva number 20 in the Best Company in the World list, out of 40 global companies, making it the only pharma company on the list adjacent to companies like Amazon, Movil communications and Petrobras — the Brazilian oil giant.

As to the top three. Nintendo surprised us this year and beat giants Google and Apple for the No. 1 spot, who will have to settle for less than number 1.

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