Monthly Archives: March 2019

Birthright is still growing

Posted on March 2, 2019

The Taglit-Birthright program in 2018 brought a record 48,000-plus young Jews from 67 countries to see Israel for the first time. In total 650,000 Jews have had the 10-day Birthright experience, and now Birthright is piloting 7-day tours for young … Continue reading →

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How Israel got into space

Posted on March 2, 2019

In 1961 the US-Russian space race was in full swing. Meanwhile, German scientists were helping Egypt build missiles to attack Israel. So Israeli PM David Ben Gurion ordered Rafael (Israel’s armaments authority) to demonstrate Israel’s capabilities by building Israel’s first … Continue reading →

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Shared taxis are a vehicle for kindness

Posted on March 2, 2019

Israel’s monit sherut is a shared 10-seater taxi alternative to the bus. Fares and change are passed between passengers and the driver. Strangers converse, visitors receive directions, and the elderly give advice to the young. The sherut provides positive shared … Continue reading →

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Israeli director wins Oscar for best Short

Posted on March 2, 2019

Israeli director Guy Nattiv won the Oscar for “Live Action Short Film” with his movie “Skin” at the Academy Awards. The 20-minute movie deals with a hate crime and its ramifications from the point of view of two children, one … Continue reading →

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Jerusalem – walk, run, ride, skate & eat

Posted on March 2, 2019

There’s plenty to enjoy in Jerusalem just now.  Red anemones have sprouted in the capital; Jerusalem is gearing up for its marathon on 15th Mar; Ice (skating) and Eat is the new concept in Mitchell Park and registration has opened … Continue reading →

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Fifty Shades of Fire

Posted on March 2, 2019

Israeli redheads gathered in Holon to mark the opening of the “Fifty Shades of Fire” photography exposition, featuring the work of Sharon Halabi. Three hundred Israeli redheads were photographed for the “ginger festival” exposition, after Halabi contacted local ‘gingers’ on … Continue reading →

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Bob Marley in Israel

Posted on March 2, 2019

With themes from the Jewish Bible playing a central role in reggae music for the past half century, Israel was the perfect place to celebrate the late Bob Marley on what would have been his 74th birthday. https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-jamaican-reggae-star-spreads-one-love-message-in-israel/

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Walmart’s first Israeli acquisition

Posted on March 2, 2019

Maybe it was all the Bamba bags in their stores that convinced Walmart to buy product review insight company Aspectiva – its first Israeli startup. Aspectiva’s artificial intelligence algorithms analyze product reviews and personalize the way that Walmart’s customers filter … Continue reading →

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Bamba is booming

Posted on March 2, 2019

Osem-Nestle has just opened a NIS 200 million new factory in Kiryat Gat that will double its production capacity and increase output of its iconic Bamba peanut snack to 1.5 million bags a day. Walmart has started stocking Bamba and … Continue reading →

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Forever 21 integrates Israeli app

Posted on March 2, 2019

I reported previously (Aug 2015) on the artificially intelligent app from Israel’s Donde that trawls images of fashion products to help customers in their search. Donde has now been integrated into fashion retailer Forever 21’s website. It has also just … Continue reading →

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