Sharon Cohen, better known by her stage name of Dana International, the winner of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, is set to take part in the 2011 competition, the Israeli broadcaster IBA confirms. Dana will be singing the song ‘Ding Dong.’
Burger Ranch Takes Over Burger King
The 55 Burger King fast food restaurants across Israel will soon be rebranded under the Israeli Burger Ranch chain, which will have a total of 107 fast food restaurants at the end of the change.
Orgad Holdings, the company that owns franchise rights to Burger King in Israel and is full owner of the Burger Ranch, announced the change on Sunday.
Brothers Eli and Yuval Orgad, owners of the company, said taste tests and various trials conducted over recent months have shown unequivocally that the “Burger Ranch Bull” is the preferred brand in Israel.
“We were very excited to learn that, for many Israelis, Burger Ranch is not just a hamburger, sauces and vegetables, but is also large bites of nostalgia. And for this, credit goes to the chain’s founders, who nurtured this brand with so much talent over so many years,” the Orgad brother said in a statement.
Israel Lifts Apple iPad Ban
Israel has lifted a ban on Apple’s popular iPad tablet computer, ending restrictions that had been imposed over concerns the gadget’s wireless signal could disrupt other devices.
Communications Ministry officials conducted “intensive technical scrutiny in a controlled laboratory” before deciding to allow the iPad into the country, said Yechiel Shabi, a ministry spokesman.
Israel announced the ban shortly after the iPad’s April 3 launch in the U.S. Officials said at least 10 of the flat, touchscreen computers were seized at the country’s international airport. Shabi said owners of the confiscated iPads would be permitted to retrieve them.
Israeli standards mirror those of many European nations, but Israel has been the only country to ban iPad imports ahead of the product’s international release. Apple has delayed the launch until late May, citing heavy sales in the U.S.
General Jones Apologizes For Telling Jewish Joke
The room erupted in laughter after National Security Adviser James Jones told a Jewish joke last week to kick off his keynote address to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel organization.
But apparently not everyone in the room was amused – and by Monday, when the Israeli paper Haaretz published a story, a full-fledged international incident was born.
On Monday, Mr. Jones issued an apology. In addition, the White House created the appearance of scrubbing the books by not including the off-the-cuff joke in its official transcript of his remarks. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied any coverup. “It was obviously an on-camera speech,” he said, per Fox News. “There was no attempt to deceive.”
Israel Bans Imports Of Apple’s iPad
Israel has banned imports of Apple Inc.’s hottest new product, the iPad, citing concerns the powerful gadget’s wireless signals could disrupt other devices.
Customs officials said they have already confiscated about 10 of the lightweight tablet computers since Israel announced the new regulations this week. The ban prevents anyone – even tourists – from bringing iPads into Israel until officials certify that they comply with local transmitter standards.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission allows devices with Wi-Fi capability to broadcast at higher power levels than are allowed in Europe and Israel – meaning that the iPad’s stronger signal could throw off others’ wireless connections, Schubert said.
“If you operate equipment in a frequency band which is different from the others that operate on that frequency band, then there will be interference,” said Nati Schubert, a senior deputy director for the Communications Ministry. “We don’t care where people buy their equipment. … But without regulation, you would have chaos.”
Some Israelis successfully got the popular devices into Israel before the ban.
Desk-Bound Men Target Of New Wonder Underwear
Businessmen who vowed to hit the gym daily in 2010 but are yet to leave the desk are the target of a new, fast-growing line of high-tech underwear which boasts to trim the torso while also benefiting your health.
Just ask Gavin Jones, co-founder of Australia-based company Equmen which has pioneered “fitwear” for men who spend the week hunched over desks in high-stress jobs and weekends chasing their children.
Jones said compression wear was well researched and accepted among elite athletes as was shapewear for women that trims and smoothes those stubborn bulges, but when he stood in front of the mirror he had one question — what about me?
“I was just beginning to show the signs of wear and tear. I had a pretty active 20s and 30s and maintained a great social life and played sport but I was just starting to turn the corner into middle age,” Jones, 43, a former journalist, told Reuters.
While women have quickly snapped into the increasing lines of shapewear, trebling sales in the past decade according to the market research NPD Group, Jones realized men wanted more than a male girdle or “mirdle” to trim the beer gut if they were to upgrade from their boxers or cotton briefs with fancy waistband.
Pizza Sales Soar After Passover
As Passover came to an end Monday evening, Israelis rushed to consume leavened food.
The Mishlohim website reported of a 38% rise in fast food deliveries at the end of the holiday compared to a regular day on the week before Pesach.
The website measured the food delivery orders as of 7:30 pm, when the holiday ended. According to its report, the sharpest increase – of about 50% – was recorded in the pizza arena, while hamburger orders saw a 30% rise.
The yearning for leavened food appeared to be bigger than last year, as deliveries were up 20% on Monday night compared to the end of Passover 2009.
Guy Naor, director-general of the Mishlohim-Shop company, said that most orders were made in Tel Aviv and central Israel, from national chains and local restaurants which continued to sell bread during the holiday.
Spencer Tunick Eyes Tel Aviv For Next Nude Revue
Photographer Spencer Tunick, who is famous for taking photographs of nude crowds at sites around the world, is planning to bring his project to Israel.
“He has not decided on a site yet, but when there’s a lot of press coverage, he is less likely to come somewhere,” Harry Fruchter, Tunick’s producer in Israel, told the Jerusalem Post. “He’d like to work without any outside influences. If he can’t find that kind of situation, when he comes, he will probably be less cooperative.”
Should he confirm plans to work in Israel, reports say likely sites Tunick might chose are Tel Aviv or the Dead Sea. Israel’s Tourism Ministry and the Tel Aviv Municipality appeared excited at the prospect of a Tunick visit, calling it good for the image of the country and the city. However, from the floor of the Knesset, religious lawmakers blasted the idea. Some said a photo of a mass of nude Jews would be reminiscent of the Holocaust. Others called it prostitution.
Tunick recently photographed 5,200 nude Australians on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, one of 75 locations at which he has taken nude photos of crowds. “Ohio 1,” his 2004 photo of hundreds of naked Clevelanders outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, hangs in the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Israeli Arabs Flock To Turkey
There have been many recent reports on a consumer boycott in Israel against vacationing in Turkey, traditionally a popular destination during the Passover holiday.
It seems, however, that more Arab Israelis than ever are traveling to Turkey following a set of Turkish soap operas aired in Israel that are particularly popular in the sector.
With estimates that Israelis have largely forgotten about various calls to stay away from Turkish vacation packages and reports of “business as usual”, not enough light has been shed on Arab Israeli vacation choices. It seems they are traveling to the neighboring country more than ever.
One of the main reasons for Arab Israelis’ preference for Turkey is economic. With high rates of unemployment and poverty in the sector, many seek out relatively inexpensive vacation deals.
“The Arabs turn to Turkey because of the low prices, because there are good brands there, and because they get good value for their money,” said manager of Nazarine Tours, Ghanem Abu Seif to Ynet.
President Obama’s Passover Greeting
President Barack Obama has published a greeting to the Jewish world in general and to Israel in particular, ahead of the Passover Seder.
After the one of the most strained weeks in Israel-US ties in years, Obama offered warm words to the Jewish people, some even in Hebrew.
He started his greeting with a verse from the Talmud in Hebrew, followed by the English translation: “In every generation, each of us should feel as though we ourselves had personally gone forth from Egypt.”
The American president also ended his greeting with the Hebrew words “Chag Sameach”, meaning happy holiday.
Obama’s letter read: “This evening, Jewish individuals, families, and their friends in America, Israel, and around the world will gather around the Seder table to celebrate the sacred festival of Passover.
