The music scene's new groove

Jerusalem Post, Metro; June 29, 2007

Record companies, musicians and schools are dealing with the cellphone and Internet era by restructuring the way they make and sell their music.

The digital age has claimed many casualties the world over: printed classified ads, snail mail, music CDs, and no less than all of these, record companies. Music technology and the internet have transformed the way creative musicians produce, market and distribute music, rendering many artists less reliant on record companies.

Artists can now brand themselves as record labels, creating full albums from the comfort of their own bedroom for little more than the cost of computer hardware and software.

Israeli record companies are restructuring their business models to adapt to industry developments brought on by new technologies. Music schools are adding technology and music business courses to their curricula, and artists are picking up new, non-music related skills in order to compete as self-sufficient artists.

To help musicians navigate the redrawn industry battleground, Koltura, a Tel Aviv-based production and public relations company, held its first 'Conference for Israeli Musicians' earlier this month, drawing over 100 musicians over the course of three days, covering topics such as breaking into international markets, grass-roots concert promotion, penetrating the cellphone market and self-management.

'In our two years of operation, we have encountered many artists who are very talented but face obstacles in getting their music heard, making a living from music, and managing themselves in the music industry,' explained Oded Mizrachi, public relations director of Koltura. 'Many musicians manage themselves in a way that was relevant 20 years ago - they view record labels and radio as the main means. Today, in the world of the internet and cellphones - an age when everyone can record in their home studios - there are many more opportunities for artists who haven't signed with a record label to promote themselves, whether through internet marketing or intense field work to get gigs.'

During the same week of this conference, the Hed College of Contemporary Music in south Tel Aviv held a week-long seminar on the music business - a largely underdiscussed topic in local music schools - as part of the school's 16th anniversary celebrations. Entitled 'How to Advance a Music Industry Career,' the seminar brought top industry professionals to lecture on topics such as copyrights, the functions of a record company and public relations.

'Today the name of the game is marketing, PR, collaborations and initiative,' says music producer Danny Recht, who lectured on the effect of industry changes in the market. Recht runs his own music consultancy firm and has produced hit albums for Israeli bands including Rockfour, Teapacks and Knesiat HaSechel.

Speaking with Metro at his sleek studio loft in south Tel Aviv, he noted that the most striking change in the music industry has been the proliferation of quality home studios that have made the 'master recording' - the main commodity of music companies - obsolete.

Some music today doesn't even require packaging. Songs or tracks could be created using digital synthesizers and then transferred as a digital file with the touch of a button.

Recht pulled out a 'relic' from Israeli modern history: a two-inch tape of the 1994 album of Knesiat HaSechel on which 24 pre-mix audio channels, symbolized by grooves in the tape, have been recorded. 'I keep it as a souvenir,' he said.

Today, modern sequencing programs simulate the process of a two-inch tape, allowing producers and artists to record and mix dozens of music channels through their personal computer. New sounds can be synthesized using sound design software and some artists can bypass recording acoustic instruments by incorporating natural-sounding instrument music samples into their tracks.

As methods for creating and distributing music have become cheaper and more accessible, artists, managers and record labels must divert their energies and resources to creative marketing and promotion if they want to break into the mainstream market. 'I think music production geared for a commercial audience has to have behind it someone who can strategize and develop an artistic concept,' says Recht. 'Today, it's not enough that a song will sound good. A place has to be created for it on the crowded shelf.'

Udi Henis, A&R director for one of Israel's largest record labels, Hed Artzi, and teacher of music business at the Rimon School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in Ramat Hasharon, considers record companies 'passe' and notes that they must now refashion themselves as 'music companies' to stay afloat. This means focusing more on distribution, public relations and artist management rather than traditional music production. 'They've suddenly understood - it took a bit of time - that you can't make a profit from CDs alone,' says Henis. 'They're getting more into management, booking.'

This does not mean that artists do not seek homes - and transformative backing - within large record companies that have already built up connections, credibility and resources to advance their artists. Henis himself has been responsible for signing breakout artists such as Harel Skaat, Keren Peles and Din Din Aviv.
'We still have a lot of artists. The A&R department is also searching for artists, not necessarily those who are just starting out,' says Henis.

Realizing the importance of the home studio, contemporary music schools in Tel Aviv have all made classes in sequencing technology a required course for its students, although schools vary on the weight they give to music technology.

Muzik, a relatively new music school founded in 1997 as 'the DJ School for Contemporary Music,' has recently developed a three-year academic program born out of the recent changes in the music industry. The approach at Muzik is that technology is not only a means to record, but an indelible part of the creative act, often expressed in electronic music genres such as electro punk, minimal techno, industrial R&B and funk metal. The school offers courses in traditional topics such as music theory, orchestration and arrangement, alongside courses in professional home studio creation, sound design, live performance software, self-promotion and management.

'Until about 12 years ago, a composing musician would have to create a demo, in which he recorded himself singing with accompaniment and presented a cassette to a record label,' explains Ronen Heruti, director of Muzik, from his office near the Azrieli towers. 'A band would go into a recording studio and create a rough sketch. There was only one address: the record company, who usually rejected them. [If not rejected,] the record company would begin the process of signing the artist: producing an album in a professional studio; hiring a musical arranger; coordinating rehearsal rooms; recording, finishing and mastering the work. It was an expensive process. Few artists could afford this production process on their own.'

The mass marketing of the CD-R, the increased speed of computer processors and peer-to-peer technology have changed all that. 'The home studio was born. Suddenly, the computer could be the center of music creation. You may not achieve the same results as recording in a very expensive studio, but you can create something at a professional level,' Heruti expounds.

Muzik's curriculum is based on the vision of an independent artist who can rely on his home computer to draw from a full orchestra - plus original synthesized sounds - to produce a self-made album. 'Our students build their own independent home studios from the moment they enter school,' explains Amit Hecht, the academic director at Muzik. 'They view it as their most important creative toolÊand do most of their production workÊfrom home already at the end of their first year.'

Muzik recently partnered with the Open University to offer a BA in humanities specializing in music production. As part of its pioneering approach, Muzik does not offer formal classes for more traditional musical instruments such as guitar, but rather requires students to study keyboard skills and a percussive instrument. The keyboard serves not only as a piano simulator, but as MIDI controller. For the uninitiated, it is hardware or software which generates and transmits MIDI data to MIDI-enabled devices.

Many artists point out that technology still has its limits, and some are wary of jumping on the 'do-it-all-yourself' bandwagon. Even those conversant with the latest sequencing program or instrument plug-in prefer to focus on developing their musical talent and vision, deferring recording and mixing to technicians.

Michael Gottlieb, a recent graduate of Hed and an aspiring film soundtrack composer, does not rely on his home studio to produce his songs, even though music technology is an integral part of Hed's curriculum. 'The home studio is mostly to create demos. For electronic music it is an alternative, but for recording live instruments, it's not.'

Some genres are less affected by the digital age, among them classical music and jazz. 'Jazz is something that is live. You don't record jazz albums at home,' points out Rimon saxophone student Udi Aranoff. 'CDs of instrumentalist music are not recorded at home, [although] the work of a creator can be done at home.'

Aranoff uses the sequencing program CuBase to compose and test his own melodies. 'No musician works without technology. It's like a kid who doesn't know how to surf the net,' he says.

Na'ama Waisel, 18, a first-year student in composition and arrangement at Rimon, envisions herself as a 'total musician.' 'The musician of tomorrow wants to do everything, to multi-task: production, playing, arrangement, composition, sound and promotion,' she proclaims.

Rimon, Israel's largest school for contemporary music that began its career two decades ago as a school for jazz, has embraced music's technological advances, having added required courses in computer sequencing programs for all students. Yet the school maintains a focus on producing quality musicians steeped in traditional principles of music and performance. 'We teach music first of all and then add technology, hoping that good musicians will know how to use technology to make good music,' says Amikam Kimelman, director of Rimon.

'You can view technology as a new platform - it's like another orchestra. It has new sounds, new abilities, but it's still another platform. It doesn't work by itself - you have to fill it with music.'

Nor does he think that the Internet or cellular phones are powerful enough platforms to create stars. Radio and television still remain the medium of choice for exposure. 'Of course you get plenty of stuff in the internet, but psychologically people prefer to be heard on Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) rather than an internet radio station,' says Kimelman. 'That's where most of the action is. People use television and radio more than computers for music. Songs do sell, you can now buy music on-line, but you can't really be heard. People still try to get into the major labels or a spot on television before trusting their website. It doesn't promote itself.'

Henis of Hed Artzi maintains that (Army Radio's music and traffic updates station) Galgalatz, for example, is still very popular and a coveted destination for mainstream artists. 'We're very much dependent on radio. We try to use the Internet as much as possible, but radio is the secret.'

As it has been for decades, getting on a radio playlist is not as easy as posting music on a Myspace page or Youtube. 'Radio is a very sore subject,' says Henis. 'We have no control over the radio. Many times I get music which I know from experience and my guts will do very well, but the only way it'll get heard is through radio, and they won't play it.'

To reach the radio and television, even extremely talented artists cannot rely on their entrepreneurial spirit alone. Like actors need agents, a musician generally fares better with a creative, insistent, visionary manager.

With the decline in income from disc sales, artists and record companies must look elsewhere for sources of income - and for the resourceful artist, they are not lacking.

Moshe Morad, a music consultant and manager who served as CEO of NMC and marketing executive at EMI, dispensed advice and encouragement to students at the Hed seminar, slamming the myth that piracy has robbed artists of a significant source of income. 'Today people buy music more than they ever did: computer games, telephones, ring-tones, elevators, cafes. Music is now a part of life. Even if you don't hear the first source - you don't buy discs - you're surrounded by music, in commercials, on television.'

As an example, he passed around an e-mail he received from an advertising company seeking a 'unique' musical piece for a telephone commercial. The musician is given specific guidelines for the piece: 'distinctive, not retro, original, fresh, unique, warm, positive and emotionally charged.' Such solicitations, however, wouldn't reach an artist directly and are generally channeled through a manager.

The potential of publishing - selling the music's rights - is becoming an increasingly developed field in Israel, as it is abroad, with artists charging hefty sums for the use of their music in television, commercials, films and a variety of other consumers.

Among the leading purchasers of rights are cellphone companies, who pay artists handsome sums for exclusivity. Artists receive royalties for every download - instead of boasting gold albums, they now literally boast 'gold ringtones' which means their song was downloaded from cellular companies at least a certain number of times. [see sidebar]

Recht notes that the phenomenon of sponsorship is increasing and that big companies will seek to associate themselves with certain artists to maintain a certain image, making branding all the more important for an artist seeking to make megabucks.
Merchandising, Henis said, is still an underdeveloped field in Israel, mostly because 'it's hard to have idol quality in Israel because everything is so close.'

But while Israel, the hi-tech bubble that it is, has adapted rapidly to technological changes, the local music business still lags behind. 'Changes in the music industry allow almost everyone with talent to check out the potential of his or her music to reach a crowd, but on a parallel level there's not enough grooming of professionals in the music business,' remarked Recht.

Unlike American and European schools, no Israeli colleges offer a Bachelors or Masters in music business. As an example, Recht pulled from his library a sample of books in English on the music business, noting that 'there are no equivalents in Hebrew.'

'There are very few entertainment lawyers,' said Henis, who says that Israeli studios can easily out-do some European studios in their level of sophistication - a sophistication generally not matched in the field of music business. 'Money is always a problem here. Music doesn't have the allure and money that it has in the States, but I think [the local music business] will grow.'

Recognizing the need for good music business professionals, the Hed music college is seeking to team-up with a local business college to offer a BA in music business. 'I think the industry in Israel is run by people who don't have a clue about how business should be run. Most of them are musicians,' says Yehuda Cohen, director of Hed. 'To know how to run a school, orchestra, band or theater company, you have to have knowledge - and it's not something you can learn in a regular music school.'

Given all the advances in technology, there are some musical experiences that technology can assist, but not replicate. 'The digital age still can't reconstruct the art of stage performance,' notes Recht.

And performing artists who don't perform have little chance of surviving beyond the computer screen.

'I won't sign artists who won't gig,' says Henis. 'If an artist won't gig, there's no use. They won't sell a copy. Before they come to us they have to gig. I have to know that they're hungry, that they want to get their music out there.'

According to Henis, Israel suffers from another ailment that no software can fix. 'There's a huge lack of talent. There's so much happening. So many studios and home studios, so many people recording, but very few stand out. I don't know why that is. I have a hard time explaining it. We'll sit through huge amounts of stuff. It's not easy.'

He attributes this in part to the fledging rock and pop culture in Israel. Another cause may be the need for local artists to spread their energies. With such a small market, a creative musician must be a jack-of-all-music trades to make a living: teacher, performer and technician. 'Because of the economic situation in Israel,' notes Henis, 'someone who only does one thing has no chance unless they're the best at what they do. For the very best, there's room for only four or five.'

The technological advances that make creation and promotion much more accessible to artists do not mean that success is achieved with the touch of a button. 'One of the important things the musicians learned is that being a musician is a full-time job,' said Mizrachi, speaking after the Koltura conference. 'They let go of the fantasy that you can be signed to a record label and sit back. Musicians have to understand that their success depends on their own efforts.'

The Galilean cradle of religions

Jerusalem Post, Weekend Magazine; June 28, 2007

Druse, Christian and Muslim towns make for eye-opening lessons and good eating.

I have to admit, although I run the risk of being politically incorrect, whenever I drive through Galilean roads and pass Arab towns or villages, a slight fear grips me. Since the level of distrust among Jews and Arabs has increased since the intifada, I suspect most Israelis would probably think twice before entering an unfamiliar Arab town to catch a bite or change a tire.

But that doesn't have to be the case. Walking tours within non-Jewish towns and villages - with or without guides - can be eye-opening and tasty experiences. During a recent tour in Western Galilee, I meandered through Muslim, Christian and Druse towns, as well as Baha'i landmarks, only to discover cultural richness, friendliness - and some surprises.

Olive Country
We begin the tour at the visitors' center of the only Jewish olive press in Lower Galilee, Avtalyon - named after the tannaitic sage who migrated there after the destruction of the Second Temple. A quaint cafe serving olive oil-rich, Arab-style foods overlooks the never ending groves of olive trees belonging to the Arab town of Arrabe, which is part of the "axis of olives" in Lower Galilee, along with Sakhnin, Deir Hanna, Marah and Rama.

Avtalyon offers year-round tours, tastings, and lectures on the production and health benefits of olive oil.

Even though I felt nervous passing through the town, Elbaz assured me it was safe and our tour guide, Morris Zemach, author of Traveling with Morris in the Galilee, slammed the myth that Arrabe residents are stingy and not friendly. But we didn't stop to find out.

We continued to Deir Hanna, a mixed Muslim-Christian town with some of the country's oldest olive trees. Every home there once had a working olive press, but industrialization made them obsolete.

"Many Jews don't like to come here," Zemach explained as we stood under an Ottoman stone gate where Muslim elders of the adjacent mosque often meet after prayers. "They're afraid, but that comes from lack of knowledge. You can feel welcome to come on your own."

Zemach, who is friendly with the locals, took us through a Muslim home whose backyard contains the remains of a Byzantine fortress built by Daher el Omar, Ottoman ruler of Galilee in the 1700s. The residents, an elderly couple, didn't seem to mind that we passed through, although when we left and wished them a good day, they didn't exactly smile and wave back.

But gregariousness was not lacking at the Houris, a Christian family that have made their centuries-old olive press a tourist attraction.

The father of the house, Mutlak, and his wife entertained us with a darbuka and violin; the music wasn't exactly the most melodious, but it was endearing. The Houris sell homemade olive oil and carob honey in the same room as their refurbished ancient oil press.

"The building is 1,500 years old, the press is 250 years old, and the donkey that pulls the press is 1,007 years old," explained Mutlak with a joke he probably reserves for all visitors.

Further northwest, in Kafr Yasif, Muslim, Christian and Druse communities open their mosques and churches to Jewish tourists. Jews once lived here too, back at the turn of the first millennium, and an ancient Jewish cemetery is sadly hidden among dying weeds at the side of the main road, across the street from a Superpharm.

An ornate, medieval-style Greek Orthodox church is open to the non-Christian public, and nearby is an Evangelical church. The felafel and humous joints along the main road are said to be among the best in Israel.

Our tour guide, Amnon Gofer, encourages visitors to wander through the village, and even knock on doors and have coffee or tea with the locals, to find out more.

Druse Hospitality
The hassidic man with peyot walking around the Druse village of Sajur seems like an anomaly, but a hassidic presence has existed in Sajur for the past five years - ever since Ibrahim Riad decided to make his family Druse restaurant kosher. The Riads' "The Sultan's Feast" began in a handsome, Oriental living room. Ibrahim's decision to go kosher was strictly business - and a smart one at that - judging by the religious tourists enjoying the food.

Mrs. Riad and her children are the chefs, making fresh, authentic Druse dishes like majadra, a dish of lentils, bulgur and onions; and "groom rice" with meat and cinnamon, served to a Druse groom on his wedding night to give him "strength." Ibrahim has three sons serving in the IDF, and his sweet, well-spoken daughters were on hand to give us some insight into the restaurant, the village, and the basics of the Druse faith.

Further west, in the Druse village of Julis, more clues into the Druse faith can be provided by Nabia Tarif, the grandson and personal assistant of Sheikh Amin Tarif, the "Lubavitcher rebbe" of the Druse community. Sheikh Tarif was given the rare Druse privilege of a private burial place, now a Druse holy place.

"During his tenure as head of the community, there wasn't any split within the Druse community," Nabia Tarif explained, bearing a noble stature, Druse headdress, friendly smile and sparkling blue eyes.

The wall of the visitors' center is covered with pictures of the sheikh and 20th-century notables: David Ben-Gurion, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Jimmy Carter.

Naji Abbas, who lives near the entrance to Julis, claims that his father was the first Druse to serve in the IDF in 1948. In honor of his parents, he planted a marvelous, fountain-filled garden in his backyard called "Fountains of Faith." He has opened it to the public for strolling, relaxing, and meditating - and also for wedding portraits, for which he charges a fee of NIS 100.

Baha'i Gardens
In Israel, the Baha'i faith is most famous for its stunningly landscaped administrative headquarters in Haifa, where the prophet- herald of the faith, the B[Dagger]b, is buried at the Shrine of the B[Dagger]b. But the religion actually took root in Acre.

The founder of the Baha'i faith, Baha'u'llah, an early follower of the B[Dagger]b, declared himself in 1863 to be the messenger of God foretold by the B[Dagger]b. He was banished across the Middle East, until he was thrown into the Acre prison by the Ottomans. When he was released under nominal house arrest, he remained in Acre to continue to document and reveal his message of monotheism and global unity. Now, six million Baha'is are spread throughout 200 countries. Only about 700 of them live in Israel at any given time, caring for Baha'i landmarks and welcoming pilgrims.

The Bahji Mansion in Acre, the burial place and shrine of Baha'u'llah, is the focal point of Baha'i prayer. Its structure is more modest than the "Shrine of the B[Dagger]b" in Haifa, built by Udi Khammar, a prominent Acre resident in the 19th century, but the gardens bear the beauty, geometry, and lushness that has become a signature of the Baha'is. A visitors' center at the mansion offers a brief history of the religion, including key figures and teachings.

(Box 1) Places to Stay
Netiv Hashayara
Many members of this agricultural moshav have traded in their hoes and tractors for beds and Jacuzzis. The moshav offers 70 guesthouses run by 15 families, including the Ya'aris' three Finnish wooden cabins set in a carefully designed tropical garden. The atmosphere of "Derech Hashenhav," as it is named, is not only beautiful and homey, but erotic. The only babies allowed on the premises are those being conceived. The soundproof cabins are decorated with roses and the large Jacuzzi is placed conveniently next to the bed. The guesthouse is supplied with soaps, treats, wine and every amenity a couple could need (except for certain toys). Scrumptious breakfasts are served in the Ya'ari home.
Weekdays: B&B: NIS 480; Weekends: B&B: NIS 1,200 for two nights.
Moshav reception: (04) 982-2261; Derech Hashenhav (Amalya):
(04) 982-2253; 052-828-0953.

Hacienda
While the North is replete with cozy, private guesthouses, those seeking a hotel experience, whether to accommodate kids or an event, can opt for Hacienda, which preserves a lodge atmosphere amidst deluxe four-star amenities. Located within the forests of Western Galilee, between Ma'alot and Kfar Vradim, the campus includes five buildings and 140 suites sprawled over 70 dunams. The main drawback is the price, which doesn't compete with the price of some cozier, more private cabins.
Weekdays: NIS 580 B&B; Weekends: NIS 700 B&B (min. two nights); After July 26 - Weekdays: NIS 780 B&B; Weekends: NIS 720 B&B (min two nights).

(Box 2) The details
_ Avtalyon Olive Press and Cafe:
(04) 678-9521; www.avtalion-oil.net
_ The Houri Family: 050-751-9597;
(04) 678-4035
_ Kafr Yasif Greek Orthodox Church:
054-310-9023; Evangelical Church:
(04) 996-5461; The Great Mosque:
Sheikh Abbad: 050-908-4020
_ The Sultan's Feast: 050-763-7130;
(04) 998-3629
_ Sheikh Tarif Visitors' Center:
(04) 996-4097
_ Gardens of Faith: 052-431-8414
_ Baha'i - For information: (04) 831-3131
_ Tour Guide Information: Morris the Tour
Guide (English): (04) 693-6924;
052-849-9217
_ Amnon the tour guide (Hebrew):
054-654-9191
_ Galilee Tourist Board: 1700-70-50-50

Pancakes for dinner? (restaurant review)

Jerusalem Post, Weekend Magazine; June 28, 2007

Benedict is a welcome concept, where breakfast is a fashion as much as it is a meal.

It's 11:30 a.m., and I figure it's getting a little late for breakfast. But at Benedict in Tel Aviv, the city that never sleeps, it's never too late for breakfast. Or actually, it's never too early for breakfast.

"You'll hear 'good morning' here all the time," explained Yair Kindler, co-owner and visionary of Benedict. Six years ago, Kindler thought of this new concept as a business idea: a breakfast restaurant open 24/7. He realized this vision about a half year ago.

Located on the corner of Ben-Yehuda and Jabotinsky streets, Benedict has the look and feel of a French cafe- bistro - with its white brick walls, round wooden tables and a shelf with decorative books; but Kindler stresses that Benedict is a restaurant, specializing and excelling in one genre of food: breakfast. Benedict truly is a brilliant idea, especially for a city where bars get busy only at midnight and night prowlers seek munchies at ghostly hours.

"Breakfast is not just a course on the menu, but a whole genre of food," says Kindler, who believes that in Israel, people eat "breakfast foods" all the time, especially light "dinners" such as omelets and yogurts.

After six months in business, Benedict is already the talk of the morning. Blame it on the gimmick, or on the darn good breakfasts.

I order, of course, Eggs Benedict, but as a non-pork eater, I opt for the Eggs Benedict Florentine (with spinach) for NIS 44. As legend has it, explains Kindler, the dish was created in 1894 by Lemuel Benedict at New York's Waldorf-Astoria when he craved a meal to treat a hangover - and I can understand its curative powers. The ghastly amounts of fat are sure to absorb any alcohol in the system.

The eggs were perfectly poached, which is a welcome feat in a country which I have found translates "over easy" into "sunny side up slightly scrambled." The yolk was perfectly preserved inside fluffy whites. The hollandaise sauce, the same color as the yolk, soaked the toast beneath, maybe a bit too much. If I thought I came for breakfast, I finished the meal feeling like I had just eaten a heavy dinner. I could hardly move, and I realized that it's a dish better shared. But it was well worth the rich taste.

All egg dishes come with a plate of refillable, home- baked breads and bread sticks, baked in an oven on view at the "bread bar." The rolls are fresh and soft, mouthwatering like biscuits, and perfect for spreading Nutella, which is served as a condiment on every table. Morning cocktails are mixed at the bread bar all hours of the day. There are many servers to keep up with the traffic, and they are all friendly and helpful.

Egg breakfasts range from NIS 36 (shakshuka) to NIS 79 (Texas- style breakfast, i.e. steak and eggs), with several international varieties to satisfy both dairy and meat lovers. While only seven formal egg dishes are listed on the menu, the eggs are merely the medium, and the cheeses, vegetables, and meats (including ham) are the colors of the palette mixed to create breakfast masterpieces. The egg breakfasts come with coffee and juice (go for the freshly squeezed O.J. and not the factory-bought lemonade).

For those watching their cholesterol intake, there are a few healthier options, like salads and muesli. Waffles and pancakes aren't as generously represented on the menu as they would be, say, at International House of Pancakes (IHOP), probably the closest American concept to a "breakfast" restaurant.

Benedict isn't suited for people who want to perch for a few hours with a laptop. It is, after all, a restaurant, or more like an edible breakfast gallery, where breakfast is a fashion as much as it is a meal.

Go, go Gao (restaurant review)

Jerusalem Post, Weekend Magazine; June 14, 2007

Meaning "a step forward" in Thai, Gao is a kosher Thai kitchen located on Tel Aviv's Rehov Hahashmonaim. The name struck a chord, owner Amir Adar says, because he sought a "step forward" after he had to close his dairy restaurant in Safed after the Second Lebanon War made business plummet.

Gao, however, is a step forward in other ways as well. It offers quality, fresh and authentic kosher Thai cuisine in a very clean, sleek, modern setting. Portraits of Japanese graffiti and gibberish on the walls seem like a non-sequitur but contribute to the cute, easy vibe of the joint.

Gao food can best be characterized as "gourmet fast food." "Gourmet" because of the quality of the raw materials, the attention to detail by the Thai chefs and the consistent standards; "fast" because the meals are prepared quickly and Gao specializes in take-out. The menu offers a very large selection of classic Thai dishes, making Gao a lunch-hour favorite for businesses in the restaurant-packed area.

I started with the egg rolls (NIS 9), served aesthetically on white ceramic. While the flavor was fine but no more, it was clear the preparation wasn't hasty or haphazard. The fish noodles (NIS 38), a Thai concoction of salmon, leek, spinach and cashews, was very good, with just the right blend of soy and ginger.

The same quality was evident in the Beef Gao (NIS 37), tempura beef made with crunchy raw sweet potato, onions, carrots, peppers and cashews. Because of its rich flavor, I would have rather it came with white rice, rather than the mediocre flavored rice I was served for absorbing the rich sauce.

The prices here are reasonable, especially considering the generous portions.
On Friday Gao has an excellent 20 percent off deal, which makes it a recommended Shabbat take-out option. For NIS 100 you can buy a Friday night meal that can serve at least four people, if you fancy Asian cuisine for Shabbat. I heated up the chicken Gao Pat Kati on Friday evening. Of course, it lost some of its freshness and the oil sank to the bottom, but for NIS 30, the tasty chicken/ broccoli dish was more than worth it.

Gao, Rehov Hahashmonaim 91, Tel Aviv.
Tel. (03) 561-3553. Kosher.

History and trends blend in Jerusalem

The Jewish Journal; June 7, 2007

Click here for original

With style, fanfare and fireworks, the $400 million Mamilla Alrov commercial and residential quarter opened its Jerusalem stone doors to the public on May 28.

The only completed portion is a small section of the outdoor mall, but among its anticipated 138 stores are Israeli fashion chains and boutique shops, as well as high-end retail outfits like Tommy Hilfiger, MAC, Bebe, H. Stern and Ralph Lauren. To use a Los Angeles analogy, it may be fair to say that the Holy City has just welcomed its equivalent of The Grove.

Unlike The Grove, however, the Mamilla Alrov Quarter need not create artificial facades to evoke a historical texture. Built on the historic Rehov Mamilla, the quarter has been a restoration project as much as an effort in capitalism.

It served as the first trading center outside the Old City walls at the turn of the century.

Visitors can walk along a street where Jordanian snipers fired at indigent Israelis who lived there in the years following the War of Independence. The French Catholic Convent of Saint Vincent de Paul stands oddly between the Israeli clothing shop Renuar and Erroca Eyewear. Even though the Old City is a tourist magnet on Shabbat and holidays, all stores will be closed on the holy days.

One aim of the project is to contribute style to an area associated more with political and religious tension rather than colorful trends: the Jaffa Gate right outside the Old City walls.

By 2008 the complex will include 50 luxury residences and the five-star Alrov Mamilla Jerusalem Hotel, all designed by world-renowned Israeli Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. The hefty price tags of the condos range from $1.1 million to $13 million. Today, roughly 35 percent of the Mamilla properties have already been sold, mostly to foreign residents.

The project has been many decades in the making and is considered among the most ambitious and contentious enterprises ever undertaken in the city. The visionary behind the project is real-estate magnate Alfred Akirov, who built Tel Aviv's Opera Tower and Treetop Towers. He and his associates endured long battles with government bureaucracy as well as environmental and religious groups objected to the construction of such a massive complex in an archeology-rich, hallowed neighborhood.

Safdie designed the project with sensitivity to the site's archeology and history. Many of the historic structures have been restored or reassembled, using the original Jerusalem stone. One such structure is the Stern House, where Theodor Herzl stayed overnight during his visit to Jerusalem in 1898. The mall is generally proportionate with the architecture of the immediate environs. The greatest challenge in creating the complex has been "patience," Safdie said.

In a city often touted as one of the poorest and politicized in Israel, Safdie believes the project will bring a much-needed revival to the commercial and cultural landscape in Jerusalem.

"I think the project is a bridge and connection, by uniting the Old City with the new city, the Arab side with the Israeli side. I think it will bring life to the entire central business district," he said.

Those who still prefer the traditional Israeli shopping experience, where they can find bargains through old-fashioned haggling, can easily take a short walk down the path of the promenade, past the Jaffa Gate into the bustling shuk in the Arab Quarter.

"That's what it's all about," Safdie said.

Reaching new heights

Jerusalem Post, Weekend Magazine; Jun 7, 2007

There's a host of new and newly improved activities in Galilee and the Golan for the whole family to explore. Just don't mention the war.

What war? You mean to tell me there was a war around here? That was the question that crossed my mind as I traveled as part of a press tour to northern Galilee and the Golan Heights. The drying, straw-yellow hills of the Golan, now ripe with garlic and cherries, bore no sign of tragedy. The only occasional shadow in the pastoral landscape were the tanks at the side of the road participating in a massive army drill; a grim reminder of the predicted war with Syria.

Talk of war hardly came up in conversations with the tour guides and sites we visited. I'm not sure whether to attribute this to painful denial, optimistic dismissal or just plain defiance, but entrepreneurs and tourism professionals are holding nothing back in developing the north for the waves of tourists they expect this summer. Millions of dollars are being invested to build, upgrade and rehabilitate.

Yalla Nasrallah, as they say. Northern Israel blooms in summertime despite you.

Kfar Giladi: The Chicken-Coop Path
At night the bus turns into Kibbutz Kfar Giladi, and near the entrance several stone plaques surround a small, bare plot of land. Twelve soldiers were killed here by a direct rocket hit during the war.

We focus on other monuments: monuments in honor of the industry and creativity of the north. Seven former chicken coops will soon be transformed into a pastoral promenade for shops and galleries. The project, called in Hebrew Shvil Halulim (the chicken-coop path) was started a year and a half ago by Yaron Bar, a northern native who got his inspiration from time spent in South Africa.

"I saw ranches in South Africa where you can find all the local products, wines, foods, oils, art and all types of goods," Bar said. To give local artisans a platform to showcase and sell their wares, he leased the former coops from the kibbutz for 20 years.

Sivan Ravitz from Kibbutz Dan opened the first business on the developing promenade right after the war. Razei Hata'am ("The Secrets of Taste") is a boutique food shop selling gourmet spices, oils, cheeses, pastas, meats and also kitchenware in a colorful and aesthetic setting. Her shop was a risky endeavor, not necessarily because of the war, but because of its novelty.

"People in the region aren't aware of the possibilities of delicatessens or the things they can offer. The purpose of the store is to suggest more options to people. It's catching on, but it's something new. Even during Pessah, people saw it as a gift shop. They need to get used to it as a place where they can buy food for themselves."

Interest in the compound suffered in the wake of the war, but it is starting to pick up again. In a few weeks a housewares shop and an art gallery will open their doors.
Probably the most remarkable attraction at the compound comes at the end of the path in the form of an imposing, antique basalt structure that is now home to 1922, a meat and wine bar. Built by French designers in 1922, the structure was used first as a barn and then as a secret weapons storehouse.

Through creative lighting and steel and glass decor, contemporary Israeli designers have transformed the interior into an enchanting restaurant combining the antique and modern. The high ceilings, cracked walls, chandeliers and gray tone made me feel like the place was haunted, but in the end I only felt pleasantly haunted by the excellent taste and preparation of the beef and lamb steaks served.

Razei Hata'am: Sun.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Fri., holiday eves 9 a.m.-4 p.m.;
Sat., holidays: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.,
(04) 694-6310
1922: Reservations: (04) 694-6646

The Wild Heights: Cowboy Village
It's a long, lonely ride to Kibbutz Merom Golan in the northern Golan, but this is where cowboy fantasies are realized.

Merom Golan has all the attractions to complete the experience: horse riding, tractor riding, a cattle ranch and a cowboy restaurant. Founded in 1997, the restaurant serves hickory-flavored chicken and smoky, grilled beef. The wooden logs adorned with posters of Clint Eastwood complete the Wild West theme.

Right behind the restaurant, the muscular Druse cowboy and horse trainer, William, led us on horse rides through the surrounding mountains on the rather tame and friendly horses. My horse, Pele, trailed behind the others and kept eating the shrubbery, but I still felt like a true cowgirl.

The scent of freshly chopped wood and fabrics fill beautiful cabins equipped with plasma televisions and mini Jacuzzis. These eight new additions to the kibbutz's existing boarding facilities are for tourists who like to live the cowboy good life. Another 12 units will be built in time for the High Holy Days.

Merom Golan: (04) 696-0267; www.meromgolantourism.co.il

Manara Cliff
For one minute, I was transformed into a rocket.

My most exhilarating moment in the north was flying through the air above Kiryat Shmona. For a few moments I dangled over this northern city, patches of Hula Valley farmland under my feet, the forests - some charred, some intact - in full view. It only took about 30 seconds to glide down the Omega human cable glide, but as the wind hit my face, I thought, what an eloquent answer to Nasrallah's Katyushas.
I reclaimed the northern skies.

Manara Cliff is known for its outdoor adventures, which also include rappelling and wall climbing. Forest fires damaged their 2- km.-long cable car ride, and the cliff reopened only last Pessah.

Manara cliff: NIS 49/NIS 59 (weekdays/weekends) for Omega cable glide.
NIS 95/NIS 105 for cable glide & activities. Between 4-5 p.m. daily, there's a happy hour with reduced rates. Tel 04-690-5830.

JNF Forests
JNF tour guides provide free tours of the forests overlooking the Galilee panhandle. It seems the European influence is not good for the north, at least in the field of greenery. Most of the damage in the last Lebanon war was incurred upon pine trees imported from Europe, which were too weak to withstand the heat and pressure. The JNF will rebuild the forest using more resilient, indigenous trees and greenery, such as oak.

With the backdrop of Lebanon and the Golan, our JNF tour guide gave us one of the most comprehensive explanations of the effects of the war.

THE BUREAU of Statistics has found that despite the war, internal tourism in the north has increased by about 5 percent this year, while foreign tourism has declined by about 10%. The increase can likely be attributed to Israeli solidarity.

But when I returned back to the center of the country, I realized there is another value to visiting spots hurt by the War. I couldn't help but feel inspired by the tenacity of the tourism and hotel operators and the local entrepreneurs. It's their energy, drive and hope that lend me to believe that despite all the heartache the north has undergone, the northern spirit largely remains indefatigable; a quality you can't see or read in a brochure - or ever really destroy.

Pride and politics

Jerusalem Post, Up Front; June 1, 2007

In an interview, Emuna Elon describes how she is putting culture on the Orthodox agenda

Readers of Emuna Elon's columns in Ma'ariv and Yediot Aharonot over the past 15 years might find her debut novel, If You Awaken Love, a striking, unlikely diversion from her political crusading. In her novel, political rhetoric is cooled and sympathies are spread over the political Left and Right alike.

If You Awaken Love is not a morality tale, but a love story, or rather, an unrequited love story. The heroine, Shlomtzion, is not a settler, but part of the Yeshivat Merkaz Harav milieu in the 1970s, the hothouse for the growing religious-Zionist movement after the Six Day War. Once her engagement to her teenage love, Yair, is nixed by the rosh yeshiva, the heartbroken Shlomtzion rebels against and questions that world.

'Everything that happens to her and everything she thinks, I know. It's all a part of me... I haven't lived as a secular person, but I've lived the possibility of that,' Elon tells The Jerusalem Post over coffee at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem.

Elon is 52, soft-spoken but brimming with quiet, intense passion. Wisps of hair fall from her blue-and- white, flowery scarf. But her imagination reaches far beyond the rocky hills of her settlement of Beit El, north of Jerusalem, where she lives with her husband, MK Benny Elon.

'When asked how I took upon myself to describe the life of a secular person without living it, I answer that Shlomtzion, my heroine, is not secular, that she violates the laws of the Torah, but she remains religious in her way of thinking. It's obvious that she doesn't stop believing in God for one minute. Someone who doesn't believe in God doesn't bother to dedicate her life to defying Him.'

And defy Him she does. On the rebound, Shlomtzion remarries a handsome, rugged army officer, Rosy, whom she divorces because of her lingering yet impossible love for Yair. Shlomtzion lives the single life in Tel Aviv as a successful interior designer, and her daughter with Rosy, Maya, emerges as the correction to Shlomtzion's soured relationship with Yair. Maya's engagement to religious Zionism and to Yair's son, Ariel, forces Shlomtzion to confront her former love and values.

Arguments about the virtues and non-virtues of the Oslo Accords that take place at Shlomtzion's apartment and later at the fictitious settlement of Tirza (based on Beit El) constitute the few instances of Left-Right wrangling in the book.

'All of those leftist viewpoints are those I understand, and I feel them. I know what it is to believe in all these 'leftist' ideals because they're in me. I see myself as a right-winger who sees the complexity of the situation.'

She considers the living conditions of Palestinian refugees, described briefly in the novel, a tragedy she can't ignore, but she doesn't believe uprooting settlements will solve their plight.

However, she won't say that outright in her novel, which bears no blatant political message or prescription. Elon is quick to tell me that 'messer,' or 'message' in Hebrew, means 'knife' in Yiddish, which can 'cut' a work of literature. 'A novel should try to express things, not to say what is wrong and what is right, not to put things in boxes, not to suggest how to solve the problems. A novel should only express how difficult it all is and how beautiful and impossible and painful and fulfilling.'

AMONG THE early advocates of the book was, surprisingly, the staunch left-wing writer Amos Oz, with whom she had struck up a 16-year correspondence while studying literature under him at Ben-Gurion University. He introduced her novel to Keter, which published it in Hebrew in 2004. The friendship has fostered mutual understanding, but neither has backtracked on his or her political stance.

'This is the essence of the political conflict in Israel. We still have to survive here together, all of us. There are very deep and strong feelings of anger toward each other, but we're still in this together.'

In her own political circles, Elon has received more understanding and encouragement than disapproval. Some fellow settlers have commented that her novel portrays too much sympathy for leftist viewpoints or Palestinian distress, but Elon is not deterred by such criticism. Readers may not become automatic settler supporters, but they might look upon settlers with increased empathy.

'An extreme leftist called me and said, 'I didn't know you fall in love.' If someone learns from one of my books that people in settlements are people who also fall in love, who have questions and problems about life, people who are complex and real, this is also an achievement. That is enough for me... We're not posters or banners. We hurt, we feel, we're alive.'

For Elon, writing the novel served as a personal and professional awakening. While building her home in Beit El and working as a teacher of Judaism and literature as well as a political columnist, she didn't consider writing literature an effective, worthy or desirable endeavor for fashioning Israel according to religious-Zionist values.

'Somehow we were brought up to believe it's more important to study and write about Torah, to educate, to settle the land, to be involved in security missions in the army. Contemporary Israeli culture always took a backseat,' she explains.

Elon and her husband established a printing press in 1987, which published seven of her children's books. Her mid-40s marked a turning point. 'I felt that I reached an age in which I had to write literature. I could no longer push it off.' Currently she dedicates most of her time to teaching and working on her second novel.

The 2005 disengagement gave an extra boost to this career switch. Since the evacuation, which continues to pain her, she has taken a break from political journalism.

'I felt that my voice couldn't be heard right now, and I didn't feel like continuing to write for a newspaper that supported [the disengagement].'

Now she views arts and culture as a legitimate, powerful and even desirable way for people of her political persuasion to influence society. 'Sometimes I think maybe [the disengagement] would not have happened if we had 'settled' as much in culture as in the land.'

SHE PUTS much of her faith in the younger generation, who are less shy about their creative pursuits. 'Among our younger generation, there is a lot of involvement in literature, film, poetry.'

Her son, for example, a filmmaker, is publishing a book of his short stories and her son-in-law is the literary editor at Makor Rishon and author of a soon-to-be- published book of poetry.

'The optimism, power and creativity of the youth are expressed in the novel in the form of the successful and loving relationship between Maya and Ariel,' she says. 'The younger generation in the settlements doesn't need the bombastic declarations we used when we were younger. They just live as proud Israeli Jews.'

Toward the end of the novel, Maya and Ariel describe their vision for an idyllic, ecological settlement. Shlomtzion and Yair see their former selves in them, and Yair remarks: 'When we were your age, we too wanted to fix the world.' To which Ariel responds: 'We don't want to fix the world,' with Maya adding softly, 'Only ourselves.'

'This is the most optimistic saying of the book,' says Elon. 'That the future of Israel would look better because of the natural attitude of the youngsters who don't feel like they have to prove anything to anyone. They just want to live life because they want to live life. This is the real way of fixing the world, and eventually, of everyone fixing him or herself.'