Jewish Journal; March 28, 2009
Click here for original
When the Israelites rushed out of Egypt, Pharaoh’s men on their heels, they hurriedly bundled their belongings, food included, to carry as much as they could on their backs and donkeys. Seeking to nourish themselves throughout their desert journey to the Promised Land, they rolled together unleavened bread crumbs, eggs and oil to create a round, nutritious finger food. They heated these in water jugs, along with chicken bone scraps, to preserve them and give them flavor. And that’s how matzah ball soup was born.
At least that’s how the matzah ball legend should read. The round dumpling traditionally made of matzah meal, eggs, and some kind of fat is so entrenched in Jewish tradition that its history seems to date back to the Torah itself. The icon of Jewish pop culture, the staple of deli menus, the culinary gem of bubbies worldwide, matzah ball soup is the unofficial symbol of Jewish cuisine, the soup of the one God.
But like many dishes generally regarded as “Jewish foods,” like gefilte fish and cholent, matzah ball soup originated in Eastern Europe. The Yiddish word for matzah balls, “knaidelach,” comes from the German word for dumpling, “knödel.” The matzah ball may very well have been the vanguard Jewish food of its time, an adaptation of the gentile dumpling suited to Passover restrictions and pantries, invented by the Martha Stewart of the shtetl, her (or his?) name now lost in obscurity.
Since then few Jewish chefs, professional and amateur, have dared to tamper with the matzah ball. In that sense, the matzah ball is the “ultra-Orthodox” Jewish food. The most popular recipe for many home cooks today may very well be the one on the matzah meal box. But with the growing sophistication and cross-fertilization of many types of cuisines, that’s changing.
“I think traditional cooks are breaking out; they’re more sophisticated,” said Adeena Sussman, a recipe developer, food writer and cooking instructor based in New York. “Everyone is traveling more and interested in ethnic cuisine. There are a lot of kosher Web sites where you can get kosher gourmet products. Actually, I think Jews who keep Passover strictly are those who are seeking the most innovative ideas because they are those who follow the laws for eight days and are trying to keep their families well-fed and interested for eight days.”
One of the most popular maverick matzah ball soup recipes has been Susie Fishbein’s tri-color matzah ball soup, as featured years ago in her popular “Kosher by Design Entertains” cookbook (Mesorah Publications, 2005) and on “The Today Show” with Katie Couric. The recipe calls for a green maztah ball made with pureed spinach, a yellow matzah ball made with turmeric and a red matzah ball made with tomato paste.
“It was a funky spin on something traditional, and that’s what I do,” said Fishbein from her home in New Jersey. She sought a matzah ball soup that wasn’t only flavorful, but visually appealing and healthful, especially for the children. “I’ve had mothers come up to me in shul and say ‘I only make the green ones, and they’re called ‘Shrek matzah balls,’ and my boys love them.’”
Matzah balls are like a “blank canvas,” ripe with possibilities for adding flavor and color. Last year Sussman developed a “dill-infused chicken soup with herbed matzah ball gnocchi” recipe featuring matzah balls shaped like the Italian potato dumpling and rolled with spinach, parsley and dill. Green herbs are intuitive additives, because they often compliment the flavor of the chicken soup and also reflect the spirit of spring. Sussman recommends ground chicken, ground beef and horseradish as other nontraditional additives.
But not every ingredient works. “There were definitely things that were not winners,” said Fishbein, recalling her own experimentation. “Blueberry matzah balls are hideous. Carrot matzah balls covered with carrot juice were hideous.”
Like the Torah, matzah balls are open to a variety of interpretations and subject to intense debate. Surprisingly, some of Southern California’s top chefs believe the matzah ball is sacred.
“I don’t want to recreate the matzah ball; I think it tastes fine how it is, as long as it has a light texture,” said Suzanne Tracht, executive chef at LA’s Jar chophouse on Beverly Boulevard. “They shouldn’t be too hard. You shouldn’t use them for weapons….The most important part of the matzah ball, since it’s basically a dumpling, is the broth — that’s where it comes out.”
Every year, Tracht holds a Passover seder at her restaurant, and this year she’s making a consommé with lemongrass, galangal and ginger. “We make it so intense that we clarify the broth, as well, so that it has a more rich and intense flavor.”
Todd Aarons, executive chef at the gourmet kosher restaurant Tierra Sur at the Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard puts his “stock” in the broth, as well. “I’m a purist. I would play around with the broth first, and I’d probably keep the matzah ball intact.” For his own matzah ball soup, Aarons likes to use duck and chicken bones for a deeper flavor. “When I eat it, though, it doesn’t remind me of my mom’s, which is okay.”
He became convinced of the powerful absorption properties of the matzah ball after his Yemenite wife served regular matzah balls with her Yemenite soup, traditionally made with chicken, beef and exotic herbs, including hawaij, a Yemenite spice mix consisting of cumin, coriander, pepper, cardamom, cloves and turmeric. He likens matzah balls to bread used for dipping. “Every culture has a chicken soup. You can explore all different kinds of chicken soup and throw a matzah ball in, and it would work.”
In fact, the matzah ball is the only Ashkenazi food that has been warmly embraced by Sephardic traditions, especially in Israel. “Sephardic cooking is much more popular in Israel now than Ashkenazi cooking — Israel is a warm country, the ingredients are more suitable for Middle Eastern food,” said Janna Gur, editor-in-chief of Israel’s leading gastronomic magazine, Al HaShulchan, and author of “The Book of New Israeli Food” (Schocken, 2008). “Many recipes make the crossover to Ashkenazi households, but not vice versa, except for matzah ball soup.”
Another (chicken or beef?) bone of contention among chefs and cooks relates to texture: dense or light and fluffy?
Cookbook author and food writer Judy Zeidler, also a bubbe of seven, prefers fluffy matzah balls, hands down. “When I got married, my mother-in-law always made sinkers — matzah balls so hard they sink to the bottom of the pot. I grew up with my mother’s matzah balls. Like clouds, they floated to the top of the soup. My husband thought they were ridiculous, but he thought they were so much easier to eat and so much more flavorful.”
To make matzah balls as fluffy as her mother’s, she recommends separating the yolk and whites and then folding the yolk and matzah meal into egg whites beaten into soft peaks. Seltzer is recommended instead of water to increase fluffiness, and chilling matzah balls plays an important part in determining texture.
“Chilling will make it much easier to roll so you can manipulate them,” said Fishbein. “If you can roll them right at the outset you have a lot of matzah meal in them, and they probably won’t be very fluffy.”
Sussman is the only one interviewed for this article who prefers dense matzah balls, or, as she likes to call them, “matzah balls al dente”, an Italian term to describe pasta that is firm but not overcooked.
But home cooks shouldn’t feel discouraged if they can’t think out of the matzah meal box. “My mother used to make matzah balls from scratch,” said Sussman, “but one year we actually tried the mix and found that it worked quite well and started making them from the mix, not because we couldn’t make it from scratch, but because we liked them.”
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Boteach Pitches Shabbat for All
Jewish Journal; March 4, 2009
Click here for original
Jewish tradition has it that if every single Jew observed two full Sabbaths, the Messiah would arrive. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s new initiative, “Turn Friday Night Into Family Night,” might not bring the Messiah, but he hopes that getting Americans to observe a Shabbat-style dinner will be one step toward perfecting America, and ultimately the world.
“Let’s not get them talking about Brangelina and their family. Let’s get them talking about their own family and dreams,” said Boteach at the initiative’s West Coast launch on Feb. 5 at the Beverly Hills home of Sunny Sassoon, CEO of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
Boteach, a prolific writer whose most recent book is “The Kosher Sutra,” called Shabbat “the Jewish community’s gift to the American people.” He envisions American families sitting down every Friday night, using a “two-by-two-by-two” formula: two hours “unplugged” from phones or televisions, two topics for family discussion and two guests. The initiative will be publicized through talk shows, public service announcements and celebrity endorsements.
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stopped by to share his belief in the “the power of the meal.” Addressing the mixed crowd of well-dressed Hollywood types, kippah-wearing Jewish leaders and city officials, Villaraigosa related how his single mother made sure to have dinner with her children every night, no matter how hard she worked that day to support them. “She talked to us about her dreams for us and a world for us to grasp.”
Rachel Hunter, the 1990s “It” supermodel, became a supporter of the initiative after Boteach explained it to her at a birthday party for Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, singer Alicia Keys’ songwriter-producer boyfriend.
Standing two feet taller than Boteach, Hunter, a single mother of two teenagers with ex-husband Rod Stewart, is sure to add a shiksa goddess appeal to the Shabbat queen, saying how important it is for parents to give their children undivided attention. “No matter what time of day it is, I sit at the edge of the bed and listen to them.”
Jewish American spiritual guru Marianne Williamson was also on hand at Sassoon’s home to ruminate on the humbling of America amid the current economic crisis and its readiness for a concept of Shabbat to soothe them.
“It’s beyond values,” she said. “The nervous system is hard-wired. We’re moving too fast.” — Orit Arfa, Contributing Writer
Click here for original
Jewish tradition has it that if every single Jew observed two full Sabbaths, the Messiah would arrive. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s new initiative, “Turn Friday Night Into Family Night,” might not bring the Messiah, but he hopes that getting Americans to observe a Shabbat-style dinner will be one step toward perfecting America, and ultimately the world.
“Let’s not get them talking about Brangelina and their family. Let’s get them talking about their own family and dreams,” said Boteach at the initiative’s West Coast launch on Feb. 5 at the Beverly Hills home of Sunny Sassoon, CEO of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
Boteach, a prolific writer whose most recent book is “The Kosher Sutra,” called Shabbat “the Jewish community’s gift to the American people.” He envisions American families sitting down every Friday night, using a “two-by-two-by-two” formula: two hours “unplugged” from phones or televisions, two topics for family discussion and two guests. The initiative will be publicized through talk shows, public service announcements and celebrity endorsements.
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stopped by to share his belief in the “the power of the meal.” Addressing the mixed crowd of well-dressed Hollywood types, kippah-wearing Jewish leaders and city officials, Villaraigosa related how his single mother made sure to have dinner with her children every night, no matter how hard she worked that day to support them. “She talked to us about her dreams for us and a world for us to grasp.”
Rachel Hunter, the 1990s “It” supermodel, became a supporter of the initiative after Boteach explained it to her at a birthday party for Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, singer Alicia Keys’ songwriter-producer boyfriend.
Standing two feet taller than Boteach, Hunter, a single mother of two teenagers with ex-husband Rod Stewart, is sure to add a shiksa goddess appeal to the Shabbat queen, saying how important it is for parents to give their children undivided attention. “No matter what time of day it is, I sit at the edge of the bed and listen to them.”
Jewish American spiritual guru Marianne Williamson was also on hand at Sassoon’s home to ruminate on the humbling of America amid the current economic crisis and its readiness for a concept of Shabbat to soothe them.
“It’s beyond values,” she said. “The nervous system is hard-wired. We’re moving too fast.” — Orit Arfa, Contributing Writer
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Bashir's Folman Reacts to Oscar Loss
Jewish Journal; February 25, 2009
Click here for original
“Waltz With Bashir” is a movie that expresses filmmaker Ari Folman’s hatred for war. But the run up to the Academy’s announcement for best foreign-language film felt like a war zone of the spirit, with Israeli Oscar dreams crushed by the Japanese.
“I was really hyped and tense. Then it was a drop of adrenaline immediately after the announcement of ‘Departures,’” Folman told The Circuit at the post-Oscar bash at the Beverly Hilton.
He described the exact mood at the Hilton’s International Ballroom, where the Israeli production team — not lucky enough to attend the actual ceremony at the Kodak Theater — watched the Oscars at a viewing banquet held by Jewish philanthropist Daphne Ziman’s Children Uniting Nations and co-sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and 93.5 FM The Beat.
Ziman spread her hope for Zionist victory by reserving several tables for the “Waltz With Bashir” brigade, engaging in hasbara (publicity) by leaving brochures about the film for some 600 guests, including Oscar Nunez (“The Office”), William “Billy” Baldwin, Jane Seymour and Tia Tequila.
The battle was long and drawn out as the best foreign-language film was announced more than two hours into the ceremony.
“It was a total build-up with five categories, then four categories, commercial breaks, sitting here feeling like my heart will jump out of my body,” said Tel Aviv-based animator Neta Holzer, moments after the Japanese bomb fell.
Israeli Consul-General Yaakov Dayan, on hand with consulate staff to provide support, shared the disappointment.
Folman, dashing in a tuxedo, acted like the dignified general as he graciously took time to speak with Israeli reporters, rehashing the same sound bites to give each warring network some individuality, all with the same basic message: “It’s a letdown, but on the other hand, we got so far,” he told them in Hebrew, “that it’s not so bad now.”
He now looks forward to going back to Israel and spending quality time with his family — in real peace. — Orit Arfa, Contributing Writer
Kosher Good Life in Oxnard
Add 10 tables of more than 200 assorted top kosher wines, stir in a buffet of chef Todd Aarons’ gourmet delicacies and simmer in the elegant expanse of the Tierra Sur, a gourmet kosher restaurant in Oxnard, and what do you get? The second annual International Food and Wine Festival hosted by Herzog Wine Cellars on Feb. 18.
The atmosphere was merry yet refined as CEO David Herzog and his nephew, Joseph Herzog, vice president of operations, showcased the best of kosher wines from Spain, Italy, France and California, with an entire hall dedicated to Israeli wines.
Winemakers shared their libations with a crowd of about 200 sprinkled with foodies and wine lovers of all religious shades, members of the Herzog Wine Club, Oxnard Mayor Tom Holden and renowned wine critic Daniel Rogov, who commented on “the increasing level of awareness among both Jewish and non-Jewish wine consumers that there need be no contradiction between fine wine and kosher wine.”
With cigars being hand-rolled in the corner, the evening certainly undid any stereotype that kosher keepers can’t enjoy the good life. — Orit Arfa, Contributing Writer
Click here for original
“Waltz With Bashir” is a movie that expresses filmmaker Ari Folman’s hatred for war. But the run up to the Academy’s announcement for best foreign-language film felt like a war zone of the spirit, with Israeli Oscar dreams crushed by the Japanese.
“I was really hyped and tense. Then it was a drop of adrenaline immediately after the announcement of ‘Departures,’” Folman told The Circuit at the post-Oscar bash at the Beverly Hilton.
He described the exact mood at the Hilton’s International Ballroom, where the Israeli production team — not lucky enough to attend the actual ceremony at the Kodak Theater — watched the Oscars at a viewing banquet held by Jewish philanthropist Daphne Ziman’s Children Uniting Nations and co-sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and 93.5 FM The Beat.
Ziman spread her hope for Zionist victory by reserving several tables for the “Waltz With Bashir” brigade, engaging in hasbara (publicity) by leaving brochures about the film for some 600 guests, including Oscar Nunez (“The Office”), William “Billy” Baldwin, Jane Seymour and Tia Tequila.
The battle was long and drawn out as the best foreign-language film was announced more than two hours into the ceremony.
“It was a total build-up with five categories, then four categories, commercial breaks, sitting here feeling like my heart will jump out of my body,” said Tel Aviv-based animator Neta Holzer, moments after the Japanese bomb fell.
Israeli Consul-General Yaakov Dayan, on hand with consulate staff to provide support, shared the disappointment.
Folman, dashing in a tuxedo, acted like the dignified general as he graciously took time to speak with Israeli reporters, rehashing the same sound bites to give each warring network some individuality, all with the same basic message: “It’s a letdown, but on the other hand, we got so far,” he told them in Hebrew, “that it’s not so bad now.”
He now looks forward to going back to Israel and spending quality time with his family — in real peace. — Orit Arfa, Contributing Writer
Kosher Good Life in Oxnard
Add 10 tables of more than 200 assorted top kosher wines, stir in a buffet of chef Todd Aarons’ gourmet delicacies and simmer in the elegant expanse of the Tierra Sur, a gourmet kosher restaurant in Oxnard, and what do you get? The second annual International Food and Wine Festival hosted by Herzog Wine Cellars on Feb. 18.
The atmosphere was merry yet refined as CEO David Herzog and his nephew, Joseph Herzog, vice president of operations, showcased the best of kosher wines from Spain, Italy, France and California, with an entire hall dedicated to Israeli wines.
Winemakers shared their libations with a crowd of about 200 sprinkled with foodies and wine lovers of all religious shades, members of the Herzog Wine Club, Oxnard Mayor Tom Holden and renowned wine critic Daniel Rogov, who commented on “the increasing level of awareness among both Jewish and non-Jewish wine consumers that there need be no contradiction between fine wine and kosher wine.”
With cigars being hand-rolled in the corner, the evening certainly undid any stereotype that kosher keepers can’t enjoy the good life. — Orit Arfa, Contributing Writer
Monday, January 26, 2009
Working for a Song
Jerusalem Post; January 25, 2009
Click here for original
Songwriter Sheppard Solomon won't be watching the eighth season of American Idol, which is now in full swing - even though the singing contest has gotten him a lot of work.
His latest single, "Feels Like Tonight," performed by American Idol's fifth season finalist Chris Daughtry, reached the top of the charts last year, helping American Idol's most successful rockster clinch the best band award at the American Music Awards.
Solomon has written album tracks for other American Idol winners and finalists: Kelly Clarkson, David Cook and David Archuleta, not to mention artists who made it the "old-fashioned" way, like Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias and Paris Hilton.
The singing contest bores the Jewish 39-year-old bachelor, and it reflects his growing disillusionment with the mainstream music business. "It's become more about the wrong things," he says during an interview at his home in the Hollywood Hills. "That's why people don't buy records. They don't feel attached. It's not real. It's more plastic. People like Elton John, Bob Dylan, Sting, Jim Morrison - they were real artists with points of view."
There's another reason people don't buy records: the rise of the Internet. Artists no longer rely on record labels to get their music heard or distributed. Music fans now download their favorite songs or watch videos on YouTube. A songwriter has to produce a genuine radio hit to make a small fortune. "The scope, the range of opportunity is closing in," Solomon says. "You have a lot of people chasing a minimum amount of opportunity. It creates a feeding-frenzy kind of environment. You have 10 records being made that are important and you have 1,000 songwriters writing songs for them."
The New York City native has been writing songs since he was a teenager fronting a rock band. He got his first real songwriting break in 1994 with UK hit single entitled "Just A Step From Heaven," performed by the girl group Eternal. Since then, he's been hustling to stay on top of a business he describes as "political and weird," and often that means lending his melodies and lyrics to manufactured pop stars. "And you don't know where that smash will come, either."
Case in point: "Feels Like Tonight" was first developed in a jam session with Lukasz Gottwald (a.k.a. Dr. Luke, producer of Spears's latest hit, Circus) after working on Paris Hilton's album together. The song lay fallow for several months until they played it to another Swedish hitmaker, Max Martin (also producer for Spears classics, including "Baby One More Time"). Martin further shaped the melody and brought it to the attention of legendary BMG music exec Clive Davis.
"Basically, Clive Davis loved the song and wanted Taylor Hicks to sing it as the winning song for American Idol. They recorded a version of it, but it didn't have the right sound to it. It wasn't convincing. They scrapped that. So six months later they were making the Daughtry record. Clive Davis said we should have him cut it."
EVEN THOUGH he's worked with the biggest names in the industry, Solomon doesn't feel like his career is established.
"Nobody is ever established. It's yes or no. It's a trendy business, like fashion. You always have to be in with the times. Unless you're writing country music - then it doesn't matter," Solomon said.
For now, he has tempered his ambition. "As you get older, you get less infatuated with the rat race. You want the simpler things in life. Being with someone you love. Having a good life. Not running around like a mad person trying to conquer the world."
Seeking fulfillment, depth and a sense of rootedness after working decades in a competitive business that left him feeling tired and empty, Solomon took his first trip to Israel about five years ago and immediately felt a connection. "When you go out in Israel, you don't have to pretend to be something else. You are who you are."
Having gone to Sunday school as a child, he never practiced Judaism seriously. "I'm definitely Jewish and aware of my Jewishness, but I like all religions."
But he felt a sense of belonging in Israel, particularly Tel Aviv, and the simplicity and grittiness of life there charmed him. Now he counts many Israeli ex-pats living in Los Angeles as his good friends. "I need that. I need something removed from my work," he said.
He doesn't have any plans to move to Israel, though. "Last time I went, it was kind of boring. A part of me really loves it. It has a soul to it that's very interesting."
Click here for original
Songwriter Sheppard Solomon won't be watching the eighth season of American Idol, which is now in full swing - even though the singing contest has gotten him a lot of work.
His latest single, "Feels Like Tonight," performed by American Idol's fifth season finalist Chris Daughtry, reached the top of the charts last year, helping American Idol's most successful rockster clinch the best band award at the American Music Awards.
Solomon has written album tracks for other American Idol winners and finalists: Kelly Clarkson, David Cook and David Archuleta, not to mention artists who made it the "old-fashioned" way, like Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias and Paris Hilton.
The singing contest bores the Jewish 39-year-old bachelor, and it reflects his growing disillusionment with the mainstream music business. "It's become more about the wrong things," he says during an interview at his home in the Hollywood Hills. "That's why people don't buy records. They don't feel attached. It's not real. It's more plastic. People like Elton John, Bob Dylan, Sting, Jim Morrison - they were real artists with points of view."
There's another reason people don't buy records: the rise of the Internet. Artists no longer rely on record labels to get their music heard or distributed. Music fans now download their favorite songs or watch videos on YouTube. A songwriter has to produce a genuine radio hit to make a small fortune. "The scope, the range of opportunity is closing in," Solomon says. "You have a lot of people chasing a minimum amount of opportunity. It creates a feeding-frenzy kind of environment. You have 10 records being made that are important and you have 1,000 songwriters writing songs for them."
The New York City native has been writing songs since he was a teenager fronting a rock band. He got his first real songwriting break in 1994 with UK hit single entitled "Just A Step From Heaven," performed by the girl group Eternal. Since then, he's been hustling to stay on top of a business he describes as "political and weird," and often that means lending his melodies and lyrics to manufactured pop stars. "And you don't know where that smash will come, either."
Case in point: "Feels Like Tonight" was first developed in a jam session with Lukasz Gottwald (a.k.a. Dr. Luke, producer of Spears's latest hit, Circus) after working on Paris Hilton's album together. The song lay fallow for several months until they played it to another Swedish hitmaker, Max Martin (also producer for Spears classics, including "Baby One More Time"). Martin further shaped the melody and brought it to the attention of legendary BMG music exec Clive Davis.
"Basically, Clive Davis loved the song and wanted Taylor Hicks to sing it as the winning song for American Idol. They recorded a version of it, but it didn't have the right sound to it. It wasn't convincing. They scrapped that. So six months later they were making the Daughtry record. Clive Davis said we should have him cut it."
EVEN THOUGH he's worked with the biggest names in the industry, Solomon doesn't feel like his career is established.
"Nobody is ever established. It's yes or no. It's a trendy business, like fashion. You always have to be in with the times. Unless you're writing country music - then it doesn't matter," Solomon said.
For now, he has tempered his ambition. "As you get older, you get less infatuated with the rat race. You want the simpler things in life. Being with someone you love. Having a good life. Not running around like a mad person trying to conquer the world."
Seeking fulfillment, depth and a sense of rootedness after working decades in a competitive business that left him feeling tired and empty, Solomon took his first trip to Israel about five years ago and immediately felt a connection. "When you go out in Israel, you don't have to pretend to be something else. You are who you are."
Having gone to Sunday school as a child, he never practiced Judaism seriously. "I'm definitely Jewish and aware of my Jewishness, but I like all religions."
But he felt a sense of belonging in Israel, particularly Tel Aviv, and the simplicity and grittiness of life there charmed him. Now he counts many Israeli ex-pats living in Los Angeles as his good friends. "I need that. I need something removed from my work," he said.
He doesn't have any plans to move to Israel, though. "Last time I went, it was kind of boring. A part of me really loves it. It has a soul to it that's very interesting."
Monday, December 22, 2008
Circumcision: The Ed Hardy Way [VIDEO]
The Jewish Journal: December 17, 2008
Click here for original and video!
Adam Saaks doesn't consider himself particularly religious, except when it comes to custom "cuTour," his term for circumcising T-shirts. For Saaks, custom designing T-shirts by nipping and tucking the hems, cutting and lacing-up the sides, and netting and looping the front -- using only scissors and tweezers -- isn't a mere fashion upgrade, but a religious experience.
Saaks is the exclusive T-shirt mohel (circumciser) for the fashion lines of French designer Christian Audigier. He specializes in Ed Hardy, the line incorporating designs of American tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy. The T-shirts are known for their colorful skulls, hearts, crossbones and flowers intertwined with messages like "Love Kills Slowly" and "Death or Glory." They are a status symbol of "coolness" for young and old alike.
Saaks travels the world, making appearances at fashion shows, nightclubs and department stores, eight-inch chrome blades in hand, ready to transform -- in a matter of minutes -- already eye-catching, provocative T-shirts into sexualized form-fitted tops and dresses.
The final products might make the parents of any nice Jewish girl blush, even though Saaks counts among his devoted clients Jewish women -- and their mothers.
"I went to Hebrew school on Saturday or Sunday -- I don't remember -- and became a skateboarder and outcast," Saaks said.
The Journal met with the 36-year-old artist at the flagship, multiroomed Christian Audigier store on the corner of Melrose and Fairfax avenues, a day before his trip to Egypt for the wedding of former Spice Girl Melanie Brown. Why not make a stop in Israel?
"I don't have time," he said, although it's likely he'd be a big hit at the Ed Hardy store in Tel Aviv.
Saaks' assimilation was preceded by that of his grandfather, who shortened the family name from "Isaaks" to "Saaks" when he came to America from Romania. The change was prophetic: Saaks' girlfriend, a Croation-Swedish model, pointed out that sax means "scissors" in Swedish.
By the time his older siblings celebrated their bar mitzvahs, his parents grew less strict with tradition, not that he cared much.
Lately, though, he has developed a renewed Jewish pride, thanks in part to his belated bar mitzvah in Paris last year by a rabbi he met at a fashion showroom.
"This rabbi told me, 'You weren't bar mitzvahed? We'll bar mitzvah you now!' He put those straps on my arm and the box on my forehead, and I recited stuff."
Normally he wears a Star of David consisting of a white gold chain, a white gold star and a charm of white platinum scissors studded with diamonds.
A wardrobe stylist for 10 years before moving to Los Angeles in 2001, Saaks said his talent was revealed to him at a trade show in Las Vegas in 2001. While he was helping a friend launch a T-shirt line, "one girl passing by wanted a shirt cut like something on the rack. I pulled her aside, did two cuts and drew a crowd of 50 people. They didn't leave until I finished the shirt."
Now he charges anywhere from $350 for a single brit milah (circumcision) to $5,000 for a booked event. His designs are sold off the rack at the Melrose store, but there is nothing like getting the T-shirt personally sliced on the wearer. All the wearer needs is a little faith.
Saaks' promotional tours have surely helped the Ed Hardy line get more exposure (or shall we say, "overexposure"). Billboards dominate Los Angeles, celebrities prance around town wearing Audigier designs, but there may be another Jewish twist to Audigier's success.
"We have mezuzahs all over the place. Christian has them on his house, on his office," Saaks said, referring to the ritual boxes placed on doorposts of Jewish homes and businesses enclosing the sacred Jewish prayer to love God. "It's not a Jewish-run company at all, but his mentors are pretty religious, people he grew up with, so they're always guarding him."
Indeed, all of the doors at the store had mezuzahs on them -- but the cheap, uninspiring plastic variety the sofer (scribe) usually gives for free with the scroll. Audigier, with the help of Saaks and his Jewish friends, might want to think about a mezuzah line -- minus the skulls and crossbones, but preserving the florals and the message, "love."
This would certainly promote another mitzvah (commandment), in addition to circumcision -- the Hardy way.
Click here for original and video!
Adam Saaks doesn't consider himself particularly religious, except when it comes to custom "cuTour," his term for circumcising T-shirts. For Saaks, custom designing T-shirts by nipping and tucking the hems, cutting and lacing-up the sides, and netting and looping the front -- using only scissors and tweezers -- isn't a mere fashion upgrade, but a religious experience.
Saaks is the exclusive T-shirt mohel (circumciser) for the fashion lines of French designer Christian Audigier. He specializes in Ed Hardy, the line incorporating designs of American tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy. The T-shirts are known for their colorful skulls, hearts, crossbones and flowers intertwined with messages like "Love Kills Slowly" and "Death or Glory." They are a status symbol of "coolness" for young and old alike.
Saaks travels the world, making appearances at fashion shows, nightclubs and department stores, eight-inch chrome blades in hand, ready to transform -- in a matter of minutes -- already eye-catching, provocative T-shirts into sexualized form-fitted tops and dresses.
The final products might make the parents of any nice Jewish girl blush, even though Saaks counts among his devoted clients Jewish women -- and their mothers.
"I went to Hebrew school on Saturday or Sunday -- I don't remember -- and became a skateboarder and outcast," Saaks said.
The Journal met with the 36-year-old artist at the flagship, multiroomed Christian Audigier store on the corner of Melrose and Fairfax avenues, a day before his trip to Egypt for the wedding of former Spice Girl Melanie Brown. Why not make a stop in Israel?
"I don't have time," he said, although it's likely he'd be a big hit at the Ed Hardy store in Tel Aviv.
Saaks' assimilation was preceded by that of his grandfather, who shortened the family name from "Isaaks" to "Saaks" when he came to America from Romania. The change was prophetic: Saaks' girlfriend, a Croation-Swedish model, pointed out that sax means "scissors" in Swedish.
By the time his older siblings celebrated their bar mitzvahs, his parents grew less strict with tradition, not that he cared much.
Lately, though, he has developed a renewed Jewish pride, thanks in part to his belated bar mitzvah in Paris last year by a rabbi he met at a fashion showroom.
"This rabbi told me, 'You weren't bar mitzvahed? We'll bar mitzvah you now!' He put those straps on my arm and the box on my forehead, and I recited stuff."
Normally he wears a Star of David consisting of a white gold chain, a white gold star and a charm of white platinum scissors studded with diamonds.
A wardrobe stylist for 10 years before moving to Los Angeles in 2001, Saaks said his talent was revealed to him at a trade show in Las Vegas in 2001. While he was helping a friend launch a T-shirt line, "one girl passing by wanted a shirt cut like something on the rack. I pulled her aside, did two cuts and drew a crowd of 50 people. They didn't leave until I finished the shirt."
Now he charges anywhere from $350 for a single brit milah (circumcision) to $5,000 for a booked event. His designs are sold off the rack at the Melrose store, but there is nothing like getting the T-shirt personally sliced on the wearer. All the wearer needs is a little faith.
Saaks' promotional tours have surely helped the Ed Hardy line get more exposure (or shall we say, "overexposure"). Billboards dominate Los Angeles, celebrities prance around town wearing Audigier designs, but there may be another Jewish twist to Audigier's success.
"We have mezuzahs all over the place. Christian has them on his house, on his office," Saaks said, referring to the ritual boxes placed on doorposts of Jewish homes and businesses enclosing the sacred Jewish prayer to love God. "It's not a Jewish-run company at all, but his mentors are pretty religious, people he grew up with, so they're always guarding him."
Indeed, all of the doors at the store had mezuzahs on them -- but the cheap, uninspiring plastic variety the sofer (scribe) usually gives for free with the scroll. Audigier, with the help of Saaks and his Jewish friends, might want to think about a mezuzah line -- minus the skulls and crossbones, but preserving the florals and the message, "love."
This would certainly promote another mitzvah (commandment), in addition to circumcision -- the Hardy way.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Made in China
Jerusalem Post, Up Front; October 3, 2008
Click here for original
Just days after the Olympics' closing ceremony in Beijing, businessman Sheldon Adelson shows he's reaching for the tourism gold in China. The writer was a guest of the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel.
I was first introduced to Macao, like many other Israelis, through the popular reality show following psychic Uri Geller's quest to find an Israeli to carry his spoon-bending legacy. One of the prizes: a show in "Asia's Las Vegas," Macao, a special administrative region in China where gambling is legal.
What does Macao have to do with Israel? The man behind the transformation of the area is American Jewish multibillionaire Sheldon Adelson, CEO of the publicly- traded Las Vegas Sands, also a lover of Israel.
Geller's successor, Lior Suchard, has yet to bend spoons (or chopsticks) in Macao. He's focusing on Europe and the US first, says his manager, Yaron Ofer.
But my curiosity about Macao remained. As a Los Angeles native, I fondly recall traveling in my family's motor-home to Las Vegas as a child and returning there as soon as I turned 21. So I was delighted when The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel welcomed me as the lone Israeli correspondent for an Asian press tour of the opening of the Four Seasons Hotel.
My host told me in advance that Macao is first and foremost an Asian destination, catering to Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Thais, Filipinos, Indians, Malaysians, etc. With half of the world's population within a five-hour plane ride, who needs to market to seven million Israelis? My first instinct upon stepping off the hour-long ferry from Hong Kong (following an 11-hour flight from Tel Aviv) was to compare and contrast to Sin City.
The weather was hot, but unlike the Nevada desert, very humid. I noticed many square, discolored pastel towers - the kind that dominate the Hong Kong skyline - but no gargantuan Vegas-style hotels, until I passed the Sands, a shiny black, circular edifice. Only the Wynn Macao, a copycat of the curved, metallic resort owned by another Jewish Vegas titan, Steve Wynn, could compete in architectural elegance.
Located on the Macao peninsula jutting out from southern China, the Sands opened in 2004 as an interim project to satisfy Adelson's China ambitions while the foundations were being laid for The Venetian Macao. He hit the jackpot. The Sands returned its $265 million investment in less than a year. Since opening a year ago, The Venetian has welcomed more than 20 million visitors.
I stood outside The Venetian, focused on the Italian facades and imagined myself not in Venice, but on Las Vegas Boulevard. The enlarged version of the Vegas original is the cornerstone of the "Cotai Strip," not an organically grown "strip" but a registered trademark that refers to all Sands properties being built along the 1.2 kilometer stretch of drained marshland connecting the islands of Taipa and Coloane.
Once complete in 2011, the Cotai Strip will include 14 popular hotel brands, owned by the Las Vegas Sands but operated by the respective hotels. A Vegas-style skyline is gradually emerging with the current construction of the Shangri-la, Sheraton, St. Regis and Traders hotels. Costing $13 billion, the Cotai Strip is undoubtedly the largest commercial tourism project ever undertaken.
The Venetian has already transformed Macao into the most attractive gaming center in Asia, but Adelson's vision goes far beyond casinos. He envisions Macao, like Vegas, as a center for business and entertainment.
Like its Vegas counterpart, The Venetian Macao was conceived as an integrated resort. Suites are designed like mini-apartments. In Macao, casinos account for 5 percent of the property; convention and exhibition space, 10%. A 15,000-seat arena has already hosted pop icons Beyonce and Celine Dion, with Avril Lavigne coming up. The press tour included the premiere of Asia's first permanent Cirque De Soleil, Zaia, a spectacular show under normal circumstances but somewhat of a yawn on the heels of the Olympics opening ceremonies.
AS I WANDERED alone through The Venetian casino on my first night, my personal fantasies of Vegas-style fun, however, begin to slip away. Slots don't flash jackpot numbers amid sounds of coins clanking. No scantily clad cocktail waitresses strut by tables, doling out free booze. Macao apparently doesn't need such casino gimmicks to lure players. Gambling is a Chinese obsession. Players sat at the tables, mostly baccarat, looking focused and serious.
I scoured the tables for blackjack, my favorite, but I heard absolutely no English and players hardly made eye contact with me. While aces and face cards are a universal language, I couldn't help but feel somewhat deaf and mute and I always like to schmooze while I play. There's nothing like the communal cheer when the dealer busts or the communal moan when the dealer hits 21. I call it quits before I start.
But the Zionist in me was comforted as I watched people's chips dwindle. Without their knowing it, Asians are indirectly contributing to Israel. Macao initiatives, gambling revenues included, have made Adelson the third richest man in the US, according to Forbes. Israel and Jewish causes have benefitted from his riches. Adelson is a key contributor to Taglit-birthright israel, Yad Vashem and other educational institutions in Israel and Las Vegas.
Still, I went to sleep in my fluffy bed missing the true Las Vegas vibe, so for breakfast I took comfort in the Starbucks near the lobby. Among the chicken and pork pies, I chose a chocolate croissant, which turned out, to my dismay, hard and chewy.
Starbucks isn't the only American staple in Macao. The Venetian's Grande Canal Shoppes is an American capitalistic wonderland. With ceilings mimicking a sky, it's among the largest malls I've ever seen, loaded with familiar brand names. Clowns and gondoliers provided family entertainment. At the soy-smelling food court, families looked happy eating Chinese fast food, shopping bags in tow. While eager for Asian cuisine, I felt overwhelmed by the myriad of pork, oyster, clam and beef noodle offerings, so I went for the safe noodle: spaghetti.
If I thought The Venetian's Grand Canal Shoppes were impressive, the adjoining Shoppes at the new Four Seasons hotel made them look like a shouk. The high-end indoor mall could easily outdo Rodeo Drive with its number of designer shops. Only the best of the best for Asia's new rich and rising middle-class: Dior, Fendi, Prada, you name it. Walking across the fresh marble adorned with mosaics, I felt the poorest I ever have - in communist China.
BUT I DIDN'T come to Macao to enjoy America, right? I hoped a city tour would offer me more authentic Chinese experiences, not that Macao is the ideal place for them. It was a Portuguese colony until 1999. Pink pastel Portuguese villas alongside the gritty towers testify to its European roots.
In the city center, small roads and alleys lead out of a rather dreary European-style piazza. Popular retail brands like Esprit and Levis have set up shop alongside modest storefronts. An outdoor market sells discount clothing. Street vendors sell Chinese noodles and what look like fresh pork rinds. My tour guide, Sunny Pou, a Macao native, points to many locked metal doors. The new industry has led to a rise in rent, causing some merchants to close or move.
In his broken English, Pou says some locals bemoan Macao's modernization, while others recognize its blessings, particularly more jobs. The Venetian has generated some 12,000. A "back of the house" tour of The Venetian reveals a mini-town for its "team members," equipped with a recreation center, a 7-11 and McDonald's (for that Big Mac-ao). As part of the formal press tour, the Las Vegas Sands unveiled plans for the Adelson Advanced Education Center at the University of Macau (the Portuguese spelled it with a "u") to groom managers in non-gaming businesses.
With all these material developments, however, China's "Sin City" doesn't lack spirituality. Macao's population is split Buddhist and Catholic, and the city's centuries-old Catholic churches and Buddhist temples appeared just as bustling as the casinos.
At night, Macao lights up. With the exception of the American brands, the hotels try too hard. The Chinese art of feng shui, apparently, doesn't apply to exteriors. Some are cluttered with bulbs flashing in primary colors. I'm drawn to the Grand Lisboa, a large hotel designed like an electrified lotus, the symbol of Macao. It is owned by businessman Stanley Ho, who monopolized gaming in Macao before it opened to foreign investors.
Tacky crystal beads dangled from the ceilings amid cigarette smoke. The players appeared scruffier than those at The Venetian. I immediately understood the appeal of Vegas imports: They offer spaciousness, refinement and American-style service. When three women in studded bras and thongs came out dancing at a lounge bar, I longed to return to the cleaner-cut Venetian.
The next morning my hunger for friendly Asian cuisine was finally satisfied at the Bambu buffet. Designed according to feng shui with comfortable booths and bamboo decor, the buffet served made-to-order eggs alongside a delicious choice of sushi, dim sum, miso soup, noodles, fruit and scrumptious croissants. It was a bona fide blend of Asia and Vegas.
Finally, the media events kicked off, and I was transported from Vegas to Hollywood. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the posh Four Seasons hotel, Adelson, 75 (who suffers from peripheral neuropathy that impairs his ability to walk), leaned on his Israeli wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, as he cut the ribbon. He might as well have been Paris Hilton from the way the Asian paparazzi shoved me to get a good shot. Unfortunately, I had to catch a plane before red carpet events inaugurated the hotel with local celebs.
At the press conference over lunch, I asked Adelson if the Cotai Strip intends to attract Europeans and Americans.
"There's another country you forgot to mention: Russia," he answered while being simultaneously translated into Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean. "The Russian market is a very big market, and we have reason to believe that we're going to attract Russians. It's closer for Eastern Europeans to come to Macao than it is to go to Las Vegas. For England, I would say it's probably equidistant... There are a lot of markets to which Macao is as equally attractive as Las Vegas."
But as an Israeli-American, I often felt like the alienated Scarlett Johansson character in the film Lost in Translation, leading me to believe that the Western traveler would best enjoy Macao as part of a business trip or broader tour to Asia, with companions, good guides and a healthy budget.
Or I have another idea. Adelson should create a new hotel in Vegas, The Chinesian, to allow the Westerner to experience the best of China in America, because he's doing a mind-bending job bringing the best of America (well, I guess that's debatable) to the Far East.
Click here for original
Just days after the Olympics' closing ceremony in Beijing, businessman Sheldon Adelson shows he's reaching for the tourism gold in China. The writer was a guest of the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel.
I was first introduced to Macao, like many other Israelis, through the popular reality show following psychic Uri Geller's quest to find an Israeli to carry his spoon-bending legacy. One of the prizes: a show in "Asia's Las Vegas," Macao, a special administrative region in China where gambling is legal.
What does Macao have to do with Israel? The man behind the transformation of the area is American Jewish multibillionaire Sheldon Adelson, CEO of the publicly- traded Las Vegas Sands, also a lover of Israel.
Geller's successor, Lior Suchard, has yet to bend spoons (or chopsticks) in Macao. He's focusing on Europe and the US first, says his manager, Yaron Ofer.
But my curiosity about Macao remained. As a Los Angeles native, I fondly recall traveling in my family's motor-home to Las Vegas as a child and returning there as soon as I turned 21. So I was delighted when The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel welcomed me as the lone Israeli correspondent for an Asian press tour of the opening of the Four Seasons Hotel.
My host told me in advance that Macao is first and foremost an Asian destination, catering to Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Thais, Filipinos, Indians, Malaysians, etc. With half of the world's population within a five-hour plane ride, who needs to market to seven million Israelis? My first instinct upon stepping off the hour-long ferry from Hong Kong (following an 11-hour flight from Tel Aviv) was to compare and contrast to Sin City.
The weather was hot, but unlike the Nevada desert, very humid. I noticed many square, discolored pastel towers - the kind that dominate the Hong Kong skyline - but no gargantuan Vegas-style hotels, until I passed the Sands, a shiny black, circular edifice. Only the Wynn Macao, a copycat of the curved, metallic resort owned by another Jewish Vegas titan, Steve Wynn, could compete in architectural elegance.
Located on the Macao peninsula jutting out from southern China, the Sands opened in 2004 as an interim project to satisfy Adelson's China ambitions while the foundations were being laid for The Venetian Macao. He hit the jackpot. The Sands returned its $265 million investment in less than a year. Since opening a year ago, The Venetian has welcomed more than 20 million visitors.
I stood outside The Venetian, focused on the Italian facades and imagined myself not in Venice, but on Las Vegas Boulevard. The enlarged version of the Vegas original is the cornerstone of the "Cotai Strip," not an organically grown "strip" but a registered trademark that refers to all Sands properties being built along the 1.2 kilometer stretch of drained marshland connecting the islands of Taipa and Coloane.
Once complete in 2011, the Cotai Strip will include 14 popular hotel brands, owned by the Las Vegas Sands but operated by the respective hotels. A Vegas-style skyline is gradually emerging with the current construction of the Shangri-la, Sheraton, St. Regis and Traders hotels. Costing $13 billion, the Cotai Strip is undoubtedly the largest commercial tourism project ever undertaken.
The Venetian has already transformed Macao into the most attractive gaming center in Asia, but Adelson's vision goes far beyond casinos. He envisions Macao, like Vegas, as a center for business and entertainment.
Like its Vegas counterpart, The Venetian Macao was conceived as an integrated resort. Suites are designed like mini-apartments. In Macao, casinos account for 5 percent of the property; convention and exhibition space, 10%. A 15,000-seat arena has already hosted pop icons Beyonce and Celine Dion, with Avril Lavigne coming up. The press tour included the premiere of Asia's first permanent Cirque De Soleil, Zaia, a spectacular show under normal circumstances but somewhat of a yawn on the heels of the Olympics opening ceremonies.
AS I WANDERED alone through The Venetian casino on my first night, my personal fantasies of Vegas-style fun, however, begin to slip away. Slots don't flash jackpot numbers amid sounds of coins clanking. No scantily clad cocktail waitresses strut by tables, doling out free booze. Macao apparently doesn't need such casino gimmicks to lure players. Gambling is a Chinese obsession. Players sat at the tables, mostly baccarat, looking focused and serious.
I scoured the tables for blackjack, my favorite, but I heard absolutely no English and players hardly made eye contact with me. While aces and face cards are a universal language, I couldn't help but feel somewhat deaf and mute and I always like to schmooze while I play. There's nothing like the communal cheer when the dealer busts or the communal moan when the dealer hits 21. I call it quits before I start.
But the Zionist in me was comforted as I watched people's chips dwindle. Without their knowing it, Asians are indirectly contributing to Israel. Macao initiatives, gambling revenues included, have made Adelson the third richest man in the US, according to Forbes. Israel and Jewish causes have benefitted from his riches. Adelson is a key contributor to Taglit-birthright israel, Yad Vashem and other educational institutions in Israel and Las Vegas.
Still, I went to sleep in my fluffy bed missing the true Las Vegas vibe, so for breakfast I took comfort in the Starbucks near the lobby. Among the chicken and pork pies, I chose a chocolate croissant, which turned out, to my dismay, hard and chewy.
Starbucks isn't the only American staple in Macao. The Venetian's Grande Canal Shoppes is an American capitalistic wonderland. With ceilings mimicking a sky, it's among the largest malls I've ever seen, loaded with familiar brand names. Clowns and gondoliers provided family entertainment. At the soy-smelling food court, families looked happy eating Chinese fast food, shopping bags in tow. While eager for Asian cuisine, I felt overwhelmed by the myriad of pork, oyster, clam and beef noodle offerings, so I went for the safe noodle: spaghetti.
If I thought The Venetian's Grand Canal Shoppes were impressive, the adjoining Shoppes at the new Four Seasons hotel made them look like a shouk. The high-end indoor mall could easily outdo Rodeo Drive with its number of designer shops. Only the best of the best for Asia's new rich and rising middle-class: Dior, Fendi, Prada, you name it. Walking across the fresh marble adorned with mosaics, I felt the poorest I ever have - in communist China.
BUT I DIDN'T come to Macao to enjoy America, right? I hoped a city tour would offer me more authentic Chinese experiences, not that Macao is the ideal place for them. It was a Portuguese colony until 1999. Pink pastel Portuguese villas alongside the gritty towers testify to its European roots.
In the city center, small roads and alleys lead out of a rather dreary European-style piazza. Popular retail brands like Esprit and Levis have set up shop alongside modest storefronts. An outdoor market sells discount clothing. Street vendors sell Chinese noodles and what look like fresh pork rinds. My tour guide, Sunny Pou, a Macao native, points to many locked metal doors. The new industry has led to a rise in rent, causing some merchants to close or move.
In his broken English, Pou says some locals bemoan Macao's modernization, while others recognize its blessings, particularly more jobs. The Venetian has generated some 12,000. A "back of the house" tour of The Venetian reveals a mini-town for its "team members," equipped with a recreation center, a 7-11 and McDonald's (for that Big Mac-ao). As part of the formal press tour, the Las Vegas Sands unveiled plans for the Adelson Advanced Education Center at the University of Macau (the Portuguese spelled it with a "u") to groom managers in non-gaming businesses.
With all these material developments, however, China's "Sin City" doesn't lack spirituality. Macao's population is split Buddhist and Catholic, and the city's centuries-old Catholic churches and Buddhist temples appeared just as bustling as the casinos.
At night, Macao lights up. With the exception of the American brands, the hotels try too hard. The Chinese art of feng shui, apparently, doesn't apply to exteriors. Some are cluttered with bulbs flashing in primary colors. I'm drawn to the Grand Lisboa, a large hotel designed like an electrified lotus, the symbol of Macao. It is owned by businessman Stanley Ho, who monopolized gaming in Macao before it opened to foreign investors.
Tacky crystal beads dangled from the ceilings amid cigarette smoke. The players appeared scruffier than those at The Venetian. I immediately understood the appeal of Vegas imports: They offer spaciousness, refinement and American-style service. When three women in studded bras and thongs came out dancing at a lounge bar, I longed to return to the cleaner-cut Venetian.
The next morning my hunger for friendly Asian cuisine was finally satisfied at the Bambu buffet. Designed according to feng shui with comfortable booths and bamboo decor, the buffet served made-to-order eggs alongside a delicious choice of sushi, dim sum, miso soup, noodles, fruit and scrumptious croissants. It was a bona fide blend of Asia and Vegas.
Finally, the media events kicked off, and I was transported from Vegas to Hollywood. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the posh Four Seasons hotel, Adelson, 75 (who suffers from peripheral neuropathy that impairs his ability to walk), leaned on his Israeli wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, as he cut the ribbon. He might as well have been Paris Hilton from the way the Asian paparazzi shoved me to get a good shot. Unfortunately, I had to catch a plane before red carpet events inaugurated the hotel with local celebs.
At the press conference over lunch, I asked Adelson if the Cotai Strip intends to attract Europeans and Americans.
"There's another country you forgot to mention: Russia," he answered while being simultaneously translated into Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean. "The Russian market is a very big market, and we have reason to believe that we're going to attract Russians. It's closer for Eastern Europeans to come to Macao than it is to go to Las Vegas. For England, I would say it's probably equidistant... There are a lot of markets to which Macao is as equally attractive as Las Vegas."
But as an Israeli-American, I often felt like the alienated Scarlett Johansson character in the film Lost in Translation, leading me to believe that the Western traveler would best enjoy Macao as part of a business trip or broader tour to Asia, with companions, good guides and a healthy budget.
Or I have another idea. Adelson should create a new hotel in Vegas, The Chinesian, to allow the Westerner to experience the best of China in America, because he's doing a mind-bending job bringing the best of America (well, I guess that's debatable) to the Far East.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Go ahead, gogle me
Jewish Journal; July 30, 2008
Click here for original
If someone's life is not worth at least one page of Google search results, does that mean he hasn't accomplished or written anything of enough import to be broadcast online?
I'd like to introduce a new verb to the dating lexicon: "Gogle," a combination of the words Google and "ogle."
One online dictionary defines "oglers" as those who ". . . look at especially with greedy or interested attention."
"Gogle" means to look up a person you want to date with greedy or interested attention using the popular search engine, Google.
I have been guilty of gogling, along with millions of other singles. Whenever I meet a guy, I always try to request a business card so I can get his last name. If I meet a guy online, I deduce his last name from his e-mail address. Then I punch it in Google to find out: Where does he work? What is his background? Has he published anything?
Unless the guy is a fellow writer or journalist, or unless he is semifamous, the search queries usually don't turn up results. At best, his name might be listed in a company Web site profile or some college club he belonged to years ago.
If someone's life is not worth at least one page of Google search results, does that mean he hasn't accomplished or written anything of enough import to be broadcast online? Does he lack ambition, achievement or creative output?
Then again, sometimes I'm relieved when the prospective date doesn't show up on Google. I cannot develop any preconceived notions about the man, and I begin from scratch in getting to know him. Google search results don't really reveal anything about a man's character -- and my deeper self cautions me against judging a man based on his outward accomplishments alone.
And what about men who gogle me? They come up with all kinds of good stuff -- much of it information I don't necessarily want them to know before they get to know me personally. I guess this is occupational hazard for someone who writes this kind of column.
A cursory reading of Google headlines that come up under my name might lead guys to conclude the following: I am a right-wing fanatical Zionist, I'm tired of Israeli men and I have 10 rules for men who date me. In part, I have a blogger to thank for this -- his colorful commentary and reposts of my most recent single columns always get ranked high, a fact of which he is proud.
Some search results seem completely random. For example, in my most recent top Google five, I appear as a writer for a neo-Zionist site that published my politically oriented blogs only three times, despite the fact that I haven't written for them in about a year.
I spoke with a Google spokesman about how the rankings work and to see if there is any way to control them. Google, as it turns out, is a cold, heartless machine.
"Google uses more than 200 different signals to determine relevancy and ranking of search results," I was told. "These include number of links, authority of a page [for example number of links posting to a page], the number of times key word appears on Web site."
The spokesperson asked not to be named; he probably didn't want to risk being gogled. But I did (revenge!) -- from what I gather he's a nice Jewish boy from California.
Google, apparently, doesn't care whose dating life it hurts.
"It's completely algorithmic. There is no human control on this so we don't have people deciding which Web site appears where," he said.
To influence the information that comes up on a Google search, he suggested I add more content that will be indexed by Google or, alternatively, contact the Web site posting information about me.
Fortunately, my own personal Web site still gets ranked No. 1 -- but what about the others that gossip about me or reprint my outdated thoughts?
Google makes some exceptions (so you know there is some human control). If a Web site publishes personally identifiable information about someone (such as a credit card or Social Security number), it will remove that page.
I guess whatever singles column or article I willingly post online is fair game. My articles, singles columns in particular, run the risk of being immortalized on the Internet.
This leads me to wonder if single men and women should come up with Google etiquette standards. Should we tell our date in advance that we have gogled him or her? Sometimes I feel like telling a date: "OK, tell me what you already know about me, and let's go from there."
Is it better to admit we've researched one another, or to pretend we haven't? Or maybe we should implement a rule that says: Daters shall not gogle a prospective date to preserve a sense of mystery and privacy.
I don't see that happening. Gogle has become just another form of ogling. It's just way too tempting.
Click here for original
If someone's life is not worth at least one page of Google search results, does that mean he hasn't accomplished or written anything of enough import to be broadcast online?
I'd like to introduce a new verb to the dating lexicon: "Gogle," a combination of the words Google and "ogle."
One online dictionary defines "oglers" as those who ". . . look at especially with greedy or interested attention."
"Gogle" means to look up a person you want to date with greedy or interested attention using the popular search engine, Google.
I have been guilty of gogling, along with millions of other singles. Whenever I meet a guy, I always try to request a business card so I can get his last name. If I meet a guy online, I deduce his last name from his e-mail address. Then I punch it in Google to find out: Where does he work? What is his background? Has he published anything?
Unless the guy is a fellow writer or journalist, or unless he is semifamous, the search queries usually don't turn up results. At best, his name might be listed in a company Web site profile or some college club he belonged to years ago.
If someone's life is not worth at least one page of Google search results, does that mean he hasn't accomplished or written anything of enough import to be broadcast online? Does he lack ambition, achievement or creative output?
Then again, sometimes I'm relieved when the prospective date doesn't show up on Google. I cannot develop any preconceived notions about the man, and I begin from scratch in getting to know him. Google search results don't really reveal anything about a man's character -- and my deeper self cautions me against judging a man based on his outward accomplishments alone.
And what about men who gogle me? They come up with all kinds of good stuff -- much of it information I don't necessarily want them to know before they get to know me personally. I guess this is occupational hazard for someone who writes this kind of column.
A cursory reading of Google headlines that come up under my name might lead guys to conclude the following: I am a right-wing fanatical Zionist, I'm tired of Israeli men and I have 10 rules for men who date me. In part, I have a blogger to thank for this -- his colorful commentary and reposts of my most recent single columns always get ranked high, a fact of which he is proud.
Some search results seem completely random. For example, in my most recent top Google five, I appear as a writer for a neo-Zionist site that published my politically oriented blogs only three times, despite the fact that I haven't written for them in about a year.
I spoke with a Google spokesman about how the rankings work and to see if there is any way to control them. Google, as it turns out, is a cold, heartless machine.
"Google uses more than 200 different signals to determine relevancy and ranking of search results," I was told. "These include number of links, authority of a page [for example number of links posting to a page], the number of times key word appears on Web site."
The spokesperson asked not to be named; he probably didn't want to risk being gogled. But I did (revenge!) -- from what I gather he's a nice Jewish boy from California.
Google, apparently, doesn't care whose dating life it hurts.
"It's completely algorithmic. There is no human control on this so we don't have people deciding which Web site appears where," he said.
To influence the information that comes up on a Google search, he suggested I add more content that will be indexed by Google or, alternatively, contact the Web site posting information about me.
Fortunately, my own personal Web site still gets ranked No. 1 -- but what about the others that gossip about me or reprint my outdated thoughts?
Google makes some exceptions (so you know there is some human control). If a Web site publishes personally identifiable information about someone (such as a credit card or Social Security number), it will remove that page.
I guess whatever singles column or article I willingly post online is fair game. My articles, singles columns in particular, run the risk of being immortalized on the Internet.
This leads me to wonder if single men and women should come up with Google etiquette standards. Should we tell our date in advance that we have gogled him or her? Sometimes I feel like telling a date: "OK, tell me what you already know about me, and let's go from there."
Is it better to admit we've researched one another, or to pretend we haven't? Or maybe we should implement a rule that says: Daters shall not gogle a prospective date to preserve a sense of mystery and privacy.
I don't see that happening. Gogle has become just another form of ogling. It's just way too tempting.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
The new old city of Nazareth
Jerusalem Post, Metro; June 19, 2008
Click here for original
It's evening, and the narrow alleyways of the old Nazareth shuk look deserted except for a few children in jeans playing ball, women in headscarves carrying grocery bags, and European-looking backpackers meandering around as if they're lost. Dozens of metallic doors painted bright green line the corridors, shut with padlocks. Stone homes are patched up with cement to keep them insulated, their windows broken or sealed with plastic shutters. The only thing filling the shuk is the prayer call of the nearby White Mosque.
But there are pockets of revived beauty in the dilapidated shuk, also known as the Old City of Nazareth. Flower pots on a few sunny balconies supply spots of fresh color. Clean pavements and stairs are lit by fluorescent bulbs that were installed as part of the Nazareth 2000 project to refurbish the Old City for the millennium. In an alleyway once trodden by donkeys, a preserved Ottoman door protects the Fauzi Azar Inn.
A courtyard filled with pigeons leads to the lobby of this three-year-old hostel. Its sky-blue ceiling painted with pictures of cherubs holding bundles of wheat testify to the former glory of this 150-year-old Ottoman-era home. Guests lounge on oriental cushions near a wide window facing the dense shuk. Locals visit the inn just to get a glimpse of how a home in the Old City can be revamped into modern living quarters.
Maoz Inon, who opened the Fauzi Azar Inn, reached an agreement with its owners - the Azar family, whose members now reside in Syria - to renovate the home instead of paying rent, creating the type of hostel he himself, an experienced traveler, would have enjoyed. Thanks in generous part to the inn, the Old City of Nazareth is beginning to flourish.
"Optimism is back in town. We take [some] small credit for it," Inon says, with measured pride.
Inon, 32, looks like actor Woody Harrelson, with bright blue eyes and a happy-go-lucky smile. Exhibiting the same cheerful naïveté Harrelson displayed in White Men Can't Jump, Inon has proved that Jewish men can jump into the Arab capital of Israel, gain acceptance, and transform its cityscape.
"I don't present myself as Jewish," Inon said, "but as Maoz Inon, experienced traveler, entrepreneur and human being."
If he has his way, the Old City of Nazareth will become the most "happening" outdoor shopping center in the Galilee, with the refined charm of Tel Aviv's historic Neveh Zedek neighborhood and the bustle of the Mahaneh Yehuda market in Jerusalem.
A native of Kibbutz Nir Am near the Gaza border, Inon discovered Jesus's hometown when he and his then-girlfriend, now his wife, took a break from their jobs at high-tech companies in Tel Aviv to backpack through the country. Nazareth was a stop on the Israel National Trail, and Inon was smitten.
"It's a city with character and stories to tell, but it's not a postcard for tourists, like Acre or Jaffa," he says. "It's life. It's real - very authentic, very beautiful."
A mixture of idealism and capitalism has inspired him to go against the odds and found the Fauzi Azar Inn. "Tourism is a great tool to bring prosperity to neglected places where it's really needed," he says. "It works in an honorable way."
Walking past the colored walls, he recounts the history of the Old City.
Under the British Mandate, it served as a residential district for merchants, effendis (landowners) and government bureaucrats. After the War of Independence, the city absorbed Arab refugees from neighboring communities, some of whom moved into storage rooms.
Up until the 1990s, the Old City had developed a reputation as a bridal market, attracting shoppers from all over the Galilee. There are some remnants of its glory days as a bazaar. A fluffy, ruffled wedding dress that might have been stylish decades ago is prominently displayed in one window. Other stores show off their wares - jewelry, men's silk button-down shirts, fabrics.
But business in the Old City took a dive with the upsurge of malls and commercial franchises. Some shuk merchants blame the Nazareth 2000 project, which refurbished the sewage system, streetlights and sidewalks at the expense of shoppers' comfort. The city rebuffs that complaint.
"If we hadn't done what we did - that is, the renovation and restoration of the Old City in 2000 - I [believe] most of the buildings wouldn't be here now," Ramiz Jaraisy, Mayor of Nazareth for the past 14 years, told Metro in a phone interview. "The conditions of the buildings were very bad. We prepared modern infrastructure, renovated the roads there. Of course, the intifada had a negative influence on tourism, especially in Nazareth."
But in the past few years, Nazareth at large has been revived as a popular tourist destination. On the southern edge of the Old City, hundreds of pilgrims, nuns and priests flock to the Basilica of the Annunciation on the bustling Paul IV Avenue. Souvenir shops, shwarma joints and bakeries abound. Only tourists rarely veer from the standard site-seeing itinerary to check out the city's adjacent Old City, despite its past prominence.
"It's the heart of the city," Jaraisy says of the shuk, "the most important part of the city for historical sites and roots inside. It's a treasure for human heritage." The Old City serves as the centerpiece of the city's efforts to achieve recognition from UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Inon, meanwhile, is leading grassroots efforts to reconceptualize the Old City as the new hot spot for foreign tourists, as well as for Israelis. He commutes to Nazareth from his home in Binyamina, where he lives with his wife and two young children, to greet guests and also encourage locals to develop their own ideas for the shuk.
He stops at an open space featuring a small convenience store and a tailor. "I already envision a piazza," he says.
Touring the area with Inon, it's difficult to walk through the shuk without getting stopped by locals who shake his hand with a hearty "Salaam, Maoz!" With his brand-name Israeli sweater and bouncy step, he stands out.
We pass by Wisam Abu Sarem, a young man who has opened an espresso bar in front of an old-fashioned men's club where middle-aged men are playing backgammon.
We pass by a corner shop, its shelves filled with candy bars, cereals and canned foods. The owners are watching television, hoping one of Inon's guests will stop by for a snack.
"You must open," Inon exhorts Naaman Kawar like a motivational speaker. The Nazareth native is planning to open a pizzeria in an old frame shop. It looks like he still has a lot of work to do. The room is furnished with only a table. The only real investment seems to be a mural of a Nazareth street scene, painted by a friend. Another painting, of Mary, rests on an easel.
"I'm afraid to open," says Kawar, who already looks defeated. "There are no people here."
"It's very scary to open a business," Inon sympathizes. He recalls how it took over half a year to get a steady flow of guests at the inn. He thought of closing down right after the Second Lebanon War, which pounded businesses in northern Israel, but stayed afloat with government compensation. He persisted.
"Everyone is waiting for someone else to take the initiative and do something," Inon says. "From my experience, no one will do anything. I don't want to wait."
His "if you build it, it will come" attitude has worked. This past April was his most successful month yet. Every week, a new study group seems to choose accommodations at the inn, from Christians to Zen Buddhists. He's taken over old shops on the lower floor to add more guest rooms and a communal dining area.
"If we're experiencing a recovery, it's because of Maoz," says Kawar. "Everyone recognizes it. He gave courage to people to envision something."
Kawar is hoping to follow Inon's lead. "I have two huge homes here," he says. "I hope the area will grow so that I can take a loan, renovate them, maybe make a hostel, like Maoz's."
We turn into a busy vegetable market frequented mostly by locals.
Abu Ashraf, 53, greets us with his syrupy homemade katayef desserts, one filled with cheese, the other with walnuts. His restaurant, Diwan Elsaraya, is named after the castle next door that once belonged to Daher el-Omar, the ruler of the Galilee in the mid-18th century. Once a municipal office, it now stands empty.
"If we had 10 more Maozes, it'd be good," Abu Ashraf said after pouring us some Turkish coffee. Inon often directs his guests Ashraf's way. "I just look for the good people. Religion doesn't matter," Ashraf adds.
Inon sees every business in the shuk as a potential partner, but it took some time for the people in the community to warm up to the non-Arab's initiative. "Some people didn't believe this whole story - it's like introducing a foreign object to the body," said Abu Ashraf. "Naturally, when something new comes in, you're suspicious."
Inon didn't know too many people at first, but Abu Ashraf observed Inon's work and gave his "sponsorship," accelerating his acceptance by everyone else. Recently Abu Ashraf invited Maoz to his neighbor's wedding.
"He's smart. He respects people. People respect him. He deserves it. He proved himself."
The Nazareth Cultural and Tourist Association, a publicly-funded association founded in 1999, has duly recognized the potential of the Old City to become a leading center for commerce and entertainment. It is leading efforts, on the logistical end, to absorb new businesses.
"What you need to do is bring a different type of business," said Tareq Shihada, the director of the association, as we wait for lunch at the new Saj restaurant. "Businesses have a successful chance within the circumstances." He envisions galleries, clothing and jewelry boutiques, cafes, skin care shops, pubs, and restaurants. "I use Maoz as an example of someone who dreamed about something."
Saj is an example of the type of business Shihada hopes to attract - the restaurant is geared to both locals and tourists, it stays open late, and it mixes modernity with Arab tradition and hospitality.
A narrow stairway and arched doorway lead to Saj, but its sign colorfully attests to its modern intentions: "Fashion Food." The restaurant was co-founded by Amin Zayyad, a culinary pioneer in Nazareth who introduced gourmet Arab food with his former Zaytuna restaurant.
In building Saj, Zayyad and his partners gutted an old house and turned it into another gourmet restaurant with modern lines and leather chairs. Saj could easily fit into a trendy street in Tel Aviv.
"We looked at four to five places appropriate for a business," said Zayyad, "places where you can develop a center for leisure. We found this strip from Mary's Well to the shuk. We saw it has long-term potential."
If Saj could be judged by its food alone, it has a good chance of succeeding. We enjoyed delicious parsley-salmon salad, eggplant topped with flavored tehina, and chicken in yogurt sauce with fenugreek seeds - all served with classic Arab warmth and charm.
"I tell people here you have one commodity no one can compete with: Arab hospitality," said Shihada. "We don't need to teach people how to welcome people. It's built in."
Zayyad understands, though, how other locals might feel intimidated to venture into the city. "People are afraid to invest in the Old City. It's a big risk. Ambitious young people don't know to whom to turn to develop plans," he said. "It's lacking in Nazareth. With back up, Nazareth could be a very special center for going out."
To help counter such concerns by would-be business owners, the Nazareth Cultural and Tourist Association has partnered with the municipality and local centers for business development (Mati) to create a non-profit wing to assist entrepreneurs. Businesses will be exempt from municipal taxes in their first year of operation, and will be charged in 25 percent increments in subsequent years.
Plans are also underway to open an office in the Old City that will act like a real estate office. Part of the challenge in opening new stores is tracking down the owners of the buildings. Once a database of all available properties is created, a municipal liaison will match entrepreneurs with the properties. New businesses will be required to stay open until 10 p.m. as a means of turning the Old City into center for nightlife and competing with local shopping malls.
But some merchants think the city is taking too long. "The municipality always tells us about a five-year plan, but nothing happens!" cries Suleman Aywani, owner of a vegetable store.
To which Inon replies, "Individuals can make the change!"
Optimism doesn't seem to be carried into a few halls down from the Fauzi Azar Inn, either.
About two months ago, Nazareth resident Raida Saad opened a lingerie boutique. Her shop consists of a room with only a few racks, one for cotton nightgowns, one for silk negligees, and one for undergarments. Her original landscapes decorate the store's back wall.
Saad pulls out a black negligee imported from an undisclosed Arab country. It goes for NIS 380. "I have very special things," she says proudly, but then sulks. "Tourists pass by, they don't come in. Also, Jews who pass by don't come in. I swear, there are hundreds of people who take pictures near my store window. But they don't buy anything."
At Inon's suggestion she attached price labels to the items for foreigners used to fixed retail prices, "but then the Arabs stopped coming."
Opposite her, a jewelry store that's been open for 40 years is empty of customers. The owner glances at the golden hoop earrings, necklaces, and Star of David pendants. "I'd like to get new stuff, but still have trouble selling the old."
She looks out the window, wistfully. It used to be that on Fridays, the shuk was so crowded you couldn't pass through. "Now look, it's empty. But we have a beautiful city," she says.
Outside, retirees are sitting in chairs, not bothering to woo customers. They usually close their shops at 2 p.m. "You see, they're all old. They got used to it."
Inon, she says, has brought some life to the shuk, but a parking deficiency and traffic outside the Old City keep people away. "Tourists come to the church and leave," she says.
In Inon's opinion, these veteran shops can't last much longer without updating their wares to the Old City's newer vision. For them, he doesn't have too many words of inspiration.
"It's part of the circle of life," he says.
Click here for original
It's evening, and the narrow alleyways of the old Nazareth shuk look deserted except for a few children in jeans playing ball, women in headscarves carrying grocery bags, and European-looking backpackers meandering around as if they're lost. Dozens of metallic doors painted bright green line the corridors, shut with padlocks. Stone homes are patched up with cement to keep them insulated, their windows broken or sealed with plastic shutters. The only thing filling the shuk is the prayer call of the nearby White Mosque.
But there are pockets of revived beauty in the dilapidated shuk, also known as the Old City of Nazareth. Flower pots on a few sunny balconies supply spots of fresh color. Clean pavements and stairs are lit by fluorescent bulbs that were installed as part of the Nazareth 2000 project to refurbish the Old City for the millennium. In an alleyway once trodden by donkeys, a preserved Ottoman door protects the Fauzi Azar Inn.
A courtyard filled with pigeons leads to the lobby of this three-year-old hostel. Its sky-blue ceiling painted with pictures of cherubs holding bundles of wheat testify to the former glory of this 150-year-old Ottoman-era home. Guests lounge on oriental cushions near a wide window facing the dense shuk. Locals visit the inn just to get a glimpse of how a home in the Old City can be revamped into modern living quarters.
Maoz Inon, who opened the Fauzi Azar Inn, reached an agreement with its owners - the Azar family, whose members now reside in Syria - to renovate the home instead of paying rent, creating the type of hostel he himself, an experienced traveler, would have enjoyed. Thanks in generous part to the inn, the Old City of Nazareth is beginning to flourish.
"Optimism is back in town. We take [some] small credit for it," Inon says, with measured pride.
Inon, 32, looks like actor Woody Harrelson, with bright blue eyes and a happy-go-lucky smile. Exhibiting the same cheerful naïveté Harrelson displayed in White Men Can't Jump, Inon has proved that Jewish men can jump into the Arab capital of Israel, gain acceptance, and transform its cityscape.
"I don't present myself as Jewish," Inon said, "but as Maoz Inon, experienced traveler, entrepreneur and human being."
If he has his way, the Old City of Nazareth will become the most "happening" outdoor shopping center in the Galilee, with the refined charm of Tel Aviv's historic Neveh Zedek neighborhood and the bustle of the Mahaneh Yehuda market in Jerusalem.
A native of Kibbutz Nir Am near the Gaza border, Inon discovered Jesus's hometown when he and his then-girlfriend, now his wife, took a break from their jobs at high-tech companies in Tel Aviv to backpack through the country. Nazareth was a stop on the Israel National Trail, and Inon was smitten.
"It's a city with character and stories to tell, but it's not a postcard for tourists, like Acre or Jaffa," he says. "It's life. It's real - very authentic, very beautiful."
A mixture of idealism and capitalism has inspired him to go against the odds and found the Fauzi Azar Inn. "Tourism is a great tool to bring prosperity to neglected places where it's really needed," he says. "It works in an honorable way."
Walking past the colored walls, he recounts the history of the Old City.
Under the British Mandate, it served as a residential district for merchants, effendis (landowners) and government bureaucrats. After the War of Independence, the city absorbed Arab refugees from neighboring communities, some of whom moved into storage rooms.
Up until the 1990s, the Old City had developed a reputation as a bridal market, attracting shoppers from all over the Galilee. There are some remnants of its glory days as a bazaar. A fluffy, ruffled wedding dress that might have been stylish decades ago is prominently displayed in one window. Other stores show off their wares - jewelry, men's silk button-down shirts, fabrics.
But business in the Old City took a dive with the upsurge of malls and commercial franchises. Some shuk merchants blame the Nazareth 2000 project, which refurbished the sewage system, streetlights and sidewalks at the expense of shoppers' comfort. The city rebuffs that complaint.
"If we hadn't done what we did - that is, the renovation and restoration of the Old City in 2000 - I [believe] most of the buildings wouldn't be here now," Ramiz Jaraisy, Mayor of Nazareth for the past 14 years, told Metro in a phone interview. "The conditions of the buildings were very bad. We prepared modern infrastructure, renovated the roads there. Of course, the intifada had a negative influence on tourism, especially in Nazareth."
But in the past few years, Nazareth at large has been revived as a popular tourist destination. On the southern edge of the Old City, hundreds of pilgrims, nuns and priests flock to the Basilica of the Annunciation on the bustling Paul IV Avenue. Souvenir shops, shwarma joints and bakeries abound. Only tourists rarely veer from the standard site-seeing itinerary to check out the city's adjacent Old City, despite its past prominence.
"It's the heart of the city," Jaraisy says of the shuk, "the most important part of the city for historical sites and roots inside. It's a treasure for human heritage." The Old City serves as the centerpiece of the city's efforts to achieve recognition from UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Inon, meanwhile, is leading grassroots efforts to reconceptualize the Old City as the new hot spot for foreign tourists, as well as for Israelis. He commutes to Nazareth from his home in Binyamina, where he lives with his wife and two young children, to greet guests and also encourage locals to develop their own ideas for the shuk.
He stops at an open space featuring a small convenience store and a tailor. "I already envision a piazza," he says.
Touring the area with Inon, it's difficult to walk through the shuk without getting stopped by locals who shake his hand with a hearty "Salaam, Maoz!" With his brand-name Israeli sweater and bouncy step, he stands out.
We pass by Wisam Abu Sarem, a young man who has opened an espresso bar in front of an old-fashioned men's club where middle-aged men are playing backgammon.
We pass by a corner shop, its shelves filled with candy bars, cereals and canned foods. The owners are watching television, hoping one of Inon's guests will stop by for a snack.
"You must open," Inon exhorts Naaman Kawar like a motivational speaker. The Nazareth native is planning to open a pizzeria in an old frame shop. It looks like he still has a lot of work to do. The room is furnished with only a table. The only real investment seems to be a mural of a Nazareth street scene, painted by a friend. Another painting, of Mary, rests on an easel.
"I'm afraid to open," says Kawar, who already looks defeated. "There are no people here."
"It's very scary to open a business," Inon sympathizes. He recalls how it took over half a year to get a steady flow of guests at the inn. He thought of closing down right after the Second Lebanon War, which pounded businesses in northern Israel, but stayed afloat with government compensation. He persisted.
"Everyone is waiting for someone else to take the initiative and do something," Inon says. "From my experience, no one will do anything. I don't want to wait."
His "if you build it, it will come" attitude has worked. This past April was his most successful month yet. Every week, a new study group seems to choose accommodations at the inn, from Christians to Zen Buddhists. He's taken over old shops on the lower floor to add more guest rooms and a communal dining area.
"If we're experiencing a recovery, it's because of Maoz," says Kawar. "Everyone recognizes it. He gave courage to people to envision something."
Kawar is hoping to follow Inon's lead. "I have two huge homes here," he says. "I hope the area will grow so that I can take a loan, renovate them, maybe make a hostel, like Maoz's."
We turn into a busy vegetable market frequented mostly by locals.
Abu Ashraf, 53, greets us with his syrupy homemade katayef desserts, one filled with cheese, the other with walnuts. His restaurant, Diwan Elsaraya, is named after the castle next door that once belonged to Daher el-Omar, the ruler of the Galilee in the mid-18th century. Once a municipal office, it now stands empty.
"If we had 10 more Maozes, it'd be good," Abu Ashraf said after pouring us some Turkish coffee. Inon often directs his guests Ashraf's way. "I just look for the good people. Religion doesn't matter," Ashraf adds.
Inon sees every business in the shuk as a potential partner, but it took some time for the people in the community to warm up to the non-Arab's initiative. "Some people didn't believe this whole story - it's like introducing a foreign object to the body," said Abu Ashraf. "Naturally, when something new comes in, you're suspicious."
Inon didn't know too many people at first, but Abu Ashraf observed Inon's work and gave his "sponsorship," accelerating his acceptance by everyone else. Recently Abu Ashraf invited Maoz to his neighbor's wedding.
"He's smart. He respects people. People respect him. He deserves it. He proved himself."
The Nazareth Cultural and Tourist Association, a publicly-funded association founded in 1999, has duly recognized the potential of the Old City to become a leading center for commerce and entertainment. It is leading efforts, on the logistical end, to absorb new businesses.
"What you need to do is bring a different type of business," said Tareq Shihada, the director of the association, as we wait for lunch at the new Saj restaurant. "Businesses have a successful chance within the circumstances." He envisions galleries, clothing and jewelry boutiques, cafes, skin care shops, pubs, and restaurants. "I use Maoz as an example of someone who dreamed about something."
Saj is an example of the type of business Shihada hopes to attract - the restaurant is geared to both locals and tourists, it stays open late, and it mixes modernity with Arab tradition and hospitality.
A narrow stairway and arched doorway lead to Saj, but its sign colorfully attests to its modern intentions: "Fashion Food." The restaurant was co-founded by Amin Zayyad, a culinary pioneer in Nazareth who introduced gourmet Arab food with his former Zaytuna restaurant.
In building Saj, Zayyad and his partners gutted an old house and turned it into another gourmet restaurant with modern lines and leather chairs. Saj could easily fit into a trendy street in Tel Aviv.
"We looked at four to five places appropriate for a business," said Zayyad, "places where you can develop a center for leisure. We found this strip from Mary's Well to the shuk. We saw it has long-term potential."
If Saj could be judged by its food alone, it has a good chance of succeeding. We enjoyed delicious parsley-salmon salad, eggplant topped with flavored tehina, and chicken in yogurt sauce with fenugreek seeds - all served with classic Arab warmth and charm.
"I tell people here you have one commodity no one can compete with: Arab hospitality," said Shihada. "We don't need to teach people how to welcome people. It's built in."
Zayyad understands, though, how other locals might feel intimidated to venture into the city. "People are afraid to invest in the Old City. It's a big risk. Ambitious young people don't know to whom to turn to develop plans," he said. "It's lacking in Nazareth. With back up, Nazareth could be a very special center for going out."
To help counter such concerns by would-be business owners, the Nazareth Cultural and Tourist Association has partnered with the municipality and local centers for business development (Mati) to create a non-profit wing to assist entrepreneurs. Businesses will be exempt from municipal taxes in their first year of operation, and will be charged in 25 percent increments in subsequent years.
Plans are also underway to open an office in the Old City that will act like a real estate office. Part of the challenge in opening new stores is tracking down the owners of the buildings. Once a database of all available properties is created, a municipal liaison will match entrepreneurs with the properties. New businesses will be required to stay open until 10 p.m. as a means of turning the Old City into center for nightlife and competing with local shopping malls.
But some merchants think the city is taking too long. "The municipality always tells us about a five-year plan, but nothing happens!" cries Suleman Aywani, owner of a vegetable store.
To which Inon replies, "Individuals can make the change!"
Optimism doesn't seem to be carried into a few halls down from the Fauzi Azar Inn, either.
About two months ago, Nazareth resident Raida Saad opened a lingerie boutique. Her shop consists of a room with only a few racks, one for cotton nightgowns, one for silk negligees, and one for undergarments. Her original landscapes decorate the store's back wall.
Saad pulls out a black negligee imported from an undisclosed Arab country. It goes for NIS 380. "I have very special things," she says proudly, but then sulks. "Tourists pass by, they don't come in. Also, Jews who pass by don't come in. I swear, there are hundreds of people who take pictures near my store window. But they don't buy anything."
At Inon's suggestion she attached price labels to the items for foreigners used to fixed retail prices, "but then the Arabs stopped coming."
Opposite her, a jewelry store that's been open for 40 years is empty of customers. The owner glances at the golden hoop earrings, necklaces, and Star of David pendants. "I'd like to get new stuff, but still have trouble selling the old."
She looks out the window, wistfully. It used to be that on Fridays, the shuk was so crowded you couldn't pass through. "Now look, it's empty. But we have a beautiful city," she says.
Outside, retirees are sitting in chairs, not bothering to woo customers. They usually close their shops at 2 p.m. "You see, they're all old. They got used to it."
Inon, she says, has brought some life to the shuk, but a parking deficiency and traffic outside the Old City keep people away. "Tourists come to the church and leave," she says.
In Inon's opinion, these veteran shops can't last much longer without updating their wares to the Old City's newer vision. For them, he doesn't have too many words of inspiration.
"It's part of the circle of life," he says.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The French connection (hotel review)
Jerusalem Post, Weekend Magazine; June 12, 2008
Catherine and Daniel Groner made aliya in March 2007 from the south of France with a dream: to create a mini- French oasis within Israel. They have succeeded with Villa Provence, a six-suite boutique hotel and spa in Moshav Manot, about 16 km. east of Nahariya.
The peach-colored two-story villa stands out in the hilly moshav, home to some 64 families. Dozens of plants and a small fountain fill the entrance corridor. The tabletops in the dining room, which also serves as the hotel's lobby, boast elegant earth-colored tiles. Antique French pantries stand against walls adorned with landscape paintings.
But the most scenic picture is located through the wide patio glass door: a bright blue pool and tanning deck surrounded by a lush garden.
Down the hall are two treatment rooms and a spa with a steam room and sauna. The jacuzzi is located outside.
The Groners' personal story of aliya is impressive. Catherine left her work as a corporate consultant and Daniel as an accountant and judge to realize their Zionist dream. This is his second marriage, her first.
"We opened a new page in Israel," says Daniel.
They scouted different communities in Israel until they came upon Moshav Manot. Most French olim, Daniel said, flock to the big cities, but they were intent on creating a suburban lifestyle similar to one they enjoyed in France. They came upon a home whose second floor once served as a guest house. As soon as they began remodeling, the Second Lebanon War broke out.
"We got our ID cards and war cards together," explained Daniel. "It was hard, but we didn't want to go back; we wanted to live in Israel." While the hotel was in construction, the couple lived in Nahariya while escaping to Tel Aviv when rockets started falling. Finally, the work was done, and in May 2007, Villa Provence opened.
Catherine applied her natural artistic flair to design the interior, with each suite designed in a different color scheme. I stayed in the Narcisse room, styled in white and silver, and felt like a French princess.
Rooms here are equipped with an LCD screen, DVD, stereo, Internet outlet, and mini-fridge. Conveniently placed on a small desk is a book of things to do in Galilee. French L'Occitane soaps, shampoos and moisturizing creams add a European scent to the bathrooms and spa.
Amidst all this luxury and elegance, only one thing was a little tough at Villa Provence: the lack of fuzzy warmth I have enjoyed as a guest at family-run log-cabin style tzimmers.
The Groners' living quarters are located through a glass door near the lobby, understandably off limits to guests.
When Catherine served me breakfast consisting of breads, Roquefort and feta cheese, cucumber and Waldorf salads, and a sunny-side-up egg, I didn't feel comfortable asking her to fetch me more water. When Daniel offered to take my luggage to my car, I declined; a former judge shouldn't be my valet.
I felt like I was interrupting the Groners when I wanted something - whether to inquire about a massage, or to figure out why the hot water in the spa's shower wasn't working.
Daniel explained that when the hotel is at full capacity, they hire outside help. But I am of the opinion that whoever attends such an expensive and well-groomed hotel should be treated like the VIPs the luxurious accommodations make them feel.
B&B with spa included (treatment extra): Weekday: NIS 1,000 per couple per night; Weekend: NIS 2,400 per couple for two nights; www.villaprovence.co.il; (04) 980-6246; (054) 308-1061. Children over the age of 16 are welcome.
Catherine and Daniel Groner made aliya in March 2007 from the south of France with a dream: to create a mini- French oasis within Israel. They have succeeded with Villa Provence, a six-suite boutique hotel and spa in Moshav Manot, about 16 km. east of Nahariya.
The peach-colored two-story villa stands out in the hilly moshav, home to some 64 families. Dozens of plants and a small fountain fill the entrance corridor. The tabletops in the dining room, which also serves as the hotel's lobby, boast elegant earth-colored tiles. Antique French pantries stand against walls adorned with landscape paintings.
But the most scenic picture is located through the wide patio glass door: a bright blue pool and tanning deck surrounded by a lush garden.
Down the hall are two treatment rooms and a spa with a steam room and sauna. The jacuzzi is located outside.
The Groners' personal story of aliya is impressive. Catherine left her work as a corporate consultant and Daniel as an accountant and judge to realize their Zionist dream. This is his second marriage, her first.
"We opened a new page in Israel," says Daniel.
They scouted different communities in Israel until they came upon Moshav Manot. Most French olim, Daniel said, flock to the big cities, but they were intent on creating a suburban lifestyle similar to one they enjoyed in France. They came upon a home whose second floor once served as a guest house. As soon as they began remodeling, the Second Lebanon War broke out.
"We got our ID cards and war cards together," explained Daniel. "It was hard, but we didn't want to go back; we wanted to live in Israel." While the hotel was in construction, the couple lived in Nahariya while escaping to Tel Aviv when rockets started falling. Finally, the work was done, and in May 2007, Villa Provence opened.
Catherine applied her natural artistic flair to design the interior, with each suite designed in a different color scheme. I stayed in the Narcisse room, styled in white and silver, and felt like a French princess.
Rooms here are equipped with an LCD screen, DVD, stereo, Internet outlet, and mini-fridge. Conveniently placed on a small desk is a book of things to do in Galilee. French L'Occitane soaps, shampoos and moisturizing creams add a European scent to the bathrooms and spa.
Amidst all this luxury and elegance, only one thing was a little tough at Villa Provence: the lack of fuzzy warmth I have enjoyed as a guest at family-run log-cabin style tzimmers.
The Groners' living quarters are located through a glass door near the lobby, understandably off limits to guests.
When Catherine served me breakfast consisting of breads, Roquefort and feta cheese, cucumber and Waldorf salads, and a sunny-side-up egg, I didn't feel comfortable asking her to fetch me more water. When Daniel offered to take my luggage to my car, I declined; a former judge shouldn't be my valet.
I felt like I was interrupting the Groners when I wanted something - whether to inquire about a massage, or to figure out why the hot water in the spa's shower wasn't working.
Daniel explained that when the hotel is at full capacity, they hire outside help. But I am of the opinion that whoever attends such an expensive and well-groomed hotel should be treated like the VIPs the luxurious accommodations make them feel.
B&B with spa included (treatment extra): Weekday: NIS 1,000 per couple per night; Weekend: NIS 2,400 per couple for two nights; www.villaprovence.co.il; (04) 980-6246; (054) 308-1061. Children over the age of 16 are welcome.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Sex and the column
The Jewish Journal, June 5, 2008
Click here for original
One of the first things I did when I arrived in my hometown of Los Angeles for the summer was to rush with my friend Lori to see "Sex and the City" on opening night.
We weren't the only ones.
The movie was sold out all over Los Angeles, but as committed fans, we made the trek to Manhattan -- Manhattan Beach, that is -- despite the current gas prices, to see the only 10:30 p.m. Friday showing available within a 30-mile radius.
The line, filled mostly with women, went around the block. I had gotten all dolled up in shiny golden (knock-off?) Kenneth Cole heels, brown leggings and a golden wrap -- just to sit in a movie theater. We stood for a half-hour in the cold beach weather -- me in my heels and Lori wrapped in a blanket she found in her car -- but we didn't mind. The mood was cheerful and expectant. It wasn't the sluggish anticipation we experienced in line for the new "Indiana Jones" movie along with fathers and sons.
We passed the time examining everyone's shoes and chatting with a 50-year-old mother of five kids who'd brought her 18-year-old daughter to see the movie.
Already, during the previews for romantic comedies, we were all cheering and jeering. We weren't strangers -- but sisters -- all connected by our familiarity and sympathy for our mutual best friends: Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha.
But we didn't only come to see fictional characters, but ourselves; the characters are more like Freudian concepts -- there's a bit of each of them in each of us. Sometimes we channel our inner Miranda -- cynical and hard. When we feel sappy and romantic, we channel the prudish Charlotte. And then there's Samantha -- raunchy and horny. And, of course, there's Carrie -- intelligent, open and a bit neurotic.
When I first started writing singles columns, I was living in Tel Aviv, Israel's big city. I titled my column "Sex in Tel Aviv" and described my wish to write about a life as fabulous as that of the show's syndicated columnist, Carrie. With all its hip bars and cafes, Tel Aviv seemed suited to Carrie-esque adventures, only I didn't make as much money or go out as much as she did, and, most of all, I never developed a clique of fabulous girlfriends.
Even in Tel Aviv, generally sheltered from Israel's security issues, I faced predicaments unique to a Jewish American Israeli: surviving a terrorist attack in Sinai, going out on a date with a repressed ultra-Orthodox Jew and encountering a Palestinian at a bar. I was both fortunate and unfortunate to live in a city where struggles reach far beyond simply finding love and a good pair of Manolos.
But no matter the topic, Carrie Bradshaw gave me permission to divulge my romantic life for the entire Jewish world, garnering both fans and foes. Sometimes I wonder: Would I have written half the stuff I did if not for her example? Would I have made the men I dated fodder for my columns without their knowing it? Would I have shared the pain of my first time? I don't know.
My openness has not exactly procured me a "Sex in the City" lifestyle, either. I'm still single, still pretty poor and still don't have a clique of girlfriends. I took on the sexual honesty, but got no fantasy to show for it.
The film is even more fanciful than the TV show. Despite their added years, the women have never looked so posh, perfect -- and plastic. Sure, there are difficult moments of betrayal and break-ups, but how bad can those be when you're wearing Prada and Dolce and Gabbana? Renting apartments in Manhattan on a whim? Jetting to Cancun to ease the pain?
I also faced another challenge in applying "Sex and the City"-style dilemmas to my own life: The community for which I write.
The Jewish world is often covert when it comes to female desire. Jewish women aren't supposed to open up with their rabbis about our pent-up desire for a one-night stand. We can't openly eye another congregant in shul and comment "that guy is hot!" without getting a lecture about middot (good deeds) before looks. I know I speak for some girlfriends when I admit that I have suffered a lot of confusion about the not-so-good deed -- in part because extramarital sex is associated with much taboo in Jewish communities across the board.
And maybe that's why watching "Sex in the City" has always offered such pleasure, and why I have taken Carrie Bradshaw's example of honestly sharing the nitty-gritty, sexually charged challenges of single life with more than just my girlfriends.
So while I may not have enjoyed such a glamorous life of sex in the city, if I have fostered a bit more openness to the needs and challenges of the Jewish woman attracted to secular life, then maybe I have done my share of tikkun olam, even if I won't be wearing Manolos when I get the backlash.
Click here for original
One of the first things I did when I arrived in my hometown of Los Angeles for the summer was to rush with my friend Lori to see "Sex and the City" on opening night.
We weren't the only ones.
The movie was sold out all over Los Angeles, but as committed fans, we made the trek to Manhattan -- Manhattan Beach, that is -- despite the current gas prices, to see the only 10:30 p.m. Friday showing available within a 30-mile radius.
The line, filled mostly with women, went around the block. I had gotten all dolled up in shiny golden (knock-off?) Kenneth Cole heels, brown leggings and a golden wrap -- just to sit in a movie theater. We stood for a half-hour in the cold beach weather -- me in my heels and Lori wrapped in a blanket she found in her car -- but we didn't mind. The mood was cheerful and expectant. It wasn't the sluggish anticipation we experienced in line for the new "Indiana Jones" movie along with fathers and sons.
We passed the time examining everyone's shoes and chatting with a 50-year-old mother of five kids who'd brought her 18-year-old daughter to see the movie.
Already, during the previews for romantic comedies, we were all cheering and jeering. We weren't strangers -- but sisters -- all connected by our familiarity and sympathy for our mutual best friends: Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha.
But we didn't only come to see fictional characters, but ourselves; the characters are more like Freudian concepts -- there's a bit of each of them in each of us. Sometimes we channel our inner Miranda -- cynical and hard. When we feel sappy and romantic, we channel the prudish Charlotte. And then there's Samantha -- raunchy and horny. And, of course, there's Carrie -- intelligent, open and a bit neurotic.
When I first started writing singles columns, I was living in Tel Aviv, Israel's big city. I titled my column "Sex in Tel Aviv" and described my wish to write about a life as fabulous as that of the show's syndicated columnist, Carrie. With all its hip bars and cafes, Tel Aviv seemed suited to Carrie-esque adventures, only I didn't make as much money or go out as much as she did, and, most of all, I never developed a clique of fabulous girlfriends.
Even in Tel Aviv, generally sheltered from Israel's security issues, I faced predicaments unique to a Jewish American Israeli: surviving a terrorist attack in Sinai, going out on a date with a repressed ultra-Orthodox Jew and encountering a Palestinian at a bar. I was both fortunate and unfortunate to live in a city where struggles reach far beyond simply finding love and a good pair of Manolos.
But no matter the topic, Carrie Bradshaw gave me permission to divulge my romantic life for the entire Jewish world, garnering both fans and foes. Sometimes I wonder: Would I have written half the stuff I did if not for her example? Would I have made the men I dated fodder for my columns without their knowing it? Would I have shared the pain of my first time? I don't know.
My openness has not exactly procured me a "Sex in the City" lifestyle, either. I'm still single, still pretty poor and still don't have a clique of girlfriends. I took on the sexual honesty, but got no fantasy to show for it.
The film is even more fanciful than the TV show. Despite their added years, the women have never looked so posh, perfect -- and plastic. Sure, there are difficult moments of betrayal and break-ups, but how bad can those be when you're wearing Prada and Dolce and Gabbana? Renting apartments in Manhattan on a whim? Jetting to Cancun to ease the pain?
I also faced another challenge in applying "Sex and the City"-style dilemmas to my own life: The community for which I write.
The Jewish world is often covert when it comes to female desire. Jewish women aren't supposed to open up with their rabbis about our pent-up desire for a one-night stand. We can't openly eye another congregant in shul and comment "that guy is hot!" without getting a lecture about middot (good deeds) before looks. I know I speak for some girlfriends when I admit that I have suffered a lot of confusion about the not-so-good deed -- in part because extramarital sex is associated with much taboo in Jewish communities across the board.
And maybe that's why watching "Sex in the City" has always offered such pleasure, and why I have taken Carrie Bradshaw's example of honestly sharing the nitty-gritty, sexually charged challenges of single life with more than just my girlfriends.
So while I may not have enjoyed such a glamorous life of sex in the city, if I have fostered a bit more openness to the needs and challenges of the Jewish woman attracted to secular life, then maybe I have done my share of tikkun olam, even if I won't be wearing Manolos when I get the backlash.
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