It’s easy to love Tel Aviv. It’s everything that modern Israel can be proud of: thriving culture, world-class Bauhaus architecture, a modern perspective on most issues, beautiful beaches and great food.

But I have to say, the one aspect that lets the city down somewhat is traffic. In Tel Aviv you can find yourself sitting in some of the world’s worst traffic jams, and have to fight the urge to leave your car where it is in favor of walking.

I have always thought the magic solution would be a subway. Why not? Like all other major cities, people should be encouraged to abandon their cars in favor of walking and riding mass transit.

Well, it seems that finally, I’ll get my wish. Maybe it’s not a subway, but the light-rail mass transit solution being proposed is definitely a step in the right direction.

I read about the project in Haaretz. Like me, the author of the article was adamant that what Tel Aviv needed was a subway system, not an above-ground alternative. But as far as I am concerned, any step towards mass-transit is a positive start, even if it’s not a perfect solution.

What do you think? Have a read after the jump.

Our very own Yigal Naor will soon find himself rubbing shoulders with Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Reese Witherspoon on the set of the new American film, “Rendition” under Oscar winning director Gavin Hood. What an awesome opportunity to boost his international career!

Yigal got his first Hollywood big studio cred in Spielberg’s “Munich”, also where Hood spotted the talented actor. “Renditions” high profile cast is set to start shooting in a few weeks in Morocco. Yigal has been cast to play the role of a secret police chief in charge of interrogating a foreign citizen in an Arab country. The movie is billed as a political thriller whose multilayered story centers on a CIA analyst based in Cairo who finds his world spinning out of control after he witnesses the interrogation of a foreign national by the Egyptian secret police.

Naor’s international career includes appearances in the French television series Djihad. But apart from roles in the film industry, he is also a must see stage actor. At the moment he is appearing in two major roles in Habimah stage productions, in “Antigone” as King Creon in a production with the Cameri Theater and in “Nudnik”.

Naor has made it to the big studios! We just hope the film doesn’t suck.

From Israel Forum’s JBLOG Central:

An introduction to the JIB Awards

In 2004, the founder of the JIB Awards, Aussie Dave, pioneered the program in conjunction with his excellent blog, Israellycool. Aussie Dave intended the JIB Awards to be a friendly competition designed to drive new traffic to Jewish and Israeli Blogs (JIBs).

The JIB Awards phenomenon took on a life of its own and became a cultural feature of the JBlogosphere, marked by beautiful award graphics which began to adorn many JBlogs — both winners and nominees.

In 2005, the Jerusalem Post hosted the awards, while many of the leadership duties were maintained by Israellycool.

In 2006, JBlog Central volunteered to host the JIB Awards. So, here we are.

Getting people to talk about themselves is easy. But having the New York Times write a half page expose on your history, talents and exploits definitely takes more than the gift of gab or a talented publicist. So, we have to give props to Iris Bahr, the young Israeli- American writer and performer of the play “Dai”, who the NYT profiled last week.

You may recognize the writer, actor, neuropsychologist from her hilarious role as the uptight Orthodox girl sitting next to Larry David on the ski lift in Curb Your Enthusiasm…

So Many Different People to Be, Onstage and Off, if She Can Dodge the Trucks

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON

Iris Bahr’s résumé reads as if it were pasted together from the résumés of a bunch of people who have never met.

At one point she’s working for Israeli intelligence; then she’s the author of a memoir about, among other things, her attempts to lose her virginity. Here she is playing opposite Larry David on television; here she is playing opposite Larry the Cable Guy in a movie. Oh, and here is Ms. Bahr studying neuropsychology at Brown University.

As part of our daily quest to bring you funny, interesting, thought provoking, spiritually uplifting, intellectually engaging, and palpably amusing material we also like to sometimes raise important social issues confronting every society.

Today, we’d like to create a discussion about gay life, and we have a great article from YNET to help get us started. So please take a few minutes to read this very insightful and accurate article and send us your thoughts, experiences, and anecdotes about gay life in Israel or in your country.

Tel Aviv, the final gay frontier

These are the voyages of the British gay journalist in his continuing mission to explore strange new worlds

By: Chas Newkey Burden

Tel Aviv resident Justin Rudzki was strolling across the city’s busy Dizengoff Square one day when he spotted an Arab man. Their eyes met and the two men approached one another.

But this wasn’t to be yet another moment of conflict between Jew and Arab in the Middle East. The pair instead swapped phone numbers and arranged a date. You might not expect such an encounter to be able to occur in Israel. But then the more you look into gay life in this country, the more surprises you uncover.

When I told friends I was visiting Israel, the common response was “Be careful, make sure you don’t get killed.” In fact, such is the level of security there, I felt far, far safer in Israel than I do in London. Similarly, when I told friends I was visiting Israel to write a feature for a gay magazine, the common response was: “Be careful, I bet it’s a really homophobic country.”

It is nothing of the sort…

Today we’d like to introduce you to Idan Raichel and his project. To those of you who are already familiar with Idan, we suggest you refresh your familiarity as well.

Idan was recently interviewed by Public Radio International about his growing success and role in the International music scene. But first a little background:

“The Idan Raichel Project burst onto the Israeli music scene in 2002, changing the face of Israeli popular music and offering a message of love and tolerance that resonated strongly in a region of the world where the headlines are too often dominated by conflict. With an enchanting blend of Ethiopian and Middle Eastern flavors coupled with sophisticated production techniques and a spectacular live show, the Idan Raichel Project has become one of the most unexpected success stories in Israeli music today. While he regularly fills large concert halls at home, the upcoming international release of his recordings on the Cumbancha record label promises to introduce the work of this inspirational collective to a wide global audience.”

Here’s the link to the interview:

‘Help Wanted’ is where we post what you send. So remember, keep em’ comin’. This post is brought to you by our fellow blogger Benji Lovitt. And we’re quite sure that’s not his real name. It’s just too cool…

You Have GOT to Be Kidding…

Two days after move-in and a long road lies ahead. Dirty floors, not much furniture, and no time to address either. Work is way too busy (a topic I won’t address here), and I was exhausted and in a rotten mood when I got home. All the more reason to start cleaning and get this process of settling in rolling already.

NOW…those of you living in the Western Hemisphere may be familiar with something I like to call a mop. While the internet, the Big Mac, and “Mmm…Bop!” have made it here over the years, somehow this futuristic cleaning device made a left turn around Cyprus and lost its way. To compensate for this horrible loss, Israelis have developed their own system of cleaning floors. I call this process “complete insanity”. Let me walk you through it. Take my hand and let’s explore it together!

1) First, you must clear your bedroom of any objects which might possibly touch the floor. Beds, dressers, 800 pound gorillas…it don’t matter! GET IT OUT! A fun alternative is to just leave your stuff there, allowing the possibility that it might get drenched later.

2) Next, you fill a bucket with soap and water. We’re on a roll.

Grabbed this one off YOU TUBE this morning, and we have to say… it’s pretty cool.

Way to go Hollyyyyyyy!

Lunatic- ORIGIN Latin lunaticus, from luna ‘moon’ (from the belief that changes of the moon caused intermittent insanity)”, Oxford Dictionary

A few years ago if you claimed to have purchased land on the moon, you would be declared a lunatic, and according to the above definition, for excellent reason. I am sure that people wondered what on earth Dennis Hope was thinking when in the 1970s, taking advantage of a loophole in land registry laws, registered all planets of the solar system (with the exception of earth) under his name. 30 years later, however, his foresight has paid off, and he’s begun making money out of it. Why? How? Not fair, well read on…

Following NASA’s decision to build a manned base on the moon by 2020, it seems that in a few years we will have real moon dwelling lunatics. Israelis, well known for their entrepreneurial skills, did not miss out on the opportunity to strike a potentially good deal with the promise of long term returns, and rushed to buy land on the moon. According to an article in YNET, the cost of half a dunam (about 0.123 acres) is US$60 as reported by the official moon property website.

I know what you are all thinking about. How do I get my hands on a plot of land on the moon? Well, don’t hold your breath. Property inventory has been sold out! Try another destination and you never know when you might get lucky. Mars may be?

Last week we solicited our readers to send us their TOP TEN destinations to visit in Israel. After receiving more than a hundred (3) emails we decided to post the best one with the best recommendations. So, without further ado:

Shalom Isrealli,

I saw your ad on JPost.com and thought I’d check out your site - I like it a lot!

True Top World did not hit the usual Kotel or Dead Sea, but it appears they stayed in the middle and south of the country and mentioned only very touristy places.

Me being a little more of an outdoorsy person would put 1- Ein Gedi Nature Preserve on the list for the south and then a lot of stuff up north. I agree with you that 2- Akko and 3- Caesarea are terrific as well as 4- Rosh Hanikrah on the west coast. Also in the Galilee / Golan area - 5- Banias are beautiful as well as the many other nature preserves. My hidden jewel is 6- Montfort - east of Akko / Haifa area, which I hiked to about 15 years ago. A deserted (in the middle of nowhere) Crusader castle on a mountain top with amazing sites all around. I think people may think of Israel as old historical / biblical things, which I love, but they don’t realize what kind of amazing hiking and outdoorsy stuff there is to do. I would also suggest the 7- Valley of Tears, 8- Jeep rides in the Golan, 9- Ammunition Hill but I guess a top 10 is a top 10.

Mazal Tov with your new website!

Mike
10- Detroit, Michigan
USA