Refaeli in SI Swimsuit Edition

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Bar Refaeli will star in the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition 2007 (on the cover, next to Beyoncé!), which hits the news-stands next week.

The mag shot Refaeli in Jamaica and NY, and while in NY she was photographed alongside Aerosmith.

Here’s the eyecandy

Spreading The Word On What’s Hot In TA

Nothing makes us prouder than when a mainstream publication splashes a spread on Israel’s funkiest city, Tel Aviv.

I mean, any one us here at isrealli.org could have told you that Tel Aviv is bursting with ultra-hip cafes and bars, classic architecture and a vibrant night culture, but it’s even nicer to hear it coming from the jet-setter’s magazine of choice, Travel + Leisure.

So stay on top of the trends, and read the following article about Gan HaHashmal, from the March 2007 issue of Travel + Leisure. Or click here to read the story online:

Tel Aviv Renaissance
By David Kaufman

Searching for a stretch of Israel’s favorite coastal city that’s undiscovered by everyone but the chic locals? Look no further.

Continue reading Spreading The Word On What’s Hot In TA…

An Addict’s Story

Well Yaniv has done it again. He’s right on the money with this one. Manhattan’s growing ‘Little Israel’ stretching across the West and East Village has continued to produce quintessential Israeli food, fare, and fashion with authentic style. Hummus Place is another must for Israeli’s in NY and NYers searching for Israeli flavor.

Enjoy!

NY hummus addiction

The Bellyful Awards competition is still on, and we’re checking out the Israeli restaurants that have made the greatest contribution

Yaniv Halily

Hello. My name is Halil and I’m an addict. I got involved with a dangerous substance almost by chance eight months ago, and since then it’s been hard for me to stop. Today I’m celebrating four weeks without it, and I hope to be here with you in another month and not to surrender to this dangerous drug.

I, too, fell into this trap, and it happened completely by accident. It was another busy weekend and I ended up in St. Mark’s Place. I just wanted to eat brunch. But the wait for a table was half an hour at my beloved A7, and with all due respect, I don’t wait in line for thirty minutes for a diner, even if it’s A7. Then G. suggested we go somewhere else, “Here, right around the block.” And that’s how it all began.

Continue reading An Addict’s Story…

Face To Face With Yael Hartmann

23 QUESTIONS TO AN ISRAELI IN NEW YORK

1. Name: Yael Hartmann
2. Born in Montreal, Canada.
3. Moved to New York on March 20, 2006. Thought it would be a change from conservative, suburban DC and hectic, tense Israel
4. I live in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. I love it because of the home cooked meals they serve at the delis, the butcher shops, the tiny bars filled with oddly dressed musicians and marketing directors in sneakers and high heels, and the mix of Carribean, Jewish, French and every other nationality and ethnicity in my hood.
5. For a living, I am a publicist and a freelance journalist.
6. In my spare time, I am dreaming up new Web 2.0 ideas, capoeira, eating, and trapeze school.
7. Favorite book: “The Moor’s Last Sigh” by Salman Rushdie
8. Favorite quote: “Walk tall, kick ass, learn to speak Arabic, love music and never forget you come from a long line of truth seekers, lovers and warriors”. – Hunter S. Thompson

Continue reading Face To Face With Yael Hartmann…

The Israeli Hulk

Our good friend Josh “The Hammer” Man sent us a link to the IPWA website, and what can we say. We definitely now know where “The Hammer” earned his name.

From the IPWA website:

“Israeli Pro Wrestling Association is an independent wrestling promotion, currently operating out of Israel. So far it is the only professional wrestling outfit in the country. IPWA was founded in late 2001 by Gery Roif and ran a few exhibitional matches on national TV before holding the initual Summer Splash event in summer 2002. The promotion did not have a title holder for about a year; Gery Roif was crowned it’s first champion after defeating the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy graduate Joey “The MOALM” Tylec in a televised match. Since then the IPWA has gained a fair amount of recognition world wide, as towards the end of 2003 Total Wrestling magazine started publishing it’s rankings on monthly basis. Summer Splash 3 in 2004 featured FWA star Aviv Maayan making a one-night appearence to team up with Hawaii Allen and take on Jumping Lee and Yossi The Bull. In 2005 almost the entire IPWA roster starred in a wrestling/social satire sitcom series “Makkat Medina” (”The Land Under Attack”), gaining further recognition in Israel. In the beginning of 2006 the IPWA Wrestlenovella event was aired on The Wrestling Channel in the UK. Currently the promotion runs monthly cards in the Gush Dan area of Israel; it’s wrestles mostly preform an old school/technical style. ”

Flowers of Love

Once again it is the time of year when window shops are filled with red fluffy hearts with messages of eternal love, when chocolatiers wrap their creations in velvet heart boxes, and florists stock up on red roses- doesn’t it make you queasy?

But seriously, according to Hallmark research, Valentines Day is the second most popular greeting card giving occasion of the year, and probably the most popular day for flowers, especially red roses. Although the history of Valentine’s Day and who Valentine really was and how he became a saint remain foggy, what we do know is that February has long been the month of romance, and what better way to express it than flowers- I guess?

I’m not the only one. So many flowers are purchased on the 14th that flower merchants around the world stock up well in advance. Israel, of course is doing its part, exporting 125 million flowers to Europe. According to the Flower Grower Association, 5000 tons of flowers and ornaments will be flown to Europe ahead of Valentine’s Day to cater for the needs of the Day of Love. And as expected the most popular flowers are pink and red roses.

Eilat Gets Props

“Eilat (pop 55,000) is the southernmost town in Israel, isolated from the rest of Israel by the Negev desert. It is situated on 7 kilometers of Red Sea coastline between the borders of Egypt and Jordan and enjoys spectacular views of the Gulf of Aqaba. Originally a stategic military outpost, Eilat’s first incarnation was as a port, used for importing goods from Asia, such as oil and vehicles. In the 1970s tourists began visiting Eilat, attracted by the coral reefs, sandy beaches and the dry and sunny desert climate. The town began to develop and tourism became its main industry.

Today, the 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) North Beach area is full of hotels with opulent names like Herod’s Palace and Queen of Sheba. The Tayelet promenade extends the length of the beach front and hosts numerous stalls, street artists, restaurants and fashionable shops. The promenade has great views of the bay and each evening is full of tourists strolling its length. The southern beach, which has the coral reefs, is protected by the Israel Nature Reserve Authority. It has many public beaches and excellent scuba diving centers. The Navy and commercial ports are situated between the south and north beaches.” -Wikitravel

Don’t Ask, Dont’ Tell? Not in Israel

From YNET today, an intersting piece on the Gays in the Military debate.

Follow Israel’s example on gays in the military, US study says

California University study concludes America needs to learn from ‘tolerant Israeli model’ regarding homosexual soldiers, officers; ‘you can be a very brave, creative officer and be gay at the same time,’ former IDF officer quoted as saying

Itamar Eichner

The US military needs to learn from the IDF and the tolerant Israeli model regarding homosexual soldiers and officers, concluded a research project on gay and lesbian service in the IDF, undertaken at the University of California, in Santa Barbara.

According to a Florida newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times, a brigadier general quoted in the pair’s study said Israelis show a “great tolerance” for homosexual soldiers.

Continue reading Don’t Ask, Dont’ Tell? Not in Israel…

Enhancing Beauty

My roomie is a photographer, and I’m always amazed at the efforts he puts in at enhancing his images on photo editing programs. He retouches the light balance, takes off blemishes, plays around with the contrast and all sorts of other technical stuff, ultimately producing a whole other piece of art on top of the original image. It takes skill and patience – often he’ll sit for hours and hours squinting at the computer, spending more time retouching than taking the original image.

Three computer scientists from Tel Aviv University in Israel may have a shortcut that could prove itself to be very useful – ‘The Beauty Function’, which was recently introduced at a conference in Boston.

According to these researchers, Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder,” says Cohen-Or. “Beauty is merely a function of mathematical distances or ratios. And interestingly,” he adds, “It is usually the average distances to features which appears to most people to be the most beautiful.”

After surveying men and women on what they view as beautiful, they used the ratings the individuals gave certain images and correlated them to detailed measurements and ratios of facial features such as nose width, chin length and distance from eyes to ears. They then developed an algorithm that could let them apply some of the desired elements of attractiveness - as mathematical equations - to a fresh image.

The result? A computer program that can beautify an image, within minutes…

Read more here.

“Camelicious”

Have you ever tried to milk a camel? Have you ever had an urge for an ice-camel cone, or to dip your cookie in a glass of lukewarm… you get the point.

But did you know that, “Camel milk is three times richer in vitamin C than milk from cows and contains vitamin B, iron and unsaturated fatty acids.”

I know, I know. This all sounds absolutely delicious. So much so, you just had to wipe the drool from the keyboard before your co-workers noticed. Well, according to the JPOST, an Israeli company has helped build an elaborate camel milking machine which was sold to the UAE.

Bon Appetit!

From the JPOST:

A camel-milking system largely manufactured by Israel’s S.A.E. Afikim that can simultaneously milk 48 camels, was sold by Afikim’s British distributor, to a buyer in Dubai, the Jordan Valley-based company said Sunday. The statement didn’t identify the buyer.

Continue reading “Camelicious”…