Photo: Getty Images

It’s no secret that Israeli companies have been hard at work for years developing alternatives to fossil fuels. With the increased price of oil and an increased awareness of the importance of eco-freindly products, the rest of the world is beginning to take notice. We’ve already told you about some of the Israeli projects in California. Now, as JTA reports, companies across the US are looking to partner with clean-tech companies in Israel to make the world a greener place.

Picture: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

To help develop a positive image of Israel on the American and global street, we figured some help might be necessary from people involved in the business. A group of diplomats turned to the MA program in Global Marketing Communication and Advertising at Emerson College in Boston, where students were asked to create a marketing plan for Israel as part of their final projects. Turns out that these future ad execs have some pretty good ideas. See the story on Ynet for some more pictures and complete coverage.

Photo: Getty Images

Israel has been an important commercial center for thousands of years (it didn’t all start with hi-tech), especially in ports like Yaffo. This weekend, a lifeguard found some pretty neat remnants of these early traders, some of whom, it seems, had some interesting superstitions. The AP has the whole story and discusses some of the other interesting relics from the area.

Photo:Getty Images

Have you ever had a tune stuck in your head that you can’t identify? The people at Jogli want to be your answer. Over the last few years this Tel Aviv-based startup has collected an estimated 500 million songs and over 12 million albums. As founder Deddi Schwartz noted, we can’t all look for the exact song we want, so “Jogli saves all of us the time by bringing the music to our fingertips.” You can also see TechCrunch for a

Photo:Getty Images

Previous posts have commented on the growing influence of Israeli programming in the American television scene, especially “In Treatment.” Now, Newsweek has noticed the trend as well, suggesting a few reasons why Israeli TV is a great fit for the American market. You’ll just have to find out for yourself why these shows are so great; they’ll be coming soon to your network and cable providers.

Photo: Israel Ministry of Tourism

Yesterday, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) named two Bahai shrines to the World Heritage List, which is designed to protect areas of natural and cultural heritage around the world. The two shrines, the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh in Acco and the Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, are the holiest sites for members of the Bahai faith, who number some five million, and attract hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and visitors every year.
See Ynet for more information on the UNESCO designation.

Photo: Danny Yanai, israelpics.com, used with permission

One of the great things about Israel is the sheer number of cultures represented in the population. Now, according to Ynet, the state’s cultural calendar has a new holiday central to Israel’s Ethiopian community. Sigd, celebrated in late fall, is a traditional Ethiopian day of fasting and expressing thanks for the giving of the Torah followed by a break-fast and celebration.

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons
Used under Creative Commons License

When it comes to letting you know about environmental problems, these plants tell it like it is. JPost reports that scientists at Bar-Ilan University have figured out a way to get algae to produce sound. The algae produce different sounds if water is contaminated or clean, so scientists can know whether the water is safe for public use. “Sounds” like this discovery could be of great use to lots of different places around the world who need assistance in monitoring their water supplies.

With gas prices soaring high lately, you’re probably looking for ways to cut down on the bill at the pump (short of buying a new car). As covered in Haaretz, Traffilog, an Israeli company, has one answer–change your driving habits. Research has shown that driving more smoothly raises gas mileage and also makes for safer driving. So, the logic dictates, getting more people to drive better should result in a huge energy savings. Simple, no?

Photo: Israel Ministry of Tourism

Forbes Magazine has released its list of the best places in the world to do business and Israel leads the list of Middle East countries at #16! The country also ranks #5 in the world in both the innovation and investor protection categories. With all the good business ideas coming out of Israel recently, we’re proud of the well-deserved recognition.