Archive | 2011 | April

NBA star wins $200,000 Telma endorsement: “Casspi is one of the people best identified with Israeli success.”

Israeli basketball player Omri Casspi, who plays for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, is set to endorse the “cornflakes of champions” and get well paid for it.

Globes reported that Casspi will earn $200,000 for use of his image on a series of ads for Telma’s Cornflakes of Champions.

“The Telma brand is one of Israel’s oldest and leading cereal brands. As part of brand development, we want to express the meaning of the message, ‘the power to succeed,’” said Ruth Salomon- Goldberg, marketing manager for Unilever Israel, Telma’s parent company.

“Casspi is one of the people best identified with Israeli success, and the link between him and the Telma cereal brand – the leading Israeli cereal brand – is natural.

We’re sure that Casspi will help strengthen our connection with consumers.”

Casspi said, “Telma is a brand that I, like most Israelis, have grown up with since childhood. It is part of my home and family. For me, the connection with Telma, and especially the message it will convey – the power to succeed – is natural, and I am glad for the opportunity.”

Former Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Casspi became the first Israeli to play in the NBA at the start of the 2009/10 season.

His season ended on a sour note this year, as he spent more time on the bench and wound up in a public battle with Sacramento coach Paul Westphal over his desire to be traded.

Source: Jpost.com

Creator of one of all-time most addictive games grants Israeli company privilege to sell merchandise of popular yet quite vengeful birds in Holy Land

Angry Birds, one of the all-time most addictive games, which has already been declared a phenomenon, is coming to Israel.

YPL, an Israeli company, has signed an agreement with Rovio – the creator of the game – which grants the company the privilege to sell merchandise of the popular and quite vengeful birds in Israel.

The company plans to take Israel by a storm by marketing tons of Angry Birds products in as many locations as possible. Amongst the planned merchandise you can find equipment for school, iPhone covers, shoes and clothing, bags, party stuff and more.

“We are proud and excited to represent Rovio in Israel. Angry Birds is a new, contemporary and refreshing product, whose popularity we believe will translate to a huge success in Israel. The demands for these products is tremendous,” said Avi Morgenstern, the CEO of YPL.

More than ‘just a game’

In case you are still not familiar with the game, it shows a bunch of cute yet furious birds who are fighting mean, green pigs. Of course, there is a cause for the war – the greedy pigs are stealing the birds’ eggs. Here is where you, the player, comes in: Your job is to bombard those greedy green pigs with the birds using a slingshot.

Angry Birds was first launched in 2009 as an iPhone application, available for download in Apple’s app store. Since then, the game has become more than just “a game” and as aforementioned, today it is considered a worldwide social and cultural phenomenon with everyone playing it (from kids to adults) everywhere (including the office, meeting rooms, the subway and more).

Following the success of the application, the creator Rovio (based in Finland) moved on to creating special-themed versions for the game for Christmas, Halloween and so on. Altogether the application has been downloaded more than 100 million times.

A PC version has also been released. There were also some rumors regarding a possible Angry Birds movie in the future. Imagine that.

Source: Ynetnews.com

New alliance allows Internet users anywhere to make small loans to Bedouin women of Negev, Arab Israelis in north, other low-income populations throughout Israel

Kiva, the world’s first personal micro-lending website, has teamed with KIEDF (Koret Israel Economic Development Funds) to launch its first and only partnership with an Israeli microfinance institution.  

This alliance will allow individuals anywhere to make small loans through the Kiva website to Bedouin women of the Negev, Arab Israelis in northern Israel, and other low-income populations throughout Israel.

Through Kiva.org’s partnership with KIEDF, individuals will be able to browse and lend to predominantly female-owned small businesses throughout Israel.

Kiva’s website enables a lender to make loans of at least $25 to support an entrepreneur, and the specific progress of the loan can be tracked, from initial funding to repayment. Upon receiving repayment, lenders can withdraw their funds or relend to another entrepreneur, thereby continuing the lending cycle.

“We are tremendously excited by our partnership with KIEDF,” said Premal Shah, president of Kiva.org. “Bringing self-sufficiency and dignity to thousands of entrepreneurs is an important part of providing economic stability to the region. Kiva is excited to allow its lending community the option to invest in Israel through KIEDF entrepreneurs.”

“As a Kiva field partner, we’ll be able to tap a significant new source of funds for job creation at very minimal cost,” KIEDF Managing Director Carl Kaplan explained. “But more than that, the Kiva platform connects us to a whole new pool of lenders eager to discover how the power of a micro-loan can actually change life trajectories.”

Direct loans

For low-income women with limited employment opportunities, small, family-owned micro-businesses are critical to the economic viability of the family. Microfinance is known as a tool for fighting poverty and increasing women’s empowerment worldwide.

KIEDF has developed a powerful model with SAWA direct non-bank lending to assist low-income populations throughout the country on the path to economic independence. As a Kiva field partner, KIEDF will share information about its borrowers so that Kiva lenders can finance their loans enabling these women to develop their micro-businesses.

Kiva promotes dignity, accountability and transparency – values shared by KIEDF. “With Kiva’s support, KIEDF will be able to provide direct loans to low-income populations throughout Israel,” said Chagit Rubinstein, KIEDF Microfinance Services Director.

KIEDF’s borrower profiles can be viewed on the Kiva website, www.kiva.org. Lenders can support low-income populations in Israel, helping them with a hand up, not just a handout.

Source: Ynetnews.com

Gallup survey shows 63% of Israelis satisfied with their lives, more than residents of United States, Britain. Denmark tops list with 72% happy campers, while only 14% of Palestinian Authority residents say they’re content with situation

WASHINGTON- A survey conducted by Gallup institute ranked Israel seventh out of 124 states, based on the happiness level of residents.

According to the global wellbeing survey, published over the weekend, 63% of respondents in Israel said they were happy with their lives.

The “happiness” list was headed by Denmark, with 72% of its residents expressing satisfaction. Sweden and Canada came in second with 69% happy campers, followed by Australia with 65%.

Surprisingly, Venezuela shared the fourth spot with Finland, boasting 64% content residents.

New Zealand ranked seventh, along with Israel.

The Jewish State ranked higher than Holland and Ireland (62%), and also managed to surpass the United States (59%) and Brazil (57%).

The Arab state ranking highest in the survey was the United Arab Emirates, with 55% of its residents reporting being content with their lives.

Britain showed less optimism with only 54% of respondents expressing satisfaction.

In contrast with the level of happiness in Israel, only 14% of residents in the Palestinian Authority said they were happy with their situation.

Countries in the African continent ranked as least happy, with Chad at the bottom of the list with only 1% pleased residents.

The conductors of the poll argue that world leaders should focus not only on the country’s Gross Domestic Product as an indicator of the residents’ well-being, but also consider other, more vague, factors such as happiness and satisfaction

WASHINGTON- A survey conducted by Gallup institute ranked Israel seventh out of 124 states, based on the happiness level of residents.

According to the global wellbeing survey, published over the weekend, 63% of respondents in Israel said they were happy with their lives.

The “happiness” list was headed by Denmark, with 72% of its residents expressing satisfaction. Sweden and Canada came in second with 69% happy campers, followed by Australia with 65%.

Surprisingly, Venezuela shared the fourth spot with Finland, boasting 64% content residents.

New Zealand ranked seventh, along with Israel.

The Jewish State ranked higher than Holland and Ireland (62%), and also managed to surpass the United States (59%) and Brazil (57%).

The Arab state ranking highest in the survey was the United Arab Emirates, with 55% of its residents reporting being content with their lives.

Britain showed less optimism with only 54% of respondents expressing satisfaction.

In contrast with the level of happiness in Israel, only 14% of residents in the Palestinian Authority said they were happy with their situation.

Countries in the African continent ranked as least happy, with Chad at the bottom of the list with only 1% pleased residents.

The conductors of the poll argue that world leaders should focus not only on the country’s Gross Domestic Product as an indicator of the residents’ well-being, but also consider other, more vague, factors such as happiness and satisfaction.

Source: Ynetnews.com

Tel Aviv opens up its private spaces, allowing the public to discover the city from within

The Tel Aviv event is part of the ‘Open House’ events which take place all over the wold, it’s a simple but powerful concept: showcasing outstanding architecture for all to experience, completely for free.

Open House initiatives invite everyone to explore and understand the value of a well-designed built environment

Pics from last year’s event

Check this event out:

Facebook Page

List of Houses you can visit

DC Israel team & ZION Skateboards are coming together – and it’s all about fun, chill & skateboarding…

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