Archive | 2012 | July | 05

Students from Haifa, Ein Mahal perform ‘Step By Step Sauwa Sauwa’ as part of Friends Forever Program. ‘If we can coexist on the same stage, we can coexist in the same country,’ one of them says

Students from the pluralistic Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa and students from the Arab village of Ein Mahal in the Lower Galilee will perform together in an original musical production inspired by the Friends Forever Program, Yedioth Ahronoth reported this week.

The Arab-Jewish musical “Step By Step Sauwa Sauwa,” which is based on he Broadway show A Chorus Line, is performed in Hebrew, English and Arabic and takes place in an “ideal Israel,” where Jews and Arabs live together in peace.

Dany Fesler, chief executive of the Leo Baeck Center, told the Jewish Chronicle that the students had originally gone on a trip to the US through the Friends Forever Program scheme, which pairs up teens from conflict zones.

“They went to New Hampshire, lived in the same house, cooked together, went hiking, volunteering and gave talks about their experiences. They came back totally different. They wanted to keep their friendships going, and do a project together,” he said.

Now, he says, “they are creating something onstage to describe the conflict, to show the differences and how we are bridging them. It’s changing their lives. They influence their families, their peers and everyone is asking about it. It’s wonderful to see.”

Fesler told the Jewish Chronicle that the students’ own concerns and prejudices could be heard in the dialogue: “We hear their own fears coming out in what they have written, fears about terrorism, bombings, fears about the IDF, and being a minority.”

Lee Azulay, 18, a student at Leo Baeck, said “the most important thing about the project is the message it sends – if we can coexist on the same stage, we can coexist in the same country.”

Muhammad Abulil, 17, who attends the high school in Ein Mahal, said the musical “tells the entire world
that people can coexist without fighting.”

The musical was even brought to stages in London and Switzerland and, according to Fesler, was “received very warmly.”

Source: Ynetnews.com

Blending clever marketing and practicality, ad agency Ogilvy and Sprite has put a human sized soda fountain on the beach in Tel Aviv. Beach goers push the button (as you would in a 7-11) and are drenched in “Sprite” (it’s water).

In case your phone is staying dry with the rest of your stuff, a Sprite representative in a white or green shirt (what, no Sprite bikinis?!), will also take your picture under the soda fountain and email it to you on the spot via tablet and then of course, give you some free Sprite. Refreshing.

The campaign is running this summer in Tel Aviv and Rio De Janiero.

Source: Heeb.com

National Council for Planning and Construction has approved a waterfront plan that will develop the city’s neglected beach, transforming it into a center for tourism, leisure, trade, and nightlife

Really, what’s the difference between Haifa and Barcelona? They have the same weather, both are coastal cities and both are set against mountains. For now, Haifa’s coastal strip is much more neglected than that of its Catalonian doppelganger, but the city is promising that in a few years, it will be able to offer visitors a Hebrew version of the Barcelona experience.

The National Council for Planning and Construction has approved the municipality’s “Waterfront Plan,” a scheme designed to transform Haifa’s beach. The plan calls to make the western section of the Haifa Port a center for tourism and nightlife, as well as a functioning point of embarkation and arrival for sea travel. The plan calls to develop public spaces, a beach promenade, renovate commercial buildings.

For a start, port activity will be moved from the western to the eastern side. Later, the plan calls to bury the train tracks that bisect the city, separating it from the beach.

City engineer Ariel Waterman says that a period of five years has been allotted to implement the project. Watterman assessed that the Waterfront Plan would cost hundreds of millions of shekels, most of which will go toward renovating the existing warehouses.

“We’re very happy that the government ministries understood the area’s great potential. The fact that the committee members voted unanimously proves that they understand that it’s time to fulfill the great raw potential of Haifa’s city coast, creating an international center for tourism and an economic engine for northern Israel and the rest of the country,” Waterman said.

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav welcomed the news that the Waterfront Plan had received a green light. “This project dovetails with the municipality’s overall work to revive the lower city, develop the port area and create new foci of activity that will make Haifa one of the leading coastal cities in the world,” he said.

Source: Ynetnews.com

Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and Bar Refaeli make their way through the streets of the City of Light on Tuesday (July 4) in Paris, France.

The 31-year-old reality star and the 35-year-old rapper were on their way to the Valentino show during Paris Fashion Week where they met up with Clemence Poesy.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Kim Kardashian

The day before, Kim and Kanye took in the Givenchy show together just hours after attending the Stephane Rolland presentation where she stunned in a dress by the eccentric designer.

20+ pictures inside of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West during Paris Fashion Week…

Source: JustJared.com

Aid App Art Award Canada Cancer Coexistence Competition Concert Economy Environment Europe Fashion Festival Film Food Funny Gay Green Hollywood India Innovation Innovation Israel Jerusalem Jewish LGBTQ London2012 Music Nightlife Obama Olympics Party Peace Photography Pride Research Science Sports Tel Aviv Toronto Tourism Travel TV Video

WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck requires Flash Player 9 or better.