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Arab swimmer to represent Israel in EU championship
Jowan Qupty, who holds best Israeli result in 100m breaststroke, wins Swimming Association appeal demanding he be allowed to compete in EU Swimming Championship
Arab-Israeli swimmer Jowan Qupty will represent Israel in the European Swimming Championship. Qupty, 22, was originally denied a spot on the national team. He won a Swimmer’s Association appeal over the decision on Thursday.
According to the Swimming Association, Qupty’s participation in the competition depends on his achieving a better result in the 100m breaststroke than that of Imri Ganiel, who was chosen to compete in the event.
Qupty was excluded from the 100×4 mixed relay set to take place at the swimming championship in Debrecen, Hungary, in June, despite the fact that his result in the 100m breaststroke was better than Ganiel’s.
“We shouldn’t have had to deal with this situation to begin with, but the (Swimming Association) eventually came to the right decision. Justice was done. I’m going to win the competition which will hopefully bring us closer to the Olympics,” Qupty told Ynet after the ruling.
Attorney Eyal Yaffe who represented Qupty said: “Qupty will represent Israel in the best possible way. Every swimmer on that team deserves their spot and so does Jowan, who earned his place just like any other swimmer did. I’m positive he won’t disappoint the association in the competition.”
The saga came to an end on Thursday after the parties involved took part in a mediation session led by Sarah Frish and Ofir Katz who were asked to bring an end to the conflict ahead of Friday, due to it being the last day for the championship’s registration.
The two parties consisting of the Swimming Association’s legal team, Qupty and his attorney sat for three hours before coming to an agreement.
The association claimed that Qupty did not meet the criteria required in order to participate in the championship.
Qupty’s attorney countered the association’s claims by presenting evidence which showed that in other championships, swimmers who did not meet the required criteria still participated in the competition.
Yaffe further addressed Qupty’s result in the 100m breaststroke which is clearly better than that of Ganiel, who was picked to compete in the event. The evidence shown was intended to prove that the designated spot on the swim team should go to the better swimmer.
Source: Ynetnews.com
Arab singer captures Israeli hearts
Nissren Kader wins first place on popular television show hosted by Israeli singer Eyal Golan. Unlikely star manages to mesmerize Jews, Arabs through ‘Mizrahi’ songs
A young Arab woman who won a popular Israeli music competition has become an unlikely star, capturing hearts in a country where suspicion and hostility often mark relations between Arabs and the Jewish majority.
Nissren Kader recently won first place on “Eyal Golan is Calling You,” a popular television show hosted by one of Israel’s most successful entertainers. On the program, Golan as host chooses over the course of a 3-month-long competition the best performer of Mizrahi songs, the musical tradition of Middle Eastern Jews.
In winning the show, the 25-year-old Kader seems to have pulled off a difficult balancing act: She touched on the nostalgia that many first and second generation Mizrahis, or Jews of Middle Eastern origin, feel for their ancestral homelands, even though most proudly identify as Israeli. And by singing beautifully in Hebrew, she charmed her audience by showing that she too was moved by their cultural traditions.
“I am so proud: I’m the first Arab to win a Hebrew singing program,” said Kader, who is from the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
“I never imagined that they (Jews) would like me to the degree that they did. I’m an Arab citizen in a state that has troubles and disagreements between Jews and Arabs, and they saw something else,” she told The Associated Press. “They saw another side.”
Kader, who before competing on the show worked as a wedding singer in the Arab community, shared her win in late March with Maor Ashwal, a Jewish Israeli. The finals, on a cable TV music channel, were the second most-watched show on television that night, according to an economic magazine that publishes Israeli television ratings.
During the final, her audiences sang along, cheered and clapped to songs in Hebrew — and Arabic.
Israel’s Arab minority makes up about one-fifth of the population and occupies an uneasy place. They are citizens of a Jewish state who identify with their Palestinian brethren in the West Bank and Gaza. Arabs in Israel are generally poorer, less educated and complain of discrimination.
In recent years, Jewish and Arab politicians have used increasingly harsh rhetoric against each other, further polarizing relations.
Kader, for her part, has stirred up mixed feelings among Israelis. They marvel at the power of her voice, but are uncertain about how to deal with her Arab ethnicity.
“My friends criticized (host) Eyal Golan: ‘Why did you pick an Arab? You chose an enemy and let her win the show,’” said Moshe Alfassi, an Israeli of Moroccan descent who works with troubled youth. Alfassi, 27, said he found it strange to see an Arab woman singing Mizrahi music, but like many other Israelis, was quickly won over by her voice.
Eliyahu Haviv, a 70-year-old Iranian-born Israeli, said Kader deserved her victory, and shouldn’t be viewed through the prism of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He noted, as many Israelis did, that Kader sang in Hebrew to God to protect the people of Israel in a song that was originally written to commemorate slain Israeli soldiers.
“She sang our prayers, and I think it was very good because she sang them with emotion,” Haviv said. “I say yes, there are Arab terrorists, but this is something else. We need to be as one heart.”
“We are taught that in the house of Israel, there will be a prayer for all people,” said Eliyahu Dahan, 50, a Jerusalem bar owner. “That was her song.”
The popularity of Golan’s show also highlights just how far Mizrahi culture has come in Israeli society.
When Middle Eastern Jews fled en masse to Israel in the years following the Jewish state’s establishment in 1948, they encountered a European Jewish establishment that regarded them, and their cultures, as inferior and threatening because they resembled their Arab enemies.
That included Mizrahi music, which was seen as lowbrow — a stigma that still lingers. The music ranges from soaring liturgical chants to cheesy pop that is indistinguishable from top-40 tunes in the Arab world. In an echo of that Arabic heritage, many Mizrahi Jews enjoy classic Arabic songs — tunes that Kader belted out to the delight of the audience in the studio for the show’s final.
Her victory is part of a small but growing trend of Arab artists and entertainers rising to prominence.
One of the country’s most popular sitcoms is a comedic satire about an Israeli-Arab journalist trying to fit into Jewish society whose attempts frequently backfire. The program is written by Sayed Kashua, an award-winning Arab writer.
All but one of Israel’s soccer league teams have Arab players, including the season’s top scorer, Ahmed Saba.
Israeli entertainer Golan said he faced criticism for his choice, but said Kader’s talent couldn’t be ignored. He is currently producing an album for her.
It will likely have Mizrahi and Arabic music on it, and Golan believes Israeli Jews are ready to hear it.
“There will always be those who will jump up and say, how did you pick an Arab?” Golan told the AP.
But, he said, “I didn’t do a political program. In the end, what wins is the songs, and not whether she’s an Arab or a Jew.”
Source: Ynetnews.com
Israel introduces Satire Awards
Yaakov Agmon (Photo: Merav Yudilovich)
Jaffa’s Arab-Hebrew Theater to hand annual award, dubbed “prize-titution,” for best satirical work in arts to encourage biting satire. Organizers: Need to deal with hard times through scathing humor
The Arab-Hebrew Theater in Jaffa has announced its plan to hand an annual award for the best satirical work in the arts. The award was dubbed “prize-titution” (“prastitutzia”), a term coined by Israeli poet Avraham Shlonsky intended to mock the eagerness of literary folk for prizes.
Its official launch ceremony will take place on March 1, as Israel’s best satirical works from the theater, press, television and more will be put on display.
The joint venture by Jaffa’s Arab-Hebrew Theater Director Yaakov Agmon and his Arts Director Igal Ezraty, promises to award the winner with NIS 10,000 ($2,691). The award committee members for 2012 include: Yaakov Agmon, Playwright and director Michael Gurevitch, television director Yoav Tzafir, director Yitzchak Shauli, actor Norman Issa and dance critic, and journalist and writer Gaby Aldor.
“The name (of the award) is only a declaration of intent and in no way meant to belittle the status of the award. We wanted to remind people that satire must take itself seriously but also ironically,” the organizers explained.
“The ground is burning. The papers remind us of that every morning, and the theater – especially one like ours which has acted under the banner of cultural dialogue between Arabs and Jews – must ask itself how it plans to fulfill its cultural duty. When the ground is burning, and the fringe burns in synergy – our small actions, we hope, have an impact,” Ezraty explained.
“The decision to launch the award is political and artistic in its nature and derives from the need to deal with the challenges of our times through scathing humor. This humor not only helps in accepting criticism and making the pill easy to swallow, but also sheds optimism on the diseases of our times… it’s a modest act which we hope will encourage cultural performances which won’t turn to escapism.”
Many of Israel’s actors and satirists are expected to make an appearance at the event and get a chance to pick their favorite satirical moments. Amongst those invited will be famous author, playwright and satirist Ephraim Sidon, renowned photojournalist Alex Levac, actor and comedian Uri Gottlieb, actress Einat Weizman and Avi Dangur, better known as “Avi the singer.”
Source: Ynetnews.com
Jews, Palestinians plant trees together in West Bank
In joint effort to block hazardous dust, settlers and Palestinians come together to plant grove
School children from the Efrat settlement and residents of the neighboring Palestinian village of Jurat al-Shama planted trees together in an initiative that promoted co-existence in the West Bank, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Wednesday.
The event, held on the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shvat, aimed to block the hazardous dust that is being disseminated by a nearby tree-processing plant.
The factory’s owner and a resident of Jurat al-Shama, Abu-Taled, relented recently to residents’ complaints and built a stone wall that blocked the dust; but the barrier proved bothersome to both the Palestinian and Jewish residents of the area.
When a new traffic circle was installed at the entrance to Efrat recently, Mayor Oded Ravivi decided to level the land between the plant and the settlement, and replace the wall with a small forest.
“We met with Abu-Taled, and agreed to plant a grove on Tu B’Shvat in order to block the dust,” Ravivi said. “Abu-Taled was very enthusiastic, and promised to bring friends and employees.
“This is how we could fulfill the mitzvah while also tightening our ties and work towards peaceful co-existence,” he said, refering to the Jewish custom of planting trees on the nature-oriented holiday.
According to Ravivi, the sides are currently considering the possibility that Efrat security personnel would guard the factory at night, as part of the effort to cultivate a neighborly relationship.
Source: Ynetnews.com
Israeli-Arab singer Mira Awad releases Mediterranean version of Joni Mitchell’s song ‘All I Want’
From her Youtube Channel:
My version of the Joni Mitchell song, from the beloved album BLUE, one of my favorite albums of all times!!
This cover was musically produced by Ayal Yishay, who also played the guitars, bass, keyboards, recorded and mixed the track.
I am “singing” the Arabic Flute, which is something I invented and have been performing with in the last few years, where I don’t actually play the Ney, but I sing through it…Yep, bit weird, but you can see/hear it in the video;-)
The video was done by my dear friend Shredy Jabarin, Thank you so much man!!:-) you can look Shredy up in his website: www.shredyjabarin.de
Check out Mira’s updates via her Facebook FanPage:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mira-Awad/170618816297777
Hi-tech execs helping young Arab-Israelis
Company promotes training of Israeli Arab engineers, pushes back against outsourcing trend, hiring Arab manpower instead.
Some 140 Israeli Arabs have been trained as hi-tech engineers and are working at Galil Software, a company in Nazareth – providing the country with urgently needed sophisticated manpower, instead of outsourcing engineers in India and Eastern Europe.
The company was set up three years ago by Yitzhak Danziger to integrate Arabs in the industry, where networking with people from the Israel Defense Forces leads to jobs, but to which Arabs lack access.
Danziger, a Technion-Israel Institute of Technology electrical engineering graduate, spoke about this mission to help people at the Clore Foundation symposium on science and society held Thursday at the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem.
The veteran telecommunications and technology executive with 10 years of experience in board positions at non-profit organizations said there are 80,000 Jewish academics in hi-tech positions, but only about 500 Arabs in the industry.
The country’s severe shortage of engineers force companies to outsource personnel from abroad.
Besides the lack of connections from military service, Arab academics also suffer from stereotypes among managers, the “foreign” Arab culture, living in more distant geographical areas and the fact that some engineering projects relate to the security field for which Arabs do not have clearance.
Ninety percent of engineers at Galil Software are Arabs.
But Danziger said: “There are many talented Arab engineers who are very motivated.” While haredi women with large families have been trained for programming jobs so they can support their families while their husbands study in yeshivot, said Danziger, “they take short courses of a few months, have not graduated from universities abroad, can’t travel abroad and prefer not to mix with male colleagues.
Arab engineers do not have these problems,” said Danziger.
Although ordering jobs from software engineers abroad is cheaper than here, he continued, the fact that the engineers are in Israel is desirable because of the efficiency, proximity and lack of cultural gaps, Danziger explained.
“In 10 more years, we will be able to train thousands of Arab engineers who will become integrated in hi-tech and can even set up startup companies,” he said.
In the long term, Danzinger continued, Arab high school pupils who are told about the possibility of working in hi-tech will become integrated in the industry if they learn relevant subjects and go on to higher education.
Another example of scientists working for the benefit of Israeli society was Prof. Shimon Schocken, founding dean of the Efi Arazi School of Computer Science at Herzliya’s Interdisciplinary Center.
A certified mountain biking instructor who in the last decade has ridden more than 30,000 kilometers on five continents, Schocken “adopted” a juvenile institution for teenage boys who had been in trouble with the law and were going nowhere.
Every Tuesday in all weather for the last five years, he has led expeditions on wheels for youths in trouble to various parts of the country, from the Golan Heights to the Negev, and providing them with the best bikes, outfits and other equipment.
Although some cursed at him and even threw things at first, they came to respect and love him and developed self confidence as they became acquainted with parts of the country rarely visited by the public.
Riding with them 50 km. a day are hi-tech managers, doctors, lawyers and others.
“I do it, because I enjoy it. I feel like I’m on the roof of the world,” he said.
Source: Jpost.com