Month: June 2016

Tel Aviv Living

Tel Aviv reminds White Nights visitors not to feed the Local Species

Tel Aviv White Nights(Photo Credit: http://www.midnighteast.com)

By Aaron Pomerantz

Last Updated 6/30/2016 at 5:40 PM

Tel Aviv, Kikar Rabin: As the city prepares for its annual “White Nights” all-night spectacle, the Tel Aviv Municipality reminds out-of-town guests not to feed or harass the native species. “Tel Aviv is a unique ecosystem.” explained the Municipality Cultural Affairs Chairperson Safir H.  “The introduction of non-native foods by visitors from Rishon or Petah Tikvah could upset the food chain. Just last year in Kikar Bialik a visitor from Holon accidentally introduced a non-native form of bread with gluten. We almost had a disaster, but we were able to quarantine the affected natives by taking them to that vegan place on Nahalat Binyamin and feeding them millet tortillas while playing A-WA on a constant loop for seven hours. Also, we handed out spliffs.“

Safir went on to provide a helpful list of “Do’s and Dont’s” for Out-of-Towners at tonight’s festival. “Avoid taking pictures, as there is a 30% chance that the person photographed is an aspiring model/actress who will then direct you to their Instagram Account. But by all means, ask the native about their plans to live and work in New York City, but only if you have cleared your schedule for the next three hours…. Same goes for the documentary that they’re “working on”.

Visitors are reminded to pack out any trash they may produce during the evening to prevent it from being incorporated into a piece of “street art” displayed outside those weird warehouses between Florentin and Neve Tzedek.

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Aliyah, Guest Writer Wednesday, Hebrew

Canadian Olah curious about this “Alan” guy everyone mentions

anadian Olah curious about this mysterious "Alan" guy Daily FreierBy Mia Deych

Last Updated 6/29/2016 at 7:00 AM

Tel Aviv: Let’s be objective – Hebrew isn’t the easiest language to learn. For some reason, “table”(shul’chan) is a boy and “chair” (kisey) is a girl. Kind of sexist, don’t you think so? At the same time, “head” (rosh) is also a boy, but “stomach” (beten) is a girl. And then it’s time to conjugate….

However, the most captivating (and promising) word for new Canadian Olah Emily S. was “Alan”. In fact, Emily thought that Alan was a mysterious, powerful (and hopefully single!) Jew who owns all the bars and falafel kiosks in Tel Aviv.

“No matter where you go, everyone’s greeting is ‘Alan’ which sounds more like ‘Ahla’, but maybe that’s just the accent. Who is that guy? Where can I find him?” wondered Emily, as she kept on wandering from one bar on Dizengoff street to another, until she decided to finally “ask for a friend” on Secret Tel Aviv.

After receiving 27 unrelated questions about a bus schedule on Shabbat, 56 friend requests and 116 messages offering to “Netflix and Chill” in Kfar Saba, she found out that “Ahalan” is just a greeting, meaning “Ugh, another customer is going to eat my brains, what the heck do you want from me?” (Mandatory Spoiler Alert: It actually  derives from the word for “Welcome” in Arabic. So entries in the comments section explaining our ignorance are unnecessary…..but still welcome!)

This newfound knowledge definitely didn’t make Emily’s Aliyah struggles any better and she has even started thinking of moving back to Canada. Keep Olim, Nefesh B’Neshesh and some random strangers from Allenby street have decided to help Emily, but they don’t know how. Therefore, we count on your wisdom, dear readers, to help Emily solve her dilemma.

Obituaries & Transitions

The Daily Freier: Obituaries & Transitions

The Daily Freier Obituaries & Transitions

Danny B.   Danny recently moved from Tel Aviv to Jaffa, but forgot important medication at his old apartment.  After falling ill last week, Danny contacted his former housemate to bring him the medication, but because “Jaffa is kinda far” and “you really can’t take a bus“, Danny never received it.

Maya G: Maya traveled with friends from Tel Aviv for a night out in Jerusalem on Thursday when she felt short of breath. Maya immediately called Emergency Services, but as she was unfamiliar with the city, explained her location to the Dispatcher as “a really nice club in Jerusalem with a cool vibe.” The dispatcher told Maya to stop prank-calling Emergency Services with fake calls and hung up on her.

Natan P: In late May, Natan went to one of the bars on Dizengoff with the outdoor tables and the stools and passed away today after waiting 32 days for the waitress to return with the check.

Hillel C: Early this Spring, Hillel went to his restaurant job at the Namal Port wearing his uniform of black pants and a white shirt. It was a bit cold so he wore a hat.  As he was passing Max Brenners, a conservatively dressed girl who was waiting by herself asked if he was Hillel. He said yes and started to talk with her. Things were going well and they walked to the bridge over the Yarkon and looked at the water and talked about their families. Halfway into the evening he realized he was on somebody else’s Shidduch Date.  The couple currently reside in the frum part of Beit Shemesh and are expecting their first child.

 

 

 

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Tel Aviv Living

Economy plunges after Australians discover Bracelet Bar

Israeli economy crisis Australians Bracelet Bar Daily Freier(Based on a True Story!)

By Daily Freier Staff

Last Updated 6/23/2016 at 12:40 PM

Tel Aviv, Allenby: Israeli stocks were in free fall this morning as the crisis involving a group of Australians sequestered inside a Tel Aviv Bracelet Bar enters its second week.  Last Thursday, a group of seven Australian backpackers entered a “Bracelet Bar” on Allenby in Central Tel Aviv, and have until now not departed the premises.  The seven tourists continue to drink alcohol at a rate that Israeli’s Industry is simply not prepared to accommodate, as for Israelis having six drinks is the “craziest night”, whereas in Australia this could in fact be “breakfast”. As the guests continued to consume stocked inventory, the bar owner was first forced to place a lien on his apartment before defaulting to his business’s Insurance Provider. As the Australians discovered “Tubi” on Sunday, the Insurance Provider went into default, leaving beer distributors and peanut wholesalers with massive unpaid bills for goods provided.

As the Crisis continued to eat through the Israeli Economy, the Government summoned the Australian Ambassador on Wednesday.  After discussions described as “frank” the Ambassador dispatched a Consular Team to the bar to repatriate their bogans citizens.  However, upon learning the selection of drinks available in unlimited quantities for as little as 68 Shekels, the team elected to stay “for a beer” and have since been absorbed into the original group.

The Daily Freier was able to speak to one of the Australians during a momentary lull in service during Shift Change. “Mike” then explained how the Crisis originated. “We were walking back to our hostel from the beach and we passed a bar. The hostess asked us if we wanted to buy a bracelet. I asked her what a bracelet was and she explained that it allowed you to drink as much as you wanted to…… And I thought to myself “If we had this back home we would burn the ****ng country down.” Mike continued to describe what would happen if Australia ever got bracelet bars until a man later identified as his father interjected to share an anecdote about his son’s comparatively “lightweight” drinking habits that involved a father-son trip, Thailand, and vomit. (Editor’s Note: This paragraph actually really kind of happened once!)

A Police Hostage Negotiation Team has been called in and are currently attempting to lure the Australians out of the bar with the promise of “Macca’s“.

 

 

 

 

BDS, Beach, Ethan and Shoshanna

Taking a stand against BDS, Jellyfish return to Israel

Refusing to Give in to BDS Jellyfish Return to Israel Daily Freier

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

By Aaron Pomerantz

Last Updated 6/22/2016 at 1:20 PM

Netanya: In a move described as “bold”, “courageous”, and “defiant”, the  jellyfish have returned to Israel despite intense pressure from the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement. Everybody’s favorite jellyfish, Ethan and Shoshanna, spoke to the Daily Freier about their personal journey.

“When the summer currents began pushing us northward from the Coast of Egypt, we just got bombarded with tweets from BDS.” explained Ethan. “Roger Waters wrote us an open letter. Max Blumenthal told us that his dad would NOT be happy if we went to Israel. Omar Barghouti told us that we would be collaborators if we arrived, but we checked his IP address and he was tweeting from the Tel Aviv University Library….”

The Daily Freier asked Ethan if he identified as a Zionist, and he explained his stance. “Of course, but I also identify as a citizen of the world.  Jew, Muslim, Christian….in the end it really doesn’t matter. I will sting the living shit out of you regardless.”

At this point Shoshanna interjected with her views. “I’m just so happy to be back. I missed this place SO. MUCH. But to tell you the truth, I expected a bit of a warmer welcome from everyone. But that might just be Israel. Sometimes it takes a while to break into social groups.” Shoshanna spotted a family in shallow water 5 meters away. “They seem nice, maybe I will float toward them and introduce myself. Sometimes you just have to extend a tentacle of friendship.”

 

Guest Writer Wednesday, Start Up Nation

Instagram’s @SabrasBeingPolite breaks down stereotypes

Sabras Being Polite Insta Daily Freier

By Mia Deych

Last Updated 6/22/2016 at 7:00 AM

Tel Aviv, Florentin: Inspired by the impressive success of HotDudesAndHummus and not connected to Israel (but definitely created by Jews) BrosBeingBasic , a group of students at Tel Aviv University launched a new Instagram account SabrasBeingPolite.

The idea of the new account is very simple: to show the world, the UN and everyone who complains on Secret Tel Aviv (#welcometoIsrael) that sabras are indeed amazing people with big hearts and loud voices. Next time, when someone helps you to find gluten-free cookies at the supermarket, offers his aunt friend’s son as an ideal (obviously!) shidduch, picks up your lost wallet on the street and finds you to give it back, or simply lets you cross the street on the green light (He has to. It’s the law. But still…), take a picture of this brave man or woman and share with the world!

Sounds like a genius idea, isn’t it? We took it to the streets to find out what Israelis think about it.
“That will be just another Instagram account.” complained barista Shay at the coffee kiosk. “No kittens, no boobs, no gay flags. It’s not gonna work.” He wanted to tell us about his plans for when he moves to New York next year, but that would have ruined our morning hafuch moment.

“This is cool, really cool.” enthused Motti, one of three teenagers balancing on one electric bicycle. “Achla idea, capara.” agreed his friend Shlomo.

Not everyone was positive though. “This is just racist!” yelled Inbar, while carrying her yoga mat to the free rooftop meditation class somewhere in Florentin. “This is racist and immoral, because occupation is immoral”. This caused a serious psychological trauma for us, so we decided to stop investigating Israelis and instead ask for your opinion, our precious readers.

Guest Writer Wednesday

Polar Bear Arrives in Haifa, Claims Asylum

Guest Writer Wednesday June 21, 2016 Polar Bear Arrives in Haifa, Claims Asylum Daily Freier

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

By Lee Saunders

Last Updated 6/22/2016 at 7:00 AM

Haifa: Israel and the European Union agreed to discuss immigration issues after a Polar Bear from the Arctic Circle pleaded for asylum in Northern Israel yesterday. Traditionally found in the North Pole, the 34-year-old Polar Bear known as Frosty  washed up bedraggled, lost, and hungry on the shores of Haifa, so at first everyone thought he had just returned from Mid-Burn.   Upon realizing he was actually a Polar Bear, startled locals ran along the ridge of Mount Carmel with zoom lenses and iPhones, snapping a relaxed Frosty as he splashed around doing the backstroke. When he complained of cramps, he was hauled onto a fishing boat and taken to the Ramat Gan Safari. Experts from Tel Aviv agreed it was the most interesting news they’ve heard from Haifa in years, but not quite interesting enough to actually go up there and spend the day or anything.

Dismissing the appearance as a publicity stunt for the new Ice Age movie in which he has a small role, Frosty said: “It was not deliberate really, I wanted to stay in the North but then this oil company started fracking off the coast of Greenland and the next thing I know, my ice cap had broken off, Marjorie next door was coughing soot and I am drifting eastwards. I don’t want to stay. I can’t get into any Ulpan courses, and I can’t afford anything bigger than 20 square meters.”

Frosty, who used to star in TV commercials for icy breath mints before landing a cameo role in Madagascar, is the most well-known of polar bears to seek asylum. A spokesperson for the Israeli government said: “While we wish Frosty no harm, the climate here is not suitable for such a lazy enormous creature, even a major icon of his stature. But we understand that the South Pole can accommodate him.”

Percy ‘the Emperor’ Penguin, the South Pole’s more liberal Prime Minister added: “We are making arrangements to bring Frosty here and are making an exception in this case but we cannot have an open door policy to such violent predators, who show up with no papers. While polar bears contribute a lot to our society, doing the jobs we don’t want to do, like sleeping and posing for WWF posters, they could technically be terrorists. We already have melting glaciers, a rise in igloo prices and pressure on our one main hospital – St Pingu. We have to be careful. We see what is happening in the UK and we don’t want to have a referendum on a ‘Sexit.’ Although it does sound rather wonderful….“

Labour Party

Ken Livingstone discovers Jewish roots, takes name “Ken Ben Zona”

Ken Livingstone Ben Zona(Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

By Yuval Weiss

Last Updated 6/21/2016 at 4:00 PM

London: Former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone took time out of his busy schedule of claiming that Hitler was a Zionist to discover that he may very well be Jewish. “Greville Janner used to drive me home from the House of Commons at night. We would chat away about the Middle East. He would speculate about whether or not I was Jewish because my grandmother’s name was Zona.” (Reader Alert! He really really said this! He also said that some of his best friends are Jewish!)

Mr. Livingstone continued to describe his mystical journey. “I felt that the best way to honor my heritage would be to bestow myself a Jewish name. Henceforth, you can address me as Ken Ben Zona!”

The UK’s Jewish Community responded wholeheartedly to the news. Local businessman Darren B. was very excited.  “The next time somebody accuses Mr. Livingstone of being against the Jews, I’m going to tell them that Ken’s not an Anti-Semite, he’s a Ben Zona!”

In order to get a Legalistic view of this exciting development, the Daily Freier traveled to Golders Green and spoke to Rabbi Chaim L., who explained that since Judaism has a matrilineal tradition, “Ken’s been Ben Zona the whole time, even if he only discovered this now!”

In a follow-up phone interview, Mr. Livingstone took the time to patiently explain that he was not in fact a Time Traveling Android sent from the future to destroy the Labour Party through farce.

 

Hamas, Start Up Nation

Israel solves fake West Bank water crisis by opening fake dams by Gaza.

Israel solves fake West Bank water crisis by opening fake dams by Gaza Daily Freier

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

By Yuval Weiss

Last Updated 6/20/2016 at 4:40 PM

Tel Aviv, HaKirya: In a true win-win for everyone, Israel responded to a fake accusation of cutting off water to the West Bank during Ramadan by opening the fake dams that Hamas says Israel opens every Spring to flood the Gaza Strip.

The UK Independent wrote an article accusing Israel of cutting off water to Israel based on the testimony of an employee of the Palestinian Authority, who also have some novel concepts of what ingredients go into matzoh.  A spokesperson for the Israeli government told The Independent there is “no truth” in the claims, and noted that the shortages were down to faulty water lines, with video provided.

On the other hand, this Spring Gaza’s Hamas rulers blamed floods on Israel opening dams that don’t actually, like, exist and stuff.  Upon being corrected, some news outlets retracted the story, including the notorious Zionist outlet Al-Jazeera (Really! They did a good job too!), while others such as AFP were too busy catching up on Game of Thrones or something to fix the mistake.

So it was just amazing when these two make-believe ideas cancelled each other out. Moti C, a spokesperson for the  Israeli Water Board, explained the move to the Daily Freier.  “We figured we’ve been operating fake dams in Southern Israel for so long, we can afford to divert some fake water to fix a fake cutoff of water supplies. That’s why we’re calling this “Operation Costanza“.

Eddie the Israeli spy vulture  could not be reached for comment.