Tag: Mark Levy

Israelis Abroad, Start Up Nation

El Al flight delayed after Stowaway Birds refuse Mixed Gender Seating

By Yekutiel Bornstein & Mark Levy

Last Updated 8/29/2023 at 12:50 PM

Ben Gurion Airport, Terminal 3: The Times of Israel reported Monday that an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to New York was delayed due to stowaway birds in the cargo hold. Yet the story failed to report the specific reasons for the delay: numerous birds refused to sit next to birds of the opposite gender for reasons of religious modesty. The Daily Freier rushed to get the facts that the Mainstream Media refused to divulge.

“I can’t sit next to a female.” explained Nahum, a crow from Beit Shemesh. “What if she starts singing? It would be Kol Isha….except for birds.“

Itzhik, a pigeon currently getting his Smicha at a prominent coop in Bnai Brak, patiently explained the conundrum to Irit, a confused Heloni dove from Holon. “On such a long flight passengers could accidentally touch, on the shared armrest for example. Sitting next to a male bird would just make things less complicated.“

Yet it appears that not all of the birds’ claims of religious modesty were authentic. “I told that weird seagull who tried to sit next to me that I was Dati and followed Shomeret Negiya.” explained Smadar, a hoopoe from Petach Tikva. “But honestly, I just thought he was gross“. Smadar looked furtively around the cargo hold and lowered her voice. “Also, there’s a really cute hoopoe near the bulkhead who is looking for a seat.” Smadar briefly glanced at him and then looked away. “Wait, do you think he sees me?“

The El Al flight finally took off after ground personnel promised the deplaned birds that they could still visit Duty Free.

Jerusalem, Start Up Nation

Jerusalem Cafe offers dishes made 100% from ingredients they schnorred off Secret Jerusalem

(Based on a True Story!)

By Mark Levy & Aaron Pomerantz

Last Updated 8/28/2023 at 1:50 PM

Jerusalem, Machane Yehuda: The city’s Foodie community is abuzz today with news of the latest Hot Pop-Up in the Machane Yehuda market. “Yoni’s Crowdsource Kitchen” has a diverse menu consisting of Israeli favorites, Italian dishes, Tapas, and even some Asian Fusion. But here’s the catch. they don’t own a refrigerator. Or a freezer. Or a pantry. Customers place their orders, then the kitchen staff go onto popular community Facebook page “Secret Jerusalem” and ask random strangers to give them the required ingredients!

So what’s going on with Secret Jerusalem that it would become Ground Zero for Ingredient Schnorring? You see, Secret Tel Aviv used to be a veritable Wildlife Preserve of Anglo Olim Public Mishigas. But the Indigenous Population were displaced by settlers Native Israelis discovered Secret Tel Aviv so now it’s lost that goofy feeling from circa 2016 when a woman publicly sought out the owners of the men’s boxers that got mixed in with her laundry at the laundromat (really), a woman tried to pimp out her cat (really), a dude tried to sell “someone else’s” porn collection (really), and Secret Tel Aviv founder Jonny Stark signed a sperm bank as an Affiliate (really). Now oversharing Anglo Olim are seeing their natural habitat shrinking, and Secret Jerusalem is their last big refuge. So basically the Anglo Olim are Marsupials and Secret Jerusalem is their Australia (try to keep up with our metaphors, OK?). Thus the Torch of Random Anglo Weirdness has been passed from Secret Tel Aviv to Secret Jerusalem.

Wait, where were we? Oh yeah, Yoni’s Crowdsource Kitchen is quickly building a loyal customer base in Jerusalem’s Central Market. To maintain their hechsher, employees from the Rabbanut will even accompany the chefs and randomly inspect the kitchens of the people who give them their ingredients. The Daily Freier stopped by to talk to some very excited customers.

“This is amazing!” gushed Rasko resident Shayna. “I just ordered a dish called “lemon chicken yakitori“. Shayna opened her phone. “Hey look, someone just went onto Secret Jerusalem and asked for soy sauce and a lemon.*  I can’t wait!“

Yet not all reviews were 100% positive. “The shakshouka was delicious but I had to wait 90 minutes.” complained Katamon resident Zachary. “Why did it take so long just to get eggs and a tomato? Did he get lost in Binyan Clal or something?”

Contrary to published reports, this bistro is NOT currently run by noted Jerusalem epicure Shimshon Leshinsky.

* Real World Non-Satire Alert: This Really happened.

Start Up Nation

Crisis: Dimona runs Heater & TV at same time, trips Circuit Breaker

(Photo Credit: Daily Freier Tourism)

By Mark Levy

Last Updated 2/9/2022 at 11:30 AM

Dimona: A serious accident was narrowly averted today at the Dimona Reactor after night-shift personnel turned on the Television in the break room while the heater was running and tripped the circuit breaker. For those who are unfamiliar, this has been a particularly cold winter in Israel, with temperatures plunging low enough that people from actual cold place like Chicago or Canada continue to make fun of us.  Yet people who actually live in Israel lose their mind when the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (12 Hectares). In addition, Israel was in such a hurry to establish itself and build housing and workplaces for the in-gathering of Exiles that we forgot the minor detail of “insulation.” Then there’s the electricity thing. To the best of our knowledge, Israeli buildings had their electric outlets installed by ferrets suffering from ADHD. So the whole thing is a Balagan.

When the circuit breaker popped early this morning, the shift workers were in a panic until one of them noticed a magnet on the side of the reactor with the name of a good Installator/Electrician who showed up promptly and fixed the problem for a reasonable price (OK, we admit that this part of the story is absurd). Things were back to normal by the 8 AM Shift Change.

It’s a good thing there’s no nuclear weapons down there or this would have been a Real Crisis.

Shameless Self Promotion

Choose your favorite Daily Freier story of 2021!

Hi Freiers! So 2021 kinda…. sucked. Nevertheless, let’s stroll down Memory Lane and look back at some of this year’s A-Ma-Zing  journalism at the Daily Freier.  Here’s your chance to vote and have your voice heard! But unlike certain Democracies on the Eastern Shore of the Mediterranean, we don’t intend to draw this vote out for 2 years and 5 elections. Ha Ha! Just kidding! We think!

Anyhoo, go ahead and vote. Winner of this Fake Vote will win a Fake Prize. Barring any unforeseen circumstances like Aryeh Deri shaking us down for a bribe, results will be declared before Shabbat this Friday,

*Note for our readers who insist on being Extra: You have the option of submitting your own entry for this Contest.

  1. Victory: IDF weaponizes its inability to write a proper English sentence

  2. Nightmare: Someone just brought a Guitar to the Bomb Shelter

  3. Brits react to Israel’s new Salt & Vinegar Chips with calm & restraint.

  4. We built our own Israeli Political Party using a Bot Farm!

  5. Three of Ilhan Omar’s Ex-Husbands/Brothers feared missing in Gaza Tunnel Collapse

  6. “This is the End!” Yeshiva Bochers react to Tax on Disposable Utensils

  7. Help us nudnik the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem for appointments!

  8. Lone Soldier Political Party will join Coalition for an iPhone charger, 2 spliffs, and some Bamba

  9. Old School: Tel Aviv man doesn’t need Wolt job to be a Total Dick

  10. Meet this week’s top Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah Advisor for the UK!

Israeli Politics, Start Up Nation

We built our own Israeli Political Party using a Bot Farm!

(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons, sort of)

By Mark Levy & Daniel Rosehill

Last Updated 2/10/2021 at 6:30 PM

Tel Aviv: While all of you losers were complaining about our 5th or 6th election in 18 months or whatever, the Daily Freier did something about it. That’s right, thanks to some helpful friends in Estonia who we met playing Minecraft, we have our own Bot Farm. Not only that, but using Artificial Intelligence, we created our own Political Party! In fact, our very own Science & Technology columnist Mark Levy is the brains behind this ambitious project. Hopefully, this will work out better than the last time we built a Bot.

Our party’s manifesto is to replace the entire government sector in Israel with the world’s first sovereign AI algorithm consisting of a Bot Farm managed from our underground data center near Eilat. The AI algorithm, which we call  “HaMedina” (the State), is programmed to replicate as realistically as possible the level of service provided by your average Israeli government office.


“The algorithm takes virtual coffee and smoke breaks once an hour.” explained Mark. “It works between 10:00 and 15:00 Mondays to Wednesdays and 09:00 to 11:00 on Thursdays but only during years with an even number…. in the Hebrew calendar.”

The algorithm’s default response subroutine is “no, that’s not possible” and it has even been imbued with the ability to create red tape and bureaucracy out of thin air. “There’s going to be a special ishur needed to apply to interact with the bot.” Mark continued. “And there’s going to be another ishur (permit) needed to apply for it.”


The party itself, he said, will consist of 5 virtual MK’s. Each would be an algorithm with a unique personality that would appear in plenum through a unique hologram technology that would be capable of generating a unique “face” for each member of Knesset.

“We’ve also managed to impart certain cultural characteristics into each virtual MK,” he said. The MK bots for instance are able to periodically interrupt one another while speaking and also heckle members of the opposition.


Levy believes that our ambitious project — a world first — is entirely without precedent. “We’re planning to upend the entire state bureaucracy.” he admitted. Levy projects that the ambitious project could end up saving the taxpayer tens of millions of shekels.

“High tech is the strong suit of Israel’s economy and we have good reason to believe that our algorithm and virtual MKs will do a better job than what we have now.” The only costs associated he said would be maintaining the data center and paying a small team of algorithm engineers to program the MKs (and bureaucracy) with new interests. But we’re probably going to ask MASA for some free interns so that should cut down on overhead.

“We’re even working on a fully drone operated delivery service called ‘Leiat Leiat Yisrael’ that we expect could fully emulate the level of service provided by the Israel Post Office.” Mark noted. The tentative delivery service would periodically dump packages into the Dead Sea, thereby losing them, and circle the country for months before arriving at their destination.

Also, none of the Bots ever made money on a deal involving submarines.

Mossad, Start Up Nation

This Week on “Tehran”: Iran hacks into the Mossad Fax Machine!

By Mark Levy

Last Updated 11/5/2020 at 2:30 PM

Tel Aviv: Israeli viewers are losing their minds over Channel 11’s amazing new Series “Tehran”, the story of a Mossad agent named Tamar who goes deep undercover in Iran and the Iranian Secret Police’s attempts to find her. In fact, Apple TV just bought the rights to distribute it worldwide! Start Up Nation in the House! Here at the Daily Freier we have been watching this show on the edge of our seats, so we were really excited about this week’s episode where the Iranians hack into the Mossad’s Fax machine in order to locate Tamar. The Daily Freier spent the morning wandering around Dizengoff Square discussing the episode with random people. (Spoiler Alert!)

“The series is just so realistic!” raved Adi, a yoga instructor. “When the Iranian Double Agent pretends to be Israeli but then he says ‘Sorry’ and blows his cover? Incredible.”

The Daily Freier then spoke to Alon, who was walking 12 dogs when we met up with him. “My favorite scene was where the Iranian hackers inside Mossad Headquarters lose Internet access at the very last minute because of Hot Mobile’s poor Customer Service. It just made me feel incredibly proud to be Israeli.“

“I really liked the scene where the Iranians are about to intercept an important fax.” explained Alert Local Ronit S. “But the machine runs out of paper because the office manager was on maternity leave and left the key to the supply cabinet at home!“

Tune in next week when the Iranians hack into Yair Netanyahu’s Twitter account and decide not to change a thing!

Start Up Nation

Historic: EL AL flight attendant ignores you while flying over Saudi airspace!

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

By Mark Levy

Last Updated 9/9/2020 at 3:15 PM

Somewhere over the Arabian Peninsula: Quick, somebody call The Scorpions, because The Winds of Change are here! That’s right, Ivanka’s husband has Peace springing up all in this joint. Our Treaty with the United Arab Emirates holds fast, despite the arrival of Israeli travelers. Serbia and Kosovo want to move their Embassies to Jerusalem. Now Saudi Arabia is starting to show signs of thawing its relationship with Israel by allowing Israeli commercial aircraft to fly over its airspace, vastly shortening trips to the Gulf, India and the Far East!

You’re flying EL AL to Dubai on business, feeling quite emotional about this historic change, and the Flight Attendant (Smadar?) is totally ignoring your request for a Coke. Only now she’s ignoring you over Saudi Airspace! Incredible! Im Tirtzu, right?

So Smadar has finally acknowledged your existence, and she’s reacting to your request for a soft drink as if you asked for a Gold Krugerrand on caviar. Only now she’s doing it over what looks like the lights of Riyadh! We’ve come so far!

Wait, she’s returning with what looks like a soft drink in a plastic cup! OMG! As we fly over a nation that was once our enemy but now is sort of our frenemy! Is that your Coke? Yes it is, and she just slammed it down on your tray table with all the strength of Start-Up Nation! Who would have thought just ten years ago that you could enjoy passive-aggressive EL AL customer service 10,000 meters over the Arabian Desert!  Herzl is smiling down upon us!

Wait, so she didn’t provide ice in the drink and you want to get her attention? What are you, nuts? Do you have some sort of death wish?

Aliyah, Corona Virus

“Nobody’s Leaving!” Keep Olim in Israel declares Victory
“Now youse can’t leave.”

By Mark Levy

Last Updated 4/25/2020 at 12:30 PM

Tel Aviv: The Israeli NGO “Keep Olim in Israel” celebrated tonight as the number of Olim (recent immigrants) leaving Israel has statistically reached Zero for the month of April. The Organization was founded several years ago in an attempt to help Olim acclimate to Israel. They even helped streamline Israel’s law for converting your foreign Drivers License. The Daily Freier spoke with Keep Olim founder Liami Lawrence via Zoom about this success.

“Nobody’s leaving!” enthused Liami. “It’s all because of our advocacy and the counseling services we provide!“

The Daily Freier asked Liami if maybe there was some other factor out there that was limiting the ability of Olim to make Yerida, but he refused the premise. “What are you talking about? This is all goes back to the line of candidates we ran in last year’s municipal elections!“

The Daily Freier pressed the point, that maybe there was perhaps another reason that people were no longer flying from Israel for the past few weeks. “No, No, No.” he replied. “Olim aren’t leaving because we have created an online community that supports one another!“

We asked Liami one more time if just maybe there might be something else telling Olim “Now youse can’t leave“, but he said he was right in the middle of an episode of Shtisel and ended the interview.

Corona Virus, The Donald

Stocks tumble after Trump fat-shames Corona Virus

By Mark Levy

Last Updated 3/12/2020 at 2:30 PM

Washington: The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its free-fall today after President Donald Trump tweeted a series of increasingly personal attacks against the Corona Virus. The trouble began yesterday afternoon when Mr. Trump rehashed his complicated history with the virus dating back to his time on the hit TV show “The Apprentice” before becoming President.

Mr. Trump sent a tweet from his infamous “Trump Yeshiva” account describing the President’s long-time feud with the microscopic entity currently wreaking havoc to the world. “Corona BEGGED me to be on The Apprentice, but I said No. Why? NO CLASS!” The President followed up with a second tweet minutes later. “People are telling me that Corona gained a LOT of weight. A Real Fatso. Gross!”

Yet it was President Trump’s final tweet against Corona that caused the S&P 500 Index to lose 10% of its value in a mere 15 minutes of volatile trading. “Corona is a tough guy because he was quarantined. I like organisms that weren’t quarantined.“

Markets rebounded slightly in the late afternoon upon news that President Trump was about to re-open his feud with Rosie O’Donnell.

Corona Virus, Dizengoff Center, Start Up Nation

Heroic Israeli scientists trap Corona Virus in Dizengoff Center
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

By Mark Levy

Last Updated 3/1/2020 at 4:30 PM

Tel Aviv: The world cheered today after Israeli scientists managed to trap and isolate the Corona Virus in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Center Mall. Dizengoff Center is not so much a Mall as it is a confusing series of passageways connected by shops selling candles and/or pop tarts. Yet despite the fact that the Daily Freier has dunked on the mall here here here here and here, it is these very qualities that allowed Israel to trap the virus inside of a building that one cannot escape. The Daily Freier put on our masks, washed our hands with soap, and checked out the Health Ministry’s Press Conference outside the Mall’s King George Street Exit by the parking garage.

“The Corona Virus is now trapped somewhere on the 3rd floor between the tattoo shop and the Apple Store that isn’t actually an Apple Store.” explained Doctor Yonatan C. from the Ministry of Health. “It tried to find its way out but became confused and turned around after walking past the playground with the slide protruding from a giant plastic elephant’s butt.”

In order to get all sides of the story, the Daily Freier skyped with The Corona Virus as soon as it got some decent wi-fi. “Where the hell am I? This place doesn’t even make sense.” complained The Artist Formerly Known As Corona. We then asked Corona just how it was lured into such an elaborate trap. “I needed to run some errands…. you know, pick up stuff from the pharmacy, maybe get some Druze Pizza from the food concessions, and drop off dry cleaning. They said they had convenient parking. I walk inside and within minutes I was lost.” The Virus looked around in confusion and began to sulk. “The worst part is the deception.”

As the Daily Freier ended the conversation, the Corona Virus was desperately trying to download the mall’s EasyDizi Navigation App.