This Man Needs a Gimmick!

See Chaim. See Chaim walk. See Chaim walk ALONE. Why was Chaim walking alone?

Chaim Saperia is a good guy. He's an Israeli who owns a string of pet shops, lives in the Golan, and is tired, tired, tired of the government 'spitting in our faces'.  He went on a trek of approx. 250 kilometers on foot, from his home in the Golan, until Jerusalem.  He walked along the highways where drivers and passersby could see him.  He would stop in different towns, set up a table, and speak to people about his protest against the government ignoring the people's wishes, whether it is for Olmert's resignation, a change in government, a respect for the people, -whatever.  But the problem was, that the TV ignored Chaim. A few radio stations gave him time, but the TV wasn't that interested. No one wanted to give him any news time or send a camera down.  I guess the president's sex scandal was more important than a citizen carrying a flag down from the Golan in protest, hoping others would join him, not unlike Vickie Knafu that did this a few years ago from the south of the country up to Jerusalem, and got loads and loads of TV attention and was crowned the media darling of the working class.

Chaim walks (left) with his T shirt that says, "Enough, Stop Spitting on us".

I interviewed Chaim for the last two Weekend Editions Shows on the radio.  Click HERE to hear him on the last leg of his protest march. He was a lone marcher most all the way.  He never had a chance.  Why was the TV uninterested?  We have at least three major news channels that have one hour news programs every night, in addition to all the 'talking heads' shows before and after the main news broadcasts.  Why didn't they make time for this story?

I think Chaim needed 2 things...

1)  A solution or a demand to be fulfilled by the government, not just a message that he is angry and that the government is 'spitting in our faces'.

and

2)  He needed a 'gimmick'.  Walking from the Golan to Jerusalem was good, but it didn't cut it for prime time TV news. Sports did, weather did, sex scandals did, as well as other news stories.  So what should Chaim have done? 

A Glimpse of Behind The Scenes At Arutz 7 Radio

Ever get curious of what the Arutz Sheva INR studio looks like? How about a peek at the staff that you ordinarily don't get to see?  Here are some informal shots of the A-7staff that work hard gathering up the news to report to you....

Here's where it all starts, in the news room where we have the great (Rabbi) Hillel Fendell who writes the top news stories that you see at www.israelNationalNews.com .

Followed by our great news anchors Mordechai Shenkar and Ernie Singer.  (Both single by the way,  are there any nice Jewish women out there looking for a shidduch?????)

Mordechai Shenkar (above), Ernie Singer (in below photo)

Malka Fleisher with Alex Traiman, hangin' out pre-show time. Below, Ben Bresky with technician David Samuels, keeping the station 'afloat'.

Rivka is the office manager, and the heart and lungs of the daily operations of the station.  She also manages the Juke Box.  If you want to hear some great, kosher Israeli music, click HERE and choose your genres.  I like the Israeli music the best, and then I choose the Israeli Selections #1-10, but she offers you Hassidic, Mizrachi, etc.
Leave your captions for these last two photos. Winner gets a prize!

(Photo below)  Me and Tovia battling it out on the TnT dynamite show!!! Now if I hear anyone say how cute Tovia is, I am going to have to ask for an air-sickness bag.

Whoever comes up with the best caption for this photo of Tovia and I, I am going to send them a free T-shirt or CD.  The caption has to be funny.  Leave your humorous entires in the 'Post comment' section below this blog entry.

My favorite photo of Yishai. I'll give another prize for the best caption for this photo.  Leave it in the 'comments' section.

I wish I had more photos of the staff, but I usually come in to the studio, do my shows, and then split.  Most of my work for preparing shows I do at home.  So forgive me please, rest of the A-7 amazing staff!  

And readers,,,  don't forget your 'caption entries' for the last two photos!  Leave them below in 'Post comment'.

It's a 'Shame Parade'

I was at the Shame Parade yesterday.  I am very depressed, yet very pleased.  This is what I saw....

A virtual ghost town of the city center.  This is King David street above, empty of all people, except for a lone border guard securing the area in this photo.  I got in because I had a press pass.  Notice all the 'rainbow flags' of the homosexuals on every street light hanging down.  Usually, if an important dignitary is visiting, their nation's flag would hang there.  I have never seen such intense security, before this parade of shame.

Israel's EGGED buses were used to help block vehicles AND most pedestrian traffic up Keren HaYesod street towards the city center.

Where are the crowds of onlookers??? No one is behind the police barricades.  How disappointing to have a parade with almost no one showing up? I think that is kind of funny, because they marched, but there wasn't really anyone to see them.

A news woman from Channel 1 TV prepares to give a news cast, but nothing was happening, and the camera men and crew were antsy. 

A few people sat on the grass and a small crowd gathered in protest near the entrance to Liberty Bell Park, where they had a giant celebration planned.  Thank Hashem, that their plans for a party at the park afterwards were canceled. Our fire department was on strike, and so they could not secure the area from fire hazards and be there in an emergency, so the Supreme Court canceled that celebration.

As you can see, there were more security officers, then people.  In the photo below, most of the people are in blue shirts.  That's because these are police, and NOT onlookers.  All in all, I would estimate there were no more than a hundred people gathered there, and they were almost all protestors of the Shame Parade, not supporters.

A Jerusalem Drag Queen?  I am not sure if 'she' was legit.  This man, dressed as a woman,  was hanging around the police and speaking into a walkie talkie type phone a lot, so he could have been undercover.

News crews waiting for a story on the empty street where the parade route ends.

This was my artistic shot of the day.  It is through the police barriers. It kind of looks like a cage, where the homosexual marchers were to march up to. 

The marchers finally arrive.  But wait!  Those aren't the marchers, those are the Magen David Adom emergency first aid workers and some foreign media crews .  Behind them must be the marchers. There don't seem to be the many thousands they expected or claimed to have.

Up comes Noa  Satat, chairman of the 'Open House' center for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual,transgeneder/transexual,queer/questioning)  

Noa was the 'media darling' and here they brought a truck up for her to face the marchers and give their 'victory speech'.  I don't remember exactly what she said, but it was something to the theme that they had won and made their march, and they will continue to march and people will see they are not animals and not an abomination. 

As you see, I was right in front when i took this photograph.  As soon as Noa stepped down from the truck, I approached her and said, "Noa, it doesn't matter how many times you march,  it will always be an abomination."   I saw her eyes twinge or wince as if she felt a 'sting'.  She probably thought I was going to congratulate her, or ask for an interview, but when she heard what I said, she was like a statue, and kept a smile pasted to her face.  She then shrugged her shoulders at me and walked toward the other media crews who would want to interview her.  "It will always be an abomination." I called after her.   I hope she went to sleep that night hearing those words echoing in her head.

This participant of the parade posed for me when she saw me trying to photograph her.  She was not embarrassed in the least.  In fact, her sign says, "Proud to be an Abomination".

I was surprised and concerned, that some of the protestors brought their children to march in the Shame Parade.  Is that legal to bring kids to a sexual themed parade? 

One marcher even brought his dog.  Man's best friend (in pink).  How friendly are these two????

Were dogs and kids brought to increase the small number who came and marched, only about 2,000 people?  When I asked one of the lead marchers that was with Noa (the guy in the white shirt marching with her (in an above photo) he answered me that 5,000 people marched. Should I be surprised that he fully exaggerated the number to more than twice what there were?

Above are some of the protestors to the march.  The security personnel quite outnumbered the marchers and protestors. A rainbow flag is right near the protestors, but I saw no violence take place even though here, supporters and protesters were not that separated.  Some of the crowd chanted and blew whistles against the March of Shame.  Chants like, "Cholim l'bet haCholim' , which means, "Sick people to the hospital" .  They also chanted, "Secular coercion!" and blew whistles in protest. 

A protestor at the end of the parade route.  The sign says, "All of you Marchers, Police, are cursed for defying G-d."

To see video of some of the protestors that cared enough to come to object to the parade, see Video :

I spoke to about half a dozen policemen and border guards who were keeping their posts, sweating in the heat of the day.  I asked them, "Isn't this a waste of your time?  Most just shrugged their shoulders.  I then said, "Are you FOR this parade?"  They answered me with either one of these two replies...
What are you going to say to Hashem (G-d) when you die and go to heaven and He asks you, "How could you let these Sodomites march in My Holy City?


"I have no opinion on the march." and they looked up to the sky, not making eye contact with me.  The other answer was, "I am not for it, but we have orders."  I then replied to them, you have a brain.  You can refuse orders, or call in sick, can't you?  What are you going to say to Hashem (G-d) when you die and go to heaven and He asks you, "How could you let these Sodomites march in My Holy City?"  One of the cops, a Sepharadi nodded his head and agreed with me, but he answered, "I have orders, I can't refuse them."  I said, "You have G-d's orders too.  They are MORE important."

I'd like to add here, that when i was in the air force in Israel, and I was asked to answer phones on the Sabbath and give outside lines to our pilots (who were at that time treated like gods), and I refused becasue it would be desecrating the Sabbath in doing so, I remember quite clearly my commanding officer leaning his face in my face in a threatening manner, and saying, "I don't know what G-d is going to do to you if you answer those phones and give out lines, ...but I know what I will do to you if you don't!!!!!!!"

I was a bit taken aback at his agressive threat, then smiled softly, and said to him, "I'm sorry, but I cannot fulfill your order." 

 *****
May G-d forgive us for this Shame Parade, and thanks to Jerusalem's protestors and Charedim who came to pray, recite Psalms, and to the rest of the Jerusalemites who boycotted the parade and didn't give them what they wanted badly, ... an audience.