Israel's song entry for the Eurovision got nixed.
The name of the song was, " Push the Button" and was written and performed by the Israeli band, Teapacks. The lyrics of the song had connotations of the Iranian terror threat on Israel. I wrote about this song in an earlier entry on this blog.
The broadcast got cut out for five seconds and was replaced by a silent red screen.

Actually, Israel's IBA news tells us that a technical problem happened while the band was performing their song for the Semi-finals of the Eurovision contest. According to Israel Radio, Technical difficulties occured during Teapacks' performance. The broadcast got cut out for five seconds and was replaced by a silent red screen.

From the beginning, the Eurovision heads frowned on Israel's message in their song. Arutz 7 reported on previous trouble with this year's entry from Israel.

"The lead singer of the group, Kobi Oz held a press conference following the band’s second rehearsal in Helsinki, where he accused Eurovision organizers of making their performance look like “a video game from the 80s.” The group offered as an example of the interference an animated background that producers had replaced the band’s footage of tanks and explosions with. The new background features an image of the globe becoming blue and white, the colors of Israel’s flag – something Teapacks members speculate is meant to insinuate Jewish influence."
...And suddenly, 5 seconds of the song goes bad. hmmmm

Because part of the song was missing from this tech failure, the Israel Broadcast Authority's delegation to the contest requested that we either be allowed to perform the song again or be given additional points to make up for the lapse. The European Broadcasting Union denied our request.

How convenient! From the beginning, the Eurovision committee did not want this song to be performed in front of the hundreds of millions of viewers who watch the yearly contest from all over Europe and parts of the Middle East. "It's absolutely clear that this kind of message is not appropriate for the competition," said Kjell Ekholm, one of the organizers of the contest. - He was referring to the 'questionable lyrics' of the song 'Push the Button". They didn't like Israel singing a song about how the world wants to destroy them.

And so, Israel is erased from the competition. I wonder if this same technical glitch happened to England or Germany, what the Eurovision judges would do? I doubt they would 'Push the button' on them!

This is being passed around on the email circuit. You have to FIND THE DIFFERENCE.
On the show today, I asked people to send me a creative caption. Many were very witty! Feel free to leave your own caption/comment below this post.

 

Guess What The Difference Is? ....from the email circuit.



Tamar, no comparison!!! Shrek is so Handsome!!!
Stella from Canada.

The jacket is different...
Roger

Ha! Shrek is better looking than Olmert! Even a better shade of green :)
Val from Virginia

One gives us lots of laughs the other worships golden calves.
Josh

One is kind and the other not so kind.
Alondra, Fl

The difference - it's that shkrek is jewish and olmert is less jewish.
Sofia, Sweeden

One is a shm-ck, the other is a Shrek.
Chris, Portland, Or.

One is Shrek , the other is Dreck -- Mark

kudos to Jake for these gems...
Shrek talks to an 'ass' while Olmert is one.
One is an ogre and one is Shrek
One has humongous ears and a creepy grin, and the other one is Shrek
One is married to a princess and the other has a daughter who's into princesses
One has come to terms with being a green ogre while the other had eyelid surgery

Add your own 'captions' by leaving a comment below.

I got a few funny emails from people about the political situation in Israel. I thought you might enjoy them, and maybe even want to pass them around to your friends and give them a chuckle....

Passed on from Rivka, a co-worker at Arutz 7:
Subject: FW: How to start each day with a smile.......

1. Open a new file or folder in your computer.
2. Name it "Ehud Olmert"
3. Send it to the trash.
4. Empty the trash.
5. Your computer will ask you, "Do you really want to get rid of "Ehud Olmert?" 

  6.  Firmly click "yes"

7. Feel Better? So have an extra special day!

Next week, we'll do Shimon Peres. After that , Amir Peretz. Boundless joy.

=============================================


I did a radio show this week in which I read a news report that Israel was going to be naming a forest in the north of the country (which was destryed by fires from Hezbollah missiles) after Coretta Scott King. I remarked that a more appropo name for this forest in Israel would be for somone who was actually one of us, a Jew and an Israeli. I suggested that we maybe name it, 'The Roi Klein Forest'.    --Roi Klein Z"L, for one of our heros of the Second Lebanon War, who in the midst of battle, saved his troops by throwing himself on a grenade in order to absorb the explosion and save his buddies. G-d bless him and may his family be comforted and healed as much as possible.

You may not understand the humor of some of the names he offers below if you are not Israeli.

Dan L. from Herzeliyah wrote:

Hi Tamar,

I would like to suggest other names for the forest instead of 'Coretta Scott King'.

How about:
The Ehud "Couldn't see the Forest for the Trees" Olmert Forest
The Amir "Couldn't see the Forest through his binoculars" Peretz Forest.
The Smokey Kabir forest.
The "Hugh" forest. (because Hugh, only Hugh can stop the Florist fires).

kol tuv,
Dan

Also:

Seeking a Husband


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Also from Dan L., From Herzeliyah:

Career Day - Tongue in Cheek


The following groups made presentations at career day at the school:

The Yasamniks: An exciting career awaits you as a Relocation and Landscaping specialist. You will relocate people from their current abode, putting them on buses, and return the land to it's original state in accord with the Kyoto protocol by bulldozing their houses.

The Foreign Ministry: Be a peace facilitator. You will have the exciting opportunity to meet disgruntled militants and transfer territory to them so they can create a state where they can be themselves and behead infidels at will.

                                Arafat: We 'Balestinians' (they have trouble pronouncing  the letter 'p') want 'beace' with
                         Israel.  BOOM! ****(((( ))))

The farm, built together by a few families from the village of Kochav Yaakov, once served as a petting zoo with goats and other farm animals. Groves of olive trees were also planted on the site to help restore the land of Israel. Shmuel and Sarah Rachmani, former residents of Kochav Yaakov, live on the Sulam Yaakov (Jacob's Ladder) Farm today, with their children. But the roar of the bulldozer, the crashing of the structure and the show of police force on the farm has traumatized this peaceful pioneer family.
A terror war is raging in the south of the country. ...but the government apparently decided that their security forces would be better utilized destroying a make-shift visitor tent at the Sulam Yaakov Farm.



"It was Wednesday morning, about 8:15 or 8:30, and I saw about 6 people in civilian clothing wandering around the area. I figured it must be workers from the electric company." says Sarah Rachmani. "My husband said that we should go out and ask them if maybe they want something to drink. When we got there, we saw they were not from the electric company. Just then, the uniformed security forces swarmed in, and a bull dozer roared in and swiftly mowed down the 'scha-cha' (visitors' tent). The destruction was terrible and traumatic. We protested and begged them to stop, but to no avail.  They finished the job within minutes. We were not notified that the police would be sending forces to bulldoze it. The whole ordeal was very frightening!"

The irony of this use of force must be noted. A terror war is raging in the south of the country. Kassam rockets are being launched by terror groups from the Palestinian Authority into the homes of Jewish residents in Sderot, but the government apparently decided that their security forces would be better utilized destroying a make-shift tent at the Sulam Yaakov Farm. The structure, made from wooden posts and aluminum sheeting (like a permanent 'succa' or Scha-cha in Hebrew) was built for visitors to the farm to escape the blazing heat of the sun. It was also used as a place to hold Sabbath services for residents of Kochav Yaakov who would walk there to experience prayer in a more natural surrounding.

The Sulam Yaakov Farm overlooks an important road which leads to the Jewish communities of Psagot and Kochav Yaakov (seen in the background of above photo). Jewish presence on this hill is neccessary to help maintain security, and to keep Arab terror at bay. It helps to distance any terrorist acts like sniper shootings at families traveling to and from their homes in the nearby Jewish communities. Before there was Jewish presence there, Arabs would come in from a few kilometers away to destroy and pull up all that was planted.

According to the Kochav Yaakov newspaper, police forces, yasmanikim, army, and the civilian authority raided the Jacob's Ladder Farm around 8:30 in the morning and destroyed the visitors' tent in front of Rachmani's wife and children. "We protested against this act to the commander of the forces there. Now we must look ahead, and stand together as one, as to what might come in the future, G-d forbid... we call all the public to go and protest against these acts."

The commander of the security forces who had the site bulldozed claims that the action was done with the knowledge of the local YESHA council, yet the local governing body of the yishuv said they were not informed of the demolition plans.

Some of the questions that need to be asked here are:

1) Why is this of such importance to the State of Israel's leaders, that this simple visitors' tent be destroyed?

2) Why was taxpayers' money used to send 2 police vans filled with yasmanikim, and also army troops to bulldoze something that is of no significance to keeping the public safe, while our bretheren are being bombarded by rockets down south? 

3) How much money was spent to finance this fiasco? Dozens of police and security men were The government needed to pay dozens of security forces for this senseless action, in addition to hiring a bulldozer to come all the way out there and bulldoze some aluminum walls and some wooden posts.

                                                                                                         
4) This area, as seen in the photos, is nowhere near any Arab homes or near 'anywhere' for that matter. It is out in the hills of the Benjamin council region, the part of Israel that was alocated to the tribe of Benjamin. Who is it bothering then? The Europeans? The world's anti-Semites? Who?


I am posting this story on my blog because I know the family personally, and I went today to take a few photographs after I heard what happened this week, but it should be posted in the Israeli press. The whole episode is absurd! Bombs are flying in the southern part of the country, but our forces are apparently better utilized destroying 'visitor tents' and 'Houses of G-d', than fighting terror. The day before the destruction in the Sulam Yaakov Farm (on Israel Independence Day) the Hamas terror group fired twenty (yes, I said TWENTY) rockets laden with explosives at Israel's southern city of Sderot. Twenty rockets in one hour(6am-7am) aimed at civilian targets! More rockets were launched later in the day by other terror groups in the Palestinian Authority against Jewish homes and schools.

 Our government leaders show restraint and patience towards terrorists, but lack the same tolerance and restraint for Jewish needs. I guess the terrorists, and the Palestinian Authority that funds and protects them, are not dangerous, but synagogues on farms overlooking Jewish access roads are.

Jewish buildings must be destroyed, and not be tolerated. Terror can.

What do you think about that?

 

This 'California Girl' (me) is not a prude.  I grew up in the land of sun and fun.  There is a time and place for being care-free and then a time for using your brains.  What I saw taking place in downtown Jerusalem this last week really was not only embarrassing, but worrying.

It was Wednesday, and I was at one of the busiest meeting places in Jerusalem,  "Zion Square".  It's the place where the busiest street in Jerusalem (Jaffa Street) hooks up with a pedestrian mall.  I went there to meet family who were visiting from California.


Our university students need help. They need to use their brains, not their bodies.
The first things I noticed, when arriving at the square, were drums and music which filled my ears. Now, I love Ben Yehuda Street which has become this pedestrian mall.  It was a place where I spent much time when I was single. It is hip and has a diverse population which gives just the right spice to the normal myriad of shoppers and cafe goers.  I frequently see immigrants from Russia playing violins, American and British travelers with guitars, fire juggling Israeli youth, older, former opera singers, and even artists selling funky  jewelry in the plaza.  The street bustles with intersting people, sometimes even foreigners who dress in togas and think they are the Messiah, but it's anchored into reality by the regular Jerusalemites who fill the area having lunch and doing business. 

What mostly got my attention on this day though, aside from hearing loud drumming, was the crowd of people standing around watching something besides the impromptu band there.  It was the daughters of Israel circling around in erotic Biblical abandon style dancing.  Sorry to be so grotesque in my description, but that is what it was, and that is why there was a crowd of young and old men snapping away with their cameras.  I am not showing you the more provocative pictures, but you will notice that the dancers are almost entirely female, and the on-lookers, almost entirely males.

The reason these women were dancing was of course obvious....  it was a student demonstration against a proposed hike in university tuitions.  The two go together, don't they?  Angry students who want an education, and dancing in skin tight clothing, gyrating  in a very public square.  They were part of a nationwide organization representing university students who launched an open-ended boycott of classes, in an effort to force the government to reduce tuition and increase the budget for higher education.  The students were upset about a possible hike in tuition. A pledge to lower tuition fees at Israeli universities by 50 percent was made by a previous government headed by PM Ehud Barak in 2001.
It never was fulfilled.

Education has suffered a substantial cut in its budget the last few years, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Education Minister Yuli Tamir and Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson have recently appointed  "The Shochat Committee"  to possibly make even more cuts, and raise tuitions.  I can understand why the students were upset but they can garner the public's sympathy, if done in the proper manner.  How about instead bringing foldable tables and studying outside with  signs saying they have no money to afford a formal education?  Or how about them standing in a line taking turns reading out loud letters of how they want to better their lives and enter the professional fields, but can't do it if they have to pay extra tuition fees?

I've been to a zillion demonstrations, for a myriad of valid reasons.  Abandoned dancing was never our choice when trying to get our point across to the public.  The dancing of these 'daughters of Israel' didn't get their point across either. It was more a seduction show, than a serious display of the Israeli students' plight. In fact, if someone didn't know Hebrew, of which there were many passing through this area, then the reason for the demonstration wouldn't even have been understood. 

I failed to see why these students protested in this way.  It actually turned off someone like me who thinks that one shouldn't have to be rich in order to be able to afford to get higher education.   In addition to their very un-professional and adolescent display, they had taped pictures of the face of Ehud Olmert onto the plaza floor, where they had students and passers by stepping and trouncing on the Prime Minister. 

I couldn't help but think, if this would have been a demonstration by anyone on the right wing, it would be all over the news... "Settlers Trample the Prime Minister" or "Yeshiva Students Incite to Violence on P.M." The Left would be having a hey-day about it.
I saw one student holding the same photo of Prime Minsiter Ehud Olmert, and publicly crumble it up in her hands in protest.  I couldn't help but think, if this would have been a demonstration by anyone on the right wing, it would be all over the news...  "Settlers Trample the Prime Minister" or "Yeshiva Students Incite to Violence on P.M."   The Left would be having a hey-day about it.  Not a word though when it is done by the secular university students, the future leaders of our country.

And yet, even this fact doesn't strike that much of a chord with me, but what really hurt me was the provocative dancing in a public thoroughfare by our young female students .  Our 'daughters of Israel'  were dancing with arms flailing, high leg kicks and hips gyrating (not shown in photo). They reminded me of the Biblical story of when the Jews were in the desert and the Midianite women came to entice the Princes of Israel to perversity.  Have our children totally lost their dignity?  Do they even realize that they have become like the wanton nations of the world and adopted their values?  Do they really think that this is a proper way to hold a protest for a legitimate complaint?  Our university students need help. They need to use their brains, not their bodies.   

                                                                              
And finally, if this is what our universities churn out, perhaps we should re-think our support for these campuses.  Perhaps we need to fund instead, an injection of proper values and professional and dignified behavior for our future lawmakers, teachers and entrepreneurs.

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