ISRAEL: The Side Most Tourists Don’t Get To See
Putting news aside, we will explore the estrange, corky and fun side of Israel. From floating dangers to slithering SPAs and bizarre laws, let’s go and wonder what Israel is all about.
17 Pack The Kosher Bags
Here is something that all Jews from all over the world would like to know. If you are in the age between 18 and 26, pack your bags because you are entitled to a 10-day trip to visit Israel, for free! I am sure most of us have a friend or two who wished they have known about it couple of years ago…
16 Stamp It
We all have heard of Kosher, it’s becoming more and more popular to go to a supermarket and grab an item with the kosher symbol printed on the packaging. As you can deduct, all the food in Israel is kosher, but what do stamps have to do with it? Since stamps need to be moist to be attached to the paper, the glue is kosher as well! Not a licking chance of it not being suitable for the community.
15 The Unlikely President
Speaking of science, one of the most brilliant minds in the world is albert Einstein, in 1952, he was offered the presidency of the New state of Israel… He very politely declined and blamed his lack of aptitude to dealing with people to his science background. He further explained that he is trained to very objective and the state’s issues are not. How cool it would have looked in his list of accomplishments… but he was brilliant, so he knew what he was doing, what would you have done?
14 Inking It Away
We all have walked in a mall and seen people sporting their tattoos designs on their skin. But in Israel, it’s at a whole new level... they have an annual convention in Tel Aviv where the best international and local artists get together to show their creations to potential clients. One of the most anticipated participants is Magneto, a man from Berlin best known for having his eyeballs tattooed! I don’t think I could even stand being inked in regular areas let alone the eye balls. If you have a tattoo, how did you manage the pain?
13 Moveable Tech
All of us have a computer and need to transfer data or save it somewhere to be easily transported. And what do you use? I am sure the all so useful USB memory card. Many even use jewelry that have a pendants that are a USB! This revolutionary devise was developed in Israel! As well as the first anti-virus software and the Pentium chip! Small and super powerful every day tools we all need now days.
12 Jelly Fishing Away!
We all have gone to the beach and hopefully few have encountered a jelly fish. Those gelatinous blubber like creatures that float around causing mayhem to anyone who swims in its way… The pain of one of the stings is terrible… But when you go to Israel, be sure to get one cool invention in a bottle. Israel developed the first jellyfish repellent in the world! I wonder if they can come up with one for sharks! Every surfer on earth will be carrying one of those! Who wouldn’t?
11 Healthy Beauty
Most models you see coming from the NY run way seen to be so thin, the wind could blow them away. But to keep the health of the model and Israel’s concept of beauty, a fashion model must show her health records and meet the weight standards. If a photo is manipulated in a magazine, it has to be disclosed. This is opening the door to more healthy and curvaceous women in the industry.
10 A Slithering Kind Of SPA
When thinking of a massage, you may consider using tools to relax the muscles, some people use stones and hot oil but have you even considered the massage being made by slow moving and massive snakes? In northern Israel, using snakes to do the soothing is becoming a common practice... Using non-venomous snakes, of course. its believed that the benefits of the treatment can help metabolism… that’s because of a cocktail of fear and the relaxing sensation of a gigantic piton squashing you… but no worries, they also have some light weight sliders for the face… so don’t scream... may not be such a good idea. How would you like to try it?
9 A Sinking Feeling
When traveling to Israel, remember to visit the dead sea. its best known for being one of the deadliest places to swim in Israel. But don’t run away yet, what makes it so dangerous is not any creature or sharp objects, it has to do with the extreme high content of salt making the water very dense. Since its almost impossible to dive in, if you land face first, you may not be able to turn over and breath. This, the lowest point of dry land on earth is also one of the most beautiful and unique natural wonders.
8 A Plus One Service
Family planning for many is easy. But for some, the reality may be more difficult. most fertility treatments in the world are not covered by insurance and can get very expensive. But Israel offers quite a nice incentive to start a family, fertility clinics are very popular and there is more in-vitro fertilizations per capita than anywhere else in the world. The best part is, that is free!
7 Don’t Pick It! And Other Bizarre Laws
We all have heard of weird laws that may not make sense to us. And Israel is not exempt from having its share of them. If you are ever caught in Israel having a bad day with a cold and decide to pick your nose, think again… that is very illegal... and gross too by the way. Another bizarre illegality is that if you have had an illegal radio station for 5 or more years, then the station becomes legal! One that many animal lovers would not appreciate much is that you cannot feed animals in public places. I can see why not feeding the pigeons or sea gulls at the park but how could one resist feeding a stray dog or cat? And it’s considered illegal to run a mobile spay/neuter clinic… Would someone expand on it?
6 Wonder And Dragons
Like in some countries around the world, soldiers in the Israeli military are also recruiting women. Its mandatory for every citizen to participate in the armed forces. Gal Gadot who plays Wonder Woman in the DC superhero movies did! In another note, if a soldier is caught playing dungeons & dragons, they will be sent immediately for psychological help!
5 The Alternative Energy
We may have seen the snow birds traveling from the northern parts of the US to the sandy beaches of Florida while the hard winter weather passes. And I mean, the older people who want to escape the snow and who temporarily migrate to the south. But there is a place in the world with the most reliable chances of sunshine almost all year round! Israel has so much sunshiny days that they are pioneers in solar power and alternative energy with most of the homes harvesting this renewable source of energy! Hey, Texas uses wind turbines… harvest what you have!
4 Addressing The Issue
After mentioning the kosher postal stamps earlier, I have to mention the most popular letter recipient. Its addressed to “god” yes, the Israeli postal service receives over 1000 letters a year. And since it seems like a sin to throw them away, the postal service opens them and puts them in the western wall between the cracks... Does anyone know what the postal service in the US does about letters addressed to Santa… and in Latin America addressed to baby Jesus?
3 Keeping Up With Flavor
We all love ice-cream, and with many flavors to choose from, there is one for every taste, and when we walk down the aisle at the grocery store we may find some unique flavor blends like moose tracks or the limited-edition girl scout cookies. But when you go to the ice cream shops in in Israel, make sure to ask for the very unique hummus flavored ice cream. Do you think this ice cream is salty or sweet?
2 Letting It Flow
Israel is mostly desert and the ingenuity of its inhabitants have brought success in industrial and agricultural technology. This includes watering management. They have been so successful that many nonprofits are teaching African nations how to manage their water to get the best results and therefore help increase crop yielding to feed their people.
1 Spreading Compassion
After the 911 attack to the US, the Israeli government wanted to show its sympathy by building a memorial to the families and victims of the attacks in 2001. This memorial is located just outside Jerusalem. It’s made of remains of the World Trade Center in New York. I wonder how many more are around the world.
