Surf\’s up in Israel! More and more Israelis are taking to the water in wetsuits and board shorts to catch those gnarly waves. And as the sport grows in popularity, so does the need to keep Israel\’s water clean and safe. Billabong, one of the most recognizable names in surfing gear, has joined forces with Zalul, an environmental organization dedicated to cleaning up Israel\’s seas and rivers.\n
\”I was born and raised in the West Bank,\” said Fadil Bayyari. \”I\’ve been in the U.S. for 36 years and northwest Arkansas for 27…. I respect other peoples\’ ways of life, other peoples\’ religion.\”
Beckham is half-Jewish, or maybe a quarter Jewish, but what with anti-Semitism rising at the rate of 2.755 percent in North Dakota, according to scientific surveys, we can use every muscular tribesman we can get.\n
Joe Bobker\’s \”Torah with a Twist of Humor\” (Devora Publishing, 2004) could be a boon to every rabbi or congregant who needs to spice up their sermons, studies and divrei Torah — words of Torah often centered around the parsha, the weekly portion.\n
When it comes to spirituality, Safed lacks nothing. But the Israeli mountain town (also spelled Tzfat) has been struggling economically since last year\’s war with Hezbollah. That\’s why local tourism authorities are hoping a Rosh Hashanah visit by the Material Girl will bring real material benefits to its 30,000 residents. Madonna, returning to Israel for the first time since September 2004, plans to visit Safed – the world center of Jewish mysticism – along with Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and other points of interest as part of a tour being organized by the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre.
Rich Siegel\’s day typically consisted of waking up, going to work, coming home and checking his e-mail. This routine probably would have continued had Siegel not become a bit curious about an e-mail he received from a Nigerian businessman offering him 25 percent of $45.5 million in exchange for his bank account information.
While attending a Jewish day school, Noah Gradofsky, a young fan of the long-running cartoon series, \”The Simpsons,\” had a passing idea to turn an episode into a mock page of Talmud. Years later, in rabbinical school, Gradofsky first put the idea on paper or, more accurately, on a Web site. \”The Simpsons Talmud,\” based on the \”Simpsons\” episode, \”Like Father, Like Clown,\” was born.
While the Violent Femmes traditionally play concert venues, colleges and festivals, benefit shows are not out of the ordinary for a group whose songs occasionally verge on the political.
American Israeli writer-actress Iris Bahr says she is fascinated with Russian culture and created Maksimovsrskaya (whose name grows weekly as an inside joke) over the years on stage, on screen and on air. At the invitation of KCRW general manager Ruth Seymour, Bahr has developed her into a regular radio character for \”Social Studies,\” a four-minute rapid-fire satire segment that runs locally on KCRW during NPR\’s \”All Things Considered.\”
Diana Tehrani has been busy at UCLA, and the 22-year-old biology graduate now has the awards to prove it.
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