Filed under: arts/culture, movies/television, opinion | Tags: animation, gaza, Israel, posted by mel, video
Gisha, The Legal Center for Freedom of Movement has just put out this video about the Israeli blockade of Gaza. I’m not sure what to think about a piece like this, and would love to hear your opinions.
Filed under: movies/television | Tags: Israel, movies, posted by shaynaschor, waltz with bashir
When the presenter announced the Academy Award nominees for best foreign language film, I held my breath. I had read glowing reviews and favorable predictions that suggested Israel would finally win for the chilling biopic released just a few weeks ago. And, truthfully, when the Oscar went to Japan, I was livid. Waltz with Bashir tells the story of director Ari Folman’s experiences as a young fighter in the first Lebanon War. The animated documentary follows his attempt to recall the painful events he has blocked out in his memory. The film received immediate international acclaim, and even scooped up the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film as well as a host of awards abroad, in countries including Britain and France. If Israel was not slated to win, France’s The Class was next in line; Japan swooped in, though, with a shocking win for Departures, a movie about a cellist. “I saw the Israeli movie which I honestly had thought would win as it was wonderful,” Japanese director Masahiro Motoki told reporters. Better luck next year, Israel!
Filed under: movies/television, opinion, politics | Tags: Facebook, Israel, posted by aklionsky
War is absurd. But never has it been more absurd than today, than the war that enveloped Gaza and Israel, and their supporters worldwide, for over twenty days. Because this war has spilled into the lives of everyone who owns a TV, who listens to the radio, who has access to the internet.
This war has called on reservists from the Internet Armies to donate their Facebook statuses, to post videos, to delve deeply into charters and and pamphlets, to enter debates on Youtube. Essentially, this war has incited pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian sentiments among the millions of people who use social networking sites, like Facebook, to share their concerns and opinions.
When I searched “Operation Cast Lead” in facebook, I got 53 group results, ranging from “We oppose Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Palestine!!!” to “Support Israel’s ‘Cast Lead’ operation to stop Palestinian Hamas terrorism.” The groups have sprung up, and every discussion board has intense debates. Israel-supporters join pro-Palestinian groups, and vice-versa, to try to diminish the effect that the group’s “sincere” members have in the discussion boards and wall-posts.
The groups are everywhere, and not just in America. Facebook is used as a political outlet the world-round, as documented by the New York Times last week. Samantha Shapiro focuses on the use of Facebook in Egypt to create civic participation in politics, and on the diversity of grassroots Facebook groups that have resulted from the current conflict. In Egypt, where so much of the public media and activism is regulated, political participants have focused their efforts in an unregulated medium: Facebook. Via Facebook, they have been able to organize a variety of groups from the basic ones calling for an end to the war in Gaza, to ones criticizing President Hosni Mubarak’s response (or lack thereof) on behalf of the Palestinians living in Gaza.
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Filed under: movies/television, opinion, politics | Tags: Hamas, humanitarian, media, Pallywood, posted by ron, youtube
It is no doubt that Israel’s war is against the media. Israel always wants to protect its PR, because it is the one country in the entire world under the most scrutiny of the bigest magnifying glass. This “magnifying glass” which blows stories out of proportion is the reason why Hamas gains sympathy from the Western World.
When Hamas uses its people as human shields, it forces Israel to fight back, which leads to its condemnation. For example, Hamas fired rockets from a UN school, and then when Israel fired back, Hamas shielded itself with civilians. They spun the story to make Israel look like villains, exploding a school full of civilians.
The group that Israel is fighting is western media-viewers, that try to sympathize for Palestinians. They support the “humanitarian-crisis” because they’ve seen video’s of crises. Hamas then takes this money, filters it back towards its terrorist activities, and even blocks humanitarian aid from its citizens. Currently, humanitarian aid in some areas of Gaza is being halted because the warehouses are FULL. Hamas doesn’t even allow the food, medicine, and blood units to get to its civilians. It even turns patients away from hospitals as part of its propoganda against Israel.
Posted below is a segment on how some of these videos of “humanitarian crises” are generally fake and made up. It is definitely worth watching.
What Israel needs the most, is a media program that shows the humanitarian crisis that HAMAS IS CAUSING. Segments on popular TV shows that examine the wonders of the IDF, combined with the terror that Hamas causes, would show the Western World that Israel is truly the one that is looking for peace. Debates that are planned for pro-Palestinian arguments to fail or show the truth in Gaza would also explain what is truly going on in the region.
Filed under: arts/culture, movies/television | Tags: animation, bashir, movie, posted by beanieman12, waltz
The strikingly beautiful and tragic Israeli animated film “Waltz With Bashir” has been selected as the Israeli film to compete in the Foreign Film category at the Oscars. Set in the present, the film composed of a series of flash backs to Avi Folman’s the director, experiences during the First Lebanon War in 1982.
On Friday, Israeli director Elad Keidan’s was awarded First Prize “Cinéfondation”, the first place in the students competition for his film Anthem . He was the first Israeli to win the prize at Cannes!
The 36 minute movie is about a young boy who, while preparing for Shabbat, meets an “eccentric group of people along the way”.
For more info check out the articles at the Jerusalem Post and Israel21c
Filed under: arts/culture, movies/television, music | Tags: Belgrade, Boaz Mauda, Dana International, ESC, Eurovision Song Contest, Fire in Your Eyes, Israel, Keilu Kan, posted by madeinisrael, Serbia
Congratulations to Israel’s Boaz Mauda for placing an impressive 9th place (out of a total of 43 spots) in the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Belgrade, Serbia. The event, which took place from May 20-24, is an annual contest where countries that are members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)* send a singer/band to represent their country in a continental-wide singing competition. Viewers from all the countries then vote for their favorite performer, crowning one country the victor. Russia won 1st place with Dima Bilan’s performance of “Believe.”
The ESC, which once was credited and respected as an international contest of musical merit, has become over the past several years known to showcase ostentatious costumes and meaningless pop lyrics. However, to me, it still represents an incredible feat of international collaboration for a common cause. A “musical Olympics” of sorts.
Filed under: arts/culture, movies/television, music, opinion, politics | Tags: posted by ksbeck90
I think this video, featuring the song “Hatikva” by Subliminal depicts and emotes the struggle of our brothers in Israel that we in our secure and smug lives can easily forget to consider. It also express the intense, complicated political feelings of Israel.
Subliminal’s song, (a very popular one at that,) which I have translated into English (below) highlights the calamities of war which Israel wants not have to take place but the peace talks just mean nothing in this unfortunate age of terror: Our job is just to follow the dream and try to make things better. We are an eternal nation that has endured much in history, but, as Subliminal notes, nobody to date in history of the innumerable that have attempted have succeeded in obliterating the Jewish people, although too many try with unceasing determination. We must remain strong despite these challenges – that is the Israeli strength, the Israeli mentality and mindset that we in our comfortable lives might forget to remember.
Keep reading for a translation of Subliminal’s The Hope:
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Filed under: movies/television, politics, religion | Tags: posted by ksbeck90
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Having grown up in a generation where the State of Israel was a given and having been too young to fully comprehended the intifada at its worst, I found myself increasingly more alarmed for the well-being of the State of Israel. Just look at this video:
 For those who need translation, basically Nasrallah, echoing the words of Achmidenejad is calling for a total obliteration of Israel which he believes is very possible and he is threatening to stimulate such destruction. Of course, this can easily be viewed as empty threats but I fear he may know well that words without actions are meaningless. If Hezbollah has really accumulated weapons: should we be afraid? I mean, look at the following who support this radical! Too bad in this country, it isn’t really newsworthy. This Zionist for one is starting to get more concerned for the clashes that seem to lie ahead. |
Oznia, a blog of Israel things 
