Mideast Place Names and Their Translations (cartoon)

I actually saw this on an antisemitic blog among lots of reprehensible cartoons. I don't think the blogger quite got the joke. It originated at a wonderful blog called Diversity Lane that is unfortunately no longer active. But the cartoonist there is awesome. Check this out: ...

Read More

Funny Israeli Shabbat video

If you aren't a religious Jew you might miss some jokes, but it is still funny. English transcript below. Narrator: Givat Shmuel, a heavily populated concrete jungle located in the heart of Gush Dan. A National Geographic camera crew is observing a typical pack of the wild “Dati” [Orthodox] tribe. It’s 5 o’clock on a Friday afternoon and the pack is preparing for its weekly gathering. The Sha–bat ceremony. The alpha male howls, apparently...

Read More

The strange case of the Gaza Apollo statue (update)

Repubblica reports on a remarkable find made last month by a Gaza fisherman named Mounir. Caught in his fishing net was a life-size, gold colored statue of Apollo, that had been buried in the sand for some 2500 years. His first concern was whether it was made out of pure gold that he could sell. Since one cannot secretly  carry around a huge statue in Gaza,  Mounir...

Read More

Rabbi brothers singing "Sounds of Silence" on Israeli talent show (video, updated)

This is very cool, although their accents sometimes get in the way: Somehow, I don't think that they're going to cover "Ceclia" though... UPDATE: They are apparently well-known street musicians, called The Breslov Brothers, and have even covered....Pink Floyd! They don't have to worry about Roger Waters dropping by to listen, though! Also check out their Tears in Heaven. (h/t Malca...

Read More

Hatikva for Dummies

Silly stuff for Friday afternoon. (h/t Yerushalimey...

Read More

People excited about Thanksgivnukah

The mainstream media has finally noticed: It's a turkey. It's a menorah. It's Thanksgivukkah! An extremely rare convergence this year of Thanksgiving and the start of Hanukkah has created a frenzy of Talmudic proportions. There's the number crunching: The last time it happened was 1888, or at least the last time since Thanksgiving was declared a federal holiday by President...

Read More

Gulf states to consider "clinical tests" to ban homosexual visa seekers

From Kuwait Times: Gulf states plan to study a project which will identify homosexuals and transgender individuals through a ‘clinical test’ which will be added to the list of medical tests one has to undergo to obtain a visa. If individuals are revealed to be homosexual or transgender, they will be denied entry into the country, a local daily reported yesterday, quoting a senior official in Kuwait’s Ministry of Health. “Homosexuals and ‘third-sex’...

Read More