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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 18, 2020
- 2 min
Hump Day: Did the Patriarchs/Matriarchs Really Ride on Camels?
One of my favorite stories in the Jewish canon occurred in this past week's Torah portion. "And Isaac went out walking in the field toward evening and, looking up, he saw camels approaching. Raising her eyes, Rebekah saw Isaac. She alighted from the camel..." In itself it's not so exciting, until you realize that "alighted" is a polite word in English for what actually transpired in the Hebrew: she saw Isaac and promptly fell off the camel. Now, however, an article in the N
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 17, 2020
- 2 min
Israel Completely Reinvents Sugar... and Headphones. I'm in Shock.
Two of the greatest problems the world faces are the rising rates of obesity and the fact that the amount of lost Airpods inhabits a collective space larger than Rhode Island. While I am not sure the second fact is true, the global obesity rate has tripled in my lifetime alone and is particularly acute in the US where over 40% of the population has obesity. And people lose their Airpods all the time. Well now Israel may have [partially] solved both of these problems. Forg
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 17, 2020
- 2 min
Israel Announces the 2nd-ever Israeli Astronaut to Head to Space
Seventeen years ago Ilan Ramon, of blessed memory, became the first-ever Israeli to go to space. Sadly, Ramon was on the Space Shuttle Columbia which disintegrated upon re-entry to Earth's atmosphere, killing Ramon and the other astronauts on board. Ever since then Israelis have wondered as to who will be next to take that giant leap forward, to infinity and beyond. Now we finally have an answer. At the end of 2021, 18 years after the Columbia tragedy, Eytan Stibbe is exp
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 16, 2020
- 3 min
Fantastic Online Concerts/Shows/Films from Israel!
There a ton of music and film festivals happening right now in Israel - as well as new Jewish documentaries available online as well. Here is a list of some of the highlights for you from your Israel tour guide! The Oud Festival - November 19-28 The oud is Middle Eastern string instrument and Jerusalem has held an international festival celebrating it for two decades. Due to COVID-19 it will not be happening in person. While this means that only local performers will be hig
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 16, 2020
- 4 min
Great Online Webinars/Lectures on Israel/Judaism This Week
There are so many great webinars on Israel and Jewish-related things this week. Here are some highlights, from your trusty tour guide of Israel. Plus, check out the videos below of the Dead Sea Scrolls lectures from earlier this month. Have You Ever Heard of Sigd? Monday, Nov. 16 at 8pm in Israel (1pm EST) Sigd is a Jewish holiday marked by the Ethiopian-Jewish community 50 days after Yom Kippur.
It celebrates their finally making it back to Jerusalem - through all the tr
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 13, 2020
- 2 min
Israel Signs Deals to Receive Russian & US COVID-19 Vaccines
In recent days, Israel has signed separate deals with US and Russian manufacturers of coronavirus vaccines with enough doses to vaccinate the entire country. This is on top of the local vaccine which began human trials on November 1. As an Israel tour guide this is incredibly exciting as hopefully it means we will be able to get back to work en masse as early as this coming spring . The Russian Sputnik V vaccine is in the middle of Phase III trials but has supposedly shown s
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 13, 2020
- 2 min
Sean Connery's Secret Mission to Israel
When Sean Connery passed away last week, a number of his off-screen exploits and comments - both the flattering and not so flattering - were brought up. As a tour guide of Israel, I'd like to focus on one of them - a secret mission he undertook to Israel in 1967. Connery, who was starring in his legendary role of British secret agent James Bond at the time, visited Israel and at one point actually was taken to an Israeli Air Force Base. There he met with IAF Commander Motta
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 12, 2020
- 2 min
Israeli is Set to Legalize & Decriminalize Cannabis in 2021
As a tour guide of Israel, for some reason this is a question I get a lot... what is Israel's stance on marijuana. Much is known about Israel being the world leader in medical marijuana, but legalization for recreational use has always lagged behind other countries. Well now that's about to change... Am Yisrael High. A major government hurdle has been passed on the way to legalizing and decriminalizing the use of recreational marijuana in Israel. This should allow a bill t
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 10, 2020
- 2 min
Is Israel Still the "Start-Up Nation?"
In 2009, Dan Senor and Saul Singer wrote a book called "Start-Up Nation" about Israel's incredible propensity for creating start-up companies. The book tried to understand the factors which turned tiny Israel into a global tech power, and in doing so, gave a new nickname to the country. Yet a decade and over a dozen billion dollar exits later, two questions arise. Are we still the start-up nation or have we now morphed into something else? And, perhaps more importantly, d
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 10, 2020
- 2 min
The Greatest Rabbi/Ethicist of Our Times Has Passed Away
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, whom I consider to be the greatest rabbi, teacher, ethicist and philosopher of our generation, passed away on Shabbat. His deep knowledge of secular subjects, literature, history and philosophy from ancient to modern was unique among Jewish thinkers and as such, he was able to relate to a non-Jewish audience as well as a Jewish one. An ambassador for faith and morality, tolerance and repairing the world, his books have been and his videos have bee
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 9, 2020
- 2 min
Israel Opens Airport COVID Test Center + More Tourism News
As a tour guide of Israel, I am happy to let you know of some good news regarding the opening of tourism to Israel. Israel hit a milestone today when it opened today a coronavirus test center which allows for testing for both arriving and departing passengers. Outgoing travelers who test negative will then receive a medical passport which can be used to enter a number of countries. No word yet on whether incoming travelers from "red" countries will still be forced to quaran
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 3, 2020
- 1 min
Breaking News: Malawi to Open Embassy in Jerusalem
Malawi is set to become the first African country to open an embassy in Jerusalem. Currently the only countries with embassies in Israel's capital are the US and Guatemala, though several other countries have claimed they will be opening ones as well. They include Brazil, Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Honduras, Moldova, Romania and the Czech Republic. For more on this breaking story click here: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/foreign-minister-ashkenazi-meets-with-malawi-counte
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 3, 2020
- 2 min
What are Israelis Saying About the US Presidential Election?
As a tour guide of Israel, I'm always being asked what Israelis think about the US and especially about particular US presidents. Today of course, all eyes are on the US and the presidential election. So I've collected a variety of voices for you to see what people are saying here in Israel about the candidates, the challenges the next president will face and the US-Israel relationship. One thing that is important to note - and in my role as an Israel tour guide I always re
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 3, 2020
- 1 min
Boy from court case gets first US Passport that says Jerusalem, Israel
In a follow-up to the breaking news from this past week, the first Jerusalem-born American to have Israel listed in his passport is none other than Menachem ZIvotofsky. Why is that important? Well it was Menachem's parents, Ari and Naomi, who took the case to the US Supreme Court - twice - to try and get Menachem, born in Jerusalem in 2002, a passport which listed his actual country of birth. For more on the story click here: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/zivotofskys-18
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 2, 2020
- 2 min
New Israeli Film on Jacob & Esau Features Harvey Keitel & Shira Haas
The trailer for an Israeli English-language film - a loose modern reenactment of the story of Jacob and Esau - has just been released. The film stars Harvey Keitel as Abraham, Shira Haas (from Unorthodox and Shtisel) as Leah and Lior Ashkenazi in the title role of Esau. Ashkenazi is the winner of 3 Ofirs (the Israeli Academy Awards) for best actor. It also features as Sarah, Gila Almagor who won a lifetime achievement award at the Ofirs - and then won two best actress awa
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 2, 2020
- 2 min
Israel is Breaking its Ban on Front-Line Female Combat Soldiers
In a first for the women in Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since the War of Independence, certain female combat soldiers will become front-line soldiers with the ability to cross borders if necessary during war-time. This is one of the first steps taken after an IDF committee was formed in August to review the roles women are allowed to take in the IDF. While the vast majority of roles have become open to women in the past decade, there are still a number of positions and brig
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Nov 2, 2020
- 4 min
Israel Archaeology Update: Temple Mount Mystery & A New Church
Over the past month, a number of incredible archaeological discoveries have been found in Israel. Unknown gates on the Temple Mount, a Byzantine church near Caesarea Phillippi, ancient boundary stones and weights, a signet ring with the seal of Apollo, perhaps the world's first furnace and more. As your resident tour guide of Israel, it is my pleasure to recap all of them for you here... It's amazing that this had never been noticed before: Two blocked-up arches which were s
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Oct 30, 2020
- 2 min
Largest NGO of Imams Worldwide Adopts the IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism
A feel good story today: "The largest nongovernmental organization of imams in the world, the Global Imams Council (GIC), has adopted the widely accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism." The GIC, as per their website, describes themselves as "the world’s first and largest international non-governmental body of Muslim religious Leaders from all Islamic Denominations and Schools of thought, with a rapidly growing number of over
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Kobi Tour Guide of Israel
- Oct 30, 2020
- 3 min
An Israeli Could Be a Top 5 pick in the NBA Draft Tonight!
For the first time in NBA draft history, an Israeli is expected to be drafted in the lottery (the top part of the first round comprised of teams who did not make the playoffs) - and could end up quite possibly in the top 5 overall selections. Meet Deni Avdija... Avdija, an 19-year old, 6"9, 220-pound small forward, led Israel to the championship in two out of the last three European Under-20 basketball tournaments (coming in second in the other one). He also just led Macca
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