Israeli Food – Delicious, colorful and surprising

There is no doubt that food is the one of the most important things in the Jewish world (’They tried to kill us. We survived. Let’s eat!’). Following this principle, Israel Experience’s research team did a survey lately among our programs’ participants, asking them to choose their favorite Israeli food. Schwarma won big time. For Continue Reading »

There is no doubt that food is the one of the most important things in the Jewish world (’They tried to kill us. We survived. Let’s eat!’). Following this principle, Israel Experience’s research team did a survey lately among our programs’ participants, asking them to choose their favorite Israeli food. Schwarma won big time.

For those of us who are vegetarians or vegans, we’ll have you know, that there is such a thing as a vegan Schwarma! On your next trip to Israel, check out these next places:

Vegan Schwarma TLV

Vegan Schwarma Jerusalem

 

The Israeli food is updated and surprising. The fact that there are people from so many nationalities and places in one small country, creates new combinations, fusion of tastes, textures and flavors (and also can create a big mess, but we aren’t going to talk about it now). We thought about a few dishes from the Israeli food cuisine, that perhaps aren’t familiar as Hummus and Falafel, but without them the Israeli food cuisine wouldn’t look the same.

 

fried eggs in tomato sauce in the pan

Shakshouka – Israeli food show time

Shakshouka and how it captivated Israeli food

The origin of this amazing dish is from North Africa. The meaning of the name Shakshouka in the Berber language is a mixture. There is no wonder that it is such a big hit in the Israeli food cuisine, which is known for its food combinations and new inventions.The basic recipe is made up of poached eggs, onion, tomatoes and red peppers. Some say that Shakshouka used to be a common dish among North Africa Jewish communities.

What’s so fun about Shakshouka, is other than being amazingly delicious, it is the kind of food that you can play with. You can make eggplant Shakshouka, spinach Shakshouka, add Curry and make it Thai style Shakshouka or anything else you can think of. Next time you’ll be in Israel, make sure to try this Israeli food delicacy.

 

Ptititm or israeli couscous - kind of small pasta, traditional for israelian cuisine. Copy space background.

Ptitim – Authentic Israeli food

Ptitim (Israeli Couscous) – The ultimate Israeli food

Well, there is no arguing that this one is an original Israeli food!

Back in the 1950’s, it was extremely rare to get rice in Israel, due to the Austerity period. The Israeli creative mind had come up with this substitute: toasted pasta shaped like rice grains.
Till recently, Ptitim were considered as a simple dish. Now days you can find them on the menus in fancy Israeli food restaurants and even in restaurants around the world.

 

Middle Eastern cuisine, Kubbeh matfuniya (Arabic word kubbah means "ball") Red Kubbeh matfuniya in a soap bowl.

Kurdish influences on Israeli food – Kubeh

Kubeh – Israel food style

Also known as Kubbah, Kibbe, Kibbah, is a Middle Eastern dish, made out of Bulgur (Cracked wheat) or potatoes, stuffed with red meat, chicken or mushrooms.

The Kubeh can be either fried, served with a variety of sauces such as pomegranate sauce, lemon sauce and others, or it can be served in a soup. Yam!

You can tell by this pic that the Israeli food had welcomed this dish into his kitchen. Yam!

bamba unhealthy smacks in a raw on white background

Bamba – Most favorite Israeli snack food

 

Bamba – We’ll have you know this is one of the world’s greatest inventions! (Or at least one of the best Israeli food inventions ever)

The Israelis love their food, but also their snacks!

Bamba is a peanut snack, extremely delicious.

Did you know that eating Bamba at a young age can help preventing peanut allergies?
Thanks to a huge international research, it was found out that the percentage of peanut allergies in Israel is significantly lower than other countries in the world, you can read more about it here.

 

Soup Almonds / Shkedei Marak / soup mandel - An Israeli / Jewish soup accompaniment / snack

Shkedei Marak – Israeli food cuisine can’t work without them

Shkedei Marak (Soup Nuts, literally Soup Almonds) – We just can’t picture Israeli food without it!

Most of Israeli kids will eat their soup with Shkedei Marak. Actually, in Israel we always say that the soup is an excuse for eating Shkedei Marak (even for us grown-ups). They are also known as mandlakh in Yiddish, or as “soup mandels” in the United States. We cannot imagine How Israeli food would have look without Shkedei Marak.

 

One of the best ways to learn more about Israel, is becoming familiar with the Israeli food cuisine, since it’s revealing Israel’s multi cultural nature and helps us understand some of the most interesting events in Israel’s past and present.
We have culinary tours on most of our programs, since we believe that Israel Experience should be of all senses. Our culinary themed Birthright group, Spices, is all about Israel’s food.

We hope that we will see you soon in Israel, so you can try the Israeli cuisine food by yourself!

 

Jewish music is alive and kicking

  Music is an integral part of our life. It is always there, giving us what we need, when we need it. A lot of times when you connect to a song, it seems like someone has written that song just for you. Although Jewish music has been with us since biblical times, there are Continue Reading »

 

Music is an integral part of our life. It is always there, giving us what we need, when we need it. A lot of times when you connect to a song, it seems like someone has written that song just for you.

Although Jewish music has been with us since biblical times, there are new vibes and we thought you may want to hear about them.

Jewish Music

There are many ways that we can find out more about ourselves. Music is a great way. We find that Jewish music has been playing a massive role in Jewish history, so much that ignoring Jewish music is not an option.

The Jewish music in Israel is a mosaic of sounds, coming from different places all over the globe. You hear it everywhere: when you are going to the market, visiting the local grocery store or if you just taking a walk in the city center and stumble upon a free concert.

You are welcome to join us for a fascinating journey to the evolving world of Jewish music. Here are some of the most interesting artists in Jewish music, who connected to their roots, were inspired by it and created their own interpretation to Jewish music.

“Im Nin’alu” – Jewish music from Yemen  

The first song we chose to start our Jewish music is “Im Nin’alu”, originally written by 17th-century Rabbi Shalom Shabazi.

The song was played by more than just one singer; still the unforgettable performance defiantly belongs to Ofra Haza. Ofra Haza first sang “Im Nin’alu” in 1978 with Shechunat Hatikva Workshop Theatre. The song remix version in 1988 was a hit and reached the Top Ten worldwide.

“Habib Galbi” – Yemen hip hop – there is such a thing!

Jumping to 2014, a Yemenite cool hip hop started its own path –  A-WA band. Inspired by their Yemenite roots, they created together with Tomer Yosef (Balkan Beat Box), an album that is out of this world. We have picked for you one for tasting: “Habib Galbi” – “Love of my heart”.

Have you heard about the Ladino language?

Ladino (Judeo – Spanish), was a Jewish language derived from old Spanish. After the expulsion from Spain  in 1492, the Jews were spread all over the globe, while the most of them tried to maintain their language and costumes.

Yasmin Levy, is a worldwide famous singer. She has a spectacular voice and she is well known for singing world music. She has performed In Carnegie Hall (where they did not want her to leave the stage!) Her fourth album “Sentir”, was extremely successful and she continues to perform and to make different and exciting music. This beautiful song, “Irme Kero” – “I want to go” is an old Jewish – Sephardic song, and is talking about the yearning for Jerusalem.

Maghreb Jewish music

Now let’s go into a different direction. The songs can be new, but without a doubt there are Jewish influences in her singing. Meet Riff Cohen, that is, if you haven’t met her already.

You can feel the Maghreb comes to life in Riff’s singing, almost hearing the voices from the synagogues, or mothers calling their children to come back home.

In her albums pop, punk, Algerian Rai – all mix together to a beautiful cocktail.

A new Jewish music project bringing Yiddish to life

Yoni Eilat is an Israeli actor and played in many productions. He joined the “Yiddishpiel Theater” in 2004.

Yoni Eilat pays homage to the Yardena Arazi album “A Gipsy Soul”. The album is called by that name – “Tzigayner Neshume”.

There are not enough new songs in Yiddish, that’s what makes this project even more exciting and unique. We can only hope that there will be more projects that will reveal more of this beautiful Jewish music culture.

 

Well, this is just a small taste of what the world of Jewish music has to offer. Whether it’s Jewish music or any other, we hope you enjoying it wherever you are.

A Gap Year Abroad with Career Israel – Frankie Haubrich

  Meet Frankie Haubrich, 23, from Sydney, Australia. Frankie chose to spend his gap year with Career Internship program in Israel, want to find out why? Here is his story. I departed from Sydney to Tel Aviv on Australia Day, 26 January 2016. Twenty two days before this, I had landed in Sydney after going Continue Reading »

 

Meet Frankie Haubrich, 23, from Sydney, Australia. Frankie chose to spend his gap year with Career Internship program in Israel, want to find out why? Here is his story.

I departed from Sydney to Tel Aviv on Australia Day, 26 January 2016. Twenty two days before this, I had landed in Sydney after going to Israel on Birthright program. One week before going on Birthright I learned about Masa Israel programs. A day after that I started applying for an internship program in Tel Aviv with Career Israel. Six months before this I learnt that the paying a deposit to go to Israel on a 10 day trip completely (almost) free was not a scam.

Two years before this I learnt that I was Jewish. There are about 50,000 Jews in Sydney, 99% of them live in the Eastern Suburbs, an hour away from where I grew up. Till the age of 16, I thought Judaism was only a religion. So if someone told me I was Jewish (which my mum and sister had), Christian, Scientologist, Muslim, Mormon or Merman, my answer was ‘no I’m not, mum I’m going to the beach’.

After a few years of harassment from my friends I finally accepted there was a difference, but it wasn’t till I took part in ‘go to Israel for free trips because your mum’s a Jew’, that it’s became a significant part of my life and everyone knew about it. While a trip to Israel is significant, when people ask me if I feel different, like I belong to Israel, I say no. I’m not here to explore my Judaism, it’s for other reasons.

I discovered Career Israel at a time in my life when I had been out of university for a gap year, was unsure what I wanted to do with my degree, and, I was bored.

Career Israel was the perfect solution to my problems.

  • I desperately wanted to live for a long time in a country that is very different from Australia.
  • I always wanted to learn another language but would never commit to any, because I didn’t have a real reason.
  • I wanted a professional experience, but a combination of lacking motivation and options kept me working in casual jobs.

Back to the present: Career Israel internship program in Tel Aviv has the perfect balance for me.

  • Career internship program in Israel is long enough – you don’t just pop into the Middle East to say hi.
  • Career Israel has the perfect amount of trips around Israel – enough to get out and have a break from the city, but not so many that you feel like you’re on a tour.
  • Career Israel has 2 weeks intensive Ulpan course – very important for me as I had ZERO Jewish education.
  • Career Israel has housing in the most amazing location imaginable – hot tip: choose Allenby apartments over Beit Leni dorms.
  • The silver lining that made all of this so appealing was the price – after the Masa Israel grant for Career Israel program, it is extremely affordable compared to life in Sydney.

Right now I’m exactly half way through Career program in Israel. In the last week I’ve had two nightmares about the same thing – I’m back in Australia, I’ve forgotten all the Hebrew I’ve learnt, all the half crystallized experiences have vanished and I’m back to my old self doing the same thing. What’s important to realize is that I love Australia, I really do. It’s a social, care free, happy place. But right now that doesn’t matter. I need independence, purpose and change from the things that I take for granted.

Recently I had a group dinner (organized by Masa Israel i.e. free dinner) with a a dread locked, Doc Marten’s clad Rabbi from Brooklyn, who said something that really struck me – “Here you are forced to be in the present”. I’ve given this idea some thought.

Frankie pic

In Sydney I could walk down the street without anything to worry about at all, and as a result I was zoned out from the world around me. You may have noticed that there’s a lot going on here, and I think it’s created a completely new frame of mind  –  where I am engaged and focused on what I’m doing all the time. Either someone’s spiking my hummus* with the latest smart drug, or the atmosphere of the city has changed me. I feel like the improved version of myself that I’ve been searching for, since that time the sniveling college snob beat me in a micro economics exam at UNI – that’s how we call University in ‘Straya.

An important thing to mention is how easy it is living with a group of people in the same situation as you. Everyone knows that travelling for extended periods such as gap years, can be tiring and at times very lonely. I live in an apartment block with 5 house mates, and another 30 friends from Career Israel in the same building. You will never get lonely. You will never have to deal with culture shock on alone (if you don’t want to). You will always have support from people in the exact same situation as you. You will always have people to go out with to the beach, clubs, markets, day trips, double dates, Shabbat dinners, Hebrew study sessions, political debates, play ‘would you rather’ with, argue with taxi drivers, borrow butter from.

I’ll end on my internship in Israel. It’s amazing. I work at a startup. I was warned that the line between a friend and a colleague is less prominent here. I was not warned that this means I can tell my boss in detail what I did on the weekend, watch episodes of Silicon Valley when we are working at his house and get invited to his wedding. I can only speak for myself, but the work is very varied and it’s completely up to me how much I want to contribute and achieve. From the minute I started I Career Israel program, I was given the opportunity to do work that properly affected the whole business, and as time goes on my duties only get more and more significant.

Come to Israel.

*I now eat hummus for lunch and dinner every second day.

 Frankie pic 2

Career Israel program, by Israel Experience

Career Israel program is a summer and five-month professional internship abroad program open to Jewish college/university graduates from all over the world. The program provides internship placements in leading companies and organizations in the private and public sectors in Israel in every field including law, medicine, media, economics, politics, public relations, education, social work, engineering, computer science, advertising, business and more. The program also includes accommodations, a Hebrew study program, tours and extracurricular enrichment activities.

On top of all that, you get to choose where to have your internship in Israel: Haifa, Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

A professional internship abroad is an impressive and prestigious addition to your resume and will enhance your future career development.

Have any questions?  Need more info? Check in

Masa Israel Grants – Internship Programs Abroad

Masa Israel Journey offers young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 immersive, life-changing gap year, study abroad, post-college and volunteer experiences in Israel, connecting them to programs that meet their interests, offering scholarships, providing expertise, and supporting them throughout the entire process.

Masa Israel is a joint project of the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel that is made possible by the generous contributions of the Jewish Federations of North America and Keren Hayesod-UIA.

Masa Israel provides universal grants and needs-based scholarships to eligible Career Israel participants.

 

 

 

Israel Highway – Do it your way!

Do you know the feeling when a new idea is born? Israel Highway is exactly it. Israel Highway is based on the belief that each and every one of us is an individual, with different thoughts, needs and wants. “Israel Highway: Do It Your Way” is a unique five months program that was created recently Continue Reading »

Do you know the feeling when a new idea is born? Israel Highway is exactly it.

Israel Highway is based on the belief that each and every one of us is an individual, with different thoughts, needs and wants.

“Israel Highway: Do It Your Way” is a unique five months program that was created recently for participants from the commonwealth countries, ages 17-20.

Israel Highway 9

“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”
 William James

What is so special about Israel Highway?

Volunteering, studying Hebrew or touring Israel, You get to select your own Highway program in Israel out of a variety of options!

All of this is off course with our guidance. We are with you through every step of the way J

The Israel Highway program contains 3 main parts:

Me and my identity

Me and my community

My own way

You get to choose your own Israel Highway:

Israel Highway – Sports and health

In cooperation with the Wingate Institute, the leading center for physical education and sports in Israel, you will be learning physical education, sport psychology and participating in a diverse physical training program at the same time.

Israel Highway – Kibbutz

Explore the life in the kibbutz, learning and participating in the daily work with the Kibbutznikim. In this Israel Highway program you will be learning about farming, agriculture, gardening while experiencing all of them by yourself.

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Israel Highway – Get Ready for Campus

Advocacy

The first part of this Israel Highway program is advocacy. You’ll be meeting with Members of the Knesset, participating in debate workshops and educational tours that will be dedicated to the advocacy agenda.

Entrepreneurship

The second part of this program is specializing on enhancing our sense of creativity. How to think “out of the box”, while visiting high tech companies, learning about new media and how to use those given tools in many fields of our lives.

If you are looking for a meaningful experience in your life, if you enjoy meeting people, passionate for new discoveries and initiatives, and would like to develop your way of thinking – come and take the Israel Highway and do it your way!

Israel Highway – Do It Your Way 2016 participant, Benj Michelson shares with us his thoughts so far from the program:  

“Arriving in Israel, only moments after meeting the entire group, a family was formed and friendships throve. Going straight to the South, in an isolated yet beautiful Mitzpe Ramon, the group instantly connected. Lots of laidback and chill time allowed friendships to grow stronger, trust to ameliorate, and the highway family to become even stronger. Whilst the South was purposefully to bond, the picturesque scenery of the Negev gave us a glimpse of the beautiful country we would call home for the next 5 months.”

Read more at:http://www.israelhighway.com/2016/02/benj/

Thanks Benji!

‪#‎DoItYourWay16

The people who are behind the Israel Highway are Amir Lavi and Michal Herdan. With great talent and much thought they made all of this happen.

If you are looking for more than just an Israel visit, this program is for you.

Choose Israel Highway!

Israel Highway Website 2

“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.”
― Herman Melville

Hatikva Has Landed: 800 Jewish teenagers from France take part in educational boat cruise

800 Jewish teenagers from France landed at Ben Gurion Airport this week, only to be met by an actor playing a British officer, instructing them that they were being deported. There they began the educational experience of a lifetime to the cruise ship “Hatikva”, where they would sail round-trip to Cyprus in order to learn Continue Reading »

800 Jewish teenagers from France landed at Ben Gurion Airport this week, only to be met by an actor playing a British officer, instructing them that they were being deported. There they began the educational experience of a lifetime to the cruise ship “Hatikva”, where they would sail round-trip to Cyprus in order to learn firsthand the heroic story of the 1947 Exodus.

Israel Experience®, a subsidiary of The Jewish Agency for Israel, organized this journey as a part of the many summer programs for youth movements in France.  During their journey, participants learned of the heroes that dedicated their lives to the creation of the State of Israel, as well as to understand the full meaning of the State’s national anthem – Hatikva.

Among the passengers, participants met with 84 year-old Holocaust survivor Leah Shephtia, who travelled on The Four Freedoms in 1946, the Jewish refugee ship which arrived in Haifa and was deported to Cyprus. Leah came on board with her daughter and six grandchildren and – for the first time – told her story of her immigration into Israel.

“This is our place,” Shephtia said on her eventual return to Israel. “No place else.”

To get more information about educational programming for youth groups around the world through Israel Experience, please visit: https://www.israelexperience.org/programs/teen-travel/

See below an article published in Israel’s Makor Rishon newspaper:

 

PRESS RELEASE: Israel Experience® Named One of Israel’s Top 10 Travel Companies

(Jerusalem, Israel) — Israel Experience®, a subsidiary of The Jewish Agency for Israel, was named one of Israel’s top 10 travel companies, according to Globes, Israel’s leading financial daily. The travel study, conducted by Dun & Bradstreet, placed Israel Experience alongside other well-known travel stalwarts such as IDB Tours, Ophir Tours and Daka90, and cemented Israel Continue Reading »

(Jerusalem, Israel) — Israel Experience®, a subsidiary of The Jewish Agency for Israel, was named one of Israel’s top 10 travel companies, according to Globes, Israel’s leading financial daily.

The travel study, conducted by Dun & Bradstreet, placed Israel Experience alongside other well-known travel stalwarts such as IDB Tours, Ophir Tours and Daka90, and cemented Israel Experience as a leader in Israel’s tourism trade.

Israel Experience specializes in educational trips in Israel and, to a lesser degree, in Jewish heritage tours in Eastern Europe.  Each year, Israel Experience brings approximately 30,000 participants from around the world on educational trips and programs in Israel.  Further, the travel company connects an additional 36,000 olim chadashim (new immigrants) and Israeli high school students from disadvantaged cities with heritage trips and tours in Israel.

This year, Israel Experience will bring its 300,000th participant on an educational tour to Israel since beginning its operations in 2000. “Israel Experience is the address for quality educational travel within Israel.  These trips strengthen Jewish identity and create connections with the people of Israel through meaningful experiences in the land of Israel,” said Amos Hermon, CEO of Israel Experience. “In addition to the connections we have with Jewish organizations and communities from around the world, Israel Experience also caters to high school students and college graduates seeking an Israel experience through Taglit-Birthright Israel: Israel Experience and our flagship program Career Israel, through Masa Israel Journey , where students can intern at one of Israel’s top 700 top companies in a variety of industries.”

This week, Israel Experience hosted its annual Mega-Event, in partnership with the Maccabiah Games and Jerusalem’s youth movements. 6,000 young Jews from around the world came together and celebrated at an event in Sultan’s Pool in Jerusalem. “This event brought together young Jewish participants from the United States, Great Britain, Europe and the former Soviet Union with their Israeli peers at social and sporting events that celebrate the Jewish future of Zionism and a strengthened connection with the State and People of Israel,” Mr. Hermon added.

Perhaps nowhere is the impact of these trips more keenly felt than by the participants themselves. “Coming to Israel with my friends and spending time with Israelis helps me to get to know and appreciate my homeland. We have done hikes and visited historical places. I have had an amazing summer here in Israel and I hope to take everything I have learnt back with me to my community back home,” shared Rachel who participated in an Israel experience trip this summer through her involvement with BBYO (B’nai B’rith Youth Organization).

 

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Israel Experience & Maccabiah Games Mega-Event! Save the date!

Join 6000 young Jews from around the world as they celebrate in style with Israel Experience’s summer programs in partnership with the 19th annual MaccabiahGames. The mega-event will take place on July 25th 2013, at Sultan’s pool in Jerusalem at 8PM. Line up includes famous Israeli performers, Carly Rose (finalist on USA X-factor), a flash Continue Reading »

Join 6000 young Jews from around the world as they celebrate in style with Israel Experience’s summer programs in partnership with the 19th annual MaccabiahGames. The mega-event will take place on July 25th 2013, at Sultan’s pool in Jerusalem at 8PM. Line up includes famous Israeli performers, Carly Rose (finalist on USA X-factor), a flash mob and more.  For tickets, contact shalom@israelexperience.org.

From Participants

From the Head of a School

From a Head of Community

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