Big in Japan: Israel crippled by spring roll strike

by Matthew Firestone on

If you turn on the news these days, it seems that just about every other story is about war, violence and suffering in the Middle East.

And of course, at the center of most of these news items is the Holy Land of Israel, the powder keg of religious tensions that the whole world is scrapping to control.

But in the hopes of kicking off your week on a decidedly more optimistic note, I’ve stumbled across this amusing little news item that I think you’ll like.

Israel has dealt with its fair share of problems since independence, but now you can add to the list one more hardship, namely a spring roll strike.

In an event that makes foodies like myself recoil in fear, Israel is currently being crippled by a spring roll strike that could eventually spread to (gasp!) noodles and (brace yourself!) sushi.

The horror! The horror!

While Asian food has long been the rage in cosmopolitan cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, restaurants are taking popular dishes off the menu in protest.

What’s the subject of contention you ask?

Well, you’ll have to keep reading to learn more about this debilitating news item from the Middle East!

Last Tuesday, nearly 300 restaurants in the Holy Land refused to serve their customers spring rolls in any form, from Chinese-style fried vegetable rolls to Vietnamese-style rice paper rolls.

And, the food strike is on the verge of spiraling out of control, especially since eateries are threatening to cut Asian staples such as noodles and sushi from their menus.

The decision to starve their hungry patrons came in light of the government’s plan to limit the number of foreign chefs permitted to enter Israel.

Currently, work permits for Asian chefs are being cut, and next year the government decided that it will not grant any new permits.

Needless to say, with a clearly divided Jewish and gentile population, Israel has a bit of an identity crisis in terms of the religious make-up of the country.

Anyway, the Israeli Ethnic Restaurant Organisation (yes – this is a real organization) is currently waging a war against the government that may soon wind up in the Israeli Supreme Court.

According to Arnon Volosky, the head of the organization, “Customers say they are shocked and can’t live without Asian food. People have been asking to set up a petition to hand in to the government.”

Unfortunatley, the government is not keen on changing their stance, especially since they are committed to training more Israelis to become specialist chefs.

According to Shoshana Strauss, a government lawyer, “Everyone can make Chinese food, it’s not impossible to learn.”

However, the Israeli Ethnic Restaurant Organisation is not convinced.

“Some things you have to grow up with” says Volosky. “These restaurants come from a culture that we Israelis don’t have the skills or know-how or cultural behaviour to do well. You have to respect this.”

Agreed. Mr. Volosky and the Israeli Ethnic Restaurant Organisation – you have certainly captured my heart, mind and stomach.

A Peek into the Future of Dubai

by Justin Glow on

Today, the city of Dubai announced it has purchased the Queen Elizabeth 2, “one of the world’s most majestic cruise liners,” to convert into a luxury hotel. The QE2 will be completely renovated and parked at the world’s largest man-made island, Palm Jumeirah. The restoration process will stay true to the original design of the ship, and a museum will be built inside to educate visitors on the liner’s legacy.

What’s else in store for the booming city of Dubai? Here’s a quick rundown of current, future, and conceptual projects in the United Arab Emirates’s oasis in the desert.

We talked about it earlier today, but the outrageousness of the resort complex dubbed The Cloud makes it worthy of another mention. Nadim Karam, a Lebanese architect, presented this resort-in-the-sky concept at the International Design Forum in Dubai last month. The actual resort will resemble a cloud floating 300 meters in the air, with slanting support beams that look like sheets of rain. Take that, Sandals! [Stage: Concept]

Who needs Disneyworld when you’ve got Dubailand? Announced in 2003, this super-sized mega theme park (the builders prefer to think of it as a true city) will consist of six poorly named “worlds”: Attractions & Experience World, Retail and Entertainment World, Themed Leisure and Vacation World, Eco-Tourism World, Sports and Outdoor World, and Downtown, each containing a total of 26 “sub-worlds.” Downtown will feature the world’s largest shopping mall, called Mall of Dubai. Coffee lovers unite: the Mall of Dubai will eventually feature the world’s largest Starbucks. [Stage: Under Construction]

Bigger is better, and Dubai has its sites set on the sky with the Burj Dubai. When construction finishes in 2009, the Burj Dubai will most likely be the tallest “land-based structure” (which includes buildings and towers) in the world. Why most likely? “The projected final height of the Burj Dubai is officially being kept a secret due to competition,” according to its Wikipedia entry. Makes sense — why announce an official height when you can just continue building if someone else announces a larger project? Clever. [Status: Under Construction]

Italian-Israeli architect, David Fisher, unveiled in April a 68-story “spinning tower” he hopes to see join the the Dubai skyline in the future. Unlike existing structures that have a single revolving floor (San Antonio’s Tower of the Americas comes to mind, among many others), “[e]ach floor would rotate independently, creating a constantly changing architectural form,” says the Wall Street Journal. This is by far the coolest concept building I’ve found, Dubai or not. It reminds me a bit of Jenga, only…you know…much cooler. [Status: Concept]

Israel Hires Maxim Magazine for Tourism Photoshoot

by Dave Luna on

Israel is a land brimming with wonderful beaches and rich history. So, what’s the best way to market that to the world? The government believes the answer is… “good-looking women.” What? How disappointing.

This public relations strategy is particularly skewed to hit a key demographic of American men aged 18 to 35. The tourism board found that this group wasn’t particularly interested in visiting the nation because they associated Israel with “war or holy relics.” In an effort to change that target audience’s collective mind, Israel hired a Maxim Magazine camera crew to photograph the country’s (bikini-clad) female beauty amidst the country’s natural beauty. Women of the Holy Land, anyone?

Tourism is a cut-throat market, so I can understand where a sexy, new approach might be appealing. (After all, I dedicated 188 words to it.) However, I cannot condone an entire marketing campaign built around objectifying women. Sure, sex sells, but whatever happened to dignity?

I think a Harvard Law School professor said it best in the Newsweek article: “Completely not the way to go. I can see models anywhere.”

Hooters in the Holy Land

by Jonathon Morgan on

Next time you’re in Tel Aviv — tired from traveling, homesick, and looking for a little comfort food — you can sit back, relax, and experience some all-American hospitality, half-way around the globe. Hooters is opening its first location in Israel.

It’s a restaurant known, kind of, for its spicy chicken wings, but mostly for its servers — “Hooters Girls,” who bring you food and beer in low-cut blouses and short skirts. And, according to the man behind the move, Ofer Ahiraz, it can “suit the Israeli entertainment culture.”

“I strongly believe that the Hooters concept is something that Israelies are looking for,” says Ahiraz.

While there will probably be minor changes to meet Israeli tastes — such as keeping the restaurants away from large religious populations, and making all the food kosher — the restaurants will look a lot like the chain’s other locations across the U.S., China, Switzerland, Australia, Brazil and beyond.

Over the next two years the company plans to open additional restaurants in Colombia, Dubai, Guam, New Zealand and India.

So it’s official, the tackiest restaurant in the U.S. will now lead the way as America’s most ubiquitous cultural ambassador. Great.

Jesus’ Bones Tour

by Iva Skoch on

If you missed the press conference at the New York Public Library, where filmmaker James Cameron announced his new Discovery Channel movie, you might want to read up and do a little digging yourself.

If you hadn’t heard the hype, Cameron’s movie The Lost Tomb of Jesus, airs this Sunday. In it, he apparently argues that a couple of caskets, ossuaries actually, once contained the bones of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Not only that, but, ala Dan Brown, he suggests they were a family…with children. The ossuaries made the trip for the press conference (hopefully not on JetBlue), as did a few experts.

Now, the discovery of the ossuaries is not new. They were found in 1980 in a Jerusalem ‘suburb’ of Talpiot. And, forgetting the multiple controversies that surround the whole thing (including the assertion by the lead archaeologist that the movie’s claims are baloney), you can visit the town yourself.

The modern town is pure 20th century, and includes a vibrant club culture (where you can shake your own bones), but there’s also more distant culture and history. For example, walk along the Haas Promenade for sweeping views of the old city.