Culture Magazine

culture Israel A look into graffiti art and politics in Israel. p.10

Find out how designers thrive along the Mediterranean. p.16

Oded Ezer talks Typography.

May 2014

p.45

culture FEATUREs

contents

May 2014 Vol 26 No 4

10

39 start ups

Tagged

A look into graffiti art and politics in Israel.

Who are they? How are they helping our econemy?

16

224 ice cream!

finding ispiration in Israel

Grab a refreshing cone in Tel Aviv

Find out how designers thrive along the Mediterranean.

88

120 Women of the wall

phenomena taglite

When religious freedom, morals and human equality come into question.

How the newer phenomenon of Birthright is creating Zionists all over the world.

201

42

International Page Turners

Enter the Dead Sea

The market for beauty products may be harming this natural wonder.

What are Israeli’s reading these days?

26

183

the shekel

Fine artist unite

How strong is the Israeli Sheckle compared to other nations currency?

When art is at it’s most powerful.

44 type takeover

Inside Israeli Typographers process creating beautiful hand rendered Hebrew typography

217 Serving IDF

Soldiers talk about their experience serving in the Israeli Defense Force.

culture

contents

May 2014 Vol 26 No 4

FEATUREs

113

47

Art in the old city

Typosexual

Avraham Loewenthal teaches us about Kabbalic wisdom in Tzfat through his paintings.

They’re awesooome!

Oded Ezer talks Typography

24

106

Eating Like the Locals

Build up an Israeli appetite with these 8 mouthwatering dishes.

Concrete

Understanding Israel’s checkpoint system and why it’s in place.

140 A green view

267

How does Israel stay so green and how is it sustainable?

Art school

Art and Design at Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem

55 Fungus Amungus

90

61

74

An interview with Infected Mushroom

We’ll let you in on the secret of how to do Tel Aviv night life right.

Out on the town

Mt. Herzel A history

Fall in love with Tel Aviv.

Visit and it will happen.

36

193

213

127

Life on the Kibutz

We learn about the Kibutz community and what makes them an ideal home for many,

Gallery

The latest gallery openings everyone’s talking about.

music

Infected Mushroom, Mika Karni and so many more!

Attractions

IDF experience

Interviews with young Israeli soldiers before and after their service.

In Israel, graffiti tells all sides of the story

By Jake Wallis Simons

If the walls outside the Nocturno café in Jerusalem could talk, they’d probably tell you what they already say.

The area outside of the coffee shop is peppered with

images and slogans that could only be found in Israel: a map of the country with the Palestinian areas removed; a soldier with the slogan “no legs, no problems”; a stencil of the national anthem, with the words changed (“the land of Zion and Jerusalem” has been replaced by “the land of Palestine and Jerusalem”). And, though Nocturno is a favorite hangout for art students from the Bezalel Academy, it’s hardly the only such canvas.

Graffiti has long been the focal point of the collective imagination here. In one form or another, it can be found everywhere from Hebron to Bethlehem, engaging both Israelis and Palestinians from all points on the political spectrum. Famously, it has also attracted scores of high-profile outsiders with statements to make, including the biggest names in the graffiti and street art worlds.

Israel has long had a unique passion for exchanging slogans in the street. In 2007, the country’s best-known hip hop outfit, Hadag Nahash, penned a tune in collaboration with the novelist David Grossman. Titled “Sticker Song,” it took its lyrics from the bewildering array of political slogans that can be found on bumper stickers up and down the country.

“These slogans are like capsules of Israeliness,” said Sha’anan Streett, the frontman of Hadag Nahash, when I met him at Nocturno. “They mirror the rhetorical ping - pong which is becoming a substitute for proper debate in a country that has lost any sense of hope.”

A similar sentiment haunts the walls 40 miles west, in the very different city of Tel Aviv. Locals have grown accustomed to images of the “Character,” a spindly, black-and-white vision of fragility, always struggling under an invisible weight, with a heart-shaped hole in the center of its chest. The Character is the creation of an Israeli artist who goes by the name Know Hope.

“The Character expresses the complex burden that Israelis grow up with,” said Know Hope, at his studio in Jaffa. “I weave moments of human fragility into a political statement.” Some of his best pieces, he said, are on the separation wall. One portrays the Character having his severed arm sewn together by a bird.

12 Culture

interview with Know Hope What is one reason you make art?

To send out transmissions, reflect, and be a mirror (both introspectively and retrospectively). And sing a messy anthem for unsung moments.

Describe your work

All of my work is based off of my observations. Of my surroundings and the different types of forms and shapes and interactions that take place.

Do you consider your work political?

Living in Israel, the political situation is inseparable and inevitable, eventhough I don’t really see myself as a political person in the traditional sense. You know, I think that emotions are political. So in that sense it is very present in my work because it’s just so much part of everyday reality.

Give us A few words that sum up your philosophy on life.

We’re born into this alone and leave this alone, but in between we create common moments that are the collective memory that lingers like a time capsule.

Was there a moment when you realized you were an artist?

I’m not sure. Maybe once I noticed my habits, days, consolations and worries all revolved around it or involved it.

I don’t mean to sound melodramatic, but I think it was when I realized I can’t really do anything else, whatever that means. Actually, I don’t really know what the question or that whole answer means.

Photo by Eddie Halfon

For the Homeless Heart and Anxious Fingers by Know Hope.

“Rees introduced me to two Palestinians, one of whom said he used to be a bodyguard for Yasser Arafat. They took us to a location where they had stashed a piece of a wall from someone else’s house. On it is an original Banksy: a soldier frisking a donkey.”

14 Culture

Photo by Erica Hummel

1

Photo by Sarah Cohen

2

Another has him pulling bandages out of his heartshaped hole, on which is written: please believe. Later, beside a downtown café, I find another of his pieces: the Character holding a weeping bird to his mouth, as if about to breathe life into it — or devour it.

Several hours north , in the settlement of Hebron, the graffiti looks quite different. In 2001, the Israeli Defense Force closed down a Palestinian market that was built on disputed land, as it had become a flashpoint of violence. This has had a profound impact on the local economy, and now the place is a ghost town.

On the rows of boarded-up shops are strings of spraypainted Stars of David, accompanied by belligerent slogans, the most radical of which —“death to the Arabs”— has been (badly) painted out.

In the Palestinian territories, the graffiti is dramacically different again. According to Matt Rees, a crime author and former Jerusalem bureau chief for Time magazine who accompanied me across the checkpoint, graffiti in Palestine tends to be linked to the militant groups. Slogans there are color-coded according to faction, he said: Yellow for Fatah, red for the pflf.

On a recent afternoon, Rees and I passed through a little - used checkpoint into the West Bank. As we entered the Duheisha Refugee Camp, all around us were graffiti portraits of Intifada-era martyrs. Most prominent of these was an imposing image of Ayat al -Akhras, the third and youngest female suicide bom-ber, who lived her whole life here. The unsigned portr-ait, completed in 2002, has been recently given a fresh lick of paint.

Perhaps the most famed piece of graffiti in the region is located on the nearby partition wall, a part of which has become a Mecca for international graffiti artists since the reclusive British sensation Banksy painted here five years ago.

Banksy’s work brought the region prominence and with it the possibility of commercial advantage.

Rees introduced me to two Palestinians, one of whom said he used to be a bodyguard for Yasser Arafat.

They took us to a location where they had stashed a piece of a wall from someone else’s house. On it is an original Banksy: a soldier frisking a donkey. Although they worry about Palestinians being compared to animals, they wanted to sell it. “We will use the money for the children of Palestine,” the ex- bodyguard told me.

But graffiti in the region doesn’t only get inspiration from the Israeli -Palestinian conflict — it’s also used as a language for domestic Israeli issues. In Jerusalem, in the ultra - Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Meah She’arim, the anti - Zionist ultra - Orthodox Neturei

Karta sect has plastered the neighborhood with anti - statehood slogans.

“God wants the State of Israel to be totally dismantled,” says Yoel Kroiz, a leading figure in the radical organization. “Since the establishment of the State of Israel, we haven’t had one day of peace. Jews should be living as a minority within a Palestinian state.

That’s the only way to end the conflict.”

Kroiz, who was detained last year for an alleged tear gas assault on a woman he considered immodest, sees himself as part of a long tradition. In his cluttered quarters, he showed me his dust-covered collection of Orthodox street-posters, which stretches back over 90 years. Among the religious edicts and signs protesting the desecration of ancient graves is his anti-Zionist collection. “We mourn the existence of the State of Israel,” says one. “Arabs, yes, Zionists, no,” reads another.

On a wall a little further down the road, the two extremisms are in collision. “Death to the Arabs” has been scrawled on a wall by a member of the hardline settler movement. An ultra - Orthodox radical has crossed out “death,” changing the slogan to “Palestine to the Arabs.” The conflict of views here — a ll types of views — is nowhere as clear as on its ancient walls.

Photo by Micah Walden

Photo by Josh Sandler

3 Photo by Liz Harris

5

4

1 2

Jewish settler graffiti in downtown Hebron.

A Banksy mural which has since been professionally cut out from a Palestinian resident’s house. It is stored and owned by Mike, a rich business man in Bethlehem who is trying to sell it to international art buyers.

3

A portrait in Duheisha Refugee camp on the West Bank of Ayat al-Akhas, the third and youngest female suicide bomber.

4 5

A piece by Know Hope in downtown Tel Aviv.

An electrical unit in tzfat with graffiti displ aying a slogan, “two sides to the story.”

6 Photo by Shay Sharafi

6

A l arge mural in honor of Gil ad Shalit, near the beach in Tel Aviv.

Findin ‫צוא‬ Inspir

‫ראה‬ in Isr ‫שראל‬

g ‫למ‬ ation

Photo by Rachel Coleman

by Carmen Sechrist

Most people don’t think of the Middle East as a creative wonderland, but they should. Find out how designers thrive along the Mediterranean.

‫הש‬ ael ‫בי‬

I

t seems surreal. As if it isn’t a real place but just the stuff postcards are made of: Beaches and coral reefs bask beneath the Mediterranean sun.

Ruins crumble with the rich history of lives lived in centuries past. Bazaars come alive with hustle and bustle. Shepherds care for sheep in lush green hills and pastures. Tribal herdsmen lead camels through the rough, rocky desert sands. Tourists swim in the same seaside waters that Jesus is said to have walked on. This is the land of Israel, a relatively tiny country, slightly smaller than New Jersey — in the Middle East. In spite of its modest stature, the beauty that exists here is big, breathtaking and bold. It should come as no surprise, then, that all of this splendor has given rise to a thriving creative spirit and industry.

Designers from all over the world are coming to Israel’s shores to ex- perience thisinsurgence for themselves and breathe new life into their creativity.

he says. Since ose early years, the design scene has continued to flourish into a small but mighty force, particularly thanks to the public’s appreciation of and demand for quality design. “As with any other modern country, we consume the same sources of inspiration,” Saragossi says. “Visual globalization has made geographic differences irrelevant.”

Businesses are listening and responding to the increased demand for design, too. “It’s a crucial concern among the leadership,” Saragossi adds. Kim Mayroze, a designer in Jerusalem and the owner of KimmDesign Studio, agrees, pointing to the fact that many tech and biotech companies are springing up throughout Israel.

“This creative vibrancy allows for tremendous flexibility in thinking about art, design and technology,” she says, particularly when it affords designers great opportunities to collaborate. Mayroze has worked with various startup tech companies, which she says have provided her with rare glimpses into branding from the ground up.

As the field continues to grow, another benefit of the design scene in Israel is that it’s made networking here easier than it might be elsewhere. Alisa Rank, a freelance graphic designer and professional photo-grapher found that to be the case when she interned for six months at McCann Erickson in Tel Aviv. She was able to work directly under the tutelage of Elizier “Azee” Azazar, who has created notable ads for Nike and the European World Cup.

‫עולק העיצוב‬

The Design Scene

In 1906, artist Boris Schatz founded the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem. Over the next century, the school blossomed along with the country’s burgeoning design scene, and today, the school known as Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is recognized as one of the world’s most prestigious art schools.

It wasn’t until the 1930s, however, that the current design scene really started to evolve. Artists, craftsmen and designers from all over the world immigrated to Israel, mostly to escape persecution in the years leading up to World War II. During this decade, there was enough need that they established The Association of Jewish Commercial Artists in Palestine along with other professional artists groups.

Now, one of the hubs of the country’s talent is in Tel Aviv, the second most populous city and the largest metropolitan area in Israel. In fact, it got its start dur-ing the 1930s when German Jewish architects who had immigrated to the area began erecting thousands of buildings in the iconic Bauhaus style. These days, there are more than 4,000 such buildings throughout the city, earning it the nickname “The White City” and a designation as the largest concentration of Bauhaus buildings in the world.

Tel Aviv - based creative Jonathan Saragossi, who is also the founder of im Creator, a free online website builder, notes that “Israel doesn’t have a strong design history like Germany or Switzerland do.” But that isn’t a bad thing. “I believe that lacking historical roots in design actually helps us take more risk and be more extreme, as we’re not beholden to any aesthetic past,” 18 Culture

‘Before your back attacks you Ashtanga Yoga at the Garage fitness club’ Client work by McCann Erickson, Tel Aviv Israel.

Image by McCann Erickson

‫םקומוב העבודה‬

The Workplace

Photo by Valerie Katz

Another thing Rank found rewarding while working at McCann Erickson was the culture of the Israeli workplace. “Every day when I would arrive to work, co - workers would embrace one another with a hug or high -five,” she recalls. “It was like one giant family.”

To an American who is used to brief communications over coffee, the difference was striking.

And that familial bond is a strong one. Cynthia Fish, a designer from Montreal who interned at the internet startup Video Chat Rounds in Tel Aviv, agrees, saying, “The social aspect of working there was unlike anything I had previously experienced. Every Thursday, the bosses bought a different lunch for the whole office to eat together. Every Tuesday was salad day with both full-time employees and interns working together to peel, chop and slice a giant vegetarian feast. We had company bar nights. No birthday went uncelebrated.

It was truly a special place to work.” jeans and t - shirts, very informal. This was completely Designers who have worked in Israel and abroad new to me.” also noted that in the Israeli culture, people are more Possibly due to this candid culture, another element direct when interacting with one another. “They don’t of the Israeli design workplace that Rank and Fish both hesitate to speak their mind freely, commented on was even if it means disagreeing with how they felt like real their boss,” Rank says. “But the co-workers instead of most unbelievable part is that an interns. “The amount employee in Israel will not lose her of responsibility I was job over it, whereas in America it’s given really made me definitely frowned upon and could feel like an appreciated potentially cost someone their job.” and trusted member That predilection for good open of the team,” Fish says. communication also was able to She wasn’t relegated help both designers feel connected. to running errands or “One of my very favorite aspects of organizing files, but to livng in Israel there was that even actual work, including though I was by myself, I never felt alone,” Fish recalls. online banner ads for the company. “They gave me the “I found most people to be much less inhibited in Israel, freedom to create any designs I wanted,” she says. and I had numerous meaningful, detailed conversations “A few days later, a fellow intern showed me the statistics with complete strangers.” indicating my creations were being clicked and bringing Liora Yuklea, a graphic designer from Israel who visitors to our new site. This was such a great sense is currently getting her master’s degree in New York of achievement for me!”

City, noticed the reverse consequences of this when she came to the u.s. “In the States, there seems to be The History a more formal attitude toward certain rituals of conduct than in Israel, a less formal society where people are much more direct,” she says, providing an anecBeyond the office itself, another benefit of working dote: “When I first arrived in New York City, I had and designing in Israel is that inspiration is around an internship interview set up. I asked my sister, who every corner. “I found it impossible to be bored,” Fish has lived and worked here for years, if there was anysays. “My apartment was a two-minute walk from thing I should know about job interviews here. She the Mediterranean Sea, providing gorgeous scenery asked me, ‘You have a suit, right?’ And I balked; I’ve with which I could clear my head and be inspired. never had a suit in my life. Work wear in Israel is My artistic ideas were being triggered not only by the

“I believe that lacking historical roots in design actually helps us take more risk and be more extreme, as we’re not beholden to any aesthetic past.”

‫ההיסטוריה‬

German jewish architects immigrated in the 1930’s and began erecting thousands of buildings throughout Tel Aviv including the iconic Bauhaus style.

‫המגוון‬

The Diversity

All those layers of history have made for more than just sights and scenery. People have come with them, hail-ing from all walks of life, all corners of the globe.

According to the official tourism website for Israel, there are currently some 7.4 million residents in the country, and immigrants have relocated here from more than 130 countries since the state was established.

Much of that immigration can be attributed to Israel’s significance in three of the world’s major religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism), which has made it a destination for foreign worshipers.

“You walk down a street and see men pulling oversize crosses,” says Carrie Devorah, an American creative in Washington, d.c., who has familial ties to Israel and is the founder of The Center for Copyright Integrity.

“Turn a corner, and you hear Arab women trilling.

Turn another corner, and you see religious Jews in traditional garb. All these sects are intermingling with other cultures and faiths from around the world.”

The array of faiths mixing together, side by side, can be attributed to the fact that within Israel’s borders are some of the most important holy sites for the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths. In particular, all three of these religions converge in the city of Jerusalem, which is considered one of the oldest cities in the world and is known as the Holy Land. For the Jews, it’s the place where King Solomon built the original temple for the Jewish faith (which has since been all but destroyed).

20 Culture

Israeli Religous Population

Jewish Population 43% 35%

12%

75%

10%

Religious

Muslim

Ultra-Orthodox

Christian

17%

Traditional

2%

Secular

beautiful views, but also by the country’s rich history.”

Though the country itself is young it was establish primarily as a safe haven for Jews in 1948 at the wake of the Holocaust — its roots date back millennia.

History is a daily part of life for Israelis, as some of the roads they walk have been walked for thousands of years. The mountains they climb and the rivers they cross aren’t just ordinary geographical features. They are ones that play significantly into some of the world’s major religions.

Every major empire from the Near East has fought on Israel’s soil, each leaving its mark, as well. There are ruins visible from the days when Romans ruled the realm, and vestiges of the Crusaders (including excavated knights’ halls) still survive. It’s a veritable time warp that jumps through eras and empires as you traverse the ancient countryside.

That’s one of the elements that makes life in Israel so inspiring — the past isn’t relegated to museum walls but is vividly alive around every corner, beneath every step you take.

Jewish

For the Muslims, the Dome of the Rock mosque is the faith’s third most holy site for the devout. For the Christians, it’s where Jesus spent his last days on earthand was resurrected.

“Jerusalem is where faiths come together,” Devorah says. Within Israel, about 75% of the populace affiliate with the Jewish faith, making it the country with the largest concentration of Jews in the world. Beyond Judaism, 17% of Israelis consider themselves Muslim, and 2% identify as Christian. But within each of those faiths are great variety, from more conservative sects that wear garb with fashions that date back centuries to secular ones. For instance, within the Jewish population, 43% of people are considered secular, 35% are traditional, 12% are considered ultra-orthodox and 10% are religious.

But Israel’s mere location has also contributed to this influx, as it’s wedged at the crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa, where East meets West and makes for an easy conduit in between. All those components have come together to create striking cultural diversity in the country, where myriad languages, ethnicities and customs abound as a notable source of inspiration for designers. That blending of backgrounds has not only made Israel more diverse but also more tolerant. “The country is a melting pot of people from almost every country and religion in the world, so there’s a sense of enormous open-mindedness, cross fertilization and dynamism,” says Mayroze, an English-born designer who has made Israel her home for the past 30 years.

Raviv Mordoch, an art director at Purple Interactive in Herzliya Pituach, Israel, adds, “Since it’s so diverse and different, I think that Israel has quite a challenge,

There are 7.4 million residents in the country. Here is a breakdown of the religious population.

design - wise. You have to do your homework and determine who is your end - client and how you will design for him.” It’s a challenge that many say helps keep their creative skills sharp.

Her story is just one of man that illustrate how intimately the political conflict impacts everyday, ordinary life for Israelis, including their design and work lives. One of the noticeable consequences is the age difference of Israeli designers.

In many countries, students go from high school to college, earn their degrees, and then enter the workThe Conflict force. But Israel has a mandatory military conscription at age 18, which often results in a delay in earning In spite of the country’s tolerance for different degrees and entering the workplace. Baltimore designer backgrounds and faiths, there’s obviously a fair amoMarisa Obuchowski, who interned in Israel, noticed unt of political turmoil that embroils Israel. Much of this in her office. “When I started working, it shocked the conflict can be traced back to when Israel was first my colleagues to know that at 22 years old, I already established. The issue is that it wasn’t empty land when had my bfa degree,” she says. “Here we’re at seemingthis happened; there were already Palestinian Arabs (the ly similar stages in our lives, and we’re eight years apart.” majority of whom were Muslim) who called the very And yet, their experiences in the army also open Israsame land home and were conseque-ntly displaced. Ever elis’ eyes to what is going on in their country. “My days since, the two groups have been in disagreements over in the army made me go as far as possible from politics who has the rightful claim to the land. Israel has also and find my freedom in art and design,” Saragossi says. found itself at odds with other countries as well, who “I believe aesthetics can be a future tool for getting us are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. One of those and our neighbors into a dialogue, more of a cultural countries is Iran. or educational discussion than a military one.

Those disagreements have given way to great and That’s a sentiment many designers share. “Israeli grave violence. Wars have been waged, rockets launchsociety has become reawakened to social imp-act as ed, bombs detonated, missiles aimed, acts of terrorism a whole. It’s a slow process, but it’s happening,” Yuklea committed, innocent civilians killed in the crossfire. says. “The field of design — being at the end of the day Violence and the threat of violence— is a reality here. a very human-centered field — has naturally responded According to the Stockholm International Peace and reflected that shift. When I went to undergrad, the Research Institute, more than 10,000 Israelis and work that you saw from students wasn’t as politically Palestinians have died during the conflict between and socially loaded in messaging as you see now. The the years of 1948 and 1997. recent graduation exhibitions showcased many works Unfortunately, the violence is not limited to battlethat tried to provide solutions to various socially oriegrounds, as Devorah knows firsthand. My brother was nted problems, and this is a blessed development that murdered by terrorists,” she says. Yet in the very next breath she continues, “That said, the country is glorious. indicates the growing connection designers feel to the One would think Israel is a place to run from. Not at all.” role of change agents.”

‫הסכסוך‬

Images by Ronny Edry

Ronny Edry, a graphic designer in Tel Aviv, sparked an online movement for peace in the Middle East when he created his poster that told Iranians that he didn’t hate them or want to go to war.

Photo by Jeremy Gooden

Photo by Limor Chouckroun

22 Culture

Photo by Jeff Levine

(top) Oded Ezer is a graphic artist and typographer.

Before starting his career as a designer, he was a musician and a poet. Ezer lived in Jerusalem, London and in the Negev Desert before he settled in greater Tel Aviv.

That belief in the powerof graphic design to effect these very real, very big problems even encouraged Yuklea in her choice to travel to the u.s. for her master’s degree, which focuses on design for social innovation.

She says her studies in the States “allow me to apply my profession and skills to the agendas I feel strongly about.

I can make a difference and also make a career of all that. I hope I will have a good opportunity to do that in Israel, as much of my motivation to take my career in this direction is based on the experiences I had with social problems in Israel.”

‫העתיד‬

The FUTURE

(left) Ronen Kadushin is an Israeli designer and has lead Israeli and European design academies since 1993.

In 2004 Kadushin developed the Open Design concept, where the designs of his products can be downloaded, copied, modified and produced, much as in Open Source software.

(right) Comme Il Faut (As It Should Be) is Israel’s highest end independent womens-wear chain was launched in 1988 by two friends, Carol Godin and Sybil Goldfinger. Today the company employs 60 women and 4 men.

While there’s no easy solution to the conflict and violence in Israel, many designers are right in step with Yuklea and are taking up the challenge to use their creative skills to cultivate peace. One of the most notable pioneers in this effort is Ronny Edry, a designer based in Tel Aviv who also founded and teaches at Pushpin School of Design tlv.

One day in early 2012, Edry was at the grocery store and heard some people casually commenting about war between Israel and Iran.“This is where we are now in Israel,” Edry said during a talk he gave at ted × Jaffa.

Tensions between the two countries had been mounting to where war seemed inevitable. It was practically nor-mal to think like this. As he considered the situation, though, he realized that he didn’t feel that way. He didn’t hate the Iranians; in fact, he didn’t even know an Iranian. He certainly would never want to go to war with them.

So, as a graphic designer, he took those sentiments and channeled them into a poster, one of him holding his daughter and an Israeli flag, with a banner that read: “Iranians, we will never bomb your country. We [heart] you.” He posted the image on Facebook, and before he knew it, the poster had gone viral. Fellow Israelis wanted their own posters, depicting themselves telling the Iranians that they didn’t hate them. Soon, they were also hearing from Iranians who felt the same. For many, these were the first times the two cultures had interacted with one another.

“We have become kind of ambassadors for our own countries,” Edry says. “In Israel, you have a generation that has never even met a Palestinian. So designers have a real job to do here, to show the ‘other’ reality — the 99%. This is really the power of communication design: Simple posters have changed the way people perceive the ‘enemy.’ When you give a face to the enemy, you make the enemy a person. You’re re - humanizing the conflict. That’s all you need to open your eyes to the

possibility that the knowledge you have of your enemy may be partial, if not wrong.”

They’re doing what political figures only talk about: They’re touching the lives of their neighbors and actually making a difference — t hrough design. This is what Edry continues to do, having founded The Peace Factory, which he describes as being “an advertising company that works to promote one product only: peace in the Middle East.”

In this way, design in Israel has come full circle.

As much as the country itself—from its culture to the sights and sounds — influences its industry professionals, designers are influencing the country, too. With the sparkling Mediterranean Sea in the distance and sun shining overhead, it’s enough to make you feel like you’re in a creative paradise. A sentiment with which many designers agree.

Images by IM Creator

(right page) IM Creator is a free online HTML website builder with a drag n’ drop platform . It was founded in 2011 by Jonathan Saragossi , an Israeli and is based in New York City with an office in Tel Aviv.

Eating Like The Locals All cuisines are a result of the interplay of many forces, historical, sociological, and agricultural.

Israeli cuisine is no different.

Photo by Marsha Manos

knafeh

falafel

Sweet Seduction

The king of Israeli food, The king of Israeli food, no question, though

Does a vision of rich, creamy, sweet and

actually originally from Egypt. A delicious

cheesy dessert with a crunchy topping totally

mix of chickpeas and fava beans, plus a lot

seduce you? Well, it seduces people with a

of spices liberally applied according to each

sweet tooth everywhere in Israel. Many stuff

falafel stand owner’s secret recipe, these

the pastry with locally made soft cheeses.

little falafel balls are then

Some call their dish knafeh and serve it like a

thrust into a pita, nestling

pie, in wedges or squares, while others call it

alongside some freshly

kadaif and create individual stuffed rolls.

cut salads, hummus, tehina sauce, pickled vegetables and even maybe some chips.

You can find falafel on almost every street corner, especially in the larger towns. Prices are very cheap, often as low as 10-15 shekels per

shakshooka Spicy mix

portion — and then there’s the unspoken rule of free salad refills (you’ll have to pay for more falafel balls), as long as you have any semblance of a pita left to hold it in! A cheap,

Another fantastic Israeli food that also has its

very satisfying meal.

roots in the Arabic world. This concoction of

Photo by Hilary Pinskey

tomatoes, onions, plenty of garlic, as well as some crucial spices such as sweet paprika, is usually a fairly liquidy mess that is then topped off with a poached egg in the same exact frying pan.

If you order shakshooka anywhere, such as at the great Dr. Shakshooka in Yafo, don’t be alarmed to see the frying pan placed in front of you, still piping hot. Usually a cheap Photo by Missi Townsend

and satisfying meal, as long as you get enough bread to soak up all those frying pan juices.

24 Culture

Photo by Josh Green

malawach

malabi

puffy-pastry

Rose water pudding

The popularity of this versatile dish, which

Slide a spoon into the softly yielding white

may be served with a variety of fillings and

mass and put it in your mouth. You’ll taste

toppings, testifies to the love for Yemenite

rose-flavored sweetness and a light, creamy

food which Israelis have acquired. It is a

texture that keeps you dipping your spoon back in

fried puff-pastry that is commonly eaten as

till the Malabi’s all gone. Here in Israel we call it Malabi

a breakfast food. It is traditionally served

but in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, people call

with hard boiled eggs, shkug and fresh grated

it Muhallibieh. The Greeks know it as well, and make an elaborate,

tomatoes. Alternatively, it can be eaten with drizzled honey as a sweet dessert or served

panna-cotta-like dish based on it. And it’s only milk pudding, made in less than ten minutes.

with tahini sauce.

sabih an Artful sandwhich Photo by Yuval Shapira

Sabih is Israeli street food, very casual and satisfying. It might look like a jumble, but it’s actually an artful layering of fried eggplant

lemonana frozen Mint slush!

slices, two different kinds of sauce, and boiled egg, topped with a cool and crunchy chopped Mediterranean salad. It all fits on a fluffy moist pita and you can fold it up and eat it with your hands. You can never go wrong with street food because it’s been thoroughly

Limonana is lemonade blended together with

Photo by Noam Adar

vetted by masses of hungry eaters on the go.

mint and ice to make a frozen slush. It is so refreshing, the perfect treat for a hot, humid Israeli afternoon.

jachnun melt in your mouth The king of weekend eating, Jachnun is a traditional Yemenite dish usually only served on a Saturday morning. It is made of rolled dough made with plenty of unhealthy margarine, which is then cooked overnight for around 10 -12 hours. The best way to eat Jachnun is with grated tomato, spiced up a little with some Yemenite schug, along with a hard-boiled egg, preferably one also cooked in the same exact overnight pot.

culture

the Netherlands

An Interview with Philip Akkerman p.11

The Dutch Art scene is under siege. Budget cuts, stop! p.19

Why Tulips?

We learn why this land is the perfect place to grow p.57

April 2014