Shooting Israel

Pyramid Power. Click on the image for the hi-rez view. (Dave Bender)

Here are really, really, impressive "amateur" photographers of Israel by others.

Got any faves of your own? Send 'em to me for posting. I can't get enough of this stuff.

'Aid2Gaza:' Succinct. Comprehensive. Guess who's the owner?

Aid2Gaza. Succint. Comprehensive. Veddy Brrrritsh. Oh, and you'll never guess who puts it out:

"This is a website, maintained at the Israeli Embassy in London, which aims to give as much information as possible on all the international aid being sent into Gaza.

"We’ll post updates from Israel’s COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) office, OCHA, UNRWA, USAID, ICRC (International Red Cross Red Crescent) and WHO information, as well as individual and group actions from the grassroots ,like the Free Gaza Movement."

And daring. Did I mention daring - aka "Hutzpadik?"

This week in Israel: Margot Dudkevitch on Gaza (Exclusive Podcast Interview)

Thanks and a shoutout to the whole freakin' world that's been clicking on the following link. Umm, here's a heads-up, folks: It's from 2006 - same place, similar situation - and, unfortunately, is a dead audio link. Sorry 'bout that - I'll try to get her on the line soon for an update:

Friday, June 30

This week in Israel: Margot Dudkevitch on Gaza (Exclusive Podcast Interview)

Israeli tank crew viewing an explosion in the Gaza town of of Beit Hanun (archive)

Hear Margot Dudkevitch, an Ozsraeli defense affairs and territories commentator, and former Jerusalem Post territories reporter as she takes look at this difficult week in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

'No More War! No More Bloodshed!' (More Israeli Animation!)

From Israelity:

"An Israeli animation is now creating a buzz on the Net. It got 160,000 views in just two weeks, and a special review at Aniboom – the world’s biggest animation site. It was also featured on YouTube Spain, Mexico, Ireland, Netherlands and Israel.

It’s an animation music video for the Israeli alternative rock band, Eatliz. Called “Hey”, the 3D animation took almost two years to make, with a crew of 15 animators."

While I could do without the indie "bash a hole in the drumhead and cymbals, and scream" music, it's engaging, and pretty in a Eurostyle kinda' way ("...not that there's anything wrong with that" - Google Czech and Hungarian animation for more).

The project is the brainchild of Guy Ben-Shetrit, a freelance animator who has worked for commercials, TV programs and computer games. Ben-Shetrit is the founder and composer of Eatliz, wrote the featured song, directed the movie, and was the lead animator. (He quit his job and took a year off work to complete the project.)

The video, which is going to be featured in the next issues of animation and design DVD magazines Stash and IDN, is a weird Sci-Fi fantasy journey taken by a little girl and her special pet friend, a huge toad.

This is the second animation music video by Eatliz – the first “Attractive” was directed by Yuval and Merav Nathan. The film won Best animation category in Israel’s annual animation festival, Asif.

'Yesterday As Good As Tomorrow' (Israeli music video)

One of my favorite Israelis performers; one of my favorite songs evah':



Yeah, we can quibble over some of the over-literal translations, but still, this one so gets me where I live.

I utterly condemn Israel's disproportionate response!

"I condemn Israel's disproportionate attack on Hamas because, so far, it has only lasted four days and I would like to see a proportionate response that terrifies Hamas for seven years, the years that have filled Sderot and neighboring towns with nightmares, death, amputations and trauma coming from rockets and mortars fired from Gaza."

Read the rest.

Israeli paratrooper parablogging from Gaza

Parabursts are here.

New full-length film about Sderot - watch the trailer here (updated)

From 12 Tribes Films' e-burst:

"The world today is mostly focused on criticizing Israel for it's attack on the terrorist forces in Gaza. Instead of criticizing Israel, the world should be asking what took Israel so long to respond to the 8 years of rocket attacks on its civilian population! Now is the time for us to show as much support and understanding for Israel as possible.

"This Sunday, January 4th, join thousands of people worldwide in watching QASSAM, the powerful movie about people in Sderot, and share in their experiences over the past 8 years!

Click here to see the trailer for Qassam."

Update - Avi sez':
Get yer' virtual movie tickets here:
http://israelwecare.weebly.com