download PDF - Inbal Hotel Jerusalem

Inbal 

Inbal b l Jerusalem J l MMagazine i 

Spring-Summer 2011

cartier.com 

New Baignoire collection 

JERUSALEM, Alrov Mamilla Avenue. Tel: 02-5004047

You work hard and invest wisely for their sake. So do we. 

Leumi Private Banking 

Founded over a century ago, Bank Leumi backed the visionary pioneers who built the Jewish state. Since then, our tradition of 

gold-standard banking has only deepened. Today, we’re a trusted global financial institution in 21 countries. Our professionals are 

pleased to offer courteous personal service tailored to your needs and preferences. We’ve made the dreams of generations real. 

Let’s build your future together. 

Bank Leumi - Private Banking for Israeli Clients: 

Tel Aviv: Tel: +(972)3-623-7333 • Jerusalem: Tel: +(972)2-620-1877 

Haifa: Tel: +(972)4-835-0333 • Herzliya: Tel: +(972)9-960-9311 

Bank Leumi - Private Banking for International Clients: 

Tel Aviv: Tel: +(972)3-621-7333/7444 • Jerusalem: Tel: +(972)2-620-1811 

www.bankleumi.com

Inbal Jerusalem Magazine 

Spring-Summer 2011 

Ruth Waiman 

EDITOR IN CHIEF 

Moshe Alon 

MANAGING EDITOR 

David E. Kaplan 

EDITOR 

PUBLISHER 

Ad.Lib Unlimited 

1507 Avenue M 

Brooklyn, NY 11230 

tel: 718-382-4200 fax: 718-645-1985 

email: ruth@adlibunlimited.com 

ISRAEL OFFICE 

El-Or Ltd. 

34 Yitzhak Sadeh St. Tel Aviv 67212 

tel: 972-3-537-0771 fax: 972-3-537-3627 

email: israelor@netvision.net.il 

Kety Katav 

ART DIRECTOR 

Bat Chen Nachmany 

GRAPHICS 

Luda Stekol 

ILLUSTRATOR 

Daniel Wechsberg 

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR 

On The Cover 

The Dead Sea - a contender 

for the New Seven Wonders. 

(page 22) 

All rights reserved to Ad.Lib Unlimited. 

Reproduction in whole or in part of any 

material in this publication is expressly 

prohibited without the written permission of 

Ad. Lib Unlimited. The views, comments and 

opinions expressed in this publication are not 

necessarily those of Ad Lib Unlimited or its 

affiliates and/or the Inbal Jeruslem Hotel and 

shall not in any way be held liable for any 

errors, inaccuracies or omissions regarding 

any of the material contained herein. All 

advertisements published herein are the sole 

responsibility of the advertisers and the Hotel 

and the publisher accepts no responsibility for 

their content. 2011. All rights reserved. 

www.inbalhotel.com 

Letter from the GM 

The Inbal Jerusalem Hotel 

Dear Friends, 

While Jerusalem experienced a rather mild winter, we welcomed 

February and March’s rains which provided much needed ‘heavenly’ 

nourishment for our city’s colorful plants and trees to once again bloom. 

There is nothing like a walk through Liberty Bell Park, adjacent to the 

Inbal where you can indulge your senses, feasting on and breathing in the 

intoxicating ‘sights and smells’ of a Jerusalem spring. 

During the past month, Jerusalem became a hotbed for a variety of "global 

tourism" activities. The Inbal played host to a number of internationally 

renowned experts in the fields of business, tourism and culture who 

participated in the International Tourism Conference at the Jerusalem 

Convention Center. One of the key participants was the internationally 

renowned Director of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, James Snyder. You 

can read an illuminating interview with him in this issue on the upgrade and 

reopening of Israel’s most prestigious museum. 

Other articles included in this issue, highlight the scrumptious scope 

of Israel’s pastry industry, with tantalizing offerings from our own 

Executive Head Chef, Moti Buchbut. Having recently joined the Inbal, 

Moti brings to your ‘table’, a wealth of culinary experience and talent. 

If you have a ‘sweet tooth’, you would be wise to submit to temptation and 

indulge in his creative pastries and cakes. 

Only an hour’s drive from your hotel is the lowest point on earth and with 

your on-line vote together with a billion others, it could be chosen later this 

year as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Yes, the Dead Sea is a 

strong contender and you can read all about it in this issue of our magazine 

on page 22. 

As the upcoming Pesach/Spring holiday season provides a sense of physical 

and spiritual renewal, I invite you to visit our friendly concierge about the 

various religious and cultural attractions in our area. 

I am looking forward to greeting you personally but for now, Chag Sameach. 

Sincerely, 

Bruno de Schuyter 

General Manager 

Inbal Jerusalem Hotel 

Spring-Summer 2011

Table of Contents 

8 

Art 

Following Facelift 

16 

Community 

Making a Difference 

22 

Tourism 

Is the Dead Sea a Dead Cert? 

28 

Pastry 

The Icing on the Cake 

32 

Sport 

Playing Ball the All American Way 

38 

In at the Inbal 

Inbal Jerusalem Magazine 

Tim Hursley, Courtesy of the Israel Museum 

The Israel Ministry of Tourism, www.goisrael.com 

Adlai Maschaich

If you want to enjoy life at the very heart of a renewed Jerusalem, phone 02-624-1000. www.7kook.com

Art 

By David E. Kaplan and Moshe Alon 

Following Facelift 

Israel Museum Dazzles 

first-time visit to New York, London or Paris would 

A never be quite complete without exposure to its 

premier museums that 

culturally articulate their 

nation’s journeys from the 

past to the present. 

So too should such firsttimers 

to Israel visit the 

Israel Museum - the largest 

cultural institution in the 

country. “Not only first- 

timers,” expressed one 

American tourist from 

Chicago. “One should come 

over and over again to be 

culturally recharged and 

energized every time you 

visit this wonderful city.” 

Founded in 1965, 

the Museum houses 

encyclopedic collections, 

including works dating from 

prehistory to the present 

day, in its Archaeology, 

Fine Arts, and Jewish Art 

and Life Wings, and features 


Entering a visual dialogue between the past and the present. Tranquility and inspirational. A side view of the Shrine of the 

Book that houses the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls. 

Even the tumult of major renovations over three years 

failed to keep visitors away. People from all corners of 

the world are irresistibly drawn to Israel’s illustrious 

repository of Jewish culture. It’s a “must see” for any 

visitor to Israel. 



The Museum’s collection of Modern and Contemporary Art 

includes works that draw from all the major modernist 

movements and artists, reflecting a special interest in 

important Jewish artists. 


8 

the most extensive holdings of biblical and Holy Land 

archaeology in the world. 

Having this past summer, 

completed a comprehensive 

$100 million upgrade, Inbal 

Magazine went on a tour of 

the museum and spoke with 

its director James Snyder. 

American-born and a 

Harvard graduate, Snyder 

has served as director 

since 1997. This followed 

his position as Deputy 

Director of the Museum of 

Modern Art (MOMA) from 

1986-1996. Not surprising, 

he was last year included 

in a list of the 100 most 

influential people in the art 

world compiled annually by 

the Journal des Arts. 

What is special about the 

recent upgrade of the 

Museum? 

I saw right away on my 

Tim Hursley, Courtesy of the Israel Museum


9 

Mesmerizing Mosaic. From 

prehistory through to 

the Ottoman Empire, the 

transformed wing of the 

Samuel and Saidye Bronfman 

Archaeology Wing weaves a 

chronology of pivotal historical 

events, cultural achievements, 

and technological advances, 

while providing a glimpse 

into the everyday lives of the 

ordinary peoples who lived 

through these climatic epochs.

Art 

first visit to Israel to consider taking up the position 

of Director in 1996, that the Museum had exceptional 

potential. It already enjoyed immense international 

stature but I saw then that if we could tap into the 

resources already accumulated, it could be transformed 

into one of the great, encyclopedic, even universal 

museums in the world. 

And you feel this has now been achieved? 

Yes, and no-one would be more proud, I believe, than 

Teddy Kollek - should he be looking down from his 

celestial perch. 

Will you embellish on your encounters with 

Jerusalem’s former memorable mayor? 

He was inspirational; a personality and a visionary that 

literarily moved the giant boulders of this great city. 

I will always cherish my time that I got to know and 

work with Teddy. I like to refer to him as the ‘Thomas 

Jefferson of Jerusalem’. His mission from the late 1950s 

was for Israel to have a national museum of encyclopedic 

character that would be on par with the finest museums 

in the great Western 

nations. This I believe has 

now been achieved. 

In broad brush strokes, 

how has the Museum 

been upgraded? 

The project reinforced the 

strengths of the museum’s 

character, namely 

its unique location, 

architecture, landscape 

and collections. The way 

we have restructured has 

allowed the Museum to 

double its collections on 

exhibit. 

I have to say that for 

a country as young as 

modern Israel, to have a 

museum of such depth, 

strength and power, is 

truly remarkable. There 

is not an overseas guest 

who leaves here not 

imbued by the power this 

institution exudes. 

Will you share any 

impressions of some 

of your more familiar 

guests? 

Too many to name and 



The Israel Museum illustrious Director, James Snyder in front 

of the iconic Shrine of the Book. 


10 

unfair to single out a few. Let me say this. I know of no 

other museum in the world that attracts as many world 

leaders as the Israel Museum. But if I decline to mention 

specific individuals, I’m happy to single out two groups 

that both resonated with me in a very personal and 

enriching way. 

Firstly, the recent visit of the Chilean miners was for me, 

particularly special. 

After their life-threatening ordeal, these remarkable 

survivors wanted to connect with the sources of 

inspiration that gave them the strength at the time 

to endure their frightening ordeal. This is what they 

were looking for and found in Israel. This country 

and Jerusalem does this, and I speak from experience. 

From my first visit here, I felt this inspiration and I have 

taken it and directed it towards everything I do for this 

museum. This is what I expressed to the miners at the 

beginning of their tour. 

Another group that always visits the Israel Museum is 

Taglit-Birthright. I believe that this program that provides 

every young Jew in the Diaspora a free 10-day trip to 

Israel as a ‘right-of-birth’ is one of the most remarkable 

and farsighted joint 

projects between Jewish 

philanthropy and the 

Government of Israel. 

Whenever I address these 

groups, I tell them, that 

in my own way, I identify 

with them in the sense 

that this museum was my 

‘Birthright’ to Israel. 

A portal into Israel, from 

biblical times to the 

present. 

Our visit started at the 

Second Temple model, 

which covers nearly 

one acre. A recreation 

of ancient Jerusalem at 

its peak, it meticulously 

recreates the topography 

and architecture in 66 

CE, the year in which 

the Great Revolt against 

the Romans broke out. 

One can spend hours 

walking around the 

model, marveling at its 

fine detail and imagining 

what life had been like. It 

provides a vivid context 

for the Shrine of the 

Book, a repository for the

Art 

first seven scrolls discovered at Qumran in 1947. This 

symbolic building, with its eye-catching onion-shaped 

top, is considered an international landmark of modern 

architecture. Every line and contour of this structure 

resonates with special significance. The white dome 

symbolizes the lids of the jars in which the first scrolls 

were found while the contrast between the white dome 

and the black wall alongside it, alludes to the tension 

evident in the scrolls between the spiritual world of the 

“Sons of Light” (as the Judean Desert sectarians called 

themselves) and the “Sons of Darkness” (the sect’s 

enemies). Even the corridor leading into the Shrine 

resembles a cave, recalling the site where the ancient 

manuscripts were discovered. 

Certain texts stand out as transformative in a nation’s 

History captured in Art - From Ancient Israel (l) to pre-Columbian Central America. 

history - the American Declaration of Independence of 

1776 stands out as setting out constitutionally the destiny 

of a people on the path to nationhood and the English 

Magna Carta of 1215, limiting the rights of rulers leading 

to the rule of law. Far preceding these two textual giants 

in time, looms the Dead Sea Scrolls - one of the greatest 

archeological discoveries of the 20th century. To feast 

one’s eyes upon these ancient, sacred texts is to journey 

back two millennia, tracing the evolution of the Book 

of Books. The Dead Sea Scrolls is a collection of 972 

texts from the Hebrew Bible dating between 150 BC 

and 70 CE. 

Irrespective of one’s religious beliefs, it’s hard to escape 

the sheer power of this ‘shrine’ with its ancient, inspiring 

texts. 

As it is written: “.....as long as people continue to inquire 



12 

about the nature of life and the world in which we live, 

the Bible will continue to inspire creativity, comfort the 

troubled, and provide hope for individuals wherever 

they may be.” 

The scrolls are some of the oldest surviving written 

documents in human history and contain original 

texts from the Bible as well as writings about the laws 

and society of Jewish culture. No less interesting for 

Christians, it offers a rare glimpse into what life was like 

around the time of Christ. 

Leaving the Shrine of the Book, the writer could not 

escape the thought of how some minor event could 

have such major impact. How poorer we would be 

had not Juma, a young Bedouin goatherd, not followed 

his wayward goats that were climbing too high up the 

cliffs. Little did he know that January day in 1947 that 

his straying goats would lead him to a cave whose 

sacred 2000 years contents would fascinate people for 

all eternity. 

Moving On 

Imbued by the ‘discovery’ of what life was like during the 

period of the Second Temple, visitors can fast-forward 

to later periods of Jewish life in the Judaica Wing. On 

display are religious objects from Jewish communities 

throughout the world, including manuscripts from Iran, 

Italy, and Poland. In one room, there are dozens of 

Hanukkah lamps (Hannukkiot), silver Torah ornaments, 

serving trays, and shofars (a ram’s horn, used for Jewish 

religious purposes). Other rooms contain a vast exhibit 

Tim Hursley, Courtesy of the Israel Museum

of costumes worn by Jews in the lands of the Diaspora 

and ritual articles connected with life events such as 

birth, circumcision and marriage. 

Visitors can also explore a reconstructed 17th-century 

Italian synagogue as well as a German one from the 

18th century. The recently transferred interior of a 

synagogue from Cochin, India, is one of the museum’s 

newest treasures. 

The largest section of the museum is the Archeology 

Wing, containing the world’s largest collection of objects 

found in Israel. Presenting some 6,000 finds, mainly 

from archaeological excavations in Israel, the Bronfman 

Archaeology Wing illuminates the momentous historical 

events, cultural achievements, and technological 

advances as well as the everyday lives of the peoples of 

the region from the Stone Age through to the Ottoman 

Period. Galleries devoted to the development of ancient 

Hebrew script, the story of coins and the revolutionary 

art of glassmaking – all enhance the narrative of 

civilizations in evolution, as do the displays presenting 

the neighboring cultures of Egypt, the Ancient Near East, 

Greece, Italy, and the Islamic Near East, each of which 

left huge cultural imprints on the region. 

Exercise the legs; 

let the mind wonder 

There is so much to see from the Archeological 

Garden containing classical Greco-Roman sculptures, 

sarcophagi, and mosaics, most of which were discovered 

and excavated in Israel, to the Billy Rose Art Garden, on 



13 

Anglo-Saxon 

Jerusalem 

Israel’s Leading Real Estate 

Marketing Network 

Have a foothold in Jerusalem! 

Sales Resales Rentals 

Residential and 

Commercial Projects 

 

(corner of King David St.) 

Tel: 02-625-1161 

Mevasseret Zion branch: 02-5334088 

Gush Etzion branch: 02-9931606 

Haredi Sector branch: 02-6223589 

Visit our site: 

www.anglo-saxon.co.il/jerusalem 

e-mail: Jerusalem@anglo-saxon.co.il 

Shiran 

Israeli Multiple 

Listing Service

Art 

a 20-acre plot that has been impressively landscaped 

by the renowned Japanese American artist, Isamu 

Noguchi. In the garden of semicircular earth-and-stone 

embankments is a 100-piece sculpture collection, which 

contains both classical and modern European, American, 

and Israeli works, such as Rodin, Zorach, Henry Moore, 

Picasso, Maillol, and Channa Orloff. 

Not to be missed is the Edmond and Lily Safra Fine 

Arts Wing which reflects a wide-range works of art from 

across the ages in Western and non-Western cultures, 

notably European art, modern and contemporary art, 

Israeli art, the art from Africa and the Americas as well 

as Asian art. 


The wing presents a wide range of exhibitions 

annually. One that particularly attracted the writer was 

an exhibition by the South African and internationally 

acclaimed artist, William Kentridge. The exhibition of 

some 100 works by the Johannesburg artist, is running 

through to mid-June, explores five major themes that 

have engaged the artist over the past three decades 

such as colonial oppression and social conflict, loss 

and reconciliation, and the ephemeral nature of both 

personal and cultural memory. 

“The Israel Museum has been committed to the work 

of William Kentridge for a long time, sensing a strong 



14 

resonance between many of his dominant subjects and 

issues which are central to the ethos of Israel’s existence 

and to the social and cultural complexities that are 

pervasive in Israel today,” said director, James S. Snyder. 

Center Stage 

Positioning the Israel Museum in the centre of the art 

world was clearly in director Snyder’s mind when he 

invited some of the world’s leading museum directors 

as part of the international tourism conference in 

Jerusalem in March. They included the directors of New 

York’s Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, the Van 

Anish Kapoor’s ‘Turning the World Upside Down Jerusalem’ and installed last year with the reopening of the 

renovated Museum, the hourglass-shaped reflective sculpture realizes Teddy Kollek’s vision of a Jerusalem 

which merges the heavenly with the earthly. 

Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Chicago Institute of 

Art and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. 

With the intention of the conference to place Jerusalem 

at the center of the world tourism map, the high-profile 

attendance of some of the leading museum heads in 

the art world is an affirmation of no longer the growing 

but the established international stature of the Israel 

Museum. 

If you haven’t visited before, it’s a must. If you have 

been, than as the Chicago tourist advised, “visit again.”

Community 

By Emanual Wright 

Making 

a Difference 

Students from renowned 

Brooklyn Yeshiva trade 

beach for chesed 

former student and today a community leader 

A Amy Sasson participated in the first Alumni chesed 

Mission in 2009. All praise for the program’s spiritual and 

inspirational leader, she wrote at the time of Rabbi Besser 

as “exemplifying the true spirit and value of chesed. 

We were amazed by how he lives to give, and we feel 

honored to have him as a role model for our children. 

In addition, getting to meet the creators and directors 

of the many facilities we visited in Israel, helped us to 

understand not only what the organizations do, but also 

to realize the true greatness of the people who helped 

create these institutions. We were all inspired to give 

more in any way we can, and to believe that we, too, 

can make a difference.” 

Mission of Discovery 

“The program began during the second Intifada,” 

Young students of the Flatbush Yeshiva of Brooklyn School in 

Israel. 

Rabbi Naftali Besser has been running chesed missions to 

Israel for Yeshiva of Flatbush High School students for 

the past nine years. Two years ago he initiated similar 

missions for the Yeshiva’s alumni. The impact of these 

missions upon the participants has been life-changing. 



16 

explained Rabbi Besser to Inbal Magazine during his 

most recent student mission in February. “Israel was 

going through a traumatic period and there was an urge 

at the Yeshiva to show solidarity not from New York 

but in Israel. We needed to be amongst Israelis and 

what better format than to expose our students to how 

Israel cares for its less fortunate citizens. That we chose 

to initiate this program during the trying time of the 

Intifada only enhanced our commitment.” 

This first mission set the tone for what was to follow. 

“Visiting the various institutions, we realized that 

however much money people may donate from the USA 

– and they do most generously – it does not come close 

to personally coming to Israel, meeting the people and 

saying some words of chizuk. We send a clear message 

to the people we meet: “We in America, care about 

you’.”

All smiles for these young New Yorkers, mixing 

with their peers and volunteering their help. 


17

Community 

In many of the conversations the Yeshiva participants 

have with the heads of institutions, soldiers, the staff at 

hospitals and children, they are frequently asked: 

“Are you enjoying your stay in Israel? Have you been 

to Eilat?” 

They proudly reply, “No we have not gone to Eilat. We 

are not tourists; we’re only here to support you and 

show we care.” 

Rabbi Besser emphasizes that especially in these times, 

with Israel unjustly treated as the punching bag of the 

world, “it is important for ordinary Israelis to know it 

has friends; that the Jewish people are with her and 

that we care and we show our solidarity by coming to 

Israel.” 

And from the Flatbush Yeshiva 

of Brooklyn, the children and 

the parents are coming, and 

for many of them, they become 

so inspired that they return on 

further missions. Such has been 

the case of Amy Sasson. She was 

recently on her third mission 

with her husband, also a former 

graduate of the Yeshiva. 

So what places in Israel do these 

participants visit? 

Amy describes her first mission. 

Following “a spiritual sunset 

experience” at the Kotel soon 

after arrival in Israel, the next 

morning stated early at Nesach 

Yisrael, a school for learning- 

disabled children from poor 

backgrounds “where we 

handed out toys and candy and 

Mrs. Susan Franco, one of the organizers of the mission over the past 10 years, 

photographed with some students and the principle of the school Rabbi Ronald Levy 

while visiting the Oncology ward in an Israeli hospital. 


The missions may be short but “they are lifechanging,” 

says Rabbi Beser , seen here flanked by 

two very happy participants. 


18 

enjoyed an hour of music and fun together.” Thereafter 

they continued to Hazon Yeshiva Soup Kitchen, which 

provides life-saving meals to thousands of Israeli 

families.” This was no idle observation. “We peeled and 

chopped potatoes, carrots and onions and served hot 

meals to the lines of hungry people.” Next they visited 

Tishma, “whose goal is to mainstream autistic children 

and other similar disabilities into regular schools. We 

were invited into the classrooms and distributed toys 

to the children. The love and patience of the directors, 

teachers and volunteers there, and their commitment to 

helping children was truly inspiring.” 

The last stop before dinner was Shalva, “an amazing 

organization that provides afterschool 

care for developmentally 

disabled children in a loving 

environment.” After a personal 

tour escorted by Shalva’s 

founder, “we were treated to 

a performance by the Shalva 

orchestra that left us crying and 

cheering.” 

Dinner followed at an army 

base. “As part of Project Standing 

Together, we brought barbeque, 

candy and gifts to the Israeli 

soldiers. Most important, we left 

the soldiers with the message 

that Jews in America care about 

them. Rabbi Besser read out load 

the special prayer we say every 

day for Israel’s soldiers and we 

sang Hatikva together - it was a 

beautiful ending to an amazing 

day.”

Community 

And that was only Day One. 

Over the ensuing days 

they would visit inter alia, 

Emunah Ethiopian Day Care 

Center, Bikur Holim, Tel 

Hashomer Hospital, “where 

we heard soldiers tell their 

stories of how they were 

injured fighting for Israel 

and the extraordinary steps 

they take to save lives.” 

At Israel’s Blind Museum, 

“We learned what it was 

like to navigate through 

life without the blessing of 

sight,” and at Aleh, where 

severely disabled children 

receive top-quality medical, 

educational and rehabilitative 

care, “we interacted with the 

children in their classrooms 

and then got together to 

dance.” Before returning 

home to New York, they 

would visit more institutions 

and army bases and “apart 

from the presents we give 

out to children, patients 

and soldiers, we present a 

check to the organization 

or institution from our 

fundraising activities,” 

explains Rabbi Besser. 

One of the program’s most emotional encounters occurred 

in January 2010, where Rabbi Besser and Connections 

Israel sponsored a special cultural exchange “where we 

bussed teenagers from Sderot for a Yom Kef (fun day) 

at the Inbal Hotel. “The youngsters from Sderot came 

well prepared. They revealed to our kids what daily 

life was like in their town under fire from the terrifying 

rockets. They gave us a PowerPoint presentation and 

spoke of their experiences and anxieties.” Following 

this exchange, the Yeshiva of Flatbush has ‘twinned’ 

itself with a school in Sderot. 

The Israel Connection 

What impact do theses missions have on the students? 

“Life-changing,” say Rabbi Besser. “You know, these are 

teenagers across the entire spectrum, from youngsters 

who easily could have spent their vacation with their 

parents on a sunny beach in Cancun to kids who saved 

up every penny in order to come to Israel; not to party 

but to give and connect with people less fortunate than 

themselves.” 

‘So you think you can dance.’ Rabbi Beser seems to know 

all the right moves. 



20 

The word “connectivity” 

acquires fresh meaning 

with the young participants 

asserts Besser. “We speak 

today of the “I” generation. 

You just have to look at the 

current nomenclature of 

connecting gadgetry- iPhone 

and iPad and then you have 

iPod, iTunes. The “I” is 

emblematic of the society 

we live in. Come to Israel, 

and they discover the “we”. 

That “we” is the Jewish 

People and the epicenter is 

Israel.” 

The essence of the program 

“is to understand that 

Chesed, Torah and intense 

social experiences can be 

cool and are an essential 

part of our lives as religious 

Jews. Thus these kids come 

charged up and leave Israel 

completely inspired by their 

experiences.” 

Besser quotes from an 

Israeli song, which loosely 

translates, “that when you 

come to Israel and see 

its true beauty, you are 

blessed.” However, what 

is “true beauty”? Is it the 

mountains, the sea, the lakes and the forests? Is it 

the antiquities of the past or the facades of modern 

Israel? “When a tourist visits Israel,” says Besser, “they 

invariably see the customary sights but may well miss 

its true beauty.” For Rabbi Besser, Israel’s “true beauty” 

is its caring people, who dedicate their lives to helping 

or safeguarding others. “When our students interact 

with these wonderful people, they discover Israel’s true 

beauty and are blessed.” 

Most instructive, says Rabbi Besser speaking as an 

educator, “the students see how dedicated and passionate 

people can make a difference to the lives of others. Our 

youngsters are enriched by these ‘close encounters’ and 

they want to be a part of it. I so often pick up from many 

children this feeling of inadequacy: “What can I do? I’m 

not rich enough, smart enough nor important enough.” 

These trips transform their mindset. They discover their 

abundant potential to be agents for change. It’s amazing 

how a small act of visiting a hospital, a child care center 

or an army base and engaging with the people there, 

will make such a difference to their own lives. They feel 

a sense of empowerment that they had not experienced

efore.” 

Rabbi Besser stresses that contributing to the program’s 

monumental success “is our student’s fluency in Hebrew. 

There is no language barrier.” One of the Yeshiva of 

Flatbush’s fundamental tenets is its “Ivrit b’Ivrit” (literally, 

Hebrew in Hebrew”) philosophy of teaching Jewish 

studies entirely in Hebrew. “This makes the world of 

difference when visiting Israel.” 

Intriguing to the visiting Yeshiva students are the 

participants they meet on Sheirut Leumi. “This is a 

unique concept to Americans, where young people, as 

part of their military service, perform vitally important 

community service. This is about giving back to 

society and for those of the ‘I generation’ that I spoke 

about earlier, meeting these fellow youngsters, is both 

profoundly instructive and illuminating.” 

Epilogue 

So how “life-changing” are these missions to Israel? 

Rabbi Besser responds with a recent revelation at the 

debriefing of the last student mission in February before 

departing back to the USA. 

“A student related that the night before leaving for Israel a 

week earlier, he had a row with his mother and naturally 

been upset about it. Then, at one of the institutions they 

visited, he became close to 15 year-old orphan. 

They spoke; each learning something about the other.” 

This put everything in perspective for the youngster 

from New York. 

“There I was upset that I had an argument with my 

mother, and here is a Jewish boy, who has no parents. 

How happy he would be if only he had a mother or 

father to have an argument with! I now realize how we 

take so much for granted; how privileged I am to have 

parents to love and yes, to argue with. I’m looking so 

forward to seeing and hugging them.” 

The army experience – the group always visits an army base 

to meet up with soldiers close to their age. 


 


21 

The key to your financial security 

Bank of Jerusalem 

Bank of Jerusalem invites you to enjoy 

financial stability and peace of mind… 

Enjoy the highest standards of private banking, with 

an unparalleled level of personal and professional 

service. 

Our renovated branch on Keren Hayesod street 

houses a long history of superlative banking to 

our overseas clients, providing comprehensive 

solutions to all their financial needs. 

At the Bank of Jerusalem we continue to serve 

our satisfied clients and provide consultation on 

a broad spectrum of savings and deposit plans, 

global capital markets and real estate financing. 

Now is the time to take a new look at your 

investments in Israel and abroad, and consult with 

our team of dedicated banking professionals. 

18 Keren Hayesod Street, Jerusalem 

Tel: 972-2-6774777 Fax: 972-2-5671601 

Email:bankjer@netvision.net.il 

www.bankjerusalem.com


Tourism 

By David e. Kaplan 

Is the Dead Sea 

a Dead Cert? 

It’s up against some 

stiff competition 

“Salt is born of the purest of parents: the sun and the sea.” Pythagoras (580 BC - 500 BC). 

There was great excitement back in 2009 when 

the Dead Sea made the list of candidates for the new 

“Seven Natural Wonders of the World”. 

It had not been easy sailing. The Dead Sea campaign 

was nearly dead in its tracks until Palestinian 

President Mahmoud Abbas finally agreed to support the 

initiative. Contest rules required that all the countries in 

which a nominated site is located must form an Official 

Supporting Committee (OSC). Israel and Jordan had 

both done so for the Dead Sea, which they share, but 

the Palestinian Authority was holding out its support. 

Finally, realizing it was in their best interest, they agreed. 

This unique sea was one of the 77 sites nominated for 

the prestigious honor, along with such contenders as 

the Galapagos Islands, the Grand Canyon and the Great 

Barrier Reef. 

Now the results of the final contenders are in the hands 

of the people of the world to vote on-line. To vote, visit 

the Ministry of Tourism Website at http://votedeadsea. 

pionet.com/ 

The results will be announced on the 11th November 

2011. It’s expected that over one billion people will vote. 

One local resident who has cast her vote is Heather 

Shamir from kibbutz Ein Gedi. For this former South 

African, who has lived on the edge of the Dead Sea 



22 

for the past 33 years, “This place is heaven on earth.” 

Irrespective of how the voting goes, “the Dead Sea for 

me is truly one of the natural wonders of the world. 

Having this great expanse of water before our eyes and 

being surrounded by majestic mountains that nearly 

each minute of the day seems to change color as the 

rays of the sun make contact, is a beauty to behold. I 

could think of living nowhere else.” She asserts as well 

the health aspect. “Our air is free of pollution, over 330 

sunny days annually, dry, high oxygen levels, low UV 

rays all add up to a healthy way of life. This place gives 

me such energy. I don’t know if it’s the combination 

of its unique beauty and the special air we breathe but 

whatever - this place may be called the Dead Sea – but 

for me, it’s a cocktail of life.” 

By popular vote 

The commonly known Seven Ancient Wonders of the 

World were all man-made monuments, selected by 

Greek engineer, Philon of Byzantium in around 200 B.C. 

His choice of wonders was essentially a travel guide

Doron Nisim, Israel Nature and Parks Authority. 

Yesterday, today, tomorrow: the Dead Sea – A Timeless Beauty. 


23


Tourism 

for fellow Athenians, and the stunning sites were all 

generally located around the Mediterranean basin, the 

then-known world. 

Today, only the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt remain. 

The others were the Colossus of Rhodes, the Hanging 

Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and 

the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Statue of Zeus and 

the Temple of Artemis. 

Just as Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympic Games 

in 1896 with his modern version of the competition, the 

New7Wonders of Nature founder, Swiss-born Canadian 

filmmaker, author and adventurer Bernard Weber, has 

revived the concept of the Ancient Seven Wonders of 

the World. Only this time round, well over two millennia 

later, the new wonders are not of man’s making but 

God’s work. 

Of course, the other key difference is that the final 

selection will be decided democratically as millions of 

people - possibly up to a billion - of all ages, nationalities 

and religions will vote. 

Global Interest 

While the ‘election’ is drawing global interest to all the 

‘wondrous’ candidates, the Dead Sea is no stranger to 

attention. It has attracted visitors for thousands of years 

from biblical times where it was a place of refuge for 

King David through to one of the world’s first health 

resorts for Herod the Great and finally to the modern 

era where thousands of tourists come from all over the 

world to bathe in its famed healing waters. 



24 

Its most recent famous visitors were the Chilean miners 

who so nearly lost their lives last year in a collapsed 

mine. No strangers to great depths, “at least here at the 

Dead Sea” the lowest spot on earth, “it’s good for our 

health,” bellowed one miner floating on his back upon 

the salty water. 

The Dead Sea’s surface and shores are 422 meters 

(1,385 ft) below sea level - the lowest elevation on the 

surface of the Earth. It is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep - the 

deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of 

the world’s saltiest bodies of water with 33.7% salinity. 

Halleluyah. Good for the body, good for the soul. Appreciating the water’s unique healing qualities. 

The ‘beauty’ in voting for the worlds natural beauties is 

that it draws attention to the global concern that what 

is here today, could be gone tomorrow. The concept 

behind the project is to protect the natural wonders of 

the world. The mission is threefold: 

-To protect and promote the discovery, exploration and 

enjoyment of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. 

-To expand the recognition of other wonders of 

nature by continent, region, country and other unique 

classifications. 

-To foster a passion for these natural wonders that 

inspires a mindset and practice of conservation. 

So like some of the other prospective New Natural 

Wonders such as the Amazon, whose forests are 

threatened by industrial felling, the islands of the 

Maldives sinking assuredly into the Pacific due to the 

rising water caused by Global Warming or the Great 

Barrier Reef, endangered by rising sea temperature and 

acidification, Israel’s glistening natural treasure - the 

Dead Sea - is shrinking rapidly due to the siphoning off


Tourism 

for fellow Athenians, and the stunning sites were all 

generally located around the Mediterranean basin, the 

then-known world. 

Today, only the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt remain. 

The others were the Colossus of Rhodes, the Hanging 

Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and 

the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Statue of Zeus and 

the Temple of Artemis. 

Just as Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympic Games 

in 1896 with his modern version of the competition, the 

New7Wonders of Nature founder, Swiss-born Canadian 

filmmaker, author and adventurer Bernard Weber, has 

revived the concept of the Ancient Seven Wonders of 

the World. Only this time round, well over two millennia 

later, the new wonders are not of man’s making but 

God’s work. 

Of course, the other key difference is that the final 

selection will be decided democratically as millions of 

people - possibly up to a billion - of all ages, nationalities 

and religions will vote. 

Global Interest 

While the ‘election’ is drawing global interest to all the 

‘wondrous’ candidates, the Dead Sea is no stranger to 

attention. It has attracted visitors for thousands of years 

from biblical times where it was a place of refuge for 

King David through to one of the world’s first health 

resorts for Herod the Great and finally to the modern 

era where thousands of tourists come from all over the 

world to bathe in its famed healing waters. 



24 

Its most recent famous visitors were the Chilean miners 

who so nearly lost their lives last year in a collapsed 

mine. No strangers to great depths, “at least here at the 

Dead Sea” the lowest spot on earth, “it’s good for our 

health,” bellowed one miner floating on his back upon 

the salty water. 

The Dead Sea’s surface and shores are 422 meters 

(1,385 ft) below sea level - the lowest elevation on the 

surface of the Earth. It is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep - the 

deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of 

the world’s saltiest bodies of water with 33.7% salinity. 

Halleluyah. Good for the body, good for the soul. Appreciating the water’s unique healing qualities. 

The ‘beauty’ in voting for the worlds natural beauties is 

that it draws attention to the global concern that what 

is here today, could be gone tomorrow. The concept 

behind the project is to protect the natural wonders of 

the world. The mission is threefold: 

-To protect and promote the discovery, exploration and 

enjoyment of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. 

-To expand the recognition of other wonders of 

nature by continent, region, country and other unique 

classifications. 

-To foster a passion for these natural wonders that 

inspires a mindset and practice of conservation. 

So like some of the other prospective New Natural 

Wonders such as the Amazon, whose forests are 

threatened by industrial felling, the islands of the 

Maldives sinking assuredly into the Pacific due to the 

rising water caused by Global Warming or the Great 

Barrier Reef, endangered by rising sea temperature and 

acidification, Israel’s glistening natural treasure - the 

Dead Sea - is shrinking rapidly due to the siphoning off

Doron Nisim, Israel Nature and Parks Authority. 

Tourism 

Biblical landscape - A time for reflection 

of its waters. 

The changing statistics are alarming. 

The Dead Sea is 50 kilometers long. Only forty years 

ago it stretched 80 kilometers in length.The Ein Gedi 

Spa, set in a magical spot at the foot of high cliffs which 

stretch from the Dead Sea up to the Judean Desert, was 

on the edge of the sea just 15 years ago. Now visitors to 

the Spa have to take a small train down to the sea, as the 

shoreline is several hundred meters away. This dramatic 

disappearance act is starkly evident when looking upon 

the mark made by British explorers on a stone in 1917 

at the water’s edge. That marker is now more than 15 

meters up a cliff and a road runs between the cliff and 

the new shoreline. 

So the Dead Sea shares with all its majestic and worthy 

competitors, not only its incomparable beauty but its 

fragility as it slowly succumbs to the appetitive nature 

of man. 

The slogan for the New7Wonders of Nature global 

Internet contest is: “If we want to save anything, we first 

need to truly appreciate it.” 

If the Dead Sea is chosen as a Wonder of the World, this 

will not only promote tourism to the region, but will 



26 

also raise awareness about the bleak reality facing the 

body of water, getting smaller every year. 

Some calculations show that the Dead Sea could dry 

up by 2050. “It might be confined into a small pond,” 

warned water expert Dureid Mahasneh, a former Jordan 

Valley Authority chief. “Saving the Dead Sea is a regional 

issue, and if you take the heritage, environmental 

and historical importance, or even the geographical 

importance, it is an international issue.” 

The heat is on 

And we are not talking about the souring temperatures 

that prevail in the desert region of the Dead Sea. Israel’s 

Tourism Ministry launched a website in eight languages 

inviting surfers to vote for the ‘Lowest Wonder in the 

World’. It provides information about the Dead Sea as 

well as about religious, historical and cultural sites in the 

area as well as health tourism, events and attractions. 

The campaign was also mounted via social media, 

namely Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube – to encourage 

internet surfers to vote. 

Besides the site and a range of marketing campaigns,

the Tourism Ministry also held a Dead Sea week at the 

Expo in China in July last year. Israel’s Consul General 

in Shanghai Jackie Eldan and Founder and President of 

New7Wonders Foundation, Mr. Bernard Weber, opened 

the photo exhibition. 

During the promotion week, visitors feasted their eyes 

on a photo exhibition themed “Unrevealed Beauty”. 

Photographed by Duby Tal, the exquisite collection 

of photos revealed to visitors the stunning geological 

diversity of the Dead Sea and its rich cultural and 

historical legacy. 

Another major event was the Ministry’s partnership with 

Israel’s Opera Company last year in the spectacular 

staging of Verdi’s Nabucco on the shores of the Dead 

Sea with the historic mountain of Masada as a backdrop. 

“Nabucco is probably the most Jewish of all Verdi’s 

operas and this area is so symbolic for Jewish history. 

So we thought that a combination of both would bring 

an added value to what we are doing,” expressed Israel 

Opera’s general director Hanna Munitz to Reuters after 

this major cultural event that attracted over 4000 tourists 

from abroad. 



27 

Keep the Dead Sea alive 

Since the Dead Sea made it through to the finals, it 

has occupied a position within the top 14 of the 28 

finalists, which include the Amazon, the Galapagos, the 

Grand Canyon and the Maldives. Some billion voters 

are expected to express their preference by the time the 

competition closes in November 2011, after which the 

seven winners will be announced – each of which will 

need 300-400 million votes. 

“The Dead Sea, offers visitors a unique experience, 

rich in history and archeology,” says Israel’s Minister of 

Tourism Stas Misezhnikov. “We invite enthusiasts and 

veteran supporters of the Dead Sea as well as those 

discovering it for the first time, to visit and vote for it in 

the competition.” 

According to the Ministry of Tourism, the Dead Sea 

is considered one of Israel’s most popular attractions; 

some 45% of all tourists to Israel visit it. It is only an 

hour’s drive from Jerusalem. The tourist industry along 

its shores includes 15 hotels as well as 19 guesthouses 

in nearby kibbutzim and moshavim, plus various other 

businesses which provide employment to some 4,500 

people. 

The Israeli campaign lists “7 reasons to vote for the Dead 

Sea as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. They are: 

-the lowest place on earth, 

-the saltiest lake in the world, 

-the largest natural spa in the world, 

-the clear bromide-rich air that leaves one feeling relaxed 

and calm, 

-the unique black mineral-rich mud for natural and 

healthy skincare, 

-the healthy, year-round, UVB-filtered sunlight and 

-a desert experience, rich in history, archaeology and 

natural beauty. 

Every candidate is worthy of a vote. Voters, whether 

they be in Beijing, London, New York or Jerusalem are 

choosing not only those earthly gems dear to themselves 

but to show support for a campaign that draws attention 

to the environmental wonders of the world so that we 

can best preserve them for future generations. 

Vote today – your planet needs you! 

Proudly parading - the Ibex of the Dead Sea 

The Israel Ministry of Tourism, www.goisrael.com

Pastry 

By Ruth Beloff 

To sweeten the melting 

pot, Israel has adopted 

many types of desserts 

from other cultures, such 

as Danish pastry, French 

pastry, Polish babka, 

Turkish baklava, strudel 

and croissants. 

On the local front, rogelach 

are one of the most popular 

Israeli pastries. Shaped 

like miniature croissants, 

these doughy little 

chocolate or cinnamon 

spirals are a mainstay of 

cafes, family meals or 

larger gatherings. Another 

popular mini favorite are 

little rectangular pastries 

that are filled with cheese, 

apple or vanilla cream. 

The Icing 

on the Cake 

Princely pastries at Inbal’s breakfast buffet Try a truffle at Inbal’s executive lounge 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



28 

Very different in taste if 

not in texture is Burekas, 

a pastry that is literally 

gobbled up by the local 

population. Although 

burekas are savory rather 

than sweet, most bakeries 

sell them alongside their 

other pastries, cakes 

and cookies. Made of 

flaky dough, burekas 

are filled with salty 

cheese, spinach, potatoes 

or mushrooms. To 

distinguish among them, 

they come in a variety of 

shapes, such as triangular, 

round or rectangular, and 

are often topped with 

sesame seeds. Best served 

warm, they are frequently


29

Pastry 

offered at public gatherings and family celebrations. 

Something to celebrate 

When it comes to celebrations, Israel’s calendar is filled 

with national holidays and Jewish festivals, many of 

which have a special type of dessert associated with 

them. The start of Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year), 

usually in September, is heralded with honey cake. To 

augur a sweet year, not only do celebrants dig into the 

honey cake, but they also dip apples into honey, as well 

as their ritual pieces of challah. 

October finds the 

country dotted with 

succas to honor the 

holiday of Succot, 

or the Feast of 

Tabernacles. Here, fruit 

plays a big role in the 

celebration, with fresh 

fruit hung from succa 

ceilings and served on 

large platters. In fact, 

more than forty types 

of fruit are grown in 

Israel. The citrus fruits 

grown here include 

oranges, grapefruit, 

tangerines and the 

pomelit, a hybrid 

of grapefruit and 

pomelo, developed 

in Israel. Other fruits 

grown locally include 

bananas, apples, 

cherries, plums, grapes, 

dates, strawberries, 

pomegranates, persimmon, 

loquats, and 

of course, the prickly 

pear or sabra, from 

which native Israelis 

(Sabras) derive their 

name. Why? Because 

like the fruit, they’re 

tough on the outside but sweet on the inside. On 

average, Israelis consume an annual 350 pounds (160 

kilos) of fruit per person, be it in its raw form or baked 

into a delicious dessert. 

In the realm of delicious desserts, Israeli bakeries 

and patisseries pull out all the stops in December 

when Chanukah comes around. The Festival of Lights 

becomes a festival of delights as the miracle of the 

oil of antiquity spills over to the modern-day miracle 

of sufganiyot (doughnuts) but without the hole in 



30 

the middle. Bakeries vie to offer the tastiest and most 

original varieties of these round, deep-fried delights. 

The chilly air is infused with the warm aroma of freshly 

baked sufganiyot, which are filled with everything 

from the traditional strawberry jelly to chocolate cream, 

vanilla cream, butterscotch, Bavarian cream, dulce de 

leche, amaretto or cappuccino. In keeping with global 

health trends, many bakeries also offer mini versions, 

with more healthful fillings and toppings. 

In March, Purim brings with it another tradition and another 

special dessert. Not as diverse or indulgent as sufganiyot 

but just as plentiful, hamantaschen (Haman’s pockets), or 

ozneihaman (Haman’s 

ears), are cookie 

dough triangles filled 

with poppy seed or 

prune puree. 

In the spring, Passover 

presents a challenging 

foray into the world 

of cakes and pastries, 

as according to Jewish 

religion it is forbidden 

to eat any form of 

wheat or grain during 

the eight-day holiday. 

Thus, using matza 

meal and potato 

starch, bakeries and 

patisseries work their 

magic to conjure up 

pastries, cakes, and 

cookies that stick 

to the strictures and 

please the palate. 

In years gone by, 

sponge cake, coconut 

macaroons and nutbased 

cookies were 

the all-too familiar 

Passover fare, but 

today’s bakers and 

pastry chefs have 

turned the corner and 

produce a plethora of 

cakes and pastries that are rich and flavorful. 

Among the Sephardic community, the evening that 

Passover ends is celebrated by Mimouna, a tradition 

where people open their homes to their neighbors and 

serve a feast of pastries, fruit and confections. The first 

item of leaven to be eaten that night is a mofletta, a thin 

crepe that is drizzled with honey, syrup or jam. 

In June, cheesecake is the order of the day. On the 

holiday of Shavuot, it is traditional to eat only dairy, 

so any dessert made with milk, butter, cream and/or

cheese is definitely on the menu. 

Overall, be it a holiday or not, any day in Israel is a 

celebration when it can be enjoyed in good health, with 

When it comes to cakes and pastry, Inbal Executive Chef 

Moti Buchbut really knows his stuff. Literally. “When I 

taste a piece of pastry, I can tell you every ingredient 

that’s in it,” says the 42-year-old award-winning chef. 

In fact, he says, whenever he visits a new city, he goes 

to the best pastry shop, buys a sample of every item, 

takes them back to his hotel room and tastes each one 

to evaluate its content and quality. 

“A pastry chef should know all the ingredients in a cake 

and understand how each one will react with the other 

ingredients,” he says. “If I know how each ingredient 

behaves, I can create a new product,” he explains. 

And creativity is the name of the game for Buchbut. “In 

my kitchen, all the cooks learn to think. If they need 

to make something new, they have to know how to 

think in a different way,” he says. They have to learn 

to create, not just to follow a recipe,” he asserts. And if 

they make an error, so much the better, as he teaches 

them to turn a mistake into a cake. 

“You don’t just throw it 

out,” says Buchbut, “but 

you find a way to salvage it 

and, in so doing, you create 

something new.”In essence, 

experience gives one the 

expertise to experiment. 

“It is very exhilarating to 

make something new,” 

says Buchbut. “A chef 

needs to feel happy to 

create something new. He 

needs to find new things 

to make the change.” For 

Buchbut, the world around 

him is a constant source of 

inspiration, and the smallest 

thing can spark a new 

culinary concept. 

Before he develops a new 

cake or pastry, he first 

draws it on paper and then 

designs it on the computer 

to see how it will look. 

After that, the fun continues 

when he puts together 

the recipe and turns his 

daydream into a dessert. 



31 

good friends, good weather and a good helping of your 

favorite dessert. 

Compliments of the chef 

Gluten Free 

For guests of the Inbal who require or prefer to have 

their food gluten-free, the chef is adept at preparing 

dishes, from starters to dessert, that have no traces of 

gluten. “I prepare the same recipes as the rest of the 

menu, but I don’t use flour or any product that has 

any form of gluten in it.” Using ingredients such as 

potato starch, cornstarch, soy milk and brown rice, 

he creatively prepares gluten-free dishes that would 

delight any guest. 

In the creative process, Buchbut draws on another one 

of his talents as well. Having studied drawing for three 

years, the chef can draw any image on a cake. “I can 

just look at a picture and reproduce it freehand,” he 

says. Armed with a cone filled with icing and different 

sizes of nozzles, he can draw virtually anything on any 

size cake to decorate it or personalize it for a special 

event. 

Born in Jerusalem, Buchbut 

has many years of experience 

studying his craft and 

working in some of the finest 

hotels in the country. The 

winner of many international 

competitions, the chef has 

garnered five gold medals, 

as well as a host of silver 

and bronze awards. He 

is also a judge at all the 

culinary schools in Israel. 

In that capacity, he tests 

the students, assesses their 

work and proudly presents 

them with their diplomas. 

Thanks to Buchbut, we can 

be assured that the next 

generation of chefs will be 

well versed and well trained 

in the fine art of haute 

cuisine. 

Inbal Executive Chef, Moti 

Buchbut presenting one of his 

confectionary creations

Sport 

By David E. Kaplan 

Playing Ball the 

All American Way 

Americas Big Game 

is catching on in Israel 

Big Time 

Courtesy IFL 

American football which literally kicked off in Israel 

some 22 years ago can trace its impressive trajectory 

to two American immigrants, Steve Leibowitz, President 

of the AFI and Danny Gerwirtz, the league’s former 

Commissioner. They established the first football league 

in 1988 and since then, the AFI has grown to some 

90 teams with well over 1500 players, nationwide. In 

each league, teams play in colored jerseys displaying the 

team sponsor. There are the AFI men’s contact league, 

Season kicks off. (l-r) AFI President Steve Leibowitz , New 

England Patriots owner and donor of Kraft Family Stadium 

Robert Kraft and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

As popular as the National Football League (NFL) is in 

the United States, past attempts at spreading American 

football internationally have enjoyed limited success – 

except in Israel. 

If in Europe, leagues like NFL Europe folded for failing 

to attract the fans, in Israel however, football is gaining 

an impressive following. New players are joining each 

week and crowds, although relatively small in comparison 

to the entrenched sports of soccer and basketball, are 

steady and increasing. 



32 

the woman’s AFI league, national teams, the Yosef 

Goodman High School AFI league and youth activities. 

In February 2006, AFI hosted Israel’s first international 

flag tournament in Jerusalem. 

Genesis 

Today the Chief Editor of the IBA (Israel Broadcasting 

Association) News in English, Steve Leibowitz relates

Courtesy IFL 


33 

Action man - like his father. Itay 

Ashkanazi, son of former Israeli 

Chief of Staff, Gabi Ashkanazi, is 

fending off a number of tacklers as 

he careers forward with the ball.

Sport 

that when he emigrated from Queens, NY to Israel 

in 1974, “football was the one thing I missed here.” 

Fate intervened. 

When the newspaper he had been working for as a 

reporter folded in 1989, one of the relics remaining was 

a solitary satellite dish on the roof. It did not remain idle 

for long. Soon Leibowitz and Gerwitz were “pirating the 

signal from the American Armed Forces Television and 

showing games” for their many compatriots who too 

were craving to watch their favorite American sports. 

“We hung posters all around the city and the response 

Gearing up for action in a pregame huddle. 

was amazing. Our gatherings blossomed into a social 

club that revealed that not only was the biggest draw 

the football but that the football fanatics amongst us, 

were missing playing the sport as well.” The next step 

the enterprising duo took was organizing a league 

of eight teams of what was then ‘touch football’. “It 

comprised mainly of American immigrants and students 

at Yeshivot in Israel.” Steve then approached his 

friend Ruby Rivlin, today the Speaker of the Knesset 

“who fixed us a field in Bayit Vegan.” Nine years later, 

“we had grown to 36 teams and our biggest problem, 

was finding sufficient fields to play on. It was like 

playing ‘musical fields’ - when Bayit Vegan wasn’t 

available, we moved to the YMCA stadium, and if that 

was unavailable we shot up to Hebrew University.” 

The challenges on the field were minor compared to their 

troubles off. “None of the fields had lights, which meant 

that the only time we could play was on Friday mornings.” 

Courtesy IFL 



34 

Fate would again intervene. 

“One day, one of our players spotted Robert Kraft, 

the owner of the New England Patriots in the 

lobby of a Jerusalem hotel. He walked up to him 

and told him about our nascent football league.” 

Kraft’s response was. “Get the guy in charge to be in 

touch with me.” 

Leibowitz moved quickly. He contacted Kraft, who is 

also CEO of The Kraft Group, a corporate behemoth 

conducting business in over 80 countries and whose 

philanthropy focuses on education, healthcare, women’s 

Local game’s icon, Mordechai ‘Mordi’ Goodman 

issues and sport. 

They clicked. At their first meeting, “he invited me to 

Boston to submit a proposal.” 

A Field of Dreams 

Leibowitz ‘touched down’ in the Massachusetts capital, 

with a game plan. Most important, he had the basics - a 

field granted by the City of Jerusalem. In truth, it was 

very ‘basic’. It had been unused for over 20 years and 

overgrown with weeds. It was thought ‘unplayable’ but 

the mayor, Ehud Olmert at the time, said: “If you can 

raise the money to develop it, it’s yours to use.” It was a 

good start - without a field there could be no ‘kick-off’ - 

literally and figuratively. 

So the plan, explains Leibowitz , was simple and 

concise: “The Kraft family, (Robert and his wife, Myra) 

would sponsor the development of the grounds, while 

The

our football association would manage the games 

and the Jerusalem Foundation - keen on promoting 

sport facilities - would be the conduit for donations.” 

Kraft liked the plan and “since 2005, Kraft Stadium in 

Jerusalem is the only state-of-the-art American football 

field in Israel.” 

Today there are some 95 teams playing on a regular 

basis at Kraft Stadium: 57 men’s teams, 16 women’s 

teams, (Israel’s national women’s team is regarded as 

one of the top teams in the world, taking first place in 

2009 at Big Bowl III in Germany), 16 high school teams 

Goodman Footprint 

The most anticipated first-round playoff this year for 

the AFI Holyland Bowl XXI was between Big Blue – 

eventual winners – and 1993 champions, Pizzeria Efrat. 

Pizzeria Efrat’s captain and quarterback and a Hall of 

Famer, was Mordechai Goodman who has been in 

the league since its inception in 1987. A New Yorker, 

who immigrated in 1986, ‘Mordi’, as he is affectionately 

known, attributes his successful absorption into Israeli 

society to his involvement in the football league. 

In 1993, as a result of a 12-0 undefeated championship 

season, Mordi was named that year’s The Jerusalem 

Post’s ‘In-Jerusalem Athlete of the Year’. 

Special for Mordi, was to play alongside his sons, 

when they were old enough to join the men’s league. 

However, in 2006, tragedy struck the Goodman family 

as well as the entire AFI community. Modi’s 21-yearold-son, 

Yosef, an IDF soldier in the elite Maglan unit 

and a gifted league player, was killed in a parachute 

training accident. 

and six teams in the coed league. And there are over 200 

additional kids that come from Jerusalem and elsewhere 

to play at the stadium.” To be sure, “Kraft Stadium has 

been huge in developing football into a major sport in 

Israel.” It has emerged as the headquarters of the sport 

in Israel. 

“The future of the sport,” continues Leibowitz, “really 

lies with the development of tackle football. This is what 

attracts the native-born Israelis – they like the game’s 

aggression. Every Thursday night the tackle football 

matches are packed with spectators while our day 

matches on Fridays and Saturday nights, its flag football 

- a different crowd.” 

Popular worldwide, the rules of flag football are similar 

to those of the mainstream game (“tackle football”), 

but instead of tackling players to the ground, the 

defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from 

the ball carrier to stop the action. “We have come a 


Fall-Winter 2010-11 

35 

long way from our humble beginnings and the big news 

is that Israel will become the host of the Flag Football 

World Championships for 2014.” Flag Football is played 

competitively in some 35 countries. “Most of the games,” 

says Leibowitz “will be played at the Wingate Institute, 

with the final at Kraft Stadium. We will be hosting teams 

from at least 30 countries; wonderful for Israel.” 

Nurturing Coexistence 

In a major tackle football match this past January 

The young Goodman died a hero. When Yosef’s 

parachute entangled with that of his commander’s, he 

cut the ropes of his chute saving his commander’s life 

while plummeting to his death. 

Following the shiva (period of mourning) week for 

Yosef, Mordi returned to Kraft Family Stadium and 

before throwing out the first ball for that night’s playoff 

games, he addressed the players and the fans. He spoke 

of how Yosef loved playing football, especially teaching 

young children from his neighborhood the game. 

Not a single eye in the stadium was dry. 

That same night, AFI co-founders Steve Leibowitz and 

Danny Gewirtz named the newly-formed AFI High 

School League in Yosef’s memory, as it was Yosef, 

who almost single-handedly, organized the high school 

division as a preparatory league for the next generation 

of men’s players. 

Gone but never forgotten the legacy of Yosef lives on in 

the players of tomorrow. 

between the football team Judean Rebels, the eventual 

winners of the 2011 Israeli Football League and the 

Big Blue Jerusalem Lions, the star players lining up on 

opposite sides certainly added another dimension to the 

game. On the one side - in the Big Blue Jerusalem Lions 

- was Itai Ashkenazi, the son of the former Chief of Staff 

of the IDF, Gabi Ashkenazi and on the other - the Judean 

Rebels - were three Palestinians from Ramallah. 

“Ashkenazi’s son? That doesn’t really concern us,” 

expressed the one Palestinian. “We’re not into politics,” 

he said. 

For 31 year old Ashkenazi, “I separate football from 

everything else,” he told the Yedioth Ahronoth daily 

before the game. “On the field it doesn’t help that my 

father is the army chief; it’s not a big deal. I don’t care if 

the players on the opposing team are Christian, Muslim 

or Druze. I see them only as football players who are 

playing against me.”

Courtesy IFL 

Sport 

Being the quarterback, “naturally, they’ll be looking for 

my scalp because that’s the nature of the game. It’s sport 

and may the best team win.” 

The Palestinian Alian brothers, Ayoub, Muhammad 

and Mussa are the Judean Rebels star defensive players. 

Does playing for a team over the ‘Green Line’, with all 

its political connotations, bother them? “Not at all,” 

responded Ayoub, “as long as it helps me realize my 

dream of making a good college team in the US next 

year.” 

“It’s good for the game,” Ashkenazi said. “They are massive 

players and it would be wise for me to avoid them during 

play.” But there is no avoiding the message it sends in how 

sport can transcend politics and help foster good relations. 

Ashkenazi likened the football league to the IDF: “It’s 

a social melting pot. Just like in the army, physical 

challenges bring diverse people together. The league has 

Filipinos, Muslims, Jews and Circassians. This is how real 

coexistence looks like.” 

So what is fueling the popularity of the game? Recently 



36 

inducted in the local game’s Hall of Fame is the sport’s 

former Commissioner, Danny Gerwitz, who holds the 

record as having scored the most touchdowns in the 

Israel league. “Firstly,” says, Gerwitz, “it’s the hottest 

sport at the moment in America and what’s hot there 

impacts here. It has certainly surpassed baseball in terms 

of overall earnings. Even though the US is going through 

a recession, this sport is proving to be recession-proof. 

It doesn’t matter how bad the state of the economy, the 

NFL revenues are sky-high.” This observation was borne 

The Clash of the Titans. A momentary ‘calm before the storm’ as Big Blue Jerusalem Lions are about to clash with arch rivals, Tel 

Aviv Sabres. 

out at the record revenue of the Super Bowl XLV in March 

in Arlington, Texas. Ticket sales were in excess of $200 

million, while advertisers were paying up to $100,000 a 

second for coveted slots during coast-to-coast television 

coverage of the final between the Pittsburgh Steelers 

and the Green Bay Packers. With companies paying $3 

million for a 30 second spot, revenues from commercials 

toped some $210 million. 

“People just love this game,” says Gerwitz, who is the 

CEO of J Media Group in Israel. 

“No kidding,” says Yonah Mishaan, whose sports bar

Courtesy IFL 

in downtown Jerusalem is packed every time there is a 

major match in the States. Leibowitz’s right-hand man, 

Mishaan is Vice President of the AFI and coaches the 

American football tackle team Jerusalem Lions, as well as 

the Women’s National Flag Football team. “Football here 

has become something of a cult,” says Mishaan. “Sport 

fans pack in here to watch their favorite sports from 

soccer, rugby, cricket and of course American football. 

For the final at the Super Bowl, we were totally packed 

out.” Appropriately named the Lion’s Den after the 

A Pride of Lions. The 2011 champions - Big Blue Jerusalem Lions. 

team he coaches, the bar, “which is also kosher” has 

become the ‘in place’ in Jerusalem for sport fans. “On 

Mondays, Israel Sports Radio 

broadcasts live from the bar, 

which regularly stays open 

past sunrise on Monday 

mornings.” With New York 

time being seven hours behind 

Israel, “this enables our diehard 

American football fans 

to watch Sunday night’s 

N.F.L. games. They stay up all 

night – or morning - and then 

at 7.30 they’re off to work, 

bright and early; Well, maybe 

not so bright!” 

One of Mishaan’s co-owners 

in Lion’s Den is Barry Liben, 

a giant in the travel industry 

in the States. The current champions of the local flag 

football league is Big Blue, named after one of Liben’s 

subsidiaries - Big Blue Travel - the official travel provider 

for the New York Giants. 

Courtesy IFL 


In their father’s footsteps. The founders of American 

Football in Israel, Steve Leibowitz (l) and Danny 

Gerwitz with their sons, all playing in top teams 

– (l-r) Amir Kronberg, (Leibowitz’s stepson), Yair 

Gerwitz and Micky Leibowitz. 


37 

“Like the Kraft family, Barry is a great friend of the 

league in Israel,” says Leibowitz. “Big Blue is really an 

institution here - they were one of our first sponsors of 

our league going back over 20 years. They are frequently 

sponsoring matches and contributed greatly to the 

further development of our facilities at Kraft Stadium.” 

Having scored the most touchdowns in league history 

in Israel, has not stopped fellow players of Gerwitz 

tormenting him that he has never won a championship. 

“Yes, this honor has eluded me. I have appeared twice in 

the finals at the Holyland Bowl, both times my team lost,” 

laments Gerwitz. However, 

there are always twists in life. 

At the time of this interview, 

Gerwitz was especially 

looking forward to the final on 

the following Saturday night. 

His son Yair - playing for Big 

Blue - was in with a chance 

of taking the championship. 

“I can at least enjoy a win 

vicariously through my son.” 

This being Jerusalem, his 

prayers were answered. 

Big Blue triumphed with 

a long-awaited Gerwitz 

in the winning team. 

There may be no Israeli 

American football candidates yet for the International 

Jewish Sports Hall of Fame but for Danny Gerwitz, “my 

vote would go to Steve Leibowitz for his superlative 

contribution to the development of the sport in Israel.”


Social Connection 



38 

Twitter Talk. Exchanging innovative ideas 

over breakfast was on the menu at the 

‘Breakfast with Jeff Pulver’. 

American internet entrepreneur Jeff Pulver 

is seen here (3rd left) with (l-r) Inbal 

Executive Assistant Ruth Waiman, New 

Zealand-born British singer-songwriter 

Daniel Bedingfield and Inbal on-line 

Marketing Manager, Pinny Orzach. Both 

Pulver and Bedingfield are no strangers 

to being ‘number one’, Pulver in his 

social networking field and Bedingfield 

connecting with his fans having had three 

no. 1 hits in the UK since his debut hit 

‘Gotta Get Thru This’. 

Top left: Social Media Manager for the Jewish Agency for Israel, Florence 

Broder ‘connecting’ here with William Daroff, VP for Public Policy and 

Director of The Jewish Federations of North America in Washington (JFNA). 

Top right: All smiles:Jeff Pulver and answers.com CEO, Bob Rosenschein. 

There was much ‘food for thought’ at this breakfast with hopefully as many 

answers as there were questions. Bob received the Prime Minister of Israel’s 

Award for Software Achievement in 1997. 

Left: The author and Orwell Prize-winning British journalist Melanie Phillips 

seen here giving the keynote address at the Honest Reporting Conference at 

the Inbal in December.

The Plane Truth. Since its inaugural flight in September 1948, Israel’s 

national carrier has grown to serve 48 destinations on five continents. 

El Al holds the world record for the most passengers on a commercial 

aircraft, a record set by Operation Solomon when Jewish refugees were 

transported from Ethiopia. El Al is widely acknowledged as the world’s 

most secure airline, so much to smile and celebrate about as seen here amongst El Al’s proud staff at the Inbal. 



39 

El Al sales personal flew in from all 

over the world to attend a special El 

Al event at the Inbal. 

Left: Cutting the cake, which had 

etched in icing, logos of El Al and the 

Inbal:General Eliezer Shkedie, CEO of 

El Al (left) and Mayor of Jerusalem, 

Nir Barkat. Looking on Inbal’s 

Executive Assistant Manager for Sales 

& Marketing, Ilan Brenner (left) and 

General Manager, Bruno de Schuyter.. 

Botton: Inbal chefs display the talents of 

aeronautical engineers in conjuring up 

a marzipan masterpiece with all the fine 

details of a Boeing 747.


Showbiz 

Enjoying Israel at the Inbal this past winter are Hollywood film folk brought out by American Voices for Israel. 

Organizer for American Voices for Israel, Irvin Katsof (3rd left) assisted in founding of HonestReporting.com, in 2001. He 

is seen here (l-r) with TV producer Tyler Besinger, PR manager Elizabeth Much, Minister of Information and Diaspora Yuli 

Edelstein, the American actor Greg German, who has played roles in the TV series Ally McBeal and the Disney film Bolt (among 

others), Joel David Moore from the blockbuster, Avatar, (front) Karen, Moore’s partner, Lori Louchlin of 90210 who rose to fame 

in Full House, and Mary, a friend of Greg Germann. 

Actor Greg Germann with (l-r) Inbal Rooms Division 

Manager, Katerina Brokhes and Front House Manager, Nurit 

Silverwater. 

TV star, Lori Louchlin with Revenue & Reservations Manager, 

Joanne Odes. 



40

Right: Smiling and Shining. Better known by his 

stage name Shyne, is Belizean American rapper, 

Moshe Levi Ben-David who attended the ‘Breakfast 

with Jeff Pulver’. 

Botton: The music man. Orthodox Jewish American 

recording artist and musical entertainer Yaacov 

Shwekey, welcomed by Inbal’s Online Marketing 

Manager Pinny Orzach. 


American actor Omari Hardwick, known for his roles in TV series Saved and 

Dark Blue and movies like Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna and 2010 movies, 

The A-Team & Kick-Ass with Inbal’s Executive Assistant Ruth Waiman. 


41 

TV Presenter, Emmy Award winning, Ileana Bravo 

and husband with Yaniv Shoshani, the Hotel’s 

concierge. 

Gossip Guy. American celebrity blogger and TV 

personality, Perez Hilton pictured here with 

Inbal’s Executive Assistant Ruth Waiman.


Movers & Shakers 

The Inbal Jerusalem Hotel was delighted to 

once again, host the Conference of Presidents of 

Major American Jewish Organizations (COP). 

Among many dignitaries that graced the 

hotel were, Israel’s President, Shimon Peres, 

Prime Minister and Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Top left: Inbal’s GM, Bruno de Schuyter looks on 

as outgoing Chief of General Staff, Gabi Ashkenazi 

cuts his farewell celebratory cake. Tantalizing and 

delicious, no mouths at the Inbal had even a taste. 

At Gabi’s request, the cake was donated to the 

children’s department at Hadassah Hospital. 

Top right: Bibi & Bruno. Prime Minister, Benjamin 

Netanyahu is welcomed to the Conference by 

Inbal’s GM, Bruno de Schuyter. 



42 

Top: Vice President of Honduras 

Victor Hugo Barnica with wife and 

son is welcomed to the Inbal by 

George Sugar, the Assistant Front 

House Manager. 

Left: So what’s your take? USA 

Ambassador to Israel, James 

Cunningham (right) sharing insights 

with Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive 

Vice Chairman of the Conference of 

Presidents 

Far left: Out of Africa. Botswana’s 

Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani 

with Inbal’s Front House Manager, 

Nurit Silverwater.

You were inspired at the Kotel 

You were moved at Yad Vashem... 

Now Visit the Oldest 

Culinary Institution 

in the World 

right in the center 

of Jerusalem! 

The Only Swiss Glatt 

LeMehadrin Meat Delicacy 

Restaurant in the World 

Believe it or 

not, the Hess 

Restaurant 

Bistro Deli is 

now being 

managed by 

the seventh 

generation of the Hess Family. Founded in 

1795 by Nathaniel Hess, it is presently being 

run by Doron-Nathaniel Hess and his sister 

Daliah Wolf-Hess. Marcel Hess, their father, 

still comes in almost daily to greet the guests. 

Hess can boast of being the oldest kosher 

eatery in the world, (established in Germany in 

1795) where you may dine on the best cuts of 

fresh 100% pure meats including beef, veal or 

lamb, with the addition of all-natural spices 

only. 

We are also renowned for our delicious 

chicken matza-ball soup as well as our 

Hungarian goulash soup. And for a flavor of 

the Golan Heights, one must experience our 

oven baked shoulder of lamb as a main 

course – delicious! 

So, come visit and enjoy the oldest existing 

tradition in this field, in the world. Don’t 

miss it on your stay in Jerusalem. 

BADATZ RABBANUT YERUSHALAYIM MEHADRIN 

Hess 

Hess 

since 1795 

Opening hours: Sun. – Thurs. 12:30 pm – 11 pm 

www.hess-restaurants.com 9 Heleni Hamalka, Jerusalem • Phone: 972-2-625-5515 • hess-m@zahav.net.il 

HESS 

1

download PDF - Inbal Hotel Jerusalem

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?