Ron's World

Category: Reporter Packages

  • Ron Jacobsohn is Behind-the-Scenes on the Set of Rising Star

    Ron Jacobsohn is Behind-the-Scenes on the Set of Rising Star

    We are on the set of the Rising Star, Keshet International’s new reality sensation that was already sold to Germany, France and Italy.

    Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
    We are on the set of the Rising Star, Keshet International’s new reality sensation that was already sold to Germany, France and Italy.

    Its true the world of reality television is full of very successful talent shows from Pop Idol, American Idol, America Got Talent, X-Factor or The Voice to name a few. However, when Keshet International came up with their new format, Raising Star, they really hit a nerve with the industry because the difference between their format to what we are used to seeing on TV today is that Raising Star is a totally interactive format that lets the audience at home decide in real time who will stay and who will leave the show. And with ABC in the US announcing they will start airing the American version of the show, you can safely say that Raising Star is the new star of the reality world.

    Zvika Hadar, was already dubbed the Israeli Ryan Seacrest, but after ten-years as the host of Israeli Idol he decided to help create a new format that would put him on the other side, as a judge.

    Zvika Hadar, Raising Star Judge/Co-Creator:
    I produced this show and I was the host of this show and it was amazing, because ten years I did the show and I didn’t really saw it because when you’re the host all your energy goes to other things and I really don’t listen to the songs, ok? There’s a lot of things behind the curtain or on the stage and you have to be more technical and you have, in the ear you have… there’s commercials, there’s a lot of technical things. And suddenly, when you’re a judge: I hear good, I have a great sound, I see the show, I can… It’s a different point of view. I really didn’t thought that I will be a judge because I’m not a musician, I’m a television producer and an actor but I have a lot of fun.

    We asked some of Hadar’s co-judges on the show what they thought of the new concept that Raising Star bought to the world.

    Ran Rahav, Publicist, Rising Star Judge I feel that our format is one of the best and one of the top in the world, this is Israeli genius to do our format and it’s going very well and the people at home feel that they really make the decision and the vote for the man or the woman that they want.

    Rita Faruz, Singer, Rising Star Judge:
    It’s not on me all the time or the four of us. It’s the audience at home, and they are, you know, the toughest judges much more than us.

    Assi Azar, Co-Host, Rising Star:
    It’s a great idea, it’s very new and fresh and different, in my perception it’s changing the way people think when they watch TV. No more paying for voting. You vote the minute it’s happens, you have to watch the show live in order to participate, it’s crazy, it’s crazy and the screen, the moment that the screen goes up, I can feel what those kids feel. It’s crazy.

    For 23-year-old, Israeli Supermodel, Esti Ginsburg, who is better known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, three years in a row, Raising Star marks her first gig as TV host.

    Esti Ginsburg, Co-Host, Rising Star:
    It’s definitely my first hosting gig and it’s fun, I feel like every time I do it I get more confident and feel more at home and the fact that it’s live and there’s no place to make any mistakes, you know, it is what it is right that second and you can’t edit it, that’s I think like 99.9% of why I got so nervous the first times. It’s fun that it’s got sold already to so many countries, and I mean hopefully once the season’s over and we have the big finale it will get sold to more countries.

    As the live show concluded we caught some of the contestant’s back-stage to hear how they felt being the inaugural cast of this new show.

    Arie & Gil Gat, Contestants, Rising Star:
    I had many concerns about all this, but really, I was pleasantly surprised and every day I am surprised for the better, by how everyone’s behaving, really great people, thank God. Soundbite – Dondit John, Contestant, Raising Star Today I feel like more connected, more loved and cared for.

    Inbal Bakman, Contestant, Rising Star:
    It’s really exciting, it’s something very fresh, very new and I’m very proud to be a part of it. Soundbite – Rinat Cohen, Contestants, Raising Star It’s really an opportunity; big one and I hope that it’s not going to end soon.

    Rinat Cohen, Contestant, Rising Star:
    It’s really an opportunity; big one and I hope that it’s not going to end soon.

    Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
    It is fascinating to watch how the Rising Star has become like a micro cosmos of the Israeli society. For JN1 I am Ron Jacobsohn at Neve Ilan Studios.

  • Ron Jacobsohn Joins the Fact Finding Mission of the Jewish Colonization Association to the Dessert

    Ron Jacobsohn Joins the Fact Finding Mission of the Jewish Colonization Association to the Dessert

    The Arava Dessert in south of Israel is one of the countries most advanced areas technology wise at the same time as one of the most challenging one to survive in. We joined a fact-finding mission of the Jewish Colonization Association who visited the Arava to find projects to fund in 2014. The JCA invests over two-million-dollars a year in around 70-projects per year in Israeli periphery with funds the Baron De Hirsch has donated over a hundred years ago.

     

  • Ron Jacobsohn Meets the Women Behind the Women of the Wall

    Ron Jacobsohn Meets the Women Behind the Women of the Wall

    The Women of the Wall are celebrating their 25th anniversary these days, as it finally seems their outcry has been heard by Israel’s first secular government with solutions for women’s prayers is finally in the work.
    As a compromise was suggested by Jewish Agency Chairman, Natan Sharansky, of making the Robinson’s Arc area a new prayer place for women, an opposition organization to the Women of the Wall has emerged stating no compromises should be done. And although everyone agrees the current solution on the table is a big compromise, they also understand it is most definitely a step in the right direction.

     

  • Ron Jacobsohn Talks to Experts about Lieberman’s Political Future

    Ron Jacosohn – JN Correspondent: Avigdor Lieberman’s acquittal from any wrong doing, after almost 17-years of various allegations and investigations, has put the Israeli political landscape in spin mode as everyone is trying to figure out what will be Lieberman’s next political move. We’ve asked some of our trusted experts to try and put some sense of all the rumors.

    Dr. Haim Shein, who teaches Political Philosophy and is a regular contributor to the opinions section at Israel Hayom claims that Lieberman has come out a out of this whole affair a hero, in the eyes of the public.

    Dr. Haim Shein, Israel Hayom: People feel that after 17 years of investigation, if he was acquitted at the court, people feel that the Israeli ministry of justice and the police ran after him and therefore many Israelis think that he was a kind of hero, because after 17 years he became clean.
    Until now, the disagreement was between the minister Naftali Bennett and Tzipi Livni, who is negotiating with the Palestinians. Now I feel that the fight will be between Avigdor Lieberman and Tzipi Livni, and I think that Avigdor Lieberman is a better warrior than anybody else. Avigdor Lieberman understands that to be the Israeli Prime Minister it’s, the only way to do it through the Likud, that one way or another way I’m sure that he will join the Likud and there will be a combat about the leadership of the Likud party.
    Dr. Jonathan Rynhold, of the Begin-Sadat Center at Bar Ilan University, has no doubt that Lieberman’s end game is becoming the Prime Minister of Israel.
    Dr. Jonathan Rynhold – Bar Ilan University: In the short term, The Foreign minister would be weaker, he is part of a larger party, the Likud, where he doesn’t have that many supporters, the public are not particularly excited by him, the broader public and Netanyahu is far and away the most popular leader in Israel, there’s no to challenge him to be prime Minister.
    However, moving forward, a very smart politician like Avigdor Lieberman will seek to build up his support, because in the long run there’s no doubt that his objective is to be Prime Minister. Well, in order to have a chance of being Prime Minister he would need to move from within the confines of his party, Yisrael Beiteinu, Yisrael Beitein’s base in mainly Israelis of Russian extraction or ideologically secular right-wingers, and that is not a big enough base to become the largest party and to become Prime Minister of Israel, to form a coalition, so to do that he may well have to, at some stage, try and become head of the Likud and he would have to put the emphasis on his pragmatism in order to gain some support or at least legitimacy from the center of the Israeli political spectrum. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for him to form a government.
    Professor Yossi Shain, who teaches International Affairs at Georgetown University, explains that Lieberman is just one example of the changing landscape of how politicians are treated by modern society.
    Prof. Yossi Shain – Georgetown University: The politicians are under scrutiny, the very essence of politics is being sort of like, criminalized in some ways and so there are lots of issues here pertaining to the legality of the system and the questions of ethics; how much ethics in politics or suspicion can be brought to bear on the life of a politician. It’s part and parcel of the discussion on morality in society which deviates from general issues to the most, to the most I would call ‘common’, lowest common denominator, it’s about debunking the political system. And it’s about, of course, the scrutiny, as you said, of politicians by everybody including the media which is in what in India they call it ‘Got you Media’, sort of like let’s say how will get whom, this is like who will get the next scandal, who will get the next corruption issues and of course when you have the Foreign Minister of Israel, Prime Minister of Israel and others, people looking, they say wow the whole system is corrupt, but that’s not the case. The case is that we needs checks and balances and sometimes we deviate from the checks and balances and the Attorney general himself indicated when we start to look or corruption in places it doesn’t exist, we basically injured the system rather than enhancing it and the whole system of watchdogs is creating this kind of like an atmosphere when many people who want to go to public services say why do I need this, if immediately kind of like I’m going to be debunked, so one has to think very carefully where Israel is going, like many other countries in the world, with this culture that is now pervading in society.
    Ron Jacosohn – JN Correspondent: So it seems that Lieberman is not making any hasty decisions when it comes to his political future and, as of now, all options are still on the table.
    For JN1 I am Ron Jacobsohn in Tel-Aviv.

     

  • Ron Jacobsohn Meets Paula Abdul on her Bat Mitzvah Trip to Jerusalem

    Ron Jacobsohn Meets Paula Abdul on her Bat Mitzvah Trip to Jerusalem

    Pop icon, Paula Abdul, became world famous as the judge on American Idol came to Israel in on what is called a very personal visit on which she is going to celebrate her Bat Mitzvah. We caught up with her while visiting President Shimon Peres’s residence in Jerusalem, where he sub’d as our interviewer.
    Although the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name Abdul is not Jewish, however Paula is 100% Jewish from a father whose family originated from Syria and mother whose family originated from Russia.
    Abdul’s career spans over 30-years as a singer, dancer, choreographer and reality show judge.
    She has won a Grammy and two Emmy awards and still to this day ties the Billboard record with Diana Ross of a female solo performer with the most number one songs in the Billboard 100 charts.
    Once she arrived Israel it was extremely important to her to meet President Shimon Peres, who turns out knew a lot about Abdul.