Ron's World

Category: Reporter Packages

  • Ron Jacobsohn gets a Preview of the Jerusalem Biennale

    Ron Jacobsohn gets a Preview of the Jerusalem Biennale

    Jerusalem is finally getting its Biennale this fall. As fitting for an event like that, it will focus on contemporary Jewish arts especially the kind of art, which defines us as Jews in a non-religious context.

    Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
    This fall will mark the first time ever Jerusalem will host a Biennale. As fitting for an event like that, it will focus mainly on contemporary Jewish arts especially the kind of art, which defines us as Jews in a non-religious context.

    Ram Ozeri is the visionary who in his head saw this biennale happening and now he is more than happy to share with us, what is going to happen at the event.

    Ram Ozeri, Founder, The Jerusalem Biennale:
    We have an amazing opening night in the 16th of September, just before Sukkot, we’ll have here the exhibition itself, but we’ll also have many performance artists, a dance group that does contemporary Jewish dance and we’ll have the exhibition itself which is made of contemporary Jewish artists, mainly Israelis but not only, bringing the best art that is created today, these days and reflects some of the Jewish issues, some of the Jewish world of content.

    Renowned visual artist, Tobi Kahn, is bringing his art from the US to the biennale, as he explains to us how for him Jerusalem is like a great piece of art.

    Tobi Kahn, School of Visual Arts, New York:
    I think Jerusalem is like a performance, you can feel, you know, everything happening here at the same time. I’m looking out right now, it’s such an even and beautiful light and I think light plays such an important role in not only Jewish life but in all life, that to me is unbelievably Jewish and I’m thrilled to be a part of an exhibition that has street art in it, that has, you know, this show is going to be in five different venues and I like that. Again, it’s not telling you what you should be seeing as “Performance Art” and I like being part of something that has a lot of young artists, there’s going to be a lot of young artists here. I’ll be one of the older artists which is interesting, to put it mildly, but I like it, there’s so much energy, I think energy makes art more interesting.

    Ozeri says his idea is to create a place for Jewish art from the heritage not religious point of view.

    Ram Ozeri, Founder, The Jerusalem Biennale:
    We want to exhibit art that reflects and refers to the Jewish world of content, it doesn’t have to be ‘Halachic’, it doesn’t have to be religious, it just have to be connected to our roots so I want to bring all those creative forces that create all around the world, and come from a Jewish point of view.

    We asked Tobi Kahn what he see’s as Jewish art.

    Tobi Kahn, School of Visual Arts, New York:
    I think Jewish art, if you’re looking at your life through the lens of knowledge that you have as a Jew, so when I think about anything, my knowledge of Judaism seeps into the work in a very unconscious manner, and sometimes in a conscious manner. I like that conscious-subconscious intertwining.
    I want the viewer to be changed by the experience. I don’t mind if five different people see five different things, I’m not a dogmatic artist, I won’t write a label, you know, this is about this, you should be experiencing this, I want you to be, you know, that to me interest me more as being in that zone.

    Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
    And with artists like Toby Kahn highlighting the newly created Jerusalem Biennale its is going to be a very interesting festival to attend
    For JN1 I am Ron Jacobsohn in Jerusalem.

  • Ron Jacobsohn Visits a Shofar Factory

    One of the most pinnacle points of the Jewish high holidays is the blowing of the Shofar, which happens no less than one hundred times during Rosh Hashana alone. So we went to the Golan Heights to one of only three Shofar factories in the world to discover how a kosher shofar is created.
    And if you want to purchase a kosher Shofar for the high holidays you’ll have to shell out anywhere between sixty to six-hundred dollars.

     

  • Ron Jacobsohn Talks to the People Behind the Israeli TV Formats

    Somehow Israel has turned into a television format Mecca over the last several years with shows like Homeland, In Treatment and a slew of game shows like Still Standing, hitting it big on American Prime Time Television. Ron Jacobsohn went to talk to some of the players to inquire what the secret of the success of those Israeli formats is.

    Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
    Somehow Israel has turned into a television format empire over the last few years with Israeli shows like Homeland, In Treatment and game shows, Still Standing, hitting it big on American Prime Time Television. JN1 went to talk to some of the local players to find out what the secret of the success of the Israeli formats is.

    The Israeli formats have become a hot-ticket in the international markets almost to the point that distributors are afraid not to be able to nab the next Israeli format tells us the executive director at Ananey Communications, Sigal Shaldag.

    Sigal Shaldag, Executive Director, Ananey Communications:
    I think that now when I’m coming to a market and people met me and they said you know we have to have something from Israel. Everybody heard about the success of Homeland and ‘Hatufim’, you know the format of ‘Hatufim’, and everybody’s trying and I found for example at Mip-TV when I attended, that people are afraid to lose the next format, or the next show from Israel. It’s not that they want something from Israel, they’re afraid to lose the next big thing that that will come from Israel. They line up to meet us and we feel, you know, a big you know, openness in the market to hear the creativity of the Israeli, and I think it’s like the Hi-tech. It used to be Israel equal to hi-tech and innovation and I think we feel it now in the markets is that Israel equal to innovation in content and that’s a very very important, and I think it’s opened the door to all the Israeli companies and I think that it will be, and we can achieve a lot of success in this field, as Israelis.

    The pioneer of the Israeli formats internationally, the president of Armoza Formats, Avi Armoza, is very proud of the fact that Israel was recently named number one country in the world for selling its formats.

    Avi Armoza, President, Armoza Formats:
    I think that this is something to do very much within our culture, within our culture we are storytellers, you know we might not be that successful in the Olympics, but we know how to tell a story and this is the business of television; is it a game-show, is it factual show, is it a drama series. You need to tell good stories and this is something that we know how to do, but yet the local market needs are limited, we’re still a small country with very limited outlets of television and if we, if we as Israelis or the young generation want to work on television, we need to look into the international world as our market. If we know how to make good television, we can do it for the world and not just for the local market.

    Nadav Palti, the president of Dori Media Group claims the next natural phase in the selling Israeli formats around the world is that the big networks will also produce their shows in Israel too.

    Nadav Palti, President, Dori Media Group:
    We’re already in negotiations with a few countries, that they came here, studied the markets, studied the situation, make the budget, analyze it and they now understand how to produce series really, really cheaper, much cheaper and also we already did it, we .. It’s published so I can speak about it, you know that CBS; the biggest network today in the world and ITV produced here in our studio, in Neve Ilan.

    Prisoners of War, Hatufim, is maybe the most popular format out of Israel due to the success of the American version of it, Homeland. Karen Shahar the head of distribution for Keshet International who sold the format still doesnǯt believe how huge the show has become internationally.

    Keren Shahar, Head of Distribution, Keshet International:
    It’s a testament to how the international community and not just the American community, has embraced ‘Homeland’ and ‘Hatufim’; Prisoners of War, you know, that the Israeli series which we sold to over 10 territories. This is something that a year ago, I would have laughed if you would have told me. Five years ago, If I were to say I’m from Israel, they would say “Keshet who? Israel what?” but today when we say we’re from Israel, they immediate response is wow, you guys are so creative, you have so much good stuff , so it’s a great ice-breaker and a great lead to the conversation.

    Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
    After concurring the very lucrative American market and the European, Australian and Latin markets, the last frontier seemed to be the Asian market, which has traditionally been hard to penetrate into for western style television shows. But leave it to the Israelis to do the impossible… Keshet International has just finalized a deal with China’s, Shixi Media, to licenses six of its shows for Chinese television. For JN1, I am Ron Jacobsohn in Tel-Aviv.

    Clips courtesy of: Keshet International, Showtime Networks, Ananey Communications, Armoza Formats and Dori Media Group

  • Ron Jacobsohn Meets the People behind Yvel Jewelry

    Ron Jacobsohn Meets the People behind Yvel Jewelry

    Some people are talkers and others are doers. Orna and Itzik Levi are one of doers. After creating one of the successful jewelry houses in Israel they decided to give back and crater school where members of the Ethiopian community can learn the craft of jewelry making and also get a job to make living of it. This is the inspiring story of two people who truly understand what giving is all about.

    Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
    Some people are talkers and others are doers. Orna and Itzik Levi are one of doers. After creating one of the successful jewelry houses in Israel they decided to give back and crater school where members of the Ethiopian community can learn the craft of jewelry making and also get a job to make living of it. This is the inspiring story of two people who truly understand what giving is all about.

    Itzhak Levy decided to take matters into his own hands when he saw the state neglected some of the poorest communities in Israel.

    Itzhak Levy, Owner, Yvel Jewelry:
    The School that Orna and I established in 2010 was the second stage of giving back. What we had done was reaching out to the most vulnerable community in Israel. What we want to do is we want to create a leadership in the Ethiopian community and to turn social cases into taxpayers. In order to do so we teach them the skills to become goldsmith, diamond setters, model makers, we teach them about the country, we teach them Hebrew, we teach them to become most of all proud citizens in a country that sometimes forgets to do so and we give them really a future by giving them also the possibility, once they graduate, to become a part of the Gameria factory, they own the company, they run it, they manufacture their own jewelry and with these sales they can really fund their own salaries and hopefully fund also the school activities, so they help us in order for us to be able to help them, it’s a partnership.

    When Gennett Admasu came on-board to manage the school she was nothing less than amazed by the initiative.

    Gennett Admasu, Manager, Yvel School:
    This project really amazed me, and the whole idea was that of Itzhak and Orna, to take a weaken population that are New immigrants in the country, and to give them a profession with which they can make a living with dignity, and I was so impressed by this that I didn’t even raise the salary issue, saying that I will take the job’ and really when I first came I got the job it was part-time job, I came and I worked with the previous class of students, I was really amazed and I enjoyed my position and I kept going and now I work a fulltime job and I’m having a great time, I really enjoy it.

    For Gameria graduate, Shimi Desaleah, who has been in Israel for 9-years and struggling to make ends-meet, learning a craft he can make a living off was not only a financial breakthrough but more than that it was gaining back his self-confidence he has lost when he immigrated to Israel.

    Shimi Desaleah, Graduate, Yvel School:
    I used to work at Berman Bakery, and it was a good job but very hard, it paid well but I had no profession, I had nothing and it was hard physical work. I was told; Go to Yvel, learn a profession, do work not by muscle force but work with the brain. It was difficult in school but eventually I made it and got a diploma. I’m excited, because previously I had no Hebrew skills, no nothing, and no profession but now I got a profession and I have a job.

    Levy who has immigrated to Israel exactly 50-years ago, truly feels today he has managed to do something to help others not go through the tough times his family has suffered when they first moved to Israel.

    Itzhik Levy, Owner, Yvel Jewelry:
    I, personally, was born in Argentina, I was born in Buenos Aires and we moved as a family in 1963 to Jerusalem. It was a really pretty bad childhood. When Orna and I had established Yvel and built it up our goal was always to hire only Jewish immigrants and that’s what we did. It’s a Zionist social business more than anything else.

    Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
    And the Gamberia success story is expanding, now that businessman and philanthropist, Stef Wertheimer, has decided to join forces with the Levi’s to create a branch for their school also in The Galilee. For JN1 I am Ron Jacobsohn at the Yvel Headquarters in Motza, by Jerusalem.

  • Ron Jacobsohn Attends the Lighting of the Maccabiah Torch Ceremony

    9,000 Athletes from over 80 countries around the world have gathered here in Israel to celebrate the 19th Maccabiah. The torch will be lit in a few short moments and we’ll run all the way to Jerusalem where it will hit Teddy stadium tonight.

    Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
    9,000 Athletes from over 80 countries around the world have gathered here in Israel to celebrate the 19th Maccabiah. The torch will be lit in a few short moments and we’ll run all the way to Jerusalem where it will hit Teddy stadium tonight.

    The chairman of the Maccabiah, Amir Peled, admitted everything is already set and ready even though his personal jitters will continue all the way until the end of the games.

    Amir Peled – Chairman of the Maccabiah:
    II think that everything is set to go, I just sat with the 78 representatives of all delegations, to know how the first very crazy day passed. It was quite successful or very successful.
    I am in the function of being in control because if I will lose it, the rest will lose it as well, so I’m in control, I feel ok with it, seriously, a lot of emotions, excitement but totally in control.

    The Minister of Immigrant Absorption, Sofa Landver, who was clearly very excited about the Maccabiah kickoff, told us about her ministries special plan for sportsmen who will decide to immigrate to Israel as a result of the games.

    Sofa Landver – The Minister of Immigrant Absorption:
    The ministry of immigration, of course, wants them to stay here. From the last Maccabiah 250 have stayed, or let’s say arrived, 250 athletes have arrived. I believe that this time it will double itself. We have set up a benefits package, united packages that will help us successfully receive them and to give them the possibility of support, safe landing in the country, it’s up to them to make the decision, and you know what? Today we make decisions that will help to give them the possibility of getting to know the country, to touch , to fall in love with it, to get to know the history, the history of the Jewish people, our glorious country and to fall in love with it, and to come here, and AI believe that as Minister of Immigrant absorption I can receive them next year in Jerusalem.

    During the ceremony archive footage from past Maccabiah’s was unveiled for the first time including famous lighters of the torches in the history of the games.

    Amir Peled, Chairman of the Maccabiah:
    What you see here, I believe it’s amazing, to take 80 years back and all the story of the motorcycles becomes very very developed, Harley Davidson, to take them from here to Tel-Aviv, to Ramat-Gan, to Jerusalem Via Modi’in. I think after we see all the flags it’s a beautiful event and in the evening we’ll be the very very highlight in Teddy stadium. OUT 2:36

    80 out of the 600 members of the Israeli Harley Davidson club were chosen to imitate the motorcyclists who went all through Europe in 1932 to invite Jews to come to Israel for the first Maccabiah.

    Chen Cheres – Member of the Israeli Harley Davidson Club:
    We’re going to go to Tel-Aviv to start with a circle were it all started in 1932 I believe, and from there we’re going to go to Jerusalem, to the parliament to have a picture over there and to Malcha, to Teddy.

    Ori Arbel – Member of the Israeli Harley Davidson Club:
    I think it’s great honor for us, it’s welcoming ceremony for all the sports and all tourists who come to Israel, so we feel very proud and very honored to take the torch to Jerusalem and to open the Maccabiah games.

    Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
    So the 80 bikers, each representing a country that will participate in the 19th Maccabiah are blasting the way towards Jerusalem and will arrive in time for the opening ceremony.
    For JN1, I’m Ron Jacobsohn at Kfar Maccabiah.