Archive | 2011 | December | 29
IT’S OUT! SDM’s TOP 10 Israeli GUYS of 2011
As you all know, it’s very tough to chose just 10 AWESOME Israeli guys, but we did our best!
THIS YEAR’S TOP 10 ISRAELI GUYS ARE:
DJ Erez Ben Ishay
Being Hot and Talented are just two things that got Erez his part of this pie… earlier this year, Erez became the first ever Israeli DJ to play in Quebec City, heating up “Le Drague Cabaret” @ SDM’s “Tel Aviv A Quebec” party! Check out SDM’s interview with Erez here and a short but HOT video from the party here
Assi Azar
From reality show host (“Big Brother” Israel) to Documentary maker, Assi has quickly become famous around the world for his work on “Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you” Check out SDM’s interview with this Israeli hunk here
Idan Matalon
Idan has caught the attention of many with his “LipDub” videos, from Lady GaGa to Adam Levine, Idan brings you the songs with a little tour of Tel Aviv, Check out his latest interview by “MyGayTrip” in TETU Magazine here
Andrew Lagenfeld
American Native now Israeli, Andrew brings a lot to his new home, a former professional swimmer and founder of “Our Group” Andrew fights both in the pool and in the Human Rights field… his activism, athleticism and looks gets him on our TOP 10 list. Check out SDM’s ONE-on-ONE with Andrew here
Niran Avisar
If Israeli Fashion needed a push Niran is definitely helping, with his win of the Diesel Award @ the ITS#TEN competition in Italy, Niran put Israel on the FASHION MAP. His talent and awesomeness got him on our TOP10 list. Check out our ONE-on-ONE with Niran Avisar here
Alon Aboutboul
While his appearances on NCIS, the Mentalist and Fringe are great, Alon’s casting as the Mad Scientist on the much awaited “Dark Knight Rises” definitely gives him our two thumbs up! Read more here
Idan Raichel
Idan needs no introduction, his music, efforts to bring people together (Read here) and recent collaboration with India Arie (Read here) makes him one of our favourite Israelis of 2011!
Omri Casspi
Isreal’s biggest name in American sports, Omri Casspi’s rise to the NBA and being named 1 of Sports Illustrated’s greatest Jewish athletes of all time (Read more) gives Omri a clean shot into our Top 10 list
DJ Tomer G
DJ Tomer G has succeeded in doing something very few Israelis have (or anyone else)… and that is, getting the French to like him! Tomer was named one of the top 3 DJs by the national French Channel TF1 music’s show “Toute la Musique” while his current effort, a remix of “White stripes” will be the official anthem for the French soccer team to the upcoming UEFA European Football Championship in Poland and Ukraine (Read More)
Gilad Shalit
and of course, if the nation of Israel could make a baby, Gilad would be it. After years in captivity, Gilad came home in 2011, his survival and high spirit gives him a firm position in our top 10! (Read more)
Check out the Top 10 Ladies of 2011 HERE
Check out the Top 10 Innovations of 2011 HERE
Check out the Top 10 Headlines of 2011 HERE
Happy New Year from the Israel Defence Forces
The IDF wishes you a happy new year
Israel to include cancer, AIDS medication in 2012 health basket
Israel committee on subsidized healthcare to include new, more expensive treatments intended for a smaller group of patients.
Israel’s committee on subsidized healthcare announced its decision Thursday to include 77 new medications and cutting-edge medical treatments into next year’s subsidized health basket.
The decision came after 600 requests were placed for new medicines, with a cost of over NIS 2 billion. According to a senior official in Israel’s public health system, the committee decided that as opposed to previous years, next year’s basket will include more expensive medicines intended for a smaller group of patients.
The most expensive medicines included in next year’s basket are Yervoy and Zelboraf, two medicines used to fight skin cancer, constituting a medical breakthrough that may lengthen the average life of a patient by up to six months. The treatment is intended for 162 Israeli melanoma patients per year and costs between NIS 262.1 thousand and NIS 369.7 thousand per patient.
Three separate treatments that help fight AIDS are also to be included in next year’s basket.
However, next year’s basket will leave out Nuchal scans for pregnant women, as well as amniotic fluid tests for women over 35. The antidepressant Cipralex was also left out of the list, as the committee decided that it was not as effective as other similar psychiatric treatments.
Source: Haaretz.com
The Biebs+Danes+Boxing an Electric car and TLV = SDM’s TOP 10 headlines of 2011
By: Benji Lovitt
2011, we hardly knew ye. It seems like just yesterday we were wrapping up 2010. While there’s always a tiny bit of nostalgic sadness with putting the wraps on another year, here at Size Doesn’t Matter, we’re proud to have borne witness to another pretty sweet year in Israel.
Narrowing down all the parties, events, news headlines, and innovations to a tidy, little Top 10 was pretty tough but we tried, made easier by efforts to spread the love across a variety of categories, showing some of the cool stuff going down in the Middle East’s most vibrant, diverse, and progressive society.
So here’s to 2011 and we’ll see you back here for what we hope is an even better year ahead in 2012!
Tel Aviv named one of the top five LGBTQ destinations in the world
Well, obviously! Have you been to Tel Aviv? Maybe Community Marketing, Inc., the body who put the rankings together only noticed in January, but Tel Aviv oozes sexuality as much as any city we’ve ever been to and the massive LGBTQ community is a big part of that. If you’ve never been to the TA pride parade, put it on your bucket list, like NOW.
Israel gets first electric car station
For years, we’ve been hearing about Better Place, Shai Agassi’s company which may alter the world as we know it with their electric powered cars. Goodbye, environment-killing oil from certain countries which will remain nameless…hello, batteries!
This game-changer has to start somewhere and in March, it started with the unveiling of the first car-charging station. Just five minutes of plugging in and you’re good to go. Take that, cell phones!
Groan if you want; we get it. But any way you slice it, Justin Bieber is about the biggest thing in the music world these days (and, hey, he’s Canadian, too). When he performed in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park in April, it simply took the number of high-profile concerts to another level. 2011 also brought Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and many other legends and 2012 looks to be even bigger with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and rumors of the Material Girl herself, Madonna.
Boxing club unites Jews and Arabs
Fight Club, it’s not, but whereas one isn’t talked about, the Maccabi Jerusalem Boxing Club is proud to open its doors for all to behold. When we profiled Gershon Luxemburg’s 30 year old club back in March, we were impressed to learn that it might just be the only place in the world where Jews and Arabs can come together to fight in peace. Uniting these Middle Easterners from different backgrounds, the boxing club unites these two peoples not out of hatred, but of a shared love for the sport. If these fighters can get along, can’t we all?
Israel’s Credit Rating Passes the Test
This one comes with both good and bad news. The bad news is that US-based Standard & Poor downgraded US-backed bonds to AA+ for the first time since the early 20th century. The good news is that in August, Israel’s rating forecast remained “solid”, on the heels of Moody’s reaffirming Israel’s credit rating at the strong A1 level. Putting aside the United States’ economic state, we’re happy to see the Israeli economy plowing ahead, business as usual, even while economic turmoil continues around the world. They don’t call Israel the “Start-Up Nation” for nothing.
Dead Sea Scrolls Uploaded to Internet
The Dead Sea Scrolls. They contain the oldest known surviving copies of Biblical and extra-biblical documents. Holy cow, they sound like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. First discovered in the late 1940s and early 1950s, these ancient texts can, as of September, now be viewed online, thanks to the Israel Museum where they’re housed and Google technology. If it wasn’t crazy enough that texts from the time of Jesus still exist today, can we agree that the idea that they can now be accessed by anyone with an internet connection is simply mind-boggling? I think my head just exploded.
Two of Four Biggest Parties Led by Women
With Shelly Yachimovich winning the leadership of the Labor party in September, two of Israel’s biggest political parties are now headed by women (joining Kadima’s Tzipi Livni). Can we all agree that this is pretty cool or does it require explanation? Seriously, guys, watch your backs. Men have ruled the world for millions of years. Maybe it’s time to turn it over to the ladies?
This isn’t a political site so don’t think we’re about to start now. But regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, watching a young man return home in October to see his parents for the first time in over five years will put your tear ducts into action. The biggest day in Israel in years.
After hearing of the recent audacity by the United States Congress to call pizza a “vegetable” in school lunchrooms across the country, this one had to make the list. In November, the Israeli cabinet proposed an anti-obesity program costing over a quarter of a billion shekels to promote healthy living. Hey, nobody said looking fit in a Mediterranean oasis nation was easy. When the waistlines of countries across the world are expanding faster than you can say “McDonald’s”, this was a breath of fresh (and slimming) air.
December. Conan. Clare. Partying. TEL AVIV. Questions?
Check out the Top 10 Guys of 2011 HERE
Check out the Top 10 Innovations of 2011 HERE
Check out the Top 10 Ladies of 2011 HERE
DeadSea 7 Wonders race… #Fail… Jerusalem for “New7Wonders city” ? Let’s make it a #YES please!
Jerusalem has just entered the New7Wonders Cities contest, and there’s no time to waste. Vote now for the holiest city on earth!
Just when you thought it was safe to assume there would be no more “best of… ” competitions this year, with only three days left to go till the end of 2011, Israel has joined a new race, this time entering its capital city into the international contest for top city of the world.
The holy city is running to become the winner of the New7Wonders Cities international competition — but time isshort.
Nominations can only be submitted until January 6, so it’s important to get the votes in right now.
The competition can be seen at the New7Wonders website and for those who “tweet,” on the Twitter social media New7Wonders page.
The third such campaign organized by New 7 Wonders, it was preceded this year by one for the wonders of the world, and one for the wonders of nature.
Israel’s Dead Sea was in the top 14 finalists, but missed making the top 7 winners in the New7Wonders of the World contest a few months ago.
Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, issued a call meanwhile for “a conversation” about the work of the organization in a video message posted onYouTube.
Speaking from his office in the Heidi Weber Museum in Zurich, Switzerland, he urged Internet users to use Moderator, the YouTube function that allows people to ask questions in text and video form, to engage with him about the New7Wonders organization and its challenges.
Source: IsraelNationnews.com