Researchers from the Technion and Rambam who presented a pooling test for the coronavirus. From left to right: Prof. Roy Kishony, Einat Tamar, Amir Argoetti, Noga Aharony, and Dr. Idan Yelin. Courtesy
No Camels Israeli Innovation News – Coronavirus Tech Advances and More
Technion, Weizmann Institute Join Efforts To Accelerate Coronavirus Testing Rates
Posted: 18 Mar 2020 09:29 AM PDT
Two of Israel’s top universities are working to roll out testing methods for the novel coronavirus as government authorities look to increase the number of tests conducted daily to help identify COVID-19 patients, many of them asymptomatic, and curb the pandemic.
The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the Weizmann Institute indicated separately on Wednesday that they were working on novel diagnostics methods for the coronavirus, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hopes that up to 5,000 tests would be performed daily.
Currently, testing in Israel has focused on people with specific symptoms for the coronavirus. The current testing rate – about 1,200 a day, though more than 2,000 were tested on March 17 – does not allow for monitoring of asymptomatic carriers.
Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, working with the Rambam Health Care Campus, said in a statement that they have “successfully tested a method that will dramatically increase the current COVID-19 testing capacity using existing available resources.”
The method is known as pooling and enables simultaneous testing of dozens of samples. After conducting a successful trial, the researchers said more than 60 patients can be tested at the same time.
The Technion explained that COVID-19 is currently diagnosed using Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing which examines the presence of a unique genetic sequence of viruses in a single sample. The test takes a number of hours and creates a bottleneck as samples are tested individually. With pooled testing, only combined samples found to be positive will trigger individual testing.
“Today, we receive approximately 200 COVID-19 test samples a day, and each sample undergoes individual examination,” said Dr. Yuval Gefen, director of the Rambam Clinical Microbiology Laboratory where the tests are done.
“According to the new pooling approach we have currently tested, molecular testing can be performed on a ‘combined sample,’ taken from 32 or 64 patients. This way we can significantly accelerate the testing rate. Only in those rare cases, where the joint sample is found to be positive, will we conduct an individual test for each of the specific samples.”
According to Professor Roy Kishony, head of the research group at the Technion’s Faculty of Biology, “this is not a scientific breakthrough, but a demonstration of the effectivity of using the existing method and even the existing equipment to significantly increase the volume of samples tested per day.”
Kishony said that in a “joint examination of 64 samples in which only one was a positive carrier, the system identified that there was a positive sample.” Acknowledging logistical challenges, he added that the expectation was to greatly increase the volume of samples tested per day.
“This approach should reduce the chance of infection and flatten the infection curve,” he said.
At the Weizmann Institute, the university said, scientists are developing an advanced testing approach based on a process that involves fewer stages compared to existing tests, and will greatly reduce the biological risk to medical teams.
The university said it will also use its advanced laboratories to perform coronavirus tests, including the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine (G-INCPM), a research facility established in 2016. This laboratory has a number of advanced PCR devices.
“The Weizmann Institute of Science is an integral part of Israeli society, and we consider it our duty and right to contribute to and help the State of Israel and its nation in dealing with the global coronavirus crisis,” said Professor Alon Chen, president of the Weizmann Institute of Science. “During this crisis, we are harnessing our capabilities in basic research and applying them to the benefit of humanity.”
Israeli Food Analytics Startup Reveals Top Foods, Drinks During Coronavirus Crisis
Israeli AI-powered food prediction and intelligence startup Tastewise released new data this week that examines which foods and drinks people are looking for during the coronavirus crisis. The information is aimed at helping the food and beverage industry better support shoppers.
With fears over the spread of the novel coronavirus, consumers are increasingly aware of their health and the practices needed to defend it, the company said in a statement. Food and beverages for the immune system, stress relief, medicinal benefits, are all skyrocketing, according to Tastewise’s data.
“While the last year has seen consumers increasingly turn to food and beverage for functional benefits, Tastewise is seeing staggering growth in the trend during this time of coronavirus,” the company said.
According to the figures, interest in food to benefit the immune system is up 66 percent in the past month. The company explains that it is a unique development because “usually, as we approach the end of winter, we expect to see less of a focus on this function — but COVID-19 has changed the pattern.”
An example of this is elderberry, which has seen a 108 percent increase in consumer conversations at home about the immune system. The immune system also has gone up 27 percent in social mentions.
Food to provide stress relief has also become increasingly relevant as consumers find themselves in a time of health, social, and economic upheaval. This consumer motivation is experiencing a 122 percent growth in the past year and will likely have a dramatic increase moving forward, according to the company.
Founded in 2017 by Eyal Gaon and Alon Chen, once Google’s chief marketing officer for Israel and Greece and global lead for the World Economic Forum, Tastewise gains actionable insights into real-life interactions with food by analyzing one billion food photos shared every month on social media alongside the largest restaurant menu database available today, with over 18,000 US restaurants out of a total of 274,000 featured on it. The company already works with Fortune 500 food and beverage companies.
An example of this is rosemary, which is up 114 percent from last year for its stress relief benefits. Food for stress relief has also seen a 12 percent social increase and 27 percent in user growth.
Food to provide sickness treatments has seen the largest increase, as health is at the top of every consumer’s mind, Tasteways said. Food-based sickness treatments help people take a proactive approach to preserve their health and 45 percent of consumers over the past year are focused on this.
“We expect to see this number climb over the coming months,” the company said.
Food for sickness treatment has also seen a 35 percent social increase and 45 percent in user growth.
“It is more important now than ever for food industry players to understand what solutions consumers look for in stressful times and why,” the company said.
According to Tastewise, there are four ingredients that support consumer health efforts. Fruits, like citrus, are well-known for their health-protecting qualities and vitamins and antioxidant-rich melon is showing very early signals of a potential trend for health benefits. Melon is up 45 percent for sickness treatment.
Kombucha pairs gut health with ingredients rich in medicinal benefits, like passionfruit and mushrooms. Kombucha is up 55 percent year over year in popularity for its medicinal benefits.
Picking immunity-boosting ingredients like radishes/carrots enables them to last longer and provide a much-needed health boost. Pickles have become known as a food that benefits the immune system and is up 18.5 percent.
Chamomile is known for its relaxing properties in tea and consumers are beginning to use the flower more for anti-inflammatory purposes, according to Tastewise. In uncertain times, consumers go with what they know to provide comfort and boost health. Chamomile up 81.5 percent for its anti-inflammatory properties.
Israeli AI Analytics Startup Convizit Raises $5M Seed Round
Convizit co-founders: CEO Daniel Bashari, right, and CTO Daniel Plotkin. Photo: Adam Bar Photography
Israeli startup Convizit, a company applying AI technologies to disrupt the product analytics market, announced on Wednesday that it raised $5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Pitango Early Stage, with the participation of earlier investor Jumpspeed Ventures.
Convizit said the funds will be used to double the size of the team, accelerate product R&D, and launch sales and marketing activities.
Founded in 2017, Convizit collects deep-level analytics data on user behavior and processes it into clear insights so clients can make data-driven decisions without resorting to expensive solutions.
“Convizit’s terrific team is truly revolutionizing how user behavior data is collected, structured and analyzed,” said Gad Huldai, Partner at Pitango’s Early Stage fund, who has joined Convizit’s board of directors. “We have been extremely impressed to see how quickly and effectively the team has progressed since we first met them, in terms of both technology and business.”
“We are very pleased to have Pitango participating in our mission to disrupt one of the oldest and largest Internet arenas,” said Daniel Bashari, Convizit’s CEO and co-founder. “Gad Huldai and the rest of Pitango’s excellent early-stage team have already proven to be extremely valuable partners, and we look forward to a long and rewarding relationship working with them and with our initial investor, Ben Wiener of Jumpspeed Ventures.”
In Coronavirus Isolation? 6 Ways To Get Your Culture Fix From The Couch
The Holy City project. Courtesy
Some 50,000 Israelis are currently in quarantine with a majority of the rest of the population practicing social distancing, caring for kids out of daycares and schools, and trying to get the hang of the Health Ministry’s changing directives — which include staying home, limiting contact, and being at least two meters away from the next person if they are out.
Hours and days at home have many capitulating to Netflix or mindlessly scrolling social media while attempting to keep children busy.
While museums, clubs, and other recreational establishments have also closed, they’ve made a dedicated effort to stay on the radar, not only to connect with their patrons but also to offer those cooped up at home some options amidst a harsher reality.
NoCamels highlights six of these institutions, programs, apps, and courses and how they’re helping to offer comfort and entertainment and infuse culture into Israel’s new norma
Israeli Foodpreneurs Adapt Culinary Concepts To Coronavirus Reality
Israel has been on partial lockdown due to COVID-19 for less than a week now, with authorities taking increasingly stringent measures to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Gatherings of over 10 people have been banned, visits to malls, gyms, public beaches and parks are not allowed, and, as of this past Sunday, full-service food establishments have been forced to close their doors to the public.
With only takeout and delivery options left, industry operators are scrambling to find ways to cope with the challenges in an effort to minimize financial and other losses.
The new reality that hospitality professionals are facing poses a myriad of challenges. Delivery platforms like Wolt and 10bis collect an average of between 20 and 30 percent of the cost of a menu item, making it difficult for businesses to turn a significant profit on those orders. When the only orders coming in are from those platforms, it is nearly impossible for businesses to afford to stay open.
With the unfortunate turn of events, restaurants, bakeries, cafes and local makers that were previously not offering takeout or delivery options have embraced the solution as a way to keep a small part of their staff employed, and the majority of their customers satisfied. However, the onboarding process with such service providers does take time and, now more than ever, longer wait periods are to be expected due to the exorbitant number of sign up requests coming in.
“In the past couple of weeks, tens of restaurants, most of which do not have any delivery capabilities of their own, have approached Wolt to enlist our delivery services. In order to keep up, we have had to hire hundreds of couriers. We’ve also adapted our onboarding process to be completely virtual. We are trying to take care of everyone’s needs, so we have also instituted a financial relief plan for any Wolt couriers, who operate as freelancers, that have tested positive for the coronavirus, since we know they cannot and will not work,” shares Dvory Kerzhner, publicist for Wolt Israel.
?משלוח ללא מגע?מהיום משלוחי האוכל שהזמנתם יחכו לכם ממש מחוץ לדלת כדי שתוכלו להתפנק בלי דאגות
עוקבים אחרי סטטוס ההזמנה ומקבלים עדכון כשהמשלוח מגיע
פורסם על ידי Wolt Israel ב- יום חמישי, 19 במרץ 2020
Some owners have had to shut down operations altogether, citing a variety of reasons. Prominent Tel Aviv fixtures such as Hudson Brasserie, Claro and Taizu, have all closed their doors to the public, posting statements on their social media accounts with a shared message that, due to the new rules, they can no longer stay open without posing health risks to their employees and customers, but that they hope to be back as soon as the situation improves.
In reality, the fine dining establishments halting operations are just not well suited to undertaking the sharp pivot required to stay in business. Restaurants that serve elegantly plated dishes, placed on freshly pressed white linens and priced above the market average, are not offering an experience that can be replicated with take-out containers on someone’s cozy living room couch. On the other hand, with no indication of how long this pandemic will last, it remains too early to tell if some of the operators will need to rethink their decisions in the coming weeks.
Switching gears
Meanwhile, a fair number of proprietors in the food and beverage industry have risen to the coronavirus-occasion, making swift and significant changes in their concepts and daily offerings to do so.
Trendy restaurants like Nit Noi, a brand new Asian fusion pop up located in the Tel Aviv port’s Shuk Tzafon farmers market, have switched to takeout only, whereas only days ago, guests were encouraged to dine at the counter. Hospitality giants like R2M Group have expanded delivery offerings for their Delicatessen and Bakery concepts to cities like Ramat Hasharon and Herzliya, recognizing the demand for high-quality baked goods outside of Tel Aviv, too.
Savvy modern farmers like Yarookale have made it possible for customers to order fresh salad greens, herbs and edible flowers to their homes instead of dropping by their south Tel Aviv location, providing access to nutritionally dense foods in a time when most people have been stockpiling boxes of pasta and other shelf-stable grocery items.
Another company, ASHI, that generally wholesales fresh fruits and vegetables only to commercial clients like restaurants and hotels, has made the switch to home deliveries in light of the recent situation, too.
“We will make it work, we have no other choice,” says Jo Yaish, who owns the company along with husband Boaz. “We can deliver our fresh produce directly to the clients’ doors. They can pay through an app or credit card, so there is zero contact. People are extremely worried that food will run out, or that they will be unable to buy what they need to feed and take care of their families. We will ensure that customers know we can provide what they need, that day or the very next day, and for fair, low prices.”
But even successfully making lemonade from a really bad batch of lemons has its obstacles. Revenues are tight, and some owners have had to lay off many, most or all of their employees to keep overhead at a minimum. To try and mitigate this problem, the Israeli National Insurance Institute has offered unemployment benefits to employees laid off due to the coronavirus closures, with their web servers temporarily crashing on Tuesday after over 100,000 visitors tried to apply for assistance in a short period of time.
Fear of contamination between couriers and customers runs deep, and restaurants have had to repeatedly emphasize the stringent sanitation methods that have been implemented in light of recent events. Companies like Wolt have also stepped in to guarantee the option of contactless delivery, easing the minds of wary customers and enabling controlled support for quarantined ones.
Another hurdle these foodpreneurs are facing head-on is designing an effective marketing strategy. At a time when people may be feeling like the end of the world is near, creating engaging content that feels appropriate, and is reflective of the current situation, can be difficult.
Some spots, like Pizza Porto in Tel Aviv, have been sponsoring sarcastic posts such as, “We’re sorry. We don’t understand. Why is everyone complaining about this beer? What’s wrong about not going to work, sitting in bed and watching Netflix and, most importantly, ordering our food through Wolt, without getting out of your pajamas? If you ask us, it’s a dream come true.”
Others have been releasing content that plays on the panic-buying that so many Israelis are guilty of committing, including the rush to purchase all of the toilet paper. Abulafia Bakery, with locations in Tel Aviv and a flagship location in Jaffa, teamed up with Wolt to offer frozen versions of their famous baked goods for home delivery, with a promise to include “an exclusive roll of toilet paper” with all orders.
Fast-casual outlet Yashka, named by Fodor’s as one of the best Shawarma spots in Tel Aviv in 2018, is also offering a free Corona beer perk, for any orders exceeding 80 shekels.
Israel’s new normal
Restaurant, coffee shop, bakery, grocery and bar owners are not the only ones having to deal with this “new normal.” Freelancers working within the food and hospitality realms have had to reinvent their day-to-day as well, pivoting their business models to attract new work, as old jobs, opportunities and contracts have died out with the spread of the novel coronavirus.
For someone like Yotam Ben Bassat, owner of the brand Culinary Host, transitioning from catering large-format culinary events, such as weddings and festivals, to cooking from home for the neighboring area was his piece de resistance, a daring attempt to salvage what’s left of a platform that has been banned in totality for legitimate fear of spreading the virus.
“I’ve always been an optimistic person. I’m just staying focused on this new model with the goal of succeeding. So far, my regular clients have embraced this approach and I hope to reach a new and diverse clientele through this effort as well,” Bassat tells NoCamels via email.
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In contrast, chefs like Felix Rosenthal of Felix Chef Kitchen that specialize in family-style meal delivery, and already have a strong client base, have added additional dates to their delivery calendars to keep up with the growing demand for food catered by private chefs. Perhaps the most innovative concept being brought to life amidst this crisis is a live wine-tasting hosted by Dor Zalel, founder of the Facebook-based Foodies Community. What makes this exploratory wine session unique is that each participant receives a delivery of three bottles of wine, paired with complementary sensory aromatics, to their home, and then, at the right date and time, tunes in to a live Facebook webinar with a prominent local sommelier that virtually guides them through the tasting. “It was very ironic. We scheduled this webinar over two months ago, long before this coronavirus dilemma entered our lives. We curated this platform to match what we saw as a growing desire from people who want to experience culinary events or attractions without leaving their homes, or having to attend with the same group of people, over and over again. And then the coronavirus hit,” Zalel tells NoCamels. When asked about how he thinks the program will fare, he says that on one hand, “the crisis reaffirms the need for more workshops like these. On the other hand, we are all stuck in a place with little to no financial certainty or guarantees for our personal wellbeing, and people are hesitant to make concrete plans given the current state of affairs.” Time will tellThe rate at which the Israeli government is adapting regulations to effectively fight the COVID-19 pandemic may be painful for citizens to internalize. Some have been treating public safety stipulations as mere suggestions. At a live press conference on Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Netanyahu admitted to having seen photos and videos of Israeli citizens at the beach, eating out and, in response, made a desperate plea. “This isn’t a child’s game. It is a matter of life and death. In this pandemic, love means keeping your distance.” If the situation does not improve soon, the measures put in place for businesses in the food and beverage spheres may worsen to the point where most businesses will have to shutter completely. According to the owner of Shroitman Bakery in Tel Aviv, chef Eran Shroitman, his business will never have to close because the government considers it to be a provider of an essential and basic food item: bread.
“In the event of a complete and total economic shutdown, we must continue to bake our breads in support of the community and people that need this sustenance the most,” he explained. The highly regarded baker tells NoCamels that business has been slower than usual. But the bakery will soon be introducing home deliveries to help alleviate the decline in in-store sales. Not having a dedicated governing body that is responsible for representing the Israeli restaurant industry nearly guarantees that, especially in times like these, there is almost no one to advocate for them, encourage innovation and fundamentally support the many hundreds of small to medium-sized business owners facing economic instability. The only option for these foodpreneurs is to band together and share resources, but only time will tell if what they have managed to put together will be enough to endure what is to come. |
Israeli Firms Partner To Roll Out Rapid COVID-19 Home Test Kits In 3-4 Months
Israel’s BATM Advanced, a provider of real-time tech for networking solutions and medical lab systems, announced on Thursday that it would partner with Novamed Ltd., an Israeli life sciences company operating in the in-vitro rapid diagnostics market, for the joint development and marketing of a rapid testing kit for home use to identify severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), also 2019-nCo, within minutes. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes the disease called COVID-19 which has, as of March 19, claimed the lives of over 9,100 people and infected over 222,000 worldwide (according to this live-updating map of the outbreak that draws figures from the World Health Organization and other agencies). The two companies anticipate that the development of the kit will be completed within three to four months. The kits will be sold first in Israel and then globally, the company said, once they receive CE mark approval, a certification that indicates its conformity with health, safety, and environmental protection standards within Europe. “We chose to partner with Novamed thanks to their many years of experience in developing excellent at-home diagnostic products. We believe that the combination of the capabilities of BATM and Novamed will result in a uniquely effective solution to address the current pandemic as well as other outbreaks in the future,” said Dr. Zvi Marom, chief executive officer of BATM. Novamed developed a number of home testing products including a Strep A throat kit and a test for diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the medical name for a heart attack. BATM is also working on developing a medical diagnostics kit that will allow laboratories to detect whether a patient has the virus in approximately 25 minutes using real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction), a molecular biology diagnostic lab technique. BATM said in the statement Thursday that the kit, which was produced at the company’s Adaltis facility in Rome, is starting to ship to medical facilities across Europe, with delivery to Italy being the current focus. All clinical testing to date has demonstrated the excellent performance of the kit, the company said. “The COVID-19 outbreak has demonstrated the huge challenges that are posed by such diseases and the importance of having a comprehensive response covering rapid diagnosis and treatment. Alongside our COVID-19 diagnostic kit for use in medical facilities, we recognized the necessity for an easy-to-use and reliable test that can be done at home to help reduce the pressure on the already-congested hospitals and minimize patient exposure,” Dr. Marom said. |
Israeli Coronavirus-Themed Humor Is Unrestrained And Hilarious
The spread of coronavirus-themed jokes and memes are crossing borders and oceans faster than COVID-19 itself. While there is nothing funny about the rising numbers of the novel coronavirus infections and the fear that has gripped the world, the internet and social media are serving up much needed comic relief. The whole world is sharing coronavirus puns and cartoons.
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Israeli meme makers, comedy writers and the general public are in on the fun, too.
“Nothing brings people together like a laugh,” Kandi Abelson, a comedian and writer who skewers life in Israel, tells NoCamels. “Coronavirus memes are super important. I’m always looking for ways to make people smile and laugh.”
And while many of the jokes are universal, Israeli humor, specifically, is in full throttle — from satire television shows taking on the virus to meme-makers posting new puns and photos about our new surreal reality.
It took just a few hours after the announcement that the Israeli government would employ the Shin Bet internal security service to use counter-terror tech in its fight to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus in Israel, for jokes about this dubious decision to pop up on social media.
A popular sticker sent through Whatsapp groups read, in Hebrew, “the Shin Bet is part of this conversation now.”
“Israeli humor is different. There is no such thing as politically correct, nothing is sacred,” says Abelson. “In the US or Canada, there’s the North American way. ‘Please don’t give me the coronavirus, thank you for not giving me the coronavirus. Super polite.’ Whereas here, it’s [more in your face]. We’re not sensitive. We can make jokes about anything at any time. You can push the envelope further here.”
Whether being bombarded by rocket attacks or terror bombings, during war and routine insecurity, Israelis are known for their no-boundaries humor and cynicism, which bring people together to take on whatever challenge happens to be underway.
“Dark humor saves people from the seriousness and repressed emotions. Even if it shakes people it also wakes them up. I don’t think there’s any harm in making humor dark,” says Jeff Gordon, a drama and clown therapist, about the gallows humor rife in Israel. “Humor is rude and awakening and you can’t order it and put it in boundaries, it is about chaos and laughing within the chaos. It is funny that people get offended by humor. Humor is meant to offend. I’m not talking about low humor that offends races or religions or people. But dark humor is meant to offend.”
This is the country of bomb shelter selfies, rolling pin self-defense memes and Red Alert T-shirts.
It’s not just Israeli humor but a volatile mix of Israeli humor with a Jewish history that is so disastrous – from pogrom days to the Holocaust to the present – that the option between being depressed or laughing is the atmosphere pretty much all the time.
This history has created an unusual humor approach.
“Israeli humor or Jewish humor, because of the nature of history, has been dealing with tragedies and how to laugh at them,” says Gordon.
Israeli humor is not only a coping mechanism but an intrinsic self-defense method for living here. So, the coronavirus pandemic is one more way to put this aptitude for wit to the test.
And so far, based on this reporter’s social media feeds, social distancing is inspiring people from all walks of life to lighten up the mood.
Mom of four Shiri Kenigsberg Levi went viral with a rant on distance-learning in the first days after schools shuttered their gates. Levi hilariously skewers how parents, who aren’t used to being home all day with their children, are dealing with their new reality. A teacher herself, she unleashes the indignation other parents are feeling toward teachers, they deem are demanding too much. “If we don’t die of coronavirus, we’ll die of distance-learning,” she says.
Take one-and-a-half minutes to watch the hysterical outburst:
On March 16, the defense ministry announced it would turn some of the Dan Hotels in Israel into quarantine facilities. By March 17, jokes by individuals about this free-cation were up on social media. One of the most popular: “I understand those infected by coronavirus who are in stable condition will be hospitalized at the Dan hotel. I’ll wait for the next round at Carmel Forest Spa,” wrote a Facebook user, referring to a more luxurious hotel option.
Making light of this anxiety-filled situation gives Israelis – and, obviously, others worldwide — a distraction from the chaos.
“Laughter helps maintain perspective and be in another place other than the place of panic and hysteria. It’s very hard if you’re laughing to be in a serious place. Laughter puts you in another emotional zone and as a result if you’re in another emotional zone, it can shape your way of thinking. So, it’s really important to find as many opportunities to laugh,” Gordon tells NoCamels. The 58-year-old is founder of Happiness Training, and runs drama therapy workshops on positivity and emotional wellbeing in Israel and abroad.
“Laughter is healing, it relaxes the body and triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals,” says Gordon, a transplanted Brit living in Israel for 30 years.
Much of the Israeli coronavirus-themed humor is original, and specific to local happenings and domestic policy. But the internet affords humor to cross countries effortlessly and adding new takes on popular memes is also prevalent.
פורסם על ידי Benji Lovitt ב- יום ראשון, 15 במרץ 2020
American-Israeli comedian Benji Lovitt, who bases his comedy routines on cultural differences between Israel and elsewhere, says the coronavirus-themed jokes “know no-boundaries because this a rare international phenomena.” Speaking to NoCamels from quarantine, after returning to Israel from the US, Lovitt says, “every country has its own version of jokes. The Israeli ones are different because of local, Israel-specific references.”
After the video of Italians singing from their balconies went viral, Israelis responded with versions of their own.
In Jerusalem, people on balconies joined a sing-a-long of Ehud Manor’s song, Next Year. The lyrics: “Next year we will sit on the porch and count migrating birds.”
In Tel Aviv, an impromptu concert broke out outside a building with balconies (it was broken up by police, who cited the people gathering around were too close to one another).
In Petah Tikva, people took to their balconies to sing Idan Raichel’s song, Tribe of Brothers and Sisters, for a newlywed couple holding their wedding in the courtyard of an apartment block due to restrictions at events halls. This wedding sing-a-long was included in a hilarious mashup comparing Italian, Israeli and German balcony singing renditions.
And the comedy relief is not just on social media. The country’s leading comedy program, Eretz Nehederet (Wonderful Country), has dedicated a few shows to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nothing was off-limits.
In the show, the Messiah was sent to quarantine. The prime minister and his wife were lampooned while boogieing to “My Corona” (My Sharona, The Knacks). Even popular TV show Fauda’s characters made an appearance, tracking down a rogue high-tech worker who returned from Italy and went to a local shopping mall.
In another episode, it was noted that the reason the Ministry of Education’s website keeps crashing is because “it is not a porn site and isn’t used to so many users at once.”
On March 18, the government’s about-face regarding distance-learning forced elementary school teachers into unpaid leave. A sketch on the television show that night showed a teacher-turned-food delivery person – “food delivery is the only job left” – pulling out a whiteboard marker to give a math lesson to figure out her tip.
Another sketch shows Israel’s “supernanny” having a few meltdowns before offering unsound advice for parents stuck at home with their children.
“Even if we can’t leave it, we still have a wonderful country,” host Eyal Kitzis said at the close of one of the shows.
Indeed. And we’re always ready to poke fun at it.
Viva Sarah Press is a journalist and speaker. She writes and talks about the creativity and innovation taking place in Israel and beyond. www.vivaspress.com
