#Israel

Jan 9, 2021
1 min

96,000 pounds of ice cream

Data from a local delivery service on what Israelis order makes for a fun read. Every month, over 96,000 pounds of ice cream (43,545 kilos) are delivered to Israeli dessert-oholics via Wolt couriers, according to an article about Wolt Israel in the Hebrew daily, Yediot. Pre-Covid-19, Israelis were ranked seventh in the world for ice cream consumption – eating about 10 liters of ice cream a year. But that number seems to have skyrocketed during lockdowns. The Wolt courier serv

Viva Sarah Press

Nov 23, 2020
2 min

Corona tax is here

Corona tax has entered the Israeli lexicon. What is it? It is a fee that establishments charge to do what they should be doing anyway: cleaning their premises properly. It is named for the coronavirus – which, in Israel, is referred to without the “virus” bit and just called ‘corona.’ The tax is not ubiquitous. It depends. On the establishment. I found it recently when I went to a body-and-soul wellness center for a foot massage and paid with a gift certificate. “There’s an a

Augmented humanity: Telling the story of AI-powered assistive tech for the visually impaired

Viva Sarah Press

Aug 4, 2020
2 min

Augmented humanity: Telling the story of AI-powered assistive tech for the visually impaired

Two years before OrCam products became commercially available, I had the chance to see how their AI-powered solution for people with visual impairments and blindness worked in real-time. Along with a cameraman, I met the developers of this groundbreaking wearable device in their Jerusalem office for a chat about the assistive technology they were creating. We spoke about future plans, and how they intended to create an artificial vision device that would allow visually impair

Staying optimistic in the Israeli Covid-19 balagan

Viva Sarah Press

Jul 16, 2020
1 min

Staying optimistic in the Israeli Covid-19 balagan

Israel has lost control of Covid-19 infections, according to news reports. And while the government is threatening to shut down the country for a second time, doctors are saying the new lockdown measures are political and have no epidemiology backing. So, how can we stay optimistic in this Covid-19 chaos? The social initiatives taking place around Israel are encouraging. Social hackathons are reassuring. Tech startups tackling Covid-19 challenges are fun to write about. Persp

There’s no innovation in Israel. But there is hope, love and community

Viva Sarah Press

Jun 24, 2020
2 min

There’s no innovation in Israel. But there is hope, love and community

Asked what Israel means to them, American college students from across the US spoke of ‘home’, ‘Judaism,’ a ‘homeland’, ‘community’, ‘spirituality’ and ‘culture.’ Innovation never came up as a word to associate with this little country that boasts groundbreaking technological solutions in so many fields. The emotional connection to Israel, according to the answers given during a webinar on social initiatives/innovation during Covid-19, is strong. The college students also cit

Hello 72! Telling Israel’s New Innovation Stories

Viva Sarah Press

Apr 26, 2020
1 min

Hello 72! Telling Israel’s New Innovation Stories

Israel’s 72nd anniversary is days away. This little country is brimming with exciting stories. Stories of making the impossible possible. Stories of overcoming great challenges. Stories of enthusiastic people. There are 4,000-plus registered journalists sharing the stories of modern-day Israel. Some write the stories of politics. Some write the stories of religion. I write and share the stories of innovation, creativity, and ingenuity. Success stories and failures. Who are th

Cheese, please: Lifeline to businesses caught in Coronavirus lockdown

Viva Sarah Press

Mar 27, 2020
1 min

Cheese, please: Lifeline to businesses caught in Coronavirus lockdown

Coronavirus lockdown strand businesses with surplus stock. Social media. Israelis. Help.

Keeping up with Coronavirus jokes and memes

Viva Sarah Press

Mar 21, 2020
1 min

Keeping up with Coronavirus jokes and memes

Coronavirus jokes and memes are taking over the Internet. Many are internationally hilarious. The joke translates. But in Israel, there's also a local style of humor you can't find anywhere else. It's in your face and as un-PC as it comes. So, I wrote an article about Israeli coronavirus-themed humor. http://nocamels.com/2020/03/israeli-coronavirus-humor-unrestrained/ Enjoy! #coronavirus #covid19 #humor #israel #ישראל

Remember this photo: It tells a story we won't soon forget

Viva Sarah Press

Mar 17, 2020
1 min

Remember this photo: It tells a story we won't soon forget

The Western Wall has been photographed millions of times. This site is holy and spiritual for billions of people. You’ve seen photos of this historical and religious landmark in coffee table books, with famous people, with politicians, during war, during celebrations, during prayer services. This newest photo of the Western Wall tells today’s story of the world in battle against the invisible but very evident novel coronavirus and Covid-19. Hundreds of worshipers came to the

Viva Sarah Press

Mar 13, 2020
1 min

Good morning digital classroom!

This morning, less than 24 hours after Israel announced the shuttering of schools as part of the country’s measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, my fourth grader was already online in a Zoom class chat with his teacher. The regular school day would have started at 8 a.m. Today’s class began at 9 a.m. The first part of the class call was to ensure everyone knew how to connect. The rest of the chat focused on how digital learning works, what the teacher plans to do in

My daughter asked me to speak at her school. So, I created a new talk on health, sports & food tech.

Viva Sarah Press

Feb 3, 2020
2 min

My daughter asked me to speak at her school. So, I created a new talk on health, sports & food tech.

When my daughter asked me to come to her new school to give a talk, her friend’s eyes nearly popped out. “You WANT your mom to come speak to our grade?” she asked incredulously. “Yes, she has really good stories and they’re interesting,” my awesome daughter replied. “She comes every year.” My heart swam with joy. My tweenager wants me to come to her school. Her excitement was suddenly hit with a wave of uncertainty. “But Mom, the talk has to fit in with Health Week and you’re

Viva Sarah Press

Jan 13, 2020
1 min

What does Israel mean to you?

That’s my opening question to many groups when I give a talk about Israeli innovation and creativity. Religion. War. History. Those are usually the top three answers. Yes, even as we head into this new decade, these are the first answers given. Even though the group has invited me to talk about innovation. Even though Israel’s startups are headline news. This tiny country, which sits comfortably on many tourist destination lists, which has been lauded as a foodie destination,

Viva Sarah Press

Jan 8, 2020
3 min

Top stories of the decade

There are hundreds of journalists writing from Israel about Israel. There are thousands of stories to tell. How to tell the stories is always a question. Whenever I speak to groups about what it means to be an innovation journalist who tells the stories of Israeli ingenuity, creativity and tech, I always note that my goal – for me – is to offer a new angle on a topic or connect the news of the day to something with a wider reach. I didn’t think about making a list of my most-

Killer Clowns Slay Therapeutic Clowns on Internet

Viva Sarah Press

Nov 3, 2019
1 min

Killer Clowns Slay Therapeutic Clowns on Internet

Killer clowns are way more popular than their therapeutic counterparts. Although that shouldn’t be surprising. It’s been shown that people respond better to negative stimuli. I typed the words, Killer Clown, into Google search. The result: About 53,600,000 results (0.76 seconds). I then typed the words, Therapeutic Clown, into Google search. The result: About 1,580,000 results (0.46 seconds) In Yahoo search, Killer Clowns offered 15,100,000 results while Therapeutic Clowns li

Viva Sarah Press

Nov 22, 2018
3 min

The Kids: Ciara

Ciara hesitates for a few seconds before deciding to stop me and another clown-in-training. “What are you doing here?” she asks. She has seen us around, she says, and wants to know why there are suddenly seven adults dressed up as clowns roaming around her school. “We’re educational clowns,” I answer. “This is a school. So, we came here to learn.” My answer seems to hook her in. She squares herself in front of us. “But what are you doing here?” she asks again. “Why are you he

Viva Sarah Press

Nov 14, 2018
3 min

I want to do that: Therapeutic clowning

Therapeutic clowning has fascinated me for years. As a journalist, I have the good fortune of meeting people from all walks of life. Every time I interviewed a therapeutic clown, I left the interview thinking, “I want to do that.” I first met medical clowns when I was a print journalist, early in my career. I would meet them again as a television correspondent, then as a radio host, and again, years later, as an online news editor. There was something about this art form that

Viva Sarah Press

Aug 20, 2018
1 min

A scoop of cannabis ice cream?

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Vanilla? Chocolate? In Israel, gourmet artisan ice cream chains showcase their creativity and innovation in the display cases with flavors ranging from watermelon-feta to Bamba to cannabis. Israelis love trying new things – and that includes fancy ice cream flavors. You can find hummus and Bamba flavors, challah-and-butter and watermelon-and-feta cheese flavors. There's also labane-zaatar-pita ice cream and pomegranate-lemongrass,

The Culture of Israeli Startups and the Wild Ideas that are Helping Change the World

Viva Sarah Press

Jul 25, 2018
1 min

The Culture of Israeli Startups and the Wild Ideas that are Helping Change the World

For the second year in a row, I presented the workshop -- “The Culture of Israeli Startups and the Wild Ideas that are Helping Change the World” -- at the annual Onward Conference in Israel. This all-day event serves up nine speakers on a range of topics, united by the theme, Israel Today – Challenges & Opportunities. My talk touched on space sciences, cannabis, cyber defense, agri-tech, health innovation, and research. The Boston Onward Israel and University of Florida Onwar

White Helmets escape Syria via Israel to Jordan and beyond

Viva Sarah Press

Jul 22, 2018
2 min

White Helmets escape Syria via Israel to Jordan and beyond

Did you see the 2016 documentary on Syria’s “white helmets” civil defense group? It was a powerful window into the daily operations of volunteer rescue workers in Syria, while the civil war there continues. News today, two years later, is about how 800 White Helmets workers and their families were secretly transported from Syria via Israel to Jordan in a daring rescue mission. It is not surprising that Israel helped these White Helmet volunteers escape. Israel, though officia

And then one day I became a living statue

Viva Sarah Press

Jul 2, 2018
1 min

And then one day I became a living statue

For the next three days, I’m going to stand in 30C-degree weather, in a sweat-inducing costume, with layers of makeup on my face, on a main street, with the hope of getting total strangers to crack a smile – or, even, a smirk. This is my inaugural attempt at being a living statue. I’m not a street artist or busker. I have no juggling skills. And, I can’t play any instrument. But I can get people to smile. I love the challenge (and success) of inducing a smile. Near the end of