VIVA PRESS

Can you say, “I don’t know”? Say it out loud. I say it all the time. For me, “I don’t know” means “I have to find out.” If I don’t know something, I will set out to learn it. But for my kids, saying, “I don’t know” can be scary. Does it communicate failure if you don’t know? It is easier to play along like you do know. Until a certain point. This question – Can you say, "I don’t know?" – is one of the key points in the educational talk I give on failure. A new talk for 2021 k

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

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

The morning arrived when I had to take the Covid-19 test. This morning. And while I have heard horror stories about the feeling of having your brain scraped from inside your nose, the test wasn’t as awful as I thought it would be. It wasn’t pleasant either. I gagged on the throat swab. It took two tries for the woman in the hazmat suit leaning though my car widow – I went to a drive-in Covid-19 testing center – to swab the back of my throat. She was really sweet. She was on m

I wake up early but don’t get to my desk until late. As a work from home mom, there are no traffic jams en route to my computer. There are three kids who, while semi-independent, need help in getting to their remote classes on time. One kid begins each morning by blaming the alarm clock for not waking him up. It is a nine-minute rush from bed to computer, with quick stops at the bathroom. Of course, once settled in for the first lesson, there are shouts that the notebooks and

“You could fail. Do you understand that? I don’t want you to be overly upset if you fail,” I explain, hoping that he’ll still try.

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 will be vandalism.” That was a pull quote in today’s Hebrew media, following news that Israel is heading to a second Covid-19 lockdown. The remark referred to job loss and livelihoods. A Queen Mary University of London study shows that while social distancing measures and lockdowns curb the spread of the coronavirus, these procedures are boosting social unrest, too. So, how can we, as a society, make sure that social action triumphs over social unrest during this time?

Covid-19 changed the speakers’ circuit. No more face-to-face banter with audiences, no more raising hands, or nodding faces. Now, when speakers like myself give talks or host webinars, we’re looking into a camera, sharing our screen presentation and trying to hold eye contact with participants (who are many miles away). Speakers know that keeping talks interactive and fun are key. Perhaps even more so, now. Zoom fatigue is real. Online webinars must be fun to hold attention.

Flipping through old photo albums, I came across dozens of photographs of nature and landmarks from past journeys and the memories I still have of them. My photo albums also include faces. Lots and lots of portraits of people. Photos of monks and holy people. Photos of guards and barbers. Photos of women and children. Photos of other travelers and passersby. And it made me think: Who are these people? Why did I take their photos? Do the people we meet cross our path for a rea

Covid-19 has been a catalyst to amazing innovation everywhere. After all, necessity and challenges are often the main ingredients of invention. There are amazing, jaw-dropping stories of entrepreneurs and idea-makers who are tweaking algorithms to quickly solve new problems arising during Covid-19. This ability to pivot is one of the Israeli innovation sector’s specialties. As a journalist, I get to interview the entrepreneurs making the world a better place and the investors

Why is Israeli innovation so prominent during the novel coronavirus epidemic? On the one hand, the tech sector here, as elsewhere, has been hit hard by this crisis. But this pandemic is also fueling a torrent of creativity. So, why is Israeli innovation so prominent now? Israeli innovation is always about finding solutions for the global community. There are many reasons, with the culture of who the Israeli people are leading the list. A people who choose to see challenges as

Shortly before the coronavirus epidemic sent us into social distancing isolation, I started to dabble in mindfulness, an art of focusing on the present. Deep breathing. Focusing. Tuning out. A few minutes a day of just being. And then came isolation. And with isolation came new colleagues. Three of them under age 12. Working from home is my regular gig. Working from home with a spouse and three kids has been the ultimate test to my focus and patience. I am used to working in

Art is therapeutic. During this Coronavirus isolation, my daughter spends hours drawing or painting. For today’s Coronavirus creativity, she taught us -her parents- how to blend watercolors. Her patience was questionable. But I’m pleased with my Seal At Sunset. Update: I told her I blogged about the art class. She was excited by this. I also thanked her again for the lesson. She was pleased that she had the chance to teach us. She agrees that her patience needs practice. But,

People are flushing all sorts of things down the toilet. And it is clogging up the world's sewage systems. Since the toilet paper drought -- or, rather, talk of a drought -- people have taken the liberty of flushing weird things down the toilets. Until Gili Elkin, Board Member and Chief Growth Officer at Kando, sent me a message via LinkedIn, the impact of COVID-19 on the world's sewage systems hadn't crossed my mind. And then, via Gili, I interviewed Ari Goldfarb, CEO and fo

Today, April 3, I had plans to be in Canada. For the Passover school vacation, which was supposed to begin two days ago. To celebrate the Passover holiday with my family, dad, siblings, their spouses, nieces and nephews. A family reunion. This visit to Canada was to include the unveiling of my mom’s headstone at the cemetery. The end of the first year of mourning. The first Yahrzeit. But I’m in Israel. The Coronavirus pandemic changed everything. For me. For my family. F

The 10-year old decided to make flags of countries battling Coronavirus with a Rubik's cube. He also wanted to know if I could trademark the

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

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

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