Tel Aviv's Gastronomic Amusement Park

Israel’s freshest and zaniest produce, plus wines, cheeses, fish and meat, beckon visitors to this high-end daily market in Tel Aviv port.

By Viva Sarah Press for ISRAEL21c 

On a walk through a farmers market in France, Israeli food journalist and entrepreneur Michal Ansky came across some of the most delicious-looking red tomatoes. When she asked the tour guide about them, she wasn’t expecting to hear that they were imported from Israel.

“In Israel, there are the best fruit and vegetables and herbs I’ve ever seen. But it doesn’t reach the customer. Usually the good stuff goes to export,” Ansky, who specializes in food products quality, tells ISRAEL21c. “There is no buyer diversity here.”

So Ansky, together with chef/journalist Shir Halpern and architect/entrepreneur Roee Hemed, founded Shuk Hanamal (Port Market) to give customers more choice, better products, and knowledge about where their food is coming from.

The one-stop shop for the best ingredients and produce is located in a hangar at the Port of Tel Aviv, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. During the week, vendors in the covered market offer up local and seasonal fruits and veggies, specialty wines, cheeses, baked goods and fresh meat, fish and deli goods. There are also imported delicacies that are unavailable locally. Think Eataly in New York, but in Hebrew.

On Friday mornings, Shuk Hanamal welcomes the Tel Aviv farmers market vendors and it is culinary and gastronomic heaven for everyone. The small producers set up stalls packed with locally grown, exotic-looking, super-tasty fruits and vegetables that you don’t usually see in Israel. 

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Israeli Invention Will Cool Cyclists Off On A Hot Day

 BY AYA EPHRATI, for NOCAMELS

Cycling can be a strenuous activity – especially during long rides in the summer heat. Two Israeli inventors now think they have the solution to the severe discomfort of overheated riding: Q-FOG. They describe their invention as the “world’s first spray device for cyclists, which attaches to the bicycle handlebar.”

As they explain on their Indiegogo page: “Cooling apparatuses for cyclers available on the market today are not the most comfortable and efficient. They have to be carried or worn on our bodies and this can create discomfort while riding. Q-FOG is a new and innovative, field proven cooling water sprayer that addresses the cyclist’s need for a minimalistic, comfortable and easy to use device.”

“The idea of ​​Q-FOG was born on a particularly hot day,” Inventor Arik Bar Erez tells NoCamels. ”I rode my bike, sweating, and suddenly I passed a house where the sprinklers were on. I knew immediately what needed to happen. I had to build a small device for bicycles that will provide the same pleasant and refreshing experience.”

“Until Q-FOG, the problem was that my inventions always remained in a drawer. I realized that the Q-FOG is too good of an idea to be left in the drawer, and began developing the product along with my partner today, Kobe Rain,” he continued.

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How I Became A ‘Green Zionist’

by Arielle Sperling, Special To The Jewish Week

When I think about growing up in the suburbs of New York City, I remember blue and white Yom Ha’Atzmaut cupcakes and Israel advocacy seminars. I was raised with a joyful love of Israel that is inherently part of who I am.

Starting college at Colgate University last August was a breath of fresh air. My friends, peers, and professors did not all think like I did. My Zionism was challenged, and rightfully so: just loving Israel was not enough anymore. I wanted to speak up for Israel, but I quickly found that politics put everyone around me on the defense. I needed to find a way to show my pride in Israel, and to protect and defend her at the same time.

As a freshman I developed an interest in environmental studies. I became a recycling buff and joined a group that promotes sustainability in the local community. Discussions with my father transitioned from politics to photovoltaics. Now I was juggling my passion for Zionism with my new enthusiasm for the environment, and it became increasingly important for me to find a way to link the two.

A disagreement with a friend helped me understand that the causes are intricately connected. I’d spent the day teaching school children about why they shouldn’t drink from disposable plastic bottles. That evening I had dinner with my friend, who, lo and behold, was drinking from a plastic bottle. Halfway through my lecture on the evils of plastic, he stopped me. “Don’t you think there are bigger things to worry about? I thought you cared about Israel.” I got quiet, embarrassed at his affront. But it was his prying questions that helped me tie the issues together.

“I do care about Israel,” I said. “Think about it. Billions of gallons of oil are used each year to produce, transport, and dispose of plastic bottles. It binds us to oil-rich, politically corrupt, anti-Israel countries. If we lessen our dependence on oil, just imagine the possibilities for the way politics would play out. Can you imagine an Israel that doesn’t rely on oil?”

With a nod, he threw out the bottle. I smiled. That was when I became a “Green Zionist.”

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Residents appeal against redevelopment of Irish Jewish Museum in Dublin

Portobello residents object to proposed demolition of five terraced houses

Residents of Portobello are appealing against Dublin City Council’s decision to approve plans for a expanded Irish Jewish Museum on the site of five terraced two-storey houses at Walworth Road.

The proposed development, which is being handled by the Office of Public Works, would involve demolishing the five houses and building a two-storey over basement museum incorporating a café and synagogue.

The new structure would also include archive storage, an audiovisual theatre, toilets and staff area at basement level, more generous exhibition space on the ground and first floors as well as a museum shop and a garden to the rear.

A synagogue was first opened in 3 and 4 Walworth Road in 1916 and was used for regular worship until the early 1970s. With a steep decline in the area’s Jewish population, the two houses were turned into a museum in 1985.

Its mission is to collect, preserve, interpret and present material evidence of the Jewish people’s experience in Ireland and their contribution to Irish society as well as promoting public awareness of the Holocaust.

The Walworth Road synagogue is the last remaining physical evidence of Portobello’s once-thriving Jewish community, which at its peak accounted for up to 80 per cent of the population of this tightly knit part of Dublin.

The three adjoining houses have been vacant for some time, having been acquired for the museum’s future expansion in an area that is zoned Z2 -- “to protect and/or improve the amenities of residential conservation areas”. 

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Arizona Is Fertile Ground for New York Matzo

YUMA, Ariz. — Here, on a Christian farmer’s land five miles from the Mexican border, lies the holiest of fields for some of New York’s most observant Orthodox Jewish communities. Wheat harvested on these 40 acres is destined to become matzo, the unleavened bread eaten by Jews during the eight days of Passover.      

It is not an everyday plant-and-pick operation, and the matzo made from this wheat is not everyday matzo.

Yisroel Tzvi Brody, rabbi of the Shaarei Orah synagogue in Borough Park, Brooklyn, stood at the edge of one of the fields on Monday, stooping to rub a grain of wheat between his wrinkled thumb and index finger. Removing his glasses, he brought the grain close to his eyes and turned it from side to side, like a gemologist inspecting a precious stone.

“It is to ascertain that it’s not sprouted,” Rabbi Brody explained. “If it has, it’s not valid.”

For seven weeks, while the wheat grew in scorching heat under impossibly blue skies, two men clothed in the traditional black and white garments of the Hasidim stayed in a trailer overlooking the crop, to be able to attest that the wheat, once matured, had been untouched by rain or other moisture. Workers were prohibited from carrying water bottles in the field. Dust danced in the air as the wind blew, but unpaved roads could not be wet while the wheat was growing. The goal was to prevent any natural fermentation from taking place in the grains before they were milled into flour and the matzo was baked, sometime in the late fall.

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Empire Kosher Poultry fined $99,000 for environmental violations

Infractions of America’s largest kosher poultry producer include chemical spills and unauthorized discharges.

By JTA

Empire Kosher Poultry was fined $99,000 by Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection for repeat violations dating back to 2008.

The infractions at America’s largest kosher poultry producer, which has its plant in Mifflintown, Pa., included chemical spills, discharge of untreated industrial wastewater into the nearby Juniata River, improper storage of solid waste and a lack of reporting to state authorities of some unauthorized discharges.

For example, a state inspection on March 15 revealed an unreported industrial wastewater spill that an Empire employee said was from the chicken de-skinning operation area. Inspectors found a wastewater manhole that overflowed to the ground and into a storm water conveyance system, spilling chicken skin and fat into the areas.

The earliest citation, in May 2008, faulted Empire for having dysfunctional dissolved-air-flotation machines, not maintaining proper records, failing to provide secondary containment around storage containers in the feather pit, and having chemical spills and process waste in the feather pit.

As after other inspections, Empire told state authorities that it would take corrective actions.

On May 28, Empire agreed to pay fines totaling $99,000. Approximately $15,000 was paid to Pennsylvania’s Solid Waste Abatement Fund and another $84,000 will go to the state’s Clean Water Fund over a period of about five months.

There are plenty of nutritional food bargains out there

By Sharon Palmer, R.D. - Environmental Nutrition Newsletter for JewishWorldReview.com

"Healthy food is expensive." That's often the belief surrounding nutritious foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. However, evidence indicates that it might not be true. A May 2012 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that, on a per serving basis, many whole plant foods, such as grains, beans, fruits and vegetables, are less expensive than foods we should consume in moderation, such as sweets, chips and fatty meats.

It makes sense that minimally processed plant foods should be lower in cost than more highly processed selections; after all, the less food processing and packaging involved, the lower the food cost. (Think whole potatoes vs. potato chips.) However, even healthy whole foods, such as fresh berries, macadamia nuts and wild salmon, can be costly because of availability, cultivation and transportation.

But if you base the majority of your food purchases on seasonal, local nutrition bargains--foods that provide high nutrition content for a relatively low cost--you can allow for a splurge on wild-caught fish, delicate raspberries or specialty nuts more often.

Check out our nutrition experts' top picks for nutrient-rich food bargains. Prices are based on average retail surveys from the U.S.D.A. and U.S. Department of Labor.

1. Eggs (16 cents per large egg)

"Eggs are rich in protein, versatile and good for any meal or a snack. Eggs also contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two cousins of beta-carotene, which may help prevent age-related eye disease," says Virginia-based registered dietitian Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., author of "Diabetes Weight Loss, Week by Week."

2. Onions (12 cents per small onion)

Rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins B6 and C, the onion offers a much needed nutritional and flavor punch. They also contain phytochemicals, such as quercetin and allyl sulfides, which are linked to heart health, immune function and anti-cancer effects. Add them to a number of dishes, such as soups, stir-fries, and casseroles.

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