What type of dancing do they do in Israel?

What type of dancing do they do in Israel?


Israel has a rich tradition of dance, stemming from Jewish religious and cultural celebrations that developed in the Jewish diaspora.

Israeli folk dance is dancing brought to Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel) by Jewish immigrants from various countries of the Jewish diaspora, and the forms of dance that were developed in Israel and are highly influenced by those Jewish immigrant traditions.

Much of Israeli folk dance is reminiscent of the lands of the early Eastern Europen pioneers, with Israeli circle dance and line dance being common, and with dance attire reflecting that of Eastern Europe. The circle dance called the "Horah" is one of the most well known Israeli dances. Not strictly Israeli, it was a European Jewish folk dance before the founding of the State of Israel, but it has formed an important basis in Israeli folk dance. This dance is often done at weddings and bar mitzvahs to the tune of the Jewish folk song "hava nagilah". In large groups of people it can be done in concentric circles, with one circle inside an other.

Unlike in most countries where folk songs' creators are unknown because they were developed long ago, the modern State of Israel is a young country and its folk traditions are still being developed and their creators are generally known and acknowledged. Modern Israeli folk dance developed in Israel is often influenced
by other forms of dance such as ballet, along with Arabic folk dances and the dances of Jewish immigrant communities from other Arab lands, such as Yemen.


Today Israeli folk dancing is a popular form of recreational dance practiced around the world by Jews and non-Jews alike. The fusion of European dances into a new form in Israel has made Israeli dance widely recognized as a highly expressive and culturally vibrant form of dance.

Pioneer Energy Iran

What is Pioneer Energy Industries Development Company? It is an Iranian company that is suspected of being connected with the Iranian government's alleged program of nuclear weapons proliferation. Pioneer Energy provides engineering consulting to the AEOI, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. It also gives technical support and engineering personnel to AEOI's porjects and facilities, including ZPP Zirconium Production Plant), the (UCF) Uranium Conversion Facility, and the FMP (Fuel Manufacturing Plant), which are all found inside Esfahan's Nuclear Technology Center. They also provide support to the YCP (Yellowcake Production Plant).

Pioneer Energy was listed in the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1803 (March 2008) because of its links to Iranian nuclear activities. Its inclusion in the U.N. resolution requires that countries in which Pioneer Energy is operating to freeze its financial assets and block it from conducting any transactions with that country's citizens. Its assets are currently frozen in the United States.

It seems obvious to me that PEI is aiding Iran's nuclear program, and I doubt they would attempt to deny it, based on the description of their business model. But I guess it all comes back to the purpose of the nuclear program. Iran's government headed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad still claims that its nuclear program has peaceful intentions to fulfil Iran's energy needs. But little else of the world seems to believe them.

For more information on Pioneer Energy, Iran Watch has an article about its activities and much of the above information was taken from there. But I can't vouch for its impartiality. Iran Watch

Tehran As a Tourist Destination

Tehran is the huge capital city of Iran, located at the foot of the Alborz mountain range. Because of its natural surroundings Tehran is blessed with a spectacular panoramic view. And despite constant media reports about Iran being part of the "Axis of Evil", Tehran is full of warm, welcoming people.

So what Tehran places should be the must-sees on a traveler's itinerary? The truth is that Iran's most spectacular attractions lie outside Tehran in cities like Esfahan, Shiraz, and Yazd. Tehran is more of a city to experience than to "see". But there are a few exciting highlights.

Perhaps at the top of the list belongs the National Museum of Iran. If you've ever been to a national museum you can figure out what this will be like. Its displays include ceramics, stone figures, statues, and carvings throughout the various periods of Persian history, as early as the 5th millenium BCE.

For those who quickly tire of old statues, the grandiose Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It is still under construction, but the entire complex will comprise an area of 5000 acres when completed. The main mausoleum is a large gold dome surrounded by 4 minarets.

Also for its sheer size and grandiosity, the Tehran Shahyad Monument is a must see. It was built by the Shah of Iran in commemoration of the 2500th anniversary of the start of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great. It consists of a massive tower that can be seen of from the road during the drive from the airport to the city. The Monument was renamed Azadi Monument or "Freedom Monument" after the Islamic revolution, so don't be confused if you hear it referred to by both names.

One amazing attraction for those with a taste for luxury is the Treasure of the National Jewels. These treasures include the world's largest uncut ruby, the "Sea of Light" (the world's largest pink diamond), and a jaw-dropping globe made of
34 kilograms of gold and over 51,000 precious stones. People like me who have a taste for precious metals gems will love this place.

For those who like panoramic views, the Milad Tower is the fourth largest tower in the world. The views from the tower are magnificent and offer spectacular photo opportunities.

Perhaps the most gorgeous attraction in Tehran is Golestan Palace. It was the royal residence during the Qajar period, and its main building now contains a museum housing relics of that era. Another pavillion in the palace compound contains
an intereting cultural museum, but the real attraction is the classical architecture and the gardens themselves. They offer a pleasant and much needed escape from the bustling city streets.

Another example of classical architecture is the Grand Bazaar. It is an extensive maze of shopping streets totalling 10 km in total. It is a walled area with gates, some of which are locked at night.

There are a lot of parks in Tehran, especially on the north side of town which is the more upper-class area. Some refreshing parks include Jamshidiyeh, Mellat, and Gheytarieh.

If you will be visiting in the winter season, between November and March, the Alborz mountain range will be covered in snow. Even Tehran city itself sometimes receives significant snowfalls. Most people think of blistering hot sand dunes when they think of the Middle East, but you won't find that in Tehran (well, you can find the blistering heat part in the summer months). But instead of sand dunes there are ski slopes. Three major skiing locations include Shemshak, Dizin, and Darbandsar. They are approximately 2 hours by car or bus from the city. Aside from the skiing itself, you will have a chance to escape the polluted air of the capital.

Tehran is an inviting city that is definitely worth a few days of your time when you come to Iran. It's a place to meet Tehran people and experience modern Iranian life in one of the Middle East's biggest cities, and to become familiar with its cultural treasures before moving onto the more spectacular sites elsewhere in Iran. Come and experience Tehran as a tourist destination.

Netanyahu Is Good For The Palestinians

Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of Israel's Likud party, is Prime Minister elect and is currently putting together a fragile right-wing coalition before taking over as Premier. Netanyahu is known as a nationalist hawk and an opponent of establishing a Palestinian state. But could Bibi, as he is known by both his friends and foes in Israel, be good for the Palestinians? Well, good is a relative word, but I'm going to suggest that he will be good for the Palestinians, or at least better than the other options.

To understand why he is good for the Palestinians, we have to remember that in Israeli politics there are essentially two camps: one which favors a land-for-peace arrangement and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel; and a nationalist camp which believes that all of Israel, including Gaza and especially "Judea and Samaria" (ie. the Westbank), belongs to the Jewish people and that a Palestinian state is a grave threat to Israeli security. Netanyahu belongs to the second camp, the nationalist camp.

Netanyahu, during his first term as prime minister in the 1990s, reluctantly accepted the previously-signed Oslo Accords, which mandated a land-for-peace arrangement. Netanyahu did give up some land including most Arab residential areas of Hebron. But he remains opposed to a Palestinian state and supports mere autonomy for the Palestinans within a limited amount of land, and he has always dragged his heels on land transfers, citing the need for "reciprocity" from the Palestinians. While dragging his feet on land transfers, he stepped up settlement expansion in the Westbank. He also opposed the evacuation of Israeli settlements in Gaza. This is a good thing for the Palestinians.

Why is it a good thing, you must be asking? The reason it's a good thing is because the two-state solution is a farce. The purpose of the two-state solution has never been justice and giving a life of freedom to the Palestinians and solving the refugee problem. The purpose of the two state solution has always been to exclude the Palestinians from Israel's population and keep them outside its borders, while minimizing the amount of land given to the Palestinian state. Israel never had any intention of giving up its rights to the Westbank and Gaza's water sources, to their airspace, to their borders, to their main settlement blocks, and certainly not to the holy sites of Jerusalem. Israel's left wing governments have paid lip service to giving the Palestinians part of Jerusalem, but that doesn't mean the Old City or even downtown East Jerusalem. It means the outlying residential neighbourhoods and refugee camps that Israel sees as a nuisance. The entire two state solution was created to benefit Israel. The only reason Yasser Arafat ever accepted the Oslo Accords is because the PLO was almost bankrupt after he misguidedly supported Saddam Hussein in the first Iraq War and was subsequently shunned by the wealthy Gulf nations that had previously funded him.

So why is Netanyahu's nationalist platform better? Because Netanyahu doesn't believe in a Palestinian state, and because Palestinians will be a majority of Israel's residents within the next couple of decades, the only other options are apartheid or a democratic country in which all are citizens. Netanyahu claims to be a firm believer in democracy, and is unlikely to support a system of apartheid that denies the Palestinians their political rights. Instead, he supports a one-state solution with eventual citizenship for the Palestinians, while simultaneously encouraging immigration to maintain a Jewish majority. But if past numbers are any indication, the Palestinian population's growth rate is far higher than Israel's, even if we include Jewish immigrants to Israel. And there are no indications that the rate of Jewish immigration to Israel is going to increase. In the case that the Palestinians become a majority in Israel without having political rights, world pressure will be upon Israel to prove that it is the democracy that it has always claimed it is. Israel will undergo a change, just like apartheid South Africa underwent a change. The Palestinians will have power in their homeland, or at least have their fair representation in the government. The Palestinians will be able to propose and pass legislation that is to their people's benefit, and Israel will cease to be a Zionist state, instead being a state of its citizens.

These days Netanyahu does pay lip service to negotiations with the Palestinians on the reciprocal land-for-security model. But he will likely keep building in settlements while saying that he isn't, will leave illegal outposts where they are and allow new ones to spring up, and will find reasons not to negotiate with the Palestinians for as long as possible. There are already so many "facts on the ground" in place that a true two state solution is very unlikely. But with Benjamin Netanyahu in charge, a two state solution will become less and less likely. So if we look at the issues with a longterm view, Netanyahu is the best choice because he will lead the Palestinians away from phony bantustan statehood and towards integration into a single democratic Israel, or Palestine, or whatever it will be called in the future.

Who Are The Kurds?

The Kurds are an ethnic minority group found in the Middle East and central Asia. They mainly inhabit a contiguous region that includes parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. A Kurdish diaspora also exists over a wider area. The largest population of Kurds lives in Turkey, totalling somewhere between 11.4 million and 17.5 million people. There are no official figures because their governments refuse to recognize them as a distinct population.

The origin of the Kurds is not completely clear, due to a lack of historical records. But based on linguistic evidence they are thought to be descendants of Aryan peoples from Central Asia and local peoples who were conquered by them and fully or partially assimilated.


What is the language of the Kurds?

The language of the Kurds is Kurdish, which is a member of the north-western group of Irano-Aryan languages. It is spoken by more than 20 million Kurds living across a vast area of the Middle East and Central Asia. The teaching of the Kurdish language and its use in broadcast and publication is strictly limited or forbidden by their ruling nations, who want to encourage assimilation.

Since Kurds have never had their own sovereign nation, their language is not terribly homogeneous and has three distinct dialect groups with their own literary traditions. If the Kurds form a sovereign nation in the future, it will be interesting to see what will become "standard Kurdish" language. Perhaps it will be a compromise between the various dialects.

Kurds are usually bilingual or polylingual and also speak the language of their ruling country, whether that be Turkish, Arabic, Persian, or another.


What is the religion of the Kurds?

The original religion of the Kurds was Yazidism, which was influenced by the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam. Some differing beliefs of Yazidism are a belief in reincarnation, and a belief in seven angels that protect the world. Yazidism, along with related religions Alevism and Yarsan, are still practiced among a minority of Kurds. These three related faiths are
collectively referred to as Yazdanism.

However, the majority of Kurds today are Muslims, mostly of Shafi, which is a type of Sunni Muslim. A smaller number of Kurds, particularly in Iran, practice Shia Islam. Some elements of Sufism are also found in Kurdish Islam.

Judaism and Christianity are also practiced by small minorities of Kurds. Though almost all Jewish Kurds have lived in Israel since their immigration their in the 1950s.

The persecution of the Kurds

As a sizeable minority with a distinct national identity and desire for independence, Kurds have faced an overwhelming amount of repression of their language and culture. Their ruling nations of Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq have usually outlawed the language of the Kurds and its publication or broadcast. They have also brutally cracked down on independance movements, resulting in large numbers of civilian deaths.

As is so common these days, the repressive governments claim they are simply fighting terrorism. A more honest explanation would probably be that they are not willing to grant independence to one minority, fearing that this would cause a domino effect of minorities demanding independence throughout the Middle East.