The Small Screen in Israel

By :Netan-El S. Grade 9

Like most other countries, we have cable companies in Israel.  The citizens of Israel have two different major cable companies, offering a lot of varied and unique television entertainment.

The first of the cable companies is called Hot. Hot has its own studio. The Hot cable company has a lot of shows that are specific to Hot. Since I only had this cable a couple of years ago and for the "very lengthy" duration of an entire week, I am not one to know too much about this company. However, the majority of my classmates own this cable and they are satisfied with it.

The second cable company is called Yes (I don’t have a clue why both of them chose an English name). While this company lacks unique content, it delivers great show/film theme based channels. For example, an entire channel is for action films, another channel is dedicated for documentaries and one for drama shows. This allows a movie geek such as me the opportunity to jump from one channel to another and experience a movie thrill similar in scale to the one you get to experience in the cinema.

On a slightly smaller scale, Yes and the two major commercial channels (10 and 22) also produce their own successful shows, creating a stream of Israeli content to the watcher. Depending on what cable you own and what channel you choose, it affects the content that you watch, even on the same channel. I've found that, for example, shows that are made for the kid/teens channel by the channel itself are comedy-based while shows made specifically for the adult cable viewers tend to be plot-based.

The vast amounts of sheer entertainment value I get from the small screen in Israel satisfies me, and I can say wholeheartedly that it is a privilege to be blessed with such content.

ORT Israel: A Top Rated School System

By : Katia N. Grade 9

ORT Israel network was founded in 1949 as a network of vocational schools. Today, ORT Israel is the leading educational network of comprehensive schools in Israel, specializing in the high-tech and science fields. Ort instills knowledge, skills and values in its pupils. The ORT Israel network operates throughout Israel, especially in peripheral regions; in all cutting-edge fields of scientific-technological education. 

ORT Israel has over 100,000 students. One out of every 10 Israeli High School student's studies in an ORT managed and run institution.

As one of the world’s largest non-governmental educational organizations, World ORT operates in over 60 countries. Its’ focus on technology-driven education and training has transformed the lives of millions of graduates.

I am really proud to be studying in a school that is part of a worldwide organization that has so many students and has such a big impact on the education in Israel and in the world.

Israel: A Beautiful Country

By :Nicole E. Grade 9

Can you imagine a place where you can go from a beautiful forest to an amazing desert in less than 4 hours? Well I can because I live there. 

Israel is a picturesque small country with a lot of welcoming views starting from the snowy Hermon Mountain in the North to the Negev Desert in the South. As for me, I love all the views in Israel and fortunately I lived in almost all of them. When I was born I lived in the Lower Galilee in the North. Behind my house was a forest in which I, my friends, and family always liked to walk and play.  When I was seven I moved to the South where I live near the sea. The forest I used to play in switched to the quiet dunes by the sea.

Besides the places I was living in I also traveled in Israel. Every time I saw a new place or a view I was very fascinated even though I previously saw it in pictures. The breathtaking views from the Masada to the Dead Sea or the Judaean Desert; or the outstanding feeling of standing on the top of the Golan and seeing the whole Israel from there, are the things I would remember for  the rest of my life.

I love Israel very much, the people, the food but most of all I love the views.

Chinese Giant Alibaba will invest in the Israeli Start-up Company Visualead

By: Shahar H Grade: 9

Alibaba (China) will invest $6 million into the Israeli start-up company Visualead. Visualead specializes in designing animated and colorful Q R (quick response) codes to be scanned by cellphones. This is the second round of fundraising for Visualead.  In the first round they received over $ 2.2 million dollars of funding. Alibaba is the biggest e-commerce company in the world; they provide e –commerce services for sellers and merchants over the World Wide Web. After Visualead won a start-up contest in Beijing they made a strategic move, to persist in the Chinese market. The CEO of Visualead, Nevo Allva stated “Alibaba is an ideal strategic partner."

The Kinect Sensor

By :Malachi B, Grade 9

I'm sure most of you have heard about the Kinect and maybe even own one. For those reading this who do not know what Kinect is, it is basically a line of motion sensing input devices for the Xbox 360; that enables users to control and interact with their console without the need for a game controller.

 This is yet another of many marvelous  Israeli inventions!

Without this sensor there would be no Kinect.

In 2005 five Israelis started a company called "PrimeSense" which developed a 3D sensor that allows tracking of the user's body movements.

Microsoft recognized the potential of their technology and quickly started to combine the Israeli sensor with their game console.    

That is how the Kinect was born, and the human interface with the machine has changed forever.