Thursday, November 09, 2006

IsRealli--The New Blog of Israel

I received this from the Israeli Consulate in New York City. Note the last paragraph, where they say they will accept video clips and stories for the blog--but keep in mind that the focus is not on hard news stories about Israel.
Too much of the news coming out of Israel is about conflict. But what about the day-to-day lives of regular Israelis?

The Consulate General of Israel in New York decided to expose the ordinary (and often quite extraordinary) activities of ordinary Israelis, both living in Israel and also here in New York, using its blog isrealli.org. The idea of this blog was to show the faces of Israelis, living life in Israel.
“We wanted to offer a picture of Israel that is much wider than what we see in the media,” explained the Consul for Media and Public Affairs David Saranga.

“Our message needs to reach the young generation, and in order to do this, we had to think outside the box. How were we going to expose them to the vibrant colors of Israel? This thinking brought us to the blogosphere, a resource widely used by our target audience but until now outside the scope of government PR efforts."

Originally launched in February 2006 as a videoblog (the first ever established on behalf of a state), the blog was revamped and re-launched this month with a broader platform to post stories, pictures and video links.

The blog covers a wide range of topics including music, food, science, sports and popular culture. Blog posts have included videos of amusing Israeli advertisements, information about new Israeli restaurants in New York and footage of a whacky pillow fight that takes place in Tel Aviv each year.

isrealli.org welcomes contributions from the public – if you have a video clip, a story to write, or just a thought that conveys a sense of what Israel "isrealli" like, send them to us by way of the blog – and enjoy!

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