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Shalom, Slurpee: Israel gets its first 7-Eleven in convenience store chain’s planned wave
(JTA) — Yoav Silberstein, 16, waited an hour and a half to get into 7-Eleven’s new flagship — and so far only — store in Israel. Located in the heart of Tel Aviv in Dizengoff Center, the store opening on Wednesday attracted throngs of mostly teenagers hoping to get a taste of America in the shape of a gallon-cup carbonated slushy called a Slurpee.
Silberstein was disappointed, though, to discover that the largest size on offer was a 650 ml (21 oz) cup. He has fond memories of Slurpees from visits with relatives in the United States, where the largest option is twice as big.
“I overheard people in the line calling it ‘barad,’” he said, using the Hebrew word for Israel’s version of slushies. “They have no idea about any of this.”
7-Eleven is the largest convenience store chain in the United States, with nearly 10,000 locations. But it is in some of its overseas markets where the chain really stands out — especially in Japan, where the more than 20,000 7-Elevens serve up everything from banking services to clothing essentials to high-end fresh and prepared foods. There, they can function as a person’s primary shopping destination.
With the store opening this week, Israel became the 19th country to welcome the megachain, and the first in the Middle East, after Electra Consumer Products inked a franchise deal in 2021. Thirty more stores are slated to open by the beginning of 2024; the company says several hundred will follow.
“It’s revolutionary,” Israel’s 7-Eleven CEO, Avinoam Ben-Mocha, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “It’s more than a mini-market, it’s also a pizzeria, cafe and fast food restaurant all under one roof.”
The new stores will join more than 10,000 convenience stores already operating in Israel. In some big cities, including Tel Aviv, convenience stores that resemble New York’s bodegas can be found on every street corner, many of them open around the clock offering anything from cigarettes to diapers.
But the standard convenience stores known as makolets don’t serve coffee and hot food and are intended, like their American counterparts, for buying items in between larger shops at regular supermarkets. The am/pm chain of small-scale grocery stores gives off a 7-Eleven aesthetic but also does not serve fresh coffee or food. The closest things currently to a 7-Eleven in Israel are gas station stores that offer coffee and a range of sandwiches, salads and pastries, in addition to basic groceries.
At the new 7-Eleven, customers serve themselves Slurpees, Big Gulps and soft-serve ice cream (called American ice cream in Israel) as well as coffee from touchscreen machines that offer oat and soy milk alternatives at the same price. At 9 NIS ($2.60), the price is competitive locally but is still more than other 7-Elevens around the world, including the United States — reflecting Israel’s notoriously high cost of living.
In another innovation, the store’s cups have a barcode that allows customers to check themselves out. A mobile app, currently in a pilot phase, is meant to make it even easier for customers to grab and go.
Gabi Breier, one of only a few older customers at the store’s opening, hailed the self-serve, self-checkout policy.
“I’m walking around with this ice cream tub and wondering when someone is going to come and stop me and demand that I pay,” Breier said.
“It’s a new thing, this trust given to the customer. In the end, people will like it more than other places. It makes you feel like you’ve been invited.”
Asked if he thought an Israeli market might take advantage of this rare show of autonomy, Ben-Mocha was equanimous.
“Most of the kids here are getting it, but I’ve seen a few walk out of here with unpaid items and no one has stopped them,” he said. “But it’s part of the process and we’re on a learning curve too. Look, when you give the customer your trust, they will honor that.”
Israel has been an inhospitable home to some other foreign chains, notably Starbucks, which lasted less than two years before shutting its doors in 2003. Could the 7-Eleven venture be destined for the same fate?
“The problem with Starbucks was that they didn’t bother to understand the local taste profile,” Ben-Mocha said. “They just came with their own concept and tried to force it onto a market it wasn’t suited to.”
“Adapting to the local market is an inherent part of 7-Eleven’s DNA,” he said.
Israeli and American candies share the shelves at Israel’s new 7-Eleven, while the high-tech coffee stations are a novelty in the country. (Deborah Danan)
In Israel, that adaptation includes tweaks to the company’s signature operating hours — the “7” in the name refers to how many days per week the store is open — and to the way food is heated. The company initially said its Israeli stores would be closed on Shabbat, a requirement for food-service establishments that want to be certified as kosher. The Tel Aviv store’s fresh food is not kosher — it serves foods made with milk and with meat, heating them in the same ovens — but other branches will be, according to the company.
Out of around 2,000 products, just 80 are 7-Eleven branded products. Others reflect local tastes: Alongside 7-Eleven hot-food classics such as pizza, hot dogs and chicken nuggets, Israeli customers can also enjoy zaatar-and-spinach pastries and mini-schnitzels. In the candy aisle, American classics like Twizzlers and Mike and Ikes are juxtaposed with Israeli treats like fan favorite Krembo and Elite’s recently resurrected cow chocolate. And one striking import is that donuts will be sold year-round — a concept alien to Israelis, who typically only get to enjoy the fried dough confection when it’s sold around Hanukkah time.
It isn’t enough for everyone though.
“I hate this 7-Eleven, it’s totally fake,” said 16-year-old Moti Bar Joseph, who immigrated three years ago from the Bronx, in New York City. “It doesn’t have any of the real 7-Eleven feeling. There are no Lucky Charms, no Jolly Ranchers. It’s an Israeli bootleg version.”
Yuya Shimada, a Japanese national working in Tel Aviv, was more generous. Shimada came to the opening because he was familiar with the brand from his hometown of Nagoya. Asked if he was reminded of home, Shimada laughed. “No, not a bit. But this store is very stylish. I give it 8 out of 10.”
Asked whether his visit had been worth the wait, Silberstein, the teenager, said that it’s “always special to be first to something.”
He added, “But I stood four hours for the opening of the Lego store across the road so I’m probably not the right person to ask.”
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The post Shalom, Slurpee: Israel gets its first 7-Eleven in convenience store chain’s planned wave appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Lia Koenig describes her life as an actress, from Bucharest to Tel Aviv
צװישן די יאָרן 2018 און 2024 האָט דער ישׂראלדיקער טעאַטער־פֿאָרשער ד״ר יניבֿ שמעון גאָלדבערג פֿונעם בר־אילן אוניװערסיטעט פֿאַרבראַכט לאַנגע שעהען שמועסנדיק מיט דער באַרימטער ייִדישער אַקטריסע ליאַ קעניג. פֿון דעם איז אַרױסגעװאַקסן דאָס בוך די בינע פֿון איר לעבן, װאָס איז פּובליקירט געוואָרן אױף ענגליש דורכן באָסטאָנער פֿאַרלאַג „אַקאַדעמיק סטאָדיז פּרעס“. קעניג, שרײַבט גאָלדבערג אין דער הקדמה, איז אײנע פֿון די לעצטע לעבעדיקע ייִדישע אַקטיאָרן, װאָס האָבן זיך געלערנט זײער קונסט דירעקט אין דער טעאַטער־סבֿיבֿה אין מיזרח־אײראָפּע פֿאַרן חורבן.
דאָס בוך פּרוּװט, װי װײַט עס איז מעגלעך אין דער ענגלישער איבערזעצונג, אָפּצוהיטן דעם נאַטירלעכן טאָן פֿון די שמועסן. גאָלדבערג שטעלט פֿראַגעס און קעניג ענטפֿערט אױף זײ, אָפֿט מאָל מיט לענגערע אָנאַזײַטן, װאָס ציִען נאָך זיך װײַטערדיקע פֿראַגעס.
דער לײטמאָטיװ פֿון קעניגס מאָנאָלאָגן איז די אַנטױשונג, װאָס ייִדיש האָט ניט באַקומען קײן געהעריקע אָפּשאַצונג ניט — דעמאָלט אין אײראָפּע און ניט הײַנט אין ישׂראל. „זײ האָבן ניט קײן דרך־ארץ פֿאַר ייִדישע אַקטיאָרן אין ישׂראל,“ זאָגט זי מיט אַ טאָן פֿון ביטערקייט.
דער שמועס נעמט אַרײַן פֿאַרשײדענע תּקופֿות פֿון קעניגס לעבן. זי איז געבױרן געװאָרן אין לאָדזש אין 1929. אירע עלטערן יוסף קאַמיען (שטײן) און דינה קעניג זײַנען געװען באַרימטע ייִדישע אַקטיאָרן אין פּױלן. לאה איז געװען דרײַ יאָר אַלט װען די עלטערן האָבן זיך צעשיידט און זי איז אַריבער קײן טשערנאָװיץ מיט דער מאַמען, װאָס האָט געשפּילט אינעם דאָרטיקן ייִדישן טעאַטער. דער טאַטע איז פֿאַרבליבן אין לאָדזש און איז אומגעקומען אינעם חורבן.
װען די דײַטשישע חיילות האָבן באַפֿאַלן דעם סאָװעטן־פֿאַרבאַנד אין 1941 זײַנען זײ אַנטלאָפֿן קײן אוזבעקיסטאַן. דאָרט איז די מאַמע שיִער ניט געשטאָרבן פֿון טיפֿוס. דאָס זײַנען געװען די סאַמע שװערסטע יאָרן אין קעניגס לעבן, אָבער אַזױ האָבן זײ זיך געראַטעװעט פֿונעם חורבן.
נאָך דער מלחמה האָבן די מאַמע מיט דער טאָכטער זיך באַזעצט אין בוקאַרעשט, װוּ לאה האָט אָנגעהױבן שפּילן אינעם ייִדישן טעאַטער. אירע אײַנדרוקן פֿון יענע יאָרן אין דער קאָמוניסטישער רומעניע זײַנען געמישטע. זי לױבט דעם ייִדישן טעאַטער װאָס איז געװען גוט אָרגאַניזירט און האָט באַקומען אַ סטאַבילע שטיצע מצד דער רעגירונג. דער בוקאַרעשטער ייִדישער טעאַטער האָט געהאַט אַ פּראָפֿעסיאָנעלע טרופּע און האָט געשמט װי אײנער פֿון די בעסטע טעאַטערס אינעם לאַנד.
אָבער דער קאָמוניסטישער רעזשים האָט ניט דערלױבט קײן פֿרײַהײט ניט אין קונסט און ניט אינעם פּריװאַטן לעבן. דער ייִדישער טעאַטער האָט עקזיסטירט אין אַ מין „געטאָ“ בעת אין דער אַרומיקער געזעלשאַפֿט זײַנען געװען פֿאַרשפּרײט אַנטיסעמיטישע געפֿילן. אינעם יאָר 1961 האָט זײ זיך אײַנגעגעבן עולה צו זײַן קײן מדינת־ישׂראל.
אין ישׂראל איז דער מצבֿ פֿונעם ייִדישן טעאַטער געװען גאָר אַנדערש פֿון רומעניע. אין דער ייִדישער מדינה זײַנען געװען פּריװאַטע טרופּעס, װאָס האָבן אָפֿט געשפּילט „שונד“. די מאַמע האָט שטרענג געהײסן לאהן: „הײב אָן אין העברעיִש און ערשט װען דו׳סט װערן באַקאַנט, קענסטו טאָן װאָס דו װילסט אױף ייִדיש.“
לאה קעניג האָט געשפּילט אױף דער העברעיִשער בינע מיט אַ גרױסן דערפֿאָלג העכער װי פֿופֿציק יאָר. און דאָך זאָגט זי: „איך רעד העברעיִש אָבער מײַן אמת איז אין ייִדיש.“ העברעיִש איז „ניט קײן שפּראַך פֿאַר טעאַטער.“ זי קען ניט שפּילן שלום־עליכם אױף העברעיִש אָדער אױף ענגליש: קײן שום איבערזעצונג „רירט נישט מײַן נשמה“.
ערשט פֿיר יאָר נאָך איר אָנקומען אין ישׂראל האָט זי װידער אָנגעהױבן צו שפּילן אױף ייִדיש, טײלװײַז צוליב פּרנסה. דער פּריװאַטער ייִדישער טעאַטער האָט באַצאָלט בעסער אײדער די מלוכישע „הבימה“. אין די 1960ער און 1970ער יאָרן האָט זי גאַסטראָלירט אין אײראָפּע, דרום־ און צפֿון־אַמעריקע און אין אױסטראַליע. איר מאַן הירשל (צבֿי) שטאָלפּער, דער רעזשיסער פֿון זײער טרופּע, „האָט כּסדר געבױט אַ פּראָגראַם װאָס האָט זיך אָנגעהױבן מיט נאָסטאַלגיע נאָכן נעכטן, און דערנאָך זײַנען מיר אַריבער צו די הײַנטיקע ענינים,“ דערמאָנט זיך קעניג.
די שמועסן קערן זיך װידער און װידער אַ מאָל צו לאהס טאַטע־מאַמע. זײ האָבן געהערט צו דעם דור ייִדישע אַקטיאָרן, װאָס האָבן „אײַנגעפֿלאַנצט די ליבע צום טעאַטער אינעם מיזרח־אײריפּעיִשן עולם“, האָט זי באַטאָנט. אין מדינת־ישׂראַל, להיפּוך, איז די באַציִונג צו ייִדיש אַ ביטולדיקע.
אינעם יאָר 1986 האָט קעניג באַקומען די העכסטע ישׂראלדיקע פּרעמיע „פּרס ישׂראל“ פֿאַר דער הױפּט־ראָלע אין יעקבֿ גאָרדינס דראַמע „מירעלע אפֿרת“. די קלאַסישע ייִדישע דראַמע האָט מען אױפֿגעפֿירט אױף העברעיִש בײַ „הבימה“ אין תּל־אָבֿיבֿ. דאָס איז געװען אַ מאָמענט װען קעניג האָט דערפֿילט אַז זי געהערט טאַקע באמת צו ישׂראל, כאָטש זי האָט ניט קײן מענטאַליטעט פֿון אַ ישׂראלי.
נאָך דעם דאָזיקן דערפֿאָלג האָט „הבימה“ דערלױבט צו שפּילן „מירעלע אפֿרת“ אױף ייִדיש מיט די אײגענע אַקטיאָרן. דאָס איז געװען דאָס אײנציקע מאָל װען דער טעאַטער האָט אַרײַנגענומען אַ ספּעקטאַקל אױף ייִדיש אין איר רעפּערטואַר. אָבער דעם ייִדישן נוסח האָט מען ניט געשפּילט אינעם הױפּט־זאַל, נאָר אױף דער קלענערער בינע „בית־החיל“ („דעם זעלנערס הױז“).
דער גרעסטער טײל פֿון די שמועסן אינעם בוך זײַנען געװידמעט פֿאַרשײדענע טעאַטראַלע עפּיזאָדן און ראָלעס פֿון לאה קעניג אין ישׂראל. עס זײַנען דאָ אַ סך אינטערעסאַנטע עפּיזאָדן, פּערזענלעכע פּרטים און שאַרפֿזיניקע באַמערקונגען. צום סוף פֿונעם בוך געפֿינט מען ניצלעכע צוגאָב־מאַטעריאַלן װעגן לאה קעניגס עלטערן; די רשימה פֿון אירע ראָלעס און אַ היפּשע צאָל פֿאָטאָגראַפֿיעס.
אַלץ איז זײער אַ װערטפֿולער מאַטעריאַל, אָבער צומאָל װערט דער לײענער, בפֿרט אַן ענגליש־רעדנדיקער, פֿאַרפּלאָנטערט אין די פֿילצאָליקע פּרטים װעגן פֿאַרשײדענע אױפֿפֿירונגען אױף דער ישׂראלדיקער בינע. פֿון דעסטוועגן וועט דאָס בוך זײַן ספּעציעל אינטערעסאַנט פֿאַר מומחים פֿונעם ישׂראלדיקן טעאַטער. דער אַלגעמײנער לײענער װעט זיך באַקענען מיט אַ מערקװירדיקער פֿרױ, װאָס האָט געװידמעט איר גאַנץ לעבן דער ייִדישער קונסט און איז טאַקע מצליח געווען, ניט געקוקט אױף די שװערע נסיונות און האַרבע מניעות אױף איר לעבנסגאַנג.
The post Lia Koenig describes her life as an actress, from Bucharest to Tel Aviv appeared first on The Forward.
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Bondi gunmen condemned ‘Zionist’ actions prior to attack and threw bombs that failed to detonate, police say
The two gunmen who opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia last week, killing 15, recorded a manifesto video prior to the attack in which they condemned the acts of “Zionists.”
The description of the video, which was included in newly released documents from the Local Court of New South Wales on Monday, comes as one of the attackers, Naveed Akram, 24, currently faces 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder and one count of terror. His father, Sajid Akram, 50, was killed on the scene of the attack.
In the video, which was filmed in October and found on Naveed Akram’s cellphone, the pair sit in front of an Islamic State flag and four long-armed firearms and appear to recite a passage from the Quran. Later, the pair explain their motivation for the attack on Bondi beach, and condemn the acts of “Zionists,” according to the court documents.
“Police allege that the Accused and his father, S. Akram, adhere to a religiously motivated extremist ideology linked to the Islamic State,” the court documents read. “This is demonstrated by their videoed speech and use of Islamic State flags during the attack.”
During the attack, the pair also threw three pipe bombs and a “tennis ball bomb” that failed to detonate, according to the court documents. Another explosive device was also found on the trunk of their car.
The court document also alleges that the father and son had “meticulously planned” the attack for “many months,” detailing that the pair had engaged in: “Making an ISIS inspired video; Making of ISIS flags; Firearms Training; Making of pipe bombs and improvised explosive devices; Booking of accommodation as a staging post; and Transportation of firearms and ammunition for the attack.”
In October, the pair booked a house on Airbnb that was used as a “staging post” for the attacks and were also recorded conducting firearms training in a “countryside location” that police believe was in New South Wales.
On Dec. 12, two days before the attack, the pair were also seen on CCTV footage driving to Bondi beach and walking along the footbridge from where they would later shoot at the Hanukkah event.
Naveed and Sajid Akram allegedly traveled to Bondi Beach on Dec. 12 to plan for the attack on the Hanukkah event days later, according to surveillance video shared by law enforcement. (Local Court of New South Wales)
“Police allege that this is evidence of reconnaissance and planning of a terrorist act,” the court documents said.
On Monday, Naveed Akram was transferred from the hospital where he had been healing from injuries sustained during the attack to the Long Bay Correctional Complex in Malabar, a high-security prison facility.
The parliament of New South Wales was also recalled on Monday to vote on new legislation that would limit gun ownership for non-citizens and reduce the number of firearms a person can legally own to four.
Sajid Akram was an Indian national who had been living in Australia on a resident visa and owned six firearms.
The new legislation would also ban the display of terror symbols and place restrictions on protests, including giving police the power to remove face coverings during protests. The state government has also vowed to ban the popular pro-Palestinian slogan “globalize the intifada.”
“We have got a responsibility to knit together our community that comes from different races and religions and places from all over the world. We can do it in a peaceful way,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters outside of Parliament on Monday.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed at a vigil on Sunday at Bondi beach for the victims of the attack, underscoring growing pressure on the Australian leader to call a Royal Commission, Australia’s highest level of inquiry, into the terror attack.
Albanese has so far dismissed calls for a Royal Commission, arguing that it would take too long, instead announcing a review of federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
“Emotions were raw and a lot of people in the community are hurting and angry, and some of that anger was directed towards me, and I understand that,” said Albanese at a press conference on Monday. “As Prime Minister, I feel the weight of responsibility for an atrocity that happened whilst I’m Prime Minister. And I’m sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced.”
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Bondi gunmen condemned ‘Zionist’ actions prior to attack and threw bombs that failed to detonate, police say appeared first on The Forward.
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Toronto men, including 1 linked to ISIS, charged with targeting Jewish women for assault
Three Toronto men were arrested by Canadian police on Friday for allegedly attempting kidnappings targeting Jews and women.
Waleed Khan, 26, Osman Azizov, 18, and Fahad Sadaat, 19, of Toronto each face over a dozen charges, including two counts of sexual assault with a weapon and two counts of attempted kidnapping with firearm, according to the Toronto Police Service.
Khan was also separately charged with multiple terrorism offenses, including providing property to fund ISIS and conspiring to commit murder on behalf of a terrorist group, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The arrests stemmed from an investigation into two failed kidnappings allegedly perpetrated by the men several months ago. The attempted kidnappings stemmed in part from “hate-motivated extremism,” according to Toronto police, who said they found evidence in the suspects’ homes that they were “particularly targeting women and members of the Jewish community.”
The arrests were welcomed by Noah Shack, the CEO of Canada’s Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, who warned that the recent terror attack in Sydney showed that “we are one intelligence failure away from a devastating loss of life.”
“It is alarming that multiple Islamic State-related terrorist plots have been uncovered over the past two years in Canada,” Shack said in a statement posted on X. “This goes far beyond the safety of any one group. It is a matter of national security and public safety. There is a ticking time bomb in our country that our leaders must confront before it’s too late.”
In September 2024, a Pakistani man was arrested in Quebec for plotting to kill “as many Jewish people as possible” in an attack in support of ISIS in New York City. Months earlier in July, a father and son were also arrested in Toronto for allegedly planning an ISIS-inspired attack on the local Jewish community.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Toronto men, including 1 linked to ISIS, charged with targeting Jewish women for assault appeared first on The Forward.