An Israel-related video approved by viewers across the political spectrum: sounds crazy, no? But Shimon Peres has achieved the (seemingly) impossible with this charming bit about finding a job post-presidency. (He left office in July this year, succeeded by Reuven Rivlin.)

In the five-minute clip, the 91-year-old statesman tries out various gigs—gas-pump attendant, security guard, deliveryman, stand-up comic—all the while delivering sage aphorisms about compromise, tenacity, and overcoming fear. You know, nation-building stuff. (There’s even a joke about the nuclear reactor in Dimona.) It’s Yoda meets your Zaidy meets Saturday Night Live, and it’s pretty delightful.

SPOILER ALERT [look away now, plot-sensitive readers]:

Turns out the Prez has an entire peace foundation to fall back on. He’ll be fine.

See for yourself (maximize screen for English subtitles):

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Israel is trying to sell aliyah to young Americans with a “hip” new humorous advertisement. Yesterday, the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption released a video pitch on YouTube more reminiscent of a deodorant commercial than high-minded Zionist ideals. Think Old Spice, not Herzl.

As Haviv Rettig Gur reports in The Times of Israel, around 2,000 Americans make the big move each year—same as 20 years ago. With pressure from the Israeli government to increase those numbers, this commercial attempts to make Israel appealing to Americans not by way of ideology, long-standing heritage, or by introducing Israeli culture to Americans, but instead by promoting the things that make America appealing to Jewish Americans: well paid tech and medical jobs, and (if you live in Florida or California at least) beautiful beaches.

The campaign does have one interesting angle: the promise of a free education “on Uncle Shmuel’s tab.” With debate in the U.S. raging over growing economic inequality, student debt, and the need for more affordable education, this is the most convincing selling point.

But that seems to be the one redeeming quality of a commercial that, while sort of enjoyable to watch (if only for the actor’s amusing facial expressions) doesn’t say much about actual, day-to-day life in Israel. Obviously that’s impossible to elucidate in a 90-second clip, but if it weren’t for commanding-voice-over-guy explaining the wonders of Israel, the visuals could have been promoting immigration to just about any other Mediterranean locale.

Then there’s the obviously male-dominated focus: for a few seconds, our tall, vaguely Semitic hero reclines on the beach alongside a sexy female companion. “Shabbat Shalom!” he cries, as she whispers sweet Hebrew nothings in his ear. Later he sits astride a camel (buffeting a matkot ball with a paddle) next to woman who does precisely nothing. Anyone who makes aliyah with the expectation that Israeli women will serve as their props is living in a fantasy land.

And that, really, is exactly what this commercial is selling: a fantasy. But, like Americans, most Israelis will still marry, start a family and spend 40 percent of their day at work. Some will even have to choose between different toothpaste brands, especially with all that milk and honey flying about.

(Image: YouTube)

Zachary Schrieber is a graduate of Hunter College and is currently an intern with Tablet Magazine. You can find him on Twitter at @zschrieber.

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Here’s a video of Matisyahu’s adorable young son Shalom singing his father’s song “Live Like a Warrior,” which Matis the elder dutifully posted on YouTube. The boy, who appears to be growing peyes, smiles sweetly at the camera and says the song he’s singing is “by my daddy.”

BuzzFeed-ready publicity stunt? Maybe. But Matisyahu’s re-reinvention as stage dad might just be his best one yet: Mini ‘Yahu could totally be the next (next?) big thing in the pop game. After all, the Biebs will be almost 40 in popstar years by the time Shalom even gets bar mitzvahed.

We’ll start brainstorming nicknames for his tween fan base. See you in 2023…

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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This week at South By Southwest, experimental comedians Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera, Tim Heidecker, Eric Warheim and Reggie Watts announced the launch of a new YouTube channel called JASH. As of now, the project seems just as bemusing as the channel’s name, which stands for “Just Attitude So Hey,” but Cera has promised his viewers that they are not going to see “any stupid videos of dogs or stupid videos of dogs speaking English.” The channel also has support from a small company named Google.

As part of an effort to expand the YouTube Original Channels Initiative, which supports artists and innovators, the internet giant approached the comedians with the idea and then decided to fund the venture, essentially giving the five superstar jokesters a free pass to film how-to videos about miniature pylons, and much, much more. There isn’t much content yet, but each comedian will curate their own section of the channel and you can already watch a one-minute video from Sarah Silverman, the Holy Mary of Jewish comedy, in which she invites viewers to subscribe to her channel, or don’t, because she doesn’t care:

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(Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Amnesty International)

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