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Israel
Launches YouTube Contest
With NY Knicks Maccabi TA Assist
The winning YouTube Internet videos, which will garner up positive images of the Jewish state, will have a chance to be viewed on the ‘big screens’ on October 11 at New York's Madison Square Garden during the upcoming New York Knicks Maccabi Tel Aviv exhibition basketball game. The two basketball teams have agreed to exhibition in New York to benefit Migdal Ohr, Israel’s largest and most highly acclaimed non-profit youth village. The YouTube video competition will end on September 30th. Participants are asked to upload a 30-second clip to YouTube and send a link of the video to the Israel consulate in New York. "We chose YouTube as a platform because by doing it we also increase the amount of positive videos about Israel," said creative project initiator and New York Israel consulate's media attache David Saranga. "Today, a search for the term Israel yields many inciting clips." At the Israel US Big Apple basketball game, the audience will be asked to select their favorite YouTube video whose creator will be awarded by the America Israel Friendship League with a round trip flight from Israel to New York or New York to Israel.
Maccabi Tel Aviv became the first international team to win on North American soil in 2005 when they defeated the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Participants are asked to submit a 30 second video to YouTube about Israel Sites and Faces and comment with a link at www.isrealli.org/maccabi the official blog of Israel’s Consulate in NY or just go to www.isrealli.org/maccabi for all information regarding the contest.
The YouTube Israel videos will be judged by a committee at the Israel Consulate and the selected videos will have a chance to be played at the game between the Knicks and Maccabi at the Garden. People attending the game will receive a score card to select their favorite Israel video that may be screened during the game and the video with the highest audience vote will win a round trip flight from either Israel to NY or NY to Israel on behalf of the America Israel Friendship League.
Tickets for the exhibition game can be purchased at TicketMaster outlets, the Madison Square Garden Box Office and nyknicks.com.
Migdal Ohr, Hebrew for “Tower of Light,” operates Israel’s largest youth village, providing much-needed support to more than 6,500 orphaned, abused, underprivileged and new immigrant children in Israel. The organization runs a network of schools, providing academic and vocational studies while integrating new immigrant children into Israeli society through specialized curricula and after-school programs. The organization was founded in 1972 by Israel Prize Laureate Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman.
The America - Israel Friendship League (AIFL) is a non-sectarian, non-political, not-for-profit organization strengthening ties between the people of the United States and Israel; bridging distances to reveal the beauty, the humanity, and the modern democratic values that define both nations. With 46 championships, 36 cups and five European Cups, Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv is the first and most successful basketball club in Israel. The Israel team was established in the mid-thirties in the center of Tel Aviv as part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Sports Club (founded in 1906). Another unique record was the fact that during the seventies Maccabi Tel Aviv had three teams playing in the Israel national league - two in the men's and one in the women's. Since 1969 Maccabi Tel Aviv has been sponsored by ELITE, Israel's largest food company and it also carries its name. From 1963 the club’s home court has been the Nokia Arena in the Yad Eliyahu area in Tel Aviv, Israel. The sports club had its beginnings as an open air court for 5,000 spectators. Today, sport fans in Tel Aviv, Israel enjoy a modern arena with a capacity crowd reaching 11,000. Maccabi Tel Aviv was the first Israel sports club to enter the European Cup for Champions in 1958. Since then they have played 602 games in European competitions and were the first and only Israeli club to play in a Final (1967 Cup Winners Cup) and to win the Champions Cup on five occasions (1977, 1981, 2001, 2004, 2005). So far Maccabi has played in 12 Champions Cup Finals. In 1967 they were the losing finalists in the European Cup Winners Cup. In 1980 Maccabi won the Intercontinental Cup. In 1994 and 2004 Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club organized the European Final Four in Tel Aviv. In the 2002/03 season, Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv participated in the Adriatic League and reached the Final Four which was to be played in Tel Aviv, Israel. But because of the war in Iraq it was switched to Ljubljana. Maccabi reached the final but lost 88-91 to Croatian club KK Zadar. European All Star Selections played four times in Tel Aviv, Israel in honor of Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv players: Tani Cohen-Mintz, Tal Brody, Lou Silver and Mickey Berkowitz. Seven of Maccabi Tel Aviv players played for European All Star Selections: Cohen-Mintz, Tal Brody, Silver, Berkowitz, Jamchy, Nadav Henefeld and Oded Katash. Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv was first Israel team to take part in the McDonald Championship, in London in 1995. In December 1997 the club organized the FIBA Eurostars in which top European players clashed in the game between East and West selections. Five of Maccabi Elite players were selected to play in the Eurostars games: Nadav Henefeld, Oded Katash, Doron Sheffer, Randy White - Rashard Griffith. Captain Gur Shelef and Nikola Vujcic appeared In October 2002 in the Euroleague All Star team in an exhibition game in Madrid as part of Real Madrid Centenary celebrations. Maccabi Tel Aviv played in December 2002 in Madrid in the final event of those celebrations. The Miami Heat, who played in the Nokia Arena in October 1999, was the fifth NBA team to play Vs Maccabi in Tel Aviv. Founded in February 2005, YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email. Everyone can watch videos on YouTube. People can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about their hobbies and interests, and discover the quirky and unusual. As more people capture special moments on video, YouTube is empowering them to become the broadcasters of tomorrow. YouTube received funding from Sequoia Capital in November 2005 and was officially launched one month later in December. Chad Hurley and Steve Chen proceeded to become the first members of the YouTube management team and currently serve as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer respectively. In November 2006, within a year of its launch, YouTube was purchased by Google Inc. in one of the most talked-about acquisitions to date. YouTube has struck numerous partnership deals with content providers such as CBS, BBC, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, NBA, The Sundance Channel and many more. David Saranga was the creative, brave genius who helped bring Israel marketing and public relations into the 21st century. Ten months ago, Israel consular officials, Israel advertising associations and both Israel and New York advertising ad and PR organizations came up with a novel idea for changing Israel's war-torn, terrorism hit state's public image. Targeting American guys with disposable income to visit Israel. "We have to find the right hook," consulate spokesman David Saranga told Newsweek. "And what's relevant to men under 35? Good-looking women!" (Ah David, please be aware that good-looking women are also relevant to men over 35.) "We found that Israel's image among men aged 18-38 is lacking," explained David Saranga, Israel consul for media and public affairs at the consulate, "so we thought we'd approach them with an image they'd find appealing." "When you see beautiful women, good-looking people, on the beaches of Tel Aviv, you understand that Israel has to deal with the conflict, it's true, and there are religious elements in its society, but there are also other things," Saranga told the UK's Globe and Mail. "I want people to know that Israel is much more than a conflict, that people in Israel have normal lives." Saranga's professional work has directly contributed to a dramatic increase in tourism from the US. Now that he is integrating YouTube videos and sports into his international public affairs marketing and branding mix, there is now no limit to how successful the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israel Ministry of Tourism will be in attracting more North American tourists and Olim in making Aliya.
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