The Land of Mickey and Honey

Ami Kaufman By Ami Kaufman January 3, 2011 | Edit
The best news of the day is that a huge entertainment group is coming to town

With all due respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Shashinsky committee (the panel which yesterday hiked up taxes on Israel’s gas reservoirs), the biggest news item of the day (in my humble opinion) was buried somewhere in the back pages of the local media.

As a native of Haifa (and as one with relatives in Orange County CA, where it all started), I was overcome with pride and joy yesterday when I saw that Disney – yes folks, Disney! – is coming to town:

New Lineo Cinemas (2006) Ltd., owned by the Edery family and Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) investment arm Shamrock Holdings, will build a NIS 600 million 25-screen multiplex and Disney amusement park at the Check Post exit from the Carmel Tunnel in Haifa. New Lineo owns the Cinema City Ltd. multiplexes in Ramat Hasharon and Rishon LeZion. The entertainment complex will be built on an 80-dunam (20-acre) site and will include 50,000 square meters of cinemas and shops and a 30,000-square meter Disney amusement park.
You know what? Maybe this could be the solution to the conflict. Yossi and Youssuf will be able to scream together on The Matterhorn, David and Daud will hug Goofy on both sides and Malka can sit with Malak on the boat in “It’s a Small World After All” and just smile at each other.

This is gonna be great folks. But ‘till then…

“C! (See ya real soon!)

Y! Why? Because we LIKE you!)”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNK5KzI48mM[/youtube]

Ami Kaufman

Ami Kaufman was chief night editor for Haaretz, for the prominent Israeli financial daily Calcalist, and correspondent on Israeli affairs for 93.6 RAM FM, a joint Palestinian-Israel radio station. His interest in food and cooking led to culinary studies at the "Israeli CIA" (Tadmor, Herzliya) and a brief stint in the restaurant business. Born in Tel Aviv, Ami lives in Bat Yam with his wife and two daughters. In his spare time he blogs at Half & Half.

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