A Shepherd's Journey

Ishmael Khaldi who helped to make our Traveling Geeks first trip to Israel possible and acted as guide on-the-ground, has just released a new book -- his first -- A Shepherd's Journey. This "journey" is his unique story of transformation from his modest village roots to becoming Israel's first bedouin diplomat and voice of reason in the Middle East.

He was born into a traditional Bedouin family in a poor Bedouin village in northern Israel, where he took us to during our trip in 2008. Take a look at some of the visuals from that trip to get an idea of his roots and what shaped him as a child.

His stories include his early days as a sheepherder and schoolboy "fights," to his terrifying first forays into New York's subway system, and later, his remarkable friendships with Jews and Muslims, religious and secular.

Ishmael has served in the Israeli Defense Forces, Defense Ministry and the Israeli Police before being chosen to join the Foreign Ministry. You can order his new book on Amazon.

Israel Film Festival: What We Can Expect

Last week at The Israel Conference, I interviewed Meir Feningstein about this year's Israel Film Festival, coming to Los Angeles from October 20 to November 4, 2010 and New York from December 2-16, 2010. They'll also be holding one in Miami in February 8-17, 2011. We learn about some of the highlights and what you can expect. Join us.

Gideon Diagnoses Infectious Diseases & More

I learned a bit about Gideon's product at this year's Israel Conference. Gideon is an easy to use online application, updated weekly, that helps you diagnose infectious diseases and stay up to date on the latest trends in epidemiology, treatment and microbiology. More in the video below.

The Operating Room: Bringing Israel Film & TV Talent to America

I chatted with Oded Turgeman and David Israel from the Operating Room last week in Los Angeles. The Operating Room is a production company set in Hollywood, a few miles away from the corner courtyard where we hung out in for the day at the Luxe Hotel. They recently opened up an office in Tel Aviv to explore the untapped innovation and talent in Israel. Their goal is to bring over some Israel programs and films in the near future - have a listen.

Or Matias Plays a Mean Piano

I had the pleasure of chatting with and listening to Or Matias on piano at this year's Israel Conference. Listen to his story and his music.

Snapily for Photos for Flip-Book & 3D Effects

Vered Levy Ron, CEO of Snapily, an Israel-based company, spoke to me this past week at the Israel Conference in Los Angeles. Snapily prints customized photo gifts with 3D and Flip-book style effects.

In a few simple steps, anyone can create LivingPrints, which Snapily converts into greeting cards, scrapbook pages, business cards, personal fun cards, invitations, thank you cards, and notebooks. Their software is based on interlacing images so they fit under a substrate called Lenticular, which is a type of plastic that is produced with many small lenses.

Cool Music Site: TuneWiki

Check out TuneWiki, a cool music site, which I learned about at last week's Israel Conference. The below video gives you a taste of what you can do using TuneWiki....I only wish it was a little easier to find out what they do on their website since they don't even have an About Us section. Click play to learn more.

Justman & Maxwell Recap Highlights: The Israel Conference 2010

Sharona Justman and Isabel Maxwell sit with me at the end of The Israel Conference, now in its second year. The event was once again a hit, not only from a content perspective but also from the discussions you had in between sessions in the courtyard of the Luxe Hotel along LA's West Hollywood Boulevard. There were also compelling demos and show-and-tells from companies that participated as sponsors or attendees.

Energetic, vibrant, and full of intellectual discussions & insightful innovation, The Israel Conference is an undiscovered gem that is a must attend if you are interested in the areas of technology, entertainment, innovation, sustainability, biotech and healthcare. Below, Sharona and Isabel explain and recap some of the highlights from this year's event.

Israeli Innovation: Vardi, Harde, Ditzler & Lichtman

Heather Harde of TechCrunch gives an inspiring introduction at The Israel Conference audience highlighting Israeli technology innovation and how an Israeli start-up won one of their recent awards. On the panel discussing innovation includes Harde, Sequoia's Randy Ditzler, and Moshe Lichtman, Head of R&D for Microsoft Israel. Yossi Vardi moderates.

Bob Rosenschein: Israel the Startup Nation

Answers.com's Bob Rosenschein talks to this year's Israel Conference audience. He talks about his 25+ years in Israel, starting his Company, and the uniqueness of Israel as a start-up nation, a country full of innovators and leaders. He also shows us the latest from Answers.com, which includes mobile support and the ability to tweet your questions directly from Twitter.