Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumISRAEL: A LAND BRIMMING WITH GAYS, HIPSTERS, TECH GEEKS & HEALTHY PEOPLE
While top ten lists are oft times nothing more than clickbait (cough, BuzzFeed, cough) there are many lists that have proven their merit and are actually quite useful were looking at you BlogTO.
Over the past few months, reputable media outlets (The Telegraph, Bloomberg), an up-and-coming travel blog (WOW Travel), and a prestigious award show (Worlds Fifty Best Bar Awards) listed the worlds healthiest countries, most gay-friendly cities, most hipster neighbourhoods, and, well, the fifty best bars. Today, tech giant Intel announced its list of ten startups from five different countries that it will be investing $22 million US into.
And it would just so happen that Israel, a land that frequently receives negative attention from media outlets, appears on each one.
On Bloombergs list of the worlds healthiest countries, released Oct. 31, Israel comes in at No.6, below first-place Singapore, Italy, Australia, Switzerland and Japan, but ahead of Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany. North American countries fail to appear in the top ten. The rankings were compiled from data from the United Nations, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization. Israel is the only Middle Eastern country to appear in the top ten.
On WOW Travels list of gay-friendly cities, Israels cultural capital, Tel Aviv, secured the No. 1 spot (Toronto took home No. 11), referred to as one of the worlds most liberal cities, and also, the most gay-friendly city, not only in the Middle East but in the entire world.
The Telegraphs list of the worlds most hipster neighbourhoods ranked Tel Avivs Gan Hahashmal as No. 10, home to a growing community of young indie fashion designers and other artist types. Torontos Queen West comes in at No. 16. The Telegraph cites a variety of boutiques, restaurants, cafes and creative spaces that Israelis in the area can visit, and even names a couple local drinks. Definitely an area worth checking out the next time you visit the Holy Land. Interestingly, this isnt the first time a Tel Aviv borough was named in a list about hipsters. Thrillist gave the citys Florentin area the distinction of being No.2 on its list, only behind New Yorks Williamsburg.
http://www.cjnews.com/news/israel/israel-a-land-brimming-with-gays-hipsters-tech-geeks-healthy-people