If you were to Google "Delicious Israel" (which natch I find myself doing every once in a while), you will find something that I could not have realized would become such a treasure to me. A few years ago, my adamantly helpful friend Alan Weinkrantz pushed me (and pushed and pushed, because I am stubborn) to create video content. A passionate Israel lover himself, Alan understood not only the value of the visual welcoming, but of the necessity to show our markets off to people who had no idea what Israel is all about. For some reason, I was (and still am in so many ways) stuck when it comes to this theoretically simple task. Whether with a group or exploring on my own, I am in one of our food markets every single day. And of course I am with my phone. Snap a few shots, record a vendor or two. Sounds simple, right?
For Alan it was. Alan was killed in June in an awful and random car accident while sitting for some dim sum on Ben Yehuda Street in Tel Aviv. The outpouring of people who had the same story as mine was intense. Thousands of people wanted to express gratitude that Alan took the time (he ALWAYS found time, and now reading about alllllll the other people with the same story, I have no clue how this man had enough time in his day) for encouraging them.
A few months ago, I saw Alan in LA at the Israel Conference. Without me even getting up on the stage yet to speak he was already sending out a flurry of tagged tweets about @deliciousisrael. I sat with him for the next few hours as he worked his magic - helping people, one after the next, get exposure to the world.
Alan, a few years ago I posted a blog post committing (knowing that you are right!) to write more blog posts about Israeli food. Maybe even just to take more photos. I embarrassingly deleted it a few months later once it was official that I flat out was stuck again. Here I am again, I can't promise anything this time. I hope to honor your memory with more content, and ultimately get people to meet the crazy characters that you loved on our outings. I know you are rooting for me. Thank you.
