Oficina Raquel is an independent publishing company committed especially to literature and thought. With the motto "More than books, literature", the publishing house has a catalogue with a lot of attention to the political dimension of thinking. From its origins, with poetry, through fiction, history, philosophy, and essay, it discusses themes on the current agenda.
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El misterioso túnel de la calle Basel por Pnina Ofir El relato se escenifica en un típico barrio de los viejos tiempos en el centro de Tel Aviv. Durante décadas podían verse en el barrio una estación de bomberos, una clínica para emergencias médicas y un colorido mercado popular al aire libre. Hasta que un día el aspecto de la calle cambió por completo. Enormes palas mecánicas comenzaron a derribar los edificios para reemplazarlos por dos modernas casas de varios pisos y una plaza pública pavimentada. Un grupo de niños del sexto grado que viven en el barrio descubren que además de las excavaciones realizadas por la compañía constructora hay alguien excavando simultáneamente por su propia cuenta. Se trata de un par de criminales que aprovechan el ruido y el tumulto de la construcción para desenterrar un misterioso baúl que había sido enterrado hace mucho tiempo bajo la estación de bomberos. La curiosidad y el valor de los niños conduce a la captura de los criminales momentos antes de la aparición del baúl resolviendo así el misterio.
Das Rätsel des Tunnels in der Baselstraße – ein Krimi für junge Leser von Pnina Ophir Eine Gruppe von Schülern aus einem typischen älteren Teil von Tel Aviv, bemerkt eines Tages, wie sich ihr Viertel dramatisch zu verändern beginnt. Plötzlich rücken Planierraupen an und reißen Gebäude ein, um Raum für moderne Hochhäuser und einen großen gepflasterten Platz zu schaffen. Die Kinder entdecken, daß außer den Erdarbeiten für die Neubauten noch weitere Grabungen stattfinden. Ein Ganovenpärchen nutzt den Lärm und Aufruhr in der Gegend, um eine rätselhafte Schatzkiste auszugraben, die vor langer Zeit unter der Feuerwehrstation vergraben wurde. Mit List und Mut schaffen es die Kinder, die Ganoven um ihre Beute zu bringen und schließlich das Geheimnis des Schatzes zu lüften. Die Journalistin Pnina Ophir wurde 1947 in Haifa geboren und lebt in Tel Aviv. Sie veröffentlichte bereits zwei Gedichtsammlungen. Ein zweites Buch dieser Serie mit dem Arbeitstitel Der Zauberer aus der Motzkinstraße wird 2005 publiziert. Rechte in deutscher und anderen Sprachen noch erhältlich
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Le mystérieux tunnel de la rue Basel, par Pnina Ophir Cette fascinante histoire se déroule dans un vieux quartier typique du centre de Tel-Aviv. Il y avait depuis bien longtemps une station de pompiers, des ambulances de la croix rouge, ainsi qu’un marché coloré. Un jour, la nature de la rue changea complètement. Des bulldozers commencèrent à détruire les immeubles du quartier, pour les remplacer par deux tours modernes d’habitation et un jardin public. Des enfants de 6ème habitant le quartier découvrent alors, qu’un plus des excavations de la société de construction, d’autres excavations privées se préparent. Deux criminels décidèrent de profiter du bruit et du tumulte dans le quartier pour chercher le mystérieux trésor qui avait été enterré il y a bien longtemps sous la station de pompiers. La curiosité et le courage des enfants permirent finalement de prendre les criminels sur le fait, et d’éclaircir ainsi tout le mystère.
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The story is set in a typical old-timers’ neighborhood in central Tel Aviv. For several decades, the neighborhood contained a firehouse and an emergency medical center, as well as a colorful open-air market. But one day, the character of the street changes completely: Bulldozers begin tearing down the buildings, which are to be replaced by two modern multistory houses and a paved public square. A group of sixth-graders living in the neighborhood discovers that, in addition to the construction company's excavations, another private excavation is under way. It transpires that a pair of criminals decided that the noise and commotion in the area provided a one-time opportunity to unearth a mysterious "treasure chest" that was buried under the old firehouse long ago. The children’s curiosity and courage ultimately lead to the capture of the criminals moments before the chest is found, which in turn solves the mystery. A second book in this series, named The Magician from Motzkin Boulevard has already been written and a Hebrew-language edition will be published later this year. 96 pages, full-color hardcover with B/W illustrations inside, 15X22 cm
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Zionism in Arab discourses presents a ground-breaking study of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Through analyses of hundreds of texts written by Arab Islamists and liberals from the late-nineteenth century to the 'Arab Spring', the book demonstrates that the Zionist enterprise has played a dual function of an enemy and a mentor. Islamists and liberals alike discovered, respectively, in Zionism and in Israeli society qualities they sought to implement in their sown homelands. Focusing on Palestinian, Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian political discourses, this study uncovers fascinating and unexpected Arab points of views on different aspects of Zionism; from the first Zionist Congress to the First Lebanon War; from gardening in the early years of Tel Aviv to women's service in the Israeli Defence Forces; from the role of religion in the creation of the state to the role of democracy in its preservation. This study presents the debates between and within contesting Arab ideological trends on a conflict that has shaped, and is certain to continue and shape, one of the most complicated regions in the world. ;
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Start-ups and Magic in the Holy Land Roni Einav & Zvi Morik Eric Torrance and Ruth Lourie are two lovely American college graduates in their early twenties who met during their last year in college and quickly became a couple. The following summer, they plan to vacation together to Israel, the start-up unicorn valley and cradle of the world’s major religions. They look forward to an exciting journey. Eric, the third son of a New York Wall Street businessman and a stage performer, both of the Protestant faith, studied applied mathematics and computer science at Columbia University. Later, he moved to Berkeley, California, where he planned to earn his master’s degree and hoped to join the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley. Ruth is the elder daughter of a Jewish family from Los Altos, California, whose father was an Israeli navy officer and is currently a dentist, and her mother a Jewish American high school Spanish teacher, originally from Santiago, Chile. Ruth studied anthropology and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and is keenly interested in exploring ancient occult knowledge in Israel. In Tel Aviv the couple enjoys meeting Ruth’s father’s old-time friend, a leading start-up founder and investor with proven success who is ready to guide them and help Eric find his way into Israel’s high-tech ecosystem. While touring the country, the couple manages to explore other exciting magic worlds in Israel and meet a host of intriguing characters, including a powerful Kabbalah mystic in holy Safed, a terrifying Arab woman who tells their fortune, an expert of the secret Druze religion, peaceful Ahmadi Muslims in Haifa, and Good Samaritans on Mount Gerizim. The couple even experiences a Christian miracle at St. Peter’s Church in Jaffa, learns about the Neolithic sites of sun worshippers in the Golan, and is initiated into the original Israeli self-defense Krav Maga system. During this spiritual quest, Ruth and Eric encounter a series of hair-raising experiences and daring adventures—which they barely survive. Upon transitioning from vacation to professional work, they meet on October 7, 2023, with an agitating turn in their journey, when Hamas terrorists invade Israel in a bloody surge of violence against innocent civilians. Ron Weintraub is one of the first pioneers who initiated the myth of Israel’s high-tech industry, aka “Start-up Nation,” in the 1980s. Born to a modest blue-collar family in northern Tel Aviv, where he grew up and was educated, he learned that he could only count on his own skills and knowledge. Weintraub graduated with a degree in engineering and operations research from the Technion in Haifa, a highly acclaimed technical institute, and worked as a system analyst for Israel’s cutting-edge security infrastructure. After he followed his father’s advice to run his own business, Ron broke all Israeli records when he sold the 4th Dimension Software in 1999 for $675 million, a unicorn in modern terms, to BMC Software in Houston, Texas. Despite his impressive success, Weintraub didn’t slow down or retire. Instead, he kept busy and remained actively involved in various technology start-ups, founding more than thirty high-tech companies, including Jacada, Mend (formerly White Source), Cyboard, Guidde, and Eurekify. His dramatic and risky life story was depicted in Nordau to Nasdaq, which was translated and published in several languages. Ron Weintraub is married to Matia, an architect and town planner who also graduated from the Technion. They have raised four sons, all of them active in the start-up or academic scenes. They hope that their gifted grandchildren will also follow in their footsteps. Zvi Morik is a seasoned international publisher and editor with a solid academic background from Tel Aviv University in mathematical economics, stochastic processes, operations research, and game theory. His company, Dekel Publishing House (est. 1975), was initially an academic publisher that then branched out into various popular fields, such as martial arts and leisure activities. Its flagship product, the Israeli self-defense Krav Maga series, was successfully published and translated into English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and most European languages. Having noticed the key role that start-ups play in Israel’s economy and their benefits to society, he was delighted by the opportunity to write this book with Roni Einav, his charismatic youth movement instructor. Morik believes that this book will help interested readers to better understand the hidden magical facets of Israel as well as the spirit of its dynamic and often enigmatic modern start-up scene. Zvi Morik was born at an UNRRA DP camp in Odenwald, Germany, and immigrated with his parents to Israel as a baby. He is married to Pnina Ophir, a renowned Israeli copywriter. Their son, a Middle East expert, works as the export manager at Dekel Publishing House. An English-language edition has been scheduled for publication in Fall 2024. 176 pages, 15x 22.5 cm
‘Living in History’ is a unique and breathtaking study of the evolution of English house styles from Medieval and Tudor times up to the 1930’s. It reveals the architectural diversity of each period through the eyes and beautiful hand drawn portraits of Artist Eli Ofir.
Everyone Sleeps is an ABC-book for the whole family. This book presents 26 animals, depicted both awake and asleep. It combines several educational features: promoting thoughts of sleep, teaching children about various worldwide animals and how they sleep, learning the alphabet, enhancing vocabulary, instilling a passion for animals, and promoting original artwork. The book is also characterized by a high quality and colorful graphic design.
Vingt-trois textes du fameux anthropologue Serge Bouchard, écrits de sa plus belle plume, ludique et savante, et abondamment illustrés d’œuvres de Pnina C. Gagnon, artiste peintre qui a également sa propre patte, dans un style oscillant entre le réalisme et l’art naïf. Un livre idéal pour faire connaître et aimer le patrimoine naturel nord-américain ; aux plus jeunes par les illustrations, aux plus vieux par la richesse des textes. - Twenty-three texts by the famous anthropologist Serge Bouchard, written in his finest playful and wise pen, and abundantly illustrated with works by the painter Pnina C. Gagnon, who also has her own paw, in a style oscillating between realism and naive art. The ideal book to introduce and appreciate North American natural heritage, to the youngest through the illustrations and to the oldest through the richness of the texts.
