Israel's April Fools' Day
April 1st is undoubtedly every prankster's favorite day of the year! It is a day of true creativity, fun, and tons and tons of laughter (and maybe some surprises too).
Needless to say, here in Israel, we have our fair share of pranksters. From the common citizen on the street to the newscasters, Members of Knesset, and even some of our former presidents, Israel has an impressive list of unforgettable pranks over the years.
Here's a list of are our favorite Israeli April Fools' pranks! Trust us, it will have you laughing for days!
01: Looking for a job?
In 2019, the Israeli burger chain "110 BURGER" posted a wanted ad calling for a hamburger taster. The entire job description was to eat burgers, with of course a luxury car and guaranteed large salary included! Seems like the perfect job to us.
02: NEW National Anthem!
In 1979, the "Kol Yisrael" radio station announced that Hallelujah, the Israeli song that won the Eurovision contest the night before, would be replacing Hatikvah as Israel's national anthem! Our national anthem is so unique and beautiful, thankfully it was just a prank!
03: It's Raining Gold?
In 2004, Danny Rup, the famous Israeli weatherman announced that there will be a shower of little pieces of gold from the sky, for the first time since 1404 (a play on the date 1.4.2004). You'd think people would be smart enough to realize how crazy that sounds. Wrong! Many people stood outside waiting in anticipation. If only gold was that easy to come by!
04: El-Al going to Tehran!
In 1999, El Al announced they were starting a commercial direct flight from Tel Aviv to Tehran, Iran. Only after several hours, and after nearly 400 fake tickets were purchased did the company announce it was a joke! Many people didn't find the joke too funny, and El Al was sued for nearly three million dollars- all because of a little April Fools fun!
05: Buy some Intel stocks...
2013 - NewsGeek published a bogus scoop about how Intel was preparing to buy out an Israeli startup for 800 million dollars. Just in case you were wondering, the startup spoken about manufactured WiFi powder. Seems like a good idea to us!
And here is our favorite!
06: Moving the Kotel
In 1977, the Ha'aretz newspaper published an article about how the Kotel (Western Wall) was going to be transferred to a different location because the rocks were sinking, due to excessive water pumping from the Ramat Hovav Reservior. Sounds amazingly silly huh? Well, not to the many people who began protesting against the move.
