Newscaster: The first International Jewish Bloggers Convention is set to take place in Jerusalem on August 20th. The J-Blogosphere gathering is being organized by "Nefesh B''Nefesh" and will be broadcast live on the web to hundreds of Jewish bloggers worldwide. Benji Lovitt of "Nefesh B''Nefesh" told IBA''s Leah Zinder about the conference and about his own J-Blog.

Benji Lovitt: The amazing thing about the internet that we know is that it''s democratic and it''s grass-roots, anyone can have a say and obviously the Jewish people are small and united.

Leah Zinder: Feisty.

Benji Lovitt: We are feisty, and it''s a great way to really get the word out, we all have friends back at home in America or South Africa or England or wherever we''re coming from, and it's a real way to get the word out on a grass level, and let the people know that our lives here are not like maybe what they''ve seen on the news in their own country, and that Aliyah is not the scariest thing.

Leah Zinder: Ok, and some of the bloggers in fact will be on a plane on August 18th bringing new Olim to Israel.

Benji Lovitt: That''s right.

Leah Zinder: And that is why, so that they can experience first hand and maybe decide to move here themselves?

Benji Lovitt: Some of these bloggers I believe already lived here, it''s a chance to blog about their experiences and spread the word, it''s a way for people to experience first hand, as if they were there.

Leah Zinder: And you yourself are of course a new immigrant, how long have you been here?

Benji Lovitt: I''ve been here 2 years this week .

Leah Zinder: And what do you do?

Benji Lovitt: I do a few things, like many Olim, during the day I organize youth trips to Israel, which is another method of הסברה, I guess, and in the evenings I''m a humor writer and a standup comedian, also good הסברה for Israel.

Leah Zinder: A standup comedian, and does life in Israel provide you with lots of material for your act?

Benji Lovitt: Oh dear god, this pace is hilarious .

Leah Zinder: Really ?

Benji Lovitt: Have you been to this country before, it''s ridiculous

Leah Zinder: Tell us why .

Benji Lovitt: Going to the beach, seeing the 80-year-old men in their underwear or receiving directions , ישר עד הסוף.

Leah Zinder : ישר עד הסוף, just keep going to the end of whatever .

Benji Lovitt: I think we laugh so we don''t cry .

Leah Zinder: And you live in Jerusalem ?

Benji Lovitt: I live in Tel Aviv, I work here .

Leah Zinder: I was gonna say, Jerusalem has a more serious edge to it I think than Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv is kind of easy to be humorous in Tel Aviv .

Benji Lovitt: But there''s good laughing in Jerusalem too .

Leah Zinder: And what do you find silly about Tel Aviv apart from men in their underwear ?

Benji Lovitt: That''s more disturbing than funny actually. Just being a new immigrant in any country maybe, you have a unique perspective, the whole יהיה בסדר phrase cracks me up, the fact that Israelis drink coffee every 3.7 seconds, that''s funny, everything''s funny. It can be stressful being a new immigrant so it''s good to laugh, it keeps you sane .

Leah Zinder: And do you do your act in Tel Aviv, your standup comedy ?
Benji Lovitt: Yeah, I do in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, I do it a lot for groups who are visiting from the States, from abroad, and again, that''s my way of also doing some הסברה, giving people a reason to laugh when they think of Israel when sometimes the news coming out of here can be not so happy .

Leah Zinder: That indeed is the truth, as we all know. But why was it seriously that you decided to leave your life in the States and come here ?