JERUSALEM – Here are some recent stories from Israel that you may have missed:
Bibi’s million-dollar ride
Few luxury cars come with an anti-grenade defense system, bulletproof tires, or other serious security features such as a bulletproof armored cabin and an automated fire extinguishing system.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new official car, an Audi A8, has all of them, plus one more thing: a $1 million price tag.
JERUSALEM – Here are some recent stories from Israel that you may have missed.
Dancing with Pamela
Former “Baywatch” star Pamela Anderson is preparing to dance into Israelis’ hearts.
Coming off her sixth-place finish on America’s “Dancing with the Stars,” the 43-year-old Anderson will appear as a guest judge in the sixth season of Israel’s “Dancing” version. In addition to voting and offering the Israeli dancers feedback, the former model and Playboy cover girl reportedly will do some dancing, too.
JERUSALEM – By now it would seem that Israelis are accustomed to calls for boycotts of Israeli products and institutions.
Many, however, may have been caught off guard this summer when those calls came from inside Israel.
In two separate incidents over the past few weeks, Israelis issued a call for boycott or announced a boycott of an Israeli institution for political reasons. One protest came from the right, directed at an Israeli university with allegedly “anti-Zionist” professors on staff; one came from the left, directed at an Israeli theater in the west bank.
JERUSALEM – A standoff between the Israeli government and an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev Desert is raising tensions over land rights in southern Israel.
Village residents are rebuilding their homes for the third time in as many weeks after their demolition Tuesday by Israeli authorities.
In the first demolition order carried out July 27, some 1,300 police escorted Israel Lands Administration officials into the unofficial village of Al-Arakib before dawn, removing the area’s 300 residents before razing 45 structures, including homes and chicken coops. Residents rebuilt their homes and the police returned — twice.
The government says the Bedouin are occupying the land illegally; the Bedouin refused the government’s offer to let them stay as renters.
JERUSALEM – Here are some recent stories out of Israel that you may have missed:
Quit the chuppah singing, rabbis told
Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has ordered rabbis to stop singing under the chuppah, saying it “cheapens the Rabbinate.”
Ynet reported earlier this month that the Council of the Chief Rabbinate agreed to strip rabbis who incorporate song and musical performance into the marriage ceremony of their authority to officiate at weddings.
JERUSALEM – Israeli tour guide Yossi Weiss was leading two busloads of American Christian pilgrims on a tour of Jerusalem’s Old City when he noticed how difficult it was to move around.
The Jewish Quarter was crowded and busy as the group visited the Temple Mount, Robinson’s Arch, and other famous sites, observed Weiss, who recently was named chairman of the Israel Tour Guides Association.
It was one sign of the record year Israeli tourism is having.
Despite the hand-wringing over Israel’s image overseas, the political direction of the Jewish state, and the persistence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, visitors are continuing to flock to Israel — more than ever.
JERUSALEM – Israel’s decision to loosen its blockade of Gaza is drawing both praise and criticism.
Israel’s security cabinet voted on Sunday to ease land-based civilian imports to the Gaza Strip; the naval blockade will remain in place.
The move garnered praise from the White House, which released a statement Sunday saying it welcomed the new policy toward Gaza.
“Once implemented, we believe these arrangements should significantly improve conditions for Palestinians in Gaza while preventing the entry of weapons,” the statement said. “We strongly re-affirm Israel’s right to self-defense, and our commitment to work with Israel and our international partners to prevent the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition into Gaza.”
JERUSALEM – Here are some recent stories from Israel that you may have missed.
A (gray) whale of a tale
A gray whale that took a wrong turn was spotted in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tel Aviv on May 8, marking the first time a gray whale has been seen from Israel’s coast in more than 200 years. Other types of whales have appeared in the Mediterranean from time to time.
The whale reportedly followed a Russian ship from Turkey into the Haifa port. Gray whales live in the north Pacific and migrate to warmer waters off of Mexico in the fall.
