Israel brings a cold sport to a hot country

Article publishe on ISRAEL21c February 23, 2011
By Harvey Stein

Toronto it's not, but Metulla's Canada Centre provides a cool venue for immigrant and native Israelis thirsting for fast-paced fun on the ice.


A mere kilometer from the Lebanese border, Israel's only permanent regulation-size ice rink draws hockey players of all ages from throughout the country. It's not a sport normally associated with the Middle East, but for Israel's many Russian and Canadian immigrants, ice hockey is part of their culture. And they're willing to drive for hours to maintain it.


Hockey lovers drive for hours across Israel just to get a chance to skate on the ice.

Since its start in 1989, the federation has started drawing native Israelis as well, and competing in an international division. Kids come for two-day mini-camps on the ice, and senior leagues - with players from 16 to 60 -- meet weekly. When they're not at the Metulla rink, most players must practice on rollerblades for lack of an appropriate venue.

Plans are afoot to build a second Olympic-size rink in central Israel. For now, however, the diehards are happy to trek up north to the Canada Centre for a bracing breath of cold air and an action-packed, competitive workout.

Forever21 to open first Israeli store in September

Article published by GLOBES Israel's Business Arena

January 23, 2011

By Ilanit Hayut

The fashion store will open in Tel Aviv's Azrieli Center.

Sources inform ''Globes'' that fashion chain Forever21 will open its first store in Israel at Tel Aviv's Azrieli Center, in September 2011, just before Rosh Hashana. The two-floor store will cover 1,500 square meters, apparently replacing the Yotvata In the City dairy outlet on the first floor.
After negotiating with a number companies, Forever21 decided to operate in Israel directly, rather than through franchises. Gillerman Global Ltd., owned by Dan Gillerman, will manage the brand in Israel.
Gillerman told "Globes", "I strongly hope that we'll meet the timetable, and that the first store will open by Rosh Hashana."

Ancient human remains found in Israel

Article published by YAHOO! news December 27, 2010

By Daniel Estrin

Israeli archaeologists said Monday they may have found the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern man, and if so, it could upset theories of the origin of humans.

A Tel Aviv University team excavating a cave in central Israel said teeth found in the cave are about 400,000 years old and resemble those of other remains of modern man, known scientifically as Homo sapiens, found in Israel. The earliest Homo sapiens remains found until now are half as old.

"It's very exciting to come to this conclusion," said archaeologist Avi Gopher, whose team examined the teeth with X-rays and CT scans and dated them according to the layers of earth where they were found.

He stressed that further research is needed to solidify the claim. If it does, he says, "this changes the whole picture of evolution."

The accepted scientific theory is that Homo sapiens originated in Africa and migrated out of the continent. Gopher said if the remains are definitively linked to modern human's ancestors, it could mean that modern man in fact originated in what is now Israel.

Sir Paul Mellars, a prehistory expert at Cambridge University, said the study is reputable, and the find is "important" because remains from that critical time period are scarce, but it is premature to say the remains are human.

"Based on the evidence they've cited, it's a very tenuous and frankly rather remote possibility," Mellars said. He said the remains are more likely related to modern man's ancient relatives, the Neanderthals.

According to today's accepted scientific theories, modern humans and Neanderthals stemmed from a common ancestor who lived in Africa about 700,000 years ago. One group of descendants migrated to Europe and developed into Neanderthals, later becoming extinct. Another group stayed in Africa and evolved into Homo sapiens — modern humans.

Teeth are often unreliable indicators of origin, and analyses of skull remains would more definitively identify the species found in the Israeli cave, Mellars said.

Gopher, the Israeli archaeologist, said he is confident his team will find skulls and bones as they continue their dig.

The prehistoric Qesem cave was discovered in 2000, and excavations began in 2004. Researchers Gopher, Ran Barkai and Israel Hershkowitz published their study in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

Israel-Cyprus exclusive economic zone set

Article published on Ynetnews December 19, 2010

By Zvi Lavi

Agreement provides Israel with exclusive economic, research rights and sovereignty over artificial facilities built within maritime area. 'Delimitation of territorial water borderline enables investors to feel economic certitude, promote and develop Israel's energy market,' says Minister Landau.

The exclusive economic zone within the territorial waters between Israel and Cyprus was set on Friday morning at the maritime half way point. The clarification of the borderline is essential in protecting Israel's rights to oil and underwater gas reservoirs.

The border was set in an agreement between Israel and Cyprus, signed this morning in Nicosia by Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau and Cyprus' Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou.

During the signing ceremony, Landau said that "the delimitation of the territorial water borderline will enable investors to feel economic certitude and promote and develop Israel's energy market."

The exclusive economic zone is an area where the country has exclusive economic and research rights but has no sovereignty other than over the artificial facilities it builds in the area. The accord was signed after vigorous negotiations in recent months, between diplomatic and professional representatives from both sides.

Delineation of the maritime borderline with Cyprus was done with Cyprus' full cooperation through experts from both countries, according to the accepted principles of international law according to the accepted professional measuring methods.

Until now, Israel operated in Mediterranean waters according to the principles of international law concerning the international shelf. According to these principles, the country has automatic rights over all natural resources within her international shelf even if it doesn't make a formal announcement.

The delimitation of the exclusive economic zone allows for more maritime border certainty towards investors and neighboring countries and will help Israel anchor its economic rights in the Mediterranean as well as pave the way for searching for and developing energy sources at sea.

Joint resources will be divided

In the agreement, Israel and Cyprus commit to cooperating on the development of cross border resources if any are discovered, and will hold negotiations over the nature of the technical and professional arrangements needed in order to divide the joint resources.

Following the signing of the agreement Minister Landau said: "The signing reflects the close relations and ongoing cooperation between Israel and Cyprus.

In light of the recent significant natural gas resources discovery in the Mediterranean, the delimitation of the maritime border has an important role in anchoring the essential economic rights of the state in connection with the ocean's natural resources."

Druze and Bedouin join ZAKA's rescue operations

Article published on ISRAEL21c November 15,
By Abigail Klein Leicman

Israeli rescue organization ZAKA is now training volunteers from minority communities to be first responders in the wake of tragedy.

A Bedouin volunteer joining one of the four new Arab units in ZAKA

For 15 years, Israel's unique voluntary rescue organization, ZAKA, has been sending volunteers to work alongside law enforcement and emergency personnel following acts of terrorism, accidents and natural disasters across the globe.

Now ZAKA is expanding its network within Israel to better serve Arab, Bedouin, Circassian and Druze populations. Two new units in the north and two in the south will be staffed by members of those minority communities, after receiving training that will be adapted to their own religious and ethnic customs.

Until ZAKA (a Hebrew acronym for Disaster Victim Identification) was founded in 1995 by Jerusalemite Yehuda Meshi-Zahav in response to a spate of terrorist attacks, the Jewish state had no organized system for dealing with victims' body parts and blood, considered sacred by Jewish law.

More volunteers means a more perfect world

Fifty-one-year-old Meshi-Zahav tells ISRAEL21c that ZAKA also handles bodies of non-Jewish victims - even terrorists - with sensitivity to cultural and religious principles However, he is eager to have volunteers from Israel's non-Jewish sectors become full participants.

"We believe everyone wants to do good work," he says. "Adding as many people as possible to our volunteering circle is a means to perfecting our world."

Meshi-Zahav was a yeshiva student when he witnessed the first bus bombing just outside Jerusalem in 1989. He and some other students ran to help, but could not offer much assistance without expertise in forensics or first aid. "I went home and the images kept replaying in my mind like a horror movie," he recalls.

Over the next six years, he built up the basis for what would become the world's only Jewish organization of its kind.

Today, about 1,500 ZAKA volunteers - including canine, diving, and rappelling specialists - take responsibility for ensuring that all human remains are treated in accordance with religious guidelines. The only organization authorized by the Israeli police to handle recovery and body part identification, ZAKA participates in search-and-rescue missions and firefighting efforts, international disaster relief, and accident-prevention programs.

Government-sponsored training for minorities

Although small ZAKA units are already active among the Bedouin population in the south and the Druze communities of the north, this marks the first time ZAKA's expansion is being sponsored by the government. Galil Ayoob Kara, a Druze member of Israel's parliament and Deputy Minister for the Development of the Negev and Galilee, has termed the arrangement "holy work" and a critical step toward equality for all Israeli citizens.

Meshi-Zahav looks to the project as a way of breaking barriers and building bridges between Israeli Jews and minorities, which is one of his priorities. "We are open to all: Religious and not, Jews and non-Jews, Israelis and Arabs," he says. "Our guiding principle is our belief that man was made in the image of God."

An ultra-Orthodox Jew with side curls and a black skullcap, Meshi-Zahav has been present at some grim scenes as a result of his work with ZAKA.

ZAKA assisted at the sites of the World Trade Center and Mumbai terrorist attacks; the Columbia space shuttle tragedy in Texas; the carnage in the wake of Hurricane Katrina; synagogue bombings in Istanbul; the tsunami aftermath in Southeast Asia; plane crashes in Phuket, Thailand, Mexico, and Namibia; the earthquake in Haiti; and a recent murder of a Jewish traveler in the Ukraine, among other tragedies.

The United Nations officially recognized ZAKA as an international humanitarian volunteer organization in 2005.

UN recognition opens doors

"UN recognition is extremely important in our overseas operations," explains ZAKA spokeswoman Lydia Weitzman. "That recognition allows us to go into all areas, even countries where Israel does not have diplomatic relations. The humanitarian message of ZAKA is the key that opens doors to all communities."

ZAKA recently established International Rescue branches in foreign countries including Mexico, France and Hong Kong, with another planned for Kiev to serve Eastern Europe. Community volunteers are to be trained to offer an immediate professional response to a disaster in their region, before Israel-based volunteers can arrive.

The four new Israeli units will begin gearing up this winter. Gadi Kellerman is working with about 15 Bedouins in the south, recruited mostly from among border patrol and police officers. Hezki Farkash is setting up the new Druze units in Beit Jann and Yirka up north.

"In the north and the south, our goal is to keep growing the number of volunteers from the Druze and Bedouin communities," stresses Meshi-Zahav.

Meet the Israeli Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle - AvantGuard

Direct flights from Denmark to resume after intifada halt

Article published by GLOBES Israel's Business Arena

October 24, 2010

By Globe's Correspondent

Cimber Air's direct flight will cuts the time of the trip in half.

Danish airline Cimber Air will operate three direct scheduled and charter flights a week from Copenhagen to Tel Aviv beginning November 1.

A Cimber Sterling Airlines Boeing 737-700

There has been a significant increase in the numbers of tourists visiting Israel from Scandinavia during 2010. This, together with the anticipated continued increase with the commencement of the new and reinstated flights is expected to return the Scandinavian countries to the incoming tourism map of Israel and generate a 25% increase in incoming tourism from these countries. In January-September 2010, 47,400 tourists arrived from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark (16% more than the same period last year and 19% more than 2008.)

The direct flight cuts the time of the trip in half, as what was a nine-hour journey, including a changeover in Vienna or another European capital, is now about 4.5 hours.

Daily El AL and SAS flights between Israel and the Scandinavian countries ceased operating ten years ago with the onset of the intifada, after a significant drop in demand.

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov said, “The Tourism Ministry will continue its marketing efforts in 2011 to bring back the tourism traffic from Scandinavia to Israel, as main source countries for incoming tourism."