Ep 397 Tues. July 26, 2022

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Music: Makom Prati; Edan Tamler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I-i6LSV_jg

1. Monday, news broke that Russia sent over an official letter to Israeli officials saying they are going to cut the Jewish Agency in Russia. The Jewish Agency is the body that manages and helps Jews immigrate to Israel. Essentially, what Russia did was say that they are now not going to allow Jews to leave the country and move to Israel. It’s a big deal and is reminiscent of when the former USSR banned Jews from coming to Israel, specifically in the 1970s. Now that Israelis got the word, Israel’s president Isaac Herzog is saying it’s important to keep the public information and chat on this subject to a minimum. He said, “I believe that the less we speak about it, the better we’ll be. It will allow proper treatment of the issue.” The role of president in Israel is typically ceremonious, but Herzog previously led the Jewish Agency, which is just partially government funded, and he has deep connections around the world. Now leaders are using his foreign affairs to know how to manage this issue. In related news, the Jewish Agency employees in Russia are reporting their phones being tapped. This is all while the organization is managing 1,000 applications a day from Russian Jews who want to leave the country and move to Israel. Employees are reporting that Russian intelligence personnel are actually interrupting their phone conversations and accusing them of breaking privacy laws in Russia. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, immigration requests from Russian Jews have more than doubled. Analysts look to find why Russia is trying to dismantle the Jewish Agency presence in Russia, and many have pointed to the fact that Russian officials are coming onto the news saying Israel’s backing of Ukraine is hurting the Russia-Israel relationship and saying that Israel’s behavior has been “unconstructive.”
2. The Israeli government has approved a plan to clean up a large stretch of the Jordan River, making it suitable for swimming and tourism. The 23-mile-stretch approved for rehabilitation all sits within Israel’s borders, and has suffered from a drastic reduction of freshwater since a dam was erected on the Sea of Galilee in the 1960s. The Water Authority’s plan is a two pronged approach; first, they stop the entry of waste water and salt water into the river and release more fresh water into it from the Sea of Galilee, which will allow visitors to safely swim in this part of the river again. Second, they will reuse and redistribute the water for farmers in the Jordan Valley, who will benefit greatly from fresh water for irrigation. This plan was approved by the Water Authority last year but was only made official this week after it was signed by many government authorities, including Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
3. Israeli researchers have discovered a way to predict earthquakes 48 hours before they occur with 80% accuracy. Researchers at Ariel University figured out by studying changes in the Earth’s ionosphere using a support vector machine technique and GPS map data of ionospheric total electron content, they were able to evaluate potential precursors to several major earthquakes that have occurred over the past 20 years. This same method, they say, can be used to predict future earthquakes. Additionally, the researchers were able to accurately predict when an earthquake will not occur in a specified area with 85.7% accuracy. Israel is located on the Syrian-African fault line, making the country prone to earthquakes. While large earthquakes are rare, many small ones occur every year.
4. The 21st Maccabiah Games officially ended on Monday night with a ceremony at Live Park in Rishon LeZion. This year 10,000 participants from 60 countries competed in 42 events, making this the largest games ever. For 2 weeks, sporting events took place around the country in Haifa, Jerusalem and Netanya. At the closing ceremony, camaraderie filled the air as athletes traded uniforms with one another. Participants and spectators came together to sing the Hatikvah one last time, and the ceremony concluded with exciting performances and fireworks. One of the athletes who competed this year is Freya Levy, a para athlete who participates in wheelchair basketball and was once unhoused. In 2010, Levy was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, an incurable disease that progressively erodes muscle. A few years later, she was living out of her family’s car. Levy said, “It was hard to continue to compete and train when I was having to sleep in my car.” Eventually, she moved to a government building typically reserved for the elderly, which was the only accessible option for her. Levy is no longer able to walk or raise her arms above her chest, and will soon lose more abilities. After her diagnosis, she picked up wheelchair basketball and went on to play with the Great Britain squad three times at the European Wheelchair Basketball Championship. Levy said, “My disability is my greatest motivation. The future is uncertain. I don’t know how far my disability will progress and if I’ll be able to play sports for much longer so I try to do as much as I can, while I can.” Levy competed in this years Maccabiah Games on a mixed sex wheelchair basketball team. The team went viral after her teammate hit a buzzer beater shot, winning one of their games 35 to 34. Levy hoped for the gold, but her team finished in fourth place. Nevertheless, she said it was an honor to compete in the games this year and hopes to inspire other athletes to participate in the future.
5. A rare 1,850-year-old bronze coin was discovered in Haifa. One side of the ancient coin depicts the Roman Moon goddess Luna with the zodiac sign Cancer. The other side shows the head of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius, who ruled at the time the coin was minted. The artifact was found on the seabed off the coast of Haifa. Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority Marine Archaeology Unit said this is the first time a coin like this has been found in Israel. He said, “These finds, which were lost at sea and disappeared from sight for hundreds and thousands of years, have been remarkably well preserved; some are extremely rare and their discovery completes parts of the historical puzzle of the country’s past.”