NEWS ABOUT ISRAEL THAT YOU ARE UNLIKELY TO FIND IN THE MEDIA 22-4-12

With thanks to the British Israel group form the compilation

• Israeli doctors have recently restored the eyesight of more than 2,000 people in seven countries: Nepal, Mynamar (Burma), Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Cambodia, the Maldives and Ethiopia. The surgical operations were performed in special camps set up by MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, which is subject to the Foreign Ministry) in cooperation with the Eye from Zion organisation and the Khan Foundation. All the surgeons were Israeli opthalmologists. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4173873,00.html

• Interaction with dolphins has long been known to help people suffering from mental illness and post -traumatic stress disorder. A 16-year-old Israeli boy, Morad Azva, who was attacked by peers from high school in his village, Kalansua, Israel, became mute and closed off to the outside world. Normal treatment with orthodox methods of medication and psychiatric therapy was not successful. It was only after being sent to Dolphin Reef in Eilat for “dolphin therapy” that through interaction with the dolphins there, he began to speak again.

http://nocamels.com/2012/03/dolphin-therapy-helps-mute-israeli-teen-speak- again/

• During Passover week which was warm and sunny, it was estimated that up to half a million tourists visited Israel’s national parks and nature reserves which were fully packed. The Golan Heights, and Lake Hula hotels were also at maximum capacity and Israel Radio reported that the road leading to the north, the Sea of Galilee and near the Carmel Forest were filled with traffic jams. Jerusalem and its outskirts also received a record number of visitors. Among the most popular sites were the Banyas Reserve, Gan Hashlosha, (Sahne), Birya Forest, the Gilboa, the Jordan River and the Hula valley. (Taken from the Times of Israel)

• These are quotes taken from a recent Friday sermon on Jordan T.V. given by Muslim cleric, Ghaleb Rabab’a: “Jordanian Army is invincible – Jerusalem will be regained … The arrogance of the Jews will be shattered … Will shatter the might of Israel just as the might of the Crusaders and the Byzantines was shattered… The absolutely most dangerous thing is the Jews…” With friends like these……..! (Thanks to Memri for these quotes.)

• Fifteen Bedouin teenagers from the northern Negev town of Hura have recently made Israeli theatrical history. Their performance at the Bat Yam Youth Theatre Festival marked the first time that a Bedouin troupe of any age had staged a Western-style play in Israel. Their play was the group’s own adaptation of the 17th century French satire by Moliere, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. These teenagers transformed Moliere’s comic masterpiece into a hilarious masterpiece of their own cultural reality in the jargon of modern Bedouin Arabic. In this version, a Bedouin tent replaces the stately mansion, traditional Bedouin robes and head coverings replace period French costumes, and instead of a minuet, 5 boys performed a fiery debka line dance. The inspiration for producing this play in the Bedouin community came from Pauline Marchand, director of the French Institute of Beersheva and the Negev, the cultural arm of the French Embassy which is underwriting this project.
(Thanks to Israel21C for this item)