Israel – Page 2

Something a bit lighter

This article is a respite from my previous piece, “Living under fire of missiles” (Jewish Independent, May 26), which was about the Islamic Jihad missile that hit a house just around the corner from me during Israel’s most recent flare up with Gaza. It was cathartic writing that article, as it was this one – moving on, as we Israelis do. So, here’s something a bit lighter.

First, a call out to Burton Cummings about Israel’s first flute festival, held at the beginning of June in Tel Aviv. Unfortunately, Burton – who effortlessly played a beautiful sounding flute solo in the Guess Who’s hit song “Undone” – didn’t attend. OK, he was probably unaware of the event. But I suggest that Mattan Klein, founder and artistic director of the festival, reach out to the legendary Canadian singer, songwriter, Guess Who lead and flutist to arrange for his attendance at next year’s festivities. I’ll be first in line for tickets.

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The definition of irony? Israel, the Jewish state, is facing a critical shortage of doctors. According to a recent OECD report, Israel has 10% fewer doctors per 1,000 people compared to other developed nations. That’s 3.3 doctors versus a 3.7 OECD average. No wonder I must wait so long to see a specialist. Anyway, I guess “my child the doctor” is bragging rights reserved for the diaspora Jewish parent.

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Speaking of bragging rights. According to the Naturist Society, Israel’s Metsoke Dragot Beach is considered one of the 20 best nudist beaches – in the world! Along with Wreck Beach in Vancouver. Metsoke Dragot is located somewhat off the beaten track, along the western shore of the Dead Sea. A black mud rubdown anybody? And, speaking of irony, it’s only a half hour drive from Jerusalem, the world’s holiest city.

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Speaking of clothes. Or lack thereof. First off, kudos to Noa Kirel, who came third in this year’s Eurovision song contest. Her performance was simply spectacular as she sang her new hit song, “Unicorn.” Is the song’s meaning related to Israel’s standout status as a “unicorn” nation? Unicorns being high-tech startups worth more than a billion dollars!

Or, does it relate to how much of the world may perceive us? To wit, Kirel sings: “Hey, you don’t like the way I’m talking / Hey, so you stand there keep on callin’ me names / No, I’m not your enemy…. Hey, do you wanna check my DNA? / Older stories, time to go away / And believe in fairytales…. I’m gonna stand here like a unicorn / Out here on my own / I got the power of a unicorn / Don’t you even learn?” The song goes on to say that we don’t have to be caught in a loop, that we “can write a new book / Don’t you wanna change it now?”

But back to Noa’s attire. The day after her stunning performance in Liverpool, England, esteemed United Torah Judaism lawmaker Member of the Knesset Moshe Gafni, had the chutzpah to comment on her wardrobe. Telling – no, lecturing – the Knesset that he is considering donating her some clothes, clearly insinuating she was not modestly enough attired during her performance. Give me a break, Gafni!

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Speaking of modesty…. While every community has the right to define its own standards, I think the pharmacy in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak went too far by covering the faces of women models on boxes of hair dye with purple stickers. They could have at least used stickers reflecting the colour of the dye. But no. That was not the purpose. It was to comply with extreme definitions of modesty. And, in a modern, high-tech country with more unicorns than most other nations – if not ironic, then just down right inappropriate. Fortunately, the pharmacy changed tack and removed the stickers a week later.

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Back again to clothes. Welcome, Lululemon, the Vancouver sports apparel retailer that just opened its first Israeli branch in the high-end Ramat Aviv Mall, north of Tel Aviv. If all goes to plan, Lululemon will open seven more stores across Israel over the next three years. Can’t wait to see those shapely joggers in high-quality, skin-tight Lululemon outfits highlighting their muscular legs … and other parts of the anatomy. Unless, of course, the joggers are running along a path in Bnei Brak or have the benefit of being given alternative attire by Moshe Gafni.

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Finally, looping back to a much earlier piece I wrote (JI, March 24). Remember that Hebrew Bible, the one dating back 1,000 years, which, according to Sotheby’s, was the most important document ever auctioned. This leather-bound, handwritten parchment on 792 sheepskin pages – known as the Codex Sassoon – sold for $38,100,000 US. The buyer was former U.S. ambassador Alfed H. Moses, who will graciously house the scrolls at the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv. Well, I have my next museum outing planned.

Bruce Brown is a Canadian and an Israeli. He made aliyah … a long time ago. He works in Israel’s high-tech sector by day and, in spurts, is a somewhat inspired writer by night. Brown is the winner of the 2019 AJPA Rockower Award for excellence in writing, and wrote the 1998 satire An Israeli is…. Brown reflects on life in Israel – political, social, economic and personal.

Beit HaRav Kook at 100 years

Rabbi Itzhak Marmorstein – a former spiritual leader of Vancouver’s Congregation Or Shalom – stands beside the ark in Beit HaRav Kook, where he is the gabbai (sexton). (photo by Gil Zohar)

Scores of congregants packed Beit HaRav in downtown Jerusalem June 2-3 to celebrate the centenary of the historic synagogue, yeshiva and home of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935), a seminal Zionist religious leader during the British Mandate who founded the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Born in Griva – then part of the Czarist Empire but today Daugavpils, Latvia – Kook arrived in Jaffa, Ottoman Palestine, on Iyar 28, 5665 (1904), where he became the city’s leading Jewish spiritual figure. The family’s private celebration became a national holiday during the 1967 Six Day War when Israel conquered the Old City of Jerusalem on the same date.

Exiled in Switzerland and then in Britain during the First World War, Kook – also known by the Hebrew acronym HaRaAYaH – played a key role in London in securing the 1917 Balfour Declaration by which Britain announced its support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

Returning to the country then under British military occupation following the war, Kook served as the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Jerusalem. Both the city’s Jewish religious leaders and Whitehall were anxious to replace the Ottoman office of hakham bashi, chief rabbi of the former Turkish empire. Thus, in 1921, Kook was appointed to the newly created position of Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the Land of Israel.

But where was a scholar of such stature to live, especially since the representatives of other religions in the holy city all had an appropriate residence?

The issue was brought up in a July 24, 1921, meeting at Government House on the Mount of Olives – today the Augusta Victoria Hospital – between Britain’s newly arrived high commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel (1870-1963), and New York businessman Harry Fischel (1865-1948). Asked by Samuel to raise money for the project among his American peers, the philanthropist and his wife Shayna volunteered to fund the building themselves.

They identified Beit David, a one-storey kollel almshouse erected in 1873 by philanthropist David Reis. Owned by the Ashkenazi community’s Central Committee of Knesset Israel, the site was eminently suitable. The courtyard – opposite Rothschild Hospital (today Hadassah College) and near the residence of pioneering ophthalmologist Dr. Alfred Ticho and his wife, artist Anna – was located on Hadassah Street, which was renamed after Rabbi Kook following his death.

photo - The yeshiva hall and beit midrash of Beit HaRav Kook — The yeshiva hall and beit midrash of Beit HaRav Kook. *(photo by Gil Zohar)*

A cornerstone for the second-floor addition was laid on Aug. 15 before the Fischels departed. Work began immediately. Fischel, an architect and real estate developer in Manhattan, ensured the structure included all the latest modern conveniences. The double-height ceilings were decorated with colourful stencil patterns. Built surrounding a central courtyard, one wing included a reception area, kitchen, bathroom and three bedrooms for the Kook family. The other side included the Central Universal Yeshiva, a synagogue and the scholar’s bureau – now restored to its appearance a century ago. At Kook’s insistence, the synagogue incorporated a moveable roof to permit a sizeable sukkah.

The Kooks moved in at Hanukkah 1922, though the synagogue and yeshiva were still under construction. That spring, the Fischels again crossed the Atlantic. Docking in Alexandria, they caught the train from Egypt across the Sinai Desert to Palestine. Arriving at Lydda (Lod) on May 9, they were greeted by a delegation of rabbis. The couple insisted on being immediately escorted to Beit HaRav.

The dedication began at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sivan 12, 5683 (May 27, 1923). The program – which included 33 events and speakers with a tea break – augured well for cooperation between the country’s growing Jewish community and the new imperial regime.

The many dignitaries in attendance included leading rabbis and Zionist figures. The event was a quasi-national holiday. Jerusalem was decorated with bunting in the Zionist, British and American colours. Flags flew everywhere across the city.

The orchestra of the nearby Institute for the Blind played the Star-Spangled Banner, God Save the King and Hatikvah, while the Etz Chaim Talmud Torah’s choir performed for the guests.

Among the dozens of speakers was Fischel, who addressed the assembly in Hebrew and then English: “Words fail me at this moment to express my gratitude to the Almighty for granting me this privilege of building this Beth HaRav and synagogue…. While my heart always beats for Palestine, yet my home is in America. I have, therefore, had to travel nearly 6,000 miles to participate in this holy celebration….

“The building committee has just presented me with the key of this house certifying thereby that the building is now completed. In view of the fact that this residence and synagogue are to be used for the benefit of the people of Palestine, and that Your Excellency [Samuel], is the chief executive of the land, I therefore deem it fitting and proper to present you with the key, and designate you as custodian of this combined edifice. May I ask you, please, to accept this golden key and keep it as a souvenir and memento of this occasion? I want to take this means also of publicly thanking you for the honour you have bestowed upon us. May God grant you, your administration and the people of Palestine continued security and peace.”

Turning to Kook, sitting next to him on the dais, resplendent in his Sabbath and festival fur spodek (tall, black hat), Samuel declared:

“I congratulate the Chief Rabbinate, Mr. and Mrs. Fischel and the Jewish community at large on this auspicious day. Among the many problems with which the civil administration had to deal on its establishment was the adoption of measures to place the Jewish community both on its secular and on its ecclesiastical side, upon a permanent and regular basis. The question of the organization of the secular side was not yet fully settled. But the government has been able to establish, on an electoral basis, the Chief Rabbinate and, for the first time after an interval of many centuries, a Jewish ecclesiastical authority has been founded on a permanent footing, based upon the decisions of the community itself.”

The ornately carved chair that Samuel presented to Kook on behalf of King George V remains in its place of honour on the synagogue’s eastern wall next to the aron kodesh (Torah ark).

photo - The Beit HaRav dedication ceremony a century ago. Rabbi Isaac Kook, fourth from the right in the photo, is wearing the fur spodek. To his left is Harry Fischel. Herbert Samuel and Sefardi Chief Rabbi Yaakov Meir — The Beit HaRav dedication ceremony a century ago. Rabbi Isaac Kook, fourth from the right in the photo, is wearing the fur spodek. To his left is Harry Fischel. Herbert Samuel and Sefardi Chief Rabbi Yaakov Meir. (photo from Rabbi Aaron I. Reichel, esq., administrator of the Harry and Jane Fischel Foundation)

Asked about the importance of Beit HaRav, the institution’s gabbai (sexton) Rabbi Itzhak Marmorstein – also known by his nom de plume rabbanique Evan-Shayish – cited Kook’s dedication address a century ago:

“We are engaged here in declaring an elevated ideal that must proceed higher and higher. This ideal must develop and grow its activity through the gathering together of our scattered powers so that together we can proceed in the rebuilding of the ruins of Jerusalem together. This involves strengthening the physical building of the land and the nation in the material realm as the basis for the higher, holy and spiritual building of the Torah and holiness. This will illuminate the living light for the entire national renewal in all its branches.”

Kook’s funeral in 1935 was attended by an estimated 20,000 mourners. Beit HaRav continued to function as the flagship for the dati leumi (national religious) community, but a larger yeshiva was erected in Kiryat Moshe in 1964, and the old building fell into disuse.

Since 2008, Marmorstein – a Canadian-Israeli who formerly served at Congregation Or Shalom in Vancouver – has been engaged in reviving the original building. The building today operates as a neighbourhood synagogue with Sabbath services, as well as a museum.

The centre offers a class every Thursday at 9 p.m. taught by noted kabbalist Rabbi Yohai Yemini on Kook’s commentary on Rabbi Isaac Luria’s teachings. Those insights, recorded and edited in Safed between 1570 and 1572 by his disciple Haim Vital, form the basis for Lurianic kabbalah (mysticism), a system of thought Kook helped spread under which the arrival the Messiah and the ingathering of the Jews to Israel is imminent.

Gil Zohar is a writer and tour guide in Jerusalem.

Israel’s antiquities trade

A brochure about antique coins from Zak’s Antiquities.

Israel’s central role in the global antiquities business was the subject of a Zoom lecture on May 2 sponsored by the W.F. Albright Institute of Archeological Research in Jerusalem and the Palestine Exploration Fund, headquartered in London.

Entitled The Antiquities Trade in Israel and Palestine: Same as it Ever Was?, the joint presentation featured Michael Press, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway, specializing in the archeology of ancient Israel, and Morag Kersel, an associate professor of anthropology at DePaul University in Chicago, Ill., who studies the relationship between cultural heritage law, archeological sites and objects, and local interaction.

Press offered a scholarly overview of how the trade in antiquities burgeoned in the 19th century as tourism and Holy Land pilgrimage reached a mass scale, while Kersel spoke about how the quasi-licit trade functions today.

The Ottoman Empire enacted its first antiquities law in 1869, prohibiting the export of the empire’s heritage, Press noted. Yet, the first English-language Baedeker guide to Palestine and Syria, published seven years later, detailed the sum of baksheesh – a paltry few francs – needed to grease the palm of a customs officer to smuggle out a centuries-old souvenir.

The discovery in 1868 in Dhiban, Jordan, of a monumental Iron Age inscription mentioning King Mesha of Moab triggered an explosion of forgeries, continued Press. Notably, in 1873, Jerusalem antiquities dealer Moses Wilhelm Shapira (1830-1884) hoodwinked Germany into purchasing a trove of 1,800 fakes, he said.

Most pilgrims were interested in acquiring objets de piété, or items related to religion. A popular article was the widow’s mite, the least valuable coin circulating in Roman Judea, which Jesus mentioned in Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4. The market in ancient coins included a brisk trade in forged gold and silver coins. Some pilgrims carried with them valuable numismatic items (rare coins, tokens, etc.) from Europe, which they sold in Palestine to fund their journey.

The evolving trade included Samaritan, Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, gems and seals, and ancient lachrymatories – perfume vials that widows would ostensibly fill with their tears and place in tombs as symbols of mourning for the deceased.

Press showed advertising from an American newspaper for the Phoenician (ie. Roman) glassware of Azeez Khayat (1875-1943). Born in Tyre, Lebanon, then part of Ottoman Syria, Khayat arrived at Ellis Island in 1893 and became a United States citizen five years later. Using the small collection of ancient glass he had brought with him, he became a dealer on Rector Street in Manhattan’s Little Syria. On repeated trips to his Middle East homeland, he was able to bring back thousands of artifacts – often excavated by his own workmen – and sell them in a gallery he opened first on West 11th Street and, later, at 366 5th Ave., opposite the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Many notable U.S. museums acquired important objects through him.

The market for Holy Land antiquities – both counterfeit and real – also included pottery vessels and oil lamps, said Press.

Bringing the story to the present, Kersel said the restrictions imposed by Israel’s Antiquities Law of 1978 forbid the sale of any human-made item from before 1700 CE. However, the act grandfathered the sale of items already in the inventory of the country’s 50 or so licensed antiquities dealers, she said. Since those catalogues are often nondescript and include unclear photographs, and since the lists are rarely updated when an item is sold, there is considerable opportunity to introduce newly and illegally acquired items, Kersel explained.

Underfunded and overstretched, the Israel Antiquities Authority’s anti-theft unit does its best to monitor dealers’ illegal activities, she said. Most shops are located along the Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem and resemble Aladdin’s cave of treasures. Those in luxury hotels are decked out with elaborate displays resembling those in prestigious museums. All provide a certificate of authenticity cum export permit with each sale, she noted.

Typical is Zak’s Antiquities, run by Zak Mishriky, located in the Old City’s Christian Quarter Road, which advertises: “Invest in biblical antiquities. Ageless, timeless & priceless.” Fine print about the source of the merchandise notes: “The majority of our ancient artifacts come to us through private collections and auctions here in Israel.”

As an archeologist, Kersel has devoted two decades to tracking how the illicit trade in unprovenanced objects extends from the ground to the consumer. In a network that extends from the United Arab Emirates through Jordan, the West Bank and Israel to the United Kingdom and the United States, shady operators, she noted, are pillaging the Middle East’s cultural artifacts. Their criminal enterprise results in the destruction of archeological sites, the desecration of ancient graves and theft from museums. Moreover, it compromises the understanding of the past, she said. Some tie the business to funding terrorism.

Kersel categorized those buying these items into four groups. The first she called explorers, some of whom volunteer on archeological excavations, who generally purchase low-cost items from a cabinet of curiosities in the Old City and do so in search of an authentic exotic cultural experience. While not condoning their behaviour, she excoriated the second group – the elite. She was particularly critical of billionaire Steve Green of Oklahoma. The evangelical Christian, whose family owns the Hobby Lobby craft store chain, used his fortune to establish the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., which opened in 2017.

“There were a lot of red flags,” she said of the museum’s acquisitions. All 16 Dead Sea Scroll fragments Green purchased proved to be forgeries, she noted, explaining how the antiquities enthusiast’s agents mislabeled the thousands of artifacts he purchased. Shipping them in small batches to various American addresses, they hoped to stay below the radar. The scam was finally stopped thanks to a tip-off from a FedEx agent, she said. Some 3,450 items were seized by U.S. authorities.

Kersel was similarly harsh in discussing disgraced Wall Street financier Michael Steinhardt, who, during a period of high inflation in the 1970s, conceived that antiquities were a commodity likely to appreciate quickly. Like Green, Steinhardt sought to gain validation for his purchases – including a group of Neolithic masks perhaps looted from caves by the Dead Sea – by donating them to museums. Steinhardt was a major benefactor of the Israel Museum.

Kersel identified the third group as religious tourists. Like their 19th-century forebearers, they, too, are interested in small-scale items like the widow’s mite, or lachrymatories.

The fourth group Kersel identified comprises members of a charter, such as alumni of a university or members of a sports or social club on an organized tour, who are driven by a group psychology. If one person buys an artifact, that leads their peers to do so, too, she said. And those items must be “cheap, portable and dustable.”

Citing Nelson H.H. Graburn, a professor emeritus in sociocultural anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, Kersel said such charter tourists will knowingly purchase a replica in order not to lose face with their fellow travelers.

“Afghanistan’s Law on the Protection of Historical and Cultural Properties (2004) strictly regulates the excavation and sale of antiquities: allowing private ownership of only registered antiquities, and prohibiting export except by the state,” said Press. The result has been to drive the business underground – would the result be any different were Israel to declare the antiquities trade illegal, revoke dealers’ licenses and nationalize their inventories?

Kersel cautioned such a radical solution would not end the trade. In an email, she wrote: “I don’t think that the demand for biblical antiquities will ever end, everyone wants something from the Holy Land, but I do think we can create better collectors, who only buy from licensed dealers and who ask about provenance, the origin stories, of the piece.”

Gil Zohar is a writer and tour guide in Jerusalem.

Tracking earth’s winds

A band of clouds above the equator, created by the rise of air within the Hadley cell and responsible for heavy rainfall in this region. (photo from Weizmann Institute)

Why do parts of earth become rainforests, whereas others turn into deserts? A new study exposes the far-reaching impact of human activity on a global airflow phenomenon that crucially affects earth’s regional climates.

In the tropics, above the equatorial rainforests and oceans, the strong solar radiation hitting earth propels a stream of warm, moist air far upward. Once reaching the upper atmosphere, this stream moves in both hemispheres toward the poles; it then descends in the subtropical regions at around 20 to 30 degrees latitude, contributing to the creation of massive deserts like the Sahara in northern Africa. From there, the stream – known as the Hadley cell – returns to the equator, where it heats up and rises again, embarking on its circular journey anew.

The two Hadley cells – the northern and the southern – circulate most of the heat and humidity across low latitudes, greatly affecting the global distribution of climate regions. When the warm, moist air rises, it cools down, allowing water vapour to condense, which leads to heavy rainfall deep in the tropics. In contrast, the streams of air that descend toward the earth in subtropical regions are accompanied by warm, dry winds that reduce rainfall. In essence, the Hadley cells determine which regions in the tropics and the subtropics will have arid deserts and which will be blessed with abundant rainfall. Israel is located on the margins of the northern Hadley cell, which contributes to the country’s semiarid climate.

Because of their huge significance, the Hadley cells are of great interest to climate scientists. However, while there is plenty of global data about rainfall and temperature, measuring airflow throughout the atmosphere is next to impossible. Adding to the quandary, the various models seeking to make sense of the Hadley cells have been found to contradict one another. Global climate models, which are used for climate projections, indicate that the northern Hadley cell has weakened over the past few decades, whereas observation-based analyses suggest the exact opposite.

An uncertainty over a system that is so essential to earth’s climate detracts from the researchers’ ability to assess how much humans have contributed to recent climate change. This, in turn, undermines the credibility of climate projections, making it ever harder to formulate policies required for dealing with the climate crisis. The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the most important document in the field, makes a special point of this issue.

In a paper published in Nature, Dr. Rei Chemke, of the earth and planetary sciences department at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and Dr. Janni Yuval, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, address the uncertainty that has plagued the existing models for the past two decades. They propose an observation-based method for measuring the intensity of airflow in the Hadley cells.

To tackle the challenge, Chemke and Yuval looked for readily available data they could use to formulate a new way of measuring the cells’ intensity. After examining physics equations describing airflow, they identified a relationship between the Hadley cell intensity and a constantly monitored parameter: air pressure at sea level. They then examined observational data collected over several decades and reached the conclusion that the intensity of the northern Hadley cell has indeed been weakening – just as suggested by global climate models. Moreover, they were able to show, with more than 99% certainty, that this weakening has been the result of human activity and will likely continue.

What, then, is to be expected? Over the coming decades, the weakening of the northern Hadley cell is likely to mitigate the projected precipitation changes at low latitudes. It will act to temper both the increase of rainfall in equatorial regions and the reduction of rainfall in the subtropical regions. This tempering, however, might only reduce, but not overcome, the projected aridification and desertification of Israel.

“In our follow-up study,” said Chemke, “we will examine whether a similar weakening in the Hadley cell has happened in the past thousand years owing to natural phenomena – and that will allow us to assess how unprecedented these human-induced changes are.”

– Courtesy Weizmann Institute

The experience of a lifetime

There was no question that Zac Abelson (centre) would attend the Excelerate23 Summit in New York City this past March. (photo from Zac Abelson)

“I believe my Excel journey is only just getting started,” Zac Abelson told the Independent. “The last summer and the Excelerate conference have solidified my belief that there are not only bright young leaders in the world that will one day make an incredible impact, but that the Jewish community will forever be one that is strong, defiant, welcoming and passionate.”

Born in South Africa, Abelson moved to Canada with his family when he was 8 years old. “I have now lived in Vancouver for 15-plus years, being part of the Chabad Jewish community while growing up in South Surrey,” he said. “I learned my bar mitzvah on a tape recorded by my grandfather with the Chabad rabbi and went back to do my bar mitzvah with my grandfather in South Africa.”

Last year, Abelson was one of 60 international students chosen for a Birthright Israel Excel summer internship in Israel. One of the highlights of working with Deloitte, the company with which he interned, was “getting to learn and understand how the Israeli culture conducts business and truly see the impact they have on the world without most people knowing,” said Abelson.

Birthright Israel Excel, which started in 2011, is described as a business fellowship that offers select students an internship in Israel, followed by membership in a “community of peers focused on professional development, personal growth, Israel engagement and philanthropy.”

The most exciting part about being selected for the program, said Abelson, was the people.

“Excel selects not only the best and brightest but also the most genuine and caring individuals,” he said. “Being able to spend 10 weeks in a tight-knit community made every moment a life-changing experience and every memory one I will never forget. Mix those people with all that Israel has to offer and you have a recipe for an incredible summer.”

It was “an adjustment to be surrounded by so many talented people from the best schools in the world,” he acknowledged. “One can see it as daunting, but I chose to see it as an opportunity to learn and mix with the people who will push me to be a better version of myself.”

Abelson has just completed his studies at the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, graduating with a bachelor of commerce. “I now work full-time in real estate development,” he said, “helping shape and grow diverse and sustainable communities.”

In March, Abelson was one of more than 300 Birthright Israel Excel fellows from around the world who gathered in New York City for the Excelerate23 Summit.

“Having had such an incredible time with the Birthright Excel community this past summer in Israel, attending the Excelerate Summit in New York City was no question,” he said. “The opportunity to again be surrounded by such incredible Jewish leaders and innovators is rare and one I wanted to take full advantage of.”

Throughout the March 24-26 weekend, attendees participated in networking, industry panels and discussions about topics such as business development, Jewish identity and Israel engagement. The summit also held workshops on combating antisemitism.

Among the events Abelson attended was one entitled Scrappy to Scaled: How Entrepreneurs Turned Startups into Sustained Multi-Figure Operations.

“This was a fantastic session where we truly got to hear the grit required to turn an idea into a reality,” he said. “What I found fascinating was listening to Nathan Resnick – seeing how, rather than conforming to the expectation of what businesspeople and investors would look for, he allows his true light and personality to shine through, ultimately getting investments in the person over the product.

“Additionally, listing to [activist and former NBA player] Enes Kanter Freedom speak about his journey from hatred of the Jewish people to now embracing the community was eye-opening. It was unbelievable to see how his deep passion for acceptance and the international community drives him every day despite all that he has had to sacrifice. It also puts into perspective the sad reality of how stuck in the past the world still is and how unwilling to speak on important issues many sporting organizations still are.”

When asked what three things he would recommend about the Excel program, Abelson said, “One, you don’t know the value of an international network until you truly have one. Excel has allowed me to since travel the world and feel comfortable knowing there will always be an Excel fellow somewhere close by.

“Two, the feeling of connecting with like-minded, passionate and bright Jewish business leaders … will fill you with joy and hope for the future of both Israel and the world.

“Three, the Excel experience is more than just adding the internship to your resumé. It’s an experience of a lifetime that everyone in interviews will be intrigued with and ask you more about. Few in the workplace have such a wonderful story to tell.”

For more information about the programs offered, visit birthrightisraelexcel.com.

Risk … game vs. reality

Playing the game of Risk. (photo © Jorge Royan)

I’ve always thought of the Nordic region as peaceful. Admittedly, my knowledge of the area is largely limited to Risk, the board game, where Greenland, Iceland and the Scandinavian countries are considered a haven, free of imminent attack from the throw of a dice.

Well, Finland just purchased Israel’s David’s Sling defensive system. For $345 million US. It was one of Finland’s first moves after recently being accepted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. And it was the first sale abroad for David’s Sling, an integrated part of Israel’s multi-tier missile defence system. Israel now carries the title of major supplier to NATO.

I guess the world’s a bit more complicated than Risk.

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So long, Noa Tishby, the Israeli performer appointed by our previous prime minister, Yari Lapid, to advocate for Israel through her strong social media presence. With the formal and former title of special envoy for combating antisemitism and delegitimization of Israel – fit that onto a business card! – she was known for sparring with BDS advocate Bella Hadid and others. Tishby was also a vocal supporter of Israel’s anti-judicial reform movement. Giving voice to the many thousands protesting the current government and its extreme shift rightward and into sometimes theocratic territory, Tishby says this was the reason for her dismissal. Well, ya. As the hawkish Jerusalem Post editorialist Ruthi Blum noted, “Tisbhy is free to share [her opinion]. But she shouldn’t have expected the government she’s been bashing to keep her as a representative.” Well, no. But keep on truckin’ Noa Tishby.

BTW, Tishby will be a guest at the JNF Negev event in Vancouver on June 29.

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Israel’s Tel Aviv Museum of Art is again among the world’s 100 most visited museums. This according to international art magazine The Art Newspaper. TAMA was ranked 49th in 2022, a jump from its 56th place the year prior. I am fortunate to be one of those visitors, on multiple occasions, over the past many years, often dragging my two children there when they were younger – how fun was that!

Paris’s Louvre and the Vatican Museum took first and second place, respectively. Canada was represented with a 60th place win by Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum.

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Congratulations Milk & Honey, Israel’s preeminent whisky distiller, awarded the 2023 world’s best single malt whisky by the World Drink’s Awards for its Elements, Sherry Cask drink. Described as “[f]ruity aromas of citrus zest and white peach with a dash of wood varnish. Sweet to the taste … with flavours of golden syrup, vanilla, tropical fruit and iced tea.…” Sounds like a palate pleaser to me. But, if I had to choose, my favourite would be Seagram’s Five Star rye whisky. Not so much for its taste but for fond memories of fighting with my siblings for the silver sheriff’s star glued to the bottles.

***

Jerusalem was selected by Time magazine as one of the world’s 2023 top 50 destinations, holding the 48th spot. It’s one of my favourite places to visit on a bustling Friday, starting with a walk through the overcrowded neighbourhood of Mea She’arim and enjoying a freshly baked challah. Then, bargaining my way through the Old City’s Arab Market, its tastes, smells and sights, and eventually making my way to the Western Wall, with the golden Dome of the Rock overhead. Ending with lunch at Machane Yehuda, the popular central Jerusalem food market, which has the freshest of meats and vegetables, and many colourful stalls.

Not to be outdone, Canada held two spots. Churchill was third – can’t beat those Northern Light spectaculars. Vancouver was 38th, for its eclectic cuisine and the beautiful Stanley Park.

***

For sure, difficult days in Israel. Sociopolitical cultures are clashing internally. External enemies are looking on with glee, and testing us. But we’re not sinking into despair. Israel has experienced difficult times before and emerged stronger and wiser. So it will be this time.

Arguably, we are being governed by the worst government in our short history – for many reasons, including recent security challenges. I mean, come on, with someone as inexperienced and reactionary as Itamar Ben-Gvir as national internal security minister. Or Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spouting off on things about which he should know better and doesn’t. But let’s not blame the victims for the terror and rockets. Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, an inept Palestinian leadership with a hateful street – they are to blame, not the government.

Usually, it’s the right-wing governments that muster support for the very difficult realpolitik choices, from Menachem Begin’s 1982 Sinai exit to Ariel Sharon’s 2005 Gaza disengagement. Even Binyamin Netanyahu’s 2021 peace deals with several Arab countries under the Abraham Accords. Unfortunately, Netanyahu’s current government may be too inexperienced and messianic to enable reasonable, democratic, liberal change – read judicial reform – at such a scale. But who knows.

We cannot despair. At a very esoteric level, Israelis have hope. In fact, hope is the theme of our national anthem, Hatikvah, The Hope.

***

According to the World Happiness Report, published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Israel remains one of the happiest countries in the world. (See jewishindependent.ca/measuring-happiness.) Rising to fourth place in 2023, just behind Finland, Denmark and Iceland, Israel’s showing likely reflected its reputation as a “villa in the jungle,” as dubbed by former prime minister Ehud Barak – despite being in the Middle East, one of the most contentious spots … on the Risk board.

Creating opportunities

The Jerusalem Business Development Centre (MATI) helps people create or expand businesses in Jerusalem. Two leaders of the Israeli organization visit Vancouver on May 11 as part of a Canadian tour. (photo from CFHU Vancouver)

Every year, the Jerusalem Business Development Centre, known in Hebrew by the acronym MATI, helps thousands of people create or expand businesses in Jerusalem. It does this through a range of services – from personal mentoring to training in various fields to the granting of loans – focusing its efforts on new immigrants, the ultra-Orthodox and residents of East Jerusalem.

On May 11, as part of a Canadian tour, Michal Shaul Vulej, deputy chief executive officer of MATI, and Reham Abu Snineh, MATI’s East Jerusalem manager, will be in Vancouver for “a conversation about shared living in Jerusalem, about mentoring and creating entrepreneurial opportunities for women and promoting diversity as strength.”

Abu Snineh joined MATI in 2011, as a project coordinator for a program to promote women’s entrepreneurship in East Jerusalem. Today, she heads the East Jerusalem branch, leading a team of seven employees.

“The beginning was challenging,” she told the Independent. “The decision to join an Israeli organization was inconceivable. I was afraid of the reactions and criticism of those around me. It also took me awhile to get comfortable with the staff. In addition, I did not speak Hebrew. I grew up in East Jerusalem and studied for my law degree and, later, further degrees in Jordan. All of my studies were in Arabic and I had never considered working with an Israeli organization. I realized that, if I ever wanted to really be able to help my community, I had to find a way to move forward and, over time, things settled down and today I feel completely part of the team.”

For Abu Snineh, it’s the social impact of MATI that most excites her – “The feeling that I am helping people in a difficult socioeconomic situation; helping individuals, families and women to improve their economic situation in general.”

For Shaul Vulej, it’s the “combination of social welfare and the entrepreneurship and business development – the stories of the women who manage to start a business, make a living and be financially independent, and even employ other women.”

MATI measures success by the number of participants, the number of businesses that develop, the number of businesses that expand and the number of new jobs that are created in Jerusalem because of its activities. All MATI’s programs include participant feedback, an annual review and an evaluation process.

Abu Snineh and Shaul Vulej shared one of MATI’s success stories with the Independent, that of Hiba, a fashion design instructor. They said Hiba, 36, grew up in East Jerusalem in a traditional Muslim family and was married at age 16. Despite various factors hindering her progress, she studied fashion design and proceeded to hold several jobs. She wanted to establish a sewing and fashion design school, so she joined some of MATI’s programs: the business establishment and management course, a digital marketing workshop and, recently, a program for import/export from Turkey, which will allow her to import fabrics herself. Together with her artisan husband, she rented an apartment and currently trains several groups, as part of a professional training project for teenagers, and promotes her business.

About 60% of MATI’s clientele are women, who have a range of educational backgrounds. The organization focuses on residents of East Jerusalem who are looking for employment, people who want to start a business, and existing business owners who need assistance to take the next step.

Abu Snineh described some of the challenges people living in East Jerusalem face. Difficulty communicating in Hebrew contributes to a “difficulty in being able to develop entrepreneurship and businesses that can be relevant also in Western Jerusalem, a barrier in the ability to market and sell goods and services to the Hebrew-speaking public, a barrier in dialogue with institutions and authorities in the business framework.”

A lack of trust in the Israeli government system, which does not recognize many of the East Jerusalem businesses as legal entities, has “created a situation where legal business owners in the country received grants, [while] many of the businesses in East Jerusalem (mainly small and medium-sized ones) were left without the financial security granted to others,” said Abu Snineh.

Other factors include the political and security situation, digital barriers that make it difficult to market outside of East Jerusalem or online, insufficient knowledge about business laws, “which blocks the ability to make the business legal and granting rights alongside obligations,” and “a lack of domestic and foreign tourism.”

When asked how Vancouverites could help or participate in MATI, Abu Snineh and Shaul Vulej said, “To help us establish the first hub in East Jerusalem…. A hub would provide the appropriate and technology atmosphere similar to other areas in the world.”

Also needed, they said, is support for “all the ongoing programs that provide for the progress of Arab society in East Jerusalem” and for “a program for the advancement of women in East Jerusalem.”

The May 11 event is presented by the Jerusalem Foundation in partnership with Canadian Friends of Hebrew University, and it is sponsored by the Asper Foundation, as well as the Canadian Memorial United Church. It takes place at the Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace, 1825 West 16th Ave., starting at 7 p.m. To reserve a spot, visit cfhu.org/upcoming-events or call 604-257-5133.

Creating a life of inspiration

Near-fatal war injuries led Anat Yahalom to decades of mutual support for injured soldiers and others. (photo from Jewish Federation)

In 1973, when the Yom Kippur War broke out, Anat Yahalom was a young Israel Defence Forces recruit in the Battle of the Sinai.

“I was 18-and-a-half years old and the state of Israel was 25,” she said. “We were both young and at the beginning of our lives.”

A sudden Egyptian air attack changed her life forever.

“When they rushed me to the rescue helicopter, badly injured and bleeding, hovering between life and death and begging for my life, I used my last remaining strength to mumble, ‘Don’t let me die,’” Yahalom recounted in an email interview with the Independent. “That desire to remain alive and to live has always been with me. Over the years, every time that I’ve faced a crisis, I am reminded of that moment, and again I have that incredible desire to live – to never give up.”

Yahalom is to share her story of near-death, recovery and a life of dedication to others as part of the Israel@75 celebration in Vancouver. She will speak at Congregation Beth Tikvah, in Richmond, on Friday, April 28, 6 p.m., with an Israeli-style Shabbat dinner.

“Being wounded in battle is very different to being injured in an accident,” said Yahalom. “Many of the shrapnel pieces and explosives that caused my injuries have remained inside my body and will accompany me for the rest of my life. Being wounded in battle causes injuries that are external and internal, resulting in a complete breakdown of the body’s system, and to extensive scar tissue that needs a long, slow and complex rehabilitation.”

Shrapnel that remains in her body can cause recurring infections that require regular treatments to allow her to function.

In the decades since her injuries, Yahalom has founded Etgarim, an association supporting the integration of disabled children through sports, and the IDF women with disabilities forum. She is an athlete, hand-bike marathon rider for people with disabilities, wife and mother of three sons.

“Israel has a large proportion of people who have been wounded in battle and disabled,” she said. “Because of this, Israel’s healthcare system has developed the most innovative and effective medical treatments that have allowed many of the injured to return to society, to their families, to work. This is the essence of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is not only physical, but also emotional. While these are very different, they are equally important. Most of the time, society doesn’t differentiate between the two. Emotional injuries are often initially expressed in the form of depression, anger, impatience. Later on, they are also expressed by smaller things such as slamming doors, raised voices, threatening language, or senses that recall the battlefield. For me, the height of this was when my sons joined the IDF. I began experiencing an endless and overwhelming anxiety. Every small thing could trigger a huge reaction in me – from deep anger, to complete withdrawal.”

Yahalom said that those, like her, who were injured in battle found that the best way to deal with challenges and thrive was through social rehabilitation.

“We came to support and rely on one another like family,” she said. “We involved each other in all the small details, offered and received help of any and every kind. But, mostly, we made sure to meet regularly, to talk, to listen, to offer and seek advice. It was this process and this starting point that the idea of establishing centres for wounded IDF veterans was born, recognizing that social rehabilitation was the very essence of our strength.”

The messages of her life and of the organizations she has founded, she said, are unequivocal: “We can recover from any crisis if we stand together.”

“War is a terrible crisis, being injured is an endless struggle, and being disabled is with you forever,” she said. “Sometimes it is extremely difficult, and sometimes a little easier. But it is always there, a companion for life. A reminder for me that life and the desire to live is more important and can conquer anything.

“My family, the one that I created following my injury, my friends that are my chosen family, and the family of Eretz Israel, all accompany me throughout my life,” said Yahalom. “They allowed me to return to the world of the living, they help with the rehabilitation of my friends, and it is them that makes me continue to want to help in every way possible, to embrace, to encourage and to fill my heart and theirs with hope and faith that every crisis will pass.… This is the message that I bring to your community. In these stormy days of upheaval and crisis at home in Israel, I know that even this storm will pass and we will still be there. We will remember that life is more important, more precious and stronger than anything else. I’ve known this since that fateful day, Oct. 6, 1973, when I was given my life back – and I received it as a gift.”

Yahalom’s visit is one of many events taking place through May marking Israel’s 75th anniversary. The celebrations culminate in the Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, concert May 14 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, featuring the band Teapacks. Full details of all events are at jewishvancouver.com.

ABCs on visiting West Bank

According to one tour guide, an hour spent walking around the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem and talking to the residents there is the best way to gain an understanding of the complex conflict that has caused so much suffering. (photo from Gil Zohar)

The throngs of foreign journalists parachuted into Israel to cover the judicial reform debacle – and the many more correspondents based here on a semi-permanent basis – do a poor job explaining basic facts of life in the Jewish state. A case in point is the West Bank.

Most English-speaking tourists I encounter as a licensed tour guide/journalist are woefully ignorant about the legal status and history of the territory Israel captured from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the June 1967 Six Day War. The term West Bank is a neologism King Abdullah invented in 1948, when his Arab Legion crossed the Jordan River from the east bank to occupy the area known in Mandatory Palestine as Judea and Samaria.

Apart from those traveling with companies like Abraham Tours, which offers a dual narrative tour of Hebron, or Green Olive Tours, which also promotes travel to the Palestinian Authority provisional capital Ramallah and other key Palestinian cities, most tourists avoid the Area A cities of Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya and Hebron. The latter city, divided into PA-ruled H1 and IDF-controlled H2, is the only city in the West Bank with both Jewish and Palestinian residents.

Car rental companies like Hertz or Shlomo Sixt don’t offer insurance to visit Area A. The exception is Middle East Car Rental, located in East Jerusalem’s Wadi Joz neighbourhood, which provides twin insurance policies for those PA-controlled Area A cities, Israel-ruled areas B and C, and the pre-1967 remainder of the country.

What, then, are areas A, B and C? And what should a tourist know about visiting them?

First, the West Bank is safe for tourists – mostly. On March 18, two German nationals were surrounded by angry youths in Nablus, who slashed the tires of the tourists’ Israeli rental car. Notwithstanding that the two knew their car insurance was void in Area A, the pair – who were mistaken for Jewish settlers – drove to the city to enjoy Turkish coffee and the local goat cheese and rosewater pastry delicacy called knafeh nablusiyya. They were rescued by an Arab-Israeli who himself was shopping in Nablus in violation of the Israeli law barring its citizens from visiting Area A.

Looming trilingual signs painted red warn Israelis that entering Area A is dangerous. Nonetheless, hundreds of thousands of Israelis from Nazareth and elsewhere in the Galilee routinely shop in Jenin, where prices for food and vegetables are strikingly lower than in Israel, and where the 17% value-added tax is not paid.

Similarly, some Jerusalem Israelis illegally buy granite and marble products and furniture from factories in nearby Bethlehem, thus saving the 17% VAT. Trucks with yellow Israel licence plates, rather than the green and white ones used in the PA, routinely pass through the Israel Defence Forces roadblocks that ring the West Bank. These soldiers are not customs officers, so they don’t inspect waybills from those trucks, whose bilingual drivers have tuned their radio to Hebrew stations to blend in should they be stopped.

Apart from the aforementioned signs, nothing prevents anyone from driving into Area A. Under the bilateral Oslo Accords signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington, D.C., in 1993, Israel divided the West Bank into Areas A, B and C, and withdrew from the first. Area A is mostly composed of non-contiguous municipalities and villages, and Israel’s roads and bypass highways gerrymander around Area A cities.

photo - Despite trilingual signs painted red, warning Israeli citizens that entering Palestinian Authority-controlled Area A is dangerous, hundreds of thousands of Israelis routinely travel to Area A cities — Despite trilingual signs painted red, warning Israeli citizens that entering Palestinian Authority-controlled Area A is dangerous, hundreds of thousands of Israelis routinely travel to Area A cities. *(photo from Gil Zohar)*

Areas B and C are under the control of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a unit in Israel’s Ministry of Defence that coordinates civilian issues between the Israeli government, the IDF, international aid and nongovernmental organizations, diplomats, and the PA. Following the Oslo Accords, COGAT replaced the defunct Civil Administration, which had governed the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between 1981 and 1994. (Israel unilaterally quit Gaza in 2005.)

Returning from Area A to Israel can be trickier. The main difficulty is not the 800-kilometre-long incomplete wall and fence that partially encircles the West Bank. For example, while Palestinians with the correct documents and biometric ID card are required to pass through the Qalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem, five kilometres to the east is the Hizma checkpoint used by Israelis living in the West Bank. Under normal security procedures, cars with yellow licence plates simply drive past the IDF troops. Bored-looking soldiers wave drivers through. Mostly, cars just slow down for perfunctory profiling.

But how does a scofflaw who scarfed hummus at Bandali in Ramallah’s Lower City get back to Jerusalem? Ditto for Rukab’s Ice Cream in the city centre, which has been dishing up its unique, stretchy gelato since 1941? Or the Vanilla café, renowned for its divine cakes? Having had a culinary respite from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one hails a cab and asks to be taken to the Rami Levy supermarket in Geva Benyamin, east of Ramallah. The driver – wink, wink – will drop you off on Route 60 at a slight distance from the settlement’s gate, which is guarded by an armed security officer. Should the guard ask you where you are coming from, the response “From Route 60” will be sufficiently vague that he will allow you past the barrier. There, at the bus stop, one waits for the bulletproof bus that drives back to Jerusalem through Hizma. No ID documents are checked.

Similarly, no documents are required for the 25-minute ride on Bus 231 from Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate Bus Station to central Bethlehem via Beit Jala. Like traveling from Ramallah back to Jerusalem, the return from Bethlehem requires some fudging of the truth. Bus passengers disembark at the checkpoint on Route 60 between Beit Jala and Jerusalem. Some Israeli citizens holding a foreign passport pretend to be tourists. When asked for the visa they received at Ben-Gurion Airport (which is issued on a sheet of paper rather than stamped in one’s passport), they play the “stupid card,” claiming they don’t have it. The guards may scowl but routinely let the faux-tourists re-board the bus rather than create ill-will.

Israel’s porous approach to security similarly applies on the West Bank’s highways. Today, all the permanent army roadblocks that once cut up the West Bank have been removed, allowing freedom of movement. “Z,” an intrepid tour guide who routinely takes tourists to all three sectors in the West Bank, points out where the decommissioned IDF posts once stood.

Jeff L., a lawyer from Los Angeles who volunteered with the Israeli army’s Sar-El program, recently went with Z on a day-long tour across the northern West Bank, including Nabi Musa (a shrine Muslims revere as the mausoleum of Moses), the oasis of ‘Ain Mabu’a, the all-Christian village of Taybe (with its renowned brewery), the all-Muslim village of Turmus Ayya, and the model city of Rawabi. Rawabi and Taybe are in Area A.

Stuck outside Ramallah in an L.A.-style traffic jam in the late afternoon, the two abandoned their plan to pose for a selfie outside Yasser Arafat’s tomb in the Muqata government compound.

In an email, Jeff wrote, “It was an awesome day. I will do my best to become an ambassador for peace.

“My day in the West Bank began at Wadi Qelt / Nahal Prat. The beautiful nature reserve was full of blooming wildflowers. Muslim women and their families from Hebron were enjoying the rushing water and lush surroundings. We were greeted warmly by all with big smiles.

“Visiting Taybe, Tarmus Ayya and Rawabi, again, everywhere we went we were warmly greeted. Fortunately, Z speaks Arabic and was able to communicate with everyone we met. My impression of the day in the West Bank was one filled with hope for the future.

“There was a genuine interest in everyone we met to talk and to make us feel welcome.

“All the people we met who live in the West Bank want the same peace and prosperity for their families as we [Jews] do.”

Z – who has a permit from the Israel Ministry of Tourism to enter Bethlehem and Jericho – has never encountered a problem in Area A or elsewhere in the West Bank. During the pandemic, he was stopped by a PA policeman en route to the Mar Saba monastery east of Bethlehem. The officer, who was carrying an AK-47, didn’t have an issue with a car full of tourists in a vehicle with yellow licence plates driving in Area A, but instructed them to return to Jerusalem because of the threat of COVID.

Should tourists to Israel also visit the West Bank and Area A?

Z insists that an hour spent walking around the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem and talking to the residents there is the best way to gain an understanding of the complex conflict that has caused so much suffering. Moreover, tourist sites like Hisham’s Palace in Jericho or Jacob’s Well in Nablus, where Jesus is said to have chatted with a Samaritan woman, are all exceedingly interesting and photogenic. But Z recommends going with a seasoned tour guide, lest you end up like the two German tourists who were attacked going to Nablus’s al-Aqsa pastry shop.

Gil Zohar is a writer and tour guide in Jerusalem.

Look on bright sides of earth

The southern and northern hemispheres look equally bright in this iconic image of earth, titled “The Blue Marble,” which the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft took on Dec. 7, 1972. (photo from NASA)

Why do earth’s hemispheres look equally bright when viewed from space? Weizmann Institute scientists offer an answer to this decades-old question.

When looking at the earth from space, its hemispheres – northern and southern – appear equally bright. This is unexpected because the southern hemisphere is mostly covered with dark oceans, whereas the northern hemisphere has a vast land area that is much brighter than these oceans. For years, the brightness symmetry between hemispheres remained a mystery. In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Weizmann Institute of Science researchers and their collaborators reveal a strong correlation between storm intensity, cloudiness and the solar energy reflection rate in each hemisphere. They offer a solution to the mystery, alongside an assessment of how climate change might alter the reflection rate in the future.

As early as the 1970s, when scientists analyzed data from the first meteorological satellites, they were surprised to find out that the two hemispheres reflect the same amount of solar radiation. Reflectivity of solar radiation is known in scientific lingo as “albedo.” To better comprehend what albedo is, think about driving at night: it is easy to spot the intermittent white lines, which reflect light from the car’s headlights well, but difficult to discern the dark asphalt. The same is true when observing earth from space: the ratio of the solar energy hitting the earth to the energy reflected by each region is determined by various factors. One of them is the ratio of dark oceans to bright land, which differ in reflectivity, just like asphalt and intermittent white lines. The land area of the northern hemisphere is about twice as large as that of the southern and, indeed, when measuring near the surface of the earth, when the skies are clear, there is more than a 10% difference in albedo. Still, both hemispheres appear to be equally bright from space.

In this study, the team of researchers, led by Prof. Yohai Kaspi and Or Hadas of Weizmann’s earth and planetary sciences department, focused on another factor influencing albedo, one located in high altitudes and reflecting solar radiation – clouds. The team analyzed data derived from the world’s most advanced databases, including cloud data collected via NASA satellites (CERES), as well as data from ERA5, which is a global weather database containing information collected using a variety of sources in the air and on the ground, dating back to 1950. ERA5 data was used to complete cloud data and to cross-correlate 50 years of this data with information on the intensity of cyclones and anticyclones.

photo - Prof. Yohai Kaspi, left, and Or Hadas of the Weizmann Institute of Science — Prof. Yohai Kaspi, left, and Or Hadas of the Weizmann Institute of Science. (photo from Weizmann Institute)

Next, the scientists classified storms of the last 50 years into three categories, according to intensity. They discovered a direct link between storm intensity and the number of clouds forming around the storm. While northern hemisphere and land areas in general are characterized by weaker storms, above oceans in the southern hemisphere, moderate and strong storms prevail. Data analysis showed that the link between storm intensity and cloudiness accounts for the difference in cloudiness between the hemispheres.

“Cloud albedo arising from strong storms above the southern hemisphere was found to be a high-precision offsetting agent to the large land area in the northern hemisphere, and thus symmetry is preserved,” said Hadas, adding: “This suggests that storms are the linking factor between the brightness of earth’s surface and that of clouds, solving the symmetry mystery.”

Will climate change have an impact?

Earth has been undergoing rapid change in recent years, owing to climate change. To examine whether and how this could affect hemispheric albedo symmetry, the scientists used CMIP6, a set of models run by climate modeling centres around the world to simulate climate change. One of these models’ major shortcomings is their limited ability to predict the degree of cloudiness. Nevertheless, the relation found in this study between storm intensity and cloudiness enables scientists to assess future cloud amounts, based on storm predictions.

Models predict global warming will result in a decreased frequency of all storms above the northern hemisphere and of weak and moderate storms above the southern hemisphere. However, the strongest storms of the southern hemisphere will intensify. The cause of these predicted differences is “Arctic amplification,” a phenomenon in which the North Pole warms twice as fast as earth’s mean warming rate. One might speculate that this difference should break hemispheric albedo symmetry. However, the research shows that a further increase in storm intensity might not change the degree of cloudiness in the southern hemisphere because cloud amounts reach saturation in very strong storms. Thus, symmetry might be preserved.

“It is not yet possible to determine with certainty whether the symmetry will break in the face of global warming,” said Kaspi. “However, the new research solves a basic scientific question and deepens our understanding of earth’s radiation balance and its effectors. As global warming continues, geoengineered solutions will become vital for human life to carry on alongside it. I hope that a better understanding of basic climate phenomena, such as the hemispheric albedo symmetry, will help in developing these solutions.”

Other collaborators in conducting this study include Dr. George Datseris and Prof. Bjorn Stevens of Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Germany; Dr. Joaquin Blanco and Prof. Rodrigo Caballero of Stockholm University, Sweden; and Dr. Sandrine Bony of Sorbonne University, France. Kaspi is head of the Helen Kimmel Centre for Planetary Science; his research is supported by the Yotam Project and Rene Braginsky.

– Courtesy Weizmann Institute