Israel

Build it and they will come?

photo - Ramon International Airport in Eilat will begin service on Oct. 28

Ramon International Airport in Eilat will begin service on Oct. 28. (photo by Gil Zohar) With Ramon International Airport beginning service on Oct. 28, officials hope that the state-of-the-art facility will boost tourism to the once-sleepy Red Sea resort of…

What is it to become Israeli?

photo - Akiva Gersh teaching a group in Israel. Gersh is the editor of, and a contributing writer to, the book Becoming Israeli: The Hysterical, Inspiring and Challenging Sides of Making Aliyah

Akiva Gersh teaching a group in Israel. Gersh is the editor of, and a contributing writer to, the book Becoming Israeli: The Hysterical, Inspiring and Challenging Sides of Making Aliyah. (photo from Akiva Gersh) If you or someone you know…

Crocheting as work

photo - The label for an Iota rug and pouf hand-knit by Kefaya, a Bedouin woman

The label for an Iota rug and pouf hand-knit by Kefaya, a Bedouin woman. (photo from Iota) Some of the best projects are born out of a desire for change – at least that was the case with Iota, an…

Too much food wasted

photo - Millions more could be fed by the same resources if our diets changed

Millions more could be fed by the same resources if our diets changed. (photo from wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il) About a third of the food produced for human consumption is estimated to be lost or wasted globally. But the biggest waste, which is…

Climate change heats up Israel

photo - Israelis and tourists enjoy the beach in Tel Aviv on a hot summer day

Israelis and tourists enjoy the beach in Tel Aviv on a hot summer day. (photo by Miriam Alster/FLASH90 via Israel21c) A new study says that, by 2100, climate changes will extend the summer season in the eastern Mediterranean – an…

The import of pigeons

photo - Pigeon bones from 1,500 years ago

Pigeon bones from 1,500 years ago. (photo from University of Haifa via Ashernet) Israel’s Negev Desert has not always been a dusty, almost treeless place – 1,500 years ago, many parts of the Negev were green and produced basic foods.…

Israeli horses’ ancient links

photo - In 2016, under the supervision of Prof. Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, archeologists excavating at the fifth-century CE Huqoq synagogue found a mosaic floor on which there is an image of an Egyptian soldier and his horse floundering in the Red Sea

In 2016, under the supervision of Prof. Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, archeologists excavating at the fifth-century CE Huqoq synagogue found a mosaic floor on which there is an image of an Egyptian soldier…

Genetics or lifestyle?

image - Study brings hope for improving our health

Study brings hope for improving our health. The question of nature versus nurture extends to our microbiome – the personal complement of mostly friendly bacteria we carry around with us. Study after study has found that our microbiome affects nearly…

A record marathon

photo - Jerusalem Marathon winner Kipkogey Shadrack (No. 1) led the field from the start

Jerusalem Marathon winner Kipkogey Shadrack (No. 1) led the field from the start. (photo from Ashernet) More than 35,000 runners, including some 4,000 from 72 countries outside Israel, participated March 8 in this year’s Jerusalem Marathon – the largest to date.…

Smokehouse opens

photo - Former Vancouverite Harvey Sandler opened Harvey’s Smokehouse in Jerusalem a few months ago

Former Vancouverite Harvey Sandler opened Harvey’s Smokehouse in Jerusalem a few months ago. (photo by Barry A. Kaplan) Kansas City, Mo., is my hometown. Well, Overland Park, Kan., is more accurate, but Kansas City, the home of barbeque, is just…