Behind the Scenes
Talia Eckstein
Christina Johns
Hear the truth about the latest events from on the ground in Israel — even when news stations aren’t reporting it. Make sure you stay informed. Information is live as it happens so be sure to check back frequently.
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The first amphibian to have been officially declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has been rediscovered in the north of Israel after some 60 years and turns out to be a unique ‘living fossil’, without close relatives among other living frogs.
The Hula painted frog was first discovered in the Hula Valley of Israel in the early 1940′s but was thought to have disappeared following the drying up of the Hula Lake at the end of the 1950′s. It was declared extinct by the IUCN in 1996 and as a result, the opportunity to discover more about this species’ history, biology and ecology was thought to have disappeared.
However, a team of Israeli, German and French researchers now report in the scientific journal ‘Nature Communications’ on an in-depth…
Kudos to Israel for banning the use of anorexic-looking models in advertising, the first legislation of its kind.
A law that regulates people’s body weight would probably get little traction in Congress, not to mention U.S. courts.
But not so here in Israel, where a new law took effect Jan. 1 that aims to prevent fashion models from losing weight to the detriment of their health and the wellbeing of others inclined to follow in their footsteps.
Israeli lawmakers adopted the legislation in March 2012 stipulating that fashion and commercial models should have a body-mass index of at least 18.5. A 5-foot-8 adult weighing 120 pounds, for instance, has a BMI of 18.2, disqualifying her — or him — from pursuing a modeling career in this country of nearly 8 million people.
It is also called the “Photoshop law” because it demands…
2022
As temperatures in Israel have climbed past the 90s, many people are either nesting within their air-conditioned homes or searching for some cool outdoor comforts. I prefer cooling off outside in whatever refuge from the heat God has blessed me with. One of my favorite places to seek shelter during Israel’s long summer months is in the water of an ice cold spring.
Fortunately, Israel has been blessed with many natural springs, some of which are only a short drive from my house. At any time of year, you can find freezing cold spring, hot springs, and springs that will match the temperature of the season, as if they have a built-in heater for the winter and a cooler for the summer.
While swimming in a spring is great fun and pleasant for the mind and body, it also has benefits…
Photo: Ashernet
Eighteen large, decorated globes of planet earth have been placed on display in Jerusalem. Described as “public art with purpose,” the sculptures are a part of the traveling exhibition entitled Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet. Cool Globes grew from the Clinton Global initiative in 2005, but by 2006 became its own non-profit organization, set on encouraging communities to find creative solutions to climate change.
Different decorative globes have been on display in cities across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and Jerusalem’s installment comes just in time to celebrate Earth Day – it will be on show near the Jaffa Gate through the end of summer. Not only is this a clever display of community art, the exhibit creatively exemplifies Israel’s tireless efforts to better the environment.
After the exhibitions run, the globes will be donated for permanent installation…
We spend our lives in search of happiness. Many of us say to ourselves, “If I only had a more important job, or made more money, or had a better marriage, then I would be happy.” But where does the key to happiness really lie?
Surprisingly, a new study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development finds that Israelis are ranked among the happiest and most content people in the Western world. How is it that citizens of this tiny embattled nation, who are plagued by poverty and war, do compulsory army service, and are surrounded by enemies sworn to their destruction, remain happy despite it all?
Allison Kaplan Sommer writes an in interesting op-ed in Haaretz that explains the many possible reasons behind these confounding new survey results. Sommer first approached this question by discussing it with a leading…