Buckle Up or Pay Up
Israeli drivers beware! The Knesset Finance Committee has decided to increase fines for traffic offenses, and for most infractions, the fines will be more than double their current amounts.
Caught speaking on your cell phone? Be prepared to fork out NIS 1000 instead of the current NIS 500.
Motorcyclists caught driving on the shoulder will face a fine of NIS 250 as opposed to the current NIS 100.
In addition to the increased fines, there are a number of other traffic violations that will soon be automatically punishable by fines, violations that previously only resulted in being invited for a court appearance.
Not wearing your seatbelt? That’s going to cost you NIS 500.
Parked your car illegally, figuring that you’d only be a minute? If you’re caught, you can expect to pay a 250 shekel fine.
Other new fines include:
- NIS 100 if you don’t keep one of those yellow safety vests in your car.
- NIS 250 if you step out of your car without wearing your safety vest.
- NIS 100 if you’re caught without your license and registration.
There’s no word on what the fine will be for people caught shaving while driving, but haughtily mentioning that you are an MK and then running away from the scene is generally not recommended…
Oasis of Peace
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Politics, Profiles, Travel
Neve Shalom ~ Wahat al-Salam (in English, Oasis of Peace) made headlines last year when former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters performed there. This unique cooperative village was founded jointly by Jewish and Arab Israelis in an attempt to show that the two peoples can live side by side peacefully, as well as to conduct educational work for peace, equality and understanding between the two peoples. The community was founded on land that was originally leased from the adjacent Latrun Monastery, mid-way between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and there are currently more than 50 families living in Neve Shalom ~ Wahat al-Salam, with an equal number of Arabs and Jews. Many more families from both groups are on the waiting list to join this very special place.
Neve Shalom ~ Wahat al-Salam’s school system was the first bilingual, bi-national Jewish-Palestinian educational facility in the country, and the Jewish and Palestinian teachers each speak exclusively in their own languages to all the students, creating an atmosphere that allows the students to explore their own identities as well as gain appreciation for another culture.
As you can see in the above video clip, the people of Neve Shalom ~ Wahat al-Salam – those who live there, those who work and volunteer there, and those who choose to benefit from the wide variety of services and resources provided – are committed to dialog and co-existence.
So, here’s your chance to check out a four-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize up close and personal. If you’re going to be in the area (and it’s a beautiful region, so I highly recommend it – don’t forget to pick up a few bottles of wine made on-site at the Latrun Monastery!), pop in and say “shalom” or “salam” and I’m sure they’ll be happy to have you. Or, if you know you’re going to be in the area, give them a call beforehand so that they can prepare for your visit. All contact information is available on the site, which can be found by clicking here.
No More Little Piggies Going to Market
A storm is brewing in the city of Netanya after a law was passed by the city council yesterday forbidding the sale of pork products in the city. With 12 members of the council voting in favor of the law and three voting against, those opposing the law have indicated that they will take the case to the high court in order to have the new law invalidated, claiming that it changes the status quo in the city.
Netanya is home to approximately 70 non-kosher food shops and more than 60,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union, not to mention many other individuals who patronize these shops, and the leaders in the struggle against the new law have promised that, come election time, these people will not cast their votes in favor of any candidate or party who supported banning the sale of pork products in the city.
One can’t help but wonder how this will affect shops in Netanya’s Poleg Industrial Zone, including Tiv Taam‘s flagship store (recently in the news when Russian-Israeli businessman Arkady Gaydamak announced plans to make the chain Kosher after buying a controlling share, a deal that was later cancelled), which carries a wide selection of such products, as well as other smaller shops and local restaurants.
As of press time, there has been no response from any of the pigs whose lives might be affected by the new law…
The Return of Harry Potter
As the entire world goes potty for Potter, Israel is no exception. The latest Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix” opens here on Thursday, and like citizens everywhere, we too are anxiously awaiting the release of the seventh and final book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows“, due to be released on Saturday.
The local book chain Steimatzky will be holding a party on Friday night at midnight at the old port of Tel Aviv to celebrate the book’s release, and they will start selling the book at 2:01am Saturday morning.
Lizrael is not impressed. “Why did I move to the “Holy Land,” seeking Jewish freedom, if what that means is that a Harry Potter book release party is still going to take place on a Friday night and I can’t even use Shabbat day to read it?”
On a more positive note, she’s already pre-ordered her copy from Steimatzky, which she’ll pick up at the end of Shabbat. Don’t expect to see her in public until she’s finished reading…
I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon in the UK, and am already trying to figure out which bag will be most suitable for carrying my regular necessities as well as Harry. So, have you pre-ordered your copy?
Capulets versus the Montagues
Classic Romeo and Juliet. A young couple. Passionate love. Turmoil between families. Unrequited love.
In North America’s deep south it’s the Hatfields versus McCoys.
And in the deep south of Israel, it takes on a more sinister twist as it is termed “Sleeping with the Enemy”…
Kiryat Gat’s municipality held an emergency conference this week warning Israeli teen girls: Don’t date Bedouin boys or you’ll pay for it dearly.
The conference kicked off with an introductory film that “included testimonies from young women whose Bedouin boyfriends did not let them return home after they asked to end the relationship.
During the conference, the organizers presented quotes which they claimed appeared in the Koran, such as “a woman can be beaten as long as her bones are not broken and no blood is spilled.”
Whoa. According to this YNet story, the conference was organized, in part, in response to…
…the 2006 murder of 16-year-old Mika Dabab whose body was found burned near the Bedouin community of Rahat. An investigation revealed that Dabab was romantically involved with a young Rahat resident and tried to break up with him several days before she was murdered. The young man refused, kidnapped her from a discotheque and murdered her.
The Bedouin response to the claims and the conference?
“We in the Bedouin sector do not encourage romantic relations between Bedouins and Jews as well. It hurts our families just like it hurts the Jews. It causes a lot of difficult problems and internal conflicts which often end in violence,” Rahat Mayor Talal al-Krenawi said in response to the Kiryat Gat conference.
I don’t know exactly how to view this sort of organized appeal …Readers?
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