Sukkot is the Jewish Environment Holiday in Israel
This week marks the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Jews will build small huts and live in them for a week.
Tonight marks the first night of Sukkot, the Jewish Festival of Booths. This post cross-posted at Green Prophet by Alex Gutman, explains the history and traditions of this inherently green holiday. If you are in Israel this week and notice people living in small wood huts, it’s not the tent protestors, but Jews of all ages living in their booth, to remind them of Exodus from ancient times.
Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, couldn’t come at a better time than now. After the heaviness of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkot joins Passover and Shavuot as a Jewish holiday which celebrates agriculture and is known as Z’man Simchateinu, the season of our rejoicing. It is the most festive of all the holidays and lasts for seven days and has a direct link to the environment. Read more
Green Poker Anyone?
Filed under: A New Reality, Technology
Founded by a small group of Israelis, Playtech is a multi-million gambling tech company that provides an engine for online casinos (if you like gambling online for real money). My sister, for one, can sit on Facebook for hours and play slots for points while she is chatting to her friends. But other people believe they can make real money online by gambling.
Based out of Israel, Estonia, and the UK, and more, for legal reasons Playtech does not operate in the United States: there are US laws that prohibit some kinds of online casinos –– like poker, a Playtech specialty.
This could change now that American legal eagles are deliberating on whether or not to allow online poker to be regulated in the United States, once again. Gambling addicts can certainly get their fix at Las Vegas, or in online casinos that offer blackjack, slots and any other favorite gambling game –– except poker.
In a New York Times article this week, it was reported that American legislators may once again allow for an online poker industry run by a few and which was shut down over Ponzi-scheme suspicions. But just like cigarettes, booze and gasoline, imagine all the taxation possibilities that gambling could bring in? Read more
Chickens (and Eggs) in Jaffa
From a long line of egg farmers, Karin’s dad finally builds her a chicken coop
Imagine getting fresh, free-range organic eggs every day? When my parents came to visit me in Jaffa a few months ago, Dad found himself bored. Back in Holland, my family the Van Der Meers were one of the biggest egg producers in the country before the Depression. So you could say, eggs are in our genes. With Dad nothing to do for a few weeks, I brought up the idea of having him build me a chicken coop. That got him kind of excited. He foraged for wood in my backyard and came up with a coop that resembles a bus stop. Read more
“72 Hour Urban Action” Takes Over Bat Yam, Israel
Filed under: A New Reality, Environment, Pop Culture
Teams have 72 hours to re-design an urban area in a pretty crumby satellite city in Israel. It’s guerilla urban architecture.
We’ve all had the same thought: it’s been built, we’re stuck with it. This ugly urban mess we have created is here to stay and there’s nothing we can do about it; may as well put up our feet, grab a lager, and watch re-runs of “The Days of Our Lives” to wile away the misery. Others challenge that notion, and show the rest of us couch-potatoes that actually we have an extraordinary capacity for innovation and have the necessary power to reverse our unsustainable trends. And not only can we fix our mistakes during this lifetime (instead of leaving it for our kids to deal with), we can make serious headway over a weekend. They started with the 72 Hour Urban Action Program in Israel’s less-than-glamorous Bat Yam. Read more
Foto Friday – Greenpeace vs Coal Power
Filed under: Environment, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Picture of the Week, Politics, Technology
Greenpeace has been stepping up its activity against coal-fired power stations, coal still being the prevalent form of fuel for electric power generation in Israel. Yesterday, eight Greenpeace activists were arrested upon infiltrating the grounds of the Hadera power plant. The eight — comprising Israeli and foreign nationals — entered the plant via the sea.
This follows an action taken earlier this month, when Greenpeace activists boarded a coal ship, the Orient Venus, en route from South Africa to Israel and attempted to block it from docking at the Hadera power plant.
The three persons who hung the “Coal kills” banner were arrested but later released.
According to the Associated Press yesterday, “Israeli police said six of the activists were arrested on the coal dock.”
“Greenpeace said nine more activists were arrested after their “Rainbow Warrior” boat reached the Haifa port in northern Israel for inspection by Israeli authorities.”
Greenpeace opposes Israel’s plans to build a new coal-fueled power plant off the coast of Ashkelon so stay tuned for more news items about dramatic actions like these.
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