Dispatch from Jerusalem

Cellular Weather Watch

For years, engineers have tried to improve the quality of cellular phone reception by minimizing the effects of weather changes. But Israeli engineers from Tel Aviv University’s School of Engineering actually took advantage of the problem and found that they could measure rainfall more accurately by monitoring the cellular environment than using radar.

Operation “Prayer Shield” For Israel

What a difference a few minutes can make. That thought must surely be running through the minds of dozens of parents and teenagers at the HaNativ HaYeshivati high school in Sderot after a Palestinian Kassam rocket slammed through the roof of a classroom on May 21st. The day had started like any other, with students attending morning prayers in an adjacent synagogue and then staying behind to hear their teacher deliver a schmooze—a brief discourse on a Torah-related subject.

Reconnaissance Satellite Successful

Israel has deemed its new reconnaissance satellite a success. The state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) said the Eros-B1 satellite has relayed images that demonstrated design capabilities. Eros-B1 was said to have a high resolution image capability of less than 0.7 meters (27 inches).

“The short period of time taken to manufacture the satellite and its high quality photos are an unprecedented technological achievement,” IAI president Itzhak Nissan said.

The World’s First Underwater Museum

At the end of April, the Caesarea Development Corporation opened up the world’s first underwater archaeological museum on Israel’s northern shoreline. Thirty-six underwater sign posts, providing information for each artifact, mark four trails in the 87,000 square-yard (73,743-sq. meter) area.

Israel Synagogue Desecrated

The Great Synagogue in Petah Tikvah (seven miles east of Tel Aviv) was broken into and desecrated on May 4 in the morning. The perpetrators drew swastikas on the walls, on the ark (Torah closet), and on Torah scrolls. They also wrote ”Hitler” on the doors of the synagogue and flung the contents of the ark onto the floor.

Second Temple Model Relocated

Modern commercial redevelopment has no sense of history, not even in Jerusalem. Even the Second Temple Mount Model had to be relocated to make way for refurbishing of the Holyland Hotel, where the Model was situated since its construction in the mid-1960s, attracting about 300,000 tourists annually.

Houses Divided…

While many believe that the Israelis and the Palestinians might be worlds apart, Jerusalem and Ramallah are, in fact, separated by only a few kilometers, and both governments now share the displeasure of finding themselves threatened by infighting among their members. For Israel, that infighting takes the form that it does in most civilized democracies, with ministers fighting over budgets, political appointments, and the finer issues of national policy. In the Palestinian Authority (PA), however, the infighting is at its most primitive level––in the form of armed gangs battling it out in the streets.

Impending World Jihad “Tsunami”

In May, former Military Intelligence chief Aharon Ze’evi warned of an impending world jihad “tsunami” that he said may soon descend on the entire Middle East.

More On The James Ossuary

Just when you thought the James ossuary was a fake, world experts declare it is authentic. When questioned about the James ossuary inscription, which reads, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus,” paleographer Ada Yardeni said, “If this is a forgery, I quit!”

Unusual Trade: Israel Exports Surplus Apples To Syria

For the second straight year, Israeli apple growers expanded their customer base
to include an unlikely, but eager purchaser of their surplus produce–Syria.