NORTH The Manginat Hagalil festival begins next week in the Galilee. The event, organized by various government ministries, tourist organizations and the Jewish National Fund, aims to create a summer festival with a rich array of multicultural music throughout the Galilee, the Golan Heights, and the valleys. The festival will open with a concert of chamber music ensembles that include top students of the summer semester at the Keshet Eilon Music Center in the western Galilee.Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom stated that “the development of the Galilee is an important process that affects economy, education and settlement in the North,” adding that the Galilee Development Authority is “continuously working on generating projects to increase the number of settlers in the area. The Galilee’s economy rests mostly on tourism and lodging, so Manginat Hagalil is another way of encouraging thousands of visitors and families from Israel and abroad to explore the area and provide them with a unique experience of music and culture.”Orna Hozman, CEO of the Galilee Development Authority, said, “Investment in festivals such as Manginat Hagalil and other projects provide an important boost in promoting the cities. Through dozens of shows spread out over the coming month, activities will provide thousands of visitors with a unique Galilee experience.”Events will include the International Klezmer Festival in Safed and the Lo Bashamayim festival at the Tel Hai academic college, celebrating Israeli-Jewish teaching.Concerts will be performed by Mosh Ben-Ari in Katzrin Park, Dudu Tasa at the Bein Hakramim festival in Livnim, and Kobi Aflalo in the Golan Amphitheater.Excavations under way at Hippos Volunteers from a US delegation celebrated American Independence Day on July 4 with an archeological dig at the site of the ancient town of Hippos (Sussita or Qal’at el-Husn), near Kibbutz Ein Gev. The delegation sang the US national anthem and waved the American flag to the applause of the multinational excavators at the site. The excavations, led by Dr. Michael Eisenberg of the University of Haifa, has more than 60 volunteers from Israel and abroad.In previous excavations, archeologists have found mosaics from the seventh-century Greco-Roman city, as well as murals and jewelry. Sussita excavations continue until July 26 from Sunday to Thursday. The public is invited to visit the site and assist in the excavation. For more information, call Gil Maor at (04) 693-0530.Syrian nationals taken to Safed Two Syrian nationals were taken to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed last Thursday suffering from moderate wounds inflicted by gunshots in Syria.Navy searches for man lost at sea On Sunday, Marine police teams, volunteers and members of the Navy searched the Student Beach in Haifa for an 18-year-old boy who entered the sea but did not return. A friend who was with him told police the boy was unable to fight the strong currents and was pulled far out to sea. The friend managed to swim ashore, where paramedics took him to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa suffering from exhaustion.Hadera man bitten by snake In Hadera, a 28-year-old man was bitten by a snake on Friday. Magen David Adom paramedics took him to the Rambam Medical Center with light wounds.CENTER An American-Israeli Fourth of July American soldiers and officers celebrated the Fourth of July last Thursday with North American lone IDF soldiers at Tel Aviv’s Gordon Beach. Thirty soldiers and officers celebrated American Independence Day with more than 150 IDF lone soldiers who have made aliya from the US with the assistance of Nefesh B’Nefesh, Friends of the IDF, the Absorption Ministry and the Scouts’ Garin Tzabar. The celebration included a barbecue, beer, American music and much red, white and blue.Players from the Israeli Football League, founded by olim from the US, also joined the party. There are more than 600 amateur and professional football players in Israel, most of whom are North American olim who came to Israel through Nefesh B’Nefesh and the Jewish Agency.Erez Halfon, vice chairman of Nefesh B’Nefesh, said, “Nefesh B’Nefesh and FIDF wanted to celebrate this day with some of the soldiers who immigrated to Israel and left behind family and friends but are still connected to their traditions and memories.”Internet campaign to assist children with special needs Wings of Challenge has launched a campaign on Instagram and Facebook calling on artists, actors and celebrities to upload their picture with open palms to welcome participants to Krembo, a benefit concert on July 17 at the Ra’anana Park Amphitheater. Every celebrity has the date of the festival, 17/7, written on both palms.Wings of Challenge assists children with special needs.The campaign has received responses from many artists, such as Dudu Tasa, Tal Friedman, Guy Amir and Meir Suissa. The campaign is the largest undertaken in Israel and has hundreds of thousands of likes and shares.Statues in the sand The “Fairy Tales in the Sand” exhibition contains dozens of large sand statues built in the garden of the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv, depicting characters and stories from children’s literature. The statues are illuminated by artistic lighting in the evenings, and there are activities for kids to get involved. The exhibition runs until August 26.Former German bakery becomes part of Technion In the Templer colony of Sarona, next to the government compound in Tel Aviv, there was a café run by Willie Gunter and his wife, Erica. Opened in 1934, the café attracted British, German and Jewish clients with its special atmosphere and German desserts. This week, Ahuzat Hahof announced that the building that was once the café will be converted into classrooms for the Technion – Institute of Technology’s Tel Aviv campus.SOUTH BGU partners with Chicago over water Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the University of Chicago officially partnered last Tuesday to apply the “latest discoveries in nanotechnology to create new materials and processes” for making clean, fresh drinking water more plentiful and less expensive by 2020. The announcement came following a meeting with President Shimon Peres, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer, BGU President Rivka Carmi and leading scientists in the field. The joint projects explore innovative solutions at the water-energy nexus, developing more efficient ways of using water to produce energy and using energy to treat and deliver clean water. The two schools will soon begin funding the series of research projects aimed at creating nanotechnologies that address water shortages in arid climates.Swastikas, Palestinian flag sprayed on Negev bus stop Swastikas and a Palestinian flag were spray painted on a bus stop on Highway 40 near the Lehavim Junction north of Beersheba on Thursday, police said. Police and forensic technicians were sent to the scene and have opened an investigation.‘Blue Flag’ To be raised at Seagull Beach in Eilat Eilat’s Shehafim (“Seagull”) Beach is welcoming the summer season by raising a Blue Flag on its coast.The Blue Flag is a voluntary eco-label awarded to beaches and marinas across the globe working towards sustainable development of beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, safety and services.To fly a Blue Flag, a beach must meet international standards such as environmental checks and balances to ensure the water is clean and safe. In addition, the beach must be free of charge, be reachable by public transportation, offer accessibility for people with disabilities and have recycling bins. There are about 3,850 Blue Flag beaches in 46 countries throughout Europe, Africa, New Zealand, South America, Canada and the Caribbean.Last summer was the program’s pilot year in Israel. Nine beaches and two marinas have worked hard to match the strictest criteria by each site. Blue Flag beaches are subject to regular meetings between at least six defined stakeholders, including environmentalists, city or town government officials and beach managers. Permission to keep flying the flag must be reviewed annually. If conditions change, certification may be dropped until the situation is resolved.Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevi said, “The international recognition is a result of our efforts to invest in infrastructure, education, the environment and protect the environment as a whole,” adding that the Blue Flag recognition joins the high scores Eilat’s beaches have received by various government ministries. “We shall continue to invest in cleaning, developing and nurturing our beaches while constantly striving to protect our environment.”Cook stabbed and killed by co-worker A 26-year-old cook died at Joseftal Hospital in Eilat on Saturday morning after being stabbed by a co-worker during an argument Friday night, police reported. Officers responding to a call from the Beit Almog Hotel found the Petah Tikva native in critical condition with wounds to the upper body. Within the hour, police found the suspect walking in the city, a 32-year-old Netanya native who worked at the hotel with the victim. Police said the man was carrying the suspected murder weapon.
(photo credit: Wikicommons)