Lack of transparency about oil spill endangers public health – opinion
[Repost from the Jerusalem Post] In recent days, both the Israeli and international media showed horrifying images of dead and blackened sea turtles, birds, and fish washed up on the Israeli seashores. Cause: a large oil spill, most likely due to a leaking ship, which now is damaging approximately 170 km. (40%) of Israel’s coast. Although the first oil was already found on a few beaches on February 17, the event was only briefly mentioned a day later in relation to a dead whale calf, which washed up on the shores just south of Tel Aviv. A more accurate extent of the disaster became clear during the weekend, after thousands of…
The normalisation and celebration of online gambling (apps)
[Repost from the Times of Israel] Recently, Israeli high-tech company Playtika made major headlines with their business success. Started in 2010 from Tel Aviv, Playtika is considered one of the tech stars of our Start-Up Nation. Going public on Wall Street with a 17.11% growth on the first day of trading last Friday the 15th of January and with a market cap currently estimated at $13.052 billion, Playtika is now the 6th most valuable Israeli company trading on Wall Street. [Source]. Something that is highly celebrated in the media, portraying Playtika as a role model and ultimate business model for ”high-tech companies” to strive…
The price of a life: More or less than the costs of traffic safety measures?
[Repost from the Times of Israel] Friday the 25th of December 2020. For some just a regular Shabbat evening, for others an evening with Christmas celebrations, or just an evening like any other. However, for the families of three young Israelis this was a night that changed their lives. During early nighttime hours, at the infamous Highway 4 (Kvish Arba), two cars made a full-frontal crash. Killing one of the drivers on the spot and leaving the other driver as well as its passenger critically injured. In typical Israeli or maybe just current-day fashion, photos and comments about this tragic accident circulated freely on social…
Together as One Nation: Am Yisrael Chai
[Repost from the Times of Israel] A response to ‘Israeli society needs to disengage from ultra-Orthodox’by Dr. Ram Fruman, head of the Secular Forum, as published on Ynetnews. בס”ד There are often headlines in the news, especially of opinion pieces, that right away grab the attention. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes.. a bit less positive. The above mentioned article, published yesterday on Israeli new platform Ynetnews, is an example of one that grabbed my attention right away: just one day after having binge watched the Israeli TV-series ”Autonomies” (אוטונומיות), by Yehonatan Indursky, maker of the more well-known ”Shtisel”. ”Autonomies” shows a complete dystopian alternate…
Nurses on strike: Foreboding of a healthcare disaster?
[Repost from the Times of Israel] On Monday July 20, 2020, Israeli nurses went on a nationwide strike, trying to draw the governments’ and publics’ attention to the increasing workload experienced in the hospital systems throughout the country. With a staggering increase in COVID-19 patients over the last couple weeks – mainly due to failing government directives as well as ill-considered behaviour from many individuals in the society -, the physical burden as well as mental weight of working within the healthcare system are expected to keep on rising, possibly reaching a breaking point in the near future. Although an agreement between the Ministry…
Don’t lose track of what pandemic control is really about: Our health
[Repost from the Times of Israel] Israel is angry. For the 4th week in a row, there have been major demonstrations throughout the country. We’ve seen Black Flag movements across some 200 road junctions, and infuriated crowds raging their concerns in the streets against a failing, out of touch, and seemingly corrupt government. Climaxing on the 12th and 18th of July with hundreds of people at the Presidents’ residence in Jerusalem and thousands protesting in Tel Aviv. It clearly isn’t over yet. It’s the Summer of 2020. The world is battling a global pandemic, and unfortunately Israel is no exception. When the first cases of…
