Ofek-11 surveillance satellite successfully launched into space
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel on Tuesday successfully launched the Ofek-11 surveillance satellite into space, mere weeks after the Amos-6 satellite, carrying state of the art communications technology, was destroyed in a static test malfunction, just two days before it was scheduled to be launched into orbit.
While Ofek-11 entered orbit as planned, it began experiencing technical issues that interrupted its steady communications with its control station, at the Palmachim Air Base in central Israel, almost immediately.
“It is going to be a while before we can assess if this launch was fully successful, there are some issues that we are still concerned about,” an Israeli defense official said Tuesday night. “We can’t be 100% optimistic, but we are not 100% pessimistic either.”
Another official noted that “some things appear to be out of the ordinary, but we have yet to complete our assessment; we are trying to stabilize its systems.”
The Israel Aerospace Industries designed Ofek-11 as an all-weather radar imaging satellite that can provide imagery at all hours of the day. It was fitted with more sophisticated systems than the Ofek-10, which was launched from the same launch site in 2014.
The first Israeli satellite, Ofek-1, was launched into space in 1988. At the time, Israel was the eighth country to have successfully developed and launched a satellite into space. Today 12 countries have this capability.
*
Israeli religious high schools get marriage prep course
(JNS.org) A marriage preparation class for religious high school students will be offered this year by Israel’s Ministry of Education, Haaretz reported on Tuesday.
At the schools, counselors will be given 30 to 60 hours of training to help graduates choose a future spouse by lending advice on how to meet each other. A database of potential partner names will also be created and used in the program.
“Because single people are an inseparable and beloved part of us, there is a great need to embark on a new and unique enterprise,” wrote Dr. Avraham Lifshitz, the head of the ministry’s religious education administration.
If successful, the program will be adopted in other Israeli school systems, Lifshitz said.
One unnamed educator told Haaretz that matchmaking has no place in the schools.
*
Hungary creates first-ever office to address Christian persecution
(JNS.org) Hungary will establish the first government office to address Christian persecution in the Middle East and Europe, the Catholic News Agency reported on Tuesday.
Although the exact mission has not been clarified yet, the new office has been allocated a budget of more than $3.35 million. Tamás Török, Hungary’s former deputy ambassador to Italy, will oversee the office.
Zoltán Balog, the Hungarian Minister for Human Capacities, explained the importance of establishing the department.
“Today, Christianity has become the most persecuted religion, where out of five people killed for religious reasons, four of them are Christians,” Balog told Catholic News Agency.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban decided to “take action” against Christian persecution when the two met in August with Catholic leaders from the Middle East in Rome to discuss the threat to Christian communities, he said.
“This is where we decided that there needs to be an efficiently operating deputy state secretariat with the government’s authorization to combat every form of Christian persecution,” Balog added.
Hungary has other initiatives to assist persecuted Christians, he said, including government funding designated for education costs for children in the Middle East.
*
Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)