Israeli government votes to decriminalize recreational marijuana use
(JNS.org) The Israeli government voted in favor of decriminalizing recreational marijuana use, joining several other European countries and U.S. states that have adopted similar measures.
At Israel’s weekly cabinet meeting Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a team of experts had studied the issue and that “this obviously needs to be done in a careful and controlled manner.”
“On one hand, we are opening ourselves up to the future. On the other hand, we understand the dangers and will try to balance the two,” he said.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called the cabinet’s vote “an important step toward implementing the new policy, which will place the emphasis on awareness and treatment rather than criminal enforcement.”
According to the new policy, first-time offenders will receive a $270 fine, which would double for a second offense. A third offense would warrant a police investigation and fourth offense would result in criminal proceedings. Selling and growing marijuana would still remain criminal offenses.
Israel has been a world leader in marijuana research, with Israeli scientists being among the first to identify the key compounds in marijuana such as THC, the principle psychoactive compound found in the drug.
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Israel notches stunning victory over South Korea in World Baseball Classic
(JNS.org) Israel shocked the baseball world Monday, beating heavily favored host nation South Korea 2-1 in 10 innings in the opening game of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament.
With Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred in attendance at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Israel’s Scott Burcham broke a 1-1 tie with a single up the middle against Korea’s Chang-Yong Lim that allowed the go-head runner to score.
“Definitely the most stressful game I’ve ever been a part of. But it was worth it,” New York Mets prospect Ty Kelly wrote on Twitter after the game.
The Israeli victory was the first game of the 16-team WBC international tournament. Israel and Korea compete in Pool A, which also includes Taiwan and the Netherlands.
Most of the baseball players representing Israel are Jewish Americans, with only two members of the team possessing Israeli passports. According to WBC rules, players can compete for any country in which they are eligible for citizenship. Under Israeli law, all Jews receive automatic citizenship.
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Ahead of Purim, Israeli library displays 400-year-old Book of Esther scroll
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) As the Purim holiday approaches, the National Library of Israel has put a 400-year-old hand-illustrated copy of the Book of Esther on display.
The scroll, dating back to the 1600s in Italy, will soon be uploaded to the national library’s website. The curator of the library’s Judaica collection, Dr. Yoel Finkelman, said the illustrations on the scroll are full of violence, bloodshed and beheadings in an apparent attempt to portray the ancient Purim story as vividly as possible.
“A study of the rich detail reveals hints that the illustrator expected that given the tense relations between Jews and Christians and because of the anti-Semitism throughout Christian Europe at that time, God would inflict the same violence on the Christians if they dared to attack Jews,” Finkelman said.
The scroll was commissioned by Mordechai Ben Eliyahu Halevy from the city of Brescello, near Parma, in 1616. A scribe named Moshe Ben Avraham Peshkarol copied and illustrated the scroll in 1617. The scroll covers 27 parchment pages and was much-used, as evidenced by the many stains and damage to its colors.
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Only 18 people breached Israel’s borders in 2016, report says
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Only 18 African infiltrators have entered Israel illegally since January 2016, the lowest number in recent years, the quarterly report of the Israeli Interior Ministry’s Population and Immigration Authority has found.
Before the construction of the Israel-Egypt border fence, a project proposed by the Israel Defense Forces and authorized by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, infiltrators—illegal border crossers—poured into Israel from the Sinai Desert by the thousands.
“Since 2012, when progress was made on building a ground obstacle on the southern border and a legislative amendment was applied to prolong the length of time for which illegal migrants can be held in custody, there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of infiltrators entering Israel illegally,” the Population and Immigration Authority’s report stated.
Since May 2016, not one African infiltrator has illegally entered Israel through the border fence with Egypt, the report added.
Israel’s highest influx of illegal migrants came in 2011, when 17,268 Africans entered Israel.
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India’s largest airline begins direct flights between Tel Aviv and New Delhi
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) India’s largest airline, Air India, announced Thursday plans to launch direct flights between Tel Aviv and New Delhi. The airline plans to offer three weekly flights on the route, which is expected to become operational in May.
The route is expected to serve the increasing number of Indian tourists visiting Israel and Israelis traveling to India as a result of the strong ties developed between the two countries.
Direct flights between Tel Aviv and New Delhi are currently only available on Israel’s flagship airline, El Al.
According to Israel Airports Authority data, travel between Israel and India has grown significantly in recent years, and the number of passengers flying directly between the two countries reached 158,000 last year.
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Facebook apologizes, reinstates Fatah page after shuttering it over glorifying terror
(JNS.org) Facebook reinstated the official page of the Palestinian Fatah political party just one day after initially shuttering it following a rash of posts glorifying terrorism and murder against Israelis.
Facebook originally shut down the page Feb. 27 over a picture of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat holding a rifle that belonged to an Israeli soldier, who was abducted in the 1980s by Palestinian terrorists in Beirut.
But just a day later, Facebook reversed the decision and apologized for shutting down the page.
“The page was removed in error and restored as soon as we were able to investigate. We apologize for this mistake. All pages have to abide by our community standards,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), an organization that monitors Palestinian incitement, said Facebook reinstated the account without removing any of the terror-promoting material that is regularly posted by Fatah. According to PMW, posts this year by Fatah—which is headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas—have glorified Palestinian arch-terrorist Abu Jihad, who planned attacks that killed 125 Israelis; have promoted dying for “Palestine;” and have endorsed violence in other ways.
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Articles from JNS.org are sponsored on San Diego Jewish World by Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.