21 Tammuz 5776
Thursday, July 28 2016
TODAY’S BLOG:
Here are ten numbers that appeared in the news yesterday and today that might give you a small flavor of what is happening here on the street in Israel.
1. 44 degrees C. (111 F)
This is the predicted high temperature in Eilat on the Red Sea and in the area around the Dead Sea this coming weekend.
As hot as this may seem, this temperature is lower than the even hotter temperatures of last week.
2. 60,000 people
This is the number of passengers that go through the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station everyday.
Once a marvel of architecture, the bus station is now a decaying and dangerous slum which is home to various ethnic minority groups, especially Eritreans, Sudanese, and Filipinos.
When it opened in 1993, the bus station was the largest bus station in the world with a size of 230,000 square meters.
3. 167 terrorists
The number of Palestinian terrorists who have been killed by Israeli security forces during the commission of terrorism against Israel since the latest wave of violence began late last year.
4. 3.84 shekels
The number of shekels that a dollar is worth in Israel this morning. During the last few months, the shekel has been stable, ranging between 3.82 and 3.92.
5. 1,400 employees
This is the number of workers now employed by the SodaStream company which moved its base of operations from Maaleh Adumim to Beersheva this past year under international pressure generated by BDS.
In the process, all 600 Palestinian workers at the Maaleh Adumim plant lost their jobs. On the other hand, almost 500 Bedouin workers from the Rahat area near Beersheva have now been hired as replacements.
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By the way, SodaStream business is booming with more than 40 million shekels in sales in Israel alone this year.
6. 26 films
The number of movies currently playing at the Yes Planet Cinema Complex in Rishon LeZion where your humble servant likes to go to the movies.
7. 250,000 images
The number of scanned images in the amazing new attraction at the Kotel in Jerusalem. Named “Journey to Jerusalem”, the interactive display tells the remarkable story of the Jewish people’s bond with its eternal capital.
8. 500 new soldiers
The number of chayalim bodedim, lone soldiers from other countries, who will be enlisting in the IDF in August.
They will come from 21 different countries with the three largest country contingents being 45% from France, 29% from the U.S., and 5% from the U.K.
Kolakevod to these amazing people who have chosen to leave the comfort of their countries and come serve in the Israel Defense Forces!
9. 94,000 shekels (about $25,000)
This number is the average debt of 30% of Israeli households.
This represents a continuing increase in household debt over the last decade and means that Israel’s consumer-driven society is becoming financially precarious.
10. 21 million Euros
In a brazen statement yesterday at the Israel Knesset of all places, EU Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen confirmed that the European Union has spent 21 million Euros in the last 2 years building illegal homes for Palestinians in Area C of Judea and Samaria. He also complained that the EU has received notice from Israel that 600 of its illegally structures face imminent demolition.
The ludicrous irony of Faaborg-Andersen’s remarks were that they were made in the context of accusing Israel of “creeping annexation” of Area C and violating the Geneva Convention about “forcible population transfer.”
Israel has not forced 1 person out of Area C, and it is the European Union which is trying transfer population by bringing Palestinians from Areas A and B into Area C.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.