18 Little-Known, Amazing Things About Israel As It Turns 71 and apologies

Can't see images? Click here... Yehuda Lave, Spiritual Advisor and Counselor Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works  with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money,  and spiritual engagement Feel the Joy of Being Alive If we truly appreciate the gift of life that the Almighty gave us, we will constantly say, "No complaints, I'm alive." When you experience joy for being alive, these positive feelings create a context that free you from the thoughts and feelings that create complaints Love Yehuda Lave 18 Little-Known, Amazing Things About Israel As It Turns 71 Israel is known as an innovation leader, an inspiration in research and development, a home for significant religious sites and landmarks, a center of a burgeoning foodie scene and a thriving arts and culture scene, and – of course – for its rich history. In honor of Israel's 71st Independence Day, we set out to find some of the country's lesser-known, but equally fascinating, details. NoCamels chose to highlight 18 remarkable facts about Israel – the number 18, of course, is equal to the numerical value of the Hebrew word 'chai', which means life. 1. The Ashkelon National Park is home to the largest dog cemetery known in the ancient world. Archaeologists say canines were interred in this burial ground from the fifth to third centuries BC. 2. The Judean Date Palm tree, thought to be extinct, was resurrected following the chance discovery of 2,000-year-old seeds in a clay jar. Actually, Israel is a date producing powerhouse and controls 65 percent of the world's Majhoul (Medjool) – King of the Date — market. 3. There are no car manufacturing plants in Israel but this country is at the forefront of the driverless car revolution. Israel has been dubbed a "smart car hub." 4. The first-ever live heart (not real-life size but rather a miniature heart) was printed at Tel Aviv University using a revolutionary 3D printing process that combines human tissue taken from a patient. The scientists printed an entire heart complete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers. 5. If you're going to have a heart problem, it's best to do so in Israel. Some 81 percent of patients in Israel undergo life-saving emergency cardiac catheterization within 12 hours of the onset of symptoms, according to an Acute Coronary Syndrome-Israel (ACSIS) survey. The world average stands at 65 percent; in the US, the number stands at 70 percent; and in England, it's at 66 percent. 6. The 10-kilometer long Malham salt cave in Mount Sedom, is the world's longest salt cave. It is located at the southwestern tip of the Dead Sea. 7. Models in Israel must have a BMI of at least 18.5 to appear on the catwalk or in advertisements. In 2012, Israel became the first country to pass a law banning the use of underweight models and requiring advertisers to identify pictures comprising photoshopped models. 8. Tel Aviv has the highest number of dogs per capita in the world with one dog for every 17 people. 9. 80 percent of Israelis eat fresh fruit and/or vegetables daily. To put that number in perspective, according to the CDC, 90 percent of Americans do not eat enough fresh fruit and/or vegetables on a daily basis. 10. Bamba, the country's best-selling snack food, is a global phenomenon thanks to studies that show how it helps protect children from developing peanut allergies. 11. The first privately funded spacecraft to enter lunar orbit, Beresheet, is an Israeli project that wowed the global space community with its ingenuity and chutzpah. It also took epic selfies with the moon and of the earth from outer space. SpaceIL's Beresheet spacecraft. Photo by Yoav Weiss 12. Israel is a paradise for ornithologists as more than one billion birds fly over the country every year. Israel just so happens to be on one of the major Palearctic-African migration routes. 13. The City of Tel Aviv is officially home to the Middle East's first Olympic-standard indoor velodrome cycling racetrack. 14. The world's first educational clowning initiative — incorporating therapeutic clowns into the school setting — started in Israel. Educational clowns add joy, improve self-identity and reduce stress among students and staff alike. 15. Ben-Gurion International Airport is considered the world's most secure airport. 16. Mamanet, the only sports league for mothers, started in Israel in 2005. Today, thousands of mom-players take part in cachibol league play across Israel, as well as in other countries including Canada, the US, Austria, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and more. 17. Razzouk Ink in the Old City of Jerusalem continues a 700-year family tradition of pilgrimage tattoos in the Holy Land. For centuries, visitors to the Holy Land (including Crusaders) get inked with a Christian tattoo symbol to commemorate their visit Tattoos are against Jewish law for Jews and I include it only because it is part of the article. 18. The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher. So, everyone – secular to religious – can lick the glue to affix stamps without fear of breaking a kashrut law. What is the most amazing thing you like about Israel? Please add your comments below. Viva Sarah Press is a journalist and speaker. She writes and talks about the creativity and innovation taking place in Israel and beyond. www.vivaspress.com     Apologies A stiff apology is a second insult... The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt. Gilbert K. Chesterton An apology might help, but you can change your life without one. Robin Quivers Friends are God's apology for relations. Hugh Kingsmill Maturity is the ability to reap without apology and not complain when things don't go well. Jim Rohn An apology is a good way to have the last word. Author Unknown   Every minute you are thinking of evil, you might have been thinking of good instead. Refuse to pander to a morbid interest in your own misdeeds. Pick yourself up, be sorry, shake yourself, and go on again. - Evelyn Underhill Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge. - Isaac Friedmann Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. - Paul Boese Keep your words soft and tender because tomorrow you may have to eat them. - Author Unknown Never apologize and never explain – it's a sign of weakness. - John Wayne Never ruin an apology with an excuse. - Kimberly Johnson. True friends stab you in the front. - Oscar Wilde The ability of a person to atone has always been the most remarkable of human features. - Leon Uris The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology. - Red Auerbach When you realize you've made a mistake, make amends immediately. It's easier to eat crow while it's still warm. - Dan Heist You can make up a quarrel, but it will always show where it was patched. - Edgar Watson Howe   Holyland project to double in size  Construction on the Jerusalem hilltop land, halted by a corruption affair a decade ago, is slated to resume soon. Holyland Park, which built the enormous controversial Jerusalem housing project that bears its name, will submit a request for a building permit in the coming weeks for adding four structures to the project, sources inform "Globes." One of the buildings is a tower of the same size as the current tower on the site. The plan to expand the project, which was validated in late 2017, includes seven new buildings: four by Holyland Park and three on land owned by Rami Levy and Dan Bus Company. The new buildings will be constructed next to the existing buildings on the site known to every household in Israel because of their prominence in the capital and the corruption affair linked to the project. When completed, the new construction will double the number of apartments on the site. Graft affair halted construction Promotion of the plan to build a large residential project on the land gathered momentum in the mid-1990s. The project subsequently built was known because its connected buildings were on a hill visible from many parts of Jerusalem. It consists of eight buildings - a tower and seven other buildings - with a total of 650 apartments. The project was constructed by Holyland Park, owned by Kardan Real Estate (60%), Polar Real Estate (30%), and Bank Leumi (10%). Kardan bought Bank Leumi's share of Holyland Park last year. After this part of the project was completed, the company owned four lots zoned for construction of four additional buildings with 258 apartments in the western section of the site. Three more buildings can be constructed on the adjacent lots, owned by Rami Levy. Construction of the second part of the Holyland project was never completed, however, because of the corruption affair revealed in 2010. RELATED ARTICLES Ehud Olmert to go to jail document.write(ad_handler.google_div(article_banner_object)) Because of the scandal, the District Planning and Building Commission promoted a new plan for the site that canceled all of the unused construction rights approved in a legal and normal proceeding. Holyland Park, which bought the land in 1999 from the owners, the Cherney family in Jerusalem, in a combination deal, had not yet utilized all of the construction rights in the land, and construction was suspended. The Cherney family, headed by Hillel Cherney, also had to wait for completion of the deal until the present time. Hillel Cherney was arrested and indicted as part of the affair. Cherney, who is now profiting from the unfreezing of the second part of the project, is breaking his silence after serving a 15-month prison term. "Our 'crime' was that we were the first to build a high-rise in Jerusalem, and the project was ahead of its time. It is a fact that the Holyland Tower is no longer the tallest tower in the city. Had the project been built today, no one would have raised an eyebrow," he told "Globes." The most prominent person involved in the affair was former prime minister Ehud Olmert, who was jailed for 18 months for his part in it when he was mayor of Jerusalem. Holyland Park filed an objection to the plan, arguing that the District Planning and Building Commission had canceled construction legally approved by the Commission itself and the National Council, while the basis for the purchase of the land was reliance on the approved construction rights. Underlying the affair was a threat by the company to file a huge lawsuit against the planning commissions for damage caused by cancellation of its construction rights. After the criminal proceedings in the affair ended and the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the project, the District Planning and Building Commission reversed itself in 2017 and restored the canceled rights, while assigning one of Holyland Park's four lots for public use, without derogating from the original approved construction rights. Holyland Park has since been negotiating with the District Planning and Building Commission on the final architectural plan. Information now obtained by "Globes" shows that this process was recently completed, and the company is now preparing to submit requests for construction permits. The plan will get under way in the near future after almost a decade of delay. The construction permit requested by the company includes three buildings, plus a residential tower, with a total of 258 apartments. The request is likely to be approved soon, with actual construction beginning before the end of the year. How much money is involved? According to advertisements on the Yad2 website offering apartments in the existing Holyland projects, prices are in the NIS 21,000-26,000 per square meter range for 4-5-room apartments and NIS 30,000-35,000 per square meter for 2.5-3-room apartments. For example, a four-room, 120-square meter apartment on the eighth floor is being offered for sale at NIS 2.65 million and a three-room and 60-square meter apartment on the 20th floor is being offered for sale for NIS 2.1 million. Holyland Park says that apartment prices in the new project will be NIS 28,000 per square meter. Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 2, 2019 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019   A Reunion For Three Holocaust Survivors Seen In Iconic Image, 72 Years Later | NBC Nightly News One of the Holocaust's most haunting images has a new chapter after three children in the photo realized that as adults, they have lived just miles from each other throughout most of their lives. » Subscribe to NBC News: http://nbcnews.to/SubscribeToNBC » Watch more NBC video: http://bit.ly/MoreNBCNews A little belated Yom Haatzmaut humor Yom Haatzmaut humour: 10 Rules for Men for your BBQ It's the custom to have a festive bbq on Yom Haatzmaut. Before you start your bbq, or as we call, ' mangal', read these important Yom Haatzmaut instructions: Happy 71st birthday Israel!! When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion: (1) The woman buys the food. (2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert. (3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill – beer in hand. (4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman. Here comes the important part: (5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL. (6) The woman goes inside to organise the plates and cutlery. (7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat Important again: (8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN. (9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table. (10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes And most important of all: (11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts. (12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ' her night off ', and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women See you tomorrow (bli-neder) Love Yehuda Lave Rabbi Yehuda Lave 2850 Womble Road, Suite 100-619, San Diego United States LIKE TWEET FORWARD You received this email because you signed up on our website or made purchase from us. Unsubscribe