City Notes: Hadera and El Paso become sister cities

A round-up of local affairs.

By COMPILEDTAMARA ZIEVE
Eilat’s musical fountain. (photo credit: Courtesy)
Eilat’s musical fountain.
(photo credit: Courtesy)
NORTH
Hadera and El Paso, Texas, officially became sister cities last month, joining other Israeli and US urban centers that have already been paired. Hadera Mayor Tzvika Gendelman flew to Texas to participate in the signing ceremony at the city hall with El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser.
Gendelman said Hadera’s climate is similar to El Paso’s, and “like El Paso, we also are increasing our focus” on wind and solar energy.
“Hadera is striving to be a hub of energy-related businesses and hi-tech companies,” he told a room full of community leaders and a handful of government and business representatives, who were present for the third in Leeser’s series of El Paso familiarization tours.
Karmiel teen collapses after too much booze
 A teenage boy from Karmiel collapsed last weekend after consuming an excessive amount of alcohol; the 14-year-old was found in the early hours of the morning with a bruised head and under the influence of alcohol on Palmah Street.
Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated him to Western Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya in serious condition, sedated and on a respirator.
The boy later regained consciousness and told family members he didn’t remember anything about the previous night. Under supervision in the pediatric intensive care unit, his condition was later defined as mild-to-moderate.
“My son is a good, normal eighthgrade boy,” his father said over the weekend. “He went out with his friends, as he sometimes does. We still don’t really know what happened and how he was hurt; he is not in a condition that is possible to find out.
At the moment, we’re just hoping he will recover. It’s not easy seeing your child in intensive care.”
A team of Karmiel investigators found that a group of teens drank together and at some point, the boy fell down stairs in the street. When they left the area, the youth fell over again, this time hitting his head.
70-year-old shot in his Pardess Hanna home
A 70-year-old man was shot in his Pardess Hanna home last weekend and evacuated to a local hospital.
The man was lightly injured in what police say was a family dispute.
The suspect in the shooting incident, a man in his 30s who was also injured in the confrontation, was arrested.
CENTER
TA resident caught speeding at 173 kph
Police arrested a 37-year-old Tel Aviv resident last weekend after he was caught speeding at 173 km. per hour on Highway 6, near of the Kessem Interchange.
According to Ma’ariv Hashavua, the suspect, who was driving with his wife, told traffic police he had exceeded the limit because he didn’t want to miss the interchange.
The driver was summoned to court and had his license revoked.
Nitzan Association for learning disabilities celebrates 50th anniversary
The Nitzan Association for people with learning disabilities marked its 50th anniversary last weekend, in a celebratory event in which awards were handed out to its founders and outstanding volunteers. Chairman Ofra Elul said that Nitzan “generated one of the most important social revolutions in Israel. Today, it is not shameful to have learning disabilities...
more and more students with learning disabilities are filling the benches in academia, excelling and contributing to society and the state.
“They are in all areas of life,” she added. “Hi-tech, media, art...”
Singer David D’Or performed at the event, as did the Nitzan Onim choir, which sang songs by Ehud Manor.
Nitzan director Mali Danino stressed that his organization’s services are still very much needed, as there are still populations without equal rights.
Bat Yam seeks to keep youth busy over summer
In preparation for the summer vacation, Bat Yam is holding a job fair for the town’s youth this week. Put together by the municipality’s youth department in collaboration with the Hareshet organization, it will offer dozens of position to residents aged 16 and over, alongside occupational consultation stands.
As Mayor Yossi Bachar noted, “Summer is a time for youth to go on holiday, travel and enjoy themselves – and to work. Since not all teenagers are aware of the possibilities available to them and the rights they should receive within a working framework, Bat Yam initiated the job fair.” Bachar invited all city youth to attend the events and wished them a pleasant, fun and safe vacation.
SOUTH
12 years for Rahat mother who killed 3 of her children
The Beersheba District Court on Sunday handed down 12-year prison sentence to a Rahat resident convicted of killing three of her children and attempting to kill her fourth in 2012.
In January the court served the mother, Ahlas Alarjan, with an 18-year sentence, but this past week shortened it based on difficult life circumstances.
Dilal, two months; Miryam, five; and Abed, seven, were found murdered in the family home in the Negev city on September 19, 2012. Miryam and Abed and were stabbed to death while Dilal was strangled. Another daughter, three-year-old Shams, passed out during the attack, and survived with a 2.5-cm. knife wound to the neck.
Alarjan said that on that night she heard a voice telling her to murder her children, “to save them from a cruel fate of rape and terrible torture.”
Lawyer Yifat Sil said her client’s mental state was compromised, bordering on insanity, and that the mother “loved her children and misses them. She torments herself every day and will continue to do so for the rest of her life.”
2 free attractions inaugurated in Eilat
Thousands of Eilat residents attended an event last week to inaugurate the largest musical water fountain in Israel and a skatepark complex, both located in the city’s central park.
Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevi remarked: “This summer, Eilat is updating itself via a refreshing activity, so when it’s hot you can go to the beach or to play in the fountain jets – as did thousand of city children last week.”
The musical bubbler was designed and created by Eshed Fountains, incorporating a high-quality sound system and innovative technology, in which 350 sprinklers spray water to heights of 10 to 30 meters and jets are illuminated by 400 colorful LED lights.
The extreme skatepark was built according to global standards and includes professional stunt tracks, suitable for hosting international competitions. On the heels of its establishment of the park, a new Israeli league is set to open, from which rising skateboard stars can compete both in the city and around the world.
The skatepark will be open from Sunday to Thursday, 12 noon to 11 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and on Saturday and holidays, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The initiative was spearheaded by the Eilat Municipality and the Tourism Ministry, and implemented by the National Tourism Company, in an effort to attract tourists via free city attractions. The total cost of constructing the fountain and skatepark, including environmental development of the central park, amounted to NIS 28 million – as part of the budget for Eilat tourism infrastructure, financed mainly by the Tourism Ministry and partly by the municipality.


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