NORTH
Dozens of Haifa residents protested on Sunday morning against an application submitted by Oil Refineries Ltd. to expand building plans. Concerned residents and green activists demonstrated ahead of a preliminary hearing of the District Planning and Construction representatives at the government offices. Protest organizer of the environmental Green Course organization, Omri Pearl, said: “We are gathered here today to say to the state, municipalities and oil refineries, that we have been suffering for years here [from] different illnesses, including cancer and asthma, significantly more than the national average. It is impossible to live here anymore! And it’s not enough that the refiners want to grow three times in size without saying what they want to build, how much [they] want to build and what the health effects will be. Do they think we will just accept it quietly? Then we are saying, clearly, that will be not be quiet, we will no longer soak up the dangerous substances and pollution in the Haifa Bay. We are not the state’s trash can for hazardous substances.”After thousands of objections against the refinery expansion program were filed, the Interior Ministry appointed an official to examine the objections, Green Course said. On Sunday, the investigator presented her findings to Health Ministry and Environmental Protection Ministry representatives, and the companies that are part of the regional planning building committee, who will meet this month to make a decision on the issue.
According to Green Course, the ORL expansion plan seeks approval for some 300,000 square meters that have been built so far without a permit, and to enlarge the area up to 920,000 square meters more, causing an unbearable increase in air pollution and raising the growing danger posed to hundreds of thousands of residents who live in close proximity to the hazardous substances. The organization added that the plan does not specify what will be built in the designated area, but only requests approval for building. Any facility ORL wants to build in the future will have to receive approval from the joint committee for oil refineries. Green Course stressed that the public would not have access to that committee and will only know about the permits after they are granted, meaning that everything will become legal and there will be no way to object to the ORL’s actions.1,700 runners complete 37th Tiberias marathonOver 1,700 runners completed the 37th Tiberias marathon last weekend. Conditions were very windy, which marathon organizers said had a significant effect on the results. Tariku Jufar Robi of Ethiopia won the marathon with a time of 2:10:33 hours, claiming the $20,000 prize, in an expected victory. Svetlana Bechmand won the Israeli women’s title with a time of 2:52:57 hours. Of the Israeli runners, Ethiopian-born Zohar Zemiro came out top, regaining his Israel national marathon title, finishing in seventh place overall in a time of 2:16:25 hours.“When I woke up this morning, my aim was to break the Israeli record – that was my goal, to break the Israeli record in this country,” Zemiro said.The runner’s coach, Amnon Gur said that Zemiro motioned to him with his hands all the time that his legs were cramping, because of the wind power.Meanwhile, hundreds of soldiers and sports enthusiasts ran a new 10-kilometer track, that threads past Tznabari and Shkamim beaches along the Kinneret. The new track is the initiative of the Kinneret Towns Association.The Local website cited Yael Sela, director of the Kinneret Drainage Authority’s Education and Public Diplomacy Department, as saying that healthy and active living are important factors in the establishment of the new trail. She said the authority aims to pave tracks that are accessible and convenient for the public to use for walking, running and cycling, and said that they are proud of the new path that also provides beautiful scenery.CENTER
Police investigate stabbing death of alleged car thief in Kalansuwa
Police in Kalansuwa are investigating the stabbing death of a Taiba man, 28, who was allegedly in the process of stealing auto parts when he was attacked late Sunday night, Israel Radio reported.Investigators believed that the owner of the vehicle accosted him during the attempted theft and stabbed him with a knife. Police detained the car owner.Man shot dead in Jaffa
A 32-year-old man was shot dead in Jaffa on Monday on Habesht Street, apparently by two men riding on a motorcycle. Police were investigating the incident.Fire breaks out at Bnei Brak canteen
A fire broke out at a canteen in Bnei Brak on Sunday. United Hatzalah paramedics and volunteers arrived at the scene to extinguish the fire. There were no casualties but considerable damage was done to the building.Motti Schmidt, Diana Lifshitz to perform at Beit Jimal Monastery
A classical music concert is set to take place this Saturday afternoon at the Beit Jimal Monastery, near Beit Shemesh, featuring Motti Schmidt on the violin and Diana Lifshitz on the piano. The pair will perform works by Handel, Beethoven, Massenet and others. The concert is part of the “Art Rainbow” project operating the concert season and performances at Beit Jimal.Schmidt is a famous violinist and has gained wide international recognition. He was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, and began his musical career at the age of five with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Vilnius. Since 1974 he has taught at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem. He has fostered generations of violinists, some of whom have become famous soloists in Israel and abroad. Lifshitz is a concert pianist from Moscow, who plays a variety of genres internationally, including classical, modern, jazz and Jewish music. Both musicians have won international awards and both immigrated to Israel.As well as playing at concerts, Lifshitz also teaches piano and languages to children, using a unique methodology that she herself developed.Tickets for the concert cost NIS 60 for the general public, NIS 50 for residents of the area, and children under the age of 10 can go for free.SOUTH
Kibbutz Yad Mordechai plants trees, educates about bee pollination for Tu Bishvat
Kibbutz Yad Mordechai’s “House of Honey” is set to celebrate Tu Bishvat on Saturday with tree planting and educational activities about the importance of bee pollination.The House of Honey is the museum of Yad Mordechai Honey – Israel’s largest apiary. Families are set to plant saplings to mark the green holiday, and events are to be run for children about the impact that bees make on different species of trees in Israel. Activities include watching a beekeeper at work, and family tours on tractordrawn wagons to look at various trees, flowers and orchards.Tours will leave every hour between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and last for three hours. Tickets for all sites and activities cost NIS 55 for children and NIS 50 for adults.Negev army instruction base to be named after Ariel Sharon IDF Chief-of-Staff Benny Gantz recommended on Sunday to name the new army instruction base being built in the Negev after former prime minister and Maj.-Gen. (res.) Ariel Sharon, who died on Saturday.Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon approved the Gantz’s recommendation, the IDF spokesman said.Masked men allegedly rob Arava electrical store
Two masked men allegedly stole money from an electrical appliances store in the Arava on Sunday night. Police said the suspects entered the shop, tied up the owners – a man in his 50s and his son, who is in his 20s – and stole NIS 700 along with a television. They then fled the scene. Police opened an investigation into the incident.