City Notes: International cartoon contest dedicated to slain ‘Charlie Hebdo’ staff
By COMPILEDTAMARA ZIEVEGoats in Mitzpe Hayamim dairy(photo credit: RAHEL DAVID)NORTH This week’s International Cartoon Contest was dedicated to the cartoonists and illustrators killed in the recent attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav announced last week.The competition, held in Haifa, was the 21st of its kind; hundreds of leading cartoonists from around the world submit their work each year to the contest, which has gained much traction among cartoon fans around the world.“We see, as important and almost self-evident, the mission to dedicate the international caricatures exhibition – which is being held in Haifa again this year – to the memory of the terror victims who were murdered because of their determination to express their opinions through their art,” said Yahav. “Freedom of expression is the basis of the free and enlightened world, and the cartoon is the most unique form of expression – which we all understood this year, under horrific circumstances.”The judging panel will choose 120 cartoons to display at an exhibition during the International Film Festival, which will be held in Haifa over Succot. Some 100 additional cartoons will be printed in a catalogue, to be displayed at an exhibition in cooperation with France and other countries.Stormy days bring baby goat boom to Mitzpe Hayamim farm Seventy baby goats were born during recent stormy days on the Mitzpe Hayamim dairy farm, withstanding the cold and snowy conditions. Farm director Yoav Belhassen said his staff took care ahead of time to warm up the pen and produce a sort of greenhouse for the kids.New litters were expected in the near future and they were looking forward to their arrival, he added.CENTER TAU study finds parental intervention improves road safety among the youngA new study by Tel Aviv University researchers suggests that vigilant parental intervention coupled with monitoring technology can improve the safety of young drivers on the road. The research, published recently in the Journal of Adolescence, was led by Prof. Haim Omer of TAU’s School of Psychological Sciences and conducted by Dr. Yaara Shimshoni, in collaboration with the Or Yarok Association for Safer Driving in Israel.“We have shown that it is possible to reduce dangerous driving in young drivers by increasing parental involvement in a positive way,” said Omer. “Our program is based on a model of parental involvement called Vigilant Care, shown to be effective in reducing risky behavior exhibited in other fields. According to this model, parents remain non-invasively involved in their youngsters’ activities, but are poised to increase their level of involvement at the first signs of danger.”Prior to the study, some parents received training through Omer’s program, which focuses on both parental intervention to reduce risky behavior and creating a nurturing environment in which to introduce their involvement.For the study, 242 families of adolescent drivers installed in-vehicle data recorders that monitor driving in real-time and offer feedback on risk patterns in the cars.Man shot in HerzliyaA man in his 20s was moderately injured Sunday after being shot outside a Herzliya coffee shop.The incident began when two suspects arrived by motorcycle at the coffee shop, where the victim was sitting. One of the suspects approached the victim, shot him in the lower half of the body and disappeared on the same motorcycle.Police launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.Netanya’s Israelis, French olim show solidarity with anti-Semitism victims\Hundreds of Israelis and French olim gathered last week in Netanya in a show of solidarity with the victims of the recent anti-Semitic attack in Paris. The rally was held in Netanya’s Independence Square and was organized by the Zionist Council in Israel’s Netanya branch.Public figures including Netanya City Council member Haim Friedrich attended the rally. Participants prayed for the recovery of the wounded, and several people in the crowd could be heard urging French Jews to move to Israel; at the same time, participants demanded that heads of state ensure Jews can live in peace and security all over the world.Yaakov Haguel, head of the World Zionist Organization’s department to combat anti-Semitism, spoke at the rally, saying: “We bow our heads in memory of the Jews who were murdered because of the fact that they were Jewish. Unfortunately, we are in a very tough decade. In the past 10 years, every year anti-Semitic violence has increased. From this place, on this day, in this holy country, we shout, ‘Enough of anti-Semitic violence!’”200 world leaders in Israel for annual meetingTwo hundred WIZO leaders from 25 countries were due to arrive in Israel this week for the World WIZO annual general meeting. Presidents of WIZO federations worldwide – including in the US, UK, Australia, Germany, Mexico, South American nations and India – were scheduled to take part.The meeting focuses on the main issues facing Israel and the Jewish world, and on the organization’s policy of support for Israel. It also provides a forum to approve existing and new projects that target domestic violence, education, support for at-risk children and youth, and others that seek to promote the status of women in society.The week-long meeting was set to be held at Tel Aviv’s Hilton Hotel, headed by World WIZO executive chairwoman Prof.Rivka Lazovsky. Local authority heads attending from the South included Alon Shuster of the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council; Haim Yellin of the Eshkol Regional Council; Yair Farjun of the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council; and others wishing to pay tribute to WIZO’s support for southern residents during Operation Protective Edge this past summer.Two primary focal points of the meeting were WIZO’s aid to the South, and ways to tackle rising global anti-Semitism.SOUTH Soroka’s ‘Tranquil Garden’ gets fifth sculptureSculptor Sue-Ella recently completed construction on the fifth work of art to be placed in Soroka University Medical Center’s “Tranquil Garden” in Beersheba – a sculpture garden covering 0.8 hectares (2 acres) of land near the breast health center. The five-year-old garden was designed by landscape architect Izzy Blanc, with the purpose of creating a pleasant and supportive space of relaxation for patients and their families.The garden’s construction was made possible by a donation from the Legacy Heritage Fund. The new sculpture is called Dance, and is symbolic of both an individual and a couple’s potential for change and growth. It also takes on a more political meaning, stating that the same harmony needed for two people to dance together is also required for two states to live together in peace.Soroka director Dr Ehud Davidson said the sculpture garden fits into the hospital’s vision of placing the patient and their family at the center of things, and providing the best possible medical care while demonstrating mutual respect, compassion and sensitivity to the culturally diverse community the hospital serves. “We at Soroka are promoting the use of art as a catalyst for curing patients,” he said. “Studies indicate there is a significant improvement in the healing process when the patient’s surroundings provide a sense of calm.”Economy Ministry backs NIS 30 million carrot factory in Kibbutz Sa’adKibbutz Sa’ad in the western Negev is establishing a carrot products processing plant that will enable the kibbutz to enter new fields of manufacturing and marketing, for the domestic market as well as export. Some NIS 30 million will go into the establishment of the factory.The Economy Ministry’s Investment Center decided to support the project, recognizing that the investment plan includes capabilities to produce industrial products; it will thus give grants to the tune of some 20 percent to the industrial part of the investment.In recent years the Kibbutz Industries Association worked toward the Investment Center’s recognition of processing factories, which they said “fell between the cracks” among the Agriculture and Economy ministries. Most of the plants in the agricultural industry are located in the periphery, near the Gaza Strip, and their development helps the economic strength of the communities and increases employment opportunities.The plant is expected to employ some 52 people from Kibbutz Sa’ad and its neighboring communities.
