City notes: High-speed train to hold test runs on Haifa-Beit She’an route
A round-up of news from around the nation.
By COMPILEDJULIE STEIGERWALDThe new route on the Jezreel Valley Railway(photo credit: NETIVEI ISRAEL)
NORTHThe Transportation Ministry is due to launch the first trial runs on July 17 for the high-speed railway from Haifa to Beit She’an. The tests on the new Valley Railway, spanning a length of 60 kilometers, are scheduled to continue until July 28.With train speeds reaching 120 kph, transportation authorities request that residents and motorists along the train’s route exercise caution and keep a distance from the train tracks. Warning signs will be placed along the track’s route in Hebrew, Arabic and English.The NIS 4 billion project aims to connect to the national railway system and seeks to reduce travel times in the bustling population centers in Haifa and the center of the country. The interface is also slated to allow for the continuation of travel in the Jordanian infrastructure and connect Israel’s coastal railway with the eastern part of the country. Updates on traffic changes due to the trial runs are available at the *2120 hotline or online at www.iroads.co.il.CENTERJerusalem mayor to meet young professionals in Tel Aviv Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat will speak with young professionals in Tel Aviv on July 20 as part of a forum that enables top decision-makers to meet with the younger generation. The event, part of the Tel Aviv International Salon series, is scheduled to take place at the WeWork venue at 7 Dubnov Street at 7:30 p.m.Barkat, the ninth mayor of the capital, co-founded the pioneering software house BRM Technologies in 1988 that later became a venture capital firm before being elected to his municipal post.Attendance to the event is limited to professionals in their 20s and 30s. The entrance fee is NIS 20.Beer flows at Goldstar festival in Rishon Lezion Thousands of liters of beer were poured this week in Rishon Lezion at the annual Goldstar Beer Festival that celebrates Israel’s leading beer brand. Along with an outdoor beer garden and food and beer stalls, the festival, held on July 13 and 14 at the city’s Live Park, featured artists Mosh Ben-Ari, Hadag Nahash, Dudu Tassa and Avraham Tal.“The Goldstar brand is proud to continue supporting Israeli music and its long-standing tradition of holding public festivals over the past two decades,” said Nir Guy, the marketing director for Tempo Beer Industries, the company that brews Goldstar.SOUTHEuropean students visit BGU to learn from start-up nationBen-Gurion University of the Negev hosted students from 13 countries for a conference on July 4-11 to learn about Israeli entrepreneurship. BGU’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management hosted the students from Britain, Russia, Turkey, Poland, Finland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Portugal, Greece, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Germany and Macedonia.During the conference, the approximately 30 participants met with various start-up companies, hi-tech firms and established entrepreneurs. They also visited industry hubs around the country and local co-working spaces where many start-ups have offices. The visiting students also took part in workshops and discussions aimed at improving entrepreneurial skills and business development.EMS volunteers, IDF train for future southern conflict with Hamas The volunteer EMS organization United Hatzalah recently participated in a joint training operation with the IDF and the security apparatus in the Eshkol Regional Council focused on response procedures in the event that a new large-scale conflict breaks out between Hamas in Gaza and Israel, the group announced last week.The intense training exercise practiced conducting proper communication between security and emergency medical responders, United Hatzalah reported on July 7.Numerous scenarios were practiced during the drill, such as a mass casualty event, terror attacks, attacks emanating from underground tunnels, and missile attacks that impact local schools. The drill also included an exercise simulating a simultaneous military and medical response to multiple terrorist infiltrations into a number of population centers in the southern region.“The most important thing here is to prepare for emergency situations. The more we work together and prepare together with drills, and the more we learn how the other one works, the better we will be when cooperating in real time,” said United Hatzalah liaison Daniel Gohar. “This will result in the saving of more lives, so it is in our best interest to hold these kinds of exercises.” •