Haifa cop convicted Haifa beach patrol police officer Eli Shaked was found guilty in Haifa District Court on Wednesday of slapping a 15-year-old boy who was waiting outside his office in January. The officer had admitted that he assaulted the teenager for laughing.When Shaked asked the boy why he was laughing, he replied, “It’s a democratic country.” Not happy with the boy's response, the officer grabbed his hand, twisted it behind his back, brought him to the ground, slapped him, pulled his hair, and told him to apologize.
Gas explosion injures womanA gas tank exploded in Yokneam on Friday, completely burning a basement on Rehov Rimon and lightly injuring one resident of the building, police said. A Magen David Adom crew treated the woman at the scene. Police have opened an investigation into the incident, which came one day after another gas explosion rocked a four-story apartment building in Netanya, leaving four people dead and at least 90 others injured.Bird-watching kicks off The Kishon River Authority recently hosted a special bird-watching event for park visitors, the first of a planned series of similar tours and events following a restoration project. As a result of the restoration, a great number of species of migratory birds and water fowl have returned to the area, according to the authority.As part of the special event, park employees demonstrated how they set up nets to temporarily capture birds in order to measure their length, weight, color and plumage and attach foot rings in order to track the birds’ migration patterns.Following the event, Kishon River Authority Director-General Sharon Nissim said that the authority “is planning to put on additional bird-watching tours and educational events for the public.”Teen attacks teacherA teacher was left in need of medical care and a teenage student was in police custody following an incident Tuesday at a Shfaram high school. It began as an argument between a teacher and a student during which the student attacked the teacher, police said. Shfaram police took the teen into custody.CENTERThree killed in head-on collision Three women were killed and a 10-year-old was seriously injured in a head-on collision between two vehicles on Route 60 near the West Bank settlement of Shiloh on Saturday. Magen David Adom paramedics treated the wounded at the scene and they were subsequently evacuated to Hadassah University Hospital - Ein Kerem. A female east Jerusalem resident was pronounced dead at the scene, while the two Arab Israeli women from the North later succumbed to their wounds in the hospital.From a preliminary investigation, police deduced that the accident occurred when one of the vehicles swerved into the opposite lane, striking the second vehicle.
Ambassadors say ‘cheese’ in Hebrew Over a dozen foreign ambassadors this week participated in a special event put on by Ulpan-Or and The Ambassadors Club, in which the diplomats were given an opportunity to actively engage in the Hebrew language. Additionally, the diplomats were treated to a wine and cheese tasting sponsored by the Recanati winery and the Jacobs dairy company.The event took place at the Sheraton Hotel in Tel Aviv.
‘Have a nice day, from the Home Front Command’Residents in the center of the country received strange SMS messages on their cellular phones as the Home Front Command tested, for the first time, a new emergency warning system as part of nationwide training and preparedness drills. Residents of the Gezer region, Ramle and Savyon received messages reading: “Drill, Drill – Have a nice day, from the Home Front Command.”Not all cellular devices are capable of receiving the messages, but the system is expected to be expanded to be able to reach more residents in the coming months.
Young Templer’s claim denied The Supreme Court last week rejected a legal appeal launched by a descendant of the German Templers against the City of Tel Aviv. The Australian grandson of one of the Templers claimed that land owned by his grandfather was appropriated by the city between 1945 and 1948 in order to build Ichilov Hospital, but that today the Weitzman Shopping Center sits on the plot.The man was suing for the return of the land or, alternatively, NIS 100 million in compensation. The court rejected the claim and the complainant was ordered to pay the city NIS 40,000 in legal fees.