Shorts: Mideast

Thursday, April 2, 2009 | by

Palestinian band hits bad note

Strings of Freedom, a Palestinian youth orchestra from the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, was disbanded by Palestinian authorities after playing for Holocaust survivors in Israel. The authorities also banned the orchestra’s conductor, Wafa Younis, from Jenin, and her apartment, where she taught the 13 music students, was sealed off, the Associated Press reported.

Jenin Palestinians want their historical grievances against Israel acknowledged before they recognize the Holocaust, the AP reported. The orchestra played for the elderly Israelis in Holon on March 25 as part of a Good Deeds Day charity event. — jta

Soldiers test anthrax vaccine

Israel developed a vaccine against anthrax by testing it on IDF soldiers, Ynet reported after Israel’s Supreme Court cleared the story for publication. The project, code named Omer 2, began in the 1990s, and American military and medical officials also participated in the project, Ynet reported.

Study participants received sketchy information about the experiment but were told about potential side effects, according to Ynet. The 716 soldier volunteers have been monitored for four years, with 11 seeking medical attention for side effects. — jta

Western Wall prayers buried

Workers at the Western Wall in Jerusalem have removed notes from the holy site’s cracks in preparation for Passover. Visitors to the wall traditionally write their prayers and hopes on pieces of paper and insert them into its cracks.

The notes are removed twice a year to make room for new ones, using wooden sticks dipped in a mikvah. They are buried at Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives cemetery. — jta

Record loss for Israeli firm

Russian Jewish billionaire Lev Leviev’s Africa Israel Group announced the largest loss in Israel’s history, revealing that it lost $426 million in 2008.

Africa Israel, which is 75 percent owned by Leviev, had a net loss of $637 million in the fourth quarter.

Leviev has been the largest donor to Jewish education programs in the former Soviet Union. The Or Avner school network, which he founded and continues to fund, has had to cut its budget by one-third. — jta

Haifa police seize 15,000 bongs

Police seized thousands of water pipes, traditionally used for smoking marijuana, in a raid on a factory in Haifa. Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police entered the building and confiscated 15,000 bongs that were planned for distribution. He said the factory’s 60-year-old owner was arrested.

Pipes and other drug paraphernalia are a common sight at kiosks, but Rosenfeld said that these items were banned a few weeks ago and police are cracking down.

The majority of marijuana is smuggled into Israel by Bedouin across the porous border with Egypt. The rest comes from Gaza and Lebanon, though these routes now are less common. — ap