The document provides updates on current events and culture in Israel for the month. It discusses the health of former prime minister Ariel Sharon and a protest by African migrants in Tel Aviv. It also summarizes the 2002 seizure by Israel of a Palestinian weapons shipment and provides information on the holiday Tu B'Shevat. Additionally, it shares a Libyan stuffed potato recipe, lists a winning Israeli song from 2013, and describes a traditional Israeli children's game called "Stinky Fish."

1. January/
Shevat
IN ISRAEL
Past and present

2. “Only a 'miracle' could
save Ariel Sharon's life”,
doctors say
Former Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, gazes at the West Bank.
“The danger to former prime minister
Ariel Sharon's life has escalated”,
Sheba Medical Center Director
Professor Ze'ev Rotstein said Monday.

3. Ten Thousand Migrants Rally
Outside Foreign Embassies in
Tel Aviv
Tens of thousands of African asylumseekers marched through central Tel Aviv to
Rabin Square on Sunday, where they held a
demonstration demanding Israel to
recognize their asylum requests and cease
from imprisoning them in detention
facilities in the South.

4. Karine A Affair
The Karine A Affair, also known as Operation
Noah's Ark, was an Israeli military action in
January 2002 in which Israeli forces seized MV
Karine A, which, according to IDF, was a
Palestinian freighter in the Red Sea.
The vessel found was carrying:
50 tons of weapons, including shortrange Katyusha rockets, antitank missiles,
and high explosives The cargo
KARIN A

5. Fruit
Pri

6. Tu Bishvat
"For the human is like a tree in the field." (Deuteronomy 20:19)
Occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Sh'vat. It is also
called "Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot", literally "New Year of the
Trees". This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in
the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new
fruit-bearing cycle.
Tu BiShvat symbolizes nature and concern for the
environment. In Israel, the most common activity associated
with this holiday is planting trees and eating dried fruits.
Kids in Israel planting trees
and dancing.

7. Dish of the month:
Tripolitanian/Lybian
Mafrum
Ingredients:
Stuffing
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, grated
1 cup parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground
Potatoes
5 medium potatoes of any type, peeled (or eggplant or whole
artichoke hearts )Also possible zucchini or onions
2 teaspoons salt
flour for dredging
2 eggs, beaten + teaspoon tomato puree
oil for frying
Sauce
2 large tomatoes, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced thin
2 cups water in which is dissolved 1 tablespoon tomato paste

8. How to make:
1) Mix stuffing ingredients together and set aside.
2) Slice each potato lengthwise, cutting slices like sandwiches,
each two slices are not sliced all the way through. Each potato
yields about two or three “sandwiches”. Eggplants should also
be cut in slices of medium thickness.
3) Sprinkle all of the slices inside and out with the salt. Let
stand for 5 minutes. Rinse off with water and dry on a towel.
4) Stuff the inside of each potato “sandwich” with about 1/4 cup
of the stuffing. Cup it in the palm of the hand to tighten it
gently. When using artichoke hearts, there is no ‘sandwich.’
Instead the meat is packed tightly in the indentation in the
center of the heart.
5) Roll each Mafrum in the flour and then in the beaten eggs.
6) Heat the oil in frying pan, and fry the stuffed vegetables over
moderate heat for 5 minutes, until both sides are lightly brown.
Sauce: Place the tomato slices on the bottom of a lightly oiled
pan. Cover with the onion slices, and the potatoes that did not
make it into slices. Place the fried stuffed potatoes on top. Add
the water and tomato paste with a spoonful of the same spices
added to the mixture. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, over
low heat for 20 minutes. Serve warm with rice or couscous
NOTE! If you stuff zucchini or onions you do not fry them but
cook them in the gravy.
This is Lital’s favoutire dish so if you make it please call
and invite her to try some!!!!!!

10. The song that was elected as best song in
Israel for the year of 2013:

11. FREE WI-FI Where?!
Yes, it is true- the city of
Tel- Aviv offers free Wi-Fi
spots across the city.
Both visitors and residents in the ‘city that never sleeps’ can now
benefit from a citywide Wi-Fi scheme - run by Motorola Solutions.
Tel Aviv is already known as one of the world’s leading tech hubs,
with many of the world’s tech giants having set up shop here, so
this is just another move in the right direction for the city.
Join us January 16 at the TelAviv Café for an Israeli night!
On the menu: Israeli coffee and
sweets + a mini-Hebrew lesson
with Lital.
Cost: $10 per person, $5
students. To reserve call 2042084 or jrt@jccbuffalo.org

12. ISRAELI GAME OF THE MONTH
Dag Maluach
I honestly have no clue why but the translation is “Stinky Fish” .
How to play:
One kid volunteers to close his eyes and count to 3 ( He is “The Counter”),
while leaning on a wall (or anything that can be a potential line). The other
kids need to stand about 10 steps behind him in a straight row. While “The
Counter” is counting to 3 with his eyes closed, their goal is to get as close as
possible to him. Once the counter finishes counting to 3, he shouts “DAG
MALUACH!” As soon as he finishes shouting, the kids have to all immediately
stop moving and stay frozen as they are. The counter needs to turn around as
fast as possible after he finishes counting, and see if any other kids are moving.
If he catches a kid moving after he finishes counting and shouts, that kid needs
to go to the beginning of the line and start all over again. While they are frozen,
the counter can move their hands/legs in funny ways, making funny positions.
Once he is done, he goes back to count again and so forth. The counter’s goal is
to prevent the kids from getting close to the wall he is leaning on while
counting. The first kid who touches the wall is now the new counter.