'#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/liveblog_entry\/one-person-killed-in-rocket-impact-in-maalot-tarshiha\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=umW1PMy522u37iVzHCpAXrrdoyTFXTUBgVQ5MD5lHqA-1746484731-1.0.1.1-Unjzo0Y2Gj34dDLqIZEX2RC3BabQ85t8xlkcHdPXwp4" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Lebanese group Hezbollah on Sunday continued its bombardment of military sites and gatherings of soldiers in northern Israeli settlements using drones and rocket fire the group reported that its fighters launched an aerial attack with a squadron of drones on Unit 7200’s maintenance and rehabilitation base south of Haifa “hitting their targets directly.” Hezbollah also said its fighters shelled a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the settlement of Ma'alot Tarshiha “with a rocket barrage.” the group targeted the city of Safed (the command center of the army’s northern front) with rocket fire aimed at gatherings of Israeli soldiers in the Braam settlement Hezbollah stressed that its strikes were “in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in solidarity with their brave and honorable resistance in response to the barbaric Israeli incursions into cities Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October at least 2,036 people have since been killed The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war *Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul​​​​​​​ it was cleared for publication Monday evening Eight other soldiers from the Reconnaissance Battalion of the Nahal Brigade were severely injured in the same incident in which the five were killed The Ma'alot-Tarshiha municipality announced earlier that city resident Captain Yair Shushan fell in battle in the Gaza Strip Ma'alot-Tashiha Mayor Moti Ben-David said that last summer Yair received a certificate of honor from the Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff during the completion of an officers' course "Yair the hero grew up and was educated in the city The entire community of the city of Ma'alot Tarshiha embraces the dear family in this difficult time and sends its sincere condolences May you never know any more sorrow and grief," Ben-David said The Ma'alot Ort Yeshiva High School is shocked and saddened by the pain of our dear friends upon learning of the death of our dear graduate Yair Shoshan a young man who was like the salt of the earth." Herzliya Mayor Yariv Fisher announced the death of the late First Sergeant Yoav Fefer "A brave warrior and beloved son of Guy and Idit who educated their children in the values ​​of love of country and loyalty to the people and the state." He was an integral part of our community - a young man with values who sacrificed what was dearest to us to protect us Our city and the community lost a true hero The town of Poria Illit also announced that Aviel Wiseman fell in Gaza and said "We share in the heavy grief of the family may they be comforted in the consolation of Zion and Jerusalem." Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Vered Baer started experimenting with gluten-free cooking and baking when her younger sister was diagnosed with celiac disease about 20 years ago in November 2020 Baer opened Tupelo Bakery the first wheat-free bakery and coffee shop in the Western Galilee is in a picturesque alley on the Tarshiha side of Ma’alot-Tarshiha the town near the Lebanese border where Baer lives with her husband Morad Bishara Baer said that Tupelo draws people from all over Israel there’s a line of customers waiting to eat the sometimes vegan “Just like people who don’t have celiac can eat anywhere we want I wanted a place where people with the disease could eat anything on the menu,” Baer said on a sunny morning in the middle of the week when the bakery wasn’t crowded “Some people come because they’re gluten-free and want to eat well others because they are vegan or vegetarian and still others come because they want good food.” sweetango and “sometimes plain old white sugar” to her baked goods Her blueberry muffins even win over customers who at first were looking for a traditional Israel breakfast with eggs and cheese “I eat the bottom of the muffin first and save the top for last,” Baer admitted “There are real foodies in our family,” Baer said. She grew up with vegetarian and vegan flavors. One of her mother’s favorite cookbooks, The Moosewood Cookbook groundbreaking vegetarian restaurant in upstate New York in the 1970s “I acquired a love of cooking at an early age,” Baer said After studying cooking and baking in Tel Aviv she worked in different restaurants in Tel Aviv Jerusalem and then at Adelina Restaurant in Kibbutz Cabri in the Western Galilee “Most people who cook in a restaurant kitchen want to eventually open their own restaurant,” Baer said she waited until her younger child was in preschool “because it’s hard to open up a bakery when you have a little baby.” Although Tupelo opened during a Covid-19 lockdown bakeries were considered essential businesses and it did well from the start Baer takes care of most of the administrative side of the business while Bishara does “more of the physical work.” The name of the bakery comes from a variety of sources including a cat that Baer took care of years ago yields a rare bee honey that became famous through Van Morrison’s 1971 song The bakery has been so successful that Baer and Bishara are expanding to another building to have a separate kitchen with a larger oven for gluten-free pizza While Baer has made a name for herself with her bakery she said that people are also “very interested” in her marriage to Bishara as she is Jewish and he is Arab The couple has been interviewed on Israeli television “a lot of people tried to break us up,” she said “When I told my mom we were getting married she was so happy because it meant Israel was closer to coexistence,” Baer said “My mother-in-law took a little longer to accept me.” She said that intermarriage is “no longer taboo the way it was and people in their 20s are a lot more accepting.” “We have the same issues as any other couple I hope our example helps with normalization and helps other couples live their lives.” The children are trilingual and celebrate both Christian and Jewish holidays “Tarshiha is a cool place to be,” she said “My husband loves to tell people how lovely it is is that the communities of Ma’alot-Tarshiha Kfar Vradim and the moshavim and kibbutzim in the area are “very mixed The Western Galilee really is the closest thing to coexistence in Israel.” She also likes that her coffee shop has become a “safe space” for young Arabs and Jews including those in the LGBTQ+ community who “don’t have to tone it down here and hide who they are.” For more information, click here Here we are to serve you with news right now quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis you can have full digital access to all news Proces du 13-November : ce que ces hommes opaques ont dans la tete Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit Blanditiis optio incidunt eum omnis ratione error temporibus iure porro esse Integer consectetur quam eget ipsum dictum accumsan Donec non lectus id risus rutrum ullamcorper sit amet vel nulla The results of the 1948 – 1949 war formed the basic social structure of the Arab community in Israel They influenced the pattern and pace of its evolving discourse led by the then Arab political elite in Israel in the face of martial law (till 1966) and the fight for civil rights the local Arab discourse was secular in character and bellicose in nature This approach tended to marginalize the Arab political voice in Israel and served to sustain the legacy of the British mandate era regarding Arab Christian dominance and localize politicking the Arab communities in northern Israel developed into eight main residential clusters astride the four main Galilean routes (70 which influenced the economic and political development of the Arabs in northern Israel.  A review of the Arab demography in the Galilee exhibits the divide between the upper and lower Galilee Upper Galilee though mainly Moslem Arab includes a large Chrisitan Arab and Druze population where Nazareth’s prominence is clear (with a Moslem Arab majority but a significant Christian presence) locally and it’s relative accessibility to the center of Israel.  the five clusters are predominantly Arab Moslem (with a significant Christian presence): The first (#1) is around the diversified city of Nazareth with its many Christian sites and Moslem majority (Christians 21,700 and 56,200 Moslems) and includes the diversified city of Nof HaGalil (established in 1956 and named initially Upper Nazareth) currently with over 41,000 residents including ~18% Christian and ~10% Moslem Arabs and the rest Jews The cluster includes seven Arab villages on an eastward spur (towards Mount Tabor) ending on route 65 (leading north to the nearby Golani Junction there are two additional Arab communities (Ilut of approximately 8,000 Moslem Arabs and the large town of Yafa an-Naseriyye with over 19,000 residents of which approximately 18% are Christian Arabs) A second major cluster (#2) is spread along route 77 (from Tiberias west) It includes Kfar Kanna at its center with over 20,000 residents of which only 9% are currently Christian Arabs and just north of the route (adjacent to Kfar Kanna) is Tur’an (with over 14,000 residents of which approximately 11% are Christian Arabs).  The third (#3) is located around the diversified city of Shfar’am Its eastern spur along route 70 includes the large Arab city of Tamra (44 500 Moslems) and several additional large Arab towns like Kabul and I’billin with over 13,000 residents (of which 42% are Christians and includes a Bedu Moslem Moslem minority) A southern branch towards Kfar Manda (20,000 Arab Moslems) and Bir el-Maksur a Bedu Moslem community of over 9,000 residents (many of them serving in the IDF) A fourth eastern cluster (#4) is in the valley of Saknin including the city of Sakhnin (30,6000 of which 5% are Christian Arabs) Arraba and Deir Hanna (in total approximately 40,000 Moslem Arabs and 1000 Christian Arabs) concluding in the town of Ilabun (with a Christian Arab majority of 4,000 and 2,000 Moslems).  in the eastern outskirts of the Jezreel Valley includes mainly Bedu Moslem residents in nine different villages which is spread out between routes 70 and 77 (South from Nahalal northward to Shfar’am) and totaling over 28,000 residents (of which Zarzir and Basmat Tab’un are the largest The cluster includes a single Arab Moslem village Three additional clusters in the western – upper Galilee are diversified and include a sizeable Druze population (~80% of total Druze population in Israel The area historically served as the harbor city of Acre’s hinterland a “mixed” city with over 49,000 residents Acre (like many places in Israel) recently dealt with a severe wave of violence (following waves in 2000 and 2008) between local Arabs and Jews This following the national elections to the Israeli parliament (Knesset) and during the IDF “Operation Guardian of the Walls” against the HAMAS in the Gaza strip[4]: The first cluster in the western upper Galilee (#5) straddles route 85 (Acre – Safad road) With the city of Carmiel at its center stretches from Majd el-Krum (15,000 Arab Moslem residents) westward to Rameh (~8,000 residents including 50% Christian Arabs and 31% Druze) including Sajur (a Druze village of 4,000 residents) of which the majority are Druze and includes Christian and Moslem Arabs who are 21% each of the town’s makeup) The hometown of Arab Moslem member of the Israeli parliament MK Mansour Abbas (leader of the Islamic Raam party) and currently supporting the current Israeli government A northern cluster (#6) coalesces around the city of Maalot – Tarshiha (a joint trilateral Jewish – Moslem – Christian municipality) It includes 21,000 residents (65% Jews and 10% Christian and Moslem Arabs with a sizeable undesignated portion of the population) the Christian village of Mi’ilya (over 3000 residents) a north-eastern spur leading to the Druze village of Hurfeish and Christian villages (Fassatu and Jish) A southern spur includes other Druze villages (Peki’in The southern cluster (# 7) along route 70 is known as the traditional seat of the Druze leadership (Tri-villages of Julis Includes three major Arab communities starting in the SouthSouth at Jadeidi – Makr (21,000 Arab residents of which 7% are Christians) through Kfar Yasif (10,000 Arab residents of which half are Christians and 2% Druze) and Abu – Snan (14,000 residents of which half are Moslem Arabs the size of the total Arab population in the state of Israel is estimated to grow numerically by the year 2065 to 3.8 million out of an estimated total Israeli population of 20 million (CBS estimations assess the proportion of the entire Arab population in Israel to remain at around 19% due to the continued decline in Arab female fertility rates especially for Moslem Arab females – which saw a dramatic reduction from annual highs of around 9% in the 60s to 3.16 in 2019 Christian Arab average fertility rates were generally much lower and have been stable for the last decade at around 2.0%[6] regarding the fertility rate amongst Moslem Arab females in the northern district it continues to drop and is currently estimated at 2.51% (2.54% in the district of Haifa) This is in comparison to highs of 5.28% in the south amongst the Bedu Moslem tribes (CBS while the continued relative reduction of the size of the Arab population in the Galilee is expected to continue for the duration the Arabs (predominantly Moslem) will continue to maintain a major presence in the eight residential clusters mentioned and is estimated by 2040 to amount to over a million Arab residents (around three million in 2065)[7] The growing volume of Arab residents coupled with the youth bulge is generating two main trends which are worthy of special mention A growing internal migration of a young northern Arab middle class to urban areas on the coast and in the Galilean hinterland[8] (including a growing trend of relocation to Jewish communities Lack of housing (and development projects – currently being dealt with by the Israeli government) and improvement of quality and standard of living being prime movers but also the growing violence in Arab communities a surge in the volume of idle young Arab men (predominantly Moslem males) – a global phenomenon named NEET (Not in Education which is a major enabler of criminal delinquency and inflaming violence in the Arab society (numbering currently over a hundred death for 2021) the NEET demographic is a prospective participant in local self-organizing violence (inflamed by environmental circumstances and usually driven by mob dynamics) potentially driving organized civil disorder through their radicalization and recruitment to politically motivated organizations A phenomenon noted during the last wave of violence in May 2021 which impacted all residents of the Galilee Brigadier General (IDF Reserves) Erez David Maisel has vast experience in strategic planning and security diplomacy and is a hands-on practitioner in international conflict prevention and boundary management A native of northern Israel he is co-founder of the Technion Institute in Haifa’s research center BRDG (Boundary Research and Deconfliction Group) northern Israel – symbol for bridging divides (credit: EDM) [4]https://votes24.bechirot.gov.il/ [5] An additional influential Druze residential area includes the two large towns on mount Carmel (Isfiya and Daliyat al-Karmel) adjacent to Haifa with all its economic potential [7]https://economy.pmo.gov.il/CouncilActivity/Strategy/Pages/population2040.aspx [8]https://www.themarker.com/markerweek/1.2801164 [9]https://www.gov.il/he/departments/general/150320_challenge; https://en.idi.org.il/media/9319/neet-among-young-arabs-in-israel.pdf The majority of young Israeli are automatically conscripted at the age of 18 The IDF then serves as a framework during the transition period (after matriculation) from school to the education and employment phase assisting in the maturation and national socialization processes.    Alma is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) education and research organization made possible in part by the Galila Foundation Light snow began falling in Jerusalem on Sunday night and for the first time since 2016 - in Isfiya as well as Maalot-Tarshiha and Me'ona in the Western Galilee temperatures dropped below freezing; in Jerusalem Though snow fell in the Carmel area at altitudes of 470 meters the snowfall began only at altitudes of 500-600 meters except for a thin layer in the Upper Galilee Monday will see intermittent snowfall in the northern and central mountains Temperatures will remain below seasonal average there may be light local rainfall from northern Israel to the northern Negev there is a chance of frost in areas prone to it though they will remain below seasonal average and harsh eastern winds will blow in the northern mountains Skies will be clear or partly cloudy during the daytime Wednesday will see a slight rise in temperatures but they will remain below seasonal average; skies will be partly cloudy or clear Meanwhile, despite the recent storms and snow the Kinneret's (Sea of Galilee) water level dropped over the course of February the northern lake's water level is now 211.235 meters below sea level - a drop of 1.5 centimeters over the weekend and 2.435 meters below the upper red line signaling maximum capacity established a nursing home for Holocaust survivors in northern Israel in 1984 2023Get email notification for articles from Ofer Aderet FollowDec 18 2023An Israeli soldier who died of wounds he sustained in battle in the Gaza Strip was the grandson of German Christians who established a nursing home in Israel for Holocaust survivors as a gesture of atonement for the crimes of the Nazis 2019Heavy snow fell overnight and early on Monday in the Hermon and northern Golan Heights regions with some 35 centimeters measured at the mountain's lower levels The snow fall is expected to last until Wednesday the common language is the sound of a lick Christians and Jews from Israel and abroad English and a smattering of other languages being spoken between licks Adam Ziv and Alaa Sawitat opened Bouza (“ice cream” in Arabic) last July and have attracted a steady stream of clientele curious about this partnership between an Arab Muslim and a Jewish kibbutznik in the Tarshiha shuk (marketplace) which is not usually associated with swanky ice cream stores What also helps business is that the nearest homemade ice cream shop in the Western Galilee is 16 kilometers away But it’s the taste that brings customers back “We’re not just a novelty of being a Muslim-Jewish coexistence ice cream store,” Ziv tells ISRAEL21c “We make ice cream that people like.” Bouza’s customers range from schoolchildren (who pay the equivalent of just $1.25 if they come in school uniform) to grandparents Ice cream is served by portion size and not by the scoop with prices ranging between $2.35 and $4.50 the city of Ma’alot-Tarshiha came about through a municipal merger of the Arab town of Tarshiha and the Jewish town of Ma’alot as well as an annual international sculpture symposium had been the two main attractions for tourists to the area fashionable pubs and eateries started to open in the quiet Muslim-Christian side of the town who belongs to a local band and performs with friends at small bars around the country had just returned to Israel from a year-long trip around Europe and Africa Ziv apprenticed at gelaterias in Italy and ice cream shops in the Canary Islands a co-owner of one of the Galilee’s top bistros Together they chose Sawitat’s hometown of Tarshiha – and also joined forces Sawitat handles the financial side of the business “From the moment I thought of opening an ice cream parlor I looked for a place near Kibbutz Sasa that would also be cool,” Ziv told Hazman Hayarok newspaper “I thought it would be amazing to build a business that is co-run by Jews and Arabs … The other day we looked outside and saw people from a Jewish village in the Galilee sitting beside a group of Arab youths from Tarshiha Ice cream stores in Israel tend to offer up eccentric combinations. Hummus ice cream was last summer’s big hit with gelaterias around the country mashing chickpeas into sugar and cream Bouza’s ingredients are a mix of local produce and Italian imports such as nut pastes and dark chocolate “People can designate our ice cream with whatever style they want,” says Ziv “The technique is Italian but I don’t like to call it Italian ice cream Our ice cream is influenced by the whole Galilee region.” On Saturday mornings he buys fresh ingredients from local farmers to help him prepare the fruits for his ice cream pistachio – these are our big sellers,” says Ziv “We try some Middle Eastern mixes like pomegranate and lemongrass or chocolate and spearmint We’re still working on a kanafeh [sweet Palestinian cheese pastry] flavored ice cream but haven’t found the right recipe yet I don’t want to be too pretentious when making new flavors Our motto is ‘simply ice cream’ – and that’s what we do We make great ice cream for our customers.” Ziv says he is just trying to satisfy customers and hopes “they’ll remember the way back to Bouza.” The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement announced on Monday a record-breaking 51 military operations within 24 hours against the Zionist entity surpassing the previous high of 48 operations recorded on October 25 Sunday's operations included a drone bombardment of the Ashdod naval base and a missile strike on the “Palmachim” base According to a statement released by Hezbollah's operations room the attacks on Sunday penetrated up to 150 kilometers into the occupied Palestinian territories Lebanese resistance fighters launched over 350 rockets triggering sirens 543 times and forcing four million settlers into underground shelters These strikes reportedly caused significant casualties and extensive collateral damage The operations on Sunday also targeted key Israeli military installations Illegal settlements in the occupied territories that came under attack on Sunday included "Kiryat Shmona," "Metulla," "Manara," Safad The occupation forces were compelled to beat a humiliating retreat from Bayyada and Khiam by the resistance fighters when the Israeli regime launched a full-fledged war against Lebanon the Hezbollah resistance movement has been carrying out a significant number of operations daily These attacks have targeted key Israeli military facilities deep inside the occupied territories Details of operations carried out by Hezbollah on Nov Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses: www.presstv.co.uk Click the "share" button in the bottom bar Sign In Register DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike on a five-story building where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 60 people early Tuesday Israel has carried out more airstrikes and waged a bigger ground operation in northern Gaza in recent weeks, saying it is focused on rooting out pockets of Hamas militants that have regrouped there after more than a year of war But the intense fighting in northern Gaza is raising alarm about the worsening humanitarian conditions for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians Concerns about a lack of aid reaching Gaza were amplified Monday when Israeli lawmakers passed two laws that cut ties with the main U.N. agency distributing food Israel controls access to both Gaza and the occupied West Bank and it was unclear how the agency known by the acronym UNRWA would continue its work in either place that is a disaster within a series of disasters and just doesn’t bear thinking about," said UNRWA spokesperson John Fowler agencies and international organizations rely on its logistics and thousands of workers to distribute aid in Gaza In Lebanon, the militant group Hezbollah said Tuesday it has chosen Sheikh Naim Kassem to succeed longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month Hezbollah vowed to continue with Nasrallah’s policies “until victory is achieved.” eight Austrian soldiers serving in the U.N peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon were reported lightly injured in a midday missile strike None of the soldiers needed emergency treatment Austria's Defense Ministry spokesperson Michael Bauer wrote on the social network X said the rocket that struck the base was “likely” fired by Hezbollah and that it struck a vehicle workshop Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner “condemns this attack in the strongest terms and calls on all sides immediately to cease combat operations in the surroundings of the U.N Strike in northern Gaza comes as Israel wages a major operation there The Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service said at least 12 women and 20 children were among the dead from Tuesday's strike in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya A mother and her five children — some of them adults — and a second mother with six children according to an initial casualty list provided by the emergency service The toll from the strike was announced by Dr director of the field hospitals’ department at the Health Ministry the director of the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital said it was overwhelmed by the wave of wounded people from the strike Israeli forces raided the medical facility over the weekend There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military regarding the strike in Beit Lahiya Israel’s latest major operation in northern Gaza, focused in and around the Jabaliya refugee camp, has killed hundreds of people and driven tens of thousands from their homes in another wave of mass displacement more than a year into the war in the tiny coastal territory The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had killed 40 Hamas militants during recent operations in Jabaliya The Israeli military has repeatedly struck shelters for displaced people in recent months saying it carried out precise strikes targeting Palestinian militants and tried to avoid harming civilians The strikes have often killed women and children the military said four more soldiers were killed in the fighting in northern Gaza bringing the toll since the start of the operation to 16 The military says it has killed dozens of militants Hezbollah's new leader has vowed to keep fighting Israel Hezbollah said in a statement that its decision-making Shura Council elected Kassem who had been Nasrallah's deputy leader for over three decades a founding member of the militant group established following Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon He has given several televised speeches vowing that Hezbollah will fight on despite a string of setbacks Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel, drawing retaliation, after Hamas’ surprise attack out of Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered the war there. Iran, which backs both groups, has also directly traded fire with Israel The tensions with Hezbollah boiled over in September as Israel unleashed a wave of heavy airstrikes and killed Nasrallah and most of his senior commanders Israel launched a ground invasion into Lebanon at the start of October Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel on Tuesday killing at least one person in the northern city of Maalot-Tarshiha Israeli laws targeting UN agency could further restrict aid UNRWA and other international groups continued to express outrage Tuesday about the Israeli parliament's decision to cut ties to the agency Israel says UNRWA has been infiltrated by Hamas and that the militant group siphons off aid and uses U.N Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer vowed that aid will continue to reach Gaza as Israel plans to coordinate with aid organizations or other bodies within the U.N we will ensure that a more efficient replacement for UNRWA takes its role not one which is infiltrated by the terrorist organization,” he said But aid groups have warned that there is no immediate replacement for UNRWA, which provides education, health care and emergency aid to millions of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation and their descendants Refugee families make up the majority of Gaza's population said the suspension of UNRWA's work “would likely see the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza." He said that would impede deliveries of vaccines, winter clothes, hygiene kits, health kits, water, and ready-to-use therapeutic food to combat malnutrition Israel has sharply restricted aid to northern Gaza this month, prompting a warning from the United States that failure to facilitate greater humanitarian assistance could lead to a reduction in military aid The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,000 Palestinians Around 90% of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced from their homes Magdy reported from Cairo and Mroue from Beirut Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war will be gaining eight students and two chaperons from Sarasota to participate in its artistic festival from July 18 to 25 Eighty representatives of the Sister Cities of Lieida Christian Keller and Amber Suleskey were selected to participate based on their involvement in performing arts and in fine arts and how they represented their views of their own culture a 16-year-old Out-of-Door Academy student and a musician will be participating because he loves traveling and he feels that he can really "show the city of Perpignan what Sarasota is truly like." "I feel I will be gaining a better understanding of many different cultures internationally and also feel that as performers we will have the opportunity to break and debunk American stereotypes that are so commonly apparent outside of the U.S.," he said a 16 year-old Cardinal Mooney High School student and a dancer hopes to "obtain a better understanding of other cultures and hopefully make some friends who live in other countries." a 17-year-old Pine View School student and a writer feels that this trip will broaden her experience "I feel that I'll gain a great perspective on the world one that I don't get to experience at home," said Mary "I think they will do a great job representing Sarasota and our country," said Jim Shirley the Director of Development for PAL Sailor Circus Jim and Barbara Shirley volunteered to chaperon because they thought that this opportunity was "a good venue for the kids to interact with other kids" and because he thought that doing this would "help develop future interactions." It is also "a good way to broaden my own education," Jim Shirley said He mentioned that the students are all interested in learning from each other "I think they are a really bright group of people with great talent," Shirley added Jacobites Band pipe major and artistic and music director for POPS Extras! recently made a donation from proceeds of two concerts to help pay the way for 24 cadets from the Sarasota Military Academy who will participate in the pre-Olympic Games ceremonies in Beijing Funds came from the Jacobites Second Annual Memorial Day Concert and a Home for the Holidays Concert produced by POPS Extras Sarasota Mayor Lou Ann Palmer named the cadets "Ambassadors for the City of Sarasota." The cadets are still seeking donations to defray the cost of the trip Michelle Grunberg of Paychex Business Solutions was elected as Chair of the 2008-2009 Board of Directors of Community Haven for Adults and Children with Disabilities at the CHAC Annual Board Meeting on May 22 Mike Padgett of Vision Homes was elected as first vice chair/chair-elect Mike Hamilton of Commercial Maintenance Management was elected as second vice chair and Richard Findlay of the Bradenton Fire Department was elected secretary Julie Rothfeld will serve as the executive committee's immediate past chair A new member elected to the board this year was Michelle Reisdorf of Springhill Suites Debbie Partridge and Andrew Starostecki are also members of the board of directors Jeff Eslinger of Visient was appointed to serve on the advisory board with John Cook Community Haven for Adults and Children with Disabilities Inc offers support services daily to more than 900 children teenagers and adults with disabilities in Manatee and Charlotte counties through programs like early childhood intervention community living and employment opportunities