An Israeli minister lashed out at world media on Wednesday, accusing them of bias against Israel and defended Israel's handling of the case of an American graduate student held in detention at the country's international airport for the past week over allegations that she supports a boycott against the Jewish state.

Lara Alqasem, a 22-year-old American citizen with Palestinian grandparents, landed at Ben-Gurion Airport last week with a valid student visa and was registered to study human rights at Israel's Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

But she was barred from entering the country and ordered deported, based on suspicions that she supports the Palestinian-led boycott movement.

An Israeli court has ordered that she remain in custody while she appeals, although Israel says she can leave the country.

The weeklong detention is the longest anyone has been held in a boycott-related case.

Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that Israel had the right to protect itself and decide who enters its borders despite growing international criticism.

His remarks come after the Times published an opinion piece by columnist Bret Stephens and editor Bari Weiss critical of Israel's handling of Alqasem's case.

More than 300 academics penned a letter in the British Guardian Wednesday calling the case "an attack on academic freedom."

While waiting for her appeal to be heard, Alqasem has been spending her days in a closed area with little access to a telephone, no internet and a bed that was infested with bedbugs, according to people who have spoken to her.

Erdan insisted Alqasem was not detained and was free to return to the US, but chose to remain at Ben Gurion airport in a move he suggested was part of an anti-Israel campaign.

Leora Baruch, a member of Alqasem's defence team said the case is a crucial one as it goes to the very heart of the debate about Israel's identity.

Alqasem, from the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Southwest Ranches, Florida, is a former president of the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

The group is a branch of the BDS movement, whose name comes from its calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

BDS supporters say that in urging businesses, artists and universities to sever ties with Israel, they are using nonviolent means to resist unjust policies toward Palestinians.

Israel says the movement masks its motives to delegitimise or destroy the Jewish state.

Alqasem's case is set to be heard at a Tel Aviv court on Thursday.

Jerusalem - 10 October 2018

1. Set up of Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information

2. Cutaway of hands

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information:

"Lara was the head of one of the most extremist BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) organisations known as SJP - Students for Justice in Palestine. And this is a BDS organisation, an anti-Semitic BDS organisation that is acting against pro-Israel speakers, that is bullying and trying to harm Jewish students in many campuses around the United States of America, and this is exactly one of the most extremist BDS organisations that we don't want to see their activists coming to Israel and trying to use our infrastructure to harm us and to destroy us."

4. Cutaway of Erdan

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information:

"World media most of the time is against the state of Israel. We know it. We will try always to expose the truth and to tell the truth about what is really happening in Israel. But, unfortunately it is not always working because the world media many time are against the state of Israel and that is not something that has to tell us to change our ideology or to change our mind. We are doing whatever we believe that is right for the security of the state of Israel and that is more important than whatever The New York Times or other newspapers around the world will say about our policy."

6. Cutaway of Erdan

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information:

"Even though she, under our criteria, under the law criteria, she should be banned from entering Israel, if she would say the she regrets all her activities against the state of Israel and she would commit not to be part of those anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli activities, so we will think again about allowing her to enter Israel. But until now I didn't get this kind of commitment."

8. Photograph of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Minister of Information:

"It's also important to understand and to emphasise that Ms. Alqasem is not being detained. She can leave Israel whenever she wants but she decided, and it looks like a campaign, she decided to stay at the airport as long as her appeal to our court is continuing. We told her - we will pay for your flight and you can come back, fly back, home to the United States whenever you want. But she decided to stay at the airport."

10. Wide of Erdan

11. Photo of Netanyahu on wall

12. Set up of Leora Baruch, lawyer representing Lara Alqasem

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Leora Baruch, a lawyer representing Lara Alqasem:

"Lara's case is critical because we learned from it how the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Strategic Affairs has been implementing the Boycott Amendment to the Law on Entering into Israel and how they intend to implement it in the future. The law itself is actually quite ambiguous. It says that a person who, acting on their own behalf or on behalf of an organisation or a body for a public call to boycott, or who has made a commitment to boycott. I don't know what a commitment to boycott is. That's something that is very unclear."

14. Cutaway

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Leora Baruch, a lawyer representing Lara Alqasem:

"Lara Alqasem's case is being followed throughout Israel, all over the news and throughout the world. And what might happen tomorrow is we might learn whether this amendment should be used at all and how it should be used and how broad or how narrow it should be used. And whether there has been an abuse of power here and whether the Ministry of Interior has used the amendment for a case that clearly doesn't fall within the parameters of the amendment itself. And so there really is a lot at stake here and it's again part of a larger conversation about academic freedom, about freedom of speech, about being able to visit Israel even if you don't share the opinions of the consensus, of the majority of the party, the administration."

16. Cutaway of degree certificate

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Leora Baruch, a lawyer representing Lara Alqasem:

"With respect to Minister Erdan's statement, he's asked that Lara claim that BDS is an illegitimate movement, that it is an illegitimate form of protest. Lara is not willing to claim that BDS is illegitimate, even if she isn't a supporter of BDS. And we're currently in negotiations to see if there's a way of bridging the gap between the two parties."

18. Baruch at her computer

Israel's Supreme Court heard the appeal on Wednesday of 22-year-old American student Lara Alqasem, who seeks to fight her expulsion order over her alleged past involvement with the boycott movement against Israel.

Alqasem appeared calm and collected in a courtroom packed with journalists and lawmakers.

The judges asked in-depth questions of the state attorneys about their evidence of Alqasem's suspected boycott activities during the time she served as president of her alma mater's Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.

The defence argued that Israel's anti-boycott law is being applied too broadly, and said they were optimistic about the verdict.

According to Alqasem's lawyer Leora Bechor, the judges sent a message during the hearing that "(the state's) discretion is not unrestricted," she said.

Alqasem has been held in detention since arriving in the country October 2 with a valid student visa.

She will either be deported or allowed to enter the country, pending the court's decision.  

Ben Adoram, legal adviser for the nationalist Israeli group "Im Tirtzu" said he has presented the court with reasons to be suspicious of Alqasem's boycott activities, including evidence that she deleted her social media accounts.

Adoram said that although Alqasem claims not to be a member of the boycott movement now, "other sites acknowledge her as a member still."

Jerusalem - 17 October 2018

1. Lara Alqasem (c) sitting on bench at Israel's Supreme court

2. Close of Alqasem's hands

3. Alqasem sitting on bench at Israel's Supreme Court

4. Supreme Court judges entering UPSOUND (Hebrew) "court"

5. Media waiting in hall outside court

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Leora Bechor, Lara Alqasem's lawyer:

"We requested that Lara Alqasem be allowed entry into Israel and that she be allowed to use the visa that was already given to her two months ago in the Israeli Consulate in Miami. We are both, myself and Yotam Ben-Hillel (Alqasem's other lawyer) we are both of the opinion that the hearing went very well, that the judges asked the right questions, they saw all the holes in the state's argument, they saw the holes in the decision of the lower court, that the lower court wasn't looking at the evidence on record, rather was looking at evidence that was never brought before it."

7. Cutaway of Bechor

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Leora Bechor, Lara Alqasem's lawyer:

"If she was an activist in the past, or if she engaged in BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) activities in the past, that past was 18 months ago, everything in the record indicates that she is not that same person, that she's come to Israel in violation actually of the academic boycott, and of the economic boycott because she's going to be living and breathing and living her day to day life in Israel. So many questions were asked of the state that in our opinion weren't answered in a way that gave the judges sufficient reason to uphold the state's argument."

9. Bechor talking to media

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Leora Bechor, Lara Alqasem's lawyer:

"The message that was given, was your discretion is not unrestricted, they were telling the Ministry of Interior you can't deny people entry on a whim, you have to be accountable. Until now you have not been accountable, but that is not going to stand anymore. This law, if it's going to be applied, it must be applied narrowly, and you can't use it to deny entry to people because of their political opinions or based on flimsy evidence or no evidence at all."

11. Various of people inside court

12. Set-up shot of Ben Adoram (standing), legal adviser to the Im Tirtzu (nationalist Israeli non-governmental group)

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Ben Adoram, Im Tirtzu legal adviser:

"The position of the state, being specific, today we have brought before the court, information that we have exclusively because of her activity in the campus. We know that the administrative level of the university opposes, strongly opposes, any possible confrontation which may arise, and the administrative level, being specific the security officer of the university, considers this to be a spark that can ignite the whole university and possibly the whole city. "

14. Alqasem (wearing glasses ) entering court

15. 13. SOUNDBITE (English) Ben Adoram, Im Tirtzu legal adviser:

"We have brought information that shows that although Miss Alqasem deleted all of her digital activity in the recent year, and although she claims not to be a member of the BDS movement now, other sites acknowledge her as a member still. This information was not before the Attorney's office, it was withheld of course by her representatives, the representatives of Lara Alqasem, and of course the university itself has no interest of showing it. "

16. Various exteriors of Supreme Court

An American graduate student in detention at Israel's international airport over allegations that she promotes a boycott of the Jewish state appealed her detention on Thursday before an Israeli court in Tel Aviv.

Lara Alqasem appeared calm, mostly keeping her hands on her knees during the court hearing, only smiling giddily when she was surrounded by journalists and photographers.

She is to remain in detention until the court delivered its ruling; no date for the ruling has been set.

The 22-year-old American with Palestinian grandparents landed at Ben-Gurion Airport last week with a valid student visa and was registered to study human rights at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

But she was barred from entering the country and ordered deported, based on suspicions that she's an activist in the boycott movement.

Israel insists she can leave at any time but must renounce the BDS boycott movement if she wishes to be reconsidered for admission.

Israel enacted a law last year banning entry for any foreigner who "knowingly issues a public call for boycotting Israel."

It's come under heavy criticism for its handling of Alqasem's case.

Alqasem, from the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Southwest Ranches, Florida, is a former president of the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

The group is a branch of the BDS movement, whose name comes from its calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

BDS supporters say that in urging businesses, artists and universities to sever ties with Israel, they are using nonviolent means to resist unjust policies toward Palestinians.

Israel says the movement masks its motives to delegitimize or destroy the Jewish state.

Tel Aviv - 11 October 2018

1. Lara Alqasem, an American graduate student in detention at Israel's international airport, entering courtroom

2. Alqasem's lawyers in courtroom

3. Alqasem in courtroom

4. Pan from lawyers and reporters to Alqasem

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Leora Bechor, lawyer representing Lara Alqasem:

"The minister of Strategic Affairs together with the minister of Interior have decided that (the) BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement) is not about action, it's not but activists, it's about thought, and they have prohibited thought. It is unfortunate that in Israeli democracy, we have the two ministers here saying 'if you believe in BDS and if you think it's legitimate you have no right in this country'."

6. Media outside courtroom

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Asher Fredman, Chief of staff of Israel's minister for Strategic Affairs:

"It's not a question of opinions, we're not looking to decide on prevention of entry based on opinions, based on someone who supports, somebody who called on, somebody who signed a petition. We're looking at actions, we have clear criteria, we believe that Miss Alqasem meets those criteria based on her actions and the actions of the organisation of which she was a senior leader over several years."

8. Exterior of court

LEADIN:

For the first time at the National Library of Israel, an exhibition of Islamic texts has been open for the entire month of Ramadan.

It is called "Select Pearls from the Islam Collection."

STORYLINE:

Peering at the centuries-old manuscripts on display, these visitors to the National Library of Israel are in for a special treat.

For the first time, Islamic manuscripts have gone on display for more than a day - in fact they have been exhibited for the whole of Ramadan.

Debra Kaplan is one of the lucky visitors and describes the exhibition as "terrific" and "beautiful".

The 16 texts, all hundreds of years old, are displayed in a small room, where the entrance is decorated with ornate flowers that resemble the manuscripts in the showcase.

"Here at the National Library we have opened a small yet powerful exhibition of beautiful and rare Islamic manuscripts that tell the story of Islamic culture across a thousand years. Each manuscript is beautiful in its own right and also opens a window into one or more Islamic intellectual, religious, and cultural traditions," explains exhibition curator Raquel Ukeles.

Although the National Library has a collection of 1,800 Islamic manuscripts, this is the first time an exhibit is being displayed for more than one day during Ramadan.

Ukeles says it's important for elements of Islamic culture to be highlighted at the National Library.

"Here in Israel, where Jewish culture is the majority culture, the minority cultures often don't get enough airtime or space. And so one of the roles of the National Library, with its flagship Islam collection, is to draw attention, broaden awareness and to make space in Israeli social and cultural  consciousness to the culture of Islam," says Ukeles.

The exhibition shows not only ancient Qurans, but also scrolls, and illustrations.

Featured in the showcase is an exceptionally small and fragile Quran from the 10th century, measuring only 68 by 37 millimetres.

"It's a fragile but well-preserved item and what is special about this item is that it was written without any punctuation or vowelisation and probably served as a religious talisman rather than an object of study," she says.

The exhibition runs until 14 June, 2018.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jerusalem - 10 June 2018

1. Visitor looking at Islamic manuscripts on display at a special exhibition at National Library of Israel

2. Islamic manuscripts on display

3. Visitor looking at exhibition

4. Various of manuscripts on display

5. Various of visitors at exhibition

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Debra Kaplan, Visitor:

"It was a terrific exhibit.  It is a very impressive collection of various Muslim manuscripts, it was beautiful."

7. Kaplan looking at exhibition

8. Manuscripts on display

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Raquel Ukeles, Exhibition curator:

"Here at the National Library we have opened a small yet powerful exhibition of beautiful and rare Islamic manuscripts that tell the story of Islamic culture across a thousand years. Each manuscript is beautiful in its own right and also opens a window into one or more Islamic intellectual, religious, and cultural traditions."

10. Ukeles looking at exhibition

11. Manuscript on display at exhibition

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Raquel Ukeles, Exhibition curator:

"Here in Israel, where Jewish culture is the majority culture, the minority cultures often don't get enough airtime or space. And so one of the roles of the National Library, with its flagship Islam collection, is to draw attention, broaden awareness and to make space in Israeli social and cultural  consciousness to the culture of Islam."

13. Manuscripts in exhibition

14. Various of miniature Quran on display

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Raquel Ukeles, Exhibition curator:

"There are a few items here that we are showing for the first time. For example, we have a miniature Quran from the 10th century. It's a fragile but well-preserved item and what is special about this item is that it was written without any punctuation or vowelisation and probably served as a religious talisman rather than an object of study."

16. Various of manuscripts at exhibition

An Israeli court entered final procedures on Tuesday in the case of a woman accused of sexually abusing her students at a Jewish religious school in Australia.

Former principal Malka Leifer is accused for up to 74 charges of sexual abuse of schoolgirls at a ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious school in Melbourne.

The 54-year-old fled to Israel in 2008 and was arrested following an undercover investigation at Interpol's request and suspected of obstructing Israeli court proceedings by attempting to hide evidence.

The Australian authorities had also sought extradition.

Three complainants, sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer, and Elly Sapper, had flown in from Australia to attend the court hearing in Jerusalem, and expressed their frustration that the accused was not in court herself.

Leifer was not present at the closed-door session, with her defence arguing she was mentally unfit to stand trial.

It was not immediately clear when the court would reach its decision as to whether Leifer is mentally fit to face extradition hearings, and when it would be made public.

Jerusalem - 27 November 2018

1. Three complainants, sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper, entering court room

2. Yehuda Fried, lawyer of suspect Malka Leifer, sitting in corridor talking to Tal Gabai, another lawyer for Leifer

3. Relatives of Leifer entering courtroom

4. Tal Gabai, lawyer for Leifer, entering courtroom

5. Close up of sign reading (Hebrew) "Closed door discussion - no entry"

6. Sisters walking out of courtroom

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dassi Erlich, one of the complainants:

"It's very hard to sit in there and see the case, you know, trying to be pulled apart and watch the proceedings happening because we've always been in Australia listening to what's happening. And now we're here and we see, you know, the ups and the downs and it's incredibly difficult to watch that and just hope that the judge, and have faith that the judge will come to the right decision."

8. Cutaway of sisters

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Nicole Meyer, one of the complainants:

"It's very difficult. We are sitting there watching them discuss her mental health and know that we've suffered 10 years waiting for her to come back (to Australia) and now we're sitting here watching them pull apart a report that says that she is mentally fit to stand trial. Just get her back to Australia and let us get some closure. That's all we aim for. We have no voice. We've got to be completely silent and that is the most difficult thing in this."

ARCHIVE - Jerusalem - 27 February 2018

10. Suspect Malka Leifer being lead into court by guards

11. Leifer seated inside courtroom

Jerusalem - 27 November 2018

12. Various of Manny Waks, CEO of "Kol V'Oz"

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Manny Waks, CEO of "Kol V'Oz" :

"Firstly, as a.... as a victim myself, one of the most important things is actually to go to court and see justice for yourself happening. Until now, they've been across the globe in Australia. They have finally come to us, to Israel, for a court hearing and she avoids it again. And that's something that's distressing for victims and I've spoken to them and I know that they're very disappointed, to say the least, about the fact that she's not in court today. But at the very least, they have the opportunity to remain in court and follow the proceedings and hopefully we will see justice."

Jerusalem - 27 November 2018

14. Close up of street sign reading (Hebrew, Arabic, English) "District Court"

15. Wide shot Exterior of District Court

The relatives of Aiia Maasarwe, an Israeli woman killed in Australia, were struck with grief on Thursday after learning about the 21-year-old student's brutal attack.

Maasarwe, who was on a study abroad exchange at La Trobe University in the city of Melbourne, was slain on Wednesday shortly after she got off a tram in the suburb of Bundoora.

Maasarwe was on the phone with her sister when she was attacked on her way home from a comedy club, Australian police say.

Police assume the attack was random and opportunistic. The investigation and manhunt are still underway.

The victim's cousin, Baker Maasarwe, lamented the tragedy and urged the Australian police to ramp up their efforts to ensure the safety of other women in the country.

Maasarwe's relatives are on their way to Australia to coordinate the return of their daughter's body to Israel.

Baqa al-Gharbiya - 17 January, 2019

1. Tilt down from house of Aiia Maasarwe's family to mourning tent

2. Relatives gathering to grieve the death of Maasarwe

3. Interior of the mourning tent

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Baker Maasarwe, cousin of Aiia:

"Aiia basically studies in China. She studies languages, studies English and Chinese. She's an excellent student with very high grades and because of that she was sent for a student exchange in Melbourne. She's been there for a few months and this is what happened. I mean it's tragic."

5. Cutaway of Baker Maasarwe standing in street

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Baker Maasarwe, cousin of Aiia:

"What we do know that she has been attending a stand-up comedy show and from the way home, after the show was finished, she was heading home while she was on a live call with her little sister, she basically screamed as a result of some violent hit or attack, and the phone dropped. The sister couldn't communicate with her afterwards and she assumed the phone maybe had fell into the street or to the sewage system or something like that, she couldn't have assumed otherwise, she couldn't have assumed that this could lead to this tragic result. And yeah, afterwards we learned that this has resulted in her being assaulted and killed."

7. Woman walking in the street

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Baker Maasarwe, cousin of Aiia:

"Her father has travelled to Melbourne from China and he has been joined by friends of the family in Melbourne and other members of the family from here. We are hoping that the procedures will be done as quickly as possible to bring her to be buried in Israel so we can be relieved. We really hope, we want to put this message out there that we really hope this doesn't happen to anyone, I mean, this could happen to anyone, I mean women and ladies around the world should be equipped with self-defence equipment, like taser guns or pepper spray or something. I mean, Aiia was a very peaceful person. She is excellent in everything she does, I mean she's vegetarian. I mean, that's unbelievable, how could something like this happen to someone like Aiia. I mean, this is very tragic."

9. Relatives of Aiia Maasarwe in front of the house

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Baker Maasarwe, cousin of Aiia:

"We want to really urge the Melbourne police and Australian police to really catch the killer because that's someone who has done what he has done without no reason, I mean this could be a psychopath going around the streets in Australia right now, which is a very peaceful country as far as I know, the last homicide has been recorded in Australia like six months ago, so this was highly unexpected. We really hope the police catch the killer and make us all relieved of this pain."

11. Pan of Baqa al-Gharbiya neighbourhood

LEADIN:

Mayada Morar's Facebook page for sharing recipes has drawn a massive following among Israeli-Arabs, having gained almost 180,000 followers in just four years.

The 31-year-old former bank employee started her cooking career when she sought help online to bake a birthday cake. Now she's launched a culinary school in the Israeli town of Baka al-Gharbiya.

STORYLINE:

Since opening her cooking school in February, Mayada Morar has seen enormous interest among Arab women, who come to perfect their cooking skills and learn new cuisines.

"The development of digital today has affected the whole world," she says.

"Any recipe they want they can go directly to their phone and search for it and it doesn't have to be passed from mother to daughter."

Morar said she expected less than 20 women to register for her culinary school.

But now there are hundreds on a waiting list.  

"Following the success of the (Facebook) group and college, I feel like a guru of the Arab population," she says.

"I give women inspiration and the confidence that if you try, you will succeed. It's not difficult, look at me, I really started from scratch. As long as you have the will to try and prepare the meal that you're thinking about, you will make it."

According to Morar there are six group administrators carefully checking dozens of daily requests to join the popular women-only group. She says she's had some great feedback.

"Young women that have written to me in private messages, wrote: 'Mayada thank you from the bottom of my heart, I recently got married and at the beginning I wasn't able to prepare anything and today I cook everything and this is thanks to you and Hasa's (meaning "now") Kitchen.' When I read these messages, I'm in heaven and so happy."

"I'm not saying a woman's place is in the kitchen. A woman can prove herself everywhere - not only in the kitchen. But in my opinion, the kitchen is what makes the family come together, the mother, children and husband," she adds.

Morar's been married to her husband Nidal for seven years and has two children.

"I was always by her side, in difficult situations that we went through in the beginning," he says.

"When we'd just got married, like any other couple we had some financial difficulties. We went through unpleasant times in the beginning, and thank God after what we went through together, we succeeded together, with cooperation between me and her."

Morar has big dreams.

She plans to open another culinary school and is in talks about a TV cooking show.

And she's designing a cooking course for men.

"Soon we will open a course for men also, because they are asking for it and as I told you, the door is open to every man or woman that comes here," she says.

Baqa al-Gharbiyye, Israel - 5 March 2019

1. Various of Mayada Morar taking photos of prepared dish

2. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"The development of digital today has affected the whole world. Any recipe they want, they can go directly to their phone and search for it, and it doesn't have to be passed from mother to daughter."

3. Various of Morar's Facebook page called Hasa "Now" kitchen

4. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"Following the success of the (Facebook ) group and college, I feel like a guru of the Arab population. I give women inspiration and the confidence that if you try, you will succeed. It's not difficult, look at me, I really started from scratch. As long as you have the will to try and prepare the meal that you're thinking about, you will make it."

5. Various of women at cooking course, preparing lasagne

6. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"Young women that have sent me private messages, wrote: "Mayada thank you from the bottom of my heart, I recently got married and at the beginning I wasn't able to prepare anything and today I cook everything and this is thanks to you and Hasa's Kitchen. When I read these messages, I'm in heaven and so happy."

7. Various of Morar frying peppers

8. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"I'm not saying a woman's place is in the kitchen. A woman can prove herself everywhere - not only in the kitchen. But in my opinion, the kitchen is what makes the family come together, the mother, children and husband."

9. Various of women taking cooking lessons

10. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"Today there are 180,000 women in the group that I have given recipes to, and helped as much as possible. And after four years we decided to open Hasa's culinary college to give women more so they can learn more, with cooking something important to work on."

11. Various of Morar eating with her husband Nidal Morar

12. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Nidal Morar, Mayada's husband, who runs the culinary school:

"I was always by her side in difficult situations that we went through in the beginning. When we'd just got married, like any other couple we had some financial difficulties, we went through unpleasant times in the beginning, and thank God after what we went through together we succeeded together, with cooperation between me and her."

13. Various of Umm Ali, traditional dessert

14. Close of Morar taking photo of dessert

15. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"The college is for women, the idea of the (culinary) college came after the (Facebook) group, but soon we will open a course for men also, because they are asking for it and as I told you, the door is open to every man or woman that comes here."  

19. Mid of Morar and pastry chef cooking

LEADIN:

Mayada Morar's Facebook page for sharing recipes has drawn a massive following among Israeli-Arabs, having gained almost 180,000 followers in just four years.

The 31-year-old former bank employee started her cooking career when she sought help online to bake a birthday cake. Now she's launched a culinary school in the Israeli town of Baka al-Gharbiya.

STORYLINE:

Since opening her cooking school in February, Mayada Morar has seen enormous interest among Arab women, who come to perfect their cooking skills and learn new cuisines.

"The development of digital today has affected the whole world," she says.

"Any recipe they want they can go directly to their phone and search for it and it doesn't have to be passed from mother to daughter."

Morar said she expected less than 20 women to register for her culinary school.

But now there are hundreds on a waiting list.  

"Following the success of the (Facebook) group and college, I feel like a guru of the Arab population," she says.

"I give women inspiration and the confidence that if you try, you will succeed. It's not difficult, look at me, I really started from scratch. As long as you have the will to try and prepare the meal that you're thinking about, you will make it."

According to Morar there are six group administrators carefully checking dozens of daily requests to join the popular women-only group. She says she's had some great feedback.

"Young women that have written to me in private messages, wrote: 'Mayada thank you from the bottom of my heart, I recently got married and at the beginning I wasn't able to prepare anything and today I cook everything and this is thanks to you and Hasa's (meaning "now") Kitchen.' When I read these messages, I'm in heaven and so happy."

"I'm not saying a woman's place is in the kitchen. A woman can prove herself everywhere - not only in the kitchen. But in my opinion, the kitchen is what makes the family come together, the mother, children and husband," she adds.

Morar's been married to her husband Nidal for seven years and has two children.

"I was always by her side, in difficult situations that we went through in the beginning," he says.

"When we'd just got married, like any other couple we had some financial difficulties. We went through unpleasant times in the beginning, and thank God after what we went through together, we succeeded together, with cooperation between me and her."

Morar has big dreams.

She plans to open another culinary school and is in talks about a TV cooking show.

And she's designing a cooking course for men.

"Soon we will open a course for men also, because they are asking for it and as I told you, the door is open to every man or woman that comes here," she says.

Baqa al-Gharbiyye, Israel - 5 March 2019

1. Various of Mayada Morar taking photos of prepared dish

2. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"The development of digital today has affected the whole world. Any recipe they want, they can go directly to their phone and search for it, and it doesn't have to be passed from mother to daughter."

3. Various of Morar's Facebook page called Hasa "Now" kitchen

4. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"Following the success of the (Facebook ) group and college, I feel like a guru of the Arab population. I give women inspiration and the confidence that if you try, you will succeed. It's not difficult, look at me, I really started from scratch. As long as you have the will to try and prepare the meal that you're thinking about, you will make it."

5. Various of women at cooking course, preparing lasagne

6. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"Young women that have sent me private messages, wrote: "Mayada thank you from the bottom of my heart, I recently got married and at the beginning I wasn't able to prepare anything and today I cook everything and this is thanks to you and Hasa's Kitchen. When I read these messages, I'm in heaven and so happy."

7. Various of Morar frying peppers

8. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"I'm not saying a woman's place is in the kitchen. A woman can prove herself everywhere - not only in the kitchen. But in my opinion, the kitchen is what makes the family come together, the mother, children and husband."

9. Various of women taking cooking lessons

10. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"Today there are 180,000 women in the group that I have given recipes to, and helped as much as possible. And after four years we decided to open Hasa's culinary college to give women more so they can learn more, with cooking something important to work on."

11. Various of Morar eating with her husband Nidal Morar

12. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Nidal Morar, Mayada's husband, who runs the culinary school:

"I was always by her side in difficult situations that we went through in the beginning. When we'd just got married, like any other couple we had some financial difficulties, we went through unpleasant times in the beginning, and thank God after what we went through together we succeeded together, with cooperation between me and her."

13. Various of Umm Ali, traditional dessert

14. Close of Morar taking photo of dessert

15. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Mayada Morar, founder of popular Facebook food group "Hasa" and owner of culinary school:

"The college is for women, the idea of the (culinary) college came after the (Facebook) group, but soon we will open a course for men also, because they are asking for it and as I told you, the door is open to every man or woman that comes here."  

19. Mid of Morar and pastry chef cooking

+REPLAY+

ISRAEL SEAWEED PLASTIC

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

RESTRICTIONS: AP Clients Only

LENGTH: 6:52

SHOTLIST:

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Gaza city, Gaza Strip, 9 March 2019

1. Wide of plastic waste near sea

2. Close up plastic cups

3. Wide of plastic waste near sea

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Tel Aviv, Israel - 20 February 2019

4. Lab where seaweed is grown

5. Various of seaweed being grown in the lab - shows fermentation of micro-organisms  that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

6. Dr Alexander Golberg tending to seaweed

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Alexander Golberg, Tel Aviv's University Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences

"Our solution for the growing plastic consumption is to produce polymers which are used in plastics inside the single-cell marine organisms. So since the organisms produce it, the polymers are biodegradable, which means that they will not take a lot of time in the sea and they will be decomposed very fast. That's a major difference from the regular plastic. But to make these polymers micro organisms need food. And the food, in our case comes from seaweeds. Seaweeds are marine organisms which we can grow in the sea without any use of arable land and drinking water. And that's why our process is very different from all others proposed today. All our production process is built on organisms which grow in the seawater."

8. Various of seaweed being grown in the lab - shows fermentation of micro organisms that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

9. Prof. Michael Gozin, Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry talking to researchers who work on the project

10. Close up of bioplastic polymer made from seaweed in Prof. Michael Gozin's hand

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Gozin, Professor at Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry:

"We have a marine manufactured bio-plastic which is biodegradable. This is, this could be a revolutionary product with a really low cost, with a target price of about one dollar per kilogram. This is polyester, polyesters are usually made from oil but here it's manufactured by organisms. These plastics could be used for production of clothing, of food packaging, for containers and many other applications."

12. Various of scientists working on the fermentation of micro-organisms that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

13. Dr Alexander Golberg tending to seaweed

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Gozin, Professor at Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry:

"The biological organisms are collected, are removed from water and then they are dried, crushed and the polymer is extracted out of these materials. And then the polymer could be further processed and purified to reach specifications demanded by the industry."

15. Various of bio-plastic polymer made of seaweed in bottle

16. Exterior of Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences at Tel Aviv University

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Tel Aviv - 21 February 2019

17. Plastic waste piled up

18. Maya Jacobs, CEO of Zalul picking up a plastic bag from the ground

19. Various plastic waste

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Maya Jacobs, CEO of Zalul:

"The best thing that happened to the world is that China declared that it won't receive any more international garbage and therefore suddenly everybody is piling up with their own garbage and they understand that they need to find a solution. And suddenly we find that there is a lot of new ideas. We see seaweed becoming into new kinds of materials and hemp which is made out of cannabis and there are new kinds of germs that are developed that eat the plastic and can create a solution. And others know how to make it go back into oil and to do the basic material. There needs to be a lot more money invested into this in order to have research, also to understand the impacts of these new materials and also in order to have real markets develop, and it's all an issue of supply and demand. And once you see that there is more demand the prices will come down, because right now the prices are still quite high but governments need to invest in this it needs to be a high priority for governments all over."

21. Bird pecking at plastic

22. Zoom in on plastic waste

LEAD IN:

From bags to bottles, some 13 million tons of plastic flows into our oceans every year, according to a UN report (published 2018).

It's claimed that if the present trend continues, our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

Now researchers at Tel Aviv University have found a way to make biodegradable plastic that derives from micro-organisms that feed on seaweed.

STORYLINE:

Plastic waste lies strewn on beaches around the world from the Gaza Strip to the Galapagos.

Washed in by the tide, it mixes with seaweed and is often mistaken by birds and animals as food.

Marine species ingest or become entangled by plastic debris, sometimes causing injury or even death. The UN says 100,000 marine animals die each year due to plastic related causes.

Now researchers have devised a possible solution for durable plastic waste, inspired by the ocean.

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have created a biodegradable plastic by cultivating natural polymers made by micro-organisms that feast on seaweed algae.

A polymer is a substance that has a molecular structure composed of many similar units fused together.  They can be man made or natural.

It was the brain child of Dr Alexander Golberg who explains the concept:

"Our solution for the growing plastic consumption is to produce polymers which are used in plastics inside the single cell marine organisms. So since the organisms produce it, the polymers are biodegradable, which means that they will not take a lot of time in the sea and they will be decomposed very fast, that's a major difference from the regular plastic. But to make these polymers micro-organisms need food and the food, in our case comes from seaweeds. Seaweeds are marine organisms which we can grow in the sea without any use of arable land and drinking water and that's why our process is very different from all others proposed today. All our production process is built on organisms which grow in the seawater"

The bioplastic could have a range of uses in everyday life says Professor Michael Gozin of the University's school of Chemistry:

"We have a marine manufactured bio-plastic which is biodegradable, this is, this could be a revolutionary product with a really low cost with a target price of about one dollar per kilogram. This is polyester, polyesters are usually made from oil but here it's manufactured by organisms. These plastics could be used for production of clothing of food packaging for containers and many other applications."

"The biological organisms are collected, are removed from water and then they are dried crushed and the polymer is extracted out of these materials and then the polymer could be further processed and purified to reach specifications demanded by the industry," explains Gozin.

The team are now conducting preliminary research to find the best bacteria and algae to produce polymers for bio-plastics with different properties.

Maya Jacobs, CEO of the Israeli environmental advocacy group (NGO) Zalul ("clear" in Hebrew) says it is a step in the right direction.

China's decision to stop accepting plastic waste from other countries is causing other countries to confront the problem she says.

"The best thing that happened to the world is that China declared that it won't receive any more international garbage and therefore suddenly everybody is piling up with their own garbage and they understand that they need to find a solution."

This has encouraged new research developments in the area of biodegradable plastics she adds

"Suddenly we find that there is a lot of new ideas. We see seaweed becoming into new kinds of materials and hemp which is made out of cannabis and there are new kinds of germs that are developed that eat the plastic and can create a solution."

However Jacobs says there is still a lot more research that needs to be carried out.

"There needs to be a lot more money invested into this in order to have research, also to understand the impacts of these new materials and also in order to have real markets develop and it's all an issue of supply and demand. And once you see that there is more demand the prices will come down because right now the prices are still quite high but governments need to invest in this it needs to be a high priority for governments all over. "

Scientists in Tel Aviv and elsewhere hope the development bioplastics could help reduce the world's plastic dependency.

====

Clients are reminded:

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(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

LEAD IN:

From bags to bottles, some 13 million tons of plastic flows into our oceans every year, according to a UN report (published 2018).

It's claimed that if the present trend continues, our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

Now researchers at Tel Aviv University have found a way to make biodegradable plastic that derives from micro-organisms that feed on seaweed.

STORYLINE:

Plastic waste lies strewn on beaches around the world from the Gaza Strip to the Galapagos.

Washed in by the tide, it mixes with seaweed and is often mistaken by birds and animals as food.

Marine species ingest or become entangled by plastic debris, sometimes causing injury or even death. The UN says 100,000 marine animals die each year due to plastic related causes.

Now researchers have devised a possible solution for durable plastic waste, inspired by the ocean.

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have created a biodegradable plastic by cultivating natural polymers made by micro-organisms that feast on seaweed algae.

A polymer is a substance that has a molecular structure composed of many similar units fused together.  They can be man made or natural.

It was the brain child of Dr Alexander Golberg who explains the concept:  

"Our solution for the growing plastic consumption is to produce polymers which are used in plastics inside the single cell marine organisms. So since the organisms produce it, the polymers are biodegradable, which means that they will not take a lot of time in the sea and they will be decomposed very fast, that's a major difference from the regular plastic. But to make these polymers micro-organisms need food and the food, in our case comes from seaweeds. Seaweeds are marine organisms which we can grow in the sea without any use of arable land and drinking water and that's why our process is very different from all others proposed today. All our production process is built on organisms which grow in the seawater"

The bioplastic could have a range of uses in everyday life says Professor Michael Gozin of the University's school of Chemistry:

"We have a marine manufactured bio-plastic which is biodegradable, this is, this could be a revolutionary product with a really low cost with a target price of about one dollar per kilogram. This is polyester, polyesters are usually made from oil but here it's manufactured by organisms. These plastics could be used for production of clothing of food packaging for containers and many other applications."

"The biological organisms are collected, are removed from water and then they are dried crushed and the polymer is extracted out of these materials and then the polymer could be further processed and purified to reach specifications demanded by the industry," explains Gozin.

The team are now conducting preliminary research to find the best bacteria and algae to produce polymers for bio-plastics with different properties.

Maya Jacobs, CEO of the Israeli environmental advocacy group (NGO) Zalul ("clear" in Hebrew) says it is a step in the right direction.

China's decision to stop accepting plastic waste from other countries is causing other countries to confront the problem she says.

"The best thing that happened to the world is that China declared that it won't receive any more international garbage and therefore suddenly everybody is piling up with their own garbage and they understand that they need to find a solution."

This has encouraged new research developments in the area of biodegradable plastics she adds

"Suddenly we find that there is a lot of new ideas. We see seaweed becoming into new kinds of materials and hemp which is made out of cannabis and there are new kinds of germs that are developed that eat the plastic and can create a solution."

However Jacobs says there is still a lot more research that needs to be carried out.

"There needs to be a lot more money invested into this in order to have research, also to understand the impacts of these new materials and also in order to have real markets develop and it's all an issue of supply and demand. And once you see that there is more demand the prices will come down because right now the prices are still quite high but governments need to invest in this it needs to be a high priority for governments all over. "

Scientists in Tel Aviv and elsewhere hope the development bioplastics could help reduce the world's plastic dependency.

Gaza city, Gaza Strip, 9 March 2019

1. Wide of plastic waste near sea

2. Close up plastic cups

3. Wide of plastic waste near sea

Tel Aviv, Israel - 20 February 2019

4. Lab where seaweed is grown

5. Various of seaweed being grown in the lab - shows fermentation of micro-organisms that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

6. Dr Alexander Golberg tending to seaweed

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Alexander Golberg, Tel Aviv's University Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences

"Our solution for the growing plastic consumption is to produce polymers which are used in plastics inside the single-cell marine organisms. So since the organisms produce it, the polymers are biodegradable, which means that they will not take a lot of time in the sea and they will be decomposed very fast. That's a major difference from the regular plastic. But to make these polymers micro organisms need food. And the food, in our case comes from seaweeds. Seaweeds are marine organisms which we can grow in the sea without any use of arable land and drinking water. And that's why our process is very different from all others proposed today. All our production process is built on organisms which grow in the seawater."

8. Various of seaweed being grown in the lab - shows fermentation of micro organisms that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

9. Prof. Michael Gozin, Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry talking to researchers who work on the project

10. Close up of bioplastic polymer made from seaweed in Prof. Michael Gozin's hand

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Gozin, Professor at Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry:

"We have a marine manufactured bio-plastic which is biodegradable. This is, this could be a revolutionary product with a really low cost, with a target price of about one dollar per kilogram. This is polyester, polyesters are usually made from oil but here it's manufactured by organisms. These plastics could be used for production of clothing, of food packaging, for containers and many other applications."

12. Various of scientists working on the fermentation of micro-organisms that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

13. Dr Alexander Golberg tending to seaweed

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Gozin, Professor at Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry:

"The biological organisms are collected, are removed from water and then they are dried, crushed and the polymer is extracted out of these materials. And then the polymer could be further processed and purified to reach specifications demanded by the industry."

15. Various of bio-plastic polymer made of seaweed in bottle

16. Exterior of Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences at Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv - 21 February 2019

17. Plastic waste piled up

18. Maya Jacobs, CEO of Zalul picking up a plastic bag from the ground

19. Various plastic waste

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Maya Jacobs, CEO of Zalul:

"The best thing that happened to the world is that China declared that it won't receive any more international garbage and therefore suddenly everybody is piling up with their own garbage and they understand that they need to find a solution. And suddenly we find that there is a lot of new ideas. We see seaweed becoming into new kinds of materials and hemp which is made out of cannabis and there are new kinds of germs that are developed that eat the plastic and can create a solution. And others know how to make it go back into oil and to do the basic material. There needs to be a lot more money invested into this in order to have research, also to understand the impacts of these new materials and also in order to have real markets develop, and it's all an issue of supply and demand. And once you see that there is more demand the prices will come down, because right now the prices are still quite high but governments need to invest in this it needs to be a high priority for governments all over."

21. Bird pecking at plastic

22. Zoom in on plastic waste

LEAD IN:

From bags to bottles, some 13 million tons of plastic flows into our oceans every year, according to a UN report (published 2018).

It's claimed that if the present trend continues, our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

Now researchers at Tel Aviv University have found a way to make biodegradable plastic that derives from micro-organisms that feed on seaweed.

STORYLINE:

Plastic waste lies strewn on beaches around the world from the Gaza Strip to the Galapagos.

Washed in by the tide, it mixes with seaweed and is often mistaken by birds and animals as food.

Marine species ingest or become entangled by plastic debris, sometimes causing injury or even death. The UN says 100,000 marine animals die each year due to plastic related causes.

Now researchers have devised a possible solution for durable plastic waste, inspired by the ocean.

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have created a biodegradable plastic by cultivating natural polymers made by micro-organisms that feast on seaweed algae.

A polymer is a substance that has a molecular structure composed of many similar units fused together.  They can be man made or natural.

It was the brain child of Dr Alexander Golberg who explains the concept:  

"Our solution for the growing plastic consumption is to produce polymers which are used in plastics inside the single cell marine organisms. So since the organisms produce it, the polymers are biodegradable, which means that they will not take a lot of time in the sea and they will be decomposed very fast, that's a major difference from the regular plastic. But to make these polymers micro-organisms need food and the food, in our case comes from seaweeds. Seaweeds are marine organisms which we can grow in the sea without any use of arable land and drinking water and that's why our process is very different from all others proposed today. All our production process is built on organisms which grow in the seawater"

The bioplastic could have a range of uses in everyday life says Professor Michael Gozin of the University's school of Chemistry:

"We have a marine manufactured bio-plastic which is biodegradable, this is, this could be a revolutionary product with a really low cost with a target price of about one dollar per kilogram. This is polyester, polyesters are usually made from oil but here it's manufactured by organisms. These plastics could be used for production of clothing of food packaging for containers and many other applications."

"The biological organisms are collected, are removed from water and then they are dried crushed and the polymer is extracted out of these materials and then the polymer could be further processed and purified to reach specifications demanded by the industry," explains Gozin.

The team are now conducting preliminary research to find the best bacteria and algae to produce polymers for bio-plastics with different properties.

Maya Jacobs, CEO of the Israeli environmental advocacy group (NGO) Zalul ("clear" in Hebrew) says it is a step in the right direction.

China's decision to stop accepting plastic waste from other countries is causing other countries to confront the problem she says.

"The best thing that happened to the world is that China declared that it won't receive any more international garbage and therefore suddenly everybody is piling up with their own garbage and they understand that they need to find a solution."

This has encouraged new research developments in the area of biodegradable plastics she adds

"Suddenly we find that there is a lot of new ideas. We see seaweed becoming into new kinds of materials and hemp which is made out of cannabis and there are new kinds of germs that are developed that eat the plastic and can create a solution."

However Jacobs says there is still a lot more research that needs to be carried out.

"There needs to be a lot more money invested into this in order to have research, also to understand the impacts of these new materials and also in order to have real markets develop and it's all an issue of supply and demand. And once you see that there is more demand the prices will come down because right now the prices are still quite high but governments need to invest in this it needs to be a high priority for governments all over. "

Scientists in Tel Aviv and elsewhere hope the development bioplastics could help reduce the world's plastic dependency.

Gaza city, Gaza Strip, 9 March 2019

1. Wide of plastic waste near sea

2. Close up plastic cups

3. Wide of plastic waste near sea

Tel Aviv, Israel - 20 February 2019

4. Lab where seaweed is grown

5. Various of seaweed being grown in the lab - shows fermentation of micro-organisms  that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

6. Dr Alexander Golberg tending to seaweed

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Alexander Golberg, Tel Aviv's University Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences

"Our solution for the growing plastic consumption is to produce polymers which are used in plastics inside the single-cell marine organisms. So since the organisms produce it, the polymers are biodegradable, which means that they will not take a lot of time in the sea and they will be decomposed very fast. That's a major difference from the regular plastic. But to make these polymers micro organisms need food. And the food, in our case comes from seaweeds. Seaweeds are marine organisms which we can grow in the sea without any use of arable land and drinking water. And that's why our process is very different from all others proposed today. All our production process is built on organisms which grow in the seawater."

8. Various of seaweed being grown in the lab - shows fermentation of micro organisms that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

9. Prof. Michael Gozin, Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry talking to researchers who work on the project

10. Close up of bioplastic polymer made from seaweed in Prof. Michael Gozin's hand

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Gozin, Professor at Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry:

"We have a marine manufactured bio-plastic which is biodegradable. This is, this could be a revolutionary product with a really low cost, with a target price of about one dollar per kilogram. This is polyester, polyesters are usually made from oil but here it's manufactured by organisms. These plastics could be used for production of clothing, of food packaging, for containers and many other applications."

12. Various of scientists working on the fermentation of micro-organisms that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

13. Dr Alexander Golberg tending to seaweed

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Gozin, Professor at Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry:

"The biological organisms are collected, are removed from water and then they are dried, crushed and the polymer is extracted out of these materials. And then the polymer could be further processed and purified to reach specifications demanded by the industry."

15. Various of bio-plastic polymer made of seaweed in bottle

16. Exterior of Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences at Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv - 21 February 2019

17. Plastic waste piled up

18. Maya Jacobs, CEO of Zalul picking up a plastic bag from the ground

19. Various plastic waste

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Maya Jacobs, CEO of Zalul:

"The best thing that happened to the world is that China declared that it won't receive any more international garbage and therefore suddenly everybody is piling up with their own garbage and they understand that they need to find a solution. And suddenly we find that there is a lot of new ideas. We see seaweed becoming into new kinds of materials and hemp which is made out of cannabis and there are new kinds of germs that are developed that eat the plastic and can create a solution. And others know how to make it go back into oil and to do the basic material. There needs to be a lot more money invested into this in order to have research, also to understand the impacts of these new materials and also in order to have real markets develop, and it's all an issue of supply and demand. And once you see that there is more demand the prices will come down, because right now the prices are still quite high but governments need to invest in this it needs to be a high priority for governments all over."

21. Bird pecking at plastic

22. Zoom in on plastic waste

LEAD IN:

From bags to bottles, some 13 million tons of plastic flows into our oceans every year, according to a UN report (published 2018).

It's claimed that if the present trend continues, our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

Now researchers at Tel Aviv University have found a way to make biodegradable plastic that derives from micro-organisms that feed on seaweed.

STORY-LINE:

Plastic waste lies strewn on beaches around the world from the Gaza Strip to the Galapagos.

Washed in by the tide, it mixes with seaweed and is often mistaken by birds and animals as food.

Marine species ingest or become entangled by plastic debris, sometimes causing injury or even death. The UN says 100,000 marine animals die each year due to plastic related causes.

Now researchers have devised a possible solution for durable plastic waste, inspired by the ocean.

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have created a biodegradable plastic by cultivating natural polymers made by micro-organisms that feast on seaweed algae.

A polymer is a substance that has a molecular structure composed of many similar units fused together.  They can be man made or natural.

It was the brain child of Dr Alexander Golberg who explains the concept:

"Our solution for the growing plastic consumption is to produce polymers which are used in plastics inside the single cell marine organisms. So since the organisms produce it, the polymers are biodegradable, which means that they will not take a lot of time in the sea and they will be decomposed very fast, that's a major difference from the regular plastic. But to make these polymers micro-organisms need food and the food, in our case comes from seaweeds. Seaweeds are marine organisms which we can grow in the sea without any use of arable land and drinking water and that's why our process is very different from all others proposed today. All our production process is built on organisms which grow in the seawater"

The bioplastic could have a range of uses in everyday life says Professor Michael Gozin of the University's school of Chemistry:

"We have a marine manufactured bio-plastic which is biodegradable, this is, this could be a revolutionary product with a really low cost with a target price of about one dollar per kilogram. This is polyester, polyesters are usually made from oil but here it's manufactured by organisms. These plastics could be used for production of clothing of food packaging for containers and many other applications."

"The biological organisms are collected, are removed from water and then they are dried crushed and the polymer is extracted out of these materials and then the polymer could be further processed and purified to reach specifications demanded by the industry," explains Gozin.

The team are now conducting preliminary research to find the best bacteria and algae to produce polymers for bio-plastics with different properties.

Maya Jacobs, CEO of the Israeli environmental advocacy group (NGO) Zalul ("clear" in Hebrew) says it is a step in the right direction.

China's decision to stop accepting plastic waste from other countries is causing other countries to confront the problem she says.

"The best thing that happened to the world is that China declared that it won't receive any more international garbage and therefore suddenly everybody is piling up with their own garbage and they understand that they need to find a solution."

This has encouraged new research developments in the area of biodegradable plastics she adds

"Suddenly we find that there is a lot of new ideas. We see seaweed becoming into new kinds of materials and hemp which is made out of cannabis and there are new kinds of germs that are developed that eat the plastic and can create a solution."

However Jacobs says there is still a lot more research that needs to be carried out.

"There needs to be a lot more money invested into this in order to have research, also to understand the impacts of these new materials and also in order to have real markets develop and it's all an issue of supply and demand. And once you see that there is more demand the prices will come down because right now the prices are still quite high but governments need to invest in this it needs to be a high priority for governments all over. "

Scientists in Tel Aviv and elsewhere hope the development bioplastics could help reduce the world's plastic dependency.

Gaza city, Gaza Strip, 9 March 2019

1. Wide of plastic waste near sea

2. Close up plastic cups

3. Wide of plastic waste near sea

Tel Aviv, Israel - 20 February 2019

4. Lab where seaweed is grown

5. Various of seaweed being grown in the lab - shows fermentation of micro-organisms  that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

6. Dr Alexander Golberg tending to seaweed

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Alexander Golberg, Tel Aviv's University Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences

"Our solution for the growing plastic consumption is to produce polymers which are used in plastics inside the single-cell marine organisms. So since the organisms produce it, the polymers are biodegradable, which means that they will not take a lot of time in the sea and they will be decomposed very fast. That's a major difference from the regular plastic. But to make these polymers micro organisms need food. And the food, in our case comes from seaweeds. Seaweeds are marine organisms which we can grow in the sea without any use of arable land and drinking water. And that's why our process is very different from all others proposed today. All our production process is built on organisms which grow in the seawater."

8. Various of seaweed being grown in the lab - shows fermentation of micro organisms that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

9. Prof. Michael Gozin, Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry talking to researchers who work on the project

10. Close up of bioplastic polymer made from seaweed in Prof. Michael Gozin's hand

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Gozin, Professor at Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry:

"We have a marine manufactured bio-plastic which is biodegradable. This is, this could be a revolutionary product with a really low cost, with a target price of about one dollar per kilogram. This is polyester, polyesters are usually made from oil but here it's manufactured by organisms. These plastics could be used for production of clothing, of food packaging, for containers and many other applications."

12. Various of scientists working on the fermentation of micro-organisms that will turn into bioplastics polymer which feed on seaweed

13. Dr Alexander Golberg tending to seaweed

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Gozin, Professor at Tel Aviv's University School of Chemistry:

"The biological organisms are collected, are removed from water and then they are dried, crushed and the polymer is extracted out of these materials. And then the polymer could be further processed and purified to reach specifications demanded by the industry."

15. Various of bio-plastic polymer made of seaweed in bottle

16. Exterior of Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences at Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv - 21 February 2019

17. Plastic waste piled up

18. Maya Jacobs, CEO of Zalul picking up a plastic bag from the ground

19. Various plastic waste

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Maya Jacobs, CEO of Zalul:

"The best thing that happened to the world is that China declared that it won't receive any more international garbage and therefore suddenly everybody is piling up with their own garbage and they understand that they need to find a solution. And suddenly we find that there is a lot of new ideas. We see seaweed becoming into new kinds of materials and hemp which is made out of cannabis and there are new kinds of germs that are developed that eat the plastic and can create a solution. And others know how to make it go back into oil and to do the basic material. There needs to be a lot more money invested into this in order to have research, also to understand the impacts of these new materials and also in order to have real markets develop, and it's all an issue of supply and demand. And once you see that there is more demand the prices will come down, because right now the prices are still quite high but governments need to invest in this it needs to be a high priority for governments all over."

21. Bird pecking at plastic

22. Zoom in on plastic waste

LEAD IN:

The National Library of Israel says the number of visitors to its Arabic website more than doubled over the course of 2021.

This comes after the digitization of the library's Arabic manuscripts and archives and an extensive outreach program in recent years.

STORY-LINE:

Israel's national library says the number of visitors to its Arabic website more than doubled last year, driven by a growing collection of digitized materials and an aggressive outreach campaign to the Arab world.

Around 650,000 users, predominantly from the Palestinian territories, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Algeria, visited the National Library of Israel's English and Arabic sites in 2021, the National Library of Israel said in statement sent to the Associated Press.

One of the most heavily trafficked resources on the Arabic website is a newspaper archive with more than 200,000 pages of Arabic publications from Ottoman and British Mandate Palestine, said Raquel Ukeles, head of the library's collections.

The set of resources on the library's websites include the digital newspaper archives, manuscripts, posters, electronic books and music, she said. They are open access, allowing scholars and curious web browsers to visit.

The Jerusalem library is home to an extensive collection of Islamic and Arabic texts, including thousands of rare books and manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Turkish ranging from the 9th to the 20th centuries.

Among the jewels in the crown of the collection are a 9th-century Quran from modern-day Iran with the earliest known example of Persian written in the Arabic script; an illuminated manuscript from 17th century India with illustrations of the life of Alexander the Great; and a 16th century Ottoman Turkish text on ophthalmology.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jerusalem - 6 January 2022

1. Samuel Thrope, curator of the Islam and Middle East Collection at the National Library of Israel

2. UPSOUND (English) Samuel Thrope, curator of the Islam and Middle East Collection at the National Library of Israel: "So it's a 17th century Indian copy of an Islamic Khamsa, which is Persian. It's a Persian poem, one of the most important Persian poems in the Persian literary tradition. And it is the part of his quintet, is book of the sort of five different poems and different topics that deals with Alexander, Alexander the Great."

3. Various of Khamsa, Nizami, India, 17th century illustrated book

4. UPSOUND Samuel Thrope, curator of the Islam and Middle East Collection at the National Library of Israel: "So the scene, it's not just a battle scene, it is the scene of the transfer of kingship and the transfer of authority and the transfer of legitimacy also, from father to son as it were from father to son, and also from king to king, from Persia to Greece. It's an image which is loaded with a lot of very potent symbolism."

5. Various of Quran, Iran, 9th century

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Samuel Thrope, curator of the Islam and Middle East Collection at the National Library of Israel:

"It's a privilege to work with the collection. We have about 2,500 Islamic manuscripts here at the National Library of Israel from the 9th to the 19th century, so really spanning the gamut of of Islamic culture and the history of the region. What we saw today are some of the items from our Yehuda collection, a diverse selection of what we have among the manuscripts donated by Avraham Shalom Yehuda, who was a Jerusalem born scholar and manuscript collector and dealer, one of the most important in the 20th century, actually. And at the end of his life, he donated his remaining collection of manuscripts here to us in Jerusalem."

7. Various of Sufi prayer book, Al-Jazuli, The Signs of benefits (Dalāʾil al-khayrāt), Ottoman Turkey, 1795

8. Miniature paintings in book

9. Establishing shot of Raquel Ukeles, head of Collections at the National Library of Israel

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Raquel Ukeles, head of Collections at the National Library of Israel:

"The National Library of Israel has been collecting material for about 130 years. What started as a public library dedicated to Jewish literature quickly became a much broader library. And the second area that the library expanded into was Arabic and Islam. The Arabic and Islam Collection was founded in 1924 as part of the library's transition into becoming a university library. And over the course of its history, the library has invested in Arabic and Islamic material, also including Persian and Turkish materials, books and newspapers and journals, posters and music and manuscripts, and, of course, now digitally-borne material in order to be the flagship research institution for Islamic studies and Middle Eastern studies here in Israel. And we are one of the largest research institutions in the region."

11. Various of Kamal al-din al-Farisi, Revision of the book of sight and insight by Ibn al-Haytham, Ottoman Turkey, 1511, showing diagram of the eye

12. Researchers browsing the National Library's Arabic manuscripts website

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jerusalem - 10 January 2022

14. Various of scanned manuscripts uploaded onto National Library website

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jerusalem - 6 January 2022

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Raquel Ukeles, head of Collections at the National Library of Israel:

"So libraries all over the world have been facing the same restrictions as other large institutions where we can't allow the freedom of movements and the formal and informal conversations that often are the most important part of one's research or one's experience in a library. On the other hand, over the last decade, we have invested significant resources into digitizing our collections, and that allows you to access our treasures from home."

14. Sufi prayer book, Al-Jazuli, The Signs of benefits (Dalāʾil al-khayrāt), Ottoman Turkey, 1795

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Raquel Ukeles, head of Collections at the National Library of Israel:

"So this year, we've seen almost a doubling of the number of users from the Arab world who are entering and benefiting and using our digital materials across the different library digital resources."

17. Tracking shot of library to map showing Jerusalem at centre of the world

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Raquel Ukeles, head of Collections at the National Library of Israel:

"This year, we see the fruits of our labor not just related to the Abraham Accords, but work that we have been putting in for many years. And that is both digitizing material that is important for scholars and students and those who love history and culture, and also by producing content that is interesting for people in the region."

19. Top shot of library hall

LEAD IN:

Economists from a research group found that Tel Aviv is the most expensive city to live in the world.

It's the first time that the Israeli city tops the chart, surpassing other pricey cities like Paris and Singapore.

STORY-LINE:

Residents of Israel’s seaside metropolis Tel Aviv have for years complained of how expensive it is, with living costs taking a chunk out of their paychecks.

Now a new report affirms their dissatisfaction with the cost of living here.

Tel Aviv has emerged as the most expensive city to live in, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research group linked to the Economist magazine.

The city, which was previously ranked 5th most expensive, has now surpassed other pricey places like Paris and Singapore.

"Originally, I used to live in the northern part of Israel so it's like, it's not half the price but it's almost twice, usually with groceries and stuff like that. When you go out to a restaurant it's very very expensive, so there is no wonder it's really hard to live here, you pay your rent, and you pay for something small, and you live like from pay-check to pay-check so it's really hard," said Ziv Toledano, a transplant from northern Israel.

Israeli news outlets constantly compare the prices of basic goods in Israel to other Western nations, hammering into audiences what has been clear to their wallets for years: that the country is far more expensive than others.

Tel Aviv is Israel's financial and cultural epicentre.

It boasts a thriving high-tech scene, world-class restaurants and a stretch of Mediterranean beach lined by gleaming new hotels and condominiums.  

The shekel is one of the world's strongest currencies, with its value buoyed in large part by heavy foreign investment in the local high-tech scene.

Dan Ben-David, head of the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and an economist at Tel Aviv University, explains that it's mostly the strength of the currency that is to blame.

"Price rises in Israel over the past five years have been among the lowest in the OECD. The big change has been the Shekel, which has become so strong that in foreign currency, in dollars or in euros, everything here is much more expensive. Having said that, Israel is still expensive for Israelis compared to how expensive goods and services are in other countries for people who live there. In other words, a medium income in Israel could buy you a lot less housing, a lot less food, health care services and so on than it will in other countries," says Ben-David.

Tel Aviv is more expensive because it is the country's economic hub, with high paying tech jobs drawing talent from across the country who are driving up prices of food and rent.  

Compounding the issue, Ben-David says is major congestion leading into the city and inadequate transit to its suburbs and surrounding cities, sending even more people wanting to reside in the city.

"Israel is expensive, and in that regard, Tel Aviv is more expensive than other places in Israel's because that's where the good jobs are. That's where most people want to live to get the good, high paying jobs. People who can get good high paying jobs tend to be more educated, more skilled, so their incomes are higher. So, they're driving up prices because we've neglected, among other things, an infrastructure here -- transportation infrastructure. So, to travel to Tel Aviv could take two to three times as long during most of the day than it would in the middle of the night or on the weekend" says Ben-David.

The city draws even more Israelis wishing to live close to its vibrant cultural and social scene.

Even modest apartments in desirable areas can cost 4 million shekels, or over $1.2 million -- and housing prices were not even included in the report.

To solve this issue, Ben-David thinks that tackling transport should be a top priority.

"The biggest thing that the government can do is to deal with infrastructure issues. We've neglected transportation infrastructure significantly over the past several decades so that while we have 40 percent less vehicles per capita than the small European countries, we have three times the congestion on our roads, three times the number of vehicles per kilometer road," says Ben-David.

A decade ago, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to demand a solution to the rising cost of living.

Successive Israeli governments have struggled to create better job opportunities in other parts of the country and attempts to extend public transit are ongoing, but slow.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tel Aviv, Israel - 2 December 2021

1. Various drone shots of Tel Aviv ++MUTE++

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tel Aviv, Israel - 1 December 2021

2. Various of Tel Aviv seen from Jaffa

3. Wide of beach

4. Various of Tel Aviv skyline

5. Fountain at roundabout in centre of town

6. Various of people sitting near fountain

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ziv Toledano, Tel Aviv Resident

"Originally, I used to live in the northern part of Israel so it's like, it's not half the price but it's almost twice, usually with groceries and stuff like that. When you go out to a restaurant it's very very expensive, so there is no wonder it's really hard to live here, you pay your rent, and you pay for something small, and you live like from paycheck to paycheck so it's really hard."

8. Mid of people at cafe

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Amalia Bakshi, Tel Aviv Resident

"Tel Aviv is very expensive and it's a well-known fact and I'm very sorry about it. Everything is very expensive here in Israel and in Tel Aviv especially, living, travelling, shopping, clothes, everything is more expensive."

10. Various of shop windows

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kochav Yair, Israel - 2 December 2021

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Prof. Dan Ben-David, head the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and economist at Tel-Aviv University:

"Price rises in Israel over the past five years have been among the lowest in the OECD. The big change has been the Shekel, which has become so strong that in foreign currency, in dollars or in euros, everything here is much more expensive. Having said that, Israel is still expensive for Israelis compared to how expensive goods and services are in other countries for people who live there. In other words, a medium income in Israel could buy you a lot less housing, a lot less food, health care services and so on than it will in other countries."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tel Aviv, Israel - 1 December 2021

12. Wide of Dizengoff square

13. Various of people walking

14. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Zoya Arkin, from the Northern Israeli town of Yokneam:

"We are thinking twice before we open our wallet here."

15. Various of people sitting at cafe

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kochav Yair, Israel - 2 December 2021

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Prof. Dan Ben-David, head the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and economist at Tel-Aviv University:

"Tel Aviv is more expensive than other places in Israel's because that's where the good jobs are. That's where most people want to live to get the good, high paying jobs. People who can get good high paying jobs tend to be more educated, more skilled, so their incomes are higher. So, they're driving up prices because we've neglected, among other things, an infrastructure here -- transportation infrastructure. So, to travel to Tel Aviv could take two to three times as long during most of the day than it would in the middle of the night or on the weekend."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tel Aviv, central Israel - 1 December 2021

17. Various of cars driving by

18. Pan right of skyscrapers

19. Wide of car driving by

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kochav Yair, Israel - 2 December 2021

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Prof. Dan Ben-David, head the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and economist at Tel-Aviv University:

"The biggest thing that the government can do is to deal with infrastructure issues. We've neglected transportation infrastructure significantly over the past several decades so that while we have 40 percent less vehicles per capita than the small European countries, we have three times the congestion on our roads, three times the number of vehicles per kilometre road."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tel Aviv, Israel - 1 December 2021

21. Tracking of person surfing

22. Wide of beach

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tel Aviv, Israel - 2 December 2021

23. Drone shot of Tel Aviv ++MUTE++

German authorities on Tuesday handed over to Israel some 5,000 documents kept by a confidant of Franz Kafka, a trove whose plight could have been plucked from one of the author's surreal stories.

The returned papers include a postcard from Kafka from 1910 and personal documents kept by Max Brod, which experts say provide a window into Europe's literary and cultural scene in the early 20th century.

They are among some 40,000 documents, including manuscripts, correspondence, notebooks and other writings that once belonged to Brod, which are being brought together again in Israel's National Library.

The archives had ended up in bank vaults in Switzerland and Tel-Aviv, a Tel-Aviv apartment and a storage facility in Wiesbaden, Germany, where police found them tucked among forged Russian avant-garde artworks.

"I think he (Kafka) would really be amused," said National Library archivist and humanities collection curator Stefan Litt, who helped identify the papers recovered in Germany, "he couldn't invent by himself a better plot."

The documents recovered in Wiesbaden have little to do with Kafka himself, but make the Brod collection complete and shine a light on Brod and his circle, which included Kafka and other writers, Litt said.

Kafka, a Bohemian Jew from Prague who lived for a while in Berlin, was close friends with Brod, himself an accomplished writer.

Shortly before his untimely death at 40 from tuberculosis in 1924, Kafka bequeathed his writings to Brod, reportedly telling him to burn them all unread.

Instead, Brod published much of the collection, including the novels "The Trial," The Castle," and "Amerika," helping to posthumously establish Kafka as one of the great authors of the 20th century.

After the Nazis occupied the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia in 1938, Brod fled to escape persecution with the entire collection to what was then British-ruled Palestine.

When Brod died, he left his personal secretary Esther Hoffe in charge of his literary estate and instructed her to transfer the Kafka papers to an academic institution.

Instead, she kept the documents for the next four decades and sold some, like the original manuscript of Kafka's "The Trial," which fetched 1.8 million US dollars at auction in 1988.

When she died in 2008, the collection went to her two daughters, who fought to keep it but eventually lost a battle in Israel's Supreme Court in 2016.

The court sided with the country's National Library, whose lawyers had argued the Kafka papers were "cultural assets" that belonged to the Jewish people.

Berlin, Germany – 21 May 2019

1. Jeremy Issacharoff, Israeli ambassador in Berlin, and David Blumberg, Israel's National Library chairman, looking at papers in folder

2. Blumberg looking at folder

3. Paper with Hebrew writing

4. Officials beside box with papers

5. Israel's National Library archivist, Stefan Litt, talking to guests at reception

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Stefan Litt, Israel's National Library archivist and humanities collection curator:

"The significance is, of course, that they will add some very important parts to Max Brod's written estate, because he was a prolific writer by its (his) own, not just the inventor and pusher of Franz Kafka and his works. So, we have many, many notes he has taken for a number of novels he wrote and which were then quite successful ones. Also we have some manuscripts of early novels and we have also large parts of the correspondence between him and his wife."

7. Hand scrolling through folder to famous postcard by Kafka and others

8. Postcard by Kafka and others in transparent film

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Stefan Litt, Israel's National Library archivist and humanities collection curator:

"Among those materials, there's almost nothing which is directly related to Franz Kafka except one postcard which was sent by Max Brod, Franz Kafka, another friend of them, the then-famous author Franz Werfel and also another close friend, Felix Welsch. And the four of them just sent a very short greetings to Elsa Brod, to Brod's wife, from a certain place in the Czechoslovakian Republic."

10. Seal of German Federal Police

11. Folder with papers

12. Exhibit document by German Federal Police on box

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Stefan Litt, Israel's National Library archivist and humanities collection curator:

"I think he (Franz Kafka) would really be amused about the same story, or the whole story, because he couldn't invent by himself a better plot."

14. Litt walking by Spree river in central Berlin

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Stefan Litt, Israel's National Library archivist and humanities collection curator:

"There was a long ongoing dispute in three several courts, up to the Supreme Court in Israel, about the question (of) who is the rightful owner of those materials. And at the end, all three instances decided in favour of the National Library. And those materials, beginning in December 2016, were transferred step by step to the National Library. In the meantime, we have the largest number of materials with us, and the addition from Berlin is, of course, something very important."

16. Peter Henzler, vice president of the German Federal Police, officially handing over documents to Issacharoff and Blumberg

17. Document being closed

18. Officials posing for handover

An Israeli legal expert warned Monday of a serious human rights crisis in the region following revelations by security researchers that spyware from the notorious Israeli hacker-for-hire company NSO Group was detected on the cellphones of six Palestinian human rights activists, half of them affiliated with groups that Israel's defense minister controversially claimed were involved in terrorism.

Prof. Yuval Shany, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and a member of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law, said the burden on Israeli authorities is very high to justify such a surveillance operation in the West Bank.

"The (privacy) laws in Israel themselves are quite weak. In the West Bank, they are almost non-existent," Shany said.

"When you combine the fact that the legal framework is extremely weak, the surveillance is extremely intrusive and the targets are extremely sensitive, namely people who are in the business of defending human rights. I think we are really facing a very serious crisis in terms of human rights and privacy in this region," he said.

The revelation marks the first known instance of Palestinian activists being targeted by the military-grade Pegasus spyware.

The spyware's use against journalists, rights activists and political dissidents from Mexico to Saudi Arabia has been documented since 2015.

A successful Pegasus infection surreptitiously gives intruders access to everything a person stores and does on their phone, including real-time communications.

It's not clear who placed the NSO spyware on the activists' phones, said the researcher who first detected it,  Mohammed al-Maskati of the nonprofit Frontline Defenders. The hacking began in July 2020, according to researchers.

Shortly after the first two intrusions were identified in mid-October, as Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz declared six Palestinian civil society groups to be terrorist organizations.

Ireland-based Frontline Defenders and at least two of the victims say they consider Israel the main suspect and believe the designation may have been timed to try to overshadow the hacks' discovery, though they have provided no evidence to substantiate those assertions.

Israel has provided little evidence publicly to support the terrorism designation, which the Palestinian groups say aims to dry up their funding and muzzle opposition to Israeli military rule.

Three of the hacked Palestinians work for the civil society groups. The others do not, and wish to remain anonymous, Frontline Defenders says.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Modi'in - 8 November 2021

1. Various of Professor Yuval Shany, senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and a member of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Yuval Shany, Israel Democracy Institute and Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law:

"NSO is a private intelligence company that does have a unique product, which is a software called Pegasus that allows intelligence services, governmental intelligence services to infiltrate portable phones such as iPhone or Android operated phones, and basically take over the phone by extracting information from the phone, basically accessing all the information that is on the phone, but also operating some of the devices on the phone, such as the recording devices and the camera devices, so as to basically transform your phone into a sort of recording and listening device. So, this is a very intrusive type of software and what makes it unique and different from other software that are in this market is the fact that it does not require any active operation on the part of the phone owner to actually activate the program. So you basically they can send the malware into your phone, and that's it. Then they have the ability to take over the phone."

3. Shany looking at computer

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Yuval Shany, Israel Democracy Institute and Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law:

"So what we've seen here is a surveillance operation which has been orchestrated by the Israeli government and was directed, as far as we know at six human rights activists in the West Bank. I mean, these activists have allegedly been involved in organizations that have some links with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is a designated terror organization. But of course, we do not know whether these allegations are true. And certainly, we do not know when those individuals were targeted, whether there was any information that actually linked the specific individuals and the human rights work that they do directly with any illegal cause. And I think the burden on a government, such as such as Israel, to demonstrate that such extremely intrusive surveillance is appropriate under domestic law and under international law is extremely high."

5. Shany's hands

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Yuval Shany, Israel Democracy Institute and Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law:

"I think what causes particular concern is that this is happening in a context where there are no laws that protect individual privacy. I mean, the laws in Israel themselves are quite weak. In the West Bank, they are almost non-existent. And we do not know of any safeguards, such as judicial warrants or something of that nature that have authorized these intrusion searches. So when you combine the fact that the legal framework is extremely weak, the surveillance is extremely intrusive and the targets are extremely sensitive, namely people who are in the business of defending human rights. I think we are really facing a very serious crisis in terms of human rights and privacy in this region."

7. Shany talking

The new school year started in Israel on Wednesday morning as 2.4 million students returned to class despite having one of the world's highest rates of infection due to the rapid spread of the delta variant.

Israel hopes it will be able to contain the spread of the new delta variant with the use of rapid virus tests and Green Passes for vaccinated teachers.

According to government's decision, non-vaccinated education system employees will show negative results twice a week.

In cities listed "red" with high numbers of cases, students in grades 8-12 will be able to attend school only if more than 70% of the class has been inoculated.

If lower than 70%, students will learn online.

Uri Perelman, principal of Arazim school in Tel Aviv, said that they were used to adjusting to new rules after 18 months of various pandemic restrictions.

"This is the new normal for us, and whatever comes we can deal with it," he said.

On Sunday, Israel expanded its coronavirus booster shot program to include anyone over 12.

The decision is the latest phase of a booster program that began last month with Israelis over 60.

It was expanded in phases over several weeks to people in their 50s, 40s and 30s.

More than 2.1 million people - more than 20% of the country's roughly 9 million people - have received a third dose.

Israel was one of the first countries to vaccinate its population early this year, allowing the government to drop almost all restrictions on public activities.

But it now has one of the world's highest rates of infection due to the rapid spread of the delta variant, even among the vaccinated, and has reinstated mask mandates and limits on crowd sizes.

On Tuesday, Israel's Health Minister reported nearly 11,000 cases, a new daily record.

Tel Aviv – 1 September 2021

1. Students walking under rainbow made of balloons

2. Teacher greeting students

3. Uri Perelman, principal at Arazim School (left, in white shirt) handing masks to children as they arrive as school

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Gal Altberg, parent of two pupils at Arazim school:

"I think that education comes first, and it is up to the government to make sure that all schools start on time and that should be their first policy, before parties, before events, before weddings, before anything else. School should start first, that should be the government's first priority and everything else should come second."

5. Students walking under rainbow made of balloons

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Nathaniel Altberg, student:

"I'm super happy that when I get to be in school, it's my new day so I am just really excited."

7. Mother kissing child goodbye as he walks into school

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Uri Perelman, principal at Arazim school:

"We've been 18 months, you know, in this ongoing story, so we're pretty used to it right now, this is the new normal for us, and whatever comes we can deal with it."

9. Children entering school

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Uri Perelman, principal at Arazim school:

"Yesterday, the day before the first day, all the kids in our school performed the quick test, the antigen test. They need to bring the test results to us in order to start the school year. Its not mandatory, but it's something that we ask the parents to collaborate with us. So hopefully we can start the year with everybody being healthy and safe. And throughout the year, to be honest, I'm not really sure, we just have to go with the flow."

11. Various of entrance to school

Israeli authorities on Monday extradited a former teacher accused of sexually abusing her former students in Australia, capping a six-year legal battle that had strained relations between the two governments and antagonized Australia's Jewish community.

Malka Leifer, who is wanted on 74 charges of child sex abuse in Australia, was placed on a flight early in the day, several hours before Israel was to close its international airport to nearly all air traffic due to a raging coronavirus outbreak.

Israeli media photographed Leifer boarding a plane at Ben Gurion Airport, her ankles and wrists shackled.

Her lawyer, Nick Kaufman, confirmed the extradition.

Leifer, a former teacher accused of sexually abusing several former students at a Jewish school in Melbourne, had been fighting extradition since 2014.

Leifer maintains her innocence and the protracted court case and repeated delays over her extradition had drawn criticism from Australian officials as well as the country's Jewish leaders.

The Hebrew-language news site Ynet reported that Leifer boarded a flight to Frankfurt, where she was to transfer to another flight bound for Australia.

"I can indeed confirm that the process of international transfer has commenced," Kaufman, her lawyer, said.

Three sisters — Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper — have accused Leifer of abusing them while they were students at a Melbourne ultra-Orthodox school.

There are said to be other victims.

The Associated Press does not usually identify alleged victims of sexual abuse, but the sisters have spoken publicly about their allegations against Leifer.

'It's a momentous day for justice and incredible for her alleged victims in particular, as well as sending an incredible message to other survivors that justice will ultimately prevail," said Manny Waks, head of Voice against Child Sex Abuse, an organization representing Leifer's victims.

As accusations against her began surfacing in 2008, Israeli-born Leifer left the school and returned to Israel, where she has lived since.  

Critics, including Leifer's alleged victims, had accused Israeli authorities of dragging out the case for far too long, while Leifer claimed she was mentally unfit to stand trial.

Israeli police also have recommended charges of fraud and breach of trust against former Health Minister Yaakov Litzman for suspicions he pressured ministry employees to skew Leifer's psychiatric evaluations in her favor.

Litzman, a powerful ultra-Orthodox politician, denies wrongdoing.

Last year, an Israeli psychiatric panel determined Leifer was lying about her mental condition, setting in motion the extradition.

In December, the Supreme Court rejected a final appeal against her extradition, and Israel's justice minister signed the order to send her to Australia.  

Details of Leifer's connecting flight to Australia were not immediately available.

"Upon arrival in Australia, Ms. Leifer will be quarantined and will appear by video conference before a judge who will formally confirm her identity and read her the charges," said Kaufman,

"We hope that she'll be held in a place of detention which will respect her religious beliefs and allow her contact with her lawyers and family on a regular basis, given the coronavirus-related restrictions affecting all aspects of Australian society. I don't expect that the trial will take place this year," he added.

Late Sunday, the Israeli Cabinet approved a tight closure on nearly all incoming and outgoing air traffic starting at midnight Monday through Jan. 31.

The government said it would make exceptions for a small number of humanitarian cases — such as funerals and medical patients — and cargo flights.

Israel's health ministry has recorded over 600,000 cases of the coronavirus and 4,419 deaths since the start of the pandemic last year.

Jerusalem - 25 January 2021

1.  Various set up shots for Nick Kaufman, lawyer of Malka Leifer, a former teacher accused of sexually abusing her former students in Australia

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Nick Kaufman, Malka Leifer's lawyer:

"I can indeed confirm that the process of international transfer has commenced. The Israeli authorities were expected to ensure the secrecy of the transfer operation and to ensure maximum respect for Ms. Leifer's dignity until she left the Israeli jurisdiction. This clearly didn't happen, given the fact that photographs of her being led in handcuffs and leg cuffs were leaked to the press."

3. Mid of Kaufman looking at phone

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Nick Kaufman, Malka Leifer's lawyer:

"Upon arrival in Australia, Ms. Leifer will be quarantined and will appear by video conference before a judge who will formally confirm her identity and read her the charges. We hope that she'll be held in a place of detention which will respect her religious beliefs and allow her contact with her lawyers and family on a regular basis, given the coronavirus-related restrictions affecting all aspects of Australian society, I don't expect that the trial will take place this year. "

5. Kaufman in office

Ramat Hasharon, Israel - 25 January 2021

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Manny Waks, head of Voice against Child Sex Abuse:

"Today's extradition of Malka Leifer back to Australia after many years of struggles and obstacles, it's a momentous day for justice and incredible for her alleged victims in particular, as well as sending an incredible message to other survivors that justice will ultimately prevail."

7. Cutaway of Waks

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Manny Waks, head of Voice against Child Sex Abuse:

"From our perspective, it has taken way too long for this process to unfold. We've seen over 70 hearings to date. And now finally, Malka Leifer is in Australia about to face justice. So we welcome this incredible development. But we also hope that the Israeli authorities will review Israel's judicial system to ensure such a case won't happen again. And we also hope that Australian authorities will prioritize this hearing in this case to ensure that justice now comes swiftly. "

9. Waks talking on phone

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Manny Waks, head of Voice against Child Sex Abuse:

"It's also important that the Australian authorities fully investigate who authorized her escape from Australia in 2008 and hold those from the Adass Israel community leadership to full account for aiding and abetting back then, an alleged criminal, hopefully very soon, a convicted criminal.  "

11. Waks walking away

Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday overturned an appeals court ruling that agreed with the government's decision to bar an American graduate student from entering the country over her alleged involvement in the boycott movement against the Jewish state.

The court accepted Lara Alqasem's appeal, saying her desire to study in Israel undermines the premise of her alleged support for a boycott.

Alqasem's lawyer said she was released from Ben Gurion International airport, where she had been held in detention since arriving in the country on 2 October with a valid student visa to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Alqasem, 22, a Florida native whose father is Palestinian, is a former president of the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

The group is a branch of the BDS movement, named for its support of boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

The country's Strategic Affairs Ministry, which spearheads the government's efforts against the boycott campaign, describes Alqasem's group as an extremist organisation, and says BDS aims to delegitimise or even destroy the Jewish state.

Alqasem has fought her expulsion order for more than two weeks, the longest anyone has been held in a boycott-related case.

Ben Gurion airport - 18 October 2018

++NIGHT SHOTS++

1. Yotam Ben-Hillel, Lara Alqasem's lawyer walking

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Yotam Ben-Hillel, Lara Alqasem's lawyer:

"The Israeli Supreme Court decided today to release Lara Alqasem from her detention at Ben Gurion airport and enable her to start her studies, hopefully next week at Hebrew U (Hebrew University of Jerusalem). Start the programme she was accepted to in transitional justice. We are really happy that the Supreme Court decided that the Ministry of Interior cannot just deny entry to Israel from people who criticise Israel policy without basic grounds and without sufficient evidence. And we are really happy for this decision. We just spoke to Lara few minutes ago, she was really excited to be released and to start her programme next week. And we really hope that this decision will help maintain the freedom of speech and the academic freedom in Israel."

3. Ben-Hillel speaking on the phone

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Israeli parliament on Thursday, hours after an announcement that the country moved to further tighten its second countrywide virus lockdown and also restrict protests and prayers.

Prayers during the ongoing Jewish High Holidays, as well as political demonstrations, would be limited to open spaces and no more than 20 people, and participants would have to remain within the restricted distance from home.

The restrictions on demonstrations are subject to approval by the Knesset, Israel's parliament, and the limits on both prayers and protests could spark a backlash.

All nonessential businesses have been ordered to close and people to stay within 1,000 meters (yards) of their homes.

The measures are set to go into force on Friday afternoon, as the country shuts down for the weekly Sabbath ahead of the solemn holiday of Yom Kippur on Sunday and Monday.

Even during normal times, Israel completely shuts down for Yom Kippur, with businesses and airports closed, roads empty, and even radio and television stations going silent.

Israel's politically influential ultra-Orthodox community has objected to limits on public prayer during the ongoing Jewish High Holidays, and opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have accused the government of using the lockdown as a cover to end weekly demonstrations against his handling of the crisis.

Protesters carried makeshift submarines – a reference to a graft case related to a possible conflict of interest involving a 2 billion US dollar purchase of German submarines - broke through a police cordon.

The government ordered synagogues to close for the lockdown, which is expected to last for at least two weeks, but said they could open with limitations for prayers on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Israel has more than 50,000 virus cases and 1,335 deaths.

The Health Ministry says at least 667 people are hospitalized in serious condition, and in recent days health officials have warned that hospitals are rapidly approaching full capacity.

The government last week imposed a nationwide lockdown that closed schools, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants, making Israel the first developed country to impose a second closure.

But the restrictions included numerous exceptions, including allowing people to leave their homes for work, exercise, prayers and public demonstrations.

The new lockdown is expected to eliminate most of those loopholes.

Jerusalem  - 23 September 2020

1. Wide of protester in prison clothes, masked as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

2. Wide of protesters on roundabout leading to the Knesset building

3. Mid of protester arguing with police

4. Various of protesters outside the Knesset building

5. Wide of police at entrance to Knesset building

6. Wide of protesters carrying makeshift submarine with sign reading (English) "Game Over"

5. Various of police and protesters

6. Wide of protesters in street