LEADIN

Israel's first whisky (also spelt whiskey) distillery is preparing to release the country's first Single Malt whisky.

100 bottles are set to be released by auction from The Milk and Honey distillery later this month.

STORYLINE

Smooth, honey-brown whisky (also spelt whiskey) is not the first thing that pops to mind when you think of Israel. But at The Milk and Honey Distillery, rows of casks proudly stamped "Tel Aviv" hold litres of the stuff.

The country's first whisky distillery is preparing to release Israel's first Single Malt whisky.

Eitan Attir, The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO, describes it as a young whisky with a lot of woodiness and fruitiness:

"It's complex for its age, as I told you the taste feels like more than three years, more like seven or eight and again the story is much more important in this case. This is the first ever single malt whisky that any distillery released from Israel."

While wine has been produced in the Holy Land for centuries with modern day Israeli wines recently gaining international renown, whisky production is new to the country.

Milk and Honey was created in 2012 and began distilling whisky in 2015. One hundred bottles of the Single Malt are set to be released at an online auction starting 11 August 2017, while the remaining 291 will be sold at a later date.

The drink is also "ultra-kosher" according to Attir.

"Kosher is one thing that we do here differently. We are like the ultra-kosher distillery you can find I guess in the world. Because whisky by definition is kosher but here it is much more. We don't work on Saturdays, we don't work on Yom Kippur or Passover and we want to symbolise our being Jewish or Israeli and then we called it the Milk and Honey Distillery," he says.

The Single Malt was made in Israel from start to finish, according to the company's website. The climate in Israel allows for a speedier aging process than for whisky made in colder climes, according to Ran Latowicz, an Israeli whisky connoisseur and bar owner.

"This whisky is unique because of where it comes from. It comes from a warm climate country which is a place that's a lot harder to make whisky. In colder climates like Scotland or Ireland, whisky usually ages for about seven to ten to twelve years before it's even bottled because this is just the way, you know, it gets to its full potential, at least to the beginning of its full potential. The warm climate thing in Israel speeds up the process and actually makes a three year old whisky feel a lot older," he says.

The distillery believes it is well positioned to ride a wave of international interest in new world whiskies and hopes this initial offering whets the appetites of aficionados everywhere.

"There's a huge demand nowadays for whisky from other places around the world, a new world whisky. There's more than 70 countries now with a minimum of one distillery and one of them is Israel. So the demand now is for new things, new stories, new markets, new tastes and I think we're going to be a part of this amazing wave," says Attir.

Israel may have long been known as the land of milk and honey, but now the company which uses that phrase as its name hopes to make it the land of Single Malt whisky.

Tel Aviv - 10 August 2017

1. Whisky (whiskey) being removed from cask and poured into glasses

2. Tilt up of whisky casks

3. More of casks

4. The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO Eitan Attir walking through warehouse

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Eitan Attir, The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO

"It's a young whisky, let's be honest, it's only three years of 3.2 actually but it's a very unique combination between two and a half years in a new American virgin oak, and seven months in an ex-bourbon one so it has a lot of woodiness and a lot of fruitiness inside as well. It's complex for its age, as I told you the taste feels like more than three years, more like seven or eight and again the story is much more important in this case. This is the first ever single malt whisky that any distillery released from Israel."

6. Pan left of casks

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Eitan Attir, The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO

"The Milk and Honey is the first whisky distillery here in Israel and we already set the first ever whisky single malt whisky and we're going to sell it in an auction, numbers 1 up to 100 out of 391 bottles from the single cask series are going for auction in whiskyauctioneer.com."

8. Various of barley and malt on production line

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Eitan Attir, The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO

"Milk and Honey is the name of the distillery actually and also of the whisky that was released because Israel is well known as the milk and honey land. So we are very, very proud of being Israeli. We are very proud of being Jewish. We want to shout it to the world about the Milk and Honey Distillery. Kosher is one thing that we do here differently. We are like the ultra-kosher distillery you can find I guess in the world. Because whisky by definition is kosher but here it is much more. We don't work on Saturdays, we don't work on Yom Kippur or Passover and we want to symbolise our being Jewish or Israeli and then we called it the Milk and Honey Distillery."

10. Various of signs showing production details in English and Hebrew

11. Pan left of warehouse

12. Establishing shot of Ran Latovicz, whisky expert

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Ran Latovicz, whisky expert

"This spirit is very complex, very…I call it an intelligent whisky. It's a whisky that develops. A whisky that you can keep it in the glass for 25 minutes and it develops again and I'm very excited, a lot of people all around the world are very excited to see where this spirit and where this whisky is going to be in about three or four, five years from now."

14. Close of whisky in glass

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Ran Latovicz, whiskey expert

"This whisky is unique because of where it comes from. It comes from a warm climate country which is a place that's a lot harder to make whisky. In colder climates like Scotland or Ireland, whisky usually ages for about seven to ten to twelve years before it's even bottled because this is just the way, you know, it gets to its full potential, at least to the beginning of its full potential. The warm climate thing in Israel speeds up the process and actually makes a three year old whisky feel a lot older."

16. Various of whisky production facility

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Eitan Attir, The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO

"There's a huge demand nowadays for whisky from other places around the world, a new world whisky. There's more than 70 countries now with a minimum of one distillery and one of them is Israel. So the demand now is for new things, new stories, new markets, new tastes and I think we're going to be a part of this amazing wave."

18. Whisky being poured from cask to glass

LEADIN

Israel's first whisky (also spelt whiskey) distillery is preparing to release the country's first Single Malt whisky.

100 bottles are set to be released by auction from The Milk and Honey distillery later this month.

STORYLINE

Smooth, honey-brown whisky (also spelt whiskey) is not the first thing that pops to mind when you think of Israel. But at The Milk and Honey Distillery, rows of casks proudly stamped "Tel Aviv" hold litres of the stuff.

The country's first whisky distillery is preparing to release Israel's first Single Malt whisky.

Eitan Attir, The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO, describes it as a young whisky with a lot of woodiness and fruitiness:

"It's complex for its age, as I told you the taste feels like more than three years, more like seven or eight and again the story is much more important in this case. This is the first ever single malt whisky that any distillery released from Israel."

While wine has been produced in the Holy Land for centuries with modern day Israeli wines recently gaining international renown, whisky production is new to the country.

Milk and Honey was created in 2012 and began distilling whisky in 2015. One hundred bottles of the Single Malt are set to be released at an online auction starting 11 August 2017, while the remaining 291 will be sold at a later date.

The drink is also "ultra-kosher" according to Attir.

"Kosher is one thing that we do here differently. We are like the ultra-kosher distillery you can find I guess in the world. Because whisky by definition is kosher but here it is much more. We don't work on Saturdays, we don't work on Yom Kippur or Passover and we want to symbolise our being Jewish or Israeli and then we called it the Milk and Honey Distillery," he says.

The Single Malt was made in Israel from start to finish, according to the company's website. The climate in Israel allows for a speedier aging process than for whisky made in colder climes, according to Ran Latowicz, an Israeli whisky connoisseur and bar owner.

"This whisky is unique because of where it comes from. It comes from a warm climate country which is a place that's a lot harder to make whisky. In colder climates like Scotland or Ireland, whisky usually ages for about seven to ten to twelve years before it's even bottled because this is just the way, you know, it gets to its full potential, at least to the beginning of its full potential. The warm climate thing in Israel speeds up the process and actually makes a three year old whisky feel a lot older," he says.

The distillery believes it is well positioned to ride a wave of international interest in new world whiskies and hopes this initial offering whets the appetites of aficionados everywhere.

"There's a huge demand nowadays for whisky from other places around the world, a new world whisky. There's more than 70 countries now with a minimum of one distillery and one of them is Israel. So the demand now is for new things, new stories, new markets, new tastes and I think we're going to be a part of this amazing wave," says Attir.

Israel may have long been known as the land of milk and honey, but now the company which uses that phrase as its name hopes to make it the land of Single Malt whisky.

Tel Aviv - 10 August 2017

1. Whisky (whiskey) being removed from cask and poured into glasses

2. Tilt up of whisky casks

3. More of casks

4. The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO Eitan Attir walking through warehouse

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Eitan Attir, The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO

"It's a young whisky, let's be honest, it's only three years of 3.2 actually but it's a very unique combination between two and a half years in a new American virgin oak, and seven months in an ex-bourbon one so it has a lot of woodiness and a lot of fruitiness inside as well. It's complex for its age, as I told you the taste feels like more than three years, more like seven or eight and again the story is much more important in this case. This is the first ever single malt whisky that any distillery released from Israel."

6. Pan left of casks

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Eitan Attir, The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO

"The Milk and Honey is the first whisky distillery here in Israel and we already set the first ever whisky single malt whisky and we're going to sell it in an auction, numbers 1 up to 100 out of 391 bottles from the single cask series are going for auction in whiskyauctioneer.com."

8. Various of barley and malt on production line

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Eitan Attir, The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO

"Milk and Honey is the name of the distillery actually and also of the whisky that was released because Israel is well known as the milk and honey land. So we are very, very proud of being Israeli. We are very proud of being Jewish. We want to shout it to the world about the Milk and Honey Distillery. Kosher is one thing that we do here differently. We are like the ultra-kosher distillery you can find I guess in the world. Because whisky by definition is kosher but here it is much more. We don't work on Saturdays, we don't work on Yom Kippur or Passover and we want to symbolise our being Jewish or Israeli and then we called it the Milk and Honey Distillery."

10. Various of signs showing production details in English and Hebrew

11. Pan left of warehouse

12. Establishing shot of Ran Latovicz, whisky expert

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Ran Latovicz, whisky expert

"This spirit is very complex, very…I call it an intelligent whisky. It's a whisky that develops. A whisky that you can keep it in the glass for 25 minutes and it develops again and I'm very excited, a lot of people all around the world are very excited to see where this spirit and where this whisky is going to be in about three or four, five years from now."

14. Close of whisky in glass

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Ran Latovicz, whiskey expert

"This whisky is unique because of where it comes from. It comes from a warm climate country which is a place that's a lot harder to make whisky. In colder climates like Scotland or Ireland, whisky usually ages for about seven to ten to twelve years before it's even bottled because this is just the way, you know, it gets to its full potential, at least to the beginning of its full potential. The warm climate thing in Israel speeds up the process and actually makes a three year old whisky feel a lot older."

16. Various of whisky production facility

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Eitan Attir, The Milk and Honey Distillery CEO

"There's a huge demand nowadays for whisky from other places around the world, a new world whisky. There's more than 70 countries now with a minimum of one distillery and one of them is Israel. So the demand now is for new things, new stories, new markets, new tastes and I think we're going to be a part of this amazing wave."

18. Whisky being poured from cask to glass

Israel's Prime Minister has said his country is "in the midst of a campaign against terror in Gaza."

During his cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the deadly violence that has taken place near the Israeli-Palestine border during the past months.

"It won't end with a single strike" Netanyahu said Sunday morning, adding, "our approach is clear, a complete ceasefire. We won't be satisfied with less than that."

He also stated that the Israeli military so far has destroyed "hundreds of Hamas military targets."

Three Palestinians were killed on Friday by Israeli fire during a Hamas-led protest along the Gaza border.

The incident came as Gaza's Hamas rulers and Israel honoured a cease-fire Friday that ended two days of an intense flare-up in violence.

During Sunday's meeting, Netanyahu also spoke about mass protests taking place in Tell Aviv on Saturday evening against the new Nation-State law, which critics say marginalises Israel's non-Jewish citizens.

"We received conclusive evidence of opposition against the existence of the state of Israel, and the necessity of the nation-state law. We saw PLO flags yesterday flying in the heart of Tel Aviv," Netanyahu told cabinet ministers.

Saturday's rally marked further fallout from the explosive Nation-State law and came a week after thousands of Druze, also members of the Arab minority, packed the same city square last week.

Israel's 1948 declaration of independence defined the country as a Jewish and democratic state and the government says the recently passed bill merely enshrines the country's existing character.

But critics say it undercuts Israel's democratic values and sidelines the country's non-Jewish population, namely the Arab community that makes up 20 percent of the country.

Jerusalem - 12 August 2018

1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arriving for cabinet meeting

2. Pan left from Netanyahu over cabinet ministers during meeting

3. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"We are in the midst of a campaign against terror in Gaza. There is an exchange of blows, and it won't end with a single strike. Our approach is clear: a complete ceasefire. We won't be satisfied with less than that. Until now we have destroyed hundreds of Hamas military targets, in every round of attacks, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has inflicted another heavy toll on Hamas. I won't disclose our operational plans here; they're ready."

4. Cutaway of cabinet meeting

5. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister (speaking about mass protests in Tel Aviv on Saturday against a contentious new law that critics say marginalises Israel's non-Jewish citizens):

"Yesterday we received conclusive evidence of opposition against the existence of the state of Israel, and the necessity of the Nation-state Law. We saw PLO flags yesterday flying in the heart of Tel Aviv, in the heart of Tel Aviv. We heard the chants 'With blood and fire we will redeem Palestine.' Many of the protesters want to cancel the Law of Return (a law which gives Jews the right to come and live in and gain citizenship in Israel), they want to annul the anthem, they want to fold up our flag, they want to nullify Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and turn it - as some of them say - into an Israeli-Palestinian state, others say a state of all its citizens. Precisely for this reason we passed the Nation-state Law. We are proud of our country, we are proud of our flag, we are proud of our anthem. Israel is a Jewish and democratic state. Individual rights of its citizens are well anchored in the basic laws and other laws, and now it's clearer than ever that the nation-state Law is needed to ensure the future of the state of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. We passed this law and we will keep this law."

6. Mid of meeting

Tens of thousands of members of Israel's Druze minority and their Jewish supporters packed a square in central Tel Aviv Saturday night to rally against a contentious new law that critics say sidelines Israel's non-Jewish citizens.

It marked the first time in recent memory that the Druze - who are considered fiercely loyal to the state of Israel - staged a large public protest.

Hundreds of brightly colored Druze flags, rarely seen outside the community, fluttered in the square along Israel's national banners.

Nearby City Hall was also lit up in the Druze colours.

The rally marked the biggest backlash yet against a recently passed law that enshrines Israel's Jewish character and downgrades the standing of Arabic from an official to a "special" language.

The law has outraged Israel's Arabic-speaking community, which includes the Druze and makes up about 20 percent of the population.

Critics say the law undermines the country's democratic values.

The Druze serve in the military, unlike most of the country's Arab citizens, who overwhelmingly follow Sunni Islam and have close family ties with Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories.

Over the years, members of the Druze community have risen to prominence in the military and in politics.

On Saturday, Tel Aviv's Rabin Square was packed with Druze protesters bused in from all over Israel, and their Jewish backers, including former senior members of the defenfe establishment.

The crowd chanted "equality, equality."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Cabinet ministers have met with Druze leaders to try and pacify their concerns.

But recent meetings did not go well.

According to Israeli media, Netanyahu abruptly ended a meeting with retired brigadier general Amal Assad and other Druze officials this week after Assad warned the new law would "lead to apartheid."

Israel's 130,000 Druze live mostly in the north of the country.

Tel Aviv - August 4 2018

++NIGHT SHOTS++

1. Various of Druze demonstration with Druze as well as Israeli flags being waved

++DAY SHOTS++

2. Demonstrators

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Amal Assad, retired brigadier general:

"We gathered here all of the Israeli citizens to change the bad law for the Israeli country, for the state of Israel, for the Jewish people, and for all the minorities. It's a bad law and we are all equal, Jews, Arabs, Druze, everybody. We are brothers, we defend this country and we'll build it and we will continue to live here together"

4. Mid of demonstration

5. Mid of front of demonstration, with Nadia Halabi, from Northern Israeli town of Daliyat al-Carmel standing with other protesters

6. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Nadia Halabi, protester:

"We are loyal to the state of Israel, we the Druze have been loyal to the state of Israel for 70 years, and we will continue to live here and serve in the army for another 700 years, but we won't accept that Benjamin Netanyahu split us, and will divide the Israeli society. I am a proud Israeli and I am also a proud Druze. When we're looking at the national law that he (Netanyahu) made, he created this problem, if not, we wouldn't be here, all the Druze from all over Israel. Long live Israel."

7. Mid of demonstration

LEADIN:

Two prominent rock singers from Israel and Iran are collaborating - despite major hostility between their countries.

They'll perform an iconic peace anthem called 'The Hope Song' at a concert in Tel Aviv this week, in a call for unity.

STORYLINE:

Aviv Geffen breaks into the opening lyrics of 'The Hope Song', one of the signature hits he wrote after the the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

It became something of a peace anthem and has been referred to as the Israeli version of John Lennon's 'Imagine'.

However the call for peace and hope is taken to a new level as the artist to his left joins the song.

Shahin Najafi meshes its Hebrew lyrics with Farsi - the language of Israel's long term enemy Iran.

Najafi is an Iranian dissident musician who had to flee the Islamic Republic because of his activism and was later issued a death sentence for a song about a Shiite cleric that was deemed to be blasphemous.

Now based in Germany, he still has a strong following among those opposed to the regime in Iran.

He's rehearsing with Geffen for a concert later this week in Tel Aviv - believed to be the first joint Israeli-Iranian collaboration.

The two artists hope to prove that despite the bitter enmity between their countries, the people could unite in the name of a better future.

"We can talk, we can hug and touch each other and sing, it's okay you know. So for us it's a great message to the people around the world", says Geffen.

"Naturally I have a very good feeling about it", adds Najafi. "I am very happy that I have this opportunity to come to Israel in the name of art and besides Aviv. We are going to sing together for democracy, freedom and against war."

In its early years, Israel actually had close ties to Iran and the country featured a thriving Jewish community. But following the Islamic revolution in 1979 they quickly devolved into bitter enemies, with the new Iranian leadership often referring to Israel as the "little Satan" and threatening to annihilate it.

In recent years, Israel has regarded Iran as its most dangerous adversary because of its nuclear program, its development of long-range missiles and continued support for militant groups along its border. Meeting with Israelis, let alone visiting the country, is considered an offence that could have severe repercussions.

In Israel, Geffen is cloaked in a rebellious image that earned him a title as the voice of a younger generation in the early 1990s when he would appear on stage in makeup, often without a shirt, and challenge his fans by screaming "do you want a change?"

His songs dealt with charged issues like suicide, religion, drugs and military service, which is compulsory in Israel but he himself skipped.

He performed at a peace rally in 1995 shortly before Rabin was assassinated by a religious extremist Jew opposed to his peace efforts, and Geffen's songs came to symbolise that era.

In recent years, he has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he has called a 'tyrant' who needs to step down.

But Geffen acknowledged that his political activism paled in comparison to Najafi's ordeal.

"I think Shahin is one of the bravest artists I ever met who is fighting on his own ideas and he's got loads, loads of people from Iran who are supporting him and some of his fans were thrown into jail because of his ideas and vision. So for me it was like a miracle to bring him here to Tel Aviv, to Israel just now, you know, because of all the history between us and Iran. To show the people that the people in Iran and Tel Aviv and Israel are getting together along really, really well", he says.

Born in Bandar-e Anzali, in the Gilan province in northern Iran, Najafi made a name for himself as an underground musician who took on controversial issues such as sexuality, politics and God. Under threat of persecution, he fled in 2004.

The "fatwa" death sentence against him was issued after his most controversial song, Naghi, in which he exhorts a Shiite Imam to solve some of the problems plaguing Iran.

The religious edict still stands, as does a 100,000 US dollar bounty on his head. He's often described as "the Salman Rushdie of music".

"I think that life is dangerous and my situation is such that I believe in what I do and I am fighting for what I believe in in general. For democracy, for freedom and for peace and I'm ready to die for it. I am very happy that there is this opportunity for two artists to come together and work together and bring the message of friendship to both the people of Iran and Israel."

Najafi, who learned to sing the chorus of 'The Hope Song' in Hebrew, worked off a translation of the lyrics to create the Farsi segments of the collaborative version.

The duo will also perform 'Good Morning Iran', a song Geffen wrote about Israeli politics.

Tel Aviv, Israel - 27 February 2017

1. Various of Israeli singer Aviv Geffen (left) and Iranian singer Shahin Najafi performing 'The Hope Song' in Hebrew and Farsi

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Aviv Geffen, Israeli singer:

"We can talk, we can hug and touch each other and sing, it's okay you know. So for us it's a great message to the people around the world, if it's let's say (Roger) Waters with the BDS supporting or to the people or to Bibi Netanyahu and Trump with his ridiculous vision. People can talk, people can make music together and it's all fine. We got no problem at all."

3. Cutaway USB stick with Peace sign attached to it

4. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Shahin Najafi, Iranian singer

"Naturally I have a very good feeling about it. I am very happy that I have this opportunity to come to Israel in the name of art and beside Aviv. We are going to sing together for democracy, freedom and against war."

5. Geffen and Najafi performing 'Good Morning Iran'

6. Pull out of drummer

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Aviv Geffen, Israeli singer

"I think Shahin is one of the bravest artists I ever met who is fighting on his own ideas and he's got loads, loads of people from Iran who are supporting him and some of his fans were thrown into jail because of his ideas and vision. So for me it was like a miracle to bring him here to Tel Aviv, to Israel just now, you know, because of all the history between us and Iran. To show the people that the people in Iran and Tel Aviv and Israel are getting together along really, really well."

8. Geffen and Najafi performing 'Good Morning Iran'

9. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Shahin Najafi, Iranian singer

"I think that life is dangerous and my situation is such that I believe in what I do and I am fighting for what I believe in, in general. For democracy, for freedom and for peace and I'm ready to die for it. I am very happy that there is this opportunity for two artists to come together and work together and bring the message of friendship to both the people of Iran and Israel."

10. Close of tattoo on hand of Najafi

11. Aviv Geffen singing 'The Hope Song'

12. Aviv Geffen and Shahin Najafi performing 'The Hope Song' and hugging at the end

LEADIN

An interfaith group from the Gulf state of Bahrain has paid an unprecedented public visit to Israel.

The group says the visit is not political but it has still angered many in the Arab world.

STORYLINE

"We are so proud and so grateful that the group came despite all the hullabaloo of the last few days". Those are the words of Rabbi Abraham Cooper from the US-based Jewish human rights group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, as he welcomes an interfaith group from the Gulf state of Bahrain to an event in Jerusalem.

The hullabaloo he refers to is last week's announcement by Donald Trump that the US will recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel - and the violence that followed that seismic shift in policy.

The group from the Gulf flew to Israel on Sunday as guests of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, in an unprecedented public visit which has generated uproar across the Arab world.

The trip comes at a time that Israel is boasting of warming, albeit covert, ties with moderate Arab countries in a shared front against archrival Iran. But the heavy criticism toward the group unleashed on Arab social media, along with the low profile they have taken, shows the limits on how far that goodwill can go.

The 25 participants include Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and both Sunni and Shiite Muslims. While organisers and participants say the trip is non-political and unconnected to the government, it nonetheless is a possible test case for other Gulf Arab nations in seeing what could happen if they recognise Israel.

"People have been asking us, 'Oh why are you here now after there was an announcement that was made by the White House?' says Betsy Mathieson, President of This is Bahrain.

"We have nothing to do with politics," Matheison insists. "And if every time somewhere in the world a politician or a leader made a political announcement, or there was a new governmental issue, we would never get any of our work done."

But the early results seem decidedly mixed.

Shortly after the group arrived, it was forced to issue a statement on the state-run Bahrain News Agency that it "does not represent any official entity" in Bahrain after uproar on social media. People were especially angry that the visit came so close to President Donald Trump's comments.

The US President's statement has enraged Palestinians, who seek the city's eastern half as capital of a future state.

Throughout their time in Israel, the group has avoided the spotlight. Several Bahraini citizens in the group chose not to attend a dinner alongside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City to light candles for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on Tuesday. The few Bahrainis who did attend either refused to speak to The Associated Press or did so only if they were not identified.

Roughly half of the members of This is Bahrain that took part in the trip were Bahraini citizens. Israel and Bahrain do not have diplomatic relations, although the two are rumoured to be nurturing close covert ties. Israel's Interior Ministry said the participants entered the country legally after their arrival was coordinated in advance with Israeli authorities with the assistance of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, says the fact that the group arrived, defying expectations they would cancel because of Trump's statement, "speaks volumes."

"We're looking for the normalisation. We're not waiting for politicians, and we're going to try to stick to that narrative," he says.

Bahrain and other Sunni Arab states see themselves as sharing regional interests with Israel when confronting Shiite power Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly touted Israel's warming ties with Gulf Arab states in recent months. On Sunday, Netanyahu asserted that "many of the Arab countries now recognise that Israel is not their enemy but their indispensable ally." This shift, he said, "could help pave the way to an ultimate peace between us and our Palestinian neighbours and between us and the rest of the Arab world."

Netanyahu acknowledged last week that Israel won't be able to sign peace treaties with Arab countries without a deal with the Palestinians, but also implied that ties have already been established and have plenty of room to grow. "Peace treaties, no. Everything else below that, yes, and it's happening," he said just hours before Trump's declaration on Jerusalem.

The island nation of Bahrain, east of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, has long been seen as more liberal than its larger neighbour, but has faced major criticism in recent years for how it put down its 2011 Arab Spring protests with the help of the Saudi kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

The tiny state is ruled by a Sunni king but has a majority Shiite population. According to the Bahraini government, 70 per cent of the population is Muslim and the remainder adheres to various faiths.

Shiites and others demonstrated in 2011 seeking more political freedoms. An official investigation found the government demolished 30 Shiite religious structures following the demonstrations, ranging from mosques to meeting halls and shrines, as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.

Bahrain is home to a small Jewish community, but no members of the community took part in the trip.

Jerusalem - 12 December 2017

1. Pan from Rabbi Abraham Cooper holding candle to group of visitors from Bahrain (English) UPSOUND "We are so proud and so grateful that the group came despite all the hullabaloo of the last few days."

2. Cooper speaking to group at candle lighting ceremony

3. Close of candle

4. Pull out of Cooper lighting candle

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Betsy Mathieson, president, "This is Bahrain"

"We're thrilled to be here in this beautiful city of Jerusalem. We've been so warmly received and we've been visiting the holy sites and making new friends and sharing our message of peaceful coexistence."

6. Group member lighting candle

7. Close of candle

8. Another group member lighting candle

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Betsy Mathieson, president, "This is Bahrain"

"People have been asking us, 'Oh why are you here now after there was an announcement that was made by the White House?' The thing is, as I said, we have nothing to do with politics. And if every time somewhere in the world a politician or a leader made a political announcement, or there was a new governmental issue, we would never get any of our work done. So you know, political things can change in a heartbeat, but what will not change is the message of This is Bahrain, and our message is one of peaceful coexistence. So we can't allow world leaders or politics to derail our mission."

10. Group members lighting candles

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associated dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center:

"I think that most observers here, in the days leading up to their arrival, assumed that there would be a postponement or a cancellation. That they came speaks volumes."

12. Pan left of group members watching Rabbi Abraham Cooper sing

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associated dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center:

"We're looking for the normalisation. We're not waiting for politicians, and we're going to try to stick to that narrative and we give them tremendous credit."

14. Various of group members around dining table at ceremony

++NIGHT SHOT++

15. Jerusalem's Old City walls

An Israeli activist who works with a progressive Jewish advocacy group said on Sunday that she was "outraged" after an Israeli official stated the government had frozen a long-overdue plan to open a mixed-gender prayer area at Jerusalem's Western Wall.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered top aides to formulate a new plan.

Anat Hoffman, the Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center activist group, called the reported freeze "cowardice".

Sunday's decision dealt a blow to efforts to promote religious pluralism in Israel and is likely to upset liberal streams of Judaism that represent most Jews in the United States.

Israel approved a plan in January 2016 to officially recognise a special mixed-gender prayer area at the Western Wall - the holiest site where Jews can pray.

But the programme was never implemented due to opposition by powerful ultra-Orthodox political parties.

Under ultra-Orthodox management, the wall is currently separated between men's and women's prayer sections.

FILE: Jerusalem - 13 April 2017

1. Various of Jewish worshippers attending priestly blessing at Western Wall

Jerusalem - 25 June 2017

2. Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) speaking on phone

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of Israel Religious Action Center:

"I'm outraged by this government decision, I think it shows cowardice. For two years we negotiated in good faith with the government of Israel, we reached a compromise, this wasn't easy, I have a parking spot at the prime minister's office because we negotiated for two years. They've made a decision, overwhelming majority voted 15 to 5 to implement the compromise, and then today they decide that it is null and void, that they're not going to implement it, that equality is out the window, and the women ministers in our government, sat there and voted for it."

4. Hoffman talking on the phone

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of Israel Religious Action Center:

"We will continue to pray there, and we will do it fearlessly, despite the incitement against us, but if there's going to be bloodshed at the Wall, and if one of us is going to be injured, this is on (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's hands, and if there's a rift between Israel and North American Jews, and Jews of the diaspora, it's on his conscience, because this compromise would have brought peace and harmony to the Jewish people. We have our faith in the supreme court of Israel. The supreme court of Israel may force Netanyahu's hand, to bring equality to the Wall as well."

FILE: Jerusalem - 13 April 2017

6. Various of women attending priestly blessing at Western Wall

7. Men praying at Western Wall

8. Wide of Jewish worshippers attending priestly blessing at Western Wall

LEADIN:

Ahead of Easter, Israel's antiquities authority is opening up its vast storeroom for a peek at unearthed artefacts from the time of Jesus.

Experts say they're yet to find direct archaeological evidence of Jesus Christ, but in recent years they have found a wealth of material that helps fill out historians' understanding of how Jesus may have lived and died.

STORYLINE:

In a cavernous warehouse where Israel stores its archaeological treasures, an ancient burial box is inscribed with the name of Jesus.

Not that Jesus... Archaeologists in Israel say Jesus was a common name in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago, and that they have found about 30 ancient burial boxes inscribed with it.

Ahead of Easter, Israel's antiquities authority opened up its vast storeroom to reporters for a peek at unearthed artefacts from the time of Jesus.

Experts say they're yet to find direct archaeological evidence of Jesus Christ, but in recent years have found a wealth of material that helps fill out historians' understanding of how Jesus may have lived and died.

"There's good news which say that today we can reconstruct very accurately many, many aspect of the daily life of the time of Christ," says Gideon Avni, head of the archaeological division of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

"We could follow the steps of Christ by archaeological finds. The bad news, or not so good news, are that so far we don't have evidence for the real Christ, the physical Christ."

Israel is one of the most excavated places on the planet.

Some 300 digs take place every year, including about 50 foreign expeditions from as far away as the United States and Japan, according to the Antiquities Authority.

About 40,000 artefacts are dug up in Israel each year.

A third of all the antiquities found attest to the ancient Christian presence in the Holy Land, says Avni.

Historians now know how long it took to travel between cities and villages where Jesus preached and what those places looked like at the time.

Avni says knowledge of the period has advanced over the past 20 years.

"We know much more details about the daily life during the time of Christ and we can reconstruct today very accurately, actually following the steps of Christ from his birth till crucifixion," he says.

"From Bethlehem to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and we are doing this with hundreds of excavations which relate to sites, cities, villages, installations from the time of Christ, we can show precisely the shape of the villages around the Sea of Galilee, in the Jerusalem area, along the River Jordan."

In this brightly-lit, 5,000-square metre (54,000-sq. feet) warehouse crammed with stacks of ancient jugs and pottery shards - what the Antiquities Authority calls its "Ali Baba cave" of ancient treasures - officials set up a simple white table with finds from the time of Jesus.

There are well-preserved limestone drinking cups and dishes, widely used by Jews in the Holy Land at the time as part of their strict practice to ensure the ritual purity of their food.

There's an intricately decorated limestone burial box belonging to a scion of the high priest Caiaphas, known in the New Testament for his involvement in delivering Jesus to the Roman authorities who crucified him.

In ancient times, families would gather the bones of the deceased and place them into boxes known as ossuaries.

They're also showing off a replica of a major artefact located in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem - this heel bone pierced by an iron nail with wood fragments on each end, discovered in a Jewish burial box in northern Jerusalem dating to the 1st century AD.

To date, it's the only evidence found of a victim of Roman crucifixion buried according to Jewish custom.

It has helped archaeologists reconstruct how the man was crucified - with his feet nailed to the sides of the cross.

Avni says Jesus may have been crucified in the same manner, unlike the way the crucifixion is depicted in traditional Christian art.

Avni says there is no reason to believe Jesus did not exist just because archaeologists haven't found physical evidence of him.

"You have to remember, there's one person among about a million people living in the Holy Land during this time," he says.

Beit Shemesh, Israel - 19 March 2017

1. Close of clay crosses from Byzantine era

2. Mid of photographer taking pictures of sarcophagi, oil lamps and clay crosses

3. Mid of sarcophagi on display

4. Close of ancient writing on stone casket

5. Close of ancient writing on another stone casket

6. Mid of stone casket

7. Close of ancient writing on stone casket

8. Close of replica of heel of man crucified 2,000 years ago

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division at Israel's Antiquities Authority:

"Speaking today, 2017, we have two aspects. There's good news which say that today we can reconstruct very accurately many, many aspects of the daily life of the time of Christ. We could follow the steps of Christ by archaeological finds. The bad news, or not so good news, are that so far we don't have evidence for the real Christ, the physical Christ. You have to remember, there's one person among about a million people living in the Holy Land during this time."

10. Mid of ancient bowls, cup and jug on display

11. Close of bowl

12. Close of jug

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division at Israel's Antiquities Authority:

"The fame of Jesus developed by his followers after his death. During his life there was nothing special in him, except for the fact that he was a kind of a trigger of a much wide and large movement, but he was a young Jew from the Galilee with very interesting ideas for his time, he was traveling along the country. So it's very difficult to follow archaeologically the traces of one person traveling from the Galilee to the River Jordan and to Jerusalem, although he is mentioned briefly by Joesphus Flavius, for example. But if you go to archaeology, when you open the land to find evidence of a single person who was not a king, an emperor, a priest or somebody with, which were much known by people this is very, very difficult."

14. Various tracking shots of national treasures storerooms

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division at Israel's Antiquities Authority:

"We know much more details about the daily life during the time of Christ and we can reconstruct today very accurately, actually following the steps of Christ from his birth til crucifixion, from Bethlehem to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and we are doing this with hundreds of excavations which relate to sites, cities, villages, installations from the time of Christ, we can show precisely the shape of the villages around the Sea of Galilee, in the Jerusalem area, along the River Jordan."

16. Pan left of ancient bowls

17. Close of ancient oil lamps

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division at Israel's Antiquities Authority:

"If you take it from the prospective of world history, it goes to one person, the Emperor Constantine and then his mother Helena who came to the Holy Land as the first pilgrim, but that was a long process, which started with the death of Christ, very few followers, but it was developed along the 2nd and 3rd century and from the 4th century onward you have Christianity as part of the imperial policy, which means building churches in the Holy Land, it's not only a religious venture, it's much more political imperial policy. If you add to this the large number of pilgrims that started coming to the Holy Land from the 4th century, particularly in the 5th, 6th and early 7th century, then it goes also into a very large scale economic boom because pilgrims, like tourists of today, they bring money."

19. Various of coins revealed at ruins of building that was part of a complex, apparently served Christian pilgrims on route to Jerusalem 1,400 years ago

20. Various of ancient pillars and archaeological finds stacked outside at national treasures warehouse

LEADIN:

Ahead of Easter, Israel's antiquities authority is opening up its vast storeroom for a peek at unearthed artefacts from the time of Jesus.

Experts say they're yet to find direct archaeological evidence of Jesus Christ, but in recent years they have found a wealth of material that helps fill out historians' understanding of how Jesus may have lived and died.

STORYLINE:

In a cavernous warehouse where Israel stores its archaeological treasures, an ancient burial box is inscribed with the name of Jesus.

Not that Jesus... Archaeologists in Israel say Jesus was a common name in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago, and that they have found about 30 ancient burial boxes inscribed with it.

Ahead of Easter, Israel's antiquities authority opened up its vast storeroom to reporters for a peek at unearthed artefacts from the time of Jesus.

Experts say they're yet to find direct archaeological evidence of Jesus Christ, but in recent years have found a wealth of material that helps fill out historians' understanding of how Jesus may have lived and died.

"There's good news which say that today we can reconstruct very accurately many, many aspect of the daily life of the time of Christ," says Gideon Avni, head of the archaeological division of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

"We could follow the steps of Christ by archaeological finds. The bad news, or not so good news, are that so far we don't have evidence for the real Christ, the physical Christ."

Israel is one of the most excavated places on the planet.

Some 300 digs take place every year, including about 50 foreign expeditions from as far away as the United States and Japan, according to the Antiquities Authority.

About 40,000 artefacts are dug up in Israel each year.

A third of all the antiquities found attest to the ancient Christian presence in the Holy Land, says Avni.

Historians now know how long it took to travel between cities and villages where Jesus preached and what those places looked like at the time.

Avni says knowledge of the period has advanced over the past 20 years.

"We know much more details about the daily life during the time of Christ and we can reconstruct today very accurately, actually following the steps of Christ from his birth till crucifixion," he says.

"From Bethlehem to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and we are doing this with hundreds of excavations which relate to sites, cities, villages, installations from the time of Christ, we can show precisely the shape of the villages around the Sea of Galilee, in the Jerusalem area, along the River Jordan."

In this brightly-lit, 5,000-square metre (54,000-sq. feet) warehouse crammed with stacks of ancient jugs and pottery shards - what the Antiquities Authority calls its "Ali Baba cave" of ancient treasures - officials set up a simple white table with finds from the time of Jesus.

There are well-preserved limestone drinking cups and dishes, widely used by Jews in the Holy Land at the time as part of their strict practice to ensure the ritual purity of their food.

There's an intricately decorated limestone burial box belonging to a scion of the high priest Caiaphas, known in the New Testament for his involvement in delivering Jesus to the Roman authorities who crucified him.

In ancient times, families would gather the bones of the deceased and place them into boxes known as ossuaries.

They're also showing off a replica of a major artefact located in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem - this heel bone pierced by an iron nail with wood fragments on each end, discovered in a Jewish burial box in northern Jerusalem dating to the 1st century AD.

To date, it's the only evidence found of a victim of Roman crucifixion buried according to Jewish custom.

It has helped archaeologists reconstruct how the man was crucified - with his feet nailed to the sides of the cross.

Avni says Jesus may have been crucified in the same manner, unlike the way the crucifixion is depicted in traditional Christian art.

Avni says there is no reason to believe Jesus did not exist just because archaeologists haven't found physical evidence of him.

"You have to remember, there's one person among about a million people living in the Holy Land during this time," he says.

Beit Shemesh, Israel - 19 March 2017

1. Close of clay crosses from Byzantine era

2. Mid of photographer taking pictures of sarcophagi, oil lamps and clay crosses

3. Mid of sarcophagi on display

4. Close of ancient writing on stone casket

5. Close of ancient writing on another stone casket

6. Mid of stone casket

7. Close of ancient writing on stone casket

8. Close of replica of heel of man crucified 2,000 years ago

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division at Israel's Antiquities Authority:

"Speaking today, 2017, we have two aspects. There's good news which say that today we can reconstruct very accurately many, many aspects of the daily life of the time of Christ. We could follow the steps of Christ by archaeological finds. The bad news, or not so good news, are that so far we don't have evidence for the real Christ, the physical Christ. You have to remember, there's one person among about a million people living in the Holy Land during this time."

10. Mid of ancient bowls, cup and jug on display

11. Close of bowl

12. Close of jug

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division at Israel's Antiquities Authority:

"The fame of Jesus developed by his followers after his death. During his life there was nothing special in him, except for the fact that he was a kind of a trigger of a much wide and large movement, but he was a young Jew from the Galilee with very interesting ideas for his time, he was traveling along the country. So it's very difficult to follow archaeologically the traces of one person traveling from the Galilee to the River Jordan and to Jerusalem, although he is mentioned briefly by Joesphus Flavius, for example. But if you go to archaeology, when you open the land to find evidence of a single person who was not a king, an emperor, a priest or somebody with, which were much known by people this is very, very difficult."

14. Various tracking shots of national treasures storerooms

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division at Israel's Antiquities Authority:

"We know much more details about the daily life during the time of Christ and we can reconstruct today very accurately, actually following the steps of Christ from his birth til crucifixion, from Bethlehem to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and we are doing this with hundreds of excavations which relate to sites, cities, villages, installations from the time of Christ, we can show precisely the shape of the villages around the Sea of Galilee, in the Jerusalem area, along the River Jordan."

16. Pan left of ancient bowls

17. Close of ancient oil lamps

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Gideon Avni, Head of the Archaeological Division at Israel's Antiquities Authority:

"If you take it from the prospective of world history, it goes to one person, the Emperor Constantine and then his mother Helena who came to the Holy Land as the first pilgrim, but that was a long process, which started with the death of Christ, very few followers, but it was developed along the 2nd and 3rd century and from the 4th century onward you have Christianity as part of the imperial policy, which means building churches in the Holy Land, it's not only a religious venture, it's much more political imperial policy. If you add to this the large number of pilgrims that started coming to the Holy Land from the 4th century, particularly in the 5th, 6th and early 7th century, then it goes also into a very large scale economic boom because pilgrims, like tourists of today, they bring money."

19. Various of coins revealed at ruins of building that was part of a complex, apparently served Christian pilgrims on route to Jerusalem 1,400 years ago

20. Various of ancient pillars and archaeological finds stacked outside at national treasures warehouse

LEADIN:

As the Israeli elections approach, Benjamin Netanyahu has zoned in on a prominent Arab lawmaker, portraying him as a threat to national security.

Ahmad Tibi has told the Associated Press that Netanyahu's campaign against him is aimed at "de legitimising the Arab voters and the Arab public".

STORYLINE

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has run into political trouble in the past, he has lashed out at the media, the political opposition and Israel's Arab minority with incendiary and divisive language to galvanize his nationalist base.

Ahead of April 9 elections, Netanyahu has zoned in one prominent Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi.

The Israeli leader, slumping in the polls after the dramatic announcement of his pending corruption indictment, is portraying Tibi as a threat to national security in a charged campaign that critics say questions the loyalty of the country's Arab citizens.

Using his own nickname, Netanyahu has been repeating a campaign mantra: "Bibi or Tibi."

The snappy slogan, eagerly parroted by his hard-line allies, highlights Netanyahu's efforts to paint his challengers as weak "leftists" conspiring with Arab Israelis and a hostile media to oust him.

It also shines a spotlight on Tibi - an affable, media-savvy political veteran who speaks fluent Hebrew. Tibi is known for his harsh criticism of government policies toward the country's Arab citizens and toward Palestinians who live under Israeli control in territories Israel captured in 1967.

"The slogan of "Either Bibi or Tibi" is a continuation of the 2015 slogan that Arabs are heading in droves to ballot boxes. It aims at de legitimising the Arab voters and the Arab public," says Tibi.

Fearing a possible loss on election day in 2015, Netanyahu mobilised his supporters by releasing a frantic midday video in which he warned that Arab voters were heading "in droves" to the polls. The move, for which he later apologised, appeared to help turn the tide and secure another term for him.

Arabs make up about 20 percent of Israel's 9 million residents. They hold full citizenship rights but have faced decades of discrimination.

And Tibi says Arabs should vote if they want to challenge the status quo.

"We must join together to respond, and for our response to be strong against Benjamin Netanyahu, to go to the ballot boxes and to take advantage of our right to bring him down, but not only to bring him down but also to strengthen the Arab representation to raise our issues in the most important forums: the parliament," he says.

Tibi says if Netanyahu wins the upcoming elections, his government will be more extreme.

Recently Netanyahu faced heavy criticism for his decision to form an alliance with a small extremist faction that is inspired by the banned Kahanist movement, which dreamed of turning Israel into a Jewish theocracy and promoted a racist agenda that called for the forced removal of Palestinians.

60-year-old Tibi illustrates many of the contradictions faced by Israel's Arabs. He's worked as a gynaecologist in Israeli hospitals and served for years as a member of parliament, but also advised Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader.

For the past two decades, Tibi has advocated for Arab rights in Israel and for a Palestinian state. Hard-line lawmakers frequently brand him a fifth-column in the Israeli legislature.

But he is also considered the most popular Arab lawmaker, even among Israeli Jews. He is a regular on their television screens, known for his witty quips.

In parliament, he's earned praise for his environmental and consumer legislation and for his promotion of Holocaust commemoration that touched many Jews.

"The Arab representation in the Knesset is important," Tibi says. It is true that there are racist laws that we could not resist (stop)."

However he adds: "There were other successes."

The outgoing Netanyahu-led government further stoked tensions by passing a controversial law that defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. But on the other hand, it has earmarked unprecedented budgets to Arab communities to try to close the wide economic gaps between Arabs and Jews.

"The most precious thing that a man has on election day is his vote, this is the only day in which there's equality between Jews and Arabs, a voice for every citizen. The greater our number and ability to influence is, the more we can raise our issues and achieve," Tibi says.

Jerusalem - 18 March 2019

1. Wide of Ahmad Tibi, Arab lawmaker, speaking to reporter

2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Tibi, Arab lawmaker:

"The slogan of "Either Bibi or Tibi" is a continuation of the 2015 slogan that Arabs are heading in droves to ballot boxes. It aims at de legitimising the Arab voters and the Arab public. In the face of this we must stand together to respond, and for our response to be strong against Benjamin Netanyahu, to go to the ballot boxes and to take advantage of our right not only to bring him down, but also to strengthen the Arab representation and raise our issues in the most important forum: the parliament."

ARCHIVE: Jerusalem - 14 May 2018

3. Scuffles between Arab citizens of Israel and police - Tibi seen amongst them

4. Tibi behind barriers with other parliament members

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmad Tibi, Arab lawmaker

"We are here to say pure and clear - Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine. (answering question) Yes, I am a member of parliament, and I am saying as a member of parliament , and as a Palestinian that occupation should be ended, not supported by the American administration. This is a bullet in the head of the vision of two-state solution, and Trump is responsible for the massacre with Netanyahu."

ARCHIVE: Jerusalem - 3 November 2014

6. Mid of Tibi sitting in parliament chamber

7. Wide of Knesset chamber

8. SOUNDBITE: (Hebrew) Ahmad Tibi, Arab lawmaker:

"Jerusalem is a united capital? How can you say its united? United? Nonsense. The east of Jerusalem is a town under occupation, a territory that was occupied in 1967."

9. UPSOUND (Hebrew) Alex Miller, Israeli Knesset member of right-wing party, Yisrael Beiteinu (interrupting):

"If you suffer so much, if the situation is so bad, why do you stay here?"

Tibi: "I stay here, I stay in this homeland, because this is our country. I stay here because I did not arrive here in a ship or in a plane, Knesset Member Miller."

Miller: "Except for ruining the country you didn't do anything here, we see how much you have built in the country."

Jerusalem - 18 March 2019

10 . SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Tibi, Arab lawmaker:

"It seems that Netanyahu feels free to unleash his racism, while in the White House there are those who support him and make the same statements against the other in America. Look what happened in New Zealand because of the incitement against Islam, Muslims and Islamophobia. Netanyahu and Trump are among those who have incited the most against Islam in the recent years."

11. Mid of reporter and Tibi

12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Tibi, Arab lawmaker:

"We used to say that Netanyahu was the head of the worst governments, the most extreme and the most right-wing. It seems that if he wins the next time, his government will be more extreme than the previous one, because he will add to it the supporters of Kahana such as Itamar Ben Gvir and others and it seems that the Nation State law won't be the worst if Netanyahu succeeds. Therefore we must stop and think and put the reservations, anger and frustration aside: vote and influence."

FILE: Jerusalem - 6 July 2014

13. Various of Tibi with Tariq Abu Khdeir, the 15-year-old Palestinian American who was injured during clashes with Israeli security forces, and his parents coming out of courthouse

Jerusalem - 18 March 2019

14 . SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Tibi, Arab lawmaker:

"The Arab representation in the Knesset is important. It is true that there are racist laws that we could not resist (stop) because we are a minority, we are opposition. We are not in the coalition. Usually in the coalition, because it is bigger in numbers, they are able to pass what they want. But there have been successes such as the law of "prevention of Muezzin", this law has disturbed the Arab and Islamic world and upset the Palestinian society inside Israel, we succeeded in freezing it and burying it through the dialogue that we have conducted with the religious parties with Yhadut Hatorat. There were other successes: the budgets that we contributed, helped and pushed toward transforming them to the local Arab authorities."

15. Wide of interview

16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Tibi, Arab lawmaker:

"The most precious thing that a man has on election day is his vote, this is the only day in which there's equality between Jews and Arabs, a voice for every citizen. The greater our number and ability to influence is, the more we can raise our issues and achieve."

17. Various of Tibi outside his house

Members of Israel's Arab minority led a mass protest in central Tel Aviv on Saturday night against a contentious new law that critics say marginalises the state's non-Jewish citizens.

The rally marked further fallout from the explosive Nation-State law and came a week after thousands of Druze, also members of the Arab minority, packed the same city square last week.

Israel's 1948 declaration of independence defined the country as a Jewish and democratic state and the government says the recently passed bill merely enshrines the country's existing character.

But critics say it undercuts Israel's democratic values and sidelines the country's non-Jewish population, namely the Arab community that makes up 20 percent of the country.

One clause downgrades the Arabic language from official to "special" standing.

Israeli media reported tens of thousands of Jews and Arabs attended the protest.

Some Arab protesters waved Palestinian flags and others held signs reading "equality," while some knelt and preformed Muslim prayers.

Omar Sultan, from the Arab city of Tira in central Israel, said he was protesting to send a message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"This law is against us, against the Arabic language, against peace, against our future in this land, we are the real people of this land, we can't agree on this law," he said.

Israel's Arab citizens currently enjoy full citizenship rights but face discrimination in some areas of society like jobs and housing.

They share the ethnicity and culture of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and often identify with Palestinian nationalism, rather than Israeli.

Tel Aviv - 11 August 2018

++NIGHT SHOTS++

1. Top shot of hundreds of protesters gathering at square before march against Nation State law

2. Pan left of protesters with banners and Israeli and Palestinian flags in front of Tel Aviv museum

3. Close of banner reading (Hebrew) "Nation State law equals racism"

4. Protesters holding banners written in Arabic and Hebrew against law

5. Protesters chanting (Arabic) "The people want to bring down the law"

6. Close of banner reading (Hebrew) "Equality now"

7. Wide of protesters

8. Mid of protester with Palestinian flag on his shoulders

9. Mid of protesters with placards

10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ayman Odeh, Arab member of Israeli parliament:

"This is the first time that tens of thousands of Arabs have come to Tel Aviv with Jewish democratic groups. They came to say that this is not the end of the demonstrations, but the first serious demonstration against the Nation State law. We will continue, and we know that this demonstration, that this struggle to abolish the Nation State law is linked organically to the victory over the government of the right. This is a political battle that needs a long breath, we are ready for this breath and for this battle until the victory over the Nation State law."

11. Various of protests

12. Mid of girl holding Palestinian flag and woman with placard reading (Arabic) "This is our homeland, this is our home, Arabic is our language"

13. Wide of protest

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Omar Sultan, protester:

"We came here to say to Netanyahu and to Trump that we have a problem here, you have to solve this problem, we cannot agree on this law. This law is against us, against the Arabic language, against peace, against our future in this land, we are the real people of this land, we can't agree on this law."

15. Wide of protest

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhammad Tellawi, protester:

"We are here to demonstrate against it (the law) and we try to make them (the Israeli Government) remove the law, if possible, and just to make them also hear our voice, to know we are here and we will not make this pass easily."

16. Pan right of Tellawi and his family walking to protest

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Dan Meiri, protester:

"We, a lot of Israelis believe that they (the minorities) are entitled to be equal to us. It is the Jewish state. But, the people that live here are entitled to be equal to us (Jews) across the board in education, in the army, in the universities, in the parliament, all over."

18. Pan left of Meiri walking to protest

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protested in Jerusalem on Tuesday over Israel's military draft.

The protest was one of several following the recent detention of a rabbi's son who refused to report to a draft office.

Exemptions are granted to ultra-Orthodox Jews who declare their values at a recruitment centre.

Those refusing to report can be detained.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders say they serve the Jewish nation through religious study and prayer and fear integration in the army threatens their insular, pious lifestyle.

Draft privileges go back to when Israel's founders granted exemptions to a few hundred gifted students to help rebuild the schools of Jewish learning destroyed in the Holocaust - but numbers have ballooned dramatically since then.

Exemptions have bred resentment among Israel's secular majority, whose children mostly serve in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) after high-school.

Jerusalem - 28 March 2017

1. Israeli police officer on motorcycle next to demonstrators

2. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters carrying banners reading (English) "The draft law is kidnapping our children! We declare war!" and "The Torah forbids a Jewish army."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jofef Berger, 26, demonstrator

"They want to take most of the religious Jews, they want to change our way of life, and they want to force us to be the same as the secular Jews here in Israel, and we don't agree with that. We would like to further live the way of life we lived the last 2,000 years, and they want to force it on us. We are a minority here in Israel and they want to take us. They say it's for security reasons (that) they need more people in the army, but the real reason is they want to change us and they want to put us into the army to make us look like different people and enforce this."

4. Tilt down from banner reading (English) "Don't force religious Jews into the army" to protesters

5. Rabbi speaking on stage

6. Various of ultra-Orthodox rally

7. Zoom out from banner reading (English) "You can put us in jail! We and our sons are ready to be killed and not to be drafted in the IDF, which is against the Holy Torah." to wide of rally

The US Ambassador to Israel welcomed on Wednesday President Donald Trump's speech to the United Nations, describing it as "excellent."

David Friedman said Trump "laid out a very clear vision" about America's relations with the world and "how it's good friends with its allies but expects more from the countries with whom the United States has its differences."

Friedman spoke at the Western Wall in Jerusalem ahead of a 'Priestly Blessing' ceremony.

The 'Birkat Cohanim', or Cohen's blessing, is a ritual dating back to the time over 2,500 years ago when King Solomon's Temple stood on the same site.

The ritual is held twice a year for the Jewish holidays of Passover and Sukkot.

Sukkot is a week-long festival celebrating the autumn harvest and commemorating the 40-year desert trek of the biblical Israelites after their exodus from Egypt.

During Wednesday's ceremony, thousands of worshippers stood before the Western Wall, praying and taking part in the traditional ceremony.

Jerusalem – 26 September 2018

1. Various of Jewish worshippers wrapped in prayer shawls during priestly blessing ceremony at the Western Wall

2. US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaking to others

3. SOUNDBITE (English) David Friedman, US Ambassador to Israel:

"I thought the President's speech yesterday was excellent, thought he laid out a very clear vision. It's consistent with what he's been saying since he's been the President, about how he fixed the United States relates with the rest of the world and how it's good friends with its allies but expects more from the countries with whom it has, the United States has its differences."

4. Various of worshippers

5. SOUNDBITE (English) David Friedman, US Ambassador to Israel:

"I'm here today because I'm fortunate enough to be a Cohen and this is the day it happens twice a year where they have a great "Birkat Kohanim" (priestly blessing) ceremony at the Kotel, and it's my opportunity to bless the people of Israel and it's a great opportunity so I'm very excited, happy to be here. I think it's the third time since I'm the ambassador that I had the chance to do this."

6. Men praying at the Western Wall

7. Women praying at the Western Wall

8. Jewish worshippers attending priestly blessing at Western Wall

Israel has lashed out at the UN cultural agency over a resolution criticizing its excavations in and around Jerusalem's Old City, which contains sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The UNESCO resolution, tabled by several Arab countries and approved on Tuesday, calls on Israel, as the "occupying Power," to cease "persistent excavations, tunneling, works and projects in East Jerusalem," which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

The Old City is home to the Temple Mount - the location of the biblical temples and Judaism's holiest site.

Muslims refer to the area, which now hosts two mosques, as the Noble Sanctuary, their third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

UNESCO caused an uproar last year when member states approved a resolution that diminished Jewish ties to holy sites in Jerusalem.

Israel captured east Jerusalem, including the Old City, during the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.

Jerusalem - 2 May 2017

1. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeting officials at event for foreign ambassadors

2. Wide of stage, audience in foreground

3. Officials including Rivlin and Netanyahu taking group photo

4. Ambassadors sitting in audience

5. Wide of Netanyahu at podium

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"Last year UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) said that the Jewish people have no connection to the Temple Mount, can you imagine? They said that we had 3,000 years ago Solomon built his temple there, this is the same temple that herald, that was rebuilt by the exiles of Babylon coming back here, with the proclamation of Sirius the great, it's the same temple that Jesus visited when he overturned the money tables, the money changers tables, he didn't do this in a monastery in the Himalayas, he did it in the Jewish temple here and UNESCO said a year ago that we have no connection to the Temple Mount. This year, they didn't say that, that's an improvement in the march of absurdity. They also said that Judaism too has some connection to Jerusalem, well we're making progress but there is still a way to go and the way we have to go is in fact to cut out this nonsense."

7. Various of Ambassadors in audience

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

"I want you to cut your travel time as the (US) President (Donald Trump) suggested, move your embassies to Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel for 3,000 years."

9. Netanyahu sitting with his wife Sarah Netanyahu

10. Group photo being taken

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

Israel's security cabinet has decided to remove metal detectors set up at the entrance to a Jerusalem holy site which had angered Muslims.

It announced early Tuesday that "sophisticated technology" will be used instead of the devices. It did not elaborate on when the metal detectors would be removed or what would replace them. Israeli media earlier reported high resolution cameras capable of detecting hidden objects would be the alternative.

Heavy machinery and workers, including trucks and bulldozers, entered the site, holy to Muslims and Jews, early Tuesday morning.

Signs that the crisis is being resolved came Monday after Jordan's King Abdullah II spoke over the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the crisis. Amman administers the holy site via its religious body.

Israel erected the metal detectors after Arab gunmen killed two policemen from inside the shrine earlier this month. The move incensed the Muslim world and triggered violence.

The fate of the site is an emotional issue at the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Even the smallest perceived change to delicate arrangements pertaining to the site sparks tensions.

Jerusalem - 25 July 2017

++NIGHT SHOTS++

1. Various of trucks and heavy equipment moving into Jerusalem's Old City

Israel gradually reopened a Jerusalem holy site for worshippers after taking the rare step of shutting it down following a deadly assault there that sparked concerns of a fresh round of violence.

New security measures included metal detectors at the entrance gates and additional security cameras at the entrance to the compound - known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

The Palestinian Minister of Jerusalem says arrangements at a Muslim-administered holy site in Jerusalem need to return to how they were before a deadly attack.

Adnan Husseini says Sunday the Palestinians will not accept Israeli security measures for entrance to the site. Though he acknowledged that there was violence he said it "shouldn't be an excuse for making changes."

Israeli forces conducted a security sweep early on Sunday and began installing the detectors.

For the first time in decades, Israel closed the site on Friday after an attack by three Arab citizens of Israel who opened fire from the sacred site and killed two police officers before being shot dead.

On Sunday prayers took place at the city's Lion's Gate.

The compound is the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

The Jerusalem shrine has been the scene of repeated confrontations, including during the current wave of violence over the past two years.

Friday's attack triggered a rare phone conversation between Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who condemned the attack and urged the site to be reopened.

Netanyahu acted quickly to allay Muslim fears, saying that the status quo at the Muslim-administered site "will be preserved."

Jerusalem - 16 July 2017

1. Various of Metal detectors at entrance to holy site

2. Palestinian women watching

3. Various of of police installing metal detectors and testing them

4. Close of surveillance camera

5. Jerusalem Mufti Muhammad Ahmad Hussein arriving at holy site

6. Palestinians chanting, UPSOUND (Arabic): "God is great"

7. Policeman in front of metal detectors

8. Various of prayers at gate to holy site

9. People chanting

10. Man talking to security

11. Armed security

12. People gathered at gate, chanting

Israeli police on Monday used a water cannon to disperse dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jews protesting against the conscription of their community to the Israeli army.

In a recent move Israeli authorities arrested the son of a prominent rabbi for following his father, Rabbi Auerbach's instructions to refuse to report for service.

The move sparked anger among the Jewish ultra-Orthodox community leading to frequent clashes with police.

At least two people were detained during Monday's protests.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews had for years been exempt from military service, which is compulsory for Jewish Israelis.

The arrangement caused widespread resentment among Israel's secular majority and in 2014 the Knesset passed legislation that extended the draft to members of the ultra-Orthodox community.

Many claim the military will expose their youth to secularism and undermine their devout lifestyle.

Men who choose to serve in the army are frequently shunned by their communities.

Jerusalem - 20 March 2017

1. Tracking shot of water cannon truck spraying ultra-Orthodox Jews protesting against conscription

2. Wide of protesters facing off against police

3. Wide of mounted police

4. Wide of mounted police facing-off protesters

5. Close protesters being arrested

6. Police and protesters facing off

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rabbi Yuda (no surname given), ultra-Orthodox Jewish protester:

"The Orthodox Jewry here in Israel is being oppressed by the government, the Israeli government. The Israeli government have a plan to wipe out Orthodox Jewry in Israel. They want a secular state and this is what it is saying on the notices that you see around (placards held by protesters). They want all the Orthodox Jews to go into the Israeli army and make them secular."

8. Wide of mounted police chasing away protesters

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

Dozens of Christian Arabs have protested against the Greek Orthodox patriarch of the Holy Land, demanding the resignation of Theophilos III for allegedly selling church land to Israelis.

Some 50 demonstrators rallied Thursday outside St. George Church in central Israel where Theophilos had arrived to pray.

Some waved banners calling him "not trustworthy."

Others scuffled with Theophilos' supporters.

The church is one of the largest real estate owners in the Holy Land.

It is dominated by Greek clergy while the flock is overwhelmingly Palestinian.

Activists have presented documents that showed the Patriarch sold land in sweetheart deals.

An Israeli court has upheld the transactions, conducted by Theophilos' since-deposed predecessor.

Demonstrator Ghassan Mounayer accused the church of giving land to "Jewish businessmen instead of investing it in the well-being of the Christian community."

Lod, Central Israel - 16 November 2017

1. Orthodox Christians protesting outside St. George Church against Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Theophilos III chanting UPSOUND (Arabic) "Our church is Arabic."

2. Protester chanting UPSOUND (Arabic) "Go away merchants"

3. Woman holding poster reading (Arabic) "Not trustworthy"

4. Protester chanting UPSOUND (Arabic) "Theophilos you are isolated, you can't harm the church"

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ghassan Mounayer, protester:

"We are protesting against the Orthodox Patriarch, who is selling and giving our land, our church land to settlements and to Jewish businessmen instead of investing it in the well-being of the Christian community."

6. Banner of Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Church

7. Various of Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Theophilos III preparing ahead of St. George service

8. Women shouting as service takes place

9. Various of Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Theophilos III

10. Close of worshipper

11. Various of people gathering outside church