H eadlines
ISRAELBRIEFS Ben-Gurion Airport Reopens for Ethiopian Immigrants
ISRAEL’S BEN-GURION AIRPORT reopened briefly on Feb.
12 for 302 new immigrants from Ethiopia, including a 6-year-old
boy needing emergency heart surgery, JTA reported.
The newcomers were taken to a 14-day confinement period,
but the boy was moved to a local hospital.
The Ethiopians, among about 8,000 with Jewish ancestry
awaiting immigration to Israel, were tested for COVID-19
in Gondar prior to arriving, according to a statement by the
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.
The immigrants traveled on buses for 12 hours from Gondar
to Addis Ababa before the four-hour flight to Israel.
The airport was closed Jan. 26 as part of the Israeli govern-
ment’s attempts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The Ethiopians, known as Falash Mura, are widely believed to
have converted to Christianity under duress while adhering to
some Jewish traditions.
Israeli Company Makes 3-D-printed Ribeye Steak
Israeli company Aleph Farms announced Feb. 9 that it had
produced the world’s first “slaughter-free steak,” via a mix of 3D
printing technology and real cow cells, JTA reported.
The startup boasted that it tastes like “a delicious tender, juicy
ribeye steak you’d buy from the butcher.”
Faculty at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology aided
in the process, Bloomberg reported.
The “bio-printing” phenomenon takes live cells and replicates
them to mimic a natural organism or product. Aleph Farm is
partnering with Mitsubishi to bring its meat alternative to Japan.
The world’s first lab-grown meat restaurant opened in Tel Aviv
in 2020, serving chicken made by a company called SuperMeat.
Israeli Housing Sales Hit 20-year High
Israeli home sales hit 62,000 in the second half of 2020, marking
a 20-year sales high, Globes reported, citing data from the
Ministry of Finance Chief Economist’s office.
There were 107,100 housing deals in all of 2020, with strong sales
in the first two months before the pandemic produced a sales plunge
between March and May, followed by a boom for the remainder of
the year. Globes attributed the increase, in part, to a government cut
in purchase taxes for people owning multiple homes.
There were 13,400 sales in December, the third-highest single-
month total ever, including 5,400 new homes. Nearly 40% of all
housing deals in the second half of the year were for new homes.
The government forecasts the housing boom to continue in
2021, with prices rising 3-4%.
El Al First Airline to Vaccinate All Staff
El Al announced on Feb. 12 that all employees that come into
contact with passengers were vaccinated against COVID-19, The
Jerusalem Post reported, citing Israel Hayom.
That includes attendants, security workers, pilots and other
service personnel.
In addition, Israir said 95% of its pilots were vaccinated, while
Arkia Israeli Airlines said about 70% of its employees were vaccinated.
Despite the vaccinations, Ben-Gurion Airport will be closed
until at least Feb. 21 to regular traffic as Israel attempts to lower
the COVID-19 infection rate.
El Al did win a bid by Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority to
operate direct emergency flights to New York and Dubai. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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