nation / world
NASA to Launch Israel’s First
Space Telescope
Israel’s fi rst space telescope will enter
geostationary orbit in 2026, where it will
scan the universe for events such as stars
colliding or exploding and the impact of
giant black holes, the Weizmann Institute
The future Ultraviolet Transient
of Science announced on Feb. 21, JNS.

Astronomy Satellite, or ULTRASAT
org reported. It will cost about $90 million.

The Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite, or ULTRASAT — which will be
launched as part of a newly signed partnership between NASA and Israel’s
Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology — is expected to revolutionize
scientists’ ability to detect and analyze transient events in the universe such as
neutron star mergers and supernova explosions, the institute said.

It is the premier project of the Israel Space Agency in the ministry and the
Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

According to the agreement, NASA partnered in ULTRASAT and will provide
the launch opportunity, Flight Payload Adapter and other launch-related needs
for the project. The Israel Space Agency will deliver the completed observatory
to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the launch.

Gene Simmons of Kiss Fame Unveils Mural of Polish Catholic
Holocaust Hero
Artists 4 Israel expanded its series of murals honoring Righteous Among the
Nations. It did so with a “kiss” this time, JNS.org reported.

The collective, which enlists artists to combat antisemitism and anti-Israel
bigotry through their work, unveiled its fourth mural on Feb. 26 paying homage
to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

The downtown Los Angeles celebration honors Irene Gut Opdyke, a Polish
Catholic who saved 12 Jews from certain death, stowing them away in the
basement of a Nazi commander’s home. (She died in 2003.)
The artist Andrew Hern created the 60-foot-by-15-foot mural for the city’s arts
district. Guest speakers included Jeannie Opdyke Smith, daughter of the heroic
mural subject, and Elan Carr, former State Department special envoy for monitor-
ing and combating antisemitism.

Gene Simmons, the Israeli-American rock star of the band Kiss appeared as a
special guest. Born Chaim Witz, the singer comes from a family deeply aff ected
by the Holocaust. His mother and brother were the only members of the family
to survive the Shoah.

Courtesy of The Weizmann Institute of Science via JTA.org
Catholic School Soccer Team That Brawled With Miami Jewish
School Forfeits State Semifi nal
A Catholic high school in Miami forfeited its semifi nal game in a state soccer tour-
nament on Feb. 18, days after players fought in an on-fi eld brawl with a Jewish
school’s team, JTA.org reported.

The Catholic school, however, did not off er additional comment on eyewitness
accounts claiming that the fi ght was fueled by antisemitism.

Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School was set to play in the semifi nals on
Feb. 18, beating Scheck Hillel Community School in their regional fi nal on Feb.

15. But the school’s players came under scrutiny after video emerged of students
and spectators fi ghting following the game. Some Scheck Hillel parents told local
news outlets that students had uttered antisemitic slurs, including “Hitler was
right.” Those accounts have not yet been confi rmed by either school, by video
or by law enforcement.

The athletic director of Archbishop Carroll’s slated opponent in the semifi nal
told local news outlets that the school had forfeited following its role in the brawl
but did not provide further details. ■
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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