To provide greater exposure to primary Israeli news sources and opinions in order to become better informed on the issues, and to gain a better understanding of the wide range of perspectives that exist in Israeli society and politics. Issue 1006 • May 13, 2016 • 5 Iyar 5776

ON 68TH INDEPENDENCE DAY, ISRAEL’S POPULATION HITS 8.5 A large share, it is safe to assume, do not qualify as Jewish according to the MILLION (Ha’aretz 5/12/16) criteria of the Israeli rabbinical authorities. The Law of Return grants On the eve of the State of Israel’s 68th Independence Day the population automatic Israeli citizenship to any immigrant who has at least one Jewish numbers approximately 8.5 million — more than 10 times what it was when parent or grandparent, is the spouse of a Jew, or has been converted by a the state was founded. The latest figures issued Monday by the Central rabbi in a recognized Jewish community, regardless of its affiliation. But for Bureau of Statistics also show that since last Independence Day, the the Chief Rabbinate, which controls marriage and burial laws in the country, population has grown by 182,000, an increase of about 2.2 percent. that is not always good enough. At the time of the founding of the state the local population was 806,000. To be married or buried in a state-sanctioned Jewish ceremony, Israeli Today the Jewish population numbers about 6.37 million (74 percent of the citizens must be Jewish according to halakha. That is to say, they must be total) and the Arab population,1.77 million (20.8 percent). The remaining 5.2 able to prove that they were either born to a Jewish mother or that they were percent is comprised of non-Arab Christians, members of other faiths and converted by a rabbi recognized by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. Of the 1.1 those without a religious classification. million Jews who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union during Since last Independence Day about 195,000 babies were born and about the 1990s, about 350,000 are not halakhically Jewish, and face many 47,000 people died. About 36,000 new immigrants arrived. ongoing challenges as a result. About 75 percent of the Jewish population in Israel are “sabras” – native-born Exactly what share of this year’s 14,507 new arrivals are halakhically Jewish Israelis (over half of them second-generation Israelis). In 1948, at the is not clear. But figures available in the 2015 World Jewish Population report founding of the state, sabras constituted only 35 percent of the Jews in the provide a clear hint – and it probably does not bode well for these new country. At the time, there were about 11.5 million Jews in the world, only 6 immigrants. According to the publication, the number of individuals living in percent of them in Israel. According to the updated CBS statistics for 2014, the former Soviet Union who would qualify for immigration under The Law of there are now about 14.3 million Jews in the world – 43 percent in Israel. Return is close to 900,000 today. However, the number of “core Jews” (a According to the population forecast, in 2035 the population of the State of group that overlaps considerably with halakhic Jews) in the former Soviet Israel is expected to reach 11.3 million. Union is only 285,900 – less than one–third of the total. If a similar, or even remotely similar, breakdown exists among the new 'HUG SQUAD' CONSOLES WIDOWS, ORPHANS ON MEMORIAL DAY immigrants, it would mean that the vast majority are not considered Jewish (Arutz-7 INN.com 5/11/16) by the powers-that-be in Israel. Since the new arrivals from the former Soviet Hundreds of thousands of Israelis flocked to military cemeteries nationwide to Union currently account for close to half of the total immigration to Israel, mourn friends and loved ones Wednesday, as part of Israel's Memorial Day. that, in turn, could mean that a significant share of the total do not qualify as Most Israelis know at least one contemporary who fell in battle or in terror Jewish either in halakhic terms. attacks - and the traditional cemetery visits are punctuated by high emotions. About 2.5 percent of the new immigrants have opted to become West Bank To help heal and bring solace to survivors on this day, the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization (IDFWO) embarked on a unique project: dispatching Israel Report is a Student Publication of 68 counselors to dole out hugs and words of support to widows and orphans. Their mission: comforting children whose parents fell in Israel's many wars. Daniel Zolty, Editor-in-Chief Yonatan Kurz, Moshe Davis, Yosef Segal and Eli Levine, Editors As of May 2016, there are now 9,442 bereaved families, 4,917 widows and We are proud to be distributed by these institutions, though they do not necessarily support or condone 1,948 orphans in Israel. any of the material published: Anshei Chesed Cong., Boynton Beach, FL Hillel at California State University - Long Beach Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies Hillel at Columbia University THEIR FIRST INDEPENDENCE DAY: SOME 30,000 JEWS IMMIGRATED Boca Raton Synagogue, FL Hillel at Johns Hopkins University TO ISRAEL IN THE PAST YEAR (Ha’aretz 5/11/16) Carmel School, Hong Kong Hillel at Yale University Chabad of Oak Park, CA Hillel High School, Deal NJ Since last Independence Day, 29,715 immigrants from more than 90 Cong. Agudath Achim, Bradley Beach, NJ Jewish Center of Teaneck, NJ countries have arrived in Israel, according to the Ministry of Aliyah and Cong. Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, NJ Kehillas Bais Yehudah Tzvi, Cedarhurst, NY Cong. Ahavath Achim, Fairfield, CT Kemp Mill Synagogue, Silver Spring, MD Immigrant Absorption. Cong. Anshe Shalom, Jamaica Estates, NY Mizrachi Shul, Johannesburg, SA While much attention has focused on the thousands of French Jews seeking Cong. Beth Aaron, Teaneck, NJ North Shore Hebrew Academy HS, NY Cong. Beth Shalom, Monroe Twp, NJ Suburban Torah Center, Livingston, NJ refuge in Israel from rising anti-Semitism and a depressed economy, a far Cong. Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, NJ The Learning Shul, Columbia, SC greater number of this year’s newly minted citizens hail from the former Cong. Ohr Torah, Edison, NJ Woodsburgh, NY Minyan Soviet Union – primarily Russia and Ukraine. Cong. Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, NJ Young Israel Bet Tefilah of Aberdeen, NJ Cong. Shomrei Torah, Fair Lawn, NJ Young Israel of Brookline, MA Ministry of Aliyah figures show that in Israel’s 68th year, a record number of Cong. Sons of Israel, Allentown, PA Young Israel of East Brunswick, NJ 7,054 French Jews moved to the country. Yet more than double that number Cong. Zichron Mordechai, Teaneck, NJ Young Israel of Fort Lee, NJ Cong. Zichron R. M. Feinstein, Brooklyn, NY Young Israel of Hancock Park, CA – 14,507 – arrived from the former Soviet Union, among them 6,880 from Delray Orthodox Synagogue, Delray Beach, FL Young Israel of Holliswood, NY Russia and 6,306 from Ukraine. Taken together, these three countries East Denver Orthodox Synagogue, CO Young Israel of Houston, TX Flatbush Park Jewish Center, Mill Basin, NY Young Israel of New Hyde Park, NY accounted for more than two-third of all immigration to Israel. Harvard University Library Young Israel of North Woodmere, NY So who are these new Israelis-by-choice who will be celebrating their first Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, NY Young Israel of New Rochelle, NY Hillel at Baruch College Young Israel of Sharon, MA Independence Day this week? Where do they live, what do they do, and how Hillel at Brandeis University YI Shomrai Emunah, Silver Spring, MD Jewish are they? Based on existing government and other data, the following We encourage our readers to subscribe to our sources on the internet. For more information or to profile emerges: subscribe by e-mail, reach us at [email protected] 2 settlers. According to Ministry of Aliyah figures, 768 immigrants who arrived A higher percentage of Israelis than Americans own cellphones. in the country over the past year moved to Jewish settlements located In Israel’s first decades, phone access was a luxury. Through the 1970s, new beyond Israel’s internationally recognized borders. The most popular immigrants sometimes waited years to get a landline in their apartment. In settlements were Maaleh Adumim (115 immigrants), Efrat (92), Ariel (87), the meantime, they lined up at the local pay phone with a handful of tokens. Modi’in Ilit (79) and Beitar Ilit (69). Now, 96 percent of Israelis own cellphones, more than the 90 percent in the Of the five most popular destinations for new immigrants this year, four were US. A swarm of Israeli phone companies compete for customers’ shekels, cities on the coast. Topping the list was secular Tel Aviv (3,433), followed by while Israeli technological innovation has made cellphones more powerful. Netanya (3,402), Jerusalem (3,122). Haifa (2,216) and Ashdod (1,657). Since 1948, Israel’s economy has grown even faster than its population. The Among the new immigrants from the West, a plurality identify as Orthodox. country’s GDP in its founding year was $6.6 billion in today’s dollars. Now Figures from the Jewish Agency show that among those arriving in Israel this Israel produces about 44 times as much — nearly $300 billion a year. In past year, 37 percent were Orthodox, 41 percent traditional, 8 percent 2010, the country joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Conservative and 4 percent Reform. The remainder were either unaffiliated Development, a group of the world’s most affluent countries. or identified with another movement. Standards of living have also risen. Israel’s GDP per capita today is Immigrants from all the English-speaking countries together were far fewer approximately $35,000 — 6.7 times what it was in 1948, adjusted for than those from France alone. According to the Ministry of Aliyah, a total of inflation. Nine years after the state’s founding, just one-tenth of Israelis had 4,627 Jews moved to Israel this past year from English-speaking countries. an air conditioner for the country’s sweltering summer. Now, thankfully, Topping the list was the United States (3,072), followed by Britain (692), almost nine in 10 Israelis have the machines at home. The country boasts Canada (466), South Africa (236), Australia (153) and Ireland (8). nearly 3 million cars, compared to 34,000 in 1948. There were also immigrants from places that are hardly known to have Jews. Israel’s Air Force grew from nothing to be the region’s most powerful. Two of this year’s immigrants cited Indonesia – a country with which Israel When Israel’s provisional government declared independence, a militia, the does not have diplomatic ties – as their place of origin. Three other Haganah, was in place to defend it. But the new state had a total of zero individuals came from Cambodia, New Caledonia and Mauritius. combat aircraft. The first shipment of 25 planes came a few weeks after From a demographic perspective, singles outnumbered married immigrants Independence Day from Czechoslovakia. this year and women outnumbered men, especially among those divorced The Israel Air Force has since established itself as the best in the Middle and widowed. Most were also young. Close to 70 percent of immigrants were East. At 680 combat aircraft, it isn’t the region’s largest fleet, but younger than 45 – the single largest age group being 20-44. technological prowess, training and Israel’s stability make it the most Finally, white collar professionals outnumbered blue collar. Among working formidable. age immigrants with a profession, a relatively large share were trained in Helpfully, Israel receives more than $3 billion of US. military aid every year, high-tech, computers, medicine, education, law and accounting. allowing it to maintain its advantage. The countries are now negotiating a new defense assistance package reportedly shaping up to be the largest 6 WAYS ISRAEL IS COUNTING ITS BLESSINGS ON ITS 68TH ever. INDEPENDENCE DAY (JPost 5/11/16) Israel’s yeshiva student population is 300 times bigger than in 1948. When Israel entered its 1948 War of Independence, the coastal city of When Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, exempted full-time Rishon Lezion was a hardscrabble settlement with fewer than 20,000 yeshiva students from Israel’s military draft, the pass applied to just 400 inhabitants. haredi Orthodox young men studying Torah all day. But Israel’s yeshivas As waves of immigrants inundated Israel in its founding years, many were have been fruitful and multiplied. Today, more than 120,000 yeshiva students settled in temporary camps on Rishon Lezion’s sandy outskirts. The arrivals skip the army, according to the religious pluralism advocacy group Hiddush. braved rainy winters in tents and subsisted on the national food rationing Haredi Jews make up 9 percent of Jewish-Israeli society, and their numbers program, which limited Israeli consumption of eggs and meat. are growing. According to a March study by the Pew Research Center, 91 Not seven decades later, Rishon Lezion is Israel’s fourth largest city, a percent of them have more than three children, while half of secular Jews bustling hub of nearly 250,000 freckled with malls. have two or fewer. Its rise mirrors the meteoric growth experienced by Israeli society in the 68 The draft exemption has been a heated political issue in Israel for years, with years since the nation’s founding. Though Israel faces social, cultural, many Israelis calling on the government to “equalize the burden” of military religious and military challenges, it has burgeoned economically, service. The centrist Yesh Atid party became Israel’s second largest in 2013 technologically and militarily. As the nation readies to celebrate its by promising draft reform. Its legislation passed in 2014, but was defanged Independence Day on Wednesday, here are six statistics that show how. last year after Israel’s most recent election, which swept haredi parties back Israel’s population has grown tenfold since 1948. into power and sent Yesh Atid into the opposition. Israel was founded with a population of 806,000. Today there are 8.5 million The number of women in the Knesset has tripled. Israelis, about 75 percent of them Jews. Women fought alongside men in Israel’s prestate battles and the War of In 1948, just over a third of Israelis were native born, or “sabras.” The rest Independence. But when the first Knesset convened in 1949, just 11 of the were immigrants either from war-torn Europe or the Middle East and North body’s 120 members were women — less than 10 percent. One of them was Africa. Today, three-quarters of Israelis are native born. Golda Meyerson, who would leave her mark on the world as Golda Meir, But immigration, or aliyah, continues to swell the numbers: 30,000 Israel’s first female prime minister. immigrants arrived in Israel in 2015, including almost 8,000 from France, While no woman has followed Meir to Israel’s top post, more women than 7,000 from Ukraine and about 3,800 from the United States and Canada. In ever are members of Knesset. Women, who make up a majority of Israel’s total, some 2.5 percent of Israel’s population — approximately 200,000 population, are still underrepresented. But the body now includes a record 32 people — are from the US. women, more than a quarter of Israeli lawmakers. That’s compared to the 19 Israel’s cities have grown apace. West Jerusalem, in 1948, had less than percent of the US Congress that’s female. 100,000 residents. Now the city’s eastern and western halves include more Ben Gurion Airport welcomes 16 million travelers a year. than 800,000 residents. Sixteen Israeli cities boast more than 100,000 As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has festered, Israeli fears of international residents, and eight have more than 200,000. boycott have risen. But you wouldn’t know it from Israel’s main link to the 3 outside world, Ben Gurion Airport. Fifteen million travelers passed through UNITY DEAL 'READY TO BE SIGNED' BUT COULD CAUSE LABOR- the hub in 2015, up from 10 million in 2010. HATNUAH SPLIT (Israel Hayom 5/11/16) Tourism did drop 3 percent from 2014 to 2015, which Israel’s Tourism The talks between Labor and Likud over a possible unity government are Ministry attributed to the 2014 Gaza War. But the war also showed the now at an advanced stage, with an agreement reportedly all but complete. importance to Israelis of international travel. Some of the war’s tensest days Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Opposition Leader MK Isaac Herzog came in late July, when many flights to Israel were canceled due to missile met some two week ago, with intense negotiations held ever since. threats, severing some links between Israel and the world. To win support for the move, Herzog held a series of meetings on Tuesday with fellow party members. The understanding is that the Left would receive NETANYAHU TALKS OF PERSONAL LOSS WITH CHILDREN OF eight or nine ministerial portfolios once it joins the government, although that FALLEN SOLDIERS (Israel Hayom 5/10/16) number would drop if Labor joins without Hatnuah, led by MK Tzipi Livni Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara met in Jerusalem on (Hatnuah and Labor ran on a joint candidate list in the 2015 general election Monday with children of IDF soldiers who fell in battle and Israel Prison and still caucus together in the Knesset). The agreement also stipulates that Service and Israel Police personnel who perished in the 2010 Carmel fire. three to four Labor ministers would join the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet. The children told the prime minister and his wife about their families and their "There are a few minor issues that need to be resolved, but an agreement losses. They brought with them items that remind them of their fallen parents. has already been drafted and just needs to be signed," said a source Netanyahu told the children about his own experience with loss -- the prime involved in the talks. "It is now Herzog who has to decide whether the talks minister's older brother Yoni, a Sayeret Matkal officer, was killed in the heroic fall through or a deal is inked," he said. 1976 Entebbe hostage-rescue mission. "I know exactly what you're going Histadrut labor federation Chairman Avi Nissenkoren has represented Labor through," Netanyahu said. "You are very young, I was older than you when in the talks together with Yossi Kucik, who served as director general of the my brother fell. It was very hard for me too, and I thought that my life would Prime Minsiter's Office in 1990s. If the deal materializes, Netanyahu may always have a deep defect in it, like something was missing, right? First of all, hand Labor portfolios that are currently held by existing cabinet members, that's true, but life afterward fills up with other things. It fills up and will fill up although according to one source those ministers will continue to serve as with other things. cabinet members. "You experience new things all the time, all the time. There are new things, The agriculture and rural development portfolio, currently held by Uri Ariel new experiences, but this loss will always be there. The memory and the (Habayit Hayehudi), could go to Labor as part of this redistribution. Herzog is longing will always be there. But you will also have a lot of other things, I tell expected to get the foreign affairs portfolio and another senior party official you this from experience. You will have a lot of happy things." will most likely receive the economy portfolio. Herzog would like to tap former Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister's wife, said, "It is important that you party leader Shelly Yachimovich for the job, but she is apparently against a document and record your memories of your fathers, so that you will be able unity government, making her appointment to a cabinet post unlikely. to tell your children about their grandfather." Herzog initially tried to make Habayit Hayehudi forced out of the government as part of the deal, figuring this would help him pass the deal among his own WALKING IN SPITE OF DISABILITY: ‘EVERYONE CAN ENLIST’ (YNet party members, but Netanyahu made it clear that he would not get rid of any 5/11/16) coalition partners. The IDF’s Memorial Day ceremony on Tuesday in Jerusalem included Herzog has managed to secure several concessions when it comes to the members of the “Special in Uniform” program, special-needs soldiers who peace process, an area that is dear to his party members. One such comprise their own army unit. concession is the appointment of Herzog as the lead negotiator in peace The program includes some 250 soldiers who are selected to volunteer for talks with the Palestinians. Another one is the government's expected six months before completing a three-year army service. announcement that it will take part in a regional peace conference. Herzog “The idea behind the program is to show that they’re just like everybody also asked that Netanyahu declare a construction freeze in Judea and else,” said the program head Lt. Col. Ariel Almog. “To our guys, in any case, Samaria, but the prime minister refused. Ultimately, though, the differences it gives the feeling that they’re doing their part just like any other citizen.” on this matter were ironed out. The “Lend a Hand to a Special Child” association was the founder and initial One provision deals with Labor's support of the coalition's agenda. The driving force behind the “Special in Uniform” program. agreement stipulates that Labor MKs would be free to vote their conscience Omer Lahat, one of the participants who marched in Tuesday’s ceremony, is on bills that have already been introduced and submitted to the Knesset for a currently in the volunteer stage of the program. “Today is the day the entire preliminary or first reading. But the party would have to fully support new country remembers our soldiers,” he said, “which is why it’s so important to coalition-sponsored legislation. me to take part in the ceremony.” On Thursday, Livni told Herzog she disapproved of the agreement and would Sapir Wiesel, another program participant who is currently serving at the therefore stay out of the government. This will essentially bring an end to the Palmachim Base, said, “Serving in the army is a great source of pride for political partnership between Hatnuah and Labor. A source who is involved in me,” adding, “It’s part of our entrance to Israeli society.” the negotiations said that "Herzog would like to enter the government A third participant, Cpl. Etti Harel, shared, “I’ve always wanted to serve in the because he knows this is his only life line," referring to the internal dissent in army, but it was problematic. Some people thought that I have disabilities, Labor and the ongoing corruption probe surrounding Herzog's 2013 primary that I have problems and a handicap. But I know what I’m worth and now I’m bid. showing all of Israel what I can do. I want everyone to know they can enlist.” "Since Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon agreed on a two-year Jerusalem City Councilman and co-founder of the Wake Up movement budget, Herzog knows that he is on borrowed time as party leader if he stays Hanan Rubin said, “What qualifies our soldiers isn’t the ability to shoot a gun in the opposition," the source said, noting that the budgetary agreement all or charge forward, but something much deeper than that.” but ensures the government cannot be toppled for the next two years. Almog summarized his feelings at the ceremony, “Seeing soldiers from elite If the two sides sign a coalition agreement, Labor would have to give it a units together with special-needs soldiers and civilians—that’s the truly green light through the Labor Convention, the party's chief governing body. beautiful face of Israel.” Herzog's associates believe he would have a majority for any agreement he The “Special in Uniform” program is carried out in cooperation with JNF. submits for a vote. 4 ‘ISRAEL ONLY COUNTRY ALLOWED BY US TO MODIFY NEW STEALTH Israeli company founded in 2011 and based in Ness Tziona. FIGHTER JETS’ (JPost 5/11/16) Israel is unique among America’s allies in that it is the only country on earth MAY WE BE WORTHY (Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom 5/11/16) that enjoys special dispensation to install modifications on US-made military On Tuesday evening, I glanced once again at that dreadful number of Israel's hardware, according to an Internet report. fallen -- 23,447 -- and then I went to a memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv's The tech magazine WIRED reported this week that not only will Israel be the Tzahala neighborhood. All the classic aspects of a Memorial Day ceremony first US ally to receive the brand-new stealth F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike were there, with Nathan Alterman's poem, "The Silver Platter," and a piece Fighter jet, but it will be alone among the Pentagon’s customers that will be by Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid about how life as we knew it before disaster permitted to outfit the warplane with its own technological enhancements. was now over. And the names -- Avi and Yiftach and Ilan and Natan and The first Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter jet, due to be delivered to Israel Yossi, and so many more -- flashed before my eyes. in December, has entered an advanced production stage. Generations of Israelis, each leading up to that terrible number, have paid the Jeff Babione, head of the F-35 program at Lockheed Martin, said the plane ultimate price. Why does it have to be this way? A persecuted nation that would upgrade Israel’s tactical and strategic capabilities, and strengthen wanted a piece of land where its forefathers lived. What is so special about relations between the company and the IAF, Defense Ministry, and Israeli this land with its names, like Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Anatot, and Kinarot defense industries for many decades to come. Valley, that makes everyone want it? Israel has purchased 33 F-35A fighters jets at an average cost of $110 Take Nir, for example. I knew him well. He was kind, playful, and determined. million per aircraft. The first two aircraft are due to arrive at the Negev’s They murdered him because he safeguarded the secrets of the Jewish state, Nevatim airbase in December this year, and the air force is preparing to perhaps even more than was expected of him. And what about that name integrate them into its operations. that is still unknown in part -- Bendel -- did I know him? His father, perhaps? According to WIRED, Israel will be permitted to install “customized software And the names that have grown dim in my mind, the musical genius who and weapons” while also allowing the Israeli Air Force to service the planes insisted on fighting, and that prodigy Moshe Haviv, and who even remembers independently. anymore? Former U.N. Ambassador Gad Yaacobi once wanted to pass a law The article states that Israel “gets a pass” because of its successful track that would prevent such gifted people from serving on the battlefield, but I am record with technological enhancements of American-made weaponry, sure that Moshe would have never agreed to it. particularly the F-16 and F-15 model fighter jets. And I am reminded of all this by the young boy and girl scouts at the Israel’s defense industries sell many of these enhancements to the US, ceremony. I looked at them. Recognized them. Some of them are my including weapons systems, sensors, and communications gear. grandchildren. Do they understand this great miracle? Can they even Israel’s geopolitical situation in the volatile Middle East also accounts for understand it? What is a miracle to us, an objective miracle, is to them part of Washington’s allowing for greater leeway. their daily routine. What a good thing. What a bad thing. “When you might go to war at any moment, the argument goes, you can’t On Tuesday evening, some people stayed on the ceremony grounds and have your best hardware go out of service for weeks at a time for checkouts near the exhibition room, watching over the site. Sleeping next to the that can take just a few days on your own turf,” the magazine reported. “What symbols. On Wednesday, they will go to the cemeteries, and then at night the helps Israel helps the United States–and the F-35 will give Israel an overall big parties will begin, with fireworks as if to call out "we won" in Jerusalem's airpower advantage that could last decades.” name. After all, we are here, the Jewish state, in the city that knew Abraham and the binding of Isaac, King David and the Temple that was destroyed. And ISRAELI APP TO GUIDE OLYMPIC-GOERS THROUGH RIO STREETS there is nothing else like this -- a nation that returned to its homeland, revived (Times of Israel 5/11/16) its ancient The Israeli app Moovit will guide tourists and local residents to the fastest language and and safest routes to and between competition venues at the Rio Olympic and bounced back Paralympic Games this summer. from Auschwitz to Moovit will provide real-time information in 35 languages on the fastest public the nuclear reactor transportation routes – buses, trains, subway, light rail transport, ferry boats in Dimona. and cable cars – to some 1.5 million current local users and another 500,000 My mother never visitors, according to Rio’s official tourism website (Portuguese). asked me for Fifty kilometers, or 31 miles, of new lines have been mapped with traffic anything, except information in order to make transit during the Rio Olympics smoother. The that come what Israeli startup, dubbed “the Waze of public transportation,” will work based on may, I live in this data provided by the Rio municipality database. country. Now, as I “Our city advances in the use of technology through this partnership, which watched the young will allow not only the Olympic spectators but also the whole population to generation, I access a multimodal travel planner with real-time information,” said Rio’s wanted to pass secretary of transportation, Rafael Picciani. “This is a great achievement for along my mother's the Games and will remain as its legacy.” wish. We can add The Israeli technology will also offer resources to the visually impaired, the provision that making screens accessible via a system where the keystrokes can be heard the land remain with a touch. worthy of them -- “Contributing to the Olympic Games is directly connected to our commitment or perhaps the to leverage the experience of users when using public transport,” Moovit other way around: CEO Nir Erez said. “It’s the perfect opportunity to contribute to Rio by helping That they remain solve one of the city’s biggest challenges.” worthy of this land. With over 30 million users worldwide, Moovit is edited by Tranzmate, an