Israeli Judoka Sagi Muki Loses Match Against Friend, Iranian Defector Saeid Mollaei

JNS.org

Israeli judoka Sagi Muki. Photo: Naoki Nishimura / Aflo Sports / Reuters.

JNS.org – Israeli judoka Sagi Muki and his counterpart, Saeid Mollaei, an Iranian defector who now competes for Azerbaijan, faced each other for the first time this weekend after the latter was forced three years ago to forfeit a match with the athlete from Israel.

The judokas battled it out in the quarterfinals of the Budapest Grand Slam on Saturday in Hungary with Mollaei coming out victorious. The competitors, who have become friends over the years, also hugged and shook hands after the bout.

Muki said in an Instagram post that even though he didn’t win, it was a “victory of sport over politics.”

He added that “the great message that passed today is a message of friendship against all odds and thus the ability of sport and friendship to bridge all the gaps.”

At the 2019 World Championships, Mollaei, who was then competing for Iran, claimed he was pressured by Iranian officials to deliberately lose in the semi-finals to avoid a possible bout with Muki, who ended up winning the gold medal.

The judoka then fled Iran, was granted refugee status in Germany and competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics under the Olympic flag of athletes without nationality. He later received Mongolian citizenship and now competes under the Azerbaijani flag.

Mollaei eventually moved on to the finals of the Budapest Grand Slam over the weekend, where he won the silver medal in the men’s under-81-kilogram category. Israeli athletes took home a total of six medals in various categories of the competition.

After Mollaei revealed the pressures he faced from Iranian officials at the 2019 World Championships, the International Judo Federation responded by issuing a four-year ban against the Iranian Judo Federation for trying to stop its athletes from facing Israeli

New Archaeological Discoveries Confirm Ancient Connection of Israel to the Jewish People

Chaim Lax

An ancient farmstead uncovered in the Galilee. Photo: Assaf Peretz / Israel Antiquities Authority.

The State of Israel might only be 74 years old, but the Land of Israel contains thousands of years worth of history inside it. Every year, archaeologists working at digs around the country discover ancient sites and artifacts that help us better understand the rich history of both the land and its inhabitants.

The following is a list of the top 10 archaeological discoveries from June 2021 until today:

1. Mosaic Depicting Deborah and Yael Defeating Canaanite King Sisera

Discovered at the site of a 5th-century synagogue in the Galilean town of Huqoq, this mosaic portrays the Biblical account of the defeat of the Canaanite king Sisera at the hands of the prophetess Deborah, the military leader Barak, and the ancient heroine Yael.

Unearthed by a team led by UNC Chapel Hill professor Jodi Magness, this is the latest mosaic to be discovered at the ancient synagogue site. Previously discovered mosaics include depictions of Jonah and the whale, the Israelite spies in Canaan, Noah’s Arc, and the parting of the Red Sea. According to Magness, these mosaics “attest to a rich visual culture as well as to the dynamism and diversity of Judaism in the late Roman and Byzantine periods.”

2. Remains of a Medieval Mosque Found in the Northern Negev Desert

While excavating in the northern Negev Bedouin city of Rahat, Israeli archaeologists uncovered a Byzantine-era farmhouse near a group of estate buildings that included a mosque. The 1,200-year-old rural mosque, which featured a wall facing Mecca, was large enough to hold up to dozens of Muslim worshipers.

Archaeologists point to this site as proof of the shifting demographics of the Negev region that accompanied the Arab conquest of the region, with the largely Christian population being slowly replaced by Muslims arriving from the Arabian Peninsula.

3. 2,000-Year-Old Hasmonean Aqueduct in Southern Jerusalem

In Jerusalem’s Armon Hanetziv neighborhood, Israeli archaeologists excavated a 40-meter-long segment of a 21-kilometer Hasmonean aqueduct that was used to bring water from the Solomon’s Pools area near Bethlehem to the Temple Mount. Built around 100 BCE, this aqueduct was in use for almost 2,000 years, until the advent of the electrical water pump at the beginning of the British Mandate.

Operated throughout the history of Jerusalem, this aqueduct was defined by one Israeli archaeologist as “a real historical monument of the city.”

4. Intact 5,000-Year-Old Jug From the Qumran Region

An American-Israeli hiking with a friend in the Qumran region, near the Dead Sea, discovered a fully intact clay jug in March 2022. The 5,000-year-old jug was uncovered in a cave in the area known to contain a wide variety of ancient Jewish artifacts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls.

According to Israeli archaeologists, the discovery of a complete vessel from the Early Bronze Age is extremely rare, and this may be the first find of its kind in the area.

5. Remains of a First Temple-Era Wall in the City of David

Israeli archaeologists unearthed the remains of a defensive wall along the eastern slope of the City of David. Connecting two previously-discovered wall remnants, this wall is believed to have successfully withstood various assaults on Jerusalem during the First Temple era, before the Babylonians were finally able to breach it and sack the holy city.

This discovery helped confirm for archaeologists that previous findings in the same area do indeed date back to the First Temple period.

6. Evidence of Beer Production in the Land of Israel 7,000 Years Ago

A recent discovery by a team of Israeli and American archaeologists has found that the inhabitants of the Land of Israel have been producing beer for thousands of years. Two clay strainers — one from the upper Galilee and one from the Jordan Valley — were analyzed by experts and determined to have been used to produce beer 7,000 years ago.

According to archaeologists working on the project, the consumption of beer during this time period is evidence of humanity’s development of complex social relations.

7. “Rebel Coin” Unearthed by 11-Year-Old May Have Been Minted on the Temple Mount

During a trip to the City of David national park just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, an 11-year-old Israeli girl discovered a silver coin dating back 2,000 years. The coin is engraved on one side with the image of a cup along with the words “second year,” and features on the other side an engraving of the headquarters of the High Priest along with the words “Holy Jerusalem” written in an ancient Hebrew script.

The coin, which dates back to the Great Rebellion against the Roman Empire between the years of 66 and 70 CE, is thought to have been minted on the Temple Mount by priests who were sympathetic to the rebels’ cause.

8. Dig at Yavne Unveils What Life Was Like in Rabbinic Center 2,000 Years Ago

An excavation project by Israeli archaeologists at the historic site of Yavne uncovered the home of a religious family, as evidenced by the discovery of vessels used to maintain ritual purity. An even more important discovery was located mere meters from this house: a cemetery. Experts believe the cemetery is a Jewish one and may hold the remains of important rabbinic figures from the end of the Second Temple period.

After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Yavne became the center of Jewish life until the Bar Kochba revolt 60 years later.

9. Clay Fragment May Be Connected to the Biblical Judge Gideon

A fragment of a jug unearthed in the Judean foothills in 2019 was recently discovered to have been inscribed with the Hebrew name “Yeruba’al.” According to experts, the name Yeruba’al is used in the Bible as a nickname for the judge Gideon, who led 300 Israelite warriors to victory against the Midianites, as detailed in the Book of Judges.

While Israeli archaeologists have dated the potsherd to the same time period that the Biblical Gideon would have lived, they are unsure if this fragment is related to him or another “Yeruba’al,” since it was found some distance away from where he is believed to have lived.

Either way, this pottery fragment is also useful in tracking the development of writing systems in the Land of Israel 3,000 years ago.

10. Archaeologists Discover Evidence of Biblical Earthquake in Jerusalem

Archaeologists working at the City of David in Jerusalem exposed the remnants of an 8th century BCE structure that seems to have been destroyed through a natural occurrence, most likely an earthquake.

According to experts, this is the first time incontrovertible evidence has been found for earthquakes that are referenced in the Biblical books of Amos, Isaiah, and Zechariah. Aside from confirming the Biblical narrative, this discovery is also useful for archaeologists in dating finds located around the same area.

While there are continuous efforts to undermine the connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, the consistent discovery of ancient Jewish artifacts and sites in Israel not only helps to strengthen the historic ties of the Jewish people to their land, but also helps to enlighten both scholars and laypeople as to the development of the Jewish community within the region over the past 3,000 years.

TV7 Israel Editor’s Note – The importance of alliances for the security of Israel

TV7 Israel News

Israeli Filmmaker Turned Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Uri Zohar Dies in Jerusalem

Shiryn Ghermezian

Uri Zohar. Photo: סירקונירלה/Wikimedia Commons.

Uri Zohar, an Israeli filmmaker who wrote, directed and starred in cult films before becoming an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, died on Thursday at the age of 86, Israel’s Ministry of Culture and Sports announced.

A native of Tel Aviv, Zohar served in an army entertainment troupe while serving in the Israel Defense Forces. He was an icon in Israel’s culture scene in the 1960s and 1970s, with film credits including “Hole in the Moon,” “Three Days and a Child,” “Every Bastard a King,” “Big Eyes” and “Peeping Toms” (“Metzitzim”). He also made a regular appearance on the Israeli sketch-comedy television show “Lool” (“Coop”) and was awarded the Israel Prize for cinema in 1976, which he declined.

“Three Days and a Child” was based on A.B. Yehoshua’s novel of the same name, and became an Israeli classic. Its star, playwright and actor Oded Kotlet, won the award for best actor at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival and the film was also nominated for a Palme d’Or.

After Zohar’s passing, Kotlet told Israel’s N12, “My great artistic memory of him is being a director with an extraordinary talent for cinema. He could have skyrocketed in my humble opinion if he had continued, deepened and qualified, but he chose a different path.”

In the late 1970s, Zohar grew more religious, ultimately leaving his life in the arts to become an ultra-Orthodox rabbi in Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett eulogized Zohar following his death by calling him “an integral part of Israeliness in all its shades, a rooted and thorny accumulation with a huge spirit world and a beating Jewish heart.” He also said that Zohar “brought hearts together in pleasant ways.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Zohar a “man of culture and Torah,” one who “made an important contribution to the cultural and spiritual assets of the State of Israel — a contribution that will not be forgotten.”

At Zohar’s funeral on Thursday, family members spoke of his dedication to Torah and prayer, and his love of all Jews. One of his sons pledged to keep Zohar’s memory alive, saying, “We are not parting from you, we will try to revive you. Every good deed, every Torah, every prayer, all we have is you — you were my anchor father.”

Zohar is survived by his wife, Eliya Schuster, and seven children.

Israel, Syria, Russia and the Shifting Middle East Sands

Eyal Zisser / Israel Hayom / JNS.org

Smoke rises after Syrian state media reported an Israeli missile attack in a container storage area, at Syrian port of Latakia, Syria, in this handout picture released by SANA on December 28, 2021. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

Earlier this month, a Russian air-defense battery stationed in Syria fired missiles at Israeli jets that had attacked a Syrian factory manufacturing weapons earmarked for Hezbollah.

The missile fire, the first incident of its kind since Russian military forces arrived in Syria seven years ago, was meant to show that, despite the war in Ukraine, Moscow is determined to maintain — no matter the cost — its foothold in Syria. Israeli officials, however, tended to interpret the missile fire as a warning signal and a message, whereby Russia could punish Israel for its position on the war in Ukraine by restricting and perhaps even negating Israel’s freedom of action in Syrian airspace.

As of now, this was an isolated incident and we can only hope it remains one, yet it raises doubts and even concerns. It also takes us back 55 years to the final weeks of May 1967 to the countdown before the Six-Day War — a war that no one expected and no one wanted.

Then too, Israel acted in Syria to foil the Syrians’ efforts to divert water from the Jordan River and against attacks carried out by Fatah terrorists, who the Syrians encouraged along Israel’s northern border. It’s possible the escalation along that border sparked concerns in Moscow that Israel was about to attack Syria, but it also seemed Russia wanted to exploit the events by pouring oil on the fire, create an atmosphere of war and thus ensure the fealty of their Arab allies and bolster Moscow’s regional standing.

As a result, the Russians warned the Arabs that Israel was set to attack Syria, while all of Israel’s denials fell on deaf ears. In doing so, the Russians initiated a snowball effect that led to the war’s eruption. In the wake of the Russian warning, then-Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser deployed his forces to the Sinai Peninsula, closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships and expelled all United Nations forces from the Gaza Strip.

The Arab world rallied for war against Israel, while Israelis were gripped by a sense of siege and strangulation. The war became inevitable. It seems the Russians were surprised by the cascade of events, lost control over them and were humiliated by the total defeat of the Arab armies, which they had armed and trained. In response, they severed ties with Israel as punishment for its victory.