Free Republic

Dorin Cioba the leader of three million Roma around the world, landed in Israel on Wednesday. Roma are widely known as Gypsies. On his first visit to Israel, Cioba, who is president of the International Romani Union, plans to visit the Roma community in Jerusalem as well as the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. The photographer Roni Ben-Ari invited Cioaba to Israel for the opening of her exhibit that documents the life of Gypsies in the city of Lugoj, Romania. The exhibit opens on Thursday at the Museum of Israeli Art in Ramat Gan. "This is the first time that I...

The milk primarily targets infants allergic to cow’s milk. Camel milk for centuries was a staple for Bedouin peoples across the Gulf, who continue to include the vitamin-rich milk in their modern-day diets. A UAE-based company has unveiled what it calls the world’s first camel-based baby formula, an instant powder mix aimed mainly at infants allergic to cow’s milk. The Emirates Industry for Camel Milk & Products, or “Camelicious”, on Monday unveiled the product at Gulfood 2018, an international food and beverage trade event which runs from February 18 to 22 in Dubai. The milk, which it says is suitable...

Two years ago, the Regavim movement for protecting Israel's resources and sovereignty uncovered Israeli police data showing that every year police respond to 1,000 complaints of camels roaming roads in the south (a total of 7151 cases from January 2008 until June 2015). Regavim publicized the issue, petitioned to have law enforcement intervene, and wrote letters and drafted legislation to kept the issue alive in the media and the Knesset. Yesterday their efforts paid off: The "Camel Law" passed the first legislative hurdle towards enactment. For nearly two years, Regavim, together with MK Bezalel Smotrich, has been working on formulating...

Twelve camels have been disqualified from an annual Saudi beauty contest after their owners were found to have used Botox. The animals were ejected from the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, taking place near Riyadh, for violating strict beauty contest rules. Cash prizes for camel competitions at the 28-day festival total $57million, so pressure to cheat can be intense.

With days remaining till the start of the 11th Al Dhafra Festival, camel caravans are already arriving at the opened desert grounds on the edge of the Empty Quarters, setting up tents and camel pens for one of the most impressive annual Bedouin gatherings. This year, the Festival will take place from 14th till 28th December, on the outskirts of Madinat Zayed, in Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi Emirate. The organiser, the Cultural Programmes and Heritage Festivals Committee - Abu Dhabi, is expecting over 20,000 camels to participate, along with their at least 1,500 owners. They will mostly come...

On Straining Out Gnats but Swallowing Camels Msgr. Charles Pope • October 23, 2016 • Today’s Gospel (Mat 12:1-8), in which Jesus is rebuked for violating the Sabbath, reminded me of the video below. It illustrates how we sometimes follow smaller rules while overlooking bigger ones in the process.The Lord Jesus was often scorned by the people of His day, who claimed that He overlooked certain details of the law (often Sabbath observances). But those who rebuked him for this were guilty of far greater violations. For example, [Jesus] went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled...

Straining Out Gnats but Swallowing Camels, as Seen in a Commercial Msgr. Charles Pope • July 14, 2016 • Today’s Gospel (Mat 12:1-8), in which Jesus is rebuked for violating the Sabbath, reminded me of the video below. It illustrates how we sometimes follow smaller rules while overlooking bigger ones in the process.The Lord Jesus was often scorned by the people of His day, who claimed that He overlooked certain details of the law (often Sabbath observances). But those who rebuked him for this were guilty of far greater violations. For example, [Jesus] went into the synagogue, and a...

On Straining out Gnats and Swallowing Camels, as Seen in a Persistent Biblical Debate Msgr. Charles Pope • February 23, 2016 • The teaching contained in the Gospel for yesterday (Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Lent) is one that is easy to miss by overanalyzing the details. Catholics are frequently questioned about the passage: Jesus says, "Call no man on earth your father." That one line spurs a battle! On one side, Evangelicals stand poised to rebuke the Catholic practice of calling priests "Father," and on the other are Catholics ready to defend the practice.Yes, before the sentence...

According to the government’s thinking, not only will it give Muslim migrants work, the hope is that automotive companies like Volvo will use the camels in their advertisements in Sweden. Marketing genius, eh? The government thinks that tourists might come to Sweden to “pet the camels” and that there “will be fashion shows.” “Camel products will be sold.” I kid you not. And selling of camel milk which “is said to help autism,” which is completely untrue. Camel milk does not cure autism.

The first time Somali-American chef Jamal Hashi put camel meat on his menu in Minneapolis, it didn't go well. He tried grinding it into a burger and using chunks of it in a spicy stew, but no matter, the texture was bad and the sales were worse. "It was like chewing on a patty of rubber bands," he said of the burger. At its best, camel meat tastes much like lean beef. But certain cuts can be tough, and if the meat comes from an old camel, it can also taste gamey. Hashi had used a shoulder cut, and neither...

A fatal road accident claimed the life of a 60 year old woman in southern Israel Sunday night. The female driver was killed instantly when her vehicle collided with three camels. MDA paramedics stated that they arrived on the scene to find the vehicle crushed, with the female driver pinned inside and showing no vital signs. Due to the severity of her injuries, she was declared dead at the scene. The camels had been wandering unattended and disrupting traffic prior to the accident. Police are currently searching for the camel owners, who could potentially be found liable for the incident....

JAISALMER: Left in the heat with its legs tied all day, a camel attacked its owner and severed his head in anger in Rajasthan's Barmer district on Saturday. About 25 villagers struggled for 6 hours to calm the animal down. Urjaram of Mangta village was entertaining guests at his house on Saturday night when he suddenly realised that his camel had been out in the heat all day with its legs tied. He was attacked when he tried to untie the annoyed animal. "The animal lifted him by the neck and threw him on to the ground, chewed the body...

Deep in the Qatari desert, Musharif spends his afternoons “swimming” in a large pool that doubles as a Jacuzzi, just one of the perks of being a racing camel. “It is for his muscles, it is good for the speed,” shouts one of Musharif’s handlers, pointing at the water as the calm three-year-old animal is led by a rope along the length of the pool at the Tharb camel hospital. SNIP In a region where camel racing is big business, Tharb’s work is increasingly important, and the first camels bred at the center are already racing in Qatar. Tibary admitted...

Says he did not keep his promise to take her to Turkey A Saudi woman in her 20s took her ageing husband to court for a divorce, saying he did not keep his word to take her abroad for their honeymoon so he could stay with his camels, a newspaper reported on Monday. The woman told the judge in the Gulf Kingdom that her husband, in his 70s, promised before marriage to take her to Turkey for their honeymoon but that he lied to her. 'Instead of going to Turkey, he went to the farm and stayed with his...

A lot of people like to plan something big to commemorate their 40th birthday. Pat Dysart decided to go for a walk. Across Australia. With 15 camels and a bunch of people she'd never met before.

Would-be groom says he is waiting for her responseA Sudanese man is offering 100 camels to marry a young Jordanian announcer at the Saudi-owned TV channel Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC). Abu Al Tayeb Othman said he has saved money to buy a few camels and breed them at home over the past 10 years to fulfill his dream and marry Ula Faris, one of the prettiest female newscasters in regional TV channels. The Saudi 'Sada' newspaper said Othman visited its offices in the Gulf Kingdom this week and asked for publishing his offer to marry the announcer. “He...

Deaths from the MERS coronavirus have surged in Saudi Arabia ahead of the hajj pilgrimage, with 19 fatalities recorded in a week, according to health ministry statistics. A total of 502 people died in the kingdom since the virus first appeared in 2012, according to updated figures posted on the ministry’s website, including 19, all Saudis, since last Thursday. The number of MERS infections has also surged to 1,171 cases, the website said. A surge in infections forced health authorities to shut the emergency ward at a main hospital in Riyadh last week, after at least 46 people, including medical...

Riyadh (AFP) - MERS coronavirus infections have soared in Saudi Arabia ahead of the hajj pilgrimage, killing three people and forcing a Riyadh hospital to close its emergency ward, officials and newspapers said Thursday. Its symptoms can include fever, coughing and shortness of breath. There are no approved vaccines against MERS, which is believed to originate in camels.

Initially seen as the Army's answer to how to settle the frontier, the camels eventually became a literal beast of burden, with no home on the range. In the 1880s, a wild menace haunted the Arizona territory. It was known as the Red Ghost, and its legend grew as it roamed the high country. It trampled a woman to death in 1883. It was rumored to stand 30 feet tall. A cowboy once tried to rope the Ghost, but it turned and charged his mount, nearly killing them both. One man chased it, then claimed it disappeared right before his...

Six people have died, 87 have been infected, and some 1,800 schools and kindergartens have temporarily shut their doors amid an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in South Korea. It’s likely the most significant outbreak of the disease outside the Middle East, and over the weekend, the World Health Organization released details on new cases of the disease in South Korea. It also issued a surprising piece of advice for individuals seeking to avoid infection: Drink neither raw camel milk nor camel urine. That’s perhaps not as strange as it sounds. While the exact transmission mechanisms remain unclear, it...