Waltz with Oscar?

Waltz With Bashir was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign film in nominations announced Jan. 22. The awards will be presented Feb. 22.
Waltz with Bashir, an animated documentary by and about director Ari Folman as a traumatized veteran trying to recover his memories of the first Lebanon War, earned a Golden Globe for best foreign language film and won best picture from the National Society of Film Critics. It also won an Ophir Award, Israel’s equivalent of an Oscar, for best film. An Israeli film has never won best foreign film.

Death count questioned

Israeli officials denied a report in an Italian newspaper that said the number of Gazans killed in the recent Gaza operation wasn’t more than 500 to 600. The Israel Defence Forces is sticking to its original estimates that some 1,300 Palestinians died in the three-week operation, and that at least two-thirds were terrorists. At least 500 are said to be members of Hamas’ military wing. The report in Corriere della sera said the number of wounded was also far less than the 5,000 Hamas claims. Most Hamas gunmen dressed as civilians, which has contributed to high estimates of civilian casualties.

Permanent truce sought

The United Nations Security Council called Jan. 21 for a permanent truce in Gaza. It also called for guarantees to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza and for the permanent reopening of border crossings. Britain and France drafted the statement. It was approved by all 15 council members. The council called for humanitarian aid to be delivered to civilians without problems.

Water pumping halted

Israel has halted pumping water from the Sea of Galilee, the state’s main water source. It stopped Jan. 19 when the water level reached 16 inches from the “black line,” beyond which pumping is prohibited. Water is instead being pumped from underground aquifers, which are also dangerously low. Rainfall in Israel this year has been about half its annual average, and January 2009 is on track to be the driest month on record, Ha’aretz reported. Water sources that flow into the Sea of Galilee are also at the lowest levels ever. Israel is in the fifth consecutive year of drought.

Arab parties can run

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that two Arab parties shouldn’t disqualified from national elections. The court overturned the decision of Israel’s Central Elections Committee to ban the Balad and United Arab List-Ta’al parties from the Feb. 10 elections. The nine justices on the court’s panel decided unanimously in the case of the United Arab List-Ta’al party and by a majority for Balad. The elections panel had disqualified the parties based on petitions claiming they don’t recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland and call for armed conflict against Israel. A 500-page appeal was filed Jan. 19.

Natural gas find disputed

Lebanon says a huge pocket of natural gas found off the coast of Haifa may be in its territorial waters. The find was announced Jan. 18 by the U.S.-based Noble Energy Inc., which has been drilling at the site in co-operation with Israeli partners for five years. Beirut imports most of its natural gas from Egypt. The more than three trillion cubic feet of reserves could serve Israel’s needs for 15 years and lessen its dependence on outside sources.

Boycotts hurt growers

Israeli fruit growers say boycotts against produce have hurt the industry. Farmers told Ynet that a lot of produce is rotting in warehouses due to boycotts against Israeli produce in countries such as Jordan and  Britain, and Scandinavian countries Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Though some boycotts against goods made in the West Bank have been in place previously, the produce boycott appears to be a direct result of Israel’s military operation in Gaza.