ISRAEL: Protest tents launch Israel's summer of discontent

Two weeks into Israel's housing protest, demonstrations are sweeping the country. More than 150,000 people took part in protests nationwide calling for socioeconomic change and demanding "social justice." And what started with the odd tent has become the summer of Israeli discontent.

Young Israelis feel they are victims of the country's strong economy and decades of security-heavy priorities. The Israeli economy boomed, but its young middle class has bombed, caving under price hikes, taxation and increasingly privatized public services such as health, education and child care. The leadership admits there are problems but say protesters' complaints are exaggerated.

The economic trend was no accident, protesters say, but a calculated economic ideology coupled with conservative politics. Decentralizing Israel's economy was necessary but privatization has run amok, critics say, with the government outsourcing its commitments to the majority of its citizens, who now demand government reaffirm its vows to the greater public.

"Re-vo-lu-tion!" cries bounced off walls in Tel-Aviv, Beersheva, Haifa and other towns Saturday night. 

So here's a Revolution 101, an incomplete dictionary to the cousin of the Arab Spring: the Israeli Summer. Naturally, there are millions of possible definitions.

A is for Arabs. It took some time, but Arab citizens of Israel joined the protests. Chronic under-budgeting has left many in the lower rungs of the country's socioeconomic ladder with more than half below the poverty line and a shortage of 60,000 housing units in the sector comprising 20% of Israeli society. A rare opportunity to join a social cause striving to be inclusive, not exclusive.

B is for Babies. Baby products and child care are too expensive, keeping women from professional development and young families in constant debt. Thousands marched with strollers and baby carriages last week, demanding, among other things, work schedules that are better synchronized with child-care calendars so parents can actually work.

C is for Competition. There is none, protesters say, that's why prices are high. 80% of the nation's economy is controlled by a few dozen powerful family empires who prevent real competition.

ISRAEL: Is the Arab Spring spreading to the Jewish state?

When the protest for affordable housing began, some dismissed the campaign as a "Woodstock" of college kids on vacation. By the time Saturday night rolled around, tens of thousands demonstrated in Tel-Aviv and what started as a students' summer protest became a nationwide push for change and a political headache for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A few months back, citizens' protests targeted the pricing of specific commodities like gasoline, water and cottage cheese. Now, protest is everywhere. Students are camping out in the streets in tents. Dairy farmers are blocking roads with cows. Doctors are striking, the head of Israel's medical association is on a hunger strike. The latest is a Facebook call not to show up for work on Aug. 1.

Israel's economy is strong, the public is constantly told; the country has money, the economy is growing.

Then why is everyone angry? First of all, because they can be. A quick look around the neighborhood has reminded people they have power and can use it to rework priorities and redistribute resources.

Beyond that, some numbers (from a story by Sever Plocker, a financial journalist): Over the last five years, the average income in Israel has increased by 17% and food prices by 25%. Water rates have gone up 40% and gasoline by 23%. The average apartment price has gone up 55% and rent by 27%.

That last item, housing, sparked the protest sweeping the country. But it's not only the last five years, Plocker writes. Real wages haven't increased since 2000, while companies traded on the stock exchange have grown by 300%. The rich are getting richer, the middle class is treading water and "this unusual prosperity has passed it by," Plocker noted.

ARAB WORLD: Why social expenditure in the Arab states isn’t working

The major challenge facing Arab states transitioning from totalitarian regimes to democracy is how to manage social expenditure: that is, state spending on health, education, direct subsidies to poor citizens, cash support for poor families, pensions and social security for those working in the private sector. Even though these states face different situations, such spending shares a number of traits.

The amounts spent on social expenditures -- about 40% to 50% of GDP -- are high in the Arab states, including Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. This means that the chances of allocating additional resources for social expenses are slim.

In addition, social spending is distinguished by low levels of competency, especially in healthcare and education -- the two sectors that capture the greatest share of social expenditure. These sectors are usually not subject to oversight and lack indicators to measure their operational efficiency. Most of the expenditures go to wages and salaries, rather than to areas such as research and development, which could help improve competency and reduce waste.

LIBYA: Kadafi's nurse reportedly deserts him, returns to Ukraine

Ukrainian media reports suggest that Galyna Kolotnytska, the 38-year-old nurse and close confidante of Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, has deserted the embattled ruler and returned home to Ukraine.

On Monday, the Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya reported that Kolotnytska, described as a "voluptuous blonde" in leaked U.S. Embassy cables, returned to the town of Brovary on Sunday and that she had bought an apartment there.

According to the article, titled "Kadafi's nurse is already in Brovary", Kolotnytska was spotted leaving her residence dressed in dark clothes and wearing "stylish sunglasses" to go shopping with her mother. The two bought several kilos of oranges and juice, added the report.

Kolotnytska herself did not appear to be in a mood to chat, telling Segodnya's journalists to leave her alone.

"Please don't disturb me, I'm in a such condition," the paper quoted her as saying.

Her neighbors, however, expressed delight about her return.

"Yes, she arrived tonight, we are very glad. She is such a good kid," they told reporters Dmytro Homon and Ihor Serov.

Kolotnytskya's relationship with the besieged Libyan leader has been shrouded in mystery, and there has been speculation about whether she was involved romantically with Kadafi. Leaked U.S. Embassy cables posted on the whistle-blower site WikiLeaks suggest that she was indispensable to Kadafi and that the Libyan leader was completely reliant on her. One report said Kadafi "cannot travel" without her because she is the only one who "knows his routine."

Asked by Segodnya's reporters whether her daughter had been Kadafi's mistress, Kolotnytskya's mother answered that reports suggesting such a thing "dishonor" her daughter. 

-- Alexandra Sandels in Beirut

Photo: Galyna Kolotnytska, third from right, stands next to Libyan leader Moammar Kaddafi.Credit: Associated Press

ISRAEL: Soccer legend's death puts organ donation debate in center field

One of Israel's favorite winners, soccer legend Avi Cohen, lost the battle for his life last week, after 
  a critical injury in a motorcycle spill.

The 54-year-old athlete was a childhood hero of many, after making local history in 1979 as the first Israeli soccer player to sign with a big international team as defender for Liverpool and later with the Glasgow Rangers.

His son Tamir -- himself a promising footballer now playing in England -- had rushed home to be at his father's bedside.

Pray for him, he and the family asked supporters waiting for good news at the hospital and at home. They sought higher help too, meeting with rabbis who came to the hospital to give their blessings.

A week later, Cohen was pronounced brain dead. His heart stopped the following morning.

Fans observed a minute of applause on soccer fields on both sides of the ocean. Liverpoolers wished him a final farewell with their trademark 'YWNA' -- "you'll never walk alone."

Cohen's death united fans but also divided people in a debate about a sensitive issue: organ donation.

Brain death is the point at which relatives are approached for their consent to organ donation. The medical window of opportunity isn't always wide, around 12 hours in this case. Cohen had an organ donor card but his family couldn't bring themselves to act on it. 

Initially, they agreed. Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar reportedly called the family, personally urging them to approve; other rabbis discouraged them. Finally,the family decided against it.

DUBAI: Obese journalist takes his battle of the bulge public in health campaign

Mohammed Khan, a severely overweight reporter at the Dubai-based English daily Gulf News, avoided getting rides in other people's cars because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to wrap the seat belt around his waist.

He didn't buy a scale, figuring it would break if he tried to step on it.

Khan, in his late 20s, became a recluse, spending long period of times alone at his apartment playing computer games and binge eating.

He had, in his own words, hit "rock bottom."

But after cholesterol problems that contributed to having his gall bladder removed, a diagnosis of diabetes and battling depression, the nearly 370-pound journalist decided it was time to take control of his life and get into shape, both for his own good and to spur public awareness about an apparent growing problem in his country.

Khan has pledged to lose 110 pounds in a publicized drive to fight obesity as part of Gulf News' recently launched campaign called "Cut the Fat," which aims to spread awareness about obesity prevention and healthful living in the United Arab Emirates.

"Many readers have written in sharing their personal stories; others have decided to lose weight and get healthy," Gulf News editor Abdul Hamid Ahmad told Babylon & Beyond about the campaign, which began in late November.

MIDDLE EAST: Eid al Adha animal slaughter sparks debate in Muslim world

Animal rights activists are speaking out against the treatment of millions of animals that will be killed and eaten during the Eid al Adha holiday, as suppliers and butchers are accused of ignoring religious edicts on humane slaughter.

On Friday, an Australian animal rights group reiterated its call for the Australian government to stop the sale of livestock to the Middle East after activists documented sheep in Kuwait and Bahrain allegedly being subjected to brutal treatment.

Australia is one of the largest exporters of livestock to the region, with trade totaling $297 million in 2009, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The group has already succeeded in banning livestock export to Egypt.

"In the same way that Christmas has become the peak time of animal suffering in the West with vast numbers of factory farmed animals slaughtered for Christmas celebrations, the Festival of Sacrifice is the worst time of animal suffering throughout the Middle East," the Animals Australia campaign homepage read.

A recent report in the Egyptian newspaper the Daily News featured butchers who admitted to ignoring Islamic hilal methods of slaughter in order to meet the high demand for meat. 

"Islam has put regulations for the slaughtering process ensuring that the animal is well treated before, during and after slaughtering and those who defy these rules are punished," Sheik Saber Taalab, former member of the Islamic Research Center in Cairo, told the paper.

EGYPT: Is the government blowing smoke in anti-tobacco campaign

Mohammed Mustapha, a waiter in a Cairo cafe, likes to smoke, but he's not fond of the pictures the Egyptian government stamps on each pack of cigarettes: teeth rotted from gum disease, a limp cigarette suggesting impotence or a man with emphysema tethered to an oxygen mask.

With graphic advertising, new bans and taxes on tobacco, the Egyptian government seems serious about curbing the nation's epidemic number of smokers. But, as with many things in this country of 80 million, contradictions undermine appearances. Most Egyptians smoke Cleopatra cigarettes, manufactured by a company controlled by the government.

Egypt leads the Arab world in tobacco consumption. In 2009, the World Health Organization reported that 38% of Egyptian males use tobacco of some sort and that 32% smoke cigarettes. Females admit to much less smoking -- below 1% -- because it is taboo in this patriarchal culture.

EGYPT: Hepatitis C infection reaches alarming figures

Egypt’s spiralling threat of hepatitis C virus – already the highest incidence rate in the world -- is alarming researchers who fear a potential epidemic of the blood-borne disease could spread across the most populous Arab country.

The findings of a recent study published in the National Academy of Sciences showed that more than 500,000 new HCV infection cases occur in Egypt every year.  Much of the problem behind the soaring infectious rates is poor healthcare oversight and erratic medical hygiene.

"Nearly seven out of every 1,000 Egyptians acquire HCV infections every year. This is the highest level of HCV transmission ever recorded at a national level for a disease transmitted by use of non-sterile medical instruments," says Dr. F. DeWolfe Miller, lead author of the study.

SUDAN: Chilled warehouses offer escape from heat during Ramadan

In an unusual way to escape the heat during the holy month of Ramadan, people in the Sudanese coastal city of Port Sudan pay $3 to rest in air-conditioned fruit warehouses from morning until dusk, saying it's the best way to endure the sweltering days of fasting.

The idea has become profitable for many fruit wholesalers, who push fruit aside to house more people. 

With less fruit available, and with the rainy season turning roads to mud and delaying new deliveries, prices rise in some parts of the country. In the capital, Khartoum, people also slip into warehouses, but they don’t pay as they do in Port Sudan.

IRAN: Dangerous levels of nitrate in Tehran's drinking water reported

Amid reports that water in parts of Tehran may be tainted with high levels of toxic nitrate, the Ministry of Power has handed out free bottles of water to an underprivileged suburb south of the city.

Parliamentarian Hasan Ta’mini, a member of the Health and Medicare Commission, reported that authorities had hoped to address the water crisis within a week, though no solution has yet been announced.

Water consumption soars as the summer heat rises in densely populated Tehran. For neighborhoods and families struggling with overpopulation, endemic poverty and air pollution in the south, the heat, and dehydration, can be oppressive.

The Water and Sewage Waste Organization, an agency of the Ministry of Power, recently dug new wells to expand the water supply. Though most of the drinking water for Tehran typically flowed from the reservoirs of Karaj Amirkabir Dam, one hour west of Tehran, 30% of the water is now coming from these wells.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Dr. Marziyeh Vahid Dasjerdi announced that the amount of nitrate found in the drinking water pipes in parts of Tehran exceeded the appropriate level, posing a serious threat to city-dwellers’ health.

The director-general of the Water and Sewage Waste Organization, Mohammad Parvaresh, denied the claim of a nitrate threat, claiming that all water was uncontaminated and safe to drink.

EGYPT: Ministry takes legal action against sex change surgeon

 The Egyptian Minister of Health has shut down a clinic in Asyut while its owner is questioned on criminal charges of performing sex change operations. Plastic surgeon Mahmoud Eteifi was reported to the ministry by the Medical Syndicate for operating on a 22-year-old man who wanted to be a woman.

Gender transformation is illegal in Egypt unless the patient receives approval from the syndicate and the Ministry of Health. An applicant must be tested and scanned to prove the sex change is meant to overcome a physical problem and not for personal preference. Islam Salah Salem, who underwent the surgery to become Nora Salah Salem, has been moved to another hospital until he recovers from surgery the syndicate has criticized as a failure.

"Basically, what Eteifi did was remove Islam's male sex organ and injected his breasts with silicone. But apart from that, he is still physically a male without vagina, uterus or female ovaries," Amani Lutfi, undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, said.