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ATL Foreign Bureau: News from Israel and some gratuitous nudity

RHCP.jpgWe don’t usually get lots of “news from Israel” tips, but we have this week. Okay, we received two links to stories from Israel, but that seems like a lot compared to the usual zero.

The first story speaks to the dangers of Facebook. Sweet, seductive Facebook, you get us into trouble by making us want to constantly update our status message, addicting us to Scrabulous, and tempting us to post inappropriate photos that compromise national security:

A soldier from the elite Intelligence Corps unit “8200” was sentenced to 19 days in prison for uploading photos taken on his base without approval to the popular social networking site Facebook.

This is the first time the Israel Defense Forces has sentenced a soldier to military jail for an offense of this sort.

Maybe it’s time to confiscate cameras from military personnel. Photos seem to get these folks into trouble. E.g., Abu Ghraib.

On to the second story. Beyond the Israeli link, there’s really nothing in common. So let’s just move on to the nudity.

Our tipster sums this story up well:

I’m not sure if you are aware of the Passover legal hubbub that occurred in Israel earlier this month, but it caused quite a stir among all Israelis and many American Jews. There was a long-standing ban against selling non-kosher-for-Passover food (“hametz,” or leavened bread) on Passover in public places, which meant all supermarkets and restaurants. A couple weeks ago, the Israeli Supreme Court, which in my opinion is way too activist for its own good, did away with the law completely by taking away its only application: it ruled that supermarkets and restaurants are not public places.

All this is only mildly newsworthy to the general public, not necessarily ATL material.

But yesterday, some (arguably) legally savvy protester pulled a brilliant and hilarious move to get the attention of the courts. He stripped naked in a supermarket (wearing only a strategically placed sock) and called the police on himself and demanded they arrest him for indecent exposure. He wants this to go to court and he already has his argument: according to the Israeli court, supermarkets are not public places.

Happy Passover! Enjoy the matzah!

IDF soldier jailed for posting sensitive photos on Facebook [Haaretz]
Man strips in protest of bread sale during Passover [YnetNews]
Israeli Orthodox Jews angered over Passover ruling [Reuters]

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