The Jewish Home | JULY 7, 2022
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Climate Activists Target Painting
On Monday, two climate activists glued themselves to a 200-year-old masterpiece at London’s National Gallery, the latest in a string of disruptive protests by British environmentalist group Just Stop Oil. The pair covered John Constable’s famous landscape painting “The Hay Wain” with a modified version of the image before sticking their hands to its frame. A day before, five Just Stop Oil activists disrupted Formula 1’s British Grand Prix by sitting on the Silverstone racetrack. Last week, members of the
group glued themselves to the frames of paintings in London, Glasgow and Manchester, including Vincent van Gogh’s famous “Peach Trees in Blossom.” Completed in 1821, “The Hay Wain” is among Britain’s best-known artworks. Depicting the Stour River, which divides the English counties of Suffolk and Essex, it is considered one of Constable’s quintessential paintings. The protesters’ modified version of the painting, which they placed on top of the original, depicted the river replaced with a paved road, with factory smokestacks depicted in the background and airplanes flying overhead. Just Stop Oil is calling for the UK government to block licenses for future oil and gas extraction. Hannah Hunt and Eben Lazarus, the two who participated in Monday’s stunt, were arrested by police. In a press release issued by the group on Monday, 23-year-old Hunt said the protests would only end when “the UK government makes a meaningful statement that it will end new oil and gas licenses.” “Ultimately, new fossil fuels are a death project by our government,” the psychology student is quoted as saying. “So yes, there is glue on the frame of this
painting, but there is blood on the hands of our government.”
Corrosion Caused Deadly Helicopter Crash
Rare corrosion in a motor component was the cause of an otherwise mechanically sound helicopter falling into the sea earlier this year, the IDF said on Sunday following an investigation. Two pilots, Lt. Col. Erez Sachyani and Maj. Chen Fogel, were killed when the AS565 Panther helicopter, known as an “Atalef,” crashed on January 3 into the Mediterranean Sea. A third officer on board, Cpt. Ron Birman, managed to jump out and was rescued with relatively minor injuries. The investigation showed that the corrosion was located on a part well within the motor which is not part of the routine checks recommended by the manufacturer. The IDF added that the malfunction was the first of its kind and not known to either the manufacturer or the IAF. It also said that the corrosion was likely due to the craft’s constant proximity to the sea and noted that the “rinsing process” which aims to prevent corrosion was “not optimal.” In a statement, the IDF said, “This is due to a problem with the manufacturer’s design. Following this, the helicopter manufacturer will release safety information regarding the aluminum components in the engine. “We emphasize that the crew was competent, skilled, and faced a sequence of challenging malfunctions … in complex flight conditions in the dark of night over the sea.”
Greece Frees Israeli
A Greek court freed an Israeli man from jail on Tuesday after he was held for 14 days on what Israel claims is a mistaken Interpol warrant. Still, despite his freedom, the court ordered Dudi Ashkenazi to remain on Rhodes Island until a final decision is made on the matter. Ashkenazi, 52, was vacationing in Greece when he was arrested two weeks ago on an Interpol warrant for a dual Israeli-Azerbaijani citizen also named Dudi Ashkenazi, who allegedly trafficked drugs between Peru and Russia in 2012. He was held on the Greek island of Kos until the court hearing that granted his partial release. A salary slip from the same month Ashkenazi was said to have committed the crimes showed the innocent Ashkenazi was in Israel working as a driver for the Dan bus company. Regarding another incident, Ashkenazi was celebrating his child’s bar mitzvah at the same time that a crime was being committed. Yair Lapid, at the time Israel’s foreign minister and since last week the prime minister, spoke with Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias last Wednesday and requested Ashkenazi’s immediate release.
Polish Envoy to Come to Israel
Poland will send its ambassador-designate to present his letter of credence to Israel in the coming days, Polish leader Andrzej Duda told President Isaac Herzog on Monday, in the strongest indication yet that the two countries are moving beyond a bitter year-long diplomatic spat.
