Pizza Sales Soar After Passover

As Passover came to an end Monday evening, Israelis rushed to consume leavened food.

The Mishlohim website reported of a 38% rise in fast food deliveries at the end of the holiday compared to a regular day on the week before Pesach.

The website measured the food delivery orders as of 7:30 pm, when the holiday ended. According to its report, the sharpest increase – of about 50% – was recorded in the pizza arena, while hamburger orders saw a 30% rise.

The yearning for leavened food appeared to be bigger than last year, as deliveries were up 20% on Monday night compared to the end of Passover 2009. 

Guy Naor, director-general of the Mishlohim-Shop company, said that most orders were made in Tel Aviv and central Israel, from national chains and local restaurants which continued to sell bread during the holiday. 

Heartless Thug Attacks the Easter Bunny

Police said a woman dressed as the Easter Bunny to promote a Hudson Valley candy shop was slammed to the ground by a man who then ran away.

The 46-year-old woman, who was dressed in a white bunny costume, was not seriously hurt in the attack around 5 p.m. Wednesday outside the Alps Sweet Shoppe on Main Street in the village of Fishkill.

State police Investigator George Mohl said the attacker has not been caught.

The man was described as about 17 years old with blonde hair, wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a green zippered sweat shirt.

Belgium Looking To Ban The Burqa

A parliamentary committee unanimously voted Wednesday to ban the wearing of face-covering veils in public, a major step in the legislative process that could make Belgium the first European country to impose such a religious prohibition.

The full House of Representatives is expected to vote on the issue late April.

The Interior Affairs Committee representing all major parties was unanimous Wednesday in backing the bill. The six parliamentarians from the MR french-speaking liberal party said the principle of “recognize to know” trumped other considerations in the issue.

“We cannot allow someone to claim the right to look at others without being seen,” said Daniel Bacquelaine, who proposed the bill. “It is necessary that the law forbids the wearing of clothes that totally mask and encloses an individual,” he said, adding he was not targeting the classic headscarf worn by many Muslim women.

President Obama’s Passover Greeting

President Barack Obama has published a greeting to the Jewish world in general and to Israel in particular, ahead of the Passover Seder.

After the one of the most strained weeks in Israel-US ties in years, Obama offered warm words to the Jewish people, some even in Hebrew. 

He started his greeting with a verse from the Talmud in Hebrew, followed by the English translation: “In every generation, each of us should feel as though we ourselves had personally gone forth from Egypt.” 

The American president also ended his greeting with the Hebrew words “Chag Sameach”, meaning happy holiday. 

Obama’s letter read: “This evening, Jewish individuals, families, and their friends in America, Israel, and around the world will gather around the Seder table to celebrate the sacred festival of Passover.

Church Issues Prayers For Confused Voters

The Church of England has published prayers to help confused and cynical voters ahead of Britain’s upcoming election.

Britons are due to go to the polls this spring with many voters disenchanted after a parliamentary expenses scandal that saw lawmakers from all the main parties make excessive claims ranging from bath plugs to moat cleaning.

Voters also have to decide which party would be best to tackle the country’s record deficit.

The CoE, the Anglican mother church, has published a series of prayers which remind voters they can make a difference.

“(The prayers) ask that the concerns of all may be heard and seek protection from despair and cynicism,” the church said.

One says: “Thank you for caring about how our country is run, and that we have the right to vote for our politicians and government.” But it goes on to say: “Sometimes I wonder whether there’s any point in voting, whether anyone cares what I think.”

Sacha Baron Cohen Guides The Simpsons Through Jerusalem

For once, Jews, Christians and Muslims will be united — in anger at Homer Simpson, who in an upcoming episode of “The Simpsons” believes he’s the messiah.

Set to air nationally March 28 — the Sunday before Passover begins and Palm Sunday — “The Greatest Story Ever D’ohed” finds the Simpson family visiting Jerusalem with a surly Israeli tour guide voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen.

Executive producer Al Jean, who has been with “The Simpsons” since its launch in 1989, says the episode focuses exclusively on the family’s experiences in Jerusalem and doesn’t venture into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“It’s a 20-minute show, so there’s a limited scope,” he said.

Instead, Jean says, the writers drew on their own Israel experiences to create a Jerusalem that’s fanciful but relatable to real life in the Holy Land.

Last Supper Paintings Supersize The Food

Has even the Last Supper been supersized?

The food in famous paintings of the meal has grown by biblical proportions over the last millennium, researchers report in a medical journal.

Using a computer, they compared the size of the food to the size of the heads in 52 paintings of Jesus Christ and his disciples at their final meal before his death.

If art imitates life, we’re in trouble, the researchers conclude. The size of the main dish grew 69 percent; the size of the plate, 66 percent, and the bread, 23 percent, between the years 1000 and 2000.

Supersizing is considered a modern phenomenon, but “what we see recently may be just a more noticeable part of a very long trend,” said Brian Wansink, a food behavior scientist at Cornell University.

Rio’s Jesus Christ Statue Getting Renovation

The iconic statue of Christ with outstretched arms that overlooks Rio de Janeiro is getting a $4 million renovation.

Heavy rains have eroded portions of the face and hands of the statue. It has also been damaged by lightning strikes over the years.

Workers this week started replacing large pieces of the statue’s soapstone exterior and patching up a layer of concrete under that.

They expect to be done by June.

The Rio archdiocese that manages the statue says donations will pay for the repairs.

Perched atop a mountain above Rio’s white-sand beaches, the 38-meter (125 foot) statue was inaugurated in 1931.

It was designed by local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa and created by French sculptor Paul Landowski.

Hamas Bans Men From Working In Women’s Hair Salons

Gaza’s Islamic militant Hamas government has banned men from working in women’s hair salons.

Thursday’s announcement comes amid a Hamas campaign to impose Islamic customs on Gaza’s 1.5 million people.

Since seizing Gaza in 2007, Hamas has taken gradual steps in that direction while avoiding a frontal assault on secularism. However, the movement is under growing pressure from more radical Islamist groups to prove its fundamentalist credentials.

The Hamas Interior Ministry says those violating the new ban face legal consequences, but will not elaborate.

Islamic tradition forbids women from showing their hair to men who are not their husbands or blood relatives.

Still, until now allowances were made for male hairdressers working in women’s salons in Gaza City.

Now What? Ads On The Western Wall

Most people go to the Western Wall to pray, but now some will also head there to pay.

The Israeli cabinet is set to approve a plan that would allow for sponsorship messages to be beamed onto the Western Wall, sources in the Prime Minister’s Office told Haaretz.

If the law is passed by the Knesset, any company will be able to project the image, logo or slogan of its choice on the ancient stones, for a price.  

The proposal, drawn up by MK Mordechai Hidud, will take advantage of technology being developed by Kfar Sava-based start-up Kotelad.  The company – the brainchild of U.S.-born Joe King – has come up with an innovative laser projector capable of beaming high-quality images onto walls, domes, minarets and steeples.

“After thousands of years of just being there, the Western Wall will finally be able to fulfill its commercial potential,” King said.  “The religious and spiritual center of the Jewish people should reflect Jewish heritage – and thus be dedicated to bringing in a healthy profit.”