Israel on alert as locusts cross in from Egypt
Source: Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) -- A swarm of locusts crossed into Israel from neighboring Egypt Monday, raising fears that Israel could be hit with a biblical plague ahead of the Passover holiday.
Israel sent out planes to spray pesticides over agricultural fields to prevent damage by the small swarm, which numbers about 2,000 locusts, said Dafna Yurista, a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Ministry. The ministry also set up an emergency hotline and asked Israelis to be vigilant in reporting locust sightings.
The locust alert comes ahead of the weeklong Passover festival, which recounts the biblical story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt. According to the Bible, a huge swarm of locusts was the eighth of 10 plagues God imposed on Egyptians to persuade Pharoah to free the ancient Hebrews from slavery. Pharaoh did not agree to let them go until after the 10th plague, the death of the first born in every Egyptian family.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_LOCUST_HOTLINE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-03-04-13-34-20
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)But I am not an expert in these matters.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)RILib
(862 posts)then I read about the company being hired to destroy sparrows.
karynnj
(59,504 posts)a cycle that grows geometrically if not controlled? (like you not an expert)
sofa king
(10,857 posts)They're just grasshoppers that have quite literally been pushed too far.
When it gets too crowded, which they measure by how many times their legs get bumped, they overproduce serotonin, change color, and then go ape-shit.
So what has happened here is a population of grasshoppers did too well for themselves somewhere, overpopulated, and then hit the cray-cray button.
Kurska
(5,739 posts)Nice post, I never knew that.
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)snappyturtle
(14,656 posts)Betsy Ross
(3,147 posts)And I don't know anyone who can identify the kosher variety. That's the problem with giraffes. They're kosher, but nobody knows how to schect (slaughter) it, as in where along that long neck to make the cut.
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)The four types of locusts stated in the Torah are known according to Yemenite tradition to be the following: The "red locust" ["Arbeh" in Hebrew] is called "Grad" in Arabic. The yellow locust ["Sa'lam" in Hebrew] is "Rashona" in Arabic. The spotted gray locust ["Chargol" in Hebrew] is "Chartziyiya" in Arabic. The white locust ["Chagav" in Hebrew] is called "Gandav" in Arabic. According to Yemenite tradition as recorded in the work Arichat Hashulchan, the locust called "Al j'rad" is Kosher, and has three Kosher sub-species all known by that name.
http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/19/Q1/
Betsy Ross
(3,147 posts)I should have realized that there were Jews somewhere who have maintained the tradition. Thanks for the specifics.
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)If you go somewhere that they have a history of being eaten.
Then do as the locals.
Deep13
(39,154 posts)God isn't angry, He's just slightly miffed.
Occulus
(20,599 posts)2000- or even 20,000- wouldn't cover all that large an area and still be noticed.
These things are known to travel in swarms much, much larger.
Deep13
(39,154 posts)James48
(4,436 posts)Swarms are destroying crops and anything green.
This shot was taken yesterday about 200 miles south of Cairo.
Source:
http://www.mako.co.il/news-world/arab/Article-87e5c6300ae2d31004.htm&sCh=31750a2610f26110&pId=786102762
Translation:
"Weeks before Passover: a plague of locusts in Egypt
Egyptian experts caution against "epidemic of locusts" in the country. Cairo residents began burning tires to create black smoke smuggle the insects, causing heavy damage to agriculture
Locusts in Egypt. Soon Israel?
Locusts in Egypt. Archives
Photo: Reuters
Three weeks before Passover in Egypt experiencing locust attack. Swarms of insects were observed in several districts of Cairo at the weekend, after coming area occupied shores of the Red Sea.
Farmers and residents burned tires to create black smoke smuggle the locust cities. Swarms arrived in Egypt reportedly Zafar City area, 200 km from Cairo, and the area where the city bought the locusts appeared in three villages.
Egyptian experts have warned against the "epidemic of locusts" Nile Delta. In 2004, Egypt experienced the most severe blow yellow insects, at least in recent history, severely damaged crops and agriculture."
-----------
Yuk.
Occulus
(20,599 posts)Millions of the things.
BVictor1
(229 posts)Grins
(7,218 posts)Good one! That one got me.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)Iliyah
(25,111 posts)claiming that this is their GAWDs way of punishing the infidels.
RILib
(862 posts)I forget why. Something about the establishment of Israel being part of the prophecy of the last days or something.
There is a conservative prophecy that interprets the Bible as saying that the second coming of the Christian messiah will happen only when the Jewish state is rebuilt in the Holy Land and the majority of the world's Jews have moved there.
A war will then start over the Jewish state, killing the majority of its citizens, which triggers the "end times".
This is why many fundie churches support Israel and Israeli businesses, as well as donate money to charities that resettle Jewish families there.
eggplant
(3,911 posts)radhika
(1,008 posts)The OT speaks of the first-born son, we usually think of young children. In my old Bible Stories Book in grade school, that's what the pictures showed.
But couldn't the first-born son also be an adult male, who just happened to be the first born in his parent's household. 30-40 or 50 years ago? Just wondering if we have Aramaic linguists on the board to add to this discussion.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)Or high cholesterol.
JoDog
(1,353 posts)in Egypt also slept closest to the floor. That left them open to inhaling dangerous gas fumes.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)A limnic eruption, also referred to as a lake overturn, is a rare type of natural disaster in which dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) suddenly erupts from deep lake water, suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans. Such an eruption may also cause tsunamis in the lake as the rising CO2 displaces water. Scientists believe landslides, volcanic activity, or explosions can trigger such an eruption. Lakes in which such activity occurs may be known as limnically active lakes or exploding lakes. Some features of limnically active lakes include:
...
Scientists have recently determined, from investigations into the mass casualties in the 1980s at Lake Monoun and Lake Nyos, that limnic eruptions and volcanic eruptions, although indirectly related, are actually separate types of disaster events.[1]
More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limnic_eruption
CO2 is heavier than air, so people closer to the ground would be more likely to die.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Enrique
(27,461 posts)2000 locusts seems like such a small number I wonder if it's a typo. Why would the AP report on 2000 locusts halfway across the world?
Earth_First
(14,910 posts)They are trying to give this more legs than it actually has.
timdog44
(1,388 posts)Or boils? Maybe gnats? A pay back?
kentauros
(29,414 posts)another_liberal
(8,821 posts)I'm sure every word is true. . . still, "Two thousand Locusts" don't amount to much of a "Plague." I've seen more grasshoppers than that on my front lawn in August.
jaysunb
(11,856 posts)Ian David
(69,059 posts)L0oniX
(31,493 posts)yurbud
(39,405 posts)If so, well done.
colorado_ufo
(5,734 posts)yurbud
(39,405 posts)RILib
(862 posts)snooper2
(30,151 posts)Are they trying to defy gods will!
gods "big plan", how dare they
The Stranger
(11,297 posts)Not a good sign for Israel.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Bosonic
(3,746 posts)Millions of locusts have swarmed into Israel just two weeks before Passover and on to plates of hungry diners
When Moshe Basson heard that millions of locusts were swarming across the border from Egypt just two weeks before Passover, his first thought was not of the ominous biblical precedent nor of agricultural devastation wrought by the marauding insects it was of a nice risotto with coriander seeds and a pinch of chilli.
Basson, the head chef at acclaimed kosher restaurant The Eucalyptus, has suggested a novel way of dealing with the pest: eating them. Locusts, are the only insects which are both kosher and halal, and Basson a specialist in food from the Biblical-era has served them on his menus for years. And what others have seen as a plague, he saw as a windfall.
"I've had calls from religious people who say they would pay anything to eat [locusts]. I've taken huge payments from people who want me to cook them at their homes. In the restaurant, we charge around 90 shekels (£15) a dish," Basson explained. "They taste something between sunflower seeds and baby shrimps they actually don't taste like much. I like them, but they're desired not because they are delicious but because they are rare."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/07/israel-insects