Sandstorms Blast Israel

Bedouin boy walks with dry bush during sandstorm in Israel’s Negev Desert. Image by getty images

By JTA February 11, 2015

Israel was covered with sand and dust storms, causing airports to close and many Israelis to remain indoors.

Winds also reached up to 60 miles per hour on Tuesday night and Wednesday in parts of the country.

The pollution levels due to the sandstorm on Wednesday were the worst measured in five years. The elderly, children, pregnant women and those with heart or lung issues were recommended to cut out strenuous physical activity.

The Eilat and Sde Dov airports closed Wednesday morning due to lack of visibility.

By Wednesday afternoon, rain and hail began falling in the center of Israel and the coastal areas, washing the dust out of the air and causing it to settle.

The rain is set to continue for the rest of the week, along with unseasonably cold temperatures that could bring snow to parts of Israel.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO