December 15, 2021
Second 2000-year-old Synagogue found at Migdal
A 2,000-year-old synagogue from the Second Temple Period was recently uncovered at Migdal, on the northwestern edge of the Sea of Galilee, making it the second such synagogue found in the ancient community. This is the first time that two synagogues from the Second Temple period have been found in the same locale. Dina Avshalom-Gorni of the University of Haifa, one of the directors of the excavations noted: “The discovery of a second synagogue in this Galilean settlement casts light on the social and religious lives of the Jews in the area in this period, and reflects a need for a dedicated building for Torah reading and study and for social gatherings.” 
Can exposure to books at an early age
protect against dementia?
More than five million adults over the age of 65 suffer from dementia, and over 14 million are expected to have the disease by 2060, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A new study indicates that a home filled with books in earlier life could have an impact on cognitive aging. Dr. Galit Weinstein of the University of Haifa, Dr. Ella Cohn-Schwartz of Ben Gurion University, and Noam Damri of the Israel Gerontological Data Center conducted analyses based on the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), a database of hundreds of thousands of questionnaires, to find out whether elderly participants (who were deemed healthy, free of diagnosed stroke, Alzheimer's etc.) had better memory, fluency and overall cognitive function, based on their childhood exposure to reading material.
Sea level rise could wipe out Israeli beaches
Results of a joint study, conducted by the University of Haifa's School of Marine Sciences and the Rupin Academic Center's Faculty of Marine Sciences on three main beaches along the shores of Israel – Ashdod Beach, Tel Aviv Promenade Beach and Dado Beach in Haifa (pictured) – show that they will be flooded and disappear as a result of the sea level rising by only 40 cm, something that is expected to happen later in the current century.
Is the US missing the bigger picture on Iran?
Director of the National Security Studies Center,
University of Haifa
While the nuclear deal seeks to limit Iran's progress in uranium enrichment, it fails to account for an array of negative repercussions on the region. The coming months are crucial to Israel's national security because the decision the United States makes with regard to Iran will shape our strategic environment for years to come. And whoever looks at the implications of the US policy from the nuclear aspect alone is missing the point.
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