Which Companies Invest In Gaza Violence? Russell Brand The Trews (E122)

Snake Massage

For a mere 300 shekels (US$70) you can walk into Ada Barak’s health and beauty spa in Northern Israel and have a few snakes slither across your body.

Performed in Northern Israel by therapist Ada Barak, a therapeutic snake massage involves having six non-venomous serpents slip and slide down you spine to release your tensions and relieve your aching muscles. The snakes used in the treatment are a mixture of corn snakes, milk snakes and California and Florida King snakes. According to Barak if people can get over their revulsion of serpents they usually find the sensation very soothing.

Jewish behavior

The festival of Purim

Purim, one of the most joyous holidays in the Jewish calendar was held a week ago, March 8 and 9, celebrating the deliverance of the Jewish people in exile in Persia. The story is told in the Book of Esther, which is read as part of the holiday, remembering how a young Jewish girl became queen of Persia and risked the anger of her new husband to get him to prevent an attack on all Jews living in Persia, men, women, and children. The story, also called the Megillah, tells of the fall of the king’s feared adviser, who perishes out of his own malice, the bravery of a young woman, and the perseverance of the Jewish people. The festival is celebrated with gifts of food and drink, feasting, and games, especially dressing in costumes to remember how Esther was chosen as most beautiful in the kingdom.


An Ultra Orthodox Jewish boy stands dressed in a costume during celebrations for the holiday of Purim at the Belz Hasidic dynasty synagogue in Jerusalem on March 8. Purim is a celebration of the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther. (Baz Ratner/Reuters)


Ultra Orthodox Jewish boys dressed for Purim pose for a photograph during celebration of Purim festival in Bnei Brak, Israel on March 7. (Ariel Schalit/Associated Press)


Ultra Orthodox Jewish men celebrate the holiday of Purim in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood on March 9. (Baz Ratner/Reuters)


A boy dressed in costume looks from under a reading stand as Ultra Orthodox Jewish men read the Book of Esther during celebrations for the holiday of Purim at the Belz Hasidic dynasty synagogue in Jerusalem on March 8. Purim is a celebration of the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther. (Baz Ratner/Reuters)


Ultra Orthodox Jews read the Esther scrolls at a synagogue in the Israeli town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv on March 7 during celebrations of the Purim holiday. The carnival-like Purim holiday is celebrated from the evening of March 7 with parades and costume parties to commemorate a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire 2,500 years ago, as recorded in the Book of Esther. (Mehahem KahanaAFP/Getty Images)


Ultra Orthodox Jews belonging to the Lelov, a Hasidic dynasty from Poland, dance as they celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim late on March 8 in Beit Shemesh, a religious town near Jerusalem. Purim marks the deliverance of the Jewish people from a genocidal plot in ancient Persia, as recorded in the Book of Esther. (Mehahem KahanaAFP/Getty Images)


A Ultra Orthodox Jewish man arrives at a synagogue during the Purim festival in Jerusalem on March 8. (Sebastian Scheiner/Associated Press)


Ultra Orthodox Jewish men celebrate Purim inside a synagogue in Jerusalem on March 9. The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Scroll of Esther. (Bernat Armangue/Associated Press)


Ultra Orthodox Jews celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim on March 8 in Benei Brak, Israel. The carnival-like Purim holiday is celebrated with parades and costume parties to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)


Israeli soldiers keep guard as an Israeli settler's daughter celebrates the annual Purim parade on March 8 in the divided West Bank city of Hebron. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)


Ultra Orthodox Jews wearing costumes, celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim on March 9 in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)


An Israeli soldier kept guard as Israeli settlers wearing various costumes to celebrate the annual Purim parade on March 8 in the divided West Bank city of Hebron. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)


Utra Orthodox Jewish men celebrate Purim inside a synagogue in Jerusalem on March 9. The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Scroll of Esther. (Bernat Armangue/Associated Press)


Ultra Orthodox Jews celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood on March 9. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)


A Jewish settler wearing a wig walks with children past Israeli soldiers standing guard in the West Bank city of Hebron on March 8 as they take part in a parade for the Jewish holiday of Purim. (Nir Elias/Reuters)


Ultra Orthodox Jewish sisters Simcha (left) and Miri dressed as dolls in a box wait for their mother to join in the celebration of the Purim festival in Bnei Brak, Israel on March 8. (Ariel Schalit/Associated Press)


Israelis dressed up in costumes are seen during a street party to mark the Jewish festival of Purim, in Tel Aviv on March 9. (Oded Balilty/Associated Press)


A woman wearing zombie make-up and a wedding dress talks on the phone while waiting for a friend to join the 2012 Zombie Walk during the Purim festival in Tel Aviv on March 6. About 250 participants matched in central Tel Aviv during the walk. (Ariel Schalit/Associated Press)


Israeli dancers perform during a Purim parade in Holon, Israel on March 8. The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Scroll of Esther. (Dan Balilty/Associated Press)


A child is seen dressed in a costume to celebrate during the Purim festival at a synagogue in an Ultra Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem on March 8. (Sebastian Scheiner/Associated Press)


An Ultra Orthodox Jewish child dressed in a traditional Purim costume in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem on March 8. The festival of Purim commemorates the rescue of Jews' from genocide in ancient Persia. (Bernat Armangue/Associated Press)


An Ultra Orthodox Jewish girl was dressed as a bride during the Purim festival in Bnei Brak, Israel on March 8. Purim celebrates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia.

The transfer of prisoners: Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit is returned home in exchange for some 1,000 Palestinian prisoners

After being held captive by the Palestinian group Hamas for five years, Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit returned to his home in Mitzpe Hila, northern Israel. As his family and friends were celebrating his freedom, 477 of an eventual 1,027 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were released to mass celebrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, part of the deal with Hamas. Schalit, a tank crewman who is now 25, was captured in June of 2006 near the Gaza border.
1. Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz embraced released Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and Defense Minister Ehud Barak also greeted him at Tel Nof Airbase on Oct. 18. Looking thin, weary, and dazed, Schalit returned home after more than five years of captivity in the Gaza Strip in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners whose joyful families greeted them with massive celebrations. (Israeli Government Press Office/Associated Press)


2. Flag-waving Israelis greet the convoy carrying freed Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit as it made its way to his home in Mitzpe Hila, northern Israel, Oct. 18. (Moran Maayan/Associated Press)


3. People reacted as they saw the first images of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in Mitzpe Hila, northern Israel, Oct. 18. In the video, Schalit appeared thin and pale but otherwise healthy. (Oded Balilty/Associated Press)


4. An Israeli military helicopter carrying released soldier Gilad Schalit landed in Mitzpe Hila, northern Israel, Oct. 18. (Ariel Schalit/Associated Press)


5. Noam Schalit, father of released soldier Gilad Schalit, delivered a statement to the media in Mitzpe Hila, northern Israel, Oct. 18. He said, in part, "Today, we feel that we have experienced the birth of a new son. I wish to thank the public, all of you, those gathered here today to support us and greet Gilad with warmth and support, solidarity." (Ariel Schalit/Associated Press)


6. Released Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit was escorted by members of Hamas on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing. Looking dazed, thin, and pale, Gilad Schalit emerged from a pickup truck on Oct. 18 under the escort of his Hamas captors and the Egyptian mediators who helped arrange the Israeli tank crewman's release after more than five years in captivity. (Khalid Farid/Associated Press)


7. Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit saluted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at the Tel Nof Air base in southern Israel. ( Israeli Government Press Office/Associated Press)


8. A woman cried upon seeing the first images of released Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit after more than five years in captivity, at the Tel-Nof Air Force base. (Sebastian Scheiner/Associated Press)


9. Members of the Roman Jewish community waved Israeli flags as they celebrated the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, at Rome's Capitol Hill, Oct. 18. (Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press)


10. A Hamas security officer watched a crowd of Palestinians celebrating the release of prisoners at the main square in Gaza City, Oct. 18. Hamas agreed to release Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, many of them serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis. The arrival of the prisoners set off celebrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where large crowds and dignitaries greeted them. (Majed Hamdan/Associated Press)


11. The daughter of released Palestinian prisoner Walid Ghattas, who had been in prison for 20 years, cried as she waited for her meeting with Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal in Cairo on Oct. 18. Hundreds of Palestinians were freed from Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of Gilad Schalit, the Israeli soldier held for five years by the enclave's Islamist rulers, Hamas. (Amr Nabil/Associated Press)


12. Relatives waved to Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails as their bus crossed into Egypt at the border crossing in Rafah, Egypt. (Nasser Nasser/Associated Press)


13. Alaeddin Ahmad Reza Albazian is carried on shoulders outside al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Oct. 18, after he was released from Israeli prison. (Awad Awad/Associated Press)


14. Palestinian prisoners who were freed from Israeli jails waved from a bus in Rafah, Egypt. (Khalil Hamra/Associated Press)


15. Egyptian police officers stood guard as a convoy of buses transporting freed Palestinian prisoners left the Egyptian terminal of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing in Rafah, Egypt. (Nasser Nasser/Associated Press)


16. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (left) stood with released Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Al Hasani during a welcoming ceremony in Gaza City on Oct. 18. (Tara Todras-Whitehill/Associated Press)


17. Residents waved to Israeli military helicopters, one of them transporting released Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, as they approached Mitzpe Hila, northern Israel, Oct. 18. (Ariel Schalit/Associated Press)


18. Israelis released a dove as they celebrated the return of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit at the Kerem Shalom border crossing. (Tsafrir Abayov/Associated Press)


19. Released Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit was escorted by his father, Noam Schalit, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minster Ehud Barak at Tel Nof Air base in southern Israel on Oct. 18. (Israeli Government Press Office/Associated Press)