The tower in question is nicknamed “The Eye of Sauron” from the wildly popular Lord of the Rings fantasy series due to its powerful glow.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A power installation in Israel’s desert is such a bright spot on earth that even in daylight in can be seen from outer space.

“Intriguing sight! A bright dot in the Negev desert… so unusual to see human-made lights in day passes,” astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti tweeted Thursday from the International Space Station.

She immediately explained that “It’s a concentrated solar power plant, one of the technologies to get renewable energy from the Sun. With one of the world’s tallest solar power towers!”

Intriguing sight! A bright dot in the Negev desert…so unusual to see human-made lights in day passes! It’s a concentrated solar power plant, one of the technologies to get renewable energy from the Sun. With one of the world’s tallest solar power towers! #MissionMinerva pic.twitter.com/MFbCpXpxmG

— Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) August 25, 2022

Looking at the wide-lens pictures Cristoforetti posted, the point of light is so tiny it may have still been missed by viewers, even alone as it is in a landscape of beiges, whites and even blues. The European Space Agency astronaut helpfully circled the spot and took a closer shot in which the dot was clearly visible – though still miniscule.

This dot from so high up is in fact a 240-meter-tall tower that is part of Israel’s first concentrated solar power station in the town of Ashalim in southern Israel.

More than 50,000 solar arrays called heliostats concentrated over three square kilometers aim sunlight to a steam boiler on top of the tower, which then generates high-temperature steam. The steam is piped to a turbine to produce over 300 million kilowatts hours of clean electricity annually to Israel’s national grid, according to company owner Megalim’s website.

It is the reflection of the light from the collector atop the tower that produces the powerful glow that Cristoforetti and her colleagues can see, nicknamed “The Eye of Sauron” from the wildly popular Lord of the Rings fantasy series.

Negev residents have complained about the light, although it isn’t dangerous.

For Cristoforetti, this is her second stint at the space station. During her first stay, from November 2014 to May 2015, the set the record (since broken) for a woman in space.

The space station crew has to work somewhat quickly to take pictures of specific places on earth, as day and night pass quickly up in orbit, with 16 sunrises and sunsets each day.

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Eytan Stibbe will conduct 35 Israeli-designed scientific experiments aboard the International Space Station.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

An Israeli astronaut is set to launch into space for only the second time in the country’s history Friday to conduct nearly three dozen scientific experiments on the International Space Station (ISS).

Eytan Stibbe is a former flying ace who served for years in the air force with Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who died in the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster when the aircraft exploded on reentry to Earth’s atmosphere.

Stibbe, 64, will be going to space with three other astronauts, two American and one Canadian, on the first completely private space mission by Axiom Space Inc., an American space infrastructure developer. Stibbe’s part was dubbed the “Rakia” (Heavens) mission by its joint Israeli backers, the Israel Space Agency, the Ramon Foundation, and the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.

He will be running 35 experiments designed by Israeli universities, private companies, hospitals and even high school students. While six different fields are represented – astrophysics, optics, engineering, medicine, renewable energies, and agriculture – two thirds  are medical.

These include a test that is part of an attempt to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, trying out a no-needle blood-test device, and studying leukemia cells under microgravity conditions, among others.

Three others are related to how to grow food in space, from chickpeas for humus to nutrient-rich vegetables and lab-grown meat. Stibbe will also use a plant called Moringa that is considered a superfood but whose seed powder is a sanitizer that kills bacteria. The Moringa experiment was designed by religious teens in Safed’s Amit Yeshiva High School.

Stibbe will also set aside time to lecture to students back home and to read a storybook called Beauty of the World by Israeli prize-winning painter and children’s author, Paul Kor. Knowing how symbolic his mission is in Jewish history, he is also bringing to space a coin minted during the Bar Kochba Revolt nearly 2,000 years ago.

When choosing the coin in August, the astronaut said that it “represents the connection to the land, the love of the country, and the desire of the population of Israel in those years for independence.”

Having been a close friend of Ilan Ramon, he told Israel Hayom last month that he will also be taking along some pages of the diary that Israel’s space pioneer wrote on his ill-fated flight that miraculously survived the disaster, as well as a painting created by Ramon’s daughter, Noa.

In general, he said he hopes that his mission will “change the sentiment in Israel that connects manned space flight and tragedy,” he told the Hebrew daily.

Blasting off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, the Axiom Mission 1 flight is set to dock at the ISS on Saturday.

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In condemning Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said satellites were also now in jeopardy.

By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press

A Russian weapons test created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk now threatening the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station, according to U.S. officials who called the strike reckless and irresponsible.

The State Department confirmed Monday that the debris was from an old Russian satellite destroyed by the missile.

“Needless to say, I’m outraged. This is unconscionable,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told The Associated Press. “It’s unbelievable that the Russian government would do this test and threaten not only international astronauts, but their own cosmonauts that are on board the station” as well as the three people on China’s space station.

Nelson said the astronauts now face four times greater risk than normal. And that’s based on debris big enough to track, with hundreds of thousands of smaller pieces going undetected — “any one of which can do enormous damage if it hits in the right place.”

In condemning Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said satellites were also now in jeopardy.

The test clearly demonstrates that Russia “despite its claims of opposing the weaponization of outer space, is willing to … imperil the exploration and use of outer space by all nations through its reckless and irresponsible behavior,” Blinken said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment late Monday from Russia about the missile strike.

Once the threat became clear early Monday morning, the four Americans, one German and two Russians on board were ordered to immediately seek shelter in their docked capsules. They spent two hours in the two capsules, finally emerging only to have to close and reopen hatches to the station’s individuals labs on every orbit, or 1 1/2 hours, as they passed near or through the debris.

By the end of the day, only the hatches to the central core of the station remained open, as the crew slept, according to Nelson.

Even a fleck of paint can do major damage when orbiting at 17,500 mph (28,000 kph). Something big, upon impact, could be catastrophic.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the U.S. has repeatedly raised concerns with Russia about doing a satellite test.

“We are going to continue to make very clear that we won’t tolerate this kind of activity,” he told reporters.

NASA Mission Control said the heightened threat could continue to interrupt the astronauts’ science research and other work. Four of the seven crew members arrived at the orbiting outpost Thursday night.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who’s midway through a yearlong mission, called it “a crazy but well-coordinated day” as he bid Mission Control good night.

“It was certainly a great way to bond as a crew, starting off with our very first work day in space,” he said.

A similar weapons test by China in 2007 also resulted in countless debris. One of those pieces threatened to come dangerously close to the space station last week. While it later was dismissed as a risk, NASA had the station move anyway.

Anti-satellite missile tests by the U.S. in 2008 and India in 2019 were conducted at much lower altitudes, well below the space station at about 260 miles (420 kilometers.)

The defunct Russian satellite Cosmos 1408 was orbiting about 40 miles (65 kilometers) higher.

Until Monday, the U.S. Space Command already was tracking some 20,000 pieces of space junk, including old and broken satellites from around the world.

Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said it will take days if not weeks and months to catalogue the latest wreckage and confirm their orbits. The fragments will begin to spread out over time, due to atmospheric drag and other forces, he said in an email.

The space station is at especially high risk because the test occurred near its orbit, McDowell said. But all objects in low-Earth orbit — including China’s space station and even the Hubble Space Telescope — will be at “somewhat enhanced risk” over the next few years, he noted.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Space Agency said via Twitter that the astronauts were ordered into their docked capsules, in case they had to make a quick getaway. The agency said the crew was back doing routine operations, and the space station’s commander, Russian Anton Shkaplerov, tweeted: “Friends, everything is regular with us!”

But the cloud of debris posed a threat on each passing orbit — or every 1 1/2 hours — and all robotic activity on the U.S. side was put on hold. German astronaut Matthias Maurer also had to find a safer place to sleep than the European lab.

NASA’s Nelson noted that the Russians and Americans have had a space partnership for a half-century — going back to the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975.

“I don’t want it to be threatened,” he told the AP, noting both countries are needed for the space station. “You’ve got to operate it together.”

____

AP reporters Matthew Lee and Robert Burns in Washington contributed.

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For the first time ever, green and red chiles grown in outer space were harvested and eaten.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s statement before embarking on the first-ever human walk on the moon has become an iconic quote – “‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Now, Mexican food has taken its own giant leap forward, skyrocketing to new heights with the very 21st century distinction of being the star of a party at the International Space Station.

For the first time ever, green and red chiles grown in outer space were harvested, then eaten within tacos by astronauts as part of a scientific taste test and experiment.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei harvested the chiles last Friday, which took four months to grow aboard the International Space Station.

“Friday Feasting! After the harvest, we got to taste red and green chile,” wrote astronaut Megan McArthur on Twitter, alongside photos of the space-age culinary delight floating in zero gravity.

“Then we filled out surveys (got to have the data! ). Finally, I made my best space tacos yet: fajita beef, rehydrated tomatoes & artichokes, and HATCH CHILE!”

Friday Feasting! After the harvest, we got to taste red and green chile. Then we filled out surveys (got to have the data! ). Finally, I made my best space tacos yet: fajita beef, rehydrated tomatoes & artichokes, and HATCH CHILE! https://t.co/pzvS5A6z5u pic.twitter.com/fJ8yLZuhZS

— Megan McArthur (@Astro_Megan) October 29, 2021

The plant growing project is critical both for deepening understanding of horticulture in outer space, as well as protecting astronauts’ physical and mental health.

With most foods on space missions being freeze-dried and bland, and the view outside the window sometimes bleak, looking after a living, green plant and enjoying the fruits of their labors can boost astronauts’ emotional wellbeing, as well as provide them with additional vitamins and nutrients.

“Growing colorful vegetables in space can have long-term benefits for physical and psychological health,” said Matt Romeyn, a principal investigator for the experiment, in a statement.

“We are discovering that growing plants and vegetables with colors and smells helps to improve astronauts’ well-being.”

LaShelle Spencer, a plant scientist and leader in the experiment said that the experiment could influence nutritional plans for astronauts on future years-long missions to other planets.

“The food astronauts eat needs to be as good as the rest of their equipment,” she said in a statement.

“To successfully send people to Mars and bring them back to Earth, we will not only require the most nutritious foods, but the best tasting ones as well.”

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A scientific committee, overseen by top Israeli space scientist Inbal Kreiss, will choose 10-15 Israeli experiments for the International Space Station (ISS), CTech reports.

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Eytan Stibbe, a former fighter pilot, is slated to take off for space from Florida during the last months of 2021.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Israel is preparing to send its second-ever astronaut into space, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin announced at a Jerusalem press conference on Monday.

Eytan Stibbe, a former fighter pilot, is slated to take off for space from Florida during the last months of 2021.

He is expected to spend 200 hours at the International Space Station. Three months before taking off, he will undergo intense training in Russia, Germany, and the U.S.

“This is a day of national celebration and immense pride,” said Rivlin. “An Israeli pilot, with a blue and white flag on his uniform, is proving once again, as we have proved here over the last 72 years, that even the skies are not the limit.”

“My dear Eytan, up there…you will do Israeli experiments, some of which have been developed by our young people. You will be the messenger of those brilliant brains, the present and future generations of Israeli research, and will help them understand how the world works when we look at it from afar.

“You will be Israel’s representative in a human effort to understand the wonderful workings that allow life on this planet, and uncover the secrets of the universe.

“We give you our blessings for the way and wish you great success. Go in peace and return in peace, and do not forget to wave to us from up there. We are waiting for you here at home.”

Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, was killed in the 2003 space shuttle Columbia disaster.

Ramon’s eldest son Assaf was later killed in an accident during a training flight, just three months after graduating from the Israeli Air Force pilots’ course as the top cadet in his class.

Tal Ramon, Ilan Ramon’s younger son, spoke at the press conference and said his late mother would have been thrilled at the news. Stibbe is a longtime friend of the Ramon family.

“I’m very excited because I know if my mother were standing here she would put up her hands in victory like this, and speak very proudly about our friend, a friend I remember from my very first memories,” he said.

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The eight genetically engineered “mighty mice” launched with double the muscle maintained their bulk.

By Associated Press

Bulked-up, mutant “mighty mice” held onto their muscle during a monthlong stay at the International Space Station, returning to Earth with ripped bodybuilder physiques, scientists reported.

The findings hold promise for preventing muscle and bone loss in astronauts on prolonged space trips like Mars missions, as well as people on Earth who are confined to bed or need wheelchairs.

A research team led by Dr. Se-Jin Lee of the Jackson Laboratory in Connecticut sent 40 young female black mice to the space station in December, launching aboard a SpaceX rocket.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Lee said the 24 regular untreated mice lost considerable muscle and bone mass in weightlessness as expectedhe eight genetically engineered “mighty mice” launched with double the muscle maintained their bulk. — up to 18%.

Their muscles appeared to be comparable to similar “mighty mice” that stayed behind at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

In addition, eight normal mice that received “mighty mouse” treatment in space returned to Earth with dramatically bigger muscles. The treatment involves blocking a pair of proteins that typically limit muscle mass.

A SpaceX capsule brought all 40 mice back in good condition, parachuting into the Pacific off the California coast in January. Some of the ordinary mice were injected with the “mighty mice” drug after returning and quickly built up more muscle than their untreated companions, Lee said.

The scientists completed the experiment just as the coronavirus was hitting the U.S.

“The only silver lining of COVID is that we had time to write it up very intensively” and submit the results for publication, said Dr. Emily Germain-Lee of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Lee’s wife who also took part in the study. Both are affiliated with the University of Connecticut.

While encouraged by their findings, the couple said much more work needs to be done before testing the drug on people to build up muscle and bone, without serious side effects.

“We’re years away. But that’s how everything is when you go from mouse to human studies,” Germain-Lee said.

Lee said the experiment pointed out other molecules and signaling pathways worth investigating — “an embarrassment of riches … so many things we’d like to pursue.” His next step: possibly sending more “mighty mice” to the space station for an even longer stay.

Three NASA astronauts looked after the space mice, performing body scans and injections: Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, who performed the first all-female spacewalk last fall, and Andrew Morgan. They are listed as co-authors.

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NASA has assigned Jeanette Epps to NASA’s Boeing Starliner-1 mission, the first operational crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.

By World Israel News Staff

NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps will make history. She will be the first black female astronaut to join as a crew member of the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA has assigned Jeanette Epps to NASA’s Boeing Starliner-1 mission, the first operational crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on a mission to the International Space Station.

Epps posted a video on Twitter saying she was “super-excited” to be joining the mission.

Epps will join NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada for a six-month expedition planned for a launch in 2021 to the orbiting space laboratory. NASA says six black Americans have visited the ISS but none for an extended period of time.

Epps had been slated to join a June 2018 mission but was scratched from that mission in favor of another astronaut.

The spaceflight will be the first for Epps, who earned a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1992 from LeMoyne College in her hometown of Syracuse, New York. She completed a master’s degree in science in 1994 and a doctorate in aerospace engineering in 2000, both from the University of Maryland, College Park.

While earning her doctorate, Epps was a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Project fellow, authoring several journal and conference articles on her research. After completing graduate school, she worked in a research laboratory for more than two years, co-authoring several patents, before the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruited her.

She spent seven years as a CIA technical intelligence officer before her selection as a member of the 2009 astronaut class.

Thank you @JimBridenstine! I’m looking forward to the mission. https://t.co/h2xIJMK1Ef pic.twitter.com/cSRf1SE4cr

— Jeanette J. Epps (@Astro_Jeanette) August 25, 2020

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry as companies develop and operate a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems capable of carrying crews to low-Earth orbit and to the space station. Commercial transportation to and from the station will provide expanded utility, additional research time and broader opportunities for discovery on the orbital outpost.

“As commercial companies focus on providing human transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit, NASA will concentrate its focus on building spacecraft and rockets for deep-space missions,” NASA said.

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Meir is the fourth woman of Jewish heritage and the 15th woman overall to be part of a space mission.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

The state of affairs on planet Earth is a lot different from when NASA astronaut Jessica Meir left eight months ago.

“There were only three people on the space station and it was difficult for us to understand: Wow, of the 7.5 billion humans on Earth right now, we are really the only three people that aren’t affected by this,” Meir told CBS News, referring to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We came back to all these masked faces,” Meir said. “The people pulling us out of the capsule, they were already wearing masks, so that was really the first human that we saw.”

Despite her time in space where social distancing is 250 miles, Meir said she finds the six-feet social distancing regulation of corona much more taxing.

“From a distance, we kind of could do a virtual hug,” Meir said. “It’s quite difficult for me. I’m a hugger, and now I’ve been up there for seven months and I can’t even hug people, so it’s pretty difficult.”

Although normally astronauts returning back from space are mandated to go into quarantine for a week, since long-duration space missions compromise the immune system, NASA has enforced a prolonged quarantine because of coronavirus.

On Sep. 25, 2019, Meir lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the ISS together with Russian astronaut Oleg Skripochka and Hazzaa Ali Almansoori, the first Arab to ever set foot on the International Space Station.

Meir is the fourth woman of Jewish heritage and the 15th woman overall to be part of a space mission.

Meir’s Jewish roots come from her late father who was an Iraqi-Israeli Jew. He emigrated with his family to pre-state Israel as a child and fought in the War of Independence. He became a doctor and moved to Sweden, where he met Meir’s mother. The family eventually moved to Maine because of her father’s work.

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Jessica Meir is the fourth woman of Jewish heritage and the 15th overall to be part of a space mission.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

Jewish NASA astronaut Jessica Meir tweeted an inspiring message as she looked down at Tel Aviv from the International Space Station (ISS) shortly after midnight (UTC+02:00).

“Gazing down at the city in which my father was raised, I take to heart one of his most uttered expressions, ‘This too shall pass.’ Wise words to remember, in both good times and bad. Goodnight,” Meir tweeted.

This is the second time Meir tweeted from the space station after Israel came to view.

In November, she tweeted, “My father’s globe spanning journey as a surgeon from the Middle East, to Europe, and eventually to the U.S. was an inspiration to many in my immediate and extended family.”

In both instances, Meir attached stunning photos of the Holy Land as seen from space.

On Sep. 25, Meir lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the ISS together with Russian astronaut Oleg Skripochka and Hazzaa Ali Almansoori, the first Arab to ever set foot on the International Space Station.

Meir is the fourth woman of Jewish heritage and the 15th overall to be part of a space mission.

Meir’s Jewish roots come from her late father, who was an Iraqi-Israeli Jew. He immigrated with his family to pre-state Israel as a child and fought in the War of Independence. He became a doctor and moved to Sweden, where he met Meir’s mother. The family eventually moved to Maine because of her father’s work.

Onboard the ISS, Meir is conducting medical, physiological and chemical experiments to learn more about how staying in space affects human beings.

On a clear day, the ISS is visible to the naked eye from the ground.

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Meir is the fourth woman of Jewish heritage to be part of a space mission.

By World Israel News Staff

On Monday, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir tweeted out her holiday wishes from the International Space Station (ISS) alongside a photo of her purple menorah and green Star of David socks.

“Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate it on Earth!” Meir tweeted from the space station’s Cupola module.

Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate it on Earth! #HappyHanukkah pic.twitter.com/FKC2M5iXni

— Jessica Meir (@Astro_Jessica) December 23, 2019

Hundreds of Meir’s Twitter followers expressed their appreciation and amazement.

“An important aspect of lighting the menorah in the front of our homes is publicizing the miracle of Hanukkah. By celebrating in front of the entire planet, you have taken Hanukkah to a whole new level. Great work and happy Hanukkah Jessica!” one tweet said.

“Pretty nice view but, oy, those socks!” said another.

On Sep. 25, Meir lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the ISS together with Russian astronaut Oleg Skripochka and Hazzaa Ali Almansoori, the first Arab to ever set foot on the International Space Station.

Meir is the fourth woman of Jewish heritage and the 15th overall to be part of a space mission.

Meir’s Jewish roots come from her late father who was an Iraqi-Israeli Jew. He emigrated with his family to pre-state Israel as a child and fought in the War of Independence. He became a doctor and moved to Sweden, where he met Meir’s mother. The family eventually moved to Maine because of her father’s work.

Onboard the ISS, Meir is conducting medical, physiological and chemical experiments to learn more about how staying in space affects human beings.

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“My father’s globe-spanning journey as a surgeon from the Middle East, to Europe, and eventually to the U.S. was an inspiration,” wrote Jessica Meir.

By World Israel News Staff 

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir posted three photographs on Twitter on Friday which show Israel as seen from space.

Meir is a Swedish-American whose father is Israeli.

“My father’s globe spanning journey as a surgeon from the Middle East, to Europe, and eventually to the U.S. was an inspiration to many in my immediate and extended family,” she tweeted in the post in which she also displays the photos.

She is a “Comparative physiologist. Explorer. Nature lover. Current resident of the International Space Station,” as she describes herself on Twitter.

She blasted off from a launch facility in Kazakhstan on September 25.  The crew also included a Russian and the first astronaut in space from the United Arab Emirates.

Meir’s mission is to last more than six months.

On October 18, she and fellow-astronaut Christina Koch “completed NASA’s first all-woman spacewalk,” said the U.S. space agency

“During the 7-hour, 17-minute spacewalk, the pair replaced a failed power controller and completed several other tasks in preparation for future spacewalks,” said the NASA statement.

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir (Twitter)

During her mission, Meir has also conducted an “Earth-to-space call” with students at her high school, telling the current students: “Never be afraid to take a risk and fail. In the end, it may bring you closer to what you want to do.”

The International Space Station has been orbiting Earth since 1998.

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He will be the first Arab to ever set foot on the International Space Station

By World Israel News

An Arab astronaut will be heading to the International Space Station along with a Jewish astronaut for the very first time.

Hazzaa Al Mansoori from the United Arab Emirates will be joined by NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and Russian commander Oleg Skripochka on board a Soyuz MS 15 rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Meir, the daughter of an Iraqi-Israeli father, will be the fourth Jewish woman and the 15th Jew overall to be part of a space mission.

Mansoori said that he is very excited to be the first Arab to ever set foot on the International Space Station.

“It is really an honor and we are looking forward to [making] this mission successful and to come back with a lot of knowledge,” he said.

Mansoori also discussed what will happen during the flight to the ISS.

“We will be sitting in the Soyuz on top of the rocket for two hours in a very…tight position, and we will be launching for six hours, going to the ISS. It really needs a lot of patience, and we are ready for anything we will face,” he said.

At a press conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in July, Mansoori said that he will be working on daily experiments and finding ways to connect with United Arab Emirates youth from orbit.

Mansoori, 35, graduated from Khalifa bin Zayed Air College in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, with a bachelor’s degree in aviation in 2004, and joined the UAE armed forces shortly afterward. He applied to the UAE space program in 2018 and beat out more than 4,000 candidates for the mission to the ISS.

Both the Arab and Jewish astronauts will be bringing personal items with them for the trip. Mansoori will be bringing pictures of his family and the UAE flag, and Meir will be bringing an Israeli flag and a pair of socks with menorahs.

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