GW Expert Available: Elections in Iran Take Place Friday
George Washington University
While many aspects of Philistine culture are well-documented, the specifics of Philistine religious practices and deities have long remained shrouded in mystery. The study by Frumin et al. on "Plant-Related Philistine Ritual Practices at Biblical Gath," recently published in Scientific Reports by researchers at Bar-Ilan University, contributes valuable new data to our understanding of the Philistine's ritual practices. The discovery of numerous plants in two temples unearthed at the site unraveled unprecedented insights into Philistine cultic rituals and beliefs – their temple food ingredients, timing of ceremonies, and plants for temple decoration.
Virginia Tech has several experts available to speak on various topics surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict. Israeli politics and foreign policy Joel Peters is a professor of government and international affairs in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech located in the Washington, D.C., metro area. His research interests and publications cover Israeli politics and foreign policy, the Arab-Israeli peace process, regional cooperation in the Middle East and Europe’s relations in the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
Mental Health, Anxiety experts on coping with reports from the Middle East
The oil-rich nations of the Middle East have resolutely spurned democracy, even as countries in other parts of the world have transitioned away from authoritarianism in the past several decades. What explains the stubborn hold of these authoritarian regimes? Is it related to the wealth of the region? Nimah Mazaheri, an associate professor and chair of Tufts University Political Science Department, explores these questions in his new book, Hydrocarbon Citizens: How Oil Transformed People and Politics in the Middle East. He’s especially interested in the resilience of authoritarian regimes throughout the Middle East in the wake of the pro-democracy movements of the Arab Spring in the early 2010s.
Experts on the Israel-Gaza conflict from Bar-Ilan University are available to speak to the media on matters such as the role of government during crisis, Hamas and terrorist organizations, military strategy, and Communications in times of crisis.
Gems' unique elemental composition and atomic orientation act as a fingerprint, enabling researchers to uncover the stones’ past, and with it, historical trade routes. In AIP Advances, Khedr et al. employ three modern spectroscopic techniques to rapidly analyze gems found in the Arabian-Nubian Shield and compare them with similar gems from around the world. The authors identified elements that influence gems’ color, differentiated stones found within and outside the region, and distinguished natural from synthetic.
In October, the excavation work for the superlative construction project began. What some consider an ideal ecological city, others call a promotional gimmick. Researchers from the Complexity Science Hub now show why The Line should not be a showcase for future cities.
Labor strikes and protests by Israeli military officers have decried moves by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin (“Bibi”) Netanyahu to overhaul the judiciary system, potentially reducing the power of the country’s Supreme Court. After firing a defense minister who opposed the overhaul last week, Netanyahu agreed to delay the judicial review for now.
Cleveland Clinic has opened a new state-of-the-art cancer facility, named the Fatima bint Mubarak Center, at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, located in the United Arab Emirates capital.
Residents of Southern Turkey were again jolted by a new earthquake Monday, this trembler reported by the U.S. Geology Survey (USGS) as 6.3 in magnitude. News reports state that scores of buildings that were damaged in powerful quakes on February 6 have been further damaged or outright collapsed. Virginia Tech’s Robert Weiss, who studies natural hazards, calls the devastating trio of earthquake “unusual,” but not “impossible.