A warning for an apocalyptic situation could result from the next earthquake to hit Israel in which millions of apartments and thousands of public buildings could collapse. According to the ACBI, a strong earthquake could lead to tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of homeless. Earthquakes have occurred in Israel on the average of once every 80 years in recent centuries.

In addition to the major Biblical earthquakes, two major earthquakes occurred in Israel during the last two centuries. The first earthquake, in January 1837, killed some 5,000 people, destroyed the city of Tzfat and damaged nearby Arab villages, while the second one, in July 1927, killed over 500 people, and caused heavy damage in Jericho, Shechem (Nablus), Jerusalem and Hevron. An earthquake centered in Lebanon was felt in Israel and Syria.

The relationship between the Jewish people and the tasty almond is traced back to the Torah. Almonds were among the produce of the Land of Israel presented by Jacob to the Egyptian Pharaoh via his sons in Genesis 43, when they went down to Egypt to buy food during the famine in Canaan.

When leadership roles were being clarified, the staff of Aaron sprouted almond buds to show that he was chosen by G-d in Numbers 17.  Jeremiah also was shown an almond branch by G-d in his first prophetic vision (Jeremiah 1). The beautifully-blossomed almond tree featured prominently in Israeli celebrations of Tu b’Shevat has a dark side.

Nectar of almond flowers contains 4-10 milligrams per litre of amygdalin, which yields the potent poison cyanide. While sweet almonds are safe for eating (though causing an allergic reaction in some people), wild bitter almonds also contain amounts of amygdalin and could be toxic, especially for young children.

A group of researchers at the Department of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Science Education at the University of Haifa-Oranim investigated why the almond tree produces poison, especially when the purpose of flower nectar is to attract bees, which will pollinate them. They discovered that the lethal substance is actually there to give the lushly-flowered tree an advantage over nearby competitors.

The research team exposed honey bees to plates of nectar that had varying concentrations of the toxin and a plate of nectar without the toxin. The team first monitored four different amygdalin concentrations in the range of the natural levels of toxin typically found in almond tree nectar. A second experiment monitored levels much higher than those found in the natural form. In all cases, the bees preferred nectar containing amygdalin over the amygdalin-free variety. While amygdalin is poisonous for mammals, it is not poisonous for insects, such as the honey bee. In fact, it may act as a stimulant which attracts them.

Another theory is that “expert” bees”, the ones who have been pollinating for some time – will have built up a tolerance to amygdalin, resulting in the arrival of only the most seasoned pollinators at the almond tree. There is a posibility that the nectar toxin prevents bacteria from harming the nectar and threatening the pollination of the tree. Honey made from these almond trees is known to have medicinal properties, such as natural anti-biotics

We want to clear up the following terminology: The term ‘Goyim’ means ‘Nations’; used in Hebrew Biblical reference to the ‘righteous’ of the Nations, the ‘righteous Goyim’. ’Gentile’ or ‘Gentiles refers to the population of these 70 nations who are not from the nation of Israel or Jewish. The words or terms are Hebrew language.