NEWS: Swarms of Locusts in Egypt

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Egypt Struck by Swarm of Locusts Ahead of Passover

To those who thought the Passover Haggadah might have been exaggerating – think again. Millions of locusts have swooped down on to Egypt.

As a reminder to those who thought the account related in the Passover Haggadah might have been an exaggeration – think again. Millions of locusts have swooped down in a swarm from the sky on to the land of Egypt.

The locust plague struck over the weekend in the Giza region, home to a cluster of famous pyramids, according to reports in Arab media.

Officials estimated that at least 30 million of the insects have swarmed on to the fields and farms about 15 miles southwest of Cairo. The locust swarm is causing massive damage to agriculture in the area, Alwatan News reported.

In some parts of the Middle East, however, locusts are used for food – and one particular ancient type, known to Yemenite Jews, is actually considered kosher.

Residents were warned not to try to drive away the locusts themselves in order to avoid creating further damage. Instead, “Egyptian armed forces and border guards are attempting to fight the swarm with all means at their disposal,” said Egyptian Agriculture Minister Dr. Salah Abd Al Mamon.

“I ask the families living in the locust-plagues areas not to burn tires,” Mamon appealed. “This does not chase away the locusts, but only causes damage and could ignite large-scale fires that would cost in lives.”

Instead, Mamon noted the weather forecasters have predicted strong winds are soon to come, which he hopes will take the locusts towards the Red Sea, and Saud Arabia. The department also plans to use crop duster planes to address the infestation.

As swarms of locust devour Egyptian crops, the Middle East is bracing for the destructive bugs to migrate their way ahead of the Passover holiday.

A swarm of an estimated 30million insects has been devastating crops in Egypt, fuelling apocalyptic fears because of the infestation’s proximity to the Bible story of Passover in which a swarm of locusts, the eighth of ten plagues, is imposed on Egyptians by God for enslaving and abusing ancient Hebrews.

Israel’s Agriculture Ministry set up an emergency hotline today and urged residents to be vigilant in reporting sightings of the insects to prevent an outbreak.

Swarms descending: A swarm of an estimated 30million locust has descended on Egypt (including these insects seen over the Al-Mogattam district of Cairo) as Israel braces for the infestation to head their way

A special task force has also been set up to help farmers manage infestations.
The locusts pass through the country as part of their normal migration from north east Sudan to Saudi Arabia, the Egyptian Agriculture Ministry said, emphasising that Egypt was just ‘a transfer station’ for the locusts, which were in larger numbers this year.

As the insects descended on agricultural farms in Giza and in Cairo, causing significant damage, fears have been raised that they could spread to Israel.

Battle with the bugs: Residents in Cairo burn tyres to create black smoke to deter the locust settling there as Israel's Agriculture Ministry set up an emergency hotline and urged residents to be vigilant in reporting sightings of the insects

Passover plague: The bugs have fueled apocalyptic fears because of the infestation's proximity to the Bible story of Passover in which a swarm of locusts, the eighth of ten plagues, is imposed on Egyptians by God for enslaving and abusing ancient Hebrews


In a statement from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the infestation was described as a ‘immature swarm’ which ‘appeared in the afternoon (on March 2) in the eastern Cairo districts of New Cairo and Mokattam and dispersed into several smaller swarmlets’.
The statement read: ‘The locusts originated from breeding that has been in progress since November in southeast Egypt between Berenice and the Sudanese border.

Killing crops: As the locusts have descended on agricultural farms in Giza and in Cairo, they have caused significant damage to agriculture

‘As vegetation dried out, small groups and swarms of immature adults moved slowly north along the Red Sea coast, reaching Marsa Alam on 8 February, Hurghada on the 16th and Zafarana on the 26th.’ As well as Israel, Lebanon and Jordan have been alerted.

In Cairo, people were burning tyres to create black smoke to deter the locust from settling and there were reports that swarms had been seen in Zafarana, about 124 miles from Cairo, on the Red Sea and in the city of Qena, where the insects have been sighted in at least three villages.

According to theIsrael National News, the Egyptian Agriculture Minister Dr Salah Abd Al Mamon said: ‘Egyptian armed forces and border guards are attempting to fight the swarm with all means at their disposal.

‘I ask the families living in the locust-plagues areas not to burn tyres. This does not chase away the locusts, but only causes damage and could ignite largescale fires that would cost in lives.’
He said that strong winds were predicted in weather forecasts and he hoped that this would force the insects to migrate toward the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia. Crop duster planes were also going to be used to handle the infestation.
Egypt and Israel was infested with locust in 2004. Israeli agriculture officials sent crop dusters into the air to spray against the locusts that swept in from North Africa in the first such invasion since 1959.

The Egyptian Agriculture Ministry said that the locusts pass through the country as part of their normal migration from north east Sudan to Saudi Arabia, reaffirming that Egypt is just 'a transfer station' for the locusts

Farmers in 15 out of the 27 Egyptian governorates suffered significant agricultural damage as the insects devoured crops and flowers.
This year Passover will begin on the evening of March 25 and end on the evening of April 2.

The infestation comes as a study warns that yellow-legged Asian hornets that prey on bees are among the latest non-native species threatening UK wildlife, and even people’s health.
A growing number of alien species, from killer shrimps to Spanish slugs, are set to soon reach our shores, a Europe-wide study warns.

The Asian hornet, which grows to between 2.5cm and 3cm (1-1.2 inches), preys on native honeybees, wasps and other pollinators, potentially devastating hives and threatening honey and crop production.


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Scimi

[Jedi_Mindset]

This very interesting what is happening currently there, and that it happens nearby passover. I hope they will reach the zionist state of israel, i hope so.

[Al-Mufarridun]

:sl:

Just a reminder for all those with faith that - If Allah(swt) wishes, He can destroy the 'Mightiest' of Kings and Kingdoms with His(swt) weakest servants.

May Allah swt guide us all to his mercy and away from his wrath. Amen ya Rabb!

[جوري]

It is courtesy of Israel - the same way they unleashed large rats on Iraq before. They're also using it as an excuse to get inside Sinai but Egyptian forces refused.

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[Scimitar]

Is there any proof that the Israeli's have let loose millions of locusts upon the Egyptians just so they can get inside the fake Mount Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt? Or is this your opinion?

Scimi

[جوري]

This is common knowledge in Egypt not something to write about- you'll be glad to know that the locusts have headed for Israel so not sure how they reconcile that with Egyptians oppressing the Hebrews per your article above!

[Scimitar]

me neither :D it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. And it's not my article... it is merely borrowed from elsewhere. If it was mine, I would have thrown in
the words "zionist" and "kuffar" a few times already ;)

Scimi

[جوري]

There's no love lost for our next door parasites and I've never been big on political correctness!

[Scimitar]

yeah, same here. The whole idea behind being politically correct is a bias in itself - the irony is too much for thinking people, which is why we often become rather outspoken and therefore, seen as "public menace" or someone who is "disturbing the peace" when in reality, all we are doing is "expressing a world view". There goes their "freedom of speech", right down the pan. Like I said, Irony.

Scimi

[Scimitar]

what really gets me chuckling are the Jews of Israel, debating whether eating Locusts is kosher or not... sorry but that is funneee :D

Israel's Locust Invasion Offers Intriguing Options For Cuisine

The Media Line | By Linda GradsteinPosted: 03/07/2013 2:31 pm EST | Updated: 03/07/2013 2:31 pm EST

By Linda Gradstein/The Media Line




This week’s invasion of locusts from Egypt offers adventurous home cooks an opportunity to try something new for dinner this week – locusts, which most rabbis say are kosher, can be prepared many different ways.

“You can sauté them like shrimp with garlic, baby cherry tomatoes, lemon and saffron,” Moshe Basson, owner and chef of the Eucalyptus restaurant in Jerusalem which specializes in Biblical foods told The Media Line. “You can make them like french fries, or you can poach them like lobster, roll them in egg yolk, chickpea flour and spices and them deep fry them.”

Basson says about seven insects constitute a main course. They are high in protein and low in calories. He says that similar to shrimp, to prepare locusts you take off the head and the small wings. The legs are the tastiest part, he contends.

Basson himself says that in the past few days he has gotten a good supply of the insects from friends who have gone down to southern Israel to bring him back bags full. Gathering locusts is easy, he says.

“In the evening just before sunset when the temperature drops the locusts find a place and go to sleep on trees and bushes everywhere --- you have just to pick them,” Basson, who often picks his own spices in the hills around Jerusalem said. “In the morning when the weather warms up they will start to eat and within an hour they can turn a field from green to brown by eating all of it.”

In Israel, the swarms of locusts – the most seen since 2005, have not been welcomed by farmers who fear extensive crop damage.

Drivers caught in the swarms are also not fans. But for some epicureans, locust offers an opportunity for free, sustainable eating.
Of course, this being the holy land, religious disputes are to be expected. Some rabbis said that only those Jewish communities which have a tradition of eating locusts such as the Yemenite Jews, are permitted to consume them according to Jewish law. But other rabbis say that in the book of Leviticus four types of kosher locusts – red, yellow, spotted gray and white – are listed as kosher.
“They are kosher -- the Bible lasts them as kosher and the Talmud says they’re kosher,” Rabbi Dr. Ari Zivotofsky, a scientist at Bar Ilan University and an expert on exotic animals. “The only issue is that Jews from eastern and northern Europe have not seen them in over 1000 years and don’t have the knowledge on how to distinguish which are kosher.”

The timing of the locust swarm, coming just a few weeks before the Passover holiday, when Jews reenact the exodus from Egypt at a ritual meal called a seder, has been uncanny. Before Pharoah allowed the Jews to leave Egypt, God visited ten plagues on the Egyptians, one of which was locusts.

Interestingly, the locust is also permitted according to Muslim law, meaning it is kosher and halal at the same time.
Zivotofsky says he has never eaten the insects himelf.

“My kids have, but I think it’s a cultural thing for me,” the New York native says. “I just can’t bring myself to eat them.”
But Basson has eaten them and says the flavor is a combination of sunflower seeds and shrimp, which are not kosher. To be kosher, fish must have fins and scales.

Zivotofsky says that the kosher food industry has become commercialized and limits choices for the kosher consumer.
“People forget what the Bible intended,” he said. “All we eat is what’s commercially available – chicken, turkey and beef. The kosher laws are not that restrictive. One hundred or 200 years ago, people were eating locally available animals and birds all the time.”

Now, before the swarms are blown away, they can eat locusts too.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2830124.html

:D Scimi :D

[جوري]

bugs tend to like eating other bugs... I am not surprised..

:w:

[Scimitar]

Sautéed with peanut sauce is a bad idea for the Israeli's, apparently more of them die a year from peanut allergies than from terrorist attacks. I love peanuts... I hope Imran Hosein isn't listening :D (cue "peanut in your hands" quote)

[Jedi_Mindset]

bugs tend to like eating other bugs... I am not surprised..

:w:

Allah subhana wa'a ta'ala turned them into brothers of apes and pigs, but one point you are right though, they are animals. If an zionist's DNA gets tested, i assure you it will not be different than the DNA from an chimpansee.