New Coordinate Systems for Axisymmetric Black Hole Collisions

We describe a numerical grid generating procedure to construct new classes of orthogonal coordinate systems that are specially adapted to binary black hole spacetimes. The new coordinates offer an alternative approach to the conventional \v{C}ade\v{z} coordinates, in addition to providing a potentially more stable and flexible platform to extend previous calculations of binary black hole collisions.Comment: 3 pages, 5 postscript figures, LaTeX, uses mprocl.sty (available at http://shemesh.fiz.huji.ac.il/MG8/submission.html) To appear in the proceedings of the Marcel Grossmann 8 (Jerusalem, 1997

Wave Propagation Retrieval Method For Metamaterials: Unambiguous Restoration Of Effective Parameters

In this article we propose a new direct method of effective parameters restoration that is based on the wave propagation phenomenon. It retrieves the effective properties unambiguously, is applicable to thick metamaterial (MTM) slabs and is easy in implementation. It is validated on the case studies of fishnet, split cube in carcass, Jerusalem cross and ultrahigh refractive index MTMs. The constraints of the method are designated.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Physical Review

The Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem: History and Perspectives

Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem is the oldest representation of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad. Acting since 1847 in the Holy Land, the representation of the Russian Church in Jerusalem has been an eyewitness of the change of several forms of political structure in Palestine. The fate of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem is marked by seven decades of prosperity, when its property and Russia’s authority in the Middle East grew. Seven decades replaced its expansive presence, which associated with the loss of many infrastructure facilities, the attenuation of previously large-scale activities and the reduction of main tasks to preserve the remaining property, which had been looked after by the pilgrims since the prerevolutionary time. The collapse of the Soviet Union freed the church from the shackles of constant supervision, made travelling abroad unhindered. The Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem received new life, expressed in the previously unknown influx of pilgrims and the expansion of its responsibilities. The traditional duties, connected with prayers for Russia and the organization of pilgrimage, were supplemented with care for the Russian-speaking population permanently residing in Palestine, who came to Israel as immigrants or created families in their new homeland. Thus, at present time, the main tasks of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem are activities, aimed at preserving the property left after the deprivations of the Soviet era, organization of pilgrimages at a qualitatively new level, and spiritual nourishment of Russian-speaking Christians. The article considers the author’s reflections on the existing phase of the Arab-Israeli confrontation and its correlation with the religions in Palestine, and on the necessary intensification of the activities of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem in the most promising areas: cultural, religious, and tourist.   Keywords: The Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Holy Land, Israel, Palestine, Jerusalem, repatriation, Arab-Israeli conflict, Russians in Israe

Protestant pilgrimage to Jerusalem: preparations for the kingdom of God in apocalyptic rhetoric strategy

The vast majority of sacred shrines and holy sites host pilgrims united by strong degrees of cultural homogeneity. But Jerusalem differs on this point- it draws pilgrims from a vast multitude of nations and cultural traditions since the city is considered holy by three major religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The representatives of these traditions go partly to different places at different times where they are engaged in different forms of worship. Often these visits are marked by clashes at the holy places. The notion of Jerusalem in religious belief is constructed by the transmission of various representations concerned with the image of the city. For Western Christianity today, Jerusalem is not only important because of the things which Jesus of Nazareth, according to the tradition, did there. For many Christians Jerusalem is vitally important because of the apocalyptic promise Jesus left his followers with: I'll be back! Therefore, the position of Jerusalem in the religious end-time play is crucial, since apocalyptic representations of the New Jerusalem motivate contemporary believers to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and to partake actively in political disputes about the Israeli—Palestinian conflict

In Trump’s Jerusalem Declaration, Diplomacy by Blowtorch

On December 6, 2017, President Trump announced his intention to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from its current location in Tel Aviv to a new location in Jerusalem. This move is in accordance with the Jerusalem Embassy Act, passed by Congress in 1995 but waived by every president every year since it was passed. This decision has tremendous political implications, which is why previous presidents, despite conducting much of their business pertaining to Israel in Jerusalem, have refrained from moving the embassy or announcing any formal position on the matter of Jerusalem at all, other than to attempt to advance peace talks between Israel and Palestine

Tight Bounds for Symmetric Divergence Measures and a New Inequality Relating ff-Divergences

Tight bounds for several symmetric divergence measures are introduced, given in terms of the total variation distance. Each of these bounds is attained by a pair of 2 or 3-element probability distributions. An application of these bounds for lossless source coding is provided, refining and improving a certain bound by Csisz\'ar. A new inequality relating $f$-divergences is derived, and its use is exemplified. The last section of this conference paper is not included in the recent journal paper that was published in the February 2015 issue of the IEEE Trans. on Information Theory (see arXiv:1403.7164), as well as some new paragraphs throughout the paper which are linked to new references.Comment: A final version of the conference paper at the 2015 IEEE Information Theory Workshop, Jerusalem, Israe