Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Did the ancient Israelites drink beer? (article)

For a discussion of beer drinking by the ancient Israelites, see http://www.bib-arch.org/BAR/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=36&Issue=5&ArticleID=4

Thanks to Paul Thompson for the tip about this article.

Israeli youth alcohol epidemic

According to the Globe (2010), the Israeli government has reacted sharply to increased youth drinking. The government is considering raising the drinking age from 18 to 21 but has not yet made a decision. According to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "We face an epidemic. In the last three years there has been a 15% rise in alcohol use in Israel.  One-third of all young people between the ages of 12-18 reported that they became intoxicated in the past year, which is a terrible statistic.  Here is another statistic: Approximately 20% of sixth grade boys claim that they consume an alcoholic drink once a week.  That is the second highest in Europe."

Palestine's Oktoberfest

The Christian founded Palestinian Oktoberfest, as reported here, is now able to include Moslems with its new non-alcoholic beer reported here .

Israeli company--Strauss Group--becomes global coffee giant

Founded in 1936 as a dairy farm, what now is the Strauss Group has expanded beyond the small Israeli market and plans further expansion around the world. Within four years it expects to be one of the five largest companies in the $40 billion global coffee business. Strauss also is expanding the sale of other products such as high end chocolate bars to be consumed at restaurants and cafes. For more, see here.

Israelis high per capita consumers of vodka

Israel is now second only to Russia in per capita consumption of vodka. High-priced vodkas have become popular, mostly to be drunk as part of cocktails and not "straight." For more, see here.

Simcha beer

A new kosher beer from Germany is quickly gaining an international following as well as controversy. 

Haaretz.com reports.

Wolf Wissotzky and tea in tsarist Russia, Palestine, and Israel

Klonimus Wolf Wissotzky (1824-1904) acquired a reputation as the "king of Russian tea" after he established the Wissotzky Tea company in 1849. In 1936, Wissotzky Tea became the first tea company in Palestine and now is the leading tea company in Israel. For more, see here.

Islamists threaten Yemeni Jews for selling wine

Nearly a quarter of Yemen's Jews have fled their village and sought refuge at a hotel in the Arab country after militant Islamists threatened to kill them for selling alcohol, a government official said on Monday.

Reuters reports.

War and the price of cannabis in Israel

According to the Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2006, recent fighting in southern Lebanon and a crackdown on arms smuggling across the Sinai have had the unintended consequence of closing the routes that had supplied Israelis with cannabis. The price of marijuana has grown eight-fold. For more, see here.

Isreali police fight "hydro"

Ranaan Ben-Zur reports for ynet news on police fears of "death grass," also known as "hydro," a potent marijuana. Story here.

Israel Police have waged a war on the distribution of Hydro, a more potent and more expensive type of marijuana that is sweeping the local drug market.

Dubbed by police as “death grass,” Hydro goes for about NIS 500 (USD 110) per 10 grams (0.35 ounces), compared with regular marijuana which is sold for NIS 600 (USD 133) per kilo.

The high price of Hydro is mainly due to the high cost of growing it and the high demand. It is grown in regular homes that are rented out for thousands of dollars a month; police have discovered four such ‘hothouses’ in recent months: Two in Netanya, one in Kadima and another in Moshav Yanuv.