Swine flu hasn’t skipped the Jewish state. And despite some attempts, neither has its non-kosher name.
Deputy health minister Yakov Litzman, a member of an ultra-religious party, said that the name “swine flu” should not be used as it contains the name of the animal banned by Judaism.
Instead he said the authorities should call the virus sweeping the globe “Mexican flu.”
PHOTO: EPA
That, however, did not sit well with either Mexico’s ambassador to Israel nor the Jewish state’s envoy to Mexico.
Mexico’s ambassador Frederico Salas and the Israeli envoy to Mexico Yosef Livne both lodged official complaints at the foreign ministry protesting at the new term.
“The ambassador (Salas) said he was offended when the deputy health minister called it the Mexican flu,” a foreign ministry official told AFP.
“Israel has no intention of giving the flu any new names. It was nothing more than a slip of the tongue,” the official said.
Eating of pork is prohibited by Judaism, the religion practised by the majority of Israelis. Islam, adhered to by most of Israel’s Arab minority, likewise bans consumption of pork.
Israel confirmed that two nationals who recently returned from Mexico had contracted swine flu in the first such cases in the Middle East.
US officials also said they were reviewing whether to change the name of the outbreak, complaining that a slew of countries were misguidedly banning pork exports from North America.
“This is not a food-borne crisis. It’s important to not refer to swine flu. It’s important to convey the message that consuming pork will not cause this illness,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters. (AFP)
以色列這個猶太國家不僅沒逃過豬流感的肆虐，即使經過一番努力，也還是躲不過這個不適當的名稱。
極端正統猶太教政黨的衛生部副部長雅可夫．李茲曼表示，不該使用「豬流感」這個名稱，因為當中的豬字對猶太教來說是大忌。
他認為當局應將這波席捲全球的病毒更名為「墨西哥流感」。
但無論是對墨西哥駐以色列大使或以國駐墨西哥外交使節來說，這個名稱聽起來都不太順耳。
墨西哥大使弗列德里寇．沙剌斯和以色列駐墨西哥外交官約瑟夫．李文都向以色列外交部提出正式抗議，反對使用這種新名稱。
外交部某位官員對法新社表示：「墨國大使（沙剌斯）說，衛生部副部長聲稱的墨西哥流感讓他覺得受到冒犯。」
這位官員說：「以色列無意為這種流感冠上任何新名稱，這只是一時失言罷了。」
以色列國民多數信奉禁止食用豬肉的猶太教。而以色列境內多數阿拉伯人（少數族裔）信奉的伊斯蘭教也同樣禁止食用豬肉。
以色列證實，兩名最近從墨西哥返國的以色列國人已感染豬流感，這是中東地區的第一起病例。
美國官員也表示，他們正在探討是否要替這場爆發的疫情更名，並抱怨許多國家被誤導而禁止進口北美輸出的豬肉。
美國農業部部長湯姆．威薩克對記者說：「這不是經由食物傳播的危機。重要的是，不要歸咎於豬流感，要告知大眾食用豬肉並不會導致這種疾病。」
（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
After the death of Pope Francis on April 21, the Vatican’s papal conclave on May 8 elected a new leader for the Catholic Church. Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, who chose to be called Leo XIV, became the 267th pope, spiritual leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. But what exactly does a pope do? Here is a rundown of his main responsibilities. CATHOLIC LEADER The word pope comes from the Greek “pappas,” meaning “father, patriarch,” which is why believers call him the Holy Father. He is considered the successor of St Peter, to whom Jesus Christ is said to have entrusted
A: The 2025 World Masters Games will begin on May 17 and run until May 30. B: World Masters Games? A: It’s a quadrennial multi-sport event for people over 30, which will be jointly held by Taipei and New Taipei City. B: Cool, maybe we can go cheer for all the athletes from home and abroad. A: There will be an athletes’ parade in downtown Taipei prior to the opening ceremony on Saturday. Let’s go then. A: 2025雙北世界壯年運動會5月17日開幕，持續至5月30日閉幕。 B: 世壯運？ A: 這是四年一度、以30歲以上青壯年為主的運動會，本屆是由台北市和新北市共同舉辦。 B: 好酷喔，我們去幫來自國內外的選手們加油吧！ A: 週六在台北市區會有選手遊行，之後是開幕典禮，我們去看吧。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪)
Have you ever wondered who decides what we see in a museum or how one artwork seamlessly connects to the next? Behind every thoughtfully arranged gallery space stands a curator, a skilled professional who combines art and storytelling to craft meaningful experiences. The term “curator” originates from the Latin word cura, meaning “to care.” Curators were originally caretakers of museum collections, but over time, their role has grown to include a broad range of responsibilities that extend far beyond preservation. Today, curators manage, organize and interpret collections in cultural institutions like museums and libraries. They research, acquire and catalogue
1. 我們最小的女兒瑪麗成為一個聰明勇敢的女子。 ˇ Mary, our youngest daughter, grew into an intelligent and brave woman. χ Mary, our youngest daughter, she grew into an intelligent and brave woman. 註：主詞重疊在中文裏偶或出現，如：「瑪麗…她…」，但英語中每個句子只能有一個主詞，因此Mary... she...不符英文習慣。 2. 是殖民者來美洲破壞了美洲印地安人的文化。 ˇ It was the colonists that came to America and destroyed the American Indians’ civilization. χ It was the colonists came to America and destroyed the American Indians’ civilization. 註：強調句中的主詞、受詞或副詞最常用的方法是改成It is ... that ...的結構。強調部分，放在It is之後，其餘的部分放在that之後。若是將that省略則不合文法，因該句將多出一個動詞。縱使It is之後的名詞是人，最好還是用that，不要用 who。 ˇ It was my uncle that brought us this happy life. （強調 My uncle brought us this happy life. 句中的主詞。） χ It was after independence that we led a happy life. （強調 We led a happy life after independence. 句中的副詞。） 3. 我那天買的微波爐花了我一千六百塊錢。 ˇ The microwave
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