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Featured Article: Yad Vashem

An exterior view of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem.

Yad Vashem (Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority) is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953, through the Memorial Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament. The origin of the name is from a Biblical verse (Isaiah, chapter 56, verse 5):

"And to them I will give within my temple and its walls

a memorial and a name

better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name

that will not be cut off."

In Hebrew, "a memorial and a name" translates as "yad va-shem." Located in Jerusalem, the complex consists of a number of memorials: Hall of Remembrance, Righteous Among the Nations Walkway, Garden of the Righteous, Children's Memorial, Valley of the Communities, Memorial to the Deportees, and the Hall of Names. The main museum is the largest devoted to the Holocaust in the world, with extensive archives.

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Popular Article: Insects

Honeybee (order Hymenoptera)

Insects are invertebrate animals of the Class Insecta, the largest and (on land) most widely distributed taxon (taxonomic unit) within the Phylum* Arthropoda. Insects comprise the most numerous and diverse group of animals, with around 925,000 species described. Indeed, insects represent more than half (about 57 percent) of all identified animal species, and some authorities estimate that less than 10 percent of living insect species actually have been described and named. Pliny the Elder noted: "In no one of her works has Nature more fully displayed her exhaustless ingenuity."

Insects occupy a critical role in both ecology and human society. Being widespread and numerous, they are a vital link in food webs. They are also invaluable as pollinators and in the recycling of nutrients. With respect to humans, insects are both economically helpful (producing silk, honey, shellac, and pollinating agricultural crops) and have devastating consequences as agricultural pests and bearers of disease. Historically, insects have been very important as symbols in religions, whether in myths related to the creation of the world or the scarab serving as the most important religious symbol of ancient Egypt. Ahimsa, a core belief of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, is the principle of refraining from causing pain to any living creature. Some practitioners make great efforts to avoid even accidental injury to insects, such as wearing gauze masks, avoiding or limiting eating during seasons when insects are abundant, and straining water before drinking.

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