Israel

The current map as of 04/04/2009. The implementation can be found here

Israel is a small country, divided between nine graticules from (29,34) to (33,35). The graticules that encompass its major population centers each have their own problems: some are almost entirely in the Mediterranean Sea, others include much of the disputed territories, and still others contain a truly staggering amount of desert. Some even contain all three. Almost all of them include some area in neighboring countries of varying degrees of unfriendliness.

As a result, finding a hash that is reachable and safe can be difficult. It is literally impossible for all four of Israeli's major graticules to come up with reachable hashes on the same day; virtually impossible for three; and only occasionally for two. On most days, only one of the four hashes is in safe territory. Sometimes there are none.

Some Israelis may therefore prefer to use an alternative algorithm, which defines a polygon that hugs the borders of the state of Israel. An implementation of the algorithm can be found here; red zones define areas that are deemed too dangerous to access. (Geohashers are encouraged to edit the red zones to help other geohashers avoid IDF fire zones, hostile settlements, etc.) In order to calculate safe points that fall within the green zone, but outside of the red zones, the algorithm uses the previous day's exchange rates, as issued by the Bank of Israel. However, even this algorithm has its problems, because many hashes end up in desert areas, and because many safe areas are outside of the standard borders of Israel.

In summary, geohashing in Israel is tough, and any points should be evaluated for political safety first and technical reachability second. This page will chronicle the reachable hashes for Israelis on any given day.

Important:

• You cannot claim achievements for reaching the alternative algorithm's point. It is solely used for the purpose of arranging meetups.
• If you are planning an expedition, make sure you announce it well in advance so that other geohashers will know where you are going. It's not very helpful if one geohasher is attending a standard graticule point while another is attending the alternate graticule point, especially if both are reachable on a given day!

Most recent hashes from the standard graticules

• May 18: The algorithm loves Kiryat Gat! For the fourth time this week it's within 10km of the city, this time in the desert to the southwest.
• May 19: The Haifa point is on the very southwestern edge of Nazareth, in Ras Yismail. The Jerusalem point is in the desert outside the Palestinian village of Za'tara and probably unsafe.
• May 20: The Haifa point is south of Gil'ad (Even Yitshak), in the middle of a field. The Jerusalem point is in what is almost certainly a Palestinian neighborhood in western Hebron, and therefore unsafe.

Past expeditions in Israel

• May 28, 2008: Haifa East graticule point was unsuccessfully reached by Ynor
• July 28, 2008: Alternative location cheat in Jerusalem by Lady Pennywhistle.
• March 17, 2009: Yerushalmi and his wife successfully reached the Beersheba graticule's hash point in Kfar Truman.
• April 10, 2009: Yerushalmi and his wife reached the Beersheba graticule's hash point near Kfar Bin Nun.
• April 13, 2009: Yerushalmi and his wife didn't even try to reach the Tel Aviv graticule's hashpoint, but somehow came close anyway.

Graticules and Participants

Those are the geohash graticules in Israel, plus current users:

• Jerusalem, Israel
  • Lady Pennywhistle lives in French Hill, Jerusalem
  • Yerushalmi and his wife
• Tel-Aviv (Goosh Dan), Israel
  • Dor
  • Vyath
  • Improbable
  • Eyal
  • Bryan A (Moving to this graticule in July)
  • Avish
  • pseudoDust
• Haifa East, Israel
  • Ynor
  • Pr0nto
• Beersheba, Israel

Any other users: Don't just lurk! Add yourselves to the wiki pages, so we can know who's participating and try to arrange meetups!

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• An implementation of the algorithm
• Hebrew explanation of an older algorithm