Huge swarms of locusts are invading Israel. The country is fighting the bugs off with pesticides. The locust invasion comes just two weeks before the Jewish holiday of Passover, which includes a recounting of an ancient ‘plague of locusts.’ (March 11)
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SHOTLIST:
SOURCE – ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLY
Asharim, Israel – March 11, 2013
1. Close. Person holding locust in hand. Nats of people laughing, speaking Hebrew
2. Close. Locust sitting on leaf
3. Close. Locust crawling up tree
4. Wide, people scrambling around trees, looking for locusts
5. Wide, planes spraying fields
6. Wide, plane spraying
7. Wide, plane spraying
8. Close. Locust walking on leaf
VOICE-OVER SCRIPT:
JUST IN TIME FOR THE PASSOVER HOLIDAY, ISRAEL IS DEALING WITH HUGE SWARMS OF LOCUSTS.
THE COUNTRY HAS BEEN ON LOCUST ALERT SINCE LAST WEEK.
LOCUSTS CAN DEVASTATE A COUNTRY’S AGRICULTURE BY QUICKLY EATING ENTIRE FIELDS OF CROPS.
THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SET UP HOTLINES SO CITIZENS CAN ALERT AUTHORITIES ABOUT ANY INVADING SWARMS.
IT’S ALSO SPRAYING PESTICIDES TO KEEP THE BUGS UNDER CONTROL.
ZOOLOGISTS SAY LOCUSTS ARE KNOWN TO MOVE WITH THE WIND, AND THIS PARTICULAR GROUP WAS SWEPT IN FROM EGYPT.
THE LOCUST INVASION IS IN FULL SWING WITH JUST TWO WEEKS TO GO BEFORE PASSOVER.
THAT HOLIDAY CELEBRATES THE BIBLICAL STORY OF THE ANCIENT JEWS LEAVING EGYPT, AFTER EGYPT WAS STRUCK WITH TEN PLAGUES.
THE EIGHT PLAGUE WAS THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS.
MATT SMALL, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.
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