Bible quiz winner defied all odds By Tovah Lazaroff April, 18 2002 Doctors told Avihai Sheli's parents their son would never talk after he lost his hearing at age two, following an illness. Until age four, they believed he was mute. As he grew older, Sheli also lost his sight. His mother ignored the doctors and taught him to speak. His parents insisted that he study in regular classes and not be put in a special track. Yesterday Sheli, of Netivot, now 18, thanked his parents for their love and support after he tied for first place, with Meir Ben-Admon, 17, from the Ohel Moshe Yeshiva in Beersheba, in the 39th International Bible Quiz, held at the Jerusalem Theater. "They spared nothing on my behalf - they are the ones who won today," an emotional Sheli said. Both teens also won the National Bible Quiz this year. Yesterday they competed against 53 counterparts from 25 countries. Sheli, from the Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Kfar Maimon, spent four years studying for the competition, reading the Bible in Braille. He also competed in Braille. Aside from Bible studies, he also enjoys sports, music, and math. He plans to volunteer for the army after graduating from high school. The Bible Quiz was one of a host of events marking a subdued 54th Independence Day, which opened with a torch-lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Fearing terrorist attacks, a number of municipalities canceled their traditional Independence Day celebrations. But in Jerusalem, under the watchful eyes of police and soldiers, musicians played on downtown stages, rowdy teens spayed revelers with foam, and fireworks lit the night sky. But turnout was low, both in the capital and in Tel Aviv, with many opting for private celebrations. On Independence Day, while people gathered around barbecue grills with friends and family, IAF planes and helicopters flew over Jerusalem and Haifa and from Hadera to Tel Aviv. Planes performed aerobatics along the Tel Aviv coast before continuing to Ashdod and Beersheba. Israel Independence Day celebrations were also held in major cities in the US, England, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. At Ben-Gurion Airport, 212 Argentineans celebrated the day by rriving in Israel as immigrants. They were given national flags and greeted by Jewish Agency chairman Sallai Meridor. Since January, 1,446 Jews have immigrated from Argentina. During 2001 1,421 Argentinean Jews came. In the state's 54 years, there have been 2,902,200 immigrants from all corners of the globe. Speaking at the annual Israel Prize ceremony, Education Minister Limor Livnat said she believes this event is the highlight of Independence Day. Livnat said she wanted to send a message of peace to the soldiers in the IDF. She said each of them should receive an Israel Prize for their courage in fighting international terrorism without international support. Author, playwright, and film director Ephraim Kishon, who, along with Teva founder Eli Hurvitz and the Jewish National Fund, received awards for lifetime contribution to society, spoke of the pain and struggle Israel finds itself in this year. For him, it is also a personal pain. Breaking into tears, Kishon said, "My heart says thank you, but my heart is also in pain, because my wife [who died last month] is not here to see this." Prize recipients are: Nahum Rakover in religious literature; Moshe Brawer in geography; Menashe Harel and Shmuel Sefrai in Israel studies; Asher Koriat in psychology; Dov Judkowsky in communications; Ram Carmi in architecture; David Tratkover in design; Abraham Haim Halevi in agriculture; Avraham Biran in archeology; Jacob Frenkel and Ariel Rubinstein for economic research; and Ada Yonat and Itamar Wilner in chemistry. Itim contributed to this report.