Israel Ranked 4th While Palestine Ranked ‘the bottom’ in the 2024 World Happiness Index True?

 (X account @DrEliDavid)
Claim – A user on X accurately stated Israel ranked fourth while Palestine ranked “at the bottom’ in the 2024 World Happiness Index published on March 20.

X (formerly Twitter) user @DrEliDavid on March 20, 2024, claimed the 2024 World Happiness Index was published “today” and Israel was ranked fourth, while Palestine was ranked at the bottom of the list.

In his post, David included a bar chart displaying the top 10 happiest countries in the world, which showed Israel in fourth place between Iceland in third and the Netherlands in fifth.

The similar claim also appeared elsewhere on X.

What’s True & False

It is true the 2024 World Happiness Report was published on March 20, and that Israel ranked highly on that list. However, Israel ranked fifth on this year’s index, whereas in 2023 it ranked fourth. And Palestine did not rank at the bottom, as David stated. Therefore, we have rated this claim as a “Mixture” of truth.

Israel did not rank fourth (again) in 2024. It dropped one place on the index to fifth. Further, Palestine did not rank “at the bottom of the list.”

Page 15 (to get there in PDF type “17”) of the 2024 World Happiness Report shows Israel came in at number five, while page 17 (see previous note but type “19”) shows Palestine ranked 103rd out of 143 countries, so not “at the bottom.”

Similarly, page 34 (type “36” in PDF) of the 2023 World Happiness Report shows Israel ranked fourth, while page 36 (type “38”) shows Palestine came in at number 99.

The 2023 report shows the bar chart that David was referring to.

 

 

RECALL: Trader Joe’s Chicken Soup Dumplings Recalled For Possibly Containing Hard Plastic

Trader Joe's Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings
The Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings packs can be turned in to Trader Joe’s for a full refund.

The recall applies to packages of the steamed chicken dumplings with a best-by date of “03.07.25” and lot codes C1-1 or C1-2. The potentially contaminated batches were produced on Dec. 7, 2023.

Trader Joe’s – The grocery chain has announced that it was recalling more than 61,000 pounds of its popular steamed chicken soup dumplings, according to credible news sources such as the The Associated Press. On March 2, 2024, the company released a statement announcing that its steamed chicken soup dumplings packaged with the best-by date “03.07.25” and lot code C1-1 or C1-2 might contain bits of hard plastic.

According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the dumplings may be contaminated by plastic from a “permanent marker pen.” The offending packages were produced in California on Dec. 7, 2023, and were shipped to Trader Joe’s stores across the nation.

The statement from FSIS explained that the contamination was reported by consumers who found bits of plastic in their dumplings, and that the organization was “concerned that some product may be in consumers’ freezers.” Trader Joe’s is offering a full refund for the recalled packages and is urging consumers to check their freezers to ensure their dumplings are safe.

Over the past year, the chicken soup dumplings from Trader Joe’s have occasionally gone viral for their pure deliciousness, leaving many fans a bit anxious about the recall. We were able to categorize people’s reactions on TikTok into three categories:

  • “i do not have the box anymore as i ate them this week,” a different commenter wrote. (We are hopeful that anyone who ate the contaminated dumplings identified the plastic before swallowing the dumpling.)
  • “Just the chicken? I only get the pork ones,” one commenter wrote. (Yes, just the chicken ones. The pork ones are fine.)
  • “The emotional stability I get from these is worth a little sharpie and plastic,” a third commenter wrote. (We cannot in good faith support this approach.)

These days many websites and social media accounts call their content “news,” but their quality and reliability vary enormously. Hence, we urges caution before sharing information that hasn’t been independently verified by a trusted news or fact-checking outlet, like The Associated Press, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, Politico, and so on.

 

HAVE A HAPPY ‘METTAFUL’ Valentine’s DAY

Let us rename this day, February 14th, as “Metta Day”…

Let us be reminded of the meaning of “Metta” or “Universal benevolence”, and embrace Metta as the foundation of true compassion in practice, the basis of our humanity.

That word means Universal Goodwill, or Universal Benevolence, or universal interest in the welfare of beings, a concern about the welfare of all beings.

That means it is a broad mind, not a narrow mind.

HAVE A HAPPY METTAFUL DAY!

Send Love when we see Hatred,

Forgiveness when we see Resentment,

Strength when we see Weakness,

Tranquility when we see Chaos,

Humility when we see Conceit,

Peace when we see Hostility,

Courage when we see Fear,

Hope when we see Despair,

Comfort when we see Pain,

Kindness when we see Cruelty,

Compassion when we see Suffering.

May suffering ones be suffering free, the fear-struck fearless be;

May grieving ones shed all grief, may all beings find peace and relief.

Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!

From me with Metta,