The elephants, lions and rhinos at the Ramat Gan Safari are soon to relocate to the cold capital – to be replaced by a large housing project, the Shas journal Yom Yom reported.

But animal rights activists can breath easy despite the controversial news: The Hebrew month of Adar is the religious world's April Fools' Day, reaching a pinnacle around Purim, with the haredi media joining in on the practical jokes,

Happy Purim! Intercontinental mishloach manot – Bnei Akiva style Akiva Novik World Bnei Akiva Movement takes Purim holiday's mishloach manot mitzvah global as each branch of youth movement sends packages to friends around the world Intercontinental mishloach manot – Bnei Akiva style

According to the fabricated report in Yom Yom, Housing Minister Ariel Atias intends to unite the safari with the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, clearing a prime real estate plot for thousands of housing units – half of which would be designated for haredim, while the other would be populated by secular residents. An apartment in the coveted area would cost only NIS 120,000 ($31,600), the report said.

Meanwhile, the Kol Barama radio station, also identified with Shas, pranked Knesset members with a faux interview with Israel's new ambassador to China, Matan Vilnai. On the show, a Vilnai impersonator begged Minister of Religious Services Yakov Margi and MK Yitzhak Vaknin for help finding Kosher food and prayer quorums in Beijing. The perplexed politicians attempted to calm the envoy, advising him to turn to the local Chabad branch and the Jewish community.

MKs pranked

The latest trend in ultra-Orthodox news services, the Haneias Lines – a set of telephone hotlines that broadcasts news reports – did not miss out on the fun, either. One of the hotlines featured an "exclusive recording" of a conversation in which an impersonator claiming to be former Shas leader Aryeh Deri attempts to convince Deputy Jerusalem Mayor Yitzhak Pindros to help him garner support for a mayoral candidacy.

Another hotline presented the real MK Isaac Herzog, who was in on the joke, as the grandson of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. Herzog pretended to be updating the confused listeners about his "grandfather's" medical condition.

A third hotline reported that Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef announced he has wronged MK Chaim Amsellem by removing him from the party, and invited him to rejoin its ranks. The decision supposedly was based on a dream he dreamt.

Amsellem, who collaborated with the jokers, went on the air to declare his rejection of the invitation, calling the faction "corrupt."

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