The winner of the International Bible Contest that is held annually on Independence Day was won by Ruth Cohen, a sixteen-year-old girl from the Ahuzat Etrog neighborhood of Merkaz Shapira, a town located between Ashkelon and Kiryat Malachi. Boys had won the competition for the past ten years.
Cohen says she grew up in a home where the Bible contest was a big deal and she started thinking about competing in it a few years ago. For the past two years, she totally immersed herself in Bible study, never going anywhere without a Bible in tow.
For the three weeks prior to Independence Day, Cohen studied 400 Bible chapters a day. She did not leave her room, endured many sleepless nights, and had her siblings bring food to her door.