Boys and girls from all over Israel gathered under the auspices of the International Young Israel Movement (IYIM) – Israel to celebrate their Bar and Bat Mitzvot. Every one of the 63 participants was deaf or hearing impaired. http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/saying-mazal-tov-in-sign-language/2013/12/11/

Winter has finally arrived in Israel. The Kinneret is rising and there are some beautiful photos of Israel as Jerusalem has its heaviest snowfall for 60 years. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4463912,00.html http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/175085#.UqqsH_t5Emw

For the first time since 1888, the day of Thanksgiving and the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukah coincided. It will not happen again for over 70,000 years. Is there a connection between the two festivals? http://worldmediamonitoring.com/fascinating-history-hanukkah-maccabees-matters-freedom-loving-american

A survey of easyJet passengers from the UK showed that 65 percent of first-time tourists had improved views of the Jewish State following their trip. 78 percent would visit again and 82 percent would recommend it to others as a … Continue reading →

The forefathers of Ariel and Moriah Shishlenikov were Christian peasants who embraced Judaism some 200 years ago. Now they are the first of the 400 – 500 residents of the southern Russian village of Vysoky to immigrate to Israel. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4446061,00.html