Israel Active

Asaf Peleg walks to his Chassidic synagogue and to take his daily ritual bath wearing a long black coat and fur hat - an M16 over his shoulder and a pistol and walkie-talkie at his waist. The ex-IDF commando is head of the rapid response team in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi.

Over 4,000 Jewish high schoolers from Israel and around the world participate in the One2One initiative. They engage in a series of five weekly English conversations of at least 30 minutes each. One2One uses an algorithm to match up students by age, interests and background.

Friendly visitors to Israel in Jan included Chechia President Petr Pavel, former US Vice President Mike Pence, 9 UN envoys, 22 EU lawmakers, 40 US JCC leaders, 50 Hadassah leaders, Palantir directors, US student leaders, Christian Zionists, Indian influencers, Iran’s opposition leader, and many more.

Last week’s article about Lev Echad (One Heart – see ) supporting wounded IDF soldiers didn’t give the US charity enough credit. Since Oct 7, some 50,000 volunteers have run Israeli mental health hotlines; supported displaced Israeli families and reservists; distributed food, and much more.

If you, your children, or grandchildren live in the USA, are aged 21-39 and want to gain a deep understanding of IDF soldiers' mission in the current war, register for the Friends of the IDF’s National Young Leadership Mission to Israel from May 24 to May 30, 2024.

In a world that seems to devalue the family unit, Family Day (Yom HaMishpacha) in Israel on Feb 9 is a day to honor the family unit and its centrality to our lives. Israel has 2.25 million families with about half having two parents and at least one child under the age of 17.

The competition for female-led Israeli startups at an event organized by Yazamiyot (see below) was won by anydish (AI nutrition - see previously). In 2nd place was Aisap (AI ultrasound heart monitoring - see previously) and in 3rd was Kinoko (funghi - see previously).

Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa and Boston-Haifa Connection have launched a 5-month course to educate 20 of its Ethiopian Israeli employees in Hebrew literacy and computer skills. The employees predominantly work in the Housekeeping and Custodian Department.

A consortium led by Ben-Gurion University and several academic colleges is to create a separate ultra-Orthodox campus in the South. A growing number of haredim want to pursue a higher education, but not compromise their beliefs and religious observance.

JNF-USA is planning a series of events to mark Jewish Disabilities Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAAIM) and to celebrate their longstanding efforts to improve Israel for residents and visitors with disabilities. Feb donations to support this cause will be matched up to $1.25 million.