Israel Active

Many thousands of elderly Israelis employ carers from the Philippines. Nearly all have a rest day on the Jewish Shabbat, but many now volunteer to spend their free Saturday working for those short-staffed Israeli farmers missing reservists in the IDF and foreign workers who have gone home.

KKL-JNF has inaugurated the “Path of Heroines,” planting trees at the entrance of Ofakim Park in honor of 20 Israeli women who put their lives at risk to save others on Oct 7. Of the terrorists, Ofakim mayor Danino said, “Wherever they sought to bring death, we will create the foundation for a better life”.

The all-female IDF Sky Rider unit operates the drones (UAVs) that protect troops on the ground.  Read here about a battle where they were the eyes in the sky for the 13th Battalion in one of the major battles of the ground incursion Gaza and helped the soldiers on the ground emerge unscathed.

KKL-JNF and the WZO’s Zionist Leadership Academy is a 10-month program to develop young global leaders who will strengthen connections between their communities and Israeli institutions. Read about the recent mission to Israel of 18 program graduates from 14 countries.

Frontpage Magazine’s Man of the Year is the IDF Soldier. It writes, “In a year of defeatism and surrender, he is fighting back… The men on the front lines are not the politicians or the generals, they’re among the 360,000 reservists … who left behind their homes, families, and jobs to go and fight.”

Zippy Schrager, a 56-year-old Rabbi’s daughter, manages a cycle repair shop in Mailiya, a Christian Arab village in the Western Galilee, just 12 miles from Lebanon. Zippy learned how to fix bikes from the shop co-owner Ron Boutillier who is currently on IDF reserve duty.

Two Jews and two Muslims share an apartment run by Kivunim, an organization that helps young adults with disabilities. Despite Oct 7, the four flat mates get along just as before. Kivunim’s 45 apartments in Nahariya and Haifa house some 120 residents with disabilities.

Noor, a restaurant located in the Druze village of Julis in northern Israel, has been providing thousands of free packaged meals to local evacuees and soldiers since the beginning of the war. Deputy Minister Uri Maklev helped the owner, Asma, make the restaurant kosher.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is appointing an honorary consul in Judea and Samaria and opening an honorary consulate in the city of Ariel. This will be the first time in history that a foreign country has opened an official representation in Judea and Samaria. PNG’s embassy in Jerusalem.

The Magdala Hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee is hosting 200 war evacuees. Jewish kibbutzniks live alongside Catholic monks, the mostly Muslim hotel staff, and Druze workers, all holding prayers for the peace of the land. It’s an example of coexistence on the outskirts of Tiberias.