Israel Active

22 years ago, a terrorist opened fire on a vehicle driven by Rabbi Yigal Kirshnzaft. All the bullets missed the Rabbi, his wife and 8 children, including baby Menachem. IDF officer Eyal Zamir was nearby and neutralized the terrorist. 22 years later IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir danced at Menachem’s wedding.

IDF engineer Mendel Vile was critically wounded in Dec 2023 when Hamas terrorists in Gaza fired an anti-tank missile at his unit. After numerous surgeries it was a miracle he could walk.  Mendel completed the Washington DC Marine Corps Marathon with the Israeli flag on his back.

Israeli exports of religious agricultural items to the USA will be exempt of new tariffs. These include etrogim, date palm branches, myrtle branches, bread, pastry, cakes, biscuits and similar baked products, and puddings.

Prices of property in Tel Aviv have dropped recently, as some misguided “bubble” residents have decided to leave for perceived safer countries. It has left a temporary glut of residences, which means there are buying opportunities for those in the diaspora who want a secure Jewish environment.

Of 400,000 images of fragments from the Cairo Geniza Israel’s National Library, only 15% have been transcribed; many never been properly read or studied. A $11.5 million grant has enabled the MiDRASH project to use eScriptorium open-source for auto-transcription.

Israel has agreed to bring the last 6,000 members of the so-called “lost tribe” of Menashe, from Northeastern India, to Israel within five years. Some 5,000 of the Bnei (sons of) Menashe currently live in Israel. An Israeli delegation will start processing their immigration applications by next week.

Netanya’s long-serving Mayor, Miriam Feirberg-Ikar, passed away last week. Her 27-year continuous tenure saw Netanya grow into the seventh largest Israeli city and home to many tech startups and multinationals. The city’s “Iron Lady” had become the public face of Netanya through decades of service.

Some 170 Israeli mothers and children who lost loved ones in the war are being hosted in the USA for an extraordinary healing mission organized by Rabbi Mendy Kenig’s Menucha V'Yeshua charity. It is the largest group of Israeli war-bereaved families ever to travel together for such a program.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Richard Trank has made a life-changing move leaving Los Angeles to begin a new chapter in Israel, where he is now focusing his lens on the aftermath of the October 7 attacks. He says that moving to Israel has given him not just purpose, but clarity.

After 7 Oct 2023, Sheba opened a new rehab center and 85 startups responded with rehab ideas. Sheba founded the Sderot Resilience Incubator, partnering , , and . Other innovative startups are- , , , , and .