180 Nova survivors at Haredi Shabbaton

180 secular Nova survivors joined a Shabbaton in Jerusalem run by the haredi Kesher Yehudi (“Jewish Link”) whose founder Tzili Schneider said, “The media says we’re separate. We’re not. We’re one people.”

Lifting our spirit

Ziv Shilon lost an arm in Gaza in 2012, but he didn’t lose his spirit. Here, he performs hagbah (lifting the Torah scroll) in the Chabad of Savyon, Nothing stops these heroes - they are now a defining and meaningful part of the fabric of Israeli society. See also Ari Spitz, wounded in Feb 2024.

Baby names

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported the most common Jewish baby girl names in 2023 were Avigayil (1,278), Ayala (1,171), Tamar (1,113), Sara, Maya, Noa, Yael, Esther, Libi and Chana. For boys, David (1,760), Lavi (1,415), Yosef (1,324), Rafael, Ariel, Ori, Ari, Moshe, Noam & Yehuda.

Roman ring found on Mount Carmel

13-year-old Yair, hiking on Mount Carmel, uncovered an 1,800-year-old ring engraved with a goddess of war from ancient Roman and Greek mythology. It was found near the ancient Kdumim quarry site that lies below the Mishmar HaCarmel Farm.

Excavating Zanoah

Israeli archaeologists have published their findings from excavating Moshav Zanoah in Central Israel. It contains many artifacts including an inscription “of the King”, thought to be King Hezekiah (c 700 BCE). Zanoah is mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah (ch.3 v.13)

83-year-old survivor finds his cousin

Shalom Korai was rescued from the Warsaw Ghetto at the age of 3 and brought to Israel, never knowing his real name. Now a DNA test has reunited him with his cousin Ann Meddin Hellman in Charleston South Carolina. (First printed in normally anti-Israel UK Guardian).

Be’eri dairy makes cheese again

The dairy at Kibbutz Be’eri is producing its famous cheeses again, nine months after the devastating Oct 7 attack. Despite losing his business partner, Dagan Peleg bowed to pressure from Israelis craving for Be’eri cheese - especially those from the kibbutz evacuated to Dead Sea hotels.

Defense innovations from startups

Once you skip the negative section of this article, there are several key initiatives and innovations that will help the IDF in future conflicts. The MAFAT program, Tel Aviv University problem-solving, Unit 81, and MAMRAM’s tech commando unit.  

A modern day prophet & hero

Another article describing the actions of Rami Davidian (see previously) who saved hundreds from the Hamas terrorists. The author writes, “Our people are Maccabees and prophets, warriors and angels. There have been many heroes, but Rami Davidian...must be remembered for generations.”

Go fourth and multiply

A 35-year-old Israeli mother of two gave birth to quadruplets at Israel’s Beilinson Medical Center. The two boys and two girls weighed between 2.95 to 3.57 pounds. Naturally conceived quads occur globally only once in every 720,000 births - in Israel an average of once in four years.