US charity provides $7 million in supplies
US non-profit Operation Israel has provided more than $7 million worth of supplies, medical equipment, and protective gear to IDF soldiers since Oct 7. 10,000 soldiers with a total of more than 50,000 items, including ceramic vests, ballistic goggles, and tactical gear.
179,000 Israeli babies
Israel’s population grew by 1.9% in 2023 to just under 10 million – an expected milestone for 2024. It included 45,000 new immigrants – most from Russia and Ukraine. The most popular names for Jewish babies were David and Abigail. The most popular baby name overall was Mohammed.
Just see what Israelis can recycle
IDF reservist Dan Levit is VP of R&D at Israel’s U-Tron Parking. He assembled a team to rehabilitate 24 decommissioned IDF tanks and then trained volunteers to operate them. The appropriately named “Phoenix” tank battalion is already seeing action in Gaza. And the IDF wants more.
Operation Hug
Some very emotional scenes as Nefesh b’Nefesh flies out parents to Israel to greet their lone soldier children serving in combat units. There is no guarantee that the IDF will release the soldiers to meet up with their parents but just see the reaction when they do!
A Torah scroll of healing and hope
Nogah Safer’s day job may be in hi-tech, but it is his work as a Torah scribe that he really enjoys. In writing his first Torah scroll he has enlisted secular Kibbutz members, survivors of the Nova party, and IDF soldiers serving in Gaza. Over 1,000 added a letter to help complete the scroll.
Jewish presence in the Land of Israel (Part 3)
The final instalment of the series showing that Jews have been in the Land of Israel for over 3,000 years. Just in case anyone tells you that we are colonialists!
Yanky’s Morale-Boosting Doodles
Yanky Fachler (based in Ireland) sends out a batch of positive stories, every 2-3 days – many related to Israel. If anyone wants to be added to his mailing list, please email
He fought in Israel’s War of Independence – now he makes Aliyah
Canadian-born Irving Matlow, who fought to ensure Israel's existence in 1948, is finally becoming an Israeli citizen at the age of 96. His parents made Aliyah in 1955 and he always wanted to, “but life got in my way”.
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End-of-year Aliyah surge
Whatever the annual statistics show, there certainly has been an increase in Aliya since Oct.7. 720 newcomers have arrived in Israel since the onset of the war, with 200 of them landing just in the last week of 2023. And in the 4th quarter of 2023, Aliyah requests were up 142% from the previous year.
The spirit of wounded soldiers
These brave soldiers send out such positive inspirational messages.