Israel Active

Shimon Biton, owner of Falafel Biton in Be’er Ya’akov, south of Tel Aviv, has been dubbed the “King of Falafel.” He has donated 25,000 portions of Israel’s national snack to IDF soldiers fighting in Khan Yunis in Gaza. In addition, security personnel always eat free at his restaurant.

Operation Israel is a group of over 100 volunteer professionals and experts. They have shipped millions of dollars’ worth of critical gear to the IDF. They are now responding to urgent requests from female IDF soldiers for properly fitting shoes, helmets, vests, uniforms, and backpacks.

The app Digital 101 is one of the technical innovations that has vastly improved survival rates of wounded IDF personnel during the current war. The app, developed by Israel’s K Health (see previously) and two army reservists, transfers medical data about the wounded from battlefield to hospital.

IDF troops in Gaza have rescued many abandoned pet dogs and cats, at least one parrot and three horses. One dog was a purebred Malinois, a.k.a. Belgian sheepdog. It responded to commands in Hebrew, which probably meant it (like many of the rescued animals) was looted on Oct 7.

Argentina’s new President Javier Milei stepped off his plane on arrival in Israel and immediately announced that his country’s embassy would be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He brought his personal Rabbi, visited Yad Vashem, and prayed at Jerusalem’s Western Wall.

Soldiers in the IDF’s 188th Brigade were surprised to find stars of David on gravestones in a cemetery in the central Gaza town of Al-Maaziin. They were the graves of British Jewish soldiers who fell in 1917, in World War I, fighting the Ottomans in the Land of Israel.

IDF reservist Erez was hiking in Israel’s Nahal Tabor Nature Reserve during two days’ leave. He found a 2,800-year-old Assyrian scarab amulet at Tel Rekhesh, identified as the city of Anaharath in the book of Joshua. The Assyrians defeated the Kingdom of Israel but failed to conquer the Kingdom of Judea.

Israel has seen 14 straight days of rainfall in the north and south for the first time since February 1992. It is called a “rain of blessing” as the steady, persistent downpour allows rainwater to seep into the ground, enriching natural water sources without the damaging side effects of flooding.

Since Oct. 7, Israeli political analyst and Arabic-speaker Idit Bar has engaged in intensive public diplomacy on BBC Arabic and social media. In the process, she has learned to gain support by emphasising common concerns (e.g., terrorism, Iran, fundamentalism, etc.) in the Arab world.

Nearly 450 students came to the Nefesh B'Nefesh Aliyah Campus in Jerusalem to learn more about what life after their gap year can look like in Israel. With a total of 25 booths and 60 volunteers on hand, students learned about Sherut Leumi, army and higher education options.