Israel Active

Howie Danao grew up in an affluent Tel Aviv home as the adopted son of a secular Israeli family, alongside his Filipino mother who worked as a caretaker. His success as a singer, IDF service and a Jewish-identity program changed his life.

Reminder – Marina Shear, wife of Newsletter subscriber Glen, can help any reader wishing to make Aliyah or purchase a property in Israel.  She has teams of English-speaking lawyers, mortgage brokers, builders, property managers, inspectors and designers. Read her guide and see her website for more details.

KKL-JNF’s “Iron Swords” blue box seeks to tell the national story of the past two years. It features broken glass, red anemones and, in Hebrew, the phrase given to the “Rising Lion” operation against Iran. “Am Ka’Lavi Yakum, v’Ka’Ari Yitnasei”.

The La’aretz Foundation (see previously) gala raised funds to help reservists rebuild livelihoods, support families in financial crisis and establish an emergency grant fund. It will also assist families affected by post-war trauma and continue to provide education scholarships to ex-IDF.

SafeHeart, a nonprofit mental-health organization created to support survivors of the music-festival massacre, was founded that very day. Since then, it has reached more than 2,500 survivors, and currently provides long-term therapy for about 1,000.

Ditza Or, mother of ex-hostage Avinatan tells how her son was strengthened when he heard his Hamas captors praising the Biblical “Joseph The Righteous”. Ditza uses this episode to urge Israelis to unite in the same way that Joseph united his family and built a nation.

After discovering 150,000 shekels hidden in a wall during renovations, a Slabodka Kollel student in Bnei Brak sought halachic guidance. He then returned the money to the unaware, but extremely grateful, non-religious seller from whom he had bought the apartment. B”H.

At DefenseTech 2025 in Tel Aviv, Defense Ministry’s Col. Yishai Kohn said over 100 startups have integrated their products into Israeli combat operations over the past 2 years.  Defense exports increased by 13% to $14.7 billion, of which 50% were with European countries.

Robel Innovation and Israel Defense unveiled the “30 Young Promising in Defense for 2025” list. Many of them played pivotal roles during the Iron Swords war, highlighting the direct impact of their innovations on Israel’s security.

The Hungarian Academy in Jerusalem, a cultural center located next to the YMCA in Jerusalem’s Talbiyeh neighborhood, will officially open its doors early next year as a new embassy branch. The Czech Republic and Slovakia also have embassy branches in the same street.