Israel Active

Birthright Israel is resuming its free, 10-day educational trips to Israel in the first week in January. 350 participants (mostly from the US) are anticipated. Summer trip registration will begin mid-Jan.

Juergen Buehler, president of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem says there are around 100 Evangelical Christian volunteers in the IDF, including two of his sons. As one of the Christian soldiers said, “We are willing to give our lives for Israel.”

A young couple had intended to fly to America to plan their wedding. But Oct 7 changed their plans into a quiet wedding in Israel. Jake was then called up into the IDF and so the wedding ceremony took place next to the Syrian border, with nearly 100 celebrants – the majority in army uniform.

Israel Tech Guard is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit initiative building tech solutions to help protect Israelis during and after the war. They include Blood Donation Bot (donor eligibility), Rehab Track (locating patients in hospital), and Guardian X (social media identity verification) and more.

In civilian life, Tal is lead R&D engineer at Synchrony Medical (see previously) developing LibAirty to treat chronic lung disease. Since Oct 7, she has been working 12-hour shifts several days a week as chief sergeant of a control unit that coordinates helicopter evacuations of wounded soldiers.

The English-speaking branch of AWIS (Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers) has raised funds (see ) for the IDF’s Rehabilitation Unit, where 100+ brave wounded soldiers are receiving general medical care, physiotherapy and counseling to help them recover and recuperate.

Aliyah organization Nefesh b’Nefesh has awarded its Maor Youth Prize to ten outstanding young olim (immigrants to Israel) ages 11 to 18, from English-speaking countries, for their exceptional contributions to the State of Israel during current war.

An IDF canine is saving lives in Gaza, sniffing out explosives and hidden terrorists.

Rami Davidian received a phone call on Oct 7 asking him to rescue someone from the Nova party. In his first rescue mission he crammed 15 youngsters into his car and took them back to his house. In another he pretended to be a Muslim from Gaza and convinced a terrorist to hand him a female captive.

Emotional scenes in this newly released film from Israel’s Schneider Children’s Hospital, where many (but not all) young hostages released from Gaza have been reunited with their families.