Israel Active

Israeli charity Beit Issie Shapiro and the Holon Institute of Technology have partnered to design adaptive costumes so that children with mobility issues can still celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim this coming week. Each design comes with a 3-min instruction video for parents.

Last week a 100-year-old Israeli man got married. This week 101-year-old Sandy Goldstein and his 97-year-old wife Rosalie made Aliyah to Netanya from New Jersey. They join their daughter Risa, five grandchildren and their spouses, and 12 great grandchildren, all of whom live in Israel.

Gvanim Ramon is designed for Israeli American women living in the US for several years, as well as for the second generation of Israeli immigrants to the US. It strengthens their connection to Israel and Jewish identity. It organizes delegations to Israel in Spring (15-23 May) and Fall.

Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA) is hosting (May 29 – Jun 5) what it believes to be the first-ever trip to Israel for those who want to experience the country through the lens of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. Registration is open until April 1.

Avraham Nachum’s 100th birthday motivated him to marry his long-term partner Bella - a mere 70-year-old. They had put off the wedding because of Covid, but now Avraham wanted to rid himself of the title of “widower”. The NGO Tzohar arranged the ceremony in Maale Adumin, Jerusalem.

Rachashei Lev provides medical, financial, and emotional support to pediatric cancer patients and their families, including medical resources, financial assistance, social services, and more.

The Friends of the IDF (FIDF) is once again offering 21 – 39-year-olds the opportunity to experience Israel alongside IDF soldiers on their Young Leadership Mission to Israel. This year’s dates are May 18 – 24. See itinerary, registration, and video links below.

A family found an ornamental 1,400-year-old clay ceramic figure of a face on the ground while hiking through the hills south of the city of Modiin. The Israel Antiquities Authority said the fine object was the decorative end of a candle holder dating from the 6th-7th Century in the Byzantine era.

While waiting for the order to move into the crisis zone, members of the IDF delegation stopped to pray. Then Israel’s Chief Rabbi instructed Israeli Jewish rescue workers to continue operations through the Jewish Sabbath, as Jewish law states that saving life overrides Torah commandments.

The first 2023 flight of “Operation Zur Yisrael” has just brought 120 new immigrants from Ethiopia to Israel. They had spent a long time in Addis Ababa and Gondar but following Ethiopia agreeing to issue exit visas, they can now reunite with their Israeli families.