Israel Active

A rare 'sling bullet' from the Hasmonean period has been found in Yavne. It is inscribed with the names of two Greek deities Heracles and Cronus, intended to bring the Syrian-Greek army good fortune.  As we know, from celebrating Hanukkah, it was the Jewish army that was victorious.

A man injured in the recent terrorist attack in Jerusalem was saved from death when a piece of shrapnel was stopped by the Book of Psalms (Tehillim) in his top pocket. The shrapnel came to rest at Verse 7 of Psalm 124 - “Our soul has escaped like a bird evading the grasp of its captors.”

Israeli food security charity Meir Panim (see previously) has launched a free shuk (Arabic and Hebrew for “market”) in Jerusalem and Tzfat, providing fresh produce for those in need. Free shuks already operate in Or Akiva and Tiberias. There are also free restaurants in all four cities, plus Dimona.

Israel commemorated the "Day to Mark the Departure and Expulsion of Jews from Arab Countries and Iran" with an exhibition at the United Nations. It documents the history of the Jews in Arab countries and Iran, and the post-1947 emigration of hundreds of thousands to Israel.

Israeli organization Darkaynu, part of the Ohr Torah Stone network of programs, has developed Israel gap year programs for people with disabilities. The latest programs, in Jerusalem and Alon Shvut, comprise 28 students from the US, Canada, England, and Australia.

Rony Zigler is CEO of Kolhei Golan, managing all the sewage treatment plants in the Golan Heights. His latest treatment plant uses reconditioned kidney dialysis filters from Israel’s NUFiltration (see previously). It inspired Rony to altruistically donate a kidney to a total stranger.

Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, the first-ever house of prayer in Israel for Bnei Menashe immigrants from India, has just been inaugurated in the northern Israeli city of Nof Hagalil. About 150 worshippers attended - most of them members of the community.

In 2021, Israel brought 1,755 Ethiopian Jews to settle in Israel. They joined over 90,000 others who were born in Ethiopia, together with another 73,800 with at least one parent born in Ethiopia. Netanya is the city with the largest population of residents of Ethiopian origin (around 12,000).

The above article about Rony Zigler also mentions that more than a dozen residents of his religious Zionist hometown of Hispin in the Golan have donated kidneys to strangers through the NGO Matnat Chaim (“gift of life”).  Israelis are the world’s most altruistic kidney donors (see previously).

The global movement for Jewish mothers, Momentum (see previously) has launched Yomm - the first social networking app designed to bring Jewish women closer together to learn and connect. Yomm was created in partnership with the Mayberg Foundation and Israel’s Diaspora Affairs ministry.