Israel Active

Just in time for Tisha B’Av – the 9th Av mourning for the destruction of both Temples. 30 meters of the Jerusalem wall (1st Temple period 1000 BCE) has been exposed during excavations in the City of David National Park. The wall is on a slope too steep for the Babylonians to destroy in 586 BCE.

Isaac Herzog is the 11th President of Israel, replacing Reuven Rivlin. The President was sworn in on the same Bible used to swear in his father Chaim, Israel’s 6th president. His grandfather (later Israel’s Chief Rabbi) Yitzhak Halevi Herzog took it to Europe after the Shoah to rescue hidden Jewish children.

In a landmark ruling, Isael’s Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the Knesset in passing the nation-state law. As one judge wrote, its recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish People, “does not hurt the individual rights of any Israeli citizen,” regardless of faith or ethnicity.

A coin unearthed in the Binyamin region of Samaria shows that Jews continued to live in the area decades after the Romans destroyed the 2nd Temple. The coin, minted around 134-135 CE, bears the inscription LeHerut Yerushalayim (for the freedom of Jerusalem).

A 1,100 BCE inscription has been recovered from excavations in Israel at Khirbat er-Ra‘i, near Qiryat Gat. It bears the name ‘Jerubbaal’ in alphabetic script, which is recorded in the Book of Judges as an alternative name for the judge Gideon ben Yoash who led the Israelites at that time.   (For English subtitles, turn on captions and auto-translate)

The public will soon be able to view impressive new sections of one of one of the most magnificent public buildings uncovered in Jerusalem from the Second Temple period. It will form part of the tour of archaeological excavations recently conducted in the Western Wall Tunnels.

Archaeologists have uncovered a mysterious stash of 29 fossilized shark teeth at a 2,900-year-old site in Jerusalem’s City of David.  The excavated house is called “Rock Cut Pool,” and dates to the time of King Solomon. The teeth have been dated to be around 80 million years old.

Israelis and Americans celebrated the 245th American Independence Day at the US Embassy in Jerusalem. The speeches emphasized America’s Biblical foundations as well as Israel’s and USA’s shared values.

The Bank of Israel is to issue a special edition of a 5 NIS coin designed specifically as a token of appreciation to Israeli medical staff. It is in gratitude for contributing and fighting for the lives of the public during the corona crisis and features a medical worker treating a patient.

Jews moving to Israel and seriously considering it are currently rushing to purchase property in Israel. Realtors say that the market has gone crazy. Nefesh B’Nefesh, who have just launched a new institute for Aliya, say that applications to make Aliya are up more than double from 2019.