Israel Active

Imagine this conversation around 150,000 years ago, when several painted clam shells were strung together on wild flax to form the earliest necklace ever discovered. They were found during excavations in a cave in northern Israel. It is also the earliest known use of string.

Born on route to Israel during Operation Solomon, 29-year-old Ethiopian Israeli Ashagar Araro is founder of Battae, an Ethiopian Heritage center in the heart of Tel Aviv. Israeli and international visitors experience the joy of Ethiopian culture through food, dance and art.

Archaeologists have unearthed, just outside Jerusalem’s Old City, evidence of resettlement after the Babylonian exile of 586 BCE. A clay “official” seal impression, and a pottery sherd seal, indicate that Jews were rebuilding Jerusalem in the 6th century BCE.

Three videos of Israel's top jazz singer Elana Watson, who was born to Christian Zionists in June 1967 (during the six-day war); then moved to Israel and converted to Judaism. (Elana reading her story – 8 minutes)   (longer interview)   (Elana singing “Awake O Israel” composed by her mother)

Eli Beer, CEO of Israeli emergency medical organization United Hatzalah, is back saving lives despite still recovering after almost dying of Covid-19. He said “I have a big responsibility to raise more funds to grow the organization. I have no choice. If I relax, people will suffer.”  (Video of Eli celebrating Pesach Sheni)

Two small Egyptian mummies, some 2,500 to 3000 years old, from Haifa Museum, were brought into Haifa’s Rambam hospital for CT-scans to reveal more information about them. One mummy turned out to be a falcon with a broken spine. The other still remains unidentified.

To help the growing numbers of Olim (immigrants to Israel), Aliya organization Nefesh b’Nefesh is to build a 2,200-square-meter Aliyah Center in the heart of Jerusalem. It will include space for Hebrew classes, exhibits, performances, and lectures on Israeli culture and history.

Ortal Ayaso’s family were flown to Israel in 1991 when Operation Solomon, brought 14,325 Ethiopian Jews on 34 planes in just 36 hours. Staff Sergeant Ayaso is now a technician in the Israeli Air Force and works on the exact same plane that rescued her family.

Two Israeli Arabs working for the Israel Antiquities Authority were key personnel involved in the Galilee excavation of a Second Temple (2000-year-old) mikveh (ritual bath). One discovered the mikveh and the other authorized it to be re-sited to a nearby religious kibbutz.

The IDF soldiers at Camp Ariel Sharon training camp, in Southern Israel, can now pray and celebrate in the largest IDF synagogue to date. The synagogue was donated by Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF)and includes 350 seats, a Torah study room and a new Torah scroll.