Israel Active

When Rebecca travelled from Tel Aviv to London, she left her dog Stevie with friends in a village 7km from Gaza. On Oct 7, Stevie ran off and went missing for 41 days.  Thanks to two animal charities and posters, Stevie was found and now has a new job comforting human victims of Oct 7.

2,000 new immigrants are arriving or have arrived on 14 summer Aliyah group flights from Jun to Sep 2024. Nearly 1,800 North Americans made Aliyah with Nefesh b’Nefesh since Oct 7 with over 10,000 new requests received – a huge 76% increase compared to the same period last year.

As you would expect of Israel’s capital, it is at the center of events in the Jewish State. The Pulse of Israel Conference; the launch of the Knesset–House Parliamentary Friendship Group; July 4th (Entebbe Day); reunions and school holiday events.

Yad Vashem has inaugurated its Holocaust Heritage Campus, featuring the state-of-the-art Collections Repository. Stretching over 63,000 feet, the new center houses millions of documents, pictures, testimonies, and pieces of art collected by the museum since its founding.

IDF soldiers have found menorahs, Seder plates, and even challah boards in their battles across the Gaza Strip. The items of Judaica had to have been stolen by Gazans either on Oct 7 or previously. The IDF has posted photos of the objects on Facebook and other media to locate their owners.

Kathleen Hayes writes in the Jewish Journal about her first trip to the Jewish State. In her opening sentence she states, “there’s something almost biblical about the Israeli people. Ever-emerging stories about October 7 continue to awe and humble me.” And afterwards, “they are getting on with living”.

Noga Weiss, who was released from Hamas captivity in November, has just completed an IDF training course with honors.  She said, “Today I have finished the course and I feel that I have won. I am excited for the future, to feel that I am able to help other soldiers."

The Jewish Agency for Israel has launched Communities2Gether, to pair 25 Israeli communities with those around the world. The pairings aim to help rebuild infrastructure, mend social bonds and foster long-lasting connections. The priority is to help everyone to return to their homes.

The Russian Jewish Congress and the Center for Jewish Impact have awarded scholarships totaling NIS 430,000 to students at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University residing within 7 km of the Gaza border fence. Many of the students were directly affected by the Oct 7 events.

A group of 30 orphaned Israelis recently returned from a 13-day healing retreat in Mexico. The trip, arranged by Israeli NGO OneFamily and the Jewish community of Mexico City, brought orphans who lost both parents to terrorism (including on Oct 7) along with their adopted families.