Israel Active

At the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu of Safed conducted a tefillin-laying ceremony for his grandson, who is celebrating his bar mitzvah. The tefillin worn by the boy were preserved from the Holocaust, having originally belonged to Rabbi Eliyahu’s great-grandfather

A reminder that Jewish National Fund-USA is currently organizing much-needed volunteer missions in Israel for variety of ages and groups, from teens to adults. JNF-USA Volunteer in Israel Missions are your opportunity to build Israel now and make a difference for the future.

A gold coin minted for Queen Berenice II dating back about 2,200 years has been uncovered just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. The discovery sheds new light on the status of Jerusalem after the destruction of the first Jewish Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.

Jewish-American filmmaker and author Wendy Sachs showed her documentary “October 8”, which tries to reclaim control of the narrative, at the Jerusalem Film Festival. According to her, the film seeks to explain “how we got to where we got,” and it’s intended for an international and not necessarily Jewish audience.

In May, Israel’s Cyabra (see previously) uncovered an Iranian bot network attack intending to manipulate UK political sentiment and deepen domestic divisions. But for 16 days in June, after Israel began attacking Iran, the bots went silent.

Lev LeChayalot (Heart for Female Soldiers) was started as a grassroots initiative to raise the spirits of thousands of courageous female IDF soldiers defending the country, providing them with the vital care they need to help them better able to serve their country.

IDF Commander Avi, shot in the head on Oct 7 2023, was rehabilitated at Raanana’s Lowenstein center where he met and got engaged to his nurse Eden (see previously).  They were recently married.  See links . And . And note the multicultural Jewish wedding in Israel.

Shir Siegel waited nearly 2 years for her wedding as Hamas held her parents hostage in Gaza. Mother Aviva was released after 51 days and Father Keith after 484 days. Fellow ex-hostages Emily Damari, Liri Albag, Agam Berger, and Amit Soussana joined them under the chuppah.

In 1996, Slava left Israel for Samara, Russia, to care for his sick father. His wife and daughters never heard from him again, despite police searches and media appeals. Then a social media post about a homeless man, prompted a local Rabbi to find him and reunite him with his family.

A new study from the University of Haifa reveals Jewish religious scholars in Late Antiquity were not only spiritual leaders, but also active participants in the booming Mediterranean wine industry of the Roman and Byzantine eras.