Israel Active

15 boys from underprivileged families celebrated their Bar Mitzvot at the Kotel (Western Wall). The families were financed by the municipality of Rishon Letzion and the regional religious council.

2,500 Birthright alumni attended a mega-event in Odessa, Ukraine, designed to encourage potential candidates to sign up for a trip to Israel. The festivities included a performance by Ukrainian band Boombox and was attended by Odessa’s deputy mayor.

30 global Jewish scholars met Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem before preparing a “Declaration of Our Common Destiny” on the shared values and principles by which world Jewry will abide by. It includes being a “light unto the nations,” and to help develop and improve the world.

I reported previously of a terror attack victim whose life was saved twice when a tumor was discovered during hospital treatment. In a similar story Shira Sabag, critically injured in a Dec 2018 terror attack, was also found to have a tumor - in the brain. It was successfully removed.

Please watch this seven-minute documentary “Israel Survived an Early Challenge”. Produced by Pen State Professor Boaz Dvir, together with Retro Report, it focuses on a secret, operation to save newborn Israel in 1948.

The Republic of Nauru, a Pacific island country, has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Jerusalem Cinematheque is digitizing a rare film of Jerusalem in the 1930s. The Margulis family home movie features the Hebrew University; giving charity to beggars at the Western Wall; Haredi Jews from the Old Yishuv and Ashkenazi Jews wearing Sephardi clothes.

I reported previously on the Birthright Israel Excel program that brings Jewish students from top universities in the US and Canada to internships in Israeli companies. Since 2010, nearly 800 students have been mentored to become business leaders with strong ties to the Jewish State.

Onward Israel is a subsidized program for students and recent graduates interested in exploring areas of work in the Jewish State. Largely supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, participants experience unique, practical internships with Israeli companies and educational institutions.

Immigration to Israel by Jews and their relatives rose to just over 16,000 in the first half of 2019 – an increase of nearly 30% compared to the corresponding period last year. Some three-quarters came from countries formerly part of the Soviet Union.