Israel Active

This really surprised me. According to data from the #IsraeliJudaism project of the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), 73% of Israeli Jews claim they light the Hanukiah (menorah) for the full eight days of Hanukkah. Another 25% say they light on some nights.

Archeologists sifting soil originating from Western Wall foundations, have found a half-shekel stone weight engraved “beka” in ancient Hebrew. Beka is mentioned in the Bible in Exodus 38, Verse 26: “One beka per head; [that is,] half a shekel”. The beka stone was used in a census 3000 years ago.

Hanukkah in Israel (Dec 2 – 10) is an important and iconic festival, widely celebrated and marked by many symbolic events, customs and, of course, foods. There are many national events, tours, and traditional foods such as sufganiyot (donuts) and latkes can be seen everywhere.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen made a passionate speech from the House floor about the significance of the archeological discoveries of ancient Jerusalem at the City of David site.  She reaffirmed the Jewish people’s undeniable connection to the holy city as a matter of historical fact.

Each year Israel’s Lone Soldier Center hosts a Thanksgiving Dinner for nearly 1,000 Lone Soldiers from all over the world. This celebration is all about appreciating all the good in our lives and thanking the lone soldiers defending Israel.

If you have been upset by malicious reports about the problems on a delayed pre-Shabbat El Al flight LY-002 from New York to Tel Aviv, please read these uplifting accounts (especially the second one) of what really happened.

Now that Jerusalem’s Yitzhak Navon railway station is open, this article nicely describes the man who served as Israel’s fifth President from 1978 to 1983, passing away in 2015. His family had lived in Jerusalem for over 300 years and he was fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, Ladino, French and English.

President Reuven Rivlin hosted the heads of the Conference of European Rabbis - the main Orthodox rabbinical alliance in Europe, comprising over 700 communities. The Chief Rabbi of Moscow presented the Israeli President with a new Talmud, in Russian.

Here is a great site for everything you want to know about Israel’s National Anthem – Hatikva.  It includes Hebrew lyrics with English transliteration and translation, plus links to its historical background and 15 unique videos.

I reported previously about the Friends of Zion Museum which opened its doors in Jerusalem.  The FoZ now has 50 million supporters and is launching a $100 million project to help educate pro-Israel supporters around the world about the Jewish state, its challenges and achievements.