Israel Active

During an excavation in Khirbet Qeiyafa near Beit Shemesh, Hebrew University Professor Yosef Garfinkel uncovered the Biblical city Sha’arayim. Using carbon dating, he proved that the fortified city (in books of Joshua and Samuel) was part of King David’s Kingdom of Judah.

During his recent official visit to Israel, Czech President Milos Zeman inaugurated Czech House - a cultural center - as the first step in his 3-stage plan to move the Czech Republic embassy to Jerusalem.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is building a 1,500-square-meter mansion in Tel Aviv. The $27 million purchase picturesque Neve Tzedek neighborhood, will be developed from its original boutique hotel into a courtyard complex in the historical elegant Tel Aviv style.

To celebrate the Jewish festival of Hannukah, Israel’s Defense Ministry has purchased 360,000 donuts to give to IDF troops, including those at Air Force and Navy bases. It has also bought 16,000 packages of Chanukah candles, 30,700 tin menorahs and 200 large menorahs.

Over 3,000 haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, Israelis enlisted in the IDF in 2017 – the highest ever in the history of the State. It represents roughly a third of 18-year-old haredi Israelis eligible for military service.

Sarah had been teaching English to Israeli children as part of a US volunteer program. During her train journey to catch her flight back to the US, Sarah lost her wallet containing $2000.  Israel Rail workers found the wallet and a friend of Sarah’s collected it later.

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.