Israel Active

Lovely article by Michael Dickson, Executive Director of Stand With Us. He writes about his son who was 9 months old when the family made Aliya from the UK over 12 years ago.  He is proud that his son is now celebrating his Bar Mitzvah in the Jewish State.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and his wife, Nechama harvested from 60 olive trees in the Jerusalem gardens of the Presidential Residence Beit Hanasi. The President invited olive growers and owners of olive presses from all over Israel to join him, together with their families.

The ancient synagogue at Ein Keshatot in the Golan is now open to the public, nearly 1200 years after it was destroyed by an earthquake. 15 years of reconstruction involved 3D laser scanning technology and the numbering and positioning of each displaced brick.

US Ambassador David Friedman and Israel Cultural Minister Ayoub Kara, unveiled new Hanukah stamps at the American Center in Jerusalem. A parallel ceremony held in the Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island was live-streamed to the Jerusalem location.

Tel Hebron, in the city of the Patriarchs, is now open to the public. Archaeological finds at the birthplace of Jewish history include 1st Temple-era pottery vessels, jewelry and coins, as well as olive presses, kilns and giant vats used to produce oil and wine in accordance with Jewish law.

An estimated 50,000 people took part in the traditional ‎ priestly blessing ceremony at the Western ‎Wall on the first day of Chol Hamoed (intermediate days) Sukkot (Tabernacles). ‎ U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman also ‎attended the service.‎

The earliest stone inscription bearing the full Hebrew spelling of Jerusalem has been excavated in an ancient artisan village just 2.5km outside of modern Jerusalem. “Hananiah son of Dodalos of Jerusalem” (Yerushalayim) was inscribed on a column made in 100 BCE.

It’s 40 years since Israel’s PM Menachem Begin and Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat signed the Camp David Accords. It ended 30 years of war between Egypt and the Jewish State.

1,200 leading business people and philanthropists attended the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) National Gala Dinner in New York. Together they raised more than $32 million to support well-being and educational programs for IDF soldiers.

The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ) hosted thousands of Christian supporters of Israel celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. They then marched through the streets of Jerusalem, dressed in their national garb, displaying flags from around the world.