Israel Active

Honduras will be moving ahead with plans to open its Israel embassy in Jerusalem, and Israel will upgrade its Honduran consulate to a full-fledged embassy. Israel will provide Honduras help on cyber security, water and agriculture technology and import Honduran coffee.

I reported previously on the Tiferet Israel synagogue in Jerusalem. It was one of the largest synagogues in the old city, until the Jordanian Arab legion cynically destroyed it in 1948. 90-year-old Simcha Mandelbaum, who prayed there as a boy, launched its reconstruction.

Students at the Reali Middle School in Haifa have translated more VeryGoodNewsIsrael newsletter articles into Hebrew for the benefit of Hebrew-readers.

Hadassah-WIZO received a $6.5 million endowment - the largest endowment fund gift in the organization’s 100-year history.

Hashomer Hachadash brings volunteers from all over the world to help Israeli farmers by protecting their livestock and fields. See Ayelet Kaufman, Director of Hashomer Hachadash’s overseas program on ILTV.

Reservists on Duty (RoD) combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity on US college campuses. Its Minorities Group, comprised of Arabs, Druze, Muslims, Bedouins, Christians and even some Palestinian Arabs. Arab-Israeli citizens speaking positively about Israel makes a big impression.

A 2000-year-old ring with a solitaire gem stone was uncovered recently in archaeological excavations in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem. It was found in a mikvah (ritual bath) on the Pilgrimage Road that dates to the time of the second Temple period.

Thanks to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), 330 Olim (new immigrants) have landed in Israel from the Ukraine. The IFCJ has brought about 4,800 Olim to Israel this year alone (750,000 in 20 years). The immigrants include Jews from 29 different nations.

18 months ago, Yonatan was called Lutz, had been indoctrinated by extremists and was a member of a karate group with a neo-Nazi coach. Then he had a life-changing dream. After studying Kabbalah, he converted to Judaism. He now puts on Tefillin every day and plans to make Aliya in two months’ time.

Excavations at the Zippori National Park have unearthed a public bath which may have been used by famed Jewish leader and scholar Rabbi Judah Hanasi (Judah the Prince). Tractate Megillah states the rabbi, who redacted the Mishna early in the 3rd century CE, bathed on a fast day.