Israel Active

While hiking in the Beit She’an Valley, Ayelet Goldberg-Kedar and her 7-year-old daughter discovered a clay oil lamp dating to the Hellenistic period 2,200 years ago – when Hanukah hero Judah Maccabee fought against the ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

The Jerusalem Municipality continued its annual tradition of distributing complimentary Christmas trees to Jerusalem’s residents in celebration of the holiday. 150 trees were distributed on Dec 21, at the Jaffa Gate Plaza, free of charge, upon presentation of a valid ID card.

100 years ago, General Edmund Henry Allenby entered Jaffa Gate, to end centuries of Ottoman rule. The historical event was marked by a re-enactment and the opening of a new Tower of David Museum exhibition, "A General and a Gentleman: Allenby at the Gates of Jerusalem".

Rain in Jerusalem doesn’t prevent Jewish residents from displaying their beautiful Hanukiyot outside their homes.  Specially made glass-fronted boxes help keep the flames burning in all weathers.  And (TY ) eight days of Hanukah are just not enough for Jerusalem.

Researchers in Israel have discovered menorahs prominently adorned on Muslim coins and vessels from the early Islamic period 1,300 years ago. Many 7th to 8th century CE Umayyad dynasty relics showing the seven-branched Jewish symbol are now being exhibited to the public.

An ancient seven-branched menorah inscribed on a large slab of basalt has been unearthed in Tiberias from a Crusader-era building built using the remains of mosque. The slab was originally the door of a 2nd to 4th century CE Jewish cemetery, used to build the ancient mosque.

Israel’s Police Commissioner Roni Alshich lit the flame for the first night of Hanukkah at the Kotel (Western Wall). He said, “The lighting of one Hanukkah candle creates and symbolizes the unity of the Jewish people. One nation with one heart."

On Chanukah, 11 cyclists lit candles in Metula on the Israel-Lebanon border and then cycled over 500km to Eilat to light candles the next evening. In doing so, they hoped to raise NIS 500,000 for Israeli emergency rescue charity United Hatzalah. Please help them if you can.

For the first time since its founding, a limited number of Birthright Israel trip options for 27 to 32-year-olds will be introduced this summer in addition to the standard programming available for 18 to 26-year-olds.

It was a historic moment, just past 8pm Israeli time on 6th Dec when US President Donald Trump announced US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish State and began the process of moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Czech Republic also announced recognition.