Israel Active

Ambassador Yoram Ettinger describes how the unshakable social, cultural, legal and political bonds between the US and Israel are cemented on a long history of America’s recognition of Jewish religious leaders, texts and Judeo-Christian values.

Archaeologists discovered two 1,800-year-old Hebrew inscriptions carved into a limestone column capital in the Druze Galilee village of Peki’in, It reinforces Peki’in’s link to Beka - a Talmud-era center of Jewish scholarship where Shimon bar Yochai hid from the Romans.

One-hundred and two members of India’s Bnei Menashe community have arrived in Israel, marking the latest group of so-called “lost” Jews to make Aliyah.  Members of the Bnei Menashe community trace their roots from Jews banished from ancient Israel to India in the 8th century BC.

Israel’s National Library has purchased 8,000 or so texts at Sotheby’s from the Valmadonna Trust collection. They include a 1491 Lisbon Bible; a 1556 Prague Passover Haggadah and the 16th Century Plantin Polyglot “King’s Bible” in Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Aramaic and Syriac.

KKL-JNF held its first Latin American Youth Leadership Conference in Israel. It brought together young volunteers and professionals from Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador and Cuba to see the wide scope of KKL-JNF projects in Israel.

Gershon Veroba’s first new solo album of original songs in nearly a decade, includes a song titled "Ani Yisrael" (I am Israel). Veroba said, “Israel is part of us. It’s ultimately where we’re from and where we live, no matter what our backgrounds have been or where our houses are."

Helena Glaser, Chair of the Zionist Council, highlights the 400-foot poster display of 120 Years of Zionism at Ben Gurion Airport.  Its message is that although you might be leaving the Holy Land physically, that doesn’t mean you can’t stay in Israel in spirit.

Nyunggai Warren Mundine is a leader of the Australian Aborigines. He has just returned from his fifth visit to Israel in the last ten years. He says, “I’ve found inspiration in peoples who’ve rebuilt themselves to thrive in modern society.” He describes the history of the Jewish State very well.

The latest discovery from the Temple Mount Sifting Project are shells from the sea-snail Murex trunculus used by Jews in Biblical times to make the blue dye Tekhelet. The dye was used to color the fringes worn on prayer shawls and 4-cornered garments, until the technique was lost.

Israelis look forward to winter rains.  They provide precious water but are also often accompanied by a heavenly visual promise of no more global flood!