Israel Active

In the Bible there was Deborah and in Talmud times there was Bruriah.  Today, the Efrat Community has Jennie Rosenfeld – the first woman in the history of the State of Israel to fill the role of manhiga ruchanit – spiritual advisor.

Surrounded by the mountains and forests of the green Upper Galilee, Safed (Tzfat) is world-famous for its winding alleyways and old majestic synagogues, its Artists Quarter, its musicians, its history of kabbalah and spirituality.

Armstrong Williams writes an inspiring account of his journey across Israel and the PA territories. His key sentence is, “When you pause to consider what Israel has managed to give to the world, despite being under constant fire from its enemies, it is staggering.”

A Curtiss C-46 Commando transport aircraft, used to rescue 100 Iraqi Jews in 1947, will soon return to Israel after being saved from a metal scrap yard in Argentina.  Operation Michaelberg was launched when the British denied persecuted Iraqi Jews permission to enter Israel legally.

US Christian Brian Mast, who lost both legs from a bomb-blast in Afghanistan, has joined the IDF’s Sar El volunteer program.  He puts his pro-Israel attitude down to his upbringing, military contacts with IDF personnel and warm relations with his Florida Jewish neighbors.

Irish Catholic Belinda Hickey visited Israel for the first time in 2006, when love for Israel was kindled in her heart.  Now she is a role model in courage as she promotes Israel in the face of anti-Semitism in Ireland.  

Israelis Michael (92) and Marion (90) Mittwoch have just celebrated the birth of a new great-grandchild – their 100th.  After escaping Nazi Germany, the Mittwochs immigrated to Israel where they became the first couple to be married at Kibbutz Lavi.  All children and grandchildren live in Israel.

Two hundred and twenty-six immigrants, 76 of which are children, landed in Israel on a special flight from Ukraine.  They included dozens of families of refugees from eastern Ukraine who were made destitute as a result of the ongoing fighting, and were forced to leave their homes.

Evelyn Gordon writes about some of the reasons that European Jews, despite all doors being open to them, are now choosing Israel to be their future home.

Select full screen view to see this amazing video tour of the highway to Jerusalem. It shows the new road construction in context with the Biblical sites mentioned along the way.