Israel Active

Yael Eckstein of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews writes, “As we celebrate Israel’s Independence Day, it is critical to remember these people who speak loudly and bravely in unity with the Jewish people. Simply put, they are Israel’s greatest ally and friend.”

On Holocaust Remembrance Day and on Yom Hazikaron, watch what happens to the traffic on Israel’s busiest roads when the siren sounds.

(Thanks to Jacob Richman) The latest set of Israeli stamps includes individual images of the following words in the Israeli sign language: “Thanks”, “Goodbye”, “Kiss”, “Friendship” and “Love”.

On Israel’s 66th birthday, fellow blogger Naomi Goldberg lists 66 companies that make her proud to be Israeli. They include some that I hadn’t even heard of.

Gennady Kernes, the Jewish mayor of Kharkiv who was shot and critically injured in the Ukraine unrest has regained consciousness in Haifa’s Rambam medical center. Kernes underwent two major operations in Israel to treat the damage to his lungs, stomach, liver and spine.

Adi Huja needed 120 units of blood when she was wounded in the 2001 Sbarro terrorist bombing in Jerusalem. Professor Avi Rivkind of Hadassah hospital told Adi that not only will she fully recover, but that he’ll one day dance at her wedding. 13 years later, Adi danced with Professor Rivkind.

Declare Your Freedom 2 (DYF2) at Tulane University, New Orleans, was a resounding success. Chloé Simone Valdary, an African American Christian Zionist student, organized top human rights speakers, bands who inspired and entertained a crowd of over 400.

In the latest TechnoBrain engineering challenge, Technion students had to devise a machine that could cross a pool of water (symbolizing the Reed Sea) fill a glass of wine to capacity and place it on the "Passover Seder table," all without human intervention. Several managed it.

Ethiopian Jewess Takia (not her real name) began her exodus to Israel in 1980 but was stopped in Sudan and forced into a Muslim marriage. 30 years later, on Passover eve, she was reunited with her parents in Beersheva. She now is working to bring her children to Israel to join her.

Israeli archaeologists have found a Second Temple Era iron chisel, which may have served the builders of the Second Temple. The lead archaeologist said, “after two thousand years, we are in the possession of a work tool used by the builders who built the Kotel, the Western Wall.”