Israel Active

In 1923, Professor Albert Einstein started a Technion-Nobel tradition when he planted a palm tree at the Israel Technion’s original campus. Since 2007, all visiting Nobel laureates are invited to plant a tree in Technion’s Lokey Park. For Tu Bishvat here is a video of several Nobel Prize winners doing just that.

Basia Wieczorek’s grandmother escaped the Warsaw Ghetto and was adopted by Polish family. When Basia was 5, she told her she was Jewish. Basia embraced her Jewish identity, culminating in her Masters thesis “Jewish Identity of the Third Generation.” Basia immigrated to Israel on 13 Jan 2014.

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported that in 2012 Israeli households and businesses donated 7.6 billion Shekels to nonprofits. This was an increase of 8.8% on 2011 and amounting to 0.76% of GDP. The USA came top with 2.1% of GDP.

The annual French wine competition held by 1001degustations.com awarded gold stars to all 8 of the entries from Psagot Boutique Winery in the Binyamin hills. The Pesagot winery was established in 2003 on the site of vineyards owned by Jews since the Second Temple period.

In and around England’s seaside city of Brighton, the Sussex Friends of Israel are proving that it is possible to use brains to counteract anti-Israel (and anti-Semitic) BDS idiots.

Charlie Newmark tells of his great uncle Max, now 100 years old who infiltrated the Hitler Youth, and immigrated to pre-State Palestine at age 19. Max joined the British mandate police force to combat the 1936-39 Arab revolt and then fought the Syrian army in the War of Independence. May he live till 120.

German Christian tourist, Eleonore Kastner, stayed at a Dead Sea hotel for her 104th birthday treat, together with 40 friends and family. Israel’s Tourism Ministry awarded Eleonore a silver-bound Bible for being an ambassador of goodwill for tourism to Israel.

Israel’s National Library is to debut ancient texts found in an Afghanistan genizah, or storage area for old Jewish texts. Some texts date back to 100CE and include writings from post-Talmudic Jewish leader Rabbi Saadiah Gaon.

Why not study in English for an MA in Diplomacy at the IDC in Herzliya?

Archaeologists conducting digs at a site in the city of Elad in central Israel, have discovered several ancient wine and olive presses that date back to the Talmudic period, some 1500 years ago.