Israel Active

300-400 Filipinos gathered in a busy Manila business district in support of Israel. They carried huge signs, Israeli flags, white and blue balloons, loudspeakers and sang songs in Hebrew, and even blew shofars.

(Thanks to Eli) A team of Israeli and International archaeologists have discovered the remains of a fleet of early-19th century ships and ancient harbour structures from the Hellenistic period (third to first century B.C.) at the city of Akko.

The Economist Intelligence Unit - a sister company of The Economist (no lover of Israel) has published a study measuring which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead. Israel (20th) beats most European countries.

(Thanks to the Algemeiner) Magen David Adom’s response to a Tel Aviv fire found no fatalities but a cat was spotted suffering from smoke inhalation. It was treated with oxygen and after several minutes returned to its normal feline-self, but apparently failed to thank the MDA team.

Israel is to rebuild the Tiferet Israel Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem that was blown up by the Jordanians following the 1948 War of Independence. An anonymous donor has funded the rebuilding of the three-story-tall synagogue with its iconic dome.

When Hamas was firing rockets at Israeli civilians and the world was telling Israel not to defend itself, Glenn Beck produced this message of support.

High school students and volunteers in Migdal Ha’emek are helping some of the 700,000 Jewish refugees who were expelled from their homes in Arab countries during the 1940s and 1950s. They are documenting their personal stories in a unique project called "Tell Your Children".

A group of US Hispanic journalists and another of Chinese bloggers visited Israel at the height of Operation Pillar of Defense. They heard sirens indicating a rocket attack and publicised their amazement at how Israelis cope and still manage to be such a progressive and innovative country.

Yael Matzpun of Moshav Sdei Avraham was stabbed in the face by an Arab infiltrator from Gaza, whilst her four children were sleeping. Yael managed to push the terrorist into the adjacent bathroom and jammed the door using her child's bed. IDF troops later chased and killed the terrorist.

Lev and Svetlana Hazant, both in their 80s, moved from the Ukraine to Israel 11 years ago but have just finished selling their foreign home. They decided to donate the proceeds to fund the renovation of an IDF outpost on the Israel-Egypt border. “What we have is enough”, they said.