Israel Active

The Israeli government has approved NIS 110 million for academic institutions in Jerusalem. Finance minister Yuval Steinitz said, “"The city should again become a focus of academe, a draw for creativity and an environment for leading-edge technology. We will increase the number of engineers and research infrastructure to attract young and fresh forces to the city."

The president of Haifa, University Prof. Aaron Ben-Ze’ev, dedicated the new Vilna Gaon synagogue as “a place for Torah learning and imparting the magnificent values of Jewish life”. Vice President Amos Gaver said “Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman, the Vilna Gaon, was a man of education and sciences who combined Judaism with the values of knowledge. So it is most appropriate that the University’s synagogue be named after such an individual.”

Tiyul B’Aretz has no campus and no classrooms. Students “study” the Land of Israel by visiting sites on a bio-diesel bus and using the country as their teacher and guide. Founder Tamar Gersh is a Threshold Fellowship winner.

Israeli soldiers are mostly 18-to-21-year-olds who have the skills of veteran warriors. Why? Because they’re trained from day one to be in top shape, both physically and mentally. Here are some tips from the sports instructor of the Egoz Unit, one of the army’s most elite commando forces.

What an accolade. TripAdvisor have awarded top slot to the Artists’ Colony Inn in Safed (Tzfat) in its 2012 “Travellers’ Choice” list of the top 25 B&B’s and inns in the Middle East. Some of the guests were “blown away by its character, comfort and charm”.

The Land of Israel fund has planted groves of olive trees on the Mount of Olives overlooking Temple Mount. They expect that the trees will produce pure olive oil for lighting the lights for Chanukah 2012.

That is the Aramaic inscription on a 2000 year-old seal discovered by archaeologists during excavations in the City of David, Jerusalem. Education minister Gideon Saar stated that the find demonstrated the Jewish people’s bond to Jerusalem. “Everything uncovered here strengthens us." He said.

If you would like to read examples of regular acts of kindness performed by individuals from the Jewish State, I recommend subscribing to the following daily email subscription issued by Shmuel Greenbaum. Shmuel started the service following personal tragedy and now has 2 million readers.

Victims of terrorist attacks often suffer from acute dental issues that demand immediate, extensive and expensive treatment. Three American graduate students have launched a “Jewish Tooth Fairy Fund” for survivors and their families to obtain dental care they otherwise could not afford.

Seventy-six new immigrants from the USA landed at Ben Gurion Airport on a Nefesh b’Nefesh flight in time to light their first night Chanukah candles in their new homeland.