Israel Active

A pre-historic ritual complex has been discovered in the Manot Cave in northern Israel. According to researchers, the siting of an engraved rock deep inside the cave, ashes and fine acoustics signifies the transition from unstructured worship to the dawn of institutionalized public rituals.

A 500-year-old Torah scroll has been discovered hidden in the basements of Bashar Al Assad’s palace in Damascus. As only three Jews remain in Syria, it is hoped that the scroll will be brought to Israel for the descendants of some of the 30,000 pre-1948 Syrian Jewish community.

Forty wives of IDF reserve soldiers gathered in Modi’in, between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, recently for a collective baby shower (pre-birth party). They received hundreds of gifts from companies and individuals, including essentials for the hospital. Most of all, they made new friends.

15 Israeli high-schoolers from Gaza envelope kibbutzim went on a week-long trip to Los Angeles to watch NBA games, tour Universal Studios and play against a local Jewish day school. The program was organized by Project 24, connecting Israeli and North American communities.

Israel’s Merit Spread Foundation has raised over NIS 200 million in US-tax-exempt donations since the Oct 7 2023 Hamas invasion. It advertises as having unprecedented zero cost overheads and the fund has financed various projects covering multiple social benefit causes relating to the war.

Israeli nonprofit Atidim (see previously) has established the "Warriors for High Tech" program to help IDF veterans transition to technology careers. It is especially attentive to the employment requirements of ex-soldiers who have suffered physical injury or trauma.

The IDF has reported that residents from religious Zionist towns in Judea, Samaria, and The Golan were leaders in the average number of days of military reserve duty served in 2023. Moshav Ramat Magshimim in the Golan Heights led with 53.94 days per resident on average.

Since Oct 7 2023 Israeli nonprofit RE-SPECS has assisted thousands of evacuees from southern and northern Israel as well as soldiers with subsidized corrective eyewear. RE-SPECS takes inquiries via WhatsApp and after processing, the spectacles are sent to a local volunteer for collection.

The HaShomer HaChadash (“The New Watchman”) agricultural volunteer organization aims to bring at least 100,000 volunteers to help farmers in the north repair hundreds of acres of orchards. The nonprofit has already mobilized some 300,000 volunteers to help farmers in the south.

According to the CEO of Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, "David’s Sling and Iron Dome systems have intercepted more targets than all the other air defense systems worldwide combined over the past 50 years". He also reassured everyone, there is no shortage of interceptors.