Israel Active

26 children and teens, age 6 – 18) have received “Resilience Award for Children and Youth” for their actions promoting strength, persistence and determination during the Swords of Iron war. Half will also receive a personal scholarship. Three youth groups were also recognized.

Operation Hug (see previously) has restarted thanks to Nefesh b’Nefesh, JNF-USA and Friends of the IDF. It brings to Israel parents of lone IDF soldiers, to be reunited with their loved ones. The initiative aims to offer soldiers the unmatched strength and comfort of a long-awaited embrace.

Ziv, a 30-year-old Israeli engineer, overcame a Hezbollah missile attack that cost him his arm and spinal cord damage, defying odds to walk down the aisle and marry his bride Nitzan after intensive rehab.

Seven months after being severely injured in a Gaza helicopter crash and undergoing intense rehab, senior pediatrician Dr. Eyal Hayman has returned to work at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

This Passover’s traditional priestly blessing ceremony at the Western Wall had special significance. The thousands of participants included ex-hostages, families of those still held captive, and wounded IDF soldiers. One of the priests was ex-hostage Eliya Cohen.

A reservist soldier found a frightened dog among the ruins in Rafah. Its electronic chip identified it as Billie, a 3-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that was kidnapped on 7 Oct 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. It was treated and then returned to the surviving members of the Dancyg members. (see video)

Watch as all traffic stops when the 2-min siren sounds. Also ex-hostage Agam Berger plays her 130-year-old violin with bereaved Oct 7 survivor Daniel Weiss at Auschwitz. WWII survivors light memorial torches at Yad Vashem. And the great-granddaughter of Righteous Gentiles is now an IDF soldier.

The newly appointed US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, placed a note from US President Donald Trump in the Western Wall. It said “For Peace in Israel”. The Ambassador said, “Trump told me to pray for the hostages’ return.”

At the Aleh Center in Bnei Brak, children with severe disabilities receive therapy from their involvement in Pesach preparations. Matzah-making enhances fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and sensory processing. It also deepens their connection to their Jewish heritage.

Three reservoirs that brought water to Jerusalem during the Second Second Temple period were opened to the public during Passover for the first time since 1995 when they were transferred to the control of the Palestinian Authority. (See Ecclesiastes 2:6 for King Solomon’s connection).