Stone mentions Roman tax imposed during Talmud period
Israeli and American archaeologists have uncovered a Roman boundary stone over 1,700 years old with a Greek inscription. These stones were used to implement Roman Emperor Diocletian’s harsh taxation laws, which are mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud.
114 donated sets of tefillin
A Jewish girl from Brooklyn, New York, has founded the organization Tefillin On Us, that supplies tefillin to IDF soldiers who are non-religious or cannot afford them but wish to wrap daily. Since Oct 7 2023, it has donated 114 pairs of tefillin - each costing over $1,000.
Thai workers return to Negev farms
Some 9,000 Thai agricultural workers who survived the Oct 7 2023 Hamas attacks went back home (39 others were murdered and 8 are still held hostage). Almost all 9,000 have since returned, many to the communities that came under attack that day - heartwarming to their Israeli friends.
Our response is a new factory
Israel’s Strauss’s Group chairperson Ofra Strauss told the Globes "Returning to the North" conference that the company this year will open a new factory for plant-based milk products in Ahihud, about 9km East of Akko (Acre). She linked the theme of building to the return of the hostages.
Caring for wildlife in a war
The KKL-JNF Agamon Wildlife Rehabilitation Center (AWRC) in the Galilee’s Hula Valley has continued to treat injured wildlife throughout the war. It provides care to thousands of animals, from birds of prey to small mammals. It also serves as a hub for research and public education.
Shabbat meeting to save lives of hostages
The Israeli cabinet, including Shabbat-observant ministers, debated the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal long into Shabbat. They adhered to the rabbinical dictum “Pikuach nefesh docheh Shabbat” – rescuing a life takes precedence over the rules of Shabbat.
Look who started wearing tefillin
The father and brother of Romi Gonen (one of the women hostages released on 19 Jan), decided to start wearing tefillin about 2 months ago.
Student of courage
On Oct 7 2023, Coral Hamo Goren - a Ph.D. student at Israel’s Technion, mother of three, and operations officer in the IDF was called to manage a command center near the Gaza border. When she can, she commutes between Gaza and Haifa, submits papers, attends courses, and keeps up with research.
Ancient structure unearthed in Jerusalem
A 220 sqm 1st Temple-period structure has been uncovered in the City of David, Jerusalem. The eight rooms include an oil press, a winepress, a possible altar, and a standing stone. It was in use until the 8th century BCE, when King Hezekiah restored Jewish worship.
Ancient farmhouse unearthed near Beersheba
The Israel Antiquities Authority and KKL-JNF have excavated artifacts at the 2,600-year-old, 4-room Mirsham farmhouse just north of Beersheba. It was likely constructed during the reign of Judean King Menashe (697-643 BCE) and demolished 100 years later.