Israel Active

Jerusalem-based Shapira Brewery and the Bat Shlomo Winery have launched Vinobier. In a first-of-its-kind local version of an ancient genre, Vinobier is made by fermenting a blend of wine must (juice from grapes) and beer wort (unfermented beer).  So what blessing should you say on it?

Ex-hostage Matan Angrest, abducted from his tank on 7 Oct 2023 and released in the recent hostage deal, traveled to pray at the tomb of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes in Tiberias. His mother vowed that when he was freed, she would come with him to pray at the rabbi's tomb.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has cancelled emergency measures in the south that had been in place since Hamas’s Oct 7, 2023 invasion. The IDF can relax restrictions that imposed limits on gatherings and civilian movement.

A group of 30 young volunteers from Argentina joined the “Volunteer in Israel” Birthright initiative operated by Tlalim Group. They went to Moshav Avivim, on the Lebanese border, to rebuild the Hezbollah-destroyed home of elderly resident Shlomo Peretz.

Despite the Oct. 10 ceasefire, visitors from the US and around the world have not stopped coming to the Jewish state to offer a helping hand. They continue to feed soldiers, help displaced families, or clean up kibbutzim devastated by the Hamas attacks.

51-year-old Mulugeta Tsegay / Tsagi (see previously) the Eritrean migrant who was granted Israeli residency for saving the life of IDF Lt. Col. Y on 7 Oct 2023, is now well on the way to obtaining Israeli citizenship.  Read the brave actions of Mulugeta on that fateful day.

The Shu’alei Kfar Aza soccer team are all 7 Oct 2023 survivors from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. They are travelling to Uruguay to play in the Masters Maccabiah Games, for older athletes. They represent resilience of Israelis who don’t have the luxury of knowing what it means to quit or lose.

Ex-hostage Evyatar David smiled as he formally turned the lights off in the Returning Hostages Recovery Unit at Israel’s Beilinson Medical Center. Evyatar, Avinatan Or, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Eitan Mor, and Alon Ohel - the unit’s last patients - were discharged last week.

Tel Aviv Fashion Week returned after a two-year gap, with former hostage, Eli Sharabi, plus relatives of other freed captives, striding down the runway. The crowd erupted in cheers as Sharabi - decked out in a white suit - appeared among the models.

At the 38th Jüdische Kulturtage in Berlin, Agam Berger - an Israeli soldier who survived 482 days in Hamas captivity - delivered a haunting violin performance of “Hatikvah,” a quiet display of endurance, dignity, and unbroken hope.