Israel Active

IDF medics are measured by the metric CFR (case fatality rate) - the percentage of wounded soldiers evacuated from the battlefield whom they failed to save. In the Second Lebanon War in 2006, the CFR stood at 15%. In the Gaza War, the CFR is 6.5%, due to more medics, faster evacuation and blood products.

The High Level Internatiotional Military Group comprises former NATO chiefs of staff, generals, senior officers, political leaders and officials. Its July 2024 analysis of the IDF’s war against Hamas was sent to the International Criminal Court. It praises the IDF’s moral conduct of the war.

180 secular Nova survivors joined a Shabbaton in Jerusalem run by the haredi Kesher Yehudi (“Jewish Link”) whose founder Tzili Schneider said, “The media says we’re separate. We’re not. We’re one people.”

Ziv Shilon lost an arm in Gaza in 2012, but he didn’t lose his spirit. Here, he performs hagbah (lifting the Torah scroll) in the Chabad of Savyon, Nothing stops these heroes - they are now a defining and meaningful part of the fabric of Israeli society. See also Ari Spitz, wounded in Feb 2024.

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported the most common Jewish baby girl names in 2023 were Avigayil (1,278), Ayala (1,171), Tamar (1,113), Sara, Maya, Noa, Yael, Esther, Libi and Chana. For boys, David (1,760), Lavi (1,415), Yosef (1,324), Rafael, Ariel, Ori, Ari, Moshe, Noam & Yehuda.

13-year-old Yair, hiking on Mount Carmel, uncovered an 1,800-year-old ring engraved with a goddess of war from ancient Roman and Greek mythology. It was found near the ancient Kdumim quarry site that lies below the Mishmar HaCarmel Farm.

Israeli archaeologists have published their findings from excavating Moshav Zanoah in Central Israel. It contains many artifacts including an inscription “of the King”, thought to be King Hezekiah (c 700 BCE). Zanoah is mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah (ch.3 v.13)

Shalom Korai was rescued from the Warsaw Ghetto at the age of 3 and brought to Israel, never knowing his real name. Now a DNA test has reunited him with his cousin Ann Meddin Hellman in Charleston South Carolina. (First printed in normally anti-Israel UK Guardian).

The dairy at Kibbutz Be’eri is producing its famous cheeses again, nine months after the devastating Oct 7 attack. Despite losing his business partner, Dagan Peleg bowed to pressure from Israelis craving for Be’eri cheese - especially those from the kibbutz evacuated to Dead Sea hotels.

Once you skip the negative section of this article, there are several key initiatives and innovations that will help the IDF in future conflicts. The MAFAT program, Tel Aviv University problem-solving, Unit 81, and MAMRAM’s tech commando unit.