Reflections on Reaching Seventy May 14th marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. On the Hebrew calendar, this is the fifth day of Iyar, the eighth month of the year 5778. The anniversary of this date is known as Yom Ha’atzmaut and this year falls on April 19th. click Israel Matters! 123 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.
A Dispatch from Tel Aviv —The 2018 Jewish Funders Network International Conference During the period March 11-15, 586 donors from 12 countries have come together for express purpose of taking Jewish and Israeli philanthropy to new levels of effectiveness. The conference rotates year to year — west coast to east coast to Israel. year the conference will be held in San Francisco. click Israel Matters! 122 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.
Poland Tries to Curb Holocaust Speech — Israel Fights Back Even as international pressure mounted on Poland to back away from a new law that would make it illegal to blame Poles for crimes committed by Nazi Germany, the Senate passed the legislation. The bill, which sets prison penalties for using phrases like “Polish death camps” to refer to concentration camps set up by the Nazis, is subject to the approval of President Andrzej Duda. Supporters are urging him to sign it, even at the risk of rupturing relations with Israel and the United States. In response, Mr. Duda said that he would review the legislation closely before deciding whether to sign, but he added that he was “absolutely outraged” that the Israeli ambassador had criticized the legislation during a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp on Polish soil. “I don’t…
Fighting for Israel on Social Media Late in the afternoon on July 28, 2014, Daniel Rubenstein was scrolling through Twitter at IDF headquarters in sunny Tel Aviv when he saw a tweet from NBC News reporter Ayman Mohyeldin: “Israeli airstrike has hit the outpatient clinic at Shifa Hospital. Local Palestinian media is reporting several children among dead #gaza.” Minutes later Mohyeldin tweeted again, this time accusing Israel of striking Al Shati refugee camp. click Israel Matters! 120 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.
Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital and Orders U.S. Embassy to Move President Trump, in December, formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing nearly seven decades of American foreign policy and setting in motion a plan to move the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to the fiercely contested Holy City. “Today we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” Mr. Trump said from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House. “This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It’s something that has to be done.” click Israel Matters! 119 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.
Tel Aviv: Top Travel Destination By: Maya Danielle Nissim, Teacher, Travel Blogger, and Internationally Published Writer Out of the 30+ countries I have visited and innumerable cities I have wandered through, Tel Aviv is by far my favorite and a destination I enjoy visiting time and time again. However, before a recent trip I was surprised to hear from friends and colleagues that many people don’t know how truly remarkable this city actually is. click Israel Matters! 118 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.
Mossad Chief: Iran ‘Closer Than Ever Before’ to Israel’s borders The head of the Mossad intelligence service warned recently that Iran, through its proxies, is operating closer “than ever before” to Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria, though he also said Israel was operating deep in enemy territory. Spy chief Yossi Cohen said that in addition to arming the terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas, the Islamic Republic was working to develop its own nuclear capabilities with the goal of weaponizing them. click Israel Matters! 117 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.
Venezuelan Jews Fleeing Turmoil Get ‘Lifeline’ in Israel As the political and economic situation in Venezuela becomes increasingly unstable, Jews are fleeing the South American nation, with many choosing to immigrate to Israel. Conditions in Venezuela began deteriorating in 2013 following the death of the country’s former president, Hugo Chavez, and the ascension of his chosen successor Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver. click Israel Matters! 116 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.
IDF Discloses Scope of Israeli Aid to Syrians Affected by War Israel has for the past year treated hundreds of Syrians and sent hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid in a new project dubbed “Operation Good Neighbor,” the IDF recently disclosed. Begun in June 2016, the initiative was launched with the goal of increasing civilian aid for Syrians while maintaining the principle of non-involvement in the Syrian civil war. More than 110 new aid operations have taken place since August 2016 as part of the initiative. click Israel Matters! 115 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.
Israel is in Love with its Homegrown Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot For a country that takes pride in even the smallest successes of its international celebrities, the debut of Wonder Woman has sparked an Israeli lovefest for home-grown hero. A huge billboard overlooking Tel Aviv’s main highway is tagged with a “we love you” greeting, her Hebrew-accented appearances in the international media are reported daily and throngs of fans cheer wildly on seeing her on the big screen. Even Lebanon’s ban of the film hasn’t dampened the mood in Israel, where Gadot’s superhero status has been embraced as a national treasure. click Israel Matters! 114 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.