Jerusalem Light Show

Posted on: June 11th, 2012

The fourth annual Jerusalem Festival of Light is running through June 14th in the Old City of Jerusalem. This year the festival has grown to include ten international artists displaying the best artistic work in the field alongside dozens of performances, tours, local artists, and sites. Visitors (250,000 last year) perceive the artworks in the [...]

The ‘Back to the Ocean’ Movement

Posted on: June 10th, 2012

Odelia, a 100 lbs. loggerhead sea turtle, makes her way back to the Mediterranean Sea after her release at Palmachim beach, near the city of Rishon Lezion last Thursday. Odelia, was cast to shore on Palmahim beach and found by Odelia from kibbutz Palmahim. Since then she has been treated by the medical clinic of [...]

Netanyahu: No Jews Allowed

Posted on: June 8th, 2012

These signs hang by one of the passageways between H1 and H2 zones in Hebron. H2 zone comprises Jews and some 40 thousand Arabs. H1 zone, which spreads over the vast majority of the city, has only Arab residents, and Jewish entrance into it is against the law. These rules were sanctioned in the Protocol [...]

Talking to a (Man on a) Horse

Posted on: June 7th, 2012

   יְהִי-דָן נָחָשׁ עֲלֵי-דֶרֶךְ שְׁפִיפֹן עֲלֵי אֹרַח הַנּשֵׁךְ עִקְּבֵי-סוּס וַיִּפֹּל רֹכְבוֹ אָחוֹר Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward. (Gen. 49:17) Right wing activist Itamar ben Gvir was arrested by police on Wednesday during a demonstration outside the [...]

Blind Day

Posted on: June 6th, 2012

Israeli Knesset members cover their eyes and play Goalball (a team sport designed for blind athletes) with blind people at the Knesset. June 05 is a day of solidarity with the blind. As of 2011 there were more than 27,000 visually impaired people living in Israel. The organization “Blind Day” marked the day with activities [...]

Crossing the Jordan River

Posted on: June 5th, 2012

IDF ground forces practice river crossing. The drill included soldiers from combat engineering, tanks, artillery and infantry units.

Members of the Bukharian Jewish Community Supporting Israel

Posted on: June 4th, 2012

Possibly the most colorful group of Israel-loving Jews parading on Fifth Avenue Sunday.

Row of IAF Aircraft in the Moonlight

Posted on: June 4th, 2012

The moon shines above the row of Israeli fighter airctaft in Decimommanu, Sardinia, more than a thousand miles away from home. The IAF often practices long-distance flights, preparing to reach anywhere in the region.

Hebrew Class of West Side B’nai Israel Synagogue in Duluth, 1915

Posted on: May 31st, 2012

The photo was taken at a class outing in Lincoln Park in Duluth. B’nai Israel consolidated with congregation Adas Israel in 1930.

Now You See Them, Now You Don’t

Posted on: May 31st, 2012

Camouflaged IDF fighter jets fly low and fast inside the Ramon Crater in the Negev Desert. Hundreds of millions of years ago, the Negev desert was covered by an ocean. Slowly, it receded northwards, leaving behind a hump-shaped hill. The hump was slowly flattened by water and climatic forces. Five million years ago, give or [...]

Afternoon Break

Posted on: May 30th, 2012

Boys on a Hill Overlooking Havat Gilad, May 28 2012. Havat Gilad (Gilad Farm) is an Israeli outpost in Samaria. It was established in 2002, in memory of Gilad Zar, security coordinator of the Shomron Regional Council, who was shot and killed in 2001. This small village is on a list of outposts that Israel’s [...]

Soldiers at the Wall of Tears

Posted on: May 29th, 2012

IDF soldiers pray at the Western Wall. Next Tuesday, June 5, will mark the 45th anniversary of the Six Day War in which Israel liberated the Wall from Arab occupation, along with Temple Mount in the midst of historic Jewish Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza..

Shavuot on a Kibbutz

Posted on: May 28th, 2012

Children from kibbutz Tzuba near Jerusalem celebrated Shavuot, May 27, 2012. For the past century, the Israeli labor movement has embraced the agricultural aspects of the holiday, which marks the wheat harvest. “The suitability of Shavuot as a holiday appropriate to kibbutz life was evident from the very beginning, when shortly after World War I, [...]

Hadassah Luncheon

Posted on: May 25th, 2012

This 1950 Hadassah-sponsored luncheon may have been an Interfaith Tea. The teas were carried on by Jewish and non-Jewish Women’s groups interested in promoting cross-cultural education and understanding. Shown seated is Leah Barron.

Beautiful Land, Beautiful Children

Posted on: May 24th, 2012

Kindergarten children celebrated the coming holiday of Shavuot which starts Saturday night. The holiday stresses the ancient commandment of bringing agricultural gifts to the holy Temple, along with commemorating the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

The Bearer of Sheaves will Come Rejoicing

Posted on: May 23rd, 2012

Students of the Bonyan yeshiva harvest wheat with a hand sickle in a field near Latrun, Israel. They will store the wheat for almost a year, to be used for matzoh baking before next Passover.

Best Friends

Posted on: May 22nd, 2012

As the sun sets on an IDF soldier in the Oketz canine special forces unit and his loyal companion, Herman. Oketz was founded in 1939 as part of Haganah. Each dog is trained in a particular specialty. Attack dogs are trained to operate in both urban and rural areas. Other dogs are trained to track [...]

Jerusalem Day Parade

Posted on: May 21st, 2012

The Jerusalem Day Parade

The First Jews at the Kotel Since 1948

Posted on: May 20th, 2012

Following the liberation of East Jerusalem on 7 June 1967, IDF Chief Rabbi Major-General Shlomo Goren, blowing a shofar and carrying a Torah scroll, held the first Jewish prayer session at the Western Wall since 1948. The event was one of the defining moments of the war. Happy Jerusalem Day to all our readers!

Sisterhood Shabbat Society

Posted on: May 18th, 2012

Mt. Zion Women’s Sisterhood members looking at a Shabbat dinner table setting, March 21, 1949. The St. Paul, Minnesota, women in the picture were publicizing the concept of the “Jewish Home Beautiful,” which emphasized decorating the home, specifically the table settling, for each Jewish holiday. Left to right, Mrs. Max Whitefield, Mrs. Joseph Stein, Mrs. [...]