Israel Stories
Two black caskets, laid out by Hezbollah officials on the sun-drenched tarmac of a Lebanese border crossing, unceremoniously put to rest one of Israel's most wrenching hostage ordeals.
A meeting with tough Israelis, literally on the front line of the conflict.
The upsurge in violence, which led to the deaths of two Israelis this month, is expected to result in a severe response by the IDF shortly after the Bush visit ends.
No relief from rocket and mortar attacks in southern Israel.
We still struggle to live like any other country in the world, in our own state, in peace.
Today we are dealing with a very special facet of Israel, and this is the “price” of our existence.
Israel came to a virtual standstill May 7 as sirens wailed across the country for two minutes to mark Yom HaZikaron – Remembrance Day.
Aliyah Day honors Israel’s 60th anniversary, in a project coordinated by the Jewish Agency and the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption.
Scientists from Israel, Europe and the US have joined forces to develop whiskered 'robotic rats' --innovative touch technologies that can aid in rescue missions and planetary research.
A select number of artists will have the opportunity to present their work at the mayor's succah at Jerusalem's City Hall Plaza.
Telling stories of those living under fire in the embattled Sderot region and detailing how our partner agencies are making an impact.
'This despicable act of terror was perpetuated against innocent young students, most of whom were only teenagers.'
“We are in a deteriorating situation, he said. “The question of course is why now.”
Funds provide mentoring, respite and recreational programs for hundreds of the area's most socially and economically disadvantaged kids and families.
Chicagoan Robert Asher was presented the first-ever Magen Herzl Award in January for his contribution to strengthening the State of Israel in the area of quality of education at the eighth annual Herzliya Conference. Fellow Chicagoan and philanthropist Lester Crown made the presentation at the event, which was organized by the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
"Israel cannot condone a situation in which Sderot and Ashkelon are a daily frontline and Hamas firing continues unhindered." President Shimon Peres
"The diplomatic and military cooperation between the United States and Israel has never been better." US Ambassador to Israel Richard H. Jones
Students in grades 3-12 get relief from constant terror rocket fire during the month of February.
Close to four score men from the Chicago-area are participating in JUF's Nachshon Mission to the Czech Republic and Israel.
Michael C. Kotzin Executive Vice President, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago Fassouta Mayor George Ayoub greets Cardinal George while Michael Kotzin looks on. On Jan. 10, Francis Cardinal George made his first
A group of 25 Chicago-area rabbis currently are participating in the 2008 JUF Rabbinic Mission to Belarus and Israel.
The past 48 hours have been some of the most turbulent we have seen on the southern front in recent months. It reflects the slow but sure deterioration of the security situation, building up to an inevitable and major confrontation. No matter how this cycle of hatred began or where it will lead, the consequences are undoubtedly a cause for concern and fear.
The Israel Emergency Campaign has allocated $400,000 to provide respite for Israeli youth traumatized by daily Kassam rocket attacks.
Hear the latest podcasts of Chicago and Israeli young people together on a Birthright Israel trip.
Contributions to IEC make it possible to run vital programs that help the people of Sderot and reassure tham that they are not alone.
Speaking to JUF staff, three Israelis reveal their courage and humor amid trauma and highlight the essential role of JUF and its overseas agencies in supporting their recovery
The most striking concession to emerge from the Palestinian-Israeli talks this week came neither from the Israelis nor the Palestinians, but from the Bush administration.
History has shown that when Arab leaders, like Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Jordan’s King Hussein opted for peace, Israel was a willing partner.
12 Heshvan in the Jewish calendar.
Nili Avramski will be one of the main attractions at the 8 km run through the Ramat Gan Safari Park.
Ttwo Iraqi children were brought to Israel for emergency heart surgery.
What really happened Sept. 6?
You don’t see the wounds. But they are there, and they run deep.
In the North, where the rockets from Lebanon rained down for 34 days, we saw and heard about after-effects, about the emotional and psychological trauma that remains, even a year later. But the description was always the same – POST-traumatic stress.
The IEC was established to help all Israelis, Jews and non-Jews alike, who live in the area impacted by last year’s Lebanon war
There’s nothing like experiencing a bombing to convince you that Sderot is a dangerous place.
Though the Second Lebanon War lasted only 34 days, its effects still linger one year later in northern Israel, where more than 4,000 Katyusha rockets fell, forcing residents to either flee south or make do with few supplies and outdated, under-equipped bomb shelters.
One year after Lebanon war, programs funded by emergency campaign seen as sorely needed.
Children at Jewish schools in the United States sing "David Melech Yisrael," with its corresponding hand movements. Children in the Sderot region sing about rocket alerts.
How $360 million helps Israel grapple with the after-effects of war
Moments before we met, Mayan Bar-On bolted for the center of her family's home on Kibbutz Nir-Am along the Gaza border.
Israel has secured a windfall in U.S. military aid that will last well into the administration of whoever succeeds President Bush -- and beyond.
Chelsea put her own spin on a Blumenthal family bat mitzvah tradition. Inspired by her older sisters Rachael and Emily, who both volunteered in JUF’s partnership 2000 region for their bat mitzvah projects, Chelsea Blumenthal traveled to Kyriat Gat, Israel, to volunteer for 10 days in the Shoshana Absorption Center and in a home for the elderly.
In recent years, as a result of accumulated experience during the period of terrorist bombings, Israel has developed unique treatment for post-trauma victims. This knowledge is use today for helping trauma victims from the war.“Psychological treatment for post-trauma sufferers is naturally adapted for each individual’s needs, but basically we can speak of psychotherapy sessions, that might be supplemented at some stage with anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs,” says Prof. Moshe Kotler, director of the Beer Yaacov Psychiatric Hospital.
Up till one year ago, eight-year-old T. was a happy child who loved to laugh and play soccer with friends, and went to Maccabi Haifa soccer games on a regular basis. Today he is shut in his home, rarely meets friends, goes out to a playground only with his parents, and hardly ever smiles. The white hairs that grew on his head after the war express the essence of this sad story.
Last Sunday, A. (16) was strolling in a Haifa mall, when she suddenly glimpsed a picture that made her blood freeze: One of the televisions in an electronics store was showing a report on Katyusha rockets falling in Kiryat Shmona. “In a single moment, everything that had happened in the summer came back, and I started weeping hysterically,” she relates.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is in the region as peace envoy for the Quartet.
Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on to the face of the moon, made his first ever visit to Israel.
“How much would you be willing to pay to hear your friend, Sherri, say a Hebrew tongue-twister five times fast?” With this challenge, Gil Ezra, a precocious and articulate 17-year old native of Kiryat Gat, Israel, opened a mock fundraising auction, imitating the one that recently raised over $10,000 for his community.
A funny thing happened to me in Sderot this afternoon. About three hours into my visit, I was caught in a rocket attack. I'm fine, but the experience was intense, to say the least. I had just finished visiting a local primary school when the siren went off. From the time you hear the screaming alarm, you have 15 seconds to find shelter. I ran back into a classroom, which was filled with many children and two teachers. The little ones were sobbing. I almost cried thinking that these children have to face this every day. No children should ever have to be so scared. It is unbearably sad.
For several months now, Sderot, a small working class town that borders Gaza, has been under near continuous fire from Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad. There is no normal life anymore.
I have never felt so much tension in one room. Maybe it was the language barrier or the ideological differences that separated us Write On for Israel fellows from the Palestinian teenagers integrated into our circle. This was the first time that we as advocates were able to support the State of Israel against those who oppose it. We debated many topics concerning Israel such as the security fence, the Jewish right to exist in the land, and what it would take for there to be peace. While we disagreed on almost everything, I was surprised that we could respect each others’ opinions.
This week has seen two very significant changes in the Israeli political scene. Both changes were predictable, but until they actually happened there was always the possibility that the unpredictable might occur.
Shimon Peres - public servant, parliamentarian and the eighth Prime Minister of the State of Israel - was born in Byelorussia in 1923 and immigrated to Palestine with his family at the age of eleven.
The Six-Day War of June 1967 altered the landscape of Israel's relationship with the international community, and along with it, Israel's relationship with Diaspora Jewry.
Even 40 years later, the Six-Day War still remains fresh in the hearts and minds of Jewish Chicagoans. The war was a turning point for many American Jews that helped to strengthen their Jewish identity and their connection to Israel.
As the Six-Day War raged 40 years ago, Abba Eban made a case that stands today.
The Shavuot holiday--usually a time of cheer for Israelis--was difficult this year, especially for the residents of Sderot, hit by waves of Kassam rockets.
The residents of Sderot are trying to put on a brave face and attempt to live as normal life as possible, knowing that at any time more Kassam rockets can hit their town.
Donate now to the Israel Emergency Campaign to help provide badly needed assistance to the embattled residents of Sderot.
Hysteria gets you nowhere. You go by logic. You have a threat and you determine how to counter it.
Longtime friend to Chicago's Jewish community, Sallai Meridor briefs JUF's Jewish Community Relations Council
Available for Synagogues, Jewish Youth Groups
It's become very clear that the clash over the construction work near the Mugrabi Gate is not a struggle against the archaeological excavations or the construction of a bridge, but part of a broader campaign for the control of Jerusalem. After all, this construction work has no connection to the Al-Aqsa Mosque nor any effect on it.
Indeed, even among some of the Arab MKs—those same leaders mobilizing the war and the incitement against the construction—there were those who admitted, some through winks and nods and others more directly, that whether the work
What International Law Really Says
Jerusalem, June 19, 2006--Many people, when asked to picture Israel, conjure up the image of the Kotel (Western Wall). As any one who knows a bit of Jewish history can tell you, the Western Wall of the Temple is the closest remainder to the Kodesh Ha'Kedoshem (The Holy of Holies). For this reason, vast numbers of people flock there every day.
Jerusalem, June 15, 2006--Two statistics, both approximating 95 percent, characterize Israel's security barrier: 95 percent of the so-called "wall" actually is a fence, and 95 percent of attempted terror attacks actually are foiled by the barrier that separates Israel from the Hamas-led Palestinian authority, according to David Baker, Senior Foreign Press Coordinator of the Prime Minister's Office.
On May 3, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley began a five-day visit to Israel, during which he advanced his global priorities for the city of Chicago while making "people-to-people" contacts of a sort dear to himself and his wife, Maggie, who accompanied him.
Carl Schrag Special to JUF News On a chilly, drizzly morning during the recent Sukkot holiday, a group of about 15 Israeli paratroopers paid a visit to the military cemetery at Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem. While there were memorial ceremonies scheduled later that day to honor those who had fallen in battle 32 ye
The tiny village of Fassouta in northern Israel, which hardly anyone from Chicago has heard of, during the past a few years has played host to a lengthy list of distinguished visitors, including Sen. Barack Obama, Mayor Richard M. Daley, DePaul University President Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, leaders of the Jewish Federation and dignitaries of the Catholic Archdiocese.
10) This war is not about territory. Israel withdrew from Gaza and Lebanon in 2005 and 2000 and the UN certified those withdrawals. The terrorists – Hamas and Hezbollah – were routinely violating those borders. The kidnappings (which were, the world forgets, accompanied by attacks on civilian tar
Where is this war going? many Israelis are asking themselves, especially in the aftermath of the failed siege of Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah. I recently had the chance to pose that question to a "very senior security source," as the army's euphemism puts it. He is an impress
This has been a year of rebirth for the long-uneasy Diaspora-Israeli relationship. Each side has rediscovered just how important the other is to its sense of self, perhaps to its very existence.
Archeologists are begging international journalists to report on Palestinian digging and building at the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism and the home of the Al Aksa mosque
This year, in circumstances more tragic than any of us could have imagined, I come to the United States to offer the sympathy and support of the people of Israel.
Upon arrival in Jerusalem the national Capital to Capital mission, Chaired by Chicagoan Larry and Sue Hochberg, went to the Jerusalem municipality for a warm welcome and stirring remarks by Mayor Ehud Olmert. The group then enjoyed a festive dinner and presentation by Oded Ben Ami, news anchor fo
The moment of truth for Yassir Arafat precipitated by America's declaration of war against international terrorism was intensified by the murder of Israel's Minister of Tourism Rehavam Ze'evi.
The vicious antisemitic diatribe unleashed by Syrian President Basher Assad as Pope John Paul II stood beside him in Syria in May-resurrecting the deicide canard against the Jewish people and attempting to forge an unholy alliance of Muslims and Christians against Israel-rightfully achieved prompt notoriety. But the use of religion-linked, incendiary language to advance the Palestinian cause was not unique to that moment. Indeed, an especially troubling aspect of the past year's events has been the way the Palestinians and their supporters have deliberately exacerbated
The Jewish United Fund-Israel Emergency Fund (JUF-IEF) has initiated a blue ribbon public awareness campaign to draw attention to the plight of the Israeli soldiers abducted by Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorists in October, and whose welfare and whereabouts remain unknown. The blue ribbon campaign was unveiled on Dec. 5 in Ramat Gan, Israel at a dramatic, 1,000-strong rally with parents and young friends of the abducted soldiers.
After an eighteen-month stint in America, my Chicago-born husband and I began preparing to move back to Jerusalem, our adopted home. We resigned from our jobs, broke the lease on our apartment, ordered a passport for our three-month old baby, sublet an apartment in Israel, and began packing up. Then all hell broke loose in Israel in the form of the Intifada Al-Aksa.
