Michael Ordman: This Week’s Sanity Report from Israel Mar. 23, 2025 Spring is in the air as we approach the Jewish Spring festival of Passover (Pesach). As the Israeli clocks are about to “Spring forward”, Israelis Spring into action to create a better world. Having deleted genes to eradicate cancer in the previous newsletter, this […]

Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig: Bibi the Waiter We all know the adage: “Better late than never.” Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has changed that to  “better late, forever…”. For the leader of a country that needs decisive decision-making on a regular basis, Bibi has proven to be the antithesis of a firm decision-maker. I offer to you […]

CTECH: Israel’s Latest Innovation & Technology News Mar. 21, 2025 Munich Re acquiring Next Insurance at $2.6 billion valuation. The acquisition will see the digital insurer become part of Munich Re’s ERGO Group, expanding its presence in the U.S. small business insurance market. Read more Wiz CEO: “Cybersecurity is becoming Israel’s equivalent of Wall Street.” […]

RAV KOOK ON PARSHAT VAYAKHEL: WE MUST BUILD A TEMPLE OF GENEROSITY AND KINDNESS וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֥ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר זֶ֣ה הַדָּבָ֔ר אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃” Moshe said to the whole community of the children of Israel: ‘This is what יהוה has commanded: קְח֨וּ מֵֽאִתְּכֶ֤ם תְּרוּמָה֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה כֹּ֚ל נְדִ֣יב לִבּ֔וֹ יְבִיאֶ֕הָ אֵ֖ת תְּרוּמַ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה – Take from […]

Jonathan Sacks: Mirrors of Love Vayakhel The Torah in Parshat Vayakhel, which describes the making of the Mishkan, goes out of its way to emphasise the role women played in it: The men accompanied the women, and those who wanted to make a donation brought bracelets, earrings, finger rings, and body ornaments, all made of […]

United Hatzalah Completes Israel’s First Psychotrauma Dog Training Program United Hatzalah Successfully Completes Israel’s First Psychotrauma Dog Training Program Israel’s first prestigious training course for United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma Canine Unit has been successfully completed. The unit will aid anxiety patients at disaster scenes and in emergency situations.   Last Tuesday evening, an emotional ceremony was […]

Beyond the Narrative of Blame: The Urgent Need for an Honest Reckoning on Israel and October 7 Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA) Following the massacre of October 7, Israel remains in the throes of a collective trauma, leading to intense self-recrimination. Yet the obsessive focus on our failures risks diverting attention from […]

Yuval Raphael: A Voice of Resilience for Israel at Eurovision 2025 In a time of profound struggle for Israel, marked by the lingering pain of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and the unresolved plight of hostages still held in Gaza, a new voice has emerged to represent the nation on the global stage. Yuval […]

TAU: Research Satellites Built by High School Students Launched into Space New Israeli Record in Space: Constellation of 9 Research Satellites Built by High School Students Launched into Space Tevel 2 is the Largest Israeli Satellite Constellation Ever Launched into Space The Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Tel Aviv University, and nine municipalities across […]

Michael Ordman: This Week’s Sanity Report from Israel Mar. 16, 2025 The photo (TY Sharon) is of the posters outside the President’s residence in Jerusalem. They are entitled “Resilience since the start of the War”, showing some examples of Israel succeeding “against the odds” . The key historical event at the center of the Jewish festival of […]

CTECH: Latest Israeli Innovation & Technology News Mar.14, 2025 Cyber unicorn Pentera raises $60M at over $1B valuation as ARR approaches $100M. With revenue soaring 300%, the company is doubling down on the US market and product expansion. Read more QuamCore raises $9 million in Seed funding to build scalable 1 million qubit quantum computer. […]

Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig: Megillat Esther in the Shadow of Joseph The Book of Esther is a travesty of Jewish values. And that’s precisely why it was included in the Bible. If that sounds shocking to you, read on and you’ll find out what’s the true message of this strange biblical book. Most Jews understand that […]

Steve Kramer: Israel: Prickly like a Porcupine The Purim holiday will be celebrated throughout the Jewish world imminently. Purim is a joyous Jewish holiday celebrating the survival of the Jewish people in ancient Persia, as told in the Book of Esther. Traditions include reading the Megillah (historic scroll), wearing costumes, giving gifts, charity, and feasting […]

Jonathan Sacks: The Birth of a New Freedom Ki Tissa Witnessing the birth of a new idea is a little like watching the birth of a galaxy through the Hubble Space Telescope. We can witness just such an event in a famous rabbinical commentary to a key verse in this week’s Parsha. The way to […]

Steve Ornstein: The Uniqueness of Israel: A Tapestry of Wonder and Resilience Israel is a land that defies the ordinary—a tiny nation, no larger than New Jersey, that bursts with life, history, and innovation in ways that captivate the heart and soul. What makes Israel truly unique? It’s a vibrant mosaic of ancient roots and […]

Michael Oren: Do Not Reward Refusal and Terrorism Fifteen years ago, the Obama administration pressured Israel to agree to a ten-month settlement freeze. The goal, the Americans told us, was to incentivize the Palestinian Authority to join peace talks. Our government responded that the freeze would not only fail to bring Abu Mazen to the […]

UN WATCH: UNRWA Kidnapped Her Son Into Gaza Explosive Testimony at UNHRC   “I ask the United Nations: Where is my son?” On Friday, March 7th, UN Watch gave the floor to the courageous Ayelet Samerano, whose 21-year-old son Yonatan was kidnapped on October 7th — by an UNRWA social worker. When a so-called UN […]

Gregory Lyakhov: Hostages Speak. #MeToo Stays Silent The #MeToo movement, once a strong voice against sexual violence, has gone quiet after Hamas’s October 7th attack on Israel and the return of Israeli hostages. This silence is troubling. It raises questions about whether the movement truly stands for all survivors or only for those who fit […]

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Makes ENTIRE European Union Go Quiet with Chilling Warning Against Antisemitism

Purim, Persia, the Jews, and Iran: A Time for Prayer and Action By Marziyeh Amirizadeh and Jonathan Feldstein Purim is the holiday celebrated by Jews this week, marking the deliverance of the Jewish people in Persia – what was then the world’s superpower – for the past 2500 years. In recent years, a growing number […]