British Israel Group (BIG)

Quote of the day from Catherine Perez-Shakdam, executive director of We Believe in Israel:

“Israel, Mon Amour. You are my identity, my history, my future. You are the embodiment of a people’s unyielding spirit, the living proof that we will not be erased. I shall never cease to love you.”

 

9 children in 4 years

Nachum Fleischer is an ultra-Orthodox Jew who lives in Canada. He got married in 2020, and 9 months later, his wife gave birth to triplets. A year and a half later, they had triplets again. And now, just 4 years after getting married, they have had their 3^rd set of triplets. That’s 9 children in 4 years!

 

Direct from Gaza to donate bone marrow to 3-year-old

When Matan Amir registered with Hadassah’s bone marrow registry on the day he enlisted in the IDF, he provided a saliva sample and forgot about it - until Hadassah informed him, while he was fighting in Gaza, that he was a genetic match for a 3-year-old boy diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. Matan agreed to help. He was released from Gaza, and underwent a pelvic bone procedure. The recipient is doing well. After a regulatory 12-month delay, Matan hopes to meet the boy. Matan means gift. How appropriate!

 

Volunteer medic injured on Oct. 7 returns to service with ‘ambucycle’

Seriously wounded United Hatzalah emergency medic Rabbi Chaim Sassi is back on active duty after receiving a custom-made ambucycle that accommodates his lingering leg injury. Sassi, who also serves as the regional rabbi for United Hatzalah in Sderot, underwent a long rehabilitation, but was determined to get back to work. The ambucycle allows Sassi to ride safely despite balance issues caused by his leg injury. United Hatzalah CEO, Ehud Davidson: “Sassi is an inspiration to us all.”

 

Disabled rehab patients enjoy an exhilarating treat

ADI (Ability, Diversity, Inclusion) helps the rehabilitation of people with disability. More than a dozen war-wounded military and civilian rehab patients from ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran recently took to the southern Israel skies with pilots from “Ananim: Flights for the Community.” The exhilarating flights are a metaphor for unlocking potential beyond limitations.

 

Golders Green boy wrote Brian Epstein’s first UK #1

Martin Dover, who was a teacher at Carmel College when I was there, once shared with me that he was Brian Epstein’s barmitzvah teacher. Epstein – the subject of a new biopic, “Midas Man” – not only managed the Beatles, but also another popular Liverpool group, Gerry and the Pacemakers. In fact, Epstein’s first UK number one was Gerry and the Pacemakers’ “How Do You Do It?” The lyrics for this hit song were written in Golders Green by a good Jewish Golders Green boy, songwriter Mitch Murray.

 

Medical clowns shorten hospital stay for children with pneumonia

We already know that visits from a medical clown can help reduce stress and anxiety in hospitalised children. After studying the impact of medical clowns on children who are hospitalised with pneumonia, a team from Carmel Medical Center in Haifa has found that the children spend less time in hospital if they are visited by medical clowns, who sing and play music with the children, and encourage them to eat and drink independently.

 

Bigoted vandals smash bust of Chaim Weizmann at Manchester University

In Room 27 on Floor 2 at the London’s National Portrait Gallery is a bust of Chaim Weizmann that Sir Jacob Epstein completed in 1934. I recall a replica of this bust in Rabbi Kopul Rosen’s study in Carmel College. I thought of this bust when I learned that bigoted anti-Zionist vandals had destroyed a bust of Weizmann in Manchester University, where Israel’s first president worked for decades in his chemistry laboratory.

 

Upgraded training base in Jordan Valley for ultra-Orthodox soldiers

Despite current tensions surrounding the Haredi military service exemption law, the new ultra-Orthodox brigade of combat soldiers is set to move into its upgraded training base in the Jordan Valley in December. The base has 4 new synagogues and specialized infrastructure designed to accommodate religious requirements. The first ultra-Orthodox infantry battalion is expected to be combat-ready by November 2025.

 

Mazal tov to the winners of the Israel Defence Award

The Israel Defence Award is presented by the President of Israel to people and organisations who made significant contributions to the defence of the State of Israel. At the 2024 awards ceremony, the winners included the David’s Sling air defence system, the Namer armoured personnel carrier, and the IDF’s technology-enhanced target bank project. Because some of the recipients are still working on top secret projects, the group photos of the winners featured some winners standing with their back to the camera.

 

“You are my identity, my history, my future.”

Catherine Perez-Shakdam is a French Jewish journalist, political analyst and commentator who converted to Islam. After divorcing her Muslim husband, she now identifies as a Zionist and as a Jew. In an op-ed in The Times of Israel headlined “Israel, Mon Amour,” she writes: “You are my identity, my history, my future. You are the embodiment of a people’s unyielding spirit, the living proof that we will not be erased. You are not just the land I inhabit, but the hope that inhabits me. You are the story we write anew, the promise we keep alive. I shall never cease to love you.”

 

 

Yanky Fachler

yankyfachler@gmail.com +353 86 8575162