- Details
- Written by KKL-JNF
Honoring the Fallen: AACI Hosts Memorial Ceremony for Fallen IDF Soldiers and Victims of Terror from North America in Partnership with KKL-JNF
The Association of American and Canadian Immigrants (AACI), in collaboration with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, solemnly conducted its annual memorial ceremony today to honor the fallen IDF soldiers and victims of terror who immigrated from North America. The moving event took place at the Sha'ar HaGai memorial site.
In attendance were members of bereaved families, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jacob Lu, Jewish Agency Chairman Doron Almog, Director of Fundraising Department in KKL-JNF Michael Ben Abu, representative from the Canadian Embassy Michael Mancini, and esteemed guests.
The memorial site serves as a heartfelt tribute to over 400 fallen IDF soldiers and victims of terror from the United States and Canada, whose sacrifices began with the Battle of Tel Hai. This year, amidst the ongoing Iron Sword War, 77 additional names have been engraved onto the memorial wall, ensuring their enduring remembrance.
Photo Credit: Avi Hayun, KKL-JNF
- Details
- Written by Spokesperson of the President's Office
Terrorist Summer Camps: In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, President Herzog reveals discovered Hamas document directing children’s summer camps on terror bases
Document calls camps “To advance the resistance culture and the values of Jihad… to contribute to the militarization of society,” with activities including terror attack simulations.
President Isaac Herzog revealed today, Sunday, in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, documentation discovered by IDF forces in Gaza detailing an action plan for Hamas terrorist camps to host and train children to be the terrorists of the next generation.
The document is further proof of how the terrorist organization Hamas works to establish its ideology in the Gaza Strip, among other things, by educating children to hate Jews, and promoting religious extremism, violence, and terrorism. Among its activities, Hamas runs a network of summer camps which include military camps throughout the Gaza Strip, in order to train the younger generation of Gaza's children to become the future generation of the organization's terrorists.
The document - written and issued in July 2023, by the Al Qasam Brigade military wing of Hamas – lays out a plan to host Hamas summer camps for children on the movement’s terrorist bases, with the goal “To advance the resistance culture and the values of Jihad, standing strong, and sacrifice within the children… to contribute to the militarization of society.”
According to the document, as part of the terror camp, the children were to be trained to shoot weapons, conduct simulations and study theoretical courses – with the stated aim of preparing the next generation in Gaza to serve in the terrorist organization.
In the interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, President Herzog said, “This is not only a war between Israel and Hamas, it has to do with the values of the free world. Let me show you a document, a highly confidential, strictly confidential document, which we just unraveled from the Hamas headquarters. It's a brochure, which is a directive by the commanders of Hamas as to how to manage summer camps for children in order to disseminate the values of jihad. It says it clearly to disseminate the values of jihad, and the values of the resistance meaning terror, and how to make it a militarized society. And it's all over the Gaza Strip, meaning they take the kids - whilst we all know what summer camps are and what they're aimed for, and what a wonderful experience it is to enable youngsters, kids, and adolescents to become citizens of the free world and with liberty, with happiness with joy, with sports - here their entire aim is to make them terrorists.”
- Details
- Written by Silvia Golan
PRESIDENT ARI BERMAN ANNOUNCES $5 MILLION GIFT TO LAUNCH THE ANITA ZUCKER PROGRAM FOR JEWISH EARLY
CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS
Generous gift from philanthropist Anita Zucker will help incentivize and develop the next generation of educators in this vital field
Yeshiva University is proud to announce a $5 million gift from philanthropist Anita Zucker of
Charleston, South Carolina, to establish the Anita Zucker Program for Jewish Early Childhood
Educators. The generous gift will provide scholarships for qualified Yeshiva University undergraduate
students who wish to pursue careers in Jewish early childhood education. It will also fund:
• Sponsorship for students to the NAEYC Annual Conference, which gathers together early
childhood educators from around the globe to connect, collaborate and learn.
• A peer-reviewed annual Journal of Early Childhood Jewish Education to promote high quality
scholarship and inquiry into early childhood Jewish education.
• Research Fellows from YU graduate schools who partner with the Center to conduct early
childhood education (ECE) research as part of their advanced academic study.
“We are grateful for the extraordinary vision and generosity of our dear friend Anita Zucker, whose
recent gift will have a profound impact on generations of Jewish children.” said Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman,
President of Yeshiva University. “Anita’s commitment to early childhood and Jewish education has
inspired me and shaped our thinking of the future. Her gift will have a multigenerational impact,
ensuring that our children receive the highest quality of instruction during a critical phase of their
growth and cognitive development.”
“Jewish early childhood education is a transformative experience for both young children and their
families. It is the foundation for lifelong learning and engagement and can create a powerful bond to
both Judaism and the Jewish community,” Mrs. Zucker explained. “I am proud to be able to contribute
to the advancement of such an important program at Yeshiva University and to the field as a whole.”
Studies have shown the dramatic impact of Jewish early childhood education, which not only touches
young students, but also entire families. Whether through a day school, a synagogue or a JCC, it is, for
many families, the formal entry into the Jewish community. Research by CASJE (Collaborative for
Applied Studies in Jewish Education) found that for most families, Jewish early childhood education
and engagement increases Jewish practice and involvement.
It is with this understanding and a passionate commitment to professionalize the field and incentivize
prospective teachers that Anita Zucker made the gift to establish the Anita Zucker Program for Jewish
Early Childhood Educators. An educator who taught elementary school for over 10 years, Mrs. Zucker
is the Chair of The InterTech Group Inc., a North Charleston-based global manufacturing
conglomerate. Her dedication to the field of education has resulted in initiatives across the country, from
national institutions of higher education to local programs, projects and summits that have advanced and
advocated for the field.
2
Mrs. Zucker has been instrumental in the launch and execution of Rise Up: The Campaign for 613,
Yeshiva University’s comprehensive campaign that will fund scholarships, facilities and faculty to help
move the University into its next great era. Along with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, she serves as co-chair of
the campaign, which plans to raise $613 million over five years.
The Anita Zucker Jewish Early Childhood Program at Yeshiva University expects to bring 50 trained
professionals into the field of Jewish Early Childhood Education within its first five years, affecting
approximately 1,000 young Jewish families each academic year.
“The Anita Zucker Program for Early Childhood Educators is a game changer,” stated Dr. Miriam
Hirsch, Chair of the Stern College for Women Educator Preparation Program. “This funding will make
it possible for students who are interested in early childhood education to become professionals without
financial hardship, and it will lead the way in transforming the status of Jewish early childhood
education. This is an extraordinary opportunity at a critical time.”
Visit the YU Web site at www.yu.edu
Photo credit: YU
- Details
- Written by MFA Spokesperson)
An initial rescue mission is expected to depart this evening (Monday, 6 February 2023). A larger delegation, which will include extensive humanitarian aid in cooperation with other aid agencies, is planned to depart tomorrow morning.
In a discussion held by Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen and MFA Director-General Ronen Levi. with the participation of senior MFA officials and representatives of the National Security Council (NSC), the IDF and the Ministries of Defense and Health, it was decided to advance the dispatch of two aid delegations to the disaster area in Turkey within the next few hours.
An initial rescue mission is expected to depart this evening (Monday, 6 February 2023). A larger delegation, which will include extensive humanitarian aid in cooperation with other aid agencies, is planned to depart tomorrow morning.
During the discussion, Israel’s Ambassador to Türkiye, Irit Lillian, and other security officials provided a comprehensive overview of the current situation in the area.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen: "We all participate in the sorrow of the Turkish people following tonight’s tragedy. I spoke earlier with my counterpart, the Turkish Foreign Minister, and expressed my deep sorrow. Today we are sending two professional delegations on behalf of the State of Israel, including representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to do everything we can to aid the victims. Israel today stands alongside Türkiye in its difficult hour."
MFA Dir-Gen Ronen Levi: “This is a dramatic event, unfortunately we are used to such events. We must be prepared to take care of anyone who needs help. We must act as quickly as possible in order to save lives; the knowledge accumulated by MFA missions in the field is extremely important for the success of handling this incident."
Photo Emergency discussion in the MFA situation room . Photo: MFA.
- Details
- Written by MFA Spokesperson
Israel Cabinet meeting (archive). Photo: GPO/Haim Zac
Under this decision, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will coordinate the necessary professional work in Israel for the Forum. The MFA Director-General will head the Israeli steering committee and will represent Israel at the multilateral steering committee.
The Government, on Sunday, 18 September 2022, approved Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s proposal for establishing a regional mechanism - the Negev Forum.
Under this decision, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will coordinate the necessary professional work in Israel for the Forum. The Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alon Ushpiz, will head the Israeli steering committee and will represent Israel at the multilateral steering committee.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid at the beginning of today’s cabinet meeting:
"The Cabinet decision formalizes and funds the working groups for the Negev Forum, which we established last year together with the US, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt.
“These working groups will create economic and security links which, just a few years ago, we could not have even dreamed of. We are working together with entrepreneurs in food-tech, water, energy, tourism and climate, increasing trade between our countries, and are holding a dialogue that strengthens Israel's security."
The Directors-General of the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Culture and Sport, Energy, Tourism, Health, and Defense will lead the professional work of the Israeli working group, with the participation of the Ministries of Regional Cooperation, Economy, and Finance.
The historic Negev Summit was held at Prime Minister Lapid’s initiative in Sde Boker in March 2022, with the foreign ministers of Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, the United States, and Israel. This, together with the meeting of the steering committee held in Manama in June 2022, led to the establishment of a regional architecture- “The Negev Forum.”
The government’s decision institutionalizes the work of the Forum, for advancing the initiative’s goals: Regional stability and security, leading diplomatic and economic cooperation, and people-to-people ties between the member countries for the welfare of the peoples of the region.
The Negev Forum will act on the basis of six working multilateral groups in the fields of food security and water, energy, tourism, health, education and tolerance, and regional security.
