Israel

In 2022, 3,500 people immigrated to Israel from North America, down from 4,400 the year before. The number of immigrants from France also dropped from 3,500 in 2021 to just over 2,000 in 2022.

Israeli police estimate that around 600,000 demonstrators from all over the country participated at Sunday’s rally in support of the judicial reform. The slogan of the evening was “The people demand judicial reform.”

This article originally appeared on the Times of Israel website. It is reprinted with permission.

Looking to purchase a home in Israel and currently residing in the New York, New Jersey, and Long Island areas? Tivuch Shelly real estate agents are here to assist you! Attend our upcoming community-based meetings to learn more about the various properties we have available throughout Israel. We have a 35+ year history servicing the Anglo community and it was our idea to start Anglo communities in Beit Shemesh, Ma’ale Adumim, Modiin, and various areas of Jerusalem including our latest in Arnona where we have completed selling a new Anglo community and are currently working on our next one. We continue to be dedicated to building new communities daily!

My name is Mazal Gottesman, the daughter of Shmuel and Rhonda Sackett. My parents made aliyah with four “American imports” and were then blessed with two “Made in Israel” – I’m their first child born in Israel! I live with my husband and two children in Ramle, a city with a majority of Arabs. Our presence is very important in Ramle, and we are dedicated to bringing Jewish life back to this city. I am a teacher in the local school and feel very blessed to have the opportunity to live here. Everyone reading this article is invited to visit us in Ramle! Send me an email and I’ll invite you for a meal: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Happy Yom HaAtzmaut!

 This week, we celebrated the 75^th birthday of the modern State of Israel. It is very common to read about the problems in Israel and to hear the criticism. How about pausing that for a while and trying to focus on the good? Hashem gave us an incredible gift and it’s time we acknowledge that! So, here’s an original list of 75 reasons why I love Israel:

1) Simply because Hashem, my Father, gave it to me. (It doesn’t matter if it’s dangerous or not; it’s the most beautiful place in the world. I just love it.)

2) I get to live with the people of Israel!

3) I have a connection to my neighbors. I love them, care about them, and I’m sad if someone hurts them.

4) I can be religious and feel at home.

5) It is sacred, unlike other countries. I really feel the k’dushah (holiness) here!

6) Everyone is risking their lives for each other.

7) My 5,000-year history is here.

8) My future, and the whole future of the people of Israel, is here – and nowhere else.

9) I go to the places written about in the Tanach.

10) The language (Hebrew) is our holy language.

11) Everyday life is meaningful! Example: Memorial Day is a significant day (unlike in the United States, where it is a day of celebration and shopping).

12) Everyone makes a circumcision for their son even though it is not obligatory by law.

13) The Knesset has 120 seats, like the “Great Knesset” in Jewish history.

14) The rain is directly related to our actions.

15) On Jewish holidays (not Xmas or Easter), buses have signs reading “Chag Samei’ach!” (Happy Holiday!).

16) Everyone gets up for each other on the buses.

17) Everyone – from a young age – volunteers. They focus on giving, not just on their resume and careers.

18) I always feel safe moving around alone (and I do not feel that way in other countries). (Ask every Jew: They feel the same way.)

19) You can get anywhere by public transportation.

20) The youth are very mature (they prepare for the army while still in high school).

21) People don’t mind getting dirty.

22) People are totally open and honest with each other. I get advice from strangers and can have a deep conversation with a random person on the street.

23) People are not obsessed with eating. They take care of themselves.

24) There are many soldiers and National Service girls who strive for the most significant position. They don’t just run to something easy.

25) Almost all the food is kosher.

26) People are open to differences (secular and religious want to meet, right and left are friends, etc.).

27) You can feel and see the presence of Hashem in our wars.

28) Weddings are done according to halachah – even by the most secular people.

29) People sit and sing together on the street.

30) People call each other “brothers” (Achi!! – My brother!!).

31) In times of war (and really, always), people take care of each other. They will host you in their home, travel to Gaza to give you pizza, or gather to pray for you.

32) The views are stunning.

33) I can keep all the mitzvos that depend on the land.

34) There are immigrants who do not know the alphabet, but they immigrate anyway just because they are Jewish.

35) Music is meaningful. And even when the song is not significant, it’s not even close to the level that other countries have.

36) Even the most non-religious Jews turn to Hashem in time of need.

37) It does not rain all year round, so you can actually plan outdoor events throughout the summer!

38) Shawarma in Israel – yummy!

39) Taxi drivers have a lot of smart things to say, and they will always talk to you (whether you asked them to, or not).

40) I love the IDF lone soldiers/National service girls – what dedication!

41) You can feel every Jewish holiday and not even notice that a non-Jewish holiday is taking place.

42) The children study Tanach in kindergarten.

43) There are idealistic people who live in difficult places.

44) In addition to the holy sites, there are also malls, movie theaters, and sports centers (this is a modern country).

45) So many types of Jews in such a small place! You can travel from Bnei Brak to Tel Aviv to the Shomron and meet many different types of Jews.

46) About 97% of the people fast on Yom Kippur even though no one asked them to.

47) The names of the streets are significant.

48) People are not afraid to touch each other and hug.

49) We do everything to bring Jews home who are in trouble – just because they are Jews.

50) Every Jew can get citizenship (and the state even sends “emissaries” to help them).

51) Walking in Jerusalem fills my heart with a good feeling (and every Jew feels it!).

52) The soldiers who fought for the establishment of the State were of all ages. (Did you know there was a ten-year-old soldier during the War of Independence?)

53) Hashem is here. Just look around: the Dead Sea, green mountains, desert...

54) Israel is flourishing, just as it is written in the prophecies that it will be at the time of Redemption!

55) The world knows we are significant – they are always looking at us, and the UN talks about our small country as if we occupy half the world!

56) Shabbat is a free day here.

57) The country is just 75 years old, but look how far we have come in technology, medicine, transportation, and population!

58) Everyone is involved in politics, and they have their opinion – and will let you know it!

59) We do not need to worry so much about assimilation and intermarriage.

60) A college student begins his/her major on the first day in university – no wasting time!

61) People use phrases from the Tanach all the time.

62) When there are two inches of snow, the whole country shuts down!

63) Everyone comes from a different background and has a different culture.

64) The state was established when our Nation was so broken, but we chose not to stay like that!

65) The number of children per family is rising (while, baruch Hashem, declining among our enemies).

66) There is more Torah studied here than ever before in Jewish history!

67) It does not matter how much our enemies bother us; we grow, settle, and do not leave.

68) While not all Jews seem to be devoted to Hashem, they still run and get excited to fight in His army, ready to risk their lives! That’s the greatest mitzvah!

69) There are many husbands in the military while their wives are managing the house and family. They truly live with devotion.

70) There is so much more land waiting to be built and settled by all the Jews who have not yet returned home.

71) Many communities will take care to bring you food if, G-d forbid, you are sitting shiv’ah. (All days of shiv’ah are also excused absences from work and cannot be deducted from vacation or sick days.)

72) We care more about human life than the economy (as we saw during COVID).

73) Here is where I live a meaningful life in many ways: place of residence, unity with other Jews, Torah observance, etc.

74) Here I gave birth to my children.

75) And finally, I love Israel because the country is not yet perfect, which leaves me with expectations, dreams for the future, and lots of hard work to do!

Am Yisrael Chai!

By Mazal (Sackett) Gottesman

Recently, my neighbor, a soldier in the IDF, took me up to the northern slope of Dagan Hill in Efrat to show me the efforts that he and other volunteers, both young and old, make to keep the land as part of the city. The volunteers regularly go and plant trees and set up paths. Their enthusiasm and love for the land is what keeps them coming back, despite the sabotage of neighboring Arabs who seek to take control of the area. Trees planted have been regularly uprooted and the paths made by the volunteers have repeatedly been destroyed. The ground shows the remains of damage caused by Molotov cocktails thrown. Not long ago, a motorcyclist from the nearby city of Beit Lechem tossed a firebomb at recently planted trees with the clear intent of engulfing the area, including nearby homes in flames. He managed to get away. A guard-booth set up by the IDF during the time of the Oslo Accords, (1993) is along the path. An Israeli flag hangs upon its roof.  The flag has been torn down and replaced numerous times.