'#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/liveblog_entry\/teacher-resigns-from-kiryat-ono-school-after-students-held-protest-against-her-chanting-death-to-arabs\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=ap52NeXiG5yNlIZsmZc5wbg9JTQmoTZ7P9F3rJRxPKs-1746499173-1.0.1.1-gLEFXvHOp4T3UIn9hLoCXr50HF7MpqSUKIvZUCxOYfg" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); Some 28,000 Jews have immigrated to Israel since the start of the war according to figures from the Ministry of Aliya and Integration Estimates are that a few more thousand will arrive by the end of 2024 meaning there is a significant decrease from the 46,600 immigrants in 2023 Alongside the immigrants there are foreign residents preparing the ground for the future by buying apartments for investment or the option of moving to Israel at some stage According to the latest survey of housing sales by the Ministry of Finance chief economist in July 2024 there was a 62% increase in apartment purchases in Israel by foreign residents compared with July 2023 This figure was included in the investment purchases section of the survey This sounds like a big increase but overall 174 apartments were purchased by foreign residents in July 2024 - an increase of just 70 over July 2023 The report found that the dominant location for housing purchases by foreign residents is Jerusalem with 55% of purchases in the capital Other popular locations for foreign residents are more surprising including Kiryat Ono and Netanya Another interesting trend that has emerged is the purchase of a cluster of homes by community members who come to Israel to buy together and are even prepared to buy complete projects from developers who for their part invest great efforts in marketing to Jews abroad Kiryat Ono: US Mashhad community bought 42 apartments which is mentioned in the chief economist's survey stems from a large group of US Jews in East Coast cities who belong to Jewish communities originating from Mashhad in Iran The group bought 42 apartments in Kiryat Ono for NIS 190 million in an urban renewal project developed by the Canaan Group in the Levi Eshkol section of the Kiron neighborhood "We met them at the end of 2022 at a sales fair but the war cut things off There were those who registered and agreements which were supposed to be signed after the holidays last October After I returned from reserve duty we renewed talks and re-registration was carried out They purchased 42 and another 12 are in negotiations and with the aim of preserving the community network in which they live "We allowed them exclusivity in the third phase of the project which is not being marketed outside at the moment and we gave them a package that companies don't usually give in terms of legal solutions apartment planning and design." According to Levi the average price for a 5-room apartment in the project is about NIS 4 million and mini-penthouse and penthouse apartments were sold for NIS 6.5-9.5 million." Levi: "Most of them have not opened immigration files but it seems that the frame of mind in the US is that America is in decline from its greatness Most of them do not know if they will immigrate to Israel in the coming years but they are preparing a place for their children and themselves It is difficult to move large families with businesses and this is a very well established community But everyone sees themselves coming to live in Israel at some point." a member of the Mashhad community who bought an apartment in Kiryat Ono says "We work in different ways to reach our goal and build a community in Israel I have four sons-in-law who needed to receive my blessing to marry my daughters I approved them only on condition that when I immigrate to Israel They are waiting for me to move and are preparing their businesses and their future accordingly so that they can come to Israel soon together with the grandchildren." Farshid says that many of the other buyers are elderly and think of coming to visit for periods of 4-5 months a year We are currently building a budget to support them for three years after immigrating We want them to come to the apartments we bought in Kiryat Ono and strengthen the community center there." a real estate agent who organized the sales fair in Great Neck New York and is herself a member of the Mashhad Jewish community so there are more who are interested in investing in Israel - whether for investment or for shelter in the event of an emergency I think that in the coming years there will be many waves of immigration to Israel Many young people are dealing with anti-Semitism in colleges They have a feeling that they are less welcome and it is difficult and it's better for them to live here." Are there benefits for purchasing as a group Dilamani: "We are trying to produce the deal in the 'presale' phase before the project gets underway and before the bank steps in and the discount ranges between 5%-10% of market prices." Beit Shemesh: Most of the project was sold to modern haredim foreign residents have bought homes together Rotshtein's Rotshtein Heights in Ramat Beit Shemesh has mainly been sold to US Jews who have come to Israel CEO and founder of Dara Marketing Real Estate almost all the apartments were sold to "Modern American haredim." "We opened the first phase two months ago and we are currently closing sales of 25-30 apartments to a New Jersey community The population is what is known as 'modern haredi' while maintaining a cohesive and strong community Most of them have the intention of coming to live in Israel but occupancy (of the project) is more than three years away," he says they bought 4-room apartments at a price of NIS 2.5-2.8 million The payment terms are 20/80 and some of them have terms of agreement Jerusalem: "Communities from Central America and the US Demand for Jerusalem never wanes among foreign residents nearly 30 apartments have been sold in the company's Holyland project in the capital to two Jewish communities from abroad Kardan's national sales manager Ariel Turgeman says "The communities came as buyers groups from Central America and the US several individual apartments were also sold to a small group of friends from Europe." The first group contacted the company about two months after the war began through a member of one of the Jewish communities in Central America who lives in Israel "He told us that he was looking for apartments for them for investment purposes and for future living and that the war strengthened their desire to purchase," Turgeman says The group purchased four apartments for NIS 16 million and in the last two months purchased six more apartments for about NIS 25 million All the apartments purchased are large apartments with 4-6 rooms "Some of the buyers came to Israel to see the project and some sent their children or relatives who are in Israel Some did not come at all and relied on the friend and the previous experience of the community members with the company," says Turgeman also arrived through one of its members who has already immigrated and knows the neighborhood Turgeman says that nine families from the community bought apartments in the last six months a project will be built in the Katamonim neighborhood in Jerusalem that will be designed for the Jewish-Syrian community in the US according to developers Isracap Grand and Beit Yerushalmi This is an urban renewal project in which 170 apartments will be demolished on Bar Yochai and Elmaliach Streets and replaced by 600 apartments in four towers Isracap Grand partner Alberto Shemaria tells Globes "The project has been adapted to the requirements and needs of the community from the planning stage." The agreements for the purchase of the apartments is due to be signed after the holidays so we will update the community members on what their requirements are regarding the size of the properties and their layout "Due to the community's desire to settle in one project that is customized it was reduced by about 100 apartments compared with what was approved in the masterplan I don't know who intends to immigrate and who is just buying a property," says Shemaria a conference on the project was held in Deal in which Ari Ajami from the Syrian community said "We went to Israel with the aim of seeing sites where our community could build projects with prestigious apartments that would still be affordable and all of us need to buy apartments in Israel Tel Aviv: Eight apartments bought by French dentists Avrahami Group recently sold 12 apartments to a group of French dentists Avrahami Group VP marketing and sales Yaffa Sadan says that serious interest has been created because of the rise of antisemitism in Europe together bought eight apartments in one project in Tel Aviv and another four apartments in Eilat," she says Ask whether the company gives a discount on such a group purchase but it depends on the project and sometimes it is a general discount for everyone There are cases where as part of the benefits we furnish and design the apartment for them and depends on the apartment and its price they buy not only for investment purposes but also to live there and they are interested and ask about schools synagogues and becoming part of the community." Kiryat Gat: Joining the existing Jewish community The American immigrant community in Carmei Gat in Kiryat Gat is continuing to expand Dimri VP marketing and sales Amir Cohen tells "Globes" that eight families bought apartments in the company's project in the neighborhood during the war "They will join an existing community in Carmei Gat of national-religious families from the New York area," he says "It is important for foreign residents to join a community They are less likely to purchase independently in an isolated place The proximity of Carmei Gat to Beit Shemesh and Modi'in which have large communities of American Jews These are not the rich foreign residents that you imagine that can buy properties every day of the week but young families for whom price is an important consideration They were looking for apartments at a price of up to $600,000 Karmei Gat is affordable and relatively close to their relatives which was a significant consideration," explains Cohen but through an American broker who did the inspections for them and brought them to see the place in Israel The prices were also the same as for a regular customer and not as a group of buyers They bought in a project that is in an advanced stage and occupancy is already in March 2025 which is also the reason that there is really no special discount The prices range from NIS 2-2.35 million and they purchased 4-5 room apartments." Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 13 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Tel Aviv [Israel], March 13 (ANI/TPS): In Kiryat Ono, located near Tel Aviv the new regional emergency warehouse was inaugurated which will serve as a central logistics hub in times of emergency "The warehouse will significantly strengthen the local authority's preparedness and improve the availability of equipment and the ability to respond to the entire region," said the Ministry of the Interior.The new emergency warehouse joins the national preparedness system and strengthens the ability to deal with emergency situations with the aim of ensuring a quick and effective response to residents of the region in times of need Israeli cabinet rejects state inquiry into October 7; opposition warns of repeated failures Israel's Druze leader urges international protection for Syrian minorities INS Sharda arrives in Maldives for maiden HADR Exercise Pakistan seeks emergency UNSC consultations over rising tensions with India following Pahalgam terror attack Israeli PM Netanyahu discusses IMEC with Cyprus President; recalls conversation with PM Modi copyrights © aninews.in | All rights Reserved this happens through the "Bat Ami" service girls and the "Ma'ayanot Garin Torani” these are "Reut girls," and the method is the same: the national service girls serve as a conduit for religious indoctrination in the state schools Parents are crying out: "This is a movement whose goal is to destroy the state and establish a Halacha state in its place." A Shomrim investigation in conjunction with Mako just ahead of the start of the new school year they fought to prevent young women from the religious Ma’ayanot Garin Torani from operating in their children’s schools Ma’ayanot was established almost a decade ago by a group of settlers from Mitzpeh Jericho under the leadership of Rabbi Yitzhak Sabato it was founded by people whose religious and often messianic worldview has very little in common with the secular liberal residents of Kiryat Ono and their children is what Sabato thinks about secular children from a Torah lesson he delivered in his yeshiva: “These children grow up without a clear identity; they grow up confused they don’t know what is good and what is bad or the difference between right and wrong what is permitted and what is forbidden.” Later in the same lesson he says: “There are those who observe the Torah and the commandments and those who do not We believe in our path and we do not believe in theirs was documented boasting about the Garin’s achievements when it comes to religionization: “Two boys who came to study for bar mitzvah lessons five or six years ago are now going to [national-religious pre-military] academies; from families who were completely secular (…) everyone here needs to take a neighborhood (…) and without you these souls are extinguished And there are many neighborhoods like this in Israel Their battle was successful and schools in the city stopped inviting young women from Ma’ayanot to hold educational activities a Shomrim investigation reveals that the group which was firmly escorted out of the front door Young women with connections to the same Garin Torani are now operating in these schools under a different name and within an apparently legitimate framework belonging to a body that is supported by the government of Israel and which is headed by the Education Ministry The body in question runs national service programs for religious young women called Bat Ami Of the 95 million shekels that Bat Ami was allocated in 2022 72 million shekels were for “services to the state.” “The girls from Bat Ami,” according to one parent who spoke to Shomrim The stated goals of its founders are to go into secular schools and encourage people to become more religious – as well as their vision of ‘the Greater Land of Israel.’ It’s happening in a lot of secular cities Kiryat Ono has become the jewel in the crown of this project They went into every school like wolves in sheep’s clothing; it’s desecularization in the guise of culture; religionization in the guise of pluralism – and it’s all wrapped up in this covering of cotton candy.” “The problem is that it is a movement which has the goal of destroying the country and establishing a Halacha state in its place,” another parent says “It is against the integration of women in the IDF anti-LGBTQ and is waging a war against secular culture These are the spiritual leaders of these girls and they send them to secular schools My secular worldview means that I cannot accept a situation in which they are the role models for the children they come into contact with – in a disproportionate manner It would be different if they only came to the school once or twice a year They have their own spot in the teachers’ room they are present in the school every day – teaching classes chaperoning field trips – and they belong to an organization that espouses an ideology that is antithetical to everything that the state-secular education system teaches.” “They do it in a very sophisticated manner and we are very naïve in this context,” says another parent the girls from national service teach about the Jewish holidays But there’s teaching about what is written in the Haggadah about the exodus from Egypt and the traditional Jewish stories that are not religious Or there will be a ‘spontaneous’ prayer in class or a ‘surprise’ afternoon activity with the national service girls whom the children already know from the classroom there will be a station for boys to wrap tefillin and ‘just by chance,’ there will be a sign offering candies for anyone who does there is an issue that all of the cities in Israel that call themselves secular and liberal are experiencing messianic Garinim Torani’im infiltrating their schools and trying to turn their children religious The parents’ concerns are not just theoretical using an operative plan that appears to be a system used not only in Kiryat Ono Garinim Torani’im are setting up shop in the heart of secular cities and sending the young women from national service into secular schools through various intermediary associations There is plenty of evidence linking many of these organizations Here are some examples of the link between Bat Ami and the Ma’ayanot Garin Torani in Kiryat Ono The connection starts on the Bat Ami website On the page dedicated to “The Kiryat Ono Garin – Bat Ami,” the young women in national service describe themselves as belonging to Ma’ayanot A video from last year that they posted on the same page under the title “Special Forces video clip – Ma’ayanot Garin Kiryat Ono,” leaves no room for doubt: “This is the Kiryat Ono Garin Spreading Judaism and bringing people closer is the same number that appears on the Keren Kehilot website’s entry for the Kiryat Ono Garin Torani where families are invited to join the group in the city In a recording of a conversation obtained by Shomrim Ben Shalom confirms that they operate as part of Ma’ayanot “I am the coordinator for the Bat Ami NGO,” she explains “Bat Ami is the organization that operates the national service for girls providing them with pocket money and things like that Bat Ami is not something different – it’s in addition Every national service girl has an organization behind her; so Bat Ami also operates its own national service girls she also explains that “a Garin Torani is a group of families that come to a city in order to forge connections between religious and secular people and national service girls are in fact integrated into the Garin Torani with communal activities My Garin is under the Garin Torani here in the city And we are very active – we continue working with the children in the afternoon the mornings are split up between activities provided by the Achy Association (the name comes from the Hebrew acronym for Israeli Social Solidarity) where it has a permanent presence in middle and high schools or activities provided by the Zehut (Identity) organization which operates in more than 1,300 schools and 135 local authorities across Israel “Every national service girl has to do something in the morning and something with the Garin in the afternoon,” Ben Shalom said in the same conversation when asked about how the girls’ day is structured “The girls go between elementary schools and teach classes that are linked to heritage the national service girls operate what they call “happening booths” in Kiryat Ono in the afternoon A QR code placed at one of these booths asked for donations and it led to the website of the Ma’ayanot Garin Torani Although Ben Shalom sounds full of confidence it is clear that she is also speaking very carefully She is well aware of the allegations of desecularization and even confirms that there are some activities that are designed to bring children closer to Judaism – but she insists that these activities focus on what she calls “bringing people closer together.” That terminology is all too familiar to parents who spoke to Shomrim about the matter “Bringing people closer together is a euphemistic term for turning them religious,” one of them says adding that it is hard to recruit parents to the struggle when they take the phrase at face value The most common response that he and other campaigners heard from parents was: “What’s wrong with a little Judaism?” “Chen the coordinator is a part-time employee of Bat Ami who is responsible on our behalf for the national service of girls during school activities The other part of her job is working on behalf of a local association called Ma’ayanot.” The statement from Bat Ami added that “national service girls who work in the Kiryat Ono Garin like dozens of task forces across the country work in the morning in schools under the define role and are allocated by the Education Ministry; and after the end of school studies they continue to volunteer in the community until the evening through local initiatives and organizations Bat Ami is proud to accompany more than 3,500 volunteers – boys and girls – in national service every year in the peripheries and in the center of the country.” Garinim Torani’im left their original goal – infiltrating socioeconomically challenged communities in the peripheries and mixed Jewish-Arab towns in order to “strengthen” them – far behind They are now also deployed in economically well-off cities which have a clearly liberal and secular character; places like Givatayim even in cities that have already fought to get the Garinim Torani’im out of their schools parents are finding that they are making a return thanks to the national service girls who are allowed into schools since they ostensibly are not part of a Garin Torani Bat Ami is the association which operates the national service girls – under the name of “Banot Re’ut” – which is part of a Garin Torani that already operates in the city (“La’ir et Ha’ir,” or Bring Light to the City) and which received around 4 million shekels of government funding in 2023 “a religious college for national service girls who teach at schools in Ramat Gan.” Zehut is also involved in providing the ideological framework for national service girls in Ramat Gan This ideology is passed from the national service girls to the children they engage with in state-run schools the organization “represents 37 associations working under the supervision of the Torah Culture Department in the Ministry of Education.” The organization’s vision is “strengthening the solidarity and common interests between the different segments of the Jewish nation.” It works in cooperation with official national service organizations and openly sends its representatives into schools – notwithstanding the fact that the worldview of its leaders is unpalatable to parents from the secular and liberal camp is what it says about Israeli Independence Day on the website of the Jaffa Garin Torani which was established by Rabbi Yuval Alpert “If you build the Land and settle it and call those who deal ‘a state,’ you must be very wary that the leadership in the country will be conducted according to the Holy Torah Instead of singing ‘Hatikvah,’ which declared that we want to be ‘a free people in our country’ – to be a people free of Torah and commandments God forbid – it would be very good to purify the national anthem by changing these words: ‘The Land of Israel without Torah is like a body without a soul’.” whose son attends an elementary school in Ramat Gan we realized that there was something called ‘Re’ut girls’ at school We found out through the parents of older children and we noticed that there are indeed classes led by these national service girls who ‘come to bring the light of Judaism to the school,’ as they call it and as appears on the Zehut website.” the blurring of connections when it comes to Re’ut is not sophisticated but does exist it does not mention the Re’ut girls at all,” says Yehoshua “It just says ‘On Tuesdays we study a variety of subjects’.” What are those subjects they are classes in various aspects of Judaism “When the teacher updates the parents about what the children have studied ‘this month we studied a range of interesting subjects’ It is clear that the Zehut organization and all its affiliates are aware that they have to operate quietly and that the more obvious they are the more opposition there will be.” the intense activity by Yehoshua and other parents came to an unexpected end following the struggle they launched before the outbreak of the war and which ended because of it “The Re’ut girls made a mistake,” he explains “In violation of the agreement with the school they talked about the war and Zehut project called ‘Filling the space,’ which involves talking to the children about October 7 and telling them that there were many miracles that day that all the soldiers are heroes and that what we need to do is adopt a fallen IDF soldier and do good deeds in his name They distributed their flyers in class and showed a video that depicted October 7 as the act of a devil who came down from heaven; there was no political context because that is their agenda and they talked about how many soldiers were killed and showed their photographs Then those parents who preferred not to join the struggle were also up in arms the school announced that the national service girls were out.” “I am very familiar with the industry of returning people to religion in Israel and I know how to identify nuances,” Yehoshua says “When they talk about ‘the light of Judaism,’ most parents think that it sounds somewhere between reasonable and harmless because I know that it is always accompanied by homophobia and misogyny and efforts to change the children’s agenda and their parents’ lifestyles This is not some kind of conspiracy theory.” There are currently 135 Garinim Torani’im in Israel the Ministry of Settlements and National Missions under the leadership of Religious Zionism MK Orit Struck received 86 requests for support last year compared to 66 Garinim Torani’im that submitted requests in 2022 Struk’s ministry is also responsible for the Authority for National-Civic Service which received an annual budget of around 132 million shekels in 2023 and around 92 million shekels this year according to data published by the Budget Key website Based on conversations with teachers and educators it appears that the main motivation for bringing national service girls into the classroom is the severe shortage of manpower that the education system is experiencing according to experts involved in the field that finding an alternative solution to the manpower shortage is one of the primary ways that the phenomenon can be curbed “We do not want them defining our children’s identity; we’ll deal with their identity alone,” says Marina Shmueli a mother and social activist from Ramat Gan who was one of the co-founders of the City Alliance which allows parents from different cities to engage with each other especially on the issue of national service girls in their children’s schools Among the issues they discuss is finding alternative solutions for the school principals one mother from Ramat Gan says that she succeeded in getting the national service girls removed from her children’s school by suggesting that the principal use the services of a different organization such as BINA: The Jewish Movement for Social Change which advocates for “a Jewish-Israeli identity which is centered on the connection between culture heritage and tradition and democratic values as enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.” deputy mayor of Ramat Hasharon and a former social activist and city council member who dedicated much of his time to the matter told Shomrim about the struggle he was part of “We campaigned to get the national service girls out of the city We decided that any principal who says they have a problem or has a special need for these girls – in other words that they solve a budgetary problem for the school – will get funding the national service girls were removed from all the schools and kindergartens in Ramat Hasharon.” who runs an association dedicated to ensuring that state-run schools are free from external interference confirms that “the advantage of the national service girls is that they are cheap manpower paid in full by the state and not by the organization nationalist and often extremist agenda are allowed into the Ministry of Education and its schools “What is happening today is that religious organizations are being given preferential treatment by the state thanks to the fact that they cost less money Secular organizations have to recruit expensive manpower and pay minimum wages to attract teachers who can spread a democratic and liberal ideology in schools a national-religious organization that wants to spread a conservative religious ideology does not have to pay for that The state simply provides them with national service girls There is an entire sector which benefits from unfair competition because it gets its employees free from the state What they did was to establish inherent discrimination in favor of religious organizations.” a father and activist from Kiryat Ono who works as an analyst decided to get into the weeds and explains how it all works “There is a triangle between the Ministry of Settlements and National Missions under which all of the national service organizations operate; the National Service Division at the Education Ministry; and the schools The budgets and the funding come from Struk’s ministry which is responsible for taking in all those in national-civic service and allocating them to all kinds of places and the Education Ministry gets some proportion of the volunteers before deciding what it will do with that number of people “The Ministry of Education’s regulations say that it is supposed to work differently with volunteers sent to educational institutions according to a socioeconomic scale the peripheries and poorer communities are supposed to get volunteers; a school in an affluent socioeconomic region is not which are in wealthy neighborhoods where the population is affluent and comes from a high socioeconomic grouping and are not supposed to get any national service volunteers – are getting lots of them.” “I went to the school principal and I said that she has volunteers from the national service program teaching lessons with exclusively Jewish content and efforts to bring the children closer to religion If there are national service volunteers available but I want you to bring a much more diverse population Let’s try and take the volunteers from elsewhere; there are secular volunteers Druze volunteers – there are even retired volunteers who used to be physics teachers.” The principal agreed and told Dor to contact the Ministry of Education He did so and asked how the school could go about replacing its volunteers He was told that the principal should fill out an online form defining her school’s needs but when the form was sent to the principal and she tried to enter the number of volunteers required the system told her that her school was not entitled to any volunteers Dor contacted the Ministry of Education and was told that he had nothing to worry about and that the volunteers would not be taken away from the school That was the only explanation he received and was not able to bring in replacement volunteers “I told them that we don’t want volunteers from Garinim Torani’im Something that would enrich the children or enhance their core curriculum.A Ministry of Education official told me This is the allocation and that’s that.’ And then I realized that the school is not actually entitled to any volunteers it appears that we have an apparatus that funds national service volunteers in rich cities and insists that these volunteers come exclusively from Garinim Torani’im.” The Ministry of Education submitted the following response: “The Ministry of Education vehemently rejects attempts to ascribe to the national service program extraneous motives National service exists first and foremost to strengthen Israeli society and it is based on the values of mutual responsibility and communal activity Schools operate with complete independence when it comes to choosing their national service volunteers define their areas of activity and ensure that they are integrated into roles which advance educational emotional and social well-being in predefined areas – irrespective of the religious or secular background of the students.” The response went on to say that “the volunteers come from a wide range of associations and are integrated out of a sense of commitment to the values of the educational system National service is an important part of strengthening the educational system The Authority for National-Civic Service within the Ministry of Settlements and National Missions said that the responses submitted by the Ministry of Education and Bat Ami are sufficient Shomrim did not receive responses from Zehut Kiryat Ono and Ramat Gan city councils or the Ma’ayanot and La’ir et Ha’ir Garinim Torani’im Shomrim - The Center for Media and DemocracyWe believe investigative journalism is the foundation for safekeeping the fundamental human rights of every Israeli citizen We are committed to investing our time and resources to promote it The Center for Media and Democracy© Copyright The Center for Media and Democracy Inc When anti-Israel sentiment is expressed on college campuses Nofar sees it as a representation of the growing anti-Semitism in the world today is a Jewish Agency Israel Fellow at the University of Houston (UH) Hillel in Texas The Israel Fellows program trains post-college Israelis to be the face of Israel on campuses around the world helping Jewish students connect to the Jewish State “I was really excited about the opportunity to be an Israel Fellow and to learn what it means to be Jewish outside of Israel Now I understand the challenges of being a minority in society instead of in the majority,” she says a pro-Palestine student group on campus hosts an annual Israeli Apartheid Week an anti-Israel event that makes Jewish students feel targeted There have also been acts of anti-Semitic vandalism and even students sharing tweets that incite violence against Jews Nofar remains undeterred in her mission to make Jewish students feel safe on campus.” to love our peers as we love ourselves – even when it’s difficult “I’ve had days when students asked me not to speak Hebrew outside my office I’ve also watched students take off their kippot when they walked on campus,” says Nofar “But I’m grateful to have students that to love our peers as we love ourselves – even when it’s difficult.” Nofar has appreciated the chance to help students stand up for what they believe is right for the good of Israel and the Jewish people She’s even connected more with Judaism herself in Texas celebrating a second bat mitzvah and reading from the Torah for the first time Nofar will return to Israel with an even stronger Israeli and Jewish identity as a result of this experience proving that not only was her presence in Houston life changing for the students “After spending two years at one of the most anti-Semitic I can say that being pro-Israel and Jewish is not easy for students today The choice to be a supporter of Israel at college is one of the most difficult decisions a pro-Israel student can make,” said Nofar “If I in any way played a small part in helping UH students and the community stand up for Israel and be Jewish on campus 92 Israel Fellows engaged with 13,800 Jewish students and attracted 46,000 students to Israel-related events on campuses around the world the people of Israel will never have to face the aftermath alone The Jewish Agency gives people immigrating to Israel the tools they need to settle into promising new lives Because our global Jewish story is strengthened through our individual connections we empower young people to pass on our culture and traditions A donor’s journey to champion a way for young Jews to come together in service and tradition to make the world a better place The Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Commission has approved for validation a plan for the Savyon Junction neighborhood in Kiryat Ono that includes 1,250 housing units located in southern Kiryat Ono near Highway 461 and the planned Tel Aviv light rail purple line in commercial and business space for Kiryat Ono will be an important element in the city's economic development Extensive commercial and business development is also planned in the area south of Highway 461 in the Or Yehuda municipal jurisdiction with the aim of turning Highway 461 from a traffic artery into an active municipal backbone The plan zones 200 dunam (50 acres) as open space for all of the residents reinforces the network of green arteries in the area such as Ariel Sharon Park and the Ramat Gan Safari is considered an urban renewal pioneer in Israel Density in the town has increased over the past decade especially those complaining about exceptional traffic congestion in the city center Mayor Israel Gal told "Globes" that within nine years the city's population would expand to 50,000 but the actual plan for the area is likely to expand its population to a far greater extent due among other things to the removal of the Tel Hashomer IDF base and the construction of tens of thousands of housing units on the site The plan was designed by the Amario Majus architectural firm and submitted by the Kiryat Ono Local Planning and Building Commission and Israel Land Authority (ILA) Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on March 15 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd Tel Aviv received the highest tier ranking of any big city in Israel along with Ramat Gan, Herzliya and Kfar Saba, while Jerusalem was in the bottom tier together with Bnai Brak and Beit Shemesh, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports in its latest socioeconomic rankings The country was divided into ten socioeconomic clusters with only the small local authorities of Savion and Kfar Shmariyahu put in the top number ten tier Kokhav Yair and Omer previously in the number 10 tier fell to nine along with Har Adar and Kiryat Ono were ranked in the ninth tier - higher than Tel Aviv Holon and Rehovot were in the seventh tier Ashdod and Bat Yam were in the fifth tier and down in the second tier were Jerusalem Jerusalem has consistently fallen and was ranked in the fifth tier 30 years ago Other cities falling on harder times include Tiberias which fell from the fourth to the third tier which fell from the fifth to the fourth tier The socio-economic index is formed from 14 socioeconomic variables number of families with 4 or more children receipt of allowances and supplemental income availability of cars and frequency of trips abroad The results are weighted to a relative index where a local authority that receives the value 0 reflects the socio-economic average for Israeli towns The cities of Or Akiva and Or Yehuda were found to be closest to this average. Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 29 Foreign residents are continuing to buy Israeli apartments in group purchases Rotem Shani Development and Investment (TASE: RTSN) yesterday reported that it has begun marketing its latest project in Beit Shemesh and begun its presale campaign by selling 64 apartments to a buyers group of modern haredi Jews based in New York and New Jersey The Savion project in Beit Shemesh is an urban renewal project in what is called the 'Eden Area' covering 22 dunams (5.5 acres) on which 542 apartments will be built of which 469 are being marketed with the remainder allocated to homeowners whose apartments were demolished to make way for the new project The project consists of three 26-floor buildings and two nine-floor buildings as well as commercial space and public buildings The project has received demolition and earthworks permits and the company is in the process of obtaining building permits the company has signed binding sales contracts with 49 buyers while an additional 15 apartments are being registered for sale The average price per square meter of the apartments is NIS 23,200 (including VAT) and four-room apartments are being sold for NIS 24,500 per square meter (including VAT) This is a significant number of apartments to be sold at once to a group of US Jewish foreign-resident buyers According to Rotem Shani's reports for the second quarter of 2024 the company sold during the first half and after the balance sheet date a total of 60 housing units of which 27 housing units were in the first quarter of the year and 15 housing units in the second quarter and after the balance sheet date 15 apartments were sold and three apartments in the project are in the process of being registered as sold A rise in apartment purchases by foreign residents "Globes" recently reported about the rise in group purchases of homes in Israel by Diaspora Jewish communities For example a group of Iranian Jewish buyers purchased 42 apartments in Kiryat Ono for NIS 190 million The Savion project in Beit Shemesh is being developed jointly by Rotem Shani and M.Y.D.R Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 30 2019Get email notification for articles from Osnat Nir FollowNov 21 2019A Shabbat public transportation system in central Israel is due to launch its operations this coming weekend where most public transport doesn't operate on the Jewish day of rest meets with volunteers from BeLev Echad and their therapy dog ISRAEL — Raz Mizrahi and Dana Ophir were surfing in the Mediterranean After a while Mizrahi told her friend that she had spent enough time battling the waves “We are paddling and paddling and we are in the same place made her way back to shore to be followed some time later by Ophir “You were fighting with the ocean nonstop!” The friends had spent the day at the beach with other volunteers and staff of BeLev Echad equips previously wounded IDF soldiers to help the newly wounded rehabilitate and rejoin civilian life We are broken,” Rabbi Uriel and Shevy Vigler the organization’s New York-based founders often those who have themselves been wounded is studying sports therapy at Ono Academic College in Kiryat Ono She posts workout routines and candid portraits of her life on Instagram But unlike most of them, when she was just 19, she was the victim of a terrorist attack — a militant drove a truck onto Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv promenade killing four and injuring Ophir and 14 others The impact shattered every bone in her pelvis also left her with a broken tibia and damaged her jaw She had massive internal bleeding and spent almost a month in the hospital confined to a wheelchair she had just two weeks left in her IDF officer training course and served an additional five years in the IDF And now she’s working to help transform the mansion in Kiryat Ono usually a place for wounded soldiers to relax and rehabilitate occupational therapists and psychologists from across the country to help she gives medical massages to wounded female soldiers to help prepare food for wounded soldiers — on the day I visited you could smell the freshly fried schnitzel what can I do?’” she told me on Wednesday “I didn’t think that in my generation there would be another Holocaust for Jews,” she added is in normal times a much calmer place: It has a massive pool and hot tub a basement gym and even an room for mixed martial arts a place where wounded veterans learn to trust their bodies again There’s a modern kitchen and plenty of outdoor space Everything on the ground floor is wheelchair accessible and they’re fundraising for an elevator so everyone can reach the higher floors it was cleaning day: Teams of volunteers quickly formed to move massive couches back into place in the living room The floors above them were being transformed into dormitories for recovering soldiers and people fleeing the violence of Israel’s north and south he was also wounded during his IDF service The crushing loads he carried as a combat engineer herniated four disks in his lower back Last week he led a group of volunteers to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva I saw the line of parked cars stretch for blocks around the medical campus an IDF unit was just finishing a visit to an injured comrade “We should see each other under different circumstances,” the commander said to a doctor he knows who had just finished recording a social media video about the devastation that had happened in the Gaza border towns a young woman in a hijab and wheelchair rolled past the entrance to the wing BeLev Echad stationed themselves at the hospital to distribute overflowing totes of snacks and food to the families of those freshly wounded in Hamas’ latest attacks At least a dozen people crowded into one small hospital room where a special forces soldier who was badly injured was resting This is my cell phone,” Rosenberg told her “You are big tzadikim,” he said to the soldier and his family using the Hebrew word for righteous people we visited a 19-year-old soldier from the Golani brigade whose shoulder was injured in the first days of the war the therapy dog brought along by BeLev Echad The soldier’s mother told us that she has three other sons on active duty and another relative shared how 50 years earlier We stopped by another smiling young soldier Her cell phone had been destroyed when she was injured and the volunteers had given her a new one; they swung by to make sure it was working properly carried takeout containers past an Orthodox mother and her six children walking ahead of their injured father and there will undoubtedly be much more for these volunteers to do at the hospital And the house itself will continue to serve as a place to mourn and heal “It’s refreshing and gives you a good energy and good vibes,” Ophir told me It is also a space to honor the memory of Mizrahi It “helped me take these memories and make them more alive.” Laura E. Adkins is a senior director at Jewish Women International and the former opinion editor of the Forward. Email her or follow her on X. @laura_e_adkinsLaura.Elizabeth.Adkinsadkinsdebate I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward American Jews need independent news they can trust At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S rising antisemitism and polarized discourse This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up Copyright © 2025 The Forward Association By subscribing I accept the terms of use and privacy policy there's a good chance her name is Maya | Photo: Getty Images The most popular girl's name for Jewish babies born in Israel in 2018 was Tamar and the most popular name for Jewish boys was David according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics 1,289 Israeli baby girls were given the first name Tamar Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter the most popular names for Jewish boys in Israel in 2018 were Ariel Noa was the most popular name for Jewish girls 3.5% of Jewish girls were given the first name Noa compared to the 1.9% of baby girls in 2018 who were named Noa The first name Maya was especially popular in the cities Kiryat Ono, east of Tel Aviv, and Kiryat Motzkin, near Haifa where 6% of baby girls born in 2018 were named Maya The Jewish boy's name Aharon, while not among the 10 most popular nationwide, was highly popular in the haredi communities of Bnei Brak and Modi'in Illit The single most popular boy's name for the entire population of Israel was Mohammed although the name has been declining in popularity and each year fewer Muslim families name newborn baby boys Mohammed Following the missle hit on Ben-Gurion Airport Air India canceled its flight to Israel after circling in the air while rocket sirens sounded teeming with ever-changing trends and innovations one product has managed to outlast them all for.. Analysis  Archaeology Blogpost Business & Finance Culture Exclusive Explainer Environment Features Health In Brief Jewish World Judea and Samaria Lifestyle Cyber & Internet Sports Diplomacy  Iran & The Gulf Gaza Strip Politics Shopping Terms of use Privacy Policy Submissions Contact Us The first issue of Israel Hayom appeared on July 30 Israel Hayom was founded on the belief that the Israeli public deserves better more balanced and more accurate journalism [contact-form-7 id=”508379″ html_id=”isrh_form_Newsletter_en” title=”newsletter_subscribe”] "\/yair-lapid-and-me\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=b.8zV5nBnKrOHy90PqU0y_Fyys7o67OzbqNGKB7Lrhk-1746499297-1.0.1.1-QOHY0PSAoip7sfLb1iY3QF_uqMWK93.iUCb9tUMrPus" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null Inside the program encouraging autistic volunteers to join the Israel Defense Forces scours the internet to find elusive intelligence that could help Israel fight its enemies He is a web specialist for an elite unit of the Israel Defense Forces focused on open-source research that informs high-level decision-making and can even reach the prime minister's desk Sgt. I., like some 150 others, isn't in the IDF by chance. He signed up to serve through Ro'im Rachok, a first-of-its-kind program that places autistic people in the military to utilize their valuable skills exhausting intelligence work better than many others and that he was most productive when given to-do lists He couldn't elaborate on the specifics of what he does The IDF and Ro'im Rachok members spoke on the condition that Insider use initials or only their first names A typical IDF open-source project might involve trawling social media and obscure sites for intel on everything from the effect of sanctions on the Iranian economy to the size of Hezbollah's arsenal An IDF minder sat in the meeting room throughout his daily work routine is interrupted by "stimming" — a behavior often associated with autism that can involve repeating words tends to flap his hands when he's excited or overwhelmed He'd always been taught in special-education settings so he wasn't self-conscious about doing this before he joined the IDF and started working in an office alongside neurotypical soldiers is a graduate of Ro'im Rachok — an innovative Israeli program founded in 2013 to match young adults on the autism spectrum with military professions that need manpower Unlike most Jewish Israelis who are conscripted to join the army allows them to sign up as volunteers.  Speaking to Insider from his office at the Ono Academic College in Kiryat Ono a Mossad veteran who helped found the program said he wanted to make something clear: It's not an act of charity "Nobody wants somebody to do them a favor," Vardi said describing the program as mutually beneficial for the IDF Autistic volunteers are assigned to units where they are deemed to have a comparative advantage — usually military intelligence.  Though military intelligence and analysis are vital to every modern army Israel places a particularly high value on it a senior fellow for Israeli affairs at the Middle East Institute in Washington Countries like Israel that "feel that they're under existential threat" put a premium on intelligence-gathering recruits with autism are offered the skills and connections that could help ease them into an independent future working in civilian professions "The idea is to put together real needs with real capabilities to create this win-win," Vardi said.  have shown interest in developing the model more than 300 soldiers have been recruited from the program to the IDF and serve across 27 different units The first unit to recruit from the program was the classified Unit 9900 — a prestigious visual-intelligence outfit was approached a decade ago about including graduates of Ro'im Rachok's aerial-photo-analysis course He said he agreed even though he didn't really know what autism was at the time needed strong photo analyzers to support its secretive work described his unit as "the eye of the country." Unit 9900 collects and interprets visual intelligence and provides it to commanders on the field and other security forces These images can come from satellite images, drone footage, and reconnaissance flights over areas like the Gaza Strip and Syria, The Jerusalem Post reported An IDF spokesperson told Insider that the unit played a part in Operation Breaking Dawn — the Israeli name for the Gaza-Israel clashes in August 2022 Israeli authorities said that 70 Israelis were injured by mortars and rockets launched by Palestinian militants The IDF spokesperson said Unit 9900 "helped protect civilians" and provided operational support in the clashes. Amnesty International described the operation as unleashing "fresh trauma and destruction" on Palestinians His neurotypical soldiers easily got distracted whereas the autistic soldiers seemed able to hyperfocus on the tasks at hand Research from the Wellcome Trust indicates that many people with autism have a "higher perceptual capacity" and show an increased ability to focus their attention on certain tasks.  "Most of them aren't interested in their surroundings "They are very focused on what they are doing." Although Ro'im Rachok's first training course was in photo analysis Each course sets up students to serve in specific IDF units they participate in the training courses as civilians Insider was granted rare access to the electronics course of Ro'im Rachok's intensive training program which lasts up to four months at Ono Academic College and students of the Ro'im Rachok electronics course are approaching the final month of their training surrounded by computers and maps of Israel the students are reflecting on why they signed up for the training program will allow them to become full-fledged members of the IDF.  There's unanimous agreement that employability plays a big part. Even though it's technically illegal for an employer to ask directly about military experience it would be very difficult to make a future "I'm joining the IDF to have better chances in the future," she says It's not only the addition to her résumé that will make her more employable but also the skills she and her classmates develop along the way "It makes a lot of people more confident in what we're doing and more communicative in language," she says says the course has helped him work on his "short fuse" and has been vital to his personal development.  The skills and unique perspectives that autistic people can bring to the table are advantageous to the army because "we see the world in a different way," he says For example, Ron says his intense and highly focused interests make him a dedicated worker and a quick learner.  it's hard for me to stop thinking about it and enjoying it," he adds The training program can be challenging for students many of them were getting adjustments," he said This could involve bracing them for situations they haven't encountered before from teaching would-be recruits how to navigate public transportation to preparing them for possible interrogation by enemy forces Students in the program work with therapists to help them understand and embrace their autism Some students were diagnosed with autism when they received a military exemption; others have known for most of their life Roughly 10% of students in each course don't graduate But the vast majority go on to take part in a four-month-trial period with the IDF before being formally recruited men are expected to serve for a minimum of 32 months and women are expected to serve for at least 24 months But because Ro'im Rachok enlistees are volunteers has been in the IDF longer than a year and decided to continue.  He said that he finds his work for the IDF enjoyable and it's easier for him than many of his neurotypical colleagues "I don't want to say I'm slightly superior but it sometimes really is annoying when you can clearly see something that others don't," he said.  the web specialist in the open-source-research unit also said he finds specific tasks easier than his neurotypical colleagues but that's balanced out by things he struggles with "If the average person has things that they're good at and bad at that involve following long lists and instructions "My brain works best when there's this sort of structure and order," he said "No matter how tiring it can be for someone else he said he doesn't think his skills are exceptional or that he's a "super genius" — a "dehumanizing" stereotype that "others" autistic people I don't really feel like I have a special skill set that is so incredible that I need to be like some grand asset," he said