United Hatzalah, Zaka and F.I.R.S.T. left Israel on Sunday to be among the first emergency responders to arrive in Nepal as part of an international effort to provide relief following Sunday’s devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Funded by IsraeLife, the “search and rescue” delegation will set up field clinics to rescue victims, treat injuries and handle dead bodies.
The powerful earthquake and its aftershocks shook the entire Himalayan region, killing at least 2,500 people. According to recent reports, more than 5,000 people are injured and 150 Israelis are reported missing.
Eli Pollak, CEO of IsraeLife, said, “We decided to enlist the cooperation of the prominent Israeli emergency agencies in order to maximize the capabilities of the delegation, which is made up of experts in serving the needs of the disaster area. We are preparing for a long stay that will provide solutions to the Israelis living in Nepal and local residents.”
The Israeli delegation formed by IsraeLife, United Hatzalah, Zaka and F.I.R.S.T. prepare for take-off at Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday.Representatives from IsraeLife, United Hatzalah, Zaka and F.I.R.S.T. strategize on how to provide the best relief in Nepal.
Jerusalem – A 60-year-old Jewish man from Tel Aviv was found bound and stabbed in the trunk of a car in A-Tur, an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem, on Thursday night.
During an overnight patrol in the area, police officers spotted a suspicious car at a check point, and approached the vehicle for inspection. The driver then took off and a police chase ensued. The car entered an alley, hit several parked cars, and came to a stop. The police ran towards the car and arrested the driver while another passenger fled on foot. The passenger was chased down and arrested as well. The boys, aged 19 and 20 are residents of A-Tur.
A police officer began to search the suspicious vehicle when he heard cries for help coming from inside the car. Upon further inspection, the Jewish man was found in the trunk, hands bound with multiple stab wounds.
The police called in MDA paramedics who transported the victim to the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem’‘s Ein Kerem, fully conscious and in moderate condition.
According to Police District Commander Chaim Shmueli, an investigation has been opened regarding the incident. “There is no doubt that the vigilance and determination of the officers rescued a human life,” he said.
According to a police statement, the victim met the teens in Tel Aviv where they asked him for help finding food and a place to stay.
When the Jewish man allowed them into the vehicle, they stabbed him and put him in the trunk of his own car, bound and gagged.
The assessment within the police is that the incident was criminal.
A Jewish man was found bound and stabbed in the trunk of a car in A-Tur, April 24. (Police)
Released on Wednesday night, a much-anticipated Jewish app for the watch was launched by Chabad.org’s app team, bringing together the 3,000-year-old Jewish calendar with the hottest new item in technology these days: wearables.
The first of its kind, the “Hayom” app (Hebrew for the word “today”) for the Apple Watch harnesses Apple’s latest product with Chabad.org’s extensiveTorah knowledge. The amalgam of the two was a natural. After all, the observance of Judaism’s rituals revolves heavily around precise adherence to the clock: Make a blessing at this time, say a prayer at this time, stop working at this time and so forth.
The new app tells time according to Jewish law, known as “halachic time,” which is governed by the movement of the sun. It also displays Hebrew dates, which are determined by a complex synthesis of the solar and lunar cycles.
“The watch app reveals only some of the strategic planning that went into Chabad.org’s existing ‘Hayom’ app and other products,” explains Chabad.org’s lead app developer Dov Dukes. “We’re prepared for the latest developments in technology, including for wearables. Our app allows you to glance at your wrist and let you know right away what date it is on the Jewish calendar, and how much more time there is until the next halachic phase of the day.”
The new watch app works according to Jewish law, known as “halachic time.”
The screen will also inform them, for example, of how many more minutes remain for reciting the morning prayers, and offers the added bonus of inspirational Jewish quotes.
“The possibilities in app development for Jewish audiences keep expanding,” says Chabad.org’s managing director, Rabbi MeirSimcha Kogan, “and this step into wearable technology—to enable and assist with Jewish education and observance—is another important advance.”
More Applications in the Works
To make it all more personal, a greeting appears on the screen according to the time of day.
The Chabad.org app team is analyzing further applications for the Apple Watch and other wearables, such as an alert notifying a nearby Jewish event, center, synagogue or services taking place in real time.
Other features of the Jewish app being considered include detecting when the wearer is strapping ontefillin and instantly pulling up the appropriate prayers on his smartphone; reminders to remove the watch in advance of Shabbat and Jewish holidays; and help tracking a user’s waiting time between eating meat and dairy meals.
The “Hayom” watch extension joins Chabad.org’s Jewish Apps Suite in strategically leveraging Chabad.org’s content and know-how to make Jewish information and observance accessible on other platforms.
Users of Chabad.org’s Jewish watch app will get the added bonus of inspirational quotes.
The most recent offering, the “OmerCounter,” which was released earlier this month before Passover, has already been used 225,000 times in less than 20 days of Omer-counting—an impressive demonstration of the app’s widespread appeal.
Like the “Omer Counter,” the watch extension was made possible through the generosity of a group of funders. The drive, vision for and underwriting of the apps, which are available free of charge, come from the generous partnership of Dovid and Malkie Smetana, Alan and Lori Zekelman, the Meromim Fund, and Moris and Lillian Tabacinic—all dedicated to spreading the wisdom and practice of Judaism worldwide.
The watch app joins the “Hayom” app, the “Passover Assistant,” the “Jewish.tv” video app, the “Shabbat Times” app, a JewishKids.org app for children, the “Omer Counter” and others—all designed to help bring Jewish wisdom and tools to the fingertips of users. Additional apps are in the planning and developmental stages by an international Chabad.org team.
Many features available on the Apple Watch are better handled on the iPhone. But as AP Technology Writer Nick Jesdanun explains, the watch is still useful when you want to keep your phone in your pocket.
Armenia is marking 100 years to the mass killings of Armenian people by the Ottoman Turks in commemorative ceremonies held across the country including its capital, Yerevan on Friday, April 24. Attended by world leaders including representatives from Israel, the central Yerevan ceremony paid tribute to the estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed in 1915 around the time of World War I as the Ottoman Empire began to decline.
“We understand perhaps more than any other people, the pain and suffering of the Armenian people and we share this terrible tragedy with you,” said Member of Knesset Nachman Shai in a conversation with the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
In Jerusalem, the bells from 18 churches in the Old City of Jerusalem rang 100 times on Thursday evening, April 23, to remember the Armenian Genocide, with Armenians marching with the red, blue and orange national flag. Approximately 1,000 Armenians live in the ancient Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem today, whose presence in the holy city dates back to the fourth century.
Turkey, the successor of the Ottoman Empire, which at one time controlled much of Western Asia, Southeast Europe, North Africa and The Caucasus, and parts of the Middle East, disputes the number of Armenians killed and condemns the use of the term genocide. In Turkey, to raise the issue of the Ottoman’s treatment of Armenians is a crime. This week, the Turkish Foreign Minister warned Austria of negative consequences for its recent Austrian parliamentary declaration using the term, genocide, to describe the massacre of Armenians.
Israeli Knesset members Nachman Shai of Zionist Camp and Dr. Anat Berko of Likud represented Israel in the Yerevan ceremonies from Thursday through Saturday. “Israel must reconsider its position on whether the time has come to recognize the fact that an Armenian genocide occurred,” said MK Shai. “As Jews we must recognize it. This is especially true during these days, when we mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.”
MK Shai noted that the Israeli Knesset has repeatedly remembered the Armenian victims in the past. Israel’s parliament has also held special sessions to discuss the Armenian genocide.
“The ancient Armenian people suffered a terrible disaster and many of its sons and daughters perished in a horrible tragedy,” added MK Dr. Berko. “We, members of the Jewish nation, who have also suffered, recognize and sympathize with the pain and the loss of the Armenian people.”
“It is our great honor and moral duty to take part in such a significant event, along with representatives of other countries,” she said.
The students and staff at Yavneh were treated to an amazing experience for Yom Ha’atzmaut. The campus was completely transformed into different time periods in Israeli history. Enjoy this video which captures some of the celebration.
UN Secretary General Tries Shakshoukah on Israel’s 67th Independence Day
Prosor to the UN Secretary General: “Shakshukah is like Israel – It’s a melting pot like our culture, It’s hot and spicy like our nature, and once you get a taste, you always come back for more.”
LOST TRIBE OF BNEI MENASHE IN NORTHEASTERN INDIA CELEBRATES ISRAEL’S 67th INDEPENDENCE DAY
CHURACHANDPUR, INDIA, April 24 — More than 1,500 members of the Bnei Menashe community from across northeastern India gathered today in the town of Churachandpur in the Indian state of Manipur to celebrate Israel’s 67th Independence Day. The special event, which was held at the B. Vengnom Community Hall, featured the theme “Next Year in Jerusalem,” and included prayers for the Jewish State and the Israel Defense Forces as well as the ceremonial raising of the Israeli flag. The Bnei Menashe participants sang the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah” (“the Hope”) and read Psalm 126, which expresses their longing for Zion. They were led by Shavei Israel emissary Yehoshua Burril.
Shavei Israeli Founder and President Michael Freund said that the ceremony embodies the hopes of the Bnei Menashe to move to Israel. “The Bnei Menashe love and support the State of Israel, and yearn to make Aliya,” Freund said. “With profound optimism and hope they celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut this year in Manipur, but we join them in praying that next year they will do so in Jerusalem!”
The Bnei Menashe are descendants of the tribe of Manasseh, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel who were exiled from the Land of Israel more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian empire. Some 3,000 Bnei Menashe have thus far made Aliyah thanks to Shavei Israel, and another 7,000 are still in India waiting for the chance to come home to Zion.
About Shavei Israel
Shavei Israel is a non-profit organization founded by Michael Freund, who immigrated to Israel from the United States with the aim of strengthening the ties between the Jewish people, the State of Israel and the descendants of Jews around the world. The organization is currently active in more than a dozen countries and provides assistance to a variety of communities such as the Bnei Menashe of India, the Bnei Anousim (referred to by the derogatory term “Marranos” by historians) in Spain, Portugal and South America, the Subbotnik Jews of Russia, the Jewish community of Kaifeng in China, descendants of Jews living in Poland, and others.For more information visit: www.shavei.org.
More than 1,500 members of the Bnei Menashe Lost Tribe celebrate Israel Independence Day, on April 24, in Churachandpur, India.
Children of the Bnei Menashe in India celebrate Israel Independence Day with Israeli flag face paint.
More than 1,500 members of the Bnei Menashe Lost Tribe celebrate Israel Independence Day, on April 24, in Churachandpur, India.
Two young children of the Bnei Menashe in India celebrate Israel Independence Day with Israeli flag face paint.
More than 1,500 members of the Bnei Menashe Lost Tribe, including these women and children, celebrate Israel Independence Day, on April 24, in Churachandpur, India.
Members of the Bnei Menashe Lost Tribe perform for their community in a special Israel Independence Day celebration, on April 24, in Churachandpur, India.
