Good News Israel! From Shepherd Boy to Member of Knesset

MK Moshe Solomon’s maiden Knesset speech, Ginat chanukiah at the Western Wall, long walk to Jerusalem, and much more!

By Michael Ordman

THE JEWISH STATE

From shepherd boy to Knesset Member

Here is a translated part of Moshe Solomon’s maiden Knesset speech, “The young boy who was once a shepherd in Shira, Ethiopia, stands here today in the Knesset of Israel, one of the 120 members of the Great Assembly of our time.”  Please read the rest – it is most inspiring.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/364337

Giant Chanukiah at the Kotel

As part of preparations for Chanukah, the Western Wall Plaza is again to feature a giant Menorah for the public candle-lighting ceremonies. It is some two meters high and wide, made entirely of cast bronze, and weighs approximately one ton. The lighting ceremonies will be broadcast live.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/364348

A long walk to Jerusalem

29-year-old Carlota Valenzuela began a 6,000 km pilgrimage from Finisterre, Spain to Jerusalem, Israel on 2nd Jan 2022. Ten months later she was greeted at the Jaffa Gate by Israel’s Noga Sher-Greco, Director of Religious Tourism. On the way, Carlota met with the Pope in Rome.
https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/carlota-valenzuela

Chanukah Gelt

During Chanukah, the Hasmonean Museum in Modi’in will display a box of 15 silver coins from the Maccabean revolt 2,200 years ago. They were discovered in May this year in caves in the Judean desert, probably the property of one of the Jews involved in overthrowing the Syrian-Greek rulers.
https://www.jns.org/2200-year-old-coins-first-evidence-in-judean-desert-of-maccabean-revolt/
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-724728

Their deities couldn’t save them

A rare ‘sling bullet’ from the Hasmonean period has been found in Yavne. It is inscribed with the names of two Greek deities Heracles and Cronus, intended to bring the Syrian-Greek army good fortune.  As we know, from celebrating Chanukah, it was the Jewish army that was victorious.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/364102

Look what we found on our school trip

8th-grade pupils from the Rabin Middle School were on an Israel Antiquities Authority field tour in Azor, about 7 km southeast of Tel Aviv when they discovered a 3,000-year-old scarab. It likely depicts a local Canaanite receiving authority from an Egyptian ruler.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/363688

Irish-Jewish genealogy records make Aliya

Stuart Rosenblatt, head of the Irish Jewish Genealogical Society, is donating his treasure trove of records on Irish-Jewish families, spanning centuries, to the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem. The records comprise over 70,000 names, including that of this newsletter editor.
https://www.jns.org/living-encyclopedia-stuart-rosenblatt-donates-irish-jewish-family-records-to-national-library-of-israel/

Bar/Bat Mitzva for 30 deaf children

To celebrate their coming of age, 21 boys and nine girls came from all over Israel for a guided tour and Bat / Bar Mitzva ceremony at the Kotel. It was organized by Young Israel in Israel’s Judaic Heritage Program for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, the Jewish Agency and World Mizrachi.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/364049

FOR THIS WEEK’S GOOD NEWS ARCHIVE, CLICK HERE!