| Shalom friends,
Israel seems to be in the news continuously, often drawing on negatively charged topics, the conflict or the growing anti-Israel bias that has taken root around the world. Israel, as we know, is a vibrant society, ever striving to improve, to pursue peace, and to protect our legitimate rights to a Jewish democracy in our ancient land.
Sometimes issues being discussed in Israeli society are portrayed in stark black and white terms in order to support or push a political agenda. Someone / something is portrayed as “the bad guy” in order to further someone else. For those who watch from abroad, what we see can be confusing and even distressing. Is this our Israel? Is the land of our heart taking actions we consider contrary to the inclusive values we know to associate with the land of our People?
We’ve presented a few of today’s “hot topics” in the Israel Forever way - no politics, all pride. We are a family, we may disagree about the way things are done but our fundamental values are unchanging. We need each other and it is important that we can both listen and hear each other so that we can work together to create a strong and bright future.
 |
DENYING THE “RIGHT” TO HOLOCAUST DENIAL
Facebook’s CEO and founder who happens to be Jewish, decided that it is acceptable to deny the Holocaust on his platform while at the same time implementing strict regulation of other types of hate speech. Israel Forever’s interns voice their thoughts on this, utterly denying the right to deny the Holocaust. If we, as Jews cannot stand up against the denial of the Holocaust, what can we stand for?
READ MORE |
 |
WHAT’S WRONG WITH RE-AFFIRMING ISRAEL’S JEWISH AND DEMOCRATIC CHARACTER?
One of the biggest stories in these past weeks has been Israel’s Nation State Law. There has been an enormous uproar about the law because it makes no mention of the minorities in the country (which if deemed necessary, can be done in an additional law or laws). The outpouring of emotion leaves one to wonder how many of the commentators actually read the text of the law and what they found there that was so objectionable - was it what was not said or is their true objection what was said?
READ MORE |
 |
KITES FOR HOPE
In 2018 the terror organization Hamas invented a new way of delivering firebombs via kites and balloons. Israelis who refused to let their children by this hate responded by creating kites of hope. In this activity you can create your own Kite of Hope to fly in solidarity with the children of Israel and Gaza who both deserve to know that kites are for peace and not weapons of war.
READ MORE |
 |
ISRAEL IS A BEACON FOR GAY RIGHTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
A recent law addressed the rights of single mothers to utilize a surrogate to have children but overlooked the rights of men thus creating an additional challenge for gay men who want to have families of their own. Israel’s LGBTQ+ community mobilized creating large demonstrations for their right to have children through a surrogate and much of Israeli society joined them, supporting the idea that the right to have a family should be equal to all parts of society.
READ MORE |
 |
UNITY WITHOUT UNIFORMITY: LEARNING TO LOVE THE JEWS AGAIN
It’s getting harder and harder to love the Jews. Or, to put the matter more precisely, its getting harder and harder to love those Jews who aren’t just like us.
READ MORE |
STRONGER TOGETHER
AM YISRAEL: FOSTERING JEWISH UNITY AND PRIDE |
