210 Hezbollah rockets slammed into northern Israel on Wednesday. The number is believed to be the most in a single day since Israeli-Hezbollah fighting began July 12.20 shops in Rome, Italy have been defaced in an act of anti-Israel vandalism.

Only 50 people showed up at a pro-Israel rally in Moscow, Russia. The country otherwise remains mostly silent on Israel issues.

And on the other hand…

$23 million was raised by UJC’s Israel Crisis Fund; 60 percent of the funds will go to help children in Northern Israel stay in camps in central Israel. So far, it has helped more than 6,000 kids and the need is growing…Friends of the IDF have raised $3.5 million…JNF has raised more than $2 million…Union for Reform Judaism has raised $100,000…World ORT has raised $400,000.

78,638 chocolates have been sent to soldiers at the front through the “Send a Hug” campaign co-sponsored by Elite Candy Company and Heritage Affinity Services. (View “hugs” here…it’s like spying on notes in the Kotel.)

And next Wednesday, 230 people are making aliyah. The flight will mark the culmination of a record-setting year of immigration to Israel. In 2001, 1,460 individuals made Aliyah, in 2005 the number increased to approximately 3,000. By the end of this year, it is estimated 3,400 olim will have made Aliyah from North America alone.

About the author

Esther Kustanowitz

For more posts by Esther, see EstherK.com, MyUrbanKvetch.com and JDatersAnonymous.com.

3 Comments

  • Hi and more donation news…

    Elder of Ziyon blog is running another ‘Double Your Donation to Israel Challenge’ http://tinyurl.com/k3wxm.

    Each dollar contributed to charity (up to a total of $2000) is matched by a donor– I’m the donor for this round of the challenge. There are several worthwhile charities listed on the blog including JNF and Magen Dovid Adom.

    We already have $1300 raised from the last challenge with a new goal to reach a total of $2000 by August 11!

    You pick the charity, make a donation and let us know. We then match your kindness. You can read more on the blog but it’s pretty straight forward. *Please reach into your pocket today, we love small donations.

    And, please let us know if you want to sponsor the next round of the challenge- we’re always on the lookout for donors :).

    Thanks, [email protected]