In Jerusalem, from around the world hundreds of women celebrate together

Sharon A

In Jerusalem, Israel, at this time of year, the weather becomes an annual topic for discussion.

When will it rain?

When will the winter weather arrive?

We had a partial answer beginning on Thursday night when the atmosphere cooled. Thunder and lightning announced the stormy weather. After intermittent deluges over Shabbat, the warmer weather is to return, for at least a week.

A week ago, the sun was setting into the clouds over the Judean Hills when I arrived at Neve Ilan for a very special event.

Nearly 800 Jewish women from around the world filled Kedma Hall on Sunday night for a gala celebration, titled “A Mother’s Heart: The Heart of a Nation.”

Momentum, formerly JWRP (so glad they rebranded, I could never get those letters straight), welcomed women from around the world to join Israeli women for a special evening event.

The hall was ready for an elaborate dinner celebration. But this was no simple mazel tov meal.

Opening speakers set the tone, with Racheli Fraenkel, Mehereta Baruch-Ron, and Batsheva Moshe sharing their inspiring personal life stories.

Momentum presented its inaugural award winners, Cheryl Wise, Pamela Claman, Tzahit Levi, Estela Goldberg, and Natalie Ciner, for their outstanding dedication over the years.

The hundreds of women included mothers of injured soldiers and women on their first trip to Israel.

From Guatemala and Ecuador, Singapore, LA, Atlanta, GA, and more, they joined in song as one.

One of the most emotional moments was when the mothers of freed hostages were on the stage.

They were awarded recognition by Momentum and cheered on by the other women in the room

Momentum founder Lori Palatnik had much to be proud of, and yes, a few men attended also.

Women who came from Maryland smiled and posed for a photo.

Women from Israel held up a flag as they appreciated the women on the stage.

The largest groups were from the US, and the enthusiasm was not muted as they came together.

(Yes, the flag was turned and correctly shown a second later.)

Momentum leaders state that a meaningful immersive experience can be difficult to translate into daily life. However, life is a journey. This was one fabulous conclusion for the recent mission trips.

Will the women return soon with their families to further explore the beauty of the Jerusalem streets?

Next year in Jerusalem has long been a statement, and hopefully for more, it will be a reality.

Did you see these 3 things in Jerusalem?

Sharon A

Last week was a real roller coaster of messed-up time and events.

It’s hard to know what to share, the good or the bad, and yes, even the ugly.

I decided to start with a favorite event, the gala opening of the Christian Media Summit.

This year, the opening gala was held in the Museum of Tolerance on Monday night.

The Government Press Office, led by Nitzan Chen (second from left), sponsors these events.

The first one I attended was at First Station when it was new. Sitting next to people from Romanian radio who came to Jerusalem with love for Israel was an eye-opener.

There was time to interview the important guests and speakers.

I tried to get Amichai Chikli, the Israeli politician currently serving as the Minister of Diaspora Affairs, to smile, but failed. He put on a jacket before going on stage.

One of the speakers, after the buffet meal – it’s Israel, so of course food! was Ambassador Dan Oryan, the director of the Civic Diplomacy Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

One of his slides showed images of support from around the world.

However, more impressive was to meet a man from Nigeria and a woman from Indonesia. Her project was called Hadassah, she said, because she wanted to be like Esther to help the Jewish people.

Member of Knesset Ohad Tal, Chairman of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, was another speaker.

Ditza Or, mother of Avinatan Or, who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, gave a powerful presentation.

“He is in the hands of God…in the darkest moment, I whispered to myself, God is good and God can do anything,” she recounted.

Looking to ancient Shiloh, she “prayed for her beautiful boy.” Imagine two years vanished into darkness.

Standing to sing Hatikva at the end – the program and other speakers were too good to leave early.

In 2018, the Prime Minister came; this time, however, PM Netanyahu sent a brief video message.

More photos from the Christian Media Summit were posted on Facebook –HERE

There is also a GPO Jewish Media Summit. However, a date for a new one has not been agreed upon.

An annual symposium on indigenous people had interesting speakers.

It was held again at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem where a yellow sign awaits the return of hostages.

Last year at the Jerusalem Indigenous Embassy symposium, a highlight was the well-researched presentation by the impressive Dr. Izabella Tabarovsky.

This year, Nova Peris’ speech was so good, I asked her to send a copy. I would love to share her story and words with you. Born in Darwin, Australia, her list of accomplishments includes being the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. She was elected to the Australian Senate, where she said she received death threats. Her taking a stand with Israel now, with growing antisemitism, is impressive.

The Jerusalem streets are waiting for the last hostages to return, three weeks past the proposed deadline

I decided to end a difficult week on an optimistic note.

I showed this photo to Ditza Or at the end of the evening, where she spoke of her son, his captivity, and returning home. She had ended her talk with similar words to the bumper sticker on the Zussman’s car.

After her son Ben Zussman fell in Gaza, his mother said, “Our story will end well.”

The sun is shining, though we need rain, time to get back out on the Jerusalem streets and find more good things happening to share.

Am Yisrael Chai!

In Jerusalem October ended with protests

Sharon A

October ended on the Jerusalem streets with thousands of visitors arriving from around the world.

The World Zionist Congress meets every five years in Jerusalem, Israel, for the largest global Zionist gathering. As in the past, this year’s WZC, held in the Jerusalem International Conference Center. Included were 543 delegates representing political factions and an overall total of 755 delegates.

The power of a story is felt more and more; emotion over facts has become our reality. This WZC took place 128 years after Theodor Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897.

The United States sent the largest group in WZCs’s history, with 155 delegates and about 100 alternates.

Ahead of the opening, the American Zionist Movement (AZM)  hosted a luncheon for them to meet.

In the afternoon, a moment of silence was held in memory of the victims of the October 7 and fallen IDF soldiers as the plenary opened.

During the program, the parent of Omer Neutra spoke. The audience rose in support of them.

One of multiple speeches included Yaakov Hagoel, current chairman of the World Zionist Organization.

Sondra Sokal was one of the individuals given special recognition in the opening plenaries.

This jacket caught my attention.

Much of the action during the day was held in the halls. Those were the bags given to delegates.

People worked, mingled, and ate upstairs.

And downstairs.

For those not familiar with the building, these are the stairs.

For the evening opening event, the main auditorium, Ussishkin Hall, was again filled. President Isaac Herzog was seated with delegates and guests.

During his featured address in Hebrew, a short section was in English. “Zios” has become a new slang for Jews, but he commented with pride to those who come to Israel to build the homeland.

When I left at the end of the long first day, I planned to come back on Thursday.

But in Jerusalem, Israel, things do not always go as planned.

I had seen Miki Zohar on his phone. But only found out late Wednesday night that plans had changed, and on Wednesday, the WZC had their big meetings to vote, not on Thursday as originally planned. The controversy is too complicated for now, and others have written on it, but more photos from WZC – HERE.

Wednesday night, I went to a wedding officiated by Rabbi Shlomo Katz.

Guests from Australia and the US joined in the celebration.

What a wedding! With the desert as background as the sun was setting, a unique experience.

Oh, and the bride and groom rode away on the camel.

The camel and scene inspired the post for Lech Lecha Shabbat Shalom.

Too many Jerusalem streets are blocked and closed for light rail construction to count.

But on Thursday, the thousands arriving in Jerusalem for the anti-draft protest closed even more.

Since the WZC had moved their main events to Wednesday, Thursday, I was free to walk to Gan Sacher.

I had wanted to see if the piano was still yellow. The “You are not alone” is gone.

Alon Ohel is home, but the yellow remains.

New signs are up for new festivals in November, “TRACES” and “Autumn Cult.”

Always something new happening on the Jerusalem streets. With the Open Houses this weekend, tour groups were out discovering some local gems and their history.

The signs to prepare for winter are up. Only the weather for those thousands of visitors felt more like spring and summer.

It was a good week if you were not stuck in construction traffic or had your plans ruined due to closed roads and protests.