Summer Days in Jerusalem: Remembering History, Inspiring the Future

Sharon A

Summer in Jerusalem, Israel, is warming up as always in the Middle Eastern sun.

The 25th Knesset concluded its term.

With 100 days to go until the new elections, the political airwaves will heat up as well.

Tisha B’Av begins on Wednesday night and continues until dark on Thursday.

Then Israelis begin the serious holiday time, with many planning to travel.

But first, it was time to remember that eventful trip 50 years ago.

An Air France plane was hijacked by terrorists; the Israelis on board were held hostage in Uganda.

The commemoration of the daring Operation Entebbe was held at Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s residence.

Media, videos, and photographers came in large numbers early to set up.

I took a seat where I could see survivors meet again with their rescuers.

For eight days, the world waited as the Israelis were held 4,000 kilometers from home.

Before the program began, Benjamin and Iddo Netanyahu lit a memorial candle for their fallen brother Yoni, who led the rescue mission.

The other candles were lit to remember the civilians who died during the rescue and Dora Bloch, who was murdered in a Ugandan hospital.

The short video highlighted the young children who had to be entertained under the most dire of circumstances.

The video ended with those children united again and posing with smiles.

The panel discussion included former Hamas hostage Noa Argamani and one of the IDF soldiers who rescued her from Gaza. Also on the panel were Doron Almog, chairman of the Jewish Agency and a veteran of the operation, Amos Eran, who served as director-general of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s Office during those sleepless nights, and Dr. Ephraim Sneh.

From my seat, I could take that scene. Noa’s father, Yaakov, was intentionally left in the photo watching his daughter on stage.

At the 40th Entebbe commemoration, I was not seated in the center of the room. Then I was able to get to the front row of dignitaries.

Shimon Peres (center) was Israel’s Defense Minister during the July 4, 1976 Entebbe raid (Operation Entebbe / Operation Thunderbolt / Operation Jonathan.

Who else do you recognize?

Meanwhile –

On the Alon Shvut campus of Herzog College this past week, thousands of people gathered to remember and study events from long ago.

One of the hundreds of teachers, Rabbi Menachem Leibtag, spoke about when politics and religion clash – in the Bible.

Nothing new under the sun?

Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun started teaching teachers in the summer over 30 years ago.

Growing every year, locations throughout the campus were filled with men and women.

People come from across Israel and overseas to study the Bible in Hebrew, English, Spanish, and French.

The schedule is packed throughout the week, making it hard to decide which classes to attend.

And out on the Jerusalem streets, construction goes on.

The building projects rise higher.

Time to come see for yourself!

This year in Jerusalem!

In Jerusalem, one week with 3 conferences to share

Sharon A

The busy week began Sunday night at the Nefesh B’Nefesh Jerusalem Campus.

What a view! Remembered just in time as the sky was darkening by the second.

Eden Center Conference

The Eden Center “Navigating Today’s Realities” was a first in English; past events were in Hebrew.

The professional conference brought together kallah teachers, educators, mental health professionals, and community leaders.

Women who knew each other’s important work were able to meet and share knowledge.

Eden Center founder Dr. Nomi Marmon Grumet began with opening remarks.

Various aspects of social interaction included Dr. Alex Bailey’s ‘How to get along with the in-laws’ in an entertaining TED talk.

Much more serious was the research presented by Shulmit Sperber on sexual abuse.

The bridal teachers and mikvah attendants must be aware of how to support women who are survivors of abuse.

Roundtable discussions and more were offered for an informative and engaging event.

With so many people I have known over the years from around the world, I wish I had more time to catch up.

2026 Pulse of Israel Conference

“From Victims to Victors: The Jewish People’s Next Chapter” was on Tuesday night at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.

Ari Abramowitz was the master of ceremonies

Avi Abelow, founder and CEO of Pulse of Israel, conducted an interview in Hebrew with IDF Brigadier General and October 7 hero Oren Solomon.

Caroline Glick was a powerful and popular presenter. One would never know she was filling in for announced participants who had to stay at the Knesset for an important session.

Dr. Mordechai Kedar, an expert on Israel and the Middle East, presented a map for his Palestinian Emirates Plan.

The panel discussion was moderated by Alex Traiman, with Hillel Fuld and Topaz Doitsch Ram.

There were other speakers, live and on video.

But I want to share a bit of Naomi Kahn’s report on Regavim.

Careful research and documentation go into their reports. The work should be praised, not sanctioned.

The Arab land grabs have gone on for years and have been allowed with UN assistance.

A special award went to Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council since 2015.

MORE PHOTOS – HERE

On my way home, the Maccabiah Jerusalem Night Run streets were beginning to open.

It’s getting harder and harder to be in two places at the same time.

Would have loved to have been in Sacher Park to see the runners before and after they ran.

Israel365 Middle East Summit

I went through Bloomfield Park and behind the King David Hotel and saw the preparations for Kites Jerusalem.

On Thursday night, the opening of the Jerusalem Film Festival was also nearby, in the Sultan’s Pool.

The David Castle was my destination.

I was there five years ago when it opened under another name and another time during one of its renovations.

Israel365 Middle East Summit: The Path to Victory was a program in Hebrew and English.

The opening panel – ‘The Battle Within: Israel’s Internal Divides’ was in Hebrew.

Abby Lee, the Ambassador from Taiwan, was articulate and excellent in comparing her country with Israel.

‘The Eight Front: Winning the International Arena’ had Yishai Fleisher leading a discussion with Hillel Fuld and Rabbi Pesach Wolicki.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spoke in rapid-fire Hebrew to an audience that seemed to appreciate his negative views on Oslo.

Notice the time clock in the back of the room? Most speakers kept to their times.

Like the Pulse Israel conference event, the program became flexible to accommodate the politicians.

Minister of Settlements Orit Strook was presented with an award for Outstanding Contributions to Zionism.

She called up retired Brigadier General Moshe “Musa” Peled to join her during a brief thank you.

Some people came and went, but MK Ohad Tal was present for the entire event and spoke near the end.

I got out long enough between the presentations to take a quick photo of the Old City walls as the sun was setting.

More photos – HERE

Three conferences in five days, and it feels like things are getting back to “normal’ in Jerusalem.

Signs are up for the Manofim Festival, which is back from July 14-18, 2026.

The flowers are bright and beautiful in the summer sun.

Hope you will be here soon to see the views, sunsets, and events happening on the Jerusalem streets.

Two international events returning to Jerusalem you should know

Sharon A

With a pandemic followed by 1,000 days of wars closing the skies, the ability for international travelers to get to Jerusalem, Israel, has been severely limited.

Conferences and major events have been canceled and postponed.

This past week, two events worth knowing about were held in Jerusalem.

Not as large an international attendance as in the past, but still impressive.

MIXiii-Health-Tech.IL

The life science and health technology conference by Israel Advanced Technology Industries was back at the Jerusalem International Conference Center on June 29-30, 2026.

It was good to see the Canadian Securities Exchange booth engaging with young future tech leaders.

It was good to see Panama’s Ambassador Ezra Cohen – he supports every event.

Fewer displays, but impressive nonetheless; many sound like science fiction.

Technion Professor Shulamit Levenberg presented on bioprinting and prosthetics.

With so many injured, their research is important. Imagine. Bioprinting tissues for implantation and limb repair, or instead of limping, can bioprinting be used to replace missing limbs?

Then Professor Yoram Weiss, Director General of Hadassah Medical Organization, illustrated how the hospital responded to patient treatment during war.

He went on to inform of working for the future with proton therapy, RNA organoid research, and more.

This panel discussed the next generation of cancer innovation.

If these were not futuristic enough,

Dr. Stephen K. Klasko came from the US to do a dramatic segment on the use of artificial intelligence in medicine.

It was good to see European venture capitalists speaking of investments in Israel, moderately but positively.

IATI CEO Karin Mayer Rubenstein mentioned media coverage of the 40% decline in funding for 2025 in Israeli life sciences companies.

As always, negative news gets headlines, not the close to 2,000 people who came to Jerusalem and attended the two-day conference.

Startups and technology leaders are looking to build and finance a better future.

Maccabiah 2026 – MORE THAN EVER July 1-14, 2026

I arrived very early and got a great front-row seat for the Maccabiah opening event.

This was the third gala opening I attended in Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium.

Who remembers the first time Teddy Stadium hosted the Maccabiah opening?

I had time to remember those big balloons and 9,000 athletes from 70 countries in 2013.

Canada had 667 athletes, including standout basketball star Amar’e Stoudemire.

58 athletes came from Turkey, and 111 were from Cuba. Australia had 442.

Not this year, athletes were noticeably absent from Australia, Canada, and South Africa.

More ‘Photos of the Maccabiah opening in 2013‘ on the RJS post.

The Maccabiah – often called the “Jewish Olympics” – has been held every 4 years since 1932.

The 22nd Maccabiah was to be held last year, but was postponed due to the war.

Montana Tucker helped announce the countries as they entered. She changed outfits and later performed with dancers.

This year, Argentina sent a large group of athletes to participate.

Australia sadly had only a small contingent this time.

Memories of fallen soldiers cast a shadow over the exciting and loud entrances of each country in alphabetical order.

Brazil entered with children holding a flag.

Finland had one athlete, as did Poland, the Virgin Islands, and other countries.

Germany had a large delegation.

However, the largest international delegation was from the United States.

MACCABIUSA banner led the close to 1,000-member delegation into the stadium.

By the time the international athletes were in the stadium, the spectators had finally passed security and filled their seats.

Then, the Israelis marched in and took their seats.

There were entertainment and musical performances.

Emotional moments of people connecting from across the oceans.

A memorial moment before the Olympic torch was lit.

The fiery torch arrived and entered Teddy Stadium.

Emergency EMTs also arrived. I wondered how many noticed the woman in a hijab along with a man with a kippa and others.

Fireworks and the program were not as big or long as I remembered for 2022 for the opening show.

But the show did go on!

Like for the MIXiii, getting to Israel with airlines not servicing Ben Gurion was a challenge.

But many of those who wanted to be here found a way.

Hope to see you next time on the Jerusalem streets.