southareaisraelaction.com
azm.org
jcrcboston.org
advocatesforisrael.org
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  As Hovavat Yisrael - Love of Israel - has been a core principle of Judaism for over 3000 years, as a national homeland in Eretz Yisrael - the Land of Israel - has been our goal since the exile 2000 years ago and as Medinat Yisrael - the State of Israel - is the present day manifestation of this goal; it is HaTikvah - The Hope - of this committee to encourage the members of Temple Chayai Shalom to continue and deepen this connection to Israel.

The mission of the Israel Advocacy Committee of Temple Chayai Shalom is to educate members about the history and present-day culture of Israel, to counter negative propaganda about Israel, and to intensify our emotional and intellectual ties to Israel.  We hope to accomplish this through educational materials, events, and programs, as well as by encouraging personal membership to ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America, and personal/congregational travel to Israel.

This is a new column dedicated to sharing information about Israel that you don't read on the front page of the papers.

1. Israel has the highest number of personal computers per capita in the world.
2. Israel has the highest number of university degrees per capita in the world.
3. The program which is the technological basis for AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four Israelis.
4. Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin, as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
5. In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US.

The IAC is trying to increase awareness and visibility about Israel. We sent ARZA pamphlets out in the last newsletter in the hopes that people might join ARZA—the Israel “arm” of the Reform movement. We have included committee info, as well as facts about Israel, in the newsletter and on website. Our meetings are now on the calendar—the 2^nd Tuesday of the month at 8:00 PM, and new people are always welcome.

Major projects for the coming year include creating a resource box about Israel to be made available to teachers. In addition, as you know, Temple Chayai Shalom’s first-ever congregational trip to Israel will take place in February. Prior to that, there will be programs in December and in January. The January program, not yet completely designed, will be open to the congregation. Save January 13 for this program. More details will be in the January newsletter.

Two programs for the spring, which we would like to promote for the congregation, include a musical program celebrating Israel’s 60^th birthday at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley on April 11, and New England Celebrates Israel on June 1. Save these dates. More info will be coming later.