Welcome back to the many people from the Beth Abraham community who have been is Israel lately!
Over the last month, a remarkable set of tent cities and protest marches have sprung up around Israel, in protest initially against the high cost of housing. Mobilizing largely outside the political system, the movement has won the commitment of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to set up a high-profile commission of academics and government officials to address what has become a broad range of socioeconomic issues. Some 300,000-400,000 people participated in demonostrations last Saturday night, mostly in Tel Aviv but also throughout Israel. Some are commenting that the protesters are young and old, drawing on the old classical Israeli left as well as university students.
So it's a good time to make a habit of reading the Israeli and Jewish press. Set bookmarks for Israeli papers Haaretz or the Jerusalem Post, or read the New York-based Forward.
Our member and frequent public radio reporter Sheryl Rich-Kern has this story you can listen to, about a program at Babson College this summer that is bringing Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian Arabs together to learn about entrepreneurship and then launch joint ventures together back at home.
Finally, mark your calendar for Wednesday, August 24 for a rally in support of Israel from 5-8 PM at Veterans' Park in Manchester.
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