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Golan Azulai, the famous Israeli actor, singer, and artist recently became a presenter for the EFRAT organization in Israel. In a recent interview with Israel National News - Arutz Sheva, Golan revealed his very personal and special connection to the work of the EFRAT organization. It all started with a phone call from Chagai Goldschmidt, the CEO of EFRAT, who asked him to become an official presenter for EFRAT. Golan was under the assumption that the reason he was chosen was because he was an active donor. In fact Chagai told him that he was unaware of that fact and...

Activist’s Twitter comment mistakenly says Efrat wine is produced in the West Bank; Israel supporters rush to buy bottles AMSTERDAM (JTA) — As a supporter of boycotting Israel, Mieke Zagt had no intention of marketing Israeli wine when she tweeted a picture of bottles on sale at the Dutch supermarket chain, Hema. But her tweet, meant to protest the sale, prompted Israel supporters in the Netherlands to mount a social media reaction so successful that the wines sold out at the Hema stores and the campaign became the No. 1 trending topic Tuesday on Dutch Twitter. The opening shot for the #tipvanMieke...

The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security forces arrested three Palestinian Arabs from the Gush Etzion area who “dared” to visit the sukkah of Oded Revivi, mayor of the town of Efrat. Channel 2 News reported on Thursday evening that the Arabs who were arrested were questioned over allegations they met with "baby-killers", an apparent reference to General Nitzan Alon, the head of the IDF's Operations Directorate, and the Shai District Police Commander, who were also guests in the same sukkah. Revivi said on Thursday evening, “Yesterday we sat in the sukkah - Jews and Muslims. We ate, drank and talked about...

“I can’t imagine bringing my child into this world without being able to provide him with a bed to sleep in,” the woman tearfully explained to an EFRAT volunteer. The volunteer was horrified. “It is unthinkable,” she said, “that a life will be lost for lack of a crib.” On Saturday, in synagogues around the world, the weekly portion from Exodus will be read. This portion features the incredible dedication of the first recorded Jewish midwives, named Shifra and Puah. Driven by desperation, Pharaoh commanded the two women to kill all the newborn Jewish boys. Displaying remarkable personal commitment they...

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, chief rabbi of Efrat, on Saturday night compared US President Barack Obama to Haman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Mordechai. Speaking at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, the American-born Riskin said that he could not understand what was going through Obama’s mind. “The president of the United States is lashing out at Israel just like Haman lashed out at the Jews,” he said. “I’m not making a political statement,” he clarified, “I’m making a Jewish statement.” When a woman in the audience shouted out that he was being disrespectful to the US president, she was booed by...

Israel has some of the most liberal laws on abortion in the western world. Around 40,000 abortions are carried out each year; that is about 110 abortions every single day. There is no protest or public outcry; there is no real debate in the public discourse. No pro-life or pro-choice movements. Recent legislation is making it even easier by enabling women between the ages of 20-33 to receive free government-funded abortions. The Israeli Ministry of Health will now pay $4.6 Million annually to abort thousands of healthy unborn babies in healthy wombs. Surely this money could be better spent on...

Israeli security forces caught three Palestinian Authority Arabs near Kibbutz Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion on Sunday night. The three were found to be carrying improvised weapons and knives. .....

As Independence Day celebrations were winding down Tuesday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made a guest appearance on Channel 2's left-wing satire show Eretz Nehederet. One of the final questions that the show's host Eyal Kitzis asked the premier was how he would like to be remembered after he leaves office. Netanyahu thought a moment and said, "I'd like to be remembered as the leader who preserved Israel's security." On the face of it, Netanyahu's stated aspiration might seem dull. In a year he'll be the longest-serving prime minister in the state's history, and all he wants is to...

Had to do it. Mother-in-law came to live after dad-in-law died. We had the only available ground-floor, no-stairs apartment in good condition, and the landlady sold it out from under us. And then there was the fact that mom-in-law is too old to learn Hebrew and has nothing to do there. So we've moved to Efrat, a/k/a "Little America", where Hebrew is not required, and where there's free transportation to the senior's center in Alon Shevut near by. Oh, and the link is to a book I wrote that I highly don't care if anyone buys, except for the money...

More than 250 Gush Etzion residents marched to a field on the Sabbath, prayed end enjoyed a “Kiddush” in the same place where Arabs uprooted tree last week. A Kiddush over wine and cakes or cookies is traditionally held before the morning Sabbath meal. The nationalist Women in Green organization last week reported that the Arabs not only uprooted trees planted by Jews in the field at Netzer, located opposite the city of Efrat in Gush Etzion, but also appeared to have the full support of the United Nations. The international body’s workers were photographed at the field in a...

As the Sukkot holiday began, hundreds made time last week to turn out and show support for Jewish settlement on Eitam Hill, in the city of Efrat. Supporters came from Jerusalem, Hevron and elsewhere in the region as well as from Efrat itself. Youth from Efrat quickly put up a sukkah in the area and rooftops for a temporary synagogue. A banner hanging from the sukkah proclaimed, "Obligated to Eitam, obligated to the land of Israel." Local religious leader Rabbi Shlomo Riskin promised to work for the creation of a camp for youth at the location, and to pressure politicians...

The Efrat Organization, dedicated to fighting unnecessary abortions, tells the story of a soldier who was saved by his friend - who himself had been saved before birth, in "unique" circumstances. The Efrat organization, dedicated to preventing the #1 cause of death in Israel - abortion - continues to register successes. In the year 2004, Efrat saved the lives of 1,658 Jewish children in Israel, by providing social and financial support to mothers who had planned to abort for socio-economic and related reasons. The number of successes in 2003 was 1,448. Recently, a story was publicized in a work entitled...

22:50 Feb-13-03, 11 Adar 5763 More on Gush Etzion Missile/Bomb Attack(IsraelNN.com) Bomb disposal technicians explain that today's missile/bomb incident near the Gush Etzion community of Efrat was a lesson that ended without injury or death. While it was determined that the Qassam rocket seated in a launcher was a fake, the bomb next to it was quite real. Bomb demolition experts were concerned over the cellular telephone detonation device, adding terrorists are becoming alarming sophisticated in the bombs being used and techniques being deployed. Today's incident was undoubtedly intended to draw the attention of emergency personnel to the rocket, believed...

David Bedein: Peaceful Coexistence in Efrat 01 April 2002 Why was the Arab suicide attack in Efrat different from all other suicide attacks? Because it was directed against the medical services that Arabs receive from the community of Efrat. Late in the afternoon of Sunday, March 31, 2002, which this year was both the fourth day of Passover and on Easter Sunday, an explosion rocked Efrat. My wife, typing away yet another e-mail to one of many corresponding women from the world over, looked around the living room to see that the children were okay and resumed her correspondence, including...