Israel Updates

Kibbutz Nahal Oz - "A Note from Our Community"

Dear partners,

As the new year approaches, we want to share some updates and reflections from Nahal Oz.

This summer, about half of the community returned home, with mixed feelings of hope and concern. We opened our kindergartens and launched our education system amidst the sounds of war.

While some are eager to rebuild and bring life back to our kibbutz, others are waiting for a more stable security situation, and we are all praying for the return of our beloved Omri Miran, who is still held hostage in Gaza.

In partnership with Ex-Co, we’ve launched BUILDING TOMORROW, TOGETHER, a hub showcasing our major projects—from a new educational complex for our 150 children to community initiatives like a petting farm and dining hall renovations. We invite you to visit, share, and join us in rebuilding.

Thanks to dedicated partners like you, the Nahal Oz community could build resilience and undergo a meaningful community-building process where the whole community voted on the main projects and priorities for our rebuilding efforts.

We’re excited to welcome 8 new babies to the growing Nahal Oz community, along with the Anker family, who just moved to the kibbutz from Netivot. They bring hope for the future, as we look forward to more families joining us and to the next generation of Nahal Oz.

Watch our moving clip of the entire community singing and calling for the return of Omri Miran, held hostage in Gaza:

We are grateful for your partnership. 
May the coming year bring us closer to home, renewed hope, and good news.

Shanah Tova, 
The Nahal Oz community 

Congregation Agudath Israel & Temple Beth Am Israel Mission Trip 2024

Each day, 2-3 volunteers wrote reflections and shared pictures of our mission. Rabbi Lucas offered a kavanah (intention) for the first day – gratitude. We are all grateful for the support of our family and friends, for our health to be able to travel and participate in this mission, for the blessing of Israel. 

We Are All Connected: A Story Collection

This story collection is designed to deepen our connections with each other by sharing the stories of our loved ones currently in Israel.

Kibbutz Nahal Oz

THANK YOU for helping us share love, resources, and commitment through support for Israel and specifically this Kibbutz that has found home with Beth Am through their most troubling of times. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Nahal Oz when visiting Israel and through technology from a distance!

Ways to Support Israel

Continuing Projects

LETTERS FOR IDF SOLDIERS

This mailbox (located at Cafe TBA) is ready to receive your letters for soldiers serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The contents will be delivered on a rolling basis. Anyone is welcome to contribute.

World Zionist Organization: MY HOME IS YOUR HOME

One of the most important and expensive challenges is finding housing for the residents of the communities surrounding Gaza and the North, who overnight became refugees in their country. The State of Israel has evacuated most of the residents to hotels, but this is a very expensive and unsuitable solution for a family for more than a few days.

Words from Our Rabbis

Israel at War: Rabbi Kligfeld’s Remarks
Saturday, October 8, 2023

A reminder that much has unfolded since these remarks. Please keep that in mind when you watch or listen.

Reflections on My Trip to Israel
Saturday, December  2, 2023

Shabbat Sermon by Rabbi Adam Kligfeld

HaTikvah Sheli
Saturday, October 14, 2023

Sermon by Rabbi Rebecca Schatz

Close to Home
Saturday, December 16, 2023

Sermon by Rabbi Rebecca Schatz

Rabbi Schatz’s Reflections from her trip to Israel