An Israeli who chose Ukraine not with words, but with service

On April 30, 2026, the 24th Separate Assault Regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Aidar” published a video interview with Grigory Pivovarov — a staff sergeant, fighter with the call sign “Jew” and a citizen of Israel who has been fighting for Ukraine since 2014.

The video is titled: “Jew. About Israel, the IDF, Maidan, citizenship, and the war since 2014“.

Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr_hX2mA-f8

This is not just a story of a foreigner who found himself in the Ukrainian war. It is the story of a person who went through the Maidan, the volunteer movement, the front, injuries, command positions, and still speaks of Ukraine as his home.

At the beginning of the interview, Grigory Pivovarov introduces himself directly: his name is Grigory, call sign — “Jew”, he is a fighter of the “Aidar” regiment, and he is a foreigner, a citizen of Israel, who has been fighting for Ukraine’s independence since 2014.

For the Israeli audience, this story is especially important. It intersects several lines at once: the experience of the IDF, Jewish identity, the Ukrainian war for freedom, Russian aggression, and the personal choice of a person who could live in another country but decided to stay with those he calls brothers.

From Maidan to “Aidar”: how Grigory Pivovarov’s journey began

According to Pivovarov, his arrival in Ukraine during the Maidan was largely accidental.

Before that, he lived in Barcelona, engaged in club projects and tourism. He was invited to Ukraine by a medic friend who needed strong people for evacuating the wounded. Grigory recalls that his friend explained simply: he was a former Israeli soldier, not afraid of blood, and could help where people capable of acting under pressure were needed.

He arrived in Kyiv in February 2014. He didn’t make it to Mariinsky on February 18, but found himself on the barricades on Khreshchatyk when the APC was burning. After a concussion, he was evacuated along with other participants in the events.

Then came the victory of the Maidan, the student movement, alarming news from Crimea, and the gradual realization that everything was not ending with a change of power. Ukraine was entering a war, although at that time many still did not call it a war in the full sense.

In May 2014, Pivovarov joined “Aidar”. In the interview, he specifies the date: on May 19, 2014, he arrived at the unit. Later there were transitions, legal complexities due to his status as a foreigner, service in other structures, and a return to “Aidar”, where in February 2016 he officially became a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Why exactly “Aidar”

One of the strong moments of the interview is the answer to the question of why he has remained in “Aidar” for so many years.

Pivovarov says that this unit reminds him of the unit where he served in the IDF: people from different walks of life come there, and they are made into strong fighters. According to him, “Aidar” does not chase PR but simply does its job.

This phrase clearly shows the nerve of the entire conversation. For him, the army is not a decoration, not a slogan, and not a place for beautiful photos. It is an environment where it is tested who is next to you, who endures, who returns after injury, and who does not abandon their own.

What is the 24th Separate Assault Regiment “Aidar” and why is this name so important

The 24th Separate Assault Regiment “Aidar” is the 24th Separate Assault Regiment “Aidar”, a combat unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

The “Aidar” itself grew out of a volunteer battalion that appeared in 2014 after the Maidan and the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

The name is associated with the Aidar River in the Luhansk region. In Ukrainian military memory, this name has become one of the symbols of the first months of resistance when volunteer formations often covered those sections of the front where the state system was still being rebuilt under the reality of a large war.

The official website of the regiment emphasizes that “Aidar” began its journey in 2014 and has always been a combat unit. Among the values of the regiment are indicated ideology, brotherhood, continuity, internal culture of the fighter, personal responsibility, and result.

This is important for understanding the video itself. Pivovarov’s interview is not a separate biography against the backdrop of war. It is the story of a person who found himself inside a unit with a very strong volunteer tradition.

The official site of “Aidar” also describes the procedure for joining the regiment: application, recruiter call, selection interview, medical examination, document check, contract signing, and start of service. Among the requirements are age, readiness to serve in the army vertical, physical fitness, absence of convictions, and readiness to work in a team.

NANews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency draws attention to this connection: the story of Grigory Pivovarov shows how the Ukrainian war became a matter not only for the citizens of Ukraine but also for people who consciously chose the side of freedom — not by passport, but by conviction.

How Russia views “Aidar”

In Russia, “Aidar” is viewed extremely hostilely — both at the level of propaganda and at the level of official legal position.

In the Russian version, “Aidar” is called a “national battalion”, “extremists”, and a “terrorist organization”. In December 2023, the FSB included the Ukrainian “Aidar” in the Russian list of terrorist organizations. Before that, the unit had already been recognized in the Russian Federation as extremist and banned.

For Russian propaganda, “Aidar” is one of the symbols of Ukrainian resistance that needs to be demonized. Like “Azov” or “Right Sector”, it is usually shown not as a unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but as “punishers”, “Nazis”, and “militants”. This is how Moscow tries to present the war against Ukraine not as RF aggression, but as a struggle against supposedly “extremists”.

This status is also used by Russian courts. Ukrainian military personnel can be prosecuted simply for serving in “Aidar”. For example, there is a known case of military medic Victoria Tkachenko, whom a Russian court sentenced precisely for serving in a unit recognized by the Russian Federation as “terrorist”.

On the front, “Aidar” is perceived by Russian military and pro-Russian militants as a dangerous and hated enemy. This coincides with what Grigory Pivovarov says in the interview: according to him, for the enemy, “Aidar” is a very scary name, and freed “Aidar” fighters can be “counted on the fingers”.

In short: in Russia, “Aidar” is officially banned, demonized in propaganda, and among Russian military personnel, it is perceived as one of the most hated Ukrainian combat symbols since 2014.

IDF, Israel, and the Ukrainian front

In the interview, there is a separate layer important for readers in Israel. Pivovarov is a citizen of Israel, a former Israeli soldier, a person who knows from the inside what military culture is, responsibility to the unit, and the experience of war with an enemy that uses Soviet and Russian weapons.

He says that his father lives in Israel, is a family doctor, and a captain of medicine in the reserve. He also talks about his younger brother, who served in the IDF, was a paramedic-shooter, and then became the head of the medical service.

In one of the most indicative fragments, Pivovarov connects the Israeli and Ukrainian experience through a common source of threat.

He reminds that the Soviet Union sponsored Israel’s enemies, and modern Russia supports Hamas, Hezbollah, and other forces fighting against Israel. According to him, ATGMs, mortars, rockets, “Grads”, and “Katyushas” have a clear origin in this military chain.

For the Israeli reader, this is not abstract geopolitics. It is an attempt to explain: Ukraine and Israel face different fronts of one big problem — aggressive regimes and their allies who use terror, missile strikes, propaganda, and war against the civilian population.

“My home is Ukraine”

One of the strongest answers in the video is to the question: where is his home.

Pivovarov answers: “My home is Ukraine.”

He further explains why Russian manipulation of the anti-Semitism theme became one of the reasons for his internal resistance. He says he was outraged by stories that Ukrainians are anti-Semites and points to historical facts that Russian propaganda either distorts or completely ignores.

He mentions Ukrainians among the Righteous Among the Nations, talks about the Jewish pages of Ukrainian history, about the connections between the Ukrainian national movement and Zionists, and also recalls Vladimir Jabotinsky and Symon Petliura. In his logic, this is not an academic lecture, but a personal response to Russia’s attempt to steal Ukraine’s historical subjectivity and present Ukrainians as enemies of Jews.

Yes, the Ukrainian-Jewish history is complex. It had tragedies, pain, pogroms, the Holocaust, collaborationism, Soviet lies, and real conflicts of memory.

But that is why such testimonies are important. Pivovarov does not offer a primitive picture. He talks about how Russian propaganda uses anti-Semitism as a tool to poison attitudes towards Ukraine and hide its own aggression.

Injuries, command, and citizenship that is still not there

In the interview, Grigory Pivovarov talks about returning after injuries because he could not leave his brothers. The first injury — because his own pulled him out. The second — because he needed to return. The third — because, in his words, he was ashamed to leave the unit after being appointed platoon commander. He doesn’t even consider another injury serious, although it was recorded.

His path within the army is also indicative: a simple infantryman, grenade launcher, squad leader, chief sergeant of the platoon, platoon commander, acting company commander, and then work in the regiment’s recruitment.

This is the biography of a person who did not come for symbolic participation. He really lived this war.

And against this background, the topic of citizenship sounds especially acute. Pivovarov says that there are awards, ranks, injuries, service since 2014, but there is still no Ukrainian citizenship. He lists his distinctions and does not hide his disappointment: the state he defends has not yet become his state legally.

This is one of the main meanings of the video. Ukraine knows how to accept blood, service, and loyalty. But the bureaucratic system does not always know how to quickly and honestly recognize those who have already proven their belonging to the country by deed.

Appeal to Ukrainians

The final part of the interview is an appeal to Ukrainians who are unsure whether to serve and where exactly to go.

Pivovarov speaks harshly but without theatrics: the enemy does not sleep. He recalls the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Mariupol, Bakhmut, Kurakhovo, Vuhledar — places he saw alive and then saw destroyed. His argument is simple: if people do not want to see this near their homes, the state needs to be defended now.

He urges not to wait until the TCC takes a person, but to choose a unit in advance, contact familiar military personnel, look for those with whom you want to serve, and make a conscious decision.

Separately, he invites to “Aidar”, emphasizing that the unit has retained the spirit of the first volunteer battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and its commanders have gone through real battles, injuries, and the front path.

Why this video is important for Ukraine, Israel, and the Jewish audience

The story of Grigory Pivovarov breaks several propaganda schemes at once.

For years, Russia has been trying to present Ukraine as a country alien to Jews. But before the viewer is a citizen of Israel with the call sign “Jew”, who came to Ukraine, saw the Maidan, went to war, has been serving in a Ukrainian unit since 2014, and says that his home is Ukraine.

Russia tries to portray the Ukrainian army as an artificial construct. But before the viewer is a person who compares the spirit of “Aidar” with what he knows from the IDF: responsibility, camaraderie, different people in one line, commanders with combat experience, and readiness to return to their own.

Russia tries to use the theme of anti-Semitism as a weapon against Ukraine. But before the viewer is a Jew and Israeli who speaks directly about the manipulation of this theme and about how Ukrainian history is much deeper and more complex than Russian clichés.

For Israel, this video is also not secondary. It reminds that Russia’s war against Ukraine and the war of Iran’s terrorist allies against Israel are in the same moral field: it is about the right of a people to live freely, protect their home, and not be destroyed by someone else’s imperial or terrorist will.

Open ending

The video of the 24th Separate Assault Regiment “Aidar” is a presentation not only of one fighter. It is a presentation of choice.

Grigory Pivovarov could have stayed in Israel, Europe, or any other point in his biography. But he found himself in Ukraine, stayed after the Maidan, went through the war since 2014, and continues to speak of this country as home, even without a Ukrainian passport.

Perhaps this is the main question for the state and society: who really becomes Ukrainian — the one who received the document, or the one who has been defending the country for years at the cost of their own health, blood, and life?

The video leaves this question open. But Grigory Pivovarov’s answer has already sounded on the front.

Today we are talking about a Hollywood star – Mile Markovna Kunis! — New section 🔯 — Jews from Ukraine 🇺🇦

📍 Birth and emigration

• Born August 14, 1983 in Chernivtsi, Ukraine 🇺🇦.
• At the age of 7, she emigrated with her family to Los Angeles, USA 🇺🇸.

🕯 Tragic family story

Many of Mila's relatives died during the Holocaust. The actress has repeatedly mentioned anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union:

“We were brought up like this: you’re a Jew, just don’t tell anyone about it. That's why we moved to the US.”

🕎 Judaism and Kabbalah

The Jewish religion plays an important role in the life of Mila and her family.

“We celebrate Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, although not always according to all the rules. I love our religion. I go to synagogue not out of obligation, but because it is important to me.”

Mila and her family light Shabbat candles, read prayers, and her children know blessings in Hebrew.

She also emphasizes the importance of family traditions:

“On Fridays, we get together as a family, look into each other’s eyes, say “I love you” and share the events of the week. This time strengthens our connection. No matter where we are, we always find a moment for it.”

🧬 Jewish roots

A genealogical DNA test showed that Mila is ethnically 98% Ashkenazi Jewish.

“I’m quite Jewish, but in New York I’m becoming super Jewish!”

🤝 Marriage to Ashton Kutcher

Mila’s husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, although not Jewish, shares her spiritual interests:

“He speaks and reads Hebrew and has read the Torah a million times. He taught me something I didn’t know myself.”

Ashton visited Israel more than once, including with Mila. In 2013, they came to Safed for the funeral of Kabbalist Philip Berg.

“Israel is dear to my heart. For me, it’s like going back to the roots of creativity, which is inspiring on all levels.”

🇺🇦 Help to Ukraine

The full-scale war with Russia strengthened Mila's Ukrainian identity.

“I have never been more proud of my origins than I am now. I’m proud to be Ukrainian.”

💪 Charity

• Mila and Ashton collected more than $35 million to help Ukrainian displaced people, donating 3 million of their own funds for this.
• At the Oscar ceremony, the actress announced a minute of silence in memory of those killed in Ukraine.

👦🏻 Meet Vladimir Zelensky

Mila has known Vladimir Zelensky since 2016, when she discussed with him the rights to a remake of the series “Servant of the People”.

“When I saw that Ukraine had a new Jewish president, I thought: “Mazal tov!” This is a familiar surname!” Later I found correspondence with him.”

Mila and Ashton met with Zelensky and his wife Elena several times, including in New York, where they discussed cooperation between Ukraine and the United States in the film industry.

🏆 Achievements of Mila Kunis

• In 2022 entered the list 100 most influential people in the world according to version Timealong with Vladimir Zelensky.
• Took 1st place in the ranking “100 Sexiest Women in the World” (FHM) and 4th place among the most beautiful women (Maxim).
• Recognized Esquire the sexiest woman on the planet.

🎬 Selected films of Mila Kunis

1. Black swan (2010)
2. Sex buddies (2011)
3. Third wheel (2012)
4. Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Mila Kunis: the pride of the Jews of Ukraine

Mila Kunis is not only one of the most successful actresses in Hollywood, but also a shining example of a Jew of Ukrainian origin who maintains a connection with culture, religion and his native land. Her contributions to Ukraine and respect for Jewish tradition serve as an inspiration to millions.

This article was prepared specifically for the site NAnewswhere you will find even more interesting stories about prominent Ukrainian Jews, such as Mila Kunis.

Veda section @davidkrutonog — Jew from Ukraine and founder of a marketing agency tlv.agency

Leave a comment in Telegram channel NAnews ↓ — Israel News

By Mark Ginsberg
Mark Ginsberg is an Israel-based digital marketer and commentator on technology and artificial intelligence, with over two decades of firsthand perspective on the country’s innovation economy. Originally from South Florida and now based in Efrat, he analyzes the growth of Israel’s tech ecosystem and the broader implications of AI on business, policy, and society.

Two Wars, One Arrival Hall

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Israel absorbed tens of thousands of Ukrainian immigrants alongside a larger wave from Russia. Immigration hit a 23-year high that year, with more than 70,000 new arrivals, many of them engineers, developers, and founders who packed careers into suitcases. The community of Israelis with Ukrainian roots, which NAnews has covered for years, suddenly included thousands of technologists who could build companies in two languages and handle two business cultures without a translator. They arrived into an Israeli tech sector that was itself entering a period of contraction and then war.

That collision produced something neither country planned for, a working bridge between two economies under fire.

The bridge is real, and it runs in both directions.

Engineers Who Understand Both Battlefields

Israel’s technology sector has spent the past decade selling the world defenses it built for its own threats, and the past two years showed how that experience travels.

Ukrainian engineers who joined Israeli firms brought fluency in the realities of drone and electronic warfare, the daily testbed of the Ukrainian front. Israeli companies, blocked by regulation from selling defense products directly to Kyiv, have still built channels into Ukraine’s defense-tech scene, and the Jerusalem Post reported that Jerusalem is now shifting from humanitarian aid toward forward-looking defense tech cooperation between the two countries. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed in July 2025 that Kyiv and Jerusalem intend to launch joint projects in security and technology. The people best positioned to staff those projects are the immigrants who hold both contexts in their heads.

A defense technology sector that has become a shield for others grows stronger when it absorbs engineers who spent years thinking about the threats on the other side of the continent. None of this was the plan when these families boarded flights in Warsaw and Bucharest. It is the result.

What the Bridge Carries Now

The traffic is wider than defense. Ukrainian-Israeli teams work in cybersecurity, agricultural technology, and medical systems, fields where Israeli firms had already built a global reputation and where Ukrainian STEM graduates are historically strong. Innovation flowing out of Israel has become one of the country’s main strategic exports, and the diaspora engineers now inside that pipeline give Ukrainian product thinking a seat at the table. American firms have noticed.

US defense planners talk openly about wanting integration with allied innovation, and the list of allies producing battlefield-tested technology now includes both Israel and Ukraine.

Both wars are winding down at different speeds, and the bridge now faces its real test. Some immigrants will return to rebuild Ukrainian industry, and Israel should wish them well, since the strongest version of this relationship is two healthy tech sectors with dense personal ties between them. Others will stay, build companies in Herzliya and Haifa, and keep the corridor open from the inside.

The scenario to watch is the middle one, the founder who commutes between Kyiv and Tel Aviv with investors in both. Ten years from now, the most important tech relationship in the region may not be traced back to any treaty. It will be traced back to the 2022 arrival hall, and the thousands of engineers who walked out of it into both futures at once.

From the editors of NAnews: Ginsberg’s argument points to a relationship that is still taking shape. The technological connection between Israel and Ukraine is not yet a single organized system, and its long-term scale remains uncertain. But the people who moved between the two countries after 2022 have already created professional networks that did not exist in the same form before the war.

For NAnews, that is the part worth watching next: whether these personal and professional ties turn into lasting companies, joint projects, investment channels, and research partnerships. If they do, one of the most durable consequences of the 2022 migration wave may be something neither government originally designed — a working technological bridge between Israel and Ukraine.

A person can live in Israel but work with clients in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Poland, Canada, or another country. An international number on the website is not always convenient for local clients, and purchasing and maintaining several physical SIM cards becomes a separate problem.

In such a situation, you can connect a virtual number of the desired country. Clients will call a regular local number, and the owner will be able to receive calls over the internet on a smartphone, computer, IP phone, or using call forwarding.

Physically being in the country whose number is connected is usually not required. However, the rules depend on the specific state: sometimes, to register a number, it is necessary to confirm identity, address, or provide company documents.

The editorial team of NANews uses the Zadarma service, so we decided to explain in detail and without complex technical terms how virtual telephony works, who it can really be useful for, and what restrictions need to be checked before paying for a number.

What is a virtual phone number

A virtual number is a full-fledged phone number not tied to a physical SIM card or a specific device.

It can have the code of the selected country and city. For example:

• +972 — Israel;
• +1 — USA or Canada;
• +44 — UK;
• +49 — Germany;
• +33 — France;
• +34 — Spain;
• +39 — Italy;
• +48 — Poland;
• +380 — Ukraine;
• +995 — Georgia.

The client dials a familiar number, and the call is transmitted over the internet to the number owner. To receive calls, you can use an app, a program on a computer, an IP phone, a cloud PBX, or forwarding to a regular mobile.

Zadarma offers more than 30,000 virtual numbers in 110 countries. Depending on the country, local, national, mobile, and toll-free numbers for the caller are available.

A virtual number should not be confused with temporary free numbers published on open sites for receiving a single message. This is a permanent number that a person or company can use as long as its service is paid for and the operator’s conditions are met.

How a number works without a SIM card

The principle of operation is quite simple.

The user registers with the service, selects a country and an available number, undergoes the necessary verification, and sets up the method of receiving calls. After that, calls are received over the internet.

Usually, the process looks like this:

1. A person selects a country.
2. Determines the appropriate type of number.
3. Checks the cost and document requirements.
4. Connects the number.
5. Installs an app on a smartphone or computer.
6. Sets up incoming and outgoing calls.
7. If necessary, connects forwarding or a cloud PBX.

For the app to work, a stable Wi-Fi or mobile internet is required. If the internet is unavailable or unstable, calls can be directed to a regular phone number. Zadarma officially supports receiving calls through apps and IP phones, forwarding, its own cloud PBX, and third-party server PBXs.

It turns out that one smartphone can be used simultaneously for a personal SIM card and one or several virtual work numbers.

Which countries’ numbers can be connected

Zadarma provides numbers in 110 countries. This does not mean that the same conditions are available in all states: somewhere you can choose a local number of a specific region, somewhere a national or mobile number is offered, and in some countries, 800 format numbers are available.

Among popular destinations:

• Israel;
• USA;
• Canada;
• UK;
• Germany;
• France;
• Spain;
• Italy;
• Poland;
• Czech Republic;
• Austria;
• Belgium;
• Netherlands;
• Switzerland;
• Sweden;
• Norway;
• Finland;
• Romania;
• Bulgaria;
• Greece;
• Cyprus;
• Georgia;
• Moldova;
• Ukraine;
• Kazakhstan;
• Turkey;
• United Arab Emirates;
• India;
• Japan;
• South Korea;
• Singapore;
• Australia;
• New Zealand;
• Mexico;
• Brazil;
• Argentina;
• Chile;
• South Africa.

Before connecting, you need to open the page of a specific country and check what type of number is offered, whether it can be registered by a non-resident, what documents are required, and whether the number supports SMS.

What types of virtual numbers exist

The choice depends on what the phone is needed for.

Local number

Such a number contains the code of a specific city or region. For example, a company can connect a number in Tel Aviv, London, New York, or another city, even if employees work remotely.

A local number is suitable for websites, consulting services, repair companies, real estate agencies, clinics, online stores, and small offices.

National number

A national number is not always tied to a specific city. It can be used by a company that works with clients throughout the country.

In Israel, for example, there are virtual national numbers with the code +972 77. Connection conditions and costs need to be checked directly before ordering.

Mobile number

In some countries, Zadarma offers virtual mobile numbers. They can support not only voice calls but also receiving SMS.

For example, the Israeli virtual mobile number +972 55 allows receiving calls and SMS through an app, forwarding, PBX, or CRM while being outside Israel. At the same time, a specific number may be issued automatically, without the possibility of choosing a beautiful combination of digits.

Number 800

This is a number where the call is usually paid for by the owner, not the client. Such numbers are used by support services, sales departments, and large companies.

Rates for incoming calls and the availability of 800 numbers vary depending on the country.

Why a number from another country is needed

A virtual number solves not one, but several tasks at once.

Working with foreign clients

An Israeli company can connect a number in the USA, UK, Germany, France, or another country. The client will call a familiar local number, and the employee will receive the call in Israel.

For a foreign client, such a call is usually more understandable than a call to an unfamiliar international number.

However, a foreign phone number itself does not mean that the company is registered or has a physical office in the corresponding country. The website must honestly indicate the actual location and legal details of the business.

Moving to another country

After moving, a person can continue working with their former clients. For example, a specialist lives in Israel but receives calls from Germany, Poland, the UK, Ukraine, Canada, or the USA.

Clients do not need to be informed of a new foreign mobile number: they continue to call the familiar number of their country.

Separate room for work

Many entrepreneurs publish their personal mobile number on the website, on social networks, and in advertisements. As a result, work calls mix with personal ones, and the number ends up in numerous databases.

A virtual number allows you to separate communication:

• personal calls go to a regular SIM card;
• work calls go to a separate application;
• a voicemail message is activated during non-working hours;
• missed calls are saved in statistics;
• calls can be recorded if necessary.

Work during trips

A virtual number is not tied to one SIM card and one country. If a person temporarily leaves Israel, they can continue to receive work calls via the internet.

The main condition is a stable network connection.

Work of several employees

One number can be connected not only to one person. With the help of a cloud PBX, calls are distributed among employees, departments, or branches.

For example, the call first goes to a manager, then to a second employee, and if no one answers, it is directed to voicemail.

Virtual number of Israel

For readers of NANews, several scenarios are particularly relevant:

• an Israeli number for a company whose employees are abroad;
• a second number for business without a second SIM card;
• a separate number for the website or advertising;
• a +972 number for receiving calls from Israel;
• a Tel Aviv or other region number;
• a mobile number with the ability to receive SMS;
• a common number for several employees.

Zadarma offers city, national, mobile, and toll-free numbers for Israel. Incoming calls can be received through smartphone and computer applications, forwarding, cloud PBX, or CRM.

To connect an Israeli number, a passport or ID, current address, or company registration documents may be required. The exact list depends on the type of number chosen.

Therefore, it cannot be promised in advance that any +972 number is connected instantly and without verification.

Numbers of the USA, Canada, and European countries

American, Canadian, and European numbers are especially in demand for business.

USA number

An American number can be useful for a company working with clients in the USA, an internet project, a consultant, or a remote specialist.

Depending on the offer, you can connect a city, mobile, or toll-free number. Zadarma’s American mobile numbers allow you to receive calls and SMS through the application, forwarding, PBX, and CRM. Activation is carried out after verifying the provided data.

UK number

A British number +44 can be connected to a computer, smartphone, IP phone, office PBX, or another device with SIP support. Calls can also be forwarded to a regular number.

Numbers of Germany, France, Poland, Spain, and Italy

European numbers are suitable for companies that:

• sell services in several countries;
• consult foreign clients;
• accept orders through the website;
• have organized a remote support service;
• want to use separate numbers for different markets;
• analyze advertising effectiveness by region.

It is necessary to consider that European countries may set different rules for registering numbers. For some city numbers, it is required to confirm the address or connection with the corresponding region.

One phone — several work numbers

To use a virtual number, it is not necessary to buy a second smartphone.

On one device, you can simultaneously have:

• a personal SIM card;
• a virtual Israeli number;
• a USA number;
• a European number;
• a common company number.

This is convenient for lawyers, realtors, consultants, marketers, online store owners, repair companies, travel agencies, and other specialists.

When an incoming call is received, the application shows which virtual number the client called. The employee understands which market or project the call relates to.

Number separation also allows for different greetings, work schedules, and forwarding rules.

How NANews editorial uses Zadarma

The NANews editorial uses the Zadarma service for virtual telephony. That is why we consider it not as an abstract advertising platform, but as a practical tool for people and companies working between several countries.

The service can be useful when it is necessary to:

• receive calls via the internet;
• separate the work number from the personal one;
• maintain availability during trips;
• connect a number from another country;
• direct calls to several employees;
• record and analyze work conversations;
• integrate calls with CRM.

At the same time, virtual telephony requires initial setup, and call quality depends on the internet connection. Before connecting, it is also important to check the cost of calls, documents, and SMS support for the selected number.

How to connect a Zadarma number

First, you need to register an account and choose a country. Then you should open the page of the desired type of number and carefully study the conditions.

You can register and view available directions via the NANews partner link:

https://zadarma.com/en/?ref=23b32c008f2740949f1ac024ef29097f

After registration, the usual order of actions is as follows:

1. Choose a country.
2. Choose a city, national, mobile, or toll-free number.
3. Check the connection fee and monthly service charge.
4. Clarify the cost of incoming and outgoing calls.
5. Check the possibility of receiving SMS.
6. Upload documents if necessary.
7. Connect the number.
8. Install the application.
9. Set up call reception.
10. If necessary, connect a cloud PBX and forwarding.

Do not choose a number solely based on a low price. Sometimes a cheaper option does not support SMS, requires confirmation of a local address, or has usage restrictions.

How to receive calls on a smartphone and computer

Zadarma allows you to receive calls in several ways.

Smartphone application

The application can be installed on Android or iPhone. After authorization, the virtual number works via Wi-Fi or mobile internet.

This is the simplest option for one user.

Computer program

Calls can be received on a computer with a headset. This option is suitable for consultants, support operators, and employees who spend most of their workday at the computer.

IP phone

In the office, you can install a familiar desktop device that connects not to a regular phone line, but to the internet.

Forwarding

If a person does not want to use the application or is temporarily without internet, calls can be forwarded to a regular mobile or landline number.

It is necessary to remember that forwarding itself may be charged as an outgoing call from the virtual number to the destination number.

Cloud PBX

For a team, it is better to use a cloud PBX. It allows you to distribute calls among employees and add business functions that are not available on a regular SIM card.

What is a cloud PBX

A cloud PBX is a virtual telephone system for a company. You do not need to buy and install a physical office station for it.

With a PBX, you can:

• connect several employees;
• assign internal numbers;
• set up a voice greeting;
• create a menu “press 1 to contact the sales department”;
• distribute calls in a queue;
• transfer the call to another employee;
• set working hours;
• enable voicemail;
• record conversations;
• view statistics;
• connect CRM.

Zadarma Cloud PBX supports call forwarding, call recording, call queue, call hold, and phone activity analysis.

This is especially useful for companies whose employees work from home, are in different cities, or even in different countries.

Call recording and statistics

Call recording helps restore agreements, control the quality of consultations, and resolve disputes.

In Zadarma, recordings can be listened to through the cloud PBX statistics section. They are stored in the cloud, and important conversations can be saved separately.

Before enabling recording, it is necessary to check the legislation of the country where the participants of the conversation are located. In some jurisdictions, the interlocutor must be notified in advance about the recording.

For this, you can add an automatic voice message before connecting to an employee.

Statistics allow you to see:

• the number of incoming and outgoing calls;
• missed calls;
• duration of conversations;
• waiting time;
• the employee who answered the call;
• the source of the inquiry when using call tracking.

Telephony integration with CRM

When integrated with CRM, an employee can see the client’s card during an incoming call, make calls with one click, and save the communication history.

Depending on the system used, the following are available:

• automatic opening of the client’s card;
• saving the date and duration of the call;
• attaching the call recording;
• creating a new contact;
• distributing clients among managers;
• employee performance statistics.

Zadarma offers integrations with various CRMs and services. For example, integration with Bitrix24 supports one-click calls, client card opening, call recordings, and full call statistics.

Is it possible to receive SMS

The ability to receive SMS depends on the country and the specific type of number.

Not all landline, national, and mobile numbers support SMS. In some cases, the function needs to be activated separately, identity confirmed, and the number paid for immediately for the established minimum period.

Zadarma’s official conditions provide for receiving messages through:

• Android app;
• iOS app;
• Windows program;
• email;
• personal account;
• some messengers;
• CRM and integrated services.

The tariff page separately states that SMS reception is available only for mobile numbers of certain countries. Activation may require connecting the number for at least three months and uploading identity documents. At the same time, the service does not guarantee receiving messages from foreign senders.

Therefore, before payment, it is necessary to open the conditions of the specific number and ensure that it indeed supports the required type of messages.

Is a virtual number suitable for WhatsApp and Telegram

This is one of the most common questions, but it is impossible to give a universal guarantee.

Some virtual numbers accept registration codes for WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, Telegram, and other platforms. However, the platforms themselves may restrict the use of VoIP numbers, change verification rules, or refuse to send codes to certain ranges.

Even having the SMS function does not mean that a message from a bank, government service, or messenger will necessarily arrive at the number.

Therefore, a virtual number is best chosen primarily for calls and business communication. The possibility of registration in a specific application should be considered as a separate function that needs to be checked before purchase.

Zadarma publishes instructions on using virtual numbers for WhatsApp Business but also indicates the need to choose a suitable number and provide the requested documents.

It cannot be promised to the reader that any Zadarma number will be guaranteed suitable for WhatsApp, Telegram, bank account, or two-factor authentication.

What documents may be required

A virtual number cannot be considered a completely anonymous tool.

Requirements are set by operators and the legislation of the country. Depending on the direction, they may request:

• passport;
• identity card;
• photo of the owner;
• proof of home address;
• company registration documents;
• office address;
• proof of connection with the chosen city or region;
• description of the intended use of the number.

For some numbers, it is enough to undergo a standard identity check. Others are available only to residents, companies, or people with an address in the corresponding country.

Before payment, it is important to carefully read the connection conditions. If the required document is missing, the number may not be activated.

How much does a virtual number cost

There is no single price. The cost depends on:

• country;
• city;
• type of number;
• mobile or landline range;
• SMS reception capability;
• payment term;
• chosen tariff plan;
• number of employees;
• additional functions.

Expenses may include:

• one-time connection fee;
• monthly or annual subscription fee;
• outgoing calls;
• call forwarding;
• incoming calls to 800 numbers;
• record storage;
• additional workstations;
• additional numbers.

On Zadarma’s official pages, prices are displayed separately for each country and type of number. Some numbers are connected without a one-time fee, but this does not mean that their further use will be completely free.

Before ordering, it is necessary to calculate not only the cost of the number itself but also the estimated number of calls.

Advantages of a virtual number

The main advantages include:

• no physical SIM card required;
• can connect a number from another country;
• calls are received from anywhere with the internet;
• one smartphone can service multiple numbers;
• personal and work communication are separated;
• the number does not depend on one device;
• multiple employees can be connected;
• call forwarding and voice menu are available;
• calls can be recorded and analyzed;
• integration with CRM is possible;
• the number is convenient to use during trips;
• the company can create a local communication channel for foreign clients.

Disadvantages and limitations

Virtual telephony is not suitable for everyone. The following should be considered:

• call quality depends on the internet;
• initial setup may seem unfamiliar;
• not all numbers support SMS;
• receiving bank and messenger codes is not guaranteed;
• additional documents are required for some countries;
• call forwarding may be charged separately;
• rates vary by destination;
• 800 numbers may have paid incoming calls;
• a virtual number does not replace regular mobile communication in emergency situations;
• a foreign number does not create a legal presence for the company;
• violation of service rules or legislation may lead to number disconnection.

Who is Zadarma suitable for

The service can be useful for:

• entrepreneurs;
• freelancers;
• lawyers;
• realtors;
• consultants;
• online store owners;
• repair and service companies;
• travel agencies;
• international projects;
• remote teams;
• support services;
• people living between several countries;
• companies that need separate numbers for different markets.

Zadarma may be excessive for a person who only needs one verification code or a temporary number for a few minutes. Permanent virtual telephony is usually not intended for such tasks.

What to check before connecting

Before paying for a number, you should answer a few questions:

1. Is a number needed for calls or also for SMS?
2. What country and city code is required?
3. Can a non-resident register the number?
4. What documents are required?
5. How much does the connection cost?
6. What is the monthly fee?
7. Are incoming calls charged?
8. How much do outgoing calls cost?
9. Is call forwarding charged?
10. Can multiple employees be connected?
11. Is call recording needed?
12. Is the used CRM supported?
13. Are there any restrictions for WhatsApp or Telegram?
14. What happens to the number if payment is late?

This approach will help avoid a situation where an inexpensive number turns out to be unsuitable for a specific task.

A virtual number is a tool, not a magic solution

A virtual number allows you to live in one country, work with clients in other countries, and receive calls over the internet without multiple physical SIM cards.

It can become a separate work number, a phone line for an international project, or the basis of a full-fledged cloud PBX with multiple employees, call recording, and CRM.

However, before connecting, it is necessary to carefully check the conditions of the chosen country, SMS support, document requirements, call forwarding costs, and the rules of third-party services.

The editorial team of NANovosti uses Zadarma and considers virtual telephony a convenient practical tool for international communication. However, the choice of a specific number should depend not on advertising, but on the user’s tasks.

You can view available countries, numbers, and connection conditions via the NANovosti partner link:

https://zadarma.com/en/?ref=23b32c008f2740949f1ac024ef29097f

This is a partner link. If the reader registers and starts using the service, the NANovosti editorial team may receive a reward. Clicking the link does not change the rates published on the Zadarma website for the user.

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From the outside, this can be taken as a beautiful Israeli tradition with a touch of a joke: a Muslim becomes the “owner of the country’s bread” for a week.

But in reality, this is not folklore, but a working halachic and legal mechanism, without which state institutions, large warehouses, departments, and private owners would find themselves in a much more complicated situation before Passover. That is why this ceremony is conducted not symbolically in a square, but through documents, powers, a deposit, and the formal transfer of rights.

Why does Israel sell chametz before Passover at all

The basic reason is simple, but not always obvious to an outside observer.

According to Jewish law, during Passover, it is forbidden not only to eat chametz but also to keep it in Jewish possession. Moreover, the problem does not disappear if you simply remove the products from sight: rabbinical practice’s specific clarifications directly indicate that chametz that was in Jewish possession during Passover is forbidden even after the holiday ends.

Hence the solution that Israel has brought to a state scale. Chametz is sold to a non-Jew before the prohibition begins, and after Passover, it is usually bought back. For individuals, this could be a home supply, bottles of whiskey, pasta, or flour. For the state, it’s a completely different level: departmental warehouses, supplies in supply systems, food, and other categories of leavened property that cannot simply be massively destroyed without absurdity and direct losses.

Why Hussein Jabar became the buyer again

The story of Hussein Jabar is a separate part of this Israeli construct.

Jabar, a native of Abu Ghosh and a long-time employee of the Ramada Jerusalem hotel, has been performing this role for decades; according to him, it all started in 1995 when the then-chief rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau asked him to take on the purchase of the state’s chametz. Since then, he has regularly become the figure through which the state conducts the Passover sale.

What exactly they sell and what is included in this deal

This is where the confusion usually begins.

They do not sell “Israel as a whole,” not ministerial buildings, and not land as such. They sell exactly chametz — that is, leavened products from five types of grain that fall under the Passover prohibition. Basic clarifications include bread, pastries, dry cereals, pasta, many types of alcohol, and other products made from fermented or leavened grain.

On a state scale, this means not just a box of cookies in some office.

The current official statement refers to the chametz of the state, ministries, government structures, and also the chametz of private individuals who have pre-authorized the rabbinate through the website. In earlier official statements from the Chief Rabbinate, specific objects such as state emergency reserves, police, and prison service were also listed. That is, we are talking about quite real food and warehouse remnants in large volumes.

And another important detail that is often overlooked. They sell not only the “contents of boxes” in the household sense. Classic forms of chametz sale provide that the entire chametz in specified storage locations is included in the deal, even small remnants that no one would buy separately, and to strengthen the legal force of the deal, the buyer is given rights to access the premises where this chametz is located. Traditional formulations refer to the transfer of keys and even temporary rental of the storage premises themselves, so the deal does not look like an empty declaration.

Hence the practical rule that the rabbinate repeats separately: the sold chametz must be placed in a closed and marked place until the end of Passover. This is necessary because after the sale, it should no longer be used by the former owner, even if it physically remains in the same kitchen, the same warehouse, or the same departmental premises.

Otherwise, the whole point of the procedure is blurred.

How the cost of this chametz is calculated and where the “billions” come from

In public retellings, they love the phrase about “chametz worth billions,” sometimes even tens and hundreds of billions. But within the procedure, the assessment is not arranged like a newspaper headline. Official statements from the rabbinate indicated that during the ceremony, the buyer makes a deposit — in recent years, it was about 20,000 shekels — and already after Passover, the cost of the state’s chametz is assessed by three appraisers.

Only after this can a final settlement theoretically be made.

So the figure “billions” is not a random metaphor, but also not always the final account to the last shekel right on the day of the ceremony. Halachic texts, on which the logic of the sale is built, separately explain that the benchmark is the fair market value. If necessary, it is clarified after measuring or weighing the goods.

In one of the classic examples of sale, it is directly stated that the price is actually understood as the value that could be obtained on the local market, and the mechanism itself is equivalent to an assessment by “three people.”

That is why this deal should not be just theater. In the same texts, the buyer is given the right to enter storage places, receive keys, and even resell chametz to other non-Jews during Passover if he wishes. In practice, this almost never happens in the dramatic form that the mass press loves, but the legal logic is important: the sale must be formalized as real, not as a joke, otherwise, it loses both religious and legal force.

This is the Israeli paradox, which from the outside looks almost like a national ritual surrealism. But NAnovosti — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency sees here not exoticism for the sake of a picture, but a point where an ancient prohibition, a modern state, digital services, and live Israeli bureaucracy unexpectedly work together — quite clearly, without unnecessary romance, and with a very specific practical meaning.

Where did this scheme come from and why hasn’t it disappeared

The roots of chametz sale are much older than the State of Israel.

One of the earliest mentions of such a practice is already found in the Tosefta: it describes a case with a Jew who went on a long journey and sold chametz to a non-Jew with the expectation that he could later buy back the remainder. Otherwise, after Passover, he risked being left without supplies.

On a small household level, this could still be solved simply — burn, throw away, eat in advance.

But as people acquired large stocks of grain, alcohol, flour, warehouse remnants, and commercial volumes, the complete destruction of goods began to mean serious economic damage. That is why the mechanism evolved: first as a private solution for merchants and stock owners, then as a standard procedure for communities, and in Israel — already as a formalized state practice.

Hence the answer to the main question that Israelis ask every year, especially those far from religious life: “Why not just throw it all away?” Because in reality, we are talking about a gigantic array of food and goods, partly state-owned, partly private, partly institutional.

The sale allows not to violate the Passover prohibition, not to destroy stocks unnecessarily, and not to turn holiday preparation into economic nonsense. That is why this strange-looking ceremony has such a stable status in Israel — and that is why it made the news again on March 31, 2026.

What is chametz, what exactly is included in it, and why is it treated so strictly on Passover

Chametz is not just “something flour-based,” but a very specific category according to Jewish law.

It refers to products from five types of grains — wheat, barley, rye, oats, and spelt — if they have come into contact with water and have fermented or started to leaven. In modern household examples, this is bread, rolls, cookies, grain-based alcohol (such as “Whiskey”), pasta, dry cereals, pizza, beer, and many other products that contain such grains or their derivatives.

Yes — ordinary vodka often falls into chametz, if it is made from grain: wheat, rye, barley, oats, or spelt. For Passover, this is considered a problem not because of the alcohol itself, but because of the raw material: if the alcohol is made from these grains, it is considered chametz.

But not all vodka is the same. Potato vodka is not chametz by itself, and vodka from corn or rice is not considered chametz, although for Ashkenazim, this may already touch on a separate custom regarding kitniyot. In any case, on Passover, such a bottle is taken only with a clear label Kosher for Passover, because additives, equipment, and the entire production process are also important.

Therefore, when in Israel they talk about selling chametz, it may not only be about a loaf of bread or a pack of spaghetti.

This category also includes larger stocks: flour from these grains, mixes, semi-finished products, warehouse remnants, grain-based alcohol, and industrial products where such components are present. It is important not to confuse chametz with kitniyot: rice, corn, legumes, lentils, and similar products are not considered chametz by themselves, although in Ashkenazi tradition many of them are also not eaten on Passover due to a separate custom, not because they are equated to chametz by the Torah.

In the Torah itself, the prohibition is directly and repeatedly prescribed. In the book of Exodus, it is said that before the holiday, leaven must be removed from homes, and during the seven days, chametz should not be in Jewish possession; it also says that chametz should not “be seen” and “be found” with you. In the book of Deuteronomy, the explanation of the meaning of matzah is added: it is the “bread of affliction,” eaten in memory of the hasty exodus from Egypt when the dough did not have time to rise.

This is where the answer to the question “why” comes from. On Passover, matzah becomes not just a permitted food, but a reminder of the Exodus and the fact that Jews left Egypt in haste. The prohibition of chametz is therefore connected not only with the kitchen but also with the memory of the event itself: Passover is arranged so that a person not only reads about liberation but literally experiences it through what is in their home and on their table.

Later halachic tradition has detailed what exactly to do with chametz before the holiday. Already the Mishnah in the tractate Pesachim begins the discussion with checking the house for chametz on the eve of the 14th of Nisan.

Then the Talmud develops these rules, Rambam in “Mishneh Torah” formulates the obligation to remove chametz before the prohibition moment, and the “Shulchan Aruch” establishes the practical order of checking and removing chametz from places where it can usually be found. So this is not only a biblical commandment but also a long, very specific legal tradition.

In practice, four main actions have grown out of this, familiar to religious and traditional Israel: chametz is searched for, removed, destroyed, or taken out of Jewish possession through sale to a non-Jew. That is why the state sale of chametz in Israel looks unusual only from the outside. Within Jewish legal logic, it is a continuation of an old norm: if chametz cannot be kept during Passover, it must either be destroyed or truly transferred to another owner.

A street in Kharkiv has been named after Sergeant of the Israel Defense Forces Alexei (Asher) Neikov, who saved dozens of children from death during a terrorist attack on a school bus. This was reported by Israeli journalist Shimon Briman in his article on the website “Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter”.

In September 1996, 17-year-old Alexei independently repatriated to Israel from Kharkiv. He was preparing to study at the Technion — dreaming of the department of astronautics and aerodynamics. But he decided to first serve in the IDF — the Israel Defense Forces.

On October 29, 1998, terrorists directed a car filled with explosives at two school buses carrying Jewish children near the settlement of Kfar Darom.

Israeli soldiers guarding the buses managed to turn their jeep across the road — and took the hit themselves. The children were unharmed, two soldiers were injured. One died. It was Sergeant Alexei (Asher) Neikov.

Sergeant of the Israel Defense Forces Alexei (Asher) Neikov — a hero, writes Shimon Briman, who saved dozens of children from death during an attack by Arab terrorists on a school bus, received the highest posthumous honor in his hometown: a street in Kharkiv — the second-largest metropolis in Ukraine, is named after him. This is the first case in world practice where a street in a city outside of Israel has been named after a fallen IDF soldier.

Kharkiv is located just 30 kilometers from the border with Russia and is subjected to daily rocket attacks from the aggressor country. The city, which had a population of one and a half million people before the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, has been defending itself not only on the front lines but also in the sphere of culture and ideology for the third year.

The toponymic commission of the Kharkiv municipal council recently decided to rename 367 street names, alleys, and squares associated with Russia and the USSR. Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov signed this decision, and it came into effect on May 1, 2024.

Among the new street names are the names of 35 fallen defenders of Ukraine who were born in Kharkiv or defended the city; 13 of them were awarded the highest title of Hero of Ukraine.

In addition to the fallen Ukrainian soldiers and officers, the name of one Kharkiv native — Alexei Neikov, an IDF sergeant who died defending Israeli children in 1998, is now eternally glorified on the streets of Kharkiv.

Against the backdrop of anti-Semitic demonstrations and anti-Israel unrest on university campuses in the USA and cities in Western Europe, such a clearly pro-Israel step by the municipal council and mayor of Ukrainian Kharkiv deserves special respect.

As part of the implementation of the Law of Ukraine “On the Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy and Decolonization of Toponymy,” 510 street names and other toponymic objects have been renamed in Kharkiv since the beginning of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

History laughed at Putin: the president of Russia attacked Ukraine using the beacon ideas of “protecting and spreading the Russian World,” but in reality, Putin led to a colossal reduction in the zone of influence of Russian culture and the Russian language.

In Kharkiv, which was previously considered the most Russian-speaking city in Ukraine, almost all names associated with Russia and the USSR, with Russian and Soviet culture, were erased from the map from 2022 to 2024. More and more residents of Kharkiv are demonstratively switching to the Ukrainian language, unwilling to speak the language of the occupiers.

“The author of these lines, writes Shimon Briman, has been following these renamings for almost two years. As a historian and author of the article “Kharkiv” in the Jewish Encyclopedia, in the summer of 2022, I prepared a list of 25 outstanding Jews in the history of Kharkiv at the request of the Jewish community. This list was submitted to the municipal council as options for renaming streets. One of the main names on this list was Alexei Neikov.

The name Neikov was supported by municipal council deputy Irina Goncharova-Bagalei and the chief rabbi of Kharkiv, Moishe Moskovich. Letters in support of this initiative were written by the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, public organizations “Israeli Friends of Ukraine” and “Orthodox Union Israel.”

Today I can proudly say that three personalities from this list of outstanding Jews have become streets in Kharkiv, where my childhood and youth passed.”

In addition to the name of Alexei Neikov, the names of architects Viktor Estrovich and Alexander Ginzburg, whose masterpieces still adorn Kharkiv, were also approved in the renaming list, despite being endangered by Russian missile and Iranian “shahid” attacks.

Viktor Estrovich was shot by the Nazis in December 1941 in Drobitsky Yar. Putin’s occupiers continued the tragedy of the Holocaust at this place in March 2022, shelling the memorial complex in Drobitsky Yar, where almost 15,000 Jews of Kharkiv, killed by Nazi occupiers, lie in two mass graves.

The outstanding urban planner Alexander Ginzburg led the Jewish community of the city after the liberation of Kharkiv from the Nazis in 1944-1945, under pressure from Stalin’s punitive organs.

The irony of today, writes Shimon Briman, is that some Jewish or quasi-Jewish names were removed from the map of Kharkiv in the spring of 2024 during the liquidation of Russia’s legacy. Thus, four (!) Birobidzhan passages, named after the “Jewish Autonomous Region” of the Russian Federation, were renamed.

The street of Isaac Dunaevsky, a Soviet composer-Jew of the 1920s-1950s, was also renamed. Kharkiv did not forgive Dunaevsky, who studied and began his career in this city, for such pro-communist songs as “My Moscow,” “My Wide Native Land,” “Oh, It’s Good to Live in the Soviet Country,” “Song of Stalin,” “Song of Kakhovka.” Especially in wartime, when this Moscow tries to expand its possessions by barbaric methods at the expense of a neighboring country, and Kakhovka was captured by Russian occupiers who blew up the Kakhovka Reservoir in southern Ukraine.

But, writes Shimon Briman, let’s return to the fate of the Kharkiv Jewish youth Alexei Neikov, which connected Ukraine and Israel.

He studied for several years at Jewish school No. 170 under the leadership of Grigory Shoikhet, then graduated from the senior classes of the religious-Zionist lyceum “Sha’alvim,” which at that time had the highest percentage of graduates repatriating to Israel in the world.

Now, after the renaming of the former Gastello Street, Jewish secondary school No. 170, which has a room in memory of Alexei Neikov, will be located on a street named after its student Neikov.

In September 1996, 17-year-old Alexei arrived in Israel without his parents. He was preparing to study at the Technion — dreaming of the field of astronautics and aerodynamics. But he decided to first serve in the IDF — the Israel Defense Forces.

On the tragic day of October 29 (9th of Heshvan) 1998, at 07:30 am, Arab terrorists directed a car filled with explosives at two school buses carrying 48 Jewish children near the settlement of Kfar Darom in Gush Katif.

Israeli soldiers guarding the buses managed to turn their jeep across the road — and took the hit themselves. The children were unharmed, two soldiers were injured. One died. It was Sergeant Alexei (Asher) Neikov — forever a 19-year-old new repatriate from Kharkiv.

The evening before, Asher called home.

“Tomorrow I have my first combat mission: to escort a bus with children. I’ll be in the first jeep.” “Why necessarily in the first?” — his mother worried. “Because in the first. I decided so.”

Thanks to his feat, in the children he saved, who have grown over 25 years, more than 120 of their own children — young Israelis — were born. So, Asher Neikov preserved lives for them too. Some of them named their children in his honor with the names Asher and Ashrat. They still maintain contact with the soldier’s parents — Klara and Semen Neikov, who live in Haifa.

In memory of Neikov, a Torah scroll was written for the synagogue in the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom, which was destroyed in 2005 by order of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during the so-called “disengagement from the Gaza Strip.” The Jewish settlements destroyed then later became bases for Hamas terrorists, against whom Israel is now waging a heavy war.

The children he saved and who grew up created a touching video clip “Children of the Ninth of Heshvan” in memory of Sergeant Neikov in 2014.

In 2022, Neikov’s parents were presented with a portrait of Alexei, assembled from hundreds of photographs of the saved children, their families, and the children born to them.

“Naming a street after our student Asher Neikov is a huge achievement! At first, I couldn’t believe that in the conditions of war, Kharkiv remembers a person born in the city who became a true hero of Israel. Therefore, I perceive this decision of the municipal council and Mayor Igor Terekhov as a historic event and as an important stage in the context of Ukraine-Israel relations,”

– Israeli rabbi and lawyer Shlomo Asraf, who was the founder and spiritual leader of the “Orthodox Union” Center in Kharkiv and the religious-Zionist lyceum “Sha’alvim” from 1993-2009, told me, writes Shimon Briman.

Kharkiv resident Irina Sherstobitova, Asher Neikov’s English teacher at the “Sha’alvim” lyceum, noted:

“Every year we tell our students about his feat. The lyceum has a memorial board about Asher’s amazing act. A bright and righteous guy, polite and erudite, he spoke French, English, Russian, Ukrainian, and Hebrew, brave and physically fit, with an incredibly attractive smile. We must believe in the bright future that such brave guys as he give us.”

Klara Neikov, Alexei’s mother, received the news from Kharkiv with great gratitude.

“I just have no words. Thank you very much to everyone who supported this initiative. My husband and I would be happy to visit Kharkiv and unveil a memorial plaque on the street named after our son. If only the situation around the city improved, and if the war ended,” — Klara Neikov told me, writes Shimon Briman, in a phone conversation.

In the Israeli organization “Yad Le-Banim”, which coordinates work on commemorating fallen IDF soldiers, in response to my request, writes Shimon Briman, they replied that they are not aware of other cases of naming streets in cities outside of Israel after fallen Israeli soldiers, and that, likely, the decision of the Kharkiv authorities is the first example of this kind in the world.

The Kharkiv street in honor of Alexei Neikov will become another bridge of friendship and interpersonal connections, linking Ukraine and Israel — two countries fighting for the freedom, independence, and physical survival of their citizens.

This bridge works both ways. In the same days when the Kharkiv municipal authorities were deciding on renaming streets, the Kharkiv National University named after Vasyl Karazin was selecting the first laureate of the Mark Azbel Prize in theoretical physics.

We wrote about this — “The Prize of Israeli Scientist and Dissident Mark Azbel Will Help His Alma Mater in Kharkiv, Ukraine”.

This prize was established in the spring of 2024 in memory of the outstanding physicist — Professor of Tel Aviv University Mark Azbel, who began his scientific career at Kharkiv University.

Irina Kolodna from the Israeli city of Ramat HaSharon, the widow of the scientist, allocated $25,000 for five years to support young researchers at Kharkiv National University. The first laureate of the Azbel Prize became 39-year-old Dr. Zakhar Maizelis, a professor of the Department of Theoretical Physics; his award ceremony will take place on May 16, 2024, in honor of Israel’s Independence Day.

In all this, I, writes Shimon Briman, see great symbolism — and timeliness. Precisely now, when Ukraine and Israel are repelling attacks from the global axis of evil.

It was from Kharkiv that the BILU ensemble (1882) came — Jewish students of the University who were the first in the world to begin reviving the Land of Israel with their labor. It was the Kharkiv Zionist Conference (1903) that in an ultimatum demanded the creation of a Jewish state only on the ancient Land of Israel, rejecting the “Uganda Plan.”

It was the Kharkiv industrial giant “Turboatom” that refused in 1997 — at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Industry and Trade Natan Sharansky — to supply turbines for a nuclear reactor in Iran, which delayed the Iranian nuclear program for many years.

It was in Kharkiv in 2024 that for the first time in the world a street was named after a soldier of the Israel Defense Forces.

And it is precisely to Kharkiv National University that an award named after an Israeli scientist-physicist — a student of Academicians Landau and Lifshitz — comes from Israel.

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Screening dates for the documentary film “Kuzma: Terribly Funny” in Israel 🇮🇱 — Tickets are available for the screenings — in Tel Aviv and Haifa on Showman.

📍 August 30 (Sunday) — Tel Aviv
9 Paamonit Street — Ennis Auditorium
Running time — 2 hours 13 minutes
Language — Ukrainian, with English subtitles
Doors open — 7:00 PM
Screening begins — 7:30 PM
At 9:45 PM — online Q&A with the film team

📍 September 3 (Thursday) — Haifa
HOT CINEMA, Hall 5, Grand Canyon
54 Derech Simha Golan
Running time — 2 hours 13 minutes
Language — Ukrainian, with English subtitles
Doors open — 6:45 PM
Screening begins — 7:00 PM

The film’s screenings are announced in more than 30 countries worldwide. Israel is also included in the international program, but the exact cities, cinemas, and screening dates have not yet been named. The Israeli partner of the project is the company Created in Ukraine, which is involved in showcasing Ukrainian cinema in Israel.

For those who listened to Kuzma Skryabin’s songs in their youth, the film may be a meeting with the artist whose music remained part of their personal history. For viewers who previously knew almost nothing about him, it is an opportunity to discover one of Ukraine’s most recognizable and unusual artists of recent decades.

Who is Kuzma Skryabin

Kuzma Skryabin is the stage name of Andriy Kuzmenko. He was born on August 17, 1968, and became known as the leader of the band “Skryabin,” which emerged in the late 1980s.

The group started with experimental electronic music, synth-pop, and underground sounds, later becoming one of Ukraine’s most popular musical projects. Skryabin’s songs were played on radio, television, concerts, and festivals, and Kuzma himself gradually became not only a musician but also a notable public figure.

He was known as a person with sharp humor, strong self-irony, and the ability to talk about complex things without pathos. In his songs and interviews, Kuzma reflected on love, loneliness, growing up, war, politics, human weaknesses, and everyday life.

For many listeners, he was not just a performer of popular songs. Andriy Kuzmenko was perceived as a person who spoke with his own voice and did not try to fit into a convenient image.

The musician died on February 2, 2015 in a car accident. He was 46 years old. After his death, his songs, interviews, and recordings continued to live on, and interest in Kuzma’s personality only increased over time.

A film in which Kuzma tells his own story

The documentary drama “Kuzma: Scarily Cheerful” is built not only on the memories of the musician’s friends, relatives, and colleagues.

The main narrator of his own story effectively becomes Andriy Kuzmenko himself. Viewers will see his interviews, home videos, concert recordings, television appearances, travels, interactions with loved ones, and fragments of ordinary life.

The team at KNIFE! Films found and processed over 400 hours of video and audio materials, as well as more than 22,000 photographs. The authors collected materials from family archives, private collections, television archives, and people who knew Kuzma or worked with him.

This approach allows not just another retelling of the musician’s biography, but to see the living Andriy Kuzmenko again — during work, travels, rehearsals, conversations, and performances.

A special place in the film is occupied by recordings from the 1990s — the period of the formation of the band “Skryabin.” The wider audience is much more familiar with the later Kuzma: a popular singer, TV presenter, and author of sharp public statements. However, the early history of the group, its musical experiments, and first steps to fame remain little known to many viewers.

The creators of the film do not try to present Kuzma exclusively as an impeccable hero or turn the film into an official monument. At the center of the story should be a living person — cheerful, sharp, vulnerable, contradictory, and sincere.

The Ukrainian premiere of the film is scheduled for August 13, 2026, four days before Andriy Kuzmenko’s birthday. In 2026, he would have turned 58 years old.

International screenings and Israel

Organizers have announced that the film “Kuzma: Scarily Cheerful” will be shown in more than 30 countries worldwide. However, the published list actually includes 37 countries.

The list includes the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Hungary, Austria, Ireland, Iceland, Moldova, Albania, Norway, Croatia, Portugal, Cyprus, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Denmark, Israel, Turkey, Estonia, Australia, New Zealand, France, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Kenya, South Korea, and Japan.

Such a scale of international distribution shows that the film is aimed not only at a Ukrainian audience. The film may be of interest to viewers who want to better understand Ukrainian culture of the late 20th and early 21st centuries through the story of one of its most recognizable representatives.

For the Israeli audience, this is especially important, as there are many people in Israel who remember Skryabin’s songs from their youth. At the same time, the film can interest those who were not previously familiar with Andriy Kuzmenko’s work.

NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency is monitoring the release of information about Israeli screenings. So far, it is only confirmed that Israel is included in the film’s international program.

Who organizes the screenings in Israel

The Israeli partner of the project is named as the company Created in Ukraine.

This is an Israeli production and distribution company that brings Ukrainian films to theaters, cinematheques, and cultural centers in the country.

Previously, the company organized screenings in Israel of films such as “Mavka,” “Pamfir,” “Dovbush,” “20 Days in Mariupol,” “I, ‘Pobeda’ and Berlin,” and other projects. It also held Ukrainian Film Days in the cinematheques of Jerusalem and Holon and collaborated with the Ukrainian Cultural Center at the Embassy of Ukraine in Israel.

Organizers have not yet announced:

• in which cities in Israel the film will be shown;
• which cinemas and cultural venues will participate;
• when ticket sales will begin;
• how much tickets will cost;
• in which language subtitles will be available;
• whether there will be special premiere screenings;
• whether representatives of the film crew will come to Israel.

It is possible that the film will appear in several Israeli cities at once, as Created in Ukraine collaborates with cinema networks, cinematheques, and cultural venues in the country.

However, until the official announcement, it is premature to name Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Ashdod, or other cities.

Why this film could be an event

“Kuzma: Scarily Cheerful” is not just a biography of a famous musician. Through the fate of Andriy Kuzmenko, the film tells about the changes that occurred in Ukrainian music, culture, and society over several decades.

Viewers will be able to see the journey from the first musical experiments and underground recordings to immense popularity, television, concerts, and the status of an artist whose words continued to be discussed even years after his death.

For those who listened to Kuzma Skryabin’s songs in their youth, the film will be a meeting with a person whose music remained part of their personal history.

For all those who care, it is an opportunity to see the living Andriy Kuzmenko again, learn about his journey, and discover one of the brightest artists of recent decades.

Exact dates, cities, and screening schedules for the film “Kuzma: Scarily Cheerful” in Israel will be published after the official announcement by the organizers.

When and where

The Israeli partner of the project is named as the company Created in Ukraine – so stay tuned for updates.

Screening dates for the documentary film “Kuzma: Terribly Funny” in Israel 🇮🇱 — Tickets are available for the screenings

— in Tel Aviv and Haifa on Showman.

📍 August 30 (Sunday) — Tel Aviv
9 Paamonit Street — Ennis Auditorium
Running time — 2 hours 13 minutes
Language — Ukrainian, with English subtitles
Doors open — 7:00 PM
Screening begins — 7:30 PM
At 9:45 PM — online Q&A with the film team

📍 September 3 (Thursday) — Haifa
HOT CINEMA, Hall 5, Grand Canyon
54 Derech Simha Golan
Running time — 2 hours 13 minutes
Language — Ukrainian, with English subtitles
Doors open — 6:45 PM
Screening begins — 7:00 PM

Not staff maps.
Not briefings.

People who suddenly began to do more than expected of them.

Here is the entire series – “Bridges of Hope” 9 episodes:

“The large-scale documentary project of Channel 9 «Bridges of Hope». This is not a chronicle of military actions. It is a chronicle of the human spirit. Since October 7, 2023, the life of Israel has changed forever. In this 9-episode series, we will embark on a journey across the country — from the shelled North to the wounded South. We will show the stories of doctors, volunteers, soldiers, and civilians who, in the moment of greatest tragedy, found the strength not just to survive, but to become a support for each other.”

By the finale, in the 9-1 episode titled “This is Why Israel Always Wins” | Bridges of Hope – final episode, the author leads the viewer to those who already had experience in civil mobilization:

“In the final episode, we will tell the stories of people and organizations from different parts of Israeli society. Left and right, residents of the noisy center and distant periphery, who in the country’s difficult hour left all disputes behind and began to help their country, showing its most beautiful sides.

📌 Heroes of the episode:

Professor Albert Penkhasov, rector of Ariel University, directed all efforts to help students and their families. Lecturers conducted Zoom lectures for reservist students who were in Gaza.

Representatives of the movement «Brothers in Arms» turned the protest infrastructure into a large-scale volunteer headquarters engaged in evacuation, logistics, and assistance to the residents of the south.

Elena Mrost and Rabbi Eli Talberg created a support center for the families of the deceased in Karmiel, helping them cope with loss and not be left alone with their pain.

Anna Zharova and the organization «Israeli Friends of Ukraine» coordinated the evacuation of Sderot residents, food delivery, and support for soldiers.

Nine episodes ago, we set out to find the answer to the main question: what holds us together despite all trials and disagreements?

We sincerely hope that through the pain you were able to see the main thing — our resilience, our love, and hope”.

Thus, in the frame appear Israeli Friends of Ukraine and their co-founder Anna Zharova.

Experience brought from another catastrophe

Before the Israeli war, this team worked for many years with the Ukrainian direction. Initially, helping those affected after 2014. Then — large-scale support programs after 2022: humanitarian cargo, escorting the wounded, finding housing, coordination between donors and volunteers.

This was not a spontaneous initiative.

This was a well-established system.

On October 7, it became clear that such systems were needed within the country.

Phones, lists, drivers, understanding how to act when official structures are overloaded. Not theory. Practice.

In the film, this is stated calmly, without pathos: people already had the skill of working in chaos. Therefore, they could start immediately.

Where the finale is filmed and why there

Haifa as a working point, not a decoration

The interview was recorded at a volunteer center for helping Ukrainian refugees in Haifa. The logic of the choice is clear. It was here that a network accustomed to round-the-clock workload was formed over the years.

There was no need to invent a structure.

It existed.

Later, Zharova will formulate the meaning of the filming as follows:

«For us, this is more than an interview. It is a conversation about choice, responsibility, and humanity».

The phrase is short. But in it — the entire explanation of why this line became part of the final episode.

Those who are off-screen

Television is limited by time. However, Zharova emphasizes the names of those who worked nearby: Ella Storm, Vyacheslav Feldman, Sashenka Zhuravel.

Her position is straightforward:

«These are the people without whom this story would not have been heard».

For documentarians, this is an important emphasis. The project is built on the recognition of invisible work — logistics, phones, distribution, family support.

Without this, nothing works.

What the organization did in the first weeks of the war

Cars, routes, families

From the first hours, it became clear: a huge number of people needed to be evacuated, accommodated, fed. Often it was about the elderly, new immigrants, those who were not oriented in the system.

«Israeli Friends of Ukraine» already had databases of drivers and volunteers.

The mechanism started automatically.

Flights to the south were formed. Apartments and houses were sought in the north and center. Temporary shelters appeared. People were distributed literally by hand, through acquaintances, social networks, personal calls.

Zharova emphasizes:

«Our main task was to help those who were not visible and not heard».

This is the key characteristic of all work — the focus on those who are easily lost between reports and numbers.

Food for soldiers and human contact

When restaurants began cooking for army units, delivery was needed. Volunteers took on the routing. Cars went to bases daily.

The work looked routine.

But it was in this routine that resilience lay.

The story about ice cream

One of the episodes that came into discussion after the release of the series was Ukrainian ice cream. It was brought along with other products. Soldiers waited for it.

If the boxes arrived without it, they asked.

This is not a joke. This is an indicator of how important simple signs of normal life are to people. Sweet, familiar, human.

This is how morale works.

It is such details that the director leaves in the finale — they speak louder than analytics.

Why this line is important for understanding the whole picture

By the time the viewer reaches the last episode, they have already seen doctors, reservists, rabbis, volunteers in different parts of the country. The question arises: what do they have in common?

The answer gradually forms — the willingness to take responsibility without waiting for orders.

Zharova’s story fits perfectly into this formula. A community accustomed to helping outside of Israel, in a critical moment, turns its efforts inward.

Humanitarian competence has no national borders. It simply changes the direction of application.

And at this point in the narrative, the conclusion naturally sounds, which was previously formulated by the editorial office of NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency: society survives thanks to horizontal connections faster than any bureaucracy.

Gratitude and memory fixation

Zharova separately thanks KAMANDA Productions Ltd for the opportunity to tell this story. For the participants, it is important not only to do the work but also to preserve it in public memory.

Otherwise, in a few years, only dry formulations will remain.

And the main thing will disappear — the feeling of a shoulder nearby.

What remains after the credits

The finale does not offer simple recipes for the future. It records the fact: in the most difficult weeks, thousands of people in Israel acted as if there was no other way.

Someone opened their home.
Someone got behind the wheel.
Someone took on someone else’s pain as their task.

The line of «Israeli Friends of Ukraine» shows that solidarity can be a learned skill. It can be developed. It can be activated.

And when it is activated, the country has a chance to go through a catastrophe without losing itself.

That is why this story stands at the end.

It is not about the past. It is about the mechanism of survival.

…

…

…

On July 15, 2026, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar ordered the creation of a special task force to prepare for events related to the supposed two-thousandth anniversary of the Baptism of Jesus Christ.

The group was headed by Ambassador George Deek, Israel’s special envoy for relations with the Christian world. In a statement from the Foreign Ministry, the event was described as having deep spiritual significance for more than two billion Christians. Israel expects that millions of pilgrims may arrive in the region.

At first glance, a logical question arises: why is the Foreign Ministry of the Jewish state involved in preparing for a Christian jubilee?

The answer is that Israel did not set the date, did not establish a religious holiday, and does not plan to conduct church rituals. The task of the Foreign Ministry is diplomatic contacts with churches, Christian organizations, religious leaders, and foreign governments, as well as coordination with other Israeli agencies ahead of the possible mass arrival of foreign citizens.

Israel joined an already existing project

The wording that the Israeli Foreign Ministry “began preparations for the celebration” creates the impression that it was Jerusalem that declared 2030 a jubilee year.

In reality, Israel joined an initiative that Jordan began promoting much earlier.

Jordanian shore and UNESCO site

The main center of future events, Jordan considers the place “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” — Al-Maghtas, located on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, nine kilometers north of the Dead Sea.

The archaeological area includes two main zones:

• Tell al-Kharrar, also known as Jabal Mar Elias, or the hill of the prophet Elijah;
• the area of the churches of John the Baptist near the river.

On the territory, remains of Roman and Byzantine churches, chapels, a monastery, hermit caves, water collection systems, and ancient baptismal pools have been discovered. In 2015, the site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Most Christian denominations recognize this area as the probable site of Jesus’ Baptism by John the Baptist.

On the opposite, western bank of the Jordan is Qasr al-Yahud, located in the Jericho area on the West Bank and under Israeli administration.

The Jordan at this point is quite narrow: pilgrims on both banks essentially look at each other. But each bank promotes its own version of pilgrimage infrastructure and its own access to the Baptism site.

This is where religious history simultaneously turns into a matter of tourism, diplomacy, transportation, security, and international influence.

And Yardenit?

Yardenit is another well-known baptismal complex in the waters of the Jordan, located in northern Israel, near Kibbutz Kinneret, where the river flows out of Lake Kinneret and heads south.

It appeared in 1981 as a safe and convenient alternative to Qasr al-Yahud. After the Six-Day War of 1967, the traditional Baptism site of Jesus near Jericho ended up in a closed border zone: surrounded by minefields, military barriers, and free access for pilgrims was practically impossible.

In Yardenit, stairs and platforms for descending to the water, changing rooms, showers, places for worship, and group baptisms were equipped. Thanks to this, the complex quickly became popular among Christian pilgrims from around the world.

However, Yardenit is not considered a historical site of the Baptism of Jesus Christ. The evangelical event is traditionally associated with Qasr al-Yahud on the Israeli bank and Bethany Beyond the Jordan on the Jordanian side. Yardenit is a modern pilgrimage center that arose due to the long-term lack of safe access to the traditional site.

A $100 million project appeared back in 2022

On December 13, 2022, it became known that Jordan is launching a master plan worth about $100 million, aimed at attracting approximately one million Christian pilgrims in 2030.

The project was not presented by the Vatican or an ecumenical council, but by a non-profit foundation created with the participation of the Jordanian state to develop the “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” area.

The chairman of the foundation, businessman and former Jordanian Minister of Labor Samir Murad, explained that the area should retain its spiritual and natural character. The developers abandoned the idea of building luxurious five-star hotels and chose the concept of a “biblical village,” which should remind pilgrims of life two thousand years ago.

The first phase of the project was estimated at approximately $15 million. The second — up to $85 million.

The plan included creating comfortable tent accommodations, affordable lodging for pilgrims, establishments with local organic food, a three-star hotel, restaurants, a shopping area, a museum, a wellness center, botanical gardens, and a nature reserve on the bird migration route.

Electrical cables and communication lines were planned to be buried underground so that modern infrastructure would not disrupt the visual atmosphere of the historical site.

Nine religious organizations received the right to create their own facilities for receiving pilgrims. Among them was the World Baptist Alliance, cooperating with the Jordanian Baptist Convention.

At a dinner dedicated to the launch of the project, about 250 guests were present, including King Abdullah II of Jordan, his two sons, and the country’s prime minister. The Secretary-General of the World Baptist Alliance, Elijah Brown, stated that both phases should be completed by 2029 so that the area is ready for the 2030 events.

Thus, the first public presentation of the 2030 date was primarily associated with a specific Jordanian investment and pilgrimage project.

How a tourist date turned into a religious initiative

The next stage began in January 2025.

At the beginning of the month, a new Catholic Church of the Baptism of Jesus was consecrated on the Jordanian side of the Jordan. The ceremony was attended by the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who arrived as a special representative of Pope Francis, and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

The construction of the church took about 15 years. The first stone was previously blessed by Pope Benedict XVI in the presence of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania.

On January 28, 2025, Father Rifat Bader, director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan, stated in an interview with Vatican News that Jordan is beginning a five-year preparation for its “Great Jubilee.”

He explicitly said that in 2030, Jordan intends to celebrate 2000 years since the Baptism of Jesus. However, this was a statement from a representative of the Latin Patriarchate in Jordan, published by Vatican News, not a papal bull or an official act of the Holy See establishing a worldwide jubilee year.

In other words, the presence of high-ranking Vatican representatives gave the project significant ecclesiastical weight, but in itself did not turn 2030 into a mandatory jubilee for the entire Christian world.

Pizzaballa linked 2030 and 2033

On December 17, 2025, in Amman, at the Al-Husseiniya Palace, King Abdullah II met with Christian and Muslim religious leaders of Jerusalem and Jordan.

At this meeting, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa stated:

• 2030 should mark 2000 years since the Baptism of Christ;
• 2033 should mark 2000 years since the Resurrection.

Pizzaballa added that representatives of churches from around the world should come to Jordan, primarily to “Bethany Beyond the Jordan.”

Here, the overall structure of the project became visible: the period from 2030 to 2033 should be presented as a symbolic path from the Baptism and the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry to the crucifixion and Resurrection.

But even this statement was not a decision of all Christian churches. It was support for the Jordanian program from one of the most influential Catholic hierarchs of the Holy Land.

Official state support appeared on May 18, 2026

On May 18, 2026, King Abdullah II visited the Baptism site at “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” and opened the International Orthodox University Baptism Site International Orthodox University — BIO University.

This is a non-profit educational institution created by the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate. The university is designed to accommodate 40 students, provides for the possibility of distance learning, and was supposed to start accepting students in September 2026.

During the event, the king instructed the Jordanian government to adopt and support the Baptism 2030 initiative.

And here is the precise answer to the question of who officially put forward the current initiative: it was proposed by the Council of Church Leaders of Jordan.

The chairman of the Council, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Christoforos Atallah, thanked the king for his support and stated the need to develop programs and strategic plans jointly with churches.

Cardinal Pizzaballa called 2030 not just a historical date, but an opportunity to strengthen unity, mutual understanding, and harmony.

The Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem and Primate of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East Hosam Naoum stated that the preparation should include infrastructure development, service improvement, staff training, and work with churches and Christian organizations worldwide.

The state plan of Jordan covers religious events, the development of pilgrimage routes, the promotion of “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” and other Christian sites, infrastructure renewal, and the creation of services for foreign visitors.

NANews — Israel News compared the dates: the Israeli task force appeared almost four years after the first public presentation of the Jordanian project and two months after King Abdullah II’s official directive.

What Israel was preparing on its shore

Israel was not just observing Jordan’s actions.

On February 10, 2026, after extensive reconstruction, the Qasr al-Yahud complex on the western bank of the Jordan River reopened.

The cost of the work amounted to 25 million shekels, or approximately 8.1 million dollars at the exchange rate at the time of opening. Funding was provided by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and the Civil Administration, and the work was carried out by the State Tourism Company.

The project included:

• road and parking repairs;
• landscaping;
• construction of a prayer pergola;
• a large air-conditioned sanitary facility;
• hot showers and changing cabins;
• a wide wooden deck for safe access to the water.

There were also plans to create an air-conditioned hall for prayers and events in any weather and separate water access for people with disabilities.

Qasr al-Yahud is called the third most important Christian site in Israel and the West Bank after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Thus, by the time of the Foreign Ministry’s decision, infrastructure preparation on the Israeli side was already in full swing.

Why George Deek headed the task force

On April 23, 2026, Gideon Sa’ar appointed George Deek as Israel’s first special envoy for relations with the Christian world.

Deek is an Arab-Christian from Jaffa, a career diplomat, and a former Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan. He became the first Christian to head an Israeli embassy. His father, Yousef Deek, led the Orthodox Christian community of Jaffa and Israel.

The appointment came amid a serious deterioration in Israel’s relations with some Christian leaders.

During military restrictions, the police did not allow Cardinal Pizzaballa and other high-ranking clergy to attend the Palm Sunday service at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After international reaction, the authorities reversed the decision, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that the patriarch be granted access.

Additionally, in April 2026, an IDF soldier was filmed smashing a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in the Christian village of Debel in southern Lebanon. The soldier and the colleague filming the incident were removed from combat duties and punished after an investigation. Catholic leaders of the Holy Land called the incident a grave insult to the Christian faith.

There were also reports of attacks by radical settlers on Christian communities in the West Bank and increasing cases of insults, spitting, and attacks on Christians in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Therefore, preparation for 2030 has not only tourist but also diplomatic significance for Israel. It is an opportunity to restore relations with Christian churches and demonstrate that the state guarantees freedom of religion and access to holy sites.

Who actually “declared” 2030

Based on the documents found, the following chain can be reconstructed.

On December 13, 2022, a Jordanian state-affiliated foundation publicly presented a $100 million project and named 2030 as the time to celebrate the two-thousandth anniversary of the Baptism.

In January 2025, representatives of the Catholic Church in Jordan announced the start of a five-year preparation for the “Great Jubilee.”

On December 17, 2025, Cardinal Pizzaballa publicly linked 2030 with the Baptism and 2033 with the Resurrection.

On May 18, 2026, King Abdullah II instructed the Jordanian government to support the Baptism 2030 initiative proposed by the Council of Church Leaders of Jordan.

On July 15, 2026, the Israeli Foreign Ministry joined the already existing project.

However, no single document was found by which the Pope, the Ecumenical Patriarch, the World Council of Churches, or any other body representing all of Christianity officially declared 2030 as the worldwide year of the two-thousandth anniversary of Christ’s Baptism.

Therefore, it is more accurate to speak not of a jubilee recognized by the entire Christian world, but of a Jordanian church-state initiative, supported by a number of influential Christian leaders and later picked up by Israel.

Why the date 2030 itself raises questions

The Gospels do not specify the exact calendar year of Jesus’ Baptism.

The main chronological reference is found in the Gospel of Luke. The beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry is attributed to the fifteenth year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Jesus’ Baptism occurred shortly after John’s ministry began.

The problem lies in how exactly to count the years of Tiberius’ reign.

His independent reign is usually counted from the death of Emperor Augustus in 14 AD. By this calculation, the fifteenth year of Tiberius falls between the second half of 28 and 29 AD.

A study by Andrew Steinmann, published in the Tyndale Bulletin in 2022, compares Roman, Jewish, and early Christian written sources, coins, and inscriptions. The author concludes that contemporaries counted Tiberius’ reign from 14 AD, and Jesus’ Baptism most likely occurred in 29 AD.

In scientific and theological literature, there are other calculations that date the beginning of the ministry to 28 AD or, when counting Tiberius’ co-regency with Augustus, to an even earlier period. But there is no exact historical basis specifically for the year 30.

If the Baptism occurred in 29 AD, the two-thousandth anniversary falls in 2029. To get 2030, one must assume a conditional date of Baptism in 30 AD.

Therefore, 2030 is not a proven historical date, but a convenient symbolic marker.

It allows for a clear four-year concept:

2030 — Baptism and the beginning of ministry;
2033 — crucifixion and Resurrection.

For an international pilgrimage campaign, such a scheme is convenient. For strict historical chronology, it remains controversial.

Conclusion

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indeed begun preparations for the events of 2030, but Israel did not invent this anniversary.

The date appeared in the public domain no later than December 2022 as part of the Jordanian development project ‘Bethany Beyond the Jordan’. It was then supported by Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican leaders of Jordan and Jerusalem. In May 2026, King Abdullah II turned the Baptism 2030 initiative into a state program.

Israel joined later when it became clear that Jordan intended to turn the eastern bank of the Jordan into a global center for Christian pilgrimage.

On the western bank, Israel has already invested 25 million shekels in the reconstruction of Qasr al-Yahud, created the position of a special envoy for relations with the Christian world, and is now forming a diplomatic infrastructure to work with churches and future pilgrims.

Therefore, behind the religious formulation are several processes: faith, historical memory, relations with the Christian world, restoration of Israel’s reputation, competition with Jordan, and the struggle for a huge international pilgrimage flow.

And the year 2030 itself remains primarily a symbolic, church-tourist, and politically convenient date, rather than an indisputably established two-thousandth anniversary of the Baptism of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, many at some point stop googling another “shampoo for everything” and look for a place where they first deal with the cause, and only then offer a plan. In Haifa, such an address for many becomes the “Abramsky” Hair Health Center — the Russian-language main page is here: https://hair-health-center.nikk.co.il/ru/

Why “just hair loss” often turns out to be a system of causes

The most common pain is the feeling of losing control.
Yesterday everything was fine, and today hair remains in the shower drain, on the pillow, on clothes. People start taking typical steps: changing shampoos, buying vitamins, trying masks, canceling coloring, enduring itching. Sometimes it gets easier, but often — not for long.

The problem is that hair loss and thinning often go hand in hand with scalp irritation: inflammation, increased oiliness, dryness, flaking. And until the scalp is put in order, any “length remedies” only provide a cosmetic effect.

If it’s more convenient for you to read in Hebrew — the center’s main page is here: https://hair-health-center.nikk.co.il/

The pains that people most often come with — and what is done about them

1) “Hair falls out a lot, especially after stress/illness/childbirth”
This is a story where a person tries to understand: is it temporary, or is the process becoming entrenched. The center focuses on diagnosing the scalp and follicle condition — to separate “waves” of hair loss from situations where intervention is needed.

2) “Itching, burning, discomfort — and it seems that the scalp is living its own life”
This is not a symptom that should be suppressed by endlessly changing shampoos. When itching is associated with inflammation or imbalance of the scalp, it is more important to understand the trigger and calm the hair growth environment. Material on the topic (for those who want to delve deeper): https://hair-health-center.nikk.co.il/ru/zud-vospalenie-i-diskomfort/

3) “The parting is widening, the hair has become thin and brittle”
Brittleness rarely appears in one day. More often it is an accumulation of factors: heat styling, coloring, sun, humidity, stress, sometimes — internal causes. In such cases, the plan is usually built to work simultaneously with the scalp and the quality of the hair along the length.

By the way, NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency often writes about how “small” symptoms in Israeli reality quickly turn into a permanent problem if delayed — with hair, it works exactly the same.

How the center builds its approach: fewer promises — more stages

People are not irritated by the procedures themselves. It’s the chaos that irritates.
When there is no understanding: what is happening, why, how long it will take, and how to assess progress.

Abramsky’s logic is clear:
first diagnosis, then individual protocol, then dynamics — and adjustments based on the reaction of the scalp and hair. Not “the same for everyone,” but tailored to the specific picture.

If you want to follow updates, analysis of typical cases, and short explanations — the center maintains a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583975616191 (it’s convenient to view publications and news there, especially for the Russian-speaking audience).

Geography: who finds it convenient to get there

The center is located in Haifa, in the Check-Post area — a place that is easy to reach for city residents and those coming from Kiryat, Nesher, Tirat Carmel, and the entire North.

Address: שד’ ההסתדרות 44, צ’ק פוסט, חיפה.
If you need a map/route immediately on your phone, use the Google link: https://share.google/ZQvv9ENHX3H1rWwqh

Schedule and contact

Schedule, which is important to know in advance, so as not to travel “in vain”:

• Sun–Thu: 9:00–19:00

• Fri and pre-holiday days: 9:00–14:00

Phone for appointments/inquiries: 055-939-7729.

If you want “quick answers” without unnecessary noise

Sometimes it’s easier for a person to watch a short video than to read long explanations. For this, there is the center’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HairHealthHaifa — there you can gather a basic understanding of what is considered normal and what is a reason for diagnosis.

And if you prefer a more business-like format (professional presentation, updates, expert notes) — there is LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hairhealthhaifa/

For those who are used to receiving news briefly and to the point, there is also X (Twitter): https://x.com/HairHealthHaifa — convenient when you need literally 2–3 thoughts without “sheets.”

What can be done today while you are thinking about a visit

Without magic and without “guarantees”:

1. stop endlessly changing shampoos “at random” every 5 days;

2. do not scratch the scalp “to blood” and do not exacerbate irritation with scrubs/alcohol-based products;

3. record: when it started, what changed (stress, illness, coloring, diet, medications);

4. and come for a diagnosis, so as not to guess.

Because the most expensive mistake with hair problems is not the cost of the procedure.
The most expensive mistake is lost months in the “it will pass by itself” mode.

Where they tried to break him: a memorial to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was opened in the Lukyanivska detention center.

Memorial plaques are usually installed on the facades of houses, in universities, synagogues, or museums. In Kyiv, a commemorative sign appeared in a much more grim place — inside the active Lukyanivska detention center.

It was here in the spring of 1939 that NKVD officers brought Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson — the chief rabbi of Yekaterinoslav-Dnipropetrovsk, an outstanding scholar of the Torah and Kabbalah, the father of the future Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

The plaque was unveiled on August 3, 2026, on the 20th of Av, 5786 — the yahrzeit, or anniversary of the death of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak according to the Jewish calendar. It has been 82 years since his death in Soviet exile. Now inside the institution where he was deprived of freedom, it is officially recorded: before the Soviet system stood not a criminal, but a religious leader persecuted for serving his people.

The prison chief acknowledged the injustice.

The ceremony was attended by the head of the Lukyanivska detention center, his deputy, the chief rabbi of Kyiv Yonatan Markovich, and his son, Rabbi Ariel Markovich, who coordinates assistance to Jews in Ukrainian penal institutions.

Yonatan Markovich is also involved in religious work in the penitentiary system of Ukraine. Together with his son, he spent several months obtaining permission to install a permanent plaque inside the regime facility, which continues to be used as a detention center.

The significance lay not only in the unveiling itself. The head of the institution publicly acknowledged that Rabbi Levi Yitzchak ended up here not for a real crime. His imprisonment was a consequence of Soviet policy to destroy independent religious life.

Along with the plaque, the detention center’s library received the book “Nitzotzei Levi Yitzchak” — a collection based on his commentaries on the Torah. It is expected that Jewish inmates will be able to familiarize themselves with the book.

The very choice of location changes the meaning of the memorial. It is not a commemorative sign installed far from the events. It is located where the man was interrogated, beaten, and tried to be forced to renounce spiritual responsibility.

What is on the memorial plaque

Here is the full translation of the plaque’s text from Ukrainian:

In this building in 1939, illegally detained and repressed by the Soviet authorities

RABBI LEVI YITZCHAK SCHNEERSON
1878–1944

The chief rabbi of the city of Dnipro, one of the most outstanding rabbis, tzaddiks, and leaders of the Jewish people, the father of the world-famous Lubavitcher Rebbe.

In 1939, he was arrested and repressed by the Soviet authorities for religious, spiritual, educational, and charitable activities aimed at helping the Jewish community and spreading knowledge about Judaism.

He was illegally detained in Kyiv prisons for about five months, after which he was sent to a five-year exile in the city of Shieli in Kazakhstan.

He spent a total of 303 days in five prisons.

He passed away in exile on August 9, 1944.

In the central part of the plaque is an inscription in Hebrew from Rabbi Levi Yitzchak himself. It states that he was imprisoned in Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Almaty, spending a total of 303 days in five prisons.

The lower part of the plaque:

This memorial plaque is installed in honor of the 82nd anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, may the memory of the righteous be blessed.

The initiators of the installation were the emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the chief rabbi of Kyiv, and the chief rabbi of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine, Rabbi Yonatan Binyamin Markovich, as well as his son, the emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Ariel Gershon Shalom Markovich.

20th of Av, 5786
August 3, 2026

Arrest at three in the morning

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was arrested by NKVD officers around three in the morning on March 28, 1939, at his home in Dnipropetrovsk. The next morning he was transferred to Kyiv and placed in the Lukyanivska detention center.

The arrest was preceded by a broader campaign. In Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk, at least twelve Hasidim were detained. According to Chabad org, Soviet authorities might have been preparing a show trial against the religious underground, but later Levi Yitzchak’s case was singled out for separate proceedings.

Formally, he was accused of anti-Soviet agitation, creating a religious network, and ties with foreign intelligence. NKVD documents claimed that his son was allegedly the chief rabbi of Warsaw and a Polish agent.

This was fiction. The future Lubavitcher Rebbe was neither the chief rabbi of Warsaw nor a Polish intelligence agent.

But the Soviet investigation did not necessarily require real evidence. An influential rabbi who continued to openly defend Jewish laws, support the families of the arrested, and maintain religious institutions was already perceived by the regime as a threat.

The matzah the rabbi refused to declare kosher

One of the most famous episodes preceding the arrest was the dispute over matzah production.

Soviet enterprises produced matzah, but the authorities expected to receive official confirmation of its kashrut from the chief rabbi. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak refused to put his name on such a document until the production truly met the requirements of Jewish law.

He did not agree to a compromise even under pressure and achieved compliance with the necessary conditions.

However, it would be too simplistic to claim that the rabbi was arrested only because of the matzah. This episode became part of a long-standing confrontation. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak organized assistance for the families of imprisoned Jews, supported the distribution of matzah, participated in the creation of an underground mikvah, and continued to teach the Torah in a state that declared religion a relic of the past.

For the NKVD, the problem was not a separate religious ceremony. The problem remained the person himself, capable of uniting the community and convincing others not to abandon their identity.

Five prisons and interrogations lasting 16 hours

In the following months, the prisoner was transferred between five Soviet prisons. Interrogations could last 15–16 hours.

On October 4, 1939, he was sentenced to five years of internal exile. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was sent to the village of Chiili, now Shieli, in the Kazakh steppe.

His wife, Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, voluntarily came to her husband. They lived in harsh conditions, faced food shortages, illnesses, and the lack of the most basic things.

Even in exile, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak continued to work on commentaries on Jewish texts. Since there was no ordinary ink, Rebbetzin Chana made it from herbs, roots, and plants. Her husband recorded his thoughts in the margins of the few books he had with him.

After her husband’s death, Chana preserved these volumes. Later, the manuscripts ended up in the USA and were published with the participation of their son — the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

In early 1944, the seriously ill rabbi was allowed to move to Almaty. He died on August 9, 1944, 20th of Av, 5704, at the age of 66. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery of the city, which is now called Almaty.

In 2020, Kazakhstan recognized the burial site of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak as a national heritage site.

The chief rabbi of Yekaterinoslav during the years of religious destruction

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was born in 1878. After marrying Chana Yanovsky, the couple lived in Mykolaiv, where their three sons were born. The eldest was Menachem Mendel Schneerson — the future Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe.

In 1908–1909, Levi Yitzchak became the chief rabbi of Yekaterinoslav. In Soviet times, the city was named Dnipropetrovsk, and since 2016 it has been called Dnipro.

He led the community for about thirty years: he survived World War I, the revolution, the establishment of Bolshevik power, and the consistent destruction of independent Jewish institutions.

After the forced departure from the USSR of the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson in 1927, Levi Yitzchak remained one of the most authoritative rabbis in the Soviet Union. It was during this period that the usual work of a rabbi turned into a daily risk.

Conducting a religious lesson, helping to build a mikvah, raising money for a needy family, or demanding kosher production meant challenging the state.

Kyiv installed a plaque, Dnipro preserved living memory

Almost simultaneously with the Kyiv ceremony, commemorative events took place in Dnipro.

A men’s farbrengen was held in the central synagogue “Golden Rose.” Rabbi Moishe Leib Weber spoke about Levi Yitzchak’s service to the Jewish people, Soviet persecutions, and his loyalty to the Torah. Participants sang Hasidic nigunim and gathered for a traditional meal.

A women’s farbrengen was held in the educational space “Kolel Torah.” It was attended by the deputy secretary of the Dnipro rabbinical court Avraham Yosef Yitzchak Karshenbaum. He spoke about Levi Yitzchak’s work in Yekaterinoslav and the preservation of his spiritual heritage.

A farbrengen is not an ordinary official ceremony. It is a Hasidic gathering during which participants study the Torah, tell stories about the righteous, sing nigunim — melodies without words — and discuss how spiritual ideas should manifest in actions.

Therefore, Kyiv and Dnipro chose two different but complementary ways of remembrance. In Kyiv, the rabbi’s name was returned to the space of a state institution. In Dnipro, his legacy continued within the community he once led.

Mykolaiv and Kamianske: memory not limited to big cities

In a publication by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, which the editorial staff of NAnews — News of Israel reviewed, it is also reported about commemorative meetings in Mykolaiv and Kamianske.

For Mykolaiv, this story has special significance. Here, after the wedding, Levi Yitzchak and Chana Schneerson lived. Here, in 1902, their eldest son Menachem Mendel — the future Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe — was born.

At the meeting in Mykolaiv, the rabbi of the city and region Sholom Gottlieb spoke. Participants studied Levi Yitzchak’s commentaries on the Torah and Zohar, sang nigunim, gave tzedakah, and talked about good deeds as a practical continuation of memory.

In Kamianske, a men’s farbrengen was held by participants of the “Golden Age” program. This is an important detail: it is not only about international conferences, influential rabbis, or large community centers. History is passed on during small meetings where elderly participants tell it to the next generations.

Thus, a map of memory emerges, passing through several cities:

• Dnipro — the place of Levi Yitzchak’s thirty-year service;
• Mykolaiv — the city of the family’s life and the birth of the future Lubavitcher Rebbe;
• Kyiv — the place of imprisonment and interrogations;
• Kamianske — an example of preserving the heritage of a small regional community;
• Almaty — the place of exile, death, and burial.

KGB apology and plaque decades later

The Soviet state long did not acknowledge responsibility for the persecution of the rabbi.

Only in August 1991, in the last months of the USSR’s existence, did the Ukrainian KGB officially recognize the illegality of its predecessors’ actions. Chabad representatives were given the case documents, which were then delivered to New York to Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Additional materials were handed over by Ukraine in 1993 and by Kazakhstan in 1999.

However, archival recognition and a memorial plaque serve different purposes.

The archive establishes a fact. The plaque returns the person to the physical space from which they tried to erase him.

That is why the ceremony in the Lukyanivska detention center has significance beyond the history of Chabad. State institutions bear responsibility not only for preserving documents. They decide which names remain visible and what language society uses to describe repressions.

Why this story is important for Israel

For the Israeli reader, the name Schneerson is most often associated with the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe and the worldwide network of communities, educational institutions, and Chabad emissaries created under his leadership.

But the story of the Kyiv plaque reminds us: this global system did not grow in a historical vacuum. Behind it is the experience of a family that went through Soviet bans, arrest, prisons, exile, and forced emigration.

Ukraine in this story is not a distant backdrop. Here served the Rebbe’s father, here Menachem Mendel Schneerson himself was born, here his early experience was formed, and here the Soviet system tried to destroy the religious environment from which one of the most recognizable Jewish movements of modern times later emerged.

For NAnews — News of Israel, it is fundamentally important to see in such events not just another protocol gesture, but part of a shared Israeli-Ukrainian memory.

What is confirmed, and what we do not yet know

The editorial staff verified the information from the Kyiv Chabad community with publications from Chabad.org, i24NEWS, materials from the Jewish communities of Dnipro, and previously published biographical documents.

Confirmed are the date of the plaque’s unveiling, the location of the ceremony, the participation of Yonatan and Ariel Markovich, the presence of the detention center’s leadership, the transfer of the book to the library, and the public acknowledgment of the injustice of the imprisonment.

At the time of preparing the material, the editorial staff did not find a separate open statement from the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine or the State Penitentiary Service with the names of the participating detention center leaders. In the organizers’ publications, the director and his deputy are mentioned without names.

NAnews did not attend the ceremony and does not have its own photographs from the regime facility. The published images come from JCC Kyiv and Chabad-related sources.

This limits the ability to independently verify every detail of the ceremony but does not change the main confirmed fact: a permanent memorial sign is installed inside the very active detention center where Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was held in 1939.

Jewish life in Ukraine did not stop under Russian missiles

The unveiling of the memorial plaque in the Lukyanivska detention center should be viewed not only as a restoration of historical justice. It is another testament that, despite Russian aggression, daily air raids, missile and drone strikes, Jewish life in Ukraine has not disappeared and has not turned solely into a memory of the past.

In Kyiv, a memorial to a repressed rabbi is being installed. In Dnipro, men’s and women’s farbrengens are held. In Mykolaiv, commentaries on the Torah and Zohar are studied. In Kamianske, participants of community programs gather to talk about Jewish history and pass it on to the next generations. Synagogues, charitable centers, educational projects, chaplains, and community organizations continue to operate.

And all this is happening in a country that Russia continues to strike.

Russian aggression destroys homes, schools, hospitals, and religious buildings, forces people to leave their native cities, and creates a threat to all citizens of Ukraine, regardless of their origin and faith. But Putin’s missiles could not stop prayers, Torah study, Jewish holidays, or community work.

Moreover, Ukrainian Jews today remain not passive observers of the war. They serve in the ranks of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, work as military chaplains, engage in volunteering, provide vehicles and necessary equipment to units, help the wounded, hospitals, displaced persons, and the civilian population. The Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine has directly reported on Jews fighting in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as on the spiritual and material support of Ukrainian servicemen.

Therefore, the participation of the Ukrainian state in preserving Jewish memory cannot be perceived only as a formal demonstration of tolerance. The permission to install a permanent plaque inside an active regime facility, the participation of the detention center’s leadership, and the acknowledgment of the illegality of Soviet persecution show: Jewish history is considered part of Ukraine’s own history.

The state is not doing a favor to some separate community. It recognizes the contribution of citizens of Jewish origin to the defense of the country and helps preserve the heritage of people whom the previous imperial system destroyed or persecuted.

This is especially symbolic today. The Soviet authorities declared independent Jewish religious life a threat and sent rabbis to prisons. Modern Ukraine, opposing new Russian aggression, opens a memorial plaque on the territory of the same prison to one of the repressed Jewish leaders.

Of course, one ceremony does not solve all problems and does not eliminate the need to combat anti-Semitism, preserve Jewish cemeteries, restore synagogues, and protect historical memory. But it shows the direction: Ukrainian Jews are not guests and not a separate historical minority existing alongside the state. They are part of Ukrainian society, Ukrainian history, and the country’s overall defense.

Today, Jewish communities help Ukraine withstand, and Ukraine creates conditions in which these communities can preserve their faith, culture, and own memory. This is one of the most important conclusions of the Kyiv ceremony: Russian aggression brought destruction but could not break the connection between Jewish life and modern Ukraine.

Memory returned to the place of imprisonment

In 1939, the Soviet system wanted to silence the rabbi. His name was replaced with a case number, his service was called anti-Soviet activity, and his connection with his own son was turned into a fabricated accusation of espionage.

In 2026, a plaque with his name was installed inside the same prison, and a book with his teachings was donated to the library.

The NKVD had cells, investigators, interrogations, and exile. Levi-Yitzchak Schneerson had a few books, homemade ink, and the conviction that renouncing his own faith would be a more severe defeat than prison.

Eighty-seven years after his arrest, it turned out that the Soviet system was able to take away his freedom, health, and the opportunity to return home. But it was never able to destroy what he was persecuted for.

On March 12, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Kostyantyn Mrochko the title of Hero of Ukraine — the country’s highest military honor for courage and heroism.

His body was not buried as it burned along with the tank.

“In Israel, Kostya was spiritually reborn and restored. He was not Jewish, but we held a memorial ceremony for him in March 2023. We remember his quick reactions, his work ethic, courage, all his human qualities.”

Kostya, known as Kostyantyn Mrochko, was a tank operator, builder, and craftsman with golden hands. He was a nature and agriculture enthusiast, as well as a joker and inventor with a kind heart. After participating in tank battles in Donbas, he moved to Israel, where he worked in construction and joined the “Lev Adam” organic farm. Kostya was a respected and beloved comrade, leaving a deep impression on everyone who knew him. He was interested in Jewish customs, and his friends remember his courage, quick reactions, and work ethic.

When Kostya’s visa to stay in Israel expired, he returned to Ukraine in August 2021.

“It was clear to him that he would stay to defend Ukraine. And it was clear to us that even if he had stayed in Israel, he would have flown to fight for his country in 2022,” says Elia Aaron.

Israeli friends continue to communicate with his family — Kostya left behind a mother and a teenage son, Vasyl, from a previous marriage in Ukraine. Elia shared plans to build a small pool in memory of Kostya Mrochko.

This is reported by Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter.

Yoav Sason, the creator of the “Lev Adam” farm, talks about Kostya, who was a special person. Kostya quickly learned Hebrew and had extensive experience in agriculture. He was a patriot of Ukraine and planned to return there after his time in Israel. He had a military spirit that inspired him to return to Ukraine for its defense. Yoav recalls how Kostya gently held his newborn daughter and how he loved children.

Israeli friends from the “Lev Adam” farm harvested red and white grapes in the summer and fall of 2022 — just months after Kostya Mrochko’s death defending Kyiv from Putin’s aggression in March 2022.

These friends decided to combine red and white wine — just as Kostya symbolically combined Ukraine and Israel, Ukrainian and Jewish.

Thus, the new rosé wine “Kostya” of the 2022 harvest was born. Friends from “Lev Adam” made a limited edition — only 650 bottles, each with its own number. Each bottle features a story about Kostya, his wonderful human qualities, and his heroism.

The Last Battle

Kostyantyn Mrochko was born on April 9, 1984, and lived in the village of Blahodatne, Volodymyr district, Volyn region of Ukraine. He served in the tank troops and later enrolled in distance learning at the Kyiv University of Food Technologies. In 2014, he went to defend the country in eastern Ukraine and participated in various military operations. His feat in Debaltseve became known and recognized as significant in Ukraine’s history. In February 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he once again stood to defend his country. During a battle on March 8, 2022, he died when his tank was hit by a missile.

But Kostya did not disappear without a trace.

“The rosé wine “Kostya” is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend Kostya Mrochko. He was the backbone of our organic farm “Lev Adam,” a strong man with a big heart and unmatched skill. Unfortunately, Kostya will never have the privilege to enjoy it. The memory of his strong hands and gentle heart lives in this wine, in its unique refreshing taste,” reads the label of the Israeli wine.

In the fall, new bottles will be filled with the young rosé wine “Kostya” of the 2023 harvest.

Hero of Ukraine Kostyantyn Mrochko remains not only in the memory of Ukrainian and Jewish friends but has become wine in Israel.

Read other News of Israel and the world on the channels “NiKK”

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And here many in Israel might wonder: what exactly does Russia want from Haifa?

In preparing the material, all data on deliveries, contracts, applications, partners, technological integrations, and public mentions of Elsight were used only from open sources on the internet: official company pages, press releases, stock disclosures, publications of international media, Ukrainian registries, and available trade and customs aggregators. This information is not classified: it can be independently verified, found, compared, and evaluated if you refer to primary sources and public databases.

Israel officially does not transfer strike weapons to Ukraine. Israeli policy on the Ukrainian issue remains cautious, often annoyingly cautious for Kyiv and for those who believe that democracies should stand more clearly with Ukraine. In Jerusalem, this line has been explained for years by the complex situation with ( … insert necessary), Russian “presence” in the region, the security of Jewish communities, and the need not to burn communication channels.

But Haifa’s Elsight surfaced in the Russian list.

And this already makes the story much more interesting.

Because if you look closely not at political statements, but at technological chains, it becomes clear: Elsight does not have to supply missiles or combat drones to be important for the Ukrainian front. Sometimes the key element of war becomes not weapons in the usual sense, but communication, control, and the ability of a drone not to “go blind” in the air.

Why a company from Haifa might appear on the Russian list

Elsight https://www.elsight.com/ — is not a factory for producing strike UAVs. The company is primarily known for its communication solutions for unmanned and robotic systems.

Its key product Halo https://www.elsight.com/products/halo-for-the-military/ — is a platform that combines different communication channels into one more stable protected contour.

Simply put, Halo helps the drone maintain contact with the operator.

Through such a system, video, telemetry, control commands, and other data necessary for the operation of the drone can be transmitted. On the official Elsight website, Halo is described as a solution for UAV, UGV, and operations beyond the operator’s line of sight — BVLOS. There, the company also promotes its solutions for military, defense, public safety, and unmanned systems.

That’s why the question “what does Russia want from Haifa?” gets a technical answer.

Russia is interested not only in those who assemble the drone body or make the combat part. In modern warfare, those who make the drone controllable, stable, and capable of operating at a distance are no less important. If a drone loses communication, it can disrupt the mission, fall, return to the wrong place, or become useless.

On the Ukrainian front, communication is already a battlefield.

Halo as the nervous system of the drone

In ordinary logic, a drone is a camera, motor, wings, battery, or combat charge. But in reality, it’s more complicated. A drone needs to see, transmit images, receive commands, change routes, operate in interference zones, and not depend on a single communication channel.

This is the niche that Halo occupies.

The system can combine LTE, 5G, radio channels, satellite communication, and other channels into a more reliable architecture. For civilian tasks, this is convenient. For war, it’s critical.

A drone without stable communication turns into an expensive consumable.

A drone with a stable control channel can conduct reconnaissance, adjust fire, serve as a relay, operate at long distances, and maintain controllability where ordinary solutions start to fail.

Therefore, Elsight could be of interest to Ukraine not as a supplier of “weapons,” but as a supplier of technology, without which modern unmanned weapons work worse.

Ukrainian trace: what is visible from supplies and chains

The most important part of this story does not start with Russian threats, but with open trade-logistical traces.

According to the collected data, on January 28, 2026, a shipment from Elsight Ltd to Ukraine was recorded. The Ukrainian importer was listed as Inkompas. The description included Elsight Halo 4 SIM and an OEM/LTE kit.

This is no longer just a guess.

This is a trade trace that shows: Elsight products physically went in the Ukrainian direction. Such a fact in itself does not reveal all end users and all programs, but it removes the main question — was there any connection with Ukraine at all. Yes, such a connection is visible.

Chain Sofia — Kyiv: Ormond Ltd and Fire Point

The second episode looks even more indicative.

On February 23, 2026, a shipment was recorded along the route:

Ormond Ltd, Sofia → Fire Point, Kyiv

The shipment included 240 Halo OEM 4 SIM kits.

Here, not only the quantity is important, but also the description of the goods. It indicates a set of telecommunication equipment for unmanned Halo systems, designed for stable multi-channel LTE communication and integration into control boards or UAV bodies.

This is a completely different level of specificity.

It’s not just about “telecommunication equipment,” which can theoretically be used anywhere. The description directly includes the unmanned context: boards, UAV bodies, stable communication channel, Halo kits.

That’s why this chain looks like one of the strongest open arguments in favor of the fact that Elsight technology could have been integrated into the Ukrainian drone sector.

Why Inkompas also does not look like a random link

Separately, it is worth looking at the Ukrainian importer Inkompas.

In the provided data set, it is noted that Inkompas appears in Ukrainian export control registries and operates within a regulated defense-export ecosystem. This does not automatically prove that every delivery was legally military.

But it certainly makes the story less random.

If it were about ordinary civilian imports, one could talk about the standard communication market, industrial automation, or commercial drones. But when the chain includes Halo, UAVs, Fire Point, Inkompas, Ukraine, and kits for integration into drone bodies, the version of simple consumer electronics becomes much weaker.

Israel does not transfer weapons to Ukraine — but technologies go differently

This is where the main Israeli paradox arises.

Officially, Israel indeed did not become one of the suppliers of weapons to Ukraine. It did not take a place alongside those countries that transferred missiles, heavy air defense systems, armored vehicles, or long-range weapons to Kyiv. The Israeli line was cautious, sometimes excessively cautious, and this constantly raised questions.

But modern warfare is more complex than diplomatic formulas.

Technology can go not as “weapons,” but as a component.

A component can go not directly to the military department, but through a company, integrator, or intermediary.

And then this very component turns out to be important for the platform that operates on the front.

In this sense, Elsight is a very illustrative example. It may not be a supplier of weapons in the classical sense. But its Halo is what helps the drone remain controllable, see, and transmit data. And therefore, such technology can strengthen the Ukrainian front even without loud political statements and without official photos of weapons transfers.

NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency sees an important point for the Israeli audience in this story: Russia’s war against Ukraine has long ceased to be only a war of tanks and artillery. It is a war of chains, modules, boards, communication channels, software, integrators, and manufacturers who often remain behind the scenes.

European defense contour of Elsight

The story with Ukraine did not appear out of nowhere.

Back in 2025, Elsight reported orders from an unnamed European defense OEM manufacturer associated with a government drone program in Europe. Then the contract amounts grew to millions of dollars, and the company planned a new contract manufacturer in a NATO and EU country.

This does not prove that those contracts were specifically Ukrainian.

And it is important to emphasize this honestly.

But these facts show that Elsight was already entering the European defense and unmanned production environment. And then in 2026, more specific Ukrainian traces appeared: the Elsight — Inkompas supply and the Ormond Ltd — Fire Point chain.

Thus, not a single random episode is formed, but a sequence.

Where are the facts, and where are the cautious conclusions

To prevent this story from turning into propaganda in the opposite direction, a boundary must be drawn.

It can be said that Elsight products physically ended up in Ukraine.

It can be said that in one of the chains, the product description directly links Halo kits with unmanned systems and integration into UAV bodies or boards.

It can be said that technologically Halo is extremely useful for the tasks of the Ukrainian front because it provides communication, telemetry, and control of drones.

But without additional evidence, it cannot be claimed that Halo is massively installed on specific Ukrainian combat platforms. Nor can all European Elsight contracts be automatically recorded as “Ukrainian” if the end customer is not disclosed.

This does not weaken the story.

On the contrary, it makes it more convincing.

Because even a careful version is already serious enough: Haifa’s communication technology entered the Ukrainian unmanned chain and could help the front not as a weapon directly, but as a management infrastructure.

Why Moscow reacts specifically to such companies

Russia reacts painfully to the drone topic not by chance. Ukrainian drones have become one of the symbols of a new type of war: cheap platforms, long missions, adaptive engineering solutions, constant updating of tactics.

In such a war, every layer is important.

Engine.

Camera.

Control board.

Navigation.

Communication.

Software.

Therefore, the Russian list of companies and addresses is not only a threat. It is also an acknowledgment that Moscow is trying to see the entire technological chain of Ukrainian resistance. Not only the factory that assembles the drone but also those who make it smarter, longer-range, and more stable.

Elsight fell into this logic precisely as a communication company.

And now the question “why Haifa?” no longer sounds so strange.

Because in modern warfare, Haifa may be far from the front geographically, but not technologically.

What this means for Israel

For Israel, this story is uncomfortable but important.

On the one hand, it shows that Jerusalem’s official caution does not always reflect the real complexity of the technological world. The state may not transfer strike weapons to Ukraine, but Israeli developments can still end up in chains that help Ukrainian defense.

On the other hand, it also shows the opposite: Russia looks not only at flags, statements, and diplomatic notes. It looks at components, companies, addresses, logistics, and technological connections. Therefore, even a country that tries to maintain a cautious line can end up on the Russian list of “potential targets” if its technologies become useful to the Ukrainian front.

Haifa’s Elsight in this story does not look like a random victim of loud rhetoric, but as a company whose specialization hit the nerve of modern warfare.

It does not have to send drones to the front with the inscription Made in Israel.

It is enough to supply what makes the drone see worse, hear worse, and obey the operator worse.

And this is already help.

Quiet, technological, not always public — but in the drone war, such help can have enormous significance.

Therefore, it is important to analyze such topics to the end — and to monitor how they develop further.

Author: R.Verter

On August 24, 2026, on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, the Israeli public organization Israeli Friends of Ukraine presented, with the support of Leonid Nevzlin, a collection of postage stamps “Cultural Code of the Nation.” The anniversary series includes 35 plots: 28 Ukrainian cultural and public figures and seven episodes or symbols of the war. Two more stamps — about Israeli Friends of Ukraine and Nevzlin himself — were immediately taken out of the anniversary count by the organizers. Therefore, there are 37 stamps, although 35 are dedicated to the anniversary.

Before writing, I did not limit myself to the announcement text. I enlarged both images, read each caption, recounted the portraits and military plots, then compared what I saw with the information from IFU, Ukrposhta, the JGive charity platform, and the NADAV foundation. This simple check changed my view of the project. The most interesting thing here is not the set of famous faces, but its construction: there are no presidents, active politicians, or generals on the cultural sheet; the war is placed in a separate section; Israeli participants in the project are not included in the Ukrainian 35.

I was born in Ukraine in a Jewish family and live in Israel. Therefore, this collection is not a foreign national album for me.

Many of the depicted people are almost unknown in Israel, although the melodies, films, or artistic images they created have long gone beyond Ukraine’s borders. If you simply list the names, the Israeli reader will see a beautiful grid of portraits. If you read why these people are next to each other, it will be a conversation about how Ukraine explains its own independence.

I recounted the stamps: 35 are Ukraine, two more are the Israeli postscript.

The project’s formula looks like this: 28 plus seven equals 35. The number refers to the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, adopted on August 24, 1991. The Israeli Friends of Ukraine stamp and the Leonid Nevzlin stamp are not included in this sum. This is not a minor reservation: the organizers separated Ukrainian history from gratitude to those who helped release the collection in Israel.

I find this division honest. The patron’s portrait was not placed alongside Taras Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrainka, or Vasyl Stus. The main 35 positions belong to Ukraine — its language, art, resistance, and war. The two additional positions explain where the project came from and who supported it.

Israel recognized Ukraine’s independence on December 25, 1991, and diplomatic relations were established on December 26. Thirty-five years later, the connection between the two countries on the stamps is shown not by a protocol handshake: the Ukrainian trident is next to the Star of David, and the figures are covered with Ukrainian and Israeli flags. For NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency here lies the first important line: Israeli solidarity is included in the story but does not claim a place in Ukrainian culture.

From Skovoroda to Stus: not a school list, but a history of freedom

The cultural sheet opens with Hryhorii Skovoroda, an 18th-century wandering philosopher and poet. In Ukrainian memory, he is associated with inner freedom and refusal to serve the system. Then comes Ivan Kotliarevsky. His “Aeneid” transferred the ancient plot to the Ukrainian environment and is considered the work from which new Ukrainian literature begins in the living vernacular.

Taras Shevchenko is not only a national poet, whose name in Ukraine can be compared in scale of cultural presence to Bialik in Israel. He was an artist, born a serf, and became a symbol of language, dignity, and resistance to the empire. The analogy with Chaim Nahman Bialik helps to understand the public weight of the figure but does not mean identical biographies or historical roles.

Ivan Franko was a writer, publicist, translator, and political thinker. Lesya Ukrainka was a poet and playwright; her stamp is named “Forest Song,” a drama about freedom, love, and the price of human choice. Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky brought modernist psychology into Ukrainian prose. Mykola Bazhan combined poetry, translation, and cultural administration of the Soviet era; his poem “Hoffmann’s Night” is indicated on the stamp.

Further, the literary row unexpectedly transitions into political resistance. Vyacheslav Chornovil was a journalist, Soviet political prisoner, and one of the leaders of the movement that sought Ukraine’s independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Vasyl Stus was a dissident poet who died in a Soviet camp in 1985; “Palimpsests,” featured on the stamp, became one of the central books of his legacy. Yevhen Sverstiuk was an essayist, philosopher, and participant in the dissident movement, also having gone through imprisonment and exile.

For the Israeli reader, the word “dissident” here requires clarification. It is not just about a person who criticized the authorities. In the Soviet Union, publishing uncensored texts, defending the Ukrainian language, or protesting political arrests could lead to prison, camp, exile, and a ban on the profession. Therefore, Stus, Chornovil, and Sverstiuk stand on the cultural sheet not next to politicians but next to writers: their political resistance grew out of the struggle for the right to speak and write.

“Shchedryk,” avant-garde, and cinema: names the world often did not call Ukrainian

The musical quartet especially well shows the difference between the fame of a work and the fame of its author. Mykola Lysenko, a composer and creator of the Ukrainian national music school, is represented by the opera “Taras Bulba.” Mykola Leontovych is the author of “Shchedryk.” Outside Ukraine, this melody is more often known as Carol of the Bells, but the name of the Ukrainian composer is remembered by far fewer.

Solomiya Krushelnytska was an opera star of European scale. After the failure of the first production of “Madama Butterfly,” Giacomo Puccini reworked the opera, and Krushelnytska performed the main role in the successful production of 1904. Myroslav Skoryk was a Ukrainian composer of the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries. His “Melody in A minor” sounds in Ukraine as music of memory and loss, even when the listener does not know the name.

In the row of artists, I first stopped at two identical surnames. Fedir Krychevsky and Vasyl Krychevsky are brothers, but their roles differed. Fedir was a painter and one of the creators of the Ukrainian art school of the 20th century. Vasyl worked as an artist and architect; he developed the state emblem of the Ukrainian People’s Republic of 1918 based on the trident. The Ukrainian People’s Republic was an attempt to create an independent Ukrainian state after the collapse of the Russian Empire — long before 1991.

Next to Mykola Pymonenko, known for scenes of Ukrainian everyday life; Oleksandr Arkhypenko, one of the innovators of world sculpture and cubism; Oleksandr Bohomazov, a representative of the Ukrainian avant-garde; Maria Prymachenko, whose bright fantastic beasts are recognized without a signature; Heorhiy Narbut, who created banknotes, stamps, and state graphics of the Ukrainian People’s Republic.

Alla Horska requires a separate explanation. She belonged to the Ukrainian “Sixtiers” — a generation of artists, writers, and intellectuals of the 1960s who, after the Stalin era, demanded more cultural freedom and defended the Ukrainian language. Horska participated in the human rights movement and was killed in 1970 under circumstances that her associates linked to persecution by Soviet authorities. I consciously separate here the established fact of death and the assessment of its causes: officially, this case did not receive a transparent independent investigation.

Theater and cinema form another chain. Maria Zankovetska was one of the founders of professional theater in the Ukrainian language. Les Kurbas created the experimental theater “Berezil” — not a building, but a theatrical association and laboratory of a new stage language. In 1937, Kurbas was shot in Sandarmokh, a forest tract in Karelia, which became a place of mass executions of prisoners during Stalin’s terror.

Oleksandr Dovzhenko was a director whose “Earth” entered the world cinema canon. Ivan Mykolaychuk played the main role in “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” — a film about the culture of the Ukrainian Carpathians, directed by Sergei Parajanov. Pavlo Virsky created the stage language of Ukrainian folk dance, known far beyond the country’s borders. These names were long placed in the general folder of “Soviet art”; the collection returns to the viewer a more precise Ukrainian origin of their works.

The seven stamps of the war begin in 2022, although the war started earlier

The military section consists of seven plots: “Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion“, “Battle for Kyiv“, “Azovstal“, “Snake Island”, “Grain Corridor“, “Liberation of Kherson“, and “Unmanned Systems Forces“.

I would not call this series a brief history of the entire war. Russian aggression began in 2014 with the occupation of Crimea and hostilities in Donbas. The authors chose events of the full-scale stage that began on February 24, 2022.

Battle for Kyiv means the disruption of Russia’s attempt to quickly capture the capital and change power in Ukraine. “Azovstal” is a metallurgical plant in Mariupol, whose underground facilities became the last major defense hub of the city in the spring of 2022. Snake Island is a small Ukrainian island in the Black Sea, whose defense became a symbol of resistance.

“Grain Corridor” speaks not only of the front. After the blockade of Ukrainian ports, there was a threat to grain supplies to countries dependent on food imports. Therefore, the plot is also connected with the Middle East. “Liberation of Kherson” marks November 2022, when the Ukrainian army returned the only regional center captured by Russia in the first months of the invasion.

The last stamp is dedicated to Unmanned Systems Forces — a separate branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, created for the use of air, sea, and ground unmanned platforms. For an Israeli, the closest understandable framework is the development of their own drone units and technological intelligence in the IDF. This is only a guideline: the structure of Ukrainian forces and the IDF system are not identical.

In this set, there is no Bucha, the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP, occupied Crimea, and many other key episodes. I do not consider this an attempt to erase them. Seven places force a choice. But the choice shows the authors’ view: they combined the defense of the capital, resistance in encirclement, the struggle for the sea, the impact of the war on world food, the liberation of a city, and the transition to a technological army.

Why the Israeli organization received its own stamp

Israeli Friends of Ukraine, or IFU, has been working since 2014. The organization was founded by Anna Zharova and Vyacheslav Feldman. Its task is to strengthen ties between Ukraine and Israel, Ukrainians and Jews, conduct cultural projects, and help people. On JGive, the organization is registered under number 580594034 and is located in Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut.

The verified IFU page on JGive reports that after the start of the full-scale invasion, the organization collected about 1.3 million shekels and sent 120 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine on twenty flights. The list includes medicines, first aid kits, bandages, hygiene products, baby food, and camping equipment. After the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, IFU also helped victims in southern Israel and IDF reservists.

For readers of NAnews — Israel News, this bilateral work is more important than a general slogan about friendship. The organization, created to support Ukraine, did not remain a bystander in Israel after October 7. Therefore, its stamp with two flags relies not only on symbolism but also on a specific humanitarian biography.

Leonid Nevzlin, to whom the second additional stamp is dedicated, is an Israeli entrepreneur, publisher, and philanthropist. Before moving to Israel in 2003, he was a shareholder and top manager of Menatep Bank, the Rosprom group, and the Yukos company. In Israel, he founded the NADAV foundation, supported the research center for Russian and Eastern European Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the renewal of ANU — the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv. He is also associated with the Haaretz newspaper as a shareholder and board member. In the IFU message, Nevzlin is named as the person who supported the creation of the collection.

What the Ukrposhta logo and the letter U mean

On the presented images, under each plot, there is the Ukrainian trident, the name “Ukrposhta,” and the letter U. “Ukrposhta” is the national postal operator of Ukraine, so the closest functional reference for an Israeli is Israel Post, “Doar Yisrael.” This does not mean that the two companies are legally identical.

The design resembles personalized products of the “Vlasna Marka” project. Translation – “own stamp”: the customer offers an image, and the postal operator manufactures a real stamp of the established format. “Ukrposhta” directly states that such a stamp can pay for written correspondence. Therefore, these are not ordinary souvenir stickers.

But I do not equate the personalized IFU collection with a separate nationwide artistic release, the theme of which was chosen by Ukrposhta itself. In the original IFU publication, the catalog number, circulation, format of physical sheets, and conditions for introducing the entire series into circulation are not named. Therefore, the confirmed fact sounds like this: IFU presented a collection of postage stamps with Ukrposhta’s details and a U denomination. A narrower philatelic status should follow from the operator’s or organizer’s documentation, which is not yet in the open announcement.

How to buy the collection and what has not yet been reported

As of August 24, 2026, the Israeli Friends of Ukraine message does not include the price, circulation, composition of the sold set, order opening date, payment methods, and delivery conditions to Israel.

Information about the sale should be checked on the official Israeli Friends of Ukraine Facebook page.

After rereading the two sheets, I see three independent stories in them.

The first is about people who created the Ukrainian language of culture and often paid for it with freedom or life.

The second is about the war, shown through defense, the sea, food, liberation of territory, and technology.

The third is about the Israeli organization and patron, thanks to whom these plots appeared on postage stamps.

It is precisely the separation of these three lines that explains why the project title mentions the number 35, while there are 37 images before us.

In the section “Jews from Ukraine” – Yehuda Magidovich (January 21, 1886, Uman, Ukraine — January 5, 1961, Tel Aviv, Israel).

From Uman to the White City: The Story of Yehuda Magidovich

In the mid-19th century, the family of hatter Binyamin-Zvi Magidovich lived in Uman. His workshop smelled of steam, pressed felt and fresh ribbons — it was there, in 1886, that a boy named Leib was born, who later all of Tel Aviv knew as Yehuda Magidovich.

His mother, Rachel Sadovaya, was the keeper of the home, and his father was a master who made hats for both officials and young dandies. Studying in a cheder in a small town was the natural beginning for a Jewish boy of that time. But Leib, in addition to prayers and the Pentateuch, was drawn to drawings and unusual shapes. Years later, this passion would lead him in 1903 to Odessa.

Odessa years: brush, pencil and architecture

At the beginning of the 20th century, Odessa was a city where art and commerce mixed in the noisy port. Magidovich studied fine arts in Odessa, then in Kyiv, and then returned to Odessa to study architecture — essentially combining aesthetics with engineering calculation. By 1910 he already had a diploma and his first commissions. Yes, Yehuda Magidovich studied in Odessa, including at an art educational institution.

Most likely (there are no reliable sources of information about exactly where he studied), it was the Odessa Art School with an architectural department, where he received artistic training, and then probably continued his studies at the “Odessa Academy of Arts”, graduating around 1910. This is confirmed by both English- and Hebrew-language sources. In Odessa, he did not just draw facades. Magidovich designed houses that carried echoes of Italian villas and French resort mansions — adapted, of course, to the Odessa climate and local habits. In 1911 he married Atil, née Vogel, and the couple had two sons: Rafael Megiddo and Avshalom Megidovich.

But life in the city was restless. Pogroms, revolutionary rallies and street shootouts forced Jewish communities to self-organize. Magidovich did not stand aside — he took part in Jewish self-defense, and some sources even call him the district commander of one of these units.

1919: Odessa says goodbye

The Civil War was tearing the empire to pieces. In Odessa, families with bundles crowded near the port docks, waiting for permission to leave. Magidovich obtained a forged ID to leave the city, and in the autumn of 1919 he was among the passengers of the steamship “Ruslan”.

With a forged Odessa ID – to the shores of Palestine…

In the autumn of 1919, from Odessa to Palestine, on a journey that made him legendary, the ship “Ruslan” set sail with six hundred Jews on board. Modern Israelis call the “Ruslan” nothing less than “the Mayflower of Zionism, which opened the period of the Third Aliyah”. (The “Mayflower” was the ship that brought the first settlers from England to the shores of the USA). The name “Ruslan” became equally symbolic for Jews — although it was not the first since the beginning of the return of Jews to the Promised Land, its six hundred passengers were the elite of the future state, which was rising from the ashes…

Across the territory of the former Russian Empire, war was raging when in Odessa in all the port houses and even right on the bundles of belongings in the middle of the square, Jewish refugees had gathered. 170 of them were refugees from Safed and Tiberias – subjects of Great Britain, who wanted to return to their native Palestine. The British consul appealed to the Soviet Odessa authorities – and they gave permission to leave. But Odessa would not be Odessa if to those 170 foreigners they did not add another half thousand Jews from Ukraine, Poland and Russia.

They hastily studied the geography of Palestine so as not to “slip up” during the conversation in the Odessa Cheka, and as for the necessary languages — Hebrew and English — each of them already spoke them without extra training. In addition, Odessa professionals made each one a repatriate certificate (“teudat oleh”) with the stamp “Committee of Refugees from Eretz Israel for their return home”.

In the end, “Ruslan” was given the green light — on the journey to distant Palestine, the resident of Uman Yehuda Magidovich went together with future Israeli celebrities — historian Klausner, future editor of the famous newspaper “Haaretz” Glikson, poet Ratosh, doctor of medicine Yassky, artists Konstantinovsky, Frenkel, Navon and Litvinovsky, sculptor Ziffer, future Minister of Education Dinur, future Knesset member Rachel Cohen-Kagan, the mother of future Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin — Rosa Cohen…

This was not just a voyage — Israelis would later call it “the Mayflower of Zionism”. On board were about six hundred people: historians, artists, future politicians, poets. On December 19, 1919, “Ruslan” docked in Jaffa, and Magidovich, along with the others, set foot on the land that would become his new home.

The beginning in Tel Aviv: drawings from Odessa

He did not arrive empty-handed — in his luggage were hundreds of Odessa projects that he had managed to save from the archives. Most of these were plans for villas in the spirit of the Italian and French Riviera, reworked “in the Odessa style.”

Now they were to be transformed into houses on Montefiore Street, Nachlat Binyamin, and in new neighborhoods. Many of these mansions were built in Tel Aviv, reinterpreted already in a Jewish manner. In 1920, he was appointed the first chief architect of Tel Aviv. He was responsible for planning and approving projects, and at the same time designed himself — sometimes in eclecticism with elements of the Moorish style, sometimes in strict Art Deco.

He held this position until 1923, after which he opened his own office.

Friend of the mayor and bold projects

He had known Mayor Meir Dizengoff since the days of Uman. The friendship helped — not in terms of privileges, but in terms of boldness of decisions. Thus, “Galei Aviv Casino” — a building on stilts right above the water — became the city’s calling card. The creative bohemia gathered here, and even Winston Churchill visited. The casino survived the storm of 1936 but was demolished after Dizengoff’s death — during his lifetime the mayor “kept a hand” over his friend’s project. In 1923, Yehuda Magidovich opened his own architectural firm and began to build residential and administrative buildings in the city, which at that time were especially in demand in the young city. To this day, the construction company “Rafael Megido,” named after Magidovich’s son, is well known.

Magidovich worked in the Art Nouveau style — this is what the local version of the modern style is called in Israel. Many interesting buildings were destroyed, for example, the “Kovalkin House” in the Dizengoff Square area, and the casino — “an amazing, spacious, light building, in the spirit of people in high spirits.” But many, fortunately, have survived, including the Great Synagogue on Allenby, the “Levin House,” the “Nordau” hotel, the “Ben Nahum” hotel, and the “Beit Carousel” on Rothschild Boulevard. In the central part of the “Carousel House” there was a fireplace, and inside the windows was suspended a second row of colored stained glass windows.

They hung on rings, and when the air heated by the fire in the fireplace caused them to move slightly, the reflections of the fire played in the glass pieces of the stained glass, and then bright colored spots danced around the room — hence the name of the house. The “House with Columns” on Rambam Street is decorated with columns and arches — elements of the classical style. It was built in 1924 and is now included in the list of houses subject to restoration. The square where this building is located bears the name of Yehuda Magidovich.

The Levin House: terrorist attack and secret mechanism

In 1923, wealthy merchant Yaakov Levin commissioned Magidovich to build a mansion on Rothschild Boulevard. The architect designed a Tuscan villa with a tower whose roof could be retracted, opening a view of the starry sky during the Sukkot holiday. Over the years, the building housed a bank, a British school, the headquarters of the “Hagana,” and later the Soviet embassy. In 1953, fighters from “Etzel” and “Lehi” threw a grenade into the building — a protest against the antisemitic “Doctors’ Plot” in the USSR. People were injured, including the ambassador’s wife. Three days later, the USSR broke off diplomatic relations with Israel — until Stalin’s death.

In 1991, the Levin House, the work of the native of Uman, was declared “an object of special architectural value” and underwent an extremely expensive restoration — with the involvement of the best specialists and equipment specially brought from South Africa. When restorers worked on the tower, they discovered in its highest part a pile of old newspapers and an amazing mechanism, the purpose of which no one knew. They tried to set it in motion — and were shocked when the roof above their heads retracted: the mechanism, invented by the man from Uman, worked perfectly even after 70 years!

After the restoration, the Levin House housed exhibition halls and the office of the famous antique auction house Sotheby’s. In 2006, for 35 million shekels (comparable to the cost of the nearby “Beit Alrov” tower), the villa was purchased by Canadian billionaire Gerry Schwartz. The house, built by a native of Uman, still remains one of the main architectural gems of the capital’s tourist routes.

Architectural style

Over his career he designed more than 500 buildings. The Great Synagogue, villas with columns and domes, houses in Art Deco and in the International Style — all these are works by Magidovich. Even when moving toward modernism, he retained the habit of adding details — arches, small towers, decorative grilles — that referred to his European and Ukrainian experience.

Ukraine in memory and in works

After emigration, he could not return to Ukraine — the Soviet authorities did not allow such contacts. But in his projects one could always find echoes of the “Ukrainian period”: the proportions of the facades, planning techniques, decorative solutions. Israeli guidebooks invariably call him “a native of Uman.” In recent years Ukrainian local historians have also remembered him: publications were issued in the Cherkasy region, and in the Odesa museum in 2024 they even held a review of his Odesa years.

Final and legacy

In 1954, Magidovich suffered a stroke and stopped working. He died in 1961 in Tel Aviv and was buried in the Kiryat Shaul cemetery. He left behind not only buildings, but also an example of how a person from a provincial Ukrainian town can influence the appearance of one of the most famous cities in the world. He was survived by sons and descendants. The family house on Mogiliver Street, which was not included in the list of city heritage sites, was demolished in 2016, and a modern residential building was constructed on its ruins.

In 1993, architect Gilad Dovshni published an extensive book devoted to Magidovich’s work and his contribution to the development of Tel Aviv and Israel’s construction industry. In 2019, a memorial in his honor was installed on the pedestrian Nachalat Binyamin Street.

… The section “Jews from Ukraine” on NAnews — News of Israel tells about people whose roots are in Ukraine and whose contribution is in the history of the Jewish people and Israel. These are stories where Ukrainian experience and Israeli destiny are intertwined in one life path. The biography of Yehuda Magidovich is a vivid example of this connection, from Uman and Odessa to hundreds of buildings in the White City.

It is used to pay for advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and Google, subscriptions to work services, hosting, domains, online stores, apps, trips, delivery, international platforms, and dozens of small regular payments.

As long as everything works, it’s convenient. But as soon as the advertising account charges more than expected, a subscription is automatically renewed, a foreign service rejects a payment, or the card needs to be reissued, it becomes clear: keeping all payments on one main card is not always wise.

Against this backdrop, more and more users are looking towards separate virtual cards. One of the services actively discussed in this topic is RedotPay.

It is often called a crypto card, but for the average user, cryptocurrency is not the only important thing.

RedotPay can be interesting as a separate payment tool: for online payments, advertising accounts, international services, mobile wallets, limits, as well as working with USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, and other supported digital assets.

Officially, RedotPay describes itself as a payment app and stablecoin-based card that connects digital assets with everyday payments, and the service’s help center states that to get a card, you need to download the app, register, pass identity verification, add crypto assets via on-chain deposit or buy crypto, and then apply for a virtual or physical card.

What is RedotPay in simple terms

RedotPay is not an ordinary bank card from an Israeli bank. It is a separate payment service with a virtual and, depending on conditions, physical card.

It can be considered in several scenarios.

1. First scenario — RedotPay as a virtual card for online payments: advertising, subscriptions, stores, international services, work tools.
2. Second scenario — RedotPay as a card for payment via phone, it is added to Google Wallet or Apple Wallet.
3. Third scenario — RedotPay as a crypto wallet and payment app, where the user can work with supported digital assets, top up the balance, transfer funds, buy crypto assets, and use them for payments.

In official descriptions, RedotPay mentions virtual and physical cards, payment with BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, and other assets, mobile payments, the ability to pay online and in stores, as well as using the card with a large number of merchants worldwide.

But an important point: RedotPay should not be perceived as a “card without rules.” It is a financial payment tool with its limits, fees, identity verification, top-up rules, country restrictions, and possible questions about the origin of funds.

Why a separate virtual card is needed

The main benefit of a separate virtual card is control.

When the main bank card is linked to all sites and services, the user effectively opens access to their main payment tool to dozens of different platforms. This is not always dangerous, but often inconvenient.

For example, a small business owner launches advertising on Facebook and Google.

At the same time, he pays for domains, hosting, CRM, newsletters, design services, AI tools, Canva, Adobe, subscriptions, marketplaces, and apps. After a few months, it becomes difficult to understand where the business expenses are, where the personal payments are, where the advertising is, and where the automatic renewal of an old subscription is.

A separate virtual card RedotPay allows you to separate payments. One card can be used only for advertising. Another — for subscriptions. A third — for travel or online purchases. Even if something goes wrong, the main bank card will not be linked to every service in a row.

For users in Israel, this is especially relevant because many work with international platforms, pay for services abroad, run advertising accounts in different languages, and use services that do not always work perfectly with local cards.

Payment for advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and Google

One of the main pains of business is advertising payments.

Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and Google Ads charge money regularly. Sometimes the charge occurs after accumulating a certain amount, sometimes on a schedule, sometimes after changing limits in the advertising account. If the main card is linked to advertising, the advertising budget mixes with personal and other business expenses.

A separate RedotPay card can help bring order. It can be used only for advertising, topped up with the necessary amount, and control spending on the project.

RedotPay in the help center separately mentions that after activating the card, information is synchronized with platforms like PayPal, Google Pay, and Facebook, but this does not mean that every payment in every advertising account will always go through without rejections. Advertising platforms, banks, payment networks, and the service itself may have their own payment verification rules.

Therefore, the correct approach is this: first test small amounts, check how the card goes through in the desired advertising account, and only then use it for regular budgets.

Limits on one payment and per day

Another strong point of a separate card is the ability to limit expenses.

If the service allows setting a limit on a one-time payment and a daily limit, it is convenient for advertising, subscriptions, online purchases, and team expenses. The user can pre-limit the amount the card can spend at one time or per day.

This is important when the card is linked to an advertising account. For example, if you want to spend no more than a certain amount on an ad test, the limit helps reduce the risk of unexpected charges.

This is also useful for subscriptions. An old service will not be able to charge more than allowed by the limit. And if the card is used only for a specific project, expenses are easier to control.

In the help center RedotPay there are separate materials on card limits and fees, as well as a section on card usage, where among the questions is the setting of transaction limits. Before active use, you need to check the current limits in your account because conditions may differ by card type, country, verification level, and service rules.

Google Wallet and Apple Wallet: card in the phone

Many users no longer need plastic. They pay by phone: in stores, cafes, transport, apps, and services.

Therefore, an important question: can a virtual card be added to a mobile wallet?

RedotPay has separate instructions for linking a virtual card to Google Pay, as well as a help center section on digital wallets, where there are materials on Google Pay and Apple Pay. On the RedotPay website, there is also a separate page about RedotPay Card on Apple Pay.

For the reader, this means a simple thing: if the function is available for their card, country, device, and account, the virtual card can become a regular payment tool in the phone. For Israel – available.

But here you cannot promise too much. Before use, you need to check whether adding the card is supported specifically for you: in Israel (it can), on your device, with your account, with your card version, and in your mobile wallet.

If the card is added to Google Wallet or Apple Wallet, it is convenient for regular purchases. If not, it can still be considered as a card for online payments, advertising, subscriptions, and international services.

Crypto wallet inside RedotPay: not just a card

RedotPay is interesting not only as a virtual card. Inside the service, there is the logic of a wallet and working with digital assets.

The official app download page RedotPay lists among the possibilities Personal: Card, Send to bank & e-wallet, Send to RedotPay user, Multi-Currency Wallet, Credit, Earn, Swap, and P2P Marketplace. This shows that the service covers not one scenario, but several: card, wallet, transfers, exchange, and working with different payment functions.

For the user, this can be convenient if they already work with USDT or other assets. For example, they can top up the balance, use the supported asset to pay with the card, transfer funds within available functions, or buy crypto assets through the app.

But the more functions, the more responsibility. You need to understand fees, networks, limits, transfer rules, withdrawal conditions, and identity verification requirements.

USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, and other assets

RedotPay in app descriptions indicates support for payments with BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, and other assets. But the current list is always better to check inside the app because supported assets, networks, and conditions may change.

For most users, the most understandable scenario is USDT or USDC because these are stablecoins. But even here there is a risk of error: USDT can exist in different networks, and it needs to be transferred only to the correct address in the correct network.

Crypto top-up: where mistakes are most often made

In the RedotPay help center, a standard way to top up with cryptocurrency is described: open the app, go to Home > Deposit, select the currency, for example, USDT, and then choose the appropriate network for the selected currency.

The most dangerous mistake is thinking that “USDT is USDT everywhere.”

For the user, this can end in a problem. If you choose the wrong network or send the wrong asset, the deposit may not arrive. Therefore, before transferring a large amount, it is better to make a test transfer of a small amount and make sure that the address, network, and asset are chosen correctly.

This is especially important for people who have only used a regular bank card before and are not used to crypto wallets. In a bank, you can sometimes cancel or dispute a transaction. In crypto transfers, a network or address error can be much more complicated.

Top-up with a regular bank or credit card

For users from Israel, an important question sounds like this: can RedotPay be topped up not only by transferring cryptocurrency from an external wallet but through a regular bank or credit card?

In the RedotPay help center, it is stated that the user can buy supported cryptocurrencies in the app using a credit/debit card, as well as other available payment methods.

But for the Israeli user, this needs to be checked practically.

One card may pass and another may not. The bank may decline the transaction. The payment provider may charge a fee. There may be purchase limits, country restrictions, KYC requirements, or additional checks.

Therefore, the correct wording is this: RedotPay indicates the possibility of purchasing supported crypto assets with a credit/debit card, but before use, you need to check whether your specific Israeli bank or credit card passes, what fees apply, and whether there are any restrictions from the bank or service.

Transfers between wallets and users

Another scenario is transfers.

If the service allows sending funds to other RedotPay users, working with a multi-currency wallet, transfers to bank & e-wallet, or other functions, this can be convenient for those who often make international payments or separate business and personal funds.

But here again, it is important not to promise too much. Each function may have separate conditions: country, currency, fee, speed, limit, KYC, availability for a specific user.

Therefore, in the article, it is better to write not “everything is possible,” but “the app declares different functions for the card, wallet, transfers, and fund management; before using a specific operation, you need to check its availability and conditions.”

This approach is safer and more honest.

How RedotPay differs from a regular bank card

A regular bank card is linked to a bank account. RedotPay is a separate payment service.

There are advantages in this.

You can avoid linking the main bank card to all sites.

You can use a separate card for advertising.

You can separate business expenses from personal ones.

You can set limits.

You can use a virtual card for subscriptions and international services.

You can add the card to a mobile wallet if the function is available.

You can work with supported digital assets.

But there are also limitations.

It is not a bank in the usual sense.

There are service rules.

There are fees.

There is KYC.

There are limits.

There is a risk of payment rejections.

There is a risk of errors in crypto transfers.

There are tax and banking issues if significant amounts and digital assets are involved.

That is why RedotPay is better considered not as a replacement for an Israeli bank, but as an additional payment tool for specific tasks.

Who RedotPay can be useful for

RedotPay can be of interest to entrepreneurs, marketers, website owners, freelancers, digital specialists, and anyone who regularly pays for international services.

For example, if you launch advertising on Facebook, Instagram, or Google, a separate card helps separate the advertising budget from personal expenses.

If you pay for hosting, domains, SEO services, AI tools, CRM, newsletters, design platforms, and subscriptions, a virtual card helps avoid linking the main bank card to everything.

If you travel frequently or shop in foreign online stores, a separate card can be a convenient backup payment tool.

If you already have USDT, USDC, or other supported assets, RedotPay can be interesting as a link between digital assets and everyday payments.

If it is important for you to pay by phone, you should check the support of Google Wallet and Apple Wallet for your card and country.

Who should not rush

RedotPay should not be used on emotions.

Do not rush if you do not understand the difference between a bank, a card, a crypto wallet, an exchange, and a payment service.

Do not rush if you do not know what a transfer network is.

Do not rush if you think that USDT in any network can be sent to any USDT address.

Do not rush if you are looking for an “anonymous card,” “bank bypass,” or “payments without questions.”

Do not deposit large amounts until you have checked the fees, limits, support, withdrawal rules, and card operation on small payments.

And especially do not use such services for dubious operations. Any normal payment service operates with rules, checks, and restrictions.

What to check before registration

Before registering with RedotPay, a user from Israel should go through a small checklist.

Is the service available for your country and your document.

What documents are needed for identity verification.

What fees are there for issuing and using the card.

What limits are there for one payment and per day.

Can you set the necessary limits manually.

Can the card be added to Google Wallet.

Can the card be added to Apple Wallet.

Does the card work with Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and Google Ads.

Is the card suitable for your subscriptions and online services.

Can you buy supported crypto assets with your bank or credit card.

What fees does the payment provider charge when purchasing with a card.

What crypto assets are supported.

What networks are available for USDT or other assets.

Can funds be transferred to other users.

Can the balance be withdrawn.

How does support work.

What to do in case of a disputed charge.

What to do if the deposit did not arrive.

What are the terms of the referral program.

This is not bureaucracy, but normal financial hygiene. The sooner the user checks these questions, the fewer surprises there will be later.

RedotPay referral program: how to speak honestly

RedotPay has a referral program. A user can invite another person via a link or code and receive a reward if the invitee fulfills the service conditions.

For media, it is important to present this transparently. There is no need to disguise the referral link as a “neutral recommendation.” The reader should understand that the author or editorial team may receive a reward.

A normal formulation looks like this:

You can register and independently study the terms of RedotPay via the link:

https://url.hk/i/en/0h7rn

The material contains a referral link. If you register through it and fulfill the conditions of RedotPay, the author or editorial team may receive a reward. This is not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.

Main risks to remember

The first risk is fees. The card, purchasing crypto assets, exchange, withdrawal, payments, or service may have different fees. They need to be checked before the operation, not after.

The second risk is limits. If a payment does not go through, the reason may not be the store, but the card limit, service limit, account settings, or payment network rules.

The third risk is KYC. RedotPay requires identity verification to obtain a card, and this is a normal part of the operation of such services. In the help center, obtaining a card is directly linked to identity verification.

The fourth risk is errors in crypto transfers. The wrong network, wrong asset, or wrong address can create a serious problem.

The fifth risk is payment rejections. Not every service is obliged to accept a specific card. Advertising accounts, subscriptions, stores, and payment systems may have their own rules.

The sixth risk is questions from the bank or tax specialist. If it concerns digital assets and significant amounts, it is important to keep a history of operations, purchase confirmations, transfers, statements, and documents about the origin of funds.

How to start more safely

The most sensible way is not to start with a large amount.

First, you need to download the app, study the terms, register, and check which functions are available specifically to you.

Then you can issue a virtual card, look at fees, limits, and security settings.

After that, it is worth making a small test payment: for example, in an online service or where you actually plan to use the card.

If you want to use the card for advertising, first test it on a small advertising budget.

If you want to top up with cryptocurrency, first make a test transfer of a small amount.

If you want to buy crypto with a regular bank or credit card, first check if your Israeli card goes through and what the final fee is.

If you want to pay by phone, check adding it to Google Wallet or Apple Wallet.

This approach does not guarantee the absence of problems, but it significantly reduces the risk of unpleasant surprises.

Frequently asked questions

Is RedotPay a bank card?

No, it is not a regular bank card from an Israeli bank. It is a separate payment service with a virtual and, depending on the conditions, a physical card.

Can RedotPay be used in Israel?

Before registration, you need to check the availability of the service, KYC, and functions specifically for users from Israel. Conditions may depend on the country, document, account, and internal service rules.

Can you pay for advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and Google?

The card can be considered for advertising payments, but each advertising account needs to be tested separately. Payment may depend on the platform’s rules, card, limits, and verification.

Can you set a limit for one payment and per day?

RedotPay has reference materials on limits and card usage. Before use, you need to check what limits are available specifically in your account and whether they can be adjusted to your tasks.

Can the card be added to Google Wallet or Apple Wallet?

RedotPay has instructions for Google Pay and Apple Pay, but availability needs to be checked for your country, device, account, and specific card.

Can you pay in regular stores?

If the card is added to a mobile wallet and supported by a specific terminal, it can be used for contactless payment. But before that, you need to check the availability of the function and test the payment.

What crypto assets does RedotPay support?

The official app descriptions list BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, and other assets. It is better to check the current list in the app.

Can RedotPay be topped up via USDT?

The RedotPay help center describes topping up via Deposit with a currency choice, such as USDT, and the corresponding network. The main thing is to choose the right network and not send a large amount without testing.

Can RedotPay be topped up with a regular bank or credit card?

RedotPay states that supported cryptocurrencies can be purchased in the app using a credit/debit card and other available payment methods. But a user from Israel needs to check if their specific card goes through, what fees apply, and if there are any bank restrictions.

Is this financial advice?

No. Such material should be an informational overview. The decision to register, top up, purchase digital assets, or use the card is made by the user independently.

Conclusion

RedotPay may be of interest to users in Israel not only as a crypto service but also as a separate virtual card for online payments, advertising, subscriptions, international services, and phone payments.

Its practical value lies in separating expenses and control. The main bank card does not need to be linked to all sites. A separate payment tool can be used for advertising. Limits can be set for subscriptions. A separate card can be kept for online purchases. A wallet, top-up, and supported payment functions can be used for digital assets.

But RedotPay should not be perceived as a “simple card without questions.” It is a service with KYC, fees, limits, rules, supported countries, networks, payment conditions, and possible risks.

Before registration, it is worth calmly checking the conditions, testing a small amount, understanding the limits, understanding the top-up rules, ensuring the availability of Google Wallet or Apple Wallet, and not storing large amounts without understanding all the conditions.

You can register and independently study the terms of RedotPay via the link:

https://url.hk/i/en/0h7rn

The material contains a referral link. If you register through it and fulfill the conditions of RedotPay, the author or editorial team may receive a reward. This is not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.

More than 40 Israeli police officers, dozens of diplomats, 45,000 pilgrims, and an operation costing hundreds of thousands of shekels. These data were published on August 24, 2026, by the Israeli publication Ynet, detailing the preparations for Rosh Hashanah in Uman, Ukraine.

The main part of this story is confirmed: Israel is indeed preparing a special operation, Romania is expected to become one of the main transit centers, and the Ukrainian police officially report joint work with Israeli colleagues. But the exact numbers — more than 40 police officers and dozens of diplomats — are currently only provided by Ynet.

Rosh Hashanah 5787 will begin on the evening of September 11 and end on September 13. Ukrainian services expect the mass arrival of pilgrims as early as September 6.

I, the author Elena Gunko, write about events connecting Israel, Ukraine, and the Jewish communities of both countries. For this material, I compared Israeli publications with reports from the National Police of Ukraine, the Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics, local authorities in Uman, and pilgrimage organizers. As a result, a more complex picture emerged than just news about sending several dozen police officers.

Why Israeli police work in Romania

Due to Russian aggression, Ukraine’s airspace is closed to civilian aviation. There are no direct flights from Israel to Kyiv, Odessa, or other Ukrainian cities. Pilgrims are forced to fly to neighboring countries and then spend many hours on buses, trains, and in queues at the border.

On August 19, i24NEWS journalist Ari Kalman reported that Romanian authorities asked Israel to send its police officers to major airports and transit points. The i24NEWS publication was retold by the Srugim website.

It is important to understand: these are not two independent confirmations. Srugim directly refers to the i24NEWS report, so the source of information about Romania’s request and the operation’s budget is essentially one.

It is assumed that Israeli police officers will help Romanian services communicate with passengers in Hebrew, regulate queues, and distribute people between buses and border crossings. They will not replace Romanian police and will not receive independent powers on the territory of another country.

The National Police of Ukraine separately confirmed preparations for joint service with Israeli police in Uman. Ukrainian law enforcement officers plan to control the area of Rabbi Nachman’s tomb, places of residence for pilgrims, bus routes, and access roads to the city.

However, neither the Ukrainian police nor published reports from Israeli state structures currently specify the number of dispatched personnel.

For comparison: in 2023, Israel sent about 20 police officers to Uman. In 2025, the National Police of Ukraine reported the arrival of no more than ten Israeli officers. If Ynet’s information is confirmed, it will be a sharp increase in the contingent.

The operation is estimated at 750,000 shekels, but the budget has not been published

According to i24NEWS, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs is creating a special operational headquarters to coordinate the trip and return of pilgrims. It should maintain contact with Romanian and Ukrainian authorities, monitor the movement of organized groups, and respond to transport or consular issues.

The cost of the operation is estimated at approximately 750,000 shekels. As reported, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, and other departments share the expenses.

This publication confirms Ynet’s wording about “hundreds of thousands of shekels,” but I have not found an open government budget. Nor has a full list of departments that agreed to allocate funds been published. Therefore, 750,000 shekels remain a journalistic estimate, not a final sum of state expenses.

The same applies to dozens of diplomats. The creation of a special headquarters is confirmed by an earlier i24NEWS report, but the exact number of its employees is only named by Ynet.

Why Israel is changing Moldova for Romania

In 2025, Moldova was supposed to be the main route for pilgrims. The Israeli government allocated 10 million shekels for infrastructure and transport solutions related to mass transit through this country. Moldova demanded payment for additional expenses arising from the arrival of tens of thousands of passengers.

This was a significantly larger amount than the current estimate of 750,000 shekels. But they cannot be directly compared. The 2025 funds were primarily intended for infrastructure and transport organization of the Moldovan route, while current expenses relate to police and interdepartmental coordination.

The decision on ten million caused a political dispute in Israel. Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman criticized the use of state funds and linked the trip to Uman with the separate issue of young ultra-Orthodox men avoiding conscription into the IDF.

In 2026, according to Israeli publications, Romania is expected to become the main transit center. However, Moldova does not disappear from the routes completely: some flights and buses will still pass through its territory.

For readers of NANews — News of Israel, this is an important clarification. It is not just about the annual dispatch of police to Uman, but about the constant search for a new logistical scheme after the closure of Ukrainian airspace. Every year, Israel negotiates with a different combination of airports, border services, and transport companies.

How many pilgrims will actually come to Uman

Ynet provides a forecast of 45,000 people: about 35,000 from Israel and another ten thousand from other countries.

The official Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration reported on August 14, 2026, that more than 30,000 pilgrims are expected from Israel alone. The number arriving from other countries was still being clarified at that time.

The Regional Military Administration, or RMA, is a Ukrainian regional executive authority. During martial law, it coordinates police, border guards, transport, and civil protection measures. For an Israeli reader, the closest but legally inaccurate reference is a district administration with additional wartime powers.

Ukrainian public broadcasting “Suspilne” reports that Uman is preparing to receive about 40,000 people. Deputy Mayor Oleg Hanich explained that in normal years, the number of guests ranges from 25,000 to 35–40,000.

The Israeli publication Makor Rishon wrote about more than 45,000 pilgrims from Israel alone and referred to a coordination meeting in Vinnytsia. But the official message from the Vinnytsia RMA about the same meeting only mentions more than 30,000 Israelis. Therefore, the figure from Makor Rishon cannot be considered confirmed by an official Ukrainian source.

Comparison of publications gives such a cautious guideline: Ukraine is preparing for about 40,000 guests, while Israeli media allow for an increase in the total flow to 45,000. These are service forecasts, not final statistics of tickets sold or border crossings.

The scale can be assessed by previous years. In 2022, despite the war, more than 23,000 pilgrims came to Uman. In 2023, there were about 35,000, in 2024 — approximately 34,000, and in 2025, according to local authorities, already more than 40,000.

How Uman prepares hundreds of thousands of portions and knits kippahs

Behind police reports, it’s easy to lose sight of the city itself. Uman is not a temporary camp deployed by state services. Preparation for Rosh Hashanah changes the daily life of local residents for several weeks.

In August 2026, local entrepreneur Angela Levitskaya-Adamia told “Suspilne” that about 35 women have been knitting kippahs for pilgrims for almost a month. Craftswomen from Kherson joined the work. Kippahs are prepared in hundreds, with different colors and patterns made for different groups of visitors.

The largest local kosher canteen, according to its representative Alexander Sukhina, can simultaneously serve more than 12,000 people. For the holiday, they are preparing a stock of approximately 17.5 tons of disposable tableware and plan to produce 300–350,000 portions. Some products are brought from Israel and the USA.

These details better show the real size of the pilgrimage than abstract forecasts. In a few days, it is necessary to feed the population of a small Israeli city, accommodate it in hotels and private homes, deliver it from several countries, and take it to shelters during each air raid alert.

Pilgrimage also has a noticeable economic side. In 2024, about 34,000 guests paid Uman approximately 17 million hryvnias in tourist tax — about 1.56 million shekels at the official exchange rate of that period. About two million hryvnias, or approximately 184,000 shekels, were spent on organization, cleaning, and other city expenses. According to the deputy mayor, part of the remaining money was intended for assistance to the Ukrainian army, improvement, schools, and medical institutions.

Through which countries will pilgrims travel

Vinnytsia RMA confirms three main directions: airports in Romania, airports in Moldova, and railway routes through Poland. A significant part of the buses from Romania and Moldova will cross the Ukrainian border in the Mohyliv-Podilskyi district of Vinnytsia region.

Ynet also mentions Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. Hungary and Slovakia have a common border with Ukraine and can indeed be used for entry. Bulgaria does not have a common border with Ukraine. It can be a country of arrival, but passengers will still have to travel through Romania. Therefore, calling Bulgaria a point of crossing the Ukrainian border is incorrect.

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience reports that 21 border points are planned to be used for entry and exit. The service also expects the arrival of 16 mediators — translators and intermediaries who will help Ukrainian law enforcement communicate with pilgrims.

This Ukrainian agency is responsible for the state’s interaction with religious organizations and national communities. There is no full equivalent with the same powers in Israel.

When choosing a ticket, it is not enough to check only the arrival airport. Two flights to the same city may use different ground routes and border crossings. It is on the bus part of the route and at the border that the most prolonged delays occurred in previous years.

Ukraine is preparing to receive, but advises not to come

The most important contradiction of this story is that Ukrainian authorities are simultaneously preparing for the pilgrimage and recommending against it.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine warned that due to ongoing Russian aggression, the state cannot guarantee full safety for foreign citizens. Among the main problems are the insufficient number of shelters, limited medical capabilities of the city, and overload of ground crossings.

A curfew will be in effect in Uman from 00:00 to 04:00. During these hours, it is not allowed to be outside without special permission. Pilgrims are prohibited from launching drones and fireworks, photographing military objects, checkpoints, and critical infrastructure, transporting weapons or their imitations. In case of an air raid alert, it is necessary to go to a shelter.

Local authorities have obliged homeowners to provide shelter places for all accepted guests. If a private house accommodates 20 pilgrims, the owner must have a shelter for 20 people. But the published requirement does not yet prove that every landlord has fulfilled it and that each such facility has passed a full inspection.

NANews — News of Israel emphasizes the limits of the Israeli operation. Police and diplomats can help with queues, conflicts, loss of documents, or transport failures. They cannot protect people from Russian missiles and strike drones.

What is behind the $27 or $45 fee

On the Hebrew-language site of the payment organizers, it is indicated that the tourist fee can be paid in advance — $27, approximately 81 shekels at the exchange rate on August 24. After arriving in Uman, the amount will be $45, or about 134 shekels.

The payer receives confirmation with a barcode. Organizers warn that it may be checked upon entering the pilgrimage area. The reduced amount is explained by an agreement between the Union of Breslov Hasidim and the Uman municipality.

But the usual Ukrainian rate is calculated differently. According to information from Uman Travel, based on a city council decision, a foreign guest in 2026 must pay for each night:

• about 29 shekels when staying in a private house, apartment, room, or cottage;
• about 14.5 shekels when staying in an official hotel, hostel, or other registered facility.

In a hotel, this payment may be included in the accommodation cost. Children under 18, people with disabilities, and a few other categories are exempt from the fee.

Therefore, $27 is not a single Ukrainian rate for one night, but a special prepayment amount agreed upon by the pilgrimage organizers. The open instruction does not explain how many nights it covers and how it accounts for different types of accommodation. The increase to $45 when paying on-site also appears to be a condition of this mechanism, not a regular city tax rate.

Before paying, it is worth checking whether the fee is included in the hotel cost, whether it applies to a specific passenger, and for what period the confirmation is issued.

What needs to be checked before the trip

People currently trying to figure out how to get from Israel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah 2026 need more than just a plane ticket. They need to know the country of arrival, the carrier from the airport to the border, the specific border crossing, the address of residence, and the actual location of the nearest shelter.

Medical insurance should be checked separately. A standard Israeli tourist policy may exclude damage, treatment, or evacuation related to war. The mere fact of purchasing insurance does not mean it is valid during a trip to Ukraine.

As of August 24, the dates of the holiday, preparation for joint police work, the use of routes through Romania, Moldova, and Poland, the special headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ukrainian wartime restrictions are confirmed.

About 750,000 shekels, more than 40 police officers, dozens of diplomats, and 45,000 guests remain preliminary estimates by Israeli media. They may turn out to be accurate, but they cannot yet be presented as final data from state departments.

This is what distinguishes the current trip from ordinary religious tourism. Several countries are capable of organizing flights, buses, queues, meals, and police escort. But none of the participants in the operation can cancel the war in Ukraine and guarantee that tens of thousands of people will not find themselves under an air raid alert or a Russian strike.

It was not a dry lecture about terms.

The conversation between Sophie Ron-Moria and Levi Tabachnikov was an attempt to explain why it is impossible to truly understand modern Israel without understanding its internal religious and social groups: its politics, army, education, conflicts, elections, culture, and daily life.

The guest of the episode was Sophie Ron-Moria — a lawyer, journalist, publicist, writer, columnist for “Maariv”, and participant in discussions on Channel 9. In the conversation, she was presented as a representative of the national-religious environment, that is, religious Zionism — the sector often called “knitted kippahs” or dati-leumi in Israel.

The host of the meeting was Levi Tabachnikov. He defined the topic as part of the “Understanding Israel” series of meetings of the “Beytenu Olami” project, where various specialists and residents of the country help to understand how Israeli society, the state of Israel, and Jewish life within it are structured. Levi Tabachnikov is a reserve officer of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a public and political figure. An immigrant from Donetsk (Ukraine), he is actively engaged in volunteer, human rights, and informational activities.

We recommend watching this video in full here it is – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZwmcFy1nQ8: the conversation turned out to be important for understanding how Israel is structured from the inside today — through religion, army, education, work, benefits, and the issue of collective responsibility after October 7.

For those who prefer reading, NANews — Israel News Nikk.Agency prepared extracts from the broadcast: we collected theses, figures, and fragments of the conversation that seemed most important and interesting for understanding the future of the Jewish democratic state.

The main conflict: not only security anymore, but the structure of the state

At the beginning of the conversation, Levi Tabachnikov set the framework: even if we exclude the Arab-Israeli conflict, relations with Muslim countries, and the Palestinian issue, there is a deep polarization felt within the Jewish society of Israel today.

According to him, it is not just about political disagreements, but about different ideas of what Israel should be.

Sophie Ron-Moria responded that over the past 10–15 years, especially after October 7, Israeli society has noticeably shifted to the right. The question of the future of Judea and Samaria, in her assessment, is largely in consensus today: most Israelis oppose territorial concessions.

That is why, according to her, the line of the main internal confrontation has changed.

If earlier the political debate often revolved around the question of creating a Palestinian state between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, now, when the majority does not support such an idea, the focus has shifted to something else: what the state of Israel itself should be.

It is about religion and the state, the status of different groups within Jewish society, military service, the education system, work, taxes, rights, and obligations.

Sophie Ron-Moria formulated her personal position very strictly: as a religious Jew since the age of 17, she is categorically against the creation of a religious state in Israel.

She emphasized that precisely as a religious person, she fears theocratic models and wants to do everything possible to prevent Israel from going down this path.

According to her, the current debate is about whether the Jewish state should develop according to the Western democratic model or move towards theocracy. At the same time, she reminded that modern theocratic states today mainly exist in the East and are Muslim.

She separately noted that in recent months the confrontation has especially intensified due to the issue of drafting ultra-Orthodox into the army.

Who is who: secular, traditional, religious Zionists, and Haredim

The conversation highlighted the main groups of Jewish society in Israel: secular, traditional Jews — masortim, national-religious or religious Zionists — dati-leumi, “knitted kippahs”, and ultra-Orthodox — Haredim.

Sophie Ron-Moria immediately clarified an important thing: “knitted kippahs”, religious Zionists, and dati-leumi are the same main group, although there are subgroups and significant differences within it.

To explain, she used an image from her book “Left, Right, Where’s the Side”. In the book, she says, there are chapters on key Israeli conflicts: judicial reform, right and left, ultra-Orthodox, gender segregation, military service, and the internal gradation of religious groups.

One of the chapters is called “Cats and Tigers”.

The meaning of this metaphor is simple: all tigers belong to the cat family, but not all cats are tigers.

Similarly, according to Sophie Ron-Moria, all Haredim are Orthodox, but not all Orthodox Jews are Haredim.

This is an important distinction because in Israeli politics and public discourse, different groups are often deliberately mixed, saying that all religious Jews are the same. Sophie Ron-Moria emphasized the opposite: religious Jews are different, and there is nothing unusual about that.

Haredim: not an ancient norm, but a 19th-century reaction

One of the central theses of the conversation concerned the origin of the Haredim.

Sophie Ron-Moria opposed the widespread notion that the ultra-Orthodox way of life existed in its current form always, almost since the time of Mount Sinai.

According to her, Haredim in the current understanding is a relatively new phenomenon in terms of Jewish history. Its beginning is associated with the 19th century and the reaction to the emancipation of Jews in Europe, the Napoleonic era, the opportunity for Jews to enter European society, receive education, professions, and attend universities.

Against this backdrop, the Haskalah movement — Jewish Enlightenment — emerged. And the reaction to it was radicalization in the opposite direction.

Sophie Ron-Moria even called the Haredim “reformists” — but not in the sense of a movement to ease religious practice, but as a reform towards a sharp tightening. In her formulation, if Reform Judaism moved towards easing, then Haredim is a reform towards adding prohibitions and restrictions.

She estimated the age of this phenomenon at about 150–200 years, emphasizing that Haskalah and Reform Judaism are even slightly older than the modern ultra-Orthodox movement.

She separately spoke about the radicalization of appearance and norms of modesty.

According to her, Italian Jewish women of the Renaissance looked much like their neighbors in Rome, Verona, and Florence: the wives of wealthy townspeople wore headgear but did not completely cover their hair and could wear open dresses with décolleté.

She also noted that in early 20th-century photographs, the wives of Chabad and Lithuanian rabbis looked very different from modern Haredi women: they wore wide-brimmed hats from under which real hair was visible. Men trimmed their beards short and wore light suits.

In her estimation, the sharp radicalization of appearance and everyday norms began after World War II.

Haredim numbers: how many there are, how they are divided, and where they live

The conversation included an estimate: today in Israel there are about 1,250,000 Haredim, that is, about one and a quarter million.

Moreover, more than 50% of Haredim are under 19 years old.

The reason is high birth rates. The conversation mentioned an estimate of about 6 children per woman.

Within the Haredi sector, Sophie Ron-Moria identified several main groups.

The Lithuanian direction — Litvaks, or Litai — about 29–32%.

Hasidim — about 30–35%.

Eastern, Sephardic Haredim — about 33–35%.

Chabad stands separately. According to Sophie Ron-Moria, Chabadniks are very visible, especially in public spaces, but in Israel, they are about 6%. In the diaspora, they are more noticeable and numerous.

There are also Haredim modernim, or “Haredim light” — about 11%. These are ultra-Orthodox who receive a matriculation certificate, go to study, sometimes serve in the army. Special Haredi military yeshivas already exist for them. The conversation mentioned that this group is close to Modern Orthodox in the USA, and some of these people are immigrants from Europe and the United States, accustomed to a different lifestyle.

The geography of Haredim in Israel was described separately.

In Jerusalem, according to the estimate mentioned, there are almost 300,000 Haredim.

Bnei Brak was named an almost entirely Haredi city.

Beit Shemesh — about 90,000 Haredim.

Modiin Illit — about 76,000.

Beitar Illit near Gush Etzion — about 59,000.

The conversation also mentioned Elad, Ashdod with about 57,000 Haredim, as well as Arad, Petah Tikva, Haifa, and Rehovot, where there are also noticeable Haredi groups.

Why Haredim conflict with Zionism

Levi Tabachnikov asked directly: is there a contradiction between Zionism and the Haredi worldview, and is the conflict between a Zionist Jew and an ultra-Orthodox Jew new?

Sophie Ron-Moria answered: the conflict is not new.

According to her, since the beginning of the Zionist movement, the ultra-Orthodox direction had theological objections to the creation of a Jewish state before the coming of the Messiah.

She referred to the so-called “three oaths” from the Ketubot tractate: “not to ascend ‘as a wall’ to the land of Israel”, “not to overly conflict with the nations of the world”, and “not to hasten the coming of the Messiah”. In the Haredi interpretation, these oaths conflict with Zionism.

This position, according to her, is shared by both Hasidim and Litvaks.

However, the leaders of Agudat Israel signed the Declaration of Independence of Israel. But, as Sophie Ron-Moria explained, they recognized the state more de facto than de jure: not as something that should have been created initially, but as a fact that already exists.

From this, according to her, grows the theological explanation for the refusal to serve in the army.

Sophie Ron-Moria reminded that Maimonides has categories of commanded wars. Among them are the war for the land of Israel and a defensive war. From the perspective of religious Zionists, these categories are relevant today because Israel is waging precisely such wars.

But Haredim, according to her explanation, claim otherwise: since the state of Israel, in their opinion, should not have been created before the coming of the Messiah, the wars of the state of Israel are not commanded wars for them.

She also emphasized an important symbolic point: in most ultra-Orthodox synagogues worldwide, prayers are said for the welfare of the countries where these communities live, and often for the welfare of the state of Israel. But in Israel, according to her, the prayer for the welfare of the state of Israel is recited only in the synagogues of “knitted kippahs”, that is, religious Zionists.

It’s not just Neturei Karta: what Sophie Ron-Moria said about the Haredi mainstream

The conversation separately mentioned that skepticism towards the state of Israel is not only the position of the radical group Neturei Karta.

Sophie Ron-Moria said that external observers are often tried to be explained: there are, they say, a few hundred Neturei Karta families, they do not take money from the state, and they express extreme anti-Zionism. But, according to her, the problem is broader.

She gave the example of the “Chinuch Haredi Atzmai” system — independent Haredi education, independent primarily from the state. According to her, this system maintains precisely the approach to the state that she described.

As an example, she told the story of an acquaintance who worked as an inspector at Ministry of Education exams. In the SHAS system schools, which she called less extreme than Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox schools, they sometimes take Ministry of Education exams and receive a partial matriculation certificate.

But before handing out the exam booklets to the children, the administration covered the emblem of Israel with special stickers so that the students would not see it. After submitting the works, the stickers were removed and the booklets were sent back to the ministry.

Sophie Ron-Moria called it absurd that such an education system is funded by the state of Israel.

Working Haredim: why their own mainstream doesn’t like them

A separate part of the conversation was devoted to “Haredim light” and working ultra-Orthodox.

Sophie Ron-Moria said that Haredim modernim are in many ways similar to Modern Orthodox in the USA. They can receive education, work, sometimes serve in the army. But the Haredi mainstream, according to her, treats them harshly and does not like them.

She explained this by saying that the two main ultra-Orthodox parties — SHAS and Yahadut HaTorah — actually represent the interests of non-working ultra-Orthodox.

A working Haredi, according to her, is often considered a second-class community member. He has no full political representation and is even considered less attractive on the marriage market.

In the early 21st century, there was an attempt to create the TOV party — a party of working ultra-Orthodox. It started at the municipal level, but, according to Sophie Ron-Moria, the SHAS party quickly showed it its place and effectively destroyed this project.

She also recalled the Poalei Agudat Israel movement, created in 1922. It was a working Haredi, but at the same time Zionist direction. It existed until the 1980s and then practically disappeared.

Money, army, and the state treasury: where Sophie Ron-Moria sees the solution

One of the questions from the comments concerned a possible plan for regulating relations between the state of Israel and the ultra-Orthodox sector.

Sophie Ron-Moria said that throughout her life in Israel, she waited for Israelis to wake up and start solving this problem. She arrived in Israel in 1989 and called the current moment almost “the coming of the Messiah” in the sense that society is finally beginning to see the problem.

Her solution was formulated simply: stop funding the ultra-Orthodox anti-state education system and the system that encourages adult men not to work and not to serve in the army.

She gave the example of a middle-class reservist with a small child.

According to her, such a reservist, who serves, works, and earns about 15,000 shekels net, may pay about 4,000 shekels a month for daycare.

His ultra-Orthodox peer, who never served in the army, may pay about 400 shekels for the same daycare — 10 times less — thanks to a special discount.

Sophie Ron-Moria emphasized that such a discount in a similar form exists for families where both parents work. But when one of the parents does not work and is considered an “eternal student”, such a benefit effectively exists only for the ultra-Orthodox.

She also said that in total, an ultra-Orthodox family receives about 5,000 shekels a month from the state through various mechanisms: scholarships, discounts, food vouchers, preferential housing acquisition, and other forms of support.

In her opinion, the state of Israel in this situation “shoots itself in the foot”: instead of encouraging those who serve in the army and replenish the treasury, it encourages those who do not serve and do not replenish the budget.

She reminded that Avigdor Lieberman, when he was finance minister, tried to cancel such a discount. The Supreme Court, BAGATZ, did not prohibit the idea in essence but indicated that the benefit could not be canceled immediately because the school year had already begun and suggested postponing the change to the next year. Then the government fell, and the reform was not completed.

Therefore, according to Sophie Ron-Moria, the state needs to stop prioritizing funding for non-working groups.

GMAHs and the state treasury

The conversation included a question about GMAHs — systems of interest-free mutual assistance and loans within the religious environment.

Sophie Ron-Moria explained that a GMAH is an organized issuance of interest-free loans.

Sometimes such structures exist as amutot, that is, non-profit organizations, and can receive state support. Sometimes they operate without such support.

But, according to her, GMAHs are not the system that supports the ultra-Orthodox world of Israel.

The main system that supports it is the state treasury.

Religious Zionists: “knitted kippahs” and their internal groups

After discussing the Haredim, the conversation moved to religious Zionists — “knitted kippahs”, dati-leumi.

Levi Tabachnikov reminded that this direction did not always exist in its current form, it was formed with difficulty, including through the ideas of Rav Reines and Rav Kook. But Sophie Ron-Moria suggested not delving into history, as it would require a separate two hours, and to move on to the current situation.

The main figure: according to her estimate, there are about 1,400,000 religious Zionists in Israel. That is, there are more of them than Haredim.

Within religious Zionism, she identified three main groups.

The first is Hardal, or Haredi-Dati-Leumi. This direction, in social and religious terms, largely resembles the ultra-Orthodox, but fundamentally differs from them in that it recognizes the state of Israel, serves in the army, and works.

According to Sophie Ron-Moria, Hardal was previously a small direction, but as a large group, it formed around the 1990s. Today, it makes up almost a third of the religious-Zionist sector and is growing faster because such families have more children.

The second group is the mainstream of religious Zionism, about 40–45%.

The third is liberals or modernim, more modern religious Zionists, about 28%.

Sophie Ron-Moria noted that it is more difficult to draw a boundary between the mainstream and liberals, while Hardal stands separately.

Settlers and ‘knitted kippahs’ are not the same thing.

One of the important clarifications in the conversation concerned the common confusion: not all settlers are religious Zionists, and not all religious Zionists are settlers.

Sophie Ron-Moria said that today about 600,000 Israelis live beyond the green line.

Of them, ‘knitted kippahs’ make up a little more than a third.

The rest are secular and traditional Israelis living in large settlements near the green line, such as Ma’ale Adumim and Ariel, as well as about 100,000 Haredim living in places like Beitar Illit and Immanuel.

Even among the settlements themselves, there are different types.

Efrat, Gush Etzion, Elkana were named as more liberal settlements.

Small settlements in the mountains, as well as some settlements in the Hebron area, she said, are more often associated with the Hardal direction.

When asked about the ‘hilltop youth,’ she replied that it is not the same as Hardal. The hilltop youth, she said, stands apart.

Smotrich does not represent all religious Zionists.

Separately, Sophie Ron-Moria explained the political confusion around the ‘Religious Zionism’ party of Bezalel Smotrich.

According to her, this party does not represent the entire religious-Zionist sector, but mainly the Hardal direction.

That is why, in her estimation, Smotrich’s party today balances on the edge of the electoral threshold. If it represented the entire mainstream of religious Zionism, it would enter the Knesset much more confidently.

Sophie Ron-Moria also reminded that many religious Zionists live within the green line: in Jerusalem, Modi’in, Ra’anana, Petah Tikva, in the south of the country, in Sderot, and other places.

Most ‘knitted kippahs,’ she said, do not live in settlements, although many sympathize with the settlement movement.

How to distinguish Hardal from other religious Zionists.

Sophie Ron-Moria explained that Hardal is distinguished primarily by lifestyle.

In Hardal families, she said, gender separation can begin as early as 3–4 years old. They have a strict dress code.

A Hardal man can often be recognized by a larger kippah and a beard.

A more liberal religious Zionist usually has a smaller kippah, and may not have a beard. She gave a personal example: her husband shaves his beard and does not shave only during mourning days when it is not allowed.

Women of different directions of religious Zionism also look different because the dress code within subgroups differs.

At the same time, Sophie Ron-Moria briefly noted that there are also conservative and reform communities in Israel, but they are relatively few, so they were not specifically discussed.

Torah and real life: the religious-Zionist response to Haredim.

Levi Tabachnikov formulated the ideological basis of religious Zionism through three concepts: the Torah of Israel, the land of Israel, and the state of Israel.

Sophie Ron-Moria responded that, considering the relatively new nature of the ultra-Orthodox movement, natural Judaism is not isolation from the world, but Torah im derech eretz, that is, Torah together with real life.

According to her, a Jew should not close himself behind walls out of fear that, looking outside, he will immediately begin to violate commandments.

She asked the question: if the Haredim say that a young man, upon entering the army, will remove his kippah, then what was he taught?

From her point of view, a Jew should be able to live in a world where not everyone is like him and maintain his faith and practice in real life.

As a religious example, she recalled the weekly portion ‘Shlach’ about the scouts. In her interpretation, the scouts largely expressed the approach that would later resemble the ultra-Orthodox: as if it is impossible to observe the Torah and simultaneously be a farmer, a warrior, a person of real life.

Such an approach, she said, was recognized as incorrect.

She also reminded that the Shulchan Aruch states: a man must support his wife and children, not remain a yeshiva student all his life while his wife works.

In her opinion, the lifelong model of ‘yeshiva student until gray hair’ contradicts the original approach of Judaism.

She emphasized: abroad, Jews do not live so massively because there is no state of Israel that could support a large number of yeshiva students all their lives.

Can Hardal become a separate sector?

Sophie Ron-Moria suggested that in 10 years, Hardal might stand out as a separate group.

She explained this with the criterion of marriages: if representatives of the subgroup mainly marry only among themselves, over time, this may become a separate sector.

According to her, today Hardalniks mainly meet and marry Hardalniks, liberals marry liberals, and a liberal can marry a girl from the mainstream. But such marriages between Hardal and liberal religious Zionism are significantly less typical.

Should the state support large Haredi families?

One of the listeners’ questions was whether it is really possible to reduce support for ultra-Orthodox families if they have many children.

Sophie Ron-Moria replied that the criteria for assistance should be the same for all large families — Haredi, religious-Zionist, traditional, or secular.

If a family is poor, social services should help them. But the father, she said, should go to work. If he does not work, he should not receive special benefits just because of belonging to the ultra-Orthodox sector.

She recalled Benjamin Netanyahu’s position when he was finance minister in Ariel Sharon’s government in the early 2000s: if you want to have children, work to support them.

Demography: ‘we are doomed’ or not yet.

Levi Tabachnikov raised the issue of alarming forecasts: many believe that the ultra-Orthodox will sooner or later become the majority, the economy will not withstand, the army will not withstand, and the state will find itself in a dead end.

Sophie Ron-Moria replied that one should not become Cassandra and make definitive demographic forecasts for Israel.

She recalled the story of Shimon Peres, who in 1989, discussing Judea and Samaria, said that if a million immigrants came from the Soviet Union, the issue would look different, but that would never happen. A year or two later, mass aliyah began, and that very million arrived.

Therefore, she said, Israel is a country where geopolitical and demographic forecasts often break. A new aliyah is possible, including from the USA.

But this does not mean that the problem can be ignored. Haredim also need to feed their children, and the system needs to change.

Can Torah study bring innovations to the economy?

One of the listeners asked if Torah study can become a factor in increasing productivity and innovation in Israel’s economy.

Sophie Ron-Moria replied: it can, but only if it is combined with the study of economics, computers, physics, mathematics, and other modern disciplines.

She rejected the widespread myth that a person who has only studied Gemara has trained his brain so much that he can easily catch up with everyone in the big world.

According to her, statistics show the opposite: those from ultra-Orthodox communities who later go to get a profession and education lag about a third behind their peers.

She emphasized that studying Gemara can indeed train thinking, but only in combination with modern education.

As an example, she recalled Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, one of the leaders of Modern Orthodox, who advised young American Jews thinking of becoming rabbis to get a serious education and pursue a doctorate.

Can Haredim serve, work, and remain Haredim?

At the end of the conversation, a key question was raised: if the ultra-Orthodox have to accept the Israeli social contract — education, work, military service, participation in the general system of duties — can they remain Haredim?

Sophie Ron-Moria replied: yes, they can.

She reminded that in 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, military vehicles drove through Bnei Brak and took men from synagogues. At that time, a significant part of the ultra-Orthodox served in the army and worked. Families did not have 10–15 children, but 7–8.

According to her, the turning point came after 1977, when Menachem Begin came to power and a system of political confrontation between Likud and Labor arose, in which Haredi parties were constantly ‘bought off.’ It was then, in her estimation, that the quota once introduced by David Ben-Gurion was destroyed.

She also pointed to the diaspora: American Haredim work and remain Haredim. Moreover, in the USA and Europe, living a Haredi life is more difficult than in Israel because there is no such infrastructure and state support as in the Jewish state.

Therefore, it is possible to work, serve, and maintain a Haredi identity.

Personal experience of Sophie Ron-Moria.

Sophie Ron-Moria also talked about herself.

In the mid-1980s, when she was 15, she skipped classes and went to the Leningrad synagogue. There she got into Jewish circles, and at 17, she made teshuva and became religious.

She came to Israel in 1989 already as a religious person.

She admitted that Israeli Haredim were a shock to her. Haredim in Leningrad, she said, looked and lived differently.

She also talked about her son. She has three sons, the youngest is now 21 years old. He studies in a military yeshiva, shortly after October 7, he went to the army, fought in Gaza, then returned to the yeshiva and must go back to the army. He serves in combat units.

Sophie Ron-Moria emphasized: it is possible to live like this. Her son did not remove his kippah. None of her three sons removed their kippah.

According to her, if a young man removes his kippah when meeting another world, the question is not to the army, but to what he was taught.

Who is really afraid of change?

One of the last questions concerned the claim that secular or religious Zionists want to ‘break’ the Haredi way of life and force the ultra-Orthodox to stop being themselves.

Sophie Ron-Moria rejected this.

According to her, after October 7, when Israel so urgently needs soldiers, it is impossible to say that the issue of service is only an attempt to remake the Haredim.

She believes that the goal of secular and religious Zionists is not to destroy the Haredi way of life, but to establish fair participation in common duties.

The main fear, in her opinion, is within the Haredi leadership. It is the fear of contact with the outside world and the fear of losing control.

She gave an example of a Haredi college where she wanted to study law about 10 years ago. There was a strict dress code: stockings, sleeves below the elbow, restrictions on earrings, a ban on large jewelry, only pale pink nail polish, a ban on boots. Moreover, the rules applied not only inside the college but also outside.

In her opinion, such rules are needed not because outsiders want to remake the Haredim, but because the system itself is afraid: its women will see another way of life and want the same.

She also recalled the pandemic period when, according to her, ultra-Orthodox leaders demanded that Haredi boys not be housed with ‘knitted kippahs,’ fearing their influence.

The main reason for fear, in her opinion, is that a Haredi who goes to the army returns to the community already less dependent on ultra-Orthodox leadership. He can go to work, can vote for whom he wants, can make decisions independently.

It is the loss of control, she said, that scares the Haredi leadership the most.

After October 7, the position of religious Zionists changed.

In the finale, Levi Tabachnikov asked Sophie Ron-Moria if her position is a minority within the religious-Zionist sector.

She replied that if this question had been asked 5 years ago, she would have said: yes, it is a minority, about the same 27–28% of liberal and modern religious Zionists who do not want the Haredization of Israel.

But after October 7, she said, the situation has changed.

Today, Sophie Ron-Moria believes, most ‘knitted kippahs’ understand that it cannot continue like this.

What was once the position of a liberal minority within religious Zionism has become much closer to the sector’s consensus after the war.

Why this video is important for understanding Israel.

This meeting of the ‘Understanding Israel’ project shows that Israel’s religious map is much more complex than the usual division into ‘secular’ and ‘religious.’

Within the religious world, there are Haredim, religious Zionists, Hardal, mainstream, liberal Dati-Leumi, working ultra-Orthodox, Chabadniks, Litvaks, Hasidim, Sephardic Haredim, and other groups.

But the main conflict that runs through the entire conversation is not only religious.

It is a conflict about the social contract.

Who serves in the army.

Who works.

Who receives education.

Who pays taxes.

Who receives benefits.

Who recognizes the state of Israel not only as a fact but also as a value.

Who is ready to participate in the common fate of the country.

In this sense, the conversation between Sofi Ron-Moria and Levi Tabachnikov is important not only for those interested in religion. It is important for everyone who wants to understand why the debate about the Haredim, the army, and education has become one of the central issues of Israel’s future.

Because behind it lies not only the question of conscription.

Behind it lies the question: what will Israel be — a democratic Jewish state where different groups share common responsibility, or a country where one part of society serves, works, and pays, while the other receives special status and separate rules.

That is why without understanding the religious currents and sectors, it is impossible to understand Israel today.

We recommend watching this video in full here it is – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZwmcFy1nQ8 : the conversation turned out to be important for understanding how Israel is structured today from the inside — through religion, the army, education, work, benefits, and the question of common responsibility after October 7.

Author of NANews – Israel News: Pavel Shveyko

On August 23, 2026, on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day, the CEO of JNF-KKL Eurasia, Igal Yasinov, recorded an address to Ukrainians from the ‘Ukraine’ forest in the Negev. At first glance, it’s a few minutes of festive video. But the place chosen for the recording changes the meaning of the address: Yasinov stands among the trees of a project he was involved in more than ten years ago. The official website of JNF-KKL Eurasia still lists his position as the organization’s CEO.

“Look around, trees grow slowly, but they withstand storms.

This is exactly how Israel is. This is exactly how Ukraine is. This is exactly how people are, who continue to build the future even under shelling.

Today I congratulate the worthy Kharkiv, I congratulate Ukraine on Independence Day. I greet everyone who believes in freedom more strongly than the enemies believe in their weapons.

Eternal memory to those who gave their lives for freedom. Glory to the heroes defending Ukraine today. Glory to the heroes defending Israel today. Glory to Ukraine and glory to Israel.

Peace to our countries. And may the day come when our children know the sound of the wind in the trees better than the sound of sirens.

Friends, we are united. Victory to us!”

JNF-KKL is the Jewish National Fund, in Hebrew קרן קיימת לישראל, Keren Kayemet Le-Israel. The organization has existed since 1901; today its areas include forests and the environment, water, land development, education, tourism, and research projects. Therefore, the word ‘forest’ in this story is not a conditional name for a monument: it is indeed about a KKL project within the Dorot forest massif in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council. KKL itself has called it both יער אוקראינה-דורות — ‘Ukraine-Dorot Forest’ and ‘Ukraine Grove’ within the Dorot forest at different times.

I was born and raised in Ukraine, and Israel became my new home.

Therefore, for NANews — Israel News, I decided not to limit myself to retelling the congratulation. I compared the transcript of the current video with KKL materials from 2015, 2017, and 2018, the ‘Ukrainians in Israel’ page about the planting on April 6, 2016, publications of the World Odessa Club about the events of 2014, and reports from Israeli media about the fires in the Dorot forest.

The biography of Yasinov himself also turned out to be part of this story: Kharkiv in his address is not a Ukrainian city chosen by an editor, but the place of his birth.

It is in such a comparison that details are discovered that are not in the short congratulation. For example, in December 2015, KKL planned to transfer the presidential olive tree to the Ukrainian forest for the upcoming Tu BiShvat, but the documented planting took place only on April 6, 2016. And the official KKL material from 2018 again tells about the transfer of one of the olives to Dorot. This is no longer a smooth anniversary chronicle, but a story where documents from different years have to be read side by side.

Why August 23 turned out to be no less important for a native of Kharkiv than the 24th

Yasinov’s address does not start with Kyiv or even Independence Day. He talks about Kharkiv: the city where he was born, where liberation from Nazi occupation was once celebrated, and which during the current war lives again under sirens and explosions. In the video transcript, it sounds: ‘August 23 for Kharkiv is not just a date.’ After this, Yasinov talks about the ability of Kharkiv residents to withstand ‘then’ and ‘now’.

The Israeli reader needs context here. August 23 in Kharkiv traditionally marks City Day and the day of liberation from Nazi occupation in 1943. Ukrainian official regional sources continue to associate this date with both events. At the same time, there is a separate historical discussion around the wording ‘liberation on August 23’: the fighting around the city did not end in one moment, so today Ukrainian historians discuss how accurately the Soviet calendar formula describes what happened on the ground. For Yasinov’s speech, something else is more important: for a person of his generation, this date has been part of Kharkiv’s memory for decades.

And on August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. This is not analogous to Israel’s Yom Ha’atzmaut in calendar logic—the two countries have completely different historical trajectories—but for an Israeli, the function of the holiday is clear: it is the main state day of modern Ukraine. In 2026, it marks 35 years since the adoption of the Act.

Therefore, the sequence in the address is not accidental: on August 23, Yasinov remembers his city, and then talks about the state. ‘And the next day Ukraine will celebrate Independence Day,’ he continues. In his speech, the holiday is immediately associated not with a parade or official protocol, but with the price of freedom during the war.

Former Knesset member from Kharkiv: who is Igal Yasinov

Igal Yasinov was born on April 27, 1966, in Kharkiv, then part of the Ukrainian SSR, and repatriated to Israel in 1993 from independent Ukraine. He is now 60 years old. In the current video, he says he has lived in Israel, ‘in Holy Jerusalem,’ for more than 33 years, and draws a personal conclusion from this: Kharkiv and Jerusalem are closer to each other today than they seem on the map.

Before his current work at KKL, Yasinov went through Israeli parliamentary politics. In the elections on January 28, 2003, the secular party ‘Shinui’ received 15 mandates; Yasinov was fifteenth on its list and entered the 16th Knesset. For a reader who does not remember the political map of Israel in the early 2000s: ‘Shinui’ was a secular middle-class party that advocated, among other things, for limiting religious pressure on civil life. Yasinov himself spoke about ecology, student rights, reservists, and workers’ rights in interviews before the elections.

In the Knesset, he also dealt with aliyah issues. Here the word aliyah means the repatriation of Jews to Israel based on the Law of Return. On the current official KKL page, among Yasinov’s previous positions, chairmanship in the structure supporting scientist-repatriates is indicated; he was also part of the leadership of the organization of teacher-repatriates. Therefore, working with immigrants from the former USSR appeared in his biography long before his current position at JNF-KKL Eurasia.

His political career ended quite unusually. On February 1, 2006, Yasinov left ‘Shinui’ and created the ‘Ha-Olim’ faction—the name can be translated as ‘Repatriates’. During the same period, it merged into the ‘National Unity — Our Home Israel’ bloc, after which ‘Our Home Israel’ separated into an independent parliamentary faction. The official Knesset database maintains this sequence by dates.

After parliamentary politics, his work became increasingly connected with KKL. Over the years, he held leadership positions in the fund, and today the official structure of JNF-KKL Eurasia calls him the CEO. Therefore, the phrase from the current video ‘I had the honor of leading its creation’ about the ‘Ukraine’ forest, I decided to verify not as a beautiful memory of a former politician, but by the documents of the time itself.

From the Odessa Grove to 1200 dunams: how the Ukrainian forest appeared in the Negev

The first trace leads to April 2014, and this is important: the official ‘Ukraine Forest’ project took shape later, but Ukrainian trees appeared in this place earlier. On April 23, during the international OdessAviv festival, the creation of the Odessa Grove began in the north of the Negev, designed for about a thousand trees. Publications of the World Odessa Club and ‘Evening Odessa’ of that time directly call it the beginning of the future Ukrainian forest.

It is here that a direct connection with Yasinov appears.

The World Odessa Club wrote that the decision to lay the Ukraine forest was made at the initiative of the former Kharkiv resident Igal Yasinov, who headed the relevant direction of the fund, and the Odessa Grove became the first stage. The head of the Israeli branch of the club, documentary filmmaker Boris Sobolev, insisted on the grove project and, according to the club itself and the Odessa press, paid for the planting of a thousand trees. This allows us to draw an important line: Sobolev’s funding of the Odessa Grove is documented, but I found no basis to attribute to him the funding of the entire future ‘Ukraine Forest’.

The first olive tree was planted in honor of Mikhail Zhvanetsky. The ceremony was attended by Yasinov, Sobolev, and a representative of the World Odessa Club, Arkady Kreimer; there also appeared a tree on behalf of Odessa and a tree in memory of Boris Litvak, an Odessa philanthropist, creator of the famous Children’s Rehabilitation Center ‘House with an Angel’. In one of the reports of that time, an almost everyday detail was preserved: when Yasinov was asked what connection he himself had to Odessa, he replied that his grandmother Sofia Mostovaya was an opera singer there.

Why Odessa became the first city within the Ukrainian project is explained not only by the activity of the modern Odessa community. In today’s video, Yasinov also mentions two other people. In Odessa, Yona Krementsky was born, elected as the first head of KKL after the fund’s creation in 1901; KKL writes that he led it until 1907 and was one of the people who turned the idea of a national fund into a practical organization.

There, too, was born Ze’ev Jabotinsky, one of the most influential Zionist leaders of the 20th century, founder of Revisionist Zionism and the BETAR movement. For the Israeli reader, Jabotinsky is well known from the streets, parks, and political history of the country; the connection of the first head of KKL with Odessa is much less known.

But it is important not to confuse causes and later explanations. Sources from 2014 show the direct role of the World Odessa Club and Sobolev in the appearance of the grove. The historical link with Krementsky and Jabotinsky is real, but I did not find a 2014 document in which it is named as the reason for the choice of name. In the current address, Yasinov adds this historical layer twelve years later.

In December 2015, the scale becomes different.

The official JNF-KKL already writes about the ‘Ukraine Forest’ with an area of 1200 dunams in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council. For an Israeli, a dunam is a familiar unit of area; 1200 dunams correspond to about 120 hectares, and it was the figure of 120 hectares that Ukrainian reports on the project cited. In publications from the Ukrainian side of those years, it was called the first forest in Israel dedicated to another state.

On December 22, 2015, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko planted an olive tree during an official visit in the Grove of Nations of the Jerusalem Forest. This is another object, in Jerusalem, and should not be confused with Dorot. At the same time, Poroshenko planted an additional seedling in a special vessel; the official KKL reported that later the Ukrainian ambassador Gennady Nadolenko was to plant it in the יער אוקראינה-דורות, the ‘Ukraine-Dorot’ forest in Sha’ar HaNegev.

Here begins the first small mystery of chronology.

KKL in December 2015 wrote that Nadolenko would plant this seedling on the nearest Tu BiShvat—the Jewish New Year of Trees, when plantings are traditionally held in Israel. However, the source ‘Ukrainians in Israel‘ records the ceremony only on April 6, 2016. Tu BiShvat had already passed by that time. This means the original calendar changed, although the reasons for the postponement are not explained in the available publications.

On April 6, Nadolenko transplanted the presidential olive into the ground, and the staff of the Ukrainian embassy planted the first seedlings nearby, which became part of the ‘Ukraine Forest’. Yasinov then reported that by Ukraine’s Independence Day, it was planned to install a board with the forest’s name. A small post already stood at the presidential tree, which they planned to mark on Google Maps so that, as Yasinov said, anyone could find ‘a piece of Ukraine on Israeli soil’.

It turns out to be a rare opportunity to see the project not in hindsight. In 2014, participants only talked about the future Ukrainian forest. In December 2015, KKL already names the area and official location. In April 2016, embassy staff indeed stand there with seedlings, and Yasinov promises to put the name on the map. In August 2026, he is again among these trees—only now they do not need to be imagined as a plan.

Poroshenko’s olive, the Ukrainian language, and the fire in Dorot: the story after the first planting

The Ukrainian line of KKL continued beyond Dorot. On May 15, 2017, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman planted an olive tree in the Grove of Nations in Jerusalem. Yasinov led the ceremony and separately explained why it was held in Ukrainian: KKL wanted to show respect for the Ukrainian state and remind of the first head of the fund, Yona Krementsky, born in Odessa. This is an important detail—the Ukrainian language was used by KKL in an official ceremony long before the current congratulation.

The next documented date of the forest itself is October 29, 2018. The official JNF-KKL reported a ceremony in southern Israel in the Dorot forest and for the first time clearly formulated the project’s structure: ‘part of the Dorot forest massif is a specially planted grove bearing the name of Ukraine’. Therefore, arguing whether this is a ‘forest’ or a ‘grove’ is essentially pointless. The name ‘Ukraine Forest’ became attached to the project, and territorially the Ukrainian memorial part is located within the larger Dorot forest.

On that day, a memorial stele was unveiled at the site of the established olive tree associated with Poroshenko’s visit. Ambassador Gennady Nadolenko, staff of the Ukrainian embassy, representatives of KKL, the public, and the media were present. And here appears the second discrepancy between archival texts, which I would not cover up for the sake of a beautiful chronology.

The 2016 source directly states that Nadolenko already transplanted Poroshenko’s olive into the ground on April 6, 2016. KKL in the 2018 material formulates the story differently: it was decided to transplant one of the two olive trees planted by the president in Jerusalem in 2015 into the Ukrainian grove, after which it talks about the stele at the site where the tree took root. From the available texts, it is unclear whether it was about a second relocation of the tree within the project, about the other of the two olives, or just an inaccurate retrospective formulation by KKL. Therefore, the two dates—2016 and 2018—are better left as two documented stages, rather than inventing a missing explanation between them.

Another phrase from the current address also had to be checked separately. Yasinov says: ‘This forest also came under fire, but it withstood and continues to grow’. I did not find reliable confirmation of a direct rocket hit specifically in the Ukrainian grove after October 7, 2023, so such a conclusion cannot be made on behalf of the editorial office.

But the Dorot forest did indeed burn as a result of attacks from the Gaza Strip. In July 2018, Israeli media reported fires caused by incendiary balloons and kites; on July 30-31, a fire broke out in the Dorot Forest in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council. The fires were extinguished by firefighters, KKL staff, and aviation. Thus, a forest massif affected by attacks, of which the Ukrainian grove is a part, is documented; a separate hit directly on the Ukrainian stele or presidential olive is not documented.

For NANews — Israel News, this distinction is fundamental. The speaker’s phrase remains part of his address, while the fact we verified has narrower boundaries. As soon as these two things are mixed, the symbolic story begins to replace the documentary one.

Where the ‘Ukraine’ forest is located and how to find the Ukrainian grove yourself

The most practical part of this story has been preserved thanks to publications from April 2016. When Yasinov said that Poroshenko’s tree would appear on Google Maps, the Ukrainian embassy indeed provided a link to a point near the Ukrainian section. The old ZN UA publication preserved the message about the link itself; the coordinates of the historical point are 31.5215, 34.6711.

Here it is on Google Maps – https://maps.app.goo.gl/cTrRY59ii1andyEQ7

You should orient yourself to Dorot Forest — יער דורות, in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council — מועצה אזורית שער הנגב, near Kibbutz Dorot. A regional council is an Israeli form of local government that unites several small settlements, mainly kibbutzim and moshavim; it is not a separate city. The area is located in the western part of the northern Negev, near Sderot and the Gaza Strip.

If the navigator does not understand ‘Ukraine forest in Israel’, it does not mean the object has disappeared. We tried searching for יער אוקראינה-דורות, then יער דורות, and for the memorial point itself, we entered the coordinates 31.5215, 34.6711. The last option is more reliable than the old name because small groves and memorial sites of KKL are not always displayed the same way in Google Maps and Waze.

That is why queries like ‘where is the Ukraine forest in Israel’, ‘Ukraine Dorot forest’, ‘how to get to the Ukraine forest in the Negev’, and the Hebrew יער אוקראינה-דורות can lead to materials that at first glance contradict each other. On the KKL 2015 page, the name ‘Ukraine-Dorot Forest’ appears, in 2016 Ukrainian sources simply talk about the ‘Ukraine Forest’, and in 2018 KKL itself clarifies that it is a Ukrainian grove within the Dorot forest massif. This is one location with historically formed name variants, not three different Ukrainian forests.

For a car trip, it is more reasonable to first build a route to Dorot / יער דורות, and the last kilometers — already to the historical point of the Ukrainian section. The area is connected to the regional road 334, passing near Dorot. We would not promise that an ordinary passenger car can always drive right up to the stele: we did not find a separate modern KKL tourist page describing the approach specifically to the Ukrainian grove.

We also checked the current KKL page with warnings for travelers on August 23, 2026. It lists a number of closures and restrictions in the southern forests, but there is no separate notification of the Dorot forest closure at the time of verification. This should still not be perceived as an indefinite guarantee: Sha’ar HaNegev is located near the Gaza Strip, so before the trip, it is necessary to recheck KKL messages and current Home Front Command instructions.

‘Kharkiv and Jerusalem are closer than they appear on the map’: what remained behind the festive congratulation

The most political part of the three-minute video begins after the personal story. Yasinov says that Ukrainians and Israelis know what an air raid alert is, waiting for news from loved ones on the front, night explosions, and the need to lead children to shelter. For an Israeli, this experience does not need to be translated into the language of abstractions: it is about the same minutes when the family goes to the mamad—a protected room in the apartment—or to a public shelter.

Then he says: ‘The same Iranian and Russian weapons in the hands of terrorists bring death’. After it, Yasinov puts Kharkiv, Jerusalem, Kyiv, Be’er Sheva, Sumy, and Tel Aviv in one row.

But the connection itself did not come out of nowhere. Russia and Iran have become military partners over the years of wars, and since 2022, Ukraine regularly faces Iranian-origin strike drones used by Russian forces. Israel, for its part, directly encounters Iranian weapons, technologies, and Tehran-supported armed structures. That Yasinov connects these two realities in one address is already the political content of the congratulation, which is lost if only the phrase ‘congratulated Ukrainians on the holiday’ is left from the video.

Equally important is where these words are spoken from.

Yasinov did not just come to a Ukrainian KKL event. In 2014, his name appears near the Odessa Grove and the idea of the future Ukrainian forest. In 2015, he participates in Poroshenko’s ceremony. In 2016, he explains how to find the new section on Google. In 2017, he conducts a ceremony with Prime Minister Groysman in Ukrainian. In 2026, he returns to this same plot already as the CEO of JNF-KKL Eurasia. This is a sequence that cannot be seen in the shortest video.

At the end of the address, Yasinov talks about trees: they grow slowly, withstand storms, and continue to grow. Then he wishes that children someday know the sound of the wind in the trees better than the sound of sirens.

After checking the archives, this phrase is perceived not as an independent metaphor. The first trees of the Odessa Grove were planted in April 2014; the official history of the large Ukrainian project continued in 2015-2016; in 2018, a stele appeared near the olive, and the Dorot forest in the same period indeed burned after incendiary attacks from Gaza. Therefore, the address on August 23, 2026, can be dated to one day, but the history of the place from which it was recorded is already more than twelve years.

Here is the ‘Ukraine’ forest on Google Maps – https://maps.app.goo.gl/cTrRY59ii1andyEQ7

The tour will take place from October 10 to 18, 2026, covering several cities in Israel: Nof HaGalil, Ashdod, Netanya, Ashkelon, Rishon LeZion, Petah Tikva, Be’er Sheva, and Haifa. All concerts are scheduled for 20:00, and tickets, according to the organizers Showman, range from 174 to 265 shekels in different cities.

Tickets are already available on the Showman website. 

This is not just a tour of a Ukrainian duo.

For many Israelis, especially those whose family histories are connected with Kyiv, Podolia, Odessa, Chernivtsi, Zhytomyr, Berdychiv, or Uman, this concert may be a meeting with that cultural world that cannot always be explained in words. It lives in songs, intonations, old records, family recipes, Yiddish words, grandmother’s memories, and that special music where joy and sadness almost never exist separately.

Who are The Alibi Sisters

Anna and Angelina Zavalsky have been known to the Ukrainian public since the early 2000s as the group “Алібі”. The project appeared on April 6, 2001, and since 2021, the sisters have been performing as The Alibi Sisters. The group’s profile lists pop and klezmer genres, and among the languages of performance are Ukrainian, Russian, and Yiddish.

There is an important detail in the duo’s biography: the sisters were soloists of the folk ensemble “Strumochok” from the age of five, graduated from music school in 1997 with a focus on violin, and later moved on to the professional stage, television, albums, and a large Ukrainian audience. In 2012, “Алібі” ceased artistic activity, but in 2021 the project returned in a new form — with a different musical perspective, sound, and a deeper appeal to Ukrainian-Jewish heritage.

It is this transition that makes the current Israeli tour particularly interesting.

The Alibi Sisters are no longer just nostalgia for the Ukrainian pop scene of the 2000s. It is an attempt to hear anew that cultural layer where Ukrainian folk songs, Yiddish, klezmer, Jewish hits, theatricality, family memory, and the retro image of the 1950s–1960s merge into a cohesive stage form.

Why this concert is important specifically for Israel

In an interview with Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, published on May 15, 2025, Anna Zavalsky explained in detail that the Ukrainian-Jewish theme for the sisters is not a random stylization. She said that even on a household level in Ukraine, many people partially remain carriers of Jewish culture — through songs, dish names, words, family habits, and memory, which was not always openly passed on but often very deeply.

In the same interview, Anna recalled challah, stuffed fish, Yiddish words in family speech, and the song “Vi iz dos gesele,” which their grandmother sang to them in childhood. Such details are important because they show: for The Alibi Sisters, Yiddish and Jewish musical tradition are not museum exhibits but part of living memory that returns through voice, stage, and personal history.

For Israel, this resonates particularly accurately.

Here live people for whom Yiddish is the language of childhood, the language of parents or grandparents, the language of old songs, jokes, prayers, family conversations, and the Eastern European Jewish world. And even if someone no longer speaks Yiddish, music is often recognized faster than words.

Tour organizers describe the program as a concert with a live band, retro aesthetics, dance drive, klezmer spirit, and songs where Jewish hits, Ukrainian folk songs, well-known Ukrainian pop compositions, and world hits sound together. Among the announced Jewish songs are Bublitchki, Main Yiddishe Mamme, Papirossen, Ich Hob Dich Zifeel Lieb, and others.

You can listen on https://www.youtube.com/@TheAlibiSisters

NAnews — Israel News and sTDe | NAnews — event listings in Israel note: in this format, the concert becomes not only a musical event but also a cultural meeting. Here, not only the stage is important, but also who sits in the audience, what family associations arise for the viewers, and why the Ukrainian-Jewish theme sounds so attentively today.

The Berry Sisters, Kyiv, and a return to the Yiddish world

The Showman poster states that Anna and Angelina Zavalsky are inspired by the work of the legendary Berry Sisters. Organizers emphasize the retro atmosphere, live band, and the sense of a time when Yiddish was heard in apartments and on the streets, and Ukrainian and Jewish melodies could alternate at weddings and family celebrations.

In an interview with UJE, Anna Zavalsky also spoke about the connection with the Berry Sisters but clarified an important point: The Alibi Sisters do not try to be a copy of the legendary duo. They use the power of “sisterly thirds,” retro aesthetics, and recognizable vocal kinship while remaining an independent Ukrainian project.

This distinction is fundamental.

When Ukrainian artists sing in Yiddish in Israel, they do not just reproduce old melodies. They reconnect Kyiv, Podolia, the Ukrainian stage, Jewish musical memory, and the modern experience of war, emigration, loss, and return to roots.

In the same interview, Anna Zavalsky said that returning to the Yiddish world is impossible physically, but possible as memory, respect, and a form of cultural return. In her view, it is important to remember not only the tragedy but also life: laughter, food, conversations, love, Sholem Aleichem’s books, and the human warmth of a vanished world.

That is why the Israeli tour of The Alibi Sisters does not look like an ordinary poster for a week in October.

This is a concert for those who want to hear Ukraine not only through war news but through music, culture, voices, and those connections that have existed for centuries between Ukrainians and Jews.

Where and when The Alibi Sisters concerts will take place in Israel

According to Showman, The Alibi Sisters concert tour has been rescheduled to new dates and will take place in Israel from October 10 to 18, 2026.

Nof HaGalil — October 10, 2026

The concert in Nof HaGalil will take place on October 10, 2026, at 20:00.

Venue: Berkovich Cultural Center.

Address: Derech HaChativot 4.

Ticket prices: 175–235 ₪.

Ashdod — October 11, 2026

In Ashdod, The Alibi Sisters will perform on October 11, 2026, at 20:00.

Venue: Matnas Duna-Yud.

Address: Keren Kayemet LeIsrael St. 90.

Ticket prices: 195–255 ₪.

Netanya — October 12, 2026

The concert in Netanya will take place on October 12, 2026, at 20:00.

Venue: Arik Einstein Auditorium.

Address: Beni Berman St. 6.

Ticket prices: 225–255 ₪.

Ashkelon — October 13, 2026

In Ashkelon, the concert is scheduled for October 13, 2026, at 20:00.

Venue: Matnas “Woldenberg”.

Address: Gruper St. 15.

Ticket prices: 174–225 ₪.

Rishon LeZion — October 14, 2026

In Rishon LeZion, The Alibi Sisters will perform on October 14, 2026, at 20:00.

Venue: “Mofet” Hall.

Address: Rothschild St. 60.

Ticket prices: 195–255 ₪.

Petah Tikva — October 15, 2026

The concert in Petah Tikva will take place on October 15, 2026, at 20:00.

Venue: “Sharet” Hall.

Address: HaAliya HaShniya St. 1.

Ticket prices: 195–255 ₪.

Be’er Sheva — October 17, 2026

In Be’er Sheva, the concert will take place on October 17, 2026, at 20:00.

Venue: Tamuz — House of Music.

Address: Herzl St. 12.

Ticket prices: 235–265 ₪.

Haifa — October 18, 2026

The final concert of the Israeli tour is announced in Haifa on October 18, 2026, at 20:00.

Venue: “Rappaport” Hall.

Address: HaNasi Ave. 138.

Ticket prices: 195–255 ₪.

Tickets are already available on the Showman website. 

What will be featured in the program

A program with a live band is expected, where Jewish hits in Yiddish, Ukrainian folk songs, well-known Ukrainian compositions, and world retro classics will sound not as separate numbers but as one musical route. The organizers’ description highlights the klezmer spirit, dance energy, nostalgia, and stage theatricality.

For the Israeli audience, this may be particularly relatable: here, Ukrainian motifs do not conflict with Jewish ones but become part of a shared memory. And perhaps that is why The Alibi Sisters in Israel are perceived not as foreign performers but as artists who bring a familiar code — only in a new, bright, and stage-assembled form.

NAnews — Israel News will follow cultural events that connect Israel, Ukraine, and Jewish communities through music, history, and living human memory.

Tickets and tour schedule:

Tickets are already available on the Showman website. 

Zelensky announced mass production of ‘Flamingo’ and the refusal to give up Donbas

Victoria Katsman

Kyiv, Ukraine — August 24, 2026. In the morning address on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of independence, Volodymyr Zelensky spoke not only about the front and armaments. In 21 minutes, he connected in one speech those freed from captivity, teachers, athletes, military personnel, Ukrainian missiles, strikes on Russian targets, and the demand for partners to stop waiting for the war to end on its own.

The address was delivered on the 1643rd day of the full-scale Russian invasion. This number is important not as a calendar formality: independence, which in 1991 was perceived as an accomplished political fact, is now confirmed daily by people, weapons production, the work of cities, and the decision not to agree to an imposed division of the country.

It is easy to extract three loud quotes from the speech — about ‘Flamingo’, Donbas, and Putin’s mortality. But then its internal structure disappears. Zelensky first showed the people for whom the state exists, then listed the tools of resistance, and only after that moved on to warnings to Russia and the outside world.

The teacher who went for the wounded

One of the central heroes of the address was 29-year-old Vladyslav Polishchuk, call sign ‘Teacher’, commander of the assault company of the 475th separate assault regiment CODE 9.2. Before the full-scale war, he taught in Zaporizhzhia, and in 2022 he voluntarily went to serve.

During one of the operations, two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded. Initially, they tried to evacuate them using an NRC — a ground robotic complex, that is, an unmanned platform capable of delivering ammunition or evacuating people. The robot was attacked by a Russian FPV drone — a small device controlled by the operator via video signal almost from the first person.

Then Polishchuk got into a pickup truck and went to the wounded himself. According to his story, in some sections, the car accelerated to about 160 kilometers per hour, and the entire operation took about 30–40 minutes. He believed that another 10–15 minutes of waiting could have cost the soldiers their lives.

On August 19, 2026, Vladyslav Polishchuk was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. Zelensky included this episode in the festive address not for military romance. The story shows that behind technological terms — robots, FPV drones, and evacuation means — there is still a person who has to make a decision after the equipment has stopped working.

Next to the military man in the speech appeared 18-year-old gymnast Taisia Onofriychuk. At the 2026 World Championship, she scored 30.700 points for her hoop exercise, ahead of Italian Sofia Raffaeli by two-tenths. For Ukraine, this became the first individual gold in the world championship in rhythmic gymnastics since Anna Rizatdinova’s victory in 2013.

The teacher behind the wheel of a pickup and the gymnast on the podium exist in completely different realities. But Zelensky deliberately put them in the same row: the state, according to his logic, is preserved not only by the front line. It continues to live when a person returns the wounded, when an athlete performs under the Ukrainian flag, and when a family meets a freed captive in their own yard.

What does the promise of mass ‘Flamingos’ mean

The most notable military part of the address was the statement about the FP-5 ‘Flamingo’ missile. Zelensky made it clear that it should no longer be about individual tests or rare applications, but about mass production and regular use of Ukrainian long-range weapons.

The FP-5 is described by the developer Fire Point as a Ukrainian ground-launched cruise missile with a declared range of up to 3000 kilometers. In open publications, its warhead mass is estimated at about one — 1.15 tons. These are characteristics declared by the manufacturer and presented in open materials; they do not yet mean that every parameter and every supposed combat application is independently confirmed.

A cruise missile flies most of its route in the atmosphere along a controlled trajectory. It differs from a ballistic one in the nature of the flight: a ballistic missile, after acceleration, travels a significant part of the way along a high arc and approaches the target at high speed, leaving the missile defense system very little time to react.

The speech mentioned Moscow, Tuapse, Tula, Ryazan, Omsk, and Olenya airbase. This list cannot be read as a statement that all the named targets have already been hit specifically by ‘Flamingo’ missiles. Zelensky was talking about the geography of Ukrainian strikes in general and that the new complex should expand the country’s capabilities.

He also divided strikes of medium depth and so-called deep strikes — operations on targets far beyond the front line. The first are primarily aimed at warehouses, headquarters, airfields, and logistics directly supporting Russian troops. The second allows impacting oil refineries, military industry, strategic aviation bases, and other targets deep in Russia.

In August, several Russian regions indeed reported queues at gas stations and restrictions on fuel sales. But it would be wrong to explain the entire deficit solely by Ukrainian attacks. The market was simultaneously influenced by damage and shutdowns of refineries, planned repairs, seasonal demand, transportation problems, and state price regulation.

This is where the line between a political statement and verifiable reality lies. Zelensky seeks to show that the war is returning to those who expected to watch it on TV. How massive the FP-5s will become and how sustainable their effectiveness will be will depend on serial production, components, navigation, the ability to overcome Russian air defenses, and the quality of intelligence data.

Why Donbas was again at the center of the speech

Zelensky once again ruled out the transfer of Donbas as a price for a ceasefire. For the Ukrainian authorities, this is not only a matter of territory. Agreeing to a forcible change of borders would mean recognizing the principle that a state with greater military resources can gain captured land in exchange for a temporary pause.

For the Israeli reader, it is important not to mechanically transfer the Ukrainian situation to the Middle East. Geography, conflict history, international agreements, and military capabilities differ. However, the very dispute about what happens after rewarding aggression is well known to a society that constantly evaluates the cost of deterrence and the consequences of an unfinished war.

Zelensky did not present a new peace plan or name a date for the end of hostilities. His position was already: Ukraine should not agree to conditions that would allow Russia to restore its forces, consolidate the occupation, and return to war later.

Search queries ‘what did Zelensky say on August 24, 2026’, ‘what is the ‘Flamingo’ missile’, and ‘will Russia announce a new mobilization’ often appear together, although they require different answers. The first is confirmed by the full text of the address, the second by open technical data with a mandatory caveat about their origin, and the third remains a forecast by the Ukrainian president, not a published decision by the Russian authorities.

‘Russia wants mobilization’ — an assessment, not an announced decree

Zelensky stated that Russia is not striving for real peace and is preparing for further mobilization. In this form, it is an assessment by the Ukrainian side, based on the ongoing recruitment of military personnel, losses of the Russian army, and the absence of signs of the Kremlin abandoning maximalist goals.

At the time of the address, there was no official announcement of a new general mobilization in Russia. Therefore, the wording cannot be turned into an already accomplished fact. The political meaning of the statement is different: Kyiv warns partners that a pause without guarantees and pressure can be used by Russia to replenish units and launch a new offensive.

The phrase ‘Putin is mortal’ is also not a message about the health of the Russian president and does not contain a prediction of his death. It is a political metaphor: rulers and the regimes they create are not eternal, while the state and society must count on a longer historical distance.

This argument is addressed simultaneously to Ukrainians, the Kremlin, and Western capitals. Ukrainians are offered to evaluate resistance not only by the position of the front in a particular week. Partners are reminded that trying to adapt the entire European security system to the desires of one Russian leader cannot be a long-term solution.

Controversial line about Dnipropetrovsk region

In some early textual transcripts of the address, there was a phrase about the complete liberation of the Dnipropetrovsk region. In the current official text of the speech, this line is absent. Therefore, it cannot be asserted that it is part of the final version of the presidential speech.

Two days before Independence Day, Zelensky said that about ten square kilometers and three small settlements remained under Russian control in the region. Even this assessment needs careful reading: the line of combat contact changes, and the concepts of ‘cleared’, ‘liberated’, and ‘under stable control’ do not always describe the same military situation.

For a journalistic text, this is not a minor editorial detail. Between ‘almost liberated’ and ‘completely liberated’ lies the fate of specific villages, the positions of units, and the safety of people who may remain near the fighting. That is why the later official version of the document is more important than the most striking early quote.

‘Shaheds’, interceptors, and a debate familiar to Israel about the cost of protection

Zelensky separately spoke about the development of Ukrainian interceptor drones. He cited a figure of more than 90% of ‘Shaheds’ destroyed, but it should be perceived as the president’s declared assessment, not as the unchanging effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense in all attacks and in all directions.

‘Shaheds’ in Ukraine refer to Iranian-developed strike drones, the Russian localized versions of which received the designation ‘Geran’. Russia changes their design, communication channels, altitude, and tactics of use. Simultaneously, reactive strike devices and complexes like the S8000 ‘Banderol’ appear, while ballistic missiles remain a separate, significantly more complex threat.

For readers of NANews — News of Israel, this part of the address is especially understandable. Israel also faces combined attacks, where cheap drones can be launched together with cruise and ballistic missiles, forcing the defense to simultaneously track targets with different speeds and trajectories.

The main problem here is not reduced to the interception percentage. If the attacking side can massively launch relatively cheap devices, and the defender is forced to respond with expensive missiles, an economic war of attrition arises. Therefore, Ukraine is developing cheaper interceptor drones, mobile fire groups, electronic warfare means, and its own long-range systems.

The Ukrainian and Israeli experiences cannot be declared identical, but there is a real technological connection between the theaters of war. Iran transferred the original Shahed platform to Russia, the Russian army refined it under conditions of large-scale use, and the accumulated experience can return to Iranian structures.

On the pages of NANews — News of Israel, we have already analyzed this connection in the article ‘Iran and Russia: How the War in Ukraine Became a Testing Ground for Future War Against Israel and the USA’. Zelensky’s new address adds another layer to this topic: the defending country is trying not only to shoot down aerial targets but also to deprive the enemy of the ability to endlessly produce and launch them.

Decisions by the US and European countries to release missiles, air defense systems, and ammunition therefore affect several regions at once. The same shortage of production capacities is felt by both Ukraine, repelling daily Russian attacks, and Israel, which needs to maintain a reserve of means to counter Iran and its allies.

Why I read this speech through the fates of people

I am originally from Ukraine and belong to the Jewish diaspora. For me, the connection between Ukrainian and Israeli reality does not pass through convenient political analogies, but through families, languages, memory, concern for people, and understanding of how quickly the words ‘distant war’ cease to correspond to reality.

I am not a military expert and cannot determine the real characteristics of a missile or the state of a specific position from open video. Therefore, in this material, I compared the official text of the address, the message about the awarding of Vladyslav Polishchuk, the open results of the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship, statements about the situation in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and published data on the FP-5. Where there is only a statement by the president or manufacturer, I maintain this boundary and do not present it as an independently established fact.

I think something else is important. The festive speech could have been constructed as a set of slogans about inevitable victory. Instead, its framework was people forced to act in circumstances where guaranteed salvation does not exist: a teacher goes for the wounded after the robot is defeated, an athlete steps onto the international podium, and engineers try to turn a single product into a series.

It is this human layer that cannot be replaced by a list of weapons. Without it, ‘Flamingo’, interceptor drones, and long-range strikes turn into a catalog of equipment, although their political meaning is determined by whether they will give people time — to evacuate the wounded, take cover during an alarm, save a city, and not accept the loss of their land as a final verdict.

…

I did not hear in this address a promise of an easy finale. Zelensky spoke about mass production of weapons precisely because the war does not end with a beautiful formula, and Russia does not show readiness to abandon the captured territories and the use of force.

The words that Ukraine will not fall in this speech are not based on optimism or Putin’s biology. They are based on the country’s ability to survive a specific day: produce an interceptor, find parts for a missile, return a person from captivity, evacuate two wounded, and not erase from the official language the difference between ‘almost’ and ‘completely’.

For me, this is the main meaning of the 35th Independence Day of Ukraine. Independence has ceased to be only a date, a border, or a state document. It has become a daily, costly, and very human work that cannot be done once and considered finished.

Information about the availability of demonstrations, travel geography, and payment options is provided by the company representative; current conditions should be clarified before contacting.

In a religious or Haredi family, house cleaning is rarely limited to one major campaign a year. Preparation for Shabbat is repeated every week, and throughout the year, it is joined by Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Purim, Passover, Shavuot, and family celebrations.

The larger the family, the harder it is to leave all the work for the last day. The kitchen continues to be used, children move from room to room, festive dishes are prepared, spaces are cleared for guests, and additional sleeping places are organized. A freshly washed floor can get dirty again, and fingerprints quickly appear on glass doors, cabinets, and tables.

For the preparation of this material, Israeli blogger and author of NANews Elena Gunko, who has Ukrainian roots and media experience, spoke with a representative of the GENIUS steam cleaning system. The focus of the conversation was not on advertising promises but on practical questions: what tasks the equipment can really ease, for which surfaces hot steam is not suitable, how to safely use the system in a home with children, and what happens during a free demonstration.

You can clarify the possibility of a free GENIUS home demonstration, available cities, and current payment options on the website: https://green-cleaner.nikk.co.il/

A large house needs a different cleaning order

The usual advice “start cleaning in advance” is of little help to a family where the kitchen operates several times a day, the living room simultaneously serves as a place for rest, study, and children’s games, and the bathroom is constantly used by all family members. During the conversation, the GENIUS representative explained that it is more practical to divide the house into zones and determine in advance which tasks can be completed over several days and which inevitably have to be left for the eve of Shabbat or a holiday.

In advance, you can tidy up window and door tracks, grout lines, space under furniture, guest rooms, and hard-to-reach areas of the kitchen. It is also better to perform work in advance that requires moving tables, chairs, or other pieces of furniture.

Closer to the holiday, floors, sinks, work surfaces, the dining table, the entrance area, and rooms that the family continues to use every day usually remain.

This distribution does not make cleaning instantaneous. But it helps avoid a situation where, in the last few hours, the whole family tries to simultaneously clean the kitchen, prepare rooms, set the table, and make space for guests.

Why the kitchen takes the main load

In a home where large family meals are regularly prepared, the kitchen usually becomes the most challenging area.

Grease settles around the stove and oven, steam rises to the hood and cabinets, crumbs fall under appliances, and dirt gradually darkens in the grout lines between tiles. Cabinet handles, countertop edges, chair legs, and the sides of the refrigerator quickly get dirty.

Before the holiday, attention is most often focused on the countertop, stove, and sink. However, many contaminants remain in window tracks, under the table, around appliances, and in the joints between furniture elements.

The GENIUS representative told Elena Gunko that hot steam can ease the cleaning of some suitable hard surfaces and hard-to-reach places. It helps soften certain types of dirt and reach areas where it is inconvenient to work with a regular sponge or cloth.

At the same time, the result depends not only on the power of the equipment. The material of the surface, the nature of the contamination, the chosen nozzle, and the correct use of the system are important.

For which tasks hot steam can be used

When following the manufacturer’s recommendations, the steam system can be considered an additional tool for regular home maintenance.

This may involve grout lines, window tracks, certain tile areas, the bathroom, suitable kitchen surfaces, some glass elements, and those types of floors for which temperature and moisture exposure is allowed.

The main advantage of this approach is not in trying to clean the entire house in one day. Separate labor-intensive tasks can be distributed throughout the week: today deal with the tracks, in a few days — the bathroom grout, then — a suitable kitchen area.

As a result, preparation for Shabbat or a holiday begins not with dirt accumulated over several months, but with regular tidying up.

Which surfaces require caution

During the conversation, limitations were discussed separately. There is no universal mode suitable for absolutely all materials.

Natural wood, some types of laminate, painted coatings, adhesive joints, and delicate upholstery may be sensitive to high temperature and moisture. Damage may not appear immediately: the material can change color, deform, lose its protective coating, or start to delaminate.

Before treatment, it is necessary to check the manufacturer’s recommendations for the surface and test the impact on a small inconspicuous area. The steam jet should not be held in one spot for too long.

The fact that the system operates on water does not mean it can be used without checking on any furniture, floor, textile, or kitchen equipment.

Can household chemicals be completely abandoned

In a home with children, not only cleanliness matters but also the ability to quickly return the room to regular use. After using some strong agents, the kitchen or bathroom may need to be ventilated, and treated surfaces additionally rinsed with water.

The steam system operates on water and, when performing suitable tasks, can reduce the need for some traditional household chemicals.

However, it is not about completely abandoning cleaning agents. Some stains require special compositions, and certain surfaces cannot be safely treated with hot steam.

You can clarify the possibility of a free GENIUS home demonstration, available cities, and current payment options on the website: https://green-cleaner.nikk.co.il/

Therefore, it is wiser to evaluate each task individually. When dirt can be removed with water and steam, there is no need to automatically apply a strong-smelling agent. If the material or stain requires special treatment, the manufacturer’s recommendations should be followed.

How to safely use the system in a home with children

The system should be used by an adult. Children and pets should be kept at a safe distance from the hot steam jet, heated nozzles, and the equipment itself during operation.

During the demonstration, it is important to ask the representative to show how to prepare the device for operation, correctly install the nozzle, hold the hose, stop the steam supply, and clean the equipment after use.

It is also necessary to find out:

• how long it takes for the system to heat up and cool down;
• which surfaces are prohibited from being treated;
• how to change nozzles;
• whether water can be added during operation;
• what actions can damage the equipment;
• where special caution should be exercised.

Safety should be more important than cleaning speed.

How preparation changes before Jewish holidays

Each holiday has its own household tasks. Therefore, there is no single cleaning plan for the entire year.

Rosh Hashanah

Before Rosh Hashanah, the main focus is on the kitchen, festive table, chairs, living room, bathrooms, and rooms where relatives will stay overnight.

If guests are expected, it is advisable to complete deep kitchen cleaning before the active preparation of festive dishes begins. Bedding and additional sleeping places should also be prepared in advance.

Yom Kippur

Many families strive to complete major household tasks before the start of the fast. Almost immediately after Yom Kippur, preparation for Sukkot begins, so it is better not to postpone complex tasks to the short interval between holidays.

Sukkot and Simchat Torah

In addition to regular house cleaning, the balcony, yard, entrance area, sukkah installation site, and passages that guests will use are added.

After the holiday, it is necessary to clean leaves, dust, crumbs, and traces from moving tables and chairs.

Hanukkah

During Hanukkah, additional load falls on the stove, kitchen backsplash, table, and floor. Oil, frying, donuts, candles, and children’s activities can leave greasy, sticky, or waxy traces.

Wax should be removed in a way suitable for the specific material. Hot steam should not be automatically directed at it without checking the permissible method of surface treatment.

Purim

Mishloach manot, drinks, sweets, packaging, and the festive meal increase the load on the kitchen and living room.

Sticky stains are better removed immediately before they dry on the table, chairs, or floor.

Shavuot

Before Shavuot, the load on the kitchen, oven, refrigerator, and dining area increases again. It is more convenient to combine baking and dairy dish preparation with phased cleaning, not leaving all the work for the last hours.

Can steam replace koshering before Passover

Elena Gunko discussed this question separately with the representative, as before Passover, regular physical house cleaning intersects with the requirements of family religious practice.

During preparation, cabinets, drawers, the refrigerator, tracks, space between chairs, areas under appliances, and other places where crumbs might have remained are checked.

The steam system can help with the physical cleaning of suitable surfaces. However, using hot steam by itself is not halachic koshering of the kitchen, dishes, or equipment.

Questions of hagalah, libun, separation of meat and dairy, and family traditions should be discussed with a rabbi.

The physical cleanliness of a surface and its halachic status are not the same. The steam system can be a tool for cleaning but does not replace religious rules for preparing the kitchen and dishes for Passover.

Not only holidays: guests and family events

Large families prepare the home not only for dates in the Jewish calendar. Additional cleaning is required before a brit milah, bar mitzvah, engagement, Shabbat Chatan, family meal, or the arrival of relatives.

In such cases, priority is given to areas that guests will use: the entrance area, living room, dining room, kitchen, bathrooms, and prepared sleeping places.

The complex and less noticeable part of the work can be done in advance. On the day of the meeting, floor washing, table setting, and final arrangement of things remain.

How the free GENIUS home demonstration works

One of Elena Gunko’s main questions was how a family can evaluate the system before deciding to purchase.

The GENIUS offer is structured so that a person does not have to rely solely on photos, advertisements, or videos. First, a representative’s visit is agreed upon, who comes home and shows the equipment’s work on real surfaces.

The family can pre-select one or two areas that really create difficulties during regular cleaning. For example, grout lines, window tracks, tiles, glass surfaces, part of the kitchen, or a suitable floor area.

During the meeting, the representative shows the nozzles, explains the operation procedure, maintenance, limitations, and safety requirements. They can be asked questions about specific materials and check how well the equipment meets the conditions of this particular home.

According to the provided information, the demonstration is conducted for free and does not create an obligation to purchase the system. The decision is made after the family has seen the equipment in action.

Detailed information about the home demonstration is available on the website:

https://green-cleaner.nikk.co.il/

When cost and payment options are discussed

The cost and payment methods are discussed after the demonstration if the family decides that the equipment suits them.

The representative informs about the current payment options. This may include the possibility of spreading the amount over several payments.

The number of payments, payment methods, and other commercial conditions should be clarified directly before ordering, as offers may change.

This sequence allows first to see the result on one’s own surfaces, ask questions, assess the convenience of use, and only then proceed to discuss the purchase.

In which cities can the possibility of a demonstration be clarified

According to the information provided by the GENIUS representative at the time of preparing the material, the possibility of a home demonstration can be clarified in several cities in the north and center of Israel.

In the north, this includes Haifa, Kiryat, Akko, Nahariya, Karmiel, Safed, Tiberias, Afula, Nof HaGalil, Nazareth, Nesher, Tirat Carmel, Yokneam Illit, Migdal HaEmek, and Katzrin.

In the central region, the possibility of a demonstration can be clarified in Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Bnei Brak, Ra’anana, Hod HaSharon, Givat Shmuel, Ramla, Lod, Modi’in, and Rishon LeZion.

Representatives can also work in certain areas with a large number of religious and Haredi families. In Haifa, this includes Hadar, Ramat Vizhnitz, and Meonot Geula. In Bnei Brak — Ramat Elchanan, Zichron Meir, Kiryat Herzog, Pardes Katz, and Kiryat Vizhnitz.

The availability of visits depends on the specific address and the specialist’s schedule. Before scheduling a meeting, it is necessary to confirm whether the home is within the current service area. The list of cities and areas is provided in the material.

What questions to ask during the demonstration

The home demonstration is useful not only for the opportunity to see the result. It allows getting answers to practical questions.

It is advisable to find out in advance:

• which surfaces are allowed to be treated;
• which materials are sensitive to temperature and moisture;
• how long it takes to prepare the system;
• which nozzles are included in the kit;
• how to clean and maintain the equipment;
• how to use it safely in a house with children;
• what are the existing limitations;
• what is the current cost;
• is installment payment available;
• does the specific address fall within the service area.

It’s better to choose in advance a section that is really difficult to clean in the usual way. Then the demonstration will show not abstract possibilities of the system, but its operation in the conditions of a specific house.

Not a miracle remedy, but an additional home tool

The steam system does not cancel regular cleaning, is not suitable for all materials, and does not turn a large house into a constantly sterile environment.

Its possible advantage lies elsewhere: individual labor-intensive tasks can be distributed throughout the week. One day to clean the guides, another day the tile joints, then tackle the appropriate section of the kitchen or bathroom.

It is reasonable to make a final decision only after testing the equipment on real surfaces and getting answers to questions about safety, limitations, maintenance, and payment.

You can find out about the possibility of a free GENIUS home demonstration, available cities, and current payment options on the website: https://green-cleaner.nikk.co.il/

The decision to purchase is made after the demonstration. The possibility of installment payments and other commercial terms must be confirmed directly before processing.

Jews from Ukraine, including from Galicia, played a significant role in the formation of modern Israel.

One of the iconic stories was the founding in 1920 of the first Zionist commune, Beitaniya Illit, associated with the Shomer HaTzair youth movement. This was not just an experiment, but a whole philosophy that formed the basis of many future kibbutzim.

Young Jews from Galicia, inspired by the ideas of returning to the Land of Israel, came here to build a new life. They were united by belonging to the Shomer HaTzair movement, based on the principles of collectivism, equality and labor.

The commune collapsed after 8 months of difficult trials, but gave birth to dozens of kibbutzim and leaders of Israel.

Commune Beitaniya Illit was located in the Lower Galilee, not far from the Kinneret, at the intersection of roads to Kibbutz Alumot.

In 1964, a memorial dedicated to the Shomer HaTzair movement and the 73 kibbutzim founded by members of this movement was opened here. that's where it is on the map.

The tent-like monument was designed by architect Yechiel Arad. From the top of the memorial there is a panoramic view of the Jordan Valley, Kinneret, Golan Heights and Hermon.

It was here, in 1921, that an experiment that became a legend in the history of Zionism was completed.

He told me about him in detail Shimon Briman for the website (Ukrainian) “Ukrainian-Jewish Zustricha”.

How it all began: the idealism of young Galicians

In the spring of 1921, the experiment, which went down in history as the “Galician project,” was completed.

In the summer of 1920, the “Galician landing” of 131 people arrived in Galilee. These were young men and women, many of whom left Lvov and other cities of Western Ukraine. Their main goal was to create a new type of Jewish society.

Problems and challenges of the commune

The youth faced many difficulties. Life in Betaniya was full of challenges:

• Harsh living conditions: tents and temporary shelters did not protect from strong winds and winter cold.
• Lack of food: food was meager, and physical labor was exhausting.
• Conflicts in the group: participants discussed each other's personal qualities, which often led to quarrels and tension.

Constant lack of resources, disease and internal conflicts eventually led to the collapse of the commune in the spring of 1921. However, its members became the founders of many kibbutzim in Israel.

Leaders of the “Galician wave” and their contribution

How it all ended

Beitaniya, the first commune of the world's first Zionist youth movement, Shomer HaTza'ir, disintegrated after eight months of difficult trials, but gave birth to dozens of kibbutzim and leaders in Israel. Almost all the leaders and participants in this experiment were Jews from the cities and towns of Galicia.

It was from this region of modern Ukraine that at the end of July 1920, an organized “landing party” arrived in the Land of Israel – 131 people, familiar from the meeting in the Shomer Ha-Tzair groups, all 18-20 years old. Most are boys, the rest are girls.

They left their parents and abundance to return from the diaspora to their land. They left the comfort of the city for hard work. They were inspired by the idea of ​​​​creating a New Man – a free Jew in their ancient homeland.

After the collapse of Beitaniya Illit, its members descended into the valleys of Galilee and became the founders of many kibbutzim. Despite the difficulties, the experiment was not in vain – it laid the foundation for future Zionist settlements.

The kibbutzim created by these idealists became not only economic, but also cultural centers of young Israel. Their ideas of collectivism and work inspired new generations of Zionists.

Historical heritage

Betaniya-Illit remains a symbol of courage, self-sacrifice and faith in ideals. Today, when we talk about the relationship between Ukraine and Israel, it is important to remember how Jews from Galicia contributed to the building of the modern Jewish state.

Our website NANews – Israel News emphasizes that the story of Betaniya is an example of how courage and the desire for freedom can change the future of an entire people.

More in the section “Jews from Ukraine”.

…

Read on WhatsApp – channel NAnews ↓ — Israel News

Read on Telegram – channel NAnews ↓ — Israel News

Hair Health Center in Haifa “Abramsky”

HaHistadrut Ave 44, Haifa, 3296034

Our website – “Abramsky” – Hair Health Center in Haifa

phone for inquiries:

055-939-7729 

– PRP (PRP) – therapy in Haifa and Krayot for hair health ( טיפול פרפ )

Attention: Only a Dermatologist-Trichologist can consult on hair loss issues and prescribe treatment. He can adjust the course of procedures based on the dynamics of treatment. In individual cases, the Doctor may combine PRP procedures with mesotherapy or hormone therapy.

PRP therapy — an innovative procedure in trichology.

The essence of the method is to introduce a special preparation based on the patient’s blood plasma, enriched with platelets, into the scalp. Plasma therapy contains more than 1 million cells per 1 microliter.

PRP therapy is safe and has minimal contraindications.

Essence of the method

Plasma therapy as an injectable rejuvenating and restorative method has no analogues. Before being introduced into the skin of the problem area, the plasma obtained from the patient’s blood undergoes special preparation and enrichment with platelets. Platelets stimulate the regeneration of damaged cells, the production of stem cells, and activate metabolic processes.

Scalp plasma lifting procedure PRP increases the resource of blood vessels nourishing the follicles, improves blood circulation in the scalp, saturates hair roots with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and hormones, activates growth, improves hair quality, and normalizes sebaceous secretion, local immunity is activated. Reviews of hair plasma lifting from patients and trichologists fully confirm the effectiveness of the method.

Indications for the procedure

Plasma therapy has a whole list of indications in the field of trichology:

• Diffuse hair thinning;
• focal alopecia;
• hair brittleness;
• slow hair growth;
• dry scalp;
• oily seborrhea;
• hair porosity;
• dull hair color.

Results

Hair Health Center in Haifa “Abramsky”

HaHistadrut Ave 44, Haifa, 3296034

Our website – “Abramsky” – Hair Health Center in Haifa

phone for inquiries:

055-939-7729 

Contraindications

Plasma therapy is not recommended for patients with:

• pregnancy and lactation;
• oncological diseases;
• epilepsy;
• autoimmune diseases;
• blood diseases;
• decompensated diabetes mellitus;
• inflammatory and infectious processes in the body;
• active phase herpes;
• antibiotic intake.

Co-author of the project Katerina Trushik:

“We decided to create a Ukrainian YouTube channel in Israel – and our interview section “Know Ours”!
This is a special section that tells the stories of Ukrainians in Israel, Ukrainian Jews, and Israelis who feel deep love and support Ukraine.
We proudly share their stories and achievements.
Don’t miss the fascinating stories of Ukrainians in Israel, Ukrainian Jews, and Israelis who are proud of their cultural heritage and support Ukraine.”

The main character of the pilot episode is the founder of the Ukrainian Salon in Haifa, Pavel Galich.

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In November 2026, performances of the play “Odessa Alarm or How One Mishpucha Gathered in a Shelter” will take place in Israel with the participation of People’s Artists of Ukraine Oleg Filimonov and Diana Malaya. This is a tour across six cities — Haifa, Ashdod, Rishon LeZion, Be’er Sheva, Petah Tikva, and Netanya.

Formally — a comedy in Russian with an Odessa “pronunciation”.
In essence — a stage conversation about life during the war.

The play begins with a phrase that has long ceased to be a theatrical convention: “The event will continue if the alarm lasts no more than an hour…” This line sets the tone for the entire action. The audience immediately understands that it is not about a fictional alarm, but about the everyday reality of recent years.

Duration — 1 hour 40 minutes. Age restriction — 12+. Price range depending on the city — approximately 186–256 shekels.

Tour geography: cities, dates, audience

The performances are spread across the country — from north to south.

Netanya — Thursday, 05.11.2026, 19:00
Arik Einstein Auditorium, Netanya

Haifa — Friday, 06.11.2026, 19:00
Krieger Center for the Performing Arts, Haifa

Be’er Sheva — Saturday, 07.11.2026, 20:00
Tamuz Beit Ha-Musika

Rishon LeZion — Monday, 09.11.2026, 19:00
Mofet, Rishon LeZion

Haifa — Wednesday, 11.11.2026, 19:00
Beit-Nagler, Haifa

Petah Tikva — Friday, 13.11.2026, 19:00
Sharet, Petah Tikva

Ashdod — Saturday, 14.11.2026, 19:00
Matnas Duna-Yud, Ashdod

Tickets are already available –

https://nikk.kassa.co.il/announce/85289

Cast:

Husband – Oleg Filimonov, Ukrainian theater and film actor, People’s Artist of Ukraine, member of the KVN team “Odessa Gentlemen”, host of the TV show “Gentlemen Show”, “Filimonov and Company”, “Camera of Laughter” and others.
Wife – Diana Malaya, Ukrainian theater and film actress, People’s Artist of Ukraine, serves in the Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater named after V. Vasylko, starred in films “Deja Vu”, “Liquidation”, “Island of Unwanted People” and others.

The organizers emphasize: the production was conceived as a gesture of solidarity with the Israeli reality, where sirens and shelters are part of everyday life. That is why the tour in Israel is perceived not as a standard tour, but as an accurate hit in the context.

For the Russian-speaking audience of Israel, it is also a return to the Odessa cultural code — humor, intonation, family “mishpucha”, where in the cramped space of the shelter, characters suddenly reveal themselves.

Production team:

Scriptwriters: Alexander Tarasul, Viktor Yavnik, Evgeny Khait
Director: Igor Slavinsky
Assistant Director: Ekaterina Lebedeva
Set Designer: Emzari Kiknavelidze
Music Editor: Sergey Dmitriev
Choreography: Pavel Ivlyushkin
Vocals: Margarita Chernik
Lighting: Vladimir Dubovenko
Photo: Artem Pelevan
Producers: Alexander Tarasul, Viktor Yavnik, Evgeny Khait

What the play is about and why it emerged after 2022

War as a domestic backdrop

After February 24, 2022, Odessa found itself in the zone of regular missile attacks. Air alarms, infrastructure destruction, damage to the historic center — this is not an abstraction, but the backdrop in which artists continue to live and work.

Oleg Filimonov in a 2023 interview directly stated: comedy during war is not frivolity, but a way of psychological protection. According to him, if people are not given the opportunity to laugh, “one can go insane.” This position became the dramatic basis of the new production.

Diana Malaya during the same period continued to serve in the Odessa Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater named after V. Vasylko. In 2022, the theater relaunched its work in the format of “theater in a shelter” — rehearsals and performances took place in protected premises. This was a forced but principled step: cultural life does not stop.

“Odessa Alarm” as a stage response

The play is not about the front and not about politics. It’s about an hour in a shelter.

About a family forced to wait out the siren together.
About irritation, fear, domestic conflicts.
And about laughter that arises where it seemingly has no place.

In 2024, the play was shown in Odessa on February 24 — on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion. In 2025, it was already openly called “a comedy about life in wartime conditions.” This is not an advertising formula, but an accurate definition of the genre.

This is the material the artists are now bringing to Israel.

Helping Ukraine after 2022: the stage as a form of resilience

Public position and personal experience

Filimonov did not hide that his family experienced missile attacks in Odessa. In 2025, there were reports in the media that he installed a concrete shelter on his property — a measure of personal safety that shows the degree of reality of the threat.

This is not a declaration, but everyday life.

Theater work during the war

The Odessa Ukrainian Theater, where Diana Malaya serves, did not cease its activities after the invasion began. It switched to working in a shelter format, continued to release premieres and maintain its repertoire.

Maintaining the stage in a city under attack is also a contribution.
Not in the form of collections, but in the form of resilience of the cultural environment.

International tours as a continuation of the conversation

When a play about alarm and shelter takes the Israeli stage, it ceases to be a local story of Odessa. It becomes a shared experience.

In the middle of the material, NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers this tour not only as a poster but as a cultural bridge between Ukraine and Israel — two societies for which the siren and shelter have become part of reality.

The tours perform several functions at once:
support Ukrainian cultural visibility abroad,
create emotional contact with the diaspora,
transfer the conversation about the war from the plane of news to the plane of human experience.

Why this tour is important right now

The Israeli audience understands the dramaturgy of alarm without explanations.
The Ukrainian audience lives it every day.

“Odessa Alarm” does not try to explain the war. It captures its domestic layer — an hour in a shelter, where people remain themselves.

In conditions where news about the war becomes the backdrop, it is precisely such plays that remind us: culture does not fade into the shadows even under sirens.

And perhaps this is the main contribution of the artists after 2022 — to continue playing when it would have been easier to remain silent.

How to buy tickets

The performances are spread across the country — from north to south.

Netanya — Thursday, 05.11.2026, 19:00
Arik Einstein Auditorium, Netanya

Haifa — Friday, 06.11.2026, 19:00
Krieger Center for the Performing Arts, Haifa

Be’er Sheva — Saturday, 07.11.2026, 20:00
Tamuz Beit Ha-Musika

Rishon LeZion — Monday, 09.11.2026, 19:00
Mofet, Rishon LeZion

Haifa — Wednesday, 11.11.2026, 19:00
Beit-Nagler, Haifa

Petah Tikva — Friday, 13.11.2026, 19:00
Sharet, Petah Tikva

Ashdod — Saturday, 14.11.2026, 19:00
Matnas Duna-Yud, Ashdod

Tickets are already available –

https://nikk.kassa.co.il/announce/85289

The discussion is currently about supporting the idea itself: the final location has not yet been approved, and the final decision must be made by the city council deputies, reported Odessa media on May 15, 2026.

For Odessa, this is not just a question of urban sculpture. For Israel, it’s not just news from Ukraine. Jabotinsky was born in Odessa, formed in its multilingual and Jewish intellectual environment, and then became a figure whose legacy is directly connected with the history of Zionism, Jewish self-defense, and the future statehood of Israel.

Initiative from Odessa and Jerusalem

The proposal to install a bust of Vladimir Jabotinsky was submitted to the city hall by the World Club of Odessans and the Menachem Begin Institute in Jerusalem. This very connection shows that it is about a memory that has long gone beyond the boundaries of one city.

Odessa gave Jabotinsky language, character, urban optics, and literary memory. Israel received from his ideas one of the important lines of political Zionism, which influenced decades of Jewish history.

The initiators proposed placing the monument near the Odessa Opera House — in Palais-Royal or on Lanzheronovskaya Street. The argument was not accidental: it was in this area that the editorial office of the “Odessa Leaflet” was once located, where Jabotinsky worked. Moreover, his novel “The Five” begins at the Opera building — one of the main symbols of old Odessa.

However, it was the location that became the main subject of debate.

Why Palais-Royal raised questions

At the meeting of the historical and toponymic commission, some participants considered the proposed locations “unsuccessful.” Palais-Royal and the space near the Opera House are the historical core of the city, associated with the protected architectural environment of Odessa.

Despite the absolute support for the idea of creating the monument, the question of its exact location remains open. Members of the historical and toponymic commission voted to recommend alternative locations for the bust together with the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning.

The main argument of the opponents of such a location was not about Jabotinsky himself, but about preserving the historical appearance of the center. A new monument in this area may raise questions about the visual balance of the space, especially considering the status of Odessa’s historical center and the requirements for protecting the urban environment.

“We must approach this issue in a balanced way, considering Odessa’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,” emphasized the relevant department.

Since the historical and toponymic commission is an advisory body, its decision is of a recommendatory nature. The final decision on the location and permission for the construction of the monument must be made by the deputies at a session of the Odessa City Council.

As a result, the commission supported the idea of the monument but recommended looking for other possible locations together with relevant city structures. That is, the political and cultural “yes” has already been voiced, but the architectural point on the map has not yet been set.

Why Jabotinsky is important for Odessa, Ukraine, and Israel

Vladimir, or Ze’ev, Jabotinsky was born in Odessa in 1880. He was a writer, journalist, translator, publicist, political thinker, and one of the leaders of the Zionist movement. His name is associated with Revisionist Zionism, the idea of Jewish self-defense, and the creation of the Jewish Legion within the British Army.

For Israel, Jabotinsky is not a museum figure. His legacy continues to be part of the country’s political memory, especially in the right-wing Zionist camp. The Menachem Begin Institute in Jerusalem, as a participant in the initiative, makes this bridge between Odessa and Israel particularly noticeable.

NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers this story in this context: Odessa is returning to the public space not just a famous compatriot, but a person whose ideas became part of the road to Jewish statehood.

For the Ukrainian context, this initiative is also important. Against the backdrop of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Odessa continues to rethink its urban space, deciding which names should be visible in the city center and which symbols of the past require reconsideration. The monument to Jabotinsky in this sense can become part of a broader work with memory — not imperial, but urban, Jewish, Ukrainian, and European.

Odessa in Jabotinsky’s biography

Jabotinsky always remained connected with Odessa, even when his life took place far beyond its borders. His novel “The Five” became one of the most famous literary texts about old Odessa, its Jewish environment, family memory, and the disappearing world of the early 20th century.

Therefore, the debate about the monument’s location does not cancel the main thing: the city has effectively recognized the need to return Jabotinsky to its visible historical space.

This is especially symbolic for Odessa, where Jewish history was not an external addition to the city’s image, but one of its foundations. Odessa’s Jews created newspapers, schools, theaters, literary circles, trade networks, political movements, and charitable structures. Jabotinsky grew up in this complex urban environment — multilingual, argumentative, ambitious, and very Odessan.

Memory has already been attempted to be preserved — and it has been destroyed

In Odessa, this is not the first attempt to perpetuate the memory of Jabotinsky. A commemorative bas-relief was installed on the house on Yevreyskaya Street, where he lived, back in 1997. Later it was damaged and then stolen by vandals. Currently, the city maintains a mural depicting Jabotinsky on Bazarnaya, 33 — in the house where he was born and raised.

This detail gives the new initiative additional meaning.

The monument to Jabotinsky is not only a question of bronze, pedestal, and city commission. It is a question of protecting memory. Especially in a region where Jewish heritage often exists between respect, oblivion, political disputes, and direct vandalism.

What will happen next

After the decision of the historical and toponymic commission, city structures need to select a suitable place for the monument. Then the issue must go through further procedures and be submitted for consideration by the deputies of the Odessa City Council.

It is not yet possible to say that the bust has already been installed or that the point near the Opera House has been finally approved. It is more accurate to formulate it this way: the commission supported the initiative to install a monument to Vladimir Jabotinsky in Odessa, but the location is still being agreed upon.

For Israel, this story is important already now.

It shows that Ukraine, despite the war, continues to work with historical memory not only through renaming streets and dismantling imperial symbols but also through the return of names associated with Jewish history, Zionism, and the future of Israel.

In the case of Jabotinsky, this is especially true. He was a son of Odessa and at the same time one of those people whose ideas became part of the great Jewish path to statehood.

Therefore, the future monument in Odessa is not just a bust of a famous native of the city. It is a sign that between Ukraine, Israel, and the Jewish people, there is a memory that cannot be reduced to diplomatic statements. It stands in biographies, books, streets, houses, stolen bas-reliefs, and new decisions of city commissions.

Meir was one of the most prominent figures in world politics for over 30 years. She became the Prime Minister of Israel during one of the most difficult periods in the country’s history.

Her famous quote: “You cannot negotiate peace with those who have come to kill you”, remains relevant today, both for Israel and Ukraine. Section Jews from Ukraine.

Golda Meir (born Golda Mabovich) was born on April 21, 1898 (May 3, new style) in Kyiv to a Jewish family. Her father, Moshe Mabovich, was a carpenter, and her mother, Bluma Naidich, worked at home. In 1903, when Golda was 8 years old, her family emigrated to the USA, where she finished school and a teacher’s college.

In 1921, Golda moved to Palestine, where she began her Zionist activities. She became one of the closest associates of David Ben-Gurion, playing a key role in the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. Golda Meir held several important government positions in Israel:

• Minister of Labor and Social Welfare (1949–1956)
• Minister of Foreign Affairs (1956–1966)
• Minister of the Interior (1970)
• Prime Minister of Israel (1969–1974)

Golda Meir passed away on December 8, 1978, in Jerusalem. She left a lasting legacy in Israel, with her memory preserved in street and square names, as well as memorial plaques and statues. A Golda Meir Square was named in her honor in Tel Aviv, along with streets in Jerusalem. Her contribution to the creation of Israel remains invaluable, and her name continues to symbolize strength and determination.

Golda Meir was born on April 21, 1898 (May 3, new style) in Kyiv, on Baseyna Street, to a Jewish family. Her father, Moshe Mabovich, was a carpenter, and her mother, Bluma Naidich, worked at home. The family went through difficult times, and Golda often recalled her childhood as a time of need, when there was not enough food and warmth at home. In her memoirs, she wrote about how her father nailed doors in response to rumors of possible pogroms, which left a deep mark on her consciousness and shaped her views on life.

The family lived in a modest apartment on the ground floor of a two-story house located on Baseyna Street in Kyiv, near Bessarabska Square. Golda later described this place as a “wretched and damp room.” In her memoirs, she emphasized that her father dreamed of escaping poverty and opened a carpentry shop, but his attempts were unsuccessful, and their family continued to live in need.

Family roots and childhood in Kyiv

Golda was named after her great-grandmother on her mother’s side, a woman who lived to be 94 and always added salt to her tea instead of sugar to remember the bitterness of life in the Jewish diaspora. This heritage deeply influenced her character and worldview. The Meir family was from Pinsk (modern-day Belarus), and they moved to Kyiv in search of a better life. Moshe Mabovich, Golda’s father, was a carpenter, and thanks to passing qualification exams, he was able to move with his family to Kyiv, despite the strict restrictions for Jews in the Russian Empire.

Connection to Ukraine in her memoirs

In her autobiography “My Life”, Golda Meir devoted attention to her childhood in Kyiv. She described how, at that time, there was a lack of resources in her family, and life in Russia was unsafe for Jews. Golda remembered that in Kyiv, she realized that “justice does not exist in the world.” This left a strong impression on her and shaped her resilience, which later manifested in her political life.

When she was 8 years old, the family moved to Pinsk, and then emigrated to the United States. These years in Kyiv left a deep mark on Golda, and she always remained attached to her Ukrainian roots. She was proud of belonging to a resilient Jewish family that had survived many hardships. Golda believed that her upbringing in Kyiv, as well as the experience of living in a Jewish ghetto, toughened her and prepared her for life in Israel.

Square and memorials in Kyiv

In Kyiv, in 2024, a Golda Meir Square was named on Borychev Tik Street (17, 19, 21). This square was opened in 2024, marking an important moment in preserving Golda’s memory in her hometown. A memorial plaque on House No. 5-A on Baseyna Street, where she lived until 1903, also serves as a reminder of her connection to Kyiv. The plaque was installed in 1998, and it is another sign of respect and recognition for her contribution to the history of Israel and the Jewish people.

Golda Meir Street in Kyiv was renamed in 2022. It was formerly called Krasnodarska Street and was located in the “Nivki” metro area. The renaming was part of an initiative to honor outstanding personalities and symbolized the recognition of Golda Meir as a native of Kyiv and an important figure in the history of Israel.

Famous quotes by Golda Meir

Golda Meir was not only an outstanding political leader but also a person with a bright, independent character. Her thoughts on war, politics, the role of women, and life’s challenges will forever remain in history as a symbol of strength of spirit and the pursuit of justice. Here are some famous quotes from this remarkable woman that reflect her views on life, politics, and Israel:

1. On the position of prime minister:
   • “It was never in my plans to become prime minister. I never thought about positions. I became prime minister — and I did it, just like my milkman became the commander of our outpost on Mount Hermon. Neither he nor I particularly enjoyed the job, but both of us tried to do it as best as we could.”
2. On Israel:
   • “Moses led us through the desert for 40 years to bring us to the only place in the Middle East that has no oil.”

• On how to govern a small country:
  • “The world is cruel, selfish, and brutal. The suffering of small nations goes unnoticed. Even the most educated governments and democracies, led by decent people who represent decent people, are not too inclined to think about issues of justice in international relations. We cannot always rely on their advice, and thus we must have the courage to look at things realistically and act as our instinct for self-preservation tells us.”
• On the Holocaust:
  • “ […] We couldn’t believe that such a horrible crime could be committed, or that the world would allow it to happen. No, we were not naive. We simply could not imagine something our imagination had never conceived. But now there are no horrors that I can’t imagine.”
• On independence:
  • “Two dangers face those of us who emerged as a new independent country: the first is the danger of being stuck in the past; the second is the illusion that political independence will immediately solve all our problems.”
• On war:
  • “We could not afford the luxury of pessimism, so we made completely different calculations, based on the fact that we all — all 650,000 of us — had such a strong will to live that it was impossible to understand outside of Israel. If we didn’t want to be thrown into the sea, we had no choice but to win. And so we won.”
• On peace:
  • “It will be a great day when Arab farmers cross the Jordan not on tanks, but on tractors and extend a hand of friendship — farmer to farmer, human to human. Perhaps this is a dream, but I am sure that one day it will come true.”
• On life’s challenges:
  • “I learned a very important lesson: a person can always do a little more than seemed possible yesterday.”
• On the position of women:
  • “The fact that I am a woman has never hindered me. I never felt awkward or inferior, I never thought that men were better than women or that giving birth to a child was a misfortune. Never. And men, on their part, never gave me any special privileges. But, as it seems to me, it’s true that for a woman who wants to lead not only a domestic but also a public life, everything is significantly more difficult than for a man, because she bears a double load.”

From NAnews – “Jews from Ukraine”

Golda Meir, born in Kyiv, became a symbol of resilience, determination, and an unwavering pursuit of independence for the Jewish people. Despite the hardships of her childhood in Kyiv, she became a figure ready to fight for the rights and dignity of the Jewish people. Golda Meir, despite poverty and harsh circumstances, was able to achieve greatness and change the course of history by playing a key role in the founding of the State of Israel.

Her quotes continue to inspire millions of people around the world, and her legacy lives on in commemorative sites in Kyiv and other cities where she was born and raised. Golda Meir remains a symbol of struggle and fearlessness for all Jews, especially those coming from Ukraine, who continue to defend their rights and independence.

NAnews (news about Israel and Ukraine) takes pride in telling the story of great personalities like Golda Meir and emphasizes the importance of her connection to both Ukraine and Israel. We believe that the memory of such individuals helps preserve historical unity between the nations and inspires for the future.

Additional information about Golda Meir and her Ukrainian roots is available in articles on our website:

We have already written:

• Golda Meir: Birth, Biography, and Career
  • Article about Golda Meir, her birth on May 3, 1898, in Kyiv, her family, and life before emigration. This article covers key moments of her childhood in Ukraine and her career before she became Prime Minister of Israel.
• Video Teaser about Golda Meir
  • Video teaser dedicated to Golda Meir, focusing on her influence on the development of Israel and her role in world politics.
• Streets of Golda Meir and Vladimir Jabotinsky
  • Story about how streets in Israel were named after Golda Meir and Vladimir Jabotinsky, two great figures in the history of Israel and Zionism.
• Golda Meir’s Grandson
  • Article about Golda Meir’s grandson, who continues to support her legacy and influence, along with interesting facts about the Meir family.
• Exhibition about Golda Meir
  • Overview of an exhibition dedicated to Golda Meir, organized in Israel, featuring information about her life, career, and achievements.
• Square and Memorial Plaque for Golda Meir in Kyiv
  • Story about the memorial plaque on the house in Kyiv where Golda Meir lived until 1903, as well as the square dedicated to her, opened in 2024.
• Golda Meir on Israeli Banknotes
  • History of how Golda Meir was depicted on Israeli banknotes, reflecting her significance to the state.
• Jewish Conference of 1938
  • Article about the events of the Evian Conference in 1938, in the context of the struggle for Jewish rights and the efforts Golda Meir made in international politics to address issues related to the Holocaust.

Section Jews from Ukraine

The “Jews from Ukraine” section on the NAnews website is dedicated to the history and lives of emigrants from Ukraine who became significant figures in Israel and the world. We explore their journey, achievements, and impact on both countries, as well as important moments connected to the Jewish heritage of Ukraine.

Read more about Golda Meir and other important figures whose roots and fates are intertwined with the history of Ukraine and Israel. It is essential for us not only to preserve the memory of such individuals but also to highlight their contributions to the development of society and strengthening ties between the two nations.

Our section continues to tell the stories of notable personalities who have made significant contributions to historical processes and became symbols of the struggle for independence, human rights, and freedom. Golda Meir is a vivid example of how Jews who grew up in Ukraine managed to influence international politics and create an independent state for the Jewish people.

We take pride in being at the center of these stories and continue sharing them with our readers, supporting the unique heritage of Ukrainian Jews in Israel.

Return to the origins: the city where it all began

Buchach is a small town in the Ternopil region, once the center of Galicia, where Ukrainian, Jewish, and Polish traditions intertwined. It was here in 1888 that Shmuel Yosef Agnon was born — a future classic who became one of the creators of modern Israeli literature.
His childhood was spent among ancient synagogues, baroque churches, and river slopes, where every place held traces of prayers and songs in Hebrew and Yiddish. Later, these motifs came to life in his books, and Buchach itself became a kind of archetype — a city of memory where the past breathes through words.

After emigrating to Palestine and living in Germany, Agnon gained worldwide fame, but the thread connecting him to Buchach was never broken. That is why, years later, this city once again became a center of cultural dialogue — now in a new century.

Agnon Literary Residency: a city that teaches listening

In 2016, the organization Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter (UJE) together with the Agnon Literary Center created a project capable of returning Buchach its voice.

This is how the Shmuel Yosef Agnon Literary Residency appeared — a space for writers, artists, and translators seeking their own stories in the city.

Here, literature becomes not a genre but a way of dialogue: with memory, with place, with people. Participants — contemporary Ukrainian authors — live in Buchach, explore archives, meet residents, and record their stories. Each new residency is like the city’s breath, a new layer of understanding its multilingual past.

2021: the birth of the book “Islands of Memory”

The third season of the residency, held in 2021, was pivotal. At that time, Borys Khersonsky, Diana Klochko, and Markiyan Prokhasko came to Buchach. Three authors from different generations — a doctor and poet, an art critic, a young essayist — wrote texts inspired by time, place, and silence.
The result was the book “Islands of Memory”, published in three language versions.

This project is not just a collection of essays but a living structure of memory, where each text becomes an island, and together they form an archipelago of human experience.

Borys Khersonsky: memory as breath

A psychiatrist and poet, Khersonsky writes that memory is not chronology but a way to remain human. His essays are about the silence of Buchach, where every street becomes a metaphor for the inner world. He sees the city as a living organism, pulsating with traces of prayers and conversations.

Diana Klochko: the city as text

An art critic and philosopher, Klochko speaks of Buchach in the language of architecture. For her, walls are pages, and stones are letters with which history is written. She sees the city as a manuscript inscribed with three alphabets — Cyrillic, Latin, and Hebrew, where everything — from baroque facades to old bridges — carries meaning.

Markiyan Prokhasko: a look at the present

The youngest participant in the project looks at Buchach through the eyes of an observer. His essays are a quiet diary of walks: the smell of coffee, the creak of doors, conversations at the market. Through details, he connects the past and the present day, proving that memory lives not in archives but in everyday life.

Three languages — three mirrors of memory

The main feature of the publication is its trilingualism.
Ukrainian language — as the voice of modernity.
English — as a window to the world.
Hebrew — as a return to Agnon’s roots and Jewish spirituality.

Each language reflects its own perspective, but together they create a complete picture.
Editors and translators — including Anna Nekrasova and Tatyana Nepipenko — made translations not mechanically but intonationally: so that each text sounds natural in its cultural environment.

Thus, “Islands of Memory” became not just a book but a model of how Ukraine sounds when it speaks in several languages at once.

The dialogue of cultures continues: Lviv Forum 2025

Four years later, the theme of Buchach resonated again at the 32nd Lviv Book Forum.
At the discussion “Listen, Read, Understand” Diana Klochko, together with translators Anna Nekrasova (Hebrew) and Tatyana Nepipenko (Yiddish), discussed how Ukrainian literature learns to sound alongside Hebrew and Yiddish without losing its melody.
The conversation became a natural continuation of the book — a new bridge between eras and languages.

Buchach today: a city where memory is alive

Modern Buchach is not an open-air museum but a living organism. Here, the old synagogue is being restored, cemeteries are being explored, tours and thematic festivals are held. The city learns to speak about its multinational past — without nostalgia, but with respect.

Travelers can see the Agnon monument, a bas-relief in the ART-yard, his family home, and ancient streets where time seems to have stopped. Every detail is part of a new cultural map where Ukrainians and Jews meet again.

UJE — an organization that connects stories

The project Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter (UJE) has been operating since 2008 and has already become a platform for open dialogue. Its mission is to restore mutual understanding, to show that Ukrainian and Jewish histories are not parallel lines but intertwined threads of one fabric.

Thanks to UJE, dozens of projects, exhibitions, films, and books have appeared, in which memory is not a requiem but life.
“Islands of Memory” is one of the most significant examples of this approach.

Literature as a form of healing

The book “Islands of Memory” shows that culture can heal.
It connects eras, turns silence into words, and gives a voice to those who were forgotten.
Through three languages and three authorial perspectives, it restores respect for the past and hope for the future.

There is no pathos here — there is breath.
Buchach resonates again.
And this sound is heard in Kyiv, Jerusalem, Paris, and Toronto.

Shmuel Agnon — a symbol that lives again in the Ukrainian context

His books are not only the heritage of Israel but also part of Ukrainian cultural memory.
Buchach gave the world a writer, and Ukraine — a space where this heritage can be understood anew.
Agnon reminds us that literature is a bridge by which one can return home, even after a century.

“Islands of Memory” can be read here .

Sources:
The material is based on the publication of the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter (UJE) website — https://ukrainianjewishencounter.org/uk/ostrovi-pamyati/,
as well as a reference article Nikk.Agency — Shmuel Agnon.

“The Sataniv Jewish cemetery operated for almost 500 years. The ancient core of the cemetery is the burial of the 15th, 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. It numbers about one thousand tombstones. This period marks the flourishing of the carving art of the Jewish people.”

In the Horodok district of the Khmelnytsky region of Ukraine, ancient cemeteries are being studied. This is done within the framework of the “Graves of Ancestors” project in cooperation with the public organization “Ukraine Incognita.” Fourteen Ukrainian, Polish, and Jewish cemeteries have already been studied. The Jewish ones are the best preserved.

What the texts, ornaments, embossed images, and inscriptions on the matzevot tell about was explained by the head of the department of culture, religions, and tourism of the Horodok City Council, Oleh Fedorov, in a report by “Suspilne”.

This is the old part of the Sataniv Jewish cemetery. Burials here date back to the 16th – early 19th century.

“This is one of the most beautiful tombstones of the Sataniv necropolis. It is not the oldest, it is from 1800. Here lies Sarah, the daughter of Rabbi Meir from Lviv,” said researcher and local historian Dmytro Polyukhovych.

Researcher and local historian, member of the public organization “Incognita Ukraine” Dmytro Polyukhovych says the tombstones are decorated in the Baroque style and have a number of symbols.

“It is said here that the girl buried here is righteous in her deeds, modest. This is a very romantic epitaph: ‘for this beauty, which will decay in the ground, I weep.’ Here we see symbols of maiden purity: does — a symbol of maiden purity and beauty, resting — a symbol of innocence and purity, lions — a symbol of the Jewish people. And this is actually a portal.

On another tombstone ceiling, matzevot, three hares are depicted. They have become symbols of the three world religions.

“The image of three hares first appears in China, in a Buddhist cave monastery and dates back to the 4th century AD. In Europe, it became a symbol of Christianity: three hares, each separately and all together — one whole. Such an image is found in many Christian medieval churches of the 10th-11th centuries in Western Europe. And from there it already reaches the Jews,” said the researcher and local historian.

And this is a woman’s grave from 1799. Wolves with prey are depicted on the tombstone — a symbol of premature death. This monument is the most saturated with symbols of death, said Dmytro Polyukhovych.

“This is a symbol of premature death. Next, we see a candlestick, a five-branched one, which is characteristic of women’s tombstones. It indicated that the woman was righteous and has a five-branched candlestick. However, instead of the central candle, there is an eagle, the fifth. The candle holders themselves are very interesting here. We see snakes, in whose mouths candles are inserted.”

According to Dmytro Polyukhovych, The Sataniv necropolis is one of the oldest Jewish necropolises in Ukraine.

“The Sataniv cemetery operated for almost 500 years. The ancient core of the cemetery is the burial of the 15th, 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. It numbers about one thousand tombstones. This period marks the flourishing of the carving art of the Jewish people.”

The head of the department of culture, religions, and tourism of the Horodok City Council, Oleh Fedorov, said that the cemetery research was conducted by their department within the framework of the “Graves of Ancestors” project in cooperation with the public organization “Ukraine Incognita.” In total, fourteen cemeteries have already been studied.

“The Jewish cemeteries of the 17th-18th century are best preserved here because they were usually in such inaccessible public places, on high hills, so they are better preserved. This is truly a museum of stone carving,” said Oleh Fedorov.

According to Oleh Fedorov, The Sataniv Jewish necropolis deserves the status of a national monument.

Other News of Israel and the world read on the channels NiKK News of Israel Nikk.Agency in

This is not an ordinary creative evening and not a standard meeting with an artist.

In the program, Filippenko combines literature, theater, personal memories, and a conversation about time — the very time that for many people was divided into “before” and “after” after February 24, 2022.

For the Israeli audience, this visit is important not only as a cultural event. Filippenko is an artist with a significant Soviet and Russian biography, but recent years have added another context to his name: a public anti-war stance, departure from Russia, support for Ukraine, and continued performances beyond the official Russian stage.

Where and when will Alexander Filippenko’s performances take place in Israel

The tour schedule covers four cities in Israel. All performances will start at 19:00.

Netanya

October 7, 2026, Wednesday
Hechal HaTarbut – Auditorium
4 Raziel St.

Ashdod

October 9, 2026, Friday
Matnas Duna-Yud
90 Keren Kayemet LeIsrael St.

Haifa

October 11, 2026, Sunday
Rappoport Hall
138 HaNasi Ave.

Tel Aviv

October 13, 2026, Tuesday
Tel Aviv Museum – Recanati Hall
27 Shaul HaMelech Ave.

Tickets

Tickets – are already available for purchase via the link

For Netanya, Ashdod, Haifa, and Tel Aviv, such evenings usually become not just part of the program but a meeting point for different audiences: people who remember Filippenko from cinema and theater, repatriates from Ukraine, the Ukrainian community in Israel, viewers for whom the topic of culture after the war is no longer neutral.

What is ‘Where is the Exit? Where is the Road?’

The program ‘Where is the Exit? Where is the Road?’ is structured as a monologue and personal conversation with the audience. Alexander Filippenko takes the stage not only as a performer of texts but as a person who lives these texts together with the audience.

The evening will be composed of prose, poetry, theatrical memories, and life stories. The program includes excerpts from Nikolai Gogol’s ‘Dead Souls’, Mikhail Zoshchenko’s works ‘The Steamboat’ and ‘Product Quality’, Sergey Dovlatov’s ‘The Reserve’, Boris Pasternak’s ‘Christmas Star’, as well as poems by Semyon Kirsanov, Yuri Levitansky, and Zhenya Berkovich.

The intonation itself is important here. Filippenko has long been known as an actor who can work on the edge of grotesque, irony, and tragic depth. His manner is not limited to beautiful reading of the text: he turns literary material into a living scene, where behind every word lies experience, memory, and inner freedom.

A special place in the program will be occupied by the artist’s personal stories — about filming in two versions of ‘The Master and Margarita’, working with Sergey Yursky, Alexei German, Sergey Loznitsa, and other directors. For the audience, this is a chance to hear not only famous texts but also the backstage story of an era, told by a person who was its direct participant.

Filippenko: why this evening sounds different

Alexander Filippenko was born on September 2, 1944, in Moscow. He graduated from MIPT, then the Shchukin Theater School, worked at the Taganka Theater, the Vakhtangov Theater, the Mossovet Theater. His filmography includes more than a hundred works, including ‘Visit to the Minotaur’, ‘Hard to Be a God’, ‘The Master and Margarita’, ‘Our Armored Train’, ‘Throw’, ‘Steps of the Emperor’, and other films.

At the same time, the Ukrainian trace in his biography is also noticeable.

Filippenko acted in films and TV projects related to Ukrainian cinema and Ukrainian studios: ‘Bumbarash’, ‘Born by the Revolution’, ‘The Last Resort of Kings’, ‘The Black Arrow’, ‘The Bridge Through Life’, ‘The Pit’, ‘A Woman for All’, ‘I Am Alone’.

For many viewers, he is remembered as one of the most striking performers of ‘dark side’ roles in Soviet and post-Soviet cinema. Filippenko played characters with sharp, almost grotesque energy: Koschei the Immortal, Death, Koroviev, and Azazello in versions of ‘The Master and Margarita’. Later, the wide audience also remembered him for the role of Andrey Zabaluev in the series ‘Poor Nastya’.

But today, Filippenko’s biography is read not only through the list of roles.

Back in March 2014, after the Russian intervention in Ukraine and the occupation of Crimea, he, along with a number of well-known Russian figures in science and culture, expressed disagreement with the Russian government’s policy in Crimea. This position was outlined in an open letter.

In 2018, Filippenko also supported Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, who was in Russian custody.

After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the artist openly spoke out against the war. Ukrainian and emigrant media reported that his departure from Russia was related to his political position. The Mossovet Theater did not renew his contract in 2022, and concerts in Russia began to be canceled.

In his interview with DW, Alexander Filippenko stated that for him, February 24, 2022, when Russia attacked Ukraine, is one of the most shameful days in his life. He left his native country without hesitation and settled with his family in Lithuania.

The actor stated that he is ashamed of Russia and does not want to return to a country where dictatorial times have returned, against which he spoke out even during the USSR.

Moreover, Alexander performed a concert in Vilnius, where all proceeds from ticket sales were directed to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The actor also criticizes Russian propaganda and disinformation about the war.

A special symbol was his photograph in an embroidered shirt, published on Ukrainian Embroidery Day. In the caption, the artist recalled Kyiv, the Dovzhenko studio, chestnuts, friends, coziness, and warmth. For many, this gesture was important precisely because it came from a person whose professional life had been associated with the Russian stage for decades, but who did not hide behind it after the start of the war.

Together with his family, he lives in Vilnius (Lithuania) and is engaged in volunteer activities, participating in fundraising to help Ukrainians.

After moving to Europe, the artist did not stand aside and actively helps to raise funds for Ukrainians affected by the war.

The artist speaks sharply about dictatorial regimes and has repeatedly stated that he does not intend to return to Russia.

In a number of publications, it was also reported that Filippenko performed literary concerts in Europe, and the proceeds from certain events were directed to help Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In addition, the actor criticized Russian propaganda and disinformation about the war.

For NAnovosti — Israel News – Nikk.Agency, Alexander Filippenko’s visit to Israel looks not only as a point on the cultural program. This event is at the intersection of theater, memory, war, and personal choice. In Israel, where a large Ukrainian community lives and many people are connected with the culture of the former USSR, this context is especially acute.

The name of the program ‘Where is the Exit? Where is the Road?’ in this sense sounds almost biographical. It is a question not only literary but also human. Where is the exit for an artist when the familiar country becomes a source of war? Where is the road if the old stage closes and silence becomes a form of consent?

Filippenko answers this not with a slogan, but with a stage. Literature. Voice. Memory.

That is why the Israeli performances in October 2026 may become more than just a tour of a famous actor. For some viewers, it will be a meeting with a master of theater and cinema. For others, an evening about the price of personal position. For others, an opportunity to hear how classical literature suddenly begins to speak about today without direct political declarations.

‘Where is the Exit? Where is the Road?’ — a question that each viewer may hear in their own way. But in Alexander Filippenko’s story, it has already received a specific continuation: not to be silent, not to return to a convenient role, and to go where the word can still sound free.

Tickets are already available

The tour schedule covers four cities in Israel. All performances will start at 19:00.

Netanya

October 7, 2026, Wednesday
Hechal HaTarbut – Auditorium
4 Raziel St.

Ashdod

October 9, 2026, Friday
Matnas Duna-Yud
90 Keren Kayemet LeIsrael St.

Haifa

October 11, 2026, Sunday
Rappoport Hall
138 HaNasi Ave.

Tel Aviv

October 13, 2026, Tuesday
Tel Aviv Museum – Recanati Hall
27 Shaul HaMelech Ave.

Tickets

Tickets – are already available for purchase via the link

For Ukraine, this dispute is not just about cinema and not just about Khrzhanovsky. After the full-scale Russian invasion, Kyiv consistently proceeds from the fact that the war is waged not only with missiles and tanks: simultaneously, Russia tries to maintain its presence in European culture, return artists and projects associated with it to international platforms, and gradually restore the feeling that dealing with the Russian state ‘as usual’ is possible again. Therefore, Ukraine views the appearance of DAU in the main competition in Venice through a broader framework — military aggression, cultural influence, and subsequent international legitimization do not exist separately for Kyiv. In this logic, the question is not ‘is this a good film?’, but ‘does a prestigious European festival help normalize people, money, and cultural ties formed within the Russian system?’

For those searching for ‘Ukraine demands to remove DAU’, ‘Ilya Khrzhanovsky Venice 2026’, or ‘Russian funding for DAU’, a clarification is needed immediately: in the joint statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, there is no literal demand to ban the film. Kyiv writes that it does not call for censorship, but asks international cultural platforms not to legitimize projects it considers connected with the Russian state.

The 83rd Venice International Film Festival is one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in the world, organized by La Biennale di Venezia; films in the main competition compete for the ‘Golden Lion’. In 2026, it will be held from September 2 to 12 on the Lido island in Venice, Italy.

I, Elena Gunko, started analyzing this story not to justify Khrzhanovsky or argue with Ukraine. I was interested in something else: does the short formula ‘a Russian project received European legitimization’ withstand the test of dates. Not completely. But the director’s own version also requires adjustments.

What exactly Ukraine presents

On August 17, 2026, Ukrainian agencies called the inclusion of DAU in the main competition in Venice a reason for ‘deep concern’. As arguments, they cited former financier Sergey Adonyev, conductor Teodor Currentzis, Khrzhanovsky’s work on a project with Russian billionaires, and the filming of DAU in Kharkiv from 2008 to 2011.

But the dispute began before the world premiere. Venice lists DAU as a 195-minute film produced by Germany, France, and Sweden; the first public screening is scheduled for September 9. This means that Ukraine is currently assessing primarily the origin of the project and the biographies of the people around it, rather than the content of the new film.

It is important for me here not to substitute one question for another. Ukraine has the right to ask about the project’s money and connections. But the answer to this question is not yet equal to the answer to what is in the film.

DAU indeed had Russian money — but not only that

DAU began in the mid-2000s as a project about Soviet physicist Lev Landau and then grew into a huge artistic experiment. The main filming took place in Kharkiv from 2008 to 2011; various films and installations were later created from the accumulated material.

In 2015, Screen Daily wrote that the Russian Ministry of Culture demanded through the court to return 22.5 million rubles previously allocated for the production of DAU, plus about 8 million rubles in interest. In the same material, the project was called a co-production of Russia, Sweden, Germany, and France, and among the structures that supported it was the State Agency of Ukraine for Cinema — a Ukrainian state structure supporting film production.

Here I disagree with Khrzhanovsky’s maximally broad formula that the Russian state ‘did not finance the film’. But first, it is important to understand where this formula came from.

On August 21, 2026, four days after the joint statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, Ilya Khrzhanovsky published on his Facebook page a large public response to the Ukrainian agencies.

The director consistently dismantled their claims in ten points and posted the text immediately in three languages — English, Ukrainian, and Russian. At the beginning of the publication, he thanked the Venice Biennale and the festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera for their support, and then stated that the Ukrainian statement contains factual errors and distortions of the history of DAU’s origin, its funding, relations with the Russian state, and his own biography. The Ukrainian version of the response begins in the same publication separately, followed by the Russian one.

It is in this response that Khrzhanovsky claims that the Russian state did not finance the film and did not participate in its creation. The publication appeared on August 21 — this is also confirmed by Italian media, which quoted his Facebook post on the same day.

And here I have a reservation. If we are talking about the entire history of DAU, there was Russian state funding. However, if Khrzhanovsky is speaking specifically about the completion of the 2026 version and its current production structure, I have not found direct confirmation of Russian state funding for this version.

Khrzhanovsky himself formulates this even more narrowly: for the past seven years, according to him, DAU has not received money from the Russian state, Russian state institutions, companies associated with the state, or private investors currently living in Russia. Sergey Adonyev, as the director claims, financed the large artistic project DAU from 2008 to 2019 but did not pay for the completion of the film selected for the Venice competition.

Adonyev is currently under US sanctions. The American OFAC registry indicates his Russian and alternative Israeli citizenship, Israeli passport, and address in Herzliya. For me, this is another reminder: a passport proves little here; dates of money and real connection with the current production are needed.

Currentzis, Kharkiv, and old claims to DAU

Ukraine separately points to Teodor Currentzis. He received Russian citizenship in 2014 and worked for many years within the Russian cultural system. But Khrzhanovsky draws attention to the chronology: most scenes with Currentzis were filmed from 2008 to 2011 when he was a citizen of Greece. The director also acknowledges: Currentzis did not publicly support the war, but he also did not publicly oppose it.

The dispute with Kharkiv is even more complex. Ukraine believes that the city is shown through a Soviet lens that erases its Ukrainian identity. Khrzhanovsky responds that the closed ‘Institute’ was specifically created as a Soviet world, and the film’s theme is the destruction of personality by a totalitarian system.

The project also has a heavy prehistory. In 2020, Ukraine investigated the circumstances of the participation of children from a Kharkiv orphanage in the filming of DAU. Later, the production was closed: investigators reported that they found no signs of a criminal offense. For me, this is an important boundary — ethical questions about the project’s methods remain, but the investigation cannot be turned into a proven crime.

How ‘Babi Yar’ appeared in the dispute — and why Israel cannot be forgotten here

The Ukrainian statement reminds that Khrzhanovsky led a cultural project funded by Russian billionaires associated with the Kremlin. The director himself clarifies: it is about the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center in Kyiv, where he was the artistic director.

Yes, among the donors were Mikhail Fridman and German Khan. But the center’s supervisory board was headed by Natan Sharansky; the events marking the 80th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy in 2021 were attended by the presidents of Ukraine, Israel, and Germany. The Ukrainian state publicly interacted with the center at that time.

That is why I would not call the entire project ‘Kremlin’ without reservations. There were Russian money and disputes around Khrzhanovsky’s concept, but there was also an official Ukrainian-Israeli line.

For NANews — News of Israel, this is not an accidental historical insert. We wrote in detail about how the Soviet authorities displaced Jewish memory of Babi Yar in the material ‘Soviet Ban on Memory’. We also talked about the current ‘Research Space’ in Babi Yar and separately analyzed why the history of the Holocaust in Ukrainian cities remains little known. These materials show why the dispute over who shapes the memory of Babi Yar is not foreign to Israel.

Khrzhanovsky today — a citizen of Israel and a Russian ‘foreign agent’

In the Ukrainian statement, Khrzhanovsky is called a director from an aggressor state. He was born in Moscow, and the early history of DAU is closely linked to the Russian cultural environment. But legally, the situation today is different.

Khrzhanovsky writes that he renounced Russian citizenship in protest against the war and is a citizen of Germany, the United Kingdom, and Israel. He recalls supporting Ukraine after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and speaking out against the full-scale Russian invasion. Russia has listed him as a ‘foreign agent’.

I do not consider the status of ‘foreign agent’ a universal justification. A person can conflict with the Russian state and maintain old connections with people from the Russian elite. But if the current state network of influence is being discussed, the attitude of the Russian authorities themselves towards the director cannot be excluded from the analysis.

Director’s son Andrey Kh: from Russia to Israel, and then to Palestinian activism

There is another character in Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s Israeli story — his son Andrey Khrzhanovsky, born in 1998, known on social media as Andrey X or Andrey Kh. And his path turned out to be perhaps even more paradoxical than his father’s.

In February 2022, Andrey came from St. Petersburg to Israel to visit his grandparents. His return ticket was for February 24 — the day Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He did not return to Russia, applied under the Law of Return, and received Israeli citizenship. Before that, Andrey studied anthropology at University College London, engaged in journalism, and participated in Russian opposition activities. In the first months after the invasion, he said he raised money for Ukrainian charities and wrote for ‘Novaya Gazeta’.

But quite soon, the center of his activity was no longer Russia and Ukraine, but the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Andrey began traveling to Palestinian villages in Judea and Samaria — the West Bank in international terminology — and filming clashes between local residents and settlers and the IDF. Later, he practically moved there: in an interview with NEWSru.co.il, he said he lives among Palestinians and collaborates with organizations of so-called ‘protective presence’. The Irish Times in 2025 described him as an independent journalist and activist who is filming a documentary about the Palestinian village of Ras al-Auja and funds his work, including through donations from subscribers.

Andrey calls what is happening in Judea and Samaria ‘ethnic cleansing’, Israel — a system of ‘apartheid’, and the war in Gaza — ‘genocide’. These are his political definitions, not established facts in this article and not the position of NANews. Moreover, in a 2025 interview, he stated that he rejects the Zionist model of the state and believes that the existing political system should be radically changed. At the same time, he does not intend to renounce Israeli citizenship.

And he began to conflict with the Israeli authorities quite specifically.

In October 2024, the military detained him and several other journalists on the way to the Nablus area. Khrzhanovsky later claimed that the detainees were beaten, kept blindfolded, and left in the sun for several hours. This is precisely his version of events. Among the group was American journalist Jeremy Loffredo from The Grayzone, who previously worked at RT and was detained in Israel after publishing about the locations of Iranian missile falls.

This episode had a completely unexpected continuation. The Russian-speaking activist association ‘Compass’, with which Andrey was associated, after the story with Loffredo, excluded Khrzhanovsky himself. The organization explained the decision by saying that cooperation with a journalist from a publication it considered connected with the pro-Russian information environment contradicted its principle of rejecting any imperialism — including Russian.

For our article, this is an especially curious detail. While Ukrainian agencies today discuss possible Russian networks around the father, the son was already excluded from an ultra-left association for contact with a journalist whom his own associates considered connected with the pro-Russian agenda. The world of the Khrzhanovskys clearly resists attempts to neatly categorize it politically.

The loudest Israeli episode occurred in December 2024. Andrey published a video from Sderot, where he stuck a sticker with the Palestinian flag and the inscription Free Palestine on an object that simultaneously served as a memorial to IDF Captain Shilo Cohen, who died on October 7, 2023, in battle in Kibbutz Be’eri. After complaints and public reaction from politicians, Andrey was detained in Tel Aviv.

The police requested to extend his arrest for five days. Judge Sabina Cohen disagreed: she pointed out that the sticker itself did not pose a threat to public safety and was within the limits of freedom of expression. The court ordered Khrzhanovsky’s release, although it set bail at 15,000 shekels and banned him from visiting memorial sites for a month. The father of the deceased officer publicly called Andrey’s act malicious.

This was far from the only conflict with law enforcement. In a September 2025 interview with NEWSru.co.il, Andrey himself said that 13 administrative and criminal cases had been initiated against him, some of which had already been closed by that time. Among the remaining proceedings, he mentioned a case after an action at the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv, when he poured red paint on the building in protest against the war in Ukraine, as well as a civil lawsuit for 160,000 shekels from a settler accusing him of defamation. These are Khrzhanovsky’s figures and descriptions, not data from a single official registry, so they should be presented as such.

By 2025–2026, Andrey had turned this activity into a full-fledged media project. He regularly shoots videos from Palestinian villages, publishes them for an international audience, and appears in European media. In June 2026, The New Arab described him as a journalist and activist who has been documenting the actions of settlers and the Israeli army in the West Bank for over two years.

About Andrey himself, NANews has already reported. And a related topic — why part of the ultra-left anti-Israeli rhetoric can intersect with the Russian information agenda — NANews — News of Israel separately analyzed in the material about the slogan Free Palestine and the ‘Kremlin axis’.

I specifically do not make the political views and actions of the son an argument against Ilya Khrzhanovsky. That would be a typical manipulation by the principle of guilt by association. Moreover, father and son do not agree politically on everything: Andrey himself said that Ilya Khrzhanovsky does not share his position, although he supports him as a son.

But for the family’s biography, this line is important. The father renounced Russian citizenship, opposes the war, and became a Russian ‘foreign agent’. The son did not return to Russia after the Russian invasion, received an Israeli passport — and then became one of the most prominent Russian-speaking ultra-left critics of Israel itself.

This proves nothing about the funding of DAU.

But it clearly shows why the Khrzhanovsky family cannot be described with a single word ‘Russian’.

How Khrzhanovsky became an Israeli citizen and what connects him with Israel

I did not find the exact date of Ilya Khrzhanovsky obtaining Israeli citizenship in reliable open sources. But it is known that he had an Israeli passport before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. In interviews, he said that he came to work in Kyiv on the Babi Yar Memorial Center already as an Israeli citizen and was processing a Ukrainian work permit with an Israeli, not a Russian passport.

Khrzhanovsky himself recalled that after receiving the Israeli passport, he asked acquaintances what he, as an artist, could do for Israel. Shortly after that, he was offered to participate in creating the concept of the Babi Yar Memorial Center, where he later became the artistic director.

At the same time, Israel did not become his only place of residence: Khrzhanovsky continued to work between Europe and Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, the war caught him in Israel, and after the invasion began, his elderly parents moved here. Today, his main base is considered Berlin, but Israeli citizenship in his biography is clearly not a formality.

Therefore, the formula ‘director from an aggressor state’ requires clarification: Khrzhanovsky was born in Moscow, but long before the current dispute, he had Israeli citizenship, and later renounced his Russian passport.

What remains after verification

After verification, I cannot call the Ukrainian statement unfounded. DAU had Russian state support, Adonyev indeed financed the project for many years, Currentzis is connected with the Russian cultural system, and there were serious disputes around Khrzhanovsky in Ukraine.

But I do not see a proven chain that would turn DAU 2026 into today’s project of the Russian state. For this, data on current money, control, management, or political order are needed. Old connections raise questions; they do not automatically answer them.

This is the main nuance. Ukraine looks at the entire twenty-year biography of DAU and sees the accumulated Russian infrastructure. Khrzhanovsky separates the current film from it and shows a new European production structure. Both sides choose a time frame that strengthens their argument.

After September 9, what almost all participants in the discussion currently lack will appear — the film itself. Then it will be possible to argue not only about passports, sanctions, old money, and Kharkiv as a filming location, but also about whether DAU really reproduces the Russian imperial lens or, as the director claims, shows the mechanism of totalitarianism.

Why Ukraine is fighting for culture at all

Here I understand Ukraine’s logic, even if I believe that specific accusations against DAU need to be checked much more accurately. The country has been living under full-scale Russian aggression for the fourth year and simultaneously observes how Russia continues to claim not only territories but also the right to determine what is considered ‘Russian’ in the history, culture, and memory of neighboring countries. Ukraine sees this as a continuation of the same imperial model: first political and military pressure, then appropriation of common history, language, artists, cities, and cultural heritage.

Therefore, for Kyiv, an international film festival is not a neutral showcase. When a film appears in the main competition in Venice, its author receives prestige, press attention, and symbolic return to the European cultural norm. This is what Ukraine calls the problem of legitimization: not necessarily direct Kremlin propaganda, but a gradual restoration of the acceptability of the Russian cultural environment while Russia itself continues the war.

There is also another reason. For decades, Russia represented Ukrainian writers, scientists, cities, and cultural achievements as part of a single ‘Russian’ or ‘Soviet’ space. After 2022, Ukraine reacts especially painfully to any situations where this framework, in its opinion, is reproduced without explanation that it is about Ukrainian territory and a separate Ukrainian history. That is why Kharkiv in DAU is not just a place of old filming for Kyiv.

But here I would still separate the principle and the specific case. Ukraine’s right to resist Russian cultural normalization is understandable to me. However, if a specific director or a specific film is called part of the current Russian network of influence, this already requires not a general logic of war, but specific evidence — modern money, control, institutional connection, or political order. This boundary in the DAU story seems important to me not to lose.

Sources: joint statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine; La Biennale di Venezia; public statement of Ilya Khrzhanovsky; Screen Daily; OFAC of the US Department of the Treasury; Suspilne Kharkiv; materials of NANews.

You arrive in Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, or another country. The plane is just taxiing to the terminal, and you already need the internet: to write to your family on WhatsApp, open Google Maps, call a taxi, find the hotel address.

Previously, the choice was quite clear: either use the roaming of your Israeli operator or look for a local SIM card after arrival. The eSIM technology added a third option — to purchase a mobile package in advance and load it onto the phone digitally.

This is exactly how Airalo works.

But here it is immediately worth separating two concepts that are often confused. eSIM is a technology. Airalo is a service through which you can purchase a mobile package for eSIM.

What is Airalo in simple terms

Airalo calls itself an international eSIM marketplace. In its terms, the company more precisely defines its role as an aggregator and platform for communication services: it collects offers from mobile connectivity providers and sells the corresponding eSIM packages to the user. Currently, the service offers connection options for more than 200 countries and destinations.

Therefore, perceiving Airalo as another Cellcom, Partner, or Pelephone is not quite correct.

The user opens the Airalo website or app, selects a country or region, buys a suitable package, and receives a digital eSIM that can be installed on a compatible smartphone. Already in the destination country, the phone uses this eSIM to connect to a supported mobile network.

No plastic card needs to be received.

For a person, it looks something like this:

country → internet package → payment → eSIM installation → network connection after arrival.

You can view available Airalo options for the travel country here:

https://airalo.pxf.io/QYWr76

And what is eSIM and where is it located?

A regular SIM card is familiar to almost everyone: a small plastic card with a chip that we insert into the phone.

With eSIM, the principle is different.

The necessary module is already built into a compatible device, so there is no need to change the physical card. After purchase, the user downloads a digital profile of the operator or service provider onto the smartphone. Airalo allows installing purchased eSIMs through the app, QR code, or manual data entry — the available method depends on the device and specific offer.

Have you ever seen the “Add eSIM” option in iPhone or Android settings and didn’t understand why it’s needed?

That’s exactly for such cases.

Moreover, your main Israeli SIM or eSIM can remain in the phone at the same time.

This makes the technology especially interesting for Israelis who travel a lot between Israel, Europe, and other countries.

How Airalo works: from purchase to internet appearance

Let’s go through the whole process without advertising shortcuts.

First, the user goes to Airalo and selects the destination. For example, they are flying from Israel to Poland.

Next, you need to choose a package. Offers may vary in the number of gigabytes, validity period, supported networks, and availability of additional services. Airalo offers both packages with a certain amount of data and some options with other conditions, so the characteristics need to be checked directly before purchase.

After payment, the eSIM appears in the user’s account. In most cases, it becomes available almost immediately, although Airalo warns that sometimes processing may take longer.

Then the eSIM is installed in the phone.

After arrival, you need to enable the corresponding line and select it for mobile data transmission. When the installed eSIM registers in the supported network of the destination country, the phone receives mobile internet within the purchased package.

That is, technically, Airalo does not create a separate Wi-Fi for the tourist. The phone still connects to a regular mobile network — just access to it is arranged through the downloaded eSIM.

And what will happen to my Israeli number?

This is one of the main questions for the Israeli user.

Suppose your permanent number from Partner, Cellcom, Pelephone, or another operator is in the phone. To use the tourist eSIM, it is not necessary to delete it.

If Dual SIM support is available, the phone can use different lines for different tasks. For example:

• leave the Israeli SIM active for your number, calls, and SMS;
• assign Airalo for mobile data transmission;
• WhatsApp and other internet applications will continue to work through mobile internet;
• the usual WhatsApp number does not automatically change from installing a new eSIM.

Airalo separately explains that when using a data-only eSIM, the user can leave another line active for voice communication and SMS.

But there is an important detail here.

If your Israeli SIM remains active abroad, the conditions for calls, SMS, and roaming on this line are determined by your Israeli operator. The presence of Airalo itself does not cancel possible expenses on the main SIM.

Therefore, before departure, it is worth checking not only the eSIM but also the settings of your own line.

For NAnews — Israel News readers, this is perhaps more important than promises of “internet in a few minutes”: a mistake in choosing the data transmission line can make all the savings meaningless.

You can view available Airalo options for the travel country here:

https://airalo.pxf.io/QYWr76

Does Airalo provide a new phone number?

Not necessarily.

Airalo has different types of packages. Some are intended only for mobile data — data-only. Through such an eSIM, you cannot make regular voice calls or send traditional SMS from this line. However, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and other services using the internet work through mobile data.

There are also offers that include mobile data, calls, and text messages. For example, Airalo offers global options with data, calls, and texts, but the availability of such functions needs to be checked for a specific package before payment.

Therefore, the formula “bought Airalo — got a foreign number” is incorrect.

Sometimes a number or phone services are included in the package. Sometimes not.

If you need a local number, for example, for work, registration in a certain service, or for a long stay in the country, this parameter needs to be checked separately.

Local, Regional, or Global: why does Airalo have so many options

On Airalo, offers are divided into local, regional, and global eSIMs.

Local eSIM is designed for one country.

Flying from Israel only to Germany? Then it makes sense to first look at the package for Germany.

Regional eSIM covers several countries in a specific region.

Imagine the route:

Israel → Poland → Germany → Czech Republic.

Instead of a separate eSIM for each stop, you can check the European regional package and see if the necessary countries are included in the coverage.

Global eSIM is intended for trips across different countries and regions of the world. But the word Global does not automatically mean “works absolutely everywhere”: the list of supported countries needs to be checked for a specific offer.

Therefore, choosing a package only by its name is not worth it.

You can view available Airalo options for the travel country here:

https://airalo.pxf.io/QYWr76

What to check before clicking “Buy”

Here begins the most important part.

The mere fact that Airalo sells eSIM for your country does not mean that the first package you come across is right for you.

Before payment, NAnews — Israel News recommends checking at least the following parameters.

Does your phone support eSIM

Not all smartphones can work with eSIM. Moreover, support may depend not only on the model name but also on the specific version of the device and the market for which it was released. Airalo maintains a separate list of compatible devices and recommends checking compatibility before purchase.

Is the device locked to one operator

Airalo indicates that to install an eSIM, the device must be unlocked to work with other networks. If the smartphone is carrier-locked, this issue must first be resolved with your operator.

How much internet are you buying

1 GB for a few messages, maps, and checking mail is one story.

Work video calls, YouTube, uploading photos, and sharing the internet to a laptop is quite another.

You need to look not only at the price but also at the amount of data.

How many days is the package valid

Packages have a validity period. This can be, for example, 7, 15, or 30 days, although specific options vary.

When does the countdown start

This is especially important.

For most Airalo eSIMs, the validity period starts after activation, and activation usually occurs when the installed eSIM first connects to a supported network at the destination. But this is not a universal rule for absolutely every product: Airalo recommends opening Additional Information → Activation Policy and checking the conditions of a specific eSIM before purchase.

In other words, you cannot automatically assume: “I’ll buy today, and the 30 days will start counting only after the plane.”

First, we look at the Activation Policy.

Can you buy more internet later

For many eSIMs, additional Top Up packages are available, but the possibility of replenishment depends on the product. In the Airalo app, a corresponding function appears for compatible eSIMs.

Are there regular calls and SMS

If this is important — check before payment.

Not after.

Can you share the internet

Airalo reports that Personal Hotspot/Tethering can be used if supported by the device and the network used. Therefore, a person who needs the internet also for a laptop should better check this point separately.

What is cheaper: Airalo, local SIM, or Israeli roaming?

Here we deliberately will not write that Airalo eSIM is “always cheaper.”

There is no such universal rule.

Operator prices, roaming packages, and eSIM offers change. Moreover, for two people flying to one country, the optimal options may turn out to be different.

It is more correct to compare the three solutions before each trip.

Israeli operator roaming is convenient because the user practically does not need to install anything. But the cost depends on your operator and the purchased package.

Local SIM card may sometimes be more attractive in terms of data volume or conditions. However, it usually needs to be received or purchased from a local operator and go through the provided connection procedure.

Travel eSIM like Airalo is primarily interesting because the internet issue can be resolved before the trip and without removing the main SIM from the phone.

Therefore, the question should not be “what is always cheaper?”, but:

What exactly do I need on this trip and how much will it cost for each of the three options?

When Airalo can really be convenient

Let’s take a few situations familiar to the NAnews audience.

An Israeli arrives in Europe for only three to four days. He doesn’t need a local contract and a new number. He needs maps, WhatsApp, websites, taxis, and mail.

Another scenario: a person arrives in an unfamiliar country late in the evening. He doesn’t want to look for a mobile operator’s store and deal with local tariffs right after the airport.

The third option is a trip through several European countries at once. In this case, a regional eSIM can eliminate the need to buy a separate SIM at each stop. Airalo offers regional options for traveling through multiple countries.

Another scenario familiar to our audience is trips between Israel, Ukraine, and European countries. Communication is often needed not ‘tomorrow after I find a salon,’ but immediately: to write to family, open navigation, check a train, or order a car.

This is where the very idea of eSIM becomes clearer than any advertisement.

You can view available Airalo options for the country of your trip here:

https://airalo.pxf.io/QYWr76

When Airalo may not be the best option

There are also reverse cases.

If your phone doesn’t support eSIM at all, buying such a package is pointless.

If you need a full local phone number for several months, a local operator may be a more logical solution.

If a very large amount of mobile traffic is needed, offers should be compared — a local tariff may be more interesting.

If your Israeli operator already offers a suitable roaming package at a good price, installing an additional eSIM may simply not provide a noticeable advantage.

Finally, for someone who absolutely doesn’t want to deal with Dual SIM settings, it may sometimes be easier to activate a pre-purchased roaming package from their operator once.

Technology is convenient when it solves a problem. Not the other way around.

A few settings that are better done at home

If you still choose eSIM, don’t leave the first acquaintance with it for the moment of boarding the plane.

It is more reasonable to install the profile with stable internet access and according to the specific eSIM instructions.

After installation, give the lines clear names. For example:

Israel

Travel

or:

Partner

Airalo Europe

This way, there’s much less chance of confusing them later.

Before use, check which SIM is assigned for mobile data, which is for calls, and whether Data Roaming needs to be enabled for the tourist line according to your package instructions.

And one more point that is easy to underestimate: do not delete the eSIM just because you don’t need it right now. Airalo warns that eSIM usually cannot be reinstalled after deletion and recommends temporarily disabling the profile if further use is planned.

Disabling and deleting are not the same.

What NAnews checked before this publication

It is important to outline the boundaries of the material here.

The editorial team checked the instructions relevant as of August 2026 for purchasing and installing eSIM, device compatibility, operation of data-only packages, retention of the main SIM, activation times, and traffic replenishment. Official Airalo pages and the company’s help center were used for the material.

At the same time, we do not present this article as an independent test of Airalo’s mobile network quality in each country. Speed, 4G/5G availability, and coverage quality depend, among other things, on the specific package, partner network, location, and connection conditions.

The next level of verification is the actual purchase of an eSIM, installation on a specific smartphone, and testing during a trip. Such material already makes sense to do separately, with screenshots and actual results.

Pros and limitations of Airalo that are already visible

The main advantage of eSIM in travel is the absence of the need to change a physical card. Communication can be prepared in advance, and the main line can be left in the phone with a compatible device.

The second advantage is the choice between one country, a region, and broader international coverage.

The third is management through the app: Airalo allows you to purchase packages, see your eSIMs, and for supported options, buy additional traffic.

But the limitations are no less real.

A compatible and unlocked smartphone is needed.

Not every package provides a phone number and regular calls.

Different eSIMs have different validity periods and activation times.

And the cost still needs to be compared with alternatives directly before the trip.

So who makes sense to try Airalo?

First of all, a person who needs mobile internet immediately after arrival and who doesn’t want to change the main SIM card.

This option is especially understandable for short trips and routes through several countries.

Airalo is interesting here not as ‘another foreign operator,’ but as a way to buy access to the mobile network of the desired country in advance and load it directly into the phone.

But before paying, ask yourself five questions:

Does my phone support eSIM?

Which countries are covered?

How many gigabytes do I really need?

Do I need regular calls and SMS?

And is the specific package more advantageous than my operator’s offer?

If the answers fit — then you can choose eSIM.

Check available Airalo eSIMs for your trip’s country: https://airalo.pxf.io/QYWr76

Why not? Heading “Jews from Ukraine” on the website NAnews is dedicated to the unique history and achievements of Ukrainian Jews, their contribution to the development of Israel and Jewish communities around the world, strengthening cultural and historical ties between peoples.

This article is just research for now 🙂 by an enthusiast……

History often brings amazing surprises. This time she shed light on family Jared Kushner's roots, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.

As it turned out, his maternal great-grandfather born in Ukraine, or rather, in a small town PodgaitsyTernopil region. Here it is on the map.

About this “Suspilny” told historian, local historian and teacher, former mayor of the village of Podgaitsy Stepan Kolodnitsky.

Stepan Kolodnitsky is the compiler of the publication “Podgaitsy and Podgaechchyna”, in which he collected all the historical information about the region and a tourist guide “The paths of the shtetls. Travels to the Forgotten Continent”which contains information about ancient Jewish cities.

Enthusiast Stepan Kolodnitsky, who devoted his life to researching his region, found documentary evidence that sheds light on Kushner’s pedigree.

As the historian said, surviving documents indicate that the Stadtmauer family, from which Jared Kushner’s great-grandfather on his mother’s side comes, lived in Podgaitsy for a long time.

“At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Jewish population in Podgaitsy was 53 percent. Over time, the majority emigrated to Israel, the USA and other countries. Among them are the ancestors of Jared Kushner,” said Stepan Kolodnitsky.

The Stadtmauer family: the path from Podgaitsy to America

The Stadtmauer family immigrated to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century to escape poverty. Like many other Jews from Ukraine, they were looking for a better life overseas.

Jared Kushner, a member of New York's “Modern Orthodox” Jewish community, was raised in the traditions passed down by his ancestors. Kushner does not hide his pride in his origins.

Jewish heritage of Podgaitsy

By the way, I was born in Podgaitsy Mendel Zacharias – son of Rabbi Aryeh Leib (died 1791), author of the books “Menorot Zechariah” (“The Lamp of Zechariah”), “Zechariah Meshulem” (“Allegories of Zechariah”), “Zechariah Yamevin” (“Zechariah the Expert”).

Podgaitsy is a small but history-rich city.

Jews began to settle in Podgaitsy at the beginning of the 16th century, and the first documentary mentions date back to 1552, when Jews were recorded as taxpayers. Already at that time, the community differed in size compared to other neighboring cities. From 1580 to 1620, Rabbi Aron Benjamin Solnik, author of the famous book “The Speeches of Benjamin,” lived and served in Podgaitsy, which made the city an important religious and cultural center.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the Jewish community made up about half of the city's population: out of 6,000 residents, 3,200 were Jews. They were engaged in trade and crafts, and actively participated in cultural and economic life. However, the First World War and subsequent events were the first blows for the community. Despite this, in the 1910s, a local printing house owned by the Jewish Weinles family published books and materials for Ukrainian organizations.

Tragedy struck the community during World War II. In 1941, with the arrival of German troops, attacks, forced labor and fines for Jews began. On Yom Kippur in 1942, about 1,000 Jews were sent to the Belzec extermination camp, and in 1943 the community was finally exterminated: the remaining residents were shot and buried in mass graves on the outskirts of the city. The last Rabbi of Podgaytsev, Yitzchak-Aizik Aichenstein, died along with the community.

Today the Jewish cemetery in Podgaitsy is a unique historical monument. About 1,500 matzes have been preserved here, some of which date back to the 17th century. It is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Ukraine, reminiscent of the past greatness and tragedy of the city's Jewish community. Interestingly, the city's coat of arms, decorated with a gold letter “P”, resembles the Hebrew letter “ח” (chaim – life), which symbolically connects the city with its Jewish history.

This thriving shtetl was known for its cultural diversity and active Jewish life. However, the events of World War II and subsequent repressions significantly changed the face of the city.

About 1.5 thousand matzes have been preserved in the old Jewish cemetery in Podgaitsy, and the oldest tombstones date back to the 17th century. During a survey of the cemetery in 2011, scientists discovered a matzeva from 1596, one of the oldest in the region.

When asked whether there is Stadtmauer’s grave in the Jewish cemetery in Podgaitsy, the historian replied: “There is no grave itself, because you see what the Bolsheviks, the Germans, and other people destroyed.”

Interesting twist in history

It would seem that the connection between Donald Trump, his son-in-law Kushner and Ukraine sounds like an unexpected twist. However, the story of the Kushner family is another example of how Ukraine and Israel are connected by a common Jewish destiny.

“Europe is over,” said the Jews who left at the beginning of the last century. But the legacy of their families lives on in their descendants who reach heights on the other side of the world.

A look into modern times

Ukrainian Jews left a deep mark on the history of Israel and Jewish communities around the world. As the example of the Kushner family shows, such connections not only remain, but also remind us of the importance of culture and historical heritage.

Our website NAnews – Israel News continues to highlight unique moments in the history of Jewish communities, their interaction with Ukraine and contributions to the modern world.

Quote from a historian:

“Pidgaytsy is a unique place where the histories of peoples are intertwined. By studying its past, we open new pages of world history.”

Read more in the section “Jews from Ukraine” website NAnews – Israel News.

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sTDe | NAnews — Israel’s event listing: a new guide to events, cities, and tickets

In Israel, concerts, performances, stand-up evenings, festivals, exhibitions, lectures, family programs, city celebrations, and chamber meetings take place almost every day. But for someone who wants to choose an event, a single announcement is often not enough. They need to understand where the event is taking place, when it starts, how much tickets cost, whether the event is suitable for children, if there is a convenient venue, which city is best to choose a date, and whether it is worth planning a trip in advance.

This is exactly why sTDe | NAnews is being developed — a new event listing in Israel, where events will be organized into a clear system: by genres, cities, dates, venues, tickets, and thematic selections. The project is available at https://stde.co.il/ and is being created as a convenient navigator for the cultural, urban, and event life of the country.

Not just a list of events, but a clear listing of Israel

The main task of sTDe | NAnews — is to help a person quickly answer a simple but important question: where to go today, tomorrow, on the weekend, or in the coming month. In reality, this question almost always breaks down into a chain of clarifications: concert or theater, Tel Aviv or Haifa, family program or evening event, open seating or reserved tickets, large hall or chamber venue, all-day festival or short performance.

A regular list of events often does not address these questions. Therefore, sTDe | NAnews is built not as a dry catalog, but as an event guide. In it, not only the date and name are important, but also the context: who the event is suitable for, what makes it special, where it takes place, how to check details in advance, and why this particular event might be interesting.

For NAnews — News of Israel launching such a project is logical: alongside the news and analytical agenda, a practical urban layer appears — a listing that shows the lively side of Israel through concerts, theater, festivals, exhibitions, lectures, and events for the whole family.

What categories will be important on sTDe | NAnews

The event platform should be convenient not only for finding one specific concert. It should cater to different behavior scenarios: someone is looking for tickets to a famous artist, someone is choosing a play, someone is planning a family weekend, someone wants to see what’s happening in the city near their home.

This approach helps cover not just one search query, but the entire topic. The user can start with “events in Israel,” then move to “concerts in Tel Aviv,” then specify “where to go with children in Haifa” or “festivals in Israel on the weekend.” A good listing should accompany them at every step.

Geography: Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, and the entire country

For Israel, geography is especially important. Events take place not only in the center of the country. The listing should show Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Ashdod, Netanya, Bat Yam, Rishon LeZion, Petah Tikva, Holon, Be’er Sheva, cities of the north, center, and south of Israel.

A person often chooses not only an event but also a route. They need to understand if it’s convenient to get there, if it’s worth going to another city, if there’s parking nearby, how late the program ends, and if the venue is suitable for family visits. Therefore, city selections on Event Listing sTDe | NAnews can become a separate strong direction: “where to go in Tel Aviv,” “events in Haifa,” “Jerusalem listing,” “events in Ashdod,” “weekends in central Israel,” “festivals in the north.”

What should be in a good announcement

A good event announcement should save the reader’s time. It should immediately answer the main questions: what is happening, where, when, who is performing, how long the event lasts, who it is suitable for, how much tickets cost, if there are restrictions, how to check seat availability, and what to know before attending.

Main event data

In a card or article about the event, it is important to specify:

• date and time;
• city and venue;
• address or area;
• genre and format;
• cost or price range;
• link to tickets;
• age restrictions;
• duration;
• organizer or venue;
• important attendance conditions.

But that’s not enough. For a lively listing, it’s necessary to explain what makes the event different from others. For example, a concert may be part of a tour, a play — a rare production, a festival — a family city event, an exhibition — a temporary exposition, and a stand-up — an evening with a limited number of seats.

Tickets: how to move from interest to action

The user has two states. The first — they are just looking at what’s happening. The second — they are ready to buy a ticket. The listing should work for both scenarios.

If a person is still choosing, they need selections, city comparisons, format descriptions, and clear navigation. If they have already decided to go, they need a quick transition to tickets, exact date, venue, price, and purchase conditions. Therefore, on sTDe | NAnews, the ticket office block and external pages where you can check seat availability, cost, and current conditions are important.

This is where the project can be useful not only as a listing but also as a landing page for action: read, understood, chose, moved to the ticket.

Why this is important for NAnews readers

The audience of NAnews — News of Israel is used to receiving not only the fact but also an explanation: what happened, why it is important, how it is connected to Israel, cities, society, culture, and everyday life. sTDe | NAnews continues this logic, but in an event format.

News shows what the country lives by at the level of politics, security, society, and international agenda. The listing shows another side of the same country: concerts, performances, city festivals, exhibitions, family events, lectures, and meetings. Together, this gives a more complete picture of Israel — not only through the events of the day but also through cultural and city life.

Frequently asked questions about sTDe | NAnews

Can events be searched by cities? Yes, city navigation should become one of the foundations of the project.

Will there be weekend selections? This format is especially important because many people look for events just before Friday and Saturday.

Are separate pages needed for concerts, theater, and festivals? Yes, because each category has its own user path and questions.

Can the site be used as a ticket office? The project can combine announcements, selections, and transitions to tickets, helping the user move from choice to purchase.

How is sTDe | NAnews different from a regular catalog? By presenting the event with context: city, format, audience, attendance details, and practical benefits.

Conclusion

sTDe | NAnews — is an event listing of Israel that can become not just a list of events, but a full-fledged guide to the cultural and city life of the country. The project combines concerts, theater, stand-up, festivals, exhibitions, lectures, family programs, cities, venues, tickets, and thematic selections.

For the reader, this means a convenient path from the first question “where to go?” to a specific decision: choose a date, city, event, venue, and ticket. For the media ecosystem of NAnews, this is a new practical format that complements news, analytics, and public agenda with a live map of events in Israel.

For the Israeli audience, there is a particularly important detail in this poster: the tour starts from Israel.

The first concert is scheduled for November 10, 2026 in Tel Aviv, at the Reading 3 club.

The next day, November 11, 2026, the band will perform in Haifa, at the Theatron Hatzafon hall.

Details and tickets are published on the tour page on UNOW: https://unow.com.ua/tour/boombox-eu/

Why this tour starts with special meaning

Boombox is one of the most recognizable Ukrainian musical phenomena of the last two decades.

The band was founded in 2004 and became known for its combination of rock, hip-hop, soul, and live stage energy.

But after February 2022, Boombox’s story gained another dimension.

The band’s leader, Andriy Khlyvnyuk, became one of the voices of Ukrainian resistance.

His a cappella performance of “Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow” on Sophia Square in Kyiv became a symbol of Ukraine’s struggle and gained viral popularity far beyond the country’s borders.

This song was picked up by musicians, volunteers, artists, and ordinary people in different countries.

Thus, the Ukrainian melody turned into an international flash mob supporting Ukraine.

Therefore, “Dronotour ’26” is not just a concert route.

It’s a meeting with a band for whom music, stage, donations, merch, and public voice have become part of one big story — a story of help, memory, resistance, and connection with Ukraine.

Boombox concerts in Israel

Tel Aviv — November 10, 2026

The first concert of “Dronotour ’26” will take place in Tel Aviv.

Venue — Reading 3.

The UNOW page for this date lists the starting ticket price — from 249 ILS.

For Israel, this is the main start of the tour: it is from Tel Aviv that the entire Boombox route through European countries begins.

Haifa — November 11, 2026

The second Israeli concert will take place in Haifa.

Venue — Theatron Hatzafon.

The tour page lists the starting ticket price — from 219 ILS.

For northern Israel, this is a separate important date because Haifa traditionally gathers a large audience connected with Ukraine, Ukrainian culture, and the Russian-speaking scene without political slogans, but through music, memory, and personal experience.

Details and tickets are published on the tour page on UNOW: https://unow.com.ua/tour/boombox-eu/

Route of “Dronotour ’26” by cities

Bratislava — November 19, 2026

After the Israeli concerts, the tour will continue in Bratislava.

Venue — MMC.

This date opens the European part of the route after the start in Israel.

Frankfurt — November 21, 2026

The next stop is Frankfurt.

The concert will take place at Haus Sindlingen.

Germany occupies a prominent place in the tour route: several German cities are included in the Boombox poster.

Stuttgart — November 22, 2026

In Stuttgart, the band will perform at LKA Longhorn.

This date follows immediately after Frankfurt and continues the German block of the tour.

Düsseldorf — November 24, 2026

The concert in Düsseldorf is scheduled at Stahlwerk.

In the tour poster, this city is listed as one of the key stops in Germany.

Bremen — November 26, 2026

In Bremen, Boombox will perform at Aladin Music-Hall.

The route in Germany continues almost throughout the second half of November, showing the scale of the band’s audience outside Ukraine.

Dresden — November 27, 2026

The next date is Dresden.

Venue — Club Tante JU.

For Ukrainian listeners in Germany, such concerts often become not only a musical evening but also a meeting of the community, friends, and people with a shared memory of home.

Hanover — November 29, 2026

In Hanover, the concert will take place at Kulturzentrum FaUST.

This date closes another stage of the German part of the route before Hamburg.

Hamburg — November 30, 2026

The last November concert of the tour is announced in Hamburg.

Venue — Grosse Freiheit 36.

After Hamburg, “Dronotour ’26” will move to the December part of the route.

Dublin — December 2, 2026

Boombox will start December in Dublin.

Venue — Opium.

The band’s message separately emphasized that the route goes “from Israel to Germany, from England to Poland, from Ireland to Slovakia and the Czech Republic.”

Dublin just becomes the Irish point of this big tour.

London — December 3, 2026

In London, Boombox will perform at Electric Brixton.

The British date follows immediately after Dublin and is part of the December block of the tour.

Prague — December 5, 2026

In Prague, the concert will take place at SaSaZu.

The Czech Republic became one of the countries on the route where the Ukrainian audience has been particularly noticeable since 2022.

Krakow — December 7, 2026

The Polish part of the tour will start in Krakow.

Venue — Klub Studio.

The UNOW page for this date lists the starting ticket price — from 179 PLN.

Warsaw — December 9, 2026

The final date of the poster is Warsaw.

The concert will take place at Progresja.

The tour page lists the starting price — from 199 PLN.

It is Warsaw that concludes the announced route of “Dronotour ’26”.

What Boombox is bringing to this tour

The tour description states that Boombox will present the maxi-single “Zhiviy“.

The program will also include songs from various albums of the band.

Boombox formulated this very precisely: they will bring a new maxi-single on tour, enhanced by compositions under which listeners grew up, and under which their children are now growing.

This is an important detail.

Boombox has long ceased to be a band of one generation.

For some listeners, this is the music of student years and first concerts.

For others, it is the voice of wartime, a symbol of support for Ukraine, and a reminder that culture can also be a form of resistance.

The band separately addressed listeners with a request to buy tickets in advance, as well as to prepare money for donations and merch.

Therefore, the name “Dronotour” in this poster sounds not like an ordinary marketing move, but as a continuation of the line in which concerts help gather support for Ukraine.

Where to see details and buy tickets

Tickets, prices, cities, and venues are published on the UNOW tour page.

Before purchasing, it is worth carefully checking the city, date, venue, and ticket category.

For Israel, two dates are currently listed in the poster:

November 10, 2026 — Tel Aviv, Reading 3

November 11, 2026 — Haifa, Theatron Hatzafon

Details and tickets are published on the tour page on UNOW: https://unow.com.ua/tour/boombox-eu/

For NAnews readers — Israel News this is one of the main Ukrainian music posters of autumn 2026 in Israel.

Because “Dronotour ’26” starts here — from Tel Aviv and Haifa.

Kyiv collective “Bow Nashir” continues to amaze: Ukrainian students perform songs in Yiddish and Hebrew, creating a unique cultural bridge between Ukraine and Israel.

But what is behind this project? Why do students, many of whom are not Jewish, choose such an unusual musical path?

I told this story Eduard Doks, from Kyiv, specially for Vesti

The Sholom Aleichem Museum in Kyiv became a place where famous Jewish songs were heard. Students Department of Vocals, Kyiv University named after Boris Grinchenko presented a program including compositions in Yiddish and Hebrew.

One of the most memorable performances was Roman Stukalo’s performance of the famous Israeli song “Shema, Yisrael”. It was followed by Yiddish songs such as “Afn veg shteit a boym” And “Oifn prypichek brent a firel”performed by students David Zagorulko and Anastasia Troshchinskaya.

David's older sister, Dasha Zagorulko, and Anastasia Grishchenko supplemented the program with Israeli hits such as “Tzel etz tamar le oh yareah” And “Yerushalayim shel zaav”.

History of the group “Bow Nashir”

The Bow Nashir team was created in 2010 on the basis of the Beiteinu Jewish community center. Its artistic director is Svetlana Gmyrina, senior lecturer at Boris Grinchenko University of Kyiv.

Svetlana Viktorovna says:

“We select complex and beautiful compositions that require serious vocal training. This is excellent practice for students, and an opportunity for listeners to get in touch with the Jewish musical tradition.”

A special feature of the project is that most of its participants do not have Jewish roots. However, some students learn about their origins through participation in the group.

Why is this important for cultural connections?

The performance of songs in Yiddish and Hebrew in Ukraine symbolizes not only the preservation of Jewish culture, but also the strengthening of ties between Ukraine and Israel.

According to research, before the Holocaust, about 3 million Yiddish speakers lived in Ukraine. Today in Ukraine the language Yiddish is taught at the academic level at the Kiev-Mohyla Academybut its use in everyday life is extremely rare.

Table: Contribution of “Bow Nashir” to the development of culture

Reviews and prospects

Director of the Sholom Aleichem Museum Irina Klimova highly appreciates the performances of the group:

“Bow Nashir concerts are always an event. Young performers sing with such soul that you want to listen to them again and again.”

However, according to Svetlana Gmyrina, the band has not yet had the opportunity to perform outside of Ukraine or record studio albums.

Jewish culture in Ukraine: revival through music

Today “Bow Nashir” is more than just a musical group. This is a symbol of how young Ukrainians, through Jewish music, find new cultural connections and restore historical memory.

As noted NAnews – Israel Newssuch projects help strengthen relations between our peoples and help to better understand each other.

Read more about similar initiatives on the website NAnews and stay tuned for news that connects hearts.

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Big Goal: The “Strong Hearts” tour is charitable. The main goal is to raise funds for vehicles and drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Your Contribution: Every ticket purchased is not just an entry to the hall, but real help for Ukrainian defenders.

Come feel the atmosphere of unity and sincere Ukrainian music. We are waiting for you!

March 13, 2026
Friday, 20:00
Tel Aviv Havana Music Club, Yigal Alon St. 126.

It will be a powerful performance by one of Ukraine’s most popular and charismatic bands, bringing live sound and sincere emotions to Israel. The band, known for its candid and strong music, will delight its fans in Israel with new hit compositions.

The band’s concert is not just music, it’s a whole story of freedom, strength of spirit, and resilience, which they embody in their work.

The band’s history and their contribution to Ukrainian culture

“BEZ OBMEZHEN” has long won the love of audiences around the world. Since its founding, the band has gathered thousands of fans in different countries, and their tracks have gained millions of listens online. Winners of numerous prestigious music awards such as M1 Music Awards, “Golden Firebird”, YUNA, the band has long established itself as a symbol of independent and honest Ukrainian culture.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the band not only continued its creative activity but also actively supported its country. More than 300 concerts during the war, in which they raised over 102 million hryvnias to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. These performances became not only an expression of their music but also incredible support for the Ukrainian military and people. Each show is not just a performance but a true act of solidarity and courage.

Concert program

The concert will start at 20:00, and doors will open for spectators at 19:00. Venue — Havana Music Club, Tel Aviv, Yigal Alon St. 126.

Ticket prices:
An entrance ticket to the event can be purchased in advance, and the ticket price will depend on the location. Don’t miss the chance to be part of a historic event — a concert of a Ukrainian rock band in Israel!

Quotes and achievements of the band

The band “BEZ OBMEZHEN” has become a symbol of the Ukrainian music scene over the years of its career. They not only gather huge audiences but also participate in the most important cultural and social projects.

For those who can’t wait for the concert, the band already has several popular hits that can be listened to online.

YouTube channel: BEZ OBMEZHEN.

What to expect from the concert

The concert of “BEZ OBMEZHEN” in Tel Aviv promises to be a real musical event of the year. The audience will not only enjoy new hits but also a true rock atmosphere filled with the energy of freedom and struggle. Live sound, powerful emotions, and a unique atmosphere will make this evening unforgettable.

“These concerts are the energy of freedom, a symbol of resilience that we bring to the world through music,” noted the organizers’ representatives.

This concert is important not only for music fans but for everyone who values freedom, independence, and supports Ukraine in its struggle.

The concert of “BEZ OBMEZHEN” in Tel Aviv is not just a musical event, it’s an opportunity to feel the spirit of Ukraine, its strength, and courage, which this legendary band carries. They continue to inspire people around the world, and their music is a living testament to the resilience of the Ukrainian people.

On the NAnews website we always follow events that unite Israel and Ukraine, and this concert is one of the bright examples of such rapprochement between the two nations. Join us and support this great musical act.

Where to buy tickets and concert information

• Date: March 13, 2026
• Time: 20:00 (doors open — 19:00)
• Venue: Havana Music Club, Yigal Alon St. 126, Tel Aviv
• Ticket price: varies depending on the location
• YouTube channel: BEZ OBMEZHEN

Tickets are already available via the link.

“… The UN is a major problem. It was created to maintain world peace and engage in peacekeeping when needed. Unfortunately, they did not create armed forces to support all nations. Moreover, Russia is part of it, and I understand that all members want to change the charter and remove it. Ultimately, we want them (Russia – ed.) not to appear on the UN map at all because they set a bad example for the world…

In our regular column “Jews from Ukraine” — Philip Kotler, by blood, is a Ukrainian Jew whose family roots go deep into Ukrainian soil, from which his parents were forced to emigrate to the United States in the early 20th century.

Who is Philip Kotler

Jews from Ukraine: Philip Kotler – father of global marketing with roots in Nizhyn and Chernivtsi #євреїзукраїни NAnews Israel news July 1, 2025

Philip Kotler is an American economist and professor at Northwestern University (Kellogg School of Management), known as the “father of modern marketing”. He developed the concepts of the marketing mix (4P), social marketing, demarketing, and Marketing 3.0, which emphasizes values and humanism.

By combining marketing with psychology and economics, he laid the scientific foundations for modern marketing practice.

One of his most famous works, Marketing Management, is used worldwide as a key university textbook. His theories help companies build customer-oriented strategies and gain competitive advantages in global markets.

He has written over 80 books, and his flagship work Marketing Management is used in over 60 countries and translated into dozens of languages, including Ukrainian and Hebrew. Throughout his career, he received 22 honorary doctorates, including from Ukrainian institutions.

Family and Jewish roots

Kotler was born in 1931 in Chicago, in a family of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. His father, Maurice Kotler (original surname Kotliarevsky), was born in Nizhyn in 1905, and his mother, Betty Bubar, was born in Berdychiv or Chernivtsi in 1910. They emigrated to the U.S. in 1917.

“I grew up in an environment where everyone knew you had to be not only successful but also useful.” — Philip Kotler

Nizhyn: Jewish pain and strength

Nizhyn is one of Ukraine’s oldest Jewish centers. In the early 20th century, Jews made up about 30% of the population. The city had 10 synagogues, schools, doctors, and craftsmen. The pogroms of 1905 and 1919 led to mass Jewish emigration.

Chernivtsi: Capital of Jewish intelligentsia

Chernivtsi was the cultural capital of Bukovina. It was home to Zionists, poets, and scholars. On the eve of World War I, Jews made up up to 40% of the city’s population. Famous Jewish natives include Paul Celan, Joseph Schmidt, Eliezer Steinbarg. Kotler’s mother was raised in this unique cultural atmosphere.

The path to success

Philip studied at the University of Chicago and MIT. He was the first to apply an economic-mathematical approach to marketing. His ideas became the foundation of strategic management and humane business thinking.

Philip Kotler: I was deeply disappointed by India’s and China’s neutrality on Ukraine

Philip Kotler in 2022:

“I’m very interested in peacemaking and marketing peace. We must identify areas and zones of war, like Syria and others. The truth is that the UN is a major problem. It was created to maintain world peace and intervene when needed, but it failed to create armed forces to defend nations. Moreover, Russia is part of it, and I understand that members want to change the charter and remove them. Ultimately, we want them to disappear from the UN map because they are a bad example for the world. We also must demand compensation for the destruction they’ve caused. Yes, there are people in Russia who don’t want war, but they too bear responsibility.

When the war against your country started, I hoped that all great powers, like India and China, would support Ukraine. I was deeply disappointed when they chose neutrality. The U.S. and other allies should be more active in addressing those countries publicly about what Russia is doing.”

Kotler and Ukraine

• 2006 — Honorary doctorate from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
• 2009 — Visits to Kyiv and Odesa with lectures
• 2022 — Online lecture in support of Ukraine
• 2023 — His genealogy published by Ukrainian researchers
• 2025 — Featured in article “The Father of Marketing with Ukrainian Roots” on Shotam.info

“When the war against your country began, I hoped all leading nations would support Ukraine. I was disappointed when that didn’t happen. But that’s no reason to give up.” — Kotler, 2022

NAnews – Israel News

On the website NAnews – Israel News, we highlight individuals who connect Ukraine and Israel. Kotler is one of these symbols. His name is known in every business school, and his voice speaks for Ukraine.

Kotler and Israel

• 1997 — Lectures at Tel Aviv University as part of the Kellogg-Recanati MBA program
• 2002 — Marketing Management published in Hebrew
• Collaboration with Professor Yaakov Hornik
• Cited in Israeli media and business forums

“If business can sell Coca-Cola to every village, why can’t we sell the idea of peace?” — Kotler on peace marketing

Conclusion: Jews from Ukraine — a global legacy

Philip Kotler is one of the most influential intellectuals of the 20th and 21st centuries. His roots are in Nizhyn and Chernivtsi, his ideas have reached the entire world, and his voice speaks for justice and enlightenment.

Read more in our ongoing series “Jews from Ukraine” on NAnews – Israel News.

https://renovation.nikk.co.il/

That is why the topic of apartment painting goes far beyond repair as such.

In northern Israel, it is closely linked with trust, local housing specifics, humidity by the sea, old housing stock, apartments after tenants, and the owner’s desire to put the property in order without heavy capital intervention. For NAnews readers, this story is also interesting because it very accurately shows how client behavior is changing in Israel: people are less and less reacting to the loud ‘cheap’, and more and more looking for peace of mind, a clear estimate, and normal human organization of the process.

Why apartment painting has become a separate topic for the Israeli housing market

In theory, painting seems like one of the simplest services. But in reality, it often becomes decisive for the perception of an apartment. Old traces from fixtures, stains on the ceiling, scuffs, unevenly painted areas, traces of dampness, darkened corners, visual fatigue of the walls — all this makes the housing less attractive, even if otherwise it is quite suitable for living.

For Haifa and the entire Krayot belt, this is especially noticeable. Humidity, the age of some buildings, an active rental market, and constant tenant turnover lead to the fact that it is the walls and ceilings that begin to show the apartment’s fatigue the fastest. Therefore, painting in the local reality is not a cosmetic trifle, but a full-fledged tool for preparing real estate.

Where this is especially felt

The most typical scenarios for northern Israel look like this:

• the apartment is being prepared for a new family to move in;
• the housing needs to be quickly refreshed after tenants;
• the owner wants to make the property visually tidier before selling;
• after dampness, stains, or a local leak, the room needs to be returned to a normal appearance;
• the family does not want to start a major renovation but wants to remove the feeling of neglect.

In all these cases, the client is looking not for ‘the cheapest painting’, but for a solution that will relieve household and financial anxiety.

Why the Israeli client looks at such a service differently

In Israel, there is a very strong sensitivity to time and predictability of expenses. People are willing to pay not only for manual work but also for the absence of chaos. That is why for Haifa, Kiryat Ata, Kiryat Bialik, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Yam, Kiryat Haim, Nesher, and Tirat Carmel, not abstract promises of quality work best, but specific and understandable formulations: a predetermined volume, agreed deadlines, the ability to work in a residential apartment, neatness, help with damp walls, and no sudden additional charges.

What exactly the apartment painting market in Haifa and nearby sells

If you look at how the topic of apartment painting is presented in Israel, it quickly becomes clear: the market sells not just a master. It sells peace of mind, speed, a clear price, and no surprises. This is the key logic that today cannot be ignored by either business or the editorial office if it wants to honestly explain to the audience why some offers work better than others.

The main triggers that the client responds to

Urgency

One of the strongest motivators is the ability to do it quickly. Before moving in, after tenants, before holidays, before selling — in these situations, it is important for a person not in a month, but now. Therefore, the promise of quick deadlines and a predetermined schedule has become one of the strongest market arguments.

Work in a residential or furnished apartment

This is no longer an additional bonus, but a full-fledged competitive advantage. Not every family can move out furniture, vacate the apartment, and turn off normal life for several days. The ability to paint housing without moving and without completely freeing up space is a serious factor in choice.

Dampness, mold, and problematic walls

For coastal Haifa and parts of the northern regions of Israel, this is a separate topic. The client often looks not just for painting, but for a solution to a more painful problem: traces of moisture, mold, peeling old paint, and tired ceilings. Where the contractor can not just ‘paint over’, but honestly assess the condition of the surface and prepare it, trust is higher.

Clear estimate before starting

The Israeli client is extremely sensitive to an inflating price. Therefore, the strongest offers are those where the estimate is discussed in advance, the volume is fixed before the start, and does not spread during the process.

Cleanliness and neatness

For a residential apartment, this is one of the main factors. People are not afraid of the painting itself, but of turning the house into a mess. Where neat work, furniture protection, and normal handover of the object are promised, conversion is higher.

Why a cheap offer is not always the best for the northern Israel market

At first glance, it may seem that the one who promises a lower price wins. But in reality, too aggressive cheap offers often attract not the highest quality leads. The client comes for the price ‘from…’, and then faces the fact that in reality, everything is more expensive, more complicated, and more unpleasant. As a result, both sides are dissatisfied.

For Haifa and Krayot, a different model works stronger. Not ‘from 400 ₪ and then we’ll see’, but a calm bundle:

• fix the volume in advance;
• work neatly even in a residential apartment;
• help with mold, dampness, and problematic walls;
• do not impose unnecessary;
• discuss deadlines in advance;
• do not create sudden additional charges out of thin air.

This logic is perceived today as mature and reliable. For the Israeli audience, this is much closer to the real request than the loud ‘cheapness at any cost’.

How this is related to the real estate market and the psychology of the apartment owner

Painting is also about control. When an apartment is being prepared for rent, sale, or occupancy, the owner wants to quickly regain a sense of manageability. He is not always ready for large-scale repairs, but wants to remove obvious visual problems.

Here the practical power of the service is manifested. Well-organized painting allows:

• quickly change the first impression of the apartment;
• make the property visually brighter and tidier;
• reduce the feeling of ‘fatigue’ without heavy investments;
• prepare the housing for the next stage of use.

For the Israeli reality, this is especially relevant in cities where the rental market is active, and apartments often work as an investment asset. And here NAnews — Israel News can look at the issue more broadly than the household level: painting becomes part of a real estate management strategy, not just a household trifle. That is why NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers this topic not only as a service but also as socio-economic: it is about how Israelis reduce costs, speed up housing preparation, and try to minimize stress around property.

What is especially important for Haifa, Krayot, Nesher, and Tirat Carmel

The local context is critical here. You cannot talk about painting an apartment in a conditionally new residential complex and in an old house with a history of dampness, dozens of traces of previous rentals, and walls that have not been updated for years in the same way.

Local specifics of the area

For this zone, the following are characteristic:

• old housing stock;
• coastal humidity;
• apartments after long-term rentals;
• the need to quickly prepare housing for re-renting;
• high sensitivity to deadlines and price.

That is why a separate service page, separate advertising, and a separate presentation of the topic work better than general texts ‘about repairing everything in the world’.

Why it is important to list cities, not hide behind the word ‘Krayot’

For trust and SEO, it is very important to say not only ‘Krayot’, but specifically: Kiryat Ata, Kiryat Bialik, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Yam, Kiryat Haim, plus Nesher and Tirat Carmel. When a person sees their place directly, the text is perceived as a response to their real situation, not as a universal template.

Which offers really work best

Below is a short table of what most effectively removes client fear and better sells the service in this market.

What apartment owners should consider before ordering painting

Before choosing a contractor, it is useful for the owner to check not only the price but also the logic of the offer itself.

What to look at first

Is there a clear explanation of the scope of work

If it is unclear what exactly is included in the price, there will almost always be problems later.

Are they ready to work in a furnished apartment

For families and busy people, this is often one of the main questions.

Is there an honest conversation about problem areas

If there are traces of moisture on the ceiling or mold on the walls, it is important not the promise ‘everything will disappear’, but a real assessment.

Do they understand the local specifics

Haifa and northern Israel are not an abstract market. Here, humidity, old stock, and quick housing preparation scenarios are important.

Where you can view services on the topic

Russian version:

https://renovation.nikk.co.il/

Hebrew:

https://renovation.nikk.co.il/he/

English version:

https://renovation.nikk.co.il/en/

Conclusion

Apartment painting in Haifa, Kiryat Ata, Kiryat Bialik, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Yam, Kiryat Haim, Nesher, and Tirat Carmel is no longer a story about ‘finding a painter and refreshing the walls’. Today it is a full-fledged service where peace of mind, speed, a clear estimate, neatness, work in a residential apartment, and no unpleasant surprises are sold.

For the Israeli audience, this is especially sensitive because an apartment here is not only a place of life but also an expensive asset, a rental object, family security, and a constant source of household solutions. That is why the market is increasingly moving away from cheap loud promises and moving towards normal, clear, and predictable service.

For business, this means one thing: the winner is not the one who shouts the loudest about the price, but the one who best alleviates the client’s fears. And for the reader, it means something else: when choosing a painting service, it’s important not to look at the attractive number in the first line, but at how well the scope, deadlines, limitations, and real results were explained to you in advance.

NANovosti believes that it is precisely such local topics that today form the true picture of everyday Israel: where decisions are made not at the level of advertising, but at the level of trust, practicality, and the ability to save a person time, money, and nerves.

Key points from the conversation in text version (Ukr.):

The key framework of the conversation is formulated simply and strictly: Yiddish is not a “language somewhere alongside Ukrainian history,” but part of the fabric of this history, because before World War II, millions spoke Yiddish in Europe, and in the territory of modern Ukraine, there were towns and villages where Yiddish was not a marginal code but an ordinary everyday reality — the language of family, trade, press, theater, and literature. Nepypenko separately articulates the scale of the loss: the Yiddish-speaking community in Ukraine sharply decreased due to the Holocaust and Soviet repressions, and after the creation of Israel, Yiddish in the state project was pushed aside as “diasporic” — in favor of Hebrew.

Yiddish and Hebrew are not “two variants of one,” but two different language systems

One of Nepypenko’s first specific theses sounds like a “reality check”: before arguing whether “it is one literature or two,” one must acknowledge the basic fact — these are two different languages. She distinguishes them not by emotion or politics, but by linguistics: Hebrew is Semitic, Yiddish is Germanic. Yiddish, even being a Jewish language, is structurally closer to Germanic languages like English or German than to Hebrew. From this, she draws a direct conclusion: if the languages are different and belong to different families, then their literary traditions are independent, with their own periods of development and internal disputes.

A typical doubt arises separately in the conversation: “Is Yiddish alive today?” Nepypenko responds with a figure she emphasizes as her verified estimate: about 700,000 people worldwide actively use Yiddish, teach it to children, and produce content — including children’s books. This is not “revival at the club level,” but the life of the language in the community.

“There is academic Yiddish and there is Hasidic Yiddish” — and these are really two different conversational realities

She then introduces an important distinction, without which it is easy to make a mistake: conditionally, there are two large zones — Yiddish of the ‘Yiddishists’ (academic, cultural, educational environment) and Yiddish of Hasidic communities. They are mutually intelligible but noticeably differ in phonetics and speech habits; within Hasidic Yiddish, there are also dialects.

The most specific place here is the explanation of linguistic changes “live.” Nepypenko gives an example with grammar: in Yiddish, as in German, there are articles by gender, but in one of the variants of Hasidic Yiddish, articles gradually lose their semantic load, and she associates this with the influence of English, which tends towards simplification and analyticity. Meanwhile, YIVO teaches standard Yiddish with a literary norm — and the question of how the “norm” and “living dialects” will diverge remains open: time will tell.

Why Yiddish was long called a “jargon” and a “women’s language” — and why this was not a linguistic but a social label

The conversation contains a lot of specifics about how Yiddish was denied the status of “full-fledged” for years. Nepypenko says: the transition to recognizing Yiddish as a language of culture dates back to the early 20th century — a period when marginalized languages in Europe generally “came to light,” which were previously denied high status.

But the main thing is that she argues against the myth that Yiddish “was always just a spoken jargon without literature.” Nepypenko explains: there were translations and retellings of religious texts in Yiddish; the practice of retelling the Tanakh and adaptations of the Pentateuch into Yiddish, which were made, among other things, for women — because women often did not have access to formal religious education and knowledge of biblical Hebrew. From this arises an entire genre — women’s prayers in Yiddish, sometimes composed by the women themselves, in a more “earthly,” colloquial language. Nepypenko adds an important detail of meaning: this “grassroots” form gave greater freedom — to speak with God not only formulaically but humanly, in one’s own words.

Where Yiddish came from and why “it’s not just a dialect of German”

Nepypenko separately articulates what is often simplified: “Yiddish = German, just funny.” She calls such a formula erroneous. Yes, in the history of Yiddish, there is a stage when it looks like a “Judeo-German” language: Jewish communities took the Germanic base and recorded it in Jewish script. But then begins an independent history.

She describes one of the most recognized hypotheses of origin: the formation of Yiddish is associated with the Rhine region, i.e., the territory of modern North Rhine-Westphalia; over time, Yiddish separates, and by the 12th–13th centuries, it can be considered a separate language, not just “rewritten German.”

To show that Yiddish has a “long writing tradition,” Nepypenko provides specific examples of medieval texts: among literary samples, there are, for example, adaptations of Arthurian plots, where Talmudic motifs are layered, as well as Yiddish tales where Aesopian and Talmudic lines intertwine. Her logic here is very clear: this is not “translation for the sake of translation,” but the birth of new literature from the layering of different cultural sources.

Ukrainian trace in Yiddish: Slavicisms, Hebraisms, and the “plasticity” of the language

One of the most substantive parts of the conversation is about the mutual influences of languages and why Yiddish is “rooted” in specific lands. Nepypenko explains that the vocabulary of Yiddish is largely built on two major layers:

• Hebraisms — words related to religious life, ethnographic realities, holidays, what she calls “holy speech”;

• Slavicisms — the result of contact between the Ashkenazi community and the local population of Eastern Europe.

And very importantly: she does not reduce Slavicisms only to Ukrainian, noting that borrowings also came from Polish and Belarusian, and later the influence of Russian increased. That is, Yiddish in her description is a language that “knows how to absorb” and live at the intersection, while remaining itself.

There, it is also discussed how Yiddish copes with modernity: Nepypenko talks about the constant replenishment of dictionaries with new words and the debate on what a dictionary should be — descriptive or prescriptive. For Yiddish, in her view, the prescriptive role is especially important today: previously, the norm was formed by schools and the everyday educational environment, and when this environment is scarce, dictionaries partially take on the function of “suggesting how to speak and where to find a new word.”

Why “Hebrew was revived, not Yiddish”: Zionism, Galut, and doikayt — “hereness” as a language ideology

Another specific node of the conversation is the explanation of the choice of Hebrew as the language of the future state. Nepypenko names the ideology directly: it is Zionism, for which Hebrew as a revived language was to become the language of the state that was yet to be created.

And Yiddish, in her words, carries a different perspective: life in the diaspora, in exile (Galut), and from this grows the idea of doikayt — “hereness.” Nepypenko deciphers doikayt not as romance but as a politico-cultural principle: to live and organize “where you were born and where generations lived,” to achieve visibility, voice, active participation, and improvement of one’s position on the spot, rather than abandoning local reality for the sake of a single “correct” geography.

Why specifically Chernivtsi and Ukraine: the 1908 conference and the debate on the “Jewish language”

When it comes to the status of Yiddish, Nepypenko brings out a very specific historical marker: the Chernivtsi Conference of 1908, which became an important milestone in the history of Yiddish and Yiddishism. In her retelling, it was a platform where cultural and political Jewish figures of different views gathered — supporters of Hebrew, supporters of Yiddish, and those who believed that one “Jewish” speech was not enough. There, they debated what to consider the Jewish language and its status, and as a result, Yiddish was recognized as one of the Jewish languages and full-fledged.

Nepypenko connects this topic with the name of Yitzhok Leibush Peretz: she mentions his reflections on what Yiddish literature lacks, and the key word there is “tradition”: tradition needs to be built and supported.

To the question “how Ukraine became a cultural center,” her answer is grounded: these are historical and geographical factors, the division of Ukrainian territories between empires, the different status of languages and communities in different political regimes, and — very practically — the biographies of many authors originating from towns and villages in the territory of modern Ukraine. At the same time, she honestly speaks about competition: in Austria-Hungary, Yiddish often yielded to German, which was the language of education and high culture, and this influenced the trajectories of writers who had to “break through” the German environment.

Shtetl as a “closed world” and why the youth moved to big cities

A separate specific part of the conversation is what a shtetl is and why it is so important for Yiddish culture. Nepypenko explains the shtetl not as a “cozy place from postcards,” but as a form of community life — closed, with a centuries-old established order.

She provides an important historical fact about legal restrictions in the Russian Empire: until 1905, Jews were prohibited from settling in large cities (except for certain categories, like certain merchants), so in general, the Jewish population concentrated in small towns. Against this backdrop, she describes the “great exodus” of Jewish youth in the early 20th century: the movement to cities is explained by both pragmatism (education, work, the opportunity to “be in civilization”) and internal rejection of an overly closed world.

In her formulation, the shtetl is not just geography, but a social shell that, in times of upheaval, begins to press on the younger generation.

Ukrainian-Jewish cooperation during the years of the Ukrainian People’s Republic: language status and institutions

For the audience in Israel, this fragment is especially important because it breaks the usual “black-and-white” set of clichés about the early 20th century. Nepypenko discusses the period of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and talks about specific institutional steps: under the government of Symon Petliura, there was a separate Ministry of Jewish Affairs, and in one of the universals of the UPR, national autonomy was mentioned; the Jewish population was proclaimed autonomous, and rights were granted to it.

And another very precise moment: Nepypenko notes that Yiddish was recognized as one of the officially recognized language lines of the UPR — along with Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian (she adds “if I’m not mistaken,” and this is important as a tone: she does not pretend to read from a paper, but speaks as a researcher who remembers the structure but does not play at absolute infallibility). She directly uses this example as an argument in the debate that the UPR cannot be described only through accusations of anti-Semitism: at the level of law and cultural initiatives, there were forms of cooperation and recognition. At the same time, she does not idealize the period: she emphasizes that the window was short — about a year, and already from 1918, the expanded rights were gradually curtailed.

And here is a remark important for our editorial logic: NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency in recent years regularly returns to stories where “Ukrainian” and “Jewish” cannot be separated onto different shelves. The conversation about Yiddish makes this especially clear: language is not a symbol, but a testimony of shared history on specific land.

“Kyiv Group” and translations: how cultural exchange worked in the 1920s

When Nepypenko moves on to literature, she does not limit herself to general words “there were poets.” She names the “Kyiv Group” of Yiddish authors as a primarily territorial phenomenon: at a certain period, these writers lived and worked in Kyiv, communicated, and were acquainted with each other, but at the same time remained very different stylistically.

She provides specific connections and routes: an important point becomes Berlin during the Weimar Republic, where Lev Kvitko and David Bergelson worked and lived for several years, and Berlin itself is described as one of the centers of Jewish book publishing — both in Yiddish and Hebrew. There also emerges a specific example of a “bridge” between Ukrainian and Yiddish: Kvitko publishes a translation of Ukrainian folk tales, and they are illustrated by El Lissitzky, associated with Kultur-Lige.

Speaking of translations, Nepypenko emphasizes: the initial steps were taken by Ivan Franko, but the truly active process unfolds in the 1920s — before Soviet unification and socialist realism “ground down” cultural diversity. As specific names of translators, she mentions Pavlo Tychyna, Maksym Rylsky, and others; she separately recalls Vasyl Atamaniuk, who in 1923 in Kyiv releases a small anthology of “new Jewish poetry,” and around this remains intrigue: it is not entirely clear where and how he learned Yiddish and how exactly he worked with texts. Nepypenko shows the “human mechanics” of translations: much relied on personal contacts, friendship, mutual assistance.

She provides an especially illustrative example of editorial “assembly” of a translation: there are cases when one person made a literal translation, and another refined the poetic form. In this context, the connection between Mykola Zerov and Alexander Her is mentioned: Her made the “literal translation,” and Zerov polished the translation.

Soviet repressions and the disappearance of public Yiddish

The conversation then becomes harsher — and again with specifics. Nepypenko answers the question about censorship and speaks directly: what unites many authors of this environment is censorship, repression, and silence, and then a situation where Yiddish ceases to be heard and published.

She describes several blows to Yiddish literature: the first round of repressions in the early 1930s, then the war and the Holocaust, and then — a new, “decisive” blow, associated with the history of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee: mass repressions, exiles, and murders. Nepypenko formulates the outcome without embellishments: for most of the authors discussed, the professional and life trajectory ends by the 1950s. As a specific name of a repressed writer, she mentions Der Nister, who was persecuted, among other things, for accusations of a “too symbolist” manner.

What exists today: grassroots initiatives and the example of Sweden

When the conversation returns to modernity, Nepypenko does not paint “instant revival.” She talks about the real situation: there are programs, summer schools, and various initiatives — but more often as internal efforts of universities, cultural centers, or small communities of Yiddishists; there are only a few periodicals, and they rely on the resources of the community itself.

And to show what state support might look like, she gives the example of Sweden, where Yiddish is recognized as an official minority language line; there is a Yiddish publishing house, and translations of large mass texts — like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings — have been published in Yiddish. For her, this is not a “curiosity,” but proof of viability: the language can be present in both high culture and popular culture — if there is an institutional environment for it.

Why this episode is important for the Israeli audience — without slogans

In the conversation, Nepypenko constantly returns the topic to a simple thought: Yiddish is not the language of an abstract “diaspora in general,” but of specific places and specific people. It is rooted in cities and towns where generations lived side by side, argued, learned, traded, translated, and built cultural institutions. And when today in Israel Yiddish sometimes sounds like a “language of the past,” this episode offers a different perspective: the past here is not museum-like, but human — and directly connected to Ukrainian history, including its complex political periods, short windows of recognition, and long stretches of suppression.

The most precise conclusion of the episode is not about “nostalgia” and not about “identity for the sake of identity.” But about infrastructure: a language lives when it has schools, books, a stage, translation, the right to publicity — and when society recognizes it as part of a common history, not a foreign whisper “in the kitchen.”

Key points from the conversation in text version (Ukr.):

In Israel, a new non-profit community for lovers of routes, nature, and live communication is rapidly developing. The initiative “Well, shall we go?”, created in November 2025 by “Ukrainians” in a broad cultural sense, gradually unites various Israelis — from new immigrants to those who grew up here but maintain a connection with the Ukrainian language, as well as people of any origin who feel closer to the Ukrainian cultural atmosphere.

The group is open to everyone. There are no and never have been any nationality restrictions. The only rule is communication takes place in Ukrainian, because the language here is not a “filter” but a cultural center of gravity. It helps to create a comfortable environment but does not exclude anyone who respects the format.

We are launching the Ukrainian Hiking Community in Israel!

Who is this channel for:

For those who can’t live without movement.

For beginners who want to start hiking but don’t know the routes.

For those looking for active Ukrainian friends.

We gather groups, share coordinates, organize picnics, and just have a great time.

Why now

Relocations, adaptation, new realities — all this creates a need for a space where you can move, communicate, and feel part of something alive. Many “Ukrainians” in Israel have long sought a format where they could combine nature recreation and cultural identity. But it turned out that around this idea, other Israelis easily unite: some are interested in routes, some in communication, and some just in the format of going out into nature together.

The community is built entirely on voluntariness: no commercial elements, no formal structures. Someone suggests routes, someone helps gather a group, someone just comes and goes along. This organic approach makes the initiative lively.

Hiking without complex explanations

In Israel, hiking is not an elite activity or a sport for the prepared. It’s a format where everyone chooses their level — from easy one-day walks to dynamic ascents.

Short routes take about an hour and are suitable for absolutely everyone. Medium ones range from 6 to 12 kilometers, usually 2.5–5 hours, with moderate ascents. Difficult ones can stretch up to 20 kilometers or include steep climbs lasting 5–8 hours.

The group selects hikes so that no one feels “too weak,” “too inexperienced,” or “too prepared.” The balance forms naturally.

What is available for hiking in Israel: a live overview, not a catalog

Israel surprises people who are just beginning to get acquainted with the country’s nature. Several climatic zones fit within a compact distance, and each offers its own routes.

In the north, in Galilee and the Golan, routes usually take three to five hours — about 7–12 kilometers. These are green gorges, waterfalls, terraces, forest areas, and views of the Kinneret. The climate here is milder, the trails vary in level, and many Israelis start their hiking acquaintance from here.

In the Haifa and Krayot area — short walks of 3–5 kilometers that can be completed in an hour or two. The routes are warm, shady, simple in terrain, making them suitable for beginners, families, and those who want to immerse themselves in nature gradually. Carmel is one of the most comfortable regions for calm yet rich hiking.

Further — the Judean Desert. Contrasting, sunny, sharp. Here you can walk 2–3 kilometers to the Ein Gedi waterfalls in just an hour, or choose a three to four-hour route along the Nahal Arugot stream. The ascent to Masada takes about an hour but requires more strength: the elevation change is significant, the terrain rocky.

The southern part of the country — Negev and Makhtesh Ramon — is a completely different experience. Routes here are usually 8–12 kilometers, lasting three to five hours. The ascents are steeper, but this area offers “Martian” landscapes that attract people from all over the country.

There are also gentle options: the Mediterranean coast, where walks of 3–7 kilometers take an hour and a half, maximum three, and are suitable for absolutely everyone. These are the routes you can take even after a workday.

The Eilat Mountains offer routes for all levels: short canyons for an hour, panoramic ascents for two to four hours, and a desert atmosphere that becomes especially comfortable in winter.

Such a range of formats makes Israel an ideal country for people who want to hike regularly and without logistical complexity.

Why the community turned out to be important for “Ukrainians” and Israelis alike

Hikes create a space where boundaries disappear: age, cultural, professional. People walk side by side, exchange experiences, discuss news, share how they are adapting or how long they’ve lived here.

The Ukrainian language has become in the community not a “divider” but a unifying factor: it helps those culturally connected to Ukraine feel safe. And Israelis who find the language interesting or close join as naturally as any other participant.

Participants say: “When you walk the trail and hear Ukrainian speech in Israel, it creates a sense of cultural support. But more importantly, you see people of very different backgrounds next to you.”

This combination explains why the group grows without advertising and formal structures.

The Ukrainian community “Well, shall we go?” has become one of the warmest nature movements in Israel. It unites people of different origins, cities, and biographies — through trails, forests, deserts, coasts, through conversations and support. Israel is ideally suited for such initiatives, and the cultural foundation in the Ukrainian language makes this space special.

NANews will continue to report on projects that strengthen the connection between “Ukrainians” and Israeli society.
NANews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency

How to join

Everything is organized as simply as possible:
👉 https://t.me/nyshogoo

New routes, landmarks, equipment recommendations, start times, and photos appear in the chat. Any participant can suggest their trail or join a planned hike.

The community is dynamic, open, multicultural — and at the same time retains the Ukrainian language as its foundation.

On August 21, 2026, a few seconds from the advertisement for the new season of ‘Four Weddings’ on Kan 11 turned into a political scandal. 27-year-old Dolev Cohen from Ramla said to the camera: “Russians. I can’t hear this language. I can’t hear this language. I walk through the supermarket and various places, and it seeps into my brain.” In the same remark, she similarly mentioned Amharic once.

Original – “״Russians. I can’t hear the language. Can’t hear the language. I walk through the supermarket and places, and it seeps into my brain ״. ”

There were two days left before the season premiere. But the discussion was no longer about weddings. The fragment was reacted to by Avigdor Lieberman, Vladimir Bliak, and Evgeny Sova, the latter sent an official letter to the management of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. Then came a response from Kan 11, and on August 22, a defense from Dolev’s brother, Matan.

For me, Stas Shifer, this story is interesting not only because I write about politics, wars, and their impact on ordinary people. I was born in Ukraine, live in Israel, and understand too well one dangerous substitution: the attitude towards the state gradually transfers to the language, and from the language to the person. In the case of Russia, this substitution becomes especially noticeable today because Israelis receive a very contradictory set of signals daily.

On one hand, Moscow receives HAMAS, Russia has been deepening cooperation with Iran for years, and Hezbollah has Russian weapons found by the IDF. On the other hand, inside Israel, Russian diplomacy continues to talk about ‘Russian-speaking compatriots’, Russian flags appear, state holidays, familiar cultural visual series with the tricolor, ‘Russian’ treats, matryoshkas, and other symbols of Russia.

NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency has written about this gap more than once. And therefore, the main question for me is not ‘Is Dolev Cohen a racist or not?’. It is much more interesting to understand, why Russian speech in Israel is beginning to acquire a political tint at all — and whether it is related to the fact that society sees Russian politics not as neutrally as it is still often presented by official Israeli diplomacy.

What exactly did Dolev Cohen say and why did the scandal go far beyond reality TV

‘Four Weddings’ is an entertainment reality show on Kan 11. Four brides visit each other’s weddings, evaluate them, discuss what they see, and the events are accompanied by humorous voice-over text. The new season is set to start on the evening of August 23.

Therefore, it is important to understand the origin of the scandalous video. This is not an old post by Dolev that someone dug up ten years later. Not a fragment of a secretly recorded conversation and not an accidental leak.

The remark was chosen for the official promo of the program.

And this makes Dolev’s story simultaneously the story of Kan 11. If a public television channel takes an emotionally charged phrase about the language of hundreds of thousands of residents of the country and makes it part of the new season’s advertisement, the responsibility for the result can no longer be left only to the reality show participant.

The reaction followed quickly. Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of ‘Our Home Israel’, accused the corporation of giving racism a place in prime time and emphasized that racism cannot be turned into entertainment. For Yisrael Beiteinu, the topic is especially sensitive: a significant part of its electoral history is connected with aliyah from the former USSR and the Russian-speaking audience of Israel.

Vladimir Bliak, a deputy from ‘Yesh Atid — Together’, went further. He demanded to remove Dolev from the screen and apologize, asking Kan 11 a rather unpleasant question: would the corporation allow itself the same television entertainment if it were about another group of Israeli society?

Evgeny Sova from Yisrael Beiteinu translated the dispute from Facebook and X into an official plane. He wrote to the general director of the public broadcasting corporation Golan Yochpaz and demanded the removal of the video, an internal investigation, and an explanation of how such material even passed editorial selection.

And here begins the part of the story that cannot be lost behind political statements.

Kan 11 responded that the corporation opposes any racist statements and itself works against racism in Israeli society. According to the channel’s explanation, the controversial remark was taken from a longer humorous episode where Dolev criticizes herself, her family, and her own wedding, and the program host directly reacts to her manner of expression.

This is an important context. But it leaves a completely different question.

If the full episode contains criticism of these words, why was the part where it is not yet present left in the promo?

It turns out to be a rather strange construction. Kan 11 simultaneously says: do not judge by a short fragment because the full context is different. But it was Kan 11 itself that offered this short fragment to the viewer as an advertisement.

On August 22, another twist appeared. Dolev’s brother Matan wrote to journalist Daniel Amram that people, in his opinion, ‘went out of proportion’: his sister is not a racist, loves everyone, but just doesn’t like some languages. As an analogy, he said that he himself cannot calmly hear Arabic speech because it causes him flashbacks from Gaza.

This is still Amram’s message from Matan’s words, not a separate public interview with Dolev. But it unexpectedly brings the conversation to a place where no one initially intended to go.

The brother suggests separating the person from the emotional reaction to the language.

And can they be separated at all?

We do not know why Dolev is irritated by the Russian language — and it is not permissible to invent a political biography for her.

The easiest way to protect Dolev now is to come up with a convenient explanation for her.

Russia is waging war against Ukraine. Russia supports Iran. Iran attacks Israel and has been building a network of armed organizations around it for decades. Russia receives representatives of HAMAS. So, perhaps, the young Israeli woman constantly sees all this in the news, after which the word ‘Russian’ begins to cause her a negative reaction.

This is psychologically possible.

But Dolev did not say this.

In the published fragment, there is no mention of Putin, Ukraine, war, HAMAS, Iran, or Russian politics. She talks about a domestic situation: hearing the Russian language in the supermarket and other places and not wanting to hear it.

Therefore, it would be unfair to first accuse her of racism based on a few seconds of video, and then just as baselessly justify it with Kremlin politics.

However, there is a question that does not depend on her personal motivation at all.

What has the ordinary Israeli seen next to the word ‘Russia’ in recent years?

For the answer, no secret Mossad reports or closed meetings of the military-political cabinet are needed. Most of the picture exists in open access.

Russia began a full-scale aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Iran supplied Russia with Shahed and helped develop a drone war against Ukrainian cities. Russia then deployed its own production of these systems. In March 2026, Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that now Russian-made Shahed are being supplied back to Iran and used against the US and Israel. Reuters reported this statement with the caveat that the origin of each specific device is not always possible to establish.

In July, even more unpleasant information appeared. Reuters, citing American and Western officials, wrote about Russian technical assistance to Iran, improving the accuracy of Iranian drones, and checking the possible provision of targeting data by Moscow. There was no final conclusion on individual attacks, but the broader military-technical assistance from Russia to Tehran was already considered a reality.

And this already concerns not only Ukraine.

For Israel, the boundary between European and Middle Eastern wars is becoming less and less noticeable.

We recently wrote about how Russia and Iran are trying to influence Israelis themselves through social networks. There, it was not about the opinion of a Ukrainian activist, but about a special report by the State Comptroller of Israel on countering foreign influence.

There is another symptom. In July, the issue of Russian media presence unexpectedly began to be raised not only by Ukrainians and not only by opposition activists. Right-wing Israeli channels began to ask why the state practically does not react to Russian informational influence.

That is, irritation is already arising within that part of Israeli politics, which is difficult to accuse of special love for Ukraine or the desire to use Russia only as a tool in the fight against Netanyahu.

This shift seems much more important to me than a few seconds of reality TV.

HAMAS goes to Moscow, the IDF takes out Russian ‘Kornets’ from Lebanon, and Russia works more closely with Iran

On June 10, 2026, a meeting took place in Moscow that is difficult to overestimate for our topic.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Georgy Borisenko received Musa Abu Marzouk from the leadership of HAMAS. Gaza, ceasefire, humanitarian aid, the future of the region, and political settlement were discussed. Abu Marzouk thanked the Russian side for its diplomatic efforts.

For Moscow, this is a diplomatic channel.

For a person in Israel after October 7, the picture looks somewhat different.

HAMAS killed Israelis, kidnapped Israeli citizens, and held hostages. Israel has been trying to destroy the organization’s military infrastructure for years. And simultaneously, its high-ranking representative flies to the capital of Russia for an official meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Moreover, HAMAS would like to see Moscow as a mediator for Gaza. We separately analyzed HAMAS’s attempts to promote Russia as a mediator, against which Israel objects.

Now let’s add Lebanon.

At the end of December 2024, the IDF showed journalists thousands of units of weapons captured from Hezbollah during battles in the south of the country. Among approximately 6,840 rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles were 340 Russian anti-tank missiles ‘Kornet’.

Here, the fact cannot be replaced with a convenient accusation. The presence of a Russian missile with Hezbollah does not in itself prove a direct supply of a specific batch of weapons from Moscow to the group. Russian systems have been supplied to Syria for decades, could be transferred through Syrian depots, and reach Lebanon by various routes.

But an IDF soldier entering a Hezbollah position is not engaged in diplomatic genealogy of a specific ‘Kornet’ at that moment.

He sees Russian weapons with Israel’s enemy.

In May, NANews detailed Hezbollah’s trophies and the Russian trace among the weapons that the IDF took from Lebanon. There, Iran, Russia, China, and older Soviet systems were found nearby — practically a material map of where Israel’s opponents were armed from.

And above this entire structure is Tehran.

On January 17, 2025, Russia and Iran signed a 20-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. It covers security, defense cooperation, military-technical interaction, exercises, and ties between security structures.

Neither Russia nor Iran formally signed a mutual military defense agreement. This is important. But the absence of an article in the style of NATO does not negate how close the relations between the two states have become.

It is here that the first serious dissonance arises for an Israeli.

The Israeli government has been explaining to society for years that Iran is a strategic threat. Israel strikes Iranian targets, destroys Tehran’s military capabilities, prepares for new attacks, and demands from allies not to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.

Regarding Russia, a completely different vocabulary is used.

Although at the other end of this chain is the same Iran.

In Moscow — HAMAS, and two days later in Tel Aviv — 600 square meters of the Russian flag

And now to the most visual episode.

On June 10, HAMAS meets with the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow.

On June 12, on Russia Day, in one of Tel Aviv’s parks, dozens of participants unfold a Russian tricolor with an area of more than 600 square meters. Russian state sources described the participants as Israelis and ‘Russian-speaking compatriots’.

We have already analyzed these two news items in one article — ‘Russian Tricolor in Tel Aviv and HAMAS in Moscow’.

It is precisely next to each other that they look especially unpleasant.

Formally, everything is completely legal and belongs to different worlds. The Russian Foreign Ministry conducts diplomatic negotiations. People in Tel Aviv celebrate the national day of the state with which they associate themselves. The embassy holds an official reception. The program includes familiar cultural symbols: Russian folk visual series, matryoshkas, national treats, music, flags, talks about common history, and ‘compatriots’.

But mass perception rarely sorts all this into folders.

An Israeli scrolls through the same feed.

There, a HAMAS representative sits in Moscow.

There, the IDF shows Russian ‘Kornets’ found with Hezbollah.

There, Russia signs a long-term strategic agreement with Iran.

There, reports of Russian assistance to Iranian drone technologies and possible information exchange appear.

And then — Tel Aviv, a huge Russian flag, the Russian embassy, Russian state holidays, and the wording ‘Russian-speaking compatriots’.

And here it is worth making an important stop.

Russian-speaking Israelis are not ‘compatriots of Russia’ as a single political category. This is a Russian diplomatic formula, not a description of Israeli reality.

In Israel, Russian is spoken by immigrants from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other countries of the former USSR. Many have lived here for decades. Their children serve in the IDF. Among them are supporters of Putin, his opponents, people with no relation to Russian politics, and Ukrainians whose homes were destroyed by the Russian army.

But to a person unfamiliar with post-Soviet history, Moscow’s diplomatic programs, and the differences between Russian-speaking communities, a completely different visual series is shown.

‘Russian-speaking compatriots’.

Russian ambassador.

Russian tricolor.

Russian holiday.

And the next day — again Russian language in the supermarket queue.

Thus, the cultural marker begins to dangerously approach the political one.

Moreover, the relations of the Russian state with Israel themselves are becoming less unambiguous. In June, we analyzed how the level of Russia Day in Israel has changed: once figures like Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin attended such events, and in 2026 the main Israeli guest was Minister May Golan. This already shows a cooling.

But it is still not a break.

Russian diplomacy remains within the Israeli public space — and continues to work with the Russian-speaking environment in terms of its own state policy.

Israel calls Iran an enemy, but continues to speak much more cautiously about Russia

Here arises the second part of the dissonance.

Benjamin Netanyahu speaks about Tehran without diplomatic nuances. Iran is a threat to Israel’s existence, its nuclear program should not be restored, missile and drone capabilities should be limited, and the ‘axis of resistance’ should be weakened.

Russia, meanwhile, cooperates with the same Iran.

But the tone towards Moscow is different.

On December 8, 2025, Netanyahu said in the Knesset that he regularly talks with Putin, and long-standing personal relations with the Russian president serve ‘vital interests’ of Israel.

During the first years of the war against Ukraine, such caution had an understandable explanation. Russia controlled a significant part of Syrian airspace, and it was important for Israel to maintain the IDF’s freedom of action against Iranian arms supplies and infrastructure in Syria.

Since then, Syria has radically changed.

Russian presence has changed.

The war in the Middle East itself has changed.

Russia and Iran have become much closer than before February 2022.

Nevertheless, in July 2026, The Times of Israel diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman still noted Netanyahu’s reluctance to seriously reconsider relations with Moscow, even in a situation where Ukraine and Israel are effectively confronting two sides of the same Russian-Iranian military alliance.

I see no evidence of the popular version that Netanyahu simply ‘banned talking about Russia.’ Such an order cannot be presented as an established fact.

But the observed fact is different: Israeli official rhetoric towards Moscow remains much more cautious than rhetoric towards Tehran.

And society notices this too.

Moreover, the issue is gradually emerging from the usual Russian-speaking or Ukrainian bubble. When NANews wrote about Russian journalist Sergey Pashkov and questions about Russian state media influence, the most interesting thing was not even Pashkov himself.

The question came from the right.

From an environment where they like to talk about national security, sovereignty, foreign influence, and the need to be tough on Israel’s enemies.

For such a voter, it is becoming increasingly difficult to explain one construction: Iran is dangerous; Hamas is dangerous; Hezbollah is dangerous; the Russian state media system and Moscow work closely with Iran and maintain contacts with Hamas — but for some reason, Russia should remain almost a separate topic.

Previously, this inconsistency was easier to attribute to the Ukrainian war and the Syrian necessity.

In 2026, it is more difficult to do so.

Especially since the State Comptroller of Israel has already separately raised the issue of Russian and Iranian influence in the digital space.

So it’s long been not just about the emotions of Ukrainians.

It’s already about Israeli security.

How the Kremlin turns into the Russian language — and why the wrong person starts paying for Russia’s policy

Now we can return to the Dolev supermarket.

Russia is far away.

The Kremlin is far away.

Putin appears in the news.

The strategic agreement with Iran is a document of dozens of pages. The transfer of technologies, diplomats’ negotiations, arms routes from Syria to Lebanon, intelligence contacts — these are complex things.

The Russian language next to the checkout does not seem complex.

And here the most primitive psychological transfer can work:

Russia is waging an aggressive war against Ukraine. Russia cooperates with Iran. Iran is at war against Israel and supports its enemies. Hamas comes to Moscow. Hezbollah finds Russian weapons. Russian diplomacy inside Israel talks about ‘Russian-speaking compatriots.’ Russian state flags appear at public events.

After this, the word ‘Russian’ for part of society begins to mean more than just a language.

The problem is right here.

Because the next step is already false.

Kremlin → Russia’s policy → the state of Russia → Russian language → Russian-speaking person.

There is no political connection between the fourth and fifth links.

A person near Dolev in the supermarket may be an Israeli from Kyiv.

Or from Odessa.

Or Kharkiv.

Or Riga.

Or Chisinau.

May be a person who left Russia itself precisely because they do not want to have anything to do with Putin’s regime. May serve in the IDF. May raise money for Ukraine. May have relatives under Russian missiles.

The Russian language does not issue a passport, political views, or attitude towards Israel.

This is the paradox of the current story.

Hatred of the Kremlin’s policy does not require irrational explanations. After Bucha, Mariupol, the war against Ukraine, Moscow’s contacts with Hamas, the strategic alliance with Iran, and Russian weapons with Israel’s opponents, there are more than enough reasons to critically view the Russian state.

But if this hatred transfers to a person just because they spoke Russian, the original political logic already disappears.

And therefore, I still do not want to end this story with a verdict on Dolev Cohen.

Maybe she really just doesn’t like the sound of the language.

Maybe there is personal experience behind this reaction.

Maybe political news has nothing to do with it.

Until Dolev herself explains this, everything else will be speculation.

But the scandal accidentally opened a more serious topic.

Israeli society increasingly sees Russia alongside those whom the state of Israel itself calls enemies. At the same time, official policy continues to treat Moscow much more cautiously than Tehran, and Russian diplomacy within Israel itself still actively associates the state of Russia with the concept of ‘Russian-speaking compatriots.’

Perhaps it is from such a contradiction that the very everyday transfer we saw in the Kan 11 promo video is born.

Not necessarily with Dolev personally.

But in society — quite possibly.

And if this really starts to happen, the problem is no longer in a few seconds of ‘Four Weddings.’

The problem is that the bill for the Kremlin’s actions may gradually begin to be presented to a person who simply speaks Russian in an Israeli supermarket.

And this will not be a victory of Israel over Russian influence.

It will be yet another consequence of Russian influence itself.

Not long ago, promoting a business on the internet seemed relatively straightforward.

A company would create a website, set up Google Maps, publish service pages, work on Google rankings, and launch ads.

Today, a potential client increasingly does not browse through ten websites.

They ask:

“Which lawyer to choose in Haifa?”

“Where to get a cosmetic procedure in Kiryat?”

“Who repairs air conditioners in Netanya?”

“Which company handles transportation across Israel?”

“Which specialist speaks Hebrew and Russian?”

And they receive a ready answer with several names from ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, or another AI assistant.

The main problem is that this list is not constant.

Today, artificial intelligence might name your company, tomorrow a competitor, and the day after might respond without searching the internet, using information the model received earlier.

NANews — Israel News explored what exactly researchers discovered, why ChatGPT results change, and how small and medium businesses in Israel can prepare for the new reality.

This is exactly what Nikk.Agency https://nikk.co.il/ helps small and medium businesses in Israel understand: from websites, Google Maps, and classic search to a new environment where the decision to choose a company is increasingly made not by a list of ten links, but by an AI assistant.

ChatGPT searches for information in more than one way

On July 8, 2026, Search Engine Land editor Danny Goodwin published an article based on research by search engine specialists Chris Green and Sugantan Mohanadasan.

Researchers discovered an internal field result_source in ChatGPT’s technical data.

It shows through which channel a specific web result was obtained.

In June 2026, four values were observed in this field:

• Labrador;
• Bright;
• Oxylabs;
• SERP.

Users do not see these names.

They do not appear next to quotes, in the source panel, or in the ready answer from ChatGPT. A person only sees the page the assistant referred to but does not know how it was found.

It’s important to understand: Labrador, Bright, Oxylabs, and SERP are not four ordinary search engines like Google or Bing.

These are technical labels for result acquisition channels.

Researchers linked Bright to the company Bright Data, and Oxylabs to the eponymous provider of web data collection infrastructure.

The exact role of Labrador and SERP has not been officially disclosed.

The initial assumption that Labrador represents an exclusively closed list of major licensed publishers was later corrected by Mohanadasan himself. During a recheck, small regional sites were also discovered through Labrador.

Meanwhile, OpenAI’s official documentation directly confirms that ChatGPT uses third-party search providers. Among the partners named by the company are Bing and Shopify. However, Bright Data, Oxylabs, Labrador, and SERP are not explained in OpenAI’s public documentation.

Four channels quickly turned into at least five

The research revealed another important thing: the system itself changes very quickly.

Sugantan Mohanadasan initially recorded four labels on June 23–24, 2026.

Already during a recheck on July 4, he discovered a different picture:

• a bing channel appeared;
• Oxylabs disappeared from his account’s set;
• SERP started appearing again;
• the set of channels differed among users of different tariffs and experimental groups.

The researcher made a cautious conclusion: by early July 2026, at least five channels were observed, but they are not necessarily available to every user simultaneously.

For businesses, this means that it is impossible to check your company in ChatGPT once and consider the result final.

Even if today the assistant found a page and referred to it, tomorrow the query might go through a different information acquisition mechanism.

1000 queries showed how much sources can change

Chris Green conducted a more extensive check.

He prepared 1000 queries, each of which was run up to ten times.

A total of 9946 completed search sessions were obtained.

In his sample, the main channel most often became Labrador — 88.1% of launches. Next were Bright — 9.9%, Oxylabs — 1.7%, and SERP — 0.3%.

However, in 11.6% of queries, the main channel changed between repeated launches of the same question.

When this happened, the set of found pages changed especially strongly:

• the overlap of specific URLs decreased by about 45%;
• the overlap of domains decreased by about 42%.

In other words, after switching the search channel, ChatGPT saw a largely different internet.

This does not mean that every tenth user will necessarily see a completely opposite answer.

The study was conducted under certain technical conditions, and the data was collected through sessions associated with Bright Data. Chris Green himself warns that the results cannot be automatically transferred to all users, countries, tariffs, and ChatGPT models.

But the main conclusion remains important: ChatGPT does not have a single static output, analogous to the classic first page of Google.

There are different information acquisition environments here, and each of them can see a slightly different set of sites.

This is exactly what Nikk.Agency https://nikk.co.il/ helps small and medium businesses in Israel understand: from websites, Google Maps, and classic search to a new environment where the decision to choose a company is increasingly made not by a list of ten links, but by an AI assistant.

Sometimes ChatGPT does not search the internet at all

Switching channels is only one part of the problem.

Sugantan Mohanadasan discovered an internal field turn_use_case.

It is used for preliminary classification of the query.

Before starting the search, ChatGPT determines what type the question belongs to. Among the categories discovered by the researcher were search, local query, shopping, complex reasoning, image generation, and text.

The most important category for website owners is text.

When a query belonged to it, ChatGPT responded based on the model’s internal knowledge and did not conduct a web search.

In such a case, the company’s site does not lose to a competitor.

It does not participate in the selection at all.

OpenAI officially confirms the general principle: ChatGPT can independently decide that a question will benefit from internet information and automatically initiate a search. Additionally, the user can enable the search manually.

The problem is that the decision depends not only on the topic but also on the wording.

Two similar questions can be processed differently.

For example:

• “What is laser hair removal?” might receive an answer from the model’s internal knowledge;
• “Where to get laser hair removal in Haifa in July 2026?” is more likely to require a local and current search;
• “Which laser hair removal clinics in Haifa have current reviews and prices?” might trigger several separate checks.

Therefore, creating a page for a popular phrase does not guarantee that the AI assistant will even consult the internet for such a question.

One question can turn into dozens of hidden searches

During complex queries, ChatGPT does not always limit itself to one search phrase.

The model can reformulate the user’s question and break it down into a series of additional queries.

OpenAI’s official documentation provides a similar example: the initial question can be rewritten into a more specific search formulation, after which ChatGPT sends additional queries to other search providers.

Mohanadasan’s research showed that in deep reasoning mode, one comparative question can generate 15 to 40 additional queries.

The model separately searches for:

• the company’s official page;
• prices;
• service area;
• service characteristics;
• reviews;
• alternative providers;
• competitors the user did not even mention;
• confirmation of found figures;
• pages with terms, working hours, and contacts.

It can use queries like:

site:domain.co.il/pricing

company name reviews Israel

service Haifa price 2026

specialist Hebrew Russian Kiryat

official site working hours

Thus, the business competes not only on the client’s original question.

It simultaneously participates in dozens of small hidden checks.

Additional research by Semrush and Kevin Indig showed that the reasoning mode can indeed create a fundamentally different search environment. When comparing regular and deep responses, only 25.6% of cited domains matched. In complex mode, ChatGPT conducted almost five times more searches and more often referred to official documentation, government, and academic sources.

This is exactly what Nikk.Agency https://nikk.co.il/ helps small and medium businesses in Israel understand: from the website, Google Maps, and classic search to a new environment where the decision to choose a company is increasingly made not by a list of ten links, but by an AI assistant.

A found page does not yet mean it will be shown to a person.

Researchers have identified three different outcomes of a business’s presence in ChatGPT:

Page found.
ChatGPT received it and used it in the analysis, but the user did not know about it.

Page cited.
The link appeared next to a specific statement in the final answer.

Company mentioned.
The business name was included in the recommendation, but the source of information could have been a completely different page.

These are three different levels of visibility.

A company can be found but not cited.

It can be mentioned thanks to an article on an external site.

Or its own page can confirm the price, address, and hours of operation, while the final recommendation by ChatGPT is supported by reviews, a catalog, or an independent review.

That is why a simple check of “whether ChatGPT mentioned my company” provides too little information.

It is necessary to understand:

• by what formulations the business appears;
• in which city or area;
• in what language;
• which pages are used;
• which sites confirm the information;
• whether the company is the source or just a mention;
• whether the result is retained after repeated launches.

Why a clear page can beat a beautiful site

Research has shown that ChatGPT often tries to get facts from the official site.

This is especially true for:

• prices;
• list of services;
• product characteristics;
• geography of work;
• schedule;
• conditions;
• professional specialization;
• contact information.

But if the data is loaded with complex JavaScript, hidden in an image, published only in PDF, or located inside an inconvenient interactive block, the system may not read them.

In such cases, ChatGPT sometimes abandons the official site and uses an external catalog, review, or competitor’s page.

Mohanadasan recorded situations where the model tried to find the price on the official page, could not extract it, and switched to an external service.

It turns out to be a paradox.

The company itself determines prices and conditions, but artificial intelligence talks about it based on another site’s words — just because the other page is technically clearer.

OpenAI recommends not blocking the OAI-SearchBot search robot. The company reports that any public site can appear in ChatGPT Search, but guaranteeing the first place is impossible. To be included in the search, the site must be accessible to the search robot, and the server and protection system must not block the published IP addresses of OpenAI.

This is a basic condition, but not a guarantee of citation.

What all this means for small businesses in Israel

A large network can afford hundreds of mentions, a well-known brand, and large advertising budgets.

The situation is different for local Israeli businesses.

A lawyer, cosmetologist, repair company, private practice doctor, carrier, realtor, teacher, builder, air conditioning specialist, or small store often depend on a few key queries in a specific city.

If ChatGPT recommends only two or three companies, absence in the response can mean losing a ready client.

The Israeli market is especially complex, where the same person can search for a service:

• in Hebrew;
• in Russian;
• in English;
• in Ukrainian;
• with the city name;
• with the district name;
• with the phrase “near me”;
• via voice request;
• via ChatGPT, Google, Gemini, or maps.

Mechanical translation of one page into four languages does not solve this task.

People ask questions differently in each language.

This is exactly what Nikk.Agency https://nikk.co.il/ helps small and medium businesses in Israel understand: from the website, Google Maps, and classic search to a new environment where the decision to choose a company is increasingly made not by a list of ten links, but by an AI assistant.

Even city names can be written in several variations: Haifa, חיפה, Хайфа; Rishon LeZion, ראשון לציון, Ришон-ле-Цион.

The AI assistant needs to clearly understand:

• what the business is called;
• where it is located;
• which areas it serves;
• in which languages it operates;
• what specific problem it solves;
• how to contact it;
• how it differs from similar companies;
• which independent sources confirm its existence and reputation.

What Nikk.Agency can do

Amid such changes, it is impossible to honestly promise a business “eternal first existence and reputation.”

What Nikk.Agency can do

Amid such changes, it is impossible to honestly promise a business “eternal first place in ChatGPT.”

Even OpenAI directly states that guaranteeing the top position is impossible.

Therefore, Nikk.Agency’s task is not to sell a magic button, but to build the digital presence of a business so that search engines and AI assistants have more grounds to correctly find, understand, verify, and recommend the company.

Nikk.Agency is physically located in northern Israel and primarily works with small and medium businesses across the country.

The agency is engaged in SEO promotion, lead generation, Google Ads, Google Maps, website repair and development, as well as separate projects for business presence in responses from ChatGPT, Gemini, Googleaude, and other systems. Work is conducted in Hebrew, Russian, Ukrainian, English, and other languages.

Practical work can include several stages.

Checking what artificial intelligence sees now

It is not enough to ask ChatGPT the company name once.

Requests need to be checked:

• in different formulations;
• in different languages;
• with and without city indication;
• in normal and deep mode;
• on different days;
• with repeated launches;
• on informational and commercial issues;
• separately in ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and other systems.

This way, you can see not a single beautiful answer, but a real picture of visibility.

Analysis of the site and access of search robots

Checked:

• robots.txt;
• access of OAI-SearchBot and other necessary robots;
• page indexing;
• operation of protection and CDN;
• mobile version;
• speed;
• HTML structure;
• presence of important data in readable text;
• correctness of titles, contacts, addresses, and language versions.

If the price, work area, or specialization exists only inside a picture, AI may not see them.

Creating clear service pages

Each important service should be described not with advertising slogans, but with specific facts.

For example:

• what exactly the company does;
• in which cities;
• for whom;
• how much it costs or what the price depends on;
• how the work is carried out;
• how long it takes;
• in which languages service is available;
• where to call or write;
• what documents, restrictions, or conditions exist.

Such a structure helps both people, Google, and AI assistants.

Preparation for hidden additional requests

If a user asks “which lawyer to choose in Haifa”, ChatGPT can separately check specialization, language, area, reviews, working hours, and the official website.

Therefore, a business needs not just one general “About Us” page, but a connected system of materials, each answering a specific question.

Working with Google Maps and a unified digital contour

For a local business, the site should not exist separately from Google Maps, directories, social networks, and independent publications.

The name, address, phone number, working hours, and specialization must match.

When one site lists one company name, Google Maps another, and Facebook a third phone number, the system finds it harder to understand if it’s the same business.

Independent mentions

A personal site well confirms official facts.

But recommendations are often also based on external sources.

Therefore, important are:

• publications in the media;
• professional directories;
• thematic reviews;
• genuine reviews;
• partner mentions;
• expert comments;
• local Israeli platforms;
• materials in the target audience’s languages.

It’s not about buying hundreds of meaningless links.

One informative page with a clear business description can be more valuable than dozens of automatic directories.

Measurable requests and understandable KPIs

On the Nikk.Agency service page for promotion in AI assistants, it is stated that the work is built around an agreed list of requests, geography, and verification protocol, not around the subjective impression “it seems we are being shown more often”.

The digital contour and public digital contour, repeated checks, and iterative work until the evaluation of agreed indicators.

For one business, an important result will be appearing for a request in Hebrew in Haifa.

For another, a correct service description in Russian in Ashdod.

For a third, mention in a comparative ChatGPT response throughout Israel.

There is no universal list of requests for everyone.

New search requires not one-time optimization, but constant monitoring

The main conclusion of the July studies is not that promoting in ChatGPT is impossible.

It is different: AI visibility cannot be measured by one request, one screenshot, and one successful response.

The system is capable of:

• not launching a search;
• changing the wording;
• choosing another channel for obtaining results;
• finding another set of pages;
• switching to deep reasoning mode;
• using an external publication instead of the official site;
• finding a company but not quoting it;
• mentioning a brand without using its site as a source;
• changing behavior after another update.

Therefore, a business needs not an attempt to “trick ChatGPT”, but a solid digital foundation.

1. A clear site.
2. Accessible pages.
3. Unambiguous facts.
4. Current contacts.
5. Local attachment.
6. Several languages adapted for the Israeli audience.
7. Independent confirmations.
8. Regular checks.

Connecting visibility with real inquiries, calls, and WhatsApp messages.

This is exactly what Nikk.Agency https://nikk.co.il/ helps small and medium businesses in Israel understand: from the site, Google Maps, and classic search to the new environment where the decision to choose a company is increasingly made not by a list of ten links, but by an AI assistant.

This is a place for exhibitions, meetings, lectures, and community events, where not only Ukrainians come, but also Israelis who find it important to understand neighbors and partners not through headlines, but through people and meanings.

What is this center and why is it needed in Israel

The center is associated with the Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Israel and operates as a cultural point of presence for Ukraine in the city.

To put it simply: it’s a space where you can see, hear, and “touch” Ukraine through culture — without unnecessary ideology and without the officialdom that often repels.

The Ukrainian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv started on October 13, 2021 — in reports about the opening, this was called the beginning of work in test mode.

Separately, on the page of the Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Israel, it is noted that the center has been operating “since October 2021” and that it was previously in Bat Yam.

Where is it located

The address used in announcements and reference information:

22 Yirmeyahu Street, Tel Aviv, Israel.

How to get there – https://maps.app.goo.gl/YdLnoL4dH34XU7cP6

For the Israeli audience, it’s convenient to explain it like this: it’s a regular city address, not “somewhere in the suburbs,” and you can get there just like to any venue in Tel Aviv — the main thing is to check the time of the specific event.

What events are held there

Exhibitions and project presentations.

Public talks and lectures — from history and culture to contemporary topics.

Community evenings: intimate meetings, readings, music, conversational formats.

Sometimes practical classes appear — for families, teenagers, new immigrants, volunteer groups.

What makes this convenient for an Israeli: you can come “for one evening” and leave with an understanding of the context, which then significantly changes the perception of news and conversations on social networks.

Why this is important for Israel

Israel lives in a reality where cultural diplomacy is not an abstraction, but a part of everyday security, social resilience, and relations with neighbors and allies.

That is why NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency regularly pays attention to such platforms: sometimes one calm cultural conversation gives more than dozens of emotional discussions “in the comments.”

In the Israeli environment, this is also a way to maintain bridges between communities — without pressure, without slogans, but with real contacts and human normalcy.

If you want to propose your event or partnership

The most effective way is not a “post to nowhere,” but a short letter: who you are, what you want to do, for which audience, in what language, what format, and how many people you expect.

Organizers usually critically need to understand two things: whether it will be safe and understandable for the local audience, and whether the cultural platform is turning into a political rally.

What you can do right now

If you are Israeli and just want to understand — start with one event and see if it’s “yours” or not.

If you are from the Ukrainian community — use the center as a place where you can not only miss home but also gather around real activities: art, language, support, and communication.

And if you are media or a city activist — such points help explain the complex regional agenda in normal human language, without overheating and without cheap labels.

How to contact if you want to come or clarify details

Provided contact details:

Phone: 054-352-4326

Email: zoryan.kis@mfa.gov.ua

Follow announcements about events held at the “Ukrainian Cultural Center”:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561521344927

Here is an important nuance: such centers often live by the logic “from event to event,” so it’s better to clarify the language of the event, the format of entry, and the need for registration, even if you think “well, it’s just an exhibition.”

Every year on the third Thursday of May, Ukraine and the world celebrate World Vyshyvanka Day. The history of Vyshyvanka Day began in 2006 at the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University.  

Today, Vyshyvanka Day is celebrated not only in Ukraine. Ukrainian communities abroad, embassies, cultural centers, volunteers, schools, universities, public organizations, and people who cherish Ukrainian tradition join in. Vyshyvankas are worn in Europe, North America, Australia, Israel, and other countries.

After 2014, and especially after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this day gained even deeper meaning. For many people, the vyshyvanka became not just beautiful clothing but a symbol of dignity, resistance, memory, and the right of a people to remain themselves.

Why this issue is important right now

When in Ukraine they talk about embroidery, the first thing that comes to mind is the vyshyvanka. A shirt, ornament, regional patterns, family memory, festive clothing, symbolism of the land, kin, and resistance. In recent years, the Ukrainian vyshyvanka has become not only a cultural symbol but also a public language of identity.

However, on the same lands, Jewish communities lived for centuries. They existed in cities, shtetls, craft quarters, near fairs, synagogues, fabric markets, workshops, and houses of learning. Galicia, Podolia, Volhynia, Kyiv region, Bukovina, southern Ukraine — all these regions were not only Ukrainian but also Jewish spaces of memory.

And here arises a question that usually remains in the shadows: did embroidery exist in Jewish traditional art in the territory of modern Ukraine?

The answer is yes, it did exist. But precision is important.

It was not a “Jewish vyshyvanka” in the simple and direct sense, as a separate national shirt, completely analogous to the Ukrainian shirt. Jewish embroidery more often lived in another space: in synagogue textiles, Judaica items, home rituals, festive fabrics, headwear, bibs, belts, kippahs, dress trims, skirts, vests, and separate costume elements.

It must be honestly stated right away: this text is not an academic monograph and not a museum inventory catalog. NAnovosti writes in a popular science format, understandable to a wide audience. Therefore, one should not demand from such an article the language of a closed dissertation. But a beautiful legend instead of facts cannot be created here. The task is different: to carefully gather the picture and show that Jewish embroidery on Ukrainian lands was a real cultural phenomenon.

How Ukrainian and Jewish embroidery traditions influenced each other

When talking about Jewish embroidery on Ukrainian lands, it is important not to imagine the two traditions as completely isolated worlds. Jewish communities lived alongside Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, Armenian, and other populations of the region. They bought fabrics at the same markets, ordered work from local craftsmen, traded materials, saw neighboring costumes, festive items, church and home textiles.

Therefore, influence was almost inevitable. But it needs to be understood carefully.

The Ukrainian vyshyvanka was primarily a clothing tradition: shirt, sleeves, collar, chest part, hem, regional ornament, connection with the village, family, ritual, and local identity. Jewish embroidery more often concentrated in another space — in the synagogue, prayer textiles, festive accessories, women’s bibs, kippahs, ataras, belts, and decorative costume details. So the contact was not in one tradition completely copying another, but in them living side by side and partially using a common craft environment.

What the Jewish tradition could take from the local environment

In regions like Galicia, Podolia, and Volhynia, Jewish craftsmen and craftswomen did not exist outside the local visual culture. They saw Ukrainian geometric ornaments, plant motifs, color combinations, embroidered shirts, rushnyks, festive fabrics. Through the market, neighborhood, orders, and craft contacts, these elements could influence the taste, composition, and technique of Jewish textile items.

But this does not mean that Jewish embroidery simply “became Ukrainian.” It adapted external forms to its own tasks. If in the Ukrainian vyshyvanka the ornament often lived on the shirt and denoted regional, family, or ritual affiliation, then in the Jewish environment a similar decorative energy could transition into a parochet, atara, women’s bib, kippah, festive cap, or belt.

Thus, not a copy was created, but a translation of the ornamental language into another cultural system.

What the Jewish tradition added to the overall textile culture of Ukraine

Jewish embroidery brought its own symbols and meanings into the overall Ukrainian cultural landscape: the crown of the Torah, lions of Judah, menorah, Magen David, Tablets of the Covenant, Hebrew letters, dedicatory inscriptions, dates according to the Jewish calendar, names of donors.

Even when similar materials or similar techniques were used — velvet, brocade, gold embroidery, appliqués, beads, pearls, metallic threads — the meaning of the item remained Jewish. A parochet did not become just a beautiful curtain. An atara was not just a decorative strip. A women’s bib was not a direct analogue of the Ukrainian vyshyvanka. These items lived within the Jewish religious, family, and communal logic.

Here the main point is visible: Ukrainian and Jewish traditions could intersect at the level of fabric, technique, color, market, and craft, but they retained different functions.

Why it is impossible to talk about simple borrowing

The phrase “Jews adopted the Ukrainian vyshyvanka” sounds too crude. It simplifies the complex history of neighborhood.

It is more accurate to say this: Jewish communities on Ukrainian lands existed within a common decorative-applied environment. They could perceive local ornamental solutions, use the same materials, turn to similar techniques, and work alongside Ukrainian craftsmen. But the result was not a “Jewish vyshyvanka” in the direct sense, but a Jewish textile language: synagogue fabrics, Judaica, ataras, kippahs, bibs, belts, festive caps, and costume elements.

That is, the influence was not mechanical, but cultural. Not “copying the shirt,” but the neighborhood of traditions, exchange of craft techniques, and adaptation of the visible world to one’s own memory, faith, and ritual.

Modern reverse process

Today, there is also a reverse movement. Ukrainian craftsmen and designers can turn to Jewish symbolism, combining the silhouette of the Ukrainian vyshyvanka with the Magen David, menorah, lions, grapevine, Hebrew letters, or motifs of Jerusalem.

But this is no longer a historical reconstruction of an ancient “Jewish vyshyvanka.” It is a modern cultural gesture — an attempt to show that Jewish history was part of Ukraine, not an external addition to it.

Therefore, the correct conclusion is this: Ukrainian embroidery and Jewish embroidery on Ukrainian lands were not the same tradition, but they existed in a common space. They could influence each other through materials, craftsmen, markets, ornaments, and festive culture. At the same time, each retained its own meaning: the Ukrainian vyshyvanka as a sign of folk and regional identity, Jewish embroidery as a language of Judaica, prayer, family memory, and communal textiles.

Two lines of Jewish embroidery: Judaica and everyday life

Jewish embroidery in the territory of Ukraine is conveniently viewed through two large lines.

The first is decorative-religious, that is, Judaica. These are synagogue and home-ritual items associated with the Torah, prayer, holidays, Shabbat, Passover, weddings, family memory, and communal gifts.

The second is everyday and clothing. These are costume elements, headwear, accessories, bib inserts, belts, kippahs, festive caps, collars, dress trims, skirts, corsets, men’s and children’s vests.

The most reliable field is precisely Judaica. Here we are talking about items that are better preserved in museum collections and more often appear in descriptions: parochets, Torah mantles, kaporets, ataras, tefillin cases, matzah bags, covers, chuppah, tallits, and kippahs.

The clothing line also exists, but it is more complex. There are fewer sources, attributions are more subtle, and the temptation to call all this “Jewish vyshyvanka” is too great. Therefore, caution is needed here: Jewish embroidered clothing existed, but a separate canonical type of “Jewish vyshyvanka” does not yet have such strong evidence.

Synagogue textiles: the heart of Jewish embroidery

The most vivid and best-documented manifestation of Jewish embroidery is synagogue textiles.

In the Jewish tradition, fabric could be more than just decoration. It became part of the sacred space. A parochet covered the Torah ark. A mantle protected the scroll. A cover on the bimah accompanied the reading of the Torah. An atara adorned the tallit. A case or bag for tefillin was associated with personal prayer practice. A matzah bag was part of the festive world of Passover.

In this sense, embroidery was not a decorative trifle, but a way to express respect for the sacred.

What items were used

In the synagogue and home-ritual tradition, various types of textiles were encountered:

• parochet — curtain before the Torah ark;
• kaporet — upper decorative part or valance of the synagogue curtain;
• mantle / torah mantle — cover or mantle for the Torah scroll;
• cover on the bimah;
• atara — decorative strip for the tallit;
• cases and bags for tefillin;
• matzah bags;
• festive covers;
• chuppah;
• Sabbath fabrics, including covers for challah;
• kippahs and separate elements of prayer clothing.

In different regional and museum descriptions, names may differ, and some terms are sometimes conveyed differently. But the system itself is clear: embroidered and decorated textiles served the synagogue, home, holiday, and prayer.

The creation of such items was often done by women, especially in the home and communal environment. At the same time, for individual items, authorship is far from always known: museum cards more often preserve the date, place, type of item, or name of the donor than the name of the craftswoman.

Techniques and materials

Jewish ritual textiles on Ukrainian lands could be very rich in execution. Velvet, silk, brocade, gold and silver embroidery, metallic threads, appliqués, passementerie, beads, pearls, sequins, fringe, decorative patches were used.

In Kyiv and Galician items, brocade, velvet, gold and silver thread, sequins, paper backing under embroidery, strips of complex metallic thread work are recorded.

Sometimes expensive fabrics received a second life. Old fragments of brocade, elite clothing, imported fabrics, or decorative strips could be reassembled into a synagogue item. This did not diminish its significance. On the contrary, in the Jewish tradition, the beauty of the item could become part of fulfilling the commandment — a respectful adornment of the sacred.

Symbolism: crown, lions, menorah, birds

On Jewish embroidered fabrics, stable motifs were found: the crown of the Torah, Tablets of the Covenant, lions of Judah, deer, birds, menorah, Magen David, hands of the kohanim, plant garlands, vases with flowers, pomegranates, rosettes, palmettes, wreaths, paschal lamb.

Equally important are inscriptions. These could be Hebrew letters, dedications, names of donors, dates according to the Jewish calendar, biblical or liturgical formulas.

Here the ornament was not “just a pattern.” It combined beauty, faith, memory, communal status, family donation, and connection with the text.

Galicia, Podolia, and Volhynia: space of cultural contact

Jewish embroidery in the territory of Ukraine was not formed in isolation.

It was a layer of culture at the intersection of Jewish canons and the decorative-applied art of Ukrainian lands.

Galicia, Podolia, and Volhynia are especially important. In these regions, large Jewish communities lived, craftsmen worked, fabric markets existed, fairs were held, fashions changed, techniques spread, different visual languages met.

Galicia provides the richest and most noticeable corpus. Lviv, Sasyv / Sasov, Zolochiv, and other shtetls are associated with parochets, torah mantles, ataras, tefillin cases, kippahs, brusttukh, Yom Kippur belts, and other items.

Podolia and Volhynia are important as regions of dense Jewish life. Here the topic requires further work with museum funds, photo archives, family albums, and local collections. Weak digital visibility does not mean the absence of tradition. Many items may not have been preserved, not digitized, or listed under too general names.

That is why in a popular science text, one can speak confidently about the tradition itself, but cautiously about the details of specific regional costumes.

Sasyv and the technique of shpanyer arbet

A special place is occupied by Sasyv in the Lviv region. It is associated with the technique of shpanyer arbet / spanier arbeit — a special metallic thread work where gold and silver threads, lace strips, decorative modules, plant and geometric motifs were used.

This technique is important because it connects synagogue textiles and clothing.

It was used for ataras, kippahs, women’s bibs, festive caps, collars, cuffs, belts, vests, dress and skirt trims.

Rosettes, flowers, rhombuses, heart-shaped motifs, elements reminiscent of “fish scales,” plant forms were encountered. This is not only the synagogue, but a visible festive culture: what a person could wear, show at a celebration, pass on in the family, preserve as a status item.

Everyday embroidery and clothing: was there a “Jewish vyshyvanka”?

Now the most sensitive question: can we talk about a “Jewish vyshyvanka”?

If by vyshyvanka we mean precisely the Ukrainian national shirt with a stable regional ornament system, then talking about a full Jewish analogue is still risky. In known digital catalogs, there is almost no separate type of “Jewish embroidered shirt” from the territory of modern Ukraine.

But if we speak more broadly — about embroidered clothing and clothing elements — the Jewish tradition is well confirmed.

These were women’s festive caps, kippahs, brusttukh / brustikhl — bib inserts, belts, jacket collars, ataras, caps, dress trims, skirts, corsets, men’s and children’s vests.

In the Ashkenazi tradition of Eastern Europe, the costume often maintained restraint. Decorativeness could concentrate in separate details: headwear, bib, belt, festive insert, metallic thread trim.

Bib instead of shirt

Particularly interesting is the brusttukh / brustikhl — a women’s bib or insert. It could cover the front part of the blouse and become the main decorative element.

The Ukrainian vyshyvanka carries the ornament on the shirt itself. In the Jewish Galician costume, a similar visual function could be transferred to a separate bib. This is a different principle of clothing, but it is also connected with the embroidered surface, body, and public image.

Therefore, it is more accurate to speak not of a direct “Jewish vyshyvanka,” but of Jewish forms of embroidered costume, where the ornament lived in accessories and decorative inserts.

Restrained colors and local influences

There is reason to say that in the clothing of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, restraint and modesty were valued. Embroidery might not always be bright: monochrome solutions, white on white, black on black, restrained blue-white combinations were encountered.

The question of the influence of Ukrainian ornaments is especially interesting, but it cannot be presented crudely. In regions of dense neighborhood of Jewish and Ukrainian communities, the influence of the local decorative environment was natural: fabrics were bought at the same markets, craftsmen lived nearby, motifs circulated through fairs, clothing, household items, craft.

However, the formula “Jews simply adopted the Ukrainian vyshyvanka” oversimplifies reality.

It is more reliable to say this: the Jewish population could perceive local techniques, geometric ornaments, color solutions, and craft techniques, but adapted them to their own cultural, religious, and everyday needs.

Kyiv trace: museums, seizures, and preserved fragments

Kyiv is the second important node after the Galician massif.

In the museum collections of Kyiv, Jewish fabrics have been preserved, some of which ended up there in the 1920s-1930s after Soviet seizures from synagogues. This is a painful page of history: religious items were torn from the living communal space and turned into museum “cult objects” or “fabrics.”

But it is precisely thanks to museum storage that some items did not disappear completely.

In the Kyiv corpus, parochets, Torah mantles, chuppah, tallit, tefillin, kippahs are mentioned. Parochets with brocade, velvet, gold and silver thread, sequins, and complex embroidery construction are especially important.

The Kyiv trace shows: Jewish embroidery in the territory of Ukraine is not limited only to Western Ukraine. Galicia provides the richest material, but the capital and central lands are also important for understanding the museum fate of Judaica.

Bukovina, Chernivtsi, Sadgora, and southern Ukraine

Bukovina should not be turned into the center of the entire topic, but it cannot be excluded. Chernivtsi, Sadgora, and Bukovinian Jewish communities provide important evidence of synagogue textiles, rich parochets, and a special urban culture.

At the same time, the digital corpus on Bukovina is weaker than on Lviv and Kyiv. This speaks not so much about the lack of tradition as about the problems of preservation, description, and digitization.

The south of Ukraine, including Odessa, also requires a separate discussion. There, Jewish culture developed in a different urban, commercial, and port environment. For the topic of embroidery here, additional museum and archival searches are needed, especially for home textiles, clothing, and family collections.

Museums and modern heritage preservation

Today, traces of Jewish embroidery and Judaica can be sought in museum collections in Ukraine and beyond. Important are the Lviv collections, Kyiv funds, collections on the history of Jewish communities, as well as museums working with Ukrainian folk costumes and decorative arts.

In this topic, the Museum of the History of Jews in Ukraine in Dnipro, the Ivan Honchar Museum in Kyiv, Lviv museum funds, specialized Judaic centers, and projects related to Jewish crafts and memory are often mentioned.

NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers this topic not as museum exotica, but as part of the overall Ukrainian-Jewish history. For the Israeli audience, this is especially important: many families in Israel have roots in Ukraine, Galicia, Podolia, Volhynia, Kyiv, Odessa, Chernivtsi, Berdychiv, Medzhybizh, Brody, and dozens of other places where Jewish life was part of the local landscape.

And if today a person in Israel asks whether there was Jewish embroidery on Ukrainian lands, it is not an idle question. It is a question about family memory, about lost items, about what disappeared along with shtetls, synagogues, and pre-war communities.

Modern hybrid vyshyvankas: new memory, not old reconstruction

In modern Ukraine, there is an interest in hybrid forms: Ukrainian vyshyvanka is combined with Jewish symbols — the Star of David, menorah, lions, grapevine, Hebrew letters, motifs of Jerusalem.

This is an important phenomenon, but it needs to be understood correctly.

The modern “Jewish-Ukrainian vyshyvanka” is not necessarily a reconstruction of an ancient Jewish costume. More often, it is a new artistic work with identity. It says: the Jewish history of Ukraine was not an external history. It was an internal part of this land.

Such a synthesis can be very powerful, especially after 2022, when Ukrainian and Jewish memory were again linked through themes of war, destruction, resistance, exile, and return to roots.

But the past and the present need to be separated. Historical Jewish embroidery is primarily Judaica, ritual textiles, and individual clothing elements. The modern hybrid vyshyvanka is a new cultural gesture.

Why this topic does not argue with Ukrainian vyshyvanka

The discussion about Jewish embroidery does not take anything away from Ukrainian vyshyvanka.

On the contrary, it makes the Ukrainian cultural map deeper.

Historically, Ukraine has been a space of many peoples. Ukrainians, Jews, Poles, Romanians, Armenians, Germans, Crimean Tatars, Greeks, and other communities created a complex fabric of the region. Sometimes they lived separately. Sometimes side by side. Sometimes in conflict. Sometimes in close craft and trade contact.

Ukrainian vyshyvanka is a powerful symbol of Ukrainian identity.

Jewish embroidery on Ukrainian lands is another layer. It does not have to resemble vyshyvanka to be important. It speaks of the synagogue, the home, prayer, celebration, the woman-craftswoman, family gift, craft environment, fabric that could be passed on, remade, saved, or lost.

These traditions can be studied side by side, without forcibly mixing them.

What can be confidently asserted

First: Jewish embroidery on the territory of modern Ukraine existed.

Second: it is most reliably confirmed in synagogue and ritual textiles — parochets, Torah mantles, kaporets, ataras, tefillin cases, matzah bags, coverings, chuppahs, festive fabrics.

Third: the clothing line also existed. Embroidery, metal thread trim, beads, pearls, and decorative elements were found in kippahs, women’s caps, brusttukh/brustikhl bibs, belts, collars, dresses, skirts, bodices, men’s and children’s vests.

Fourth: it is premature to speak of a full-fledged “Jewish vyshyvanka” as a separate stable analogue of the Ukrainian national shirt.

Fifth: it is not only possible but necessary to speak about the Jewish culture of embroidered textiles and embroidered clothing elements on Ukrainian lands.

Conclusion: not a myth, but a lost layer of culture

The existence of embroidery in Jewish traditional art on the territory of modern Ukraine can be confidently asserted. This embroidery did not always look as the modern reader, accustomed to the image of Ukrainian vyshyvanka, might expect.

Its main forms are parochets, Torah mantles, ataras, matzah bags, festive coverings, kippahs, bibs, belts, caps, clothing trim. Its materials are velvet, silk, brocade, gold and silver threads, beads, pearls, appliqués, metal thread work. Its symbols are the Torah crown, lions, menorah, Star of David, birds, deer, flowers, pomegranates, Hebrew letters, and dedications.

It was a culture of fabric, memory, and commandment.

It lived in the synagogue, in the home, at celebrations, in women’s needlework, in the workshop, in the shtetl, in the city, in the family. A significant part of this culture was destroyed by the Holocaust, Soviet confiscations, the dispersal of collections, and the loss of communal memory.

But the surviving items and descriptions allow us to see the main thing: Jewish embroidery on Ukrainian lands was not an accidental detail, but part of a large tradition.

It should not be called a “Jewish vyshyvanka” without reservations. But its existence cannot be denied.

The correct formula sounds like this: on the territory of modern Ukraine, there existed a developed Jewish culture of embroidered ritual textiles and embroidered clothing elements, connected with Judaica, everyday life, festive costume, craft, and the multinational history of Ukrainian lands.

It is this formula that restores dignity to the topic: without myth, without simplification, but also without oblivion.

Some interesting links on the topic

Below is not a complete academic list, but a working selection of links that can be used as additional support for the topic of Jewish embroidery, ritual textiles, and clothing elements on the territory of modern Ukraine. URL check: 22.05.2026.

The Lviv corpus is the best documented. It is precisely for Lviv and Eastern Galicia that there are state item cards, scientific publications with illustrations and descriptions of parochets, kaporets, tallits, ataras, women’s bibs, and Sasyv metal lace available in open access. Kyiv is represented differently: not so much by separate museum cards, but by educational-museum PDFs with captions for specific items, including a tefillin case and a Megilat Esther in a silver case. For Dnipro, it is currently easier to find official fund publications and Instagram posts in open access than full inventory cards.

It is important to consider the limitation of sources: the state register of museum funds of Ukraine operates unstably and is unevenly filled. Therefore, the absence of an item in the open catalog does not mean that such an item is not in the funds.

Lviv corpus: parochets, kaporets, tallits, ataras, and bibs

One of the main sources for the topic remains the Museum Fund of Ukraine, where item cards related to Jewish ritual textiles and clothing elements are published.

Parochet — a curtain for the Torah ark. This is one of the key items of synagogue textiles, important for the discussion of Jewish embroidery and decorative Judaica.

https://museum.mcsc.gov.ua/collections/parohet-105179

Kaporets — the upper decorative part or curtain associated with the Aron ha-Kodesh. Such a link is useful for explaining that Jewish embroidery often lived not in clothing, but in the synagogue space.

https://museum.mincult.gov.ua/collections/kaporet-105231

Tallit / talles gadol — a prayer shawl. For our topic, it is important not only as a religious item but also as part of the textile culture where decorative elements and ataras could appear.

https://museum.mincult.gov.ua/collections/talit-tales-gadol-153391

Atara — a decorative part of the tallit. Such items help show the connection between prayer practice, fabric, ornament, and Jewish traditional art.

https://museum.mcsc.gov.ua/collections/atara-skladova-do-talesu-gadolyu

Women’s Jewish bib — a particularly important example for the topic of embroidery on clothing. It shows that the Jewish decorative tradition could manifest not as a separate “Jewish vyshyvanka,” but as an embroidered or decorated costume element.

https://museum.mcsc.gov.ua/collections/nagrudnik-zhinochiy-vreyskiy-107499

Fragment of a women’s Jewish bib — another important card for a careful discussion about women’s clothing, decorative inserts, and Galician Jewish costume.

https://museum.mcsc.gov.ua/collections/nagrudnik-zhinochiy-vreyskiy-fragment-105275

Men’s Jewish kippah from 1990 with a menorah and the inscription FIROU. For the historical part, this is not an early example, but for the section on modern heritage and continuation of tradition, such a link is useful.

https://museum.mincult.gov.ua/collections/ubir-golovniy-cholovichiy-vreyskiy-kipa-1990-r-91659

Scientific publications on the Lviv collection and the Sasyv tradition

For more serious argumentation, not only item cards are important, but also articles where these items are considered in the context of Jewish art in Ukraine.

PDF on Jewish art in Ukraine, where there are parochets, kaporets, and Torah mantles from the Lviv collection. The captions to the illustrations include specific dates: 1690, 1698, 1800, 1808, 1819, 1848, as well as the 19th–20th centuries. This is one of the most useful links for the historical part of the article.

https://www.ksada.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/kotlyar_easternstudies_3_visnyk_hdadm8_jewish-art-in-ukraine1_2010.pdf

Article by Natalia Levkovych in “Visnyk LNAM” about Jewish lace ataras. It is important for the topic of Sasyv and the technique of Sasyv metal lace from the second half of the 19th — first third of the 20th century.

https://visnyk.lnam.edu.ua/visnyk/2022/48/nataliya-levkovych-59-66

Another article by Natalia Levkovych — about women’s bibs of Eastern Galicia from the 19th century from the collection of the Museum of Ethnography and Artistic Crafts in Lviv. This is an especially valuable link for the topic “embroidery on clothing,” because it takes us beyond synagogue textiles.

https://visnyk.lnam.edu.ua/visnyk/2022/49/nataliya-levkovych-15-25

Kyiv block: tefillin case and Megilat Esther

The Kyiv line is still less represented in the form of separate open cards, but there are museum-educational PDFs with specific items and captions.

In the PDF, a tefillin case from the late 19th century and a Megilat Esther in a silver case from the second half of the 19th century are recorded. These items are not necessarily embroidery in the narrow sense, but they are important for a broader discussion of Judaica, ritual items, and the material culture of Jews in Ukraine.

https://lib.iitta.gov.ua/id/eprint/717682/1/2_%D0%84%D0%92%D0%A0-%D0%9C%D0%98%D0%A1%D0%A2%D0%95%D0%A6%D0%A2%D0%92%D0%9E.indd%20FINAL-compressed.pdf

Dnipro: Jewish national costume from the museum’s funds

For Dnipro, more fund publications and social media posts are currently available in open access than full inventory cards.

Publication of the Museum “Memory of the Jewish People and the Holocaust in Ukraine” about the Jewish national costume from the museum’s funds. It is important for the modern reader because it shows: the topic of Jewish clothing in Ukraine is not limited to theory, it is also present in museum communication.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYmokfrCDKM/

Cosmetologist in Haifa: how Sol Clinics helps skin look fresher, younger, and more well-groomed

When someone types the query “cosmetologist Haifa” into Google, it almost always reflects more than just a desire to “do something for the face.”

More often, there is a specific problem behind it.

• The skin has become dull.
• Wrinkles have appeared.
• The facial contour has become less defined.
• Sun-induced pigment spots have become more noticeable.
• Acne persists, even though the teenage years are long gone.
• After acne, traces, scars, or uneven texture remain.
• The skin has lost density.
• A double chin has appeared.
• The body has become swollen, and cellulite is more noticeable.

At this moment, a person needs not a random salon or a “magic procedure,” but a specialist who will calmly assess the skin condition, explain what is happening, and offer a clear action plan.

This is the approach of Sol Clinics — a cosmetic center for face and body in Haifa.

Here, the focus is on cosmetologist consultation, computer skin diagnostics, hardware cosmetology, care procedures, and personalized program selection for face and body.

More about Sol Clinics: https://cosmetology.nikk.co.il/

The center has been operating since 2016 and is located at: Haifa, Histadrut, 44, Check-Post.

Cosmetic center in Haifa: why it is important to start with skin diagnostics

The main mistake in cosmetology is choosing a procedure by name.

A friend did RF-lifting — so I need it too.

Someone praised IPL on Instagram — so it will solve any pigmentation.

The ad said “rejuvenation” — so the procedure suits everyone.

In practice, everyone’s skin is different.

One client has a problem related to age-related loss of tone.

Another has issues with acne and inflammation.

A third has pigmentation after sun exposure.

A fourth has sensitive skin, rosacea, or couperose.

A fifth has swelling, lymph issues, cellulite, and sagging body skin.

Therefore, a good cosmetologist in Haifa should start not with selling a procedure, but with the question: what exactly is happening with the skin and what result does the person want to achieve.

At Sol Clinics, the first visit revolves around consultation, computer skin diagnostics, and selecting an individual plan.

This is especially important for Israel, where the skin faces strong sun, humidity fluctuations, air conditioning, stress, hormonal changes, and aging processes daily.

Cosmetology in Haifa is not just about beauty.

It’s about proper care, prevention, recovery, skin tone, and a safe approach to procedures.

What problems most often lead to a cosmetologist

People rarely come to a cosmetologist with an abstract phrase: “I want to do something.”

Usually, the request is much more specific.

“What to do about wrinkles?”

“Why does my face look tired?”

“How to remove pigment spots?”

“Can the facial contour be tightened without surgery?”

“Why have pimples reappeared after 30?”

“What helps with post-acne?”

“How to remove a double chin?”

“Are there procedures for cellulite?”

“How to prepare the skin for summer?”

“Can IPL be done in Israel?”

On the Sol Clinics website, the main problems clients address include skin aging, pigmentation disorders, double chin, dull complexion, rosacea, dermatitis, wrinkles, acne, scars, blackheads, sagging skin, and cellulite.

These are exactly the requests most often sought by residents of Haifa, Kiryat, Nesher, Tirat Carmel, Akko, and northern Israel.

Hardware cosmetology in Haifa: when a cream is not enough

Home care is important.

Good cleansing, SPF, hydration, restoring the skin barrier, the right serums, and regularity really matter.

But there are conditions where home care alone is no longer enough.

If the skin has lost tone, pronounced wrinkles have appeared, pigmentation has become denser, acne has left marks, the facial contour has changed, and cellulite does not respond to creams, a person begins to seek hardware cosmetology in Haifa.

Sol Clinics offers various directions in aesthetic and hardware cosmetology: RF-lifting, IPL rejuvenation, IPL for acne, IPL for pigmentation, mesotherapy, MesoStrip, pressotherapy, lymphatic drainage, cellulite therapy, working with skin tone of the face and body.

The main point of this approach is not to prescribe one trendy procedure to everyone.

The point is to select a method for a specific problem.

NAnews — Israel News notes: an advertising article about a cosmetic clinic should be useful for the reader. Therefore, it is important not just to list procedures, but to explain in which cases a person starts looking for a cosmetologist and what questions to ask before booking.

RF-lifting in Haifa: when the skin loses tone

One of the most frequent requests is RF-lifting Haifa or RF-lifting face in Haifa.

This procedure is often sought by people who notice that their skin has become less dense, the face looks tired, contours have softened, wrinkles, jowls, or a double chin have appeared.

RF-lifting is a hardware method used to work with skin tone, facial contour, and age-related changes.

Advertising texts often promise too much: “minus 10 years,” “lift without surgery,” “permanent result.”

Such writing is incorrect.

It is more accurate to say honestly: RF-lifting can be part of a rejuvenation and skin care program, but the number of procedures, frequency, areas of impact, and expected result should be determined after consultation.

Who RF-lifting may be relevant for:

• for women and men after 30–35 years;
• with reduced skin tone;
• with changes in facial contour;
• with fine and medium wrinkles;
• with a double chin;
• with sagging skin;
• with a desire to improve the appearance of the face without surgical intervention.

It is important to understand: RF-lifting is not a replacement for plastic surgery and not a universal solution for all age-related changes.

But for many clients, it is a convenient way to start systematic work on skin quality.

IPL rejuvenation in Haifa: pigmentation, vessels, and complexion

In Israel, the topic of pigmentation is especially relevant.

Sun, age, hormonal changes, pregnancy, post-acne, insufficient SPF protection — all this can lead to the appearance of spots on the face.

Therefore, queries like “IPL Haifa”, “IPL rejuvenation Haifa”, “pigmentation removal Haifa”, “facial pigmentation Israel”, and “how to remove sun spots” are very important for a cosmetic clinic.

IPL can be used in programs aimed at improving complexion, addressing signs of photoaging, pigmentation spots, and vascular manifestations.

But here it is especially important not to act randomly.

Pigmentation can vary.

Some spots are related to the sun.

Others are due to hormonal changes.

Still others are from acne scars.

Fourth ones can worsen with improper care or aggressive procedures.

Therefore, before IPL, it is important to understand the skin type, nature of pigmentation, season, contraindications, skin’s reaction to the sun, and home care.

For Israel, a separate question is whether procedures can be done in the summer.

The answer should not be universal.

It all depends on the specific procedure, skin condition, phototype, level of pigmentation, client’s lifestyle, and readiness to strictly use SPF.

That is why a consultation with a cosmetologist in Haifa is not a formality but an important step before the procedure.

Acne and post-acne: when a cosmetologist is needed, not random store-bought care

Acne is not just a teenage issue.

In adult women and men, inflammations can appear after 25, 30, 35, and even after 40 years.

The reasons can vary: hormonal changes, stress, diet, improper care, comedogenic cosmetics, skin barrier disruptions, climate, sweat, sunscreen, skin diseases.

Therefore, the query “acne treatment Haifa” or “cosmetologist for acne Haifa” often means: the person is already tired of trying pharmacy creams, TikTok advice, and random masks.

With acne, it is important not to traumatize the skin even more.

It is necessary to understand if there are active inflammations, comedones, enlarged pores, blackheads, painful elements, acne marks, scars, or post-acne.

At Sol Clinics, the directions include working with acne and IPL therapy for acne.

Such a topic requires a careful approach: it is impossible to promise “we will completely cure acne” because acne can have medical causes and sometimes requires a dermatologist’s involvement.

But a cosmetologist can help build a competent care routine, select procedures, reduce the severity of inflammations, work with acne consequences, and explain what should not be done at home.

What clients with acne usually fear:

• that it will get worse after cleaning;
• that the procedure will leave marks;
• that the skin will be overdried;
• that inflammations will intensify;
• that the cosmetologist will press everything indiscriminately;
• that no one will explain the cause of the problem.

Therefore, the article, page, and consultation should speak calmly to the person: first diagnosis, then plan, then careful work.

Pigmentation in Israel: why spots return

A separate big topic is pigmentation in Israel.

Even if a person has had a good procedure, spots can return if the skin is not protected from the sun.

That is why working with pigmentation is not just IPL or a cosmetic procedure.

It is also daily discipline: SPF, protection renewal, caution with actives, avoiding aggressive self-care, understanding seasonality.

Frequent queries:

• pigmentation Haifa
• pigmentation removal Haifa
• sun spots on the face
• melasma Israel
• how to remove brown spots on the face
• skin lightening Haifa
• IPL for pigmentation Haifa

These queries are especially important for the audience that has moved to Israel and faced a new climate.

Skin that previously reacted normally to the sun in another country may develop spots faster in Israel, lose moisture, and react to active products.

Therefore, a cosmetologist in Haifa must consider not only age and skin type but also the local climate.

Mesotherapy in Haifa: when the skin lacks freshness and recovery

The query “mesotherapy Haifa” is usually entered by people who notice that their skin has become duller, drier, thinner, or tired.

Mesotherapy can be discussed as part of a program to restore skin quality, improve appearance, work with dull complexion, fine wrinkles, dehydration, uneven texture, and age-related changes.

But here too, one should not approach it with a template.

One client needs mesotherapy.

Another needs skin barrier restoration first.

A third needs work with acne.

A fourth needs competent home care and SPF.

A fifth needs a combined program.

Therefore, Sol Clinics emphasizes selecting procedures after consultation.

For the client, this is especially important because they are not required to understand the difference between mesotherapy, RF lifting, IPL, or facial cleansing.

The specialist’s task is to explain in simple terms what is suitable for their situation.

Facial cleansing in Haifa: a basic procedure often where care begins

Many clients start not with RF or IPL, but with a simple query: “facial cleansing Haifa”.

This is an understandable and widespread entry into cosmetology.

A person sees blackheads, enlarged pores, comedones, dullness, uneven skin, a feeling of dirtiness, or a tired facial appearance.

But even facial cleansing should not be the same for everyone.

Skin can be dry, oily, sensitive, prone to inflammations, with couperose, with rosacea, with active acne, or with a disrupted barrier.

Therefore, it is important that the cosmetologist not just “cleans the face” but understands the skin condition and chooses the appropriate method.

Good facial cleansing is not aggression.

It is a careful procedure after which the person understands how to care for their skin further.

Pressotherapy and lymphatic drainage in Haifa: body, swelling, cellulite

The Sol Clinics website works not only with the face but also with the body.

And here, important queries are:

• pressotherapy Haifa
• lymphatic drainage Haifa
• cellulite Haifa
• anti-cellulite procedures Haifa
• flabby body skin
• cavitation Haifa
• cold laser lipolysis Haifa

Many people come to body procedures not because they want an “ideal figure” but because they feel swelling, heaviness, decreased tone, changes after weight gain, sedentary work, stress, low activity, or age-related changes.

Pressotherapy and lymphatic drainage can be part of a body care program aimed at a feeling of lightness, working with swelling, improving skin appearance, and supporting anti-cellulite programs.

It is important not to promise the impossible.

Cellulite is a complex aesthetic problem that depends on the structure of subcutaneous fat, hormonal background, metabolism, activity, diet, and skin condition.

But hardware procedures can be part of a comprehensive approach, especially if the person is ready to work with the body systematically.

Russian-speaking cosmetologist in Haifa: why language matters

For many residents of Israel, the query “Russian-speaking cosmetologist Haifa” is as important as the name of the procedure.

Cosmetology is an area where a person must clearly explain what bothers them.

When did the spots appear?

What procedures have already been done?

Was there an allergy?

How does the skin react to the sun?

What products are used at home?

Is there pregnancy, lactation, chronic diseases, medication intake, or skin sensitivity?

What is the person afraid of?

What result do they consider acceptable?

When the specialist and client speak a common language, the consultation becomes calmer and more precise.

That is why for the Russian-speaking audience of Haifa, Kiryat, Nesher, and northern Israel, Sol Clinics can be a convenient option: the person receives not only the procedure but also an explanation without a language barrier.

NAnews — Israel News notes: for Russian-speaking Israelis, services where you can receive a professional service and simultaneously understand what exactly is being done to you, why it is needed, and what limitations exist are especially important.

The first visit to a cosmetologist in Haifa: what is important to ask

The first visit is not just “to schedule a procedure”.

It is a moment when the client should get answers to important questions.

What is my skin type?

Why have wrinkles, spots, acne, or a dull complexion appeared?

What procedure do I really need?

Can it be done in the summer?

How many procedures will be needed?

When will the effect be visible?

Are there any contraindications?

What should not be done after the procedure?

What home care is needed?

Do I need to change SPF?

Can procedures be combined?

What to do if the skin is sensitive?

The Sol Clinics website currently lists a promotion: first visit — 268 shekels.

The first visit includes a cosmetologist consultation and computer skin diagnostics.

There is also an offer: bring a friend — and you both receive a gift.

It is better to check the current conditions directly on the website or by phone, as promotions may change.

Booking and details:

https://cosmetology.nikk.co.il/

Cosmetologist at Check Post: convenient for Haifa, Krayot, Nesher, and Tirat Carmel

For a cosmetology center, not only procedures, equipment, and specialists’ experience are important, but also the location.

Sol Clinics is located in Haifa at:

Histadrut, 44, Check Post

For Haifa residents, this is a clear and convenient city point.

Check Post is well known to those who live or work in different areas of the city: on Carmel, in Hadar, in Neve Sha’anan, in the Lower City, in the Mifratz Haifa area, and near industrial and commercial zones.

It is convenient to visit for a cosmetologist consultation, skin diagnostics, or a procedure without turning the visit into a separate half-day trip.

But the location of Sol Clinics is important not only for Haifa itself.

Check Post is located so that it is convenient to reach from nearby cities in northern Israel.

For residents of Krayot — Kiryat Bialik, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Yam, and Kiryat Ata — this can be a practical option when a nearby cosmetologist is needed, but you don’t want to go to the center of Haifa or look for a clinic far from the usual route.

For Nesher residents, Sol Clinics is also in an accessible area.

You can book a consultation, RF lifting, IPL, mesotherapy, facial cleansing, pressotherapy, or body procedure without a long journey across the north.

For residents of Tirat Carmel, Akko, Haifa suburbs, and the northern coast, Check Post also remains a convenient point: you can come after work, on the way for errands, before a meeting, or on a day when there is already a trip to Haifa.

This is especially important for those looking not just for a cosmetic procedure, but a place where you can calmly discuss skin condition and get a clear care plan.

Acne, pigmentation, wrinkles, post-acne, dull complexion, double chin, cellulite, swelling, or skin laxity — all these topics require not haste, but careful consultation.

For Russian-speaking clients, the language of communication is also important.

When a person can explain their problem without tension, talk about previous procedures, allergies, skin reactions to the sun, or home care, the consultation becomes more accurate and calm.

Therefore, Sol Clinics at Check Post can be considered a convenient cosmetology center not only for Haifa residents but also for those coming from Krayot, Nesher, Tirat Carmel, Akko, and other cities in northern Israel.

Address:

Haifa, Histadrut, 44, Check Post

Website – https://cosmetology.nikk.co.il/

How to understand what procedure you need

You don’t need to choose between RF, IPL, mesotherapy, pressotherapy, or acne treatment on your own.

The best way is to start with diagnostics.

But you can understand the direction in advance.

If you are concerned about the face contour, double chin, skin laxity, and age-related changes — it is worth discussing RF lifting and rejuvenation programs.

If you are concerned about spots, uneven tone, sun marks, vascular manifestations — it is worth discussing IPL and pigmentation care.

If you are concerned about acne, comedones, inflammations, post-acne — it is worth discussing the acne treatment program.

If the skin is dull, dry, tired, dehydrated — it is worth discussing care procedures, mesotherapy, and home care.

If you are concerned about cellulite, swelling, heaviness, body laxity — it is worth discussing pressotherapy, lymphatic drainage, and body hardware programs.

If a person does not know what they need, that’s normal.

That’s what a cosmetologist consultation is for.

Why Sol Clinics might be of interest to those looking for a cosmetologist in Haifa

Sol Clinics combines several important factors.

The center is located in Haifa, in the Check Post area.

It has been operating since 2016.

Offers procedures for face and body.

Focuses on consultation and skin diagnostics.

Works with age-related changes, acne, pigmentation, cellulite, dull complexion, skin laxity, and other aesthetic requests.

Offers hardware procedures: RF, IPL, pressotherapy, lymphatic drainage, mesotherapy, and other directions.

For Russian-speaking clients, another important point: you can explain the problem clearly, without stress, and without feeling unheard.

In cosmetology, this matters.

Because it’s about the face, skin, appearance, and trust.

Contacts Sol Clinics

Sol Clinics — cosmetology center for face and body in Haifa

Address: Haifa, Histadrut, 44, Check Post

Website: https://cosmetology.nikk.co.il/

Before booking, it is worth clarifying current promotions, schedule, procedure costs, and consultation availability.

FAQ: frequently asked questions about a cosmetologist in Haifa

How to choose a cosmetologist in Haifa?

It is important to look not only at the procedure price but also at the approach. A good cosmetologist starts with a consultation, assessing skin condition, contraindications, lifestyle, previous procedures, and client expectations. It is especially important that the specialist explains what exactly they offer and why.

Which is better: RF lifting or IPL?

These are different procedures for different tasks. RF lifting is more often discussed for loss of tone, changes in face contour, wrinkles, and skin laxity. IPL is more often associated with pigmentation, complexion, vascular manifestations, and photoaging. The choice depends on the skin condition.

Can IPL be done in the summer in Israel?

This question needs to be resolved individually. In Israel, the sun is active most of the year, so before IPL, consultation, skin assessment, understanding risks, and strict SPF protection are especially important. The procedure is not suitable for everyone and not always in the summer period.

How many RF lifting procedures are needed?

The number of procedures depends on age, skin condition, area, severity of changes, and client goals. The course should be selected by a cosmetologist after consultation.

Does a cosmetologist help with adult acne?

A cosmetologist can help build care, select procedures, work with inflammations, comedones, post-acne, and skin quality. But if acne is related to medical reasons, a dermatologist may be needed.

What to do with pigmentation spots after the sun?

First, you need to determine the type of pigmentation. After that, a cosmetologist can offer a care program, procedures, and a home scheme. In Israel, a mandatory part of working with pigmentation is regular SPF.

Can a double chin be removed without surgery?

In some cases, hardware procedures can help improve skin tone and the appearance of the chin area. But the result depends on the cause of the problem: skin, fat tissue, anatomy, age, and lifestyle.

What is pressotherapy?

Pressotherapy is a hardware procedure associated with lymphatic drainage and body impact using compressed air. It is often discussed for swelling, a feeling of heaviness, cellulite, and body care programs.

How much does the first visit to a cosmetologist in Haifa cost?

At the time of preparing the material, the Sol Clinics website lists a promotion: first visit — 268 shekels. It is better to clarify the current price and conditions before booking.

Where is Sol Clinics located?

Sol Clinics is located in Haifa at: Histadrut, 44, Check Post.

Is there a Russian-speaking cosmetologist in Haifa?

For Russian-speaking clients, Sol Clinics is convenient because you can discuss skin condition, procedures, contraindications, and expectations in a clear language.

What procedures help with a dull complexion?

It depends on the cause. Possible care procedures, mesotherapy, work with dehydration, skin renewal, home care, and SPF. The procedure should be selected after diagnostics.

What to do with post-acne?

Post-acne can manifest as spots, scars, uneven texture, and enlarged pores. A cosmetologist can offer a program that considers the type of traces, inflammation activity, and skin sensitivity.

What procedures help with cellulite?

Sol Clinics offers body directions, including pressotherapy, lymphatic drainage, and hardware anti-cellulite programs. But cellulite requires a comprehensive approach, not one universal procedure.

How to book at Sol Clinics?

More about Sol Clinics: https://cosmetology.nikk.co.il/

The center has been operating since 2016 and is located at: Haifa, Histadrut, 44, Check Post.