In the JNF Kitchen: Roast turkey, Mousa style

This special Thanksgiving-themed recipe of the week comes to us from La Boite, a biscuits and spices shop in New York City owned by Israeli chef and spice blender Lior Lev Sercarz. 

Lior and La Boite have gained international fame for mixing spices in a unique way and selling some of the world's rarest blends. Lior opened his culinary superstore after traveling and studying around the globe. His latest venture, along with Jewish National Fund-USA, is Beit Asher, a Food Innovation and Technology Center and the JNF-USA Institute of Culinary Arts in Israel's Upper Eastern Galilee. 

This initiative, which is also in partnership with, ii2020, an Israeli NGO, aims to focus on bringing food technology and innovation, business accelerators and incubators, and a world-class Institute of Culinary Arts to the Upper Eastern Galilee. With this rollout, Jewish National Fund is playing a direct role in changing the narrative and landscape for the region by creating employment, bringing new residents, and changing the look, feel, and spirit of the area.

Meeting real-life heroes on the Queen of Sheba mission to Israel

Myra (left) and JNF First Lady Lauren Lizerbram on the mission.

By Myra Chack Fleischer

It was a beautiful sunny morning in Jerusalem as 36 participants of the Queen of Sheba Mission of the Women for Israel Campaign departed our hotel on Veterans Day headed for the 9/11 Memorial. It's the only memorial for the worst terrorist attack on US soil outside of the United States. We knew it would be an emotional morning, but we were not prepared for how much so.

When we arrived, another group was there. It was Heroes to Heroes, an organization that provides healing and support for American veterans who have PTSD or are on a path to self-destruction due to their service in countries such as Iraq and/or Afghanistan. With funding help from Jewish National Fund, the Heroes to Heroes program embraces them, brings them to Israel and helps them on a road to healing the moral injury suffered.

In the JNF Kitchen: Stern Winery’s white fish ceviche with fruit

This recipe originally appeared in the summer 2016 issue of our Byachad Magazine. You can read the full issue here.

In 2004, Johnny Stern, a Brazilian born immigrant who moved to Israel with his family at the age of 17, made the bold decision to open his own winery, Stern Winery. He realized his true calling lay with the vines of his winery, located in Kibbutz Tuval, a picturesque community in the hills of the Western Galilee. Before realizing this dream, however, he lived a dual life for nearly six years: as a sales manager for a company manufacturing industrial adhesives, machinery oil, and metal treatments, and as an artisanal wine producer in Israel’s budding boutique wine industry.

Medical pair spends vacation sharing expertise in Israel's desert

 (L-R) Central Arava Resource Development Associate Samatha Levy,
 nurse Annette Vaccaro, Dr. Dana Sless, and JNF Central Arava liaison Noa Zer,
 following a lecture on early childhood development.

While many would choose to use their vacation time to go to Europe or lounge on a beach, one medical duo decided to head to Israel's desert and give back.

Dr. Dana Sless, who specializes in pediatric and adolescent health care in Atlantic City, NJ, and nurse Annette Vaccaro, based in Troy, NY, went deep in the heart of the sandy Central Arava, a region that sits between the Dead Sea and Eilat along the Jordanian border and is home to some 8,700 people. They spent a week giving lectures and seminars at Jewish National Fund's Danielle A. and Irving J. Grossman Arava Medical Center.

Fashionistas for Israel: Hip T-shirts, Golda Meir jean jackets help JNF

By Sara Armet (JNFuture NYC)

It's T-shirt time! The highly anticipated JNF National Conference is right around the corner, October 26-29, in Phoenix, and we are so excited to be back with our second annual "Johnny + Sara: Fashionistas for Israel" campaign.

This fall, Jonathan Solomon (JNFuture Tampa) and I relaunched our fundraising initiative with brand new offerings and fresh "products with a purpose." Through the sale of our original T-shirt and limited-edition designs, JNFuture is shaping the landscape of of Israel. One hundred percent of our profits go to JNF. Our call to action: the recent Emergency Town Hall Series for the Gaza Border Crisis.

Jack Fleischer: Sportswriter, JFK and Truman colleague, JNF all-star

Jack Fleischer with Harry S. Truman.

Jack Fleischer may perhaps be best known as the person who coined the phrase "and now to honor America" that we hear so often before the playing of our national anthem at sporting events, but he's also remembered for his commitment to Israel through his support of Jewish National Fund. Proceeds of the many charitable gift annuities he established with JNF were used to plant a forest in Israel in honor of his parents, Matilda and Julius Fleischer.

Fleischer, who was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and passed away on July 21, 2015, in Palm Beach, was an ardent supporter of Israel, a JNF annuitant, and a member of World Chairman's Council, a society reserved for donors whose lifetime gifts total $1 million.

Beyond BDS: College activist has passionate plea for pro-Israel adults

Hayley (right) on her campus.

By Hayley Nagelberg, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign class of 2019

I have always cared about Israel, and I have spent the past four years actively advocating for Israel through political means and campus-based activism. I have learned an incredible amount about the Middle East, and I have been trained to present myself professionally and speak in front of crowds large and small. I now know more legal terminology and persuasive rhetoric than I thought possible. I can make my points eloquently and with impact. 

And yet, while I consider myself to be an effective and passionate advocate for Israel, I'm convinced something has been getting lost in translation between pro-Israel college students and the pro-Israel adult world.