Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all who love her. (Yeshaya/Isaiah 66:10)

As we prepare to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, we thank G-d for its tremendous accomplishments on so many fronts – religious, cultural, scientific and so many more, all achieved whilst combating so much hostility from the outside. Today, Israel’s Jewish population is around six million, a most significant number and truly miraculous, given that the State arose from the ashes of the Holocaust.

by Simon Goulden, Educational Consultant to United Synagogue Hazor, one of the most important sites in our early history, was one which also helped to make the reputation of Yigal Yadin (d.1984). Yadin was a soldier, scholar, archaeologist and politician. Tel Hazor can be split into two parts: the 30-acre acropolis and the 175-acre lower city. It seems that Hazor was already important in Avraham's time and was the largest fortified area in the land during the Israelite period (ninth century B.C.E.).