WAR UPDATE 117 Fighting for our Future - Shmuel Veffer Galilee Green

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We're Your Family in Israel  Link to View or Share this Email Online   Gadi Eisenkot - Moti Leitner - Bibi Netanyahu WAR UPDATE 117 Fighting for our Future Israel elections are only two months away on October 27 and the campaign chaos is in full swing. PM Netanyahu is seeking to maintain control of the government. His main opponent at this point is Gadi Eisenkot. You may recall Eisenkot who was a former Chief of Staff of the IDF and was a member of Benny Gantz's opposition party. After October 7, Netanyahu invited Gantz and Eisenkot to join his war cabinet. It didn't last long as they were at odds with Netanyahu and had aligned themselves with the Biden Administration seeking to topple Netanyahu from power. (I wrote about the intrigue in my book Faith Under Fire)  Today, Gantz has left the political scene and Eisenkot formed a new party, Yashar, positioned to the Center-Left, however "right-wing" when it comes to security.  Bibi's Likud Party and Gadi's Yashar Party are polling neck to neck at this point.  A NEW PARTY One of the more interesting developments this cycle is a new Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) party that calls itself “The Haredi Public.” Its leader Moti Leitner launched the campaign with a blunt message: the long-standing Haredi political leadership has grown detached from the people it claims to represent, and this time the Haredi public itself must take responsibility. That single word — responsibility — is the real issue before us. For years the question of shared national burden has been an election issue. The war that began on October 7 forced it to become a major national issue. While tens of thousands of families sent their sons and husbands into Gaza, Lebanon, and the other fronts, large sectors of the ultra-Orthodox community remained largely exempt. Those involved in full-time Torah study receive deferrals from service until they leave the study hall to work. In times of peace, the issue annoys Israelis. When we are in the middle of a three-year war, people get angry. The new Haredi party does not solve the problem. It does, however, acknowledge it. It says that young men who are not learning full-time in yeshiva should serve in the army or in national service. It speaks about employment and economic self-sufficiency. Whether it draws votes mainly from the two veteran Haredi parties, or from ultra-Orthodox Israelis who previously stayed home or voted for Likud, is secondary. The deeper significance is that voices inside the Haredi world are beginning to say out loud what many have long felt: we cannot continue as we are. This is not only a Haredi question. It is a national one. A NATIONAL QUESTION Our Torah is clear. When the nation goes to war, the burden is not meant to rest on a few. In the desert the tribes marched and fought together. In the days of the Judges and the Kings the call to arms went out to the people. The exemption for those fully devoted to Torah has always existed in tension with the mitzvah of defending the Land and the people. When that exemption becomes the rule rather than the exception for an entire community, the moral and practical foundations of the state begin to crack. Eisenkot has made equality of service one of the central pillars of his campaign. He speaks of expanding the ranks of the army so that no family is called up endlessly, and of requiring service, either military, national, or civil, from the overwhelming majority of young men. Netanyahu’s government has moved more slowly. Bound by the political reality of its ultra-Orthodox partners, it has managed the draft crisis carefully, seeking gradual change while protecting the coalition. Both men understand the threat from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. The difference lies in how heavily they weigh the internal cost of continuing the present arrangement. WE ARE ONE PEOPLE I do not write these words to attack any community. The Haredi world has produced giants of Torah and acts of extraordinary kindness. Many individual ultra-Orthodox Jews already serve with quiet dedication. The problem is structural. A Jewish state that asks some mothers to bury their sons while others are told their sons’ primary contribution is to remain in the study hall cannot easily and indefinitely sustain the trust required for national survival. The appearance of this new Haredi list is a small but telling sign. It suggests that the pressure of war, economics, and public resentment is beginning to produce internal reckoning. If the party crosses the electoral threshold, the total number of Haredi seats in the next Knesset may actually grow rather than shrink. That growth will matter only if it brings greater willingness to share the burden rather than simply more leverage to protect the old exemptions. STILL AT WAR We are still at war. The multi-front struggle is not finished.  Threats from Hezbollah, Hamas and from Iran have not disappeared. In such a time, leadership is measured by whether it strengthens the people or further divides them. The next government, whether led by Netanyahu, by Eisenkot, or by some other combination, will have to decide whether it will continue treating the draft crisis as a political problem to be managed or confront it as a moral and strategic necessity. The Torah does not allow us the luxury of permanent, large-scale exemptions when the nation is under attack. “Remember what Amalek did to you” is not only about external enemies. It is also a reminder that weakness and internal division invite the next blow. May the Almighty grant us leaders who understand that the strength of Israel rests on the willingness of all its sons to stand together. And may He open the hearts of every community to the truth that shared responsibility is not a threat to Torah, but one of the conditions for its continued flourishing in this Land. The election will decide names and numbers. The deeper choice is whether we will finally treat the burden of defending the Jewish people as a shared responsibility. May we choose wisely. IF THIS UPDATE WAS FORWARDED TO YOU. CLICK HERE to ensure you get my next update.     R. Shmuel Veffer and Sarah Eliana Galilee Green Galilee Green Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Bread Dip One of my favourite starters especially on Shabbat is a classic olive oil and balsamic vinegar bread dip served with hearty bread or challah. Picture this. You meet friends you have not seen in a while. You sit down at a sweet restaurant. The first thing that arrives is a... FULL RECIPE!   When Bibi and Sara Came to Dinner Election season is a time for walk-abouts, and you never know where or when your favorite politician may show up. The other times you may run into them is during summer vacation. We are a small country with limited options for vacations. Exactly eight years ago, in the summer, Bibi and Sara showed up unexpectedly and the whole story was an amazing Galilee Green miracle.   READ MORE   Subscriber Photo of the Week   "Enjoy!"   This week's photo is from Tonya Gabbert of Brighton, Missouri. Tonya was one of our earlier subscribers in August of 2015. She posted this photo shortly after she received her first order of GGOO. You can tell because of the original label on the tin and the decanter with the color logo on it. Said Tonya at the time: Hope everyone had a restful Shabbat! We enjoyed challah with olive oil and herbs from Israel!  Dipping challah into GGOO and zaatar is one of our favorite Shabbat pastimes! Blessings for a healthy and sweet new year to you and your family, Tonya! ------------------------------------------------------- Because of the strengthening of the Israeli Shekel against the US Dollar (20 percent since January!) we are trying to make up for our effective loss in revenue by increasing the number of people using our products. Please encourage at least one other friend or relative who loves Israel to give us a try! P.S. You can forward this newsletter to a friend to introduce them to us.  GALILEE GREEN OLIVE OIL One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is the ability to support themselves. Support out small business in Israel and bring the blessings of Israel into your own home! Here's your direct link to order a Two Pack today! RAW NATURAL HONEY Bring the sweetness of the Land of Israel into your own home! HERE'S YOUR DIRECT LINK FOR A TWO PACK Have you read the first five chapters of my upcoming Jerusalem-based Thriller? CONTINUE READING HERE

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- 🇮🇱 NEW RECIPE & W4R UPDATE 116 - Shmuel Veffer in the Galilee

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We're Your Family in Israel  Link to View or Share this Email Online   WAR UPDATE 116 Things are getting chaotic, quickly We are living through one of those weeks when every front is heating up at the same time and no one can tell you with any certainty what will happen tomorrow. Gaza is still a war of attrition. We hold large parts of the territory, Hamas is battered but not finished, and the latest ceasefire understandings keep getting tested by rockets, raids, and targeted strikes.  In the north, our soldiers remain in a security zone inside Lebanon. Hezbollah is weaker than it was, yet the exchanges continue and the framework deals feel as fragile as paper. IDF soldiers continue to be killed and wounded. Iran sits on high alert after two major campaigns; the ceasefire signed in June has expired and both sides are watching the other in a game of chicken that could restart everything. The Houthis in Yemen keep firing. Syria is another open file with the Turks trying to establish bases there. Judea and Samaria simmers. Shipping lanes are threatened in the Straits of Hormuz. The information war never sleeps. It is confusing and exhausting. It feels like the pieces on the board can be rearranged overnight and we will wake up to a completely different war. After nearly three years, the question hanging over every Israeli household is the same: How long can this go on, and which front explodes next? King David's Reminder In the middle of all this uncertainty we are already in the Hebrew month of Elul. Twice a day in our prayers we recite the same chapter of Psalms that our people have been saying at this season for generations: Psalm 27, “Of David. God is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? God is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?” King David wrote these words while enemies surrounded him. He does not pretend the danger is imaginary. He looks it in the face: “If a camp encamps against me, my heart will not fear. If a war rises against me—in this I trust.” Kind David makes one request:  "to dwell in the House of Hashem all the days of my life, to gaze upon His pleasantness." And then the promise that keeps us going: “For He will hide me in His sukkah on the day of evil; He will conceal me in the shelter of His tent; He will lift me high upon a rock.” That is the clarity Elul gives us. I suggest you read the entire Psalm 27. We do not have to understand every move on every front. We do not have to know whether next week brings another barrage from the north, another round with Iran, or another tense pause. We recite the same words in the morning and at night while the headlines keep changing. The Psalm does not deny the chaos. It simply refuses to let the chaos have the last word. We are approaching Rosh Hashanah. The shofar is already sounding every weekday. The King is in the field. Our job is teshuva-return, prayer, and charity. And to keep reciting, twice a day, that God is our light and our salvation. May He protect us in His sukkah. May He lift our heads above the enemies who still surround us. And may we merit to see His salvation in this year that is about to begin. With prayers for peace and a sweet year. IF THIS UPDATE WAS FORWARDED TO YOU. CLICK HERE to ensure you get my next update.     R. Shmuel Veffer and Sarah Eliana Galilee Green Lemon Honey Ginger Morning Elixer We love it when our GG Family share new and creative ways to use our Olive Oil and Raw Natural Honey. Long time Galilee Green subscriber Dolly Tabor of Seneca, South Carolina, drinks a simple metabolic formula every morning. It uses lemon, honey, ginger, cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne. Dolly drinks it 30 minutes before coffee or food. The taste is delicious. You get cinnamon, honey, and lemon first. The ginger and tiny bit of cayenne add a gentle spark that tells your body to wake up. Use our raw Galilee Green honey from Israel. It never gets heated, so you keep the enzymes and full flavor. Citrus blossom or wildflower honey both shine in this drink. Remember to share your recipes with us so we can include them on our website and newsletter! FULL RECIPE!   What is the hidden message that the clouds of Elul whisper to us at the end of the summer? Summer in Israel is almost over. I know, because it has been cloudy this past week and it rained last Shabbat! All summer long the skies have been clear, sunny and hot. And for the last few weeks, it seems the entire country has been splashing in the Kinneret, bathing at a beach on the Mediterranean or rafting down the Jordan River. But as we move into the month of Elul you can literally feel a change in the air. As we approach the New Year, Rosh HaShanah, what should we be focusing on?    READ MORE   Subscriber Photo of the Week   "Yum!"   This week's photo is from Marie Scott of Chino Valley, Arizona. Marie first discovered us in 2017 and has been a subscriber since 2021! We have featured her creations in previous updates including a delicious tuna salad recipe. This photo that she posted on August 10 caught my attention. Not becuase she tagged me, but because she had roasted her home-grown beets in GGOO!  We have beets almost every Shabbat, but we boil them, like my mother used to prepare.  Harvested my beets before I left for Colorado. Took a couple of extra days off before heading back to the office, so time to roast the beets with Galilee Green Olive Oil!  Well, we took your advice this past Shabbat, Marie and roasted the beets... they were amazing! Thanks for the idea! Keep them coming. ------------------------------------------------------- Because of the strengthening of the Israeli Shekel against the US Dollar (20 percent since January!) we are trying to make up for our effective loss in revenue by increasing the number of people using our products. Please encourage at least one other friend or relative who loves Israel to give us a try! P.S. You can forward this newsletter to a friend to introduce them to us.  GALILEE GREEN OLIVE OIL One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is the ability to support themselves. Support out small business in Israel and bring the blessings of Israel into your own home! Here's your direct link to order a Two Pack today! RAW NATURAL HONEY Bring the sweetness of the Land of Israel into your own home! HERE'S YOUR DIRECT LINK FOR A TWO PACK Have you read the first five chapters of my upcoming Jerusalem-based Thriller? CONTINUE READING HERE

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Love For His People Ministry was founded in 2010 by Steve & Laurie Martin. Charlotte, NC USA

The Colombia Earthquake Shook MY Family – and My Faith Guest Post from my wife Sarah Eliana

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We're Your Family in Israel  Link to View or Share this Email Online   My hometown of Pereira suffered the most damage WAR UPDATE 115 The Colombia Earthquake Shook My Family – and My Faith Guest Post from my wife Sarah Eliana My brother's apartment collapsed around him. He survived and his family survived. As Colombia rebuilds, here's the question the earthquake forced me to ask myself. On Monday afternoon in Jerusalem, my phone rings. It’s my son Juan calling from Colombia, just as he often does before leaving for work. I answer, expecting an ordinary conversation. Instead, I hear panic. “There’s been a terrible earthquake,” he says. “Everything shook for a long time.” With cellphone lines barely functioning, his voice breaks through in fragments. “Please call the family,” he manages to say before we’re cut off. “Find out if everyone is alive.” Alive? My hands shake as I dial my brother Carlos in Pereira, the city where I grew up. The call doesn’t go through. I try again. Nothing. Then a WhatsApp message appears: Carlos and his family have survived. Their fifth-floor apartment has not. As the roof and walls collapsed around them, Carlos tells me, they crowded into a doorway and hugged one another. Somehow, they made it down five floors and into the street – without a scratch. Their home is a pile of rubble. Yet miraculously, they are alive. Amidst tears, I call my niece Lina. She tells me that her house, too, has been destroyed. By then, videos are flooding the internet: buildings folded into clouds of dust, streets buried beneath concrete, terrified families searching for one another. The 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia with devastating force. The death toll climbs into the hundreds. Thousands are injured or missing, many trapped beneath collapsed buildings. Electricity, water and communications fail across large areas. I sit in Jerusalem, staring at images of streets I know. The distance creates a sense of helplessness. I can only keep dialing, sending messages, praying, and waiting for the next fragment of news. Jewish law prescribes a blessing upon experiencing an earthquake: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, whose strength and power fill the world.”1 The blessing does not explain the tragedy. It acknowledges that we are small, life is fragile and the world is charged with a power beyond our control. Political Upheaval - A Country Changes Direction Another thought presses upon me: Why has this happened, and why now? Only three days earlier, Abelardo de la Espriella had been inaugurated as Colombia’s new president. On the first business day of his administration, the earthquake struck. The timing is impossible to ignore. Jewish tradition states that an earthquake can accompany the ending of one government and the beginning of another. Colombia was undergoing this transition. Under former president Gustavo Petro, Colombia had severed diplomatic relations with Israel, expelled Israeli diplomats, and moved toward opening an embassy in Ramallah. The new president, De la Espriella, campaigned on an opposite vision. “Colombia will restore and strengthen its relationship with the State of Israel like never before,” he declared. “Israel can count on Colombia as a loyal friend and steadfast ally.” After his election victory, De la Espriella pledged to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move Colombia’s embassy to Jerusalem. On the day of the earthquake, he recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Of course, no one knows the heavenly accounting of any natural disaster. Yet Jewish tradition encourages us to use moments of upheaval to shake something within us. The Talmud offers haunting imagery of an earthquake: When God sees Jewish suffering among the nations, Divine tears fall into the sea, causing the earth to tremble. This is obviously not a scientific explanation. It’s a spiritual image of a country reexamining its direction, while the earth shook. A Jewish Echo Beneath the Ruins As a recent convert to Judaism (a journey I chronicled on Aish.com), the earthquake carries deeply personal resonance. It struck a region populated by many descendants of Bnei Anusim (conversos), Jews forced to convert during the Spanish Inquisition. Large numbers of Sephardic conversos settled in Colombia’s Paisa region. Across the centuries, some families quietly retained fragments of Jewish memory in surnames, customs and stories whose origins they could no longer explain. In recent years, small communities of Bnei Anusim have begun returning to full Jewish life. One such community has emerged in my hometown of Pereira. Many of its members are my friends. One viral video from the earthquake shows a congregation in Pereira reciting “Shema Yisrael” during the morning services, while everything shakes. This was filmed at the home of my friend Devorah, where I’ve spent many Shabbats. The image moved me: descendants of Jews once forced to whisper their faith, now proclaiming God’s unity aloud, while the earth moves beneath them.   The Shofar That Shakes Us Awake The Colombia earthquake coincides with the beginning of the Jewish month of Elul, leading to Rosh Hashanah. In synagogues each morning, we sound the shofar. Maimonides describes its message: Awake from your sleep! Arise from your slumber! Turn inward examine your direction in life. The shofar is like a controlled earthquake. It shakes souls instead of buildings. It interrupts the familiar rhythm of life and forces the question we spend most of the year avoiding: If everything I take for granted were suddenly stripped away, what would remain? For my brother’s family, this question is no metaphor. As they stood in the street, shaken to the core, they understood with immense clarity what matters most. Rosh Hashanah is called the Day of Judgment because all humanity passes before the Creator. Yet judgment is not solely about the past. It is also about possibility. What kind of person will I become in the year ahead? What will I rebuild? Which foundations will anchor the life I want to create? From Jerusalem, I can already hear the shofar’s call, even before it is blown. Wake up! Do not postpone the life you are meant to live. The ground beneath us is never as permanent as it seems. (See this article at aish.com here) IF THIS UPDATE WAS FORWARDED TO YOU. CLICK HERE to ensure you get my next update.     R. Shmuel Veffer and Sarah Eliana Galilee Green Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad Nothing refreshes like a cucumber tomato onion salad on a warm day. Crisp cucumber, juicy tomatoes, and mild onion create the perfect summer side. Long-time Galilee Green subscriber Diana May from Bodega Bay, CA, shared this recipe with us in the summer of 2024. Louise Workman, GG Member from Olympia, Washington loves this salad too! Remember to share your recipes with us so we can include them on our website and newsletter! FULL RECIPE!   Even the Coffee Farm Wasn't Safe   That's Sarah Eliana's brother Carlos at the bottom of the thumbnail above. A few years ago, Carlos, his wife Francia and daughter Laura took us to visit Francia's parents' coffee farm. It was an incredible experience. The views were breathtaking. And the traditional way they grew coffee was fascinating.  Like all coffee growers, the giant international conglomerates pay almost nothing to the farmers for their beans, and most local growers are struggling to survive. Carlos and Francia were trying to help her parents find a way to sell direct to consumers to try to keep the farm alive. All Talents on Deck With Sarah Eliana's music background and my business and marketing background we decided to make a commercial for them. Sarah Eliana composed a tune in a traditional Colombian style and played the guitar and sang along with Fanny, Francia's mother. We had a great time putting this together and I think you will love it too. The day of the earthquake, Francia was supposed to travel to the farm to help out. As you saw from above, Carlos and Francia's apartment and everything in it was destroyed. When Francia was finally able to get through to her parents, they let her know some of the farm buildings were damaged, but their home was still livable. May the Almighty bless all those affected with strength and courage to rebuild what was destroyed.   WATCH VIDEO HERE   Watch to the very end to see Francia, Carlos and Laura with the rest of the family.   Subscriber Photo of the Week   "Bringing Sweet Blessings to Iceland"   This week's photo is ABOUT Ragnar Halldórsson of Reykjavík, Iceland. Okay, I admit I made the picture above with AI. But I was so excited that we had our first order from Iceland to be delivered directly to Reykjavik, that I had to share this with you. As I mentioned, Israel Post recently opened their ecopost service (that we use) to about 100 more countries! That means we have new ways to grow our Galilee Green Family. I still have no idea how Ragnar found us, but I'm glad he did. His package of two jars of Raw Citrus Blossom Honey is on its way. Thank you Ragnar... please take a photo and send it to us when it arrives... and thank you to all of our supporters around the world. You all make a difference. ------------------------------------------------------- Because of the strengthening of the Israeli Shekel against the US Dollar (20 percent since January!) we are trying to make up for our effective loss in revenue by increasing the number of people using our products. Please encourage at least one other friend or relative who loves Israel to give us a try! P.S. You can forward this newsletter to a friend to introduce them to us.  GALILEE GREEN OLIVE OIL One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is the ability to support themselves. Support out small business in Israel and bring the blessings of Israel into your own home! Here's your direct link to order a Two Pack today! RAW NATURAL HONEY Bring the sweetness of the Land of Israel into your own home! HERE'S YOUR DIRECT LINK FOR A TWO PACK Have you read the first five chapters of my upcoming Jerusalem-based Thriller? CONTINUE READING HERE

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