The goal, Rabbi Shlomo Gestetner told JNS, is to cultivate “Jewish leaders of the future.”
Drivers slowed along Sderot Ben Tzvi on Monday afternoon, curious about the crowds spilling onto the roadway outside a gleaming new building draped in red banners. Moments later, major donors Igor Tulchinsky and Yitzchak Mirilashvili joined leading Chabad rabbis from around the world in cutting a ceremonial ribbon, officially dedicating the Mayanot World Center—a $20 million campus that will serve as the new home of the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies.
For Rabbi Kasriel Shemtov, Mayanot’s executive director, and Rabbi Shlomo Gestetner, the institution’s dean, the moment was the fulfillment of a decades-long vision.
“Mayanot was established to give young adults the ability to come to Israel and Jerusalem to study about Jewish heritage and become knowledgeable Jews with a strong identity,” Gestetner told JNS. The goal, he said, is to cultivate “Jewish leaders of the future.”
In the same conversation, Shemtov emphasized Mayanot’s focus on identity-building. “Many go back to their communities and the world—as the Rebbe wanted—to become leaders with the passion and the gift that keeps giving,” he said. “They integrate into their communities, businesses and families, who see the excitement which they take to the masses and inspire.”
A dream come true’
Hundreds of guests filled the campus courtyard for the first of two receptions following the dedication of the executive offices and learning centers. Three current students—Mayer Weiss, Ari Kuptchik and Meir Solomon—shared their enthusiasm for the program.
“I like the way they run it and the great programs,” said Weiss, 18, of Miami. Kuptchik, also 18, called the experience “eye-opening,” adding, “They really push things forward.” Solomon, 18, from Los Angeles, who grew up in a Modern Orthodox family with Chabad roots, said he came to deepen his understanding of Chasidut. All three plan to attend college or start work after their year of study.
The new campus will significantly expand Mayanot’s capacity. In the past year alone, more than 400 students from 16 countries and 94 universities took part in 85 weekly classes, with thousands more accessing online learning. The upgraded facility will allow for immersive study programs, Israel-advocacy seminars, educational tours, internships and volunteer opportunities.
Shemtov believes the center will fill a crucial gap for young Jews seeking continued learning after programs like Birthright Israel. “What happens on day 11?” he asked. “We can facilitate for those who want a deeper look into Israel and their heritage—to take it to the next level.”
A state-of-the-art home for Torah
Both Shemtov and Gestetner highlighted that all of this takes place in a modern, beautifully designed space. “Many people feel that studying in a beit midrash means compromising—of food and physical place,” Shemtov said. “Here is one of the most gorgeous yeshivas. The upgraded, state-of-the-art building goes with the vision of the Rebbe, who wanted to transform the world for holier and better purposes.”
Guests touring the facility shared that sense of awe. Davida Zimble of Boston and Rechavia admired the gym, mikvah and dining hall housed in the renovated structure, built atop the former Vaisra Itzhak Assisted Living Facility. “A place of Jewish learning doesn’t have to be decrepit!” she quipped.
The World Center features a spacious Beit Midrash, rooftop event space overlooking Jerusalem, dormitories with kitchenettes, a meditation garden, and a dedicated Lone Soldier Center supporting IDF service members.
As the sun set, guests gathered for a mincha prayer service and a rooftop reception accompanied by live music, celebrating the launch of a campus aimed at shaping Jewish life for decades to come.
“As Jews face unprecedented challenges worldwide—from college campuses to small town America—Mayanot empowers the next generation with Jewish pride, confidence and clarity of purpose,” said Yaakov Cohen, chairman of the board.
While many people use artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT to write papers, pick movies or streamline business tasks, Israel’s medical community is pushing AI far beyond convenience.
At Tel Aviv University this week, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors demonstrated how AI is already being used to make complex clinical decisions—and, in some cases, save lives.
The Fifth Annual IDSAI (International Data Science and AI Initiative) AI and Health Day conference, part of Cyber Week, brought together several hundred participants for a fast-paced, 10-hour program focused on real-world medical applications. The audience filling the Bar Shira Auditorium included representatives from academia, industry, government, the military and the financial sector.
On Tuesday, the morning sessions offered a broad overview of AI in health care, explored data challenges and featured lightning talks from health-tech startups and venture-capital firms. Afternoon sessions shifted to accelerating product development, academic research on agents and machine learning, a panel on computational oncology and deep-learning applications.
Opening the conference, Professor Saharon Rosset, chair in modern statistics and data science in Tel Aviv University’s Department of Statistics and Operations Research, set the tone.
“It is clear AI will become more central as we move ahead,” he said, noting efforts to “foster academic and medical institutions with the challenge of data sharing.”
Ziv Katzir, head of the TELEM (National Infrastructure Forum for Research and Development) program for artificial intelligence at the Israel Innovation Authority, described AI as “finding new answers to very old challenges” and said it has gotten “much better in the last five years.”
He highlighted advances in predictive analytics, treatment optimization, risk scoring and personalized care, pointing to dozens of Israeli companies already active in the rapidly expanding AI-health ecosystem.
‘Complexity of the health-care system’
One of the most compelling presentations came from Prof. Ron Balicer, chief innovation officer and deputy director-general of Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest health-care provider. Opening his talk on “AI-Driven Health Care,” Balicer said that “we are no longer in a place where we are the sole decision-makers and know what is best for the patient.”
Balicer shared a post by Dr. Alon Toor titled “A Life Saved—Thanks to AI,” describing how an AI-based clinical decision-support system flagged a patient for urgent testing. “I told the patient openly: This is what the system suggests. Let’s do it,” Toor wrote.
The test revealed dangerously high blood pressure that routine visits had missed. “Here’s the truth. I wouldn’t have ordered this test on my own. The system saw what I didn’t. It saved a life.”
Balicer said AI is already guiding decision-making in Clalit clinics. “We can look at the future, see something bad will happen and take it out of harm’s way,” he said, adding that AI may soon warn patients directly. “Our data suggest you may have a heart attack in the next few weeks.” He went further, predicting that “in the not too distant future, non-AI-guided diagnosis may become substandard medical conduct.’”
At the same time, Balicer cautioned against overreliance. Just as drivers can lose navigation skills by depending too heavily on Waze, physicians risk excessive dependence on algorithms.
Medical-school curricula, he pointed out, will “have to take into account” AI tools, ensuring doctors continue to work collaboratively with technology. Still, he expressed optimism: “The future will allow AI to heal health care of its current ailments.”
Professor Noam Shomron, head of Tel Aviv University’s Digital Medicine Research Team, urged the field to become “proactive and not reactive.” He described how AI-driven analysis of DNA can help determine therapies and noted applications particularly relevant to Israel’s post-war reality. AI, he said, can help predict which soldiers are most likely to experience PTSD, enabling early intervention that could be critical to recovery.
Data challenges were a recurring theme. Dr. Steven Labkoff, a physician executive and collaborating scientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, addressed the difficulty of building reliable AI models.
“How do we create data foundations that allow AI to understand patient journeys, treat effects and disease trajectories?” he asked. “We are entering the era where the most valuable asset in healthcare is not the algorithm; it’s the data foundation that makes algorithms meaningful. But we can only get there by working together.”
Collaboration across sectors emerged as a key takeaway. Startups such as Viritis, Agado, Taracyte, Path-Keeper and NucleAI presented their technologies, while investors offered their perspectives on scaling innovation.
Marc Greuter, general partner at Planven in Zurich, shared what he called “The European VC Perspective,” joking that he was “not smart enough to become a scientist, so I became an investor.”
He said Israel’s challenges in health-tech are less about technology and more about the “complexity of the health-care system.”
Bruce Taragin, managing director at Blumberg Capital, drew sustained applause when he opened his remarks by saying, “We are Zionists; we have been here for 3,000 years. We have never left, and we never will!”
Taragin said he was in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and praised Israelis for their “grit, resilience and tenacity.” Blumberg Capital, he said, prefers to “get in early and be supportive however we can.” Calling Israel a global leader with “more AI development than any country on the planet per capita,” he concluded, “I have one message: You are not alone. Am Yisrael Chai. We are with you.”
After nearly four hours without a break, a long line still formed to speak with Taragin, an indication that Israel’s AI-driven health-tech sector, even amid war and uncertainty, remains vibrant and determined to turn innovation into impact.
It is hard to say any unkind words about the food, ambiance, or kind staff at Schmearz, though the long line and the wait time for bagels at super busy times can be a minor annoyance.
Three visits to Schmearz Bagel Shop at the corner of Ben-Yehuda and Jabotinsky streets in Tel Aviv at different times on various days confirm two realities: that Israel has finally perfected the New York bagel and the authentic New York bagel shop experience, and that absolutely nobody in Tel Aviv of any age works, ever!
When I first stopped in at 11 a.m. on a Sunday, presumably the start of the workweek in Israel, the line of customers was out the door, and the two outdoor dining areas at this desirable corner – shaded from the bright November sun – were both packed.
On Wednesday at 9 a.m., when I actually sampled beautifully presented creations on closed bagels, open bagels, and “without the bagel,” the line was also out the door, but manager Shawn was cheerfully and efficiently taking orders, and a large crew of fast-moving food preparers were doing their best to keep up.
On Fridays, the post-gan (kindergarten) drop-off, pre-Shabbat, “it’s a day off” crowd – many young neighborhood parents – made the line go out the door, all the way to Ben-Yehuda Street.
Customers of all ages kept the four stools and the one large table inside the store and the many tables outside totally packed.
Perfecting the New York bagel experience
Michal Epstein, owner of nearby (non-kosher) EATS restaurants, recently opened Schmearz on the site of a formerly non-kosher restaurant. People from north Tel Aviv and beyond seem thrilled to finally have a kosher bagel shop in the neighborhood.
Dani, a 30-something-year-old from New York City, already knew that Schmearz had become available on Wolt two days ago.
“It is a game changer,” he reported, pleased that there was finally a place in Tel Aviv to buy quality bagels. “When this place opened, it changed our life.”
Before settling in to Schmearz’s signature dishes, my dining companion and I sampled special “slurpees,” which included tahini coffee (NIS 24); a matcha slurpee; and an orange-colored seasonal slurpee creatively made with pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Manager Shawn playfully noted it is “special for Halloween,” a holiday that has become increasingly popular in Tel Aviv over the years. A large cappuccino (NIS 18) with various bagels went nicely with four bagels and a “without the bagel.”
Our “real food” consisted of four different bagels and two “sweets” bagels.
The avocado poached egg with chives, chili flakes, and Maldon salt on a perfectly toasted “everything” bagel was beautifully presented and tasty, with the chili flakes offering a welcome kick (NIS 58). The yolk slowly dripped out with the first bite.
The egg salad on a toasted open sesame bagel was beautifully presented with a liberal sprinkling of chives atop a sesame bagel (NIS 48). We asked them to hold the anchovies. It was fresh and tasty.
Thinly sliced salmon is what diners might expect in a New York-style bagel shop. Schmearz did not disappoint. The pastrami salmon (NIS 56) was fresh, well seasoned, and presented on a toasted open bagel with house sauce, sweet pickles, and red onions.
It was a welcome choice for those in our party who don’t like cream cheese or capers – two ingredients that come with the smoked salmon (NIS 66).
The most unconventional menu item of the day was a dish consisting of sautéed mushrooms, skordalia, spicy salsa, and lemony greens.
The manager said it was vegan. I Googled “skordalia” to learn that it is a Greek garlic spread with a base of potatoes, walnuts, almonds, or liquid-soaked stale bread, and olive oil.
I immediately began thinking of ways to introduce this tasty dish to our table at home.
The manager surprised us with an order of “Frieckles,” listed in the “without the bagel” section of the menu, along with the Schmearz plate (NIS 54) and Caesar salad (NIS 52).
Frieckles (NIS 32) are surprisingly delicious fried pickles served with chives, dill, lemon zest, and cream cheese. A few friends we bumped into at the restaurant happily helped us finish them.
Though stuffed and in need of a box in which to take home our leftovers, a server insisted we try some things from the “Sweets” menu.
I have to admit that it would have never occurred to me to put sweet cream cheese and sprinkles (NIS 24) or peanut butter cream cheese, chocolate cream, and Maldon salt (24) on a plain bagel – but this unconventional dessert choice works!
The young parents at our table couldn’t wait to buy one for their young children as a post-gan treat, though they admitted it was unlikely to last until after gan!
Everything served had great visual appeal, and the special white Schmear’s oval china plates with blue script lettering added a very nice touch.
It is hard to say any unkind words about the food, ambiance, or kind staff at Schmearz, though the long line and the wait time for bagels at super busy times can be a minor annoyance.
Fortunately, customers in line have a few extra minutes to decide if they also want to bring a taste of Schmearz home. They can pick up a four-pack of bagels, some mixed nuts (NIS 22), a bag of cookies, or even some “everything but the bagel” spices (NIS 18).
Schmearz Bagel Shop
171 Ben-Yehuda St.
Tel Aviv
Sun. – Fri. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Kosher (dairy) under supervision of Hamoatza Hadatit Tel Aviv-Jaffa
The “little project that could” got together and did: A group of women has made 5,000-plus black caps; more than 1,000 yarmulkes; and blankets for moms, babies and kids.
It all started with a single hat and a protracted negotiation with the Israel Defense Forces 20 years ago, and it kept evolving and growing.
In 2006, one Gush Etzion mother asked another what project they might take on to help IDF soldiers. Efrat resident Channah Koppel, a knitter and organizer of a local group of handcrafters known as “Chicks with Sticks,” learned that the soldiers would appreciate “warm, snug hats.”
And so, she developed a pattern and knitted a hat to keep her IDF paratrooper son warm during the winter of 2008. However, her son’s commander informed her that knit hats were not in compliance with army regulations at the time. Eventually, the military reconsidered its policy and gave approval for soldiers to wear crocheted hats, and the moms mobilized quickly to get them on the heads of soldiers.
Koppel reports in her blog, “Once it had been approved by the commanders, we made a bunch of hats, sent out a couple of emails and—boom! The internet is an amazing place.” Koppel and her fellow knitters reached out to their networks all around the world, including England, South Africa, the United States and Canada, in search of women and men willing to make hats.
From the earliest days of the project, the knitters have followed a pattern and used black, machine-washable wool. Each hat bears a label in Hebrew that reads: ‘Knitted for you with warmth and love.”
Koppel reports that “since then, knitters from around the world have been mailing me hats—hundreds of them—for Israeli soldiers.” She remained involved with the project until 2022.
One knitter who heeded the call to join the team was Pamela Chasen. She learned about the project from Sabina Shmidman, the wife of the late Rabbi Joshua Shmidman, at her synagogue, Adath Israel Poale Zedek Anshei Ozeroff in Montreal. She just happened to be Koppel’s mother.
Chasen quickly became very actively involved in the project. She reports that they sent 75,000 hats to Israel between 2008 and the start of the COVID pandemic of 2020.
Soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces offer appreciation for their new hats. Credit: Courtesy.
‘Until the war, the project was a hobby’
Perhaps somewhat ironically, the project nearly drew to a close a year before the Iron Swords War in Gaza that started after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In June 2022, Koppel wrote in her blog: “Thank you, everyone, for 15 amazing years! I estimate that over the years, we have together distributed about 75,000 hats to soldiers. Who could have imagined that all this would grow out of a little knitting group’s desire to do some good in the world? It’s been quite the ride, and the best part has been meeting all of you, but now it feels like time to move on. I have not found anyone to take over the project, so summer 2022 will be our last hurrah. I wish I had the words to thank each and every one of you for all your efforts, kindness and generosity. Please just know that I appreciate you immensely and wish you much joy. May you continue to find warm and loving ways to help others, for many, many years to come.”
Koppel could not have seen Oct. 7 coming. The invasion and ensuing war gave the organization new urgency, purpose and momentum.
“Until the war, the project was a hobby,” says Chasen, who recounts that “Channah got a hold of me the first week after Oct. 7. She informed me that 300,000 guys were being called up (for army service) and that winter was on the way. We reached out to individuals, synagogues, Jewish Community Centers, whoever. We told people who didn’t knit that there were knitting tutorials on YouTube.”
Pamela Chasen. Credit: Courtesy.
Chasen is proud of her fellow Canadian group of knitters, who went by the informal name of “The Canadian Group, but have changed their name to Ameinu (“Our People”) since “our efforts are for our people.”
The initiative involves people with many talents. “We have knitters, stitchers, people who transport duffel bags. One woman told me she didn’t knit, and I asked her if she could write. I told her to start with 200 personal notes to accompany each hat.”
Shelley Mandelcorn, a project volunteer from Montreal, shares: “I started helping out quite by accident. My sister, who lives in Toronto, saw an ad looking for knitters to knit for the IDF. I reached out to that organization and was put on a chat. I noticed Pam’s name on that chat too and reached out to her. I was a little apprehensive about what was going on and wanted Pam’s input. To make a long story short, I got involved with Pam and her organization. I’ve knit for them, recruited more people in Montreal to knit and schlepped duffle bags to Israel for them. Everyone is really amazing.”
The project helps Mandelcorn keep Israel and IDF soldiers in her thoughts at all times. “This is such a small thing that we can do for the soldiers and their families to let them know we are constantly thinking of them. Every stitch we make keeps them in our minds. And believe me, there are lots of stitches in each hat and blanket that we make!”
She adds that “I am super grateful to have met all the amazing organizers and selfless knitters, who are literally giving hours of their time for this cause.”
Volunteers knit hats and other items for soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces. Credit: Courtesy.
‘It has taken over my life’
Chasen notes that an average of one duffel bag has been shipped to Israel since the start of the war, even when air travel to Israel was significantly curtailed. They have sent:
5,610 hats
1,269 yarmulkes
275 neck warmers
347 knitted blankets for the soldiers at the amputation clinics, as well as for at-risk and orphaned children
143 baby blankets for moms giving birth whose husbands are serving or deceased
132 baby quilts for babies in hospitals (project of the Ottawa group)
63 adult quilts for soldiers in the hospital
32 knitted dolls for children of evacuees
During a Zoom interview with JNS from her home in Toronto, Chasen proudly reports that “our 115th duffle bag left just over a week ago.” And the project continues to expand and evolve.
In January 2024, a social worker in Israel working with displaced families living in hotels contacted Ameinu to describe the boredom that adults and children were facing. “We sent activity kits, hook rug kits, candle-making kits, doll-making kits, and yarn and hooks,” said Chasen, who reports that the project was so successful that participants ran weekly markets in the hotels to sell their creations.
Wool to knit hats for IDF soldiers. Credit: Courtesy.
“I visited the hotels and saw it in person,” she says. “It was very emotional. They were so grateful.”
Even as the war in Gaza appears to be winding down, Ameinu’s work continues.
Group members now make blankets for war amputees at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer. Each amputee receives a knitted blanket for their wheelchair. They also provide blankets for every woman who gives birth and has a husband fighting in the IDF. “We have given 157 of those blankets so far,” says Chasen.
She adds that “last week, we got a call from Save A Child’s Heart (the Israeli-based international nonprofit that provides cardiac health care to children worldwide). We do whatever we can. Each person is as important as the next!”
Currently, the team consists of 50 knitters in Montreal, 20 in Ottawa and a few others scattered throughout Canada. Chasen also acknowledges the important work of the “holy pigeons,” those who help get the bags to the airports for transport to Israel. She is unwilling to take credit for the success of the operation, though Chasen admits to working eight to 10 hours daily on the project and playfully says, “it has taken over my life.”
‘Heroes and angels’
On the ground in Israel, people like Maish Isaacson of Ra’anana make sure individuals and organizations receive the precious knitted items arriving from Canada.
Knitted black hats donated to soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces. Credit: Courtesy.
Isaacson, who by day serves as chairman of TELFED—an organization that helps new immigrants from South Africa and Australia integrate into life in Israel and inspires them to give back to Israeli society—reports that his organization has communities and networks of volunteers around the country, and is therefore in a good position to help with distribution.
Like Chasen, Isaacson downplays the importance of his role. “I am simply the point man in Israel, dealing with heroes and angels. I am just a delivery guy. They do amazing work. What I do is minimal.”
Isaacson refers to Chasen as one such angel and heroine.
“Through partnerships like ours with Ameinu, we connected donors directly with projects that made a tangible difference: from distributing wool to elderly evacuees who used knitting as therapy and community-building to delivering thousands of beanies to soldiers stationed from the north to the south, and providing blankets and toys to displaced families,” says Isaacson.
He even gets requests for hats for soldiers while he is praying at his local synagogue.
“Guys will come up to me, say that other guys got hats and ask if they can get some,” he relates. “Any soldier can get them! We are not fussy where they go, as long as they go to a soldier.”
