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Originally appeared in Jewish News Syndicate, www.jns.org, February 18, 2026

Hundreds of mental-health professionals gathered for the 2026 ICAR Summit to align treatment strategies and coordinate a national response.

Even though clinical social worker and therapist Lisa Sturm had made aliyah from New Jersey only three weeks earlier, she felt compelled to travel from her new home in Jerusalem to attend the 2026 ICAR Summit in Tel Aviv this week.

She came, she told JNS at the opening of the two-day summit on Sunday, “to learn as much as possible about trauma and to become more connected.”

Dvora Kravitz, a social worker who immigrated to Israel from Los Angeles 14 months ago, similarly attended the two-day conference “to find out more about services here and to see how I can contribute to the healing process.”

According to a January 2026 Israeli Health Ministry study, one in five Israelis experiences emotional distress frequently or continuously; roughly 19–25% likely suffer from PTSD, depression or anxiety. The public sector recorded 3.5 million patient-therapist sessions—a 42% increase since 2022.

The 2026 ICAR Summit at the Tel Aviv Expo, titled “Accelerating Trauma Healing Through Collaboration,” brought together several hundred participants from government agencies, academia, mental-health professions, high-tech, nonprofits and philanthropy to examine Israel’s trauma-healing ecosystem and treatment methods.

ICAR, the Israel Collective Action for Resilience—is a national coordinating initiative that maps, connects and aligns organizations across government, nonprofit, academic and private sectors to strengthen Israel’s trauma recovery and mental-health resilience.

ICAR co-founder and CEO Gila Tolub addresses the opening of the 2026 ICAR Summit in Tel Aviv, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo by Howard Blas.

Building bridges

Before the opening session, participants eased into the day with chair yoga led by Neta Margalit of Brothers in Yoga. They also explored treatment options presented by organizations working with survivors and caregivers.

In opening remarks, ICAR co-founder and CEO Gila Tolub emphasized that the conference aimed “to build bridges.” The central challenge, she said, is not a lack of effort but a lack of coordination among the hundreds of organizations operating in the field.

At the Beit Mazen’s “Home for Hope” booth, Yael Eden Baruch and Gitit Harlev described three community-based homes offering ongoing mental-health care. “It is not a hospital. It is a very beautiful home-like place where people get the professional help they need in the community,” Eden Baruch said.

Nearby, Mashiv Haruach social worker Tzrurya Schweiger said the group’s two-day Dead Sea workshops were designed to “help the helpers,” including doctors, psychologists, social workers and ZAKA volunteers coping with secondary trauma.

Booths of vendors at the 2026 ICAR Summit in Tel Aviv, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo by Howard Blas.

Mapping the trauma ecosystem

The first day focused on reflection and alignment. Sessions reviewed the past year, assessed the national recovery and examined trauma across key populations—children, soldiers and veterans, workplaces and women affected by the war.

A keynote by Professor Michael Grinstein-Weiss of the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute addressed long-term monitoring of the war’s societal effects.

The second day shifted toward implementation. Panels explored integrating research, innovation and technology into nationwide care systems, including AI-assisted treatment, nature-based therapies and pharmacological developments. The conference concluded with an “Impact Showcase” presenting new clinical and digital treatment models.

From fragmentation to coordination

Tolub, formerly a management-consulting partner at McKinsey & Company, had been working on women’s health and organizational resilience even before Oct. 7, 2023. After the Hamas attack, she volunteered at Chavat Ronit, assisting Nova music festival survivors and quickly recognized a systemic problem.

“They had no one place to go,” she said. “Things were extremely fragmented.”

Her team began mapping the sector. “Last year, there were 344 organizations. Now we have 418,” she noted.

ICAR’s goal is to connect public health bodies, NGOs, academia and research institutions into a coordinated national framework for trauma recovery. The initiative aims to create a long-term roadmap built on data, transparency and evidence-based interventions.

Rather than replacing existing services, participants said, the summit marked a shift toward cooperation—turning a patchwork of well-intentioned efforts into a structured national resilience strategy for the years ahead.

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Originally appeared in Jerusalem Post IN JERUSALEM magazine, www.jpost.com, February 13, 2026

Jerusalem’s new indoor tennis courts are packed even on rainy days, offering a rare all-weather haven for young players and community programs.

There was no better time to check out the new indoor tennis courts at Jerusalem’s Tennis and Education Center than on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. 

The 14 wet outdoor courts and the padel court didn’t look very happy on this rainy day. In contrast, the indoor courts were bustling with happy children who were doing drills and playing games with their coaches.

I would have never even known about this gym had a fellow passenger in the elevator of a Jerusalem hotel, who thought I looked like his tennis coach, not mentioned it to me!

I ventured to the somewhat hard-to-get-to tennis center on that rainy day right after the school day ended, when the buses were painfully slow.

I hadn’t been back to the Jerusalem Tennis Center in the Katamon Tet neighborhood – founded in 1981 – since I spent a year of college here in 1986-1987.

What a difference 40 years makes!

View of the 14 outdoor tennis courts on a rainy day, with Teddy Stadium in the background. (credit: HOWARD BLAS)

The Jerusalem center is located near many buildings and complexes, such as Teddy Stadium, the Arena, and the Malha Mall, which did not exist in the mid-1980s.

To get to the new Stuart Weitzman Tennis Complex from the bus stop near Malha, I had to walk around and through the massive light rail station construction site – very much a work in progress.

When I finally found my way in, through a side entrance, what I discovered was very impressive: 18 illuminated tennis courts, a 2,000-seat stadium, a spectator gallery, a multi-purpose room, a fitness room, a practice wall, dressing rooms, offices, a sporting goods store, and a snack bar.

Beautiful gardens and plaques paying tribute to the many donors who made this fabulous complex possible were also very visible.

The four new courts at the Stuart Weitzman Tennis Complex bring the total number of indoor courts in the country to under 10. Indoor courts (like clay courts) in Israel are, simply stated, not a thing.

However, given the country’s extreme summer heat and the occasional winter rain, indoor courts make sense.

According to Dani Mizrahi, who has been manager of the tennis center for two years, indoor courts in Israel exist only in Haifa and Kiryat Shmona. In contrast to the courts in the complex, he said, “Those are under a balloon!”

Mizrahi is pleased that these courts are not fully enclosed (they have slatted facades), so they provide ventilation. However, by not being fully enclosed, they let rain come in, to which Mizrahi offered, “We are working on solutions.

One of the four new indoor tennis courts at Jerusalem’s ITEC. (credit: HOWARD BLAS)

Sports facility is multipurpose

The two-story sports facility features six tennis courts on the upper level, four of which are covered. The ground floor is dedicated to other sports and provides various spaces such as a gym, four squash courts, judo facilities, and sports accommodations.
It also houses a wide range of supporting amenities, such as sports clinics and multipurpose spaces for athletes.

In addition to tennis, and very much in line with the mission of ITEC – the Israel Tennis and Education Centers, which are located in 25 centers and satellite locations throughout Israel – the Jerusalem center operates programs for children at risk, those with developmental disabilities, and Ethiopian immigrants from local absorption centers. 

It also offers the Living Together Program, a national effort to bring Arab and Jewish children together through the medium of sports and informal education. And the center operates the Twinned Kindergarten Program that brings together classes of Arab and Jewish children aged four to six years and their teachers to participate in weekly motor skill development games and activities.

1 Avraham Elmali’akh St.

Tel: (02) 679-1866

Open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. 

Sunday through Thursday

Fridays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Closed Saturdays

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Originally appeared in In Jewish News Syndicate in www.jns.org, February 5, 2026

Home crowd and spirited doubles win highlight Israel’s return to the tournament after a two-and-a-half-year absence.

(Feb. 8, 2026 / JNS) Israel lost 3–1 to Lithuania in a two-day Davis Cup World Group I tie in Netanya over the weekend, despite a spirited effort and strong support from an enthusiastic home crowd at the Netanya Arena.

The Davis Cup returned to Israel for the first time in two-and-a-half years, drawing nearly 2,500 flag-waving fans who packed the arena, pounding drums and cheering on Israel’s five-man squad. While hopeful, supporters were also realistic. The disparity in world rankings proved too great for Israel to overcome.

Israel’s highest-ranked player, Amit Vales, entered the tie at No. 873 in the world, with the remaining four ranked around 1200. Lithuania’s two players who competed were ranked No. 129 (Vilius Gaubas) and No. 277 (Edas Butvilas).

Now in its 126th year, the Davis Cup is the world’s largest annual international team competition, with a record 160 nations participating in 2026. This weekend alone, 78 teams competed across 39 countries.

The event officially opened Thursday with a draw ceremony and media conference at the Vert Lagoon Netanya Hotel. Israel Tennis Association President Avi Perets welcomed the delegations, while International Tennis Federation representative Alex Hughes noted the tournament’s global reach. Netanya Mayor Avi Slama spoke of sport’s unifying power, saying it can help “bring peace in the world.”

Friday’s matches began with a formal ceremony, as ball kids and officials led both teams onto the court. National anthems were played, and chair umpires from countries including Spain and England officiated the matches in both English and Hebrew.

In Friday’s opening singles match, Amit Vales faced Edas Butvilas in their first-ever meeting. Vales rallied after trailing early, forcing a tiebreak, but lost the first set 7–6 (7–3) before Butvilas closed out the match with a dominant 6–0 second set.

In the second match, Ofek Shimanov played Vilius Gaubas, who took the first set 6–0 in just 23 minutes. Shimanov improved in the second set but Gaubas prevailed 6–4. “I started really slow—I felt a bit of pressure,” Shimanov said.

Lithuania led 2–0 after Friday. On Saturday, Lithuania reshuffled its doubles lineup, pairing Gaubas and Butvilas in an effort to clinch the tie early. Israel countered with doubles specialist Daniel Cukierman alongside Shimanov.

After falling behind early, the Israelis mounted a dramatic comeback, winning their first set of the weekend 7–6 in an 11–9 tiebreaker before closing out the match 6–3. The victory narrowed Lithuania’s lead to 2–1.

Cukierman praised the crowd and urged fans to stay for the decisive fourth match, which would determine whether the tie extended to a fifth rubber.

In that match, Vales faced Gaubas. After dropping the first set 6–1, Vales battled back to take the second set 6–3. In the deciding set, however, Gaubas regained control and sealed the match 6–2, despite Vales taking a medical timeout for a forearm issue.

Gaubas later acknowledged the challenge of playing in a loud arena filled with drums and chants.

With the win, Lithuania advances to World Group I play in September, with the chance to reach the Qualifiers. Israel will compete in Davis Cup Group II later this year.

Members of the Lithuanian team said they enjoyed their stay in Netanya, particularly its seaside location. While practice schedules limited sightseeing, the Israel Tennis Association (ITF) arranged tours of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv for members of the delegation.

Lithuanian captain Laurynas Grigelis, who previously competed in Israel, said he hopes to return. Assistant coach Tadas Babelis praised the organization, hospitality and food, adding that the team had no security concerns. An ITF official summed up the visit by saying, “Israel is not what you see on TV.”

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Originally appeared in In Jewish News Syndicate in www.jns.org, February 5, 2026

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee says “HolyLandTravel.AI” could help encourage millions to visit the Holy Land.

(Feb. 5, 2026 / JNS) Long before Mike Huckabee became U.S. ambassador to Israel in January 2025, he was a frequent visitor to the Holy Land.

The ordained Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, who first came to Israel in 1973 and says he has “brought tens of thousands of American pilgrims” to Israel during more than 100 trips since 1981, delivered a keynote address Tuesday at a two-day IMTM (International Mediterranean Tourism Market) conference at Expo Tel Aviv.

Huckabee’s address, titled “HolyLandTravel.AI: Bringing Pilgrims Back to the Holy Land,” marked the official launch of a new AI-driven platform designed to help evangelical Christians and other Christian groups plan pilgrimages to Israel.

“There are 80 million Evangelical Christians in America. I have seen hundreds of all ages make the journey and experience a trip of a lifetime,” Huckabee said. “All would want to come to Israel—to walk the land of the Bible where the prophets, kings, judges, Jesus and the apostles walked.”

He added that “tourism is coming back” and urged prospective visitors: “If you are thinking of coming—come now!”

Huckabee said he had the opportunity to test HolyLandTravel.AI, describing it as “one of the most practical tools I have ever seen for those planning a trip to the Holy Land.”

The free, easy-to-use online platform builds customized pilgrimage itineraries in seconds and then generates videos and podcasts to teach users about selected sites.

Currently geared toward evangelical Christians, the app offers personalized planning, logistical assistance, stories and inspiration aimed at creating an immersive experience. Journeys can be saved, edited and shared, and the platform includes an integrated Google Maps-based layer.

American-Israeli philanthropist Jack Gottlieb with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee at the IMTM 2026 conference at Expo Tel Aviv, Feb. 3, 2026. Photo by Howard Blas.

Gottlieb’s initiative

The initiative is the brainchild of American-Israeli philanthropist Jack Gottlieb, who has worked for many years with Reichman University on his World Jewish Travel project and collaborated with computer science students there to develop the new platform.

“After Oct. 7, everything changed for me,” Gottlieb said. He began imagining a time when pilgrims would return to the Holy Land while also observing the rapid growth of artificial intelligence. “I began thinking of an AI program for pilgrims—what would a day after look like? I was imagining where pilgrims would go, stay and eat. Now there is no need to imagine—it is here!”

The program is expected to expand to serve other Christian denominations. Two priests from the Custody of the Holy Land—Francesco Ielpo and Alberto Pari—attended the session and expressed interest in adapting the platform for their communities. Gottlieb welcomed them and invited further collaboration.

Jonathan Davis, vice president of Reichman University and head of the Raphael Recanati International School, emphasized the university’s commitment to its international and Christian students.

“I embrace all Christian Zionists who want to come,” Davis said. He noted that the university currently hosts Christian students from countries including the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Italy and France, as well as students with diplomatic backgrounds and graduates of U.S. military academies studying counterterrorism.

“I welcome the chance to embrace any Christian Zionists who want to come and study in Israel,” he added. “Any pilgrim group who comes here—I am happy to provide them with lectures and a chance to meet students from their home countries.”

Gottlieb told JNS that the pilot phase of the program is focused on Jerusalem, describing it as the most complex and nuanced starting point. He said nationwide coverage is expected within months.

Steve Rubin, the director of tourism at the Jerusalem Development Authority, addresses the IMTM 2026 conference at Expo Tel Aviv, Feb. 3, 2026. Photo by Howard Blas.

Steve Rubin, who made aliyah from the United States in 2006 and currently serves as director of tourism at the Jerusalem Development Authority, said revitalizing Christian pilgrimage tourism will be key to Jerusalem’s economic recovery.

“For a city where tourism revenues comprise 11% of the municipality’s GDP, the reinvigoration of Christian pilgrimage will provide a huge boost and send an important message to the travel industry that things are quickly moving back to normal,” Rubin said. He added, “With a community of believers, they come back time and again,” pointing to Huckabee’s more than 100 visits as evidence.

Huckabee noted that he previously ran a private tour company that brought groups to Israel before being asked by U.S. President Donald Trump to serve as an ambassador.

“He told me, he didn’t ask,” Huckabee recalled, describing what he called his “Isaiah moment,” when he told the president, “Send me!”

Reflecting on his long relationship with Israel, Huckabee said, “In 1973, I discovered a place that is absolute magic, where you can see with your own eyes what you have seen in the pages of the Bible. Once you have come to Israel and walked the land, for the rest of your life, you will read the Bible in 4K living dynamic color!”

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