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The lawyer from Brazil, who also navigates life in Israel as an amputee, is on a personal mission to educate and change attitudes – one Israeli at a time.

Originally appeared in Jerusalem Post Magazine on May 15, 2026

Lilian Gandelman is a fighter with both determination and charm. And she calls it like it is. She has already packed a lot into her 46 years.

The lawyer from Brazil, who also navigates life in Israel as an amputee, is on a personal mission to educate and change attitudes – one Israeli at a time.

During our interview at the busy Lachmanina café (Habima branch) in Tel Aviv, the man behind the counter taking her order handed her a packet of butter and a packet of jelly to go with her croissant and cappuccino. “Can you put them on a tray?” she asked. “I walk with crutches, and can’t hold them.”

She told me later, “People need to be trained to behave. He doesn’t see I have crutches? He should have offered to bring it to my table. People in workplaces, restaurants, public trains, in the public and private sectors, need to be trained. We need to invest money in training!”

Gandelman is certainly doing her part to change Israeli society.
She had a happy childhood in Brazil, where she lived with her parents and a brother who is eight years older. She attended a Jewish day school, did ballet, acted, and enjoyed riding a bike. At age nine, while riding her new bike, she noticed swelling on her right leg. She showed it first to her parents and to her uncle, who is a doctor.
“Within a week, I was seeing oncologists and having surgery,” she recounted.
There was no treatment for her rare type of cancer in Brazil, so she spent the next year in New York receiving treatment at the world-famous Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Gandelman recalled the letters and pictures she received from her school friends and the support of the Jewish community.

She ultimately had 15 surgeries and spent five years traveling back and forth to New York – until she was eventually deemed to be cancer-free at age 12. “I wanted to enjoy life.” She still remembers how her school chartered a bus to meet her at the airport when she returned to Brazil from New York for the final time.

At age 15, she received news that there was a recurrence of cancer in her leg and it required amputation. “It didn’t work much, but still, it was traumatic [to lose it]. But I got used to it,” she said, as part of what she described as her process of self-acceptance.
For rehab, she embraced swimming and water polo – even training to be a Paralympic Games swimmer. And to continue moving toward greater independence, she spent four months on her own studying English in England.
Following another setback, with additional spreading and more surgeries – bringing the total to 31 between the ages of nine and 20 – she pursued her dream: to study dentistry.

After three years and not loving the clinical internships, she switched tracks to study law. “I connected because I am a person who wants to make justice in the world always!”

Gandelman worked in various law firms as a tax lawyer and with mergers and acquisitions. She then pursued a master’s degree in environmental law and sustainability and worked for eight years on various infrastructure projects in the oil and gas industry.

Finding a home in Israel

As her job and a relationship were drawing to a close, she said, “I wanted a new chapter, a new season.” This contributed to her decision to make aliyah – even though she had never visited Israel before.
Part of the reason for never visiting Israel, she explained, was that most Israel trips and programs involved hiking and a lot of walking, a true challenge for someone who now navigates Israel with crutches and a motorized scooter. “I had vacations in Europe but never came to Israel – I was kind of mad and began to think that Israel didn’t want me.”

Gandelman was determined. “I wanted to experience something new and different, and I had the courage. The world is huge, but this is truly the only place I could go to live. I had this idea, but I had never come before.”

Gandelman approached the Jewish Agency in Brazil. They said, “We will help you, but we need to learn with you. We never helped someone with a disability.” She acknowledged, “They were a bit lost. “I told them I wanted a new chapter and to be a full and independent woman.”

The agency thought an absorption center in Kiryat Yam would be the best place for her to start her aliyah experience.

“They thought I would be most successful there. It was not true. The elevators were always broken, and the bathrooms always flooded.”

She spent three months there before doing stints in Ramat Gan and Givatayim. She conceded that the experience was difficult. “Despite being courageous, it would have been easier if I had been here before and knew the place better!”

While adjusting to life in Israel, getting around and managing in Hebrew were challenging, Gandelman felt she came to Israel fairly confident and accepting of her physical condition. She took jobs in customer service, first at El Al, then in a call center providing remote customer service to people in Brazil. “I felt like a full and complete woman with a high degree of self-acceptance,” she said.

That all began to unravel in Israel. “People stared. They asked how it happened. I lost it. I was very depressed and didn’t have the language to answer. It was a long and hard journey.”

Gandelman has learned a lot these past 10 years. “It is a country traumatized and with daily pressures – maybe this explains the behavior. I got used to the mentality. I learned how to answer people.”

When curious, sometimes well-meaning Israeli strangers ask about her leg, she offers various replies. “It is not your business.” “It is a very long story – let’s talk later.” Or, she said, “I fake deafness!”

While she still gets frustrated sometimes with the very forward questions she gets about her missing left leg, she loves Israel and especially her home town of Tel Aviv. “I think Tel Aviv is open to people with disabilities. There is space here for everyone.”

She loves living close to the sea, which she regularly enjoys. “I like to enjoy the beach, swimming in the sea and watching sunsets.”

She added, “Even though people complain about Israel, it is hectic, and there is a war, this is my land and my home!”

And when she leaves Israel, she misses it. “Five years ago, I was in Brazil and was thinking about what is happening in Israel. I realized that my mind is here. I love Friday mornings. I wanted to be there in Tel Aviv coffee shops.”

Gandelman continues to learn Hebrew in two classes at Ulpan Lilienblum 7 – The Hebrew Boutique in Neveh Tzedek. “Invest in Hebrew,” she recommended. “You will need the language. Don’t be ashamed to talk. You need to leave your comfort zone.”

She has made friends, attributing this in part to her “talkative personality.” She added, “I talk to everyone.”

She has found mentors and supporters like Avner Stepak, chairman of Meitav Investment House, who has been a champion of disabilities and inclusion. And she is pleased that her parents followed her lead in making aliyah.
“My father is a super Zionist, and my mother didn’t want to come – but she agreed. They have been married for 56 years!” She noted that the compromise is that her mother spends three months a year in Brazil.
She concluded, “I love that feeling of belonging, that Israel is home – despite all the headaches!”■

Lilian Gandelman, 46
From Rio de Janeiro
to Tel Aviv, 2016

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Originally appeared at JNS.org on April 28, 2026

The five-year exemption plan targets new immigrants and returning residents amid a global outreach effort.

Israel is rolling out a major financial incentive aimed at encouraging Jews worldwide to make aliyah, offering a new income-tax exemption for immigrants arriving in 2026, Israeli officials confirmed to JNS this week.

Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently announced the government’s intention to grant a five-year income-tax exemption to new olim (immigrants) and returning residents who relocate to Israel during the 2026 calendar year.

According to guidelines published by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the reform would apply to earned income in Israel, including salaries and self-employed business income, from 2026 through 2030. The exemption would be capped at one million shekels (approx. $335,000 in 2026 and 2027, 600,000 shekels (approx. $200,000) in 2028, 350,000 (approx. $117,000) in 2029 and 150,000 (approx. $50,000) in 2030.

For those employed by a relative, the exemption would be limited to 140,000 shekels (approx. $47,000) annually. The measure is expected to take several months to pass into law, with benefits applied retroactively once enacted.

Eligibility extends to new olim and returning residents who have lived abroad for more than 10 years and who immigrate between Nov. 5, 2025, and the end of 2026. The reform would not affect existing benefits, including the 10-year exemption on foreign-source income and tax-credit points. Passive income, such as dividends, interest and rental income, would not qualify under the new plan.

The proposal also includes safeguards intended to prevent abuse, stipulating that individuals who spend fewer than 75 days in Israel in 2028 or 2029 would forfeit eligibility.

A graphic outlining “Tax Reforms for New Olim,” April 2026. Credit: Nefesh B’Nefesh.

Officials say the initiative is designed to ease the financial burden of relocation and accelerate integration into Israel’s workforce.

Matan Ben Harush, spokesperson for the minister of aliyah and integration, said, “This is a groundbreaking and important proposal that demonstrates how committed the State of Israel and Minister Ofir Sofer, together with Minister Bezalel Smotrich, are to encouraging Jewish immigration to Israel.”

He added, “We are working to promote the program and hope it will be as effective as possible in encouraging aliyah, alongside a range of additional measures, such as reforms in licensed professions, tax benefits on home purchases, Hebrew-language studies, student programs and more.”

Yael Katzman, vice president of communications for Nefesh B’Nefesh,a Jerusalem-based organization that promotes aliyah from North America and other countries, said, “By easing the financial burden of the critical first years of aliyah, this new law has the potential to turn the dream of aliyah into a realistic and achievable step for many more people. For years, financial concerns have been a significant barrier. This law helps change that equation, giving prospective olim greater ability to build both a meaningful life and a sustainable future in Israel.”

Yehuda Amrani, spokesperson for the Finance Ministry, said, “We believe this will have an impact, but it is very difficult to provide specific figures at this stage.”

The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration framed the reform as an immediate opportunity for prospective immigrants, stating in its official statement: “On the contrary, the purpose of announcing this reform is to help you make the decision and choose now, more than ever, to make aliyah. Everyone who makes aliyah from now until the end of 2026 will benefit from this significant tax advantage. Come, we’re waiting for you in Israel!”

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Originally appeared at JNS.org on April 24, 2026

Clalit study finds hospital-level care at home can improve outcomes as wartime pressures reshape patient treatment.

During the recent war against Iran and Hezbollah, Matan Tal, a senior nurse in Israel’s northern district, received an urgent call from the caregiver of 94-year-old Yoash Tadmor, a resident of Kibbutz Yehiam, about 14 miles southeast of the Lebanese border. Tadmor was suffering from shortness of breath, swelling and a history of heart failure.

Tal, an experienced emergency room nurse and a resident of the same kibbutz, responded immediately. He examined the patient at home, consulted with a physician and promptly began administering diuretics.

The intervention—carried out while missiles flew overhead—kept Tadmor out of the hospital. He has since recovered.

Care under fire

The war has accelerated a quiet transformation in the country’s health-care system, with increasing reliance on hospital-level treatment delivered in patients’ homes—often with better outcomes than traditional hospitalization.

A new large-scale study by Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest healthcare provider, suggests that in-home care not only reduces strain on hospitals but can also outperform them in key measures, including mortality and readmission rates.

The study analyzed 6,670 patients treated either at home or in hospitals for conditions such as pneumonia, heart failure and urinary tract infections. It found that 30-day mortality was 5.8% among patients treated at home, compared to 9.1% in hospitals. Readmission rates were also lower—13% versus 16%—and 84% of patients said they would prefer home care in the future.

The shift has been accelerated by wartime conditions, particularly in the early days of “Operation Roaring Lion,” when unprotected hospital wards were evacuated, and thousands of patients were transferred to home-based care.

“It is my community in the kibbutz, so I want to serve and give all I can to make people feel better,” Tal said.

Tal said home visits allow for more accurate assessments and closer interaction with family members and caregivers, often preventing conditions from worsening.

“In most cases, we can treat at home,” he said. “If we treat chronic conditions properly, they won’t become acute and require hospitalization.”

In Beersheva, geriatric nurse Anastasia Sergievski Rabinovich has seen similar benefits. Visiting patients at home allows her to assess not only medical needs but also living conditions—an important factor in areas frequently impacted by Iranian missile fire.

She recalled visiting Diana, an 84-year-old Holocaust survivor, after nearby missile strikes damaged her apartment.

“I went there and didn’t know what I would find,” Rabinovich said.

She found shattered windows, broken glass in the bedroom and essential medications buried under debris. With the patient’s daughter stranded abroad, Rabinovich arranged for medical care, coordinated volunteers to clean the apartment and ensured temporary repairs were made.

Rabinovich and her team provide a range of treatments, including antibiotics and IV therapies, effectively creating what she described as “a hospital at home.”

“We prevent hospitalizations,” she said. “It is better for patients in their own environment, in their own bed, with family.”

A model beyond wartime

This approach has also required medical teams to operate under fire. Dr. Moshe Sagi, head of home hospitalization in Clalit’s Tel Aviv-Jaffa district, recalled taking cover from incoming missiles while en route to treat a patient.

Despite the risks, Sagi has championed advanced home care, including the use of portable ultrasound devices to diagnose conditions such as pneumonia, pleural effusions and blood clots.

In one case, he identified acute gallbladder inflammation in a patient initially thought to have pneumonia, enabling timely hospital transfer and life-saving treatment. Without that diagnosis, Sagi said, the patient likely would not have survived.

Professor Doron Netzer, head of community medicine at Clalit and a co-author of the study, said home hospitalization reduces pressure on hospitals while improving outcomes, making it a critical component of both routine care and emergency response.

Clalit CEO professor Eytan Wirtheim said the war has exposed structural challenges in Israel’s health system, particularly the need to expand capacity without building new infrastructure. Home-based care, he said, offers a practical and effective solution.

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Originally appeared in JNS.org on April 19, 2026

Hosted by Masa Israel Journey, the largest English-language Memorial Day ceremony will be broadcast worldwide, focusing on the stories of lone soldiers, new immigrants and victims of terror from across the Diaspora.

As Israel ushers in Yom Hazikaron on Monday evening in memory of the country’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror, hundreds of thousands of Jews worldwide are expected to tune in to the International Yom Hazikaron Ceremony, now in its 18th year. The event was founded by the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Government of Israel and is organized by Masa Israel Journey.

This year’s ceremony, which commemorates lone soldiers and victims of terror from across the Jewish Diaspora, will be held in English and translated into multiple languages, including Hebrew, Spanish, Russian and French, making it accessible to Jewish communities in approximately 60 countries and across multiple time zones, including Australia and New Zealand, Europe, the United States and Canada, as well as Turkey, Morocco, Ukraine, the Philippines, South Africa, Brazil and Argentina.

Due to the war and the fact that many delegations are unable to travel to Israel to attend in person, the ceremony will be pre-recorded and broadcast across multiple platforms, allowing Jews around the world to connect to the day from afar.

At the heart of the ceremony are the stories of lone soldiers, new immigrants, civilians and visitors who came to Israel from around the world and either fell in the line of duty in the IDF or were murdered in acts of terror, both in Israel and abroad.

Among those laying wreaths will be Barbara Lubliner, a Masa alumna who made aliyah from Spain and lost her husband, Lt. Col. (res.) Ariel Lubliner, also a Masa alumnus, during reserve duty in Gaza in the Swords of Iron War. Lubliner, 34, originally from São Paulo, Brazil, is survived by his wife, Barbara, and their two-year-old son, Lior. As a 22-year-old university student in Brazil, Lubliner participated in a Masa program, studied Hebrew on a kibbutz ulpan, made aliyah in 2014 and joined the IDF’s Paratroopers Brigade. Following his university studies, he worked as a consultant for commercial companies.

On Oct. 7, Ariel left for reserve duty and served four extended deployments, during which his son, Lior, was born. In June 2025, Ariel was killed in Khan Yunis, becoming the 900th fallen soldier since the start of the war.

The ceremony will also honor the memory of Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, Israeli embassy staff members who were killed on May 21, 2025, outside the Young Diplomats Reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The gunman reportedly shouted “Free, free Palestine” during his arrest.

Lischinsky’s family relocated from Israel to Germany when he was one year old, returning to Israel when he was 14. Although asthma prevented him from serving in a combat unit, he served in the Military Police and later worked on the parole board committee, assisting military prosecutors and defense attorneys. After completing studies in international relations, Asian studies, Middle Eastern studies and crisis resolution, he pursued a career with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Following the Oct. 7 attacks, he volunteered in public diplomacy efforts at the Israeli Embassy in Washington and assisted delegations of released hostages visiting the U.S. capital.

During this time, he met Sarah Milgrim, who also worked at the embassy. The two became a couple, and Lischinsky had planned to propose at the Western Wall in Jerusalem before both were murdered.

Milgrim grew up in a Reform Jewish home in the Kansas City area, attended Jewish preschool and observed Shabbat weekly. She was active in Hillel and Chabad at the University of Kansas before pursuing a master’s degree at American University in international relations, natural resources and sustainable development. She later participated in a Masa program in Israel, interning with Tech2Peace, an organization promoting dialogue initiatives within Israel’s high-tech sector. In 2023, she began working as Civil Society Affairs Manager at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, focusing on outreach to diverse communities in the United States, including young adults, the LGBTQ+ community and minority groups, with emphasis on gender equality, prevention of sexual violence and climate change issues.

Other individuals to be commemorated include First Sgt. Jordan Ben Simon, who made aliyah from France and was killed during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza; Master Sgt. Yulia Vekser Daunov, who immigrated from Ukraine and was killed on Oct. 7; and Yaakov Leviton, a Masa alumnus murdered in a terror attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, who is survived by his wife and five children.

Kaddish will be recited by Shmuel Daunov, the widower of Master Sgt. Yulia Vekser Daunov, who was killed in battle at the Nova festival near Re’im on Oct. 7. The Prayer for the State of Israel will be delivered by Emily Damari of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, who was kidnapped from her home and survived 471 days in Hamas captivity.

The ceremony will conclude with a performance by Yuval Raphael, who will sing “New Day Will Rise,” expressing hope for brighter days ahead.

Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, chairman of the Jewish Agency, said the stories of those who fell after coming from the Diaspora highlight the deep bond between world Jewry and Israel.

“The stories of those who fell from the Diaspora remind us that the bond between the Jewish people and the State of Israel is not merely an idea, but a courageous choice and a deep commitment,” Almog said. “On this Memorial Day, we remember them together, in Israel and around the world, and draw strength from our shared responsibility for the future of the Jewish people.”

Meir Holtz, CEO of Masa Israel Journey, said the ceremony reflects a shared sense of responsibility across global Jewry.

“‘Together, We Remember’ is not just a slogan—it is an essential truth for our people,” Holtz said. “Hundreds of thousands from around the world will remember together those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the continued existence of the State of Israel, especially those who chose Israel as their home or were murdered solely for being Jewish.”

Masa Israel Journey provides immersive educational programs for young adults ages 16–40, offering experiences in Israeli society, culture and history. Since its founding in 2004 by the Jewish Agency and the Government of Israel, Masa has served more than 220,000 participants from over 60 countries.

The ceremony will begin on Monday, April 20, 2026 (Yom Hazikaron eve) at 7:55 p.m. Israel time.

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