January 20, 2012

· This Coming Thursday the 2nd day of the month of Shevat a memorial service for the Fogal family will be held in Jerusalem in the Yeshurun Synagogue. Since eleven months will have passed since the massacre, it is customary to stop saying the Kaddish prayer. The following month a special memorial event will be held on Itamar remembering the terrible tragedy with torah classes and dedicating the new Beit Medrash of the Yeshivah Gevoah more information about this second memorial event will follow.

· Mazal Tov to Moshe and Odelah Asulin family on the birth of a grandson.

· Itamar welcomed the visit of the Israeli Minister Yuli Edelstien who led a large group of foreign press reporters to tour the Shomron. The esteemed reporter Lars Larson attended as well. The guests heard about the community of Itamar from Mayor Moshe Goldsmith and his wife Leah.

   

· Enjoy the clip of the Itamar youth showing pride in their flag!

· What Rabbi Goldsmith's Torah lesson on this week's portion.

January 13, 2012

1. Itamar welcomed the visit of Rabbi Shmuly Boteach's newly married daughter Mushky and her husband Arik and Mushky's sister Chanah who came to visit the community this week. They toured Itamar and got to see the Itamar Chabad center managed by Yechezkel and Hedi Nuemah on the Itamar hilltop of Alumot. As a matter of fact, the center has a wall which is a replica of the wall in Crown Heights at 770 Eastern Pkwy. Enjoy the picture!

    

2. Unfortunately, the Israeli police destroyed our Givat Aryeh hilltop again. Building the land of Israel requires a tremendous amount of stubbornness. As Harav Tzvi Yehudah Kook said there will come a time when we will need nerves of steel!

3. Enjoy the picture of the happy soldiers on Itamar after they received drinks and cake from our community and friends. Special thanks to our dear friend Alan Nussbaum who loves Itamar and every time he comes he wants to do something for our soldiers.

4. Read Leah's new Torah thought for the week.

5. Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's new lesson on the torah portion of Shemot where he talks about the importance of reaching out and feeling for others and not hiding in the confines of your home.

January 6, 2012

1. This week Itamar had two Britot (circumcisions) Mazal tov to Amichay and YiscahAzulay and Mazal tov to Shilo and Hadas Ben Yitzchak. May they merit in many more happy events.

2. Yashar Koach to Ofer Head who has been doing an amazing job in running workshops for the Itamar youth. Ofer specializes in working with painted glass and makes beautiful objects that every home could use. Come and visit his studio on Itamar it is quite an experience.

3. Itamar is blessed not only in its beautiful surroundings but also in its ancient ruins dating way back to the second temple period. Enjoy the picture of an ancient home second temple period located on Itamar.

4. One of the many amazing tourist attractions on Itamar is the GivotOlam farm of Avri and Sharonah Ran. For your enjoyment is a picture of a small synagogue that Avri built out of wood. The ark and Bimah are made of stones found in the area by AsafKidron, a renowned stone artist. We recommend you to visit this farm and see all the other amazing projects Asaf has done. In addition,Asaf has also built the ark in the Itamar high school Chitzim and is now working on an ark for the new Beitmidrash, Mishkan Ehud, being built on Itamar in name of the Fogal family.

5. Thank G-D Itamar was blessed with a nice amount of rain this week and more is expected! Enjoy the picture of the sun and clouds and the new wild flowers that have blossomed this week.

6. Watch Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith's new Torah lesson on why Hashem refused to allow Jacob to reveal the end of time to his children.

December 30, 2011

1. Special request to all Itamar supporters: Unfortunately, since the destruction of our new hilltop Givat Ariyeh, just a month or ago, our new camera system which was knocked out of commission by the Israeli army and police has not been reinstalled. The Israeli defense forces destroyed the infrastructure of the camera by ripping out the entire electric box and wiring. The estimated cost to fix this is around 45 thousand shekels. The army claims that if we leave the hilltop they will reinstall the camera. In the meantime, Itamar is left without a camera and in danger of infiltration. In addition, Itamar's security officer is in desperate need of a trained watch dog that can patrol the community with him. The estimated cost is about 30 thousand shekels.Anyone who can help us reinstall this camera and purchase this dog would be doing a tremendous service for our community. Shabbat Shalom and thank you! Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith

2. This week the Itamar youth marched from Itamar with torches to the army base below , lit candles and danced with our soldiers to show our solidarity with our brothers that are defending our homeland. Itamar stands with the IDF!

3. A beautiful community Chanukah party was held on Itamar this week. One of the main themes of the party was to introduce the new members of Itamar to the veterans and connect with one another. I was an amazing evening. There were different kind of games and activities. We recommend it for all communities.

4. Mazal tov to rav Uzi Damari for making it to the national Bible contest of Israel which took place in Benyany Haumah this week. Rabbi Demari is known for his vast knowledge in Tanach which is his love in life. You can't find him without a bible in his hand. Unfortunately, Rabbi Uzi did not win the contest but he came in 4th place on the written test among the thirteen candidates who reached the finals. Enclosed is picture of Rav Damari standing on a deck with a view of the border like between the tribe of Efrayim and Menasha as outlined in the book of Joshuah.

5. Itamar welcomed its dear friend Chesky Wertman who came to visit the community. Chesky is one of Itamar's oldest friends who stood behind us during some very troubling times.

6. Mazal tov to Amichay and YiscahAzulay on the birth of a son this week.

7. Mazal tov to Yisrael Chay and Milcah on the birth of a daughter this week.

8. Mazal tov to Shilo and Hadas on a birth of a son this week.

9. Itamar welcomed a group of college students throughout America that came to hear about the community from Mayor Goldsmith. It was a very successful evening and the students were very interested and moved by their visit.

10. Read Leah's new Torah thought for the week.

11. Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's new torah lesson on the weekly portion which talks about taking responsibility.

December 23, 2011

1. Mazal tov to Shmuel and GalitRekanati on the birth of a daughter this week.

2. This week Itamar is having a community Chanukah hike to Givat Aryeh our new neighborhood that was recently destroyed by our government when they demolished a small synagogue and a house. The government's claim is that is its illegal to build outside our city boundaries. Nevertheless, our response is that we will not give into terrorism. This neighborhood was built as a reaction to the terrible massacre against the Fogals back in March. The land is government land. There is no doubt that it is providing security for our town and we must make sure this neighborhood stays where it is. The nightmare is that we had a new camera set up on the neighborhood to provide security for the entire area. The demolition squad felt that it was appropriate to destroy our camera infrastructure as well thus putting our camera system out of commission. The army is not ready to pay for the camera's reinstallation unless we retreat from the hill. This hike is meant to show solidarity with our dear pioneer residents that are sleeping in tents on the hill to protect our community and provide a Zionistic response to terrorism. All those who want to come and join us in this important hike are invited. It will take place this coming Tuesday at 10:30 in the morning on the seventh day of Chanukah. We will be leaving from the ballpark near the Yeshiva Givohah.

3. We would like to extend a special thank you to Jessica Katz from Yad Leah on the amazing clothing drive that was held on Itamar this week. Jessica has been for the last few years providing clothing for adults, teens and children to our community Words cannot say enough for this huge chesed- also connecting our brothers in the USA with us. YasharKoach!!

4. The Itamar Yeshivah High School Chitzim did a great mitzvah the first night of Chanukah they went to the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv and lit candles with the sick and gave them Chanukah Sufganyot (donuts). They made them very happy by dancing and singing it was an amazing experience. They also heard a short lecture about the holocaust from YosiPeled who today serves as a minister in the Israeli government.

5. Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's new lesson on the weekly portion where he compares the different dreams that were mentioned in the last few portions and connects it to Joseph Chanukah.

December 16, 2011

1. Itamar welcomes back Moshe and Leah Goldsmith who were on a speaking tour in the United States.

2. Itamar wishes all its dear friends a happy Chanukah! May the festival of light bring light to all of us!!!

3. Mazal tov to the Ronsky and Melet families on the marriage of their children Eitan and Adi.

4. Mazal tov the Hagar and David Jaxson on the birth of a grandchild.

5. Mazal tov to the Dgani family on the birth of a granddaughter.

6. Mazal tov to the Finegold and Yifrach families on the birth of daughters.

7. Itamar is in the middle of three major building projects: A permanent synagogue, the building of a permanent Beit Medrash for the Yeshivah Givohah, and a new road connecting the Fogal neighborhood to the major road going through our community. We want to thank all those who are involved in these important projects and all other Itamar projects.

   

8. Enjoy the picture of the Itamar kindergarten children.

9. Read Leah's new torah thought for the week.

10. Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's new Torah lesson for the week discussing the meaning behind the three times goats are mentioned in the book of Genesis and the connection to Yom Hakipurim and Joseph.

December 1, 2011

1. With extreme pain we are sad to say that the Israeli government destroyed our beautiful hilltop neighborhood Givat Aryeh that was set up as a response to the Fogal massacre.

We had just finished building a small synagogue and celebrating a beautiful Torah dedication just two weeks ago. There was also a newly built home where a young devoted couple was living and four other small structures where others were living and building the hilltop. This early morning at 3:30 AM the Israeli police came with bulldozers and literally plowed down our new hill top.

It is so hard to fathom that the government of Israel would be so inconsiderate and cruel in destroying the neighborhood that brought new hope to our community after the terrible murder of the fogal family. Itamarresidents felt very secure knowing that there was Jewish presence living below them guarding the community on our southern border. This neighborhood was purposely set up as a strategic location to ensure our security allowing us to control the entire valley below from one guard's position. Just a stones throw from this point reside the most dangerous of terrorist villages- Awarta. What is even more insane is that our holy Kohanim are buried there! The insane act of all was to destroy the entire electric infrastructure of our new camera system thus completely knocking it out of commission and leaving Itamar again in danger of infiltration from the very same village the murderers of the Fogal family came from. Of course
our spirit will not be broken and we will return and rebuild our ruins!
Watch the YouTube movie.

2. Itamar welcomed the visit of our dear friend Eddie Wuntch who came to spend the day on our community. Eddie together with his amazing community of Anshey Chesed have been assisting Itamar for the last 8 years in our summer program. Eddie toured our new hilltop Givat Aryeh right before its destruction. Enclosed is a picture of him on our hilltop.

3. Mazal tov to Yitro and Miraim Asheri on the marriage of their son Moshe this week!
Mazal Tov to the Batito family on the birth of a girl.
Mazal Tov to the Ronsky and Melet families on the marriage of their children, both 2nd generation Itamar residents – to each other!
Mazal Tov to the Idan family on the engagement of their son Yonatan to Miriam.
Mazal tov to the Shushan and Cohen families on the birth of grandchildren!

November 18, 2011

1. Special thanks to Jack Ross for the donation of a Sefer Torah to the new Itamar neighborhood Givat Aryeh. This unique Torah scroll which survived the holocaust will be put to important use on our new hilltop neighborhood. Enjoy the video of the event.

2. Itamar welcomed the visit of our dear friends from El Shadday who came to spend a day with us touring the community and the area. Enjoy the pictures.

3. Itamar welcomed a group from Canada that enjoyed their first visit to our community.

4. This week a memorial service was held for our dear resident MatanZagron that was killed 9 years ago when he gave his life to save the lives of many others while jumping on a suicide bomber in Ariel.

5. Three boys were born on Itamar this week. Mazal tov to the Chemo, Cohen, and Fleysher families. May they all merit in many more happy events. Interestingly, two of the boys born are also cousins since their parents are brother and sisters. Yitzchak and Sarah Chemo the grandparents have been living on Itamar for many years and their children have continued in their footstepsmazal tov to them on the birth of two more grandchildren.

6. Mazal Tov to the Asheri and Yamin families on the upcoming weddings of their children Moshe and Neta this week. Neta will be setting up her new home on Itamar.

7. Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's new lesson on the Torah portion Chayey Sarah.

November 11, 2011

Mazal tov to Shirah and Yaakov Ben Pinchas on the birth of a daughter this week.Shirah has been the Itamar cultural community organizer for the last five years. We wish her and her husband a lot of happiness and enjoyment from their new baby girl.

Mazal tov Rabbi Yehudah and Tzviyah Elbaz on the Bar Mitzvah of their so this week. May they continue to be blessed with many more happy events. Rabbi Yehidah is very active in teaching torah to the Itamar youth.

Mazal Tov to the Raykanati family on the birth of a grandson.

Mazal Tov to Ester Miller and her family on the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter Tehilah. Ester's husband Shlomo, the former security chief of Itamar, was killed by terrorists on Itamar a few years ago.

Enjoy the picture of the first flowers to bloom in the fall on Itamar - they are called sitvaniot.

Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's new torah lesson on sensitivity and consideration.

November 4, 2011

1. Itamar hosted a few different groups this week from America, Europe some of which have visited Itamar on previous occasions. Itamar extends a special welcome to our dear friends Fredric and Jennifer Joswick who have been friends of Itamar for the last couple of years showing their love and support to the community before they ever got here in person.

2. Mazal tov to the Seri family upon the engagement of their daughter Yael to Meir. May Hashem bless them with a lot of happiness!

3. Mazal tov to the Rabbi Benzi and Mivasseret Rimon on the Bar Mitzvah of their son Aharon.

4. Mazal Tov to the Liebowitz family on the birth of a granddaughter.

5. Mazal tov to Merav Goldsmith who completed her degree in the esteemed school Yarim Schachaf of professional make up.

6. It is amazing how we just began praying for rain and Hashem sent us a beautiful blessing of rain! Let this be a very wet and rainy season for us in Israel and let the reservoirs fill up to the top!

7. Read Leah's Torah lesson for the week.

8. Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's Torah lesson on the inner voice of returning to the land.

9. Itamar will be celebrating a HachnsatSefer Torah on the 18th day of Cheshvan for our new neighborhood GivatAryeh named after the Fogal family.

October 28, 2011

1. Itamar's security team succeeded in preventing another possible terror attack on Itamar. An Arab, dressed up as a Jew, who came from the same village the Fogel murderers lived in, approached the Itamar security fence. The security team and army chased after the infiltrator and surrounded the house that he entered capturing two others apparently involved. They are now undergoing an investigation. Itamar thanks the One Israel Fund and Marc Prowisor for setting up a new camera that proved itself for the second time in the last two weeks. The video shows how the intruder dressed in white is approaching the Itamar security fence. It also shows the security patrol car stopping nearby.

2. Mazal Tov to Ofrah and Evyatar Eyluz on the birth of a son. Mazal tov to Mordechai and HadarMintz on the birth of a daughter. Mazal Tov to the Asulin and Leibowitz families on the birth of grandsons. We wish them all a lot joy and Nachat from their family.

3. Itamar wishes a happy birthday to its dear resident Rabbi Avi Ronski former chief Rabbi of the Israeli army. Rabbi Ronski celebrated his 60th birthday yesterday. His family made him a surprise birthday party and many special guests participated. Rabbi Ronski is a great man with many achievements. What most stands out in his character is his modesty. We wish him many more happy and healthy years of life.

4. Itamar welcomed Jerusalem Post journalist Scott Krane and Paraclete Foursquare media who visited Itamar this week.

5. Itamar is in full swing in its olive picking and production of olive oil.Barak Melet, the owner of the Itamar olive press is working day and night pressing all the olives that people are bringing from all over Israel. It is an amazing experience to pick your own olives and turn them into oil. Come and see for yourself by visiting the Itamar olive press!

6. See the beautiful nature reserve in Itamar's backyard where willows were collected for the Succot holiday.

7. Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's lesson on the rainbow.

8. Read Leah's torah portion on Noach.

October 14, 2011

1. Itamar wishes all its dear friends a Happy Sukkot!

2. In the coming days many groups are planning on touring our community for the Sukkot holiday. Today a large group of Americans from many different states came to visit with us. They were an amazing group and expressed extreme solidarity and love for Itamar and other communities in Judea and Samaria. This group is spending time in Israel volunteering on different communities helping out farmers.

3. This time of year is olive picking season. Unfortunately, the army allowed residents of the nearby village Awarta to come and pick olives in groves located very close to Itamar homes. The olive pickers (some were reported to be related to the murderers of the Fogals) came from the same village that the terrorists who massacred the Fogal family resided in. Itamar requested from the army not to allow the olive pick to go on since it situation at this time is very delicate and people have not yet gotten over the terrible tragedy. Nevertheless, the army refused to listen and allowed this pick to go on, despite that fact that there were hardly any olives on the trees and the harvester's motives were purely political. Itamar residents marched to the area in protest. Rocks were thrown on some of our residents and some Arabs threated to do another massacre on Itamar. Tamar Fogal, the oldest surviving child of the Fogal massacre pleaded with the head of the army not to allow this pick to go on right under her home! We do hope in the future the army will show a lot more sensitivity to the people of Itamar.

4. Enjoy a short movie showing some of the Itamar families in their Sukkot.

5. Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's lessons on Sukkot.

October 7, 2011

Enclosed is a picture of a bus painted with the name friends of Itamar by a friends who are creative and really care about Itamar – Thank you!

Read Leah's Torah on Yom Kippur dedicated to her father who was born on Erev Yom kippur and passed away on Yom Kippur.

Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's lesson on Yom Kippur.

September 23, 2011

This week a march was held from Itamar to the junction below our town that connects the other Jewish communities in our area, the same day that the U.N began the discussions on a PA state. Our message is loud and clear that we will continue to march proudly in our land and no one will dispossess our people. The Bible is our deed to our homeland. Attached is a small video of the march.

Itamar welcome the visit of a family that came all the way from Oklahoma U.S.A and Afghanistan to visit us. While the lady of the house in OK her husband and son are in Afghanistan serving their country. They are both good friends of Itamar and visited our town for the first time.

Special thanks to Jessica Katz who has for many consecutive years has been looking out for our community by sending shipments of clothing to families in need on Itamar and many other communities in Judea and Samaria through her organization Yad Leah.

In the mountains of Itamar and its surroundings it is the grape picking season special thanks to the Itamar high school boys who have volunteered this week to help the farmers with the grape harvest. Enjoy the pictures.

Mazal tov to the Yamin family on the engagement of their daughter Neta.Mazal tov to the Asheri family on the engagement of their two sons this week Moshe and Shmuel! Mazal tov to the Gadot family on the Brit Milah of their son this week.

Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's new torah lesson on the Birthday of the world.

September 16, 2011

1. Itamar welcomes back Rabbi Moshe and Leah Goldsmith who were on a speaking tour in the States for the last three weeks. Enjoy the pictures.

2. Mazal tov to the Gross and Basheri families on the birth of daughters! Mazal tov to the Gadot family on the birth of a son. Mazal tov to the kinarti family on the Bar mitzvah of their son Elazar.

3. Itamar blesses all its wonderful children, teenagers and of course teachers who have returned to school. We wish them all a successful year in all their studies.

4. As the holidays approach us it is always a time of visiting the Land – we recommend that you tour the Itamar community on the Succoth holiday. Email us now to reserve a tour!

5. Watch Rabbi Goldsmith's newest torah lesson on the parasha.

August 19, 2011

1. Itamar welcomed Glenn Beck and his team who came to visit the community. Glenn has been a real friend and inspiration for Itamar. He spent a few hours on Monday touring the community with Mayor Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith and his wife Leah. Glenn can be applauded for his outspoken coverage of the Fogal massacre back in March came to see at first hand where this transpired.

2. Itamar welcomed the visit of Raya El-Salahi from England a famous newscaster, model, and actress who came to explore her roots in Israel.

3. The Itamar community enjoyed its annual summer family trip. This year many families participated and they had a blast! We want to thank our friends who helped sponsor the Itamar summer program.

4. Watch Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith new torah message for the week.

How can I help?

 

We know that these are big projects, so any kind of assistance would be a tremendous help.

 

 All donations are tax deductible  - donations should be made out to:
Friends of Itamar
and sent to:

Friends of Itamar Attn. Lester Goldsmith 1483 East 34th Street Brooklyn NY 11234