Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Articles written by Nicky Blackburn


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  • Scuba diver stumbles on 900-year-old Crusader sword off Israel coast

    Nicky Blackburn|Oct 29, 2021

    (Israel21C via JNS) - If there's proof that you can't go anywhere in Israel without stumbling on some kind of ancient artifact, it's got to be the news this morning that a scuba diver has discovered an ancient Crusader sword on the sea bed off the Carmel coast in the north of the country. Atlit resident Shlomi Katzin was diving off the coast at the beach in Carmel on Saturday when he spotted ancient artifacts lying on the sea bed, uncovered apparently by shifting sands. Katzin saw ancient stone...

  • Israel comes to the rescue

    Nicky Blackburn, ISRAEL21c|Oct 22, 2021

    Israeli activists, philanthropists and aid workers have helped rescued 125 Afghans at risk from Taliban retribution in a complex and hush hush operation that happened earlier this month. The Afghans, which include judges, human rights activities, journalists, TV presenters, scientist, artists, diplomats, artists and even cyclists, arrived in Albania on October 2nd, after being evacuated from Afghanistan to a neighboring country. The operation took weeks to arrange and was a collaborative effort...

  • Remember: There is more to Israel than conflict

    Nicky Blackburn, editor ISRAEL21c|May 21, 2021

    In these last few difficult days in Israel, there is a moment that I cannot shake. I'm sitting on the sofa talking to my husband who is abroad on a work trip, and suddenly, unexpectedly, the siren goes off. It's nearly 9pm, and the only sound we can hear is that awful rising and falling wail. My middle son and I start to run for the shelter, and as we go by the window, we see not one, not two, but five, six, seven missiles heading in our direction. Bright lights streaking through the sky from th...

  • Israeli device to help coronavirus patients nears market in China

    Nicky Blackburn|Feb 28, 2020

    (ISRAEL21c)-A device developed in Israel that might significantly ease the treatment of coronavirus victims suffering from pneumonia and also reduce the danger of contagion to health care providers could reach the market in China within the next few months. The CoughSync, which was originally developed at Alyn Hospital, a Jerusalem pediatric and adolescent rehabilitation facility, to help children unable to cough for themselves, is now awaiting approval from the National Medical Products... Full story

  • Israeli NGO sends aid to California in wake of wildfires

    Nicky Blackburn|Nov 30, 2018

    (Israel21c via JNS)—Israeli NGO, IsraAID, is sending an emergency response team to California to help communities affected by the unprecedented fires that have killed 80 and destroyed more than 13,000 homes and buildings. Some 1,200 people are still listed as missing. The two blazes broke out 10 days ago in both Northern and Southern California, and quickly spiraled out of control. The Camp Fire, which wiped out the town of Paradise in Butte County (population 27,000), is already the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history, t... Full story

  • Israel sends aid to flood-battered Texas

    Nicky Blackburn|Sep 8, 2017

    Two teams of Israeli aid experts are on their way to Texas to provide vital relief and psychosocial support to the thousands of people who have lost everything in the catastrophic Tropical Storm Harvey. The storm, which first hit Texas on Sunday and continues to plague the beleaguered state with pounding rain, has left nine dead, and tens of thousands of people homeless as flood waters have poured through city streets in Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States. The storm is thought... Full story

  • 14 things you didn't know about Gal Gadot

    Nicky Blackburn|Jun 16, 2017

    1. In Hebrew, Gal Gadot's first name means "wave" and her surname means "riverbanks." 2. Gal Gadot was born in Rosh Ha'ayin, and her maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors. 3. At the age of 18, Gadot won the Miss Israel beauty pageant. She then went on to compete in Miss Universe in 2004, but was so reluctant to win that she turned up late for events, wore the wrong kind of evening wear, and even pretended that she couldn't speak English. 4. Gadot carried out two years of service as a... Full story

  • The children given life in the midst of war

    Nicky Blackburn|Jul 4, 2014

    This article was written in 2012. (Israel21c)-Mohamed Ashgar is bored. The 11-year-old, who suffers from rheumatic heart disease, has been at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon-south of Tel Aviv-for a week waiting for surgery, but it was delayed because of poor blood test results. Now he just wants to have the operation and get back home quickly to his parents and his four brothers and sisters. His dream when he is finally well again-to go back to school. Ill health has kept him out of class for... Full story