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How ‘Olim’ Are Helping Israel’s War Effort, Part 1: A Volunteer-Run Online School for Israeli Children
Educator and founder of Sha’agat Arieh Nike Silberstein in New York. Photo courtesy of Nike Silberstein
Since the Hamas terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre, immigrants who moved to Israel (olim in Hebrew) have been helping the Jewish state’s war effort in crucial ways beyond the battlefield. The Algemeiner has spoken to several of these individuals — natives of the US, Europe, and elsewhere — gathering their stories of courage and resourcefulness to help Israel prevail over Hamas in Gaza. Over the coming weeks, The Algemeiner will share some of these stories as a new series on how olim are helping Israel’s war effort.
Two days after Hamas’ violent assault on Oct. 7, New York native Nike Silberstein opened an online school for Israeli children.
Silberstein, who made aliyah — the process of Jews immigrating to Israel — in 2013 and divides her time between New York and Tel Aviv, said that she “felt desperate” watching the horror unfold from afar and knew she had to contribute to the war effort.
“It wasn’t a choice; I felt the anguish, the intense worry of parents in Israel. I needed to support them,” Silberstein, who has more than 20 years of experience as an educator both in New York and Israel, told The Algemeiner. “I knew anyone with kids in Israel was not going to be able to function regularly and that I needed to jump in.”
For more than a month after the attack, there was no school at all in most Israeli cities. Some resumed studies remotely, but even now, a good solution remains elusive, with many schools still operating under the threat of rocket fire and the call-up of vast numbers of faculty members to the army.
On Oct. 8, Silberstein put out a call for volunteer teachers, and by Oct. 9, the school was up and running. She named the school, which operates on Zoom, Sha’agat Arieh (which translates to “the lion’s roar”), inspired by her late father, Arieh, who she said “roars from above like a lion.”
Silberstein gave another reason too: “Ask a child to roar, and when they do, there’s a second they really believe they’re lions and it’s amazing to witness. They feel empowered, and I wanted to strengthen the children of Israel.”
More than a thousand children have attended Sha’agat Arieh to date, and not all are in Israel. Some are the children of Israelis who either fled Israel after the war to countries like Greece and Portugal or others who reside abroad permanently. The classes include everything from academic studies like math and science to enrichment classes such as karate and art. They are all taught by volunteer teachers, many of whom must either go to bed at extremely late hours or wake up very early to allow for the time difference.
Even as Israeli schools resume normal functioning, many students have still decided to take Sha’agat Arieh’s classes after returning home. Silberstein also said the school has expanded to other functions as the needs evolve. For example, she has partnered with Israel’s Education Ministry to twin Israeli schools with Jewish schools abroad and has developed a mentoring program matching high schoolers with kindergarten-aged children. Volunteer teachers are also giving private tutoring to Israeli children who are struggling.
“We all are just trying to help where we can,” Silberstein said. “I’m just trying to stay completely open to all the education-related needs in Israel and how I, from abroad, can help.”
The post How ‘Olim’ Are Helping Israel’s War Effort, Part 1: A Volunteer-Run Online School for Israeli Children first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.