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Treasure Trove looks at life in Israel’s northernmost town and the challenges post-Oct. 7

Metula is the northernmost town in Israel, with homes literally a stone’s throw from the border with Lebanon—which is fitting, as the origin of the town’s name is al-Mutallah (Arabic for “the lookout”). It was founded as a Jewish settlement in 1896 when the land was purchased by Baron Edmond de Rothschild.

At the end of the First World War, Metula was in the zone of the French military occupation until the British assumed control in 1924. (From 1920 to 1924, Metula residents could vote in the election for the Lebanese parliament.) The site of Metula determined the northern border of the State of Israel. It is surrounded on three sides by Lebanon, with the closest Lebanese village, Killehonly 150 meters from its residential areas.

This photograph shows a kindergarten in Metula in the Upper Galilee on a trading card issued in Palestine in 1938. It is part of a series of 200 cards distributed by the Dubek Cigarette Company featuring photographs from the archives of the Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (the Jewish National Fund).

Before Oct. 7, 2023, Metula was home to about 2,000 people. The Canada Centre (Merkaz Canada) was one of the town’s major attractions with an Olympic-size ice rink, 10 bowling alleys and other entertainment and sports facilities.  

Metula was evacuated after Oct. 7 to protect people from Hezbollah shelling. Residents were scattered all over the country, which has made it nearly impossible to maintain a sense of community. More than 60 percent of its homes have been damaged or completely destroyed by Hezbollah missiles. Streets and municipal infrastructure such as electricity and water have also been damaged, as has the Canada Centre. It will take about four years for the town to be rehabilitated.

At least 30 percent of the population says they will not return, especially families with young children who don’t feel safe enough to live in Israel’s northernmost town.

The recent ceasefire in Lebanon gave the residents of Metula an opportunity to return and visit their homes. Most of them haven’t been home in over a year and did not know the extent of the damage. Even if their houses were not hit directly by a rocket, there is still damage caused by the blasts, rodents that overtook the empty houses, mold and other problems.

Metula is one of the five towns in the Galilee Panhandle that is twinned with communities across Canada under the leadership of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA. Meytal Novidomsky-Mazeika, a JFC-UIA director in Israel who handles Canada’s relationship with the region, is a longtime resident of Metula—and now an evacuee. She and her young family now face a “very difficult decision,” she says.

“On the one hand, we have only lived in Metula as a family, and we planned on staying there for our entire lives. In addition, we understand the importance of living close to the border. On the other hand, we have small children that we need to protect and give them the safest opportunity to grow up without a constant threat of rockets or, even worse, infiltration. Metula, before this war, was one of the most beautiful places in the whole world. We hope and pray that it can return safely to that in the very near future.”

We also hope that one day soon another photograph of happy children at a Metula kindergarten can be taken.  

The post Treasure Trove looks at life in Israel’s northernmost town and the challenges post-Oct. 7 appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.

The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.

They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.

Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.

Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.

The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.

The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.

Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.

He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.

The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.

Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.

Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.

Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.

Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.

The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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