Financial issues in Israel are rarely simple — especially for repatriates, self-employed individuals, families with non-standard income, or people with problematic credit histories. The banking system is strictly formalized, automated, and leaves almost no room for dialogue. As a result, even those who formally “did everything right” may receive a refusal.
This is where the need arises not for another “promise of approval,” but for professional support — analyzing the situation, preparing a case, and choosing a real solution. This principle is the foundation of GBT Global — a consulting company operating throughout Israel and based in Ramat Gan.
Who GBT Global is and how their work is organized
Loans in Israel without illusions: how GBT Global support works and in which cases it really helps
GBT Global is not a bank or a credit organization. The company does not issue money directly and does not replace financial institutions. Its task is to support the client at all stages of obtaining a loan, car loan, or financial solution in a difficult situation.
This involves practical work with documents, BDI, income structure, application errors, and communication with banks and non-bank structures. This approach is especially in demand in Israel, where decisions are increasingly made by algorithms rather than people.
The company operates throughout the country — from north to south — and focuses on real cases rather than universal templates.
Geography of work: where support is available
GBT Global operates throughout Israel, focusing on key regions and cities:
Northern Israel
Haifa, Kiryat, Acre, Nahariya, Safed, Tiberias. Here, families with combined income, self-employed individuals, industrial and service sector workers often seek assistance.
Central Israel
Ramat Gan (main office), Tel Aviv, Givatayim, Holon, Bat Yam, Petah Tikva, Rishon LeZion. This is the busiest segment — mortgage issues, car loans, refinancing, and complex BDI.
Jerusalem and surroundings
Specific income structure, a large number of self-employed individuals, and families with non-standard financial models.
Southern Israel
Be’er Sheva, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Netivot, Ofakim. Here, issues of debt consolidation, loans upon refusals, and financial stabilization arise more frequently.
Main services of GBT Global
Loans in Israel without illusions: how GBT Global support works and in which cases it really helps
Support in obtaining a loan in Israel
The most common situation is a bank refusal without a clear explanation of the reasons. In practice, this may be related to BDI, income structure, employment gaps, or application errors.
GBT Global starts work with an analysis: what exactly the bank sees, which parameters cause refusal, and what options truly exist. After this, a strategy is formed — from re-submission to alternative financial solutions.
Car loans: when standard schemes do not work
A car loan in Israel often seems like a simple product, but in reality, banks are particularly strict about income stability and credit history.
The company supports clients in cases of: — refusals in car loans, — inflated interest rates, — discrepancies between conditions and client expectations.
The task is not to “push through” a decision, but to find a correct and safe model.
Working with BDI and credit history
BDI is one of the key factors in the Israeli financial system. Errors, old debts, technical inaccuracies, or incorrect records can block access to loans for years.
GBT Global helps: — understand what is reflected in BDI, — identify which records can be corrected, — develop a plan to restore the credit profile.
Important: this is not about quick promises, but a consistent work with the system.
Debt consolidation and refinancing
Multiple loans, overdrafts, credit cards with high interest rates — a typical situation for many families.
In such cases, the company helps assess the possibility of consolidating obligations into a more manageable model and reducing the financial burden without risking worsening the situation.
Support in complex legal-financial cases
This refers to situations on the verge of bankruptcy, sharp income decline, or the need for financial restructuring.
GBT Global does not replace lawyers but works in conjunction with specialized professionals, helping the client understand the real options and consequences of each step.
How the support process is organized
Loans in Israel without illusions: how GBT Global support works and in which cases it really helps
The work begins not with the submission of an application, but with a conversation. Situation analysis, data collection, checking the logic of refusal — all this happens before active actions are taken.
Then a route is formed: what to do, where to apply, what documents to prepare, and what expectations are realistic.
Payment for services is discussed transparently and made after the result, within agreed conditions — this is a fundamental position of the company.
Why this format is increasingly needed in Israel
The Israeli banking system is increasingly moving away from the “individual approach” mode. Algorithms, scoring, automatic filters — all this reduces the likelihood of dialogue but increases the importance of preparation.
This is why consulting support is becoming a separate market segment — not as an alternative to banks, but as a way to correctly interact with the system.
In this context, media presence, transparency, and explanation of process logic are important — aspects often emphasized in analytical materials published on resources like NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency, where financial topics are increasingly considered from a practical perspective.
For whom GBT Global services are suitable, and for whom they are not
The company honestly outlines the boundaries of its work. It makes sense to contact them if: — there were refusals and unclear reasons, — there are problems with BDI, — income is non-standard, — a strategy is needed, not promises.
At the same time, GBT Global does not take on obviously unsolvable cases and does not sell illusions of quick approval.
There you will find up-to-date information about services, work format, and ways to contact. The company operates throughout Israel, with an office base in Ramat Gan and remote support for clients in other regions.
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The Ukrainian edition of Michael Bar-Zohar’s book about Israel’s war with Hamas appeared not just in time, but almost symbolically accurately. Against the backdrop of a new round of war with Iran, proxy warfare, and Israel’s right to self-defense, this book becomes not only a chronicle of October 7 but also a tool for explaining the entire logic of the conflict to the Ukrainian reader.
In Ukraine, a book by the famous Israeli historian Michael Bar-Zohar“Iron Swords, Wounded Hearts. Israel’s Fateful War with Hamas” (Ukr. – “Залізні мечі, зранені серця. Доленосна війна Ізраїлю з ХАМАСом”) was published. The Ukrainian edition was published in 2025 by the publishing house “Nash Format”, is part of the series “Jewish Library”, has 272 pages, hardcover.
‘Iron Swords’ in Ukrainian: why Michael Bar-Zohar’s book about Israel’s war with Hamas was released in Ukraine at the most precise moment
The annotation states that Bar-Zohar began writing it already on October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas attack, to capture what was happening before reality was distorted by fanaticism and propaganda.
And this is precisely what makes the Ukrainian release of the book important not only for the book market. Before us is not an ordinary translated novelty and not another volume about the Middle East for a narrow audience. Before us is an attempt to transfer to the Ukrainian language the Israeli internal view of the catastrophe of October 7, 2023 — with pain, with names, with awareness of the scale of the failure, with the question of the price of illusions, and with the understanding that the war with Hamas was never just a war with Hamas.
Why this book is not just about October 7
On the publisher’s page, the book is described in several dimensions:
“October 7, 2023, became one of the most tragic dates in Israel’s history. The barbaric attack by Hamas on border settlements and a peaceful rave party brought mass killings, destruction, and hostage-taking. The world saw horrifying footage of terrorist crimes and at the same time — waves of support for Hamas in foreign capitals. Already on October 8, writer and historian Michael Bar-Zohar began writing this book to capture the truth, not yet distorted by blind fanaticism and propaganda.
The author describes the heroism of ordinary Israelis, weaving in the personal tragedies of hostages; analyzes the prerequisites for the catastrophic failure of the security forces that made the attack possible; evaluates the actions of the Israel Defense Forces in response — the ‘Iron Swords’ operation. The advantage of the book is a deep study of the historical context of Arab-Israeli relations to explain the causes and scale of the conflict.
This is not just a document or chronicle. It is simultaneously an emotional report and a scientific study — about pain and determination, about the search for truth amid a sea of fakes, about a people fighting for their survival.”
That is, Bar-Zohar is not just writing a chronicle of the tragedy. He is essentially engaged in a more complex task: restoring cause-and-effect relationships where international discussion quickly began to blur them. In the first days after October 7, the world saw not only footage of massacres and kidnappings but also a wave of attempts to immediately fit the Israeli tragedy into already prepared ideological schemes. It is against this, if the book’s description is to be believed, that the author hurried to speak with the text — as a person who understands that in the modern war for memory and legitimacy, a delayed explanation almost always loses.
In this sense, the book is important even today, when the conversation about Israel’s security has once again expanded far beyond the Gaza Strip. After October 7, many wanted to present what was happening as a local flare-up, as another round of the old Palestinian-Israeli confrontation. But as events developed, it became increasingly clear: it is about a broader system of threats, where Hamas is just one of the elements.
Why the Ukrainian edition sounds stronger than an ordinary book news
The series “Jewish Library”, in which the book was released, has long been a notable project. On the store’s page, it is described as a cycle of modern books about the history, politics, science, military affairs, and leadership of modern Israel; among the authors are Michael Bar-Zohar, Nissim Mishal, Ronen Bergman, and others. Special emphasis is placed on topics such as “Mossad”, secret operations, the role of women in intelligence, and the practice of targeted killings as a tool of state defense.
But the history of the series is broader than a specific store display. In publications by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, the series is directly named as a project that started at the initiative of the JCU, and its distinctive feature has been the first Ukrainian translations of world bestsellers about Israel and outstanding Jews.
At the end of 2024, JCU President Boris Lozhkin said that the series selects precisely those books about Israel and the Jewish world that have become world bestsellers but have not previously been published in Ukrainian.
…
Boris Lozhkin is a Ukrainian businessman, investor, and public figure. According to the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine itself, he has been its president since 2018; there he is described as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author. Previously, he was the head of the Administration of the President of Ukraine under Petro Poroshenko from 2014 to 2016.
JCU is the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine. Simply put, it is not a state body but a large public association of Jewish organizations in Ukraine. On Lozhkin’s website and the confederation itself, it is stated that the JCU unites independent social, charitable, and religious Jewish organizations.
…
This changes the perspective on the release of ‘Iron Swords’. Before us is not just a translation of a book by a famous author. Before us is part of a larger process: systematically opening Israeli historical, political, and military experience to the Ukrainian reader in their own language. And for a country that itself lives in war, this has a completely different weight than for the academic book market in peaceful Europe.
It is important to say directly: Ukrainians read books about Israel today not out of curiosity about a ‘foreign region’. They read them as texts about a state that has lived under the threat of rockets for decades, faces terror, debates the cost of intelligence failures, experiences the shock of losing citizens, and is simultaneously forced to repeatedly prove its right to defend itself. In this context, the Ukrainian translation of the book about October 7 is not a cultural courtesy towards Israel. It is a conversation in a language that is almost painfully familiar.
That is why NANovosti — Israel News | Nikk.Agency sees in this publication not only a literary event but also an important element of the overall Ukrainian-Israeli dialogue. Because both countries, each in their own way, have long lived in the same nerve: how not to let the enemy steal not only territory and lives but also the very logic of what is happening.
What Boris Lozhkin’s post adds and why it is important
Boris Lozhkin in the presentation of the book for Ukrainian readers writes that Israel’s operation ‘Iron Swords’ was a direct response to the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, by Hamas, and the current operation against Iran can be considered its logical continuation. This is a strong formulation because it gathers the war into a single chain: the Hamas attack, the Israeli response, and then the move to the source of a broader threat — the Iranian center of the proxy system.
This is no longer a publisher’s annotation. This is a political explanation of the book.
If you look closely at Lozhkin’s text, he does several important things at once. First, he places Bar-Zohar’s book in the current strategic framework. Not as evidence of a completed stage, but as a document that helps explain the current moment. Second, he emphasizes that Bar-Zohar began writing immediately after the attack precisely because it was necessary to counter the wave of disinformation about the causes of the war and Israel’s motives. And third, Lozhkin specifically translates the emotional meaning of the book into the Ukrainian experience: he writes that this is a book about the pain of loss, the right to freedom, and the value of every life — things that are extremely understandable to Ukrainians.
And this is perhaps one of the most accurate thoughts in this whole story.
Because the book about October 7, translated into Ukrainian, really begins to work not only as a story about Israel. It becomes a mirror. For a Ukrainian, it reads not only as the Middle East but also as their own experience: the suddenness of a major blow, the monstrosity of violence against civilians, the weakness of previous illusions, the cost of an underestimated threat, and the daily struggle to prevent the world from getting tired, distancing itself, or turning the plot upside down.
Why this book is especially important for the Israeli audience in Ukraine and Israel
For Israelis, for Jews of Ukraine, for the Israeli audience that follows the topic of October 7 in its international reflection, the release of this book in Ukraine is important for another reason. It shows that the Ukrainian space not only sympathizes with Israeli pain but also tries to understand it from within, through an Israeli source, and not through third-party retellings.
This is not a trifle.
Too often, stories about Israel outside the country begin to live a separate life: someone removes the context from them, someone blurs the subjectivity of the victims, someone turns terror into an abstraction, and self-defense into a problem. Bar-Zohar, judging by the book’s description, is trying to go against this. He writes about ordinary Israelis, about hostages, about the catastrophic failure of the security forces, and about the military response of the IDF, while simultaneously returning the historical context of Arab-Israeli relations.
And this is especially important now, when the discussion about Israel’s war again rests not only on Gaza but also on Iran, Hezbollah, the proxy network, and the general question: can we still pretend that each new flare-up exists separately from the previous one.
Therefore, the Ukrainian release of the book ‘Iron Swords, Wounded Hearts’ looks so precise right now. Because it coincided not just with interest in the topic of Israel, but with a moment when the very meaning of October 7 again requires protection and explanation. The book becomes a way to fix: the Hamas attack was not a random autonomous flare-up, and the Israeli response cannot be honestly discussed without talking about the broader architecture of the threat.
And there is another important layer in this. For Ukraine, which itself lives under the pressure of Russian disinformation and constant attempts to erase the original causes of the war, such a book is not a foreign plot, but a very understandable experience of resisting semantic blurring. For Israel, it is a sign that its tragedy and its right to self-defense in Ukraine are not just observed but are being seriously, attentively, and in their own language, understood.
In the end, we are indeed not just looking at a book novelty.
This is a cultural gesture. A political signal. And, if you will, another quiet but very important bridge between Ukraine and Israel — a bridge built not on slogans, but on memory, pain, facts, and an attempt to preserve the truth about the war before it is completely blurred by foreign versions.
“There is a law, and it says: ‘If someone comes to kill you — kill him first.’ The most important part. Therefore, defending your country is a commandment of God. There is such a commandment: ‘Do not cross the border.’ It is written in the Torah, in the Bible, right? Therefore, those who came here grossly violated this commandment. And those who defend — this is the Armed Forces of Ukraine, these are the hands of God in Ukraine. And they fulfill the commandment: ‘Do not kill, by destroying the enemy’, – Yakov Sinyakov.
Video of the channel “Details“ with Igor Sinyakov (also known as Rabbi Yakov) does not sound like an ‘interview about religion’. Rather, it sounds like a conversation on the front line, where a person has no extra words, but has a habit of calling things directly. He talks about war as maximum chaos, about the army as order, about why neutrality in such times is not just a convenient pose, but a moral trap, and why memory is not a burden, but a tool for the future.
Rabbi Yakov is the first officially recognized Orthodox Jewish chaplain in the history of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the video, his path is described briefly and clearly: after February 24, 2022, he and his wife began helping refugees in Dnipro, then the volunteer work gradually shifted to the military — trips along the front line, meetings with units in different directions. In 2025, at the invitation of the commander, Brigadier General Yevhen Lasiychuk, Yakov joined the army and headed the chaplain service of the 7th Corps of the Air Assault Forces. This is an important detail: he does not ‘come sometimes’, he is integrated into the structure, constantly with people, and this explains the tone of the interview — without a tourist’s view of the war.
It is important to clarify: in this article, we took only the most noticeable theses and several key stories from the conversation — essentially a summary, not a full transmission of intonation and meaning. The full interview is much broader, deeper, and in places stronger precisely due to the live details, pauses, reactions of the interlocutors, and how Rabbi Yakov unfolds thoughts step by step. If the topic is close to you — be sure to watch the video in full: it gives a completely different sense of the reality of the front and how people hold on where ‘it’s a mess’ becomes a daily norm.
‘It’s a mess’: a frank conversation with an Orthodox Jewish chaplain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — about the front, faith, and how not to lose a person – video
Who is Rabbi Yakov and why do not only believers listen to him
He himself constantly returns the conversation to the simple meaning of the word ‘rabbi’. It is not only a ‘servant’, it is a ‘teacher’. Not the one who comes to ‘perform rituals’, but the one who explains, holds the frame, helps a person not to fall apart at the moment when everything around is falling apart.
And here it is important: a chaplain on the front for many is not a ‘religious option’, but a human function. Someone believes, someone does not, someone is Orthodox, someone is Catholic, someone has not decided at all. But when there is a person nearby who knows how to listen, does not pressure, does not preach, but gives you the opportunity to speak out and cling to meaning — the confession fades into the background.
Rabbi Yakov seems to understand this better than many: he calmly says that God is one, Ukraine is one, and that the main ‘obstacles’ between people often arise not at the level of faith, but in the head — from wrong labels, fear, fatigue, and the habit of dividing the world into ‘ours’ and ‘others’.
‘The main thing is logistics and communication’: war without romance
One of the first thoughts in the conversation sounds like a professional habit: in the army, the main thing is logistics and communication. Not slogans, not beautiful texts, not ‘will to victory’ as an abstraction. But communication that works. The rear that keeps up. Delivery that arrives on time. Because if this is not there — heroism becomes a way to close gaps, and the gaps are endless.
From here grows his key thesis: war is maximum chaos. To withstand maximum chaos, maximum order is needed. And he sees this order in the army as the foundation of the state. Harshly, almost rudely: no army — no state. And even if all professions are important, the army is the basis on which all other life stands.
‘You need to choose a position’: about neutrality, corruption, and fatigue
The most conflicting piece of the interview is about choosing a position. Rabbi Yakov says what many do not want to hear, especially in peaceful cities or outside the country: neutrality in such times is an attempt to hide from responsibility. He quotes a famous phrase that the hottest circles of hell are ‘prepared’ for those who maintained neutrality in troubled times, and derives from this a practical advice: choosing a position is not only moral, it is psychologically easier. At least you understand who you are and where you stand.
Next is the topic of corruption. And here he specifically knocks out the usual justification for apathy. Yes, there is corruption. But what now — give up? His logic is simple and even annoying in its straightforwardness: do not be a corrupt person yourself. Do not justify your inaction by the fact that someone ‘there’ is stealing. This does not cancel the systemic problem, but returns personal responsibility and the ability to act to a person.
For readers of NANews – news of Israel this sounds especially acute: many Israelis of Ukrainian origin live between two realities — the war in Ukraine and their life in Israel. And the most dangerous emotion here is ‘I decide nothing, it does not depend on me’. In the interview, there is a constant reverse signal: it depends. Even if not on the scale of the state — on the scale of your position, help, choice, words, behavior.
‘I come to them for energy’: who helps whom on the front
There is a moment where he breaks the stereotype of a chaplain as a person who ‘brings morality’. He admits: at first, he thought he was coming to the military ‘to give them something’ — words, instructions, support. And then he realized that he was coming… to receive. To receive experience, energy, inspiration from people who live in conditions where fear is not a theory, but a daily reality.
He describes the fighters as ‘real heroes’ without gloss: they can be rude, tired, sometimes broken, but they hold on to the idea, do their job, and this fills him. In this honesty, there is an important detail: he does not play the role of a ‘saint’, he shows himself as a person who is also fueled by someone else’s strength.
Israel as an example: memory is not a punishment, but strength
In the interview, there is a line that is almost inevitable for the audience in Israel: the host talks about the ‘genetic memory’ of the Jewish people, about the habit of living in a state of war, about how holidays and traditions preserve the memory of enemies and trials of millennia ago.
Rabbi Yakov responds not with pathos, but with the thought of memory as a tool. Israel, in his words, is strong because it remembers: history, language, painful moments. And that is why the current Ukrainian experience cannot be ‘forgotten for the sake of peace’. It needs to be passed on to the next generations — not to cultivate hatred, but to build strong statehood on this experience.
This is an important turn: memory not as a constant wound, but as the foundation of the future.
‘Where is God in war?’ — and why he does not give a sweet answer
One of the heaviest questions of the interview is asked in direct words: if God exists, where is he in war? Bucha, Irpin, Izyum, executions of prisoners on camera. This is a question that kills any beautiful sermons.
Rabbi Yakov answers in an unexpectedly ‘earthly’ way. He does not try to explain the horror with a ‘higher plan’. He shifts the responsibility to people: the choice to attack, to come to kill, to cross the border — was made by people, not God. The world is ‘given into our hands’, and in this sense, a person is responsible for what he does with his freedom.
And then he adds an important thought: when a person chooses the right position and does what he must, help comes to him. Not as magic, but as a life effect of the right choice and inner composure.
The boundary between defender and killer: commandments and the right to defense
The host asks about the moral boundary of the first shot: how to explain to a recruit where the ‘defender’ ends and the ‘killer’ begins?
He answers through the ten commandments and the idea of two ‘tablets’: one about a person’s relationship with God, the other about a person’s relationship with a person. And in this context, ‘do not kill’ sounds like a principle: it would be ideal if no one killed anyone. But within the real world, there is a law of defense: if someone comes to kill you — stop him.
He formulates it as directly as possible: defending your country is not a ‘sin’, but a duty in the logic of defense. And at the same time, he emphasizes: invasion is a violation of the border, a violation of the basic prohibition ‘do not cross the line’.
Hatred and prisoners: how not to become the one you are fighting against
One of the most delicate moments is the conversation about hatred. The host’s question is very precise: hatred does not destroy the enemy, it destroys you and strengthens evil. What to do with this?
Rabbi Yakov tells that he has seen prisoners. And he says something that many in war may find unbearable: even in the enemy, he sees a ‘divine soul’. At the same time, he does not romanticize and does not ‘whitewash’: if a person has committed a crime punishable by death, he must be punished. But the moral boundary ‘do not mock’ must still exist. This is not about softness, but about preserving humanity in oneself.
Stories from the front: wounded, laughter on the edge, and ‘slowing down time’
The interview contains many specific episodes. They do not look like fiction — precisely because they sound uneven, with everyday details.
He talks about a fighter who was wounded in the arm and leg, left alone in the cold, bandaged his wounds himself for several days, and then walked for eight hours to the exit. And then he was surprised himself: ‘I felt like I could move mountains’. This is a story not about a ‘superman’, but about how the body sometimes pulls a person beyond the edge of the possible.
He tells about another episode: an officer was wounded, he was losing consciousness, coming to and asking for a cigarette. And next to him, a person who fills out documents is already tired of rewriting reports: ‘he dies, then revives’. And they laugh at this. Funny? No. This is a protective mechanism of the psyche, which cannot live only in horror.
There is also a personal episode: an explosion nearby, the whistle of shrapnel, bricks flying, and suddenly there is a feeling of ‘slowing down time’. He runs and thinks some almost funny thought — ‘if I fall, I’ll be dirty’. Then he takes out his phone and starts filming the ‘mushroom’ of the explosion. This is how the brain works in an extreme situation: the everyday and the deadly mix.
Suicides and despair: what he does when a person ‘goes there’
The interview also raises the heaviest topic — suicides among the military, signs of a dangerous state, what to do if a person starts talking about it.
Rabbi Yakov speaks practically: if a person voices such thoughts — it is already an alarm. And he tells a case when he was already leaving, but a conversation with a fighter suddenly fell into hatred for everyone — society, commanders, the world. He stopped, returned, let the person speak out, and then led him to support — to his daughter. Not ‘be ashamed’, not ‘pull yourself together’, but a simple question: what will happen to the child if you do what you are talking about?
This is an important principle of chaplain work: not to break a person with morality, but to find a thread of meaning that he himself can hold on to.
After the war: why he does not believe in mass ‘where were you’
There is another topic that scares society in advance: the gap between those who fought and those who did not. Will there be aggression later?
Rabbi Yakov confidently says: there will be no mass aggression. The main problem will be with the veterans themselves — inside, in adaptation, in trauma, in how to return to normal life. He recalls the example of Vietnam and says that society needs not to be afraid of the military, but to turn to them: respect, help in integration, normal attitude without labels.
He adds another thought, important for ‘peaceful’: do not rush to condemn — neither others nor yourself. Fear is normal. Justifying yourself is sometimes also part of the path. And even if you do not fight, you can be useful in another form. He gives an example of friends abroad who help the army and thus close the internal need ‘to be part’.
Everyday life and honesty: kashrut, lard, and a very human war
At the end of the interview, there is a piece that unexpectedly makes it as lively as possible: the everyday life of an Orthodox Jew in the army. There are no kosher rations — he carries food with him, a pot, a frying pan. The guys nearby cook solyanka, cut lard, the smell drives you crazy — but you can’t. He jokes, they joke. And in these jokes, an important thing is visible: war does not cancel differences, but can teach to respect differences without aggression.
He also talks about a gift — a book of Psalms of King David with text in Hebrew and an official Ukrainian translation, which is given to the military, and which he presented to various Ukrainian leaders. This is also a detail: he not only ‘talks about faith’, he does specific things that become a symbol of support.
‘A miracle is when you have done everything you could’
The final meaning of the interview is unexpectedly not religious and not military. He talks about a miracle as a result of action. He recalls the story of crossing the sea: the sea parted not when people stood and asked, but when a person went far enough, almost to the limit.
A miracle, in his logic, is the end of a process where you have done everything possible. And then he very harshly adds: if the country does not change, if corruption remains, if people maintain neutrality, if ‘I don’t care’ — it means we have not yet reached the point where the sea should part.
What this video gives to the viewer in Israel
For the Israeli audience, especially for Israelis of Ukrainian origin, the interview hooks for several reasons.
Firstly, it constantly returns to the theme of memory and resilience — the very one on which Israel has built its security and statehood for decades.
Secondly, it shows the war not as a television background, but as human mechanics: fear, laughter, anger, faith, everyday details that keep the psyche afloat.
Thirdly, it asks an uncomfortable question: where is your position? Are you inside the events or are you trying to wait it out until ‘it passes by itself’?
And finally — it reminds that religion in war can be not a set of answers, but a way to keep a person from turning into emptiness.
On March 2, 2026, the ceremonial opening of the traveling exhibition “Journey with the ‘Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter’: From Antiquity to 1939” took place at the Bila Tserkva Regional Museum, organized by the Canadian non-governmental organization ‘Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter’ (UJE). The exhibition highlights the centuries-old history of relations between Ukrainians and Jews—from the first mentions of Jewish communities in Ukrainian lands to the events of the 20th century, offering a broader view of the complex and rich shared history.
Bila Tserkva has a long and rich history of the Jewish community. Jews began to actively settle here as early as the 17th–18th centuries, and by the 19th century, they constituted a significant part of the city’s population. The Jewish community played an important role in the trade, crafts, and cultural life of Bila Tserkva. The city had synagogues, educational institutions, charitable societies, and various public organizations. Despite the tragic events of the 20th century, particularly the Holocaust, the memory of the city’s Jewish heritage is preserved thanks to researchers, public organizations, and cultural initiatives like this exhibition.
The opening of the exhibition took place in the museum space, which has been an important center for preserving the historical memory of the region for over a hundred years. The museum director, Stanislav Davidkov, addressed the guests with a welcoming speech, emphasizing the importance of such projects for a deeper understanding of the city’s history and its multicultural heritage. The host of the ceremonial opening of the UJE exhibition was Alisa Chernetskaya, head of the sector of traveling and stationary exhibitions of the regional museum.
During the opening of the exhibition, Vladislav Grinevich, UJE’s regional manager in Ukraine, spoke about the organization’s activities and its educational and research initiatives. He noted that the exhibition is intended to help visitors better understand the complex and vibrant history of the coexistence of Ukrainians and Jews, as well as to promote the development of an open dialogue about the shared past, present, and future.
Among the visitors at the event were many schoolchildren, for whom the acquaintance with the exhibition became an important educational event. The initiative of the organization—the All-Ukrainian Student Drawing Contest “Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: Our Stories Are Incomplete Without Each Other”—particularly interested the youth, encouraging students to reflect on the shared history of Ukrainians and Jews through creativity.
Natella Andryushchenko, who heads the Jewish Society of Bila Tserkva “Mitzvah,” also addressed the attendees. In her speech, she emphasized the importance of preserving the memory of the city’s Jewish community and supporting cultural initiatives that promote mutual understanding between different communities. She noted that it is especially symbolic to hold the opening of the exhibition during the celebration of Purim, as this holiday reminds us of the strength of the Jewish community, its traditions, and the importance of preserving historical memory.
Among the honorary guests of the event was also Yulia Kovalska, head of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Bila Tserkva City Council, who emphasized the significant importance of such exhibitions for the development of the city’s cultural life and the popularization of its historical heritage, thanking UJE.
A special atmosphere during the opening was created by the performance of the vocal ensemble “Rikud” from the Bila Tserkva Corporate Lyceum of the Shreiber family. A group of girls performed the song “Light in You,” and this musical number became the warmest and most emotional moment of the event. It reminded those present of the importance of supporting the younger generation interested in history and cultural heritage, while simultaneously engaging in such educational initiatives.
After the official part, guests were able to get a closer look at the exhibition materials. Visitors carefully examined the exposition, discussed individual historical plots, and shared their own reflections on the complex but important history of Ukrainian-Jewish relations.
Each visitor traditionally received a bright and informative catalog “Journey with the ‘Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter’: From Antiquity to 1914” as a gift—a book edition that contains many historical materials and can serve as a source for further acquaintance with the topic of Ukrainian-Jewish relations.
Vladislav Grinevich, UJE’s regional manager in Ukraine, presents Natella Andryushchenko, head of the Jewish Society of Bila Tserkva “Mitzvah,” with a set of books published with the support of UJE.
Vladislav Grinevich, UJE’s regional manager in Ukraine, presents Stanislav Davidkov, director of the Bila Tserkva Regional Museum, with a set of books published with the support of UJE.
The importance of such initiatives for preserving historical memory and cultural dialogue between communities is undeniable. This event became another step towards strengthening mutual understanding and respect between Ukrainians and Jews. In this context, it is worth noting that exhibitions like “Journey with the ‘Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter’” play a key role in shaping public consciousness. Israel News | Nikk.Agency
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On March 17, 2026, a topic that was previously discussed in Israel as a concerning scenario began to take shape as a public story in major Western media. According to The Wall Street Journal, Russia expanded its intelligence sharing and military cooperation with Iran, providing it with satellite images, advanced drone technologies, and tactical recommendations for their use. Reuters, summarizing the WSJ publication, specifically noted that it could not independently verify this information, and on March 18, the Kremlin called the material ‘fake news.’
But even with this caveat regarding the degree of confirmation, the picture looks too familiar for Israel to underestimate it. Because it’s not just about the friendship of two regimes or diplomatic exchanges of pleasantries. It’s about transferring to the Middle East the military experience that Russia has accumulated in the war against Ukraine — through blood, through strikes on cities, through a constant technological race in the air.
Not just helping an ally, but exporting a ready-made model of war
According to the WSJ publication, the technologies transferred to Iran include upgraded components for Shahed, which are supposed to improve communication, navigation, and targeting. Simultaneously, as The Washington Post previously wrote, Russia, according to officials, also provided Iran with targeting data for American forces in the region, including the location of US military ships and aircraft in the Middle East.
This is what makes the story particularly important for the Israeli audience. If previously Iran mainly exported its drones and technologies to Russia, now the process clearly goes both ways. Moscow returns to Tehran an already refined product: not just ‘hardware,’ but improved solutions tested in the Ukrainian war, plus tactics honed for real air defense, a saturated front, and constant counteraction.
Why this looks so dangerous specifically for Israel
According to WSJ, Russia shared with Iran not only technologies but also practical recommendations — how many drones to use in one operation and from what heights it is more effective to strike. This is no longer the level of ‘allied sympathy.’ This is, in essence, the transfer of a combat manual. And when such a manual is born in the war against Ukraine, the next theater of its application may well be already near Israel, American bases, and Gulf countries.
This is the unpleasant but honest conclusion: Ukraine has become not only a target but also a testing ground for dictatorships. Drones are tested there, ways to break through air defenses, the rhythm of combined attacks, the load on the enemy’s defense, and the speed of adaptation. And then this experience is scaled up. Not in theory. Before our eyes.
Ukraine as a laboratory, the Middle East as the next stage
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated to Reuters on March 15 that Russia is already supplying Iran with Shahed for use against the US and Israel, calling it a ‘100% fact.’ Two days later, during a visit to London, he described Russia and Iran as ‘brothers in hatred’ and warned allies that the war in the Middle East distracts attention from Ukraine while simultaneously pushing up Moscow’s oil revenues and creating a risk of redistributing Western air defense systems in favor of another front.
For Israel, this logic is clear without unnecessary explanations. The longer Ukraine is forced to hold back the Russian drone evolution alone, the more ready solutions accumulate at the Moscow-Tehran axis. And if these solutions then go against Israeli and American targets, it is no longer ‘parallel wars,’ but a single chain of exchange of experience, technologies, and operational logic.
That is why НАновости — Новости Израиля | Nikk.Agency sees not just another episode of Russian-Iranian rapprochement in such a story. Here, something else is more important: Moscow sells Tehran not only data and details, it effectively exports the very practice of modern warfare — the one it has been testing on Ukrainian cities, power plants, and defense lines for dozens of months.
What changes if the war drags on
If the current war drags on, the risk is not only in new supplies of components. The danger lies in the expansion of the very nomenclature of assistance: more intelligence, more engineering solutions, more joint drone tuning, and possibly more exchange on ways to strike infrastructure and overload air defense systems. This is already visible in the reports on satellite reconnaissance, technologies for Shahed, and tactical recommendations. Even where details still remain at the level of leaks, the direction of movement is too clear.
What the West must understand before it’s too late
It is dangerous for the West to look at Ukraine and Israel as two separate folders in different desks. AP wrote on March 17 that the war with Iran is already stealing political attention from Ukraine and may limit its access to vital Western air defense systems, while rising oil prices additionally play into Russia’s hands. This means that every unsynchronized reaction of allies works immediately for two adversaries.
Now the main question is no longer whether Russia helps Iran ‘a little’ or ‘a lot.’ The main question is whether democratic countries will have time to recognize the obvious: the war against Ukraine has long become a school for authoritarian regimes, and its lessons go further — to those who fight against Israel and the American presence in the region. And if this process is not broken at the stage of technologies, intelligence, and logistics, then it will be necessary to extinguish the consequences later.
Tickets are already on sale! Part of the proceeds will be donated to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Israel Defense Forces.
NAnovosti continues to follow important events in the world of music, and for all fans of Ukrainian culture in Israel, a unique offer is ready. On May 6, 2026, Tel Aviv will become the center of a musical event that many have been waiting for — a concert by Ukrainian singer YAKTAK.
YAKTAK
After a successful European tour that gathered thousands of spectators, YAKTAK will bring his music to the heart of Israel — Havana Music Club.
YAKTAK is a name that is known in many countries today. Young, but already one of the most sought-after artists of the generation, he continues to gain popularity actively. His songs “Endorphin”, “Sky”, “Gaze”, and “At Night” have already become soundtracks for thousands of stories around the world, and now Israelis will be able to hear them live.
“Silent” (soundtrack to the project “Mavka”), “C’est la vie”, “Ultramarine” and other new tracks actively playing in 2025–2026.
YAKTAK in Tel Aviv on May 6, 2026: concert of the Ukrainian musician with support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and IDF – Hits sung by the entire hall
The influence of Ukrainian music on the world stage is undeniable, and it is no coincidence that YAKTAK is in the spotlight. This concert in Israel promises to be unforgettable.
The success story of YAKTAK
Yaroslav Mykolayovych Karpuk, better known by the pseudonym YAKTAK, began his career as a participant in the 5th season of the Ukrainian show “Voice. Children”, where he not only reached the super-final but also took second place. Since 2021, he has been actively developing his solo project, creating unique musical compositions and collaborating with well-known artists such as Jerry Heil, MamaRika, SOBOL, and many others.
Since February 2022, YAKTAK officially launched his solo project, and his popularity quickly gained momentum. His songs in the pop and hip-hop genres resonated with a young audience, as well as more mature listeners who appreciate sincerity and talent. In 2024, YAKTAK even participated in the national selection for the Eurovision 2024 contest, demonstrating his versatility as an artist.
This will not be just a concert. An atmosphere that cannot be conveyed in words, hits sung by the entire hall, emotions that remain for a long time — this is how the organizers describe the upcoming event. The entrance ticket will provide a unique opportunity to become part of this musical journey and support not only culture but also the military who are at the center of the struggle for the independence and security of Ukraine and Israel.
Part of the proceeds will be donated to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Israel Defense Forces
Special attention should be paid to the social component of this concert. Part of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Israel Defense Forces, emphasizing the mutual support and solidarity of the two peoples, including the Jewish people, who have deep ties with Ukraine. This event goes beyond music and becomes a symbol of unity in difficult times.
Why should you attend the YAKTAK concert in Tel Aviv?
The musical event of the year — YAKTAK — is one of the brightest representatives of Ukrainian music on the international stage.
Extraordinary atmosphere — YAKTAK concerts are always filled with emotions and energy that are hard to forget.
Support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Israel Defense Forces — you can not only enjoy the concert but also contribute to an important cause.
A unique opportunity for Israelis of Ukrainian descent — support for Ukrainian culture in Israel.
NAnovosti – news of Israelreminds all fans of Ukrainian music that the YAKTAK concert in Tel Aviv on May 6, 2026, is not just a concert, it is support for two nations, a meeting of cultures, and a symbol of solidarity. Tickets for the event are already on sale, and this is a chance to become part of something important, feel unity, and hear music that captures the soul.
Don’t miss this event — come, support, and enjoy beautiful music!
Tickets
YAKTAK concert in Tel Aviv: what to expect?
Date: May 6, 2026 Time: 20:00 Venue: Havana Music Club, Tel Aviv, Yigal Alon St 126 Tickets:
In Haifa, the laureates of the city’s title “Honorary Citizen of Haifa” were announced — in Hebrew, this is יקירי העיר חיפה. Among the 12 new laureates for 2025 was an immigrant from Ukraine: Mira Gross (מירה גרוס), a native of Chernivtsi.
The award ceremony took place on January 8, 2026, at the Krieger Center — מרכז קריגר. The official list of laureates was published there as well. In the municipality’s materials, next to Mira Gross’s name, her public position is indicated: «יו”ר מועצת בני ברית חיפה» — chairperson of the council of B’nai B’rith Haifa (בני ברית חיפה), with an explanation of her leadership in volunteer initiatives in the fields of health, women’s support, work with teenagers with special needs, and projects related to the joint life of different communities in the city.
Mira Gross’s story is an example of a “quiet” contribution that rarely becomes the hero of loud headlines. But it is precisely such biographies of the city that are usually noted: they contain decades of work, responsibility, human resilience, and a habit of seeing things through to completion.
Jews from Ukraine: Mira Gross from Chernivtsi — among 12 ‘Honorary Citizens of Haifa’ for 2025
What the title “Ikarim of Haifa” (יקירי העיר חיפה) means
The award “יקירי העיר חיפה” is not a popularity contest or a formal “checkmark” for one successful project. The municipality emphasizes: the title is awarded once a year and, as a rule, to no more than 12 people. The rules specify an age criterion: candidates are considered if they are 70+, as well as the importance of long-term residence in the city and that the “center of life” of the person is in Haifa. The commission, as noted, takes into account the demographic picture of the city when possible.
Simply put, it is always a story about a long distance. To be noticed at such a level, you need to be useful for years — in a hospital, in a school, in public structures, in city projects, in places where help does not look “media-friendly,” but without it, everything falls apart.
Chernivtsi → Israel: the beginning of Mira Gross’s biography (מירה גרוס)
In the official biography published by the municipality, it is stated that Mira Gross was born in 1948 in Chernivtsi (Ukraine). The names of her parents are also listed: Zalman and Sarah Berkovich.
It is separately emphasized that the family had the status of «מסורבת עלייה» — “refuseniks”: repatriation was not a simple procedure, and permission to leave had to be obtained. In 1972, she repatriated to Israel with her husband and three-month-old daughter. This detail is important not “for sentimentality,” but for understanding reality: her move to a new country did not begin with a “period of adaptation in peace,” but immediately with responsibility and domestic tension.
The same biography states that her husband is Leon Gross (ליאון גרוס), a football player for Dynamo Kyiv. For the Haifa audience, this is not an empty reference: Leon Gross was associated with Israeli football after repatriation, so the surname is recognizable in the city not only in the medical field.
Education and professional base: not “just a nurse”
Official data from the municipality adds details that are usually lost in a short retelling.
Mira Gross is listed as having a bachelor’s degree in biology and nursing. Later, she continued her studies and professional development — this is an important element of her career because nursing in Israel at the managerial level has long ceased to be just a “craft” and requires administrative and systemic competencies.
In this biography, there is no sense of “careerism for the sake of career.” Rather, it is a habit of learning and expanding competencies to be responsible for people and processes in the hospital without self-deception.
“Lin” (מרכז רפואי לין): 43 years of medicine and responsibility for the care system
Professionally, Mira Gross is a nurse. The official biography states that approximately six months after repatriation, she began working in the healthcare system. Later, she specialized in diabetes, and over time reached a managerial position at the medical center “Lin” in Haifa — מרכז רפואי לין (this is a Clalit structure, כללית).
Sources mention two close formulations: אחות ראשית (chief nurse) and מנהלת הסיעוד (director/manager of the nursing service). To sound precise and “without hesitation” in Russian, it is more accurate to write: head of the nursing service at the “Lin” medical center.
This is not a “desk job.” It is responsibility for care standards, training, and quality of nursing staff work, process organization, resource distribution, and communication between departments. Usually, at this level, a person becomes the one who keeps the clinic “in shape” every day — without unnecessary noise.
Mira Gross retired in 2016. If counted by public chronology (work shortly after 1972–1973 and until 2016), the figure “43+ years” seems justified. The Israeli publication Haipo in an article about her retirement states it directly: 43 years of work in the nursing and management system. The farewell evening is also described there, attended by about 120 colleagues according to the publication.
In a separate note by Haipo about the appointment of her successor, another important detail is added: Mira Gross was the head of the nursing service at “Lin” for about two decades. This is not just “worked for a long time,” but “managed the system for a long time,” which is a key point for the hospital.
Work beyond the hospital: education, public health, and systemic projects
The official biography of the municipality emphasizes: her activities were not limited to the walls of “Lin.”
Among the directions mentioned are projects on health education, as well as participation at the level of interaction with healthcare structures. The biography also features a Ministry of Health project related to promoting a healthy lifestyle, mentioning the format of lectures and meetings for different audiences — from children to the elderly.
These details are important for one reason: they show that her career developed towards public health and a systemic approach — when you think not only about the current patient but also about how to make people less sick and better understand what is happening to them.
After retirement: B’nai B’rith Haifa (בני ברית חיפה) as a continuation of “city work”
If the story ended in 2016, it would already be a strong biography.
But it continues — and it is here that the second layer appears, which the municipality directly associates with the awarding of the title “יקירי העיר חיפה”.
After retiring, Mira Gross continued her public activities in B’nai B’rith Haifa (בני ברית חיפה). In the official list of laureates, next to her name, the position is indicated: יו”ר מועצת בני ברית חיפה — chairperson of the organization’s council.
The municipality formulates the directions of her work quite clearly: volunteer projects in the field of health, support for women, assistance to teenagers with special needs, initiatives related to inter-community dialogue and “joint life” in the city.
A separate congratulation from the B’nai B’rith organization after the ceremony (dated January 9, 2026) adds specifics: she is credited with helping to open new divisions, supporting women, working with teenagers, with “lone soldiers,” and with immigrants, as well as promoting quality of life and health in the community.
It is important to emphasize this in simple language: it is not about “symbolic participation,” but about work that requires time, connection with people, organizational skills, and the ability to constantly engage.
In local publications related to B’nai B’rith, practical projects are also mentioned — for example, initiatives to help children from low-income families (such as providing school backpacks). They are useful as a fact: they show the scale of “earthly” work that does not require a camera.
Why Haifa noted such a biography
When the municipality describes the meaning of the “ikarim of the city” award, a clear criterion is mentioned: these are people who have left a mark on the life of Haifa.
Mira Gross’s story fits this criterion almost “textbook-like,” but without textbook pathos:
aliyah from Chernivtsi, the difficult path of a “refusenik” family;
decades of medicine in Haifa;
leadership role in the nursing service at “Lin”;
continuation of public work after retirement, in structures that really help people;
combination of professional experience and volunteer practice.
This looks like normal city logic: Haifa recognizes those who have been doing work for years on which others depend. And does so without the need to turn a person into a “poster.”
Why this is important for the “Jews from Ukraine” section
Chernivtsi is a city with a strong Jewish history, and for many Israelis of Ukrainian origin, this geography is not abstract but personal.
Mira Gross’s story is not about loud statements, scandals, or “big politics.” It is about how Jews from Ukraine integrated into Israel through systemic professions and public responsibility: hospitals, education, volunteer networks, support for those in need.
And perhaps this is one of the most accurate ways to talk about “contribution”: not with slogans, but with biographies that show how many years a person has held the city in their hands.
On September 1, 1939, Hitler sent troops into Poland. This date is considered the beginning of World War II.
Everyone knows the first strike. But they try to keep silent about the second
But almost no one talks about September 17, when the Red Army entered from the east. Poland found itself in a vise: the Reich pressed from the west, the USSR from the east. The two dictators had agreed in advance.
Secret protocol and division of the world
Two weeks before the war, Moscow and Berlin signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. A secret appendix divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.
Germany took Western Poland. The USSR received Eastern Poland, the Baltics, and the right to claim part of Romania. For the Poles, this meant the end of the state and the beginning of chaos.
September 17, 1939: how the USSR became the second occupier of Poland
Repressions, deportations, and Katyn
The USSR called it a “liberation campaign.” In reality, it was mass arrests and forced relocations.
Thousands of families were taken to Siberia and Kazakhstan. The fate of officers and the intelligentsia was even more terrible. In the spring of 1940, the NKVD carried out the Katyn massacre: more than 20,000 people were shot in the back of the head.
What the President of Poland said in 2025
On September 1, 2025, Karol Nawrocki once again demanded reparations from Germany. For the destruction, for the blood, for the crimes of World War II.
But he did not say a word about Moscow. Not about Katyn, not about the deportations, not about the fact that millions of Poles suffered precisely at the hands of the USSR.
Today, Germany is Poland’s ally in the EU. Russia, however, continues the line of the USSR: war against Ukraine, threats to neighbors, imperial ambitions. And Warsaw’s silence in this context sounds duplicitous.
Consequences for Europe
The Soviet invasion showed that Stalin and Hitler acted as allies.
England and France declared war only on Germany. Stalin was given carte blanche. He occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, attacked Finland, and seized part of Romania.
Thus, the map of Eastern Europe emerged, which largely remained until 1991.
A wake-up call for the whole world
The division of Poland became a chain reaction. Germany gained a rear for a strike on France. The USSR expanded its army and resources. The USA saw that it was not a local conflict, but a new world war.
International law turned out to be a fiction. The League of Nations was powerless. The lesson: when an aggressor is not stopped in time, he goes further.
Jewish tragedy
For the Jews of Poland, it was a nightmare from both sides.
The Nazis began the Holocaust: ghettos, deportations to camps, mass killings. And the Soviet authorities deported tens of thousands of families to Siberia. Jewish intelligentsia were arrested as “unreliable.”
One part of the people perished in the ovens of Auschwitz, another in the snows of Siberia. These are two different catastrophes, but both destroyed communities that had lived in Poland for centuries.
Forgotten dictator and dangerous parallels
The world remembers Hitler. His name has become a symbol of evil.
But many still call Stalin a “victor.” His portraits are carried at parades in Russia, and his crimes are justified. Yet he was the one who opened the road to war, destroyed millions of Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, and Balts.
Today, Russia continues the same policy. It justifies aggression with “historical territories,” invades Ukraine, and threatens Poland. This is a direct legacy of 1939.
Conclusions worth remembering
September 17, 1939, is a date that changed the map of Europe.
Poland became a victim of two dictators at once.
The Jewish people found themselves between the Holocaust and Soviet exile.
Europe then turned a blind eye to Moscow’s crimes. The price of silence was tens of millions of lives.
And today, the reminder of Stalin is as important as the memory of Hitler. Because forgotten evil always returns.
