Michael Freund

Michael Freund served as deputy communications director in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office under Benjamin Netanyahu. He is the founder and chairman of Shavei Israel -- www.shavei.org -- a Jerusalem-based organization that searches for and assists the Lost Tribes of Israel and other "hidden Jews" seeking to return to Israel and the Jewish people. For his work with Shavei Israel he has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Jerusalem Prize and the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism. In addition, Freund has been a correspondent and syndicated columnist for The Jerusalem Post for more than 20 years. A native New Yorker, he is a graduate of Princeton University and holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia University. Freund has authored two books and received rabbinical ordination. He made aliyah to Israel in 1995 and is the proud father of 5 sons, one of whom is a Captain in the IDF and four of whom are combat reservists in elite units. Freund remains an avid New York Mets fan. Email Michael at michael@shavei.org. View Michael's website at www.michaelfreund.net
Ezekiel teaches that a true beginning requires cleansing.

Shabbat Hachodesh: A time to cleanse and begin again

Shabbat Hachodesh reminds us that national rebirth is not only a matter of borders, armies, and institutions. It is also a matter of values.

MARCH 14, 2026
Like the red heifer's ashes, the destruction of Iran's instruments of death can become the catalyst for cleansing. A woman walks on the street following an Israeli and U.S. strike on a police station, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026.

Purification by fire: The red heifer and Iran

The struggle against the Iranian regime is not simply another round in an endless regional rivalry. It is a confrontation with a force that has sown instability and death for decades.

MARCH 7, 2026
THE HISTORY of Jewish-Persian friendship goes back over 2,500 years, and it is unlikely there is any other example of two civilizations enjoying such a long and prosperous relationship.

Israel and Iran once shared a future - now, they may do so again - opinion

Before 1979, Iran and Israel traded openly, there were flights between the countries, and they cooperated on security, agriculture, and oil.

MARCH 6, 2026

Beyond the Golan: The Israeli case for reclaiming southern Syria's Bashan - opinion

The Bashan is knocking, awaiting the return of its children, the Jewish people. Israel must now decide whether it hears it as noise or as a call.

FEBRUARY 21, 2026
VIEW OF snow on Mount Hermon in Syria, as seen from the northern Golan Heights, in Jan.

Jewish return to Temple Mount brings renewed memory and hope - opinion

Jews are returning to the Temple Mount, reconnecting prayer, memory, and faith in the place their hearts have longed for.

FEBRUARY 21, 2026
At first glance, it reads like an architectural blueprint rather than sacred literature.

Syria's old dangers remain: Don’t be fooled by the Syrian strongman’s suit - opinion

Israel saw elected Hamas turn Gaza into a terror enclave, Hezbollah enter Lebanese politics while building a missile empire, and now al-Shaara massacre minorities while wearing a suit.

FEBRUARY 7, 2026
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) is welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, on January 28.

Parashat Beshalach's lessons on unity, shared risk, and IDF service

A segment of Israeli society – largely comprising traditional, Religious-Zionist, and secular Jews – carries the overwhelming weight of military service.

JANUARY 30, 2026
A STATUE of Deborah dated 1792 stands in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Trump's board of folly: Why putting Turkey, Qatar in charge of Gaza is a farce - opinion

To place Ankara and Doha – two of the most vocal enablers of Hamas – in charge of shepherding Gaza toward peace is akin to appointing the tobacco lobby to run the World Health Organization.

JANUARY 23, 2026
US President Donald Trump and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani attend a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, late last year.

Parashat Bo: Jeremiah’s timeless promise to Israel

Empires crumble, pain persists, yet Israel survives; Jeremiah’s words offer reassurance across generations.

JANUARY 23, 2026
Exodus from Egypt (Edward Poynter)

Parashat Va'era: Between Pharaoh and Persia, pride before a fall

The Iranian regime, like Pharaoh, has long encouraged the belief that it is untouchable. Yet the protests reveal a profound rupture between the state and the society it purports to lead.

JANUARY 16, 2026
The mask of Tutankhamun is projected during a digital exhibition in Bordeaux, France, in 2025.

The return of the lost Jews - and the ‘great shofar’

'On that day, a great shofar shall be sounded, and those lost in the land of Assyria and those who were cast off in the land of Egypt shall come, and they shall bow to the Lord in Jerusalem.'

JANUARY 11, 2026
Shofarim. Illustrative.

Somaliland’s lost and forgotten Jews: Inside Horn of Africa's Jewish past - opinion

Beyond the politics, Israel’s recognition of Somaliland reveals a hidden Jewish past, from ancient cemeteries to the origins of the Yibir tribe.

JANUARY 10, 2026
Residents wave Somali flags as they attend a rally denouncing Israel’s recognition of the breakaway Somaliland region, during a gathering calling for Somalia’s territorial unity, in Mogadishu, Dec. 30.

Parashat Vayechi: King David's lesson in leadership

King David’s final words are not a farewell. They are a summons. A summons to responsibility, to faith and to moral resolve.

JANUARY 2, 2026
A mosaic of King David (illustartive)