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

STRATEGIC CHOKEPOINT: A Puntland Marine officer patrols the Bosasso coastline in the Red Sea against ISIS, in Bari Region in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia, Jan. 2025.

Will Israel stand alone for Somaliland? - opinion

The menorah-inscribed stone door discovered in Tiberias, December 2017

Parashat Beha'alotcha: The courage to see beyond

Judaism seeks to bridge the divide between spiritual and physical.

Shavuot 2026: The festival's Jewish mission to elevate the world


Why does Jerusalem belongs to the Jews? Because history says so - opinion

At a time when lies about Israel spread with alarming speed across campuses, social media, and international forums, it is more important than ever to stand unapologetically for truth.

BNEI AKIVA youth movement members dance with a Torah scroll at the Western Wall on Jerusalem Day, on May 20, 1974.

Parashat Bamidbar: ‘Machar Chodesh’

This week’s haftarah offers a timely message about longing, loyalty, and the enduring bond between the Jewish people and their homeland.

IDF SOLDIERS stand at the Western Wall in June 1967 after it was captured during the Six Day War.

Manasseh’s children come home to Zion - and fulfill a 2,700-year promise - opinion

The aliyah of hundreds of members of the Bnei Menashe community from northeastern India, completes a long and meandering journey that began nearly 2,700 years ago.

PEOPLE AWAIT their Bnei Menashe relatives making aliyah, at Ben-Gurion Airport, 2006.

Parashat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim: The promise of permanence

The covenant endures. The people have returned. And, as the Malbim teaches, we shall never again be cast out.

That mission is rooted in the fusion of the sacred and the everyday.

Small nations, strong ties: Fiji’s ambassador talks faith, friendship, and Israel - interview

In an interview with the Magazine, Ambassador Jesoni Vitusagavulu explained the strategic - as well as spiritual - reasons behind Fiji’s support for Israel.

FIJI’S FIRST resident ambassador to Israel: Jesoni Vitusagavulu (L) presents his credentials to President Isaac Herzog, Feb. 3.

Answering the call: The overlooked Jewish role in America’s revolution - opinion

Jewish merchants, artisans, and professionals rallied behind the revolutionary effort, providing supplies, raising funds, and joining local militias.

HAYM SALOMON played a pivotal role in financing the revolution.  Pictured: Salomon statue in Pan-Pacific Park, Los Angeles.

Shabbat Rosh Hodesh: At the threshold of renewal

Shabbat Rosh Hodesh is an invitation to renew not only the month but also ourselves.

‘Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad with her, all who love her.’

In the shadow of the Holocaust, survivors kept Passover alive in 1946 - opinion

The first post-Holocaust Passover brought survivors together to reclaim dignity, remember loss, and celebrate survival.

Dachau (seen 2020): The stench, the skeletal figures, the degradation.

Beyond buffer zones: Southern Lebanon may need a permanent Israeli presence - opinion

After decades of temporary buffer zones, Israel may need civilian presence in southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah’s return.

Litani river, Bekaa Valley.

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.

Ezekiel teaches that a true beginning requires cleansing.