In God We Trust: KANAANI Breed Is Being Reborn in the United States
Sometimes destiny begins not with loud declarations or official press releases. Sometimes everything begins quietly—with an inner realization that you no longer have the right to walk past a living being that is disappearing. Not because it will bring fame or status, but because to ignore it would be a betrayal of yourself.
This is how my story with the KANAANI breed began—a rare Israeli cat breed that emerged in Jerusalem in the 1990s and was first documented as experimental within the WCF system through the work of Doris Polachek. At that time, the breed received official status, but interest in it quickly faded. Breeders stopped working with it. Years passed. Then decades. And at some point, there were virtually no active KANAANI catteries left in the world.
What struck me was not simply that this breed was rare.
What struck me was something far deeper—that it could disappear forever, almost silently. Without catastrophe. Without tragedy. Simply because, one day, no one cared anymore.
It was during my studies in the rabbinical program at JSLI (Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute) that I began to enter more deeply into biblical texts concerning humanity’s responsibility toward the living world. The story of Noah ceased to be abstract for me. It suddenly became personal—not a legend of the past, but an instruction for the present.
In Judaism, there is a concept called hashgacha pratit—personal Divine providence. It is the sense that certain events in life occur not by chance, but as though a task has been placed into your hands. This is exactly how I experienced my encounter with the fate of the KANAANI breed. I understood: if I did not do this—no one would.
Thus began the long and difficult path of restoring the breed.
I searched for these cats for nearly a year—through countries, through people, through archives, through old bloodlines believed to be lost. When the first KANAANI cats finally came to me, it became clear that this was not merely a rare breed, but a unique living synthesis of ancient wild instincts and domestic socialization. KANAANI is not an artificially constructed breed. It is a natural hybrid of descendants of Felis lybica (the African wildcat) and Israeli feral street cats, formed through natural conditions.
Today, I have only three cats of this breed—mother, father, and daughter. A small number. But it is no longer zero. It is already a living line. It is already a chance.
After twenty-five years of practical inactivity, the breed has once again received experimental pedigrees through WCF (RIEX)—official international documentary recognition. And at this very moment, the breed is in the final stage of registration with TICA (The International Cat Association) in the United States as a New Experimental Breed. This is no longer the beginning of a process, but its concluding phase—days, perhaps weeks.
And here a fundamental question arises for me:
Why the United States?
Because America is not only about economics, technology, and military power. The true strength of this country has always been something else—ethics, the defense of the vulnerable, and the willingness to grant a second chance even when everything seems lost. It is no coincidence that the words In God We Trust appear first and foremost on the nation’s currency, yet in essence they permeate the public spirit itself.
The restoration of a nearly extinct breed here is not merely a procedural matter. It is a symbol. It is a declaration that compassion, responsibility, and care for all living beings remain fundamental values.
There is also a mysterious detail: many KANAANI cats have a clearly visible marking in the form of the letter “M” on their foreheads. In some religious circles, the breed has already begun—unofficially—to be called the “Messianic Cat.” I have never turned this into a slogan, but the way spiritual symbolism unexpectedly intertwines with biology cannot fail to inspire awe.
Alongside the restoration of the breed, I am currently studying in the Animal Chaplaincy program at the Compassion Consortium, and this training only deepens my understanding that care for animals is not a peripheral theme of spiritual life—it is one of its essential dimensions. In addition to my completed rabbinical education at JSLI, this preparation has taught me to see more clearly the depth of human responsibility toward those who are weaker.
A particularly meaningful coincidence occurred just last week at the Graduate Theological Foundation, where I study under Professor Herbert Levine, Ph.D., a scholar formed within the Princeton academic tradition. Together we explored psalms devoted to the greatness of Creation and gratitude for life. And today, these verses feel like the natural conclusion of this entire story:
“Ma rabu ma’asecha Adonai, kulam be’chochma asita; male’ah ha’aretz kinyanecha.”
“How manifold are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.” (Psalm 104:24)
“Kol haneshamah tehallel Yah. Hallelujah.”
“Let every living soul praise the Lord. Hallelujah.” (Psalm 150:6)
I sincerely hope that TICA will become the first global feline association to officially anchor this breed in the United States—and that from this American recognition will begin its genuine worldwide return to the international community.
My family carries a symbolic connection to the White House: my brother was twice invited there for Hanukkah celebrations during the presidency of George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush, in official ceremonial visits. And I do not hide my hope that one day the KANAANI breed—already officially recognized in the United States—may also appear there as a symbol of care for life, as a small but meaningful sign that restoration is possible.
Everything that is happening, I do not perceive as a personal success, but as a entrusted mission. And if today this path passes through the United States of America, then it was precisely here that it was meant to begin anew.
In God We Trust.
Amen ve-Amen.
So may it be.
