Chess tournament unites Jews & Arabs

The Israeli Open Chess Championship in Acre brought together Jews, Arabs and Druze in friendly competition.  The 132 chess players ranged in age from 9 to 78 and included some 20 international masters and grandmasters.

Three new African ambassadors

Israeli President Herzog thanked the incoming ambassadors of Equatorial Guinea, Burundi and Eswatini for their support of Israel and in protecting Irael’s observer status in the African Union. “We believe in Africa. We love Africa,” Herzog told the ambassadors.

Good relations with Liberia

Representative Moimah Briggs Mensah is Chairperson of Liberia’s Israel Allies Foundation Caucus. She expressed her fervor for reinforcing Liberia’s diplomatic ties with Israel, which could even include establishing its embassy in Jerusalem by the end of 2024.

Brave Moslem women speak up for Israel

Anila Ali (Pakistan) and Soraya Deen (Sri Lanka) have dedicated themselves to resisting radical Islamist oppression of women and hatred of Israel and Jews. Anila spoke at a side event of the United Nations sponsored by the Israeli mission to the U.N.   (See at 27:41)

Israel relocates orphanage from Gaza to Judea

At the request of German authorities, Israel facilitated the transfer to Bethlehem of approximately 60 orphans, aged 3 to 15, from a German-funded Gaza orphanage that ceased operations due to the war.

Tech startups hire more women in R&D

A survey by the Israel Innovation Authority and Israel’s Reichman University has determined that 38% of women in the Israeli tech industry held R&D positions last year. This compares to 28% in 2013. Women now hold around one-third of all high-tech positions in the Jewish State.

The first female Airforce base commander

Lieutenant Colonel "Gimmel" is to lead the Ovda Airbase – the first woman to command an Israeli Air Force base. She enlisted in the IAF pilot training course in 2003 and will now be promoted to the rank of Colonel. See also previously.

Ukrainian healthcare workers train in Israel

Israeli NGO One Heart has facilitated the training of surgeons, physiotherapists, mental health professionals, and ocularists at leading Israeli medical centers.

Aid orgs share $1 million

Israel’s answer to the Nobel Prize, the $1 million Genesis Prize, has been jointly awarded to five organizations helping the Hamas-held hostages in Gaza and their families. They are JAFI, Lev Echad, Natal, One Family, and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Girls in hard hats

David Biggio and his daughters Shirel, Lael, Selah, and Sara, are construction workers from Shvut Rachel in Samaria. They specialize in plastering. Their religious employers were originally concerned about modesty, but now they are impressed with how hard the girls work.