Israel Active

Magen David Adom began a blood drive on Sunday in the Druze-majority village of Isfiya to support wounded Druze in Syria. Dozens of people lined up to donate their blood as soon as the donation center opened, and 40 samples were collected in just two hours.

Two Israeli C-130 aircraft dropped 34 tons of fire retardant, significantly suppressing the recent Cyprus wildfires. Meanwhile, aid from the EU didn’t arrive in time.

180 educators from 22 countries arrived in Israel for an annual 7-day education seminar sponsored by KKL-JNF. They visited sites of ecological, historical and national significance and met with IDF reps, educators, kibbutzniks, and local leaders.

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority rescued a lion cub that was tied to a tree in the yard of a home in the Palestinian Arab village of Abu Dis east of Jerusalem. It was unhurt, but very thin. It was the sixth lion cub, plus 10 monkeys and 36 parrots, found in captivity by Israeli authorities this year.

Arabs in Israel speak freely about their feelings about living in Israel.

Boston-based Frieze Family Foundation has committed $5 million to the University of Haifa to establish a “Center for Shared Society” - a space at the university dedicated to strengthening bonds between Jewish and Arab Israelis. It will focus on learning, research and advocacy.

Sharon reminds us of previous joint events with Israeli Druze. And recently, Milhem Asaad was awarded the “Presidential Medal for Civil Valor” having saved Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam. See also photos of Independence Day and Jerusalem Marathon.

Israel has approved a new humanitarian aid package for Ukraine. It includes water systems, each with the capacity to provide clean drinking water to tens of thousands of people. Eastern Ukraine no longer has functioning water infrastructure, as a result of more than three years of Russian bombardment.

The Israeli passport has risen one place to 18th in the latest Henley & Partners Global passport index based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Israelis can now travel visa-free, or obtain visa-on-arrival access, to 168 destinations. (See previously)

Brazil’s Federal Senate has passed a law establishing on Apr 12 as “Brazil–Israel Friendship Day”. It signals growing pushback against President Lula da Silva’s increasingly hostile stance toward Jerusalem. Apr 12 is the anniversary of Brazil’s opening of its embassy in Israel in 1951.