Israel Active

Israeli NGO Tevel b’Tzedek (see previously) has developed a model for transforming village economies by comprehensively addressing their challenges. It improves access to water, seeds, fertilizer, agricultural knowledge, a way to store harvests and to bring them to market together.

The UK Ministry of Defence (who trained me in 1975) has banned training Israelis (see & ). In contrast, the United States and Israeli Air Forces are totally aligned. They recently concluded a weeklong strategic forum focused on strengthening operational cooperation and joint planning.

Three Israeli Druze studying at Herzliya’s Reichman University are using their academic skills to raise awareness of the desperate plight of the Druze in Syria. Together they study cognitive psycholinguistics, leadership, and public diplomacy. A formidable trio.

The Israeli President’s Volunteer Awards were established in 1974 by President Ephraim Katzir. They include both organizations and individuals. In 2025 / 5785, some of the celebrants were not even human, and may not have volunteered, but they seemed very happy to be there!

Israel formally reopened its embassy in Lusaka, Zambia, after a gap of more than half a century. Zambia opened its embassy in Israel in 2015 (see previously) after a gap of 40 years. Meanwhile, Israel’s Save A Child’s Heart and AJC donated a $200,000 heart-lung machine to Zambia.

Over the past 10 years, Israeli biodiversity NGO “This is My Earth” (see previously) has raised $580,000 in campaigns to purchase 13 sq km of land in biodiversity hotspots under threat, protecting some 100 threatened species in six countries. The NGO has 7,000 members.

On 1 Sep, The UK Government’s David Lammy stated that Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza. Sir Michael Ellis KC, former Attorney General for England and Wales, noted that he made the admission in an "obscure letter released at midnight on a Friday during a ministerial reshuffle".

Former Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez Fundación received the Shalva Prize for Social Equality and Inclusion, in Jerusalem, in recognition of his steadfast leadership and commitment to social inclusion and human dignity. See all the Ambassadors who attended, and read his speech.

Israel may have the 2nd highest classroom density in the OECD, but it is 1st in expenditure on primary, secondary, and post-secondary education institutions. It is 3rd for children under two in educational institutes. And it is 1st in number of primary school days, as Israeli children learn 6 days per week.

A diary of the Technion UK’s Israel tour. Delegates have had media and security briefings, visits to new museums, the Technion, Rambam hospital, a Druze village, IAI, and the Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation. Plus presentations from Meta Israel, Moovit, and a Nobel Laureate.