Blind Arabs employed in Jerusalem
The Arab Blind Association is the first collective of its kind in the Middle East. Dozens of blind Arabs have obtained valued work making high-quality brooms. The concept has been spread across the Arab world, to Iraq, the UAE, and Egypt.
Bedouin honored
More than 600 Bedouin Israelis enlisted in the IDF in the past year. The details were announced during “Alliance of Brothers” - a ceremony to honor Bedouin contributions to the security forces.
Helping single mothers re-enter the jobs market
Israeli NGO ‘itworks’ has partnered the Jerusalem-based Yedidut Toronto Foundation to help find jobs for the estimated 20,000 single mothers who were placed on unpaid leave by their employers when the first wave of COVID hit Israel.
Guarding our beautiful Land
Young Nigerian-Israeli Sharona Shnayder is founder and CEO of Tuesdays for Trash, which encourages people to convene on a weekly basis to clean public spaces of discarded trash. It now operates in 23 countries. In 2020, Sharona interned at Israeli recycling company UBQ during a Masa program.
A new way to promote coexistence
Israeli organization “A New Way” connects Arabs and Jews through drama, sports, music, discussions, and volunteering. Initially a project between two schools in Kfar Kassem and Ramat Hasharon, it now serves many thousands (children and adults) in dozens of Israeli communities.
Help for Afghans
Israel’s SmartAID is helping give mental health support to at risk women in Afghanistan. They are also providing cell phones, data packages and solar battery packs. Separately Israel’s Global Development Corporation is rescuing Afghan refugees and even received praise from CNN.
Out of this world
Astronauts from Austria, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain are spending one month at the Ramon crater in Israel’s Negev desert. Organized by the Israel Space Agency and the Austrian Space Forum, the astronauts are simulating life on the planet Mars.
Digital quality of life survey
The compilers of the 2021 Digital Quality of Life survey, Surfshark, have asked that the source of the extract from the Times of Israel article in my last newsletter (see ) be attributed to them, which I am happy to do. Israel was ranked at number 4 in that survey, a rise from 8th in the 2020 survey.
Joint statement to UK from Abraham Accords nations
Israel, UAE, Bahrain and Morocco issued a joint statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Based on U.N. Resolution 1325, the statement stressed the value of women’s influence on human-rights matters, peace, sustainable development, and security.
Israeli-American shares Nobel Prize for Economics
Professor Joshua Angrist has just won a share in this year’s Nobel Prize for Economics for his work on “natural experiments”. Prof Angrist made Aliya in 1982 but gained his master’s and PhD in the US. He taught at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Harvard, and MIT.