Israel Active

For the first time since 2002, Israel has rejoined the African Union after Aleligne Admasu, Israeli Ambassador to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia received observer status.  The African Union, comprising all 55 African countries is the most important organization in the African continent.

The Iranian basketball coach and at least four of his team shook hands with Israel’s Ronen “Neno” Ginzburg, who has coached the Czech national basketball team since 2013. The small but friendly gestures took place before and after the Czech Republic’s 84-78 victory against Iran at the Tokyo Olympics.

The Museum of Islamic Art in Jerusalem has opened a new exhibit “Coffee: East and West”. It includes items on Bedouin hospitality, Turkish coffee, coffee’s Ethiopian origins, and how the Muslim ban on alcohol made coffeehouses popular. The sophisticated cafe culture of Israel’s European Jews is also featured.

A new mobile intensive care unit (MICU) was dedicated at a ceremony at the Magen David Adom station in the Israeli Druze town of Julis. The donor, Mounhal Hamoud, is owner of Israel’s Merkaza shopping chain and a director at the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Brigadier General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi was named the IDF’s next military advocate general and will be the second female Major General in Israel’s history. Defense Minister Gantz hailed her as a “trailblazer,” who overhauled status and legal protection for women in the military.

The Israel National Cyber Directorate has signed a cybersecurity cooperation agreement with Morocco in Rabat - the first cyber-defense accord between the two countries since the start of relations last year. It covers operations, R&D and the sharing of information and knowledge.

Israeli humanitarian agency IsraAID is sending staff members to areas of Germany devastated by flooding, to provide much-needed clean-up and disaster-relief assistance.

Israeli drone startup Airobotics will help Dubai police make the city a safer place for residents and visitors ahead of World Expo 2020 Dubai beginning in October and running for six months. Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum personally unveiled Airobotics’s Drone Box.

Despite travel restrictions, 80 young Central and South American Jews arrived to spend five months getting to know Israel’s tech ecosystem. The Discover by Israel Innovation Experience program aims to provide participants with skills and tools to set up their own successful startups.

Israel's UN Ambassador, Gilad Erdan, gave 10 international ambassadors a better perspective of Israel’s situation by taking them to see key sites in Israel. Meanwhile non-profit ELNET brought 40 French Parliamentarians to see Israel’s challenges first-hand and discuss topics of mutual interest.