Israel Active

The Israeli town of Yerucham and Bedouin village of Rachme show what true coexistence and peace looks like.

Arab media stated that some 100,000 worshipers prayed at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Israel’s President, Prime Minister and Defense Minister issued festival greetings to all of Israel’s Muslim and Druze populations.

There has been a sharp rise in Muslim recruitment to the IDF. Some 606 Muslim Arabs drafted to the IDF in 2020, compared to 489 in 2019 and 436 in 2018. More than half of the new recruits opted for combat roles. Dropout rates and unauthorized leave rates have also decreased.

Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate (MID) has appointed the first female deputy chief of Unit 8200, the directorate’s main information-gathering unit. Lt. Col. G. will be promoted to full colonel and lead the MID’s artificial intelligence revolution.

Israeli non-profit For the Wildlife rescues, treats and rehabilitates injured wild animals – more than 70,000 in 2020. The clinic accepts all animals including porcupines, jackals, wild boar and bats. The organization recently launched a to finance a state-of-the art animal hospital.  (Hebrew only)

Shirly Pinto, Israel's first deaf Member of Knesset, delivered a speech entirely in sign language from the Knesset plenum. At the end of her address, the entire Knesset stood up and applauded, both by clapping and in sign-language. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, “You are an inspiration to us all.”

Keren Amiel has congenital nystagmus, which causes her eyes to “dance” uncontrollably. As one of this year’s 241 Technion medical graduates, she is Israel’s first visually impaired doctor and has started residency in child and adolescent psychiatry at Schneider Children’s Medical Center.

The IDF search-and-rescue team that traveled to Miami last month in the wake of the recent disaster was praised effusively before flying home over the weekend. Miami Dade County’s Mayor presented them with medals, saying they “would never ever forget what you have done”.

The United Arab Emirates physically opened its embassy in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange building in June (see previously).  Now, at the official opening, UAE Ambassador Mohamed Al Khaja said it would provide a model for new narrative and approach for conflict resolution in the Middle East.

Israel has signed its first cooperation agreements with the United Arab Emirates in the field of agriculture. It covers research and innovation, including development of produce suitable for growing in desert conditions, as well as other advancements in water management and irrigation.