Israel Active

The UAE's leading telecom group Etisalat has included the Israel-based network i24NEWS in the basic packages of its eLife and Switch TV services at no extra cost. This means that i24NEWS is the first channel broadcast from Israel to be officially available in the United Arab Emirates.

The consulate-general of Israel to South India, in Bengaluru, donated tablet computers to 100 underprivileged children in rural Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The tablets included educational software to help children study at home during the pandemic.

Israel has delivered a second Iron Dome defense system to the United States. The first was delivered in September (see previously). Both were delivered on time. Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the system would help defend American soldiers against ballistic and air threats.

In another first for Israeli women, deputy commander of the IDF's 9900th Unit, Lt. Col. R., has been appointed head of the Military Intelligence unit monitoring Iran, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

1,000+ Israeli Arabs volunteered to serve in the IDF as conscripts or reservists in 2020, twice that in 2019. Most joined after the coronavirus crisis began in March. They include Muslims from Jerusalem and PA controlled areas, Galilee Bedouin and Christian Arabs from northern Israel.

Muhana Fares from Israel’s Druze community has been Head of the Bureau for National Programs at Israel’s Ministry of Education since 2014. His task is to double the number of students studying the top level of math and now he also manages Science and Technology Administration.

Leumit, one of Israel’s four healthcare organizations, has dispatched mobile units to boost the inoculation program for citizens in remote communities. They vaccinated several hundred at Ofakim in the south and at the Arab town of Baqa al-Gharbiyye in the northern Sharon.

Israeli charity Shalva has launched a mass vaccination campaign for the disabled. In one day, 1,200 men and women with disabilities from across Israel, along with caregivers, therapists and medical staff, were inoculated at the Shalva National Center in Jerusalem.

Israeli non-profits United Hatzalah and Yad Beyad for the Development of Mevaseret Zion have partnered in a project to transport the over 60s and the disabled to Covid-19 vaccination centers during lockdown. The volunteer EMT will also assist with registration and drive them home afterwards.

In 2020 and despite COVID-19, Israeli NGO Innovation: Africa brought water and light to over 200 villages across Africa. They used Israeli technologies to bring solar energy, clean water, healthcare, and food security to millions of the world’s most vulnerable people.