Israel Active

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.

81 religious Jewish women completed the first two-year Adva program that trains women for tech development jobs. The virtual graduation event was attended by Israeli tech executives, who recruited the graduates for Apple, Facebook, Check Point, XM Cyber and others.

Hadeel reveals what life is really like for minorities in the Jewish State.

Ethiopian Israeli Ashager Araro (reported previously) is one of Jewish News Syndicate’s top 40 global advocates for Israel. Born on the roadside on the way to Israel, she became a top IDF paratrooper, graduate of IDC Herzilya and ambassador at Stand With Us.

21-year-old Israeli May Piamenta has raised $1 million for Vee - her social startup. The platform connects companies and organizations interested in mobilizing their staff for the sake of the community with volunteer activities and allows all activities to be managed remotely – vital during a pandemic. (Hebrew video)