Israel Active

The first Jewish-Arab-Jerusalem Hackathon took place in Margalit Startup City (reported previously), home to dozens of high-tech companies. 20 young entrepreneurs took part in a new initiative by Jewish and Arab entrepreneurs to build new projects for the benefit of Jerusalem.

I had not realized previously that Mansour Abbas, head of the Arab-Israeli Ra’am party, is deputy speaker of Israel’s Parliament – the Knesset.  And he seems much more moderate than the other parties in the Joint Arab List, as this latest news article shows.

On Dec 3, the city of Jerusalem and other Israeli cities will illuminate iconic buildings in purple in honor of the International Day of Disabled Persons. The Jerusalem buildings include the Chords Bridge, City Hall and Teddy Stadium.

When Yakov Pizenberg was 17 he began delivering left-over pastries from an Ashkelon bakery to elderly people and Holocaust survivors in the city. Now 21, he has founded “Youth for an Equal Society” which, mostly via the telephone and zoom, aids some 400 lonely, elderly people in Ashkelon.

Tel Aviv has been ranked as one of the seven most wheelchair-friendly cities in the world by London-based “Truly Belong” magazine. It reported that: “The eclectic city has made great strides in recent years to become fully accessible to people with disabilities.”

An Israeli-led resolution, “Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development,” was passed by an overwhelming majority of 144 nations by the United Nations Second Committee. The resolution calls for efforts to incentivize environmentally and socially sustainable solutions.

Israel’s Energy Ministry has presented a NIS 1.5 billion national energy efficiency plan to cut emissions by 17% by 2030. It also aims to improve energy efficiency and create thousands of new jobs. It includes investment in renewables, transition to electric vehicles and better construction and appliances.

Recent Israeli rains encouraged the appearance of some rare species of animals. They included the almost extinct poisonous fire salamander, which was spotted in the Northern Israel’s Banias nature reserve.

Israel’s Military Intelligence Unit 9900, one of the most highly classified intelligence units in the IDF, has allocated a room dedicated for nursing mothers. Many of its officers return from maternity and paternity leave and the unit’s work-life balance policy supports their family and professional activities.

The 12th annual Global Entrepreneurship Week 2020 in Israel starting Nov 16, focused on promoting female entrepreneurship. Top international and Israeli female entrepreneurs hosted dozens of virtual panels. Female led Israeli companies represented included and HT BioImaging.