Israel Active

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Israeli PM Netanyahu shook him out of his complacency, urging him to "do something" to contain the coronavirus epidemic. It prompted him to make Austria one of the first European countries to take serious action.

Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) hosted “Corona Wake Up Call”- a virtual conference. Its attendees included global government, economic and tech leaders, as well as Israeli and Italian hospital heads and experts. They shared best practices on combating the COVID-19 crisis.

The published a positive story around a photo of two Israeli Jewish and Arab paramedics praying together – one facing Jerusalem and the other facing Mecca.  It goes on to say that this is common phenomena in Israel. WIN had a similar story if you don’t want to subscribe to the NYT.

Israel’s Esther Hershcovich has set up SAGE - a global English-language platform where skilled senior citizens give on-line classes in arts, business, education, health and more.to those in home-isolation. Teachers include an ex-Midwife, a psychologist, a Rabbi and a chiropractor. How about you?

Israeli authorities have delivered hundreds of coronavirus testing kits to the Palestinian Authority and to the Gaza strip, plus tons of disinfectant material. In addition, professional teams of Israelis and Palestinian Arabs have been working together to prevent the spread of the virus.

Israel’s Teva manufactures hydroxychloroquine sulfate, the less toxic version of chloroquine, which alleviates some of the coronavirus’ symptoms. Teva is donating six million tablets of the treatment to help U.S. hospitals meet an expected surge in demand.

Massimo Galli is Professor of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at Milan University and Director of infectious diseases at the Luigi Sacco hospital in Milan. On Italian TV he praised Israel as being the only country prepared for this huge (coronavirus) problem.

An unnamed Israeli official attended the “Warsaw Process Counterterrorism and Illicit Finance” working group in Marrakech, Morocco. Though the countries have no formal relations, Morocco has hosted Israeli leaders, and many other Israelis have visited there.

Sudan has authorized overflights to and from Israel for the first time. So, when flights resume, once the coronavirus is defeated, air travelers between Israel and South America will enjoy shorter duration flights than previously.

Tel Aviv University’s Nitsan Sustainable Development Lab helps farmers in rural Asia and Africa grow crops in arid conditions. Israeli ag-tech enables farmers to use water and fertilizer more efficiently, grow crops resistant to disease and drought, and harness data to increase yields and quality.