Israel Active

Four former officers in the IDF Civil Administration are enabling Palestinian Arabs to find well-paid jobs with Israeli companies. Instead of Arabs paying up to 20% of their salary to illegal PA middlemen for Israeli permits, the Arabs are connected directly with Israeli employers.

Avda Natural is a workshop in the Samarian village of Kochav Hashachar for young Israelis with special needs. They make fragrant soaps and natural cosmetics from plants, essential oils, and local minerals. It was founded by Shlomo Keshet as an activity for his son Elnatan, who has Down Syndrome.

Chokri Elmehdi, an Arab Muslim from Morocco, has joined the Israel Start-Up Nation cycling team that will compete in the 2020 Tour de France. Chokru joins seven Israelis and five others from Canada, Eritrea, Australia, Colombia, and the Czech Republic.

Having previously raised funds only in the UK, the charity umbrella organization myIsrael has now launched in the Jewish State. Its opening event brought star Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard to amaze the spellbound audience with his mind-reading act.

Eleven members of the Emunah Bet Elazraki Children’s Home in Netanya took part in the recent Miami marathon.  They raised funds for various projects at the Home, where more than 170 at-risk children live.

Israeli Oded Grinstein’s struggle to find information about his daughter’s cancer inspired him to found MyChild’sCancer (MCC) It helps 40-50 families each year resolve issues from access to experts and clinical trials to translations and negotiating bills and insurance claims.

Tel Aviv University Professor Vered Noam has become the first woman to be awarded the Israel Prize for Talmudic Studies to be awarded on Independence Day. Talmud (Oral Law) study, traditionally men only, has been more popular with women over the past several decades.

Interesting article about Hagit Perry, the first female to join the elite IDF 8200 cyber defense unit. Following a PhD from Berkeley’s school of business, she now heads the MBA program for artificial intelligence and big data at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya.

Israeli judoka Sagi embraced former Iranian champion Saeid Mollaei, who fled to Berlin after the Iranian government ordered him to lose bouts to avoid competing against Israelis. “Friend for life!!!” reads the caption to Muki’s Instagram photo. “Tag Israel and Iran people for peace!” he urged

Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), has signed an agreement with a leading (unnamed) energy utility in Japan to help it secure infrastructure against cyberattacks during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. IEC has developed software and hardware to protect the energy industry from cyberattacks.