Israel Active

Ten workers from India were rescued from a Palestinian Arab village where they had been held for over a month, while their passports were misused. The overnight rescue operation was led by the Population and Immigration Authority, together with the IDF and the Justice Ministry.

The Israeli and U.S. Air Forces conducted a significant joint military exercise over the Mediterranean Sea, in their first collaboration on this scale in two years. Dozens of fighter jets, strategic B-52 bombers and refueling aircraft participated.

Israel’s Bar-Ilan University hosted an international conference to address sustainability challenges through the lens of religious teachings. Over two dozen Jewish, Christian, and Moslem scholars attended, including from Morocco, Turkey, UAE, Kosovo, Uganda, US, UK and Scotland.

The government is to approve a $1 billion plan  to improve housing and education for the Druze and Circassian communities in northern Israel. The five-year project is the largest ever for the two minority communities who are delighted with the plan.

February was Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month. The charity Israel Elwyn (see previously) oversaw a course for a dozen people with disabilities to gain professional certification as assistant chefs. As well as culinary skills, they learnt to be confident in teams.

700+ people came together in Eilat for the winter camp of Simcha Layeled (Joy for the child – see previously). Some 400 physically disabled children rode in jeep safaris, enjoyed water sports in the Red Sea, and participated in the first fully accessible nature hike.

Peer Syed Mudassir Nazar Shah, chairman of the global Sufi Council, visited Israel for the first time. He said “People lost half their families, and they are still able to hold on to hope – it’s eye-opening.” At least 140 million Pakistani Muslims follow Sufism.

Another great video from Israeli NGO Innovation: Africa. The Story of Nakiru Theresa from Karamoja, Uganda.

New Azerbaijani textbooks attribute the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’s roots to Arab rejection of the 1947 U.N. Partition Plan. Azerbaijan is also the first Muslim-majority country to define antisemitism in its textbooks, offering positive portrayals of both Jews and Israel.

Dr. Doron Markel, chief scientist of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund represented KKL-JNF at a conference on water, energy, food and ecology in Rabat. He presented the Ma’ale Gilboa agrivoltaic project, which uses land for solar energy production and agriculture.