Israel Active

The Atachlit Beta Israel village in Kiryat Gat serves as a heritage center for the preservation of Ethiopian Jewish culture and heritage. The village and farm also give older Ethiopian Jews a new sense of purpose by continuing traditional farming, building and cooking methods.

An Israel Rescue and Service team from Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council is searching for survivors in the city of Durres, following a 6.4 on the Richter Scale earthquake that shook Albania. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Albania in decades.

Volunteers from NGO Israeli Flying Aid (IFA) brought supplies to refugee camps, hospitals and orphanages in the landlocked African country of Chad, suffering under constant terror attacks. It included 14 dialysis machines and three anesthesia machines donated by Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital.

The Central Asian, Muslim-majority country of Kazakhstan has a history of strong connections with Israel. Under the new President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, these ties are expanding, especially in commerce, agro-tech, clean water, cyber security, education and public diplomacy.

A business networking event was held last week in Jerusalem at the Urban Place for female entrepreneurs, in honor of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW). It was an opportunity for Israeli female business owners from across Israel to network with both investors and other business owners.

SOMOS Inc is a charity working to help many of the 4 million Hispanics in New York State. But they took time in their annual conference to present Israel with the Humanitarian Leadership Award for its aid to Puerto Rica after hurricane Maria devasted the Caribbean island.

The Abraham Initiatives' Shared Learning program has more than doubled its size, from 15 middle and high schools and 500 students last year to 40 schools and 1000 students today. It is Israel’s first nationwide broad and systematic language study program.

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo recently led a delegation of governors on an economic and policy mission to Israel. It met entrepreneurs, policy experts and elected officials, to strengthen relationships with the State of Israel and build new partnerships with its business community.

The name of one of the new Dreamliner planes ordered by Ethiopian Airlines is “Tel Aviv”. An eagle-eyed plane spotter noticed the name on the aircraft as it left the Boeing plant in Charleston, South Carolina. It was meant to be revealed in a ceremony at Ben Gurion airport.

Sharon’s recent blog on the Real Jerusalem Streets featured the Wheels of Love charity bike ride. It raised $2.5 million for ALYN which treats patients ranging from babies with illnesses needing constant special attention, to older persons challenged and needing special therapies due to accidents or illnesses.