Israel Active

Volunteers with special needs graduated in communications and logistics from the “Little Heroes Project” at the IDF’s Training Base of the Technology and Logistics Directorate. They stood proudly in their army uniforms to receive their certificates of excellence.

Maayan Gabai has cerebral palsy, yet climbed Mt Kilimanjaro on crutches. He and 29 others raised over NIS 1 million for Shalva, the Israel Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. Ex-IDF Arab affairs spokesperson Maayan was hugged by an Iranian he met on the climb.

On International Women’s Day (8 Mar) it is worth seeing how the women volunteers of Israeli medical NGO United Hatzalah responded to the aftermath of Oct 7 2023.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit has launched official digital platforms in Turkish, establishing accounts on the prominent social media networks X and Telegram. The IDF now operates in seven languages: Hebrew, English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Persian and Turkish.

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.