Israel Active

The Israeli Air Force will participate in a joint exercise with the UK Royal Air Force in Britain for the first time in September during the RAF’s annual Cobra Warrior exercise. Cooperation between the two air forces is high and new RAF pilots use an Israeli-developed flight training system.

French sailor Jean-François Colas was lost in the Mediterranean for weeks. The Israeli navy rescued him and his boat drifting with no steering system and a broken radio. He had suffered a leg injury and was almost out of food and water. He laughed with relief, “There might be a god for me up there.”

The PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, 83, was hospitalized twice in May 2018 with chest pains, an ear infection requiring surgery and pneumonia. He accepted help from an Israeli specialist who travelled to Ramallah. His condition then improved considerably.

Israel helps thousands of Moslem Palestinian Arab pilgrims travel to Mecca for the winter Hajj. Allenby Bridge crossing times from Israel into Jordan are extended. Extra Arab-speaking IDF personnel ensure the pilgrims enjoy a quick and safe crossing on the way to Islam’s holiest city.

A woman from the Israeli-Arab town of Kfar Kana in the Galilee expressed her gratitude to the Israeli police who helped during the recent floods that devastated her community.

Padila Sohila from the Arab town of Tira has driven buses for seven years. Passengers and fellow drivers are most respectful to her. Her aunt was the first woman in Tila to own and drive a car. Now, most Muslim women in Tira can drive, work and choose whom to marry.

Bizmax is a relatively new business center for ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem residents. Its shared workspace supports 100 Haredi yeshiva students wanting to become entrepreneurs in Israel’s hi-tech industry. Bizmax partners with Achim Global - a similar but larger organization in Bnei Brak.

Israel’s National Insurance Institute (NII) report on poverty in Israel in 2017 states that the number of children living in poverty declined by 23,700 - the first decrease in many years. The incidence of poverty among haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) and Arabs also fell.

The charity Nevet (“Sprout”) provides 8,000 students at 130 schools throughout Israel with a daily nutritious sandwich that helps the kids concentrate on their schoolwork instead of on their empty stomachs. That adds up to a whopping 1.3 million breakfasts every year for disadvantaged youth

IsraAID Philippines has deployed an emergency response team to the Sagnay municipality in the Philippines following Tropical Storm Usman. It is assessing needs and will provide urgent relief items as well as psychological support to those affected.