Israel Active

The Israel Defense Forces sent its elite 699 search-and-rescue unit to Jordan to assist the rescue operation after a tour bus was hit by flash flood near the Dead Sea. They deployed rescue equipment, established a ground command team and illuminated the area from the air.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, made a “not so secret” visit to the Gulf nation of Oman – the first by an Israeli leader in 22 years. He discussed the peace process with Sultan Qaboos bin Said. See the extra-ordinary video of the event on the official Oman TV channel.

The Friends of Zion Museum hosted newly-confirmed Guatemalan Ambassador to Israel Mario Bucaro following his official presentation to President Reuven Rivlin. Guatemala has been a strong supporter of Israel in the United Nations in recent years and moved its embassy to Jerusalem.

Thailand's Ambassador to Israel Penprapa Vongkovit, thanked Israel’s Maxtech for its communication technology used in the rescue of the Thai boys earlier this year. She also thanked Israel for "its special navy team and specialized diving helmets to assist the operation."

China’s Vice-President Wang Qishan made an important visit to Israel.  After meetings with Israel’s President and Prime Minister, he addressed the fourth meeting of the Israel-China Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation. He also signed eight joint science and technology agreements.

Israel is to open an embassy in the central African state of Rwanda in its capital, Kigali. Although the two countries have maintained diplomatic relations for years, previous contacts have been held via the Israeli Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Israeli Arab Mira Shalah gained her BSc at the University of Haifa and her PhD in Computer Science at Israel’s Technion Institute.  She is now doing post-doctorate research into Computational Geometry at Stanford University, California.

I’ve included articles previously about Bedouin Muslim women integrating into Israeli society. Now Rana Jaboua, a resident of the Bedouin Negev village of al-Fara’a has become the first female Bedouin in Israel to join the Israel Police Rescue team.

Israel Cancer Support Network (ICSN) offers cancer patients and their families the support they need to meet the challenges of suffering through painful cancer treatments. ICSN and its 2,000 volunteers have helped over 11,000 families from giving lifts to helping to access top doctors.

The Jerusalem Light Rail is where you can meet people of all backgrounds. It’s a microcosm of the diverse and inclusive society of Jerusalem. The train line runs through Israeli and Arab neighborhoods and serves all of Jerusalem’s residents.