Israel Active

The Judicial Selection Committee has appointed Havi Toker to serve in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, making her Israel’s first female ultra-Orthodox judge. Toker was born in England and grew up in Bnei Brak as the eldest of 12 siblings. She has 4 children - her eldest son serves in the IDF.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim community is persecuted across the Middle East. But as their leader Muhammad Sharif Odeh says, the 1,400 living in Kababir, Haifa, enjoy full religious and cultural freedom. They also pray at the only Ahmadi mosque in the Middle East.

At least 50,000 marched through the streets of Kolkata, India in support of Israel. Participants carried banners reading; “India Israel friendship forever”, “Jerusalem eternal capital of Israel”, India-Israel ancient cultures, modern miracle” among others.

The OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) has ranked Israel as the 3rd most educated country in adult education. 49.9% of Israeli adults between the age of 25 and 64 have completed some form of adult education - almost 4 percent above the US.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology is to launch a new tech division in Israel, expected to be in operation this summer. Taiwan is seeking to draw on Israeli research and expertise on artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biomedical tech.

Serbian National Assembly President Maja Gojkovic visited the Knesset, Israel’s parliament as a guest of Speaker Yuli Edelstein, where she lauded the close ties between the two countries. Economic and cultural links are helped by a sizable community of Jews from former Yugoslavia in Israel.

Ethiopian-Israeli Eden Alene, 17, of Jerusalem, won Israel’s “X-Factor 2018.  Her performance of pop star Demi Lovato’s song “Stone Cold” went viral.  Alene, who was raised by her Orthodox Jewish single mother, sang “Human” by Christina Perri for her final performance.

Speaking to the Conservative Friends of Israel, the UK’s Secretary of State for Defense, Rt. Hon. Gavin Williamson MP, praised Israel as a “beacon of light and hope, in a region where there is so much hatred and hurt”.

Former CIA director Gen (Ret) David H. Petraeus hailed Israel as “a small country in all aspects, but it is a cyber superpower.”. He was speaking in Tel Aviv at CyberTech 2018. The 3-day event attracted 15,000 attendees from 80 countries, including 160 international delegations.

Early reports indicate that Saudi Arabia has approved Air India to cross its airspace for direct flights between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. If confirmed, it will be the first time that flights to Israel have been allowed through Saudi skies.