Israel Active

Israeli President Rivlin concluded his state visit to Greece by lauding the warm relations between the two countries and the growing security cooperation, which contributes to the stability of the region.

Panama’s Homefront Command has presented an award to Israeli emergency response organization United Hatzalah. The award is to honor the life-saving aid that United Hatzalah has provided to the Central American nation.

Israeli-Arab Member of Knesset (MK) Esawi Frej (Meretz) and Avraham Neguise (Likud) visited Croatia last week to strengthen ties between the two countries.

I reported previously on how Israelis have convinced farmers in Israel and Jordan to use barn owls as a natural control of rodent pests. This article brings us up to date and suggests that the cross-border solution is even helping Israel’s relations with Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Tunisia and Morocco.

Operation Good Neighbor – the transportation of wounded Syrian children to Israeli hospitals – isn’t a one-off event; every week Israel receives a busload of sick kids. There is also a field clinic for non-emergencies. Read the individual stories.

Jewish and Arab Israeli lawmakers from the coalition and opposition competed together at the Knesset (parliament) backgammon tournament. The competition was won by Oren Hazan (Likud) who ironically has been suspended from the Knesset for his bad behavior.

22-year-old Ro’aa is typical of a growing number of Jerusalem Arabs. She works in a Jewish area of Western Jerusalem.  “On the Israeli side you get paid more and receive all your benefits, and if they see you are working hard you get promoted.”

At the non-profit Akko Center of Arts and Technology (ACAT), among the students of the Entrepreneurship in the Travel Industry course are a Druze beekeeper, a Bedouin mother and daughter who serve homemade meals in their home, and a Jewish woman with guest cabins near the Lebanon border.

The non-profit Kids Kicking Cancer has enlisted 15 martial arts teachers to become volunteers, helping children with cancer and other serious illnesses achieve a sense of physical and emotional well-being through free martial arts classes, counseling, and other kinds of support.

The Red Sky 2 drone defense system from Israel’s IMI Systems was operated for the first time by the Thai Air Force in October to protect the 250,000 attendees at the funeral of the former King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej. The system intercepted and neutralized two unauthorized drones.