Israel Active

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) brought the mayors of Syracuse, Albuquerque and six other US cities to see Sderot, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, the Syrian border and the Ziv Medical Center in Safed.  Delegation chair was Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona.

Plenty of praise here for Israel from wounded and sick Syrians treated by Israel.  Even the cynical Washington Post report admits the changed perceptions about Israel from those Syrians who have been saved or helped.

Cadets in the final stage of the IDF officers’ course participated in a 24-hour Hackathon to develop systems for helping disadvantaged children. One of the organizations to benefit was ADI ALEH-Negev which supports children with severe disabilities.

Diliman Abdulkader came from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to see Israel. He praises airport security, a friendly Israeli taxi driver and IDF soldier, Arabs and Jews on beaches, at university, in cafes and Parliament. He concludes that Israel is simply striving to survive in a hostile region.

1,200 students from across Africa and Asia have just completed the 13th running of Israel’s unique post-graduate AgroStudies agriculture apprentice training program. Its aim is to transfer theoretical knowledge to modern applied agriculture.

I reported previously about Israel’s Arava International Center for Agriculture Training (AICAT) which has trained more than 16,000 students from Africa and Asia. Here three Kenyan graduates of AICAT describe how the center has changed their lives.

Some 70 delegates from Nigeria, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho, Tanzania and Kenya attended a 4-day “Africa Celebrates Jerusalem” summit. They held meetings with Israeli start-ups, politicians and businesses, focusing on agriculture, finance and technology.

A team of eight volunteers from Israel’s ZAKA Search and Rescue organization is in Houston to help with clean up in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.  Four more will join them shortly. The volunteers are currently clearing debris and delivering food.

The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs is to give $1 million in emergency aid, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey to rebuild Houston schools, synagogues and Jewish community buildings which are not funded by the state. It has also shipped several tons of aid to storm victims.

Israelis have donated at least $32 million on goods for Syrian civilians this year, including $26 million from donations and $6 million from the IDF’s Operation Good Neighbor. It has paid for medical equipment, food, and medicine. Millions more have been spent by Israeli hospitals treating some 3,500 Syrian wounded.