Israel Active

Ayoub Kara is the first non-Jewish minister to have a portfolio in the Israeli Knesset.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed the Druze MK to the position of Minister of Communications.  He tells of his family background, the Druze, his work and his love for the State of Israel.

Ethiopian immigrant Danielle Daseta, will represent Israel at the United Nations for environmental, developmental and economic issues. Daseta made Aliyah in 1984 during Operation Moses. She has a BA in governance and diplomacy and attended the "Israel@heart" leadership program.

Hundreds of thousands of Israeli Arabs from the Galilee in northern Israel will join their Jewish neighbors in enjoying a new fast train link from Karmiel to Tel Aviv. New bus lines will link 15 Arab towns with the new stations and residents will get 50% rail fare discounts for two years.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s four-day trip to Argentina, Colombia and Mexico marks the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has visited South and Central America. He took with him a delegation of businesspeople with the focus on deepening economic and diplomatic alliances. In Colombia, President Juan Manuel Santos thanked Israel for its offer to help clear Colombia of land mines.

Emily Yaari, is the daughter of Sivan Yaari, founder and CEO of Israeli NGO Innovation: Africa. Emily travelled to Africa to see the “tikkun olam” work carried out by Innovation: Africa, all in the name of Israel with Israeli technologies.  An amazing 4-minute video.

In a week of hurricanes and earthquakes, Israel has sent aid teams to Florida, Texas, Mexico, Haiti, and the Caribbean to help recovery efforts. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Mickey Noam-Alon, from IsraAID. “There are so many massive events going on worldwide.”

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.