Israel Active

I reported previously (Jul 2016) of the naming of Brig. Gen. Dr. Tarif Bader, a member of Israel's Druze community, as the next IDF Chief Medical Officer.  Dr Bader has just taken up his new position.  In the video he describes his command of Israel’s rescue forces in Nepal.

A feature article on the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind, located near Moshav Beit Oved in central Israel. It is the country’s only accredited guide dog training school. Read why the dogs have English names; why students adopt the dogs for a year, and why there are cats at the center.

Ezer Mizion and several other Israeli organizations have been instrumental in arranging matches between people with medical issues, including Downs Syndrome. And you don’t have to understand Hebrew to be moved by the associated video.

130 children come every day to Ezer Mizion’s day camp for special-needs children. They travel from the entire Southern region (Netivot, Ofakim, Sderot, Beesheva, and all the surrounding towns).  250 volunteers entertain the kids with activities from chocolate-making to dog-training.

The Jewish state ranked 17th overall in the United Nations Global Innovation Index report, improving its standing by four places from 2016. It topped the list for percentage of researchers, expenditure on R&D, Venture Capital investment and IT services export.

Finally - a positive Israel article in the NYT. A Palestinian Arab mother was so badly injured in a car crash that she was unable to nurse her baby, who wouldn’t take a bottle. Whilst family members watched helplessly, Israeli nurse Ola Ostrowski-Zak took the child and breastfed him. But please click, as this positive story doesn’t end here.  (Original article in Today.)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visiting Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili highlighted the 2,600-year history of Jewish relations with the Caucasus country. The Georgian leader committed his Government and people to strengthen bilateral ties.

Haifa University’s International Child Development Master’s Program aims to improve the lives of children at risk worldwide, and is the world’s only fully funded academic child development program. 2017 graduates are from Uganda, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Liberia, Tanzania and Kenya.

11 promising young leaders from eight countries recently graduated from the Israel-Asia Center’s 2016-17 Leaders Fellowship program. Now in its sixth year, alumni are heading up Asia operations of Israeli companies, establishing Asian accelerators in Israel and setting up Israel-Asia ventures.

Eliezer Jaffe passed away aged 83, a week after receiving the Bonei Zion Prize for significant contribution to Israel. Jaffe founded Israel’s first academic school of social work, the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also founded the Israel Free Loan Association.