Israel Active

Arab Muslim female singer Nasreen Qadri (Nasrin Kadry) shares the stage with Radiohead and supports the band’s decision to perform in Israel.  Nasreen was born in Haifa and grew up in Lod, two cities with a mix of Arab and Jewish communities, living side by side.

During a rain-break at Wimbledon, Prince Michael of Kent helped launch the new Sport for Peace project to complete a new state-of-the-art sports center in Israel. It’s aim: to bring young Israeli Arabs and Jews together to compete alongside each other and increase understanding.

Israel’s Technion and the Israeli Government are establishing a new industrial park in the Galilee Arab settlement of Shfar’am. The aim of the park is to unify the Jewish and Arab economies – managed by Arabs but bringing together Jews and Arabs, to get the best out of both.

Three times a week, Israeli charity Ezer Mizion provides breakfast for 120 Holocaust survivors - elderly members of its British Café Club. They have lectures, exercise sessions, field trips and parties. In addition, Ezer Mizion’s Eshnav program gives one-on-one home support to homebound survivors.

President Faustin-Archange Touadéra made the first-ever visit to Israel by the head of state of the Central African Republic (CAR).  He said to Israeli President Rivlin “we have come to Israel in order to learn – your country is a school for us.

Israeli Emergency Services and the Palestinian Authority Civil Defense Forces (PCD) held a joint drill to enhance their skills and improve their response to real events. Participants included Israel’s Magen David Adom, the PA’s Red Crescent and fire-fighters from both sides.

During his visit to Israel, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame highlighted the blossoming cooperation between the two countries in technology, agriculture, energy and security. “Israel has continued to follow through on its commitments and objective of scaling up engagement across Africa.”

For the first time, Israel has handed over control of an electricity substation to the Palestinian Authority. The Israel Electric Corporation also trained Palestinian Arabs to maintain the site near Jenin. Substations will soon be handed over in Hebron, Ramallah and Nablus (Shechem).

In the Israeli-Arab Galilee village of Sakhnin, the Sakhnin Biennale is an alternative art festival featuring artists from Israel and from 65 other countries. The village has become a meeting place for northern Israel's diverse population which includes Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities.

I last reported on the Moona co-existence tech hub in the Galilee two years ago when 50 Jewish and 50 Muslim students attended the research center. Now some 750 students graduate from its activities every year and 30 schools participate in the scheme.