Israel Active

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) presented the five released Thai hostages with 4,000 shekel (38,000 baht or $1,120) debit cards that can be used anywhere in the world. Also warm clothing, as most of their personal possessions had been destroyed or stolen by Hamas.

A delegation of 30 prominent Hispanic-Evangelical Christian leaders has just completed a 10-day mission to Israel with Eagles’ Wings, aimed at strengthening Christian support for the Jewish state. It was one of the largest faith-based Hispanic delegations to Israel in recent years.

Newsletter subscriber and Israel21c editor Nicky Blackburn saw my news of Israel’s amazing emergency medical service. She sent me a link to this article from 2016 when her husband and an Arab Israeli nurse were the only people who went to the aid of a heart attack victim in Paris.

Since 2010 there has been a massive increase in Israeli Arab medical professionals. Current (vs 2010): 25% of Israeli doctors are Arab (was 8%), Nurses 27% (17%), dentists 27% (19%), Pharmacists 49% (28%). Arabs constitute some 20% of Israel’s population. Apartheid?

The Israeli initiative to use barn owls for natural rodent pest control (see previously) is now global. Experts from 12 countries held their annual conference in Greece including new attendees from Germany, Georgia, and Ukraine. They plan to replicate the model in the USA and Asia.

Jerusalem’s Rabbi Daniel Rowe (whom I knew in the UK before making Aliyah) makes a good point here. Instead of lamenting why the Jewish State isn't treated the same as other countries, why not focus less on fitting in and more on standing out?  Perhaps by being more Positive?

The Israel Educational Travel Alliance held its first-ever Leaders’ Summit in Israel. Some 140 representatives from 100+ member organizations reviewed educational Israel travel programs post Oct 7. The pledged to bring over 53,000 participants to Israel in 2025 (up from 35,500 in 2024).

The Israeli non-profit ELNET (European Leadership Network) hosted a delegation of Members of the Portuguese Parliament. They visited Oct 7 sites and met a survivor and a hostage family member. They also visited Yad Vashem, the Holy Sepulchre, and the Wailing Wall.

The shares that startups donated to Israel’s Tmura (see previously) resulted in more than NIS 10 million being given to worthy causes in 2024 - the second highest since it was founded in 2002. Most went to groups involved in resilience, rehabilitation, and reducing social disparities.

KKL-JNF’s conservation work (see previously) recently expanded to protect the Tomares Nesimachus, one of Israel’s rarest butterflies. It will only lay its eggs on the large-fruited milk-vetch plant – so KKL-JNF grew seedlings and planted them in the Begin Forest to reintegrate the butterfly.