Israel Active

A delegation of African American journalists saw how Israeli development aid is helping Ghana. In Winneba post-army Israelis teach children literacy and life skills; in Kumasi its early childhood learning by playing; in Accra they see the cutting-edge Israeli-built 675-bed Ghana University Medical Center.

A group of 10 Canadian adults with special needs went on a 10-day “Inclusion Journey to Israel” trip. It featured not just the usual tourist sites, but also Access Israel’s Motek Shel Teatron inclusion theater group, the Knesset Disability Rights Caucus and even an archaeological dig.

Israeli-Arab MKs have for the first time agreed to support a new civil national service program for Arab students leaving high school. The program is similar to that performed by many Jewish and Druze women who are able to work in hospitals or schools instead of serving in the IDF.

In a first-ever for the Holy Land, an Israeli Christian Arab has become an Israeli Air Force (IAF) cadet. Israeli Arabs can volunteer for the IDF and the new trainee pilot has just passed the required rigorous medical, physical and mental abilities tests.

600 youth volunteers for Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service entertained 70 special needs children on Tu Bishvat – the Jewish New Year for trees. The program takes place annually in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund.

The video “Tackling disability” is by Medill School of Journalism student Iacopo Luzi and The Times of Israel. It features the founders of assistive technology startups, Sesame, Listenapp and UpNRide, showing how their products can potentially help thousands of people.

Israeli humanitarian organization IsraAID is providing solar panels to a Yazidi refugee camp in northern Iraq to help 330 families access electricity.

Israel’s Health Ministry is making gluten-free food for celiac sufferers more available.  Grants will be given to Israeli producers of non-gluten food and a subsidy will be offered to a manufacturer of gluten-free flour. In addition, import regulations will be eased.

Tiny Israel has joined The American Interest magazine’s list of the world’s greatest powers for the first time - at number 8. It praises Israel’s schools, policies, thinkers, startups, entrepreneurs, technology, cybersecurity, irrigation, desalination, agri-tech and even its pivotal political status.

President Edgar Lungu of Zambia, who is on a five-day state visit to Israel, said his entire cabinet wanted to follow. But he only had room for his Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce, Trade and Industry, Energy, Tourism, Water Development and Environment, Transportation and Health.