Israel Active

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.

Around 750 young entrepreneurs from 35 countries are to attend Forbes Under 30 Summit EMEA in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, from April 2nd to 6th. They will also attend a cybersecurity event, a venture capitalist meeting, plus visit archeological sites, the Dead Sea and Masada.

Ambassador Yoram Ettinger gives nine facts to emphasize the wish of Israeli Arabs to be part of the Jewish State – and not to be linked with the Palestinian Arabs.

For the first time, most of the commanders of the IDF’s elite tech C4I communications corps are women.  30% of students on their C41 programmers’ training course are women. The IDF’s role of introducing women to hi-tech is crucial for Israel’s continued economic success.

Plans for Tel Aviv’s new Dov Neighborhood, to be constructed after Sde Dov airport is vacated, includes 2,100 affordable apartments. Half of those eligible for discounted housing will be local residents, who will benefit from a discount of at least 50% on the cost of the housing.