Israel Active

Israel’s Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin met with his Turkish counterpart, Nabi Avci, at the International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) conference in Tel Aviv.  Avci is the first Turkish government minister to visit Israel since the two countries normalized their relations.

This article contains some interesting statistics.  Between 2005 and 2011, inflation-adjusted Arab net family income increased by 7.4%. Arabs “very satisfied” with their economic conditions rose from 40% in 2005 to 60% in 2011. 4000 work in hi-tech – up from 400 in 2009.

I’ve reported on Israel’s world champion blind golfer Zohar Sharon previously several times .  But I was very surprised to hear him being interviewed on the BBC World Service’s Outlook program. Listen after 26 minutes.

Another group of 160 innovators came together for a TOM (Tikkun Olam Makers) 72-hour session at Israel’s Technion. They developed solutions for the disabled including an umbrella for wheelchairs, a coffee-making conveyer belt for people with tremor and a special portable toilet seat.

American humanitarian assistance organization Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Israel (JDC-Israel) teamed up with Microsoft and HP for a first JDC Social Impact Hackathon. It resulted in 21 practical solutions to help vulnerable Israelis, e.g. the elderly and people with disabilities.

The Director General of British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) praised the “strong partnership with our Israeli counterparts in signals intelligence”. He said the relationship “is protecting people from terrorism... not only in the UK and Israel but in many other countries.”

The Israeli Knesset has inaugurated the Jewish-Muslim Ties Caucus, alongside religious leaders from both faiths.  The initiative, led by MK Zouheir Bahloul (Zionist Union) and MK Yehudah Glick (Likud) started with a session about the value of life in Judaism and Islam.

Israeli-born graphic designer Avi Dunkelman has a key role in Canada Post’s five-year stamp program honoring Canada’s towering hockey stars. The Canadian post office has issued a new collection of hockey stamps each year, all based on Avi’s designs.

Israel just marked 25 years of diplomatic relations with China and India. India’s ambassador to Israel announced the 2017 visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And trade with China (currently $11 billion p.a.) is expected to grow significantly once negotiations conclude on a new free trade zone.

Israel has launched an “Innovation Visas” program to allow foreign entrepreneurs to reside in Israel. They will be able to stay in Israel for 2-5 years while receiving support from the Authority’s Tnufa program, which exists specifically to help inventors with good ideas.