Israel Active

The design of new Israeli currency notes features two famous Israeli women.  The poet Rachel is on the new NIS 20 bill. Poet, author and playwright Leah Goldberg is on the NIS 100 bill.

Yad Sarah – Israel’s largest voluntary organization – has launched a new initiative to enable disabled individuals and their families to visit Israel. They arrange airport pick up in special vans and transport to hotels or specially prepared apartments. Tour guides and tours are also available.

Israel is to absorb 100 orphans from Syria.  The children will receive temporary resident status, be placed in boarding schools and with Arab foster families, and later, should their families seek a unification, both they and their family members would be absorbed in Israel. And 1000 Israelis formed a human chain from the Russian embassy to the US embassy to demonstrate support of Syria's civilians,

In a speech to the Conservative Friends of Israel, Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May called the State of Israel “a remarkable country” and “a beacon of tolerance”. She said UK ties with Israel were “crucial,” and promised to raise the bilateral trade relationship to new heights.

I reported previously on the What’s App group “Linked to Life” run by Israeli charity Ezer Mizion.  Here are some more examples of the life-enhancing activities of its thousands of volunteers, taking parents by car to see their sick children in hospital.

Mohammad Darawshe, director at The Center for a Shared Society at Givat Haviva presents some “astounding” statistics.  23% of Israeli doctors are Arabs; 46% of Israeli pharmacists are Arabs; 28% of Technion hi-tech students are Arabs and 16% of the students in all of Israeli higher education are Arabs.

Religious Jews do not remain silent when they see what is happening to Syrian civilians.  Beit Hillel – a small, Modern-Orthodox spiritual leadership movement with 200 Rabbis – has just raised $10,000 for the Syrian refugee children.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Croatia’s Andrej Plenkovic, who was on his first visit to Israel as Prime Minister. They signed a cooperation agreement on disaster prevention and emergency response.

I reported previously on the 13th trip that the Anti-Defamation League arranged for US police to train in Israel.  Their 2016 trip included police, FBI and Homeland Security agents from Massachusetts. Many had memories of the 2013 Boston marathon bombing.

Some 20 rectors from leading Latin American universities signed agreements with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in a first-of-its-kind conference signaling growing academic cooperation. They also met with President Reuven Rivlin at his Jerusalem residence.