Israel Active

The normally anti-Israel UK Independent has run a feature on Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek hospital, highlighting that it appoints whoever is best qualified for the job, regardless of ethnicity, gender or religion.  Also, critically injured perpetrators of attacks are treated before less-injured victims.

Vibe Israel brought 5 mega-bloggers with 10.8 million followers to Israel to learn about Israel’s eco innovations first hand.  They saw water conservation, desalination, green transportation, urban farming and solutions for smart cities. They even saw how Israel supports victims of human trafficking.   

Omer Lahat’s cerebral palsy did not hold him back from graduating high school with honors. His dream was to serve in the IDF through the “Special in Uniform” program. Lahat then became the program’s first-ever wheelchair-bound participant. =

The 2016 Israeli Democracy Index, produced by the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research, reveals some interesting facts.  55% of Israeli Arabs identify themselves as “proud citizens”.  Also, 60.5% of Israeli Arabs categorize their personal situation as “Good” or “Very good” and another 31% as “Not bad”.

Just 12 years ago, only 7% of students at Israel’s Technion were Arab.  Today, it is 20% - not due to any lowering of entrance standards, but thanks to its NAM program - a 10-month “boot camp” in math, physics, English and Hebrew.  And it is all paid for by Jewish philanthropy.

I’ve reported previously on Israeli charity Beit Issie Shapiro (BIS) and its work with disabled children.  Here is a recent article about Beit Issie’s Sindian Center in Kalansua, a 22,000-population Arab city in central Israel.

The Israeli “Just Beyond the Border” initiative on the online website Mimoona is raising funds for blankets and medical equipment for delivery directly to Syrians across the border, particularly children. In only 18 days, nearly 7000 Israelis have donated over 1,275,000 Shekels.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his government to extend medical assistance to Syrians injured in the latest round of fighting, especially those from the embattled city of Aleppo. Israeli hospitals will treat wounded women and children, and non-combatant men.

Israeli aid workers are part of an official IsraAID mission to assist Yazidi refugees living in displaced person’s camps in Dohuk province, in northern Iraq. One of the priorities is women who have suffered at the hands of the brutal Islamic State group.  The video is from 2015.

Lori and Doron Bacher from Ra’anana met Nobel Habib in his village in Ethiopia. Nobel could hardly walk due to birth defects. Through Israeli non-profit Ezra LeMarpeh, the Bachers brought Nobel to Israel and then to Boston for surgery to correct his bone deformities.