Israel Active

The Ahava Village in Kiryat Bialik near Haifa, treats over 250 at-risk child residents in 15 family units.  Ahava receives funds from the many Jewish and Christian supporters of Bnai Zion Foundation, a century-old Jewish organization that funds Israeli humanitarian projects.

Dogs training to be guides for the blind visited the Knesset Tuesday, in honor of Israel’s sixth annual “Blind Day.”  The Israeli parliament voted to introduce fines for (a) refusing to admit a blind person with a guide dog or (b) not employing a blind person because he or she uses a guide dog.

The film “Mekonen: The Journey of an African Jew,” has just been released.  Mekonen Abebe is a young Ethiopian shepherd who overcame financial and familial hardships to realize his dream of becoming an officer in the IDF.

Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, was elected chair of the United Nations Legal Committee (the Sixth Committee). It is the first time that an Israeli will head a permanent committee.  One responsibility is the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

Mohammed Zeidan, from the Arab community of Kafr Manda in northern Israel scored an 800 on Israeli's Psychometric Entrance Test, the highest possible score.  Zeidan plans to study electrical engineering at Israel’s Technion Institute.

Just prior to Israel-South Africa Water Week, Israel’s Ambassador to South Africa offered to help alleviate South Africa’s water crisis.  But will South Africa’s leaders listen?

Israel has become the first country outside Europe to be accepted as a full member of the European Federation of Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA).  The EFCCA advances legislation to benefit patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

The World Bank has just completed a mission to Israel’s ORT and its network of 200 Israeli Sci-Tech Schools – to seek advice on how to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education.

Trade and political links between Israel and Ethiopia have been improving steadily recently.  Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister will lead a high-level delegation to Israel in June and Israel’s Prime Minister will visit Ethiopia in July.

Here is another feature about Israeli NGO Fair Planet which is giving Ethiopian farmers access to high-quality seeds and training.  With the best seeds for the climate and soil, a farmer can increase his yield by five times.