Israel Active

TALMA, the Israel Program for Excellence in English, has brought some 100 teachers from English speaking countries to Israel to teach English as a Second Language to underprivileged elementary school pupils.

Israel has provided urgent assistance to Cameroon to help fight the spread of the bird-flu virus. The Israeli Embassy in Cameroon initiated and organized the arrival of emergency protective equipment.

In just one week, eight Syrians who were severely injured in artillery strikes on a hospital were evacuated by Israeli helicopters from Syria to Israel.  They included two children, aged 7 and 11.  Israel has treated 2,500 wounded Syrians over the past 3 years.

The India Israel Affordable Healthcare Hackathon 22-24 July brought 600 participants to Tel Aviv, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. They developed innovative ideas and prototyped solutions to address the healthcare challenges of lower-middle income communities in India.  Israeli teams won prizes for addressing malnutrition and hearing impairment.

Gal Gadot, the Israeli actress who plays the role of Wonder Woman in the film Batman vs Superman, is the star of a new campaign to highlight the talents and uniqueness of Israeli women.  The video also features an IDF pilot, a business woman, a doctor and a surfer.

Athletes with physical disabilities who use adaptive bicycles like hand cycles will now be able to utilize dozens of kilometers of bike paths thanks to a new 5.7-million shekel Accessible Cycling Complex at the National Sport Center in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park.

The IDF has named Dr. Badar Tarif from Israel's Druze Arab minority as its most senior medical official.  Dr Tarif will be promoted to Brigadier General and take up the post of IDF Chief Medical Officer. It is the first time a Druze will hold the position. (See him on youtube.)

Students in International Space University’s Space Studies Program at Israel’s Technion Institute had a group selfie photo. It was taken from a height of 520 kilometers by the EROS-B satellite, built by Israel Aerospace Industries and operated by Israel’s ImageSat International.

Kazakhstan is likely to be the chief beneficiary of the free trade zone that Israel entered into in Nov 2015 with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Israel imports over $1.4 billion worth of goods from Kazakhstan each year. Security cooperation is also at its highest level.

A summary of Israel’s improving relations with Africa, Latin America, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cyprus, Greece, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Russia and Turkey.  And excellent defense, security and intelligence cooperation with the USA.