Israel Active

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.

Israeli produced food aid has reached the frontlines in Syria’s civil war.  Chairman of the Free Qunietra Provincial Council, Fahad a-Musa, said "since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, we have been unable to get our wounded to any Arab country. There is also a large amount of medicine, baby food, and other foodstuffs which get into the province from Israel."

I reported previously that Netanya beach had a special day when disabled were able to enter the sea using special wheelchairs.  Now Michmoret’s banana beach (a few miles north of Netanya) has wheelchairs available to hire that disabled can use to enjoy the sand and surf.

The Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem ran programs in the Purim and Passover holidays exclusively for families with children with disabilities.  The museum closed to the public and ran art projects, games, puppet shows and imaginative play for the special needs children and their siblings.

The Knesset House Committee has appointed Member of Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) Hamad Amar as Deputy Knesset Speaker.  Amar - of Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party – is a member of Israel’s minority Druze community.

The US Army is to protect its Armored Personnel Carriers with the “Iron Fist Light Configuration” active protection system produced by Israel Military Industries. The system uses radar and an electro-optical sensor to detect and intercept a range of incoming missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

London’s Heathrow airport is considering adopting the security system used at Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport, as a preemptive measure against possible ISIS attacks.  With at least 12 separate security layers, Ben-Gurion is one of the most secure airports in the world.