Israel Active

25-year-old Mohammad Ka’abiyah, a Political Sciences student at Haifa university, is one of around 1,700 Bedouin soldiers voluntarily serving in the Israel Defense Forces. “I am proud of being Bedouin, Arab, Muslim and Israeli” he says.” “I am also proud to fight in the Israeli army.”

Mayor of Nazareth, Ali Salam, invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit his city, saying “It would be a great honor for me to host you in Nazareth. I believe in coexistence and in the only way – that we should live together and continue together."

The Startup Nation is driving dramatic changes in the culture and politics of China. One of those influencers is the Lahav Executive Education, a Tel Aviv University project that organizes and runs executive training programs in management and business skills.

During his official state visit to Israel, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed several bilateral agreements focused on developing and strengthening scientific and technological cooperation. He also expressed his desire to increase bi-national trade from its current $1 billion level.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama met Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and signed bilateral agreements on medical cooperation and other matters. They also signed a declaration of friendship to mark 25 years of diplomatic relations with Israel.

For the first time since 1948, Israel has approved plans for the establishment of a new Druze town in northern Israel. The town will be established in the Lower Galilee, near Tiberias and close to centers of employment.

Israel is to provide food and assistance kits to Paraguayans impacted by massive flooding of the Paraguay River from El Niño storms during December. Some 100,000 people in Asuncion have been displaced from their homes.

Four IsraAID volunteers have travelled to Leeds, UK to begin repairing homes and distributing food to victims of devastating floods in the area. They have been hailed as heroes by residents and were praised by the Lord Mayor of Leeds for travelling the distance to help those affected by the flood.

The Ugandan government used the Israeli-made Skystar 180 surveillance balloon system from RT Aerostat Systems to monitor Pope Francis on his recent historic visit to Uganda. Newsletter readers may recall that the system was also used to protect the recent UN climate conference in Paris.

Israel and Hong Kong have launched a Research & Development Cooperation Program to fund projects where Israeli companies are matched with those in Hong Kong.