Israel Active

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.

Israel’s Technion has laid the cornerstone for its new research center in the southern Chinese city of Shantou. The Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) will provide BA, MA and PhD courses in chemical engineering, materials engineering and biotechnology engineering.

Israeli psychiatrist Henri Cohen Solal founded Batim Hamim (“warm houses”) in the 1980s to give Israeli kids at risk (both Jews and Arabs) safe places to meet. Argentinian Catholic priest Pedro Opeka met Henri in Madagascar and their joint work now benefits kids in both countries.

I featured Israel’s Roim Rachok (seeing far) program in a previous newsletter. Then there were 12 autistic young adults in the IDF program - in focused roles such as interpreting detailed satellite photos. Now some 50 volunteers do vital work and learn skills for their future.

The Israeli Government has donated food and humanitarian supplies to Kenya to help flood victims in Migori county. Aid included blankets, water tanks and mosquito nets. Israel was the first country to respond to requests for assistance in mitigating the effects of El Nino rains.

Israel’s Sesame Enable is giving away its specially-designed smartphone to those who have limited or no use of their hands. Co-sponsors of the initiative are Israel’s organization for the disabled Beit Issie Shapiro and Google. See and for previous newsletter features on Sesame Enable.

The OECD’s “Education at a Glance 2015” report shows Israel well above the OECD averages. Its high school dropout rate was just 14.6% compared to the OECD average of 24.7%. Israel is one of the few states to increase education spending during the global financial crisis. =