Israel Active

Non-profit Nefesh b’Nefesh awarded its Maor (“light”) Youth Prize to nine young new immigrants who have enriched Israeli society during 2024. Their work includes with Big Sister – Little Sister, Ezra Youth, Mesamchim, tzitzit-tying, Israeli Scouts, Shuk Otef, Lonely Bench, and Lone Soldiers.

Israel’s SmartAID has teams fighting California wildfires and using solar-telecommunication trailers to assist evacuees and responders. IsraAID is sending volunteers and aid professionals; Zaka is already there, plus teams of Israeli firefighters and protection experts are on their way.

Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel met with Ghana’s newly elected President John Mahama after attending his inauguration. She discussed how Israel can share its know-how in agriculture, technology and food security. Israel’s ambassador to Ghana, Roey Gilad, added renewable energy.

Argentine President Javier Milei was awarded the 2025 Genesis Prize (known as the “Jewish Nobel Prize”) in recognition of his support for Jewish causes and the Jewish State. His pro-Israel tenure has become a defining feature of his time in office.

Interesting video (Hebrew with English subtitles) of how descendants of Nazis in a German town became some of Israel's biggest supporters.

The Bedouin village, Zarzir, beween Nazareth and Haifa, is home to the world’s only tech hub and co-working space for Bedouin women, run by a program called Samana (see previously). All of the women live nearby and work primarily as QA engineers for tech companies.

Three members of the IDF’s Special in Uniform band performed at Beth Yeshurun in Houston, Texas as part of Jewish National Fund-USA’s commitment to support Israel’s resilience. The talented IDF soldiers with disabilities performed before an enthusiastic audience.

86% of IDF units accept women.  50% of IDF doctors are women. There is an all-women tank crew who saved several communities on Oct 7 2023 (see previously). The Israeli Air Force has a unit of five female UAV operators (see previously).

Afef Abed, a member of Israel’s Druze minority, officially took the Knesset seat vacated by Likud MK Yoav Gallant. He is the first Druze MK in the current government’s coalition. Meanwhile, the numbers of Golan Druze applying for Israeli citizenship has soared.

A 1,500-year-old Byzantine monastery is being unearthed near Kiryat Gat in southern Israel. It features a unique mosaic with a Greek inscription from Deuteronomy 28:6, Findings include a sophisticated winepress, coins, marble, metal and glass vessels, and a great quantity of imported ware.