Israel Active

A group of leaders in Miami’s budding start-up community recently visited Israel. Their experiences taught them (a) have a can-do attitude; (b) get institutional support; (c) build a network; (d) embrace failure; (e) play the long game; (f) find strength in diversity (g) open doors.

So much has happened in Nepal. A new 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit, with Israelis still on the scene. IsraAID is working in one of the remote devastated regions. A Nepalese man, who had previously worked in Israel, thanks Israel (in Hebrew) for saving his mother. And Israeli medical clowns have been improving recovery times for injured Nepalese children.

Israeli doctors saved the life of a 4-year-old girl from Gaza after Hamas finally gave permission for her to be treated in Israel. In Gaza, Yara had been run over by a truck. Local Gaza doctors amputated Yara’s leg but allowed necrosis to set in. Israeli doctors treated the injury and fitted a prosthetic leg.

I was researching something completely different when I discovered the Alon Center in Kibbutz Alonim. It caters for the needs of teenagers of normal intelligence with emotional and/or behavioral issues who have been unable to successfully integrate into the regular school system.

Meski Shibru is an Israeli actress and vocalist. She immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia at the age of 16.

At the Israeli Army officers’ training base, the members of Team 12 includes a Bedouin Muslim, an Ethiopian, a soldier who is both Muslim and Jewish, plus rural and city dwellers from both sides of the Green Line. And one Arab is successfully promoting the IDF to the Arab world.

The QS World University Rankings rates 800 of 3000 world universities. It includes the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at 138; Technion Institute at 190; Tel Aviv University at 195 and Ben Gurion University at 292. Many Israeli universities featured in the top 100 for individual subjects.

The Tanzania-Israel Business and Investment Forum (TIBIF) 2015 in Dar es Salaam in May focuses on agribusiness, education, energy, mining, infrastructure, security and technology. TIBIF taps Israel's advancement in scientific and technological innovations, for the economic development of Tanzania.

In a 1997 article recently rediscovered, David Kaplan revealed Israel’s clandestine support for the blacks of South Africa, during the apartheid era.

Israel has become a popular destination for Chinese visitors. Israeli Ministry of Tourism figures show that over 35,000 Chinese tourists visited Israel last year, 35% higher than the figure for 2013. The ministry has now opened Chinese language classes for Israeli tour guides.