Israel Active

America’s Department of Defense clearly knows where to look for promising new ideas in the area of high tech defense.  It has teamed up with the MIT Enterprise Forum in Israel to announce the 2015 Combating Terrorism Technology Challenge, with a first prize of $100,000.

(Thanks to Size Doesn’t Matter) Israelis treating Tanda, a two-year old rhino at Ramat Gan safari, for an eye infection have developed a see-through mask to protect the rhino from flies.  Thanks to the “no-fly zone” mask, Tanda no longer rubs her eye on trees.

Israel has inaugurated another accessibility park for children.  The ACP (All the Children’s Park) at Hod Hasharon contains playing devices that allow children with special needs (emotional, social, mental, physical, sensual disabilities) interact with ordinary children.

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have found that the proportion of women (35%) raising capital using the crowdfunding site Kickstarter was far higher than women using more traditional methods.  The reason is that women have better on-line networking skills than men.

More on the emerging relationship between Israel and its majority-Muslim ally. =

Wow!  United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a letter to Israel’s envoy to the UN, Ron Prosor, commending the Jewish state for its efforts to combat the outbreak of the Ebola virus. Meanwhile, Israel’s Sys Technologies makes the inflatable isolation tents recently installed in Guinea.  It also developed a stretcher that isolates those suspected of having contracted the virus.

(Thanks to Israel21c) Israel’s Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Mikhmoret has nine patients.  They include Mazel (Luck) who is blind and Hofesh (Freedom) with his artificial fins.  They will stay and hopefully breed, but the other seven could eventually return to the sea.

Faten Nassraldin, from the Arab Druze town of Dalit El Carmel, received her post and pin as a platoon commander in the Israeli Police force.  "I decided to become an officer myself because I wanted to contribute as much as possible to the country and to the police," Nassraldin stated.

Police officers from the Ofakim precinct near Gaza have “adopted” a family of new immigrants who were struggling to make ends meet.  They gathered food, furniture and clothing and collected donations for them.  They even built them a tabernacle for the Sukkot holiday.

Is this the end to overcrowded buses?  Following a resident’s complaint, Israeli bus drivers must report each occasion when more than ten passengers are forced to stand.  If this happens three times in one hour, the bus company must add an extra bus for the hour of high demand.