Israel Active

The new Israeli academic year gets underway with 238,420 students studying for a bachelors (first) degree, 59,455 students are enrolled in graduate programs, and 10,860 are working on their doctorates.

(Thanks to Steve) Israel’s public service venture fund Tmura has given $10 million to over 100 education and youth-related charities throughout Israel.  360 Israeli and Israel-related high-tech companies have donated their shares to Tmura’s unique equity donation program.

The Israeli NGO IsraAid has distributed beds, blankets, basic supplies and food to over 1,000 Yazidis and Christians fleeing the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) terror organization in the Kurdish regions of Iraq.  The Israeli team has been warmly received by the Kurdish refugees.

An Israeli delegation is currently in Rwanda, as part of a program helping the poor east African nation save millions of dollars a year through recycling and green technology.  It includes a 4,650 sqm solar array on the roof of the Rwandan parliament building saving $7,500 on electricity per month.

The last issue of the original Judische Rundschau was published just before Kristallnacht in 1938.  Now, Dr. Rafael Korenzecher has revived the magazine to “reach the German public”. His two senior editors have promised to “stand behind Israel”.  We wish them much success.

(Thanks to Margie) I erroneously reported that Professor Tamar Peretz was the first female head of an Israeli hospital.  In fact, the medical director of HaEmeq medical center in Afula (Dr Orna Blondheim) is a woman, and so apparently is the head of the Carmel medical center in Haifa.

A pro-Israel news site in Portuguese has been promoting VerygoodnewsIsrael.  It has also attracted many new readers in Brazil.

(Thanks to Israel21c) Based in New Jersey, the nonprofit Heroes to Heroes brings to Israel “teams” of American war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  The vets enjoyed being shown respect by Israelis, who understood what it meant to serve their country.

Senior doctors at Ziv Medical Center in Tsfat (Sefad) and the Medical Center of the Galilee in Nahariya talk on Tel Aviv Radio TLV1 about the wounded Syrians who seek out urgent medical treatment from “the enemy” (Israel).

19-year-old Lee Hasin died last week from a brain tumor.  Six people received his organs, including a 5-year-old boy with liver failure and an 18-year-old girl.