Israel Active

More details of the 12-year-old Syrian boy brought by his brother to Israel on a donkey.  He lost one eye in the Syrian civil war and had primary surgery in Beirut on the other eye.  Israeli doctors performed retinal surgery but as yet are unsure if he will recover any vision.

1100 students from 18 countries (including 500 from Africa) graduated with a diploma from Tel Aviv University in High Value Horticulture and Irrigation.  Reports from Uganda and Malawi news sites show the high value of this training in those countries.

The Israel Embassy in Manila hosted a forum on agricultural knowledge transfer, particularly in the field of integrated pest management and post harvest management of fruits and vegetables. Participants included various Philippine agricultural agencies and agriculture journalists.

Mishael studied his Open University books on his tractor during rest breaks. After two years at Israel’s OU, raising a family of five and working, Mishael earned his OU degree and went on to complete his Master's at Bar Ilan University. He now teaches history at high school.

(Thanks to Israel21c) Israel’s Science Ministry is to give grants totaling up to 15 million shekels ($4.5 million) in 2015 for scientists working on practical solutions for the elderly. Projects can cover technological, medical and/or social science applications.

(Thanks to Hazel) Shimon Peres kicked off his Twinned Peace Soccer Schools initiative on Kibbutz Dorot near the Gaza border.  More than 600 children from Israel and the Palestinian territories will take part in these events throughout the year using soccer to build friendships between Jews and Arabs.

Four young Arabs from Jisr al Zarka came to Tel Aviv beach to learn how to teach surfing.

14 disabled Israelis and Palestinian Arabs (7 of each) are participating in a tournament in Germany as part of a joint wheelchair basketball team.  The team, sponsored by the Peres Center for Peace, includes athletes aged 15 to 25 from the PA town of Beit Jala and from Israel’s Ramat Gan.

Surgeons at Haifa’s Rambam hospital performed a unique kidney transplant on a 14-year-old boy from Gaza.  Due to a previous failed transplant in Egypt, and obstructed blood vessels, the Israeli doctors implanted a synthetic connector to allow his new kidney to work.

After a 12-year-old Syrian boy sustained serious wounds in his arms and legs and lost his vision during fighting near Damascus, his brother seated him on a donkey and led him to the Golan border.  The IDF transferred the boy to the Israeli hospital in Safed.