Israel Active

Last week I reported that India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a friend of Israel. He has now appointed India’s first female Foreign Minister. Sushma Swara served as chairwoman of the Indo-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group from 2006 to 2009.

StandWithUs brought nine photographers from Brazil, Spain, Austria, Russia, Britain, Italy and the U.S. to Israel for the first time. The nine have 4 million followers on the social media photo-sharing site Instagram.

Palestinian Arab farmers participated in a five-day course in post-harvest techniques held at the Volcani Institute, within the Israeli Agriculture Ministry complex in Beit Dagan. The farmers explored a variety of issues related to the packing and storage of fruits and vegetables.

Virginia State Sheriff Danny Diggs was one of 17 National Sheriff’s Association members visiting Israel for the first time. He said, "You saw people in traditional Muslim attire, traditional Jewish attire and in modern clothing walking along the street, working side-by-side and coexisting”.

Three Arab writers admired Israel for jailing ex-Israeli PM Ehud Olmert. No similar result would have occurred in Arab countries. One said, "Law is above all and this is real democracy. Israel is the only real democracy in the Middle East."

Pakistani Christians demonstrated in Karachi, demanding their right to pilgrimage to Christian holy sites in Israel. They held up placards, which included, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” “Israel you are light to the nations,” and “Recognize the Jewish State of Israel".

Israel has sent 1.5 million tons of medical and humanitarian aid to Serbia. The first shipment of emergency aid included medicine, food, blankets and rain gear. Israel is due to send more aid, including water pumps. The second link includes both aid to Serbia and to other disaster areas.

(Thanks to Hazel) Farmers in southwestern France have responded to dwindling water resources by adopting drip irrigation - a money-saving technique invented in the 1960s in Israel. Growers say that drip irrigation has helped them save water, fertilizer and increase yields.

The International Business Times called India’s newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi “Israel's best friend in South Asia”. As Chief Minister of the Gujarat province, Modi endorsed joint projects in industrial R&D, solar & thermal power, water recycling, desalination and more.

Rivka Yeruslavsky was born into an Israeli ultra-Orthodox family and studied computer science. She then went on to open the Strauss Campus of Lomda - Israel’s largest vocational institute, designed to bring more haredim into the workforce.