Israel Active

(Thanks to Atid-EDI) For the first time, the European Foundation for Quality Management recognized 4 Israeli schools - in Acre, Tamra, Mas'ade, and the ORT school in Ma'alot - for implementing its Excellence Model for organizational management.

(Thanks to NoCamels.com) Israeli NGO Wheelchairs of Hope has designed the world’s first affordable wheelchairs built especially for children. They have received backing from the UN, the World Health Organization and Israeli Nobel Prize winner Aaron Ciechanover.

Shosh Kaminsky of Israeli non-profit and provider of therapies for disabilities Beit Issie Shapiro presented and gave a workshop at the International Play Association’s 19th Triennial World Conference in Istanbul. The theme was building social bridges - how inclusive playgrounds create community.

Keith Norman, technical director of UK’s Velcourt, met 35 experts from 13 of Israel’s agritech companies on his first visit to Israel. Velcourt holds 54,000 hectares of UK farmland. Norman’s trip was organized by the British Embassy’s UK-Israel Tech Hub.

Yasmin Chayach has become the first Christian woman to complete the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer’s training course. Chayach, who is from Acre, follows in the footsteps of her brother, who also served in the IDF. Christian enlistment in the IDF tripled in 2013. https://archive.jns.org/news-briefs/2014/5/20/israel-welcomes-first-female-arab-christian-idf-officer

In a University of Haifa study, the percentage of Israeli Arabs who recognize Israel’s right to continue to exist as a Jewish and democratic state (53%) rose in 2013 compared to 2012 (47%). 64% (up 5%) thought Israel was a good place to live.

Israel allowed around 650 Christians from Hamas-controlled Gaza to travel to the PA-controlled city of Bethlehem during the pope's visit.

Professor Dan Engelhard of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center founded the Art Joy Love organization to help AIDS patients. In Uganda, his doctors, nurses, medicine, medical clowns, social workers and other volunteers in 18 months have reduced AIDS from 18% down to 16%.

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.