Israel Active

Israeli David Barashi (“Dush the clown”) holds a degree in medical clowning from Haifa University. He is currently in Nepal working to help cheer up sick Nepalese children before they have surgery. David previously worked with orphans in Ethiopia and tsunami survivors in Asia.

So said Samir – a Muslim Arab who voluntarily enlisted in the IDF. Samir was born in Syria but now lives in Israel. He serves in the Tavor battalion, one of the Home Front Command's search and rescue battalions, whose men also perform combat activities in addition to their rescue efforts.

Here is a news item that may (but should not) surprise you. Members of an Ultra-orthodox IDF battalion saved the lives of three Palestinian Arabs who were trapped in a car near Nablus in a swollen stream growing violent due to the stormy weather. Plus, another rescue video.

Haaretz is surprised by evidence of the true wish of Arab residents of Israel’s capital. More applications for Israeli ID cards; more students taking the Israeli matriculation exams; more enrolling in Israeli academic institutions; and a rising number of youth volunteering for national service.

Out of the 600 Christians from the Gaza Strip who arrived in the West Bank in the past two weeks to celebrate Christmas, dozens have asked to move to Israel. Dozens of Christian families from east Jerusalem have moved to Jewish neighborhoods in the city. But that’s not the half of it – please read the article.

Vivian Hamui has just arrived in the Jewish State, living and studying with Ethiopians, Russians, Spanish, English, Chinese, Americans, Dutch, Venezuelans and – oh yes – many Arab girls. She doubts if the same situation could occur in any other Middle East country.

A delegation including nine Ben Gurion University students are currently in the city of Makele in Ethiopia, taking part in an extensive educational medical program which aims to eliminate neglected tropical diseases. The program includes medical intervention and administering medications, combined with health and hygiene education and addressing the problems of sanitation and water purification.

At the four-day Agritech-Asia business summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India Israel’s Consul General revealed the nature of the Centres of Excellence that Israel is setting up in the Indian state. These will focus on mangos, date palms and bananas.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is creating a program for students from minority backgrounds to encourage access to higher education. To lead these efforts, the University has appointed Prof. Nayef Jarrous as the Minority Affairs Advisor to Hebrew U President Menahem Ben-Sasson.

English-born teacher, lecturer and writer Penny Ur from Moshav Amnon has just been awarded the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s New Year’s Honors List for her work promoting English language-teaching methodologies. Penny made Aliya in 1967.