Israel Active

In the latest TechnoBrain engineering challenge, Technion students had to devise a machine that could cross a pool of water (symbolizing the Reed Sea) fill a glass of wine to capacity and place it on the "Passover Seder table," all without human intervention. Several managed it.

Ethiopian Jewess Takia (not her real name) began her exodus to Israel in 1980 but was stopped in Sudan and forced into a Muslim marriage. 30 years later, on Passover eve, she was reunited with her parents in Beersheva. She now is working to bring her children to Israel to join her.

Declare Your Freedom 2 (DYF2) at Tulane University, New Orleans, was a resounding success. Chloé Simone Valdary, an African American Christian Zionist student, organized top human rights speakers, bands who inspired and entertained a crowd of over 400.

Israeli archaeologists have found a Second Temple Era iron chisel, which may have served the builders of the Second Temple. The lead archaeologist said, “after two thousand years, we are in the possession of a work tool used by the builders who built the Kotel, the Western Wall.”

The ELA Recycling Corporation and the Israel Association of Community Centers are enrolling half a million children in educational programs and activities to collect, sort and recycle beverage bottles. Israel surpassed the US and Europe in meeting its plastic recycling goals this year.

Immigration to Israel from the Ukraine has risen 70 percent in 2014 due to the instability in that country. 375 new immigrants arrived in Israel in the first three months of the year, compared to 221 in the same period of 2013. Over 100 came from Odessa – 3 times the number for Quarter 1 2013.

Israel is building a new 35,000-square-meternational archaeological center to store and showcase its rich collection of some two million ancient artifacts, including the world's largest collection of Dead Sea Scrolls. The Antiquities Authority's hoard of treasures dates back as far as 5,000 years.

Israeli archaeologists in the Jezreel Valley discovered a late Bronze Age tomb containing bronze and ceramic votive artifacts and a ceramic coffin - the final resting place of a man who died some 3,300 years ago.

Israeli charity Latet has launched Emojew - a free application for android smartphones that allows users to send Jewish and Passover greetings whilst donating a meal to families in need. Over 7900 Passover meals have been donated using Emojew.

Numbers of new immigrants to Israel have risen by 14% to 3,623 in the first three months of 2014. They included 899 from Russia and 802 from France.