Where do Israel’s innovators come from?
The best entrepreneurial incubator in the world might actually be created via conscription … the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). A crop of successful new entrepreneurs is coming out of Israel and they credit military schooling for their success.
Israel’s popularity highest for 23 years
(Thanks to Yoram Ettinger) According to the latest Gallup poll, Israel was rated favorably by 72% of Americans. This compares to 66% at this time last year and is the highest level since 1991.
My Israel in 10 objects
Israel's Ambassador to the UK, Daniel Taub gave an enthralling talk at the UK Limmud Conference. It is a personal, funny and surprisingly moving portrait of contemporary Israel.
Here come the birds
A recent IBA broadcast featuring some of the 1 billion feathered visitors to Israel.
The oldest Jew in the world
Rabbi Zechariah Barashi, 114, made Aliya from Kurdistan, Iraq in 1936. His great great grandchildren are currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces. He has written four books on the Torah and mysticism. He says, “I have had the fortune of living in Jerusalem for 75 years. I’m in heaven.”
Israelis top the love tweets
Israelis expressed their love on Twitter more than any other country in the world in 2013, according to the social media site. More than 481 million Tweets said “I love you” in 116 languages in 2013, with Israel ranking number one.
Ancient Judean village revealed
The remnants of a 2300-year-old rural village have been excavated on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It was discovered in June, when work began on building a pipeline to deliver natural gas from the coast. The Israel Antiquities Authority has been excavating the Second Temple era site ever since.
France celebrates the Jewish State
Around 15,000 people attended “Israel Today and Tomorrow” at the Brongniart Palace in Paris. The event featured exhibitions on Zionism, agriculture, high tech, culture, art, medicine, natural resources, tourism, history and a concert by Israeli singer David Broza.
Cheaper to be healthier in Israel
A study carried out by the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture found that the cost of fruits and vegetables in Israel are lower - sometimes significantly lower - compared to prices of fruits and vegetables in the United States and Western European countries including France, Germany and Britain.
Twin Twins
Two different women named Hannah Cohen both gave birth to twins in the same hospital on the same day at Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak. The maternity ward staff admitted the two expectant mothers to different floors of the hospital in order to avoid mixing up the babies. In the end, they didn’t really need to go to all that trouble. One mother gave birth to two boys and the other to two girls.