Israel Active

A hi-tech crossbow fires a piece of apple at a balloon filled with honey, high above Israel Technion’s campus. The apple, thus coated with honey, is then caught by Technion President, Professor Peretz Lavie. What is their New Year message? That the Technion aims higher!

Yitzhak Pundak fought in Israel’s War of Independence. He commanded the Nahal Brigade and the Armored Corps after the War. In 1971 Moshe Dayan appointed him Governor of Gaza, but a 1954 promise of promotion to Major General was not fulfilled. Now at 100-years-old, Yitzhak gets his rank.

In 2011 six children from one Jewish Yemenite family and four children of another were evacuated from Yemen to Argentina. Last week they were flown to Israel, whilst simultaneously their parents were brought to Israel from Yemen in a secret operation.

(Thanks to Geoff) Thirty Israeli children suffering with cancer were about to depart Ben Gurion airport for Camp Simcha in the USA. But 11-year-old Imbar had to disembark in tears as she had lost her passport. Just as the jet taxied along the runway, someone found Imbar’s passport. El Al’s management made an unprecedented decision and authorized the plane to return to pick her up. A beautiful story.

Jerusalem hosted the largest-ever seminar for new and veteran Olim (immigrants to Israel), to help them find employment and provide other assistance in settling into life in the Jewish State.

Josh Wasserman has donated his 13th birthday gifts to establish a basketball team and renovate a new court for children living in a center for new Ethiopian immigrants in northern Israeli city of Safed (Tzfat).

(Thanks to Israel21c) Four blogs depict the face of Israel rarely portrayed in the media: Humans of Tel Aviv, Humans of Israel, Humans of Safed and Humans of Jerusalem.

When a rare baby Asian elephant was born at Israel’s Ramat Gan Safari Park, La Belle (the mother) received some coaching in how to bring up junior from Bubba - her mother, La Petite.

The latest big winner of the Israeli lottery is determined to invest rather than waste his fortune. An unnamed soldier won first and second prize and will use the interest “to finance my university education.” He also promised to look after his parents and siblings.

In an attempt to enter Canada illegally, an Iranian family used stolen and falsified passports from the “Zionist entity”. They knew that Israelis do not require visas to enter the country, whereas Iranians required permits. But they didn’t fool Canadian officials.