See Israel Up Close
The website www.israelupclose.org contains a library of hundreds of videos that highlight Israel’s contributions to humankind. Please read this recent introduction to the site and then have a look at some of the films that you haven’t seen already.
Celebrating more than one birth
We may be celebrating the birth of the Jewish State, but we can also be proud that a record 161,000 babies were born to Israeli citizens in the last 12 months.
The museum of legend
The Israel Air Force Museum at Hatzerim contains 150 aircraft including famous exhibits. Spitfires made from abandoned British spare parts; a MIG-21 flown by an Iraqi defector; the Boeing 707 used in the Entebbe rescue and the F-16 flown by Ilan Ramon, in the raid on the Iraqi nuclear reactor.
The Kurds of Israel
Jewish immigrants from Kurdistan established the Moshav of Yardena in the Beit She'an Valley in late 1952. The history of the community will be told in the new Centre for Kurdistan Cultural Heritage and for the History of Kurdish Agriculture Settlement in Israel.
Building a green training base
Bahadim City is the location of the IDF’s new environmentally friendly training facility. The base will reclaim the Negev desert, generate hundreds of jobs, utilize solar power and recycle water from the wastewater treatment plant for use in agricultural irrigation.
Israel’s prospects have never been brighter
In case you missed it, here is a link to the advertisement that FLAME placed in newspapers across the USA. FLAME stands for Facts & Logic About the Middle East. We certainly need more publicity like this.
Made in Israel – the video that sums it all up
(Thanks to Israel21c) A 3 minute tour through the many innovations that are improving lives across the planet, thanks to Israeli creativity. Hi-tech, water technology, medical - a myriad of life changing technologies that have all been “Made in Israel”.
But they work hard too
The latest OECD study shows that Israelis work an average of 2000 hours per year. That’s 20% longer than the average British worker and 40% longer than a typical German. Israelis are top of the league for reading books and attending cultural events.
Israel’s Golden Age
Please read this heart-warming vision of Israel by David Siegel - the Israeli Consul for the South Western United States.
US emigration reversed
More people made Aliya from the USA in 2011 than left Israel for American shores. 4,070 US-born Jews came to live in Israel during 2011, compared with 3,850 going in the other direction.