Children attending daycare at Gan Shmuel, northern Israel. (Wikimedia)

The finance ministry is subsidizing afternoon day care for all families; Israel will have its first separate handicapped-accessible beach in Ashdod; 11 promising young leaders from eight countries recently graduated from the Israel-Asia Center’s 2016-17 Leaders Fellowship program, and much more.

ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Help for child daycare

As part of the Finance Ministry’s family assistance program, Israel is subsidizing afternoon daycare for all families. The Israeli Parliament also passed a law capping prices for after-school care. http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-cabinet-approves-afternoon-daycare-subsidies-1001189402

http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-knesset-enacts-law-capping-after-school-care-prices-1001198866

New accessible beach for the disabled

Thanks to “Refuah V’simcha,” an organization which helps sick and needy people, Israel will have its first separate handicapped-accessible beach in Ashdod.  It will have an access route right up to the water line, allowing the physically handicapped to preserve their dignity.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232904

Israel-Asia Center graduates

11 promising young leaders from eight countries recently graduated from the Israel-Asia Center’s 2016-17 Leaders Fellowship program. Now in its sixth year, alumni are heading up Asia operations of Israeli companies, establishing Asian accelerators in Israel and setting up Israel-Asia ventures.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/innovation-and-chutzpah-program-equips-young-asian-leaders-to-know-israel/

Integrating Israeli-Ethiopians

I reported previously (Oct 2016 – TY Sharon) on Israel’s Tech-Career which has helped over 400 young Ethiopian-Israelis launch careers in the Israeli hi-tech industry.  Here is a more recent article about the work of this vital non-profit organization.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/young-ethiopians-seek-entry-to-israeli-tech-scene/

Israeli to swim round Manhattan to fund research

Israel’s Guy Cohen will take part in the 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan – one of the hardest swims in the world. He is raising funds for research by Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center into Sudden Cardiac Death, which took his six-year-old daughter Netta 15 years ago.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Bereaved-Israeli-dad-joins-Manhattan-swim-contest-for-heart-research-500448

Israeli nurses baby of injured Arab mother

Finally – a positive Israel article in the NYT. A Palestinian Arab mother was so badly injured in a car crash that she was unable to nurse her baby, who wouldn’t take a bottle. Whilst family members watched helplessly, Israeli nurse Ola Ostrowski-Zak took the child and breastfed him.

https://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2017/06/12/israeli-nurse-breastfed-the-baby-of-a-critically-injured-palestinian-woman/ But please click, as this positive story doesn’t end here.  (Original article in Today.)

http://www.today.com/parents/israeli-nurse-breastfeeds-palestinian-baby-after-mom-hurt-accident-t112450

The father of Israeli social work

Eliezer Jaffe passed away aged 83, a week after receiving the Bonei Zion Prize for significant contribution to Israel. Jaffe founded Israel’s first academic school of social work, the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also founded the Israel Free Loan Association. http://www.jta.org/2017/05/30/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/eliezer-jaffe-a-father-of-israeli-social-work-dies-at-83

Child development program graduates

Haifa University’s International Child Development Master’s Program aims to improve the lives of children at risk worldwide, and is the world’s only fully funded academic child development program. 2017 graduates are from Uganda, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Liberia, Tanzania and Kenya. https://worldisraelnews.com/developing-countries-benefit-israeli-child-development-program/

Georgia – a 2,600-year link

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visiting Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili highlighted the 2,600-year history of Jewish relations with the Caucasus country. The Georgian leader committed his Government and people to strengthen bilateral ties.

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/jerusalem/watch-netanyahu-kvirikashvili-launch-talks-with-2600-years-bridging-jewish-georgian-people/2017/07/24/

The rising star of Global Innovation

The Jewish state ranked 17th overall in the United Nations Global Innovation Index report, improving its standing by four places from 2016. It topped the list for percentage of researchers, expenditure on R&D, Venture Capital investment and IT services export.

http://www.jns.org/news-briefs/2017/6/22/israel-continues-to-lead-in-global-innovation-un-index-finds

https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/analysis-indicator