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Israel Rejects Proposed $1B Arab Fund for Jerusalem
Qatar proposed on Tuesday the creation of a $1 billion Arab fund for East Jerusalem, which Palestinians say should be the capital of an independent state under any peace deal with Israel.
Medical Aid Fund Turns Away Holocaust Survivors
A fund that helps Israeli Holocaust survivors pay medical expenses told recipients that it would stop receiving applications until next year, citing an overflow of requests.
Shimon Peres Presents 2012 Beautiful Isral Award to Jewish National Fund: President thanks KKL-JNF
In a moving ceremony at his residence, Israeli President Shimon Peres presented the 2012 Beautiful Israel Award to the Keren Keyemet L’ Israel or the Jewish National Fund. The award, given out since 1977, goes to those who’ve made significant and unique contributions to the quality of life and the environment in Israel… KKL-JNF more than qualifies…the non-profit which is celebrating its 110 anniversary this year has a long history of buying, developing and beautifying the land of Israel… We met Efi Stenzler - the world chairman of KKL-JNF- at the organization’s historic headquarters in Tel Aviv…today most of the building is a museum that showcases how the land-buying fund helped new immigrants transform much of the arid and uninhabitable terrain of Israel into fertile land that could support thriving communities. This KKL-JNF office also housed Israel’s provisional government under David Ben-Gurion six months before the State was declared…in this very room Ben-Gurion signed Israel’s declaration of Independence… By that time KKL-JNF had already been around more than 45 years…it was established in 1901 at the 5th Zionist Congress in Basel. Viennese Professor Zvi Shapira, with the support of Theodore Herzl, decided to raise money from Jews the world over in order to buy land in Israel from Arabs and others… The tin blue donation box soon became the iconic symbol of KKL-JNF…the collection boxes were put on counters in every corner of the world…they …
Jewish National Fund Marks 110 Years: Chairman Efi Stenzler Thanks European Jewish Union
One of the world’s oldest Jewish organizations — the Jewish National Fund — is celebrating its one hundred and tenth anniversary this year and congratulations have been flowing in from Jewish communities across the globe. The Jewish National Fund dates back to the turn of the 20th century, when it was established at the Fifth Zionist Congress in Switzerland in 1901. The Fund was originally intended to support the Jewish settlement of the Holy Land. Over the past century the Jewish National Fund has become an enduring symbol of ties between Israel and the global Jewish diaspora, relying as it does o private contributions from within the international Jewish community to finance its many initiatives. Acknowledging the Jewish National Fund’s latest milestone, the Fund’s World Chairman Efi Stenzler thanked Jewish organizations across the globe for their continued support. Responding to congratulations from the European Jewish Union, Mr. Stenzler thanked European Jewish Union President Igor Kolomoiskiy and in turn offered his own positive appraisal of the establishment of the EJU in 2011, commenting: “I congratulate Mr. Kolomoiskiy for his support of Israel and look forward to working together to create ever stronger ties between the state of Israel and Europe’s Jewish communities.” Jewish National Fund and European Jewish Union leaders are now expected to expand their cooperation with a high-level meeting in Israel this autumn.
United Arab Emirates Creates 'Marriage Fund' after Universities Show 60% of Women Unmarried
A survey jointly undertaken by four universities in the United Arab Emirates has found that 60% of the country’s women of marriageable age are single. Government officials have been disturbed by the figures and have established a marriage fund to encourage young men and women to wed. The fund gives USD 19000 to young couples provided both are citizens of the UAE and the man earns less than USD 2500 per month. But for one local woman money is not the most important issue. Local single Fadia: “What is the most important quality for a guy? Of course it’s personality, and he should have vision and good character. I am not saying money is not important, because it is the basis of life. However, as one Arabic idiom goes, ‘money is like water, which comes and goes’. So, personality counts the most.” The low marriage rate is also partly attributable to Emirati men’s preference for marrying foreign women. According to government statistics, around 20% of men in the UAE who married in 2010 chose foreign women as their brides. Local single Fadia: “We can say that this made things simpler because foreign women have lower requirements.” The UAE’s ruling body the Federal National Council is hoping its new programme of financial incentives will prove effective in the campaign to encourage more weddings in the Gulf emirates.
Working to Strengthen European-Israel Relations
European diplomatic and strategic support, based on shared interests and democratic values, will be key factors contributing to a strong future both of Israel and the nations of Europe. Working to strengthen European-Israel ties is the European Leadership Network (ELNET). In this interview Larry Hochberg, Chairman, Friends of ELNET, and Dr. Arie Bensemhoun, ELNET President, discuss the positive results of their relationship-building activities.
IsraAID in Africa
IsraAID celebrates Israeli humanitarian work in Africa The organization’s vital lifesaving work has attracted praise from the professionals and interest in future projects. Live Aid concert organizer Bob Geldof was in Israel recently to laud Israeli humanitarian projects in Africa. The Irish rock musician spoke at a conference presented by IsraAID (www.israaid.org.il) in Herzliya. People from Israel’s business, arts, media and civil society sectors met at the conference to applaud past achievements and inspire future ones. Geldof’s 1985 concert raised almost $250 million to fight hunger in Africa. Also appearing at the conference were Israeli musician Idan Raichel (www.idanraichelproject.com/en), the goodwill ambassador of the Israeli organization Save a Child’s Heart www.saveachildsheart.org), which provides life-saving heart surgery to children in developing countries; and Itai Anghel, a journalist and filmmaker who has interviewed rape victims in the Congo: DOWNLOADS: VIDEOS: - HiRes: www.megaupload.com - HiRes No Narration: www.megaupload.com - Streaming: www.megaupload.com - Streaming No Narration: www.megaupload.com DOCUMENTS: - INTRO: www.megaupload.com - SCRIPT: www.megaupload.com Please credit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel for any use of these videos