Good News

Ashkelon Desalinization Plant Up and Running

The much anticipated Ashkelon water desalinization plant is up and running, with treated seawater already being supplied to the Negev from the Mediterranean Sea.

Double-Decker Tour Bus

This past summer, Jerusalem inaugurated a new “City Tour” bus line, utilizing a bright red double-decker bus. If you have ever visited London, you have probably enjoyed sightseeing from the top of such a bus; now you can have the same kind of experience in Jerusalem.

Cell-Phone Service Tracks Children

With the push of a few buttons on a cellular phone, Israeli parents will soon be able to detect the real-time location of their children. Two Israeli cell-phone companies announced that they will be providing a service through which customers will be able to track the precise location of their child within seconds.

Date Palm Sprouts After 2,000 Years

Israeli researchers have germinated a sapling date palm from seeds 2,000 years old, in a bid to find new medicines that will benefit future generations.

Iraqi Visitor- Arabs Have Good Life Under Israel

Those Arabs living in Israel and areas under the Jewish state’s overall control enjoy far greater freedoms than any of their brethren throughout the Middle East, said Mithal Al-Alusi, leader of the Democratic Party of Iraq, after visiting Israel.

“I am sure that the Palestinian [Arabs] in Israel have more rights than in any other Arab country, and even the Iraqi citizens during the time of Saddam [Hussein],” he said.

1.8 Million Tourists Expected in 2005

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and Ministry of Tourism, first-quarter 2005 tourist arrivals jumped 25% over the same period last year, with 373,000 visitors. The jump raised expectations of a total annual figure of 1.8 million tourists—higher than anticipated. Significant increases in tourist traffic were registered from Britain, Germany, the United States, France, Italy, and other countries.

Hello, Salaam! Hello, Shalom! Hello, Peace!

There is a new conversation breaking out between Israelis and Palestinians, thanks to a new, toll-free telephone service, Hello, Peace! (Hello, Salaam! in Arabic and Hello, Shalom! in Hebrew). Large numbers of Arabs and Jews are picking up the phone and talking to people “on the other side” about reconciliation, tolerance, and peace. Over 48,000 calls were placed in less than three months.

Exports from Israel Up, Up, Up!

Israeli exports to the European Union (EU) rose 21.9% in the three-month period comprising November 2004 to January 2005, in comparison with the same period a year earlier, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported in February. The EU remains Israel’s most significant trade partner, with 37% of the country’s imports and exports involving the European continent.

El Al to Provide In-Flight Internet

In February, El Al said that it was investing US $3 million to provide in-flight, high-speed Internet service to passengers using laptop computers. The airline signed an agreement with Boeing subsidiary CBB (Connexion By Boeing) to install the Internet service in all El Al Boeing 747-400 and 777 planes.

Yad Vashem Database Reunites Sisters

Sixty years after the Holocaust, survivors, who thought their loved ones were lost forever, are still rediscovering each other. In November 2004, Yad Vashem made its central database accessible to the world via the Internet. This has provided the tools for many survivors or their family members to find out the fate of loved ones.