ANGLO AUTHORS: The Israel Association of Writers in English is officially launching its literary journal at Jerusalem’s Hamiffal cultural center on Monday at 7 P.M. The journal, arc 25: A Calm Inside a Storm, “contains brief works of fiction, non-fiction, and verse from nearly 50 writers, who are Israelis born in England, North America, Australia and elsewhere,” according to the association.
Brooklyn-born Jerusalemite Shlomo Yashar, a widely-published poet who is one of the issue’s co-editors, said about the theme: "Israel remains a resilient, vibrant and genuinely joyous nation despite a history of unrelenting provocations and attacks. Beneath this surface ‘calm,’ our poetic soul, whenever stirred, shouts to be heard from every corner of the land."
Co-editor, Mark L. Levinson, said: “Lots of us immigrated as adults, so when we think of the storms of war we think of the home front.”
BEIT ISSIE, QALANSUA: British Ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey, visited Beit Issie Shapiro’s Early Intervention Center in Qalansua and congratulated them on receiving approval to build a permanent home from the Interior Ministry.
The facility, the first of its kind in the Israeli-Arab community, will be located on land allocated by Qalansua’s mayor. The center currently operates from rented facilities, Tanya Stern of Beit Issie told Haaretz.“The Sindian (‘oak’ in Arabic) Center provides children with disabilities with high-quality early intervention services and supporting therapies,” she stated.
"I am inspired to see the life-changing impact that Beit Issie's team brings to this region,” Ambassador Quarrey said during his visit. “This Sindian Early Intervention Centre is a vehicle for bringing people and communities together, and for creating fruitful collaborations in the field of disabilities.”
UN FRIENDLY: Approximately 250 students from 13 academic institutions throughout the country participated in the national conference of the Israel Model UN Association, hosted by Bar-Ilan University, this week. Dressed in suits, the students simulated UN activities, honing their negotiating, public speaking and research skills as they sought solutions to pressing international issues.
The stated aim of the organization is “to train the next generation of Israeli diplomats and global leaders.” Winners included students from the United States as well as the children of native-English speaking immigrants, including Lilac Drori, Matthew Johnson, Michael Polevoy, Noam Serlin and Emily Warren. "In order to preserve and strengthen our right to exist, Israel must act in the public diplomacy arena," Deputy Minister Michael Oren, a former ambassador to the United States, told participants.
Rank and File was compiled by Steven Klein.
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