With the return to school completed this week, many pupils in Acco http://www.gemsinisrael.com/index000001057.htm found themselves in "smart classrooms". This has been the culmination of a joint project bewtween a numnber of organisations to equip the school with interactive boards instead of the traditional chalk boards, as well as computerised teaching stations and projectors, all networked for access by pupils at mobilecomputer stations.
Pupils will be able to digitally raise their hands and ask questions, all integrated into the interactive board von the classroom wall.
The Mayor, at the opening of the new school year, said that this epitomises the digital revolution in Acco and will alow pupils to expand their learning skills.
Showing posts with label Acco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Acco. Show all posts
Friday, September 9, 2011
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Positives and The Negatives
As always, one can find good news and bad news stories on a given subject here in Israel. Speaking to a friend who has just returned from the States where he gave a talk on the achievements of the State of Israel since its birth, he commented that the conflict with the Palestinians is always there beneath the surface.
This week on two consecutive days we have seen the positive side of Jewish Arab cooperation, followed by the negative side.
On the positive side, the number of Arab-Israelis performing national service has quadrupled in the last two years and now exceeds a thousand, according to government statistics. The figure had increased from 230 two years ago to 630 last year before already surpassing more than 1,000 volunteers for the 2008/2009 fiscal year.
More than 80 percent of the Arab participants are women, officials said.
"The young Arabs - male and female - who have joined the national civic service in the last year or two have reached very high levels of satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment and a strong sense of helping their own community.
And that has spread by word of mouth from one to another," said Dr. Reuven Gal, head of the Administration for Civilian National Service.
More details on this story can found at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1225199613956&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Contrary to this, the Acre riots story is still bubbling under the surface, almost like a volcano waiting to erupt. A group of extreme Acre Arab residents (?)have promised that the clashes have not yet finished. The group calling itself the “Shabab of Old Acre” released a video on the internet to its members promising “to free Acre and the occupied territories”. The video shows masked Arab youngsters in the Jewish neighbourhoods with sub titles reading “I sacrifice myself for an Arab controlled Acre”.
The municipality responded by saying it “hoped that the police would deal with the inciters before they try to implement their plans.
To counter this incitement, a group of Arab and Jewish residents went on a solidarity march through the streets of Jaffa last week. The demonstration aimed to show that Jews and Arabs can live side by side and that Jaffa, like Acre an ethnically mixed city, provides a model of cooperation and coexistence.
"What happened in Acre should not have happened," a local Arab spokesman said. "It is the duty of everyone to respect the religion and customs of the other. Divisions are not solved by violence, but by discussions." What happened in Acre shows the face of extremism, there are still strong bonds of friendship and religious tolerance and many in the city have expressed the view that it is vandals from outside the city who are trying to tear the social fabric apart.
Life is not dull!!
This week on two consecutive days we have seen the positive side of Jewish Arab cooperation, followed by the negative side.
On the positive side, the number of Arab-Israelis performing national service has quadrupled in the last two years and now exceeds a thousand, according to government statistics. The figure had increased from 230 two years ago to 630 last year before already surpassing more than 1,000 volunteers for the 2008/2009 fiscal year.
More than 80 percent of the Arab participants are women, officials said.
"The young Arabs - male and female - who have joined the national civic service in the last year or two have reached very high levels of satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment and a strong sense of helping their own community.
And that has spread by word of mouth from one to another," said Dr. Reuven Gal, head of the Administration for Civilian National Service.
More details on this story can found at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1225199613956&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Contrary to this, the Acre riots story is still bubbling under the surface, almost like a volcano waiting to erupt. A group of extreme Acre Arab residents (?)have promised that the clashes have not yet finished. The group calling itself the “Shabab of Old Acre” released a video on the internet to its members promising “to free Acre and the occupied territories”. The video shows masked Arab youngsters in the Jewish neighbourhoods with sub titles reading “I sacrifice myself for an Arab controlled Acre”.
The municipality responded by saying it “hoped that the police would deal with the inciters before they try to implement their plans.
To counter this incitement, a group of Arab and Jewish residents went on a solidarity march through the streets of Jaffa last week. The demonstration aimed to show that Jews and Arabs can live side by side and that Jaffa, like Acre an ethnically mixed city, provides a model of cooperation and coexistence.
"What happened in Acre should not have happened," a local Arab spokesman said. "It is the duty of everyone to respect the religion and customs of the other. Divisions are not solved by violence, but by discussions." What happened in Acre shows the face of extremism, there are still strong bonds of friendship and religious tolerance and many in the city have expressed the view that it is vandals from outside the city who are trying to tear the social fabric apart.
Life is not dull!!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Isn't the North of Israel an Amazing Region?
This morning’s paper reports on another massive increase in tourism here in Israel, 41% above the first 4 months of last year. There seems to be no doubt we will hit the 2.8 million target for this year.
As well as being good for the economy, this increase offers so many more people to see the real Israel, an Israel certainly not reported in the international press. A recent letter from a contact in Ashkelon says ”We are indeed having a bit of a rough time, 12,14,20 shells a day landing in or around the area. Not only does the BBC / Sky not report it, even our news hardly reports it any more!”
In a recent discussion at the offices of the the local city council, I happened to remark on this increase in tourism and was told that there seems to be reluctance on the part of tour offices to include Haifa in the itinerary of tourists. The local council has offered any group staying a minimum of 2 nights at a city hotel, a free guided tour of the city, yet there still seems to be a reluctance to accept this offer.
Now I know I am prejudiced since living here in Haifa for more than 26 years but I leave you to judge, where would you find such a beautiful daily drive on a visit to the supermarket as that in the picture? T
here is so much to see in this city of ours.
After attending the Machal dinner for the 1948 war veterans,see last blog, a group of us got together with our Machal friend to take a tour of Acre. Now I have been to Acre many times with friends of ours but our guide, Danny, who lives in Acre was able to show us many new things and we spent 5 hours until our feet felt as though they were dropping. Interestingly, he also commented on how the tourists seem to miss out his city. The tour of the underground Crusader city
As well as being good for the economy, this increase offers so many more people to see the real Israel, an Israel certainly not reported in the international press. A recent letter from a contact in Ashkelon says ”We are indeed having a bit of a rough time, 12,14,20 shells a day landing in or around the area. Not only does the BBC / Sky not report it, even our news hardly reports it any more!”
In a recent discussion at the offices of the the local city council, I happened to remark on this increase in tourism and was told that there seems to be reluctance on the part of tour offices to include Haifa in the itinerary of tourists. The local council has offered any group staying a minimum of 2 nights at a city hotel, a free guided tour of the city, yet there still seems to be a reluctance to accept this offer.
Now I know I am prejudiced since living here in Haifa for more than 26 years but I leave you to judge, where would you find such a beautiful daily drive on a visit to the supermarket as that in the picture? T
here is so much to see in this city of ours.After attending the Machal dinner for the 1948 war veterans,see last blog, a group of us got together with our Machal friend to take a tour of Acre. Now I have been to Acre many times with friends of ours but our guide, Danny, who lives in Acre was able to show us many new things and we spent 5 hours until our feet felt as though they were dropping. Interestingly, he also commented on how the tourists seem to miss out his city. The tour of the underground Crusader city
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
New Reservoir inaugurated in Acco
The Water Authority in Israel announced today that last winter 2006-7 only 80% of the average annual rainfall actually fell. In the event that the forthcoming winter will be dry there will have to be cuts in water allowance for agriculture
The level of the Kinneret, as of November 14: was -212.62 metres below sea level and the red alert level: -213.00. Meanwhile, this winter, the rains have not yet arrived and indeed, next week we are expecting hot dry sharab winds
On the positive side, a new reservoir has been commissioned, which will store the effluents of the city of Acco and local villages. The new reservoir covering 415 dunam, has a three million cubic meter storage capacity. As a result, Acco sewage will no longer be dumped into the ocean, and local farmers will use the recycled water for irrigation. The Shomrat Reservoir joins 197 other reservoirs that were built by KKL-JNF throughout Israel and is the sixteenth reservoir in Western Galilee. These reservoirs add about 200 million cubic meters of water to Israel’s water system.
This reservoir solves a serious environmental problem. Until now, the sewage of Acco and local villages flowed untreated into streams and the ocean. This situation was untenable and constituted a serious environmental hazard, which endangered the health of local residents.
Local farmers are also very happy about the new reservoir. While irrigation with freshwater can cost up to NIS 1.87 per cubic meter, irrigation with recycled effluents costs no more than NIS1.00 per cubic meter, which means savings of hundreds of thousands of shekels annually, depending on the size of the irrigated fields.
An official commented: "Over 50% of water used for agriculture is recycled water, which is the highest percentage in the world. Agriculture, as the main customer of recycled water, serves the environment, and lessens the pollution of streams and water sources. Using recycled effluents instead of fresh water is part of our water policy.”
The level of the Kinneret, as of November 14: was -212.62 metres below sea level and the red alert level: -213.00. Meanwhile, this winter, the rains have not yet arrived and indeed, next week we are expecting hot dry sharab winds
On the positive side, a new reservoir has been commissioned, which will store the effluents of the city of Acco and local villages. The new reservoir covering 415 dunam, has a three million cubic meter storage capacity. As a result, Acco sewage will no longer be dumped into the ocean, and local farmers will use the recycled water for irrigation. The Shomrat Reservoir joins 197 other reservoirs that were built by KKL-JNF throughout Israel and is the sixteenth reservoir in Western Galilee. These reservoirs add about 200 million cubic meters of water to Israel’s water system.
This reservoir solves a serious environmental problem. Until now, the sewage of Acco and local villages flowed untreated into streams and the ocean. This situation was untenable and constituted a serious environmental hazard, which endangered the health of local residents.
Local farmers are also very happy about the new reservoir. While irrigation with freshwater can cost up to NIS 1.87 per cubic meter, irrigation with recycled effluents costs no more than NIS1.00 per cubic meter, which means savings of hundreds of thousands of shekels annually, depending on the size of the irrigated fields.
An official commented: "Over 50% of water used for agriculture is recycled water, which is the highest percentage in the world. Agriculture, as the main customer of recycled water, serves the environment, and lessens the pollution of streams and water sources. Using recycled effluents instead of fresh water is part of our water policy.”
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