Dear friends!

A few days ago the Ukrainian Government adopted a very important and a long-awaited decree according to which the citizens of Ukraine will be able to seek employment in Israel. As you know, there is already a pre-agreement on the employment of Ukrainian construction workers and specialists in the field of computer technology. Israel's market is ready to offer a few tens of thousands of positions for our citizens.

Now there are a lot of Ukrainians that work in Israel, but usually, they have quite unprofitable jobs. Now, after the Israeli side vises the document, Ukrainians will be able freely to get jobs in Israel: Israel official guarantees a competitive salary, health insurance, decent conditions of work.

It is rather difficult to imagine a more real help in current economic and political situation. Of course, Israel as a rich country could feed Ukraine by credits, but prefers the real cooperation and support. And also, this gives the opportunity for Ukraine to raise the level of social and economic protection of its own citizens. In my opinion, this is the real partnership.

Good afternoon dear friends!

The best part of the work of Honorary Consul is to be able to direct connections and opportunities to help those who are in need. Yesterday was just such a mission.

A few days ago Honorary Consulate carried out a masked ball on the Purim holiday. A charity auction was held during the ball, which succeeded to gather 50 000 UAH for the treatment of children with cancer. On behalf of the Honorary Consulate of the State of Israel, I met with representatives of the charity fund "Tabletochki" and handed to them the funds that would be spent on the purchase of medicines for patients in the Pediatric Oncology. The anticancer drug Lanvis will be acquired for this money, which is taken by the patients with acute leukemia and other forms of blood cancer after the completion of the main phase of treatment.

As a father, I sincerely believe that nothing is more valuable and important than the health of the child. Lots for the auction have been gathered within one day. Everyone to whom we addressed with a great pleasure has brought us lots at once: paintings and jewelry, rare stamps, etc. It’s symbolical, that pictures of little oncology patients were also the lots for sale.

After conferencier announced the purpose of the auction, the serious bids took place in the hall. With a great pleasure, people were raising the rates. This suggests that even in today's morally and economically difficult times, Ukrainians are not stale showers, they are ready to sympathize and to help – and that is great!.

Also, I would also like to thank Boryslav Bereza, "co-host" of the auction for being able to inspire colleagues and helped to gain more funds to help children.

I believe that there are no someone else's children. We must support those who need it: in our power is to help and to save not one child's life. And I am very pleased that it such large number of people understand this. This is evidenced by the auction result.

I would like to thank one more time to all that responded and participated in the auction, and I cordially wish all the little patients a speedy recovery!

The next stage of the campaign "Children for the Peace in the World" took place on March 28, in one of the Kyiv schools; it was founded by Honorary Consulate of Hungary in the Ivano-Frankivsk region and the charity fund "Children of Prykarpattya".

In the presence of honourable guests, representatives of Ukrainian Book of Records, the pupils have made their own map of Spain, which will be handed over to the children of this country with the wishes of peace and harmony. The event was also attended by the deputies of different levels, diplomats, representatives of city and regional authorities.

The Ambassador of Hungary to Ukraine Mr. Erno Keshken, Deputy Mayor of Kyiv, Volodymyr Prokopov, Chairman of the Assembly of Nationalities of Ukraine Rovshan Tagiyev, Honorary Consul of Hungary in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine Vasyl Vyshyvanyuk addressed their greetings to the participants of the action.

It is very symbolic that namely little Ukrainians have become ambassadors for peace, supporting the idea of mutual respect, love and peaceful coexistence for the whole world. It is very important to look for friends of Ukraine in different parts of the world. And who, if not children, are the best in making friends? Communicating with the children from other countries, they will talk about their own country even better than diplomats and ambassadors. It is planned that 35 countries will take part in this campaign.

I sincerely wish success to the "Children of Prykarpattya" fund and the Honorary Consulate of Hungary in the continuation of this project. Honorary Consulate of Israel will also participate in the project "Children for Peace in the World" in the nearest future: it would be my great pleasure to hand over a map of the world to the children of Israeli city Ashdod from their Ukrainian peers.

Israel will help to develop the Ukrainian agriculture.

The official visit of the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Oleksiy Pavlenko to the State of Israel was held few days ago. The visit resulted in the agreement between the Israeli and the Ukrainian side on bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture.

Ukraine is ready to learn from the Israeli experience in the agricultural sector. On behalf of the Ministry, Oleksiy Pavlenko has invited the Israeli experts in the field of technology and innovation of the agricultural center "Volcani" to further cooperation; it will help the development of the agricultural sector of the Ukrainian economy. Israeli scientists will be able to share the accumulated experience with the Ukrainian colleagues. As stated by the Minister, the introduction of a common innovation project in the agricultural sector is planned. With regard to the investment projects, an active cooperation between Ukraine and MASHAV agency is currently carried out. It is planned that in seven years about 35 thousand of Ukrainian farmers will be able to gain experience in the usage of modern technologies related to agriculture.

As I mentioned earlier, issues of bilateral cooperation, including the agriculture, are the subject of active discussion in the framework of Ukrainian-Israeli Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

In addition, the chilled beef and poultry of the Ukrainian production will be supplied to Israel. Now the process of certification of the Ukrainian products is carried out, and then the meat will go to the Israeli market.

Also, Oleksyi Pavlenko confirmed once again the information on the introduction of a free trade zone between our countries in the current year: according to him, the details will be discussed later this summer.

A masked ball in the honour of Purim celebration was held on March 24.

At the invitation of the Honorary Consul of the State of Israel, the holiday has gathered members of the Jewish community of Kyiv, the representatives of diplomatic corps, public and cultural figures.

During any celebration, we should not forget about those who are now in need of help. So yesterday in the framework of Purim, we carried out a charity auction for the benefit of children with cancer: all proceeds will be donated to the Okhmatdet clinic. The works of the youngest patients, as well as the well-known Kyiv artist Yael, were presented as the lots of the auction.

It was my great pleasure to see the faces of so many good friends of mine in the audience. I am particularly pleased that through our joint efforts the children will get help. I wish such initiatives would have become a tradition.

I heartily thank you all for visiting our holiday!

Greetings my dear friends!

Do you know that there are no orphan homes in Israel? A number of families, willing to adopt a child, by times exceed the number of children that can be adopted.

We all know that children are much beloved in the Jewish families. Secular families usually have two children, the religious 5-6. The young family is not living "for themselves", as it is common in Ukraine, pretty quickly they start thinking of the child's birth. If the health problems occur, they go to the Center for Reproductive Medicine. The cost of expensive procedures is paid by the state.

As for the refusal of the child, such a situation is likely the exception to the rule. As one of my friends once joked, "if the baby is left on the hospital threshold, because of it five minutes later the full-fledged war will begin." Moreover, when it is find out that the woman intends to terminate a pregnancy, the special services starts immediately to co-operate with her: offering to bring a child into the world and later to give it up for adoption for a decent reward.

So, why Israel has no orphanages in the classic "Soviet" version? As I have mentioned already, the number of adopters significantly exceeds the number of children in need of adoption. This does not mean, of course, that there are no orphans or children whose parents are deprived of parental rights in Israel. But these kids are staying only for a short time in the special boarding schools; from that place they are immediately sent to be raised in a family where, as a rule, the family has its own children. The new "parents" under the law are guardians of the children. Further, they face to a very long adoption procedure and then finally they become parents of the children on the legal basis.

All children are adopted in Israel: of any age, chronically or seriously ill – everyone will be happily welcomed in a new family. Sick children that are in hospitals are taken care by the volunteers. They have also a priority to the right of adoption.

There is no such thing as a homeless child in Israel. Such an attitude towards the most vulnerable segments of the population is a reflection of the very essence of Israeli people: every life is sacred, and the history has already well taught to cherish it. Thus, people think not only about their lives but also about the future of their state.

The Israeli army plans completely switch to the "green" energy in 20 years.

Over the next two decades, the Israeli army will be reoriented on the use of solar energy: there is a huge number of sunny days in Israel, perfect conditions for placement of solar panels, the state has all the necessary resources. So instead of using the diesel generators military will use the alternative energy sources.

This rational transition to the "green" energy has become possible only thanks to the wise policy of the state that supports such initiatives and allocates budget funds. The policy of Israeli government has the following advantages: the use of solar energy will save the budget expenses on the army will help to reduce the level of pollution of the environment throughout the country, will allow individual regions to overcome the energy crisis, as well as significantly increase the market of Alternative Technology. It is planned that as a result of the project implementation about one million square feet of solar panels will be set.

Let me remind you: the Israeli total area is 20.770 sq. km, the area of Ukraine is 603.628 sq. km and the natural resources of Israel, in comparison with Ukraine, are very limited. At the same time, Ukraine has to buy additional electricity, Israel, by contrast, sells its surpluses. It’s all thanks to the rational state policy, where the alternative energy is supported; taxes on the use of natural resources of the territory are rising, but not vice versa. The question, when Ukraine will be governed by the executives who will think at least for the nearest future of our country, and will not beat the bag out of it in his short cadence, remains open.

Today, all Jews around the world celebrate Purim – a holiday in honour of the miraculous salvation of the Jews, which occurred more than 2,400 years ago during the reign of the Persian King Ahasuerus.

The holiday got its name from the word "pur", which means "lot".

By the lot Adviser to King Haman had appointed a day – Adar 13, to kill all the freedom-loving Jews of Persia, who did not want to kneel before him, but only to God. He promised Ahasuerus 10,000 pieces of silver to the treasury for the fact that anyone could kill a Jew and to take away its property. The King agreed.

However, it is the Jew Mordechai who randomly heard about the plot against King and told about this to its guard: the criminals had been caught and about this happening was written in the palace book. Later Ahasuerus got to know about this and ordered to award the saviour. This fact angered Haman even more because he had already picked a tree for hanging of Mordecai. Then Mordecai told about this to the Queen (also a Jew), a beautiful Esther. To save her people, Esther had ordered all the Jews to atone for their sins and to fast for three days; then she arranged a sumptuous feast, she invited the King and his Advisor Haman. Holiday had impressed the King so much, that he promised to fulfil any wish of Esther: of course she asked Ahasuerus not to kill the Jews. But according to the law, the King could not cancel his decree. Then he issued a new decree, which allowed all Jews to defend their lives, and to take away all the property of the attackers. Haman had been hanged on the tree, where he wanted to hang Mordecai.

Since then, Jews celebrate the miracle of liberation from the Persian slavery. Merry feasts, carnivals and masquerades are held during two days. The traditional Purim triangular cakes with jam are baked for the holiday. It is called gomentashy (Haman's ears). During the Purim, it is obliged to drink as much wine, so not to distinguish the name of Haman from Mordechai. When on the eve of the holiday is read about the events in the synagogues, at the mentioning of Haman's name all are whistling and banging rattlers, to howl down the name of the enemy.

On the Purim’s eve, which in this year is celebrated from 23 to 25 March, in many Israeli schools and kindergartens festive children's matinee are held, and in the streets, cafes and public transport you can find children and adults in unusual costumes.

The history has taught us to never give up, do not back down, even with the most powerful enemy. If the people are united, they will be able to win in any confrontation. Today I sincerely wish all the Ukrainians and Israelis a lot of fun and joy! Merry Purim!

Yesterday, the Russian court sentenced Nadiya Savchenko to 22 years in prison and imposed a fine.

Well, there is a prisoner of conscience in the modern history of Ukraine. The whole world was watching, for the farce of the Russian judicial system, and none representative of any civilized country does not recognize it.

Later, President Poroshenko offered to exchange Nadiya for the members of Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff that have been seized last year in Donbass. Of course, this is a decent step. In his time, the famous dissident Natan Sharansky, who was also been imprisoned in the Russian prison on false charges, was exchanged for five spies. According to the President, Vladimir Putin during the Normandy Format Negotiations, he promised to return Savchenko to Ukraine after the sentencing.

Despite the resistance of the entire world community, Russia continues to hold the Ukrainian citizens onto its territory. But in addition to Nadiya Savchenko and Oleg Sentsov about whom the whole world knows, we must not forget those who are suffering no less than their fellow countrymen. I wish that we would not forget their names because their fate depends only on us.

Thus, among the illegally sentenced are: Alexander Kolchenko Alexei Chyrniy, Gennady Afanasiev, Yuriy Yatsenko, Bogdan Yarichevsky, Miokla Karpyuk, Stanislav Klih, Sergey Litvinov, Valentin Vygovskyi, Yuriy Soloshenko, Alexandr Kostenko, arrested in the Crimea are Ahmet Chiygoz, Ali Asanov, Mustafa Degermendzhy, Yuriy Ilchenko, Ruslan Zaytullaev, Nuri Primov, Rustam Vaytov, Ferat Sayfullaev.

Of course, Nadiya Savchenko has become a symbol of the struggle for human rights, the personification of the invincibility of the human spirit. But in fact, are the Ukrainian politicians doing everything possible to protect and liberate the citizens of their own country? What we see now is more like political demagoguery that seeks to increase the rating before the elections.

In this regard, Israel is one of the best examples. To the process of the release of its citizens instantly all possible channels of influence are attracted, at the same time the international Jewish community becomes a defense. Similarly, the Jewish state responds instantly on the all possible threats to the life of its citizens: negotiations with terrorists are not conducted, and the police pursued the attackers to their complete destruction. Here are the two most striking examples of the attitude to its citizens: Israeli Mossad has been pursued the organizer of the terrorist acts at the Olympic Games in Munich for 20 years, till their complete destruction. In 2006, the state of Israel has exchanged his army's corporal Gilad Shalit for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.

These two examples show that the life of each citizen of the country is worth hundreds of thousands of lives of other people. I believe that we also should emulate this Israeli attitude.

Terroristic acts in Brussels.

Dear friends, a series of terrorist attacks, occurred in Brussels: at least 17 people have been killed and many more were wounded. Terrorism has reached the center of Europe.

Somehow, when it comes to acts of terrorism outside the EU borders, it is perceived as another message in the mass media: "as a result of the attack, three people were killed", "due to the accident ten people have drowned". Unfortunately, it's just the figures in the news for the world. But now the terror crept into the heart of civilized Europe, and she turned out to be not ready to meet it face to face.

I have repeatedly talked about the terrorism in Israel: every day we struggle with the terrorist attacks, attacks on citizens, with attacks of another intifada. Every Israeli knows how to behave when the bombing or an attack begins: it is all absorbed with mother's milk. Europeans, as well as Ukrainians, do not know how to behave in such cases.

Today's terrorist attack in Belgium is a classic example. Just yesterday, the Belgian government announced that the last terrorist, who participated in the attack on Paris, has been neutralized; it was stated that the police operation was completed successfully. And now - a bloody terrorist attack in Brussels.

When we deal with the terrorism, one can never relax. It is a many-headed hydra, and if we cut off one head, the ten will grow instead. This is particularly important today when a wave of migration has swept over the Europe, taking into account that many migrants are members of the radical organizations.

Today, Europeans will have to learn how to live in the condition, when it is necessary to monitor the safety of every day and every minute: do not be lazy to go and to check the package that is left, to tell children about rules of behaviour, to contact the police in all suspected cases. Today, everyone becomes responsible for its life and the lives of others. The security of the whole society and our future depends on our actions.

I sincerely condole with relatives and families of the victims today in Brussels. Rest in peace.

Israel launches the first ever video service of the special services call.

On the last week, I informed you about the interesting fact that it will be possible to call the police through a Facebook account in Israel. This non-standard use of the personal page is explained by the necessity of a high level of security in the country. And in order to prevent the emergency situations, it is necessary to use non-standard methods.

A mobile application has been developed for the Smartphone that allows you to make a video call to emergency rescue service. According to the experts, such a unique service will help operators of rescue services to gather information in real time. This, in turn, will help to reduce the time of arrival of rescuers, find their way around the situation and to prevent its deterioration.

Nowadays even children are using Smartphones, millions of people have them. So why couldn’t we use it for the common good? People in Israel have reached this conclusion.. If the experiment is successful, the Israeli experience will be applied in other countries.

Israel has become the first country, having established a national platform by means of which emergency services operators will be able to view the video in real-time mode, chat using text messages and find the location of the affected people both: indoors and outdoors.

A former head of the foreign intelligence service "Mossad," Meir Dagan passed away at the age of 71, on Thursday, March 17.

I’d like to tell you about this legendary figure. Meir Dagan (Huberman) was born on January 30, 1945, in Kherson. At the age of five years, he and his family has immigrated to Israel. In 1963, Meir Dagan began to serve in the Airborne Brigade of landing-force brigade at IDF.

During the service, he took part in many armed conflicts: in the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and the First Lebanon War. He was one of the organizers of the elite anti-terrorist unit "Rimon" in 1970. He was appointed as a head of operational management of the General Staff in 1992. He was demobilized in 1995, having the rank of Major General. Some sources claim that some of the leaders of Hamas and "Hezbollah" have been liquidated at the initiative of Dagan.

Meir Dagan possessed the recognized competence in the Israeli and international intelligence community. He was given the nickname "Superman" in Egypt, and in Israel, he is called as a hero of the invisible front. Thanks to the work of Dagan the thousands of lives, not only soldiers but also civilians had been saved; his contribution to the security of the country can hardly be overestimated.

Today, I would like to tell you about a unique person, who is known also by many Ukrainians.

Tzvi Arieli is an Israeli soldier who has created the self-defense units of Kyiv, Mariupol, and now he is volunteering in one of the elite units of the National Guard of Ukraine.

In due course time, Tzvi Arieli has served in the infantry brigade "Golani" of IDF and in Special Forces of military intelligence, later he was a contract serviceman in the antiterrorist unit Mivtsar. Now, under the direction of Zvi, the Jewish self-defense units are working in Kyiv, protecting, above all, Jewish cultural objects, as well as responding to all possible threats to people.

Since the beginning of active armed hostilities in the east of Ukraine, the reforming of the army units, the creation of new paramilitary structures, an urgent need for experienced soldiers who are able to share the military experience has emerged. Tzvi Arieli is one of them. Now he is training the Ukrainian elite troops, sharing his experience and helping to create a modern efficient army. According to his words, it is necessary to change a lot. As an experienced soldier, he immediately sees all the shortcomings and problems of the Ukrainian army: "it is necessary to change the mentality, to restore the personality of a soldier." Zvi considers the lack of effective leaders as one of the main problems of the modern Ukrainian army, "the commander, who is sitting in his office, never will be able to understand the soldier's needs."

Zvi’s work is also aimed at raising the image of Ukrainian soldier. It is prestigious to be a military in the Israeli society, recruits undergo a rigorous selection and competition for places in the elite units is rather high: 10-15 people for one place. But the effect of such a highly professional army is evident. In addition, the service in elite units automatically gives the preferential treatment when applying for work, study, social security, etc.

Along with Zvi, several volunteer instructors are working from other armies of the world. "In war, all means are good", it is a way of developing the Ukrainian army. Well, the experience of the Israeli Special Forces’ soldiers remains unique, being even in a non-traditional form. I sincerely wish Zvi a great success in his work for the education of a new generation of Ukrainian soldiers!

I sincerely congratulate the Ukrainian FC “Shakhtar” with another victory!

Yesterday the Ukrainian football players beat the Belgian FC “Anderlecht” with the overweight in one goal. The result was obtained and the Ukrainian club is in the Group of Eight of the best teams of the UEFA Europa League.

Keep it up!

Hello!

Today I had a meeting with students and teachers of Institute of International Relations of Kyiv National University named after Taras Shevchenko. This meeting was preceded by dialogue with the director of the Institute Valeryi Kopiyka. We have discussed the possibilities for cooperation between the Institute and the Honorary consulate.

During the public lecture for students, I was speaking about the priority ways of the Ukraine’s development in the state of war on the example of Israel. As you know, from the very beginning of its existence, Israel is in a state of war, however, the country continues to occupy the leading positions in the areas of agriculture, high technology, medicine and others. Therefore, such an experience can undoubtedly be useful for Ukraine. I was rather impressed that the young people, who are just starting out, are well understood and sincerely concerned with the problems of their native country. We have had a quite lively discussion; I was asked many questions about the Israeli experience, as well as Ukraine's prospects. I am glad that my experience and work on the post of Honorary Consul is useful and has helped young people to understand the new aspects of the bilateral relations between our countries. The hall was also attended by representatives of the Military department of the Institute: I think it was interesting and useful for them to hear about the conditions for soldiers in Israel and to compare them with the Ukrainian, to understand the relation to a defender in two countries.

The meeting resulted in an agreement on further cooperation: Honorary Consulate will facilitate linkages of the Institute with the universities of Israel, it is planned to organize a course of lectures of the Israeli experts in Ukraine. Besides, in prospect, the signing of bilateral agreement of getting a double degree diploma in the universities of Israel and Ukraine. Separately, we’ve discussed the possibilities for employment of Ukrainian students in domestic and Israeli companies: students will be able to pass the first practice in the state structures of Ukraine and Israel, and in the future the best of them will get jobs. I am sure, the prospect of having a good job immediately after graduation will be a good incentive to study hard.

We have many plans, a lot of work, but it's a pleasant work. Young people in our country will certainly need support, education and research institutions even more so! But exactly the youth would form the basis of our state in the near future, so it is necessary today to show the examples of successful development of powerful states, so tomorrow, Ukraine could become the same.

So, the last law, which separates Ukraine from the visa-free regime, is signed by the president.

Now the officials are obliged to inform about property, income and expenses in electronic form.

What comes next? It is obvious that the implementation of all requirements of the EU does not mean the abolition of visas for the Ukrainians in the nearest future. But it is also clear that by itself the law may bring some positive moments. First of all, it can be a tool to fight against total corruption when the incomes of officials of any rank can be seen by anyone. But such a system would only work "in tandem" with the prosecutor's office, otherwise it does not make sense.

Many people say that Ukraine will not receive clear benefits from the introduction of a visa-free regime with the EU, but the experience says otherwise. As you remember, for the past five years, there is the visa-free regime between Ukraine and Israel. Every year the number of the Ukrainians, visiting Israel, is growing. This is especially true for tourists: after the abolition of visas started a real splash, Israel was visited by over 600 thousand of the Ukrainians. In the last year their number increased by 4%, despite the economic crisis and military operations in both countries. The canceling visa regime has also contributed to improving the business environment between the countries. The majority of the Ukrainians travel to Israel to visit their relatives - this confirms how our peoples are connected. As I said, since last May, with the participation of the Honorary Consulate was opened the flight from Lviv to Tel Aviv. Today the flight has become regular, and two flights already fly from Ukraine to Israel. The statistics speaks for itself.

The representatives of a number of the Western countries have supported the implementation by Ukraine of the EU requirements specifications on the abolition of visa. The Ukrainian politicians talk about its implementation no later than summer and autumn of 2016. I hope that neither the consultative referendum in the Netherlands, which will be held in early April, nor the situation at Donbass or economic issues can not interfere Ukraine on the path to the EU.

Dear friends, good afternoon!

The Anti-Semitic tendencies are intensified in the world. Another cycle of violence in the Middle East, the increase in the terrorist threat; all this leads to the exacerbation of radicalization. These all is not even perceived as something unusual: Anti-Semitic sentiments, graffiti or just statements. Well, all long have been accustomed to that, right?

However, such an intense movement against the Jews in the world is not a reason to turn a blind eye to the situation. In contrast, only by stating about non-discrimination every time, it is possible to prevent further escalation. Since autumn last year, all around the world were held meetings in support of Israel and against the attacks on Jews. As you remember, a similar demonstration was held in Kyiv. And now in New York - the city that is home to 1.5 million Jews – a meeting against Anti-Semitism was held.

Over the past six months, the city had recorded at least 15 cases of attacks on Jews. However, the immigrants from Muslim countries usually show their aggression. Herewith, the Brooklyn Hasid was attacked in November 2015; he was stabbed in the shoulder, the attacker shouted: "I hate Jews!". In December, Manhattan visitor with Arab appearance attacked a Jew in the cafe, and in February 2016, an unknown for no reason suddenly stabbed a religious Jew on the street in Brooklyn.

About 500 people were on the streets of New York, on March 13, 2016, with appeals to stop the attacks and hostility. As stated by the organizers, they want to attract the attention of the authorities and the public to the problem of attacks on Jews and urged them not to gloss over such blatant violence. It is symbolic that the meeting took place in Brooklyn Holocaust Memorial Park. According to statistics, the number of Jews that are living in New York is more than the population of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa combined.

It is quite unacceptable that, after the bloody lessons of the Holocaust in modern world remains possible a threat of attack and hatred towards a person due to his origin.

There is a difference between Ukrainian and Israeli police: police in Ukraine is actively writing on social networks about their colossal achievements in work, using its Facebook account only to create its own image.

In Israel, the police will use Facebook and WhatsApp to work and respond to the citizens' calls.

The police call center "Moked 100", which deals with the security and is responsible for the telephone calls to the police stations, wants to introduce the practice of using social networks. According to Israeli experts, it will significantly increase the efficiency of the Israeli police’s work. In addition, it is planned that the call center's staff will be able to receive video messages directly from the scene of action. And what is more, each call is planned to be tracked automatically and to determine the coordinates of the person who asks for help and to respond to threats.

The Israeli call center receives more than 8.5 million calls each year, so the upgrade is a necessary condition for successful work. Now when the internal security system of Ukraine is under reforming, it is very important to use the experience of other countries that have already passed this way. In my opinion, Israel is one of the best examples to be followed in this regard.

Dear friends, have a nice weekend!

Heroes of today's Sunday story are brothers Joseph and Israel Feinberg. Joseph was born in Simferopol in 1855, Israel in Sevastopol in 1865.

Joseph Feinberg studied chemistry at the universities of Germany and Switzerland, worked at the sugar factory in Kyiv. In 1882, after the anti-Jewish bashings, Joseph quitted his job and left for Palestine. With his new friends, he created the Foundation for the pioneers (aimed to purchase a land); they have founded the settlement Rishon LeZion. Soon in search of funds, it was decided to send an envoy to Europe. The choice felt on Joseph Feinberg, since he was a highly educated man, knew several languages, was polite, pleasant and a beautiful European in the full sense of the word. In such words he was described by his contemporaries.

In 1883, he met in Paris with Baron Edmond Rothschild. The first Baron’s donation was made in the amount of 25 thousand francs. The first settlers purchased the equipment for digging the well. Only at the depth of 45 meters they found a source of water. It was one of the happiest days for residents of Rishon LeZion. By the way, the well is still functioning now. It became the emblem of the city and is named after Joseph Feinberg; exactly after 20 years of his arrival to Palestine. Joseph Feinberg died in Jericho. He was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

Israel (Lulik) Feinberg arrived in Rishon LeZion in 1882 following his elder brother Joseph. Seventeen-year old Israel proved to be a strong, reliable man, a brave and courageous rider. He became friendly with the Fellahin and Bedouins and studied their languages and customs. For his agility and impetuosity he was called "Lulo" – a pearl. Name Lulik stayed with him forever. When the cases of looting and attacks of robbers on the roads became more frequent, Lulik organized the armed defense of the Moshav and inspired his comrades by personal courage. Since then, the attacks on Jews of Rishon LeZion by the Arab neighbors and looting have stopped.

Afterwards, he moved to Hadera, has bought a farm and the whole family moved to him. Here he organized one of the first Jewish self-defense units. Israel (Lulik) Feinberg died in Hadera in 1911. From a letter of Tamar Eshel, a granddaughter of Israel: "According to the words of my parents, Lulik often thought about Sevastopol and the Black Sea. In settlements, where he lived, Lulik required to lay the wide roads, as in his native city, to permit the two carriages to pass freely."

Very often, in the twilight of the life, people come to realizing their place in it, they feel a need to learn about their ancestors, their origin.

Thus, recently in one of the TV shows, which explores the genealogical tree of celebrities, the world-famous Hollywood actor Dustin Hoffman learned that his father's relatives were of Ukrainian origin. However, this issue never has been raised in the actor’s family, and it is understandable because the events that forced his family to come to America were tragic.

Hoffman’s grandparents (Frank and Esther), resided in Bila Tserkva, and emigrated in the US before the revolutionary events of 1917. After the anti-Jewish bashings, it was decided to move abroad Frank’s parents. For this purpose, he returned to his motherland, where he together with his parents was arrested by the officers of All-Russian Extraordinary Commission. Later Frank and Samuel - grandfather and great-grandfather of Hoffman - were shot by the Bolshevik regime, and Lieb spent five years in the camps. Despite the loss of her hand, her advanced age, and very poor health, Lieb was able to break away from the totalitarian USSR system, having escaped to Argentina. Later, she moved to the United States where she settled with her daughter-in-law.

"I – am a Jew", today is pronounced by Mr. Hoffman with a great pride, realizing, by what tremendous efforts the life and the freedom was granted to him.

Ukrainian travel startup TripMyDream has been recognized as the best in the world.

TripMyDream tourist service has won an international competition Seedstars Summit-2016, which is annually held in Switzerland. Ukrainians Taras Polishchuk and Andriy Burenok received 500 thousand dollars as a prize. During the competition Ukrainians have been able to get ahead of nine competitors.

This unique service allows the user to plan his travel or vacation without indicating the final destination point. That is if you have some amount of money, and you realize that you want to relax by the seaside or in the mountains, or in one of the world’s capital, the TripMyDream would find your place of rest, "house" and pave the route for you. All you need is to specify the departure place. As for me, it is very convenient.

Routes for travel, hotels and places to visit were drawn up taking into account the expertise of a large number of travelers. The inventors themselves promise to continue the development of the service, in order to offer the alternative routes for travelling, within the same territory in which the visa is valid, considering the combination of regular flights with low-costs.

To implement his plan in life, one of the startuppers had to sell his own apartment in Kyiv (yes, business requires investments). Herewith, the TripMyDream does not withdraw the commission for the site use from visitors. I sincerely wish all the Ukrainian programmers inspiration for further developments and, of course, generous investments!)

On March 9, the protest meeting was held in support of our compatriot, Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko in Tel Aviv.

More than 200 of concerned Israelis came to the building of the Russian Embassy to express their attitude to what is happening.

As Honorary Consul of the State of Israel in Ukraine, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Israelites for their support and solidarity! Ukrainians highly appreciate the voice of everyone who today defends the truth. Israel's support for Ukraine is more important than ever because the human life is at stake. The whole world is watching today for the courageous struggle of Nadiya Savchenko. And now when her life is no longer counted by the days but by hours, it is essential to make every effort to free her. We wouldn't have another chance

In my turn, I would like to express the words of support to the people of Israel, who again are subject to a series of bloody terrorist attacks. I assure our Israeli brothers, that the people of Ukraine condemn the terrorism and consider such actions as unacceptable.

It is encouraging that yesterday, near the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv, could be seen not only the Israelis: in addition, to the Israeli flags, there were the banners of fraternal Poland, Georgia and Lithuania.

In addition to the protest meetings in Odessa, Kharkiv, Lviv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava the protest actions in support of Nadiya Savchenko were held across the world: in Hague, Minsk, Riga, Tbilisi, Rome, Brussels, Berlin.

Today, Ukraine celebrates the 202 birthday anniversary of its prophet – Taras Shevchenko.

Taras Shevchenko embodies the indomitable spirit of the Ukrainian people, the pursuit of freedom and the struggle for the truth. In all key moments of the modern history of Ukraine, his spirit is always present in the hearts of his heirs. Let’s remember Sergiy Nigoyan and the patriots who died with his truthful words two years ago, during the events of the Revolution of Dignity. Today, to withstand all the trials with a good grace, his words support Nadiya Savchenko, who is captured in Russia.

Like a half-century ago, today Ukraine is again fighting for independence from the Russian yoke. And as during that time, today the words of Kobzar are relevant and understandable to every Ukrainian, being a symbol of invincibility, courage and desire to gain freedom. His poetry is clear to so many generations of Ukrainians because it carries the simple truths, necessary for everyone.

Taras lived in more difficult times than we're going through now, but even then he believed in his country, in his people. So, today we should not lose faith, and worthy continue the work of a great Taras Shevchenko.

Quite a lot of topics about new Israeli weapon recently appear on my page.

But I see that this topic resonates with subscribers. It is true that there is a bright example to compare two countries, two armies - Ukrainian and Israeli, which are in a state of war and constant threat. It is possible to learn a lot, adopt the best practices.

So, there is today another know-how of Israeli developers – surface-to-air missiles “Sky Sniper” with a ballistic line of flight. The unique development is capable of attacking the very small targets. Such missiles just “deceive” the enemy from the main goal due to the unique ballistic line of flight, introducing the enemy into confusion. In addition, their performance does not depend on the weather conditions or time of day: at any time of day and night they equally accurate, fast and powerfully impress the smallest target.
I would call Sky Sniper the “smart missiles”, because after the separation from the carrier aircraft each missile can operate independently: each of them is determined by its purpose, its line of flight, and aircraft in this case simply delivers them to the right place to start.

Now, when the budget of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has become a truly budget, but not a military pay, it is vital to use the funds efficiently, modernizing the army. “To feed the own army in order not to feed the foreign one” - this statement should become the motto for us.

I sincerely congratulate the women on International Women's Day!

Thank you for the love and care that you give to us every day. Today, when our country is in war and a lot of our defenders are on the front, protecting the Motherland from the enemy, you become that pillar that supports them. First of all, everyone of them protects you today: his mother, his beloved wife, daughter, sister, friend .... From the bottom of my hear I sincerely thank you for all your prayers and reliable help! I thank all the women who with faith in victory awaits the returning of his beloved, the best and the dearest one.

Let spring always live in your hearts, and your beloved one be always near you!