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Postdoctoral scholarships granted to India |
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As part of educational ties between Israel and India, as many as 66 Indian postdoctoral scholars will travel to Israel in the coming months to pursue research at top universities. The researchers will benefit from three-year scholarships granted by the Israeli government. In the framework of the scholarship programme, fellows from IIT Delhi, Osmania University, universities in Delhi, Luck now, Kolkata, Mumbai and other leading academic institutions in India will conduct research in a wide variety of fields, including immunology, genetics, neurobiology, bio-informatics, computer sciences, law and economics. The research will be undertaken at leading universities in Israel, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Technion, Tel Aviv University, Haifa University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Open University. “The annual amount per scholar is 100,000 shekel (NIS). That is equivalent to about R14.7 lakh a year, for three years. Of this sum, two thirds is given directly by the government and one third by the university (which is also government supported). The criteria for selection are academic excellence of the candidate, academic value of the research proposal and interest of the concerned university department in the subject matter,” officials from the Israeli Embassy said. Please login or register to see the full article |
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President Peres Chinese New Year Greeting |
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In his annual Chinese New Year Greeting, Israel’s President Shimon Peres wished the Chinese community Xin Nian Kuai Le! Shana Tova! 
In the Chinese horoscope, this year is the Snake Years, which are sixth in the cycle, following the Dragon Years, and recur every twelfth year. This year the Year of the Snake fell on 11 -13 February 2013. Here is a summary of his message greeting:
“The coming 12 Snake years may be the most significant time for the future of all of us, for the world, for China and for the Jewish people. I am sure, these 12 years will be a great period for China. I’m telling our friends here - if you want to know how to bring an end to your poverty, go to China and learn. China is the greatest lesson in history, to start at the lowest point and to arrive at the highest point. The highest point in my judgment is respecting the old culture of thousands and thousands of years, and keep them fresh to this day, and at the same time on the line to climb at the highest degree of modern science and technology. It’s the rare combination to see greatness of age and promise of youth. Please login or register to see the full article |
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ISRAELI SINGER DUETS TO RINGIN THE CHINESE NEW YEARIN BEIJING |
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To celebrate and usher in the Chinese New Year of the Snake, Israeli singer Miri Mesika has been chosen to sing a duet with a famous Chinese singer Hu Sileng, during the Beijing Television (BTV) prestigious gala.  Israel’s Embassy in China shared an idea with friends at BTV in August 2012 which has now turned into reality.
Relations between Israel and China have been very strong with many events taking place across China during 2012 to celebrate 20 years of diplomatic relations. The song will be broadcast on New Year’s Eve and is expected to be seen by well over 100 million people across China. This year the Chinese New Year will start from 11 February through to 13 February, three official public holidays. The gala is the most popular televised event on New Year’s Eve, viewed in China and around the world, on the Internet and on various international satellite channels. “We shared an idea with our friends from BTV to find a famous Israeli singer to sing at the BTV annual gala. We sent some tapes of Israeli artists and singers that we thought could be appropriate. They picked MiriMesika whose voice performance and style they find suitable to the Chinese audience’s taste,” commented Ran Peleg, spokesman, Embassy of Israel in Beijing. “Mesika agreed instantly to this adventure and the next step was to find a Chinese artist to match with her and sing a duet. Finally we decided upon thesinger Hu Sileng to sing with her the famous Chinese song Hongyan (in English Swan),” said Peleg. “Mesika learnt the song in Chinese which was surprisingly not very difficult for her. She will also be singing a song in Hebrew,” Peleg added. Please login or register to see the full article |
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B’nei Menashe restart their return to ancient homeland |
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Indian Jews from one of the the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, the B’nei Menashe finally arrived in Israel in December. Eyewitnesses said there were emotional scenes at Ben Gurion airport as the newcomers were greeted by relatives who had moved to Israel during the first wave of immigration. “Several hundred more B’nei Menashe members are due to arrive in the coming weeks and months,” said Michael Freund, chairman of the Shavei Israel group which helped organise the journey for the B’nei Menashe members.  In March 2005, Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar officially backed B’nei Menashe’s claims after an investigation lasting several years. The announcement led to a wave of immigration to the “Promised Land,” where members were formally converted to Orthodox Judaism.
The flow stopped in 2007 however, when the governmentrescinded visa rights. With intense lobbying from groups such as Shavei Israel over recent years, Israel has now reversed its decision, paving the way for all remaining members to migrate. Please login or register to see the full article |
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