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By Liel Kyzer, Haaretz Correspondent 20/01/2010
If the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development accepts Israel in its vote this May, it will be its poorest member with the widest social gaps, a report by the organization shows. . . . Although the report's conclusions are nothing new for many Israelis, the country is still at the bottom of the rankings. Every fifth Israeli is twice as poor as the average person in OECD member states. More than half of Israelis are paid less than NIS 4,000 a month, while only a very few make many times as much. . . .
Minister Herzog said Israel's main weakness in applying for the organization was poverty, citing a 20 percent gap with the OECD. He said Israeli membership in the organization would help reduce poverty in the country. . . .
Our newest team member is a 2008 Isuzu Truck capable of a higher payload than our previous 2002 model. The 2008 was released in June, so it is only 1-1/2 years old, and feels like a new truck. Also special about this truck is the very low mileage. This truck upgrade will save us considerably in the future in not having costly repairs on an older truck (our new truck is still under warranty!).
This 2008 Isuzu was built under technology requiring less gasoline per kilometer of mileage than our previous 2002 Isuzu – a lot has changed in 6 years! Our warehouse manager says the main differences are: “More comfortable, and much more power”! Comfort is important when driving all day on deliveries.
A Jerusalem high school for developmentally disabled youth and young men and women received from the Joseph Project a stationary bicycle, stair stepper machine, treadmill-type machine and a sit-ups machine. This equipment was shipped to the Joseph Project from Crossroads International and Nachamu Nachamu Ami. Not only will the current classes benefit from the equipment, years and years of classes in the future will add up to many being helped healthwise. Aerobic exercise is not usually offered in sports classes at these schools, so this equipment is critical to these youth. This is a fantastic gift, as this equipment is expensive when bought in the stores, although was donated to our donor charities. What a blessing in the eyes of Heaven. Thank you to everyone who made this gift possible.
We are an Israeli registered Public Institution with a network of 30 independent humanitarian aid centers, also supplying nearly every nonprofit in Israel, such as the IDF Ministry of Welfare offices, hospitals, paramedics, institutions for the elderly, sheltered, and disabled, victims of terror, and the unemployed. Helping 60,000 to 70,000 people per year, the Joseph Project is run from a 16,000 square-foot warehouse that can hold 100 large shipping containers. Since 2000, the Joseph Project has imported over 310 containers of aid into Israel that is donated by lovers of Israel – the Christian community and Messianic Jews.
In 2007 the Joseph Project International Forest was established near Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel as a Messianic Israel Forest where Jews, Christians and Arabs could bless the soil of Israel.
BLESSING NEEDY ISRAELIS VIA AID CONTAINERS You can donate towards part of a container, or sponsor a whole container . . . or help with gasoline for the delivery truck, and other running costs: -Hong Kong – Crossroads: - CR27 in distribution $2,000 NEEDED
-Australia – Mission World Aid– MWA6 distributed $4,000 COVERED
-Holland – Nachamu Ami 6 in preparation $4,000 COVERED
-America - Jezreel International – some J46-J47 held for RESCUE; J49-50 in
distribution $4,000 COVERED
-Friendship 2 – in distribution; land transport expense $4,000 NEEDED
-Israel – August running costs needed --$20,000 NEEDED
ISRAELI OFFICE: Jo Kaplan, Executive Director JosephFund@bezeqint.net www.josephproject.org
