For a country of a little over 8 million people, Israel has more than its fair section of minority interest groups.

It is not just that about 25% of the populace is not Jewish. There are Muslim Arabs, as well as Christian Arabs. Bedouins and Druze do not see themselves as Arabs. Moving along, you have the ultra orthodox people, who can then be subdivided, and so the listings go on. And all of this is wrapped around the geopolitical instability of the region.

And through all of this, Israeli society has some amazing positive things to teach others. Last week, I mentioned the amazing work at Beit Issie Shapiro – teaching autistic kids of all backgrounds to communicate via an Ipad. this work has received the blessing of the UN. Previously, I had referred to the ever increasing role of women in Israeli society, despite many internal religious pressures.

What is pleasing to see is that these patterns of change are continuing. In the past two weeks, different news agencies have informed us that:

A) There is a special business accelerator for start ups led by Israeli women. To date, participants in the programme have raised US$20 million.

B) Lucy Aharish is an amazingly talented TV presenter. She has been prominent in celebrations of Israel’s Independence Day. And she is very proud of her Arab heritage, which she uses to break down barriers presented by all sides. Her story and triumphs should be an inspiration for all.

C) And then there is the university scene. The latest set of stats refer to 2014, when 3,600 additional students enrolled. Most of these come from the ultra orthodox sector, which are not normally associated with tertiary education. In total, females make up nearly 59% of the numbers, again somewhat surprising as there are so many conservative forces at work.

What does this all add up to? No, Israeli is not a perfect society, although I have yet to find such a thing. On the other hand, the efforts to create a pluralistic society in the Holy Land, where opportunity is available for all, are truly producing results that need to be observed if not copied by others.