SOUTH Magen David Adom last week granted the wish of a 75-year-old Arad man who is battling cancer: to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The MDA Wish Ambulance picked up Mordechai Shmuel at his care center in Beersheba and drove him to meet Netanyahu and his wife Sara in Jerusalem. Netanyahu offered Mordechai, whom he called one of Arad's builders and pioneers, his best wishes for a full recovery. Netanyahu also reaffirmed his commitment to develop the North and the South. “I am happy to meet you here at the Prime Minister's Residence together with your family that is strengthening you during the complex struggle with your illness,” Netanyahu said. He also thanked MDA for saving lives. After the meeting with Netanyahu, Shmuel continued in the ambulance to the Western Wall, where he said a prayer with his family. Shmuel thanked MDA for granting his wish to meet the prime minister. “I didn't think that I would live to fulfill this dream because of my medical condition, but I was able to with the Wish Ambulance and the fantastic people at MDA. There is no one happier than I am today,” he said. CENTER Eytan Schwartz named new head of Tel Aviv Global The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality announced that Eytan Schwartz was appointed CEO of Tel Aviv Global, replacing Hila Oren. Prior to the appointment, Schwartz served as senior adviser on international affairs to Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai. Tel Aviv Global is an initiative created by Huldai's office in 2010, dedicated to elevating the city's global positioning as a leading international business center that specializes in innovation. “In the last few years, Tel Aviv-Jaffa has become a global city: a center for economic, cultural and entrepreneurial relations, alongside cities like Berlin and Barcelona. I thank Hila Oren for her work and contributions and am certain that Eytan will continue leading Tel Aviv Global as a platform of innovation, developing the city as a center of culture and business, encouraging domestic tourism and promoting Tel Aviv-Jaffa around the world,” Huldai said upon Schwartz's appointment. Rat attacks baby in Rishon Lezion A resident of Rishon Lezion woke up to a horrific scene last week: A rat in her apartment had nibbled on her five-month-old baby's face and hands. The woman was woken up by a scream from her husband who, after checking on their son at 11 p.m., found the infant covered in blood. “I was in shock. I ran to my baby's crib and found a rat in the crib. A large rat. We called an ambulance, who took my baby to the hospital. I called to report the incident to the city, who sent an inspector to our house the next day,” said the mother. She added that to her relief, an autopsy of the rat revealed that it did not carry rabies and that the baby was left with some superficial scratches. The city of Rishon Lezion wished the infant a speedy recovery and described the steps that were taken in the family's area to combat rodents. “The city pest control supervisor arrived at the scene the morning after the incident and immediately located in the yard of the family's building a rats' nest that had been dug near the sewage system. The agent set poison bait for the rodents and sprayed pesticide in the sewage system. The building's residents' committee was also advised to clear the rats' nest and repair problems with the sewage system that were observed,” the city reported. The city noted that no complaints about rodents had been received from residents on the street over the past year. “Pest control measures, as effective as they are, cannot replace the general maintenance of a site. The property owner in this case must maintain the site and fix the problems that were noted by the inspectors,” the city added. Jaffa exhibition tips hat to Korczak In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, an exhibition of works by Itzhak Belfer, who got his artistic start in Janusz Korczak's orphanage in Warsaw before the outbreak of World War II, opened this week in Jaffa's Shuki Kook Studio. It will be on display until the middle of February. Belfer spent the war years in the Soviet Union. When he returned to Warsaw after Poland was liberated, he discovered that he was the sole survivor of his family. After making aliya, he spent years painting images of his murdered family members and his memories of Korczak's orphanage. NORTH Amal hosts contest in Nazareth stressing coexistence The Amal school network held a competition among Arab and Jewish students in Nazareth last week that stressed coexistence, cooperation, tolerance and multiculturalism. Dozens of top students from across the country took part in the competition, which involved solving riddles on a scavenger hunt. Amal said that the cooperation of the participants was outstanding and heartfelt, especially during the current period of violence in Israel. Deputy Mayor Muhammad Awasi, who took part in the event, praised the participants. “If only everyone would take an example from the students at the Amal schools for how to live together and coexist,” he said. Ravit Dom Eini, CEO of the Amal network, said after the event that Amal represents the “mosaic of Israeli society and all its sectors and is a unique model for coexistence.” She added that instilling tolerance and mutual respect was one of Amal's pillars