In the 22nd Feb 2015 week’s edition of
Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
An award-winning Israeli website
provides individually tailored medical advice.
·
The BBC praises an Israeli
surgeon’s reconstruction of an injured Syrian’s face.
·
Israel is producing vast quantities of
desalinated water at the lowest cost in the world.
·
10% of all Israeli high-school
children attend a Sci-Tech school.
·
Israel’s economy experienced a huge
boost in the final quarter of 2014.
·
An Israeli terror victim has married
the hospital visitor who helped him recover.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary. Click here for “A
Green and Pleasant Land" (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also on Jerusalem
Post, San
Diego Jewish World and United With Israel.
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo,
and United
With Israel.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel. My
thanks to Michelle for the links to more than a dozen of the articles -
highlighted by “(M)” below.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Winning medical
advice. (Israel21c) Israeli
startup Medivizor uses patent-pending technology to find the most essential
information applicable for each individual’s medical situation. Medivizor won 4 prestigious competitions in
2014, was highlighted by Forbes and is recommended by doctors to their
patients.
A traffic-light pacemaker. (M) A joint Israeli-UK
project is testing whether a pacemaker emitting pulsating blue and yellow light
can be used to regulate the beating of newly implanted heart tissue generated
by stem cells. Also interesting because
the UK’s Independent newspaper rarely includes any positive Israeli news.
ReWalk makes miracles possible. (M) Here’s a rare positive
Israel article from CNN. It describes
the exoskeleton from Israel’s ReWalk that is changing the lives of
paraplegics. People previously confined
to wheelchairs can now walk upright once again. (Stop video after 2 minutes.)
Turning darkness into light. (Israel21c) Ben-Gurion
University is hosting “Light and Blindness” - a full-day exhibition of
research-and-development activities in Israel designed to improve the quality
of life for people with visual impairment.
It includes a startup contest and the opening of a trail for the blind.
Boost for ice treatment to destroy
tumors.
Israeli biotech IceCure Medical has received $21 million of funds from
Epoch Partner Investments to speed up the sales and distribution of its
IceSense3 cryoablation system to treat breast cancer. IceSense3 uses extreme cold to destroy targeted tumors in less
than 15 mins, with no pain.
$9 million donation to fight cancer. Philanthropists Laura and
Isaac Perlmutter have pledged $3 million to finance six joint cancer research
projects between NY University and Israel’s Technion, plus a further $6 million
to establish a state-of-the-art research facility focusing on cancer
metabolomics at the Technion.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Taking inclusion to a larger level. (Thanks to Nevet – www.broaderview.org) A report about two
IDF bases where “special” soldiers with disabilities perform important
jobs. IDF service helps integrate the
disabled into society and the workforce.
It also educates and changes the attitudes of IDF personnel without
disabilities.
Israeli-Arabs flourish at Technion. (M) As the Bloomberg
journalist admits, “Here’s a little-told success story:” Israeli Arabs, women
in particular, have made huge strides over the past decade at the Technion-Israel
Institute of Technology, better known as Israel’s answer to MIT.
BBC applauds Israeli
op on Syrian’s face. (Thanks to Eli) The BBC describes the amazing reconstruction work
that Israeli surgeon Yoav Leiser of Haifa’s Rambam hospital performed on
Mohammad – a Syrian farmer whose face was shattered in an attack by a Syrian
warplane. A rare positive Israel story
from the BBC. Also a report (thanks
Michelle) on the $10 million plus spent by Israel in the last 18 months
treating 1500 Syrians.
UN-Israeli workshop on renewable energy. The UN Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE) and Israel’s Agency for International Development
Cooperation (MASHAV) organized a workshop to teach successful renewable energy
practices and energy efficiency technologies to 23 experts and policymakers
from across Eurasia.
Hong Kong students experience Startup
Nation. (M)
50 Hong Kong university and secondary students got the chance to see firsthand
the secrets to Israeli entrepreneurial success, thanks to a six-day trip
co-organized by the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) and Li Ka Shing
Foundation.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The most efficient
desalination plant in the world. (M) Israel’s new Sorek desalination plant is
now at full capacity, producing 627,000 cubic meters of drinking water daily.
With the lowest rate of energy consumption in the world, its water is the
cheapest of any large-scale desalination plant.
Washington to host US-Israeli cyber
security conference. The Israel Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) will
hold its 5th annual Defensive Cyberspace Operations & Intelligence
Conference and Exhibition in Washington, DC, April 27-28, 2015. This is the
first INSS cyber conference to be held in the US.
Israel establishes Cyber Defense
Authority.
Israel’s cabinet has approved the establishment of a national cyber
defense authority which will have overall national responsibility for cyber
defense. It will also operate an a
Cyber Event Readiness Team to strengthen the resilience of organizations and
sectors in the economy.
The importance of technology and
education.
(M) Graduates of Israel Technion have won 4 Nobel Prizes and have either
founded or are managing two-thirds of the Israeli companies on NASDAQ. Technion’s President Peretz Lavie describes
why Israel’s foremost technical institute has been so successful.
Israeli Sci-Tech
schools.
100,000 Israeli kids - 10 percent of all Israeli high school students
(Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze) - attend a Sci-Tech school. The Sci-Tech network builds curricula based
on the demand for professionals in various Israeli industries, and it currently
has 18 industrial vocational schools.
Israeli cleantech in Germany. Nine Israeli cleantech
companies attended Leipzig’s Green Ventures Forum – Germany’s leading B2B
platform in the cleantech arena. Thanks
to the Israeli Economic Office in Berlin and Israel NewTech, Israeli companies
held over a hundred meetings with companies from over 30 countries.
Technion’s new hi-tech student lab. Israel’s Technion and
Microsoft have together built a development lab that resembles that of a
startup company. Students can develop
innovative technologies that will add to the “Internet of Things” –
Internet-enabled devices and applications to rival anything a hi-tech company
can design.
Your TV interacts with your smartphone. (M) Israel’s Applicaster
lets you watch a program on your TV set whilst interacting with the program and
its characters on your smartphone.
Applicaster has released more than 100 mobile apps for 36 broadcasters,
including Fox International and Mediacorp.
Israeli technology with every diamond. (M) If you’ve got a diamond
on your finger, there’s an 80% chance it’s been touched by Israel’s
Sarine. (Stop the automatic video sequence
at the end of the Sarine clip)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
GDP up 7.2%; exports
up 7.3%.
Israel's economy expanded at its fastest rate in almost eight years in
the fourth quarter, with overall GDP growing an annualized 7.2 percent,
following previous estimates of 3.3%.
The recovery was seen in all segments – exports, Government spending,
investment and business GDP.
New car deliveries up 23%. Israeli demand for new cars
is a key indicator of economic optimism.
So the 23% rise in deliveries in Jan 2015 compared to Jan 2014 (itself a
record month) was significant. http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-highest-ever-monthly-car-deliveries-1001006986
An all-Israeli cyber takeover. Israel’s strength in cyber
security was evidenced when Israel’s SuperCom acquired Israel’s PreVision. SuperCom’s NASDAQ share price has risen
1600% in two years.
Aiming to transform London’s banking. (M) 15 Israeli financial
technologies startups will showcase their innovation to UK finance leaders in
London on March 2-5. The 15 won their
places in the 2015 TeXchange Fintech challenge, organized by the UK Israel Tech
Hub at the British Embassy in Israel.
The Rhode Island – Israel partnership. (M) Rhode Island has
followed the path set by its New England neighbor Massachusetts and developed
strong business relationships with the Startup Nation. Latest joint projects include R-I Hospital
with Israel’s Timocco and Crawford HPC with Israel’s Softwheel.
Israeli business leaders open London
Stock Exchange.
(M) Sorry - I missed this originally. On 17 Nov 2014 a delegation of CEOs/CFOs
from Israeli companies formally
opened the day’s trading on the London Stock Exchange. https://twitter.com/ukinisrael/status/534344480158388224
Infosys to buy Israeli auto-tech company. (M) India’s giant IT
company Infosys is acquiring Israel’s Panaya Inc for $200 million in cash. Panaya was among the top 100 global tech
start-ups in 2009. It provides
automation technology for companies such as Mercedes Benz, Sony and Unilever.
http://indianexpress.com/article/business/companies/infosys-to-buy-israeli-start-up-for-200-million/
Apple’s new Israeli offices. (M) Take a look inside
Apple’s new offices for its 800 employees in Herzliya. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is scheduled to open
the offices this week.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Seven species book wins international
award.
Chana Bracha Siegelbaum’s book “The Seven Fruits of the Land of Israel”
has just received two prestigious Gourmand Awards for 2015. Chana delves into the mystical and medicinal
properties of Israel’s seven Biblical food crops, while also offering pages of
wholesome recipes.
Raining chocolates in Tel Aviv. The 3-day Tel Aviv
Chocolate Festival featured chocolate shwarmas and kebabs, to chocolate
jewelry, sculptures, chocolate sushi-making and even a chocolate spa. 20,000
attended.
Israeli glass on display. Tel Aviv’s Eretz Israel
Museum is displaying the works of 62 Israeli glass artists. They range from tiny and intimate objects to
large sculptures, from wall hangings to floor and ceiling works, and from
room-size installations to conceptual works.
Night-surfing in the Med. (Thanks to SDM) About 40
Israeli surfers took part in a night-surfing competition in the Mediterranean
Sea off Ashdod, southern Israel. Gil Beach is one of the best places to catch
waves in Israel and Ashdod set up special lights there for night surfing
several years ago.
THE JEWISH STATE
Bulgaria terror victim
weds woman who helped him recover. Daniel Fahima, was critically wounded in the
Burgas, Bulgaria terror attack two years ago, which killed five other Israeli
tourists. He has just married the woman who sat by his bedside while he was in
the hospital, helping him get through a long period of recovery.
Borrow the book at the bus stop. A reminder that Israel’s
bus stop libraries are still operating and expanding - such as the new library
at Emek Refayim in Jerusalem. Borrowed
books can be returned to any branch.
Adversity inspires entrepreneurship. (Thanks to Israel21c) It
was a chance in a million that Tel Aviv married couple Michael and Jessica
would both develop Type 1 diabetes after the birth of their first child. They
used their “misfortune”, however, to help them found the popular diabetes
on-line magazine “ASweetLife”.
Above and Beyond. “Above and Beyond”,
screened at the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, is the story of Israel’s Air
Force. Produced by Nancy Spielberg
(sister of Steven), it tells of the miraculous events involving volunteers who
risked their lives in order to secure a Jewish homeland. Highly recommended.
Leading lost Jews to the Promised Land. A detailed profile of
Michael Freund, founder of Shavei Israel - an organization dedicated to
returning to Israel, people with a tradition that trace their ancestry to Jews
exiled from the Jewish homeland. http://tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/189072/becoming-moses
The land of blue and white. The colors of the Israeli
flag have been replicated in the recent weather of the Jewish State. Blue skies earlier in the week turned into
dense white clouds, precipitating rain into blue rivers and lakes. And then white snow enveloped the country
from the Golan, to Jerusalem and the Negev desert.
