·
A new
Israeli treatment for advanced chronic kidney disease
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Jewish
paramedics in Judea save the life of a Palestinian Arab boy.
·
Israeli system
blocked several unauthorized drones at the G20 Summit.
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A new Israeli
environmentally-friendly space-rocket fuel is being developed.
·
Skoda has
just partnered with its sixth Israeli tech company.
·
The number
of tourists visiting Jerusalem last year rose by 38%.
·
Israeli
technology has uncovered a 2,600-year-old Jewish town in Judea.
·
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ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Cell-therapy for advanced kidney disease. Israeli biotech KidneyCure is developing personalized cell-therapy
technology for treating advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). An estimated 30
million adults in the US have CKD (most are undiagnosed) with 600,000 on
dialysis.
Non-Hodgins lymphoma treatment approved.
Israel’s Teva has received US FDA approval for its Truxima treatment for several
conditions of the deadly non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. Truxima
is a bio-similar (tested low-cost alternative) to Rituxan (Rituximab)
manufactured by Roche.
Good results in H. pylori treatment. Israeli
biotech Redhill announced positive top-line results from its confirmatory Phase
3 study using its TALICIA treatment for H. pylori Infection. Of 455 trial
participants, the antibiotic-resistant infection was eradicated completely in
85% of cases compared to 58% using an alternative.
Giving an amputee a reason to live. 72-year
old Israeli Yehuda lost both legs after an infection and was considering ending
his life. But when volunteers from NGO United Hatzalah’s ‘Ten Kavod’ project heard
of his plight, they took him swimming in the sea and even on a yacht trip. It
has totally changed his life.
Boosting Israel’s life-science powerhouse. Israeli NGO 8400 Network is building a network of 400 top Israeli
health-tech brains over 8 years (hence 8400). These leaders are using the best
practices of global life-sciences ecosystems to initiate projects that promote growth
in the health-related industry in Israel.
EU award for cancer breath-test inventor. Israel Technion Professor Hossam Haick (see here) received the European Commission
Innovation Prize in Lisbon for inventing the SniffPhone, a smartphone device to
detect cancer in the breath. He was “the most innovative scientist realizing an
idea in the field of electronic systems”.
Nursing training for Ethiopian-Israelis. Israeli NGO JobKatif has established Achotenu - a program at the
Hebrew University in Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital, for Ethiopian-Israelis to
earn a degree in nursing and long-term employment. The current program has 58 students
including those in this inspiring video.
Israeli leads the cardiovascular world. (TY
Hazel) Israel is number one in the world for medical patents per capita. These patents
have led to numerous revolutionary cardiovascular procedures and devices. E.g. aortic
valve replacement, mitral valve repair, tiny pacemakers, heart monitoring chips
and especially stents.
Charity’s 3,000th transplant. Israeli
charity Ezer Mizion is celebrating the 3,000-milestone for the number of life-saving
stem-cell transplants performed as a direct result of its bone-marrow registry.
Prior to Ezer Mizion, chances of a Jewish patient finding a genetic match was
8%. Now, 76% of requests receive a positive response.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Hi-tech training for Negev Arabs and Jews. Founded in 2009, Israeli NGO
A New Dawn in the Negev improves quality of life for Israel’s Bedouin community.
Its Tech2Peace program in Yeruham trained 30 young men and women (15 Israeli Arabs
and 15 Jews) in software development, graphic design and 3D printing.
Israeli-Druze woman is Public Broadcaster’s TV News anchor. (TY Hazel) Israeli-Druze Gadeer Mreeh is the first non-Jewish woman
to anchor the Hebrew news at the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation. A mother
of two, she has a BA from Bar-Ilan University and a master’s in international
relations from Haifa University.
Israeli Arab “is privileged” to serve in the IDF. (TY Hazel) “T” - a 19-year-old Israeli Arab from the Jerusalem area
joined the IDF Border Police and completed basic training. The teenager says it's
"a privilege to serve my country,” Following T.'s decision to enlist,
three of his close friends decided to follow his footsteps.
Palestinian Arab boy’s life saved. (TY Avi) Efrat is a Judean town situated between Bethlehem and Hebron. Arab
residents from neighboring Wadi Nis brought to Efrat a boy from their village
who was seriously hurt in a fall from his second-floor balcony. Efrat’s Jewish paramedics
provided advanced treatment, saving his life.
Co-existence projects in the Jordan Valley. Israel’s Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy Ministry has
partnered the Jordan Valley Regional Council to promote agricultural
cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian Arab communities. Head of the
Jordan Valley Regional Council, David Elhayani tells more.
Haifa welcomes European navy ships. Haifa
port, on Israel’s northern coast, often hosts ships from allied naval forces. On
28th November, a French navy vessel docked at the port and it is shortly to be joined
by ships from Italy, Spain and Britain. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/189754-181128-exclusive-french-warship-docks-in-israel-to-be-joined-by-italy-britain-spain
Latino Christian Zionists in LA. (TY IsraPundit) Latino evangelicals from Southern California gathered at the
Igelsia Evangelica Latina church in Los Angeles for a special event honoring
the State of Israel. The event was also attended by local Jewish community
leaders and a representative of the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles.
UN adopts Israel’s national rescue team.
Israel’s Home Front Command National Rescue Unit has joined the prestigious “INSARAG"
- a United Nations body that centralizes rescue units from around the world to
coordinate, optimize and utilize rescue operations in disaster-stricken areas
and save lives.
Drones neutralized at G20 Summit. Last week (see here) I wrote that Israel provided security for the G20 Summit in Buenos
Aires. In fact, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) subsidiary ELTA, deployed its
Drone Guard detection system and successfully blocked several suspicious drones
from flying towards the global leaders.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Making Tel Aviv bloom – with sheep! Ecologist
Liav Shalem has deployed Asaf Gal to graze his herd of sheep in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon
River Park as a pilot project to rehabilitate 52 patches of undeveloped nature in
the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Grazing restores the natural ecological balance,
promoting the growth of flowers.
Training migrants in computer skills. We
frequently hear bad news about Tel Aviv’s asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea.
In contrast, this initiative of Israeli NGO African Refugee Development Center
and the Developer Institute is to teach some of them coding skills and integrate
them into the Israeli hi-tech sector.
Card games to teach innovation. Israeli
start-up Innovations Nations Games (TING) has developed a learning ‘Toolkit’ in
the form of card games to help develop innovative and creative thinking skills.
Players brainstorm ideas for new innovative ventures or solutions for existing challenges.
Wireless charging anywhere you want it. I
reported previously (17th June) on Israel’s Humavox and its smart recharging technology. It is now promising
to turn everyday places (e.g. handbags, briefcases, drawers, even toy boxes)
into wireless battery chargers. https://www.israel21c.org/wireless-charging-anywhere-you-want-it/
Israeli agricultural conference in Vietnam. (TY Nevet) The Israeli embassy in
Vietnam held a conference on hi-tech agriculture to help Vietnamese farmers. Vice
Chairman of Ha Noi People’s Committee Nguyen Doan Toan praised Israel and
anticipated Israeli companies would help the city develop its hi-tech agriculture
sector.
Whatever happened to Iron Beam? I
reported previously (26th Jan) on the laser beam system to stop short-rage mortars. The project was
stopped to give priority to Iron Dome. But now Israel Aerospace Industries is
“at a very advanced stage,” in its development and “successful experiments have
already been carried out".
Gel propulsion. Israeli
startup NewRocket is developing gel propulsion – a cheaper, more
environmentally friendly rocket-engine technology offering the same level of
performance and control as toxic “legacy fuel” and a better solution for smaller
satellites. The technology was invented by Prof. Benny Natan of Israel’s Technion.
Facing threats full in the face. I’ve
reported on many Israeli startups (see here) that have developed innovative face-recognition technology. Israel’s
AnyVision uses artificial intelligence (AI) to perform real-time forensic analysis
of video images for pro-active threat intervention. Investors include Qualcomm
and Bosch.
http://www.anyvision.co/index.php/2018/09/04/anyvision-and-genetec-inc-announce-partnership-to-expand-ai-powered-surveillance-videos/ https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3750956,00.html
Developing cybersecurity with Japan. Israel’s
(female) ambassador to Japan Yaffa Ben-Ari and Japan’s Minister of the Interior
and Communications Masatoshi Ishida signed an accord in Tokyo to cooperate in
research and development, information exchange, and training programs in the
field of cybersecurity.
Two global game-changers. New York-based
data company CB Insights named two Israeli startups in its 2019 Game Changers
report of 36 international fast-growing firms that are changing the world. I
reported (see here) on connected car startup Autotalks and AdVerif.ai uses AI to keep users
safe from spam and malicious content.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/two-israeli-startups-named-among-36-in-new-international-game-changers-report/ http://adverifai.com/ https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3731681,00.html
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israel is a hot spot for tourism. (TY WIN & I24 News) Having broken the all-time record for tourist
numbers to Israel, the Israel Hotel Investment Summit some of the top world
hoteliers have come to Israel and are ready to invest. In particular, the number of tourists visiting
Jerusalem rose by 38% in the past year.
Salary growth declines, except in Israel. The Global Wage Report 2018/19 finds that the world’s average wage
growth slowed in 2017 compared with 2016 and is considered the lowest rate
since 2008. But in Israel, the average real wage has increased every
year since 2013 when the rise was 1.4%. In 2017 wages rose 3%.
Direct flights to Vietnam. Vietnam
Airlines has announced that it will start direct flights, twice-a-week, from Hanoi
to Tel Aviv from Sep 2019. Vietnam Airlines CEO Thanh Tri Duong was reportedly
in Israel in November for meetings on the new operation. He also signed a
code-sharing agreement with El Al.
Israeli security and water for UN African Peacekeepers. The United Nations has signed an $8 million agreement Israel’s MER for
defense sensors in Africa where 61 peacekeepers were killed last year. In
addition, Israeli water treatment technology company Odis has won a UN tender
worth $42 million.
Radar protection for South Korea. (TY WIN) ELTA Systems Ltd., a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI),
has won a deal reported to be worth $292 million to supply two long-range
warning systems to South Korea. The mobile, ground-based Green Pine radar
systems detect and track long-range missiles.
Skoda accelerates in Israel. Czech car-maker Skoda has revealed that it is working with two
Israel-based startups - Chakratec and UVeye and already testing their
technologies. Skoda started seeking Israeli innovation in 2017 and has already partnered
with Israel’s Anagog, XM Cyber, Guardian, and Otonomo.
Keeping Chinese eyes on the road. New
regulations come into force in Shenzhen, China in 2019 that require all heavy
trucks to have driver monitoring systems. So, China’s Exsun has partnered with
Israel-based motion recognition startup EyeSight Technologies to integrate its
systems with Exsun’s truck fleet management tools.
German firm acquired for $100 million. Israeli
companies don’t exit as much as they did a few years ago., Israeli gaming giant
Playtika has just bought out its German rival Wooga (makers of puzzles) for
$100 million. Playtika’s annual revenue following the acquisition will surpass
$1 billion. No small shakes!
Moving from Cloud to Cloud to IBM. Israeli
startup NooBaa’s technology makes it easy for companies to move data from one Cloud
location to another or manage it in multiple locations as if in a single
coherent data set. Anyway, NooBaa’s software is so good that Red Hat Inc (owned
by IBM) just had to buy the company.
Free cybersecurity for the hotel industry. Israeli cybersecurity startup ITsMine is to provide its AI-based
Data Loss Prevention solution free of charge to the worldwide hotel industry
through the end of 2019. It follows Marriott hotel’s recent data breach that exposed
the financial data of approximately 500 million guests.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
ArtBnB in Jerusalem. No, not a spelling
mistake. Project ArtBnB brings 21 artists from 17 countries to “live and create”
in one of three Jerusalem cultural centers. They will be guested by 21 local
artists from Dec 9 – 20, culminating in an exhibition to showcase their works
in the fields of cinema, theater and photography.
Moses led Romanian Jews to the Promised Land. “Bucharest Diary: Romania’s Journey from Darkness to Light” is a
new book by 89-year-old American Alfred Moses. In it, he recounts his 13-years work
from 1976, bringing thousands of Jews to Israel from Communist Romania.
Israeli wine wins International double-gold. Israel’s Tom Winery won "Best Winery" in the boutique
winery category, plus the top "Double Gold" award for their
"Cabernet Franc 2016" in the "Terra Vino" international
wine competition in Ashdod. 30 international judges tasted and graded 500 wines
from all over the world.
Shark observation center opens. Every
winter, about 20 to 30 dusky and sandbar sharks come to enjoy basking in the
pure warm waters surrounding Israel’s Orot Rabin power plant in Hadera. From
Dec to Apr, visitors can watch them and learn about sharks at the new information
and shark observation station.
New Tel Aviv bike trails. I reported
previously (24th July) on Tel Aviv’s many bike pathways and how easy it is to rent a bike.
Now, Tel Aviv’s Mayor Ron Huldai has just inaugurated the first section of a new
110-kilometer network of bicycle trails that “will turn Tel Aviv into the
Amsterdam of the Middle East”.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Pedaling-a-new-path-new-bike-trails-inaugurated-in-Tel-Aviv-573380
THE JEWISH STATE
Jerusalem’s
Yemenite synagogue. In 1885, Jews from Yemen built a synagogue in the village of Shiloah (Silwan),
right outside Jerusalem's Old City. The British evacuated the Jews during the
1936-9 Arab riots and the Jordanian army destroyed the synagogue in 1948. It is
now being rebuilt and discoveries are being made.
Kosovo
would move its embassy to Jerusalem – if it had one! Kosovo’s president, Hashim Thaci,
said that were his country to have an embassy in Israel, he would put it in
Jerusalem. Israel and Kosovo (a majority Muslim country) have warm relations
but currently do not have formal diplomatic ties.
Technology reveals ancient Judean village. Over 2600 years old, the vanished
village of Beit Lehi-Beit Loya is re-emerging, southwest of Jerusalem. LiDAR (Light
Detection and Ranging) technology and a 360-degree UVU drone-mounted 4K camera have
revealed 20% of the village and some amazing remains. Visit it on-line.
https://www.israel21c.org/secrets-of-a-lost-village-of-ancient-israel-come-to-light/
https://beitlehi.org/
Local
evidence of Babylonian exile. Just north of Netanya, Israel, a cuneiform tablet has been discovered documenting
the sale of slaves, in the Biblical Land of Israel. The Kingdom of Israel
(Samaria) fell to the Assyrians around 722 BCE and the ten northern Tribes of
Israel were exiled as slaves to Babylon.
Ancient
mask connects Israel to birth of civilization. Israeli archaeologists discovered a Neolithic
9,000-year-old stone mask - one of only 15 in the world - at Pnei Hever in Judea.
Experts link stone masks to the transition from hunting and gathering into a domestic
farming economy with ritual-religious activities.
Helping
French Jews settle in. Israel’s Ministry of Education has launched “Feel at Home” – a program specific
to the needs of young Olim from France. It aims to increase and ease their
integration into Israeli society with after-school activities for children,
projects promoting leadership and study enrichment centers.
World’s
largest Hanukah menorah is now in Jerusalem. The world’s biggest Hanukah menorah (Hanukiyah)
has been erected on top of the Hadar Mall in Jerusalem. At 11 meters tall and 56
meters wide, it can be seen from any outside location in the capital. The
previous record (candle) holder was in New York City.
Or
Gadol – a great light. (TY Leonie) Recorded last year,
but appropriate for Chanukah - the Jewish festival of lights. Israel’s Koolulam
gathered hundreds of people in Jerusalem for a few hours just to sing together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak79axDkIEw
