·
Israeli breakthrough
in the search for a universal leukemia treatment.
·
Israeli
scientists have discovered a vital medical reason for sleep.
·
IKEA and
McDonald’s launched Israeli initiatives to help those with disabilities.
·
A new
Israeli solution to the global desert crisis.
·
Nvidia has
bought Israel’s Mellanox for $6.9 billion.
·
Time Out readers
chose Tel Aviv as the best city in the Middle East.
·
The Israeli
President’s wife breathes easily thanks to a donated lung.
·
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ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
No escape from new leukemia biosensor. Tel Aviv University scientists have devised a novel biosensor that
can isolate and target all leukemic stem cells - the most malignant of leukemic
cells. Previous therapies missed many types of these stem cells, allowing them
to evade destruction and subsequently multiply.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/on-campus/israeli-scientists-create-biosensor-to-isolate-leukemic-stem-cells/2019/03/12/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41375-019-0386-z
European approval for lung collapse warning. I’ve reported previously (see here) on Zebra Medical Vision and
its technology that helps radiologists spot acute conditions in scans and
X-rays. Zebra has just received European CE certification for detecting pneumothorax
- a sign of imminent lung collapse.
Square-fiber endoscope is outside the box. The miniature endoscope from
Israel’s Zsquare is made from layers of square fiber. The unique technology
provides 3D high resolution, hyper-spectral imaging. Then after use, just throw it away so no chance
of cross-infections. Zsquare has just raised $10 million of funds.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3757236,00.html https://www.z-squaremedical.com/
Israeli doctors bring expertise to Africa. Several Israeli doctors have
spent decades changing the nature of healthcare in Africa. Ori and Britta
Shwarzman established a mobile clinic in Ghana; Professor Zvi Bentwich has been
eradicating diseases in Ethiopia and Dr Morris Hartstein treats hundreds at his
eye clinics in Ethiopia.
Why you need to sleep. Researchers from Israel’s Bar-Ilan University
have shown that individual neurons in the brain need sleep to give the chromosomal
repair system a chance to clear out daily debris accumulated during wake time.
At night, neuronal traffic is light and damage caused by activity or environment
can be fixed.
Boosting the gut’s immune response. I
reported previously (Feb 2013) on the research of scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute into
the gut’s immune cell training system. They now have discovered that gut
bacteria slow the immune response. Increasing the level of antigens boosts the response,
also enabling oral vaccines.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/revealing-gut%E2%80%99s-b-cell-training-program-may-point-new-means-developing-oral-vaccines https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-019-0325-1
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Recycling pallets for environment and society. (TY UWI & ILTV) Israeli NGO Molet turns trashed wooden pallets into everyday
furniture. Molet also offers companies “away
days” where employees help make furniture which is then donated to institutions
in need. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FB_Jeo0S4c
Improving accessibility at McDonald’s. (TY Hazel) McDonald’s Israel has installed sensors from Israel’s
RightHear (see here) near entrances, restrooms, elevators and stairs in nearly all its 180
Israeli branches. It is the world’s first restaurant chain to offer full access
to customers with orientation challenges.
New IKEA accessibility products. (TY Jacques) IKEA Israel has partnered with Israeli nonprofits Access
Israel and Milbat to produce 13 furniture accessibility add-on products (e.g.
mega switch, easy handle, gripper) for people with disabilities. Their “ThisAbles
Initiative” helps Israelis with disabilities live more independently.
Ride-sharing app to help Arab women. Arab
women often have difficulty travelling to work from their outlying towns. So,
Israel’s Technion Institute has partnered with non-profit Kayan to launch Safarcon
(“your travels” in Arabic). The app offers a ride-sharing service aimed at Israeli
Arabs, particularly Arab women.
Jerusalem hosts female film festival. Female
filmmakers and activists from Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Canada and the US
came to Jerusalem for two days of screenings, meetings and conversations. The
49% Festival is named for the percentage of women in the global population.
Black police support Israel. The US National
Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) has endorsed the
Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE). GILEE organizes
exchanges between US and Israeli law enforcement officers. NOBLE says it has
benefited from the exchange for decades.
Liberian President’s soccer link. Liberian
President George Manna Weah, came to Israel with a large delegation of
ministers and aides. President Weah is a former soccer star, considered to be
among the best of Africa’s players. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said he watched
him play for Chelsea in 2000.
Brazilian President to arrive 31st Mar. Brazilian
President Jair Bolsonaro is to visit Israel from March 31 to April 4. Mr
Bolsonaro has repeatedly promised to relocate the Brazilian embassy in Israel
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “The decision is taken; it’s only a matter of when
it will be implemented” he said on TV in Feb.
Israeli tours of alternative Paris. Robert
Sarner describes interesting street tours of Paris by two Israelis. They
highlight the street art and graffiti, now widely seen as part of a city’s
visual identity and cultural expression.
Israeli tech reunites Korean sisters. In
1972, a Korean toddler and her baby sister were abandoned by their parents. Taken
to separate orphanages, they were adopted by different families in the US and
Belgium. 47 years later, they were reunited, thanks to a DNA test they both independently
took with Israeli company MyHeritage.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Keep watching the skies. On 20th March, Israel’s
SpaceIL plans to initiate the next maneuver of its Beresheet spacecraft, advancing
it from its current 270,00 km maximum orbit into a 400,000 km maximum orbit. It
will then attempt to achieve Lunar Capture on 4 April. Watch this space!
Pushing back the desert. Scientists at Ben-Gurion University have devised simple
interventions at desert borders to reverse the process threatening to turn vast
areas of the US, Spain and China into desert. Such activities include introducing
new plant species or periodic clear cutting to reduce the competition for
water.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/on-campus/vegetation-fingers-could-help-reverse-desertification-israeli-scientists-say/2019/03/11/ https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.048101#fulltext
A shared network in the cloud. Israel’s DriveNets
offers CSP customers (Communications Service Providers) fast, scalable network
capacity at low cost. Its Network Cloud software-based solution offers an alternative
to traditional network infrastructures. DriveNets has just raised $110 million
of funds.
Extending food’s shelf life. (TY Janglo and Israel21c) Another Israeli packaging is keeping food fresh for longer. Israel;s Active Pak uses a hybrid polymer
nano-compound with natural antimicrobial essential oils to extend the shelf
life of food and other perishables. It also has potential for post-harvesting and
irrigation.
Using the microbiome to increase crop yield. Israel’s Evogene has set up
a new agricultural biology subsidiary - LaVie Bio. It will focus on the fields
of food quality and agricultural sustainability and productivity, through the
introduction of microbiome-based ag-biological products.
GrowBots - robots to imitate plants. Tel
Aviv University Professor Yasmin Meroz is leading the Israeli team in a
European-funded consortium to develop robots that can negotiate uneven
environments. Instead of legs or wheels, these robots will climb like ivy. Uses
include collapsed buildings, archaeological digs or even on Mars.
Another bullet-proof backpack. I reported
previously (25th Sep) on the school backpack from Israel’s Masada-Armour that transforms
into a bulletproof vest in under two seconds. Here is an alternative – the backpack
from Israel’s ArmorMe comes with bulletproof kevlar panels on one or two sides.
PHIL – innovation hub for pet health. Israel’s
OurCrowd is partnering Australian pet store operator PETstock to set up Israel’s
first innovation hub focused on health technologies for pets. Pet Health Innovation Labs (PHIL) is for
startups using AI to develop treatments, and apps for nutrition and exercise regimens.
Artificially Intelligent marketing. Israel’s
Mintigo develops an online predictive analytics platform designed to identify
the items a specific customer is most likely to buy. It scours the web for over
20,000 insights and buying signals. Mintigo has just raised $7 million to add
to the $44 million already raised.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3757499,00.html https://www.mintigo.com/why-mintigo/
Whatever happened to Genie? I reported
previously (May 2015) the 3D meal-printing ovens from Israel’s Genie were a year away from
production. Genie now has two production lines in Israel and a
third in Chicago, able to produce 30 million meal capsules a year. Genie is now
begun marketing in the U.S. and Australia.
Iron dome tech can predict natural disasters. Israel’s mPrest developed the command-and-control software inside
Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system. Its Major Event Management
Application (MEMA) forecasts the extent, location and progress of damage from natural
disasters via a similar network of sensors and systems.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
New flights
from France to Israel. EasyJet is launching a new, thrice-weekly direct flight route from Tel
Aviv to Nantes, the sixth largest city in France, starting in April. Meanwhile Ryanair
will be offering three flights a week between Tel Aviv and the southern French
city of Marseille. The route will be taking off in October.
New routes
to Germany and Greece. Ryanair is to start daily direct flights between Tel Aviv and Berlin in
October. It already flies from Israel to Baden-Baden and Memmingen. Ryanair has
also announced the launch of new three weekly flights between Tel Aviv and
Athens and Thessaloniki.
European
investors come to Israel. Israel will host representatives of top German, Swiss and Austrian tech
accelerators and companies on 19th March, for the fifth installment of the
Europe Days conference. Over €300 million ($335 million) in funding
opportunities will be on the table for some 200 Israeli entrepreneurs.
OurCrowd summit
is about doing good. Some
18,000 guests from over 180 countries attended OurCrowd’s annual summit. Its
focus was on startups with a world-changing social impact and solving global
challenges in fields such as healthcare, public safety, environment, mobility,
cybersecurity, food, and agriculture.
From cafes
to offices. (TY Sharon) For years, Jerusalem’s budding
entrepreneurs held meetings in cafes. But now there are many shared workspaces
that they can afford to rent e.g. PICO, Temech and WeWork. Now Urban Place on
the 4th floor of the Central Bus Station provides 91 offices of various sizes
and styles and more.
Six
Israeli startups are most innovative. Fast Company magazine’s list of the world’s
50 most innovative companies for 2019 includes six Israeli companies previously
featured in this newsletter - Vayyar Imaging (see here), Innoviz (here), SpacePharma (here), ECOncrete (here), Sight Diagnostics (here) and Waze (here).
Six Israeli
AI startups are most promising. (TY Nevet) CB Insights’ 2019
list of the 100 Most Innovative Artificial Intelligence Startups includes six Israeli
companies previously featured in this newsletter – Habana Labs (see
here), BioCatch (here),
Nexar (here), Taranis (here), Anodot (here) and LawGeex (here).
Israeli startups shine in cybersecurity
market. The US is still top, but in 2018 Israel overtook
China and the UK for venture capital invested in cybersecurity. https://scvgroup.net/global-cybersecurity-investing-trends/
Mellanox exits for $6.9 billion. American technology giant Nvidia is to acquire
Israeli chipmaker Mellanox in a deal worth $6.9 billion. Mellanox has offices
in Yokne’am, Tel Aviv, Beersheba, Ra’anana and Tel Hai. Mellanox’s solutions
accelerate some of the largest supercomputers in the world (see here).
Attunity
exits for $560 million. (TY Nevet) Israeli data integration
specialist Attunity has been acquired by US based data analytics company Qlik
for just over half a billion dollars. Attunity has over 2000 customers
including half of the Fortune 100 companies. (I hadn’t even reported on
Attunity before)
Spotinst
partners AWS. I
reported previously (25th
Sep) on Israel’s Spotinst which helps businesses manage mission-critical
systems across cloud providers. Spotinst has just announced its partnership
with Amazon Web Services (AWS) which will offer Spotinst’s software through AWS’
Partner Network global startups program.
Travel
tech companies merge. Israeli travel tech companies
Fornova and HotelsBI are to merge. Fornova
will integrate HotelsBI’s hotel performance analytics software into its suite
of products aimed at the hospitality industry.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3757631,00.html
New
entrepreneurs pitch in the South. The Entrepreneur Boot Camp for newcomers to Israel is run by Aliya
organization Nefesh b’Nefesh. The latest six-week course in Southern Israel culminated
in a Pitch Night. 15 contestants each had 90 seconds to present their ideas before
a panel of five judges for prizes up to $3,300.
Chocolates with an Israeli twist. Israel’s Ika Cohen’s makes chocolates with flavors that include olive
oil, Dead Sea salt, basil, and the Middle East herb zaatar. From her little Tel
Aviv shop, she is now targeting the Japanese market. At the annual Salon du
Chocolat fair in Tokyo she sold over $1,000 of chocolates per hour.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Preserving Ethiopian-Israeli culture. In the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, Beta Israel Village performs two
functions. Firstly, to help the older generation of Ethiopian Israelis find
their way in a new country. Secondly, to connect the younger generation to
their heritage and to make them proud of their roots.
Purim in
Israel. This website gives the latest information
on events happening in Israel to celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim. Kids shows, carnivals, games, workshops etc. Purim
officially begins on the evening of Weds 20th March, but the fun begins two
weeks earlier at the beginning of the Hebrew Month of Adar.
Tel Aviv is Time Out’s top Middle East city. Time Out Magazine surveyed 34,000
city-dwellers and ranked Tel Aviv as the best city in the Middle East and the
21st best in the world. City gradings included food, drink, culture, nightlife,
community, neighborhoods, overall happiness, beauty, affordability and
convenience.
Eurovision
comes Home. (TY INN) Kobi Marimi
will sing the ballad “Home” in the Eurovision Song Contest finals in Tel Aviv
on 18th May. 2,000 tickets for the show sold out online in 10 minutes. Volunteers
are being trained to welcome 10,000 expected visitors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsA-1gPV8nY
Amare
Stoudemire becomes an Israeli citizen. On receiving his official Israel identity
card in a ceremony at Israel’s Interior Ministry, former NBA star Amare Stoudemire
said, “It’s a very exciting moment for me … my love for Israel has been with me
for many years and being part of Israel is something very special”.
THE JEWISH STATE
Paramedics hold
the baby. When a Kiryat Malachi mom cut her finger
badly, EMTs from United Hatzalah bandaged it and then told her husband to take
her to the ER at the local hospital. Who’s left holding the baby? The paramedics of course - only in Israel! Also, Friends of United Hatzalah raised $5
million in Los Angeles.
Teenager’s lung saves Israeli President’s wife. Israel’s First Lady, Nechama Rivlin, has had a single lung
transplant at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah. Mrs. Rivlin has suffered
from pulmonary fibrosis for several years. The lung was donated by the family
of Yair Halbali, 19 (z”l), who recently drowned in Eilat.
Restoring Torah
scrolls for the IDF. I reported previously (Feb
2014) that the International Young Israel Movement repairs Torah scrolls
and donates them to IDF bases. Oz Ve’Hadar also does this valuable work. some scrolls
originated in communities destroyed in the Shoah. And many have modern day
stories to tell.
The joy at
being able to save a life. Thousands of Israeli Jews
on Ezer Mizion’s database cannot believe their good fortune to find they are a
match for someone needing a stem cell transplant. Although they are not allowed to know who the
patient is, they often write their good wishes anonymously to the stem cell
recipient.
Mike Huckabee
walks the Pilgrims’ Road. Ex-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee gets a
personal guided tour of the City of David in Jerusalem. He describes it as
validation that the Jewish people have their capital here and is their
ancestral homeland. It is not just stories
– it’s things that are physical, that you can point to.
Changing
the conversation.
Please watch this great response to a BDS supporter. “We (Israel) built an
amazing and remarkable country. You won’t be able to wake up in the
morning because the chip is built in Intel in Israel. And on the way to work
you will get lost because of Waze…. What’s your invention?”
