Prepare to be Transformed
19/12/12
One of the most startling pieces of news
last week was the passing of an Israeli-sponsored
resolution in the United Nations.
By an overwhelming majority, the UN General Assembly voted for the
motion "Entrepreneurship
for Development", marking the first time that the U.N. has
formally recognized that entrepreneurship can transform whole societies by
reducing poverty, creating sustainable development, and reinvigorating the
environment. Here are some more recent examples
of Israeli activities and innovations that could transform the planet.
During its 60 years, the 1000 graduates of
the Hebrew
University-Hadassah Medical School have been transforming medical
science. In the latest research
into brain degeneration, Hebrew University scientists have uncovered
important details about the origins of brain diseases such as Parkinson’s,
Alzheimer’s, ALS and Huntington’s diseases.
The discovery could lead to new methods of preventing toxic proteins in
the brain from causing damage and even death.
In another Hebrew Uni study, researchers have discovered that extracts
inside the
edible Oyster mushroom contain molecules that bind
themselves to cancer cells and kill them.
The Israeli Ministry of Health has recognized
the important work of the Hebrew U, by designating its Sanford Kuvin Center for
the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases as Israel’s National Laboratory
for Leishmaniasis
– a parasitic disease affecting an estimated 12 million people worldwide. Meanwhile, the latest developments at
Israel’s Morflora have been written up by Israel21c. Morflora’s
revolutionary technology (originating at the Hebrew University)
delivers genetic traits to a seed, without transforming the genome of the
treated plant. The new strain boosts
crop yields and helps battle world famine.
Other transforming medical innovations
include Israel’s Advanced Inhalation Therapies trials of nitric
oxide to treat infectious lung diseases and IceCure’s innovative treatment
for breast cancer (and maybe other cancers) using a super-cooled needle
to inject balls of ice into the tumor.
We have already seen Israeli treatments transforming individuals
suffering from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s). Now
Israeli non-profit organization Prize4Life
has set-up a database called PRO-ACT that will help develop viable Phase II and
Phase III treatments for ALS.
We may have to wait some time before Gaza
is transformed into a peaceful community.
If only more residents of the terrorist state would be like 17-year-old Qsuy
Imran who has become best friends with 17-year-old Tal Zilker from
Southern Israel. Both have the same
type of cancer and are patients at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center where
they play together on their playstations.
Belaynesh
Zevadia’s life certainly has been transformed. Nearly three decades after immigrating to
Israel, Belaynesh returned to her village in Ethiopia, this time as Israel's
ambassador.
Two Israeli non-profit organizations are
transforming lives. In our capital
city, Jerusalem
Village is connecting young immigrants to Jerusalem’s resident young
adults. It arranges Shabbat dinners for
200 people and organizes Hebrew-speaking activities centered on photography,
urban gardening, cooking, and even training for the Jerusalem Marathon. Meanwhile, over in Tel Aviv, 80 young
professionals have paired up with some of Israel’s 200,000 Holocaust survivors
in a unique volunteer effort called “Adopt-A-Safta”. Volunteers chat, play games, and go for
walks, to movies or cafés with their adopted grandparents and do odd jobs for
them.
You could say that Hurricane Sandy
transformed East Coast US companies for the worse. But Israeli disaster recovery company Zerto
prevented many from going out of business altogether by storing their vital
information safely, several thousands of miles away from the danger area. Another Israeli company BT9 protects
temperature-sensitive products from being transformed into rotting
waste. BT9’s “Cold Chain Management”
sensors monitor perishables being transported around the world and send out
alerts when there is a problem.
The life of Israeli rower Jasmine
Feingold was transformed twice.
Three years ago an accident on the Yarkon River left her near to death
and on a respirator. She spent a year
at the Loewenstein Rehabilitation Center in Ra’anana – one of the best such
facilities in the Middle East, if not in the world. Now Jasmine has just won the 2,000-meter event at the Israeli
Rowing Championships and is working towards competing in the 2016 Olympics.
Finally, much has been written recently
about the transformation of Israel’s 8th Grade schoolchildren’s performance in
recent international math and science tests.
In math alone, Israel’s position rose from 24th in 2007 to 7th in 2011
and Israel is now top
of the western world. “What
about Israeli-Arabs?” came the cry from the pessimists. Well the answer is that Israel’s Arabs
achieved the highest
scores of Arabs anywhere in the Middle East.
Join the transformation process. Change the conversation and spread positive messages about Israel.
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly
newsletter containing Good News stories about Israel.
To subscribe, email a request to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
