One of the items that we put on the
Passover plate is a shank bone, to remind us of the (metaphorical) outstretched
arm that the Eternal used to deliver the Children of Israel from Egypt, over
3000 years ago. Today, the Jewish State
emulates that symbol by the far-reaching impact of its scientific and
humanitarian work.
The effects of Israel’s medical research
and innovations reach across the globe.
They include two major recent successes in cancer treatment. Firstly, early trials of NiCord stem cells
from Israel’s Gamida Cell have proved successful in maintaining the health of blood cancer
patients. Then researchers at
Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center have used cancer cells to
fight cancer. They stimulated
T-cells in the immune system using proteins from melanoma (a severe form of
skin cancer) to produce cytokines, which can fight other cancers in the
body. Israel has also shown the world
that rates of
cancer can be reduced by early diagnosis and treatment.
In other medical news, Israel’s Enopace
Biomedical has developed a device that provides an alternative to heart transplants. Its innovative pacemaker
for the arteries is implanted in a 30-minute procedure while the
patient is awake. Another medical
breakthrough was achieved by Tel Aviv University Professor Karen Avraham who
has discovered the
reason for genetic deafness – the cause of 50% of hearing losses. The result brings new treatments for hearing
disorders within reach.
Israel also reaches out to “the
other”. The Keren Shalom crossing
reopened after Hamas closed it last week and 1,118 trucks delivered 31,338 tons of goods
to Gaza. They included three
trucks from Turkey – the first since the Mavi Marmara incident. Read also how Orit saved the lives
of Palestinian Arabs when she served as a medic in the Israeli
army. Meanwhile, Israel has begun a
six-year project to improve the job
prospects of its Arab community.
And the Israeli organizers of the Jezreel Valley Hot Air Balloon
Festival successfully reached for the sky to attract Jordanian and Palestinian
Arab entries.
In the Jewish State, religious freedom
is so important that sometimes it has an even wider reach. Take for example, the first “International
Jerusalem Symposium on Green and Accessible Pilgrimage” which commences in
April. It combines interfaith dialogue
with urban sustainability. And Yoni and
Shoshana Rappaport are using their hands
and arms to turn the desert green by planting many thousands of the
amazing Argan tree in Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev. The Argan tree can survive on minimal rainfall yet produces a
healthy oil from its fruit. Please
support their work.
Israeli President Shimon Peres stretched
out his arm to greet five
new ambassadors – from Chile, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and
Zambia. They presented their credentials and then expressed their hope to
develop technological and strategic connections with the Jewish State. As I write, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu will be reaching
out for US President Barack Obama’s hand. After which, he will show him
a series of technological products by Israel’s high-tech industries in a
special exhibit set up in the President’s honor. The products are in the fields of renewable energy, accident
prevention, medicine, search and rescue, and robotics. The PM will also hand the US President a
microchip containing 200-micron size copies of both the American and Israeli
Declarations of Independence, attached to a Jerusalem stone seal that
stretches back 2000 years to the Second Jewish Temple.
The technological age of the Internet has
reached almost all of us – certainly those reading this blog. So it was especially satisfying to read
Professor Shafi Goldwasser of Israel’s Weizmann Institute was joint winner of the 2013
Turing Prize for her pioneering work that brought about computer
cryptography – securing transactions on the Internet. The Turing Prize is considered to be the “Nobel Prize” of
computing. But wait – some examples of
Israeli technology mean that you soon won’t need to use your arms at all. The voice recognition system from Israeli
startup VocalZoom includes an optical microphone that “reads
your lips” by sensing vibrations on your face. And with the eye-tracking
software from Israel’s Umoove, you can scroll through text on your
smartphone’s screen simply by gazing down.
For the third consecutive time, and the
fourth in her life, Israeli windsurfer Lee Korzits reached out and took first
place at the RS-X Windsurfing World Championships. With fellow Israeli Maayan Davidovich taking the bronze, it was
the first time that two Israelis have
shaken hands on the winners’ podium.
And permit me to stretch the metaphor of ocean waves to sound waves in
order to link to Barbra
Streisand’s first ever concert in Israel this June. Maybe she will perform her hit “My
honey’s loving arms”, but I’ll settle for a repeat of her 1978
rendition of “Hatikvah”.
Finally, when the long arms of Israel reached out
and brought Yityish Aynaw from Ethiopia to the Jewish State, she had no
idea of her destiny. On becoming the
new Miss Israel she said, "Ten years ago I was walking around barefoot in
Ethiopia and I never imagined that one day I would be in the Land of Israel,
meeting the Israeli President and the President of the United States.”
With Israel, freedom is within
everyone’s reach.
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly
newsletter containing Good News stories about Israel.
For a free subscription, email a request to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
