There is a Jewish religious obligation to
count each of the 49 days between the Festival of Freedom (Passover) and the
Season of the Giving of our Law (Shavuot / Pentecost). We look forward to celebrating the high point
in our history when we rose from slavery to receiving the Torah at Mount
Sinai. Today it is almost impossible to
count all of the innovations, discoveries and positive activities arising from
the Jewish State – so I will simply enumerate some of the latest examples.
Israel continues to advance exponentially
in the field of Medical Science. For the
3rd year running, an Israeli has won Europe’s prestigious
L’Oréal-UNESCO “Women in Science” prize.
Osnat Zomer-Penn received this year’s award for her research into the
genetic basis of autism. Israelis Hadar
Gelber-Sagiv won in 2012, and Na’ama Geva Zatursky in 2011. Meanwhile, Israel’s biotech giant Teva had a
double success in its latest medication trials. Firstly, patients who began early treatment of Teva’s Laquinimod
MS medication halted the progression of the disease. Then Teva’s Azilect add-on treatment
for Parkinson’s disease improved patients’ condition significantly.
Europe’s CE mark of approval has just been
given to the Nitinol carotid EPS stent from Tel Aviv’s InspireMD. The
self-expanding stent is wrapped with a MicroNetmesh to prevent strokes that are
common following stent insertions and is just one
of countless cardiology devices that Israeli companies have produced. A
heart stent is also portrayed on one of three latest Israeli
stamps celebrating Israeli cardiology innovations. The 3-shekel stamp depicts the Percutaneous
Heart Valve. The 4.2 shekel stamp shows
the stent, whilst the 5-shekel stamp has a picture of the Implantable Defibrillator.
Diabetics can now display their blood-glucose
count on their smartphone. Dr.
Oren Fuerst’s LabStyle Innovations developed the “Dario” glucometer attachment
in Israel. A lancing device takes a
spot of blood and a test strip measures the glucose. The smartphone displays the result and records it, for sharing
with the doctor.
It is becoming hard to count the number of
wounded Syrians that Israel has treated. The IDF has now set up a military field hospital in the Golan
Heights to avoid having to send serious cases on long, potentially hazardous
journeys to hospitals inside Israel.
Critics of the so-called “Gaza blockade” should count the number of trucks
entering from Israel via the Keren Shalom crossing in any one week. In the seven days up to 23rd
March, 1,157 trucks delivered 31,953 tons of goods, before Gaza terrorists
forced the temporary closing of the crossing by firing rockets at Israeli
civilians in Sederot.
Next, here are a number of recent new
Israeli technological innovations that will benefit countless numbers of people
around the world. Firstly, when you can’t
count on a safe source of water, Israel’s SunDwater will harness the
sun’s energy using solar mirrors to turn polluted or salty water into steam and
then distill it into
safe, clean drinking water.
Then in a politically sensitive hot spot, Waterfall Security Solutions
of Tel Aviv has installed its Unidirectional Security Gateways to protect South
Korea’s nuclear reactors from
potential meltdown due to physical and cyber threats. And this new video provides a number of
reminders of how much the world counts on Israeli technology.
Those counting
their calories will enjoy a new range of Israeli confectionary from
Carmit Candy Industries. It includes a
weight-management wafer bar and chocolate coins with calcium, vitamin D and
vitamin K that the manufacturers claim will help shed pounds, boost the immune
system and promote bone health.
Meanwhile, cycling enthusiasts will love being able to count their heartbeats using
a smart bicycle helmet with built-in infrared heart rate monitor. This unique
sensing technology from Tel Aviv’s LifeBEAM is also deployed in test trials for
fighter pilots and is currently being analyzed by NASA for possible use in
future space missions.
By the way, if UK readers want their
activities to count
towards the humanitarian efforts of the Jewish State, then please
download the free
app from UK-based charity Myisrael. Every time an online purchase is
made from one of a thousand British retailers, donations are collected for
Myisrael’s projects.
To conclude, we should count our blessings
for the existence of the Jewish State. Thousands
gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem just for that purpose during
the Passover festival - a reminder of the massive Jewish pilgrimages to the Temple
in Jerusalem, over 2000 years ago. And
having exceeded the symbolic figure of six million
Jewish citizens, the Jewish State now has a larger Jewish population
than any other country – for the first time since Biblical times.
Finally, we can count
the 2013 / 5773 Passover holiday as the time that Israel became energy
independent - when natural gas began flowing from the Tamar natural gas field.
It ends Israel's natural gas shortage and has many associated economic and
environmental benefits. Surplus supplies could even be exported and create countless
numbers of new friends of Israel around the world.
If only we could count on that!
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
