Some of the earliest maps of the world
placed Jerusalem right at its center.
Today, the world maintains a central media spotlight on tiny
Israel. So following the annual
commemoration of Earth Day, which promotes global sustainability, I thought
that I’d take you on a virtual tour, focusing on the Jewish State’s central
position and how it works to sustain the planet and its inhabitants.
Israel itself commemorated Earth Day in
Jerusalem with the opening of the Cool Globes
exhibition, which consisted of 18 one-ton models of the Earth each
highlighting a solution to environmental problems. This was followed by the
world’s first full-length movie screening,
powered by solar energy. Then
after the sun had set, the
lights were turned off, to highlight the need to save energy. Even the Israel Defense Force published an
Earth Day summary of how it protects not just the people of Israel, but
its environment too. This includes wastewater recycling, solar power,
re-using water from air-condition units, filtering bacteria from ship water,
recycling engine oil and switching to natural gas.
Israel’s Weizmann Institute has developed
some literally “groundbreaking” technology to
repair the earth that grows our food.
Eco-friendly catalysts are introduced into the soil to break down the
dangerous chemicals in pesticides into inert compounds. Israeli start-up Catalyst Ag Tech is now
commercializing the system. Meanwhile,
24 Israeli companies including Mekorot, Amiad and Blue I promoted Israel’s
technologies to prevent
polluting the earth. They flew
to the Wasser Berlin trade fair to market their water and wastewater and
management solutions.
Israelis are frequently at the center of
environmental projects all over the Earth.
A delegation from Ben Gurion University’s Jacob Blaustein Institutes for
Desert Research toured the Galapagos
Islands and signed a cooperation agreement with the Directorate of the
National Park to promote the conservation of the endangered biological
diversity of the islands. Closer to
home, Israeli and Jordanian authorities worked together to save
a rare Egyptian vulture. The bird was born in Israel but flew into
power lines in the Jordan valley. The
Jordanians contacted Israeli nature organization SPNI, which obtained
permission from both governments to collect the vulture. The injured bird is now recovering at Ramat
Gan Safari Hospital.
The needs of the Earth’s population occupy
much of Israel’s time and resources.
Israeli biotech SciGen developed and manufactures the most effective
Hepatitis B vaccine on Earth.
It is soon to be authorized for use in most countries where it should
prevent many of the 1.2 million deaths from the virus each year. Israel’s success in vaccine development has
encouraged the US National Institutes of Health to fund a two-year study at
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev into why the
measles virus persists in its target cells and establishes chronic
infection, long after resolution of its acute phase. A recent measles epidemic in the UK city of Swansea highlights
why this research is so important.
World
Health Organization director general Margaret
Chan praised Israel’s national health infrastructure on her first visit to
Israel. She said, “I’ve come here to
learn from your excellent health system”.
She also visited Gaza children at Tel Aviv’s Dana-Dwek Children’s
Hospital. And the Israeli director of
Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Professor Kevin (Ilan) Tabb,
found himself at the center
of attention when his staff treated 24 victims of the Boston Marathon
bombing, plus the surviving Chechen bomber. Professor Tabb is also a board member of Hadassah Ein Kerem
hospital in Jerusalem.
Israeli universities are world-recognized
centers of scientific excellence.
Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have just developed the first
photonic topological insulators that prevent light from scattering irrespective
of any defects in the materials that they flow through. The transport of photons of
light is central to today’s computing and electronic communications.
Meanwhile, 40,000 students have signed up for the new 9-week on-line course
“Synapses, Neurons and Brains” presented by the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem. In addition to the
USA, Europe etc., its central fascination has attracted registrations from
Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Morocco and Algeria.
Finally, the adoption by the Israeli
Government of Europe's
“Open Skies” policy will bring even more tourists to the Jewish State
than the current record numbers. But
Jorgen Nilsson kept much closer to the ground during his recent journey to the
Center of the Earth. Jorgen - a knight
in the Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus - arrived at Jaffa Gate
in Jerusalem after a six-months, 4,500-kilometer (2,800-mile)
pilgrimage from Sweden to Jerusalem.
Stay focused!
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
