Israel Good
News Archive – 6th Oct to 29th Dec 2013
131229
In the 29th Dec 2013 edition
of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
An Israeli biotech has developed five
antibodies to fight cancer.
·
Four amazing Israeli treatments for
diabetes, including a pill for “type 1” sufferers.
·
A brilliant music video ridicules the
comparison of Israel to Apartheid South Africa.
·
Intel-Israel is at the core of the new
“two-in-one” tablet-laptop computers.
·
Israel’s TowerJazz is to manufacture
Panasonic products for the Japanese market.
·
Israel’s Or Aviram is the new men’s world
ten-pin bowling champion.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “Boycotting
Israel is Academic Nonsense” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
(or read it at San
Diego Jewish World)
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Five antibodies to treat
cancer.
Israel’s Compugen has discovered five candidate antibodies that have the
potential to treat cancer. The
antibodies target proteins on the surface of cancer cells in order to deliver
highly toxic chemicals to kill them.
Initial results are expected late 2014 although the concept has been
proved.
Lymphoma treatment gets exclusive
status.
(Thanks to Atid-EDI) The US FDA has granted orphan designation for
Teva’s TREANDA treatment for indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL). TREANDA is already used for patients with
chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Israeli shoes help keep your balance. Israel’s B-Shoe has
developed a “smart shoe” that stops wearers from falling if they lose their
balance. A microprocessor and patented algorithms detect a stumble triggering
the motion device to roll the shoe slightly and gently backwards until the
person regains balance.
Israeli diabetes management system is
now available.
(Thanks to Atid-EDI) In March I
included the NoCamels article about the Dario glucose iPhone monitor from
Israel’s LabStyle. In Sept the Dario
received the European CE Mark and last week the world launch commenced in the
UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Forget about your diabetes. A new video showing how
much easier life has become for patients with type-1 diabetes who are using the
MD-Logic Artificial Pancreas. An
international program based at the Schneider Children's Medical Center in
Petach Tikvah, Israel.
Stem cells to cure diabetes and brain
diseases.
Israel’s Kadimastem is turning stem cells into beta cells that can
produce insulin in the pancreas or nerve cells in the brain. Israel’s Office of the Chief Scientist has
just given Kadimastem an NIS 8.5 million grant to continue its research into
both technologies.
A pill for Type 1
diabetes.
Israeli biotech Ormed is developing oral medicines to treat conditions
that normally require injections. Its
flagship product, the ORMD-0801 insulin capsule for Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes
has just successfully completed clinical trials. Ormed’s share price rose 115 percent on the news.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Minorities speak out for Israel. Muslims, Druse, Beduins,
and Christian Arabs staunchly came out in support of the country as a Jewish
and democratic state at a Zionist Conference for Human Rights in Tel Aviv
Free trees for Jerusalem Christians. As per every year, the
Jerusalem municipality, with the support of the Jewish National Fund,
distributed fir trees free of charge to Christian residents of the city.
“Israel Apartheid” The latest rap video from Ari Lesser. It’s even better than his “Boycott Israel” video.
A picture that the international media
won’t publish.
A Palestinian Authority ambulance carrying a very sick woman was stuck
in the snow. Luckily, soldiers from the Kfir Brigade were there to help. In the
chaos of the snowstorm, the IDF never lost track of it values.
Syrians treated in Israel: Ziv Medical
Center in Safed treated its 200th wounded Syrian. The 21-year-old patient was in serious
condition with gunshot wounds to his hip and stomach.
The fur flies. A record 37,400 pets
traveled through Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport so far in 2013. 49% were dogs, 45% were cats and 6% were
fish, birds and rodents. Reasons included their owners' relocation for studies,
diplomatic missions and immigration. The airline of choice for Israeli pet
owners was El Al.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Developing next generation
communications. Israel’s Technion and Sydney University have launched a project to
use cutting-edge nano-photonics to increase the bandwidth of computer
communications. The project has the backing
of the New South Wales Government and the Australian Research Council.
Detecting problems in the pipeline. Israel’s AcousticEye
impressed investors at Tel Aviv’s WATEC water technology conference with its
unique system to detect defects, blockages, cracks and holes in industrial
pipes.
Dutch and Israelis develop “Wetskills”. Israel’s Technion ran a
5-day competition for Dutch and Israeli graduate students as part of the Dutch
Prime Minister’s visit to Israel. The
students had to solve water issues, with the winning team developing a plan to
encourage Arab farmers to irrigate using recycled wastewater.
A tablet or a laptop? Intel-Israel is a major
contributor to Intel’s Baytrail processor, which powers the new range of
“two-in-one” computers from Dell, ASUS, Toshiba, Acer, HP, Sharp and Lenovo (so
far). All the devices have detachable
keyboards and run either Windows 8.1 (as laptops) or Android (when a tablet).
The dream team. Israel’s Zula has developed
a new way to manage team communications using mobile devices. Zula brings the best of video conferencing,
file sharing, facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and email to revolutionize
teamwork. Zula has just received a seed
investment from Microsoft Ventures.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/18/zula-the-mobile-collaboration-app-from-voip-pioneer-jeff-pulver-gets-a-seed-round-from-microsoft-ventures/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1yarok0H0I
The folding car. (Thanks to Israel21c) The City Transformer is an Israeli concept
car designed for the urban environment.
To cater for limited parking places, the car’s width can be reduced from
1.6 meters to a mere one meter. Weighing
only 400 kg, it will run on a rechargeable battery.
“The Blob” wins workspace design award. (Thanks to NoCamels)
Israeli students Alina Boukovsky and Yirat Lorenz, from Rishon LeZion’s College
of Management Academic Studies, won first prize in the 2013 WING Global Student
Design Competition. “The Blob” is the
title of their innovative computer workstation.
Even better translation. Businesses can now speak
even more clearly to foreign customers.
Israel’s Lexifone has launched version 2 of its phone conversation
translation system. It translates in
real time French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish and of course English.
Awards for Everything. Israel’s Everything.me won
a 2013 Meffy award in San Francisco in recognition of its contextual phone
technology that provides Android users with an effortless mobile experience.
Everything.me also won the Bronze Lovie in the ‘Lifestyle’ category.
Israel purifies more UK water. In May I reported that
Israel’s Mapal Green Energy had won a contract with Britain’s Anglian Water
Company. It has now closed a deal with
the UK’s largest water company Thames Water, for Mapal’s bubble aeration
technology water purification system to treat sewage and polluted water.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Starting a business in Tel Aviv? Free consulting, marketing,
legal advice and subsidized loans are available for immigrants to Israel who
arrived less than 10 years ago or Israelis who returned less than two years
ago.
Making the world more beautiful. (Thanks to Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Syneron has formed a joint venture with Unilever to market Syneron’s
home-use aesthetic devices globally.
The company also won the title “Equipment Supplier of the Year” for the
second year running, at the UK’s Aesthetic Awards 2013
Towering deal with
Panasonic.
Israel’s Tower Semiconductor Ltd is to set up a joint venture with
Panasonic Corporation to manufacture Panasonic’s products. The joint venture is expected to be worth a massive
$400 million in sales to Tower annually. No wonder Tower’s share price rose 40%
on the news.
Israelis power Broadcom in 4G race. Mobile communications giant
Broadcom has 1000 Israeli employees thanks to five of its last eleven
acquisitions. “When we need a new
technology, we usually look at Israel first, because there is so much telecom
innovation going on there," said CTO and co-founder Dr Henry Samueli.
Putting on the Ritz. Ritz-Carlton cut the ribbon
of its first hotel in Israel at the Herzliya Marina, featuring the brand’s
first kosher restaurant.
US-Israel Energy bill. The US Senate’s Energy and
Natural Resources Committee has approved a bipartisan bill that aims to bolster
joint energy projects between Israel and the US.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Kol Cambridge’s tribute to Arik
Einstein.
Thursday’s Kol Cambridge program from DJ Antithesis on Tel Aviv’s Radio
TLV1 was a special tribute to Arik Einstein on the 30th day following his
death.
Cheer up with Israeli beer. Thanks to Yehudit, I’ve
just discovered Doug Greener’s excellent new blog on Israeli boutique
beers. Looking forward to trying some
of those out during the Purim festival in March.
Stunning Jerusalem snow sculptures. Thanks to Elder of Ziyon.
Or bowls them over. (Thanks to Israel21c)
Bowling history was made at the 49th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in
Krasnoyarsk, Russia as Israel’s Or Aviram defeated the first two seeds to take
home the trophy. Or scored two perfect
300-point games on the way to his victory.
THE JEWISH STATE
$22 million donation. Helmsley Trust has given
$22 million to Magen David Adom, Barzilai Hospital, Haifa University and
Friends of the IDF. Trustee Sandor
Frankel stated, “They will strengthen Israel’s scientific, technological and
medical research, which will benefit not only Israel, but the rest of the world
as well.”
Welcome to 1000 French students. Amid an unprecedented rise
in French immigration to Israel, 1,000 French high school seniors arrived in
Israel for a weeklong tour of the country, organized by the Jewish Agency.
Why I want to live in Israel. Libbie Snyder writes about
the 30 or so reasons why she loves living in the Jewish State. Whatever the reason, she says, “Now is the
time to be here”.
Returning to Zion. The Bnei Menashe trace
their history to the exile of the tribe of Menashe from Israel by the Assyrians
in 723 BCE. On Dec 25th 2013, 40 Bnei Menashe from India flew from New Delhi to
Israel thanks to the group Israel Returns, whose goal is “bringing home lost
tribes and ‘hidden’ Jewish communities.”
131222
In the 22nd Dec 2013 edition
of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
An Israeli biotech has developed a new
chemical that can treat multiple diseases.
·
An Israeli optical device can detect
early-stage cervical cancer.
·
An Israeli hi-tech has donated equipment
to rebuild communications in the Philippines.
·
Israeli scientists on the Gaia
European space project are searching for new planets.
·
You can now order Israeli-distilled
single malt whiskey.
·
Jerusalem thaws out and Mount Hermon’s
ski slopes are now open.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “Israel
Storms Ahead” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
New wonder treatment. Israel’s VBL Therapeutics
has developed VB-201 – the first of a new class of oral anti-inflammatories
called Lecinoxoids. VB-201 has the
potential to treat immune-inflammatory diseases such as Psoriasis, Inflammatory
Bowel Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and more. The US FDA has also granted fast-track
designation for VB-111, which treats GBM - an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Hadassah delivers 80 babies during
snowstorm.
Staff at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem worked 16-hour shifts to
meet the needs of 80 women who gave birth during the recent snowstorm. Rescue teams transported expectant mothers
to the hospital and some MDA ambulances conveyed two pregnant women.
Global research into Alzheimer’s. Israel Brain Technologies
has signed an agreement with four US organizations to create a partnership in
neuroscience research, and in particular Alzheimer's disease.
Straighten teeth in your sleep. A new orthodontic system
developed by Israeli Aerodentis straightens the teeth through gentle pulsating
force, which moves the teeth gradually during sleep. Medical research shows this force is healthier and more efficient
than applying constant pressure.
UN authorizes Israeli device to combat
AIDS / HIV in Rwanda. (Thanks to Atid/EDI) The
United Nations and the Rwandan government have selected PrePex - a non-surgical
device developed by Israel’s Circ MedTech - to circumcise 700,000 Rwandan men
to stop the spread of AIDS / HIV in the country.
Revolutionary shoes relieve foot pain. Israeli Yaffa Golan
couldn’t find a solution to the foot pain caused by her diabetes, so she
invented Medic Shoes - clinically-proven flexible shoes featuring vibrating
motors that massage the sole of the foot.
They relieve burning, cramping, tingling, circulation and the quality of
sleep.
Device for detecting
cervical cancer.
A quarter of a million women die of cervical cancer every year. Israel’s MobileOCT has developed an image
enhancement device that can detect early stage cancer. MobileOCT just won a $100,000 investment in
an Elevator World Tour event in Tel Aviv.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Entrepreneurial solutions for people
with disabilities.
PresenTense Israel, the Ruderman Family Foundation and Beit Issie
Shapiro are launching Accelerating Inclusion in Israel (A3i) - the first
start-up accelerator for hi-tech and social ventures that helps people with
disabilities become entrepreneurs.
Happy ending. Palestinian Arabs stole an
Israeli woman’s car with her baby daughter asleep in the back seat. Another Arab then gave the woman his phone
so she could call her husband and the police.
The husband drove to a nearby Arab village, where locals led him to
their car with the baby still asleep inside.
Computer access for all. At the Center for Global
Dialogue and Cooperation in Vienna, Keepod launched its Unite project - to
provide access to computers and the Internet to 5 billion people. Keepod’s
Israeli developed operating system runs from any USB drive, eliminating
dependency on one physical computer.
Defense minister pulls his sleeves up. Israeli Defense Minister
Moshe Yaalon rescued a woman, whose car was stuck on one of Jerusalem’s
snow-covered streets. Yaalon and his
staff, saw the woman in distress, stopped their vehicle, rolled up their
sleeves and pushed the car out of the snow.
IDF medical team saves Palestinian Arab
boy. An IDF
emergency medical team rescued a 10-year-old Palestinian Arab boy whose head
was cut open following a car accident and airlifted him to hospital. The team also treated the boy’s mother, who
suffered from shock after the accident.
Syrians treated in Israel: Three Syrians in moderate
to serious condition were brought for treatment to Western Galilee hospital in
Nahariya in northern Israel. Meanwhile,
Doctors at Sheba Medical Center operated on a 4-year-old Syrian boy born with
reversed ventricles. His father said “I am happy to have met this country”.
Gaza: Israel has delivered 1.2 million liters of
diesel into Gaza to restart its power station.
Wifi equipment to the
Philippines.
(Thanks to Atid-EDI) Israeli company RADWIN has donated its
point-to-point equipment to help re-establish communications networks in areas
devastated by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).
The network infrastructure is essential to the recovery process in order
to facilitate relief efforts.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
A new agricultural model for farmers. Israeli scientists are to
use the new Agriculture Technology Center to develop the “Facebook or Wikipedia
of agricultural technologies”. They
will build a model to incorporate information technology into modern farming
and assist farmers in implementing the model.
Israeli tomato company keeps men
healthy.
Israel’s LycoRed has developed Lyc-O-Pro, a science-based formulation
targeting prostate and bladder health. Lyc-O-Pro combines curcumin, omega 3
fatty acids, zinc, and a proprietary tomato extract optimized for men’s health.
Israeli and Afghan presidents meet in
China. The
presidents were Professor Menachem Ben Sasson, President of the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem, and Professor Habibollah Habib, President of Kabul
University in Afghanistan. The two met
at a conference for 2000 educators from 110 countries at the Confucius
Institute in Beijing and discussed bilateral relations and possible
collaborations.
Tower expands into China. Israel’s Tower Semiconductor
has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Shanghai ICC Technology &
Industry Promotion Center to expand the distribution of Israeli complementary
metal–oxide–semiconductors into the Chinese market. (Originally in Globes)
Asia wants to invest in Israel. Please watch this excellent
video featuring venture capitalist Jon Medved of OurCrowd. Here he is
publicizing the funding of Israeli startups on Bloomberg TV Asia.
US company is also Israeli. When US-based LivePerson
bought Israeli start-ups HumanClick, Kasamba and NuConomy it acquired 400
Israeli staff – about half the company.
LivePerson also listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. So when an on-line sales site asks you if
you want to chat, Israeli software is responsible.
Israelis in
international space project. Tel Aviv University Professor Shay Zucker
and Dr Yifat Dzigan will be searching for new planets in our Galaxy as part of
the European Space Agency’s Gaia project, which launched last week. Gaia contains a camera with a billion pixels
to measure the movements of the stars.
Government approves “Digital Israel”
project.
The Israeli cabinet has approved the "Digital Israel" project,
designed to improve public access to the education, health and welfare systems.
It will also encourage e-trading and reduce bureaucracy. The optical fiber grid will allow Internet
speeds up to 1,000 megabits per second.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Inflation falls by 0.4 per cent. An 8.1% drop in the prices
of fresh vegetables means that Israel’s annual inflation is now running at
1.9%, just below the middle of the government’s target.
Israel attends WTO conference in
Indonesia.
Naftali Bennett was the first Israeli minister to visit Indonesia for 13
years when he attended the World Trade Organization conference in Bali. He made a speech to 157 economic leaders and
signed a trade agreement designed to inject a trillion dollars into the world
economy.
UK adtech delegation visits Israel. A delegation of advertising
and marketing executives from Britain came to Israel to encourage tech
partnerships between the two countries.
They were shown Israeli cutting-edge technologies in the areas of visual
search and exposure, social media, interactive video platforms, big data,
real-time analytics, mobile advertising, content marketing and augmented
reality.
German-Israeli incubator nurtures
Israeli start-ups.
Germany’s healthcare corporations Merck Serono has allotted 10 million
Euros to an incubator for new Israeli companies at its Inter-Lab R&D center
in Yavne. The latest startups to join are Chanbio (MS antibody treatment) and
Metabomed (cancer metabolism).
Single Malt Israeli
Whiskey is coming. In just 4 years time, Milk
& Honey, Israel's first distillery will have the world's first commercial
Israeli single malt whiskey available in stores. For $79 you can be guaranteed a bottle of the first batch to be
available in Dec 2017. Le Hayim (“to
life”).
Securing the world’s busiest websites. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) Tel
Aviv-based Fireblade protects websites with page-hits in the billions.
Fireblade announced that it is partnering with Los Angeles’ EdgeCast Networks,
one of the world’s top content delivery networks, to provide next-generation
website security.
Israel is a major driver for
Massachusetts’ economy. A new independent study shows that over 200 Israeli-founded
businesses contributed $6 billion in direct revenue and over 6,600 jobs in
Massachusetts in 2012.
Ben Gurion airport to double its
capacity.
Israel Airports Authority is to construct a 17,000 square meter “fourth
arm” to Terminal 3 at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport to cater for up to 20
million passengers. Its runways will
also be upgraded to allow for double the current aircraft traffic.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Israeli TV is available worldwide. The Israeli Network (TIN)
exports Israel and the feeling of belonging to it, around the world. Watch Israeli TV with English subtitles;
hear and learn the Hebrew language; see news as it happens from the Israeli
point of view, rather than how foreign news channels often portray Israel.
Paris comes to the Judean desert. (Thanks to Israel21c) The
Israeli Opera is to perform Giuseppe Verdi’s much-loved opera, La traviata, at
the Masada International Opera Festival in June 2014. It will be the 4th annual open-air opera season at the
venue, following previous stagings of Nabucco, Aida and Carmen.
Israeli swimmer wins 6th Euro medal. Israel’s Gal Nevo claimed
his sixth career medal at the European Short Course Swimming Championships on
Friday, winning a silver medal in the 400-meters individual medley final in
Herning, Denmark. He missed becoming
the first Israeli gold medallist by two one-hundredths of a sec.
Get your skis on. More than 1,600 visitors
crowded Mount Hermon to enjoy the snow after the ski site opened on Monday. The
snow depth at the site ranged from 24 inches in the lower areas to more than 40
inches in the higher ones. One visitor said, “It feels like Switzerland.”
THE JEWISH STATE
A chance encounter in Jerusalem. Rami Yizraeli bumped into
his neighbor in Jerusalem and persuaded him to help with his project - to put
up a plaque next to the Supreme Court containing names of many of the Jews that
died fighting to defend Jerusalem in 1948.
It was fortunate that Rami’s neighbor was Bibi Netanyahu.
Where people enact their dreams. (Thanks to Israel21c) The
UK’s leading travel magazine, Condé Nast Traveller, spotlighted Tel Aviv in its
“Insider Tips” section. It quotes “Tel
Aviv’s creative energy and joie de vivre. Such positive energy is rare to find,
and a pure joy to experience. This is a place where ideas are transformed into
reality - where people enact their dreams rather than just talking about them.”
Go through the gates of Jerusalem. A modern interpretation of
Isaiah 62/10?
Welcoming the Shabbat with stranded
guests. The
community spirit kicked in as Jerusalem residents hosted visitors to the
capital who found themselves trapped by the snow that they came to see.
131215
In the 15th Dec 2013 edition
of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
Israeli scientists have developed a
fast, accurate blood test for women at risk of cancer.
·
A restaurant in Tiberias has been
serving free meals to needy residents for 12 years.
·
Israel, Jordan and the PA have agreed
the “Dead Sea to Red Sea Canal” plan.
·
CERN’s center for nuclear research
elected Israel as its first non-European member.
·
Israeli-Chinese cars are now on sale
in Europe.
·
Evgeny Kissin, one of the world’s best
pianists has become an Israeli citizen.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “So
where is Israel exactly?” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Accurate test for
cancer gene.
Thanks to scientists at Hadassah Medical Center, a simple blood test
will now detect the presence of harmful BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in otherwise
healthy women. Gene expression
profiling is far quicker, cheaper and more accurate than the previous method of
full gene sequencing.
Slowing down to speed up DNA sequencing. Technion scientists have
made a breakthrough that will improve the accuracy and speed of calculating an
individual’s genome. A focused
low-power green laser slows down the flow of DNA nanopores to enable sensors to
get a higher-resolution analysis of the proteins in the DNA.
Seeing is believing. I featured the “talking
glasses” from Israel’s OrCam in a previous newsletter, but here is a new video
showing the power of the unique Israeli device for the visually impaired.
Israeli experts at G8 Dementia Summit. Israel has participated in
an international summit on dementia in London, England, bringing its know-how
to bear on a disease that is set to treble globally by 2050.
Digital dentistry has wide-open
benefits.
Thanks to the Israeli-developed Objet30 OrthoDesk 3D printer, small
dental labs can now produce stone models, orthodontic appliances, delivery and
positioning trays, retainers and surgical guides, which were previously only
accessible by large labs.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Technion’s revolutionary program for
Haredim.
Rabbi Dov Lipman outlines the Israel Technion’s goal to help
ultra-orthodox citizens reach the highest Talmudic, academic and professional
standards.
12 years of kindness. The Meir Panim Free
Restaurant in Tiberias is celebrating its 12th anniversary. Funded entirely by Mrs Lee Steinberg of New
York, the restaurant serves 160 meals every day to needy residents and delivers
another 60 meals to the homebound. It
provides a dignified and social atmosphere for its customers.
Uriel scores a touchdown. 11-year-old Uriel Wang from
Jerusalem has had two bone marrow transplants to treat his leukemia. Thanks to the Jerusalem Big Blue Lions
football team, Uriel achieved his dream of playing for the team and scored a
dramatic touchdown, with a little help from both sides.
Scholarships for evacuees. Yedidut Toronto is granting
University scholarships to 202 students formerly evacuated from Gush Katif as
part of Israel’s disengagement from Gaza.
The scholarships will be distributed by the employment organization
JobKatif, which has already found work for 2,500 ex-Gush Katif residents.
Better English for Israeli kids. Israeli and UK education
ministers signed an agreement promoting English studies in Israel. A national
plan developed by the British Council, includes joint seminars and on-line
tools to help improve the professionalism and English language skills of
hundreds of Israeli teachers.
Crossing Boundaries Through Medicine. The "Heart for
Peace" Foundation and Israel’s Civil Administration for the Territories
organized a party at the Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital, for Palestinian Arab and
Israeli children who underwent cardiac surgery and catheterization.
Arabs rush for Technion course. Thousands of Arab students,
including 600 Egyptians, have applied for Israel Technion’s online course in
nanotechnology and micro sensors. Technion Professor Hossam Haick, who invented
Israel’s NaNose cancer detection device, offers the course beginning in March
in Arabic and English.
G8 taskforces take up Israeli social
initiative.
The organization Social Finance Israel presented an innovative blueprint
for preventing type-2 diabetes to the G8 Taskforce on Social Impact
Investment. Social Impact Bonds invest
in companies tackling social or medical issues and governments pay dividends
based on results.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Jordan chooses Israeli as VP of science
project.
The Jordan-based SESAME scientific research project has chosen an
Israeli as vice president. Professor Eliezer Rabinovici of Jerusalem's Hebrew
University is the new Vice President of the Synchrotron-light for Experimental
Science and Applications in the Middle East.
Israel, Jordan &
PA sign agreement.
Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority have agreed to build a
pipeline from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. The initiative will produce millions
of cubic meters of drinking water for the region, hydroelectric power and
replenish the critically dwindling Dead Sea.
Airport security – El Al is the best. UK Daily Mail’s travel
editor praised the Israeli airline for ensuring safety. “Maybe it's time to ditch the security
scanner and actually talk to people at airports...it works for El Al”
Israeli aerosol wins International
green-tech award.
Israeli start-up GreenSpense represented Israel in the International
Cleantech Open Ideas Competition in San Francisco, the “Oscar” of
clean-technology awards. Its no-gas eco-friendly aerosol can won 1st place in
the Chemistry & Advanced Materials category.
Israel is a world leader in cyber
security.
This article describes why Israel is to host January’s Cybertech 2014
International Exhibition and Conference.
Israel is the first
and only non-Euro member of CERN. The prestigious CERN European nuclear
physics Council in Geneva unanimously accepted Israel as its 21st
full member state. The organization is
the largest center for the study of nuclear particles and operates the longest
particle accelerator in the world.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
OECD praises Israel’s economic growth. "Israel's output
growth remains relatively strong, unemployment is at historically low levels,
its high-tech sector continues to attract international admiration, and new
off-shore gas fields have come on stream," The Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development said in the executive summary of its 2013 Israel Economic
Survey.
Israeli deficit shrinks further. The cumulative deficit for
the last 12 months dropped sharply in November and totaled NIS 31.7 billion, 3%
of GDP - much lower than the original target of 4.65% of GDP.
The Chinese market. (Thanks to Uri) Israeli
firms are finding billions of new middle-class customers in the far-east
superpower for Israel’s advanced medical and hi-tech products. Weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Beijing
have just been increased from three to fourteen to cater for the increased
business demand.
First European
showroom for Israeli-Chinese cars. Car manufacturer Qoros Auto Co. Ltd., a
joint venture controlled by Israel Corporation and China's Chery Automobile Co.
Ltd. has officially opened its first showroom in Europe in the Slovakian
capital Bratislava. The price of the
Qoros 1.6 turbo will be 20,960 Euros.
Flying to Israel will be “easy-er” (and
cheaper).
UK low-cost airline easyJet is introducing three new routes to
and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport.
They are London Gatwick (three flights a week starting April), Milan
Malpensa (four times a week starting March) and Berlin (3 times a week starting
February).
Israel’s Pillcam is swallowed up. Irish medical devices
company Covidien has bought Israel’s Given Imaging, manufacturer of the unique
digestible Pillcam colon diagnosis camera, for a reported $860 million.
Israel’s Frutarom is flavor of the
month. One
of Israel’s biggest companies, Frutarom has just purchased US-based flavor
manufacturer Hagelin & Co for $52.4 million. It follows Frutarom’s recent acquisitions of Russia’s Protein
Technologies Ingredients for $50.3 million and Guatemala’s Aroma SA for $12.5
million.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
“The greatest pianist
in the world” is now Israeli. Evgeny Kissin, generally regarded as one of
the world’s greatest living pianists, has taken Israeli citizenship. Kissin, who was born in Russia, said “Israel
is the only state on our planet which I want to represent with my art and all
my public activities, no matter where I live.”
Cirque du Soleil returns to Israel. Canada’s Cirque du Soleil
enchanted Israelis last summer with its show "Alegria". It returns to
Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena between 6th and 16th Aug 2014 with
ten performances of the award-winning production "Quidam," seen
already by more than 10 million viewers worldwide.
Israeli actress is “Wonder Woman”. Israel-born actress Gal
Gadot is set to star as Wonder Woman in a Warner Bros superhero film featuring
Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman. Director Zac Snyder said that Gadot “has that magical quality
that makes her perfect for the role."
Two UK TV channels to air Israeli
series.
Israel’s original hit series “Hostages” will be broadcast on BBC Four in
Hebrew with English sub-titles. It is
the first time that the BBC has shown an Israeli series. Meanwhile, Channel
Four will show the US remake in which the family of a woman surgeon is taken
hostage in order to coerce her into killing the US President.
Netanya to host international soccer
tournament.
The International Winter Soccer Tournament for Youths will be held at
Netanya’s new 13,800-capacity stadium. Teams from Serbia, Germany, Moldova and
(of course) Israel will participate and entrance is free of charge.
THE JEWISH STATE
Subbotnik Jews make Aliyah. The forefathers of Ariel
and Moriah Shishlenikov were Christian peasants who embraced Judaism some 200
years ago. Now they are the first of the 400 - 500 residents of the southern
Russian village of Vysoky to immigrate to Israel.
UK tourists love Israel. A survey of easyJet
passengers from the UK showed that 65 percent of first-time tourists had
improved views of the Jewish State following their trip. 78 percent would visit again and 82 percent
would recommend it to others as a holiday destination.
63 special bar & bat mitzvot. Boys and girls from all over Israel gathered under the auspices of
the International Young Israel Movement (IYIM) – Israel to celebrate their Bar
and Bat Mitzvot. Every one of the 63 participants was deaf or hearing impaired.
Does Hanukah have a message for America? For the first time since
1888, the day of Thanksgiving and the first day of the Jewish festival of
Hanukah coincided. It will not happen
again for over 70,000 years. Is there a
connection between the two festivals?
Here comes the rain and snow. Winter has finally arrived
in Israel. The Kinneret is rising and
there are some beautiful photos of Israel as Jerusalem has its heaviest
snowfall for 60 years.
131208
In the 8th Dec 2013 edition
of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
Two major Israeli discoveries that
could revolutionize treatments for Alzheimer’s.
·
A new Israeli treatment for Attention
Deficiency Disorder
·
Israel won an international award in
recognition of the number of women in Israel’s parliament.
·
Israeli humanitarian work is expanding
in both Syria and in the Philippines.
·
An Israeli company is building
Honduras’ first geothermal power plant.
·
Apple buys Israeli gesture technology
company PrimeSense for $350 million
·
The world’s oldest wine cellar has
been unearthed in the Galilee.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “Another
Week of Miracles” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
·
Click here to see the newsletter on JewishBusiness News.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Chemical stops brain
from aging.
Researchers at the Hebrew university of Jerusalem and Israeli startup
TyrNovo have discovered that a unique compound, named NT219, selectively
inhibits the process of aging in order to protect the brain from
neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.
Regulating proteins in
the brain.
In May, Tel Aviv University researchers discovered that too much of the
“bad” protein Tomosyn led to Alzheimer’s disease in mice. Now they have identified lists of microRNA molecules
that regulate proteins that are either good or bad for brain performance.
Israeli fibroid treatment is now in use
across the UK.
The ExAblate focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) from Israel’s Insightec is
already in use in London, destroying uterine fibroids that cause pain and
infertility. MRgFUS has now been
installed at Solihull’s Spire Parkway Hospital in the West Midlands of England.
Israeli exoskeleton on CNN. The “robotic trousers” from
Israel’s ReWalk that help paraplegics to walk, have attracted interest from the
TV channel that usually doesn’t have very nice things to say about the Jewish
State.
Better calcium to treat osteoporosis. (Thanks to Uri) Israeli
biotech Amorphic has developed Amorphous Calcium Carbonate (ACC) that the body
absorbs far better than the crystalline form.
Amorphic produced synthetic ACC after studying the crayfish, which uses
natural ACC to build its bones in low calcium conditions.
New treatment for ADD. Israeli start-up Alcobra set out to develop a
pill that would reduce blood alcohol but came up with a treatment for Attention
Deficit Disorder. Alcobra claims
metadoxine has all the benefits of Ritalin, Concerta, and Strattera without
their drawbacks.
How Israel eradicated malaria. The Hebrew University of
Jerusalem is running a conference this coming week to analyze how Israel
eliminated malaria from pre-State Palestine.
Lessons learned could help remove the scourge of malaria prevalent
currently in Africa.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Israel wins
international women’s rights prize. The Women in Parliament Global Forum awarded
Israel with its prize for progress at the European Parliament in Brussels.
According to the OECD, Israel is among a minority of 9 percent of developed
countries with gender-sensitive institutions in the seat of government.
Bedouin sheiks speak out. Don’t believe the BBC or
the incitement of non-Bedouin Arab politicians. Watch this video and see what two Bedouin leaders think of
Israel’s plan to improve the future of their brethren.
Israel and Syria: Israel has been sending
water and baby food to besieged Syrian villages. The IDF has also been using its groundbreaking freeze-dried
plasma innovation in its field hospitals - to save wounded Syrians from blood
loss.
Still working in the
Philippines.
Although the IDF mission has returned to Israel, the IsraAID delegation
continues to provide relief to the typhoon victims in Ormoc and its surrounding
municipalities. The team is dealing
with trauma and physical health problems, extending its role as other countries
pull out.
Israeli wins prize for Japanese
book. The
Japan Cultural Institute has awarded Professor Ben-Ami Shillony of the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem its annual prize for promoting the understanding
between cultures. The JCI’s Foundation
for Furtherance of International Cultural Ties selected Prof Ben-Ami’s book
“The Secret of Japan’s Strength” (recently translated into Japanese) ahead of 74
other works in Japanese.
UN passes Israeli resolution on
agriculture.
The UN on Tuesday passed an Israeli-sponsored resolution on “agricultural
technology for development,” a bill dedicated to sustainable agricultural
advancements for developing countries.
138 countries voted “Yes” whilst Arab states abstained.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Eilat to be energy independent in 2
years. An
eight-megawatt medium-sized solar field has been installed at Kibbutz Neot
Smadar – the second major solar site in the Eilat area. Within 2 years, new sites will increase
local capacity to 160MW, well above the current 120MW consumption level.
http://www.jpost.com/Enviro-Tech/Eilat-Eilot-vows-to-become-energy-independent-within-2-years-332590
Geothermal power for
Honduras.
Israel’s Ormat Industries is to build and operate the first-ever
geothermal power plant in Honduras. The
18-megawatt renewable energy plant will begin operations in 2016.
Building a power station for Peru. Kallpa Generaction, a
subsidiary of Israel Corporation, has been awarded the Peruvian government
tender to build a 593MW dual-fuel open cycle power station (natural gas and
diesel) that will support the country's grid.
The agreement is for 20 years and is worth $1 billion.
Israel to restore Mexico’s aquifers. (Thanks to Israel21c) The
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico has signed a
cooperation agreement with Israel’s national water carrier Mekorot for the
development of strategies for the purification and protection of groundwater
quality in Mexico.
SiSense wins World Technology Award. Eldad Farkash of SiSense
won a top prize at the World Technology Awards gala in New York City for his
invention of In-Chip big data analytics technology. The Israeli-run company’s
software allows users to analyze vast amounts of data at huge speeds using
minimal hardware.
Preventing soil erosion. Ben-Gurion University is
establishing a center for excellence on fertile land erosion. The project has been made possible due to a
grant from the chief scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture.
Top Israeli companies at AgriVest. Too new stars at Israel’s
AgriVest agricultural conference included Rootility, which has a root-growing
platform that substantially increases crop yields. Also EggDetect, which ensures incubation of only fertile eggs and
prevents unnecessary production of male chicks.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Unemployment falls to 5.9%. Israel’s unemployment rate
fell to 5.9% in October from 6% in September.
The number of Israelis participating in the work force rose to
3,704,000, up 0.4% from the previous month.
All-time record for currency reserves. The total of Israel’s
foreign currency reserves reached a new record of £80,589 in November.
Israeli economy gets more ‘A’s. Fitch announced
this that it has affirmed Israel's 'A' rating and raised the country's outlook
to 'positive'. It also affirmed Israel's long-term foreign and local currency
ratings at 'A' and 'A+' respectively. The agency also raised the outlook on the
foreign currency debt from 'stable' to 'positive'.
Apple buys Israel’s
Prime Sense for $350 million. After 18 months of talks, Apple Inc
confirmed that it has acquired Israel’s PrimeSense. PrimeSense’s gesture
recognition hardware and software is embedded in Microsoft’s Kinect system used
in Xbox 360 game consoles.
Three of the fastest growing companies
are Israeli.
Deloitte’s EMEA Fast 500 ranks three Israeli companies among the ten
European technology companies with the highest rates of growth. MyThings (advertising) was placed second,
Trusteer (IT security) was fifth and MyHeritage (family trees and genealogy)
was tenth.
Mini-golf project gets good publicity. Newsletter subscriber Grant
Crankshaw’s Headstart campaign to build a Bible-themed mini-golf venue in
Ra’anana has been featured in top media articles. Here it is on Israel21c.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Anemone voted Israel’s national flower. The bright red calaniot
(anemones) that cover the country's southern fields each spring have now become
Israel's national flower. In an online
election campaign held by the Society for the Protection of Nature (SPNI) and
Ynet, the anemone attracted 28 per cent of the vote.
100 years of aviation in Israel. (Thanks to Jacob Richman)
In 1913 French aviator Jules Vedrines landed his Bleriot XI in the pre-State
Land of Israel, near the beach in Tel Aviv.
New Israeli stamps celebrate this event, plus two of the Israeli
aircraft developed since, the Zukit and the Heron I UAV.
http://www.history-of-israel.co.il/stamps/jrst0659c.jpg http://www.history-of-israel.co.il/stamps/jrst0659e.jpg
Gary Numan to perform in Israel. British new wave and punk
legend Gary Numan will arrive in Israel this winter to perform at Tel Aviv's
Barby Club on February 10. Numan's
first song as an solo artist, “Cars” was released in 1979 and made it to the
top of the charts. Over the next decades he released more than 20 albums
“Me and you will change the world”. Arik Einstein, who died
last week, was Israel’s most popular singer and songwriter. We learnt his iconic song “Ani v’Ata” (Me
and You) at ulpan (Hebrew language school).
Israel ride raises $500,000. 132 cyclists rode from
Jerusalem to Eilat to raise money for the Arava Institute and the Hazon
charity. Five days of cycling took the
riders through 350 miles of beautiful Israeli scenery.
THE JEWISH STATE
The world’s oldest
wine cellar.
Archaeologists have discovered a 3700-year-old wine cellar in Tel Kabri,
in the Galilee. Forty intact jars were
found in the cellar, which dates to 1700 BCE. Each of the jars would have held
fifty liters. The cellar is estimated
to have held 2000 liters of the strong sweet wine.
The first night of Hanukkah in
Jerusalem.
A glimpse of Israel’s capital in the glow of the first candle lit during
the festival of lights. Prime Minister Netanyahu lit for the IDF delegation
returning from the Philippines.
Hanukkah miracles. Blinded in a Gaza terrorist
attack last month, 2nd Lieutenant Ahiya Klein has recovered enough
sight in his left eye to return home and light Hanukkah candles. And, two-year-old Avigail Ben-Tzion is
smiling again after suffering serious head injuries when Arabs threw rocks at
her family’s car in Jerusalem.
Hasmonean era house discovered. For the first time ever,
the remains of a Hasmonean building are being excavated in Jerusalem. Coins found in the ruins of the house date
the building to the 2nd Century BCE - the time of War of the
Maccabees against the Syrian-Greek rulers that led to the Jewish festival of
Hanukah.
World’s largest Hanukkiah. On the last (8th)
day of the Jewish festival of Hanukah, Israel Electric Corporation switched on
the 8th candle on the largest Hanukah candelabra in the world. It is
made from nine aerial platforms, reaching a height of 28 meters and can be seen
from all over Tel Aviv.
131201
In the 1st Dec 2013 edition
of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
An Israeli non-invasive treatment was
used to cure a Jerusalem shopkeeper of essential tremor.
·
Special Israeli shoes will straighten
infants’ deformed feet in six weeks.
·
Following the typhoon, Israeli medics
treated over 2600 injured Filipinos and delivered 36 babies.
·
An Israeli company won an
international prize for saving drinking water in the Philippines.
·
Israel has many job opportunities for
unemployed US citizens.
·
A Jewish altar has been discovered in
Shiloh that predates King Solomon’s Temple.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “Israel
is Weird and Wonderful” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Israeli cured of
essential tremor.
At Haifa’s Rambam hospital, the first Israeli has been cured of
essential tremor using ExAblate Neuro – the non-invasive focused ultrasound
treatment from Israel’s InSightec. Also
a recent BBC program featuring the treatment, but no mention of the name of the
equipment, or that it is Israeli.
Doctors seeking doctors. Israeli start-up Qure has
developed a smartphone app that allows doctors worldwide to locate and
communicate with their fellow professionals.
Qure maps physicians globally with a navigation tool to find a
particular expert. It then provides a
closed network for private communications.
Intensive Care Unit on a motorcycle. Israel’s emergency service
Magen David Adom in Jerusalem has introduced unique ICU motorcycles. These are
fully equipped with rescue and ICU capabilities so that MDA paramedics can get
to patients faster and stabilize them until ambulances arrive to evacuate them
to hospital.
$1 million to research brain disorders. Researchers from Ben-Gurion
University, plus the University of Heidelberg and Charité-Universitätsmedizin
Berlin are investigating the impact of mitochondria on memory and brain
disorders. The team has been awarded a $1 million German-Israel
Project-Cooperation Grant.
Cannabis cures Crohn’s? Israel is a pioneer of the
medical properties of cannabis / marijuana. A study by scientists at Tel Aviv
University and Kfar Saba’s Meir Hospital has shown it to give Crohns’ disease
sufferers significant relief from their symptoms. Some of them said the disease
went into remission. An estimated 0.3
percent of the general population suffers from Crohn's disease.
Straightening babies’
feet. Another Israeli medical products mentioned
last week is the UNFO foot brace. The device is worn below the ankle and
rectifies infant foot deformities (metatarsus adductus or metatarsus varus)
within six weeks. It is far superior,
safer, and less stressful than a cast or full leg braces.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Ikea Israel helps toddlers with
disabilities.
Ikea in Israel has raised funds to help two Israeli charities (Akim and
Chimes) renovate an educational and therapeutic center for toddlers with
disabilities in Jaffa.
Israeli technology treats PA sewage. Israeli water treatment
company Mapal Green Energy is building a a sewage water reclamation system for
the Palestinian Arab village of Uja, near Jericho. It will recycle domestic
sewage and water for use in agriculture.
Saving lives in Israel and the world. Good summary in the UK
Sunday Telegraph of the work of Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom
both nationally and globally.
Syrians treated in Israel: IsraAid has provided almost
$100,000 in nutritional
and hygienic assistance to displaced Syrians. Plus, some
aid examples and of the wounded
Syrians treated in Israeli hospitals.
Then watch a two-minute BBC program on the Syrians being treated at
Israel’s Ziff Hospital in Tsfat.
Israel in the
Philippines
Israeli doctors treated 300
Philippine injured per day and delivered three-dozen babies. The team also rebuilt
a school enabling 350 children to restart classes and their parents to
return to work. The 148-member team has now handed over to a EU delegation
having treated over 2600 patients.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The Technion: The Engine of a Young
Nation.
Richard Baehr, Chief Political Correspondent of American Thinker, was most
impressed with his visit to Israel’s Institute of Technology.
Where to stick your phone? If your mobile phone keeps
sliding around the inside of your car, then you need an Israeli “Sticko”. The gadget will stick your phone to your
dashboard, windshield or any window.
You can also stick other items – like a shower gel bottle to the wall of
the shower. See the video.
Protection against multiple threats. (Thanks to Nevet www.BroaderView.org) Israel’s RADA has
developed a tactical Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radar (MHR) to detect UAVs,
mortars, and rockets. Boeing is
currently evaluating the system.
Recycling US vehicles for peace. (Thanks to Nevet www.BroaderView.org) Elbit Systems of
America, a subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems, refurbishes hundreds of
obsolete military vehicles at its Land Vehicle Center. 60-year-old vehicles have been put into
world peacekeeping roles at a fraction of the cost of new ones.
Before the typhoon. Israel’s water management
company Miya won the Drinking Water Supply – Software category in this year’s
IWA Project Innovation Awards for its work reducing water leakage in Manila,
Philippines. Water lost through faulty
systems was reduced from 67% to 38% - saving 700 million liters a day.
Israeli cooking app goes global. Israeli startup Kinetic Art
is producing a vegetarian cooking application of 20 of America's leading chefs
in association with the James Beard Foundation culinary organization. The application, called “The Best of the
Best”, will be available for iPad, iPhone and Android devices.
The best start-up at IDCEE 2013. Israeli company Ubertesters
won the best startup award, and a prize of about $20,000 in the IDCEE 2013
international technology conference held in Kiev, Ukraine. Ubertesters presented its cloud-based
platform for the crowdsourced testing of mobile applications.
Database of Israeli companies fighting
climate change.
The Ministry of Economy presented a database of the Israeli companies
that offer Adaptation technologies at the Warsaw Climate Change Conference. The
companies address climate, waste, green building materials, agriculture and
crisis management.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Agritech - Israel’s commercial future. Israel has become a world
leader in advanced precision farming techniques, water optimization, robotics,
sensor driven technology and environmentally friendly agrochemicals. All will be on display at the 2nd annual
Agrivest Conference on Dec 3 at the Eretz Israel Museum, Tel-Aviv.
The best in business. Top speakers at Globes
Israel Business Conference include OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría,
Professor Stanley Fischer and Dr. Fatih Biron, one of the most influential
experts in the energy industry. The
event takes place at the Dan Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv on Dec 8-9.
Don’t suffer
unemployment – come to Israel. (Thanks to Nevet – www.BroaderView.org) Interesting article
that suggests Americans should consider working in Israel after college. Between 4.8 and 14.7 per cent of US
graduates cannot find jobs locally.
Many American companies have specific jobs pages for their Israel sites.
Global and dynamic. Israel has been ranked
second in the Global Dynamism Index science and technology sector of worldwide
accountancy firm Grant Thornton International.
Only South Korea was higher.
Israel was eighth in the overall Global Dynamism Index rankings.
Engineering Israeli-UK projects. British engineering firm
Arup is working with Israel’s national water carrier Mekorot and several
Israeli start-ups, both globally and also to bring their technologies to
Britain. Arup is supported by the UK Israel Tech Hub at the British Embassy in
Tel Aviv.
Paraguay offers a springboard to Israeli
trade.
Paraguay’s visiting Trade and Investment Minister Gustavo Leite said
that an Israeli-Paraguayan partnership would bring Israel’s hi-tech and
technology to Paraguay whilst Israel would acquire an instant ability to expand
its markets throughout South America.
Israel’s Spice Girls. (Thanks to Charlie)
“Tavlinim” (Hebrew for “spices”) is a group of women in Netivot who formed a
cooperative in order to cater at events on a commercial basis. The group is supported by Philadelphia’s
Partnership2Gether. Most of the women
originated from Morocco, Tunisia and Ethiopia. http://blog.ifcj.org/post/israels-spice-girls
Scramble for Israeli technology firms. CNN records the growing
success of Israeli hi-tech start-ups that has attracted the interest of major
global giants.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Heritage coin wins international prize. The NIS 2 Silver Proof
commemorative coin in the UNESCO “World Heritage Sites” series issued by the
Bank of Israel and dedicated to the water supply system at Tel Megiddo has won
a prize at the tenth annual Vicenza Numismatica International Competition held
in the city of Vicenza, Italy. It was chosen as the “Most Beautiful
Architectural Representation on a Coin Minted in 2012”.
The Beatles as never seen before. Another unique performance
from Rabbis Arie and Gil Gat.
“Everything is wonderful here”. Please take a look at the
redeveloped Independence Square in my hometown of Netanya. (Turn down the
speakers if the music isn’t as attractive as the visuals.)
THE JEWISH STATE
“And you shall choose life.” This article explains the
simple reason why Israel has been sending rescue missions and humanitarian aid
across the world for the past 60 years.
It gives examples from the Greek earthquake of 1953 to the Philippines
in 2013.
New Orleans supports Israel. Chloe Valdary has made
this powerful and inspiring video about the Jewish State. Chloe is a black American woman who is organizing
the second annual pro-Israel Festival in New Orleans next year. Please support her project.
Majorca’s master chef returns to the
Jewish people.
For centuries the family of Tony Pina practiced Judaism secretly in
Majorca. Now, 500 years after forced
conversion to Christianity, Tony has returned to his roots in Jerusalem,
defying history, logic and the impossible.
Biblical altar
discovered at Shiloh. Archeologists have found the first physical evidence that the
ancient city of Shiloh (in Judea and Samaria) was a religious center before the
First Temple was built in Jerusalem. An
Iron Age stone altar was accidentally exposed during a recent archeological
dig.
131117
In the 17th Nov 2013 edition
of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
Tel Aviv University researchers have
discovered a fundamentally new form of antibiotic.
·
Researchers from the same university
are able to control overactive white blood cells.· Israeli doctors delivered a baby at their new field hospital in the Philippines.
· Israeli scientists have made a new liquid fuel from hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
· An Israeli company is to generate electricity from a landfill site in Ghana.
· Israel beat the favorites Russia in the European women’s chess championships.
·
Last week’s JPost blog “Israel
is the Key to Life” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
A protein that kills
bacteria.
Tel Aviv University researchers have succeeded in isolating a protein
known as Gene 0.4 that kills bacteria. In what is a first step toward
developing a substitute for antibiotics, the protein prevents bacteria from
dividing, thus destroying them and combating infections. A positive story from
Haaretz!
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.557677
Download MDA’s medical app. Hebrew speakers can get
medical guidance direct from Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom via
their cell phone. After downloading the app, they don’t need Internet
access. Call MDA (even from overseas)
to receive detailed animations, safety advice, training videos and tips.
http://www.jpost.com/Health-and-Science/Health-Scan-MDA-app-brings-help-through-your-smartphone-330451
Have you heard about the EarDoc? The EarDoc from
Israel’s Kencap Medical solutions is a non-invasive, non-surgical device that
can improve the quality of life for sufferers of earache. It was one of the three previously
unreported Israeli innovations featured in the new medical video I distributed
last week.
http://www.eardoc.info/products/ent-news/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdqrGaUF5EQ
Israeli innovations in Life Sciences –
Part 2. As
promised, the second video showing Israeli products previously unreported in
this Newsletter. HemaClear for
bloodless surgery; RIMED non-invasively measures blood-flow in the brain;
FirstCare bone injection gun. More on
these in future newsletters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO7EMKUy-28
Intravenous injection in action. (Thanks to NoCamels.com) A
video showing the design of the remarkable SAGIV device invented by Hebrew
University students that provides 100% accurate insertion of intravenous tubes
into a person’s veins. (You still may
not want to watch this, however, if you have a fear of needles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ9dJpCdYKs#t=11
Pediatric research with Philadelphia. The Hebrew University of
Jerusalem has signed a research agreement with Philadelphia’s Children’s
Hospital and Drexel University to advance pediatric medicine. The event took
place during Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s trade mission to Israel.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/280261#.UoHV3yf65pE
Slowing down the immune response. Tel Aviv University researchers have found a way to control
overactive eosinophil white blood cells - a disorder that can lead to allergies
and autoimmune diseases. In lab tests
they have located and regulated the two cell receptors PIR-B and PIR-A that
protect or shut down the oesinophils.
http://www.jpost.com/Health-and-Science/TAU-researchers-find-way-to-slow-down-white-blood-cells-331407
Sleep soundly with a SomnuSeal mask. (Thanks to Israel21c) For
those suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) Israel’s Discover Medical
has developed a less-intrusive CPAP mask to help them breathe at night. It is fitted like a boxer’s mouth guard and
also requires less air pressure from the CPAP machine.
http://israel21c.org/health/new-device-for-sleep-apnea-is-easier-on-the-heart/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Syrians treated in Israel: Ziv medical center in Safed
treated another casualty who sustained serious injuries in the Syrian civil
war. And for once a EU official praised
Israel’s treatment of “the other”.
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Ziv-medical-center-receives-seriously-injured-Syrian-331376
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/EU-official-lauds-Israel-for-treating-injured-Syrians-331691
The largest Arab-Israeli hi-tech
company.
Imad Younis founded Alpha Omega in Nazareth in 1993 and received funding
from Israel’s Chief Scientist program.
Today Alpha Omega employs Moslems, Christians and Jews and ships its
brain surgical guidance systems to 500 hospitals and laboratories across the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAvWODm3uaE
Dean of exact science is haredi woman. (Thanks to Israel21c)
Professor Malka Schaps, a Harvard graduate living in the ultra-Orthodox
(haredi) city of Bnei Brak, is the new dean of Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of
Exact Sciences. She had previously
founded the university’s program in financial mathematics.
http://israel21c.org/headlines/bar-ilans-new-haredi-dean-of-exact-sciences/
World record donation of hair. Zichron Menachem - the
Israeli association for the support of children with cancer and their families
- set a Guinness World Record for donating the most hair to cancer victims in
one day. Some 250 women, including cancer survivors, cut 53.1 kg (117 lbs) of
their locks for wigs for cancer patients.
http://israel21c.org/news/israelis-sets-guinness-record-for-donating-hair-to-cancer-patients/
Israeli rescuers in
Philippines.
A lead
IDF team left Israel for the Philippines on Sunday night, which was hit
by a devastating typhoon. A further team
of 148 flew out on Wednesday. IsraAID
is also sending a relief team. A baby born
in the IDF field hospital will be named “Israel”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke04OKpPEqQ
Truth told at UN General Assembly. A live microphone broadcast
an interpreter’s private remarks to all GA delegates. “Isn’t it a little weird? There are nine or ten resolutions
against Israel. And I know there’s a problem with the Palestinians. But there’s
other bad **** going on and they’re spending so much time on this.”
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/uns-relentless-attacks-on-israel-publicly-criticized-at-un/2013/11/15/
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
A new green fuel. Ben Gurion University
scientists have developed a revolutionary method for producing alternative
liquid fuel from two of the most common substances on earth, hydrogen and
carbon dioxide. BGU Professor Moti
Herskowitch unveiled the breakthrough at the Bloomberg Fuel Choices Summit in
Tel Aviv.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-researchers-develop-revolutionary-alternative-fuel-process/
Checking the temperature. (Thanks to Atid-EDI)
Israel’s BT9 has enhanced its Xsense automated data collection and analytics
system for the cold supply chain. The
range of products monitored by the sensors now include meat and poultry, fish
and seafood, dairy, ice-cream, chocolate, snacks and medicines.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/15/bt-idUSnBw155163a+100+BSW20131015
Don’t touch my bike. Israel’s HUHA team devised
a solution to preventing bicycle theft that is only slightly larger than a
plastic coca cola cap. The Cricket is a
silent alarm that uses bluetooth technology to alert smart phone users if
anyone touches their bicycle.
http://www.greenprophet.com/2013/10/cricket-bike-alarm-plastic-cap/
TCL TVs to have Israeli software. TCL Corporation, the third
largest television brand in the world, has selected the industry-leading and
award winning gesture recognition solution from Israel’s PointGrab to power
TCL’s upcoming line of smart televisions.
PointGrab’s software is already included in Samsung smart TVs.
http://www.pointgrab.com/1881/tcl-selects-pointgrab-to-power-gesture-control-experience-in-new-line-of-smart-tvs/
Water - a key to world peace? “Filtration will ensure
that life as we know it continues”, says the CEO of Israeli water filtration
company Amiad. “Ensuring that there is
enough clean water to grow the food burgeoning populations need is a concern
for farmers and governments everywhere.
With our systems, farmers grow ten kilos of cucumbers in an area where
they previously had been able to grow just one kilo.”
http://www.timesofisrael.com/water-filters-a-key-to-world-peace/
Energy from garbage in Ghana. Israel’s Energy Industries is to construct a plant in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city, to create electric power from natural gas extracted from a large landfill. Test drills will determine the amount of Methane gas that can be obtained from it.
http://www.greenprophet.com/2013/11/israels-energy-industries-wins-power-from-garbage-contract-in-ghana/
Who is on our network? A new Israeli start-up,
Adallom aims to detect and prevent advanced computer attacks from cyber
criminals inside or outside a company.
Adallom monitors and interprets user activities and builds up a
“profile” for each user. In this way it can determine suspicious behavior and
alert management.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2013/11/12/the-next-israeli-success-story-adallom-uber-control-for-cloud-customers/
Technion goes into China. The Technion-Guangdon
Institute of Technology (TGIT) will be a bridgehead into China for Israeli
companies. The local Chinese government
will fund TGIT's construction and initial operations. The Li Ka Shing Foundation also donated $130 million to the
Technion.
http://youtu.be/O_MUWu6BSpQ
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Another record for currency deposits. Israel’s foreign exchange
reserves at the end of October 2013 stood at a record $80,571 million, an
increase of $669 million from their level at the end of September. $320 million were purchased to prevent
Israel’s natural gas production from strengthening the Shekel’s exchange rate.
http://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/07-11-2013-forex.aspx
World’s richest man invests in Israel. Israel-based start-up Mobli
has just received a strategic investment from America Movil, owned by Mexico’s
Carlos Slim. The goal is to bring
Mobli's photo, video sharing platform to millions of America Movil’s customers
in Latin America.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4450354,00.html
Entrepreneurs win trips to the
innovation nation.
(Thanks to Israel21c) Heads of start-ups in 12 European, Asian and South
American countries won competitions to visit the entrepreneurial ecosystem of
Tel Aviv.
http://israel21c.org/headlines/start-tel-aviv-brings-foreign-ceos-to-israeli-innovation-hub/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvUEWIG8HZY
Israel and Korea – together an economic
powerhouse.
A delegation led by the (South) Korean ambassador to Israel, Kim Il-soo,
participated in the first-ever Korea-Israel Creative Economy Forum. Kim said that Israel was much admired in his
country. Annual trade is $2.5 billion. Samsung’s only foreign R&D is in
Israel.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-and-south-korea-could-be-economic-powerhouse/
A very successful Formula. For those that think there
are no big Israeli companies, Israel’s Formula Systems controls three Israel
companies – Matrix, Magic Software and Sapiens. Together they employ thousands of IT experts and sell products
and services in hundreds of countries.
They are very profitable – and growing.
http://www.formulasystems.com/group-structure http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000894151&fid=1725
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Cyndi Lauper to perform in Tel Aviv. Cyndi Lauper, one of the
most successful American singers of the 1980s, is staging a concert on January
4 at Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena. It is part
of the “She's So Unusual” tour, marking the 30th anniversary of her album that
included "Time After Time" and "Girls Just Wanna Have
Fun,".
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4450954,00.html
America will “Dig” Jerusalem. Israel’s Keshet
Broadcasting is producing an action-adventure drama series called “Dig” for the
NBC cable network that is set entirely in Jerusalem. Gideon Raff (of Hatufim / Homeland fame) is one of the
co-writers.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=13315
Israeli wins $3.7 million in Poker World
Series.
Israel-born Amir Lehavot finished in third place in the World Series of
Poker in Las Vegas, taking home about $3.7 million. Lehavot moved to the United States from Israel at age 16 but
plays under the Israeli flag. 6,352
competitors each bought in for $10,000.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/ex-israeli-places-third-in-world-series-of-poker/2013/11/06/
Israel beats Russia at
chess. The
Israeli women's chess team beat the favorites, Russia, in the European Team
Chess Championship taking place in Warsaw, Poland. After three draws, Israel’s Masha Klinova defeated Russian chess grandmaster
Natalia Pogonina. Israel is currently
leading the tournament.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4452016,00.html
2500 run through Jerusalem at night. Jerusalem held its second
annual night run in the capital. 2,500
runners, including Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, ran 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) on
an enchanting and breathtaking route past modern and historic sites.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=13291
THE JEWISH STATE
Happy Hanukkah from Israel’s Technion. Direct from the Schulich
Faculty of Chemistry, five talented Technion students perform their version of
Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages) created in the lab.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb_CbuhLi2Q&feature=youtu.be
Masa’s 10 year journey. Israel’s Masa (Hebrew for
“journey) brings young Jewish adults from around the world to Israel for five
months to a year. This year Masa
celebrates its 10th anniversary when a record 11,000 young Jews from
62 countries will take part in Masa’s programs.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=13287
Hot off the press. I was listening to a BBC
interview last week where the BBC presenter accused Israel as being one of the
countries where Christians were under threat.
I would like to point out that Israel is the only country
in the Middle East where the Christian population is on the increase.
http://www.jpost.com/National-News/CBS-report-Christian-population-in-Israel-growing
In the 10th Nov 2013 edition
of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
A new Israeli wristwatch wakes
diabetics if their blood-sugar level drops too low at night.
·
A US couple donated $50,000 to advance
Israeli medicine.· A “Boycott Israel” supporter attacked Israel and then asked for its medical help.
· Israel is revitalizing European agriculture and wastewater recycling.
· Another record month for air passengers to Israel.
· Five years after being declared “dead” an Israeli completed the New York marathon.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “Israel
through the ages” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).· Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News.
Page Down for more details on these and other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Cancer gene can prevent cancer
spreading.
Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have discovered that whilst
the c-Kit gene can promote the early-stage growth of colon cancer cells, its
presence later on stops the cancer spreading to other parts of the body. Another oncogene c-Myc has the same duality
in breast cancer.
Enabling diabetics to
sleep soundly.
NightSense is an Israeli device worn by diabetics at night (the most
dangerous time for diabetics) to detect sudden drops in blood-sugar levels
(hypoglycemia). NightSense analyzes
subtle changes in the movement of the hand that indicate changes in pulse and
heart activity.
Amazing 3D medical holograms. Israel’s Real View is
bringing fantasy to reality with 3-D holograms that doctors can use to save
lives. Its advanced 3-D interactive
visualization holographic system allows physicians to work with the patients’
true 3-D anatomy appearing as precise volumetric holograms floating in mid-air.
5 children receive transplants. Within 72 hours the staff
of Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva successfully transplanted
five organs into five small children.
They included a 7-year-old girl whose father donated a liver lobe and a
5-year-old boy who received a kidney from his mother.
Pushing male fertility to the limit. (Thanks to Israel21c) Dr.
Karen Tordjman of Tel Aviv University discovered a new genetic mutation in a
sterile Androgen Receptor Insensitivity sufferer. She then used a treatment
that theoretically had no hope, but within two years led to him successfully
father three children.
More amazing Israeli medical devices. (Thanks to Nevet – www.BroaderView.org)
This video (part 1 of 2) contains details of three Israeli devices that I
hadn’t even heard about before. They
are EarDoc, Unfo and Qure I will include details about these devices next week
together with Part 2 of the video. Stay
tuned!
$50 million to advance
personalized medicine. Nancy and Stephen Grand, of San Francisco, have donated $50
million to Weizmann’s Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine. The INCPM focuses on genomics, protein
profiling, bioinformatics, and treatment discovery to prevent, diagnose, and
treat disease.
Baby saved with device just delivered. United Hatzalah volunteer
medic Itzik Hillel saved the life of a one-month-old baby girl who had been
left in a hot car. Itzik used a device called ResQme that shatters the car
window without causing any risk to the child. The device had been distributed
to medics only the night before.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Israel’s first Arab Chemistry Professor. Israel’s Channel 2 recently
featured (with English subtitles) the life journey of Professor Ashraf Brik of
Ben Gurion University’s department of Chemistry. Winner of the Teva Award for Excellence, Professor Brik was the
first member of his family to pursue higher education.
A Bedouin explains. (Thanks to Hazel) Kamel Abu
Nadi, a Bedouin from Israel’s Negev desert, believes that the Israeli
government's new plan of community and economic development in the Bedouin community
- if implemented correctly - might bring about dramatic improvement in the
quality of life of the Negev's Bedouin.
Syrians treated in Israel: A Syrian woman gave birth
at Israel’s Ziv (Sieff) Medical Center in the central Galilee city of
Tzfat. The 20-year-old woman was
brought to the hospital in active labor by the IDF during the night from a village
near Kuneitra, which was under Syrian military curfew with no access to a
Syrian hospital. The hospital also
treated three Syrians with shrapnel wounds.
BDS member requests
help from Israel.
(Thanks to Joy Wolfe) Larry Rich, from Emek Hospital in Afula, Israel
spoke to an audience of over 60 in the Scottish Parliament about Israel’s equal
treatment of its patients and medical staff, whatever their religion. One supporter of boycotting Israel
criticized the Jewish State and then had the gall to ask for Israel’s aid for someone
with a serious medical condition. Larry
agreed to help.
UN award to Israeli NGO bringing
electricity to Africa. Israel’s Innovation:Africa was awarded the UN Innovation award
for bringing solar energy using Israeli technologies to African villages,
medical clinics, orphanages and schools.
66 projects in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda and Malawi have benefited
478,661 people.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Israeli water tech
rescues EU farmers. Israeli drip-irrigation pioneer Netafim is leading the United
Nations FIGARO project - an international consortium to develop new precision
irrigation management technologies to increase water availability for Europe’s
water-intensive crops. A pilot is running at nine EU sites, plus in Israel.
Israeli treatment for
Dutch wastewater.
Israel’s Applied CleanTech has signed an agreement with several Dutch
water and paper industry companies. If tests of Applied CleanTech’s
groundbreaking Sewage Recycling System are successful, it will be implemented
across the Netherlands providing huge environmental benefits.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/israeli-sewage-mining-technology-to-clean-dutch-wastewater/2013/11/06/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqTbxWXamY4
See the water flow. (Thanks to Israel21c)
Visitors came from around the world to see the Israeli innovations at The Water
Technology and Environment Control (WATEC) Exhibition and Conference in Tel
Aviv. One company was Israel’s Curapipe
who showcased its Trenchless Automated Leakage Repair (TALR) Solution.
Two Israelis win French award for
agriculture.
(Thanks to Israel21c) The French Ministry of Agriculture has awarded the
National Order of Agricultural Merit to Professor Pedro Berliner of Ben Gurion
University for his research into agro-hydrology in desert regions, and Eli
Ben-Zaken, one of the top winemakers in Israel.
Israel’s rain man conserves school’s
water.
(Thanks to Israel21c) Science teacher Amir Yechieli showed his school
how to capture and reuse the rainwater that collected on its roofs. 15 years later he has helped 120 schools and
now heads a new water conservation company Yevul Mayim (Saving water).
Israel & Poland sign scientific
cooperation deal.
During the president of Poland’s visit to Israel, the two countries
signed a memorandum of understanding in the first-ever scientific cooperation
effort between the two countries.
Israel fixes its satellite. Israel’s Spacecom has
resolved a problem with the power supply running its Amos 4 satellite just in
time to finalise a $77 million deal to provide satellite communications
services for ten years to an Asian customer.
Predicting your next call. (Thanks to Israel21c)
Yissum, the research and development company of the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, has introduced SEER a predictive speed dialer for smartphones. The
algorithm utilizes past behavior to display likely contacts and enable the user
to easily make a call with just one click.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Scottish University installs Israeli
wireless system.
(Thanks to Atid-EDI) Students at Abertay University are now enjoying 10
times more bandwidth than they had a year ago, now that the institution has
installed the EtherHaul millimeter wave wireless system from Israel’s Siklu,
the leader in E-band millimeter wave systems.
Siklu’s products have also been installed
in Kent, England to provide broadband to rural communities.
Lockheed Martin discovers Israel. US Defense giant
Lockheed-Martin plans to open a major subsidiary in Israel that will employ
hundreds of people. In addition to
building a branch for IT and cyber protection, it will seek to expand
cooperation with Israeli defense companies and to work in the domestic security
market
Record month for air
passengers.
1.24 million people flew via Ben Gurion airport in October 2013, 6% more
than in October 2012. Passenger traffic
from Jan to Oct 2013 is 7.5% higher than for the same period last year. The West Hall at Terminal 1 is now open for
low-cost flights to Europe under the open skies agreement.
Israel has a water surplus. Despite delayed winter
rains, Israel’s natural reservoir, the Kinneret, is over 1.65 meters above the
lower red line. If Israel receives an
average rainfall, its water company plans to open the Degania Dam – the first
time since 1992. Israel may also scale
back expensive desalinated water production.
Israel and Vietnam establish agriculture
R&D fund.
Israel’s agriculture Minister Yair Shamir and Vietnamese government
officials agreed to establish a joint agriculture research and development
fund, and to complete a free-trade accord.
Israeli exports to Vietnam last year jumped by 120% to $747 million.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Carmel Caves are new UNESCO heritage. The United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has named the Carmel
Caves site in northern Israel the newest World Heritage Site for
"providing a definitive chronological framework at a key period of human
development."
Enjoy more great Israeli music. Kol Cambridge’s Nov 7th
playlist from DJ Antithesis on Tel Aviv’s Radio TLV1 included songs from Itai
Hariri, Roni Dotan, Harel Skaat and Yigal Bashan. Also click on the 31st Oct edition at 45:45 and hear a
plug for this newsletter.
Israeli versus Israeli. Thankfully, this refers to
the first time in history that two Israelis have faced each other in a National
Basketball Association game when the Houston Rockets outplayed the Dallas
Mavericks 113-105. Forward Omri Casspi
scored 12 points for the Rockets whereas guard Gal Mekel scored 11 points for
Dallas.
20,000 jog through Tel Aviv at night. The Tel Aviv Night Run had
a carnival atmosphere as 20,000 runners wearing pink T-shirts enjoyed a
well-organized nocturnal 10km jog through Tel Aviv’s streets.
Israeli who almost
died runs NY marathon. Five years ago, in an explosion in Gaza, newlywed Aharon Karov
was declared dead. Now he’s raising money for OneFamily Fund, the organization
that helped him get back on his feet. He has just completed the New York
Marathon in 4hrs 14min 31sec.
THE JEWISH STATE
Barmitzvah signifies a coming of age. Israel-born Arik met and
married Indian-born Bat Chen – a member of the Bnei Menashe sect of Indian Jews
– soon after Bat Chen immigrated to the Jewish State in 1999. Now their son Benayahu is celebrating his
Barmitzvah and Bat Chen feels that she is now a fully integrated Israeli.
Thousands at GA in Jerusalem. 3000 Jews from North
America, Europe and Israel from across the political spectrum are attending the
Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly held in the historic
homeland of the Jewish people. They will hear 140 speakers - half of them women
- and discuss issues facing Israel and the global Jewish community.
131103
In the 3rd Nov 2013 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
Weizmann scientists have transformed
adult cells into the earliest form of stem cells.
·
Israel hosted the UN-approved
International Women’s Leadership Conference.
·
A new Israeli material is the best at
removing organic-based polluting chemicals.
·
An Israeli company is to build a 200MW
solar power system in Inner Mongolia.
·
Tom Jones gave two memorable
performances in Tel Aviv.
·
Ethiopian Jews celebrated the Sigd
festival in Jerusalem
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “A
question of honor” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News.
Page Down for
more details on these and other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S
MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Reproducing the
earliest stem cells. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute are the first in the
world to produce completely “reset” stem cells from adult cells. Re-engineered stem cells were previously
primed to be specific to certain cells in the body. The new Israeli stem cells have the potential to be grown into
any organ.
Freezing lung cancer to death. (Thanks to NoCamels.com)
The IceSense3 tumor-freezing technology from Israel’s IceCure is already
destroying breast cancer. Now IceCure
is to conduct clinical trials on lung cancer tumors, fully funded by the Kameda
Medical Center of Japan.
Trials start on blood clot treatment. Israel’s D-Pharm has begun
Phase 2 testing in the Ukraine of its THR-18 treatment for patients suffering
from blood clots and strokes.
Another shot at the hygiene rap. If you enjoyed watching
September’s “viral” rap video by Shaare Tzedek medical staff, then here is a
version with English subtitles. “It’s
all in our hands” now makes perfect sense.
Israel’s health is on the move. The Mobile Health Israel
Conference in Tel Aviv brought together health professionals, entrepreneurs,
data experts, and others involved in the movement toward digitizing health
records, distance medicine, and other innovations in health care that are part
of the digital revolution.
Your personal diagnosis device. Israeli start-up Tyto
Health Care has developed a device that can gather information straight from a
patient’s mouth and throat, eyes, ears, heart, lungs, and skin. It includes a
camera and microphone to take measurements, uploading the results to a doctor or
health management organization.
ISRAEL IS
INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Wounded
Syrians treated in Israel: IDF soldiers took a
9-year-old boy from Syria to Ziv Medical Center in Safed. The boy was injured
in his eyes as the result of an explosion.
Also two Syrians were brought to Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya in
moderate and critical condition, with head, chest and limb injuries.
“Peace University” to open in Nazareth. The Israeli Ministry of
Education announced the founding of a university in Nazareth to be called
"Peace University" that aims to foster coexistence between Arabs and
Jews. It will be an Israeli campus of Texas A&M University, and most of the
funding for it comes from the US.
Yad Sarah Presents: Gadgets for the
Elderly.
Yad Sarah’s mobile unit has been making a difference for senior citizens
by showing them new devices and activities that can help them lead fuller, more
comfortable lives.
Israeli charity is bridging the global
disability gap.
Back in August I reported the speech of Jean Judes of Beit Issie Shapiro
who advised the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD) about Community Based Rehabilitation.
Here now is Jean’s report on the CRPD conference.
Israel hosts
International women’s conference. Mashav (Israel’s Agency for International
Development Cooperation) is holding the 28th International Women Leaders’
Conference in Haifa in cooperation with the United Nations. The conference aims to advance gender equality
and women’s empowerment.
SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
Take your Israeli hedgehog anywhere. (Thanks to noCamels)
“Keepod” is the Hebrew word for “hedgehog”.
The spiny animal was the inspiration to the Israeli designers of the
Keepod USB device. Insert it into any
computer (PC, Mac etc) and your information, applications and operating system
are available and secure.
Learning together for a better world. This video describes the
aims of the iPodia alliance and its global project “Classrooms without borders”
in which Israel’s Technion Institute is a key contributor.
OrCam glasses are now available. (Thanks to Israel21c) In my
9th June newsletter I reported that Israeli start-up OrCam’s
camera-based system will “read” to the visually impaired whilst on the
move. Well the revolutionary spectacles
are now being shipped at a cost of $2,500 a pair. Thanks to Myer for the alert.
Developing with South Carolina. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) The US
State of South Carolina and Israel signed an agreement to establish a bilateral
research and development initiative designed to enhance collaboration. Funds
will be provided for projects that strengthen economic, industrial,
technological and commercial cooperation.
New material to remove
pollutants.
Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem has commercialized a clay-based mineral developed by Dr Yael Mishael
of the Hebrew U. The mineral is modified
with polymers to absorb organic polluting chemicals and is even better than
active carbon.
Improving crop yields. Israel’s Evogene has signed
agreements with Monsanto, Dupont Pioneer and Syngenta to provide genes that
enable essential food crops such as corn, soybean, cotton and canola to resist
disease.
ECONOMY
& BUSINESS
Investment soars into Israeli clean
tech.
Israeli clean tech companies have raised $151 million in the first nine
months of 2013. The top deals were: $65
million raised by bio-agritech Kaiima; $25 million raised by energy saving chip
developer Altair Semiconductor and $18 million raised by recycling company Blue
Sphere.
Unemployment down again. Israel’s unemployment rate
fell to 6.1% in the third quarter, from 6.8% in the second quarter. Participation in the workforce went up, as
did the percentage of full-time employees.
"Facebook amazed by amount of
talent in Israel". Facebook’s Vice President Nicola Mendelsohn told Israel’s
President Peres, “It was a momentous decision for Facebook to open its first
Research & Development center outside the US. We chose Israel in the knowledge that the best talent is found
here.”
“Dr Fischer – the man behind the logo”. Aged 78 Dr. Eli Fischer
doesn’t plan to retire any time soon. He is a scientist, successful
industrialist, philanthropist and an international brand. “Dr Fischer” has over 500 different products
and employs over 750 direct employees.
His autobiography has just been published in the US.
Solar power for Inner
Mongolia. Israel’s HelioFocus
will build a $340 million 200-megawatt solar boosting system for Chinese energy
company Taiqing in Inner Mongolia. It will reduce dramatically the carbon
emissions from an existing coal-fired power station.
A start-up is like a diet – never give
up.
Entrepreneur/investor Jeff Pulver advised business leaders launching new
companies in downtown Haifa. “The
biggest cause of failure in fitness, and in start-ups, is giving up. Just
because you didn’t get an investment it doesn’t mean you don’t have a good
idea. Never give up.”
Israel writing Azerbaijan’s water plan. Israel’s national water
company, Mekorot, has won a 4-year project to draw up a water master plan for
Azerbaijan and supply monitoring equipment to the Moslem country.
AOL discovers Israel and IKEA assembles
another site.
AOL is hiring employees for its Israeli development center. It is
seeking developers, content managers, production managers, and support
staff. Meanwhile, IKEA is building a
new site near Haifa that will employ 300 staff.
Asurion buys Soluto. (Thanks to Israel21c) US
technology protection services giant Asurion has made a surprise purchase of
Tel Aviv-based PC management solutions provider Soluto for an estimated $100
million.
Start-up Israel. An excellent video I must
have missed due to there being so many good news stories.
CULTURE,
ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Richie & Cowell raise millions for
Israel.
Grammy Award-winning musician Lionel Richie and X Factor celebrity Simon
Cowell helped raise $20 million at a Friends of the Israel Defense Forces
gala. Cowell personally contributed
$150,000 and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews donated $4.5
million.
Tom Jones’ voice booms out in Tel Aviv. British (Welsh) singer Tom
Jones played to full houses at Nokia Arena in his two concerts in Tel
Aviv. He even sang “My Yiddishe Momme”
in his second concert.
Paula Abdul on 10-day Israel tour. American singer and dancer
and TV personality Paula Abdul met Israeli President Shimon Peres on her first
ever visit to Israel. “I'm so
overwhelmed with gratitude to be here,” Paula said. “I know already when I have
to leave I won’t want to.”
Lou Reed’s Israel connection. Singer-songwriter Lou Reed
who died on Oct 27, last came to Israel in 2008, as a “guest artist” at his
wife Laurie Anderson’s concert. A new
genus of velvet spider found underground in Israel’s Negev desert last year was
named Loureedia annulipes after the former Velvet Underground leader.
The biggest underwater shoot-out. For the 9th year in a row,
the Red Sea competition took place in Eilat.
Integrating elements from photography, high-tech, tourism and diving
industries, the event is one of the world’s leading underwater photography
competitions.
THE
JEWISH STATE
Mini-golf thru the Bible. Newsletter subscriber Grant
Crankshaw has had a great idea - a project to build a Bible-themed mini-golf
park in Raanana. Grant is using Crowdfunding to raise funds - another great
Israeli idea. Please support him by
pledging to buy discounted tickets. Your contribution is only withdrawn from
your bank if the campaign reaches its investment target. Please watch the video
at the headstart crowdfunding site.
The legacy of the Bielski brothers. 400 people gathered in New
York to honor the legendary Bielski brothers, the partisan leaders who saved
more than 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust.
The Bielski grandchildren included an Israel Defense Forces battalion
commander. Surviving brother Aron urged them all, “Supporting Israel is the
most important. If they don’t, some day they will pay for it.”
Celebrating the return
to Jerusalem.
Thousands of Ethiopian Jews gathered in Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, to
celebrate Sigd. The Biblical holiday
originally observed in Ethiopia 50 days after Yom Kippur to repent for sins,
pray for their return to Jerusalem, the coming of the Messiah and a Third
Temple.
Thousands at ‘Religious-secular’
Shabbat.
More than 6,000 families up and down the country took part in Shabbat
meals in an initiative to build community connections, with religious families
hosting secular attendees. The Beit
Hillel organization plans to make the initiative an annual event.
131027
In the 27th Oct 2013 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
31 Israeli doctors are performing
heart operations in Tanzania and Nigeria.
·
An Israeli app will allow you to send
your DNA sequence (Genome) for analysis.
·
For the first time the elite Golani
battalion has a Druze commander.
·
Israel has joined the EU’s prestigious
Galileo satellite project.
·
Investment in Israeli start-ups is the
highest since the year 2000.
·
Rihanna performed to 50,000 fans in
Tel Aviv.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “Lands
of the Free” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News.
Page Down for
more details on these and other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S
MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Israelis saving
African lives.
A team of 20 Israeli doctors and medical staff from Save a Child's Heart
(SACH) has just flown to Tanzania to provide free heart surgeries. With them was Tanzanian Dr Godwin Godfrey
who returned home following five years of training in Israel. Elsewhere, a team
of 11 cardiac surgeons and nurses from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center performed
10 complex heart operations over 4 days in Nigeria.
A wristband to monitor your health. (Thanks to NoCamels.com)
Tel Aviv-based startup Seraphim Sense is behind the Angel monitor, a
biofeedback wristband that senses motion, acceleration, skin temperature, blood
oxygen saturation and heart rate. The health band is synced to your smartphone
and computer to display results.
Israeli trial is good news for IBD
sufferers.
Results of early clinical trials using bertilimumab at Jerusalem’s
Shaare Zedek medical center have indicated that it could be effective in
treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Israel awards $1 million prize to US
BrainGate.
In a reversal to the norm, an Israeli non-profit organization presented
a US company with a large sum to help it develop its innovations. BrainGate’s million-dollar prize from
Israel’s BrainTech will advance its brain sensors that allow paralyzed patients
to move a robotic arm.
Israel gives sight to Romanian baby. 10-month old Dennis lost
his vision shortly after birth in Romania. When he arrived at Save A Child’s
Heart, the Israeli doctors checked out his heart and his eyes. They prescribed
special glasses and there wasn’t a dry eye in the ward when Dennis saw his
mother for the first time.
MDA’s new hi-tech mobile command center. Israel’s emergency service
Magen David Adom unveiled a multi-million dollar command vehicle designed to
direct rescue operations on the most difficult terrain and during cellular network
failure. It has over two-dozen
computers and TVs and can accommodate 23 staff.
Medicine for the wild blue yonder. A comprehensive write-up of
the 61st International Congress of Aviation and Space Medicine (ICASM) in
Jerusalem. 250 overseas delegates from
36 countries plus Israelis discussed everything from pregnant women pilots to
space travel to psychological problems of controlling UAVs.
Your personal Genome
app. Tel
Aviv University researchers have developed a website and smartphone app that
will allow you to submit your individual Genetic DNA sequence map for
analysis. Prior to pregnancy, check for
risks of birth defects; or select medical treatments that will be most
effective without side effects.
ISRAEL IS
INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Elite IDF unit leader
is a Druse.
For the first time in the history of the Israeli Defense Force, an
officer from Israel’s Druse community is to serve as the chief of the elite
Golani Brigade. Colonel Ghassan Alian was previously deputy commander of the
Golan Division.
We are not alone. Michael Freund writes a
positive article detailing Israel’s International friends and recent state
visits.
Nigerian President and 30,000 pilgrims
in Israel.
President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit is the first time in the history of
Nigeria that a sitting President went on pilgrimage to Israel. The president was accompanied by ministers
and state governors and signed the Bilateral Air Services Agreement between
Nigeria and Israel.
What would the UN do without Israel? The United Nations
regularly turns to the Jewish state to solve issues of international
concern. The UN’s Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) has granted 13 Israeli NGOs ‘Special Consulative Status’ and
is currently considering granting this status to a further two.
Tucson firefighters in Israel. (Thanks to Hazel) A team of
seven Tucson Arizona area firefighters is working for two weeks with Israel
Fire and Rescue Services. Tucson Fire
Capt. Kris Blume said that they wanted to “see what's not just common practice
but the best practice."
SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
Israeli intelligence inspires Apple. According to those in the
know, the members of the IDF’s secret 8200 unit that set-up Any.Do were the
inspiration for Apple’s latest iOS7 operating system.
A wireless device to check fertility of
cows.
Israel’s Afimilk has developed the AfiAct II heat detection system that
identifies the optimum time for insemination of cattle. Already AfiAct is saving US customers
hundreds of dollars per cow.
Magic solution for mobile devices. Israeli software company,
Magic, has released its latest enterprise mobility solution for businesses
whose employees need to access data using a variety of devices.
Sensors to find water leaks. Israeli start-up Aquarius
Spectrum has been chosen by Jerusalem’s area water corporation to install its
smart systems for detecting leaks in the municipal water supply system. Aquarius Spectrum has developed innovative
acoustic sensors, software algorithms and testing prototypes.
Global
Cities Summit attracts 68 cities. Hundreds of start-ups, investors and
multinationals attended the 3rd Digital Life Design Festival in Tel
Aviv. The event included the Global Cities Summit, a policy forum that
addresses issues like urban living, ways of coping with growth and better
methods of transportation.
Israel joins EU
satellite project.
Israeli academics and companies have been given security clearance to
work on the Galileo project that will launch 30 satellites and become Europe’s
alternative to the US GPS system.
Pentagon uses Israeli robots to climb
stairs. The
US Department of Defense is fast-tracking its deployment of stair-climbing
Israeli developed micro-robots with US Army Special Forces. The robots, called
the Micro Tactical Ground Robot (MTGR), were designed by Tel Aviv-based
start-up Roboteam Ltd.
Calculating the best prices. Tel Aviv-based Feedvisor
has developed the world's first fully algorithmic re-pricing platform for
online retailers to keep their prices competitive and maximize
profitability. Forbes rated Feedvisor
among the most innovative and promising startups in Israel in 2012 and has just
raised $1.7 million.
ECONOMY
& BUSINESS
Stability at the Bank of Israel. At last, Dr Karnit Klug has
been appointed as the successor to Professor Stanley Fischer as BoI
Governor. Dr Klug is the first ever
woman governor and was Prof Fischer’s preference for the position. She has been
Acting Governor since Prof Fischer stepped down in June
State of Economy index up again. The Bank of Israel's
Composite State of the Economy Index for September increased by 0.3
percent. Data for previous months was
also revised upwards due to natural gas production.
Investment in Israeli
start-ups is a 13-year high. 162 Israeli start-ups raised $660 million
from local and foreign investors in the third quarter of 2013, the highest
quarterly amount since 2000. Investment
in start-ups rose 12% to $1.63 billion in January-September compared to the
corresponding period last year.
Israeli firms are so popular. Acquisitions and mergers
involving Israeli companies totaled $4 billion in the first ten months of 2013
- the highest for ten years. The figure
for Israeli exits was 20 percent of the US M&A market over the same period,
even though investment in Israeli companies is less than 5 percent of the US
total.
CuratedIsrael – Israeli luxury products
and more.
CuratedIsrael is a one of a kind marketplace for beautiful pieces
straight from Israel. Additionally,
“CuratedIsrael Gives Back” supports charities and designers with worthy causes.
Founder Diane Kaston says, “Giving back for the blessings of life is the ultimate
luxury.”
Amazon discovers Israel. Amazon.com will open an
office in Tel Aviv to support the growth of its cloud services and its rapidly
growing customer base in Israel.
Israeli customers will be among the first in Europe, the Middle East and
Africa to enjoy Amazon Web Services.
CULTURE,
ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Rihanna performs in
Tel Aviv.
Pop sensation Rihanna took the stage Tuesday night in Park Hayarkon, Tel
Aviv in front of over 50,000 fans. The
show was part of her “Diamond Tour” - she previously performed in Tel Aviv in
2010 and refused to be intimidated by a BDS campaign that tried to persuade her
to cancel her concert.
Bob Dylan wrote “Neighborhood Bully” 30
years ago.
October 27 is the 30th anniversary of when Bob Dylan released
his up-tempo Zionist anthem, the ironically-titled “Neighborhood Bully” on his
Infidels album.
More on the Singing Rabbis. For brothers Arie and Gil
Gat, there’s no contradiction between being devout Jews and covering rock hits
on Israel’s ‘Rising Star’ TV show.
Zubari wins windsurfing gold. Israeli windsurfer Shahar
Zubari cruised to a gold medal in men’s RS:X at the Sailing World Cup in
Qingdao, China. Israel’s Maayan
Davidovich won bronze in the RS:X women’s division.
World Cup silver for Israeli swimmer in
Qatar.
Israeli swimmer Amit Ivri finished second in the women's 100-meter
individual medley at the FINA World Cup in Doha, Qatar. However, whereas all
competitors had the flag of their country next to their names on TV, Ivri's was
left white (blank) instead of the Israeli flag.
THE
JEWISH STATE
Israeli education – a reminder. Israel’s high school
graduation rate was 92% in 2010 (OECD average 84%). Israel spent 7.2% of GDP on
educational institutions in 2009 (sixth highest in the world). And pre-school
education is now free for all Israeli children from age 3 upward.
Hundreds of Bnei Menashe moving to
Israel.
Israel’s Knesset approved the aliya of 899 Indians, known as Bnei
Menashe. Some 1,700 Bnei Menashe, who claim to be Jews descended from the
biblical tribe of Menashe, are already living in Israel. A further 9,000 remain
in India and Burma.
Israel preserves Jewish and Muslim
culture.
The Center for North African Jewry in Jerusalem exhibits the culture
that is common to the Muslims and to the Jews of North Africa, while the
Israeli Andalusian Orchestra Ashdod creates a connecting link between Jews and
Arabs.
131020
In the 20th Oct 2013 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
An Israeli device helps diabetics to
absorb Insulin quicker, easier and safer.
·
Israeli doctors extracted a hatpin
swallowed by an Arab girl.
·
An Israeli mobile solar energy device provides
cheap electricity in developing countries.
·
Facebook has made its largest
investment in Israel by purchasing Onavo.
·
Engineering students at Israel’s
Technion won an Italian competition to build a racing car.
·
An amazing video of the sensational
singing Rabbis on Israel’s hit show Rising Stars.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “Going
against the flow” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
A device to give
diabetics freedom.
Israel’s Insuline has developed InsuPad - a device that warms the body
after diabetics inject themselves - even after meals. The pad helps less
insulin absorb much quicker and reduces hypoglycemic incidents. J&J
Lifescan has just signed an agreement to market InsuPad in Germany.
A wireless device for heart failure
patients.
Israel’s Leviticus Cardio is developing a wireless device that delivers
energy to operate Left Ventricle Assist Devices (LVADs). LVADs keep heart failure patients alive for
up to seven years until they can have a heart transplant. Ex US vice-President Dick Cheney was a LVAD
user.
Gene mutation discovery. Researchers at Sheba Medical Center and Weizmann Institute together
with Duke University have identified genes ASNS and TECPR2 responsible for two
serious neurological disorders in children.
The discovery will identify carriers and prevent such severe genetic
diseases from being passed down.
Israeli doctors remove
hatpin from Arab girl’s throat. The 16-year-old from Baka al-Gharbiya was
adjusting her headscarf and had put the 3.5cm hatpin in her mouth temporarily. Unfortunately, something made her laugh and
she swallowed the pin. Doctors at
Hadera hospital pulled the pin out of her vocal cords. Ouch!
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Wounded Syrians treated in Israel: Two seriously wounded
Syrians were brought to Ziv (Sieff) Medical Center in the central Galilee city
of Tzfat last week – Total treated at Ziv now 133.
Signing the National Anthem. All the volunteer IDF
soldiers with disabilities who performed in the closing ceremony for their
special basic training used the deaf sign language to accompany the Israeli
National Anthem – “Hatikvah”. The
sign-language tutor and conductor is Yahala Lachmish, daughter of my friend
Leonie.
Science brings Iran and Israel closer. When ex-Bar-Ilan President
Professor Eugene Kogan spotted that an Iranian study had omitted mentioning his
work, he contacted the Iranians. Their
response was "We thank you for bringing the study to our attention. In the
next issue we will gladly mention your research. We believe that scientists are
messengers of peace, and scientists' way of thinking is different from
politicians' way of thinking,"
reThink Israel. A new campaign has been
launched to change opinions about Israel among 18-24 year-olds Americans. reThink Israel wants to spread a positive
buzz about Israel’s culture, diversity, humanitarian efforts and
innovations. Please ask
reThink Israel’s CEO Gerald Ostrov to get in touch with me!
Czech president checks out the Dead Sea. Nice to see a head of state
willing to take his shoes off and enjoy one of Israel’s most popular tourist
attractions.
First visit for two Prime Ministers. As if to illustrate Michael
Freund’s message, both Joseph Muscat, the Prime Minister of Malta and Peter
O'Neill, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea are the first sitting prime
ministers of their respective countries to visit Israel. Both came with large delegations and
cooperation plans.
“They all will come to Jerusalem”. The Knesset – Israel’s
parliament – has optimistically invited lawmakers from all countries (even
Iran) to Jerusalem. Israel is a member
of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Knesset speaker invited IPU
President Abdelwahed Radi to hold an IPU meeting in Israel’s capital.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Mobile solar energy. Israel’s Nova Lumos has devised a
pay-as-you-go mobile-based solar energy program for developing countries that
produces clean electricity for less than it costs to purchase kerosene. Nova Lumos just won The Pitch contest for
new start-ups at the "Globes"-Ernst & Young Journey Conference in
Tel Aviv.
Return of the Judean Date Palm. (Thanks to Charlie) Latest
news on the progress of the oldest known tree seed ever to germinate originally
reported in my newsletter in Nov 2012.
Dr Elaine Solowey of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies is
working hard to revive other age-old trees from their long dormancy.
Your fridge will never be empty. (Thanks to NoCamels.com)
Israeli start-up Smartli has developed an automatic grocery shopping system
that uses sensors to track the items missing from your fridge. It then
generates a shopping list, and ensures that these items are delivered directly
to your door at your preferred time.
The future is bright. In a few months, Israel’s
BrightSource expects to turn on its 377-megawatt solar thermal farm in the
California desert. At about the same
time, it will begin work on a 121-megawatt solar thermal energy plant in
Israel’s Negev Desert.
Israel to make helmets for F35 pilots. The Pentagon has announced
that Israel’s Elbit, is to be the sole supplier of helmet mounted display
systems (HDMS) for all 4,000 F35 stealth aircraft. The deal is worth more than
$1 billion over 10 years. Already 100
F35 pilots have tested and approved the new helmet.
Technion builds a
winning racing car. Buckle up your seat belt and watch a team of 25 Israel Technion
Institute students build a Formula SAE racecar and compete in Italy. The team won first place worldwide out of
all newcomer teams. Part of the
"New Product Design" course in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
A passion for taste and health. Israel’s Frutarom is truly
a global innovator. It develops and
sells flavors and ingredients for food, beverage, supplement and pharma health
industries in 140 countries. Its 31
R&D labs include eco-friendly Wedenswil in Switzerland where its biogas
equipment has been upgraded to produce 2,600,000 kWh of energy per year.
Bio-fuels conference. Dozens of senior
representatives of the international bio-fuel industry are visiting Israel this
week for the first international biological fuels conference, the Agro-Energy
Nexus Summit, in Herzlyia. Israeli
companies are already leading this growing market in several areas.
See Israeli 3D prints in London. (Thanks to Israel21c)
Hundreds of 3D models printed by Stratasys, the Israeli-American manufacturer
of 3D printers, are being displayed in a free exhibition, “3D: Printing the
Future.” at London’s Science museum.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Investing in Surgical Robots. OurCrowd – Israel’s
Crowdfunding investment company has added Medical Surgery Technologies into its
portfolio. MST’s FDA-approved robotic
vision system replaces the medical assistant who historically handled the video
camera during keyhole surgery. No more
shaky pictures.
Israeli chips for Australia. (Thanks to Atid-EDI)
Australia's second largest DSL broadband provider, iiNet, has picked the high
performance 802.11ac Wi-Fi chip from Israel’s Celeno to enable iiNet to stream
data and HD video directly from future iiNet products.
Microsoft Haifa is too big. Microsoft Israel Ltd. has
grown too large for its current Haifa premises and has signed a 10-year lease
on a new, 12,000 square-meter building at the Matam High Tech Park in
Haifa. In addition, Microsoft has a
13,000 square-meter building in Herzliya.
Israel’s electronic link to Las Vegas. Tel Aviv was one of only
four cities in the world to hold “CES Unveiled” - a daughter event of Las
Vegas’s massively popular Consumer Electronics Show.
Facebook discovers
Israel. The
social media giant has acquired Israel’s Onavo for at least $100 million. Onavo has developed some unique marketing
and data compression applications as well as operating a successful mobile
security business. Onavo says that it
will become Facebook’s Israeli office.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
The Prime Ministers – the movie. If you haven’t read the
book “The Prime Ministers” by Yehuda Avner don’t worry – the film version
opened in New York on Oct 18. I really
enjoyed reading Ambassador Avner’s memoirs of Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak
Rabin and Menachem Begin. I can’t wait
to see it in Israel.
One of the most technologically advanced
stadiums in Europe. It cost over 300,000 shekels, and is five times the size required
by the team that uses it. But Netanya’s
new soccer stadium looks magnificent.
Now the Netanya council just needs to work out how it is going to pay
for it!
Gold medal for Israeli beer. The Alexander boutique
brewery from Emek Hefer in central Israel has won a gold medal in the 2013
European Beer Star competition for its Alexander Black English-style porter
beer. The competition included some
1,500 beers from 40 countries.
“Rising Star” is a hit in Europe. Israel’s new hi-tech TV
show has been sold to French, German, Russian and now Scandinavian
entertainment companies. Keshet’s
singing competition allows home audiences to vote live for their favorite
singers via a dedicated app, drawing them uniquely into the action on screen.
Discovered here! Remember the busking Rabbis
in the Jerusalem mall that I featured in June?
Here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-KRMVdEYjc
and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D6dFViw2m8
Well they have just become national
celebrities by winning on the latest edition of Israeli TV’s “Rising Star” (see
above). Amazing video. Who better to
sing, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls.”
Kol
Cambridge from Tel Aviv. My friend Antithesis is
exciting the airways, broadcasting Israeli and Jewish music twice weekly from
Radio Station TLV1. Here is Thursday’s
broadcast.
Israel draw with Portugal. The Jewish State may have
missed out on qualification for soccer’s World Cup, but they performed admirably
in their penultimate match, away from home against the Portuguese favorites.
Israeli swimmer breaks record - in
Dubai. Israeli swimmer Amit Ivri broke her own
record - and Israel's record – in her 200-meter individual medley heat at the
FINA Swimming World Cup, being held in Dubai.
THE JEWISH STATE
Healthy, educated and able. The World Economic Forum
(WEF) has just issued its first-ever Human Capital Index. Israel came 4th in
the world for capacity for innovation, 3rd for life expectancy, 2nd for
tertiary education attainment and joint 1st for water, sanitation and hygiene.
The word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Thanks to Jacob Richman)
The next letters sent from Israel may feature some of the latest set of
beautiful biblical postage stamps.
Charity pure and simple. Everyone can do some
good. Pantry Packers offers groups of
tourists to Israel the opportunity to spend 90 minutes packing food for poor
families. It’s a concept called Tikun
Olam Tourism.
Study for a law degree in Israel in
English.
The IDC (Interdisciplinary Center) in Herzliya is offering the first
ever Israel-based law degree course for English speakers. It costs $10,950 pa - 15% of US law school
fees. It prepares students for the Israeli bar exam but 5-week US courses exist
for those returning to the USA.
131013
In the 13th Oct 2013 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
Israeli hospital restores speech to
student electrocuted in Romania.
·
Two Israeli citizens won the Nobel
Prize for Chemistry.
·
Apple has bought a 21-year-old
Israeli’s personal assistant application for $40 million.
·
Israel has produced a record date crop
using less water.
·
A pro-Israel video called “Boycott
Israel” has gone viral.
·
Archaeologists have unearthed a
2000-year-old Jewish village in the Galilee.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “Israelis
are full of energy” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Israeli hospital saves
electrocuted student. Romanian Jewish student David Fintzi struck an electric cable as
he leaned out of a train window.
27,000-volts set him on fire and he was close to death in a Bucharest
hospital. The Jewish Agency flew him to
Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital where a medical miracle has taken place.
Teva launches generic treatment for
kidney disease.
Teva is the first company to produce generic Zemplar (paricalcitol)
tablets in the US. The treatment is for
patients with Stage 3 or Stage 4 chronic kidney disease and in Stage 5 patients
on dialysis.
Keep taking the tablets. Israel’s MediSafe has just
raised $1million to expand its medication management solutions. MediSafe’s
smartphone app keeps track of medication taken and sends alerts to relatives or
monitoring organizations if any treatment is missed.
One year at Hadassah hospital. In the last 12 months,
Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital treated nearly a million patients including
137,142 emergency cases. It performed 4,318,652 lab tests and delivered 10,971
babies.
Israel’s contribution to World Vision (Thanks to Israel21c)
October 10th was “World Sight Day”. Here are 10 products from the
“Light to the Nations” that will transform the field of vision. They include implants, keyboards, a
smartphone for the blind, electronic spectacles and cameras.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Ethiopian wins Israel’s “Big Brother”. Tahunia Rubel became the
fifth Ethiopian-born Israeli woman to snag major headlines over the previous 12
months. The 25-year-old model won Israel’s Big Brother contest in its fifth
season. Tahunia won just over $250,000
in prize money.
Ugandan woman helps defend Jewish State. Private Or Meidan’s decided
to follow in her Israeli stepfather’s footsteps and has joined the IDF after
immigrating to Israel in 2011. She now
operates the Iron Dome missile defense system and is joining the IDF’s Nativ
program to convert to Judaism.
A (dental) bridge to peace. Dr Adam Stabholz, ex-dean
of the Hebrew University dental school joined with Dr. Musa Bajali, head of the
dental school at Al-Quds University to form the Alliance for Oral Health Across
Borders. They share the ambitious goal
of promoting peace globally through oral health.
Israeli organizes European seminar
against Femicide.
Israeli researcher Shalva Weil has brought delegates from 26 countries
to the Hebrew University in order to initiate European action against the
widespread murder of women. Up to now,
little has been done to jointly address increasing numbers of “honor” killings
in Europe.
The 124th Syrian treated at
Ziv Hospital.
The IDF brought another victim of the Syrian civil war to the Ziv
(Sieff) Medical Center in the central Galilee city of Tzfat for treatment.
Israel gives agriculture help to Nevada. Nevada governor, Brian
Sandoval, is visiting Israel’s Negev in October to learn more about indoor
farming, and how using Israeli technology could rejuvenate Nevada’s lackluster
farming industry. Nevada is already in
contact with Israel’s national water company, Mekorot.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Strawberry leaf yeast goes commercial. I reported in January the
discovery by Hebrew University scientists of the natural, non-toxic pesticide
made from the yeast growing on strawberry leaves. Now Israel’s agro-tech giant Makhteshim Agan is working with HU’s
commercial company Yissum to develop the bio-control agent.
Israeli-Chinese car gets top safety
rating. The
Qoros Sedan 3 has become the first Chinese car ever to win a five-star score
from Euro NCAP. Qoros is a joint
venture of Israel Corporation and China's Chery Automobile.
Three Israeli Nobel
prize-winners?
Israeli-born Arieh Warshel shared the 2013 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
with Martin Karplus and Michael Levitt for their 1970s computer models for
predicting chemical processes. Levitt
has Israeli, British and US citizenship.
All three are Jewish. Plus,
Belgian’s Nobel laureate for Physics Francois Englert is a Sackler Professor at
the Tel Aviv University School of Physics and Astronomy.
WATEC 2013 is coming. Israel’s internationally
acclaimed conference on Water Technology and Environmental Control takes place
later this month in Tel Aviv. It will
be preceded by the Cleanvest Summit, where recent technological breakthroughs
from the Israeli water industry will be revealed.
Where to park the car? Israel’s Anagog
monitors mobile phones’ sensors to detect parking spaces that are about to be
vacated – in real time. It is also
cooperating with Finland’s PARX, the owner of Easy Park, which has users in 130
countries.
Technology - Made in Israel. I hope that you’ve been
following Gordon Robertson’s fascinating series on Israel; made for CBN. Here is his 11 min video on Israeli
Technology.
BrainTech 2013. At the first-ever
International Brain Technology Conference in Tel Aviv, President Shimon Peres
will present a check for $1 million to the winner of the Global B.R.A.I.N.
(Breakthrough Research And Innovation in Neurotechnology) contest. The finalists have developed applications
that interface with the brain.
More dates from less
water. The
yield from this year’s date crop in the Arava desert region is expected to
reach 7,500 tons - an increase of 20% over last year’s harvest. The high yields have been accompanied by a
20% reduction in water consumption.
Israel’s total annual date crop is expected to reach around 34,000 tons.
A new lock is in town. (Thanks to Size Doesn’t
Matter and GreenProphet) A group of friends from Tel Aviv got so tired of
lugging enormous locks to foil would-be bicycle thieves that they got together
to design what may be the world’s only fashionable solution: the
Foldylock. The video resembles a Clint
Eastwood movie.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Record foreign currency reserves. Israel’s foreign exchange
reserves at the end of September 2013 stood at an all-time record of $79,902
million - an increase of $1,383 million from their level at the end of August.
More oil than expected. After extracting 116,000 barrels
of oil from Israel’s Meged 5 well, Givot Olam Oil Exploration upped their
estimate of oil in the field by 60 per cent to 2.49 million barrels of oil.
Japan trials Israeli tumor treatment. (Thanks to Nevet –
Broaderview.org) Japan has bought its first IceSense3 systems from Israel’s
IceCure Medical. The systems are
already approved in the USA and Europe. Now Kamada Medical Center will use two
$50,000 IceSense3 systems to kill breast tumors by freezing them.
Apple buys Cue. 21-year-old Israeli
entrepreneur Daniel Gross has just sold his personal assistant app Cue to Apple
for a cool $40 million. Cue searches
for keywords in a person’s Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts without
having to sign in to any of them. Apple
could use Cue to help compete with Google Now.
Israel to NYC. The US Israel Business
Council is introducing 15 Israeli startups to New York City. Curiyo, Viewbix, Augury Systems, Seebo,
Brayola and ten others are facing 250 investors and business leaders who are
providing advice and (hopefully) funding to the fledgling companies.
Teleflex buys another Israeli keyhole
surgery company.
US giant Teleflex Inc. has acquired Israel’s InnoLap Surgical Ltd.,
which is developing a platform for scarless laparoscopic (keyhole surgery)
procedures. In July, Teleflex bought
Israeli microlaparoscopy developer Eon Surgical.
Warren Buffet continues to connect with
Israel.
(Thanks to Israel21c) Business giant Warren Buffet made his 3rd Israeli
acquisition when his electronics components distributor TTI bought Israel’s
Ray-Q Interconnect. The Israeli company manufactures harnesses that can connect
a vast range of electrical equipment.
More Canadian visitors. A new aviation agreement
between Israel and Canada will lead to a significant increase in flights
between the two countries and allow other airlines to operate regular flights
on the Tel Aviv to Toronto route.
Currently El Al and Air Canada carry some 130,000 passengers on this
route every year.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Italy’s “Apprentice” to be filmed in
Jerusalem.
The Italian version of “The Apprentice” will film an episode of the
reality show in Israel. Five of the
contestants and a crew of about 40 will film in Jerusalem. Contestants search for five symbols around
the city, to expose them and the Italian viewing public to sites of interest.
Boycott Israel! You may like to watch this
hard-hitting rap video by Ari Lesser.
Don’t worry – it’s pro-Israel.
Italy to Jerusalem by bicycle. Top Israeli cyclist Shai
Rishoni decided in 2010 to bring the Italian endurance cycle race Gran Fondo
Giro d’Italia to Jerusalem. Then in
2011 Shai was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). He continued his quest and on Oct 11th
2013 it all happened. It also raised
funds for ALS research.
THE JEWISH STATE
Canada helps clean up Kishon river. (Thanks to CLIC) Israel, whose desalination and irrigation
systems are among the most advanced in the world, has turned to her Canadian
friends to help cleanse the water of its own Kishon River.
High-flyer. Maybe he is not typical, but once a week D
(name cannot be disclosed) is a fighter pilot soaring across Israeli skies, and
for five days a week he is a Weizmann Institute nanotechnology doctoral
student. Both his siblings are doing post-doctorates and all three received
their first degrees from the Open University.
How are those Argan trees doing? If you remember, Yoni and
Shoshana are making the Negev desert bloom with Argan trees that will
eventually produce fruit from which rich, nutritious Argan oil can be extracted. 1000 saplings have been planted and land is
being prepared for another 1000 in the spring.
Please donate if you can.
Israeli police volunteers save 3 lives. Three passengers were
waiting by their broken down car at night on the Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem
highway. Volunteer police Moshe
Appelbaum and Shalom Levy spotted them and moved them to the opposite
carriageway. Moments later, a passing
car slammed into the stranded vehicle.
2000-year-old village
unearthed in Galilee. (Thanks to British Israel Group)
Sorry for missing this August archaeological discovery. Shikhin in the Galilee is one of the
earliest known villages from the Second Temple period and is mentioned in the
Jewish Talmud and by Josephus. It was
the home to many potters.
131006
In the 6th Oct 2013 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
Israeli scientists have made an
important discovery in the fight against leukemia.
·
Ethiopian-born Miss Israel is a
sensation on her US tour.
·
Israel now generates half of its
electrical energy from home-produced natural gas.
·
Wake-up with WakeUp - Israel’s new
award-winning natural, healthy beverage.
·
Israel’s unemployment rate is the
lowest for two decades.
·
Only 5 shekels for any item bought at
new Cofix Israeli kosher café takeaways.
·
Israel is uploading 1600 Italian
historical Jewish manuscripts onto the Internet.
·
Last week’s JPost Israel Good News
descriptive summary
Click here for “One
in a Million” (fast-loading, text-only version, no adverts).
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Breakthrough in
understanding leukemia. A mutated gene RUNX1
inherited from one parent is responsible for producing leukemia stem cells.
Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have discovered that the healthy
copy of the gene from the other parent is also required otherwise the leukemia
cells die.
Brain cancer breakthrough. The media is reporting the
discovery by Dr Regina Golan-Gerstl, of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical School, of
hnRNP A2/B1. The protein gene is key to the most common and aggressive adult
brain cancer - glioblastoma. Great
news, as reported it in my 14th Aug 2011 newsletter.
Laquinimod reduces brain damage in MS
patients.
In Phase III trials, Israel’s Teva reported that its Laquinimod oral
treatment for multiple sclerosis reduced neuro-degeneration, slowing the
progression of locomotor disability in multiple sclerosis patients. Laquinimod might also help treat Crohn's
disease, lupus nephritis, Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
Americans look to Israel for Parkinson’s
treatment. 1.5 million Americans, including many Jews, suffer from
Parkinson’s disease. The Pittsburgh
Jewish Chronicle highlights some of the many Israeli treatments.
DIY medical sensor. (Thanks to NoCamels.com)
Israel’s Elfi Tech monitors your pulse rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure,
blood flow and much more, non-invasively at any time with the help of a sensor
smaller than a dime. It has just been
selected as a finalist of the Nokia Sensing XChallenge.
Israel hosts international conference on
proteins.
160 leading biomedical scientists from Israel, Europe and the US
attended the ninth Jakub K. Parnas Conference entitled “Proteins - from Birth
to Death” at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It is co-sponsored by the Biochemical societies of Israel, Poland
and the Ukraine.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Miss Israel wows black
Americans.
Israel’s beauty queen, 22-year-old Ethiopian-born Yityish
Aynaw, was in Los Angeles as a guest of Christian preacher Rev. Ronald V.
Myers. He said that everyone should know what Israel did to rescue Ethiopian
Jews.
Another Syrian treated in Israel. A 23-year-old Syrian was
brought to Ziv (Sieff) Hospital in the central Galilee city of Tzfat, for
treatment of moderate shrapnel wounds to the hand, suffered in his country's
civil war. The hospital has treated 108
victims of the conflict. Plus an
article on the clandestine work that Israel is doing.
How do sick Arab children get to Israel? (Thanks to Elaine) The
Christian organization Shevet Achim works in places like Jordan, Iraq and the
Gaza strip. It funds and transports children requiring heart surgery to Israeli
hospitals such as Save A Child’s Heart’s Wolfson and at Sheba Medical Center in
Tel Hashomer.
Yad Vashem honors righteous Egyptian
doctor.
Egyptian doctor Mohamed Helmy is the first Arab to be designated
“Righteous Among the Nations” by Israel’s holocaust center Yad Vashem. Dr Helmy hid a Jewish family in Berlin from
1942 to 1944. Dr Helmy died in Berlin
in 1982.
Israeli security for India. (Thanks to Size Doesn’t
Matter) Around 500 Israeli-made hi-resolution cameras with nighttime vision
have been installed on the Kolkata (Calcutta) subway.
“Israeli water week” in Vietnam. Israel brought its leading
water experts to Vietnam to forge cooperation and bring advanced water
technologies to Vietnam. Israeli
companies included Netafim, Amiad, Bermad and Odis.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Israel’s cleanest ever
energy.
Half of Israel’s electricity now comes from natural gas – mainly from
the new Tamar offshore gas field.
Israel Electric Corporation announced that this is its cleanest year ever
for environmental quality and the production of clean, green electricity.
Gasoline from natural gas. Israel Corporation
subsidiary IC Green Energy has inaugurated a facility in New Jersey to produce
gasoline from natural gas. The plant
can produce up to 100,000 gallons (440,000 liters) of gasoline a year. Automobiles will be able to use the lower
cost, less emissions fuel without any modifications.
Recovering lost energy. Israel’s Ormat Technologies
builds Recoverable Energy Generators (REGs) that turn waste energy from
industrial processes into usable electrical power. It already recovers 160 megawatts in the USA and 595 MW
worldwide. It has just agreed to build
a 5MW REG power plant for eBay in Utah.
Drink Israel’s wake-up
beverage.
Israeli startup Inno-Bev’s all-natural WakeUp won “Best Functional
Drink” at the Drinktec Beverage Innovation Awards. Instead of a high caffeine energy drink, enjoy guarana, ginkgo
biloba, elderberry and a unique apple sugar with a low glycaemic index that
reduces sugar fluctuation.
$130 million to help build China’s
Technion. Israel’s Technion has received its largest ever donation. The Li Ka Shing Foundation donated $130
million to establish the Technion Guangdong Institute of Technology, a joint
venture with Shantou University in Guangdong Province in southern China.
Watching over them. (Thanks to Yair) An Israeli
company has made a watch to keep your loved ones safe. The Foxiwatch has GPS, a mobile phone and an
emergency contact button. For children
or at-risk adults.
Israel – the next Silicon Valley. (Thanks to Jacob) A long
but very positive article on Israel’s technical prowess. Covers cyber-security, UAVs (unmanned
drones), computer processor chips, the Start-up nation, Be’er Sheva’s Advanced
Technology Park, Negev agriculture and Ben Gurion University.
New tech campus for Tel Aviv. A site for a new technology
and engineering campus has been allocated in southeast Tel Aviv. The 6.75-acre site will accommodate 5,000
students, dormitories, the Afeka Academic College of Engineering, plus
education institutions already in the area, such as the ORT Singalovksi School.
Israeli technology is up in the air. Jerusalem is hosting the 61st
annual International Congress of Aviation and Space Medicine. Israeli technology showcased will include an
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and a robotic dog, both of which can evacuate wounded
under fire.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israeli unemployment
hits 20-year low.
Israel’s August unemployment rate fell to 6.1%, the lowest in two
decades. At the same time, participation in the labor market continues to
expand, reaching 64% in August.
Israel is still an A with S&P. Standard & Poor's
Ratings Services (S&P) affirmed its A+ foreign currency credit rating for
Israel with a "Stable" outlook. It also reaffirmed its local currency
A-1 sovereign credit rating.
Japanese investment boosts ReWalk. Japan-based robotics
manufacturer Yaskawa Electric Corporation has invested in and formed a
strategic partnership with Israel’s Argo Medical Technologies. Argo
manufactures the ReWalk exoskeleton that enables paraplegics to walk. The investment will aid R&D to
streamline manufacture.
Israeli agriculture expands into Serbia. (Thanks to Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Makhteshim Agan Industries supplies solutions to farmers that combat
disease and increase yields. It has
purchased Magan Agrochemicals Serbia in order to expand into the Southeastern
region of the European Union.
Look who’s talking? Israeli communications
integrator and social media solutions provider ITNavigator has just been bought
up by US Networking giant Avaya and will be navigating its way to New
Jersey. ITNavigator spots comments
(positive or adverse) about a company on the Internet, allowing a fast
response.
Everything on the menu
is 5 shekels.
All food and beverages at Israel’s new café chain, Cofix, will be kosher
and just NIS 5 (under $1.5 or £1). Cofix plans 300 takeaway-only franchises.
China invests in Israeli collagen. Israel’s Collplant has
received a 10% investment from China’s Trauwin who will market Collplant’s
products in China. Collagen is the most
abundant protein in mammals and is used to repair damaged muscles and wounds.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Israelis are Magic. (Thanks to Joshua) An
Israeli, 19-year-old Shahar Shenhar, is the 2013 Magic: The Gathering (MtG)
world champion. MtG is a trading card
game, which is as popular as chess among young intellectuals. The champion in 2007 was Israel’s Uri Peleg,
who has five graduate degrees.
A star is born? (Thanks to 12Tribe Films)
Elementary teacher Elon Taub really won over the audience and the judges with
his performance on Israel’s Cohav Nolad.
Stevie TV – your personal TV channel. (Thanks to Israel21c) Tel
Aviv start-up Stevie TV takes feeds from Facebook and Twitter, your friends’
photos, “Liked” articles plus news stories, live sports and music etc. to give
you the personal, interactive TV station of the future. Bye bye BBC.
Israel beams Russian ice hockey to
Europe.
(Thanks to Atid-EDI) Synterra Media, the largest Media Content Logistics
operator in Russia, has selected Israel’s RRsat Global Communications to
distribute live broadcasts of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) games for the
2014 season to millions of Europeans.
THE JEWISH STATE
Israel to digitize
Italian medieval manuscripts. Israel’s National Library will be digitizing
the Palatina Library’s collection of about 1,600 documents dating to the Middle
Ages. Items to go online include one of
the oldest existing copies of the Mishna – the Jewish Oral Law.
Israel’s fire scouts save lives. (Thanks to Israel21c) About
1,500 Israeli teens (often from problem homes) are involved in the fire scout
movement. They learn to operate fire trucks, ladders, hoses, rescue techniques
and all about fires. In 2010 fire
scouts helped save two 18-month-old babies from a burning apartment.
http://israel21c.org/social-action-2/israels-fire-scouts-learn-life-skills-while-helping-save-lives/
Flying with the birds. Here is a beautiful
Israel21c film about Israeli scientist and ornithologist Yossi Leshem. Yossi
took advantage of Israel being the route for 500 million migratory birds to
devise solutions that allow man and bird to share the same airspace in safety.
Grandma has a baby elephant. “La Petite”, an Asian
elephant at Ramat Gan’s Safari Park has just given birth - two months after her
daughter, “La Belle”, gave birth. Zoo
staff said the new “little one” appeared to be strong, healthy, and
successfully nursing. Stop press – park
staff have named La Belle’s baby “Letangi”.
