As we approach the Jewish festival of
Passover and the night that is “different from all other nights” it is
appropriate that there is much in the recent news that positively distinguishes
the Jewish State from the norm.
In medical news, Israelis have been
developing some unique treatments and devices that will make a big difference
to the lives of the chronically sick.
The Renaissance Guidance System developed by Israel’s Mazor Robotics
allowed doctors in Denver to perform the
first ever Deep Brain Stimulation procedure on a patient suffering from
Parkinson’s disease – whilst he was asleep!
The 65-year-old patient responded well to the treatment. Lupus sufferers eagerly await the next Phase
II trials by Israeli biotech XTL Biopharmaceuticals of hCDR1 (Edratide)
- the first
new treatment for Lupus in 50 years.
And scientists at Israel’s Technion continually “think outside of the
box”. They have been using a 3D scanner
to develop unique objects, including the first ever inhalation mask specially
designed for babies.
Israel’s unparalleled medical innovations
can be on a large or small scale.
Winter hospital overcrowding will be alleviated by Israel’s
largest Emergency Room – a new 5,000-square-meter fortified ER at the
Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva that can treat 200,000 patients a
year. On the other hand, at the microscopic
level, Israel’s prominence in the revolutionary
field of nanotechnology has led to the discovery of a new
way to tackle ovarian cancer.
Tel Aviv University scientists have devised a cluster of nano-particles
that use chemotherapy to target tumor cells directly. It has achieved a 25-fold improvement in effectiveness with a
dramatic reduction in toxic effect on healthy organs.
No other country acts like Israel in the
face of humanitarian crises. This week’s
program on Tel Aviv radio TLV1’s “Out of the Comfort Zone” features some of the
staff that are treating
injured Syrians at the Western Galilee hospital in Nahariya. Remember that Syria is technically still at
war with Israel. And whilst the UN and
its member nations make profound speeches about the situation in the Ukraine,
Israelis are busy saving lives. Israeli citizens are raising funds and have
airlifted several wounded Ukrainians to Israeli hospitals for treatment.
I’ve often written about how Israeli
hi-tech is making a huge difference to the developing world, but the recent
focus on Israeli technology has been from the USA and the UK. First, New
York and Boston and then Chicago
and San Francisco held events with packed audiences to hear from
Israeli cleantech companies. Then a 30-strong
Israeli delegation of technology companies was hosted
in London as part of the UK-Israel TeXchange program. Israel is now Britain's largest trading partner in the
Middle East. British Prime
Minister David Cameron said in a message marking Israeli
Science Day, "The work of your scientists is helping humanity in
some truly profound ways."
Israeli technology companies frequently
launch products that are quite different to the normal money-spinners developed
elsewhere. It may be quite some time
before people feel comfortable “printing”
their meals but the “Ginny” printer from Israel’s White Innovation
could eventually revolutionize the food market. Of more immediate practical use are the talking
spectacles for the visually impaired made by Israel’s OrCam -
especially now that Intel Corporation has put 15 million dollars into the
company. And whilst we are speaking
about speech technology for the disabled, TalkITT from Israel’s VoiceITT turns impaired speech into
computer-generated, natural-sounding sentences. See what
a difference it makes to kids and adults suffering from a stutter, a
stroke or a neuro-degenerative disease.
One of the features in the history of the
festival of Passover is the big difference made by women that helped bring
about the redemption of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. It should therefore be no surprise that the
modern Jewish State also recognizes the contribution made by its women. In fact the latest World Economic Forum's
Global Gender Gap survey just ranked Israel the
best country in the Middle East for women's rights and freedoms. Israel also received the “Reducing the
Gender Gap” prize in 2013 from the European Parliament for championing women's
rights. To emphasize the point, fourteen
women will lead the traditional torch-lighting ceremony for Israel’s Independence
Day. The women represent a unique
mosaic of Israeli society and include Hindiya Suliman from Bu'eine
Nujeidat, who works to empower Israeli Arab women.
Eight Israelis - including Muslims, Druze
and Bedouin - have been visiting Canadian universities to highlight a
different side of Israel to that normally portrayed in the media. Some students were shocked to learn that
Arabs study at Israeli universities and that many even serve in the Israel
Defense Forces.
Finally, award-winning American actor and
director Blair Underwood
saw many different
aspects of Israel during his recent visit to the Jewish State with America’s Voices in Israel. Blair toured a military base, Haifa’s Bahai
Gardens, hospitals, the Sea of Galilee and the Western Wall. But the highlight of his very first day in
Israel was meeting
Mehereta Baruch. Mehereta is an Ethiopian Jewess who arrived in Israel
aged 10 without her parents. She is now
Deputy Mayor of Tel-Aviv.
Israel – daring to be different.
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly newsletter
containing positive news stories about Israel.
For a free subscription, email a request to
michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
