In our weekly Torah readings we are
currently learning afresh about the groundbreaking activities of the ancestors
of the Jewish people. In parallel, recent news is full of the innovations being
developed by startups, scientists and entrepreneurs in the Jewish State today.
Those suffering from Parkinson’s disease
may soon look forward to a
fresh start in life thanks to the recent success in Phase II trials of
liquid levodopa/carbidopa developed by Israeli biotech NeuroDerm. Another Israeli area of expertise - stem
cell transplantation - is providing a fresh start to many with life-threatening
ailments, however the side-effect Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) endangers
the treatment. The US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has therefore granted preferential orphan drug status to
Glassia from Israel’s Kamada, which studies show is able to reduce
the severity of GVHD. The US
FDA has also approved the innovative
ECG system HyperQ Analyzer Rest developed by Israeli biotech BSP, which
can diagnose early-stage heart disease without putting the patient under
dangerous stress and avoiding invasive radioactive tracers.
Aging pilots can look forward to a
fresh start thanks to the Israeli app GlassesOff. After 3 months of
tests, 32 Israeli pilots experienced an average 35% improvement in visual
acuity (sharpness and clarity) with just 12-15 minutes of exercise, three times
a week. GlassesOff doesn’t improve
eyesight, rather the brain’s ability to concentrate on and process visual
signals. Over at Hadassah Medical Center,
a fresh
look at managing Attention Deficiency Disorder is giving children with
the concentration ailment the opportunity to live normal lives with their
families. Hadassah’s Neurocognitive
Center has one of the world’s most innovative models for the diagnosis and
therapy of ADHD. And if your own
concentration fails during the post-lunch fatigue period, then you will be
pleased to know that the no-caffeine natural beverage WakeUp,
from Israel’s Inno-Bev can
refresh you. WakeUp has just won the 2014 SupplySide CPG Editors’
Choice Award in the Energy Drink category.
Israeli technology is at the center of the
world’s efforts to produce fresh agricultural produce. Professor Eilon Adar, of Ben Gurion
University's Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research (ZIWR), is helping
California combat drought by sharing technology and experience of
working with scarce water resources.
ZWIR specialties include desalination, hydrology, resource economics and
water management. Back in Israel,
Evogene has opened a new center
for crop protection, with dedicated Research & Development programs
focusing on fungus, insect and weed control.
But the main news this week is of the fungicide developed by Israel’s
Pimi Agro that keeps fruit and vegetables fresh
for up to 10 weeks. It extends
shelf life by a staggering 1500 percent, and could prevent the current wastage
of one-third of the world’s agricultural produce.
Recently, there has been some good
news for startups in Israel, where investment during the 3rd quarter of
2014 was 6% higher than the same period in 2013. Over $700 million of funding capital was invested in Israeli
hi-tech from Jul-Sep 2014. Eleven
Israeli startups are currently attending Philadelphia's first Israel
Technology Conference, hosted by Drexel University. Philadelphia is a perfect gateway for Israeli companies, thanks
to its abundance of higher education and healthcare institutions. Meanwhile, hundreds of European and Asian
investors looked to Israel for partnerships
with Israeli startups at the twelfth annual Go4Europe/Go4Israel
conference in Tel Aviv's Hilton Hotel.
Anyone who normally only reads bad news
about Israel could make a fresh start by taking a look at the excellent website
From The Grapevine. It features original articles highlighting
the inspiring, beautiful and innovative side of the Jewish State. It also includes some stunning photography
to accompany positive Israeli stories that cover Innovation, Health, Nature,
the Arts, Food and Lifestyle. Another
recommendation is Israel21c,
which is currently running a story on Israel’s Sea Turtle Rescue and
Rehabilitation Center in Mikhmoret. Its
nine patients include Mazel (Luck) who is blind and Hofesh (Freedom) who has
been given artificial fins. They will
stay and hopefully breed, but the other seven should eventually be given
a fresh start when they return to the sea. The video below is of the remarkable rehabilitation of Franki the
sea turtle.
Good news for some of the Israelis who were
terrorized by thousands of Hamas rockets during the summer. The Jewish Agency for Israel has developed a
$13.2 million aid package to give members of the communities of Israel’s south a
fresh start following the hostilities.
Thanks are due to the Jewish Federations of North America, Keren
Hayesod-UIA, and many other donors.
Finally, you have got to believe that
anything is possible when you read about the fresh
start made by a certain Shia Muslim man from Lebanon. He was a commander in the terror
organization Hezbollah when he fled to South Lebanon and eventually to
Israel. Soon afterwards he converted to
Judaism and today he is Rabbi Avraham Sinai of Tsfat.
Israel – it all starts here.
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
