As Israel’s political parties fight another election and form alliances in its aftermath, here are some other perhaps more constructive battles that the Jewish State has been fighting recently.
The war
against cancer is one that Israel is determined to win and each week brings a
new breakthrough in Israeli treatments. Israel
Technion scientists, with their US allies at MIT and
Harvard have discovered that chemotherapeutics, delivered in tiny silicon
containers with nano-sized holes are able to destroy
malignant tumors, whilst avoiding adverse effects on healthy
tissue. Then chemotherapy developed by
Professor Dan Peer of Tel Aviv University that previously fought
ovarian cancer has now been engineered to target Glioblastoma
multiforme - the most aggressive form of brain
cancer.
Fighting
heart disease
will become much easier now that researchers at
Israel’s Weizmann Institute have revealed that heart disease causes individual
heart filaments to lose synchronization.
Replacing diseased cells in a structured manner can re-establish a
regular rhythm. The battle
against brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s will benefit from the
results of the Tel Aviv University research study into how brain neuron
networks preserve memories. Meanwhile
Israeli biotech Kadimastem is winning a war on two fronts with the
recent success in pre-clinical tests of its stem cell treatment for the brain
disease ALS. Kadimastem has also
formed
an alliance with Tel Aviv University’s technology transfer company, to
use the same technology to induce pancreatic cells into producing insulin and attack
diabetes.
In clinical tests, Israeli biotech,
Pluristem, is winning the fight
against radiation sickness. Pluristem’s stem cells enable recovery
from bone marrow failure following total body exposure to high doses of
radiation. And another Israeli biotech Advanced Inhalation Therapies has
received a major support boost in its mission to
beat the effects of cystic fibrosis by being granted Orphan Drug status
from the US FDA for its nitric oxide treatment.
But if all you want to do is fight
the flab, you may want to know that Israel’s Tulip Medical has
successfully completed its first clinical trial of its pill that expands in the
stomach, inflates like a balloon, and creates a sense of fullness.
Israel is a major force in the war against
world hunger and thirst. In India,
Israel is well
underway in its campaign to open 30 agricultural centers of excellence for
Indian farmers. And the US Agency for
International Development has just refueled
the funding of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s research into boosting crop
yields.
The Governor of Embu County in Kenya received
an army of Israeli
entrepreneurs who will introduce water technology to revolutionize
agriculture into the arid, yet fertile soils of Embu. And Israel’s TakaDu is saving billions of
liters of water in Australia’s
battle against severe drought with its unique leaks and faults
detection technology. Yet another
Israeli water-tech company, CropX, has just launched its advanced
adaptive sensors and software service that increases crop yields whilst saving
up to 25% of the water and energy used in irrigation.
Israel
goes far beyond the call of duty in the fight to save and restore life. Hundreds of Syrians injured by the fighting
in their civil war have been treated in Israeli hospitals - including a 13-year-old boy who was seriously injured by a mortar in the
Quneitra region three months ago. He has now been fitted with a
prosthetic leg that will allow him to walk again. One battle that Israel will probably lose is
that of welcoming the Queen of England to the holy land; however at least her
grandson Prince
William did meet recently with IsraAID workers who are still in
Japan, helping victims in their long fight to recover from the 2011 earthquake
and tsunami.
My own personal war is against media bias. It is a constant battle to get the
international press to recognize Israeli efforts to win equal opportunities for
all its citizens. To publicize disabled
kids completing the Jerusalem marathon, using Israel-developed Upsee
mobility harnesses and trained by 20 police officers. To acknowledge that the brain-damaged,
autistic
or minorities (e.g. Moslems
or even Catholic
Filipinos) can – if they want to – serve their country in meaningful
and useful ways. To highlight praise
from European Union inspectors of Israel's actions to promote reconstruction
in Gaza and ease the humanitarian crisis in the Strip. And not to ignore
examples of Israeli inclusiveness, such as the press conference featuring the Israeli-Arab
Chairman of Israel’s Election Committee where the only International or English language news reporter
was Sharon from The
Real Jerusalem Streets.
Finally, let’s celebrate the announcement
that this year’s ceremony to mark Israel’s victory in its 1948 War of
Independence will feature 14winning Israelis who have been chosen to light the ceremonial torches
at the Mount Herzl national cemetery in Jerusalem. They include hi-tech developers,
entrepreneurs, Israeli-Arabs, top women achievers and aid workers. Next year we will be joined by thousands of
young French immigrants who want to win the
fight to live as Jews.
Israel - fighting for what is right!
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
