In the 28th Jun 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
Israel’s
“cancer breath-test” professor has now invented a Tuberculosis skin test.
·
The Arab
director of an Israeli nature reserve won a global environment award.
·
Jerusalem’s
new hi-tech recycling plant serves one million residents.
·
A joint
Israel-Norway air navigation project receives EU funding.
·
Tel Aviv
has the best boutique hotel in the world.
·
Israel won
2 gold medals at the European Games.
·
Israel is
the 5th happiest country, according to the OECD Better Life Index.
·
Last
week’s Israel Good News descriptive summary.
Click here for “Israel
Confronts Crisis” (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also published on the Jerusalem
Post, IsraPundit,
San
Diego Jewish World and United
With Israel websites.
·
Click here
to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Janglo,
and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
global
impact, technology
and entertainment.
Page Down for details on these and more
good news stories from Israel. Thank You
Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news
articles. Please use IsraelActive
to search the archives.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
TB skin patch wins
Gates award.
(TY Atid-EDI) Israel Technion’s Professor Hossam Haick has won a Gates
Foundation award to help development of a sensing plaster that can detect
tuberculosis biomarkers on the skin.
Professor Haick is already famous for his nanotech breath analyzer that
detects cancer.
Universal flu vaccine heads for clinical
trials.
Israel’s BiondVax has received FDA approval of its application to
proceed with clinical trials of its universal Multimeric-001 flu vaccine
(M-001).
50 young spines straightened. The Israeli ApiFix system
has now been used to correct scoliosis (deformed spines) in 50 adolescents
since the minimally invasive system was approved for marketing in Europe in
2013.
CuPID prevents falling. The CuPID project,
co-directed by Tel Aviv University’s Dr. Anat Mirelman, has developed a
smartphone app to help Parkinson’s sufferers who have a common symptom called
Freezing of Gait (FoG). The CuPID app
uses sensors on the shoes and alerts the wearer audibly, if they are likely to
fall.
Treating gastro problems with newborns. (TY Atid-EDI) Israeli
biotech Nutrinia develops treatments for intestinal failure in preterms,
infants and adults. Its NTRA-9620
treatment has just been granted orphan status by the US FDA. http://www.nutrinia.com/
Crowdsourcing platform for insomniacs. Israel’s Sleep ASAP (Art
Science Awareness Platform) is described as “Waze for the sleep-deprived”. The sleep-management organization educates
sleep-strugglers about getting a pill-free good night’s sleep, and is launching
meetups in the USA, Canada and Australia.
Internet tool to analyze genes. Dr Yuval Tabach of the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed an Internet tool that will allow
any investigator, physician or patient to analyze a gene according to its
evolutionary profile. It will help identify genes associated with genetic
diseases and cancer.
$5.5 million donation for Israeli
healthcare.
Beneficiaries of the latest donation from the Helmsley Trust include
Ezra LeMarpeh which is building a medical rehabilitation center in Sderot; the
JNF, for a medical center in NW Negev’s Halutza community; and United Hatzalah,
for its central dispatch center.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
School for all with cerebral palsy. Some 150 Muslim, Christian
and Jewish students, most with cerebral palsy, attend the ONN School for
Special Education in Tel Aviv. The
school provides academic, social and life skills for the students, who range
from 6 to 21 years of age.
Prisoners volunteer to help disabled. (TY Hazel) Three times a week,
26 Israeli prisoners from six southern jails shed their inmate garb and board a
bus for ALEH Negev to help severely disabled residents. Upon returning, each prisoner
discusses the experience with his social worker.
Israeli Arab wins
international wetlands award. Giselle Hazzan, director of the Ein Afek
Nature Reserve, in the Galilee, won the “Wise use of wetlands” award at the
12th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Ramsar (Global Environment) Convention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNuJtq8-d84
Fighter pilot gets her wings. In Jewish Press’ photo of
the day, Prime Minister Netanyahu congratulates one of the newly graduated
Israeli Air Force pilots at the Hatzerim Air Base in the Negev on June 25,
2015.
Syrians treated in Israel: (TY Hazel for recent video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR4Euhzp2lY
Israeli appointed to senior UN role. Israel’s Yotam Goren was
appointed as deputy chairman of the Administrative and Budgetary Committee to
the United Nations General Assembly. The
committee functions as the U.N.’s “Finance Ministry,” responsible for a budget
of more than $11 billion.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Containing an oil spill. I included details about
Israel’s HARBO technologies in my latest blog.
Harbo’s floating boom circles an oil spill, allowing it to be removed
before it devastates the coast. Good
news for World Oceans Day. http://nocamels.com/2015/06/harbo-technologies-oil-spills/
Thousands attend Israel’s Mobile Summit. The 2015 Israel Mobile
Summit was held in Tel Aviv as part of Israel Mobile Week. Its popularity reflected the fact that most
of the multinationals in the mobile industry, from Samsung to Apple to Huwaei,
have R&D labs in Israel.
New recycling plant
for 1 million citizens. A brand new recycling plant has begun
collecting the garbage of some 1 million residents of the Jerusalem region. The NIS 100 million plant uses state-of-the-art
technology to transform waste into energy without human intervention.
Israel’s first natural gas powered
truck. Fiat
Chrysler (FCA) has announced the first-ever natural gas vehicle for the Israeli
market. The Iveco Stralis 4×2 heavy
truck is a huge tractor-trailer-sized truck, powered by an Iveco Cursor 8
Compressed Natural Gas engine. A natural
gas powered bus will also be imported.
New thermal imaging apps. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Opgal
has just upgraded its Therm-App product that turns your smartphone into a
professional thermal imaging system. It
now includes full radiometric capability, multiple color palettes, video and
sound recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65tcMzYLbGg
The world’s smallest wearable GNSS
antenna. (TY
Atid-EDI) Israel’s OriginGPS has launched the tiniest wearable device that can
be tracked by Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The Multi Micro Hornet combines low power,
high sensitivity, fast response and accuracy to one meter.
3D on-line shops. Virtual shopping has
arrived, thanks to Israel’s Tridshops.
The advanced platform allows retailers to quickly set up an on-line
store where shoppers “move” on a virtual walkway past 3D images of products
which they can pick up, examine and manipulate through 360 degrees. A pilot store launches shortly.
A visual search engine. A new Israeli search engine
called EyeIn will retrieve relevant visual Internet content from global events
in real time. It uses social media and
sophisticated algorithms to view an event from different locations in the
audience or elsewhere. EyeIn was
conceived by Moshe Hogeg, founder of Mobli.
Israeli water keeps on running. (TY Michelle) Two good
articles on Israel’s wastewater recycling and desalination. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2015/0621/How-Israel-defies-drought
An app to stamp out cyber-bullying. Israeli nonprofit Red Button
has produced the world’s first app that lets anyone, especially kids, easily
report negative web behavior. Click the
red button to send web and IP address, site ownership and more to volunteers at
the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), who collate the information and
file complaints with the appropriate sites and/or authorities.
EU grant for Israel-Norway
navigation project.
The European Union is to fund a project combining ClearVision from Israel’s
Elbit with the ash detection system of Norway’s Nicarnica. The Airborne
Volcanic Object Imaging Detector (AVOID) system will enable commercial airline
pilots to evade volcanic ash clouds.
Tel Aviv hosts international cyber-security
conference.
(TY Hazel) Leading international cyber experts, policymakers,
researchers, security officials, and diplomats attended the Fifth Annual
International Cybersecurity Conference. http://www.israel21c.org/news/cyber-week-2015-underway/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
IMF upbeat about Israeli economy. The International Monetary
Fund (IMF) released its preliminary report on Israel’s economy on Wednesday,
noting that the country’s economy is “performing well” and that the economic
outlook is positive.
Crowds flock to Israeli water companies
in Thailand.
The Israeli events at the Thai Water event in Bangkok were an “unprecedented”
success. The participating Israeli
companies were Aqwise, ATC, Atlantium, Bermad, IDE Technologies, A.R.I. Optimal
Flow Solutions, RWL Water Supply, Talis Group, and Watermatic.
The future of Mapme is mapped out. Mapme, developed by Israel’s
Ben Lang when he served in the IDF, has just raised $1 million in venture
capital. The community mapping technology
is used in “Mapped in Israel” and “Israeli mapped in NY” which shows
the locations of Israeli startups in Israel and Manhattan.
Revolutionizing the music business. Israeli startup Sound Better
allows different artists and sound producers to collaborate from all over the
world to make music online. Musicians
can record themselves at home instead of in a studio. Sound Better has 10,000 participants
worldwide.
More fruit for Frutarom. Israel’s Frutarom, one of
the world's 10 largest companies in the field of flavors and specialty fine
ingredients, has purchased Australia’s Taura, a world leading player in
concentrated and texturized fruit ingredients.
Taura has factories in New Zealand and Belgium, with offices in the US
and UK.
Amazon hiring 100 Israeli engineers. At the AWS Tel Aviv Summit, Amazon
announced to 2000 IT professionals that it will hire over 100 Israeli technologists
in the next 18 months. Amazon bought the Israeli microelectronics firm
Annapurna Labs in Jan 2015, for $350 - 370 million, for its Web Services
division.
EasyJet starts Tel Aviv to Amsterdam
route. From
Oct, low-cost airline EasyJet will begin its tenth route from Tel Aviv - direct
flights to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, from $107 return. Tickets are now on
sale.
World’s largest hotel group holds
Israeli conference.
60 general managers and senior executives of InterContinental Hotels visited
Israel for their annual conference. They
also enjoyed pitches from Israeli hotel-related start-ups EyeOnn, Bizzabo,
Vatbox, Howazit, SevenPop and EatWith. http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Executives-from-worlds-largest-hotel-group-seek-hi-tech-in-Tel-Aviv-406929
Trade talks with China. (TY Michelle) Israel and
China have begun negotiations on a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with
Israel. China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesman said that Israel is one of
China's major economic and trade partners in the Middle East and an FTA will
lift bilateral cooperation to a new height.
The world’s best
boutique hotel.
Luxury American tourism magazine Jetsetter has just named the 50-room Norman
Hotel Tel Aviv as the world’s best boutique hotel. “Tel Aviv’s smart, stylish Norman is the real
deal,” Jetsetter explained of its vote, which was based on reviews by 200
international journalists.
Farm2050 invests in CropX. (TY Michelle) Google CEO
Eric Schmidt‘s Innovation Endeavors fund launched the Farm2050 collective in
2014, to accelerate the development and commercialization of agricultural
technology. Farm2050’s first investment
is in CropX - Israel’s adaptive irrigation company (March
newsletter)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2015/06/22/cropx-raises-9m-to-drive-agriculture-efficiency-through-technology/
http://www.cropx.com/press-releases/cropx-closes-9-million-series-a/
$84 million investment in Checkmarx
cyber security.
US-based Insight Venture Partners has invested $84 million in Israeli
cyber-security start-up Checkmarx to fund development and global expansion. Checkmarx’s customers already include the US
Army, Samsung, Deutsche Telekom, Deloitte and PwC.
A facelift for Camden market. (TY Hazel) Israeli Teddy
Sagi’s company Market Tech Holdings will overhaul the open-air Union Street
Market in Camden, London to construct a two-story market and adjacent boutique
hotel. http://news.nocamels.com/2015/06/24/market-tech-announces-plans-for-camden-markets/
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Opera
at Masada. Behind the scenes at the ancient fortress of
Masada in Israel’s Negev desert where the Israel Opera company has been
performing Tosca and Carmina Burana in front of an audience of around 6000.
Tel Aviv White Night. Tel Aviv-Yafo’s all-night
White Night event features music, theater performances, folk dancing, dance
performances, operatic excerpts, classical music, jazz ensembles, rock
concerts, video displays, poetry readings, discussions, sports activities, yoga
lessons, parades, parties, guided tours and much more.
NFL Hall of Famers visit Israel. New England Patriot’s owner
Robert Kraft brought a delegation of 19 NFL greats to meet with 10 Israeli
startups. The goodwill week-long trip to
Israel, called, “Touchdown in Israel: Mission of Excellence,” was organized in
coordination with Israel’s Ambassador to the USA, Ron Dermer.
Israelis win big time
at Euro games.
Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah, was played twice at the European
games in Baku. Israel’s Sagi Muki won the 73kg judo gold and Ziv Kalontarov won
the 50m dash in the Junior swimming championships. Israelis also won two more
judo medals, plus in the 1500m swim, air-rifle, women’s wrestling and 3 in team
rhythmic gymnastics. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4673157,00.html
http://www.swimvortex.com/ziv-kalontarov-the-sprint-star-of-david-dominates-the-dash-in-22-1-in-baku-finale/
http://www.baku2015.com/countries/country=isr/medals/medal-winners.html
THE JEWISH STATE
Jewish roots in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of children from 25
countries came together in Tel Aviv to mark the 20th anniversary of the “My
Family Story” competition. Each student
produced an art installation illustrating their journey into their family roots
and connection to the greater story of the Jewish people.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/global-students-jewish-roots-arts-project-winners-in-tel-aviv/2015/06/16/
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4672184,00.html
Birthright tour for hearing impaired. Deafness did not prevent US
Jews from visiting the Jewish State this summer on Taglit and Birthright trips.
One group specifically catered for those with hearing impediments. And the highlight was a whole day’s sessions
at the Institute for the Advancement of Deaf People in Israel.
New Israeli stamps. (TY Jacob) Israel’s latest
postage stamps include bridal jewelry, WW1, the IAF Cobra helicopter, 50 years
of diplomatic relations with Germany and vegetables.
Zoabi is a proud Zionist. Sarah Zoabi - another
relative of anti-Israel MK Haneen Zoabi – is a contestant on Israel’s Master
Chef. In her introduction, she said, “I
want to say to all the Arab [citizens] of Israel to wake up. We live in
paradise. Compared to other countries, to Arab countries – we live in
paradise.”
Arizona rabbi donates kidney to Israeli. For young Israeli Yossi
Azran, 15 years of debilitating kidney disease and 2.5 years of dialysis was
like a slow death until Rav Shmuly Yanklowitz donated one of his kidneys. “I have been teaching about social justice
and saving human life for many years,” Yanklowitz said.
The 5th happiest
country in the world. Israel is one of the top 5 happiest
countries, according to a new Better Life Index report by the OECD. Israel came after Denmark, Iceland,
Switzerland and Finland on 22 variables - including income, education, housing,
health, life expectancy, life satisfaction and community.
150621
In the 21st Jun 2015 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
Three important stomach-related
medical developments from Israeli scientists.
·
The Israeli Government’s new
benefits for Israeli Arabs received all-round praise.
·
Israeli experts helped Georgia
recover animals that escaped in recent floods.
·
An Israeli company is
cultivating a high-protein vegetable to fight world hunger.
·
SolarEdge is Israel’s latest
billion-dollar company and more are on the way.
·
Israel’s Moran Samuel has won
the Paralympic Rowing World Cup.
·
An early-Hebrew inscription
from the time of King David was found near Bet Shemesh.
·
Last week’s Israel Good News
descriptive highlights. Click here for “What
Boycott?” (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also published on the Jerusalem
Post, IsraPundit,
San
Diego Jewish World and United
With Israel websites. (AOL now blocks my weekly highlights emails, so please
read it here if not received.)
·
Click here to see the
newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo
and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
global
impact, technology
and entertainment.
Page Down for details on these and more
good news stories from Israel. Thank You
Michelle, Barbara, Elaine and many others for sending me links to many of these
positive news articles. Please use IsraelActive
to search the archives.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Successful trials for
treatment of gastric infections. Israel’s Redhill Biopharma announced positive
top-line results from its Phase III study with RHB-105 for treating
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections. RHB-105 achieved 89.4% efficacy in
eradicating H. pylori with no serious adverse events or unexpected safety
issues.
Micro-antenna to treat
gastro-cancer.
Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are developing a tiny
antenna that can be inserted into the stomach via an endoscopic tube to detect
and treat early-stage cancers too small to be treated by current methods. At present, doctors have to wait until the
tumor is large enough to treat.
What you should and should not eat. Scientists at Israel’s
Weizmann Institute reported the results of their Personalized Nutrition Project
(launch
reported here in 2013). They
discovered that bacteria in the stomach of different people reacts differently
to the same food. Some even lost weight
from ice cream and buttered bread.
Treatment
for acromegaly.
Israel’s Chiasma has developed the oral treatment Octreotide, for
acromegaly - abnormal growth due to a tumor of the pituitary gland that causes
severe life-threatening health problems.
Chiasma is also planning an IPO on NASDAQ.
http://www.chiasmapharma.com/news/chiasma-submits-new-drug-application-us-fda-octreotide-capsules-acromegaly http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-chiasma-files-for-86m-nasdaq-ipo-1001045453
Israeli
experts at international medical conference. (TY Alan) Israeli medical experts From Tel
Aviv Sourasky Medical Center are involved in about a dozen sessions of the 2015
World Congress of the International Society for Posture and Gait Research. The Israeli company Meditouch is also
exhibiting.
Your
digital doctor.
Israel’s Doctome digital doctor platform is part of IBM’s startup
incubator. It links to IBM’s Watson
supercomputer (see
last week) and to WhatsApp and is the basis of a fully-functioning
telemedicine service. http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/israeli-digital-doc-aiming-to-bring-healthcare-to-your-inbox/2015/06/19/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Empowering women in business.
(TY Sharon) Over 600 women attended the 6th annual Temech Conference in
Jerusalem. The Hebrew and English tracks
featured prominent speakers from across Israeli society. Temech’s support for
religious Jewish women in business includes training courses and Jerusalem workspaces.
Rise in tourism from Arab and Moslem
countries.
The number of people visiting Israel from Arab countries is
increasing. 14,200 tourists from Jordan,
Egypt and Morocco visited Israel from January to May. In addition, tourists from Moslem countries
included 13,300 from Turkey, 1,900 from Malaysia and 9,700 from Indonesia.
Major benefits for
Israeli Arabs and Druze. (TY Evelyn) The far-left
Ha’aretz newspaper called the new initiatives of the Netanyahu government to
benefit Israeli Arabs “praiseworthy” and “revolutionary”. These address housing shortages and education. The Israeli Cabinet also approved a $500+
million 5-year plan to develop Druze and Circassian (Moslem) communities.
Israel’s new annual Arab Book Day. The first-ever Arab Book Day
was celebrated in a special ceremony at the Israeli parliament. The ultimate aim of the event was to
underscore the role literature can play in spanning the divide between Jews and
Arabs in Israel. Israeli Arab MK Issawi
Frej said, “Books build bridges”.
Investment for Nazareth startups. 12 Nazareth-based start-ups
presented their technology to Tel Aviv tech investors in an event designed to
introduce the relatively new start-up ecosystem in the Arab-city to its established
Tel Aviv big brother. As one of the
entrepreneurs put it, “If they can do it, we can do it too.”
Israel
allows 300 Gazans to pray at Al Aqsa Mosque. (TY Hazel – from PA news site) An official at
the Palestinian liaison office told Ma'an that 300 Gaza residents were driven
to Jerusalem via the Erez crossing to pray in the Al-Aqsa mosque. Israel traditionally eases travel
restrictions during Ramadan.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765920
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/75131-150616-israel-eases-restrictions-on-palestinians-for-ramadan
Israeli products in PA shops. There is no sign of the
Palestinian Authority’s BDS policy in Bethlehem. During Kay Wilson’s visit, she saw plenty of
Israeli products in the supermarkets. She saw some Arabs driving cars that the
rest of us could only dream of. Kay’s
Facebook post went viral.
A meeting of Israelis, Sunnis and
Shiites. (TY
Michelle) In the Indian city of Lucknow, Indian Shiite Moslems met with Saudi
Arabian Sunni Moslems and Israeli Jews.
They discussed religious extremism and the mutual understanding
necessary for solving the many problems in the Middle East.
100
German company heads to visit Israel. 100 German industry leaders are to visit
Israel at the end of June. They include
from SAP SE, BMW, Bosch, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Merck & Co.,
Inc., Mercedes-Benz and Lufthansa. They
will attend an investors’ conference and meet Israeli innovators and
researchers.
Israeli
agro-tech for Goa.
(TY Michelle) Goa has been actively wooing Israel to resurrect its
agriculture since the 2012 Indian election.
Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Narayan Bandeka met with
Israeli consul general in Mumbai David Akov to discuss crop, post-harvest
technologies and water management.
Israeli vets in Georgia floods rescue. (TY Hazel) A day after
severe floods sent animals from Georgia’s Tbilisi Zoo to towards city streets,
a team of veterinarians from Tel Aviv’s Ramat Gan Safari and Jerusalem’s
Biblical Zoo arrived in the Georgian capital to advise zoo officials and
dispense medicines and anesthetics.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Water-saving tips in California. (TY Michelle) Israeli water
technology experts went to Sacramento (twinned with Israel’s Ashkelon), to
demonstrate smart ways to secure water from a desert. These included recycling wastewater, desalination,
detecting leaky pipes and different charging structures for water purity. US cities Los Angeles and Beverly Hills are
also partnering with Israel for water conservation. http://www.jewishjournal.com/los_angeles/article/beverly_hills_partners_with_israel_in_water_conservation_solutions http://www.kcra.com/news/israel-offers-droughtbusting-tips-for-california/33535818
Water
advice for the World Bank. (TY Michelle) Israel has
signed an agreement to share best practices on water with the World Bank. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/06/17/israel-world-bank-group-agreement-innovative-best-practices-water
Record $50 million donation for Technion. Andrew Viterbi, co-founder
of Qualcomm, announced that he will give $50 million to the Technion-Israel
Institute of Technology - a record gift from an American donor. Viterbi, a Technion board member, invented an
algorithm to eliminate interference in mobile communications.
France-Israel TransTech Conference. On Oct 27 2015, the Chamber
of Commerce and Industry Israel-France holds its 6th TRANSTECH Conference
seminar on Technology Transfer, Financial Technology & Clean Technology, to
encourage an international cooperation between Israel, France and the European
Union.
Beautifying
Wikipedia.
Israel’s Wikiwand takes content from a Wiki page and redraws it in a
more aesthetically pleasing format, with extra elements – like a table of
contents, maps, drawings, etc
$100
million gift to Cornell-Technion. (TY Michelle) Former NY mayor Michael
Bloomberg has donated $100 million to help pay for construction of the new
Cornell-Technion Institute in New York.
The first academic building will be named The Bloomberg Center – in
honor of his two daughters, Emma and Georgina.
Taking
control if pilot loses consciousness. An Israeli-developed smart flight helmet will
detect emergency situations in which pilots are about to lose consciousness,
and take control of the plane in order to prevent disasters. Tel Aviv’s Lifebeam developed the Cannary
system with sensors measuring the pilot’s vital signs.
Israeli
scientists discover tiny nearby galaxy. (TY NoCamels) A team of scientists from Tel
Aviv University and the University of California have discovered the NGC 5253
dwarf galaxy, containing over a million relatively new stars. The galaxy was previously hidden by clouds of
dust emitted by the galaxy.
Protein from the smallest vegetable. Israel’s Hinoman is
cultivating Mankhai – the world’s smallest vegetable. Mankhai contains 45% protein, is high in
vitamins, low in carbohydrate, fat, sugar and salt and is GMO, gluten and
pesticide free. Hinoman promotes Mankhai
as a sustainable substitute for meat and seafood.
Engie
cuts car repair costs. Israel’s Engie is a sensor and app that
diagnoses car engine faults and gets the best repair deals. The sensor costs $9 and the app already has
30,000 users in Israel. The US target is
2016.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Hong
Kong learns from Israeli startups. (TY Michelle) Israel's
tech sector makes for a great study for Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Science and Technology Park
recently held a business-matching session when a dozen Israeli tech hopefuls met
with potential Hong Kong collaborators and customers.
SolarEdge is worth
$1.5 billion. The share price of Israel’s SolarEdge has more than doubled since
its March NASDAQ listing, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Revenue grew nearly 18% last quarter. SolarEdge has just released a new solar
energy storage system for residential buildings and expanded its commercial
products.
http://www.solaredge.com/articles/solaredge_presents_storedge_solutions_and_expanded_commercial_inverter_offering_at_intersol http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-solaredge-doubles-value-since-ipo-1001043319
More billion-dollar companies on the way. (TY Nevet www.broaderview.org) "Israel has
produced ten billion dollar unicorn exits over the last two years," says
Jonathan Medved, CEO of OurCrowd. "This pace is about to accelerate.” Webydo and Meta are the next candidates. And
many more are in the pipeline.
Another
$25 million for WalkMe. (TY Michelle) I featured Israel’s WalkMe in a previous (Apr
2014) newsletter. The user-friendly
app allows website owners to build step-by-step guidebooks for using their
sites. WalkMe has just raised another
$25 million in an oversubscribed round of funding.
Counter BDS – buy Israeli bonds. Izzy Tapoohi has been president
& CEO of Development Corporation for Israel/Israel Bonds since October
2011. He advocates that in an era of boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS), “The
best defense is a good offense”. And investing in Israel’s economy is the
greatest form of offense.
Flying high at Paris Air Show. 11 Israeli companies are
exhibiting products at the Paris Air Show that ends on 21 June. They include Elbit Systems, Rafael, Israel
Aerospace Industries, UVision, Elta Systems, Aeronautics Ltd and Ashot (part of
IMI).
Increasing digital performance.
Israel’s XLMedia has just acquired Israel’s Marmar Media, combining the
two Digital Performance Marketing companies into one.
Waze
is the most-loved sharing app. Israeli-developed traffic application Waze is
among the best “sharing” apps, according to a study by research group Arc360, a
division of Israeli app testing firm Applause.
Waze had over 300,000 reviews and although only fifth overall, the top
four apps only had a few hundred reviews.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Israeli
photographer wins top UK prize. (TY Harold) Israel’s Matan Ben-Cnaan won the
£30,000 top prize in the 2015 BP Portrait Awards, currently on exhibition at
London’s National Portrait Gallery. His
allegorical portrait “Annabel and Guy” was partly inspired by the biblical
story of the Israelite judge Jephthah.
Zionist’s art exhibition. Tel Aviv’s Museum of Art
features (until Oct 5) an exhibition of the works of Israeli artist Otte
Wallish (1906 – 1977). Wallish designed
posters and exhibitions promoting Zionism that culminated in the design of the
ceremony and scroll of the Declaration of Independence.
Exhibit
of Caesarea treasure. Jerusalem’s Israel Museum is exhibiting the
exciting find of over 2,580 solid gold coins that divers retrieved from the sea
bed off the coast of Caesarea in Feb 2015.
The coins from 9th to 11th Century CE weigh a total of 7.5kg. Some display the Fatimid Caliph that founded
the Druze religion.
International Falafel Day. Ben Lang’s initiative of a
day to celebrate the Middle East delicacy falafel began in 2011. Now for the first time, International Falafel
Day has spread from Israel to the Arab world.
Israel is “Top of the Box”. Since the success of
“Hatufim”, American studios or other international channels have acquired
virtually every Israeli series (game-show, reality series, drama or
comedy). Now a new spy thriller “Kfulim”
(False Flag) has won the Public Prize at the French International TV Festival
Series Mania.
New
Disney series to be made in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Film Fund announced that
several long-term animation projects, including a new Walt Disney Studios
television series, will be based in Jerusalem, starting immediately. Disney Studios will be working with Israel’s
animation company, Snowball Studios.
Israeli
dancer wows LA judges. Israel’s Asaf Goren used Jewish props in his
audition for “So you think you can dance” in Los Angeles. All three judges and the audience were most impressed
with his “Hebrew Breaking”, with Madonna’s “Isaac” playing in the
background. Asaf went straight into the
next round.
http://israelseen.com/2015/06/18/asaf-goren-israeli-dancer-wows-judges-at-so-you-think-you-can-dance/#more-29488
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rm4dZai9fU
Israeli paralympic rower wins gold at World Cup. Israel’s Moran Samuel won
the gold medal in rowing at the 2015 Paralympic World Rowing Cup in Italy. She also broke the Israeli record.
THE JEWISH STATE
IDF behaved too well. (TY Hazel) The International
Military Group report to the UN stated that, in Gaza, Israel exceeded the
standard laws of armed conflict. And
another expert, Michael Schmitt, Director of the Stockton Center for the Study
for International Law at the US Naval War College, said “People are going to
start thinking that the United States and other Western democracies should
follow the same examples in different types of conflict. That’s a real risk”. http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-did-not-commit-war-crimes-in-gaza-says-multi-national-military-group/ http://unitedwithisrael.org/israels-military-accused-of-being-too-careful-to-avoid-civilian-casualties-in-gaza-war/
Ayala celebrates her Bat Mitzvah. Ayala Shapira, granddaughter
of my shul’s warden, was released from hospital for a week of Bat Mitzvah
celebrations. Ayala was severely burnt
when Palestinian Arab terrorists through firebombs at her Dad’s car in
December. Her Bat Mitzvah included a
family visit to Temple Mount.
Art’s blessing. I mentioned last week that
Art Garfunkel made the Shecheyanu blessing during his Tel Aviv concert. Here’s the video of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4n6anHsxTc.
150
Jewish innovators gather in Jerusalem. Some 150 of the Jewish world’s leading
change-makers from 32 countries gathered in Jerusalem for the 2015 ROI (Return
on Investment) Summit. App developers, journalists,
toy designers, community organizers, and more; all seeking to build a thriving
Jewish future and a better world.
Righting
a wrong after 58 years. Israel Shrir (now 79) survived the Holocaust and
in 1957 was awarded a citation for excellence in the IDF. But due to a clerical error, Israel never
received an invitation to the awards ceremony.
58 years later, President Rivlin presented the citation to Israel, in
the presence of his 13 children.
Rare Biblical inscription discovered. A rare proto-Hebrew
inscription from the era of King David has been found in Khirbet Qeiyafa, near
Bet Shemesh. “Eshbaal ben Beda” was
fired on an earthenware pot. The name
Eshbaal (also that of a son of King Saul) was discontinued later, due to
associations with a heathen god.
150614
In the 14th Jun 2015 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
Two Israeli successes in the fight
against diabetes.
·
The UN has signed an agreement with
Israel for cooperating in Outer Space.
·
Israeli scientists have used pulsed
light to keep milk fresh at room temperature.
·
The IAEA is using Israeli nuclear
technology to protect Balkan citrus trees.
·
A Muslim UK Government minister hailed
“A ‘golden era’ for UK-Israel trade”.
·
After Englebert Humperdinck and Art
Garfunkel, Israel looks forward to Bon Jovi.
·
The Jewish State’s first Unity Day
honored those who bring Israelis closer together.
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Janglo,
and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
global
impact and technology.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to so many of
these positive news articles. Use IsraelActive
to search the archives.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Israeli shrub treats diabetes. Israeli researchers at the Judea Research
and Development Center have discovered that the Israeli shrub Chiliadenus
iphionoides increases sugar absorption and reduces blood sugar levels. They are now trying to isolate the active
ingredient in order to make an accessible diabetes treatment.
Blocking receptor
prevents diabetes.
Professor Ofer Mandelboim of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem has won
the 2015 Kaye Innovation for discovering that blocking the NKp46 receptor on
Natural Killer cells delays or prevents the onset of Type 1 (Juvenile)
Diabetes. Israel’s BioLineRX developed
BL-9020 to target NKp46.
Trials for dry-AMD treatment begin. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Cell
Cure is commencing a Phase I/IIa study of its OpRegen treatment for geographic
atrophy (GA), the severe stage of the dry form of age-related macular
degeneration (dry-AMD). Cell Cure has
received another NIS 6.24 million grant from Israel’s Chief Scientist.
Israeli & Irish scientists join up
to fight cancer.
(TY Margaret) The 2nd Joint Symposium took place last week between
Dublin’s Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute and Israel’s Weizmann and
Technion Institutes. See the pdf report
on last year’s event and joint Israeli-Irish research into cancer and
inflammatory diseases.
Study neuroscience for free online with
the Hebrew U.
Here’s another chance to take the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s free
nine-week introductory course by Professor Idan Segev on neuroscience. Over 60,000 took the original “Synapses,
Neurons and Brains” course, including many from Arab countries.
Not
for the first time. BBC and Sky TV headlines hailed a first for a baby born after
ovarian tissue taken from the mother was transplanted back. Readers (see
newsletter 31/5/15) will know that Israeli doctors also have done this,
without any international media fanfare.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33063838
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Israel’s
Trade Consul to Canada is a Christian Arab. (TY Hazel) Michael Khoury is Israel’s trade
consul to Canada. He hails from the predominately Arab city of Shfar’am, in
Israel’s north, near Haifa. He is in the second year of a four-year posting in
Toronto. He promotes Israeli exports, companies and investors to Canada.
Gaza deliveries. I haven’t reported this for
some time (due to lack of space) but every day Israel facilitates the delivery
of over 500 trucks containing some 14,000 tons of goods into Gaza via the Kerem
Shalom crossing.
UN to co-operate with
Israel in Outer Space. The United Nations Office
for Outer Space Affairs has signed an agreement with Israel for cooperation in
space. It was signed in Vienna as part
of preparations for a world conference on space that will be held in Jerusalem in
October.
Why
Israel matters to America. (TY Michelle) Great article summarizing the
truth about Israel, from former Arkansas Governor and US President candidate
Mike Huckabee.
US-Israeli Fulbright scholars. This year, 65 students from
Israel and the US will study in each others’ countries under the auspices of
the Fulbright Program, which awards scholarships to top students from
undergraduate to post-doctoral as well as to teachers, professionals,
scientists and artists.
Israeli technology in New York cabs. Israel’s Mobileye car
safety system is being installed in New York City taxicabs. NYC’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC)
has launched its Vehicle Safety Technology (VST) Pilot Program with Mobileye
alerting drivers if they tailgate or veer out of lane without signaling etc.
A
“Roof for All” in Nepal. (TY Size Doesn’t Matter) Israeli humanitarian aid organization
IsraAID has launched its "A Roof for All" program to provide safe and
sturdy transitional shelter for thousands of displaced families who have lost
their homes as a result of the last two devastating earthquakes in Nepal.
A medical clinic for Ecuador. María Angela Serrano, a
graduate of the Young Leadership: Tools and Methodologies course organized by
Israel’s MASHAV, together with members of a rural community in Ecuador utilized
recycled materials to build a much needed medical clinic for the local
population.
Irrigation for Kazakhstan. (TY Algemeiner) Israel and
Kazakhstan have launched the Israel-Kazakhstan Irrigation Demonstration Center
in the Almaty region. The Israeli
Foreign and Agricultural ministries are implementing the project, together with
the Kazakh Agriculture Ministry and the “KazAgroInnovation” group.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Pulsed light kills bacteria in milk. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have shown
that pulsed light kills the listeria bacteria that cause many deaths each year
in consumers of infected milk products.
In fact using pulsed light once a day, means that milk no longer
requires refrigeration.
Research patents rise by 20%. In 2014 856 inventions were
registered by Israeli universities and research institutes – a 20% increase on
2013 figures.
Celebrating Einstein’s centenary. On the 100th anniversary of
Einstein publishing his theory of relativity, the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem has unveiled a new statue to the renowned physicist. Albert Einstein was one of the founders of
the Hebrew University, a true Zionist and was nominated to be the first
President of Israel.
Phree yourself from paper. I featured Phree previously
here,
but here is a new video of the amazing Israeli digital pen. Phree has raised over a quarter of a million
dollars on Kickstarter - the target was $100,000.
Training Watson to think. Scientists at IBM Israel
have been upgrading IBM’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) system known as
“Watson”. After winning TV’s “Jeopardy”
in 2011 and turning into a master chef in 2014, it is now at AI
med-school. The Watson Health Cloud can
evaluate medical data and make recommendations.
Israeli
security for Dropbox. Israel’s Adallom is taking the vital role of ensuring cyber
security on the Dropbox for Business platform, the company’s high-end product
aimed at enterprise customers. Dropbox
has over 300 million users around the world, who upload and store documents,
photos, videos, and much more.
Trapping the hackers. (TY Michelle) In my
previous (Feb
15 2015) newsletter I featured Israel’s Team8, which launched cyber
security startups that had good ideas.
One of these is Illusive Networks, which fools hackers to steal fake
data to which Illusive Networks has attached an alarm trigger. Clever stuff.
Europe’s largest cyber-tech firm to open
in Israel. Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for
Secure Information Security (SIT), the biggest private organization for applied
scientific research in Europe, will establish a cyber-security innovation
center in Israel. A recent attack on
the Bundestag has highlighted the need for Israel’s help.
Sterile flies to save
Balkan fruit trees. Israel’s BioBee has won a tender by the International Atomic
Energy Agency to supply 400 million sterile flies to protect citrus trees along
the border of Croatia and Bosnia. The
nuclear-sterilized flies repel the Mediterranean fruit fly, a pest that has
been wreaking havoc in the Balkans.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Making
advertising revenue for Facebook. If you wondered where Facebook gets its
income from, one of the answers is Israel’s Bidalgo. As one of the few official Facebook Marketing Partners in Israel,
Bidalgo expects as much as $100 million in revenues in 2015 from selling
hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of ads.
The business of conserving water. (TY Nevet – www.broaderview.org) Recent article in
The Atlantic entitled “Selling the Desert's Water-Conservation Lessons to the
Rest of the World” It describes the reasons for the success of Israel’s
Netafim, with its irrigation system that can grow plants with much less water.
A ‘golden era’ for UK-Israel
trade. (TY
Michelle - from the UK Jewish Chronicle)
“The past few years have been a golden era for Anglo-Israeli business,”
said British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Sajid Javid
during the annual British Israel Business Awards event. Mr Javid, self-described as a “proud
British-born Muslim”, told the audience “I share Israel’s love for freedom and
democracy.”
Banking cooperation with Belarus. (TY NoCamels) Belarus'
Center of Banking Technologies (BCBT) and the Israeli consulting company
Integrity will develop cooperation and exchange experience.
Israel’s antioxidant in Japan. Israel’s Algatechnologies
has signed a supply and long-term collaboration agreement with Japan’s Fujifilm
Corp. for its AstaPure natural astaxanthin ingredients. Fujifilm already uses Algatech’s astaxanthin
antioxidant for its nutrition supplement and cosmetics product line named
Astalift.
Israel’s long-term viability. Ambassador Yoram Ettinger
gives a “thumbs up” to Israel’s economy.
In particular, 280 global high-tech giants have established R&D
centers in Israel and investment has soared.
US programs For Israeli startups. The JFE Organization of San
Francisco is launching its 7th accelerator cohort for Israeli and Jewish
entrepreneurs. It has also running an
investor pitch for Israeli companies raising $5 - $15 million on July 1st. http://jfeaccelerator.com/accelerator-sf/
$10 rides through Manhattan traffic. (TY Michelle) Israel’s app-based company Gett is offering black cab
rides between Manhattan’s 110th Street and Battery Park for just $10 plus tax
and tip, irrespective of traffic. Gett
is expected to take much of the business from current market leaders Uber and
Lyft.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Israel’s
fast-moving mandolin player. The hectic May itinerary for Israel’s
mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital included
concerts in California, several German cities, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Salisbury (UK)
and Lancut (Poland). In 2010 he was the
first-ever solo mandolin player to be nominated for a Grammy award.
Welcome back Engelbert Humperdinck. (TY Hazel) British crooner
Engelbert Humperdinck performed another sell-out concert in Tel Aviv. He sang all the old favorites, from “Love
Story” to “The Last Waltz”.
“I’m
on your side, Tel Aviv, when times get rough.” Legendary singer Art
Garfunkel made a unique addition to Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge
over Troubled Water” as he woo’d the Bloomfield Stadium audience with his
ephemeral voice. When he put on a kippa
to bless the event, it was as if “Heaven holds a place”.
Bon Jovi is coming to Israel. Bon Jovi, one of the most successful bands
to ever emerge from the US, is to perform in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park, on October
3. It will be Bon Jovi’s first
performance in the Jewish State.
“And
there was light”.
(TY Jacob Richman) Some memorable moments from Jacob Richman’s visit to
see Jerusalem’s Festival of light. http://www.jr.co.il/videos/jerusalem-festival-of-light-2015.htm
Israeli
wins $475,007 world poker prize. Idan Raviv, 24, of Holon, finished first in
a 2015 World Series of Poker tournament at the Rio casino in Las Vegas. Raviv, an IT professional, defeated a field
of 1,650 to take the $457,007 top prize in the $1,500 buy-in event.
THE JEWISH STATE
Jerusalem
mayor breaks up fight. Nir Barkat, Mayor of Jerusalem, used his hands-on approach once
again to restore peace in the capital when he broke up a traffic-related street
fight while pedaling on his bicycle to work.
He separated two men who were hitting each other, and then waited until
police arrived. In Feb, Mayor Barkat
tackled an Arab terrorist who had stabbed a bystander near Jerusalem’s City
Hall.
Poland
parliament’s Jewish State support group. The Polish Parliamentary Israel Allies
Caucus was launched at the Polish parliament (Sejm) in Warsaw. An Israeli
delegation from the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and the World Jewish
Congress met senior Sejm members to build on shared Judeo-Christian values.
Unity Day. Israel’s President Rivlin
distributed inaugural Jerusalem Unity Prize awards to individuals and
organizations that contribute to unity among Jewish communities and Israeli
society. Unity Day and the awards were in honor of murdered Jewish teens Gilad
Shaer, Eyal Yifrach, and Naftali Frenkel.
Hezbollah gets the message. A Chabad poster attached to
balloons drifted from Israel into Lebanon.
Members of the terrorist organization Hezbollah were seen holding up a
banner displaying “We Want Moshiach Now”.
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/316535/video-we-want-moshiach-now-balloon-message-lands-in-lebanon.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgbrmJ9kMhE
150607
In the 7th Jun 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
A new Israeli device uses light
to identify bacterial infections in minutes.
·
Four news items featuring
Israeli cancer research breakthroughs.
·
A female Arab party MK was
unanimously elected to head an Israeli Parliament committee.
·
An Israeli company is helping
to build the world’s largest radio telescope.
·
A new Israeli supermarket is
selling every item for 5 shekels ($1.30) or less.
·
Tel Aviv is to hold its first
ever Blues festival this summer.
·
Hundreds of thousands of Israel
supporters flocked to New York’s Israel Day Parade.
·
Last week’s Israel Good News
descriptive summary. Click here for “In
Israel you ‘Can Do’ it” (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also published on the Jerusalem
Post, San
Diego Jewish World and United
With Israel websites.
·
Click here to see the
newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Janglo
and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
global
impact, technology
and entertainment.
Page Down for details on these and more
good news stories from Israel. Thank You
Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news
articles. Please use IsraelActive
to search the archives.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Bacteria test in
minutes. (TY
Atid-EDI) Israel’s Pocared Diagnostics has developed a device that can identify
the bacteria in a sample within minutes, rather than current tests that take
several days. The P-1000 employs
fluorescence, optical analysis and artificial intelligence. It can also test the bacteria’s resistance to
antibiotics.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pocared-announces-real-time-identification-of-bacterial-species-and-antibiotic-resistance-markers-504239361.html http://www.pocared.com/products/p-1000/technology
A cure for addiction. In clinical tests,
scientists at Israel’s Bar Ilan University working with Canada’s McGill
University discovered DNA methylation changes occur during an addict’s
withdrawal process. These changes
increased cravings and by administering a DNA methylation inhibitor, the
cravings ceased.
10,000 operations for spinal surgery guidance
system. (TY
Atid-EDI) Spinal surgeons have now performed over 10,000 procedures using the
Renaissance Guidance System (and its earlier Spine Assist version) developed by
Israel’s Mazor Robotics. The system is
now also being used to perform brain surgery.
$10
million to research genetic diseases. Canada’s Azrieli Foundation has donated $10
million to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for researching genetic
disorders. The new Azrieli Center for
Stem Cells and Genetic Research will focus on Down syndrome, Prader-Willi
syndrome, diabetes, and Fragile X syndrome.
And baby makes three. (TY Michelle) Israel’s Nuvo
Group has developed the PregSense monitor for expectant mothers that need to
keep a check on their fetus but do not require hospitalization. Sensors on an elastic harness transmit data
via bluetooth to a smartphone for storage in the cloud that physicians can
access.
Wristband
stores medical profile. Israel’s MyMDband is a smart waterproof lifetime-guaranteed
silicon band with a laser-engraved QR code on a stainless-steel buckle that displays
all the data needed immediately after it’s scanned: prior medical conditions,
current medications, allergies.
Everything a paramedic needs to know.
Triple treatment stops lung cancer returning. Researchers at Israel’s
Weizmann Institute discovered how lung cancer cells adapt to stop the
effectiveness of treatment that block tumor growth. So they have found a solution that targets
the adaptations. Applying three
treatments together stops tumor growth permanently.
Annotating DNA to
prevent cancer.
Israel Prize laureate Dr. Haim (Howard) Cedar of the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem specializes in DNA annotation – the instructions that cells use to
do their specific function. He is working to detect wrongly reproduced
instructions in order to prevent, not merely cure, cancer.
Hope for advanced
cancer sufferers.
Israel’s VBL Therapeutics reported good interim results from Phase 2
trials of its VB-111 cancer treatment. VB-111 reduced tumor size by at least
50% in most worst-case Mullerian (ovarian) cancer sufferers. It also extended the survival of patients
with aggressive brain cancer (glioblastoma).
UK cancer breakthrough
– the Israeli connection. There was no mention of Israel in the
international media reports about the recent cancer breakthrough at the Royal
Marsden hospital in the UK. So I’d
better tell you. Professor Jacob
Schachter from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center was a key member of the UK’s
research team. Please read my 4
Nov 2012 newsletter article and watch the youtube to see what Professor
Schachter does.
The doctor will see you now. Israel’s Teva is investing
tens of millions of dollars in American Well – a telemedicine company founded
by Israeli doctor brothers Ido and Roy Schoenberg. A patient can contact American Well who will
summon a doctor to an immediate video call.
It’s like an on-line house call.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
NIS 100 million for disabled. Israel has added NIS 100
million to the budget for people with severe disabilities receiving government
support. It has the goal of improving
the situation of weaker layers of society, and others who need assistance from
the state. http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Additional-NIS-100-million-in-support-to-be-provided-for-people-with-disabilities-404872
The first Arab to head a Knesset committee. (TY Michelle) Knesset Member
Aida Touma-Sliman of the Arab Joint List party became the first Arab party
lawmaker to head a permanent committee of the Israeli Parliament. She is now Chair of the Committee for the
Advancement of the Status of Women and was elected unanimously. http://www.timesofisrael.com/knesset-gets-first-ever-arab-committee-chair/v
Inclusive
magic lesson breaks world record. Israeli magician Israel Cagliostro set a
Guinness World Record for the largest magic lesson. He taught a card trick
emphasizing peace to 1,576 Jewish, Christian and Muslim fifth and sixth graders
brought together from across Haifa for a day of fun and cross-cultural
interaction.
Israel helps Qatar re-build Gaza. The chairman of Qatar’s
committee for reconstructing Gaza reported to the Arab media "The
reconstruction process is progressing very well as construction material is
being shipped to Gaza everyday without any obstacles”. “Israel has approved all the Qatari-funded
projects in the Gaza Strip.”
IDF supporters in Arab countries. (TY Michelle) When an
Israeli Arab IDF veteran launched the Facebook site Tzahal bistahal (“the IDF
is worth it”) he didn’t expect positive messages from Arabs in Egypt, Syria,
Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco.
But that’s what he got. And see
the photos that prove it.
Flood relief for Texas. The Israeli organization
IsraAID is sending a team to help relief efforts in Texas, where massive
flooding has killed at least 21 people and impacted thousands. IsraAID’s executive director Shachar Zahavi
said a team of 10 IsraAID volunteers would help with removing debris from
damaged houses.
India’s
PM to visit Israel.
(TY Michelle) There are many reports of the announcement that India’s
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian head of state to visit
Israel. This is from the Indian press.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Building the world’s
largest radio telescope. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Mellanox Technologies
is to supply the components of the precursor of the Square Kilometer Array
(SKA) telescope - the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world. http://ir.mellanox.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=906668
Cleaning up oil spills. Israeli scientists at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed another substance that can clean
up after an oil spill. (see
5 Aug 2012 newsletter) The NHS+ reagent converts the oil into carbon
dioxide and water.
Cleaning 5 million solar panels a month. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Ecoppia has installed its robotic solar panel cleaning system on 5 more solar
farms in Israel’s south. The system is
now cleaning 5 million solar panels each month, that generate 35MW of
energy. Desert dust can reduce solar panel
efficiency by 40 percent.
The 5th generation of drip irrigation. Israel’s Netafim, the
originator of drip irrigation has, in its 50th year launched its next
generation of low-flow drippers. The new
design boosts yields under harsh water conditions by combining low flow rates
with excellent resistance against clogging.
Honors for biometric security. (TY Atid-EDI) At the
International Security Conference & Exposition (ISC West) in Las Vegas,
Israel’s FST Biometrics won two honors for its In Motion Identification (IMID)
technology to personal devices. IMID
mobile uses face, body and behavior recognition to identify visitors.
How Israel beat an old foe – drought. (TY Nevet – www.broaderview.org) At last, a positive
article about Israel in the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/world/middleeast/water-revolution-in-israel-overcomes-any-threat-of-drought.html
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=25849
Train
spotting.
Israel and China are exchanging train technology. Israel’s Radware is developing a ticketing
system for China Railways. Meanwhile
China Railway’s Tunnel Group will be working on building the Red Line -
the–first of Tel Aviv’s new subway lines that will eventually crisscross Tel
Aviv.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
BA uses Dreamliner on London to Tel Aviv
route. (TY
Hazel) From Oct 2015, British Airways will operate its new wide-body Boeing 787
(Dreamliner) on its flights BA163 and BA162 from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv
Ben Gurion. The scheduled arrival and
departure times will connect easily with BA’s New York service.
Bringing jobs to the US. Two more Israeli companies
have announced new factories in the US.
Following Bram Plastics (see
last week), kitchen counter maker Caesarstone has opened its first factory
in Richmond Hill, Georgia. And Israeli
fabric maker Avgol has opened a new production line in Mocksville, North
Carolina.
Funding startups with 1,000 shekels. Investing in startups used
to be only available for high net-worth individuals. Now, Israel’s ExitValley has designed an
investing platform that caters for any Israeli startup to utilize its quota of
35 “regular” investors who wish to invest small sums - usually NIS 1,000
(around $260).
Everything for 5
shekels.
Just 18 months after Cofix upset the coffee market with its NIS 5 coffee
and snacks, the company has launched “Super Cofix” – a discount store where
everything is NIS 5 (around $1.3) or less.
No need to buy in bulk and then throw away excess food that’s gone bad. http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/At-Cofixs-new-grocery-storeeverything-is-NIS-5-or-less-404866
Israeli
cyber security exports double. (TY Michelle) Israel
exported $6 billion worth of computer security products in 2014 – double that
of 2013. It was the first year that
Israel sold more cyber security products than traditional aerospace and defense
products. http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/cyber/2015/06/03/israel-cyber-exports-double/28407687/
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Tel Aviv Blues
Festival.
The first ever Tel Aviv Blues Festival from July 3-6 takes place in 20
different venues and features 40 concerts.
My local river. Just a few miles up the road
from Netanya is the Alexander River. It’s a great spot to watch the sea turtles
from, and maybe an occasional mongoose. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kHkajANUDo
Enter the Dragon. Thirty boats competed in the
third annual Dragon Boat Israel Festival on the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). The joint Israeli-Canadian project raised
thousands of dollars for research into diseases by the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem. The Chinese Ambassador to
Israel, Zhan Yongxin, opened the event.
THE JEWISH STATE
A non-Jewish Swede in the Jewish State. Freja Berggren studies at
the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
She writes her reflections as a non-Jewish Swedish student in Israel. It
is certainly not what she expected from International media coverage.
40,000 marched in NYC
Israel Day Parade.
At least 100,000 people lined both sides of Fifth Avenue to watch 40,000
Israel Day Parade marchers make their way up the famous avenue from 57th Street
to 74th Street.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/marchers-danced-through-rain-at-2015-ny-israel-day-parade/2015/05/31/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6BW-htgSRs
Read all about it – National Hebrew Book
Week.
National Hebrew Book Week takes place 11-21 June, with large outdoor
book fairs, special Book Week sales at bookstores all around the country, and a
variety of accompanying events such as music, performances, children's events,
workshops, and storytelling. http://www.gojerusalem.com/events/2065/National-Hebrew-Book-Week/
150531
In the 31st May 2015 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
A cancer survivor had twins after
Israeli doctors transplanted her frozen ovary tissue.
·
A Jordanian is the first citizen of an
Arab country to receive a PhD in Israel.
·
An Israeli digital ceramic ink printer
is in the Guinness Book of Records.
·
Israeli unemployment is at an all-time
low.
·
Visa has opened an Israeli Research
& Development center for Israeli startups.
·
Top US group One Republic performed to
20,000 fans in Tel Aviv.
·
Last week’s Israel Good News
descriptive summary. Click here for “Who
Cares? Israel does” (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also published on the Jerusalem
Post, IsraPundit,
San
Diego Jewish World and United
With Israel websites.
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo,
IsraPundit and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
technology
and entertainment.
Page Down for details on these and more
good news stories from Israel. Thank
You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive
news articles. Please use IsraelActive
to search the archives.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Twins after surviving
cancer. An
Israeli woman has given birth to twins five years after cancer treatment made
her infertile. Prior to the treatment,
Israeli doctors froze some of her ovarian tissue, which was later transplanted
back. It is only the second time in the
world that this procedure has been successfully performed.
Hope for millions of diabetics. Israel’s Oramed is shortly
to commence Phase IIb trials of its oral insulin treatment for both Type 1 and
Type 2 diabetes. ORMD-0801 will benefit
diabetics currently using injections.
Uncovering the mysteries of brain
diseases.
Israel Technion’s Professor Reut Shalgi has been learning the language
of proteins in her mission to discover the cause of diseases such as ALS,
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Her career
at Tel Aviv University, Weizmann, MIT and the Technion has proved invaluable.
JACIE recognizes Israeli hospitals. The Joint Accreditation
Committee of the International Society for Cellular Therapy & European
Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (AKA JACIE) has recognized the
Bone Marrow Transplantation departments of Hadassah and Schneider
hospitals. It will increase
opportunities for international research.
http://www.hadassah-med.com/about/news/hadassahs-dept-of-bone-marrow-transplantation-receives-prestigious-international-recognition.aspx
http://www.schneider.org.il/Eng/Index.asp?ArticleID=966&CategoryID=119&Page=1
Shira is back on her feet. Shira Klein, daughter of Dr
Klein who works at our local Netanya hospital, was discharged from Jerusalem’s
Hadassah hospital. She had been
critically injured in a terrorist attack on Apr 15, which killed her
boyfriend. Staff from Neurosurgery,
ICU, Orthopedics (and more) helped Shira recover.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Israel’s Center for Accessible Learning. The Kibbutzim College of
Education is opening the Center for Accessible Learning, to promote education,
training, and employment for people with disabilities. It will not only help
acquire a profession but also improve skills via a range of tailored and
accessible training programs
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Center-for-Accessible-Learning-preparing-to-launch-next-week-404127
National Hearing Day. For national hearing day,
Shlomi Bracha of the legendary Israeli rock band Mashina - performed a unique
performance of the song "Someone Hears Me" by the rock band Eifo
Hayeled with children suffering from hearing disabilities. It was a joint
project with the NGO MICHA.
The women from iAngels. (TY Michelle) Shelly Hod
Moyal and Mor Assia are founding partners of iAngels, a crowdfunding platform
that focuses exclusively on Israeli startups.
Two of their startups are also founded by women – Liat Hertanu of 24.me
and Maayan Cohen of Hello Heart - both now available on the Apple Watch.
Syrians treated in Israel: Two wounded Syrians were
taken to the Baruch Padeh Medical Center–Poriya Hospital in Tiberias. One of the injured was 27 years old and had
shrapnel in his upper body. The other was 26 and had a bullet lodged in his
spine. So far the hospital has treated 176 wounded from the war in Syria.
The first Jordanian to
get an Israeli PhD. Jordan’s Amer Sweity recently became the first Jordanian citizen
(and probably the first from an Arab country) to earn a doctoral degree from an
Israeli university. He studied
desalination as part of his PhD at Ben Gurion University and wants to bring
peace through water.
Israeli doctors in Nepal. Four of Haifa’s Rambam
hospital doctors have been saving lives in Nepal. Dr Itai Shavit took care of premature babies; Dr Arik Shechter
helped set up field hospitals in Northern Nepal. The other doctors were
cardiologist Dr Oved Cohen and anesthesiologist Dr Amit Lehavi. Meanwhile, Sheba (Tel Hashomer sent three
doctors and two nurses, including Professor Eli Schwartz, director of Sheba's
Travel Clinic. http://www.rambam.org.il/EnglishSite/AboutRambam/Publications/NewsandEvents/Pages/The-Rambam-Nepal-Connection.aspx http://eng.sheba.co.il/Sheba_News/444.htm
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
An app to manage your event. Israel’s Bizzabo provides
event managers (of shows, seminars, demonstrations, projects, marathons etc.)
full website building facilities to organize their event. Including advertising, sales, ticketing, registration,
networking, feedback and analysis – all to make the event a success.
Biodegradable plastics for Savannah. Israel’s Bram Plastics
Industries is building a new “green” factory in Savannah, Georgia USA. The facility will produce 100% biodegradable
plastic products, such as food packaging, tableware, storage tools and shopping
bags for its US customers, which include Walmart.
Record-breaking
printer.
Israel’s Dip-Tech has been awarded the Guinness world record for the
largest digital flatbed printer. 18
meters long, it can print on a single pane of glass with an area of 64 sq
meters. It is reported that the printer
is being used on the curved glass “spaceship” project for Apple’s new
California HQ.
$125,000 desalination prize. The US Agency for
International Development (USAID) awarded the $125,000 Desal Prize to a joint
research project of Israel’s Technion and the University of North Texas as part
of the Securing Water for Food Grand Challenge. The project uses wind and solar energy to power desalination.
Canada and Israel to “join up” in space. (TY Michelle)
Israeli-Canadian cooperation is literally “out of this world”. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the
Israel Space Agency (ISA) have agreed to develop advanced applications in
satellite communications. Two research
projects have already been initiated.
Saving money at the pump. Israeli app Fulltank gives
you the location of gas stations nearest to your current location. While the
app works worldwide, in Israel it also provides up-to-date gas prices from over
1200 gas stations across the country.
It also helps you navigate to your chosen station.
Israeli tech for Indian state. (TY Michelle) Israel and
the Indian state of Rajasthan are discussing the expansion of their partnership
in areas of water management, post harvesting and tourism. State authorities
have been invited to Watec Israel-2015 in October to see Israel’s irrigation,
desalination and wastewater technology.
Keep an eye on your home. The new FLIR FX home
security camera comes with Recap software from Israel’s BriefCam. So you can easily see what’s going on that
relates to your property or loved ones.
Making technology hands-on. More than 60 makers
exhibited their work at the 2015 Jerusalem Mini-Maker Faire. There were also five workshops and two
performances. There were many robots,
plus a 3D printer that makes pancakes.
(My printer makes pancakes even when I don’t want it to!)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Unemployment hits
historic low.
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported that Israel’s unemployment
rate fell from 5.2% in March to a historic low of 4.9% in April. The number employed rose 1.3% to 3,636,000.
Participation in the labor force also rose - from 60.2% in March to 60.9% in
April.
Economy is good shape. (TY Michelle) Moody’s chief
economist Dr Mark Zandi reckons that Israel has one of the world’s best
economies. It’s fiscal situation is better
than ever, the debt-to-GDP ratio is low and continues to fall, its economy has
been growing for 15 straight years, and there's almost no unemployment.
Why Israel’s energy matters to the EU. (TY Michelle) According to
the Greek Energy Forum, Israel’s potential source of Liquified Natural Gas
(LNG) would be of major benefit to Europe.
It could also have some diplomatic benefits.
Israel and China agree trusted companies. Israel and China have
signed an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Agreement, which approves
importers and exporters who adhere to all international labeling and shipping
regulations. The AEO agreement
fast-tracks the customs process and will increase trade volumes.
More investment in startups. (TY Michelle) Investment in
Israeli startups continues unabated. In
the first 3 months of 2015, 46 Israeli startups raised a total of $54
million. This compares to the last
quarter of 2014 when 44 startups raised only $41 million.
Visa opens new Israeli
startup hub.
(TY Michelle) Visa Europe has opened a start-up center in Tel Aviv, taking
at least 20 ideas through its 100-day innovation program. Visa will bring the
most commercially viable to market.
Zooz, Prontoly, Payitsimple and MyCheck have already entered the Visa
Europe Collab pipeline.
Shared taxi service for Manhattan. Israel’s Daniel Ramot
realized that the Israeli monit sherut (service taxi) model could work in New
York City. For $7 (or $5 prepaid)
passengers can share a ride with 3 others in a luxury SUV from 110th Street
down to 14th Street.
Stay at an Israeli hotel in Europe. Israel’s Fattal Holdings
has purchased 18 European hotels for 200 million Euros. Fattal Hotels already has 35 European
hotels, plus another 30 in Israel (see
15th Mar 2015 newsletter).
It pays to pay for good customer
services staff. Israeli digital ad agency Web3 employs only top customer service
people to promote its services. Web3
and its Maple and Positive Media subsidiaries operate in 15 countries. Customers
include L’Oreal, Microsoft, Proctor and Gamble, Heineken, Unilever, Ford and
Citroen
A different kind of safari. (TY Michelle) A businessman
is offering Australian entrepreneurs a unique tour of Israel’s Silicon Wadi
this October. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6YEqPdIEfE
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Tel Aviv restaurants are “open” again. Tel Aviv’s unique “Open
Restaurants” event is now in its second year.
It’s an opportunity for chefs, journalists and just foodies to enjoy
behind the scenes tours of over 70 restaurants, meeting Tel Aviv’s most
intriguing chefs and taste their finest dishes.
Foodography – combining food and
photography.
This video follows last week’s article about using smartphones to
capture pictures of your plate of food.
It’s becoming a whole new form of entertainment.
13-year-olds unearth ancient Jerusalem
wine press.
A group of ultra-orthodox boys have exposed a 1400-year-old wine press
in the woods near Jerusalem. The press
measures 5m by 5m and is carved into the rock.
One Republic plays
Yarkon Park.
The American group One Republic made their first-ever visit to Israel,
appearing at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv in front of 20,000 fans as part of their
“Native” world tour.
Dragon boat races raise funds for
disease research.
This year’s Dragon Boat Israel Festival on the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee)
is raising funds for medical research by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Also on sale are paddles decorated by famous
Israeli artists and students at the Hadassah School for Hospitalized Children.
THE JEWISH STATE
Friends of Zion museum is open. The Friends of Zion Museum
has opened in Jerusalem. It uniquely portrays the story of the support for the
Jewish people and Israel by non-Jews; from the first Christian Zionists of the
19th century who encouraged Theodor Herzl, to those who helped to establish the
State of Israel in 1948.
1500 French Jews on Birthright tour. A record 1500 young French
Jews will be arriving to Israel this summer on the Taglit-Birthright Israel
program to learn about the Jewish state and their Jewish heritage. This compares to only 83 in 2013 and 940 in
2014.
150524
In the 24th May 2015 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
An Israeli charity has saved the lives
of children from 50 countries.
·
A moving account of the work of
Israeli doctors in Nepal.
·
Israel’s technology is helping the
dairy industry throughout the developing world.
·
An Israeli startup lets you put
leftover foreign currency into digital deposit accounts.
·
Dionne Warwick and the BackStreet Boys
held sold-out concerts in Israel.
·
The Chief of Staff to Israel’s
President has a PhD and is a mother of 11 children.
·
Last week’s Israel Good News
descriptive summary. Click here for
“Israel is the Cream of the Crop” (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also published on the Jerusalem
Post, IsraPundit,
IsraelSeen,
San
Diego Jewish World and United
With Israel websites.
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Janglo
and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
global
impact, technology
and culture.
Page Down for details on these and more
good news stories from Israel. Thank
You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive
news articles. Please use IsraelActive
to search the archives.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Heart surgery saves baby
from East Timor. Surgeons from
Israeli charity Save A Child’s Heart (SACH) successfully operated to repair the
congenital heart defect in baby Lisa from East Timor. The Southeast Asia country is the 50th country to send its
patients to Israel. SACH doctors have
saved over 3,500 children’s lives.
How ALEH Negev was founded. I visited the special
facilities for the disabled at ALEH Negev in
Oct 2012. This new video features
Maj Gen Doron Almog, who gave up his army career to found the village.
Sensors for Japanese hospital beds. Israel’s EarlySense makes
sensors that detect when patients are at risk of falling from beds or
chairs. EarlySense has just announced a
strategic cooperation agreement with Japanese giant Mitsui that will help
launch the distribution of EarlySense products in Japan.
Advancing cancer detection. Israeli biotech Rosetta
Genomics boosted its molecular diagnostics capability by purchasing
PersonalizeDx in the United States.
Rosetta also received US patent protection for its cancer tests.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150414005159/en/Rosetta-Genomics-Completes-Acquisition-PersonalizeDx#.VVzo8VIpqSp http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150513005723/en/Rosetta-Genomics-Receives-Additional-U.S.-Patent-Protection#.VVzpr1IpqSp
Never too late. 65 year-old Chaya Sarah
Shahar of Bnei Brak gave birth to her first child, after 46 years of
marriage. The healthy baby boy was born
at a Kfar Saba hospital. Last year, a
61 year-old woman gave birth to her first child in Jerusalem. Chaya is the second oldest woman in the
world to give birth.
ReWalk makes paraplegics healthier. Israel’s ReWalk exoskeleton
not only enables paraplegics to walk upright, it also improves their overall
fitness. It allows users to exercise,
use the toilet, boost their self-image and improve their mental health.
Revolutionizing the management of pain. Israel’s MedaSense
Biometrics won the WOW Competition (medical device category) for the most
innovative startup at the IATA Biomed exhibition in May. MedaSense’s pain monitor uses a finger
sensor to record vital signs and a unique algorithm to measure pain
mathematically.
How the lymphatic system forms. The origin of the body’s
lymphatic system is key to understanding the immune system and the treatment of
cancer. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann
Institute and at the Technion have discovered the source and have generated
lymphatic cells in the laboratory.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
ESRA’s project for ex-Ethiopians in
Netanya.
Here is what the English Speaking Residents Association is doing to help
the 30,000 plus Ethiopian community in my home city of Netanya.
Bring your baby to lectures. When a student’s baby
started crying in one of the Organizational Behavior lectures of Professor
Sydney Engelberg, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor picked up the
baby, calmed it down and continued the lecture whilst holding the baby. The photo has gone viral on facebook.
Emergency beepers to protect lonely and
elderly.
Israel’s Yad Sarah organization has distributed emergency beepers to
20,000 people who live alone. Users can
contact Yad Sarah, a doctor, police, an ambulance, relatives and others at any
time using a button on a bracelet.
A minister for minorities. Only Israel would consider
pensioners, students, minorities and women important enough to have a ministry
set-up for them. http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Gila-Gamliel-appointed-Minister-of-Pensioners-students-young-people-and-gender-equality-403128
Syrians treated in Israel: Two wounded Syrians were
treated at the Baruch Padeh Medical Center in Poriya near Tiberias overnight on
Wednesday. One of the injured, a
17-year-old, was treated for shrapnel wounds.
And a miracle – CNN praises Israel’s treatment of wounded Syrians
(although the sound quality is poor).
Israel’s humanity in
Nepal.
Please read this article, from Dr Giora Weiser who was part of the
Israeli medical delegation and field hospital in Nepal. He saw devastation and trauma on a scale
that he had never witnessed before, but saved many lives. Dr Weiser would like you to tell this to
Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch.
Treating water in Colombia. Israel’s RWL Water has
built a major water treatment facility in Colombia. RWL treats the 86,000 cubic meters of water a day produced during
extraction of oil in Campo Rubiales, so that it reaches a level suitable for
irrigation. http://israelnewtech.com/2015/05/rwl-water-announces-completion-of-major-water-treatment-facility-in-colombia/
What Miami learnt from Israel. (TY Michelle) A group of
leaders in Miami’s budding start-up community recently visited Israel. Their experiences taught them (a) have a
can-do attitude; (b) get institutional support; (c) build a network; (d)
embrace failure; (e) play the long game; (f) find strength in diversity (g)
open doors.
Hadera twins with El Pasa. The mayors of El Paso, in
Texas USA and Hadera Israel have signed a sister-city agreement. It will allow Israeli investors to come to
El Paso and El Paso-area business operators to go to Hadera to find business
opportunities. It also will allow for student and cultural exchanges.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
More medals at Asian Physics Olympiad. Israeli high-school
students set new records at the Asian Physics Olympiad, held in China.
Competing against 23 countries, they won two silver and four bronze medals.
Overall, Israel came in eighth place. http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Health-and-Science/Israel-takes-8th-place-at-Asian-Physics-Olympiad-in-China-402972
Helping Alibaba beat counterfeiters. (TY Michelle) Israeli
startup Visualead has developed decorative Dotless Visual (QR) Codes for online
retailing giant Alibaba, which wants to prevent counterfeit goods from being
traded through its site. The codes are
also attractive to encourage potential customers to scan them.
Mapping the genome of the trout. Israel’s NRGene has mapped
the genome of the Rainbow Trout, using its DeNovoMAGIC big data genome assembly
tool. The US Dept of Agriculture
initiated the task as an essential part of its breeding program for healthy,
protein-rich fish. Other critical
species will now be mapped.
Israel is milking it. (TY Michelle) A good
summary of Israel’s leading position in the dairy technology industry. It includes Israel’s AKOL, which runs a
database that monitors the output, health, genetics and fertility of every cow
in Israel. It is now partnering with Microsoft to bring the technology to the
developing world. AKOL’s sensors can
also be placed on trees, vines or in the soil to help farmers be more
productive.
When to turn off cellular base stations. Israel’s eVolution
Networks’ Smart Energy Solution (SES) examines cell phone usage rates,
locations, energy costs etc. to activate and deactivate base stations as
needed. It is saving Telefonica up to
35% of its energy costs. Warren Buffet
has now decided to invest in eVolution.
Picture these dishes. (TY Michelle)
“Foodography“, a joint photography project between Israel’s Catit Restaurant
and Carmel Winery, has commissioned a line of dishes specifically designed by
Israeli ceramic artist Adi Nissani to hold a smartphone at the best angle in
which to capture the best picture of the meal.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
State of Economy improves. Israel’s Composite State of
the Economy Index for April 2015 increased by 0.2 percent, driven mainly by
increases in industrial production and trade revenue.
Ex-Intel executive forms Israeli VC
firm. Intel
Corp's former chief product officer, Dadi Perlmutter, has co-founded the
venture capital company Eucalyptus Growth Capital, which aims to raise $300
million (£191.4 million) to invest in Israeli companies seeking listings.
Joint Israel-Ontario research earned $1
billion.
Israel and Ontario have just extended their 10-year research &
development collaboration program by another 5 years. Prior investment of $18 million generated $1 billion in earnings
to the companies emerging from the program.
And another $6 million has just gone in.
Rent your apartment using Israeli
technology.
The modern way to rent your house or apartment is with Airbnb. But it can be stressful, time-consuming and
possibly costly. Israel’s Guesty
provides your prospective and actual guests with fast responses to their
seemingly endless questions.
EMC expands Haifa R&D center. IT giant EMC is to hire 50
more employees at its Haifa research and development center. EMC has thousands
of Israeli employees: in Petach Tikvah, Galil Yam, Herzliya, Haifa and Beer
Sheva. EMC came to Israel in 1996. In 2012 it bought Israel’s XtremIO for over
$400 million.
What to do with those
foreign coins.
When you land at Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Tbilisi, Milan or Manila, look
out for the big yellow (Israeli) TravelersBox machines. Deposit your spare foreign coins and notes and
convert them into digital currency.
Coming soon to Brazil and (of course) Tel Aviv.
Saudi airplane lands at Ben Gurion. (TY Michelle) On 5th May, a
leasing company took an off-duty Saudi Arabian Airbus A330-300 to Tel Aviv’s
Ben Gurion Airport for servicing by Israel Aerospace’s Bedek, one of the
world’s leading aircraft maintenance companies. The Saudi owners were not pleased when they found out.
A fruitful time for Frutarom. Israel’s Frutarom latest
record quarterly results consolidate its position as one of the world’s largest
companies in the field of flavors and specialty ingredients. It also has acquired its fourth and fifth
acquisitions of the year – India’s Sonarome and Canada’s BSA.
Baidu makes its 3rd Israeli investment. Chinese Internet giant
Baidu has invested millions in Israel’s Taboola – famous for its “you may also
be interested in” online advertisements that tempt users to visit other
sites. Baidu has previously invested in
Israel’s Tonara and Pixellot, and China is Israel’s number 1 investor.
Connecticut seeks Israeli companies. (TY Michelle) Connecticut
has hired Chaim Oren of the Oren Group to convince Israeli companies to
relocate to the US. Oren’s focus will
be on businesses involved in aeronautics, bioscience, advanced manufacturing,
green technologies, insurance and digital media.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Germany funds Tel Aviv Bauhaus
restoration.
Germany is to donate 2.5 million Euros for the preservation and
restoration of Tel Aviv’s famous “white city” – a UNESCO World Heritage
site. The buildings, built in the
German Bauhaus style, were designed mostly by German Jews who fled Nazi Germany
in the 1930s.
Israel Day in Central Park. The annual Israel Day free
concert takes place on May 31 in Central Park New York. It will feature British
rocker Alex Clare, Israel’s Gad Elbaz, Lipa Schmeltzer, Mati Shrika, Avraham
Rosenblum and the Shloime Dachs Orchestra and Singers.
Backstreet boys came
back. The Backstreet boys cancelled their planned
Israel concert last summer due to the fighting in Gaza, but made good on their
promise to return. They performed three
shows at the Ra'anana Amphitheatre. All
20,000 tickets for each concert were sold out.
Dionne Warwick melts
hearts in Tel Aviv. Over 5,000 fans were wooed and soothed by
renowned Dionne Warwick’s singular performance at the Menorah Mivtachim Arena
in Tel Aviv on 19th May, which left the audience with goose bumps. And she did “Say a little prayer for you”.
Britpop group Suede. (TY Size Doesn’t Matter)
Another musical icon is coming to Israel: English alternative rock band Suede,
which will perform at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv on July 30. This will be the group's fifth performance
in Israel; their last performance in the country was in 2011.
TV rots your brain, but….. After Israeli executive
Sarit Fishbaine watched a TV medical soap, she decided to get a second opinion
about a lump she was worried about. The
decision saved her life.
Coincidentally, Sarit is the daughter of Professor Sidney Engelberg –
who appears in another article in this newsletter.
THE JEWISH STATE
Celebrating Jerusalem Day. The Western Wall (Kotel)
was full of worshippers for a festive prayer service to honor Jerusalem
Day. It was attended by several Chief
Rabbis and featured singer Yitzhak Meir.
Thousands of revelers later danced at the Kotel, celebrating the
re-unification of the city in the 1967 Six Day War. And (TY Michelle)
Jerusalem’s emergence as a Tech Hub has made the city into a link between
history and destiny.
Israel’s first ultra-orthodox tech
incubator.
Yitzik Crombie and Racheli Ganot have launched a first of its kind tech
incubator as part of their Haredi Hi-Tech Forum. The incubator specifically
targets the Haredi community - much of which lives below the poverty line - and
its goal is to bring the high-tech to Bnei Brak.
Limmud brings Torah to Tel Aviv. For the first time, the
global Jewish learning movement Limmud reached the White City. The two-day event provided the normally
secular city of Tel Aviv with 130 sessions, 120 presenters and seven musical
performances.
What’s happening on Shavuot. Israel is the ultimate
place to celebrate Shavuot. Next year
why not stay on a Moshav where you can enjoy folk dancing, horse prancing, kite
flying, a cow beauty pageant and the food!
Also on Voice of Israel you can learn why Shavuot is a night of
revelation.
President’s Chief of
Staff is mother of eleven. Rivka Ravitz, 39, is Israeli President
Reuven Rivlin’s Chief of Staff and has been Reuven’s aid for 16 years. She holds degrees in Computer Science and
Politics and a PhD in Public Policy.
She also challenges stereotypes, as she is an ultra-orthodox Jew and a
mother of eleven children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiekRiY3ChY
150517
In the 17th May 2015 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
An Israeli-developed blood test is
able to detect early-stage colon cancer.
·
Israeli doctors saved the life of a
Gaza girl who lost a leg in a traffic accident.
·
Israeli technology displayed UK
election results to Sky TV viewers.
·
A new Israeli digital pen writes on
any surface and displays on your smartphone.
·
First time (here) news of six
incubators/accelerators supporting Israeli startups.
·
An Israeli sports league for mothers
has gone global.
·
Israel suspended international flights
whilst five baby falcons were relocated.
·
Click here to see the 3rd May 2015
newsletter on Jewish
Business News, Ruthfully
Yours and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
global
impact, technology
and trade.
Page Down for details on these and more
good news stories from Israel. Thank
You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive
news articles. Please use IsraelActive
to search the archives.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Blood test detects
early colon cancer. The lives of millions may be
saved thanks to a new non-invasive test for colon cancer. Hemoglobin tests on 100,000 patients of
Israel’s Maccabi Health Services have led to Israel’s MedialCS developing an
algorithm that identified symptoms of early-stage colon cancer in 25% of those
tested.
Helping children to grow. A new supplement developed
at Schneider Children's Medical Center in Israel has successfully helped
children in the bottom 10th percentile for height and weight grow taller and
gain weight.
Studies showed that children on the
“Up-Pro” supplement grew 1-2 cm taller than the group given placebos.
App can diagnose ADHD. Israel’s GlassesOff has
published results from a study into attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD), showing that its non-invasive, game-like technology can provide an
early indication of whether a child has ADHD and to what degree. It can also
monitor treatment of the disorder.
Treating sleep apnea and heart disease. Evidence linking
cardiovascular disease and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has prompted Israel’s
Itamar Medical to offer a Total Sleep Solution (TSS) to US hospitals and
clinics. TSS links Itamar’s WatchPAT
home sleep test with nationwide diagnostic testing facilities, sleep physicians
and cloud-based IT platform. Itamar also markets its EndoPAT heart test. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/itamar-medical-offers-a-total-sleep-apnea-management-solution-to-cardiologists-503586311.html
6000 disabled kids can now walk tall. Since Israel’s Debby
Einatan invented the Upsee harness in 2014, UK manufacturer Leckey has sold
over 6000 in over 120 countries. That’s
6000 kids who can walk with their parents for the first time. It can even
normalize the child’s hip joint and improve head control.
Thousands attend Israel BioMed 2015. BioMed 2015 (May 12-14) in
Tel Aviv is an annual event that draws hundreds of industry executives,
scientists and engineers, with thousands of attendees from over 45 countries.
Hundreds of Israeli life science companies exhibit their products, services and
technologies.
Another $30 million for brain science. As reported previously in
March 2013, the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC) at
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel’s largest neuroscience center, has
got “off the ground”. Now a further $30
million from the Safra Foundation will take it to the next level.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
A very special school. I was researching something
completely different when I discovered the Alon Center in Kibbutz Alonim. It caters for the needs of teenagers of
normal intelligence with emotional and/or behavioral issues who have been
unable to successfully integrate into the regular school system.
An Ethiopian actress in the true Rainbow
Nation.
Meski Shibru is an Israeli actress and vocalist. She immigrated to
Israel from Ethiopia at the age of 16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfAZn3voCyQ
Happy together in the IDF. At the Israeli Army
officers’ training base, the members of Team 12 includes a Bedouin Muslim, an
Ethiopian, a soldier who is both Muslim and Jewish, plus rural and city
dwellers from both sides of the Green Line.
And one Arab is successfully promoting the IDF to the Arab world.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/04/israel-arab-youth-facebook-peace-messages-idf.html
Gaza girl can walk
again.
Israeli doctors saved the life of a 4-year-old girl from Gaza after
Hamas finally gave permission for her to be treated in Israel. In Gaza, Yara had been run over by a truck.
Local Gaza doctors amputated Yara’s leg but allowed necrosis to set in. Israeli doctors treated the injury and
fitted a prosthetic leg.
4
Israeli universities in top 300. The QS World University Rankings rates 800
of 3000 world universities. It includes the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at
138; Technion Institute at 190; Tel Aviv University at 195 and Ben Gurion
University at 292. Many Israeli
universities featured in the top 100 for individual subjects.
Nepal
– Israelis are on the scene. So much has happened in Nepal. A new 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit, with
Israelis still on the scene. IsraAID is
working in one of the remote devastated regions. A Nepalese man, who had previously worked in Israel, thanks
Israel (in Hebrew) for saving his mother. And Israeli medical clowns have been
improving recovery times for injured Nepalese children.
Tanzania taps Israeli innovations. (TY Michelle) The
Tanzania-Israel Business and Investment Forum (TIBIF) 2015 in Dar es Salaam in
May focuses on agribusiness, education, energy, mining, infrastructure,
security and technology. TIBIF taps Israel's advancement in scientific and
technological innovations, for the economic development of Tanzania. http://allafrica.com/stories/201505080383.html
How Israel helped the blacks of South
Africa. (TY
Elder of Zion) In a 1997 article recently rediscovered, David Kaplan revealed
Israel’s clandestine support for the blacks of South Africa, during the
apartheid era.
35% increase in Chinese tourism. (TY Michelle) Israel has
become a popular destination for Chinese visitors. Israeli Ministry of Tourism
figures show that over 35,000 Chinese tourists visited Israel last year, 35%
higher than the figure for 2013. The ministry has now opened Chinese language
classes for Israeli tour guides.
CHIP – making better citizens of the
world.
C.H.I.P (Western Civilization Heritage Israel Program) offers
educational tours of Israel - the bedrock of Western civilization. CHIP teaches tolerance through education, in
order to bring about peace and make our world a better place for all of us.
The world’s most dynamic population. (TY Michelle) A survey
conducted by InterNations (a network of 1.5 million expats in 390 cities
worldwide) has revealed that expats view Israeli dynamism as “off the scale”.
Mazel Tov to William and Kate. Israeli President Reuven
Rivlin sent Prince William and his wife Katherine the gift of a dress for their
new baby, Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. The dress was decorated with the words “From
Israel With Love”.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
3D printed food. I reported about the food
printer from Israel’s White Innovations in my 30 Mar 2014
newsletter. One year later, the Genie
has received thousands of orders and is about one year from delivery.
How Intel became Israel’s best friend. Newly found photographs
show the history of Intel Israel - one of Israel’s most important business
relationships. Intel opened its Israeli office in 1974 - two years after
Israeli Dov Frohman invented the EPROM erasable read-only memory chip. Intel now employs 10,000 Israelis.
BizTEC has launched 122 startups. Israel’s Technion is
running its 10th annual BizTEC competition.
In that decade, it has produced 122 startups that have raised over $100
million in funds. The winning ideas
include a liquid biological bandage, a keyhole surgery system, digital mapping
of shipping and much more.
Smart homes for the elderly. Samsung and Israeli startup
Mybitat together are to develop an innovative smart home solution aimed at
helping the elderly stay safe while at home.
It combines cloud-based software, advanced sensors and behavior
analytics to monitor seniors' daily routine and wellness.
US-Israel
Cyber Security Conference. The Defensive Cyberspace Operations &
Intelligence (DCOI) conference featured world-renowned cyber experts from
defensive cyberspace operations and intelligence. It also attracted top speakers, including former NSA directors,
Finance and Intelligence Ministers from Israel.
President
meets winning young scientists. (TY Sharon) Israel’s President Rivlin met
the 12 winners of Israel’s 2015 Young Scientists Competition organized by
Jerusalem’s Bloomfield Science Museum.
The winners will represent Israel at the Intel ISEF competition and the
Young Scientists competition in Europe.
Israeli battery swapping for Chinese
buses.
Although battery swapping failed for Better Place’s Israeli electric
cars, the technology has found favor for buses running in Nanjing, the capital
of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China.
Israel’s Ziv Av Engineering (ZAE) will design and supply the battery
switching stations.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/where-better-place-failed-israeli-engineers-seek-to-help-china-succeed/
UK election results
brought to you by Israel. If you watched the results of the UK elections on Sky News, then
you will have seen the technology of Israel’s LiveU that Sky used to cover 150
key constituencies.
Microsoft hosts 35 Israeli startups. Thirty-five startups using
the best and most innovative of Israeli technologies were on display at
Microsoft Israel’s ThinkNext 2015. Microsoft flew in top executives from the US
to see a chat search engine, a smart faucet, a Skype language translator and a
wearable fitness device.
Holland-Israel Innovation Week. (TY Michelle) A week that
attracted and connected fast growing startups, corporate international innovation
teams, exceptional talents and investors from Holland and Israel.
Israeli fish farms can feed the world. Latest news on the
sustainable fish farms built by Israel’s LivinGreen that I featured previously in
Jan 2014. In 2014, LivinGreen led
an educational project in Ghana, building farms from local materials. LivinGreen also participated in other
projects in Ethiopia and China.
India to adopt Israeli agriculture
grafting.
(TY Michelle) India’s Natural Organic Farmers’ Association is working
with Israeli companies to import Israeli grafting technology in order to
improve crop yields and pest resistance whilst reducing water usage and the
indiscriminate use of fertilizers.
Checking every fruit is perfect. Most exporters perform
random checks on their produce. Israeli
fruit exporter Eshet Eilon inspects every piece of fruit for quality and
ripeness. It uses spectral imaging at a
rate of five tons an hour and rejects anything that contains disease or fungus.
How good are your farm workers? Israel’s Pointer Software
Systems has developed Pickapp – a quality assurance (QA) monitoring application
for farm managers. It provides
real-time tracking of the progress of harvesting and the quality of the produce
harvested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PynkVEjwYHk
Israeli apps are already ticking on new
Apple watch.
Glide, JoyTunes, 24me, TL;DR and Vonage among the made-in-Israel
applications already available on Apple’s new wearable.
Protect the file, not the cabinet. (TY Michelle) Israel’s
Sookasa provides encryption security for sensitive data even when it is
accessed from a mobile device. Copies
of data are as important as the original, and Sookasa is the result of a
rethink to the entire security approach.
https://www.sookasa.com/
Israel powers into oil & gas tech
conference.
Fourteen Israeli companies were on display at the Offshore Technology
Conference (OTC), one of the world’s largest annual trade shows for the oil and
gas industry. 94,700 people from 130 countries attended the conference.
Microsoft’s (Israeli) Surface Pen in
action. (TY
Michelle) Please watch three creative individuals increase their productivity
using the digital pen that Microsoft acquired when it bought out Israel’s
N-Trig.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owf93l1YkOs http://blog.surface.com/2015/05/msft-acquires-pen-tech-from-n-trig-ltd/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/01/microsoft-acquires-surface-3-pen-tech-from-n-trig/
The next generation
digital pen.
(TY Michelle) Israel’s OTM Technologies has developed the Phree - a
digital pen that lets you write or draw on any surface and see the image on the
screen on your smartphone. It uses 3D
motion-tracking lasers and doubles as a Bluetooth headset. It has smashed its kickstarter funding goal.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Facts about Israeli startups. (TY Michelle) Between 1999
and 2014, 10,185 Israeli tech companies emerged on the scene. About 5,400 are still in operation, with
2.6% garnering annual revenue that exceeds $100 million. High-tech exports are
valued at about $18.4 billion a year, comprising about 45% of the country’s
exports.
Apple expands Israeli office. Apple has decided to
increase the size of its second Herzliya research building to be built later
this year by no less than 4,000 meters, enabling it to add 150 to 250 new
Israeli employees to its current 700 staff.
Apple’s Israeli development center is its largest in the world outside
its California HQ.
Tesla Motors selects Israeli solar
power.
Israel’s SolarEdge Technologies is to integrate its PV invertors with
Tesla Motor’s Powerwall - its home battery solution. It will enable homeowners to store surplus energy at point of
generation for later reuse, providing either complete energy independence or a
backup for electrical outages.
El Al starts an accelerator. Israel’s national airline
El Al has launched its “Cockpit” program that provides help to entrepreneurs
who are developing solutions for the travel industry. It already has two startups, Shopnfly and BidFlyer, who will use
El Al as a “test site” for their apps and software and maybe as a strategic
partner.
Nielsen’s 10th company. (TY Michelle) Another
incubator has been quietly nurturing Israeli startups. Nielsen Innovate launched in July 2012 and
has just funded its 10th start-up - Furious Corp, a media advertising
platform. Nielsen Innovate focuses on
marketing, consumer and advertising research technologies.
As recommended by Lockheed Martin. US defense giant Lockheed
Martin has invested $25 million in Israeli cyber security firm Cybereason. It also offers Cybereason’s systems to its
clients including most of the top Fortune 100 companies and the US
Government. Cybereason uses behavior
analysis to detect cyber attacks.
Dual US and Israeli MBA. (TY Michelle) Israel’s
College of Management Academic Studies (COMAS) and USA’s Baruch College-CUNY,
are launching a unique dual MBA degree.
The joint program leverages the spirit of Israel as a "startup
nation" and of NYC as the world's financial center.
An accelerator for entrepreneurs. Terra Venture Partners
(TVP) has launched its “Create Tel Aviv” accelerator that aims to develop the
human talent that makes up the Israeli start-up ecosystem. TVP will invest up to $5m in entrepreneurs
who have skills and ideas, even if they don’t have a startup or a project yet.
Giving Israeli startups a US presence. (TY Michelle) The Israel
Syndicate is a new U.S.-based group made up of investors targeting the
ever-growing community of Israeli startups that need a US presence to develop
the relationships needed to build a successful company.
Record year for Israeli life science
investments.
The Israel Venture Capital Research Center reports that $801 million was
invested in 167 life sciences companies in 2014. This was 55% higher than the
$516 million raised by 142 companies in 2013.
Claridge returns to Israel. (TY Michelle) Claridge CDPQ
Israel has just opened in Tel Aviv, nine years after Claridge sold its last
Israeli investment. The CDPQ is Caisse
de dépôt et placement du Québec, which manages $225 billion in pension funds,
and is an equal partner in the operation.
Claridge CEO Pierre Boivin said “To say we are bullish is an
understatement.” http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?q=node/139311
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Israel Philharmonic has new young
leader.
David Radzynski, 28, the new concertmaster for the Israel Philharmonic,
is one of the youngest violinists to lead a major world orchestra today. Radzynski is an American-Israeli, born in
New Haven, Connecticut. His father
fought in Israel’s 1967 Six-Day War.
The
movie makers will come to Jerusalem. NIS 50 million of Jerusalem’s municipal
budget has been invested over the past six years to develop a major film studio
in Israel’s capital city. Mayor Barkat
said that we will see Jerusalem on screens around the world and it would create
hundreds of jobs.
Get a 360-degree view of Tel Aviv. (TY Janglo) Tel Aviv’s new
hot air balloon rises to 120 meters to provide a spectacular panoramic view for
tourists and locals alike. Each ride
takes 30 people and has an onboard guide.
Israelis
win world birding competition. A team led by the Society for the Protection
of Nature in Israel took first place in the World Series of Birding
competition's Cape May category, identifying 157 species of birds in a 24-hour
period. The competition in New Jersey raised $137,000 for conservation projects
worldwide.
Mothers in a league of
their own.
In 2005, Israel’s Ofra Abramovich founded Mamanet , a sports league
exclusively for mothers. It has since
blossomed into a unique social-sports phenomenon with thousands of mothers and
branches all over the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50CNj-9cne4
THE JEWISH STATE
Getting Israel’s message across. The Hallelu Foundation has
just been established, with the aim of advancing Israel’s global image. It will show the world what Israel is really
all about and make us proud of Israel.
Here is Hallelu’s first video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYwk6dc6UF0
Next time perhaps I can vote too. This newsletter editor
booked a trip to the UK before the previous Israeli election date was announced
and was unable to vote. It is now
proposed that Israel will amend the law and allow absentee voting in future
elections. We shall see!
0 – 100 in Hebrew. Two Dutch filmmakers
produced this “educational” video featuring 101 Israelis.
2000-year-old copy of the Ten
Commandments.
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem has opened its “pivotal moments in
civilization” exhibition, featuring the world’s oldest copy of the Ten
Commandments. The 2000-year-old Dead
Sea Scroll containing the famous text had never been previously on display in
Israel.
El Salvador conversos long for Israel. Hundreds of years after
their forefathers fled Spain, some 300 descendants of Spanish conversos live in
El Salvador as a thriving community, observing Orthodox Judaism, keeping the
laws of the Sabbath, and dreaming of converting and immigrating to Israel as
Jews.
Videos for Jerusalem Day. (TY Janglo) Here are some
classic songs to celebrate the 48th anniversary of the unification of Israel’s
capital city. Plus details of the
Jerusalem Day parade.
Baby falcons halt international
flights.
Invoking the Torah commandment, not to take the mother bird with its
chicks, Tel Aviv airport authorities halted flights for 30 minutes when a nest
with five hatched falcons was discovered in a navigational antenna. As the
worried adult birds circled overhead, the baby falcons were carefully removed
and taken to the nearby Ramat Gan Safari to be raised and then returned to the
wild.
150503
In the 3rd May 2015 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
Israeli scientists have mapped the
brain’s neuron network.
·
One of Israel’s soldiers honored on
Independence Day is a Muslim woman.
·
Israel’s aid team in Nepal is larger
than that of all other countries combined.
·
35,000 attended Israel’s top
agricultural technology event – AgriTech 2015.
·
Israeli scientists have generated an
illusive sub-atomic particle in their laboratory.
·
Infinidat has become yet another $1
billion Israeli company.
·
Robbie Williams performed his first
ever concert in Israel.
·
Chabad and a family donation helped
locate hundreds of Israelis stranded in Nepal.
·
Last week’s Israel Good News
descriptive summary. Click here for “Israel
opens doors” (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also published on the Jerusalem
Post and United
With Israel websites.
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo,
IsraPundit and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
culture,
trade
and technology.
Page Down for details on these and more
good news stories from Israel. Thank
You Michelle, Hazel and others for sending me links to many of these positive
news articles. Please use IsraelActive
to search the archives.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Mapping the brain. Scientists from the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem and Harvard University in Massachusetts have succeeded
in mapping the circuitry of the brain.
The Neuronal Positioning System (NPS) maps neuronal circuits to help
understand how messages are sent within the brain or to other parts of the
body.
Link between gluten and ALS. Researchers at Tel Aviv’s
Sourasky Medical Center have detected large concentrations of a specific
antibody in some ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) sufferers. The same antibody is
present when Celiac disease sufferers consume gluten. Further studies are being conducted into the link.
Israel is Polio free. Two years ago, the
international press reported that the Polio virus was found in Jerusalem’s
sewage system, although no one was infected.
I doubt if the press will report that the World Health Organization has
now declared that the virus has been eradicated. That’s why I’m reporting it in my newsletter.
Delayed release treatment. Israeli biotech Intec has
signed a deal with a major (but unnamed) international company worth $150
million to distribute Intec’s treatment for mental and neurological
diseases. The delayed release treatment
remains intact until it reaches the intestines, in order to release more
effectively into the body.
EyeOn sees more investment. I reported on Israel’s
EyeOn Medical’s contact lens to treat corneal edema in my 11
Aug 2013 newsletter. EyeOn began
selling the product this year and has just raised $3.6 million of funds to help
recruit staff and develop further innovative ophthalmologic products.
Philanthropy funds medical research. (TY Size Doesn’t Matter) A
$1.6 million gift to Israel’s Technion and Canada’s Waterloo University by the
Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman Foundation will fund joint research into
lung disease in prem babies, nanotechnology treatment therapy and quantum
computing.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Israel21c helps special Olympians. An article written by
Israel21c about special swimmer Mati Oren has helped raise NIS 300,000 to send
40 special Israeli athletes to the July World Games in Los Angeles.
Israeli discovery is important for Druze
community.
Israel held a ceremony to honor the six divers who discovered 2,600 gold
coins on the seabed near Caesarea (see 1 Mar 2015
newsletter). Also invited were Israeli
Druze leaders, as most of the coins bore the name of their founder, Fatimid
caliph al-Hakim bi Amr Allah.
IDF honors female
Muslim soldier.
(TY Hazel) Among the 120 soldiers receiving a "Medal of
Excellence" at the President's Residence on Israel Independence Day was a
Muslim woman who grew up in an Arab village and is currently a cadet in an IDF
officer's training course. Her family
doesn’t even know she is in the IDF.
Easing the journey to work. (TY Hazel) Israel has
provided permits for 100 Palestinian Arab doctors to work in Israeli
hospitals. It halves the time taken to
drive into Jerusalem from Judea and Samaria.
Syrians treated in Israel: (TY Hazel) Israeli doctors
at Poriya Hospital near Tiberias treated a 28-year-old man who suffered a
broken leg and shrapnel lodged in other parts of his body. Also, a 40-year-old man who stepped on a
landmine. The hospital has treated 166
Syrians wounded in their civil war.
Environmental program with Morocco. The Galilee International
Management Institute in the Israeli city of Nahalal is to develop joint environmental
training programs in cooperation with Morocco’s new Euro-Mediterranean
University in Fez and the established Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane.
Zambia opens Israeli embassy. (TY Michelle) Zambia has
opened a diplomatic mission in Israel, after a gap of 40 years, reflecting
improved relations between the two countries.
Zambia’s Jerusalem House of Prayer also organized an inter-domination
march-past in Zambia’s capital of Lusaka, to celebrate Israel Independence Day.
The largest aid team,
from such a tiny country. Over 250 Israeli doctors and aid workers are saving lives in
Nepal - more than all other countries combined. http://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-aid-team-to-nepal-larger-than-any-other-countrys/ http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/194682#.VT9Z2_ApqSo
The IDF field hospital treats hundreds a
day and delivered its first baby. http://www.jpost.com/Not-Just-News/WATCH-IDF-doctors-deliver-Nepalese-baby-boy-in-Kathmandu-field-hospital-400678
Dr Avi Yitzchak, an Ethiopian Jew honored
on Israeli Independence Day, leads the IDF medical team.
Not forgetting Vanuatu. (TY Hazel) Israeli
humanitarian organization IsraAID may now have arrived in Nepal, but it is also
still busy in the Islands of Vanuatu devastated by Cyclone Pam.
UN praises Israel’s fight against
corruption.
A report by the United Nations Convention Against Corruption praised
Israeli law enforcers for their efforts to eliminate public corruption. The
report noted Israel’s success in putting leading public figures on trial and
passing laws against bribery.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
AgriVest 2015. Israeli agritech startups
pitched their technologies at the 3rd International AgriVest Conference held at
the Weizmann Institute of Science on 27th April. It featured a startup competition, won by Israel’s DouxMatok for
its development of sweeter sugar that reduces the amount of sugar required in
foods.
You can grow rice on a
mountain.
35,000 attended Agritech 2015 in Tel Aviv, including 200 Gaza farmers.
Israel’s Netafim installed the biggest agricultural wall in Israel to
demonstrate how its drip-irrigation systems can help grow crops anywhere – even
vertically. Israel’s flux showed its
system for vertical hydroponics.
http://www.greenprophet.com/2015/04/agritech-israel-drought-flux/ http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/We-need-free-trade-Gazan-farmers-representative-says-at-Tel-Aviv-agricultural-fair-400766
Keeping produce fresh. A new technique developed
by Hebrew University researchers that extend the life of vegetables for weeks
without refrigeration could help break the cycle of poverty among rural farmers
in the developing world. The technology
was on display at Agritech 2015.
India’s smart cities. (TY Michelle) Chief
Minister of India’s Maharashtra state, Devendra Fadnavis, was so impressed with
Israel’s smart city Tel Aviv that he will partner with Israel to make six smart
cities in his state.
Maharashtra’s Chief Minister also requested
Israeli help to stem the suicide rate of the state’s farmers, which amounted to
nearly 1,200 in the first 3 months of 2015.
http://zeenews.india.com/news/maharashtra/pilot-project-in-two-maharashtra-districts-to-combat-agrarian-crisis-fadnavis_1587903.html
Water sensitive cities. Three Israeli universities
are developing a new program, “Creating Water Sensitive Cities in Israel.” Ben Gurion University, Hebrew University of
Jerusalem and the Technion Institute will develop strategies and solutions for
improving water security and reducing the carbon footprint.
Israeli technology saves lives in Nepal. Israeli aid workers in
Nepal are using innovative Israeli products such as the Emergency bandage, the
Pocket BVM ventilator and the NowForce Life Compass.
Taiwan & Israel sign R&D
agreement.
(TY Michelle) Taiwan and Israel signed the Taiwan and Israel Industrial
Research and Development Cooperation Agreement. It will foster research programs between Taiwan and Israel in the
future, creating new innovative research potential between the two countries.
French scientists study Israeli
robotics.
Eight scientists from France attended the HCST Medical Robotics
symposium in Tel Aviv on 23rd March.
The following day they visited Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Universities to
see Israeli robotic devices under development.
http://www.israelscienceinfo.com/en/hightech/france-israel-collaborations-letude-suite-au-symposium-robotique-medicale-reuni-75-experts-tel-aviv/
The Cornell-Technion alliance. (TY Michelle) Dan Huttenlocher
is the Founding Dean of Cornell Tech and Vice Provost of Cornell University. He
describes the new Joan and Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell
Tech on a visit to Israel’s Technion Institute campus.
Now imagine it smaller. 10 Israeli companies
showcased at Imaginenano 2015 in Bilbau Spain, Europe’s largest nanotechnology
conference. Two, Melodea and Valentis,
are using cellulose nanocrystals to make a variety of groundbreaking products
out of wood pulp sludge and other plant-derived waste.
Meanwhile (TY Michelle) See how Technion
scientists engraved the 1.2 million letters of the Hebrew Bible on a
microscopic wafer of gold. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83cYu5xa5n0
The Higgs boson is
super-cool.
Bar-Ilan University researchers have revealed the illusive sub-atomic
particle known as the Higgs boson, during low-temperature superconductivity
experiments. The Higgs boson, believed
responsible for most of the mass in the universe, had previously only been
observed in high-energy collisions.
Proving that you are a good driver. Scientists at Israel’s Ben
Gurion University have developed an app that records if you break the speed
limit, swerve, stop short, or switch lanes too often. Insurance companies could use the information to reward good
drivers and “punish” bad ones.
Another 3D printed car. Israeli startup Massivit is
using Autodesk’s “Spark” to print a full-sized car. The Strati is billed as the
world’s first car where all the non-mechanical components have been produced on
a 3D printer. The Strati was designed
and developed by US-based Local Motors. (See
also 23 Nov 2014 newsletter)
Toys from recycled spare parts. Israel’s OffBits has
produced “build it yourself” kits, comprised of throwaway screws, springs
etc. Kids can assemble the kits into cool
little toy robots and add their own “bits”.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Another $1 billion
Israeli company.
(TY Michelle) Israel’s Infinidat has raised $150 million, valuing the
company at $1.2 billion. Infinidat has
filed more than 100 software patents, and its product, InfiniBox, lets
customers store as much as 2 petabytes (2 million gigabytes) of data on a
standard 19-inch, 42-unit storage rack.
Jerusalem – an emerging tech hub. (TY Michelle) Best known as
the ancient city holy to billions of people around the world, Jerusalem has
become a flourishing center for biomed, cleantech, Internet/mobile startups,
accelerators, investors and supporting service providers. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245355
And please listen to Roy Munin, CEO of
MadeinJLM, who explains why Entrepreneur and Time magazines named Israel’s holy
capital city as top global startup ecosystem.
http://www.voiceofisrael.com/jerusalems-startup-ecosystem-makes-global-tech-waves/ http://madeinjlm.org/
Citi challenges startups in Jerusalem. (TY Michelle) I included
Citi’s Mobile Challenge in the 29
Mar 2015 newsletter. There were 12
Israeli startups among the 21 contenders at Jerusalem’s “Startup Nation demo
day”. Winners will receive $100,000 and
get the opportunity to give Citi’s customers “remarkable experiences”.
Israel and Korea Strengthen Water
Industry Ties.
At the World Water Forum in Daegu, Korea’s 3rd largest city, Israel and
Korea signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance cooperation in the water
arena. A large delegation from Daegu is
coming to the WATEC (Water Technology) conference in Tel Aviv in October.
Growing farms in Zimbabwe. (TY Michelle) Israeli
startup Platfarm has developed a platform for farmers in developing countries
to improve their production and delivery to buyers. It has a pilot running in Zimbabwe and aims to roll out to South
America, where Platfarm’s co-founder Leonardo Marcovitz was born.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/giovannirodriguez/2015/04/26/why-israel-needs-and-wants-to-support-hispanic-entrepreneurs/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjld7wxxsIY
Brazil and Israel startups meet up. (TY Michelle) Israeli and
Brazilian entrepreneurs and investors joined up at a “Meet the Brazilian start
up scene in Israel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnC8tLWVpSU
What makes Tel Aviv the hottest tech
hub? (TY
Michelle) Israelis explain the secrets of Tel Aviv’s success.
Just Gett it. (TY Hazel) Israeli-based
start-up Get Taxi is branching out. It
has re-branded itself as Gett and will soon allow customers to order a wide
range of services and products, from pizza and sushi, to flowers and wine,
massages and manicures, cleaners and even doctors – and all within 10 minutes,
the company promises.
Meanwhile, (TY Michelle) Gett has
introduced guaranteed maximum (fair) fares for its black cab taxi service in
New York City. And unlike most
competitors, it keeps prices constant, even during busy times.
$10 million for Windward. (TY Michelle) Asia’s
richest man, Li Ka-shing, has made another big Israeli investment through his
Horizons Ventures fund. This time, its
Windward - the maritime data and analytics company. Horizons invested in Israel’s Waze, before Google bought it for
$1 billion.
Starting up in NYC. (TY Michelle) Two articles featuring new Israeli startups
in New York City. ICONYC is a new accelerator for Israeli startups. And six startups pitched to investors at a
“Series A Demo Night” event.
Mississippi wants Israeli companies. (TY Michelle) Mississippi
governor Phil Bryant hosted Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer and invited Israeli
companies to “come to Mississippi”.
Dermer listed agriculture, defense and cyber security as Israeli sectors
likely to find a home and/or a partner in Mississippi.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
The Nobelists. The new film “The
Nobelists” was screened in honor of Israel’s Independence Day. It is a
documentary series in five 35-minute parts, of Israel’s Nobel Prize winners
Robert Aumann, Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko, Daniel Kahneman and Michael
Levitt and Arieh Warshel.
King David Suite saved. Jazz-band leader Lionel
Hampton wrote the King David Suite in 1953 as a tribute to David Ben Gurion and
the State of Israel. A 1977 fire
destroyed what was thought to be the only score but in 2008, Hampton’s arranger
Frank Como found a copy. Now 93, he has just donated it to Ben Gurion
University.
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/74548/rossmoor-resident-donates-lionel-hampton-score-to-ben-gurion-university https://soundcloud.com/thebigbandofrossmoor/04-track-04 http://aabgu.org/lionel-hampton-score-donated-to-bgu/
Robbie Williams
entertained Tel Aviv. British pop star Robbie Williams arrived with his family on
Thursday evening. Over 40,000 fans then
enjoyed his very first concert in Israel.
THE JEWISH STATE
616 scholarships in memory of fallen
students.
Bar-Ilan University awarded 616 scholarships in the name of two
graduates of its joint BA program with the IDF’s elite Tactical Command
College. Tsvika Kaplan and Dima Levitas
were killed during last summer’s Operation Protective Edge.
Reasons to love Israel. (TY Janglo) This is a great
video for those contemplating Aliya – but also for those who just love
Israel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flFyh8_EFps http://www.nbn.org.il/liveloveisrael/
From Afro-American to Israeli Jew. Malynnda Littky grew up in
inner city Detroit. After 9/11 she
began a spiritual search, which involved an Internet quiz about which religion
would best suit her. She is now an
Orthodox Jewess, with 4 children and lives in Israel.
Celebrating Israel in New Orleans. Over 1,000 students
gathered on the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans to celebrate Zionism
at the DYF (Declare Your Freedom) Music Festival. Most of the attendees were non-Jewish. There was a similar event at Indiana University a week later.
Declaration of Independence. A copy of the Declaration
of the Establishment of the State of Israel was printed in the Israeli
Independence Day editions of the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, LA Times, and
Washington Post. It was to celebrate 67
years of the special relationship between the United States and Israel.
Israelis are the happiest people in the
Middle East.
Looking at Israel’s neighborhood this report by the Sustainable
Development Solutions Network (SDSN) isn’t too surprising. What is perhaps surprising is that
Israel is the 11th happiest country in the world - ahead of the USA and the UK.
Chabad satellite
phones saved lives. All Israeli climbers visiting Chabad of Katmandu are given one of
the satellite phones donated by the family of Nadav Shoham. Nadav was killed last year while climbing in
the Himalayas. His family teamed up with Chabad to prevent such a tragedy from
happening again. And it worked.
What happened to the wheat field? I remember watching a video
of this incident during Operation Protective Edge. But I never knew about the amazing reason as to why the Hamas
terrorist cell was so easily detected.
150426
In the 26 Apr 2015 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
An Israeli hospital has opened the
world’s largest pressurized oxygen chamber.
·
One of Israel’s new members of
parliament used to be an Ethiopian shepherd.
·
Israel is sending relief teams to help
victims of the earthquake in Nepal.
·
3 more giant foreign companies are to
set-up R&D centers in Israel.
·
Israel’s drip-irrigation technology
now provides food for one billion people.
·
An Israeli whiz kid is inspiring
international high-school students to run startups.
·
Israelis celebrate Israel’s 67th
birthday.
·
Last week’s Israel Good News
descriptive summary. Click here for “67
but not retiring” (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also published on the Jerusalem
Post, San
Diego Jewish World, IsraPundit and United
With Israel websites. (Apologies to
Professor Dan Peer, whose age I gave incorrectly in earlier editions.)
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo,
and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
global
impact, technology
and culture.
Page Down for details on these and more
good news stories from Israel. Thank
You Michelle, Jewish Business News,
Atid-EDI and other readers for sending me
links to many of these positive news articles.
Please use IsraelActive
to search the archives.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
The world’s largest
oxygen chamber.
The new hyperbaric unit at Israel’s Assaf Harofeh Medical Center has a
capacity for 150 patients per day. It
provides high-pressure oxygen to treat victims of diving accidents, burns,
carbon monoxide poisoning, radiation damage, bone infections, fibromyalgia,
strokes, dementia and more.
The blind can “see” sounds. Hebrew University of
Jerusalem scientists have published more results of their research into the
brains of the blind from birth. Their
visual cortexes are similar to the fully sighted. They can even be trained to “see” sounds. http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/04/10/brain.awv083
Kids in sync physically and socially. Research by Hebrew
University of Jerusalem psychologist Prof. Ariel Knafo shows that children who
mimic each other’s body language for mere minutes are more likely to share
feelings of similarity and closeness, and to potentially engage in more
pro-social, positive behaviors.
http://new.huji.ac.il/en/article/26278 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120878
Bacteria use DNA memory to stop viruses. Researchers at Israel’s
Weizmann Institute have discovered how bacteria protect themselves from
invasive viruses called phages. Their
immune system adds part of the phage DNA into the bacteria’s genome. The research may lead to new treatments for
autoimmune diseases.
Arthritis treatment can stop hair loss. Joint research between
Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem and Columbia University has discovered
that the rheumatoid arthritis medication Baricitinib is effective in the
treatment of Alopecia Areata – an autoimmune disease that causes sudden or
gradual hair loss.
Tablets to lower your blood pressure. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Teva
has launched, in the USA, a generic alternative to Exforge (amlodopine and
valsartan) tablets used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure).
Probiotic for kids in South Korea. Israel’s Anlit has
developed a new probiotic supplement for children in South Korea. Released in
Costco stores under the global Cenovis Kids brand, the new supplement has a
delicious vanilla flavor and teddy bear shape.
The future with no brain diseases. Professor Marta
Weinstock-Rosin – inventor of Exelon for treating Alzheimer’s – says that the
end is in sight for the debilitating disease and others like it. Dr Weinstock-Rosin lit one of the ceremonial
torches at this year’s Israeli Independence Day ceremony.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
From shepherd to
lawmaker.
Avraham Naguise was born in Ethiopia and became a shepherd in his
village. He immigrated to Israel in
1985, obtained degrees in social work and law and a PhD in education. He entered politics and in March became a
member of the Israeli Knesset. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Meet-the-New-MK-Likuds-Naguise-wants-to-set-an-example-for-youth-from-Ethiopia-399068
The woman in charge of FX technology. Ilit Geller is CEO of
Israel’s TradAir. TradAir’s systems
allow smaller banks to trade high volumes of foreign exchange currency – and
get a slice of the profits normally only available to large
multinationals. Ilit also has broken
into an area of finance that is traditionally a man’s world.
Israeli safari celebrates Earth Day. At Tel Aviv’s Ramat Gan
zoo, one of the keepers placed a camera at the bottom of animals’ water troughs
to find out how they drink. An
innovative way to mark Earth Day.
Maccabi Nahalal’s Muslim captain. Another video of the
multi-cultural youth team Maccabi Haifa Nahalal. This time the focus is on the captain, Aaron, from the Circassian
(Sunni Muslim) village of Kafr Kama.
Swapping graduates with the UK. Sir Paul Nurse, president
of UK’s Royal Society, and Professor Ruth Arnon, president of the Israel
Academy of Sciences and Humanities have signed an agreement that provides
funding for 12-15 post-doctorate exchange fellows to conduct joint research in
each country.
The other Israel. (TY Michelle) More info on the Apr 29th conference in
Montreal: “Israel's High-Tech Miracle & Canada: Innovation for Humanity”
taking place in Montreal, Canada. It
will highlight how much Israel contributes to the world economy and to the US
and Canada in particular.
Israel sending rescue
teams to Nepal.
Breaking news of the Nepal 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal, which has
caused thousands of casualties. Israeli
humanitarian organization IsraAID and the IDF are sending emergency relief
teams. Readers can contribute to the
IsraAID mission using the globalgiving.org link.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
German electric giant
opens Israeli R&D center. German energy giant RWE AG, one of the five
largest energy and gas companies in Europe, is opening an innovation center in
Israel in order to develop tech for a smart grid – a metering system that will
keep track of how consumers use electricity.
Blackberry to
establish Israeli R&D center.
(TY Michelle)
Canadian handset maker Blackberry has bought Israeli device security company
WatchDox, whose 100 employees will form the basis of Blackberry’s Israeli
Research & Development team.
Bringing TV reports to life. Israel’s Orad Hi-Tec has
developed many of the slick graphic technologies used in live
broadcasting. Orad has just been bought
for an estimated $60 million by US video production giant Avid Technology and
will become part of Avid’s new Israeli research and
development facility.
3D printing of aircraft components. (TY JBN) A new consortium
of top Israeli companies and universities is to develop 3D printing
technologies for the Israeli aerospace industry. The aim is to design and manufacture complex geometric structures
that can only be produced by printing.
A great site in your area. Israeli startup Meetey has
a new app that allows you to post a review about your experience at a
particular location. The review is then
highlighted to people in the area who can then decide if they want to
visit. It’s like a mobile guest-book.
Free website builder. Israel’s Simbla is a free
mobile and tablet compatible website builder that allows users with no coding
skills to build their own impressive, beautiful website.
Smartphone for blind becomes hands-free
for drivers.
I reported about the Project Ray smartphone for the blind in my 13
Oct 2013 newsletter. The project
team has now adapted the touch and voice technology to make the RayGo
smartphone for sighted car drivers who need to keep their hands on the wheel
and eyes on the road.
A new way to see yourself. Israel’s Percepto is a tiny
camera that fastens to a drone and uses smart technology to capture pictures
and videos “from above”. It has
applications that even Percepto’s developers can’t imagine.
Joint Israeli-French studies. (TY Joy) France’s Atomic
and Alternative Energy Commission (CEA) will host a PhD student from Ben Gurion
University for 3 years. He/she will
study nuclear core degradation, as part of CEA’s feasibility study for the
ZEPHYR project into its Zero Power Experimental Physics Reactor.
Israeli agri-tech for Mumbai. (TY Michelle) Devendra
Fadnavis, Chief Minister of India’s Maharashtra state, is heading to Tel Aviv
to attend Agritech Israel 2015. He
wants to replicate Israel’s agriculture technology in Maharashtra, the second
most populous sub-national entity in the world, with Mumbai as its capital.
Israeli tech feeds a
billion people.
Rafi Mehudar is one of this year’s Israeli Independence Day
torch-lighters. 42 years after he
invented the modern form of drip irrigation, it is still used by only 5% of the
world’s farmers. But that technology is
responsible for crops that feed over a billion people.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israel’s surging stock market. (TY Michelle) Here is a detailed analysis of the economic
and political factors behind the recent gains in Israel’s stock market. Note the statement that Israel “is the
dominant leader in technological innovation, which is pulling solid capital
into the country.”
Lower credit card transaction costs. The Israeli-developed Zooz
platform allows shops, hotels etc. to get the lowest transaction fees when
processing credit cards from customers.
Zooz will find the cheapest financial institution to process the
transaction, which ultimately could mean lower costs to the end customer.
See the forest through the trees. (TY Michelle) An interview
with Ben Rudin of Israel’s Intelescope.
As reported in my 29
Mar 2015 newsletter, Intelescope uses drone and satellite imagery to
provide critical data on the forests that cover 31% of the earth’s land
mass. It can also predict and help
fight forest fires and diseases.
One of the best bike rentals in the
world.
USAToday has rated Tel Aviv’s Tel-O-Fun bike-sharing program as the 8th
best of 533 similar facilities around the world. Tel-O-Fun began operations in Apr 2011. Its 2000 bicycles provide around 9,000 individual rides per day.
Why every teen should
run a startup.
Please watch Michael Matias (son of Google Israel Director Yossi Matias)
as he explains the value of building a startup when you are still at High
School. Michael, in his gap year, is
organizing events around the world inspiring students to develop innovative
apps and products.
Music Messenger takes South America. (TY Michelle) The world’s
20th most popular music app is Israel’s Music Messenger. It averages one million new users a month
and has just raised $35 million of funding from investors including UK Chelsea
soccer club owner Roman Abramovitch and ex Abba star Benny Andersson.
Ryanair really wants Israel. Europe’s largest airline
Ryanair is resuming talks in Israel to operate flights from Tel Aviv to several
destinations in Europe with return tickets at around €140 (about $150). “We want our flag in the State of Israel”,
said Ryanair's deputy director of route development, Kate Sherry.
Georgia looks for Israeli cyber security
partners.
(TY Michelle) A delegation of 32-member team from the US of Georgia has
returned from visiting Israel and is enthusiastic about attracting Israeli
cyber security companies to the US State.
67 portfolio companies. Israel’s OurCrowd, the
world’s leading equity crowdfunding platform, marked Israel’s 67th birthday by
announcing its 67th portfolio company. ElMindA (see
Sept newsletter) developed the world’s first FDA-approved neural functional
assessment tool to visualize serious brain trauma and illnesses.
Artificial Reality becomes a reality. (TY Michelle) I featured
the Artificial Reality goggles from Israel’s RideOn on 15
Feb 2015 and 5
Apr 2015. RideOn hoped to raise
$75,000 by crowd-funding on Indiegogo.
It actually raised over $113,000.
Delivery is expected in Sept 2015.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
The Bell Caves. (TY Sharon) Excellent
photos of Israel’s Beit Guvrin - UNESCO’s latest World Heritage site.
From field to fork. See how Israeli
agricultural produce (grapes, tomatoes, wheat, olives, fish, milk, dates and
pomegranates) is transformed into a healthy and tasty culinary experience.
3rd most US TV imports are Israeli. Israel ranks as the third
largest content importer for U.S. television after the U.K. and the
Netherlands. Israeli companies Armoza
Formats, Keshet Media Group, and Dori Media have sold the concepts of more than
100 shows to countries including France, Brazil, Indonesia and the U.S.
Israel’s beaches are open. Lifeguard services began on
all of Israel’s beaches on April 20th and continue until October 12th
2015. 9 million visitors are expected
onto Tel Aviv’s award-winning beaches, where beachgoers can also enjoy board
games, free wifi and even borrow library books.
THE JEWISH STATE
Israeli Independence
Day. Some
of the ceremonies, gadgets, trappings and events to celebrate Israel at 67.
Why we are celebrating. Israel’s Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu sends a birthday message.
Israel in a nutshell. This article nicely sums up
the Jewish State on its 67th birthday.
Israel in 3 minutes. This animation video is entitled
“Israel’s Miraculous Story As Never Seen Before!”
Promoting Israel. The editor of
VeryGoodNewsIsrael broadcast to radio and Internet audiences recently.
On 6th April he was Yishai Fleisher’s guest
on “Voice of Israel”.
http://www.voiceofisrael.com/is-god-a-religious-zionist-and-is-marijuana-kosher/
(at 42 mins 30 secs)
Then on Yom Ha’atzmaut, he spoke on “AJC
Live” with Scott Richman on WVOX (Westchester, New York).
https://soundcloud.com/scott-richman-2/ajc-live-celebrates-israel-independence-day
(at 26 mins 30 secs)
150419
In the 19th Apr 2015 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
New Israeli tests can help identify
the best treatment for secondary cancer.
·
Two Israelis won gold medals at the
2015 International Bowls for the Disabled.
·
Israel now grows grapes that can be
harvested all year round.
·
An Israeli company won “Best security
system to be installed in Spain”.
·
Israeli firms raised $1.5 billion on
Wall Street in the first 3 months of 2015.
·
UNESCO has added Israel’s Beit Guvrin
caves to its World Heritage list.
·
Six Israelis have donated their
kidneys to strangers.
·
Last week’s Israel Good News
descriptive summary. Click here for “Time
is on Our Side” (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also published on the Jerusalem
Post, San
Diego Jewish World and United
With Israel websites.
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo,
and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
technology,
global
impact and entertainment.
Page Down for details on these and more
good news stories from Israel. Thank
You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive
news articles. Please use IsraelActive
to search the archives.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
New tests for cancer. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Rosetta Genomics has received a US patent for its microRNA-based test for the
primary tumor type in primary and metastatic (secondary) cancer. By identifying the origin of the tumor,
physicians can select the best treatment options for the patient.
Cancer detection proven. In a study of 484 people
(99 with stomach cancer), Israel’s NaNose breath detector gave an 80% accurate
diagnosis - matching far more expensive, slower and invasive alternatives. NaNose (developed by Technion’s Dr Hossam
Haick) also detected pre-cancerous growths that needed attention.
Technion to develop cancer treatments. (TY Michelle) Israel Technion’s Nobel laureate Aaron
Ciechanover is in the news for the second week in a row. His recent findings form the basis of a
joint project to develop cancer treatments with India’s Sun Pharma. http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/sun-pharma-israel-univ-ink-pact-to-develop-anti-cancer-drugs-115041500844_1.html
How nanotechnology can cure cancer. I featured the amazing work
of Tel Aviv University’s Professor Dan Peer in my 8
Mar 2015 newsletter. But I thought
that you’d like to hear the story from the Professor direct.
Canadian patent boosts AAT treatment. Israel’s Kamada has been
allowed a patent in Canada for the large-scale production of Alpha-1 Proteinase
Inhibitor. The process is key to
Kamada’s treatments for alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficient patients suffering
from type-1 diabetes and pulmonary diseases, amongst others.
Pregnancy rejuvenates. Medical researchers at
Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem studying the effects of liver transplants
in mice, found that in 96% of older, pregnant rodents, the liver regenerated
within two days. This compared with 82% of young, non-pregnant mice and 46% of
older, non-pregnant ones.
Motor skills development app for Ohio. (TY Michelle) Israel’s
Timocco makes motor skills games for developmentally disabled and autistic
children. It is now locating its US HQ
in Akron Ohio and is working with Akron Children's Hospital, Cleveland Clinic
and University Hospitals to introduce the software.
A new device to treat sleep apnea. (TY Atid-EDI and Globes)
Israel’s Ninox Medical has raised $10 million to fund its development of a new
device for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). It is designed to be effective, comfortable
to use, and without the side effects typical of other treatment devices.
Shir returns. (TY Hazel) Motivation,
physiotherapy from Sheba medical center and use of a Wii console were key to
Captain Shir Klevner’s speedy return to his unit, where he completed intensive
training only 8 months after his leg was shattered by a sniper’s bullet in
Gaza.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Women are starting up in Israel. (TY Michelle) Chen Levanon
describes how the Israeli education system, work-life balance, reserve duty and
role models all contribute to the growing number of opportunities for women
tech leaders in Israel. Chen gave birth
to two children whilst CEO of Israel’s ClicksMob.
http://women2.com/2015/04/10/starting-up-in-israel/ And Google’s “Campus for Moms” is still
running. http://www.forbes.com/sites/giovannirodriguez/2015/04/02/made-in-israel-google-supports-moms-in-start-up-nation-then-other-parts-of-the-world/
Lawn bowls for the
blind. The
all-volunteer Israel Lawn Bowls Association for the Blind coaches 50 adults
with visual disabilities at clubs in Israel.
Israeli blind and partially sighted bowlers recently won 2 gold and 3 bronze
medals at the 2015 International Bowls for the Disabled World Championships in
New Zealand.
Team of Equals. Two soccer academies - one
from the Arab neighborhood of Beit Safafa and the other from the Jewish
neighborhood of Katamon - partnered last month to create Team of Equals, a
joint team bringing together soccer enthusiasts across the national divide.
Solving
Brazil’s water crisis. A delegation of 13 Israeli water companies visited Brazil to help
the country overcome its worst-ever water crisis. The Israelis offered long-term solutions involving new technology
and also recommended quick fixes using water conservation to maximize existing
water resources.
Boosting milk production in India. (TY Michelle) India has
signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel to set up a dairy center of
excellence in Haryan. It will include a
model dairy farm with 110 cows and train Haryana farmers about Israel's
technology to increase production in the world's largest milk producer.
Aid for Ukrainian farmers. (TY Hazel) Israel and
Canada have joined forces to provide equipment and training to farmers in the
Ukraine. “This agreement is another
example of how Canada and Israel can leverage mutual expertise to help make the
world a better place,” said Israeli Ambassador Rafael Barak.
Solar power for Burundi. Gigawatt Global, headed by
Israel’s Yosef Abramowitz is building a 7.5MW solar power plant for 60,000
households in Burundi, Africa. Gigawatt
Global has an R&D center in Israel and was nominated for the 2015 Nobel
Peace prize for its solar field at Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
An accelerator for satellite tech
startups.
Israel’s ImageSat, together with Peregrine Ventures, are launching an
accelerator for Israeli startups developing satellite information-based
applications. They will invest NIS 15 million
in up to six startups over the next two years. Each venture will receive
$600,000.
Teenage ‘Cyber Ambassadors’. The Rashi Foundation has
chosen 12 teenagers as “Cyber Ambassadors” on behalf of the Foreign
Ministry. The 12 are top achievers in
the Magshimim national cyber education initiative, which is now to be expanded
to include 4800 students.
Israeli grapes available all year round. Researchers in the south of
Israel have used special pruning techniques and plastic sheeting to cover the
vineyards and convince an existing variety of seedless grape, Early Sweet, to
ripen during the winter months. It will allow Israeli farmers to harvest grapes
throughout the year.
Long-lasting flowers. Israel’s Danziger
Innovations and the Hebrew University’s Yissum tech-transfer company have
developed a patented technology called MemoGene, which together with a DNA
editing platform developed by Precision Biosciences in North Carolina, extends
the shelf life of popular flowers.
Weizmann
hosts AgriVest.
The third international AgriVest conference will take place at the
Weizmann Institute of Science on April 27 2015. Israeli startups will present their finest in agritech innovation
to hundreds of professionals, government officials, businesspeople, scientists
and leading investors from Israel and abroad
Israel’s hi-tech desert. (TY Michelle) Here is a
brief insight into the work being conducted by scientists and researchers in
Israel’s Arava Desert, trying to solve some of the problems in the world’s
poorest countries.
Roll
up for a flexible screen. Tel Aviv University scientists have developed a single-layer,
organic material that emits a full range of colors. It can connect to a microprocessor or video chip to display
images in the same manner as rigid LCD or LED screens. Soon you can watch films on a big screen
that you can roll up to go.
Israeli teens win “robotics Olympics”. 100 teams competed in the
annual Trinity College Robot Contest in Connecticut USA - one of the top
robotics contests in the world. Haifa’s
Ironi G High School won 1st prize for its Dalek firefighter and Israelis came
1st and 2nd in both individual and team Olympiad exams.
The robot printer wins over Las Vegas. I just received this video
of Israeli startup ZUtA’s Pocket Printer making an indelible impression at CES
2015 in Las Vegas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH3jMSchI90
Israeli
innovation in NYC.
Over a dozen Israeli startups exhibited and recruited staff at
Innovations Israel in New York City.
TorchPAC and several NY University organizations put the event
together. Sponsors included
Israelideas.org, StandWithUs, WZO and ZOA.
Israel’s global tech impresses US
students.
(TY Michelle) The Global Module Course students from Wharton University
of Pennsylvania were humbled and motivated by their visit to Israel.
Spanish award for
Magal. (TY
Atid-EDI) The Fortis 4G advanced command and control solution installed in the
Port of Tarragona, Spain by Israel’s Magal Security Systems was awarded “best
security system installed in Spain during 2014” at the XXVIII Seguritecnia
International Security Awards in Madrid, Spain.
The
largest science park in Israel. The 4.25-acre Carasso Science Park in Be’er
Sheva is the largest science park in Israel. It features an interactive museum,
scientific garden, games and hands-on activities for all ages, ten interactive
exhibitions on Genetics, Communications, Microelectronics, Nuclear Energy and
more.
Israel’s first “Innovation Report”. Israel’s Office of the
Chief Scientist has produced its first annual Innovation Report. It highlights
the flourishing startup industry but also the need to generate big companies,
introduce hi-tech in traditional industries and in the public sector, and to
improve government involvement.
Guardian features Israel’s Dog TV. I reported on Israel’s
DogTV in my 6 Jan
2013 newsletter. It now has TV distribution deals in nine countries and is
popular with millions of canine and non-canine viewers, including the normally
anti-Israel UK Guardian newspaper.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israeli firms raise
$1.5 billion on Wall Street. (TY Atid-EDI) Israelis companies conducted
11 offerings on Wall Street in the first quarter of 2015: three IPOs and eight
secondary offerings. An almost unimaginable total of $1.5 billion was raised,
considering that $3.9 billion was raised in all of 2014.
Another successful NASDAQ launch. Israeli garment printing
company Kornit saw its share price jump 40% on the day following its NASDAQ
IPO. Analysts were bullish on the
prospects for Kornit’s digital inkjet printing using non-toxic water-based
inks, highlighting low-costs, flexibility and lack of competitors.
Kids’ games company is growing up. (TY Michelle) Israeli kids’ games publisher TabTable has
made its 4th acquisition, and its first in the USA with the purchase of rival
Sunstorm Games. It will add another 5
million users to the 40 existing active users of TabTable’s apps.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/10/tabtale-buys-rival-sunstorm-as-mobile-gaming-for-kids-consolidates/
More European satellite coverage. Israel’s RR Media is a
leading provider of digital media services to the broadcast industry. RR Media has just bought Eastern Space
Systems in Romania, extending RR Media’s Intelsat coverage to more than 17
million TV households in Central, Eastern and Nordic Europe.
India’s new Israeli R&D center. (TY Michelle) India’s Tech
Mahindra is working with US-Israeli Comverse to set up an Israeli research
& development center. Tech Mahindra
has 98,000 employees in 51 countries. Tech Mahindra president Manish Vyas said,
“Given the culture of entrepreneurship in Israel we need to be here.”
Checkpoint buys Lacoon. Israeli cyber security
giant Checkpoint has just acquired another Israeli security company – Lacoon
that detects malicious software on mobile devices. Lacoon – whose founders worked in the IDF 8200 security unit –
recognizes viruses by their behavior and can prevent any damage or information
leak.
Tonara’s passport to China. (TY Michelle) Baidu is
China’s largest search engine. It has
also become an investor in Tonara – Israel’s developer of the interactive sheet
music app. Baidu will help the Chinese
distribution of Tonara’s “Wolfie” teaching and evaluation tool for music
instructors.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/14/music-education-startup-tonara-scores-5m-led-by-baidu-chinas-largest-search-engine/ http://www.timesofisrael.com/chinas-baidu-makes-third-investment-in-israel/
Wix Music.
(TY Size Doesn’t Matter) Israel’s “make-your-own-website” firm Wix has launched
a new service for those working in the music industry. Specially designed tools and templates help
groups promote and sell their music commission-free. They can track number of plays by track, album etc. and sales of
merchandise.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2015/03/31/website-creator-wix-launches-a-new-music-focused-service/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hvm9pEQ4VQ
Apple buys LinX. (TY Michelle) In my July
6 2014 newsletter I reported about the miniature multi-aperture cameras for
mobile devices developed by Israel’s LinX Imaging. Well, Apple has just bought LinX for an estimated $25
million. We will probably see LinX
cameras in a future version of the iPhone.
Pay with your Apple watch. (TY Michelle) Israel’s 24me
is the first company to launch a payments facility for the Apple watch - even
before the watch has been shipped.
James Packer buys home in Israel. (TY Elaine) James Packer,
the 4th richest man in Australia, has bought a luxury home in Caesarea. He also met Prime Minister Netanyahu and is
apparently looking to invest in Israel.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
New UNESCO World
Heritage site.
(TY Hazel) Israel’s Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park has become
Israel’s 8th site to join the UNESCO list of the world’s outstanding sites of
natural and cultural importance. UNESCO
described Beit Guvrin’s man-made caves as a “city under a city”.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israels-Beit-Guvrin-celebrated-as-UNESCO-World-Heritage-site-398074
Topol wins lifetime achievement award. Veteran Israeli actor Chaim
Topol, best known for playing Tevye the milkman in "Fiddler on the
Roof," will receive the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement on Israel's
upcoming Independence Day. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4642812,00.html
Kim Kardashian visits Israel. (TY Hazel) American reality
television star Kim Kardashian and her rapper husband Kanye West met for a meal
with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat during her visit to Israel. Kardashian flew in from her ancestral home
in Armenia and baptized her daughter at Jerusalem’s St James cathedral.
Alcohol-free music club for Jerusalem. On Monday, April 27, Blaze
Bar will be hosting a benefit for Sobar - Jerusalem's first alcohol-free and
cigarette-free music bar for teens and young adults.
Israeli tennis player wins ATP event in
Turkey.
Israel’s Dudi Sela won his 17th ATP Challenger Tour title, beating Blaz
Kavcic 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 in the final of the Batman tournament in Turkey. Dudi will climb around 20 ranking places as
a result, returning to the world’s top 100 and earning an automatic place in
the French Open.
THE JEWISH STATE
Israelis donate
kidneys to strangers. Avraham Shapira 32, from Yitzhar in the Shomron, gave his kidney
to a 50-year-old man whom he had never met.
When persuaded to publicize his act, his brother-in-law donated one of
his own kidneys to a 60-year-old woman.
Four more men from the Shomron have since followed suit.
The smallest Bible in the world. To mark the Israel Museum’s
50th anniversary, the Shrine of the Book is displaying a gilt nano chip, the
size of a sugar grain, on which the entire Bible is inscribed. The bible was
produced at Israel’s Technion Institute. The text needs to be magnified 10,000
times in order to be legible.
New Israeli stamps. (TY Jacob) To commemorate
the 50th anniversary of the Israel museum, new stamps include the Cyrus
declaration allowing Jews to return to the Land of Israel 60 years after their
exile to Babylon 2600 years ago. A
replica of the declaration is on display in the museum’s “Rivers of Babylon”
exhibit.
Israeli flags for Independence Day. Israeli flags distributed
free in newspapers by Bank Hapoalim were made in Israel by Hamishkam, which
employs thousands of disabled people in 40 communities around the country.
150412
In the 12th Apr 2015 week’s edition of
Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
·
Two major Israeli scientific
breakthroughs may lead to new cancer treatments.
·
Tel Aviv scientists held a 3-day event
to design products for the disabled.
·
Israel’s Mobileye has been guiding
prototype driverless cars across the USA.
·
An Israeli startup is to build a
wave-energy power plant off the Chinese coast.
·
Israel is expanding trade with Latin
and South America.
·
A new gazelle park has opened in
Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.
·
The UN hosts the exhibition of the
3500-year Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.
·
Last week’s Israel Good News
descriptive summary. Click here for “Israel
is the Smart Choice” (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also published on the Jerusalem
Post, San
Diego Jewish World and United
With Israel websites.
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
IsraPundit, Ruthfully
Yours and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
and inclusiveness.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of
these positive news articles.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Natural chemicals that
protect against cancer. Scientists working in the Technion laboratory of Israeli Nobel
Prize winner Professor Aaron Ciechanover have discovered that high
concentrations of the chemical KPC1 and protein p50 suppress malignant growth
and protect healthy cells.
Stop cell “spam” to
prevent cancer.
Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have identified that cancer
can be triggered by an overload of specific messages from the cell membrane to
its nucleus. They have also found a
molecule that can filter these messages, similar to the way spam emails are
blocked.
Pomegranate juice and dates for healthy
arteries.
Researchers at Israel’s Technion and Haifa’s Rambam hospital have
discovered that combining pomegranate juice and dates (with their pits)
provides maximum protection against the buildup of plaque on the endothelium of
the arteries, and prevents heart attack or stroke.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Health/Technion-research-Pomegranate-date-combination-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away-396565 http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/fo/c4fo00998c#!divAbstract
Heart muscle re-grown after heart
attack.
Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute working with Australian
scientists have used the hormone neuregulin to re-grow heart tissue damaged by
a heart attack or heart disease. See
this rare positive report in the normally anti-Israel UK Guardian. Also
published in Nature Cell Biology.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/apr/07/heart-muscle-cells-regrown-in-medical-research-breakthrough http://www.nature.com/ncb/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ncb3149.html
Mobile app approved for
hip-replacements.
FDA approval has been given to the iPhone / iPad app TraumaCad by
Israeli health-tech firm Voyant, which helps doctors plan hip replacement on
mobile devices. It allows doctors to
import digital implant images from secure hospital networks and visualize the
operation.
FDA approves Teva asthma treatment. Israel’s Teva has received
FDA approval for ProAir RespiClick - the first and only breath-actuated,
dry-powder rescue inhaler to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of acute
asthma symptoms. ProAir RespiClick
eliminates the need for hand-breath coordination during inhalation.
Auto-immunology – a new specialty of
medicine.
Professor Yehuda Shoenfeld of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer has
founded the field of auto-immunology and connected 81 different diseases
through the immune system. The latest
is narcolepsy from which sufferers fall asleep due to an autoimmune reaction.
AposTherapy marches on. (TY Myer) Good video showing
how successful the remedial shoes of Israel’s AposTherapy have become in the
US. Its new CEO stopped building
clinics and now trains physiotherapists to use AposTherapy shoes on patients
suffering back and ligament pain. (Stop
the video after the Apos feature.)
Diabetic technology goes global. Israeli medical tech firm
DreaMed Diabetes has struck a deal with Medtronic, the world’s biggest medical
device company, to use its MD-Logic Artificial Pancreas algorithm in
Medtronic’s insulin pumps. The
algorithm regulates the insulin released to the diabetic individual.
Medical images for computer diagnosis. (TY Michelle) Israeli
startup Zebra Medical Vision is building a database of medical images (X-rays,
CT scans and MRI scans) of real patients but without names or IDs. The database provides research data,
previously unavailable due to privacy laws.
Patient saved by last-minute transplant. 27-year-old Ran Azulai, who
was born with a serious congenital defect, received a heart and two lungs in a
rare, lifesaving operation. Ran had 3
previous heart operations and only a few weeks to live. The donor’s organs also saved 3 other
transplant patients.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Young cancer patients enjoy extreme
sports.
Israeli cancer charity Zichron Menachem took some 100 young cancer
patients on a special 3-day camp in the Galilee. They took part in ice-skating, bowling, paint balling, sailing,
rafting, jeep tours and a helicopter flight.
It also gave their parents a well-deserved rest.
Designing products for
the disabled.
Israel’s Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM) held a 3-day make-a-thon - a unique
marathon in Tel Aviv, geared to producing affordable and cutting-edge products
that will significantly improve the lives of people living with disabilities.
A
center for autistic children. Yona and her son Tomer aged 3, live in
Kiryat Gat, a small town in Israel's Negev. Tomer was diagnosed with Asperger's
Syndrome in 2014. Watch the video to discover how the JNF UK funded Marianne's
Early Childhood Center has given Tomer and Yona the support they need.
Israel’s “green” army. In between defending the
Jewish State, Israel’s Defense Forces are embarking on several ecological
projects. They include repairing the
Tel Kadesh archeological site, turning the Army Radio building into a habitat
for indigenous animals and plants, and restoring the swallows to the IDF's Tel
Aviv base.
Young Israeli-Arab soccer sensation. I featured Maccabi
Haifa-Nahalal’s youth football academy in
March, with its Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Circassian players. Here is a video of Wiam - the team’s
talented 13-year-old forward. Please listen to / read what his father says.
Sharing data on swine flu. (TY Hazel) Palestinian
Authority and Israeli health officials met in the Judean town of Beit El, North
of Ramallah, to discuss the recent outbreaks of swine flu in the region.
Officials on both sides shared information on cases they had encountered and
discussed ways to prevent the spread of the virus.
Hebrew entrepreneurial terms in India. (TY Michelle) R Gopalakrishnan is a non-Executive Director of
Indian giant Tata. He was previously
Chairman of Unilever Arabia, in Jeddah.
He also understands how important to Israel’s success are the terms
“Rosh Gadol, Chutzpah and Bitzua. Read
his translations here.
Alleviating drought in the Marshall
Islands.
When Marshall Islands President Christopher Loeak appealed to Israel for
assistance with their acute water shortage, Israel’s Foreign Ministry called in
Israel’s G.A.L. Water Technologies.
G.A.L supplied the islanders with a GalMobile that purifies enough water
for 6,500 people.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Mobileye steers cars
across the USA.
(TY Michelle) An Audi A7 traveled over 560 miles, from California to
Nevada, aided by a high-resolution, wide-angle 3-D video camera from Israel’s
Mobileye. For 95% of the 560-mile
journey, there was no driver. And then
a Delphi Automotive “Roadruner” drove itself nearly all of the 3000 miles from
San Francisco to Manhattan, using Mobileye’s Advanced Drive Assistance
System. http://robbreport.com/automobiles/self-driving-audi-a7-completes-560-mile-drive
Israel to host World Science Conference. Delegations including up to
20 Nobel Prize laureates and 400 young scientists and thinkers from 60
countries will attend a conference in Jerusalem in August. The five-day event will be the largest such
event of its kind ever to be held.
International microscope workshop. 120 students from 11
European countries plus Israel attended a 4-day electron microscope workshop at
Israel’s Technion. The workshop was led
by Technion graduate Professor Dganit Danino and was free, so that no student
would be deterred from participating for budgetary reasons.
More about CyberTech 2015. 8,700 people from 50
countries attended the two-day CyberTech 2015 conference in Tel Aviv on 24
March. The exhibition featured a
"Startup Pavilion," where 100 Israeli startup companies displayed
breakthrough technologies and products.
3 new tech
incubators.
Israel’s Ministry of the Economy Office of the Chief Scientist is
opening three new hi-tech incubators in Akko, Haifa and the Golan, each running
for 8 years. Projects in the
incubators’ program receive an 85% grant from a budget of NIS 2 million for the
first two years in the incubator.
Body protection inspired by fish scales. (TY Michelle) Researchers
at Israel’s Technion and USA’s MIT have developed a suit that offers 40 times
more protection than existing body amour.
Designed like the scales on a fish and produced on a 3D printer, the
suit is resilient to bullets, knives and even radiation. Also in NewsWeek
and UK
Mail Online.
Laser imaging for US marines. Israel’s Elbit Systems has
been awarded a $73.4 million contract from the US Marine Corps to supply a
laser imaging system. The Common Laser Range Finder-Integrated Capability
system enables soldiers in concealed positions to carry out imaging, range
finding and navigation in combat arenas.
Wave-power for China. Israeli startup Eco Wave
Power is to build a wave-powered plant on China’s Zoushan Island. The Chinese Government is funding the
$450,000 100kw power plant, which is targeted for completion by the end of
2015. EWP is negotiating more projects
in Zhejiang Province. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/New-Tech/Eco-Wave-Power-to-establish-its-first-Chinese-power-station-395286
Smart AC controller starts shipping. (TY Michelle) I reported in
June 2014 about Israeli startup Sensibo’s innovative technology that
controls the temperature of your home.
Well Sensibo smashed its $70,000 Indigo target, has completed
manufacture and has started shipping.
(And a reminder of Sensibo’s “really cool” video).
Israel treats over 90% of its
wastewater.
Israel continues to hold the world record for wastewater reuse. 90% of its 500 million cubic meters of
wastewater is treated. 10% of that is
released into rivers to maintain their quality. 325,000 acres of land is irrigated with recycled wastewater -
nearly double that of 10 years ago.
Augmented Reality in 3D. (TY Michelle) Israeli
startup Infinity Augmented Reality has developed a software-based Augmented
Reality (AR) engine that can turn any device with two simple cameras into a
powerful real time 3D platform.
Infinity has just raised $5 million of funds, including from SUN
Corporation.
http://dealmakershub.com/2015/04/08/israeli-startup-infinity-augmented-reality-raises-5m-series-b-funding-round/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJI8tNG1rbQ
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israel’s stock market boom. Despite the geopolitical
turmoil in the rest of the Middle East, Israel's stock market is doing
well. The Tel Aviv 25 has gained 6.9
percent in the past month 16.1 percent over the year.
Petah Tikva is Israel’s top export city. (TY Etid-EDI & Globes)
17.2% of Israel’s exports (excluding diamonds) originate in the inland city of
Petah Tikva. The city is home to 1,540
exporters – more than twice that of Haifa and nearly three times those in
Ashkelon and Tel Aviv.
Israeli business
expands into Latin America. (TY Michelle) Israel’s Ministry of Economy
is developing new Free Trade Agreements between Israel and both Panama and
Peru. It already has ones with Mexico
and Colombia, as well as a cooperation agreement with Mexico for industrial
Research & Development.
Turkish startups compete in Israel. At Israel’s Startup Fusion
2015 on 22nd March, over a dozen startups, (including 3 Japanese and 3 Turkish)
competed for a $100,000 seed investment to be provided by Samurai Incubate. http://www.timesofisrael.com/turkish-tech-pro-seeks-to-build-bridges-with-israeli-start-ups/
CyberArk – a safe refuge in stormy seas. (TY Michelle) Since its
successful NASDAQ launch in Sep 2014, sales at Israel’s CyberArk have risen by
81 per cent. CyberArk protects
privileged accounts and passwords inside a company. Its 1800 customers include
18 of the top 20 banks.
Israel is building BIG companies. Good informative article,
which highlights the growing trend for Israeli companies to resist the
temptation to make quick exits, but rather stay the course and become large
companies. The video discussion
includes business leaders from OurCrowd, Pitango, ReWalk and Barclays Israel.
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/building-companies-of-scale%E2%80%8A-%E2%80%8Aisraeli-entrepreneurs-are-in-it-for-the-long-run/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChtClvbjCKk
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Jerusalem’s gazelle
nature park is open. Jerusalem’s Gazelle Valley Nature Park is now open to the
public. The 62-acre park contains a
female gazelle from the original wild herd that lived in the area, plus others
from zoos and their offspring. There
are also porcupines, hedgehogs, moles, snakes, insects and 200 species of
birds.
Duran Duran is coming to Israel. Pop legends Duran Duran
will be performing in Tel Aviv on 10 June.
Lead singer Simon LeBon worked as a volunteer on Kibbutz Gvolot in the
80’s and the band even wrote an instrumental piece called “Tel Aviv”.
THE JEWISH STATE
Wounded Syrian boy recovers with Matza. Israeli doctors performed
complex surgery to enable a Syrian boy to walk again after he was severely
injured by a shell in Syria’s civil war.
Having to spend Passover in an Israeli hospital, he really enjoyed
eating traditional matza crackers, calling them a “delicacy”.
http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/04/07/injured-syrian-boy-undergoing-treatment-in-israel-loves-matzah/
The 4 questions in Israeli sign
language.
Jewish Deaf Multimedia released this video of Rafael teaching how to ask
the famous “Four Questions of the Passover Seder” in Israeli Sign Language.
Start learning now and you'll be able to ask “Why is this night different from
all other nights?” in a different way next year!
UN sees Jewish
connection to the Land of Israel. The exhibit entitled “People, Book, Land –
The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel” has
opened at the UN headquarters in New York.
The opening event was co-sponsored by the UN missions of Israel, the US
and Canada.
150405
In the 5th Apr 2015 edition of Israel’s
good news, the highlights include:
·
An Israeli biotech is developing safe
vaccines using computers and your own cells.
·
Israel’s new deputy Chief Scientist is
a Palestinian Arab.
·
Two Israeli competitions inspire Kenyan
farmers and Israeli entrepreneurs to Kenya.
·
Israel’s Knesset has completed the
largest solar roof for a parliament building.
·
3,555 Israeli patents were registered
in the US in 2014 - a 21% increase on 2013.
·
Dionne Warwick and Art Garfunkel have
confirmed dates for Tel Aviv concerts.
·
130,000 tourists are in Israel to
celebrate Passover and Easter.
·
Last week’s Israel Good News
descriptive summary. Click here for “Just
look at us Go” (fast-loading version, no adverts). Also published on the Jerusalem
Post, San
Diego Jewish World and United
With Israel websites.
·
Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish
Business News, IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo,
and United
With Israel with extra features on health,
technology, entertainment
and Jewish
State.
Page Down for more details on these and
other good news stories from Israel.
Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to so many of
these positive news articles.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Vaccines from your own
cells. (TY
Nocamels) Israeli biotech SynVaccine is developing safe synthetic vaccines from
the recipient’s own tissue cells, which the body’s immune system can easily
recognize and build protection. In
addition, SynVaccine’s computer-engineered vaccines cannot release the original
virus.
Treatment to stop pain. Israel’s Teva has begun a
Phase 2b trial of TV-45070 in patients with post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). TV-45070 inhibits the sodium channels
expressed in the pain-sensing peripheral nervous system and can treat patients
with various pain indications, including neuropathic and osteo-arthritis pain.
Cause of ovarian failure discovered. Tel Aviv University and
Schneider Medical Center researchers have discovered a genetic mutation
responsible for Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) that affects one percent of
all women worldwide. The study began
after DNA testing two affected Israeli-Arab girls.
US journalists see Israeli medical
innovations.
For the past 10 years, the Murray Fromson American Associates,
Ben-Gurion University Media Mission has brought US reporters and editors to see
cutting-edge Israeli research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. This year’s themes included neuroscience,
stem cells and medical robotics. http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2015/3/25/for-us-journalists-ben-gurion-u-science-mission-more-than-an-assignment-1#.VRO6-Y4pqSo=
Saving lives of the wounded. A higher percentage of
Israelis were seriously or critically injured in last summer’s Operation
Protective Edge than in the 2006 Lebanon War.
Yet recovery times were faster and treatment much more effective this
time, thanks to faster evacuation to hospital and technology to stop bleeding.
Prize for life. Israel’s Prize4Life
is funding $1million prizes for research and treatment for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s
disease). At Tel Aviv’s BrainTech 2015
conference, every delegate stood up to applaud Prize4Life’s CEO and ALS
sufferer Shay Rishoni, who demonstrated a device that translates eye movements
into computerized voice.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Free car seats for babies. Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek
Medical Center delivered 22,030 babies in 2014 - probably the largest number in
the world. Together with Yad Sarah and a nearby taxi company have for the first
time arranged for the free lending of infant car seats to parents to get the
babies home safely.
Palestinian Arab is
Israel’s deputy Chief Scientist. Tarek Abu-Hamed, of Sur Baher in East
Jerusalem, was named as deputy chief scientist of Israel’s Ministry of Science,
Technology and Space. He will be
responsible for overseeing national scientific infrastructure, state
intellectual property and taxation of academic institutions.
Israeli doctors save Maryam. In my 1st
Mar 2015 newsletter I reported that 18-month old Iraqi Christian Maryam
Mansour had arrived at Israel’s Hadassah hospital for heart surgery, but her
survival chances were slim. Well the
good news is that the 8-hour operation was successful and Maryam should make a
full recovery.
Medical students ‘adopt’ wounded Syrian
boy. A
Syrian boy, who lost a leg in an explosion while tending sheep, was sent to
Israel for treatment. As the boy has no
family in Israel, six Israeli medical students entertain him and with their own
money bought him a digital tablet with headphones, games and movies in Arabic.
Jordanians float to Israel. A 10-year-old boy and a
14-year-old girl from the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea floated to Israel
after their inner tubes were swept westward by the current. A Jordanian
soldier, who had tried to stop the children, was carried away as well. The children (ex-Iraqi refugees) now want to
remain in Israel.
Miami learns from Israel. (TY Michelle) A delegation
of leaders in the Miami tech-startup community has just spent a week in Israel
with Project Interchange, an educational institute of the American Jewish
Committee, to learn from Israel’s thriving tech and innovation sector, while
sharing best practices and making connections.
Israel & Canada innovate for
humanity.
The Canadian Institute for Jewish Research will showcase Israel’s and
Canada’s contributions to the world at its 27th annual international conference
in Montreal on 29th April.
Helping
Taiwan combat drought. (TY Michelle) Following its seminar in November, Simona Halperin,
head of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, has been advising
Taiwan’s government on how to deal with its worst drought in over a
decade. Public campaigns, recycling and
better infrastructure are a priority.
Israel's gift to Asia: water and cyber
security. A
delegation of Israeli information security companies is in South Korea showing
how Israeli technology can better secure the Asian state. And a Chinese delegation from Shouguang
visiting Israeli water technology companies as part of Israel and China’s joint
“water city” project.
More on Israeli ties with Rwanda. A delegation from Rwanda’s
ICT Chamber has just visited Israel as guests of Israeli venture capital firm
Kaenaat & YPO, which has been working with them for the last two
years. Israel is helping Rwanda to
jump-start its technology ecosystem using education, skills exchange and
investment.
Advancing Kenyan agriculture. (TY Michelle) Israel’s Embassy to Kenya is
hosting the Israel
Kenya Agri Challenge in which 10 Kenyan agricultural entrepreneurs will
compete for a fully paid trip to Israel to experience up-close the exciting
Israeli start-up ecosystem. Meanwhile,
Tel Aviv University’s Pears Challenge for Innovation and International
Development encourages Israeli agricultural entrepreneurs to develop tech
solutions for Kenyan farmers.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Israel’s US water partner. (TY Michelle) Akron Ohio
has reached an agreement with five Israeli water technology companies to make
Akron the exclusive
partner for Israeli water research in North America.
Wastewater award-winner. Israel wastewater treatment
company Emefcy won the prestigious award for Excellence in the Field of
Environmental Technology Development at CleanEquity Monaco 2015. Emefcy’s CEO and founder Eytan Levy received
the award from Monaco’s Prince Albert II.
TaKaDu sponsors UK water conference. Amir Peleg of Israel’s
smart water monitoring company TaKaDu is Chairman of the Swan (Smart WAter
Networks) Forum and is one of the sponsors of Swan Forum’s Conference entitled
“Smart Water: The time is now”, taking place in London on 29-30 April.
Agritech 2015. (TY Michelle) An
interesting article on Israeli agricultural technology, plus 4 Israeli “AgTech”
companies developing creative solutions for sustainable agriculture. BioFishency, Morflora, Roots
and Amitec will feature at Israel’s 19th
annual Agritech International Agricultural Exhibition & Conference on April
27.
Knesset’s solar roof
is complete.
Israel’s Knesset building now has the largest solar field for any
parliament in the world. 1,500 solar
panels were installed on the Knesset’s roof, and on those of surrounding
buildings, producing 450kw of energy.
Phase 1 of Israel’s Green Knesset project also cut paper and water
consumption.
Safer, cheaper
driving.
Israel’s Green Road Technologies sells systems for monitoring real-time
driving data, using a smartphone or its own hardware installed in
vehicles. The systems raise awareness
of safety, save fuel, reduce insurance premiums, motoring costs and
accidents. Green Road has just raised $26
million of finance.
How safe is
your smartphone?
(TY Michelle) Israel’s Skycure offers two main products, a free app that
secures mobile devices for consumers and software that keeps companies safe
from external mobile devices. Skycure
has just raised $8 million of funding.
Basic yet smart. Israeli start-up E2C (Easy
to Connect) has developed an interface for smartphones that make them easier
for seniors to use. A large display
menu, longer response times, vibrating keys, voice activation, simple
navigation and a one-click response all make life much easier for the
technically-challenged.
Wireless battery charging. (TY Michelle) I featured
Israel’s Wi-Charge in Sept
2013, and it was recently demonstrated in San Francisco. The infra-red laser transmitters are due to launch in 2016 and
cost $50 - $100.
Weizmann wins most Euro research grants. The Weizmann Institute of
Science has the distinction of having the top percentage of grants awarded to
it by the European Research Council’s 7th Framework Program. Between 2007 and 2013, it had 35 percent of
its grants proposals accepted, totaling nearly 150 million Euros.
Lockheed
Martin promotes Israeli education. Lockheed Martin and Israel’s Ministry of
Education are to build a program in the Israeli education system to increase
the number of Israeli teachers in computer science and cyber security. Lockheed Martin will also sponsor a
nationwide high-school cyber security competition.
Skiing gets
even more exciting. (TY Michelle) I featured the Augmented Reality (AR) ski goggles
from Israel’s RideOn in February, but this article includes a video that shows
you what you see when you wear them.
A magic touch. MUV Interactive (featured
in this newsletter in Sept 2014)
was one of Israel’s innovative technology companies starring at the recent
AIPAC Conference in Washington. MUV’s
$200 “Bird” sits on your finger to control and design interactive
presentations, just by pointing.
Shipping starts in a few months.
Matching
stories to users.
(TY Michelle) Israeli startup Keewee uses natural language processing,
machine learning and social graphs to provide you with relevant stories. Over 60 brands and publishers use its
service, including the New York Times.
It has just raised $9.1 million of funds, including from the NYT and
Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt. http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/24/keywee-gets-9-1m-from-eric-schmidt-ny-times-for-its-ai-approach-to-content-marketing/
Huge increase in
Israeli patents.
(TY Size Doesn’t Matter) According to Israel's business information
group, BDICoface, Israeli companies and entities registered 3,555 patents in
the United States in 2014 – an increase of around 21 percent over the previous
year. Israel comes 3rd in the world for
patents, after Japan and Taiwan.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Analyzing social media for businesses. (TY Michelle) Israel’s
Tracx is a social intelligence platform that provides sales, marketing and
support teams with social media data to help make their products better suited
to potential customers. Tracx’s story
of entrepreneurs and innovative hi-tech mirrors that of the Startup Nation.
UJA-NY invests in Israeli social impact
projects.
The UJA-Federation of New York has invested $1 million in two Israeli
social impact funds, which fund profitable Israeli businesses that give good
investment returns but also help people at risk, special needs individuals, the
elderly, and the unemployed.
Israel and China get down to business. The Prime Minister’s
Office’s Israel-China task force was launched at the China-Israel Cooperation
Conference in Tel Aviv. For the first time dialogue on China combined the business sector, academia and
government in order to expand bilateral commercial ties.
Santander backs Israeli startup. (TY Michelle) Spanish bank
Santander, via its Innoventures Fund, has invested in MyCheck - the largest
mobile payment company in Israel. The
product also has the potential to be marketed to Sandander’s 107 million-plus
retail and commercial customers across Europe and the Americas.
SolarEdge shines. (TY Michelle) SolarEdge,
Israel’s latest company to float on the NASDAQ, raised $126 million and then
rose in price from $18 to $22 in the first week. SolarEdge’s innovative products effectively allow solar panels to
act independently of each other and thereby increase overall power
production.
Teva buys Auspex for $3.2 billion. Israel’s Teva has bought US
biotech Auspex for $3.2 billion and acquires Auspex’s portfolio of innovative
medicines for people who live with movement disorders. Auspex also has pipeline treatments for
Huntingdon’s disease, Parkinson’s, dyskensia and Tourette’s syndrome.
Moovit arrives in Australia. (TY Size Doesn’t
Matter) Israel’s Moovit has launched
its transportation app in Australia. It
already has 200,000 users after beta trials in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane,
Canberra, Adelaide, Hobart and Perth.
Moovit uses crowdsourcing to get you to your destination in the quickest
way possible.
Legally share TV clips. (TY Michelle)
Israeli-developed Whipclip has launched its TV-sharing app with Comedy Central,
ABC, CBS, Fox and other TV networks.
Whipclip’s free mobile app lets users create and share 30-second video
clips of TV shows and music videos - legally.
Look who’s investing in Israel. (TY Michelle) Horizons
Ventures is owned by Asia’s richest man - Li Ka-shing. Horizons
is Israel’s largest foreign startup investor, and was very successful when it
invested in Waze.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
International children’s theater
festival.
The 25th annual Haifa International Children’s Theater Festival begins
on Apr 5. The al fresco entertainment
lineup constitutes 19 shows from nine countries, such as Holland, Spain,
Switzerland and Austria, as well as a co-production between Italy and Israel.
Israel’s first international Yiddish
music festival.
TLV/1 radio has this interview with Eli Grunfeld, the artistic director
of the first international Yiddish festival in Tel Aviv.
Richard Gere arrives;
Dionne and Art are coming. Richard Gere is in Israel as a guest of the
Peres Peace Center and for the filming of Oppenheimer Strategies. Legendary soul and R&B singer Dionne
Warwick will perform at Tel Aviv’s Menorah Mivtachim Arena on May 19, where she
may just “say a little prayer”. And Art
Garfunkel is “Homeward Bound” and will perform at Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium
on June 10.
The biggest climbing wall in the Middle
East. The
largest Israeli extreme park has just opened, after an investment of NIS 22
million. Park Extreme in Acre (Akko) includes the biggest climbing wall in the
Middle East, the highest bungee jump in Israel; air surfing, hanging bridges;
and many more facilities that defy gravity.
THE JEWISH STATE
More Ukrainian Jews make Exodus to
Israel.
Dozens of Ukrainian Jews live at The Jewish Agency’s refugee center in
Dnepropetrovsk in preparation for Aliya on the eve of the festival of
Passover. 1,400 Ukrainian Jews arrived
in Israel during the first quarter of 2015, compared to approximately 400 in
2014.
Muslim scientist’s
exodus from Egypt.
Noha Hashad’s story is just coming to light. After 11 years in an Egyptian jail, for pro-Jewish Quran
research, she escaped and fled to Israel in 2011. “Israel is like a jewel, a diamond, I am very fortunate to be
here,” she said. Noha has founded a center for peace in the Middle East.
130,000 tourists. The Tourism Ministry is
expecting about 130,000 visitors in Israel over the period of Passover and the
Christian Holy Week. Hotel occupancy
levels in most of the popular tourism areas will reach 80-90% during the
holidays, with some areas completely full.
Feeding 100,000 over Passover. Yad Ezra V'Shulamit, an
organization dedicated to eliminating poverty in Israel, will be distributing
upward of 15,000 food baskets this Passover to feed 100,000 people in
Israel. Also Colel Chabad is
implementing Israel’s Food Security Project, while Leket Israel gathers produce
from farmers.
