In the Synagogue this week we read the
“Song of the Sea” and how the prophetess Miriam (Moses’s sister) led the women
in song and dance to celebrate the Hebrews’ escape from Pharaoh’s army. Miriam is attributed with reuniting Moses’
parents and providing a miraculous well of water that travelled with the
Hebrews in the wilderness. Today,
Israel’s women are at the forefront of Israel’s phenomenal innovations and
achievements, as evidenced in these examples from the past few weeks.
I’ll begin where I left off in my last
blog, in which I contrasted the Biblical splitting of the Sea of Reeds to
Israel Technion Professor Lilac Amirav’s
splitting of water
into hydrogen and oxygen with 100% efficiency using nanotechnology and
solar energy. Another female Professor, Anat
Lowenstein from Tel Aviv University, was selected by Ophthalmologist
Magazine in the top 100 most influential people in the world of ophthalmology.
It noted that “her contribution to, and influence in the field of medical and
surgical retina cannot be underestimated.”
Women certainly lead the way at Soroka
Medical Center in Beer Sheva, where they are in charge of the
departments for Infectious Diseases, Women’s Ultrasound, At Risk Mother &
Child unit, Respiratory clinic, Interventional neurology, Ophthalmology, Child and
Adolescent Psychiatric unit, Geriatric medicine, Neonatology, Pathology and
more.
Female Israeli researchers frequently make medical
breakthroughs. For example, Dr Ruth Shemer of
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem recently co-authored a disease diagnostic method
called methylation which has identified pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis,
diabetes, traumatic brain injury and MS.
In another recent report, Maya
Ben-Yehuda Greenwald – a PhD student at the Hebrew University – has
developed nanotech antioxidant
protection for skin and organs.
Staying in the medical arena, Dana
Chanan is the CEO and cofounder of Israel’s Sweetch which has developed an app to detect
pre-diabetes and provide diabetics with the tools to prevent the disease
developing. Meanwhile, heading up the
non-profit Pears Program for Global Innovation is Israel’s Dr. Aliza
Belman-Inbal whose Grand Challenge Israel has just awarded a
500,000-shekel prize to Israeli startup BioFeed for developing its solution for
eradicating the Zika
virus.
Israeli women are taking “tikun olam”
(repairing the world) to new levels. As Elana
Kaminka, Deputy Director of Israel’s Tevel b’Tzedek highlights, contrary
to the lies of the BDS supporters, Israel doesn’t just show up at disaster
areas and leave. They are still working
in Nepal – a year after the two earthquakes that killed 9,000. And Sivan
Ya’ari is the founder of Innovation: Africa, which has brought clean
water and renewable electricity to one million people in 104 rural villages in Malawi,
Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, DRC and Ethiopia.
Here in the Jewish State, most of the
leaders of Israel’s social programs are women.
One major international program – Good Deeds
Day – was initiated in 2007 by Israeli businesswoman and
philanthropist, Shari Arison. This
year’s event has been adopted by 70 nations and involved millions of
volunteers. Without mentioning any other
names, take a look at organizations such as Ezer Mizion,
whose volunteers help cancer sufferers and their over-stretched families. Or Sobar,
which is establishing a no-alcohol
music bar to provide a safe place for Jerusalem youth. Or the Red Mountain
Therapeutic Riding School, in Israel’s Arava desert, which provides riding therapy for 200
special needs children and adults each week.
Before you shout, “But what about Israeli-Arab
women?” please read about Faiza,
an Israeli-Arab doctor who works in the intensive care unit at a major Israeli
private hospital. She has ten siblings -
most of them graduates of Israeli universities.
Or about the young Muslim
and Christian women joining the Israel Defense Forces. Israel certainly opened the eyes of Dr.
Carol Jahshan, the daughter of a Lebanese refugee from Haifa who grew
up in Beirut before moving the USA. She has
just completed a 3-month working collaboration at Israel’s Bar Ilan University. And Jamila Hair,
the 76-year-old female Druze owner of an Israeli soap factory, amazed the audience
and media at the Festival of Women in Segovia, Spain, when she spoke about the
peace between her Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze women workers. Interestingly, the Druze revere Jethro (father-in-law
to Moses) who joined up with the Hebrews when he heard about their Exodus from
Egypt.
Twelve Israeli women featured in Timeout’s article to
mark International Women’s Day. They
work in TV, women’s collectives, alternative medicine, art, fashion, community,
advertising, dance, incubators, Africa, ceramics and aviation. The future is also bright, with girls at
Israel’s state schools having excellent opportunities to achieve success. One such girl is 10th grade student Tamar
Barbi from Hod Hasharon who just discovered a new "Three Radii
Theorem" whilst studying mathematics at the highest level in Israel.
In Israel, women can become whatever they
want, whether it is an Olympic wrestler like Ilana
Kratysh, or a spy
like Sylvia
Rafael. They can win medals for rhythmic
gymnastics or - as with Timna
Nelson-Levy and Yarden
Gerbi for judo,
Finally, however, perhaps (as King Solomon
wrote) there really is nothing new under the Sun. Because just a few weeks ago a rare
2500-year-old seal, inscribed with the name of Elihana bat Gael
in ancient Hebrew letters, was unearthed at the City of David in the Jerusalem
Walls National Park. The seal, found in
a building from the First Temple period, showed that the owner was probably a
successful businesswoman. And maybe even
a good prophet!
Israel – it’s the
land of opportunity.
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly
newsletter containing positive news stories about Israel.
www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com
and a searchable archive www.IsraelActive.com
For a free subscription, email a request to
michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
