200329
In the 29th Mar
20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights
include:
·
Hundreds of Israeli companies, academics and
NGOs are working to combat coronavirus.
·
Top Israeli
companies are donating cash to help fight coronavirus.
·
Israeli tech
advances are just some of the positive effects of the coronavirus.
·
Israeli
microgreens contain concentrated immune system-boosting nutrients.
·
The
Internet is full of Israeli ideas for things to do while in isolation.
·
El AL flew
its longest-ever flight, to bring home 230 Israelis from Australia.
·
Prayers
for rain have filled the Sea of Galilee – and are now tackling coronavirus.
·
Click here
to see the 22nd March newsletter on IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, and United
With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) in German
and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew. Please
pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading
contacts. Also (TY Esty) please visit
the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL
Facebook page.
·
Please click
here, to donate (a
small or large amount) to help me expand the reach of VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
·
Click here,
to SEARCH the IsraelActive archives of over
16,000 previous news articles.
·
If someone
wishes to be added to the free email subscription list, they should either click
here or send a request (with their
name) to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Over 70 Israeli
companies fight coronavirus. (TY UWI
& Algermeiner)
Israeli non-profit Startup Nation Central (SNC) has created a comprehensive
directory of more than 70 relevant Israeli med-tech startups that are helping combat
COVID-19. The areas are treatment, diagnostics, prevention, monitoring, and social.
Hebrew U and coronavirus. Anti-coronavirus research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem includes:
a genetic biobank to help prevent its spread, faster diagnostic kits, boosting
the immune system, developing new proteins as a basis for a vaccine and
treatments to block infection and reduce tissue damage.
Ben Gurion U and coronavirus. A summary of 15 of 50+ projects that Israel’s Ben Gurion University
has launched to mitigate COVID-19 or its repercussions. Highlights are neutralizing
antibodies, anti-viral air filters, emergency drones, automatic sanitizers and
anti-viral microalgae. And 100+ students help at Soroka hospital.
Technion and coronavirus. Israel’s Technion Institute has 20 labs working on solutions for
coronavirus. It has 4 diagnostic testing projects, 2 projects developing vaccines,
4 therapeutics projects and 7 projects developing aids for medical teams. Plus,
numerous emergency projects. You can even join its voice study (click
here)
Israeli startups in the age of coronavirus. Great Forbes article listing
many Israeli companies working on coronavirus-related products and services.
Not previously reported include SaNOtize (nasal spray), Pulm-One (lung function
test), MagniLearn (distance learning) and Kemtai (virtual personal trainer that
can see you)
More detail on Israeli coronavirus
med-tech. This article focuses on six Israeli
startups. RADLogics (diagnoses lung infection), Sight Diagnostics
(blood test), Kamada
(antibodies), Clew Medical
(severity monitoring), EarlySense
(home monitoring) and Geneyx Genomex (genetic resistance analysis).
Coronavirus vaccine from recovered
patients. Israel’s Kamada is developing a treatment
against the coronavirus derived from the blood-plasma of patients who have recovered
from the disease and are in convalescence. Kamada says that the plasma is
likely to contain antibodies that can be the basis for a vaccine.
Intelligent testing for pathogens. Diagnostics.ai is a British company, but almost its entire R&D
is based in Israel. The company uses Artificial Intelligence to analyze
COVID-19 (or any pathogen) test results automatically. It removes the need for
specialists and ensures standardization, accuracy and quality-control.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-researchers-develop-innovative-diagnostic-method-for-coronavirus-621617
http://www.diagnostics.ai/Diagnostics.ai_COVID-19_approach.pdf
A better mask. (TY UWI)
The Israeli ViriMASK Protective Oculo-Respirator shields the face and eyes from
the coronavirus. It is strapped around the head, with a see-through visor and has
a filtering mechanism for the nose and mouth. The device can be washed and
reused and the replaceable filters last 12 hours. Available soon.
More ventilators. Israel’s Inovytec Medical Solutions (reported here previously) is
mass-producing portable respiratory machines. It plans to deliver 1,000 of the
machines to the Israeli Defense Ministry in May and has had additional orders
from Europe. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3802855,00.html
Barcoding
cancer treatments. As reported previously (Nov
2016) Israeli scientists developed nano-packages of anti-cancer treatments,
barcoded to identify which is the most effective. Now, Israel’s Barcode
Diagnostics sends different chemo in nanoparticles and reads barcodes on the dead
tumors to see which one worked best.
US approval for
hammertoe fixing system. Israel’s Ossio (reported
here previously) has just received US FDA approval for its OSSIOfiber®
Hammertoe Fixation system. The bio-integrative non-metal “intelligent” bone-regeneration
implants come in 3 sizes, plus straight and angled configurations, for better
customization.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Philanthropic Israeli
companies., Big-hearted Israeli companies include
Israeli-founded Mobileye, which is donating NIS 10 million to cash-strapped non-profits.
Mobileye’s parent, Intel, is donating $320,000 to Haifa’s Rambam Hospital to buy
a hi-tech coronavirus testing system. And MyHeritage is donating 66,000 swabs.
How the elderly can help. Israel’s Esther Hershcovich has set up SAGE - a global English-language
platform where skilled senior citizens give on-line classes in arts, business,
education, health and more.to those in home-isolation. Teachers include an
ex-Midwife, a psychologist, a Rabbi and a chiropractor. How about you?
Praying together. The New
York Times published a positive story around a photo of two Israeli Jewish
and Arab paramedics praying together – one facing Jerusalem and the other
facing Mecca. It goes on to say that
this is common phenomena in Israel. WIN had a similar story if you don’t want
to subscribe to the NYT.
Austria’s Chancellor grateful for PM’s advice. Austrian Chancellor
Sebastian Kurz said that Israeli PM Netanyahu shook him out of his complacency,
urging him to "do something" to contain the coronavirus epidemic. It prompted
him to make Austria one of the first European countries to take serious action.
Virtual coronavirus conference for
global leaders. Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP)
hosted “Corona Wake Up Call”- a virtual conference. Its attendees included global
government, economic and tech leaders, as well as Israeli and Italian hospital
heads and experts. They shared best practices on combating the COVID-19 crisis.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Predicting the spread of coronavirus. Scientists from Israel’s Weizmann Institute and other organizations
have developed a method for monitoring, identifying, and predicting the
coronavirus’s spreading zones. It involves patients answering a one-minute questionnaire.
60,000 Israelis completed the form in just one week.
Hackathon to alleviate isolation. 150 Israelis and Americans from Birthright, MIT and the IDF’s elite
8200 unit held a virtual hackathon called “HackCorona”. They designed video
innovations, a digital services platform, an errand volunteering platform,
distance learning and other virtual on-line facilities.
Transferring coronavirus test data. In just 48 hours, Israel’s Kryon (see here) built a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solution to automate
the twice-daily uploading of Israeli Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 test results
onto Maccabi Healthcare Services’ system. Healthcare professionals can now focus
on treatment.
https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/03/159246-ourcrowd-portfolio-company-kryon-aids-covid-19-testing-with-robotic-process-automation/ https://www.kryonsystems.com/
The Real coronavirus. Sharon, of The Real Jerusalem Streets,
recently attended a mHealth Israel Webinar where it was stressed that because
of the “info-demic” about the coronavirus pandemic it is vital to use trusted
sources for information. The webinar also highlighted the good preparations of Israel’s
Sheba Medical Center.
Positive aspects of
coronavirus. Not everything about the coronavirus is
negative. Families spend more time together and some unhealthy vices are
curtailed. The major benefit is advancing technology e.g. telemedicine, robotics
and efficient financial technology. And Calcalist has published OptimisTech
with more good news.
US-Israel water-energy initiative. The tech transfer arm of Israel’s Ben-Gurion University and Northwestern
University are to jointly develop technologies to solve global water
challenges. The $21.4 million initiative covers energy-efficient water supply, wastewater
reuse and recovery, and energy-water systems.
https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2020/03/u-s-israel-consortium-launches-21-4-million-initiative-to-develop-water-energy-technologies/ https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3800506,00.html
Water Wednesdays. The JNF have launched an on-line series of 4 Wednesday lectures “Your
Drinking Water in the Time of Coronavirus: Lessons from Israel”. Episode 1 (see
Youtube below) featured Seth M Siegel, author of “Let There Be Water”. You can join
future lectures on Zoom.
https://jewishinsandiego.org/san-diego-jewish-community-calendar/your-drinking-water-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-lessons-from-israel-1584994788
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN1-mK2xIJ8
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Grants
to startups combatting coronavirus. The Israeli government has promised
financial support worth NIS 50 million to Israeli start-ups advancing solutions
to combat the coronavirus pandemic. It said it will fund most of the development
expenses for companies with exceptional impact breakthrough technologies.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Government-offers-assistance-to-tech-developers-fighting-coronavirus-621412
https://m.calcalistech.com/Article.aspx?guid=3801691
Virtual
business summit to fight coronavirus. Israel’s Catalyst Investments is hosting a
virtual conference in early April to match investors with med-tech and biotech
companies fighting the novel coronavirus. Managing Partner Edouard Cukierman
believes that funding can help Israeli startups develop a breakthrough solution.
http://nocamels.com/2020/03/virtual-conference-israeli-biotech-medtech-covid19/
https://catalyst-fund.com/
Chinese
social media founded by Israelis. China’s Weibo has led a $3.5 million funding round in social media
startup Y-Platform, founded by Israel’s Raz and Ami Gal Or. Y-Platform’s social
media accounts depict the daily lives of foreigners in China. It has 70 million
subscribers on Weibo, Bilbili, Tiktok, and WeChat.
Small
Israeli startups can adapt. This article highlights that many Israeli startups will be nimble enough
to survive the “black swan” coronavirus event. The 2008 financial crisis provides
an historical precedent. They are boosting their on-line presence, preserving
cash and increasing stocks held by foreign distributors.
Investment
in Israeli startups continues. Venture Capital funds and large multinationals are still investing in Israeli
startups. This week Pitango completed raising a $250 million growth fund; Pyramid
Analytics raised $25 million; Quantum Machines $17.5 million; ePlane $9
million; Revuze $5.1 million etc. etc.
Israel’s
largest port operating normally. (TY Hazel) Israel’s largest seaport, Ashdod, is fully operational, at a level
similar to last year despite the global coronavirus outbreak. Some 97% of cargo
to Israel, by weight, arrives by ship and the government has assured the country
there will be no shortages of essential products.
Healthy Israeli microgreens. Microgreens are harvested 7 to 20 days after
seedlings emerge. Young leafy sprouts pack far more flavor and disease-preventing
nutrients per gram than adult plants. Israel’s 2BFresh produced 85 tons of
microgreens in 2019 for the domestic and overseas markets. Great video.
H.
pylori treatment now available. Following US FDA approval (see here) Israel’s
Redhill has launched its Talicia treatment for H.pylori (Helicobacter) infections
in the US. RedHill’s expanded sales force will promote Talicia to approximately
25,000 gastroenterologists, primary care physicians and other healthcare
providers.
Wines
from the Biblical heartland. The Israeli wine industry in the Judean Hills grows literally from
strength to strength (see here
for previous articles). For example, Gush Etzion winery produces 100,000
bottles a year and the Judean Hills Quartet is a group of 4 boutique wineries
producing top quality, award-winning wines.
A billionaire
entrepreneur in isolation. Israel’s Adam Neumann was ousted last year from the WeWork co-working multi-billion-dollar
company he founded. In December he returned to Israel and is still here 3
months later. What is he doing? This interview with his Mum is a real “eye-opener”.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Idan Raichel livestreams to 400,000. More than 400,000 people from around the world tuned in to watch renowned
Israeli musician Idan Raichel’s livestreamed 22nd Mar concert from his Tel Aviv
living room. He performed some of his most popular and uplifting songs, while
sending a message of hope and togetherness.
The Jerusalem Street Orchestra goes
virtual. The Jerusalem Street Orchestra serenades
Israel and the world from their homes bringing joy, hope and comfort in the face
of the coronavirus pandemic.
Things to do while
stuck in quarantine. Israel21c has produced a
summary of the opportunities that self-isolation provides for you to indulge in
all those things you never have time for.
VeryGoodNewsIsrael recommends the Virtual tour around Israel. And COVID-19
hasn’t stopped the Hula Valley bird migration.
Fun things for kids (and adults) in
isolation. Ideas include (Israeli) board games, virtual
art, yoga, cooking, virtual museum tours (e.g.Tel Aviv Museum
of Art), weird science (e.g.Weizmann Institute’s Science at Home
channel) and virtual theaters and (e.g.Israeli Opera) concerts.
THE JEWISH STATE
IFCJ donates $2 million to fight coronavirus
in Israel. The International Fellowship of
Christians and Jews (IFCJ) has approved $2 million in special grants to 15 Israeli
hospitals for respiratory equipment and other lifesaving machinery. It has also
purchased 20 special testing devices for Magen David Adom.
Good for the elderly in Modi’in. Barkai Center for Practical Rabbinics and Community Development has
set-up a food-distribution system using WhatsApp groups, for homebound Israelis.
Over 250 volunteers deliver cooked meals three times a week to vulnerable, elderly
residents in each of Modi’in’s 13 neighborhoods.
President reads to children during
lockdown. Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin went
on-line to give parents a break. He said, “Read along with me, the whole family
or just the children (and take the time for a coffee, without your phone).” He then
read the children’s book “A Room for Rent,” by Leah Goldberg.
Israelis rescued from Peru. Itzik Garber piloted one of 4 El Al planes that flew 16 hours and over
12,000km to Peru to rescue 1,000 Israelis stranded by the coronavirus outbreak.
After a 4-hour break on the ground, Captain Garber flew his Boeing 787
Dreamliner with hundreds of Israelis for another 15 hours back home to Israel.
Record-breaking flight
to Australia. In a historic first, El Al flew a
commercial flight directly from Israel to Australia to evacuate Israelis stranded
due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 17-hour flight landed in Perth and took
off several hours later. It carried 230 Israelis, including 80 who went to
Perth from New Zealand.
More Israelis rescued. (TY Hazel) Israel showed again that it doesn’t abandon its citizens.
El Al planes have brought back 40 from Ghana, 600 from Ukraine (on 4 flights),
including 160 mostly Arab-Israeli students from Odessa. Other missions include
from Italy, Ethiopia, Thailand and Croatia.
Can’t stop Aliya. (TY TPS)
Immigration to Israel continues despite the coronavirus pandemic. 961
immigrants have arrived in Israel since the beginning of March., They included 72
Ethiopian immigrants from the Falash Mura community. All new immigrants have to spend their first 2
weeks in self-isolation.
The Kinneret is almost
full. (TY WIN)
Prayers for rain have worked. The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is at a 16-year high
- just short of the upper red line. At that level, the Dganya Dam should be
opened to prevent flooding. A little more rain is forecast, plus the melting snow
from Mount Hermon should push it over the line.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/03/23/for-the-first-time-in-17-years-sea-of-galilee-is-nearly-full/
Prayers against
coronavirus. Jews globally prayed virtually on Zoom
to end the spread of COVID-19. The gathering, led by Israel’s Chief Rabbis
David Lau and Yitzchak Yosef, is believed to be the largest joint prayer ever
held. Meanwhile Jewish, Moslem and Christian leaders came together to pray in
Jerusalem.
200322
In the 22nd Mar
20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights
include:
·
Israel’s Sonovia is to donate 120,000 of its
new virus protection masks.
·
Israel
helps Palestinian Authority fight the coronavirus.
·
Israel’s
Teva donates coronavirus treatment to US hospitals.
·
An Israeli
Professor has won the “Nobel Prize” for Mathematics.
·
An Israeli
security testing company exits for $1.15 billion.
·
Israel’s
museums, orchestra and cyclists have gone online.
·
Israel’s
bone marrow database registered its millionth donor.
·
Click here
to see the 15th March newsletter on IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, and United
With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) in German
and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew. Please
pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading
contacts. Also (TY Esty) please visit
the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL
Facebook page.
·
Please click
here, to donate (a
small or large amount) to help me expand the reach of VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
·
Click here,
to SEARCH the IsraelActive archives of over
16,000 previous news articles.
·
If someone
wishes to be added to the free email subscription list, they should either click
here or send a request (with their
name) to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Virus protection masks. (TY UWI)
Israel’s Sonovia (see
here) is now in full production of its face masks that protect the wearer
from the coronavirus. Sonovia will donate the first 120,000 of the new masks to
the Israeli government, for use by medical workers, patients and key employees.
More will be donated to other countries.
https://tps.co.il/articles/we-know-that-we-can-kill-the-coronavirus-israeli-company-donates-120000-cutting-edge-protective-masks-to-govt/
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-start-up-to-donate-120000-masks-to-stop-coronavirus-spread-621077
Treatment saves coronavirus patient. The Israel-Arab bus driver, who was critically ill from the coronavirus,
is out of danger. He caught the virus from a group of Greek tourists and was treated
with anti-viral medications. Chloroquine, Remdesivir and several experimental medications
(see link) are being used in severe cases.
Stem cell treatment may relieve coronavirus
symptoms. Israel’s Pluristem Therapeutics’s placenta-based
cell therapy (see here) could
be used to treat patients suffering from respiratory and inflammatory
complications associated with coronavirus. Pluristem has launched a joint project
with two Berlin-based medical institutions.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-cell-therapy-to-treat-acute-COVID-19-patients-prevent-ARDS-621016
https://unitedwithisrael.org/novel-israeli-therapy-takes-aim-at-coronavirus/
30-minute coronavirus testing kit. Israel’s BATM has developed a diagnostics kit to detect coronavirus
from saliva samples in less than half an hour. The kit already detects SARS and
MERS virus infections. BATM is now busy commercializing the kit for large-scale
production.
Double boost for potential ALS treatment. (TY Atid-EDI)
The US FDA has given Orphan drug status to the PrimeC ALS therapy from Israel’s
NeuroSense (see here). Meanwhile,
NeuroSense has begun Phase 1 human clinical trials of PrimeC at two US sites
and a Phase 2a human trial at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center.
Trial success for diabetes pill. (TY YL & UWI)
Israel’s Oramed announced good results of its Phase 2b trials of ORMD-0801 treatment
for Type 2 diabetes. Oramed will now discuss its Phase 3 plans with the US FDA.
Breakthrough designation for corneal implant. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s EyeYon Medical (see here)
has been awarded Breakthrough Device designation for its EndoArt polymer film
implant, attached to the posterior corneal surface, to treat chronic corneal
edema. EndoArt has been successful in early human clinical trials.
Only take the
vitamins you need. Israeli app Nutricco monitors a
person’s nutrient intake, provides dietary advice and delivers missing vitamins
to your home. It is intended for those who currently waste money and risk their
health by taking unnecessary supplements.
Smells to boost
memory while you sleep. Scientists from Tel Aviv
University and Israel’s Weizmann Institute have demonstrated that administering
certain scents during sleep bolsters memory processes in the brain. The study tested
memory recall after using rose scent while memorizing words and then during a short
nap.
EU approval
for blood pressure wristband monitor. (TY Atid-EDI) In
Sep 2019 Israel’s Biobeat received FDA approval for its medical smartwatch and
patch (see
here). It has now also received CE Mark approval. The smartwatch measures blood
pressure, cardiac output, stroke volume, blood oxygenation and heart rate.
A surgical
sewing-machine. Israel’s Anchora Medical develops
single-use suturing devices used to bring soft tissue into the desired
placement during open and minimally invasive surgeries. Anchora has just raised
$4.5 million in a funding round led by Japan’s Hoya Corporation.
Building an
imaging system for prostate cancer. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Isotopia Molecular Imaging has entered into a development partnership with Germany’s
Eckert & Ziegler for the development of its PSMA-11-Kit for prostate cancer
imaging. Isotopia’s team includes some of Israel’s leading scientists.
https://isotopia.co.il/isotopia-molecular-imaging-and-eckert-ziegler-to-start-partnership-for-prostate-cancer-imaging/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5yhCGBqsiA
Predicting
success of cancer treatments. Israeli scientists
are frequently finding new ways of personalizing cancer treatments. Some are
based on genetics (see
here) or proteins expressed by the body (see
here). Now Weizmann Institute researchers are devising a system to predict
how patients will respond to immunotherapy.
Unlocking more
medical data. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
MDClone (see
here) organizes patient data to help medical research in Israel and in the US. It has now expanded to Canada with The Ottawa
Hospital – one of Canada’s largest hospitals. MDClone’s technology can potentially
benefit thousands of Canadians.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Paralympic medalist builds wheelchairs
for athletes. Doron Shaziri lost his leg during
action in the IDF. He then took up wheelchair basketball and Paralympic shooting,
for which he won several medals. His experience led him to design wheelchairs
for sports such as basketball, tennis, badminton, rugby and even dancing.
Blind and deaf Israeli makes world-class
wine. Yossi Samuels has launched YOSSI wine in
partnership with Herodion Winery - the first Israeli wine made by a blind and deaf
person. It also includes a Braille label. Yossi has heightened senses of smell
and taste. He studied wine in Israel and France until he became a sommelier.
Israel’s first female Muslim police lieutenant. Sabreen Saadi is about to become the first hijab-wearing Muslim
woman to attain the rank of lieutenant in the Israel Police. Saadi is from a
traditional Muslim family in a Bedouin town in northern Israel. There are currently
55 Arab women in the Israel Police.
Israel helps PA
prevent coronavirus. Israeli authorities have delivered
hundreds of coronavirus testing kits to the Palestinian Authority and to the Gaza
strip, plus tons of disinfectant material. In addition, professional teams of Israelis
and Palestinian Arabs have been working together to prevent the spread of the
virus.
https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Israel-delivers-disinfectant-to-West-Bank-amid-coronavirus-outbreak-620574 https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15739/israel-palestinians-coronavirus
Protecting USAF pilots. The US Air Force has just awarded Israel’s Elbit a $471 million
10-year contract. Elbit will provide a system to warn USAF pilots if an
infrared missile has been launched at their aircraft, so that the pilot can engage
in evasive maneuvers. The system is already used by the Israeli Air Force.
How to grow crops in the desert. Tel Aviv University’s Nitsan Sustainable Development Lab helps
farmers in rural Asia and Africa grow crops in arid conditions. Israeli ag-tech
enables farmers to use water and fertilizer more efficiently, grow crops
resistant to disease and drought, and harness data to increase yields and quality.
Sudan authorizes Israeli flights over
its territory. Sudan has authorized overflights to and
from Israel for the first time. So, when flights resume, once the coronavirus
is defeated, air travelers between Israel and South America will enjoy shorter
duration flights than previously.
Israel attends anti-terrorism conference
in Morocco. An unnamed Israeli official attended
the “Warsaw Process Counterterrorism and Illicit Finance” working group in
Marrakech, Morocco. Though the countries have no formal relations, Morocco has
hosted Israeli leaders, and many other Israelis have visited there.
Coronavirus treatment for
the US. Israel’s Teva manufactures hydroxychloroquine
sulfate, the less toxic version of chloroquine, which alleviates some of the coronavirus’
symptoms. Teva is donating six million tablets of the treatment to help U.S.
hospitals meet an expected surge in demand.
Italian professor praises Israel’s coronavirus
preparations. Massimo Galli is Professor of Biomedical
and Clinical Sciences at Milan University and Director of infectious diseases
at the Luigi Sacco hospital in Milan. On Italian TV he praised Israel as being
the only country prepared for this huge (coronavirus) problem.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
World’s top prize for
Mathematics. Israel’s Hillel Furstenberg is being
awarded a share of the Abel Prize and 7.5 million Norwegian Kroners “, for
pioneering the use of methods from probability and dynamics in group theory,
number theory and combinatorics.” The Abel is the Mathematics equivalent of the
Nobel Prize.
How to use your appliance. Many state-of-the-art appliances can be connected to the Internet
and controlled from a smartphone app. But setting these up can be complicated. Those
manufacturers that have partnered with Israel’s Co-pilot are now able to use the
service to detect your problem and guide you through the process.
https://www.israel21c.org/if-your-gadget-has-you-stumped-copilot-will-guide-you/
https://www.copilot.cx/
Israel’s largest youth robotics competition. (UWI)
Before the recent restrictions on large events, Israeli youth joined with teens
from the United States to compete in Israel’s largest robotics competition
ever.
Stopping a criminal waste of water. (TY Hazel) Israel’s Public Security Ministry is installing a water
control system in Israeli prisons to save hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of water. It is to prevent prisoners
deliberately leaving taps running in showers and bathrooms. https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/02/11/new-system-will-fight-intentional-water-waste-by-palestinian-prisoners/
The future of freelance work. Israel’s Fiverr started as a marketplace for people selling services
for five dollars (see Aug
2011). Its freelancers have since
earned over $1 billion, selling their quality products and services globally - without
leaving their computers. It is even using AI to help them design company logos.
Read it to me. As reported here previously (Sep
2018) Google Israel developed the “Go” app that reads aloud web content.
The Israeli team has now upgraded the app, now named “Read It”. New features include
a human voice and translation into 42 languages. You can even say to your Google Assistant, “Hey
Google, Read it!”.
Better air quality at home and work. Israel’s Urecsys develops air treatment technologies for optimizing
air quality within residential and commercial buildings. Urecsys predicts and detects
pollution levels and then activates building controls to protect workers and
residents. Urecsys has just raised $4 million in funds.
TIPA is second of 500 top Food Tech
companies. (TY Hazel) Israeli compostable flexible
packaging company TIPA Corp was named in 2nd place in global network Forward
Fooding’s Food Tech 500 – “the world’s first definitive list of AgriFoodTech
talent.”
https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2020/02/17/The-FoodTech-500-The-world-s-first-definitive-list-of-AgriFoodTech-talent-unveiled
http://nocamels.com/2020/03/israel-tipa-corp-foodtech-500-forward-fooding/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Deep
Instinct grows. Israeli
cybersecurity startup Deep Instinct’s success (reported here previously)
continues. It has raised another $43 million to help grow its sales and
marketing team in New York, and its R&D team in Israel. There are now 10
million HP computers pre-installed with Deep Instinct’s AI security technology.
Another
new IKEA store.
(TY Janglo)
IKEA plans to open a 6th Israeli store, at Moshav Eshtaol - north of Beit
Shemesh. The 25,000 square meter store will have 400 employees and serve the
Jerusalem region.
Israeli
gelato chain launches NYC branch. Israel’s family-owned boutique gelato chain, Anita, plans to open its
first New York City branch. The 1,076-square-foot branch in 2nd Ave will offer
150 flavors ranging from dairy to seasonal fruit-based sorbet to sugar-free and
vegan varieties, served from huge glass vitrines.
Clever
acquisition. Israel’s
Mellanox is in the process of being taken over by Nvidia (reported
here). But this hasn’t stopped it growing.
After record-level recent profits it has now acquired Irish network intelligence
startup Titan IC Systems. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3798193,00.html
Checkmarx exits for $1.15 billion. Israel’s Checkmarx is to be
acquired by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for $1.15 billion. It is
the largest-ever acquisition of an application security company. Checkmarx’s testing
finds security flaws in major technology platforms, including Google and
Samsung.
Distributing
the right image. (TY Atid-EDI) Israeli
mobile X-ray startup NanoX (see
here) has signed an agreement with the Gateway Group for Gateway to
distribute NanoX devices across Australia, New Zealand and Norway. It has also signed an agreement with USARAD, to
deploy 3,000 NanoX systems in the US.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206005855/en/Nanox-Signs-Strategic-Collaboration-Agreement-USARAD-Deployment
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3798212,00.html
Financial
power for radio wave power. As reported previously (Jan
2019) Israeli startup Wiliot’s innovative sensor uses radio waves to power
IoT devices without batteries or electrical wiring. Wiliot has just raised $20 million in funds from
PepsiCo, Verizon and others.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Take a virtual tour of
Israeli museums. (TY Janglo)
Israel’s museums are going online, providing virtual guided tours of new
exhibits and fun activities for visitors of all ages. The museums include the
Israel museum, Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Ben Gurion’s Desert Home.
Israeli Philharmonic’s live online concerts. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has been live-streaming concerts
“as a gesture to the music lovers in quarantine.”.
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-israel-philharmonic-to-livestream-concert-for-those-in-quarantine/
A glimpse of Tel Aviv. A one-minute video to give something of the feel of Israel’s second-largest
city.
Two NFL players train with the IDF. Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson and free-agent
cornerback Josh Norman trained with Israeli soldiers at the Wingate Institute
in Netanya, Israel. “It’s amazing to get in there and train with these guys
because they are at the top of their game,” Norman told Fox News.
On-line cycling with top cyclists. (TY Janglo)
Israel’s only professional cycling team, Israel Start-Up Nation (ISN), is leading
a virtual online team ride. Fans with ‘Smart’ trainer-devices can join German legend
Andre Greipel, Israel’s Guy Sagiv, and Britain’s Alex Dowsett through their
phones, TVs or iPads.
THE JEWISH STATE
Another Canaanite city conquered by the
Israelites. Archeologists have unearthed the Canaanite
city of Lachish (see
here for others), that was conquered by the Israelite army, led by Joshua. “And
the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel,” (Joshua 10:32).
Caves where Jews fought the Romans. (TY Janglo)
Dr. Yinon Shivtiel, senior lecturer at Safed Academic College, has identified hundreds
of caves in the Galilee used by Jews during the Great Revolt against the Romans
almost 2,000 years ago. Described by Josephus, they contained coins, jars,
lamps and parts of arrows.
Serbia to open diplomatic mission in
Jerusalem. (TY Janglo
and Hazel) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced at the AIPAC Policy
Conference in Washington, DC that his country plans on opening a Chamber of
Commerce economic office and a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/1583098533-serbia-s-vucic-announces-intention-to-open-official-state-office-in-jerusalem
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/276670
The 400th anniversary of the US-Israel
alliance. From 1620 to 2020 Americans have cemented
their ties to the Land of Israel. In the US there are 18 Jerusalems, 32 Salems
(the original Biblical name of Jerusalem) and 83 Shilohs (where the tabernacle
stood).
One million potential donors. Israeli NGO Ezer Mizion has celebrated an historic milestone of one
million registrants for its Bone Marrow database. Before the founding of the
registry in 1979 a patient had only an 8% chance of finding a match. Today it
is 76%. Israel has the highest number of registered of donors per capita.
Celebrating Life. (TY UWI)
Even a virus epidemic can’t stop an Israeli religious Jewish wedding. The Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem conformed
to Ministry of Health restrictions by using its balconies for the guests of the
bride and bridegroom. The video conveys some of the joy of the celebration.
200315
In the 15th Mar
20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights
include:
·
Israeli
surgeons perform unique operation on lung cancer patient.
·
Microsoft
Israel appoints its first female CEO.
·
Israeli
technology allows businesses and students to work from home.
·
Two Israeli
innovations produce pure drinking water in deprived areas of the world.
·
The Swiss Railway
is investing $200,000 in five Israeli startups.
·
An Israeli
won Tokyo’s women’s marathon in a record time.
·
A “super” way
to deliver Purim parcels to hospitalized Israeli children.
·
Click here
to see the 1st March newsletter on IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo
and United
With Israel with extra feature on Inclusive
& Global. Also (TY Sandra) in German
and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew.
Also, Hebrew
translation of articles in 1st Mar newsletter by students of Reali school
in Haifa. Please pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading contacts. Also (TY Esty) please visit the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL
Facebook page.
·
Please click
here, to donate (a
small or large amount) to help me expand the reach of VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
·
Click here,
to SEARCH the IsraelActive archives of some
16,000 previous news articles.
·
If someone
wishes to be added to the free email subscription list, they should either click
here or send a request (with their
name) to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Lung cancer transplant
patient receives his own lung. (TY David F) In a
medical breakthrough, surgeons at Israel’s Beilinson hospital temporarily removed
the left lung from a lung cancer patient. They then cut out a tumor from the
lung that had been blocking the main airway and finally replaced the lung back
into the patient.
Coronavirus vaccine news. Latest progress on the vaccine being developed by Israeli
scientists at the Migal Research Institute in Kiryat Shmona on the border with
Lebanon. Also, an article on how the vaccine works.
Helping coronavirus patients breathe. (TY UWI)
Doctors at Jerusalem’s Alyn hospital developed Coughsync some 10 years ago to
help relieve lung congestion in physically challenged and disabled children.
Now it is being mass-produced to help clear secretions from the lungs of Chinese
coronavirus patients on ventilators.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/New-Israeli-invention-used-to-treat-coronavirus-victims-in-China-617530 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyW027huElc
Breakthrough in generating heart cells. (TY UWI)
Researchers led by Professor Lior Gepstein of Israel’s Technion Institute and
Rambam Medical Center have generated heart cells from stem cells that can be
either atrial (upper) or ventricular (lower) chamber cells. It has significant
benefits for testing cardiac treatments.
Sheba is now world’s
9th best hospital. Newsweek magazine listed Israel’s
Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer as the world's ninth-best hospital, up one
place from last year (see
here). Newsweek highlighted Sheba’s groundbreaking research in cancer,
cardiology, brain diseases, genetics plus its global collaborations.
Contact lenses
to correct color blindness. (TY Israel21c)
Tel Aviv University researchers have developed customizable contact lenses that
can correct deuteranomaly, a form of red-green colorblindness. Ultra-thin
optical devices were incorporated into off-the-shelf contact lenses.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Why five Israeli women became diplomats. To commemorate International Women’s Day, five Israeli female
diplomats answered five questions connected with their work, to encourage more
women to follow their lead. Plus 16 Israeli women from all walks of life who
challenge stereotypes in the most inspiring ways.
Microsoft Israel’s new
CEO is a woman. (TY Janglo)
Software giant Microsoft has appointed Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk as CEO of
Microsoft Israel R&D. She is the first woman in that role. The second article
describes how Israeli women lead the way in Israel’s thriving biotech industry.
International Women’s Day in Jerusalem. (TY Sharon) This article features
some of March’s events and activities in Jerusalem, especially designed for International
Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8th.
Israeli fashion is for everyone. Four Israeli designers are developing cutting-edge clothing that’s
attractive, affordable and accessible for both people with disabilities and
those without. They are Shay Senior (Palta Clothes), Einav Besser (Mikita), Miri
Albik (Miricle) and Gil Joshua Dreyfus (Abba’le Arba).
https://paltaclothes.com/
https://www.mikitafashion.com/
https://www.miricle.co.il/
http://abbalearba.com/
Lior Suchard helps raise NIS 180,000. As reported previously,
Israeli umbrella charity MyIsrael (see here) invited Israeli
mentalist Lior Suchard to wow the audience at its Feb 10 launch. The event
raised a huge NIS 180,000. MyIsrael’s 18 charities all ensure that 100% of any
donation goes directly to the donor’s chosen cause.
DRC’s first ambassador to Israel in 20 years. President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) announced that he will appoint an ambassador to Israel for the first time
in 20 years. Although the new Ambassador will be stationed in Tel Aviv, a
commercial section of the embassy will be in Jerusalem.
Israeli-built school for refugees. Israelis have been helping Syrian refugees on the island of Lesbos
for over four years. Israeli-Arab news anchor Lucy Aharish was
interviewed on BBC World Service and described what the school had achieved,
before a recent tragedy. Listen from 7
minutes. Also see Israeli aid on island of Chios.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w172wyjnjccvmqr
https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/02/27/university-of-haifa-sends-arab-israeli-students-to-assist-refugees-in-greece/
Saving lives in Laos. Israeli doctor Gilat Raisch recently volunteered at a hospital in
the Asian country of Laos. She was frustrated that there were no blood supplies
for patients. So, she contacted the local Chabad Rabbi who arranged in two
weeks for nearly 100 Israeli backpackers to donate blood. The project continues
to save lives.
Israel protects wildlife. This video was published to mark World Wildlife Day on 3rd March.
It features Israel’s Hula Nature Reserve, “Safe Haven for Donkeys”, “4D
Wildlife” rehabilitation center, “Freedom Farm” sanctuary for animals with
disabilities, and the “Yodfat Monkey Forest” for rescued monkeys.
Wave energy startup boss wins UN award. Israel’s Eco Wave Power has been reported here several times. CEO Inna
Braverman has just won a United Nations Climate Action Award. Eco Wave Power
was described as “A world-leading project generating clean energy from the
ocean, co-founded and led by a female CEO.”
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Top food and ag-tech companies. Ten Israeli companies featured in Forbes top 50 global food tech
and top 50 ag-tech companies in 2020. They are Douxmatok, InnovoPro, Hinoman, Future
Meat, Tastewise, TIPA, Infarm, CropX, Taranis, and Prosera. All except Infarm have
been reported previously in this newsletter.
Soapy
solution for coronavirus. As reported here previously (Feb
2018), Israeli startup Soapy set-up its simple hygiene stations in rural
areas and slums where there is no running water. Now Soapy's handwashing micro-station
with its Israeli plant-based reagent, is said to kill viruses even more resistant
than corona.
Israeli
robot assistant for coronavirus patients. The Israeli-developed Temi robot (reported
here previously) is now being used in hundreds of hospitals, medical
centers, nursing homes, and corporate buildings in Asia to help minimize human-to-human
contact during the coronavirus outbreak.
Israeli video tech supports businesses and patients. The video-conferencing technology
from Israeli startup Kaltura (see
here) enables remote workers to stay linked during the spread of coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Uniper Care transforms a TV set into an interactive station
for patients at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center.
Don’t
block valid sites.
Israeli cybersecurity company CHEQ (reported
here previously) is an AI alternative to keyword blacklists that are commonly
used to block access to offensive websites. CHEQ estimates that US publishers
lost $2.8 billion of potential revenue opportunities in 2019 by subsequent false
positives.
Using hi-tech to re-stock the shelves. Israeli retail chain Super-Pharm has implemented shelf organization
technologies developed by Israel’s WiseShelf in 14 of its stores. WiseShelf
integrates light sensors and cameras to continually monitor shelves and send real-time
alerts when re-organization or re-stocking is needed.
Eilat and Nice partner for smart city
solutions. Israel’s Red Sea resort of Eilat and the
French Riviera city of Nice have teamed up. 10 members from each city will seek
out technology-based solutions to challenges in the field of smart cities,
including issues of infrastructure, transportation, energy, community services
and tourism.
Photo ticks all the boxes. Red pandas at Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo exercising on a wall made of
recycled materials, won an international photo competition. The wall was built
by a team that included at-risk youth.
A solar-powered water
generator. Israel’s Watergen plans to launch a solar-powered
version of its water-from-air system later this year. Solar Genny is suitable
for remote locations, such as rural villages where electricity access can be
unstable and unreliable. It can generate up to 13 liters (3.5 gallons) of water
a day.
Catch the rain. Another example of Israeli “out of the box” thinking. Eyal Yassky, CEO of Hilico, was frustrated
when Mumbai slum dwellers had to drink dirty water during the monsoon. So, he and
his friend Moshe Belilty developed a cheap, light, portable device that can
collect a liter of water from 1mm of rain.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Most
innovative. US
business magazine Fast Company named at least 14 Israeli companies in its list
of 434 “Most innovative firms in 2020”. The magazine
wrote that the companies “lead their
fields and are transforming the world.”. Israel’s Healthy.io appeared in the overall
top 50 “for diagnosing with smartphones.”
North
Rhine-Westphalia opens Israeli culture & trade office. Armin Laschet, minister-president
of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, has opened an Economy,
Science, Education, Youth and Culture office in Tel Aviv. Laschet is known as a
staunch supporter of the Jewish state.
Swiss railways partners five Israeli prospects. Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has
selected five Israeli startups for a pilot program. They are FSight, HereO, (search for “HereO
Israel”) Oriient
New Media, SoftRide and TIBA Parking Systems. SBB will invest up to
$200,000 in testing their technologies.
VISA
expands partnership with Israeli startup. As reported (Sep
2019) previously, payments giant VISA partnered with Israel’s ChargeAfter –
provider of software for flexible point-of-sale credit options. VISA has just
expanded the partnership, giving ChargeAfter access to 16,000 issuing banks,
acquirers and merchants.
Smart
move for mobile cashless startups. Israeli startup Nayax develops cashless payment systems for unattended
machines. It has just taken over Israeli startup Modularity and its credit card
payment clearing technologies for Android devices. Modularity also allows businesses
to offer clients cash withdrawal services.
Intel
backs Israeli backup startup. Israeli startup Model9 Ltd. has raised $9 million in a funding round led
by Intel Capital, the venture arm of chipmaker Intel. Model9 develops a
cloud-based service to backup, restore, archive, and encrypt mainframe data
sets and files to private or public cloud storage.
How
Israeli wine took the world by storm. Over the past two decades, Israeli
winemakers have earned a reputation for producing some of the world’s best
wines. At the International Kosher Wine Festival in Tel Aviv, Israeli vintners
and their fans enjoyed a truly awe-inspiring display of wines from Samaria to
the Golan.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Where to see Israel’s spring flowers. Thanks to abundant winter rains, many Israelis are outdoors admiring
the fields of pink, purple, red and yellow made up of - kalanit (anemone),
rakefet (cyclamen), narkis (narcissus), tourmus (lupine) and pereg (poppy).
Some rare desert flowers haven’t bloomed for some 25 years.
Lionel
Richie is a hit with Israelis. 15,000 fans sang along with Lionel Richie at Tel Aviv’s Menora Mivtachim
Arena on 2nd March. He sang all of his greatest hits, including “Hello,” “Endless
Love,” “All Night Long,” plus the Commodores’ “Sail On,” “Easy Like Sunday
Morning” and “Brick House.”.
Israel’s
Eurovision song contest entry. Israel’s entry to the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest is “Feker Libi”, or “My
Beloved” in Amharic – the Ethiopian language spoken by the ancestors of 19-year-old
Ethiopian-Israeli singer Eden Alene. Most of the song’s lyrics are in English,
with some Hebrew, Arabic and Amharic.
Israeli woman wins Tokyo marathon in record time. (TY UWI)
Israeli athlete Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (see here) won the Tokyo
Marathon women’s race in a record-breaking 2 hours, 17 minutes and 45 seconds. She
beat her previous best by over two minutes and rose to sixth in the world all-time
list.
Lifesaving
runners run again.
When running in the 2019 Dead Sea Marathon, Shachar David’s heart stopped, and
he collapsed. MDA paramedic Meir Furmanski was running nearby and performed CPR
to save Shachar’s life. In this year’s
Dead Sea Marathon, both Meir and Shachar ran side by side.
THE JEWISH STATE
More Ethiopian immigrants arrive in Israel. (TY Jacques) Israel has just welcomed about 40 new members from
Ethiopia. They include nine families from a sect of Jewish descendants called
Falash Mura, a community who long ago were forced to convert to Christianity
and currently seek to return to Judaism.
Operation Moses – pure chutzpah. BBC’s website editor Raffi Berg (a rare decent BBC employee) has
published a new book “Red Sea Spies: The True Story of Mossad’s Fake Diving
Resort”. It retells the thrilling story of how, in the mid-1980s, Mossad agents
smuggled Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel.
The African Hebrew Israelite Nation of
Jerusalem. Inspiring story of the history of the community
of African Hebrew Israelites, which has just marked 50 years in Israel. The National
Library of Israel has released photographs taken in January 1970, a few weeks
after the community was established in Dimona.
Ancient prayer book restored. The National Library of Israel has completed the restoration of the
15th Century Moskowitz Mahzor and has been put online for the first time. The manuscript
was written on parchment by Joel ben Simeon, considered by many to be the most
important Jewish artist of the Middle Ages.
Rare Icelandic visitor. One recent visitor to these shores didn’t require to be self-quarantined.
A killer whale (orca) was filmed swimming 1.4km off the Israeli coast between
Haifa and Akhziv. From its markings it is believed to be “Riptide” which began
its journey in Icelandic waters, 8,000 miles away, in June 2018.
Some important facts about Purim. The Jewish “crazy” festival of Purim is uniquely celebrated in Israel.
Even secular Israelis put on fancy dress, buy “hamantaschen” (triangular
cookies) and enjoy parties.
Superheroes bring Purim
parcels to sick children. Israeli volunteers
dressed as superheroes brought some Purim cheer to kids hospitalized at
Ichilov’s Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital in Tel Aviv. Spider-Man, Iron Man,
Superman, and Batman, among others, rappelled down the hospital’s windows,
giving out treats and toys.
200301
In the 1st Mar
20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights
include:
·
An Israeli
treatment can save the lives of sick coronavirus patients.
·
Israeli
scientists use bacteria to attract cancer-killing T-cells.
·
The
Israeli government gives grants to Negev Bedouin entrepreneurs.
·
Israeli
medical staff have taught Haiti medics to use lasers to alleviate burns victims.
·
An Israeli
father invented a swimsuit that protects the wearer from drowning.
·
Former US
Peace Envoy is now partner to an Israeli investment organization.
·
Israel’s
cycling team competes in the United Arab
Emirates.
·
A top Israeli-Arab Muslim female singer has
converted to Judaism.
·
Click here
to see the 16th February newsletter on IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo
and United
With Israel plus extra feature on Economy
& Business with 833 shares. Also
(TY Sandra) in German
and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew. Also,
Hebrew
translation of articles in 16th Feb newsletter by students of Reali school
in Haifa. Please pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading contacts. Also (TY Esty) please visit the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL
Facebook page.
·
Please click
here, to donate (a
small or large amount) to help me expand the reach of VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
·
Click here,
to SEARCH the IsraelActive archives of some
16,000 previous news articles.
·
If someone
wishes to be added to the free email subscription list, they should either click
here or send a request (with their
name) to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Breakthrough in fighting resistant bacteria
and cancer. Researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion
University have used Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and AI to design new
antibiotics and treatments for RNA viruses responsible for diseases such as
hepatitis, HIV and many cancers.
Treatment for severe victims
of coronavirus. As reported previously, (see here) the
Allocetra treatment from Israel’s Enlivex cures patients suffering severe
sepsis. Allocetra is now being offered to governments for the thousands of coronavirus
patients suffering sepsis-induced organ failure due to overactive immune
responses.
Faster diagnosis of coronavirus. New technology developed by researchers at Israel’s Bar-Ilan
University reduces the time taken to test viruses from an hour down to 15 minutes.
The enhanced test is already used in Sheba Medical Center for other viruses and
is now undergoing testing for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Israeli support for coronavirus
patients. Israeli innovation organization
INNONATION recruited 100 Israeli volunteer doctors to provide medical videos to
people in quarantine for Coronavirus in China and globally. It has also raised
funds to send 150,000 pieces of medical equipment to China. Please see the inspiring
video.
https://www.innonation.io/videos?wix-vod-video-id=baeb7735a7c84a1e90db1b678b6ca7c2&wix-vod-comp-id=comp-k0ezbnr7 https://www.innonation.io/
Monitoring suspected coronavirus patients. 12 Israelis exposed to the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) on the cruise
liner in Japan have been quarantined at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center. Each
patient uses a TytoCare, device (see
here) for doctors to remotely check pulse, temperature, throat, lungs, ears,
heart, abdomen and skin.
Working on a coronavirus vaccine. The MIGAL Galilee Research Institute has made several scientific
breakthroughs (see here) but
the latest may be a treatment for the coronavirus (COVID-19). They are adapting
their effective vaccine against avian Coronavirus Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV).
Approval target is 90 days.
Let me see inside your shoulder. The innovative AI-based / CT technology from Israel’s RSIP Vision (reported
here previously) can now assist with shoulder surgery – one of the most
complex procedures with a long recovery time. The system provides a precise 3D anatomical
model of the shoulder for better diagnosis.
Now we’re smiling. Israel’s Mavrik Dental develops dental devices that help automate
dental treatments. Its Thera-Smile teeth-whitening system has been cleared by
the US FDA. Mavrik has just raised $30 million to fund opening commercial operations
in the U.S. while retaining its product development center in Israel.
Israeli startups save lives. The 2020 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit attracted a record 23,000 delegates
from 186 countries. They heard about three Israeli medical startups - Insightec,
AlphaTAU and Surgical Theater and three of the patients whose lives they had saved
with their groundbreaking technology.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/How-Israeli-technology-saved-78-years-old-Leah-from-skin-cancer-617514 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRTEdBuRURE
3D-printing in
the hospital. Israel’s Sheba Medical Center is
using 3D printing alongside MRI and VR/AR as a precision tool to save lives and
greatly improve surgical outcomes such as in knee replacements, heart bridges
and facial reconstruction. Printing replicas of organs and bones also helps
train new surgeons.
Targeting
solid tumors. Israel’s KAHR Medical (reported here
previously) has just raised $18 million to advance its DSP107 treatment to
combat solid tumors. DSP107 works by targeting CD47, a protein that is overexpressed
by cancer cells. DSP107 prevents CD47 from suppressing the immune system.
Using bacteria to fight cancer. Israel’s
NeoTX uses Selective T cell Redirection (STR) technology to enlist a powerful
immune response against tumors. Mutated bacteria are fused with monoclonal antibodies
which target the tumor’s 5T4 antigen, alerting T-cells to kill the tumor. NeoTX has just raised $45 million of funds.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
“Specially” made soaps. Avda Natural is a workshop in the Samarian village of Kochav
Hashachar for young Israelis with special needs. They make fragrant soaps and
natural cosmetics from plants, essential oils, and local minerals. It was
founded by Shlomo Keshet as an activity for his son Elnatan, who has Down Syndrome.
Accelerating Negev
Bedouins. Startup Negev, a new tech accelerator
catering to Israel’s Bedouin minority, has launched its first cohort of 25
entrepreneurs. Each participating project will receive a grant of between NIS
30,000 and NIS 50,000. It is supported by Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture, Sapir
College and Israel Chemicals.
Helping PA Arabs find good jobs. (TY I24) Four former officers in the IDF Civil Administration are enabling
Palestinian Arabs to find well-paid jobs with Israeli companies. Instead of
Arabs paying up to 20% of their salary to illegal PA middlemen for Israeli permits,
the Arabs are connected directly with Israeli employers.
On-line learning for locked-down Chinese
kids. (TY Hazel) Israel’s Education Cities is linking
Israeli kids to pupils in China where schools are closed due to the coronavirus.
The children speak to each other, share experiences and commentary on music and
popular culture, and take part in group lessons.
Israeli plane flies over Sudan. At the Conference of Presidents
of Major American Jewish Organizations, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu reported
the first flight of an Israeli plane in Sudanese airspace. He also said “There
is scarcely one Muslim or Arab country around the world we don’t have deepening
ties with”
Israeli tech at AIPAC. Three of the Israeli innovations to be presented on the mainstage at
the AIPAC conference are UPnRIDE’s electric standing wheelchair for quadriplegics,
DouxMatok’s sweeteners and Surgical Theater’s VR technology. Another four
startups will be on display in the OurCrowd booth.
911 platform goes live in Georgia. Fayette County’s 911 Communications Center has launched Carbyne’s
c-Live platform which allows telecommunicators to have access to Instant Chat,
Live Video, AML, as well as Carbyne’s telephony infrastructure powered by
Cisco. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3QQWQyoakU
International dog adoption. Tzaar Baalei Chaim is Jerusalem’s Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals. It looks after stray dogs for as long as it takes to find
them new homes. Now it finds new owners in the USA and Canada and raises funds for
the air fare for the dog and a handler.
Treating burns victims
in Haiti. A team of burns and plastic surgery
specialists from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center trained surgeons, nurses, and
therapists from six hospitals in Haiti. They showed them how to operate Haiti’s
first medical laser to reduce and alleviate disfiguring, painful and motion-restricting
scarring.
Teaching Krav Maga in Brazil. (TY I24 News) Cooperation between Israel and Brazil encompasses almost
every area of trade, technology, security and more. Krav Maga martial arts expert
Kobi Lichtenstein has been training the Brazilian Police force since prior to the
2016 Olympics and those skills have saved lives.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The past, present and future of Israeli
tech. The annual IVC Israeli Tech Review has just
been published. It includes a summary of the Israeli hi-tech ecosystem over the
past decade. It also predicts the success of Israeli innovation based on
scientific breakthroughs. https://trailer.web-view.net/Show/0X1CF47387CF4B66EF3AA18563DF2D59C457FBE862071E07AF6D57610EB4FFBC36BF2B8A52F813D52F.htm
Iron Dome is upgraded. Ten years after the first version, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
completed trials of an advanced version of the Iron Dome air-defense system. It
was said to “simulate future threats” and was 100% successful.
A life-form that doesn’t need oxygen. Scientists at Tel Aviv University have discovered the first animal
on earth that appears to survive without the use of oxygen. The parasite,
Henneguya salminicola, lives in muscle cells of fish, an anaerobic (oxygen-free)
environment. It has no mitochondria to convert oxygen into energy.
Algae superfood. Israeli startup Simpliigood develops technology for the large-scale
production of edible products from the algae spirulina. Fresh spirulina is a
superfood (see previous
reports) containing 74% protein.
Keeping calves with their mothers. Normal milk industry practice is to remove calves from their mothers
almost immediately after birth. Israeli kibbutz Yotvata has begun a pilot
project where female calves remain with their mother until they are weaned. It
improves the strength of the calf and reduces distress to the mother.
How to breed healthy fish. Israeli scientists at Ben Gurion University, Hebrew University and
the Agricultural Research Organization have discovered how a fish's core
microbiome operates. The group had a European Research Council starting grant
and has now received an ERC Consolidator Grant to continue the research.
https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/pages/news/aquaculture_fish.aspx
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-019-0560-0
A swimsuit to prevent
drowning. Israeli Eyal Hirak designed the FuGuSense
swimsuit after his daughter nearly drowned. The swimsuit contains sensors to
monitor vital signs. If drowning is detected, an integrated, reusable airbag is
inflated to bring the swimmer to the surface.
Another water from the air system. Researchers at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed “H-to-all”
- a system for producing water from air, even in arid desert regions. It uses a
desiccant (material to remove moisture from the air). The moisture is then
converted to water using heat (solar energy) and low pressure.
Glue gun inventor is a “Forbes 30 under
30”. Technion PhD student Alona Shagan has been selected
as one of “Forbes Under 30 World” - Forbes Magazine’s list of Israel’s 30
youngest and most promising people. Alona co-developed the hot-glue gun (reported
here
previously) used to fuse torn human tissues together.
https://biotech.technion.ac.il/congratulations-to-alona-shagan-phd-candidate-for-being-nominates-in-forbes-under-30/
https://biotech.technion.ac.il/congratulations-to-ph-d-candidate-alona-shagan-for-winning-the-2019-jacobs-award-for-best-publication/
Countering cyberbullying. Israeli startup L1ght develops technology to combat the online
bullying of kids. It analyzes texts, videos, and soundbites to recognize hate
speech, cyberbullying, and online threats. L1ght has just raised $15 million of
seed funding to expand its research and development team.
How to join the Israeli tech scene. Israel Tech Challenge (reported here
previously) trains top candidates for leading positions in the Israeli hi-tech
sector. ITC is an Israeli coding school that trains the global talent for six
months to become high-ranking data scientists, cyber-professionals, developers
and data engineers.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Marketing
Israeli startups to German Industry. Start-Up Nation Central and the Bavarian
ministry have signed an agreement to introduce Israeli startups to German
manufacturers based in Bavaria, including Siemens, BMW, and Audi. It is in
addition to the Bavaria Israel Partnership Accelerator program founded in 2015.
More
multinationals in Tel Aviv. Over the past year, multinationals have opened 16 new development
centers in Tel Aviv in order to employ Israeli talent. Of the 107
multinationals, the new additions include Russia’s Yandex, SafeCharge (part of Canada’s
Nuvei Corp) and Ford Motor Company. Tel Aviv has 2,000 startups.
Seagate
to open Israeli innovation center. US storage giant Seagate is opening a Tel Aviv innovation center, Lyve
Labs Israel, with the intention of working with Israeli companies. Seagate has
been active in Israel for over a decade and has invested around $90 million in
Israeli companies.
From US peace envoy to OurCrowd partner. Jason Greenblatt, former Assistant
to the President of the United States, and Special Representative for
International Negotiations, will join Israeli Crowdfunding investing platform OurCrowd
as a partner with responsibility for building ties with the Middle East region.
K
Health is going global. When originally reported here,
the Israeli medical diagnosis app K-Health was available only in Israel and
only in Hebrew. It now has 3 million active users in 47 U.S. States. K-Health
has just raised $48 million for expanding to South America and Asia Pacific, plus
the coverage of more illnesses.
Chip
design startup exits. Israeli semiconductor startup Terrain EDA has been acquired by Nasdaq-listed
Synopsys. Terrain develops chip designs for the semiconductor industry.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3795712,00.html
https://www.terraineda.com/?nocache
Simplee
a good deal. Israeli
healthcare payments startup Simplee (incorporated as Simplificare) has been
taken over by US-based Flywire Payments Corporation for a reported $100
million. Simplee enables healthcare providers to offer patients personalized payment
plans.
Medical
device company exits to expand. US-based Integer holdings has taken over Israel’s Inomec which plans to expand
its team following the acquisition. Inomec’s makes laparoscopy systems,
catheters and devices for brain and head surgery. Integer plans to turn
Inomec’s offices into its Israeli R&D and sales office.
A high-yielding
acquisition. Israel
Chemicals Ltd (ICL) has taken over North Carolina-based Growers Holdings. Growers
develops technology that collects and turns manual and machine-generated farm
data into planting and fertilization recommendations, aiming to generate higher
agricultural yields.
Another
$200 million for SentinelOne. US-based VC firm Insight Partners has led a $200 million investment in
Israel-linked cybersecurity company SentinelOne. Previous investments valued SentinelOne
as a Unicorn (companies worth over $1 billion). The new funds provide
SentinelOne with money for strategic acquisitions.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
The Best
of Momologues. To
celebrate International Women’s Day, Center Stage - Israel’s permanent theater for
English Language productions in Ra’anana - is presenting (on March 14) a staged
reading of “The Best of Momologues” - an original comedy about Motherhood. Bring
a Mom to get the second ticket at half price!
To
the Moon – read all about it. Gefen Publishing has published
two new books about SpaceIL’s project to send the Beresheet spacecraft to the
Moon. “To the Moon on a Plastic Bottle” by Dan Raviv and Linor Bar-El is for regular
readers. “The Little Spacecraft” by Dr Mom and Shana Koppel is for children and
their parents.
Things
to do in Israel during March. March events include Lionel Richie concert, Purim Desert Carnival, InDNegev
Purim Carnival, Lunar Purim, Fattal Rock Festival in Eilat, Jerusalem Marathon,
Tel Aviv Mud Run and many more. See links for Purim events in Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem.
Israeli cycling team races in UAE. (TY Janglo
& Jacques) The “Israel Start-Up Nation” cycling team made history by
competing in the United Arab Emirates Tour, becoming the first Israeli team to
participate in the Middle East’s top cycling race. http://israelbetweenthelines.com/2020/02/27/israeli-cyclists-ride-in-uae-tour/
THE JEWISH STATE
Jews pray at Kotel for coronavirus victims. The Orthodox Union (OU) Israel helped organize a special prayer gathering
at the Western Wall on behalf of those suffering from the coronavirus. OU Rabbi
Avi Berman said “We know how to talk to God and say, ‘Please, bring a speedy
recovery to all those who are sick.”
https://israelunwired.com/massive-gathering-of-jews-prayed-for-china-and-those-infected-with-the-coronavirus-in-jerusalem/ http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/276064
Dead Sea is surrounded by wildflowers. Israel’s extraordinary winter rains have not only replenished the
Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) but also made the desert bloom. The shores along the
northern Dead Sea have burst into carpets of color. Between Kibbutz Kalya and
Ovnat, seeds that lay dormant for years have now germinated.
Arab and Jewish,
Nasrin sings in Hebrew and Arabic. Nasrin Kadry (Qadri)
is known to her thousands of Israeli fans as simply Nasreen. Since being
reported here,
she has sung at Israel’s Independence Day celebration and converted from Islam to
Judaism. Her Hebrew name is Bracha (Blessing). Interesting NYT article.
200216
In the 16th Feb
20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights
include:
·
Israeli
scientists have developed electrical fields to control single bacteria cells.
·
Israel’s Olympic
cycling team includes a Moroccan Arab.
·
Israeli scientists
extract Hydrogen from water using only sunlight.
·
An Israeli
company brings old photos to life.
·
As one Israeli
startup is valued at $1.1 billion, another exits for $1.9 billion.
·
Tel Aviv hosted
a huge vegan culinary education event for chefs.
·
A
2000-year-old entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City is re-opened.
·
On the Jewish
New Year for Trees, Israel is blossoming.
·
Click here
to see the 9th February newsletter on IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours and United
With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) in German
and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew. Also,
Hebrew
translation of articles in 9th Feb newsletter by students of Reali school
in Haifa. Please pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading contacts. Also (TY Esty) please visit the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL
Facebook page.
·
Please click
here, to donate (a
small or large amount) to help me expand the reach of VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
·
Click here,
to SEARCH the IsraelActive archives of nearly
16,000 previous news articles.
·
If someone
wishes to be added to the free email subscription list, they should either click
here or send a request (with their
name) to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Breakthrough in nanomedicine. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a
microbiological technique to generate electrical fields that can manipulate
individual bacteria cells. They can then introduce chemicals or DNA into a single
cell, either for speeding up treatment testing or improving diagnostic tests.
Decoding your brain signals. Israeli-founded startup Arctop is developing AI-based software called
Neuos, which algorithms to decode emotion, attention, and memory from biosensor
feeds of human brain signals. It opens a whole new world of possibilities for communication,
health, training, entertainment and much more.
Telemedicine to treat coronavirus patients. (TY JNS)
Israel’s Sheba Medical Center can treat potential coronavirus patients without
risking the health of hospital staff and other patients. A remote-controlled robot
enters the infected patient’s room and monitors the patient’s vital signs using
a telemedicine app called Datos.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Telemedicine-conference-at-Sheba-a-next-step-in-future-of-Israeli-medicine-581588
https://www.datos-health.com/
Joined-up cancer research and treatment. Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center and Hala - The Rachel Nash
Jerusalem Comprehensive Breast Clinic have joined forces in multinational
research studies in the field of early detection of breast cancer. Hadassah
will also serve as the main hospital for the treatment of all Hala patients.
Monitoring kidney damage in hospital. (TY Atid-EDI)
Serenno Medical has launched Sentinel - a device for automatic continuous monitoring
and detection of kidney damage (AKI) in hospitalized patients. Monitoring of
kidney function in ICU is intermittent and injury is detected late, leading to life-threatening
conditions.
Bringing early detection home. The amazing story of Yehudit Abrams, inventor of the MonitHer
device for home breast cancer monitoring. Yehudit was born a Quaker, discovered
Judaism and converted. She became a doctor, worked in Third World countries and
then NASA. She invented the MonitHer after her cousin died.
Jewish first responder saves his Arab neighbor. (TY UWI)
Josh, a Jewish volunteer for emergency service United Hatzalah, saved the life of
Munir - his Muslim next-door neighbor. Munir had been stabbed during an argument
with other Arabs in Ma’ale Hazetim, a predominantly Moslem neighborhood in eastern
Jerusalem.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Lior
Suchard has all the right numbers. Having previously raised funds only in the UK, the charity umbrella organization
myIsrael (reported
here previously) has now launched in the Jewish State. Its opening event brought
star Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard to amaze the spellbound audience with his
mind-reading act.
At
risk kids run Miami marathon. Eleven members of the Emunah Bet Elazraki Children’s Home in Netanya
took part in the recent Miami marathon.
They raised funds for various projects at the Home, where more than 170
at-risk children live. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275765
Helping
parents fight their children’s cancer. Israeli Oded Grinstein’s struggle to find
information about his daughter’s cancer inspired him to found MyChild’sCancer (MCC)
It helps 40-50 families each year resolve issues from access to experts and clinical
trials to translations and negotiating bills and insurance claims.
https://www.jns.org/an-israeli-parents-medical-struggle-turns-into-his-tikkun-olam/
https://mychildscancer.org/
A
woman wins Israel Prize for Talmud Studies. Tel Aviv University Professor Vered Noam has
become the first woman to be awarded the Israel Prize for Talmudic Studies to
be awarded on Independence Day. Talmud (Oral Law) study, traditionally men only,
has been more popular with women over the past several decades.
Head
of MBA for AI and big data at IDC. Interesting article about Hagit Perry, the first female to join the
elite IDF 8200 cyber defense unit. Following a PhD from Berkeley’s school of
business, she now heads the MBA program for artificial intelligence and big
data at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya.
Muslim Arab joins Israeli Olympic cycling team. Chokri Elmehdi, an Arab Muslim from
Morocco, has joined the Israel Start-Up Nation cycling team (see
here) that will compete in the 2020 Tour de France. Chokru joins seven
Israelis and five others from Canada, Eritrea, Australia, Colombia, and the
Czech Republic.
Judoka
friends for life.
Israeli judoka Sagi embraced former Iranian champion Saeid Mollaei, who fled to
Berlin after the Iranian government ordered him to lose bouts to avoid
competing against Israelis. “Friend for life!!!” reads the caption to Muki’s
Instagram photo. “Tag Israel and Iran people for peace!” he urged
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-judoka-makes-friend-for-life-with-iran-champ-who-fled-country/
Cyber security for Tokyo Olympics. Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), has signed an agreement with a
leading (unnamed) energy utility in Japan to help it secure infrastructure against
cyberattacks during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. IEC has developed software and
hardware to protect the energy industry from cyberattacks.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Turning carbon waste into gas for
energy. Scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University
have developed a technology to turn carbon-containing waste into gas, including
hydrogen and methane that can be burnt to produce energy. The process involves heated
and pressurized water that decomposes organic matter.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-researchers-find-method-to-convert-carbon-containing-waste-to-gas-617023 https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/pages/news/carbonwaste_gas.aspx
Hydrogen from water
and solar energy. Researchers at the Technion – Israel
Institute of Technology have developed the world’s first (prototype) system for
the efficient and safe production of hydrogen using only solar energy. https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2020/01/water-sun-hydrogen/
The 4th industrial revolution. Israel’s II4 (Israel Industry 4) Week 2020 at Expo Tel Aviv (Feb 24
– 27) is one of the world’s largest industrial innovation technology
conferences. Delegates from 15 countries will hear the latest advances in automation,
AI, IoT, cloud computing etc. that are revolutionizing industrial production.
Giving AI power to memory. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have partnered with
Israel’s TowerJazz to develop technology for adapting flash memory to the
artificial intelligence era. It transforms digital hardware into a platform resembling
the human brain - capable of performing millions of simultaneous processes.
Microgrids for more efficient energy. Israel’s Brightmerge has developed artificial intelligence algorithms
to help countries and cities move to decentralized “microgrids.” They are less
expensive and more sustainable than a single electricity supply grid. They also
reduce carbon emissions and are more resilient to power-outages.
A Global AI energy company. Israeli-founded Grid4C (reported
here previously) has been selected as one of five leading AI companies in
the Energy Market among ABB, Siemens, GE, and IBM in "Global AI in Energy
Market Analysis and Forecast 2019-2025" report by CMFE Insights. It also
raised $6 million in funds.
https://www.grid4c.com/news-and-events/grid4c-selected-as-a-leading-ai-company-in-energy-market-2019-2025-by-cmfe-insights
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3783672,00.html
Making sensitive data invisible. Researchers from Israel’s Ben-Gurion University have developed the
first all-optical “stealth” encryption technology. It uses fiber-optic light
transmissions to secure cloud computing and data center network transmission.
It works on the principle that if you can’t detect it, you can’t steal it.
App turns B&W
photos into color. Israeli family tree software
company MyHeritage has launched a groundbreaking feature to automatically
colorize black and white photos. It brings family pictures to life and helps relate
more personally to events and people from times gone by. See the youtube to
watch the process.
https://www.jpost.com/Jpost-Tech/Israeli-company-launches-tool-to-turn-black-and-white-photo-to-color-617575
https://blog.myheritage.com/2020/02/colorize-your-black-and-white-photos-automatically-with-myheritage-in-color/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOqqMyvpG_A
Where is the bus stop? Israel’s Moovit has launched Way Finder, an augmented reality feature
that adds digital directions, icons, and notifications to live camera view to
help users locate correct bus stops and subway stations. It was in response to
a user who said he was waiting for the bus on the wrong side of the street.
Drone dome tests are 100% successful. (TY WIN)
Israeli defense technology company Rafael’s Counter – Unmanned Aircraft Systems
(C-UAS) protects airports and critical infrastructure against malicious drones.
Recent testing has resulted in 100% success in all scenarios.
Seedless lemons. (TY UWI)
At Israel’s annual Citrus Conference, the Ministry of Agriculture presented seven
new citrus varieties including the seedless Ayelet lemon. Other varieties included
Einat (white pomelo / red grapefruit) and Aliza (mandarin / red pomelo) – both seedless.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
UK
and Israel discuss free-trade zone. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his
British counterpart Boris Johnson have agreed to begin talks on establishing a
free trade zone between Israel and the UK. Israel was the first country in the
world to sign a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK (see here).
Fifty
startups head for Berlin. WeTech Berlin 2020 (Feb 26 – 27) is an exclusive innovation conference
hosted by CTech and Calcalist. Fifty Israeli startups will showcase technologies
and meet with local investors and strategic partners in European and German
corporations. (All 50 startups are listed in the following link)
Axis
Tel Aviv Conference. Conferences do not have to be big to be successful. Axis Tel Aviv is limited
to 250 decision makers and international investors - many visiting Israel for
the first time. Israeli startups pitching to investors include in the fields of
mobility, media and telecommunications, fintech, insurtech, and commerce.
Israeli
freelancers earn double the global average. A survey by Israeli-founded Payoneer reveals
that the $42 average hourly wage of Israeli freelance workers is nearly double that
of their counterparts in other countries. 7,000 freelance workers in 150
countries were surveyed.
Maryland
delegation seeks Israeli entrepreneurs. Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford recently
visited Israel as the head of a delegation of state employees and
Maryland-based businesses. His aim was to encourage Israeli companies and entrepreneurs
looking to enter the US market, that Maryland is the ideal partner.
Sisense becomes a Unicorn. Israeli business intelligence company Sisense
(reported here previously) has
just raised $100 million from US-based VC and private equity firm Insight
Partners. It gives Sisense a valuation of $1.1 billion dollars – joining the “club”
of over 20 other Israel companies with “Unicorn” financial status.
Forescout exits for $1.9 billion. Israeli-founded cybersecurity company ForeScout
was reported here
in Nov 2018 when it paid $113 million for a US-Dutch company. Now Forescout itself
has been bought by US-based Advent International for $1.9 billion, eclipsing
the $1.1 billion (see
here) that Insight paid for Israel’s Armis.
Milan
Fashion Week for 21-year-old. Israel’s Maya Reik, fashion designer and founder of Marei1998 is
debuting her Faux Fur at Milan's fashion week - at the age of 21. Maya left school at 14 and studied fashion. Entrepreneurial
skills run in her family. Her father sold his shipping business to DHL for $100
million.
Brewing
up a secure partnership. The world’s largest beer company AB InBev has signed a partnership
agreement with Israeli cybersecurity startup foundry Team8, which will liaise between
Israeli cyber companies and AB InBev. In June, AB InBev established a cybersecurity-focused
hub in Tel Aviv.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3792151,00.html
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ab-inbev-israel-cyber/worlds-largest-brewer-opens-israeli-cybersecurity-unit-as-attacks-mount-idUKKCN1TE112
Innoviz
partners Shaanxi for autonomous trucks. As part of the global expansion of Israel’s Innoviz
and its all-seeing LiDAR sensors (reported here previously)
, it has now partnered with China truck manufacturer Shaanxi to deploy up to
600 autonomous trucks in Xi’an, one of the biggest ports in China.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
British
synagogues on display in Tel Aviv. British artist Beverley-Jane Stewart is currently exhibiting her collection
of paintings at Tel Aviv University’s Cimbalista Jewish Heritage Center until 20th
Feb. “Halls of Prayer, The Spirit of British Jews” includes synagogues in London’s
East End, Central London and elsewhere.
Lenny
Ravich at Center Stage. Humor “expert” Lenny Ravich performs “Dance Life…Don’t Drag It” on 25th
Feb at Center Stage - the new theater for English Speaking audiences in Raanana.
Lenny’s hilarious journey touches on relationships,
family, education and health. Lenny is director
of the Gestalt Institute of Israel.
A thousand vegan chefs. Israel’s Vegan-Friendly and the nonprofit Meatless
Monday held a culinary innovation conference at Tel Aviv Port to showcase vegetarian
and vegan food trends and developments to over 1000 chefs, catering companies,
restaurateurs and food service professionals in Israel.
Enjoy
the tastes of Israel. Here are just some of the food and drink events and festivals in Israel that
you may wish to partake of / in during 2020.
They include Tel Aviv Eat, Vegan Fest, Jerusalem Wine Festival, Jerusalem
Beer Festival and Tel Aviv Cocktail Week.
SodaStream
at the Super Bowl.
Israel’s SodaStream aired a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl. It featured US
scientist Bill Nye and 18-year-old US astronaut-in-training Alyssa Carson. It
portrays water being found on Mars, but another astronaut mistakenly puts it in
a SodaStream system and drinks it.
Haredi
woman wins Miami half-marathon. Haredi orthodox Israeli mother of five, Beatie Deutsch (reported here
previously) won the Miami women’s half-marathon race, beating over 20,000 other
runners. She is training to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, but she will not
compete as the Marathon is scheduled for a Shabbat.
Longest
journey on a scooter. (TY Nevet) Israel’s Yonatan Belik
and his American friend Mike Reid have just completed a tour of the 48 contiguous
US states on 50cc scooters. It earned them the title of Guinness World Record
holders for the “Longest journey on a 50cc scooter.”
THE JEWISH STATE
Ancient Old City gate re-opened
in Jerusalem. (TY Arutz Sheva & ILTV) After
2000 years, Israel has re-opened an entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City, previously
discovered in the 1930s. Buried underneath the Damascus Gate, the entrance and
plaza were used by the Romans when they ruled Judea.
Kirk Douglas – great supporter of Israel. (TY TPS)
Actor Kirk Douglas, who passed away last week at the age of 103, portrayed US
Colonel Mickey Marcus in the movie Cast a Giant Shadow.” His donations to
Israel included the Kirk Douglas Theater near the Western Wall and many Jerusalem
playgrounds.
World’s smartest child wants to study in
Israel. 9-year-old Belgian Laurent Simons has a
degree in electrical engineering and an IQ of 147. Although not Jewish, he and
his family have just asked Emmanual Nahshon, Israeli Ambassador in Brussels, for
help so he can study biotechnology, medicine, and bioengineering in Israel.
Hana reclaims her roots after 500 years. Portuguese Ana discovered her Jewish roots after meeting Israelis
in Nepal and then visiting Israel. She then understood the reason for her family’s
strange traditions as a descendant of Anusim – Jews forced to convert to Catholicism.
Now as Hannah Eyal, she shares her story all over Israel.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-how-the-land-of-israel-helped-a-portuguese-woman-discover-her-jewish-roots/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nZ5VQvScec
https://www.hannaheyal.com/copy-of-home
Survivor returns to Kotel plaza he
helped clear in 1967. From 1948 - 67 the Jordanians
blocked access to the Kotel (Western Wall) and banned Jews. After the Six-Day War,
Shoah survivor Eliyahu helped turn the Kotel plaza into an open space for all.
52 years later, Israeli NGO Ezer Mizion fulfilled Eliyahu’s wish to see it
again.
Ukrainian Olim land on International
Holocaust Day. (TY Algemeiner)
184 new immigrants (Olim) made Aliyah from Ukraine on Jan. 27, International
Holocaust Remembrance Day. They landed in Israel on six separate flights financed
by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
Four hundred more Ethiopian Israelis. (TY UWI)
The Israeli cabinet has approved the next wave of 400 Ethiopian Aliyah – immigration
to Israel. These Falash Mura (forced converts to Christianity) maintained their
connection to Judaism in Ethiopia and their hopes of coming to Israel. Many have
relatives in the Jewish State.
US Ambassador plants
tree at US embassy. On the Jewish festival of Tu BiShvat
(New Year for Trees), US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman planted an olive tree
(a symbol of peace) at the US Embassy in Jerusalem. And (TY Sharon) for photos and descriptions
of how Tu Bishvat was celebrated in Jerusalem.
200209
In the 9th Feb
20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights
include:
·
A new
treatment may be a future cure for Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.
·
Microsoft
Israel is developing an app to help patients find clinical trials.
·
WIZO
celebrates a century of support for Israel.
·
Major upgrade
in Israel’s relations with Uganda, Sudan and Bolivia.
·
Boeing adopts
innovative Israeli vertical-takeoff technology.
·
Successful
bond issue is a vote of confidence in Israeli economy.
·
Site of ancient
Jewish worship discovered near Jerusalem.
·
Click here
to see the 2nd February newsletter on IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours and United
With Israel with extra feature on Economy
& Business with 1,200 shares.
Also (TY Sandra) in German
and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew.
Also, Hebrew
translation of articles in 2nd Feb newsletter by students of Reali school
in Haifa. Please pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading contacts. Also (TY Esty) please visit the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL
Facebook page.
·
Please click
here, to donate (a
small or large amount) to help me expand the reach of VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
·
Click here,
to SEARCH the IsraelActive archives of nearly
16,000 previous news articles.
·
If someone
wishes to be added to the free email subscription list, they should either click
here or send a request (with their
name) to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Inhibiting an enzyme may cure Alzheimer’s. Israel’s ProteKt Therapeutics is developing a treatment for early
stage Alzheimer’s disease. It inhibits the PKR enzyme that is over-expressed in
Alzheimer’s patients and may slow or even reverse the progress of the disease.
It also has potential for ALS, Huntington and Parkinson’s.
Orphan status
for pancreatic cancer treatment. (TY Atid-EDI) The European
Commission has just granted Orphan drug status to the BL-8040 (Motixafortide) pancreatic
cancer treatment from Israel’s BioLineRX (see here). BioLineRX
can now receive benefits including EU funding, less regulation, and market exclusivity.
HealthTECH World Cancer Day. Tel Aviv University represented Israel on World Cancer day as one of
five European cities simultaneously broadcasting news of the latest technological
developments in cancer diagnosis and treatment. The event was sponsored by the
NOBEL Project, which is revolutionizing healthcare in Europe.
Sheba’s partners
Berlin AI for cancer R&D. (TY Atid-EDI) Berlin’s
caresyntax, has launched an R&D partnership with the ARC (Accelerate,
Redesign, Collaborate) complex at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center. They will use
Artificial Intelligence to develop algorithms for predicting outcomes for
cancer treatment procedures.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200107005204/en/caresyntax-ARC-Sheba-Medical-Center-Launch-Collaboration
https://caresyntax.com/news/caresyntax-sheba-medical-launch-collaboration/
US approves complete AI stroke detection
package. (TY Atid-EDI) The US
FDA previously approved the brain scan software from Israel’s Aidoc (Oct
2018),. It has now approved all four of Aidoc’s AI products, so its comprehensive
package can quickly identify and triage both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in
CT scans.
Accelerating
regenerative medicine. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
CollPlant is partnering with US-based 3D Systems to spur breakthroughs in regenerative
medicine. It brings together top 3D-printing technology with Collprint’s bioink
technology for 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs.
Space medical
research with Italy. (TY WIN)
Israel and Italy are to launch a satellite in March, on which medical research
will be conducted in zero gravity. The mission involves Israel’s SpacePharma (see here), Israel’s
Technion, Sheba hospital, the Hebrew University and the Israeli and Italian space
agencies.
Body on a chip. (TY David F) A team of over 50 researchers at Harvard University
and Tel Aviv University (TAU) have successfully built human “organs-on-chips”
that aim to speed up trials of new treatments. They have linked 10 chips
together to form a “functional human Body-on-Chips platform”.
Microsoft Israel gives patients hope. As reported previously (Feb
2019) Microsoft’s Israeli R&D team developed the Microsoft Healthcare AI
virtual medical assistant. Team leader Hadas Bitran describes the project. They
are now working on the New Hope project to match patients with clinical trials
around the globe.
The first Hasid to graduate from Israeli
med school. Dr. Yehuda Sabiner is the first
Israeli-born Haredi to graduate from medical school. A member of the Gerrer
Hasidic sect, Yehuda enrolled at Israel’s Technion, graduated and will intern
at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center. 35 Haredim are now following in his footsteps.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
House of Wheels – equal among equal. The six centers of Israeli charity House of Wheels are home to a socially
inclusive environment where 500 children, youth and young adults with disabilities
(Jews, Arabs, Bedouins, Christians, Muslims, and Druze) can reach their full
potential. A very moving video.
Youth of Light. The Patrizio Paoletti Association in Israel has established “Youth
of Light” projects for youth at risk from all sectors of Israeli society. They make
candles from recycled wax at three sites. Some 120 teens are employed per year,
helping them develop into well-adjusted adults. Israel
Venture Network is a key partner.
https://www.israel21c.org/candle-making-ignites-a-transformation-in-troubled-teens/
https://fpp.org.il/
100 years of caring
for Israel. The Women’s International Zionist
Organization (WIZO) has just celebrated a century of caring for the
disadvantaged in Israel. More than 1,000 women representing Jewish communities
from 40 countries attended its conference, held festive events and visited many
of WIZO’s projects in Israel.
Israel picks Ethiopian-Israeli for 2020
Eurovision. Jerusalem’s Eden Alene is first
Ethiopian-Israeli to represent Israel at the Eurovision song contest. She won
Israel’s Hakohav Haba (The Next Star). Her diverse background includes religious
and secular schools plus singing in a Jewish and Arab choir.
Texas Governor scouts for Israeli tech. Texas Governor Greg Abbott headed an economic development mission to
Israel to develop new and existing partnerships with Israeli entrepreneurs in
the cybersecurity, energy, and health sectors. They visited Startup Nation Central
and Sheba Medical Center.
Upgrading ties with Uganda
and Sudan. (TY UWI)
Israeli PM Netanyahu made a one-day trip to Uganda where he and President Yoweri
Museveni discussed opening an embassy in Jerusalem. During the visit he also met
with the transitional leader of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who was keen to
improve ties with Israel.
Relations restored with
Bolivia. (TY UWI
& TPS)
For the first time in 14 years, an Israeli Foreign Ministry delegation met with
senior Bolivian government officials in La Paz for talks following the
resumption of relations between the countries two months ago. Both sides agreed
on various areas for cooperation.
Protective kits for Chabad in China. Israeli medical organization Magen David Adom is sending items of equipment
to China's 14 Chabad Houses to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus.
They include 2,000 masks and 200 full protection kits each containing special
suits, masks, glasses, shoes and hats covers.
Matching volunteers to causes. Israeli startup GivingWay matches volunteers with non-profits desperately
needing the help. GivingWay now has 4,000 vetted nonprofits in 123 countries on
its platform, connecting with thousands of volunteers worldwide. 50% of volunteers
work from home, e.g. building websites for the charity.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Two new gas power plants. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel is to build two power units at Hadera by 2022, to be operated solely
with natural gas. The units will supply 1,200 megawatts of power, replacing four
coal-fired production units as part of Israel’s plan to eliminate coal usage by
2025 and improve air quality.
Boeing partnership for
vertical takeoff tech. US giant Boeing has signed
an agreement with Israel’s Tactical Robotics to explore, develop, produce and
market Fancraft-based VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) products. Tactical
Robotics has been developing the Cormarant unmanned airborne vehicle (see here).
OrCam’s new products. As reported previously (12th
Jan), Israel’s OrCam wowed delegates at CES 2020 with OrCam Hear and a new
MyEye2. It also showcased OrCam Read - that vocalizes printed or digital texts
in real time. And OrCam MyMe – a wearable that uses facial recognition to identify
someone to a blind person.
Security risks from suspect cars. (TY UWI
& I24 News) Israeli-founded Quest Solution Inc has developed AI-based vehicle
recognition and fast proactive database retrieval and analysis to identify
security risks. It provides alerts to prevent terrorist incidents - protecting critical
infrastructure, schools and more.
What is real? Some readers may be concerned
that the latest Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and smart image editing
could result in a world of fake videos.
Fortunately, Israel’s Cyabra has developed technology that detects
expertly doctored videos as well as bots (cyber robots) powering fake
social-media profiles.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-technology-that-could-save-us-from-deepfake-videos/
https://cyabra.com/
Control your IoT devices globally. Israel’s London-based FloLive offers a cloud-based IoT connectivity
service that enables companies in the IoT industry to deploy, manage, and operate
their IoT devices from anywhere in the world. It has just raised $21.5 million to
help it expand in Europe, Asia and North America.
Making streetlights smart. Israeli startup ACiiST converts streetlights into a connected,
data-gathering network. ACiiST’s black boxes, roughly the size of two iPhones, attach
to existing lampposts. They contain hardware and software that can be used to
connect with cameras, closed-circuit television, sensors, and wifi.
Electric car charging for US &
Canada. One of the joint US-Israel BIRD Foundation-funded
energy projects reported recently (see
here) is the one partnering Israel’s Chakratec with Blink Charging. Chakratec’s unique “kinetic storage”
technology will improve the performance of Blink’s charging stations in rural areas.
Turning novice support staff into
experts. Israeli-founded Aquant Technologies develops
an AI-driven Service Intelligence Platform that provides all customer service employees
with access to a company’s knowledgebase (information library). It generates a
neural network that maps problems to the right solutions.
Training students to protect crops. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israeli-founded ADAMA and Tel Aviv University have launched a unique research
and teaching program. It is anticipated to help combat crop disease, enhance yields
and food supply, while requiring less chemicals, thus protecting the
environment and the food chain.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Huge demand for Israeli bonds. Israel has raised a record $3 billion in
foreign debt at the lowest-ever rate for an Israeli offering. Demand reached an
all-time high, from over 40 countries including the US, UK, Germany, Japan and
Hong Kong. It reflected confidence among the world's largest investors in
Israel's economy.
Powering
NYC’s International fintech center. Israeli startups underpin New York City’s fintech
ecosystem. Now, Jerusalem’s JVP and NYC’s Economic Development Corporation have
launched the $100 million International NYC Cyber Center. (At the launch actress
Gwyneth Paltrow said, “Next Year in Jerusalem”!)
New Sun
d’Or summer destinations. El Al subsidiary Sun d’Or is launching three new seasonal routes from
Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. The new routes are to Romanian city of Cluj, starting
May 2020; to Paphos, Cyprus, starting in June; and to Verona, Italy from July.
The routes will then operate until the end of October.
Building
UAVs with India. Israel
Aerospace Industries (IAI) is partnering with India’s Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL)
and Dynamatic Technologies (DTL). IAI will share drone technologies and promote
the production of Indian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Tel
Aviv – London innovation partnership. Tel Aviv-headquartered startup network SOSA
has partnered with London innovation center Plexal. SOSA combines an investor
network with a corporate innovation hub operating from centers in Tel Aviv and
New York City. It already has 250
partners in 10 countries.
SodaStream
targets China’s market. SodaStream’s new CEO, Eyal Shohat, is planning to launch in China in
2021. SodaStream is Israeli’s largest civil employer of Bedouin women,
prisoners, Ethiopian-Israelis and Palestinian Arabs. It is currently preventing
millions of bottles of plastic waste every year.
SAP identifies
with Israeli startup. German multinational software firm SAP has invested in Israeli startup PlainID,
a maker of software that enables single authorizations. PlainID’s products protect
the digital assets of users of SAP’s Customer Data Cloud platform by securing
cloud, mobile, and other applications.
Hyundai
backs Israeli speech-tech startup. The Hyundai Motor Company has led a seed-funding round into Israeli
startup Kardome Technology. Kardome develops a multi-user speech to text
algorithm that focuses in on a person’s individual voice, filtering out background
noise in acoustically challenging environments.
Cisco
backs Israeli testing startup. Computer giant Cisco has led an $8.6 million funding round in Israel’s
SeaLights Technologies. SeaLights offers a cloud-based software testing
automation service designed to identify and prevent untested code changes. The company
lists Dell as one of its customers.
Tnuva
links up to IoT startup. Israeli-based Tnuva (owned by China’s
Bright Foods) has partnered with Israel’s Seebo (see here) to help it adopt AI and
IoT (Internet of Things) technology. Seebo turns existing machinery into smart,
connected systems, which Tnuva believes can revolutionize the dairy industry.
Intel
Israel has a great year. Israel’s largest multinational, Intel, exported $6.6 billion of Israeli
products in 2019 – a huge 70% increase on its $3.9 billion in 2018. Much was
due to its new Kiryat Gat factory reaching full production. Intel now has some
13,700 employees in Israel, including 900 who work for Mobileye.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Free books for children. Food giant McDonalds in Israel is giving away free reading books to
children when they or their parents buy Happy Meals. “The Everforest Twins:
Adventures in the Wild World”, are written by the children's author Cressida
Cowell and have been translated into Hebrew and Arabic.
Read about Israeli chutzpah. Israeli entrepreneur Inbal Arieli is also the author of “Chutzpah:
Why Israel Is a Hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship”. She explains how Israel’s
unique culture generates “disruptors” who want to change the world. Factors
include parenting and uncertainty that encourage pushing the boundaries.
Israel’s desert is alive. 150 wildlife photographers submitted some 500 photos to judges at
the Planet Arava 2 festival and competition in Eilat. The aim of the festival was
“to promote the Arava’s landscape and animals through photography by people who
feel an affinity for the region and its beauty”.
Jerusalem’s new tropical paradise. Jerusalem Botanical Gardens’ Tropical Conservatory has reopened to
the public after an 18-month, $2 million transformation. Its rainforest and
desert regions contain some 300 kinds of plants, including endangered species,
exotic banana trees, coffee plants, orchids and cacti.
The best restaurant in Paris is Israeli. Shabour, the new restaurant by Israeli chef Assaf Granit, which
launched just three months ago in Paris, was named as the French capital’s “Best
restaurant of the Year” by Le Figaroscope, the Parisian cultural and gastronomical
guide published by the French daily Le Figaro.
Red Hot Chili Peppers return. The rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers are returning to Tel Aviv for
the first time since 2012 (see
here). They will be the top group at the Funkyard Tel Aviv Festival at
Hayarkon Park on June 10. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Red-Hot-Chili-Pepper-returning-to-Israel-616307
Israeli
skater wins European medal. (TY UWI
& Janglo)
30-year-old Israeli speed skater Vladislav Bykanov won a bronze medal in the 1,500
meters race at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championship in Hungary. He
is now looking to qualify for Tokyo, which would be his third Olympic Games.
THE JEWISH STATE
Pop star Noa joins the IDF. Israel’s up-and-coming music sensation, Noa Kirel, has just begun a
two-year term in the IDF. She said, “I want to serve as an example for boys and
girls to enlist.” A Rabbi told her parents to change her name from Noya to Noa as
a baby, due to illness. He said it would enable her to move (“lanua”).
Ancient Jewish site uncovered. (TY TPS)
Israeli archaeologists have exposed a late 10th-early 9th century BCE Iron Age
temple complex at Tel Motza, west of Jerusalem. It has similarities to King Solomon’s
Temple and may be one of the sites that were abandoned when sacrificial services
were centralized in Jerusalem.
Christian students see Israel’s
diversity. The non-profit Passages organizes 9-day
trips to Israel for 3,000 Christian college students each year. It teaches them
about the roots of their faith and exposes them to modern Israel. Participants give
post-trip talks to churches and write articles for local newspapers.
200202
In the 2nd Feb
20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights
include:
·
Vital Israeli
developments to prevent the spread of deadly viruses.
·
An Israeli
innovation could reverse chronic kidney disease.
·
Israelis are
developing solutions to combat Australia’s environmental disaster.
·
Must-see
Tel Aviv exhibition of 45 top Israeli innovations.
·
Two Israeli
examples of the amazing possibilities with Virtual Reality.
·
The UK
leaves the EU and strengthens links with Israel.
·
Two more gold
medals for Israeli judokas.
·
Holocaust
survivor proudly watches IDF pilot grandson fly over her Israeli home.
·
Click here
to see the 26th January newsletter on IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours and United
With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) in German
and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew.
Also, Hebrew
translation of articles in 26th Jan newsletter by students of Reali school
in Haifa. Please pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading contacts. Also (TY Esty) please visit the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL
Facebook page.
·
Please click
here, to donate (a
small or large amount) to help me expand the reach of VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
·
Click here,
to SEARCH the IsraelActive archives of nearly
16,000 previous news articles.
·
If someone
wishes to be added to the free email subscription list, they should either click
here or send a request (with their
name) to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Prioritizing flu vaccinations. Israeli
health company Maccabi has partnered with Israel’s Medial EarlySign (see here). Maccabi will integrate EarlySign’s flu
algorithm, which flags people at high risk of developing flu-related
complications, to target them with its vaccination campaign.
New masks to help prevent spread of coronavirus. (TY UWI)
Israel startups Sonovia (see
here) and Argaman (see
here) are racing to produce production
versions of their bio-inhibitive and anti-viral textiles and masks. They could
be vital prevention tools in epidemics like the deadly Wuhan coronavirus.
Another good trial
of colon capsule scan. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Check-Cap has announced positive results from its latest US pilot study of its C-Scan
colon capsule system. The dual-center study achieved both primary (safety) and
secondary (patient satisfaction and performance) endpoints. C-Scan is already CE
approved.
Success at
Phase 3 for acne cream. (TY Atid-EDI) Following
on from good Phase 2 trials (see
here) Israel’s Sol-Gel reported excellent results from pivotal Phase 3 clinical
trials of its Twyneo treatment of patients with acne vulgaris. The trial significantly
reduced moderate-to-severe acne in 858 patients aged nine and older.
Treating genetic
diseases. Israeli-founded Emendo Biotherapeutics, based
in New York, utilizes protein engineering for precision gene editing, to treat
certain genetic disorders and diseases. It has seven treatments in early stages
of development. Emendo has just raised $61 million of funding.
Optical discovery
from shrimps. (TY WIN)
Scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University and Weizmann Institute have
discovered how shrimp can see in the murky depths of the sea. The biocrystal coating
of their retina light detectors may inspire the development of new optical
coatings and specialized paints.
More about low-cost
X-rays. As reported previously (see
here), Israel’s Nanox has developed technology to lower the cost of X-ray
imaging and make it more accessible to the developing world. Nanox has just
received $26 million funding for its Nanox.Arc digital X-ray device and accompanying
Nanox.Cloud software.
A future end to dialysis. (TY UWI)
Researchers at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center found that damaged kidneys can be
rejuvenated by extracting healthy kidney stem cells from diseased cells, multiplying
the healthy cells in a laboratory and reintroducing them into the kidney. Israel’s
KidneyCure (see here) has
begun human trials.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Women powering increase in Haredi incomes. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Democracy Institute (IDI) has reported that ultra-Orthodox (Haredi)
women are increasingly pursuing higher education and integrating into Israel’s workforce.
It resulted in a 10% rise in the income of Haredi families in 2017 compared to
5% for non-Haredim.
Plugging
the funding gap.
To help charities, the not-for-profit organization Ogen is to provide $70
million in bridging loans for non-profit organizations that are awaiting promised
state funds from delayed 2020 budget.
US professors visit Israeli universities. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) has brought 28 professors from universities
and colleges across the US to Israel. The JNF Faculty Fellowship Program links US
scholars with their respective Israeli faculty to promote joint research, establish
exchange programs and to see the country.
Israeli system protects French President’s
plane. (TY WIN)
French President Emmanuel Macron’s attended the commemoration of the 75th anniversary
of the liberation of Auschwitz Birkenau. As his plane arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben
Gurion Airport, Elbit’s J-Music defense system was visible on the underside of
his Airbus A330.
Prince Charles says Israel
maintains UK’s Health Service. When in Israel, UK Royal Prince Charles said, “it
seems to me like Israeli genius is maintaining the entire structure of the NHS along
with a great deal of other technology”. He received presentations of Israeli innovations
WaterGen, HomeBiogas and Sniff Phone.
Hackathon for Australian
bushfire solutions. Israeli tech entrepreneurs, programmers,
zoologists, water and environmental experts are taking part in a 15-hour hackathon
(product design workshop event) in Tel Aviv to devise ways to help Australia tackle
the consequences of the environmental calamity from its bushfires.
MDA offers help for Turkish earthquake
victims. Eli Bin, Director-General of Israel’s Magen
David Adom (MDA), has offered assistance to the Turkish Red Crescent following
the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Alazig province in Turkey. The powerful
quake has resulted in over 1,000 casualties.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Showcasing Israeli innovation. 75,000 visitors have already visited the Peres Center for Peace and
Innovation in Tel Aviv since it opened in Feb. Each year it selects 45 of Israel’s
most exciting startups to exhibit.
Innovative water companies. Two exciting Israeli water management startups at the Peres
Innovation Center include Bermad and Kando – neither previously featured in this
newsletter. Bermad’s control systems are
installed in 86 countries. Kando’s wastewater sensors pinpoint the sources of pollution
(great video).
Water water everywhere. This newsletter reported previously (Nov
2014) about Israel’s Waterways and its projects to bring water solutions to
Africa. Another Israeli company, Water Ways Technologies, delivers irrigation solutions
globally, and CEO Ohad Haber gave a presentation recently to investors in Winnipeg.
Detecting faulty bridges and tunnels. (TY Herb) Collapsed bridges have killed people in Florida, China,
Chile, Italy, Myanmar and Taiwan. An estimated 47,000 of US bridges are deficient.
Israeli startup Dynamic Infrastructure provides a real-time 3D “medical report”
on the health of bridges, tunnels and elevated highways.
Tracking water pollution in real time. Researchers at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University, have developed an optical
nitrate sensor, based on absorption spectroscopy. It gives
farmers real-time, continuous measurement of soil nitrate levels thereby optimizing
crop fertilization and reducing the risk of groundwater poisoning.
Hundreds of new wind turbines for the
Golan. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Defense Ministry and Infrastructure Ministry are to provide NIS 250 million funding
to help build wind farms in the Golan Heights. It includes technology to avoid
disrupting IDF and IAF activity and will help achieve Israel’s 2030 renewables
target.
Vegan 3D-printed cellulose burgers. Israeli hamburger restaurant group Burgus Burger Bar (BBB) has partnered
with Israeli 3D cellulose hamburger printing startup SavorEat (formerly Chef-It
see
here). Once SavorEat’s vegan burgers are ready to market, BBB will exclusively
pilot the burger – planned for mid-2021.
Walk through the
movie. Israel’s TetaVi has developed “volumetric” Virtual
Reality technology that produces true-to-life holograms into which the viewers
can immerse themselves. 4-8 portable depth cameras capture very high-resolution
videos to make a VR movie that viewers can stand up and walk inside.
Be where you want to
be. Israel’s
Spectalix has developed technology that can transfer moving images of people or
objects from a mobile phone-recorded video onto a new video background. E.g. you
play the piano in your own home and appear as if performing at Carnegie Hall. It has many commercial applications.
Powering Vimeo. Vimeo has debuted a new platform designed to help creatives produce
shareable, short-form videos in minutes. Vimeo Create is powered by AI technology
from Israeli-founded Magisto (see
here) which it acquired in Apr 2019 for around $200 million.
https://venturebeat.com/2020/01/16/vimeo-launches-short-form-social-video-editing-platform-powered-by-magisto/
https://www.magisto.com/
Comprehensive home monitoring. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Vayyar (see here) has
developed some amazing technology. Vayyar’s Home system checks the vulnerable
for risk of falling (any incidents alerted), alerts for intruders, analyzes
sleep quality, turns on lights, air-con etc. All just with sensors (no cameras
or wearables).
Helping to make driving safer. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Jungo won “Connected Car Innovation of the Year” in the 2020 IoT
Breakthrough awards for its CoDriver in-cabin driver monitoring solution that helps
make vehicles safer. US giant Qualcomm is to install CoDriver on its Snapdragon
automotive cockpit platforms.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jungo-works-with-qualcomm-to-deliver-next-generation-driver-and-in-cabin-monitoring-systems-on-snapdragon-automotive-platforms-300981531.html
https://www.jungo.com/st/jc/about/
https://iotbreakthrough.com/2020-winners/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
UK & Israel’s new strategic partnership. BICOM’s new report Britain and
Israel: The new strategic partnership shows that British trade with Israel is booming
and bilateral relations are expanding in defense, science, tech, business and
cybersecurity. It highlights a new strategic partnership between the two
countries.
http://www.bicom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/UK-Israel_The-New-Strategic-Relationship-Jan-2020.pdf
http://www.bicom.org.uk/analysis/britain-and-israel-the-new-strategic-partnership/
Chinese
incubator for Israeli autonomous car startups. A new accelerator has been launched to promote
Israeli autotech startups in China. It will include 10 participants, focused on
autonomous vehicles, driver experience, and 3-D printing. The accelerator aims
to shorten the companies’ time to market in the country.
From
Silicon Wadi to Silicon Valley. Israeli NGO ICON (Israel Collaboration Network – see
here) has setup Silicon Valley 101 (SV101) an immersion program for Israeli
entrepreneurs examining potential expansion to Silicon Valley. SV101’s latest group
of 10 new startups is now being selected.
Microsoft
to launch Israeli data center. Microsoft Corp. has announced plans to set up a data center in Israel -
the first such data center to be established here by one of the five big tech
giants. The Microsoft data center will provide cloud services for Israeli
customers. Oracle also said it would be setting up a data center in Israel.
Crowdfunding
in Abu Dhabi and Jerusalem. Jon Medved of Israel’s OurCrowd was one of the first Israeli Venture Capitalists
to speak openly in an investor conference in the Gulf (see
here),. Here is a video interview of
him at the event. Plus, details of OurCrowd’s Global Investor Summit in
Jerusalem on 13th Feb 2020.
Many
more fans. Israeli-founded,
London-based Minute Media (previously named 90min) has just acquired FanSided
Ltd., a network of fandom-focused sports, entertainment, and lifestyle sites.
It is Minute Media’s fourth takeover in two years. A third of Minute Media’s 230
employees work at its Tel Aviv R&D center.
Bundesliga
buys into Israeli tech company. DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH, responsible for the German national
soccer league (Bundesliga), has bought shares in Israel’s MOVEZ AI. MOVEZ’s soon
to launch app uses computer vision and AI to evaluate a player’s skills in ball
sports, including basketball and soccer.
Israeli
payments for Canada. Israel’s Tipalti (Hebrew for “I handled it”) has offices in Israel, California
and now Vancouver, Canada. Tipalti’s cloud-based payables automation service processes
over $8 billion in transactions annually (see here). Its clients include Amazon,
Vimeo, Foursquare, and Twitter.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Rapture,
Blister, Burn. Center
Stage - Israel’s permanent English language theatre in Ra’anana - is holding performances
of the Pulitzer Prize finalist “Rapture, Blister, Burn”, written by Gina
Gionfriddo.
New
nature reserves in Judea & Samaria. Israel has approved seven new nature reserves
in Judea & Samaria - the first since the 1990s. In addition, 12 existing
reserves will be expanded. The new sites are at the Ariel Cave, Wadi Og, Wadi
Malha, the Southern Jordan River, Bitronot Creek, Nahal Tirza, and
Rotem-Maskiot.
Taste
of the Valleys. (TY
Janglo)
At the 16th annual Taste of the Valleys (Te’amim Ba’amakim) Festival, (Feb 2 –
22)) families can enjoy breathtaking landscapes, hiking trails, quality
restaurants and great concerts. It
connects local
restaurants, wineries and farms and brings guests to KKL-JNF nature trails and Kishon
River.
Top
Israel restaurants. (TY Jacques) The latest release of La Liste - “the world’s best
restaurant selection” - includes 13 Israel venues. The top Israeli restaurant is
Meir Adoni’s Lumina, who “blends casual fine dining with a kosher Mediterranean
spin”. His Blue Sky restaurant at Tel Aviv’s Carlton Hotel also made the list.
Ex-world boxing champion Rabbi teaches
self-defense. Israel’s Yuri Forman held the World
Boxing Association’s super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010. In 2014 he
ordained as an orthodox Rabbi. He is currently giving self-defense classes in
Brooklyn for members of vulnerable Jewish communities.
Israeli
cycling team uses Israeli hi-tech. Israel Cycling Academy (now re-named Israel Start-Up Nation) will use computer
vision and AI technologies from Israel’s Physimax to create personalized training
programs for the 2020 Tour de France. The cyclists will also wear the vital
signs monitoring device from Israel’s Biobeat.
Israeli judokas win gold at Tel Aviv grand prix. (TY UWI)
Israeli judokas Ori Sasson and Peter Paltchik took home two gold medals at the
Tel Aviv Grand Prix, winning the over-100kg and under-100kg categories,
respectively. They spoke afterwards
about how their success inspires Israeli children.
THE JEWISH STATE
Reaching out to discharged lone soldiers. Israeli charity Boomerang supports
500 of the 3,000 lone soldiers discharged from the IDF each year with job searching,
training, health issues, equipment etc. It recently launched its “Misheli”
project to support 1,000 more ex-soldiers and to set up a Call Center helpline
service.
Oral histories of Sephardi Jews. The National Library of Israel has begun publishing oral histories
from the Sephardi Voices initiative, the first digital collection that documents
and preserves the life stories of Jews who lived in Arab and Islamic countries.
It includes video and audio clips of interviews, plus archive photographs.
Holocaust survivor sees
grandson fly as IDF pilot. 89-year-old Lila not
only survived the Holocaust, she made it to Israel, where she raised a family
and is now the proud grandmother of an Israeli Air Force pilot. In this
touching video she watches as her grandson flies over her Israeli home.
Startup repays grant to help a new startup. Since its 2016 launch, Israel’s Elementor website builder for WordPress
has had over 3 million installs in 180 countries. Orthodox Jewish co-founder Yoni
Luksenberg has now returned the 20,000-shekel grant he received from incubator KamaTech
so it can benefit new startups.
https://worldisraelnews.com/orthodox-israeli-startup-pays-back-initial-investor-in-order-to-help-next-entrepreneur/
https://elementor.com/about/
200126
In the 26th Jan
20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights
include:
·
A new
Israeli treatment could be a cure for Type 2 diabetes.
·
An Israeli
wristband device treats irregular heartbeats.
·
A government
leadership program for children of Israeli minorities.
·
Israeli
volunteers bring smart aid to Australian fire victims.
·
An Israeli
solution to the risks to low-flying fire-fighting aircraft.
·
Grants
given to 12 new joint US-Israeli hi-tech projects.
·
An Israeli
journalist is in the Guinness book of world records.
·
World leaders
visit Israel to mark 75th anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz.
·
Click here
to see the 19th January newsletter on IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo
and United
With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) in German
and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew.
Also Hebrew
translation of articles in 19th Jan newsletter by students of Reali school
in Haifa. Please pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading contacts. Also (TY Esty) please visit the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL
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ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Fixing the root cause
of diabetes. (TY WIN)
Hebrew University of Jerusalem Professor Motti Chevion has developed Zygosid-50,
the first treatment to restore near-normal cellular sensitivity to insulin,
without side effects. Israel’s Concenter BioPharma is preparing to trial Zygosid-50
and give new hope to Type 2 diabetics.
The doctor can
see you now. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
RSIP Vision has developed an Artificial Intelligence-based image analysis
solution for tissue diagnosis. It assists
doctors in multiple medical imaging fields: e.g. cardiology, pulmonology,
ophthalmology, orthopedics, radiology, robotic surgery, microscopy and more.
A clearer
future for children. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
NovaSight has developed two products: EyeSwift uses eye-tracking technology to detect
multiple vision problems in children (e.g. lazy-eye and squints). CureSight
treats lazy-eye using 3D image algorithms and variable focusing, while the child
watches entertaining videos.
Discovery
prevents preemie lung collapse. Scientists at Israel’s
Technion Institute built a 3D model of the lungs of a premature baby. They
discovered that in standard respirators for babies an air jet could cause damage
to the infant. They have now recommended reconfiguring the air flow, potentially
saving many young lives.
Micro robot is
revealed. Israel’s Microbot Medical previously demonstrated
a prototype of its self-cleaning shunt for cleaning blockages in the brain (see
here). At the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Microbot demonstrated LIBERTY
- the world’s first fully disposable robotic system for endovascular procedures.
https://microbotmedical.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/microbot-medical-unveil-worlds-first-fully-disposable-robotic
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/jpm-microbot-medical-unveils-disposable-device-for-remote-catheter-procedures
AI-powered cancer
diagnostics. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Ibex Medical (see
here) has deployed its Second Read cancer diagnostic system at Israel’s
Maccabi Health company. It is the first
Artificial Intelligence-powered lab for diagnosis of breast cancer biopsies.
At the cutting-edge
of X-ray vision. (TY Charles) This article focuses
on the two Israelis (one a South African immigrant) who invented the xvision
augmented reality device for surgeons to see inside the patient. Their company
Augmedics (see here) received
US FDA approval for the product a few weeks ago.
CT scans to
save Israelis from lung cancer. Israel’s Health
Ministry has approved a 3-year pilot program for early detection of lung cancer.
Those at high-risk of lung cancer (age 55 – 75, heavy smokers and ex-smokers)
will receive low-intensity CT scans. It could save many of Israel’s 1,800 lung
cancer deaths each year.
New hospital
in Samaria. Israel is building a new medical center
in Sha’ar Binyamin, Samaria, about 15 minutes from Jerusalem. It will serve the
150,000 residents of Binyamin, Israel’s largest region, where a new medical
school opened in Ariel recently. The hospital will save many lives, as the
video explains.
Wear your heart on your sleeve. The
wearable wristband from Israel’s CardiaCare treats atrial fibrillation (rapid
and irregular heartbeats). It combines advanced sensors, AI algorithms and neuromodulation
stimulus to restore heart rate and rhythm. CardiaCare won 2019 Innovation in
Cardiovascular Interventions Technology.
We heard you’re
not well. (TY Atid-EDI) Several
Israeli companies (see here)
have AI technology to detect health issues by monitoring the voice of the patient.
Now, two of them (Beyond Verbal and Healthymize) have merged to form Vocalis Health.
Its initial focus is on cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Magical
- at risk and special needs kids together. (TY WIN)
Israeli charity My Piece of the Puzzle operates on the 60-acre Jordan River
Village in northern Israel, which runs programs for children with disabilities
or serious diseases. At-risk kids mix with special needs kids, to the benefit
of both groups.
And
a special party. Israeli
charities Ezer Mizion and Keilim Meyuchadim made sure that special needs children
didn’t miss out on the recent Chanukah celebrations.
Fixing
homes of the poor.
(TY Janglo)
As reported previously (see
here) volunteers from Israeli charity Livnot U’Lehabanot repair thousands
of houses for the less fortunate of Israeli society. Here is another - Quality
of Life, whose team of eight full time handymen has renovated over 10,000 homes
since 2016.
After school programs for minorities. Israel’s Innovation Authority and
Ministry of Education have selected Israeli non-profit Unistream (see here) to run its 5-year Young
Entrepreneurs after-school programs for Druze, Bedouin, and Haredi students. It
aims to give entrepreneurship and leadership skills to underprivileged teens.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3778670,00.html
https://unistream.co.il/about-us
The
first Ethiopian-Israeli female Lt-Col. (TY Hazel) The IDF’s 91st HaGalil Division
now has a new manpower officer, Masala Tagnia. She is the first Ethiopian-Israeli
woman to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the IDF. She is the sister of Israel’s
TV Channel 12 reporter Brahano Tagnia.
Jews
rescue Arabs and vice versa. Israel’s heavy rains are good and bad news. The Kinneret is filling up, but Nahariya’s
streets were transformed into rivers. Arab tractor operators rushed to help
trapped residents and open blocked roads. At the city hospital (managed by an
Arab), Jewish doctors treated Arabs and vice versa.
Thousands
of pilgrims at baptismal site. Over 20,000 Christians (including Eritreans, Syriacs and Ethiopians) attended
baptism ceremonies at Qasr al-Yahud, on the Israeli side of the Jordan River. The
procession was led by Jerusalem’s Greek Orthodox patriarch Theophilos III and protected
by the IDF and Israeli police.
A
Jordanian sang in Israel. (TY Hazel) Aziz Maraka, a singer-songwriter from Jordan, performed to 5,000
Arab-Israelis during the annual Christmas Market festival in Kafr Yasif,
Northern Israel. He learned from first-hand that Arabs in Israel enjoy more rights
than in many Arab and Muslim countries.
Smart help for Australian
fire victims. Israeli charity iAID has been combatting
global humanitarian crises such as in Mexico, Texas, Peru, Mozambique, Indonesia
and Iraq since 2017 (see
here). Now renamed SmartAID, its volunteers are on Kangaroo Island in Australia,
using innovation and technology to rebuild lives.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Environmental innovation lab. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Ministry of Environment Protection is setting up a $4 million
cleantech innovation lab in Haifa, focused on environmental protection and
sustainability. Its aim is to transform Israel into an environmental tech
powerhouse. It will be run by ESIL Technologies.
Israelis get more e-friendly and smarter. (TY Janglo)
Some 12 percent of Israelis now use bikes, electric bicycles, and electric scooters
on a regular basis. Israelis became more connected in 2019 as 72% are now Internet-enabled,
90% use WhatsApp and 82% shopped online last year.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/01/17/over-10-percent-of-israelis-make-weekly-use-of-bikes-and-e-scooters-report-says/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3780352,00.html
I hear what you say. (TY Atid-EDI)
The Layered Voice Analysis (LVA) technology from Israel’s Nemesysco was
reported here
nearly 8 years ago. The system is used by call centers, credit risk assessors, insurance
fraud and criminal investigators and recruitment agents. Tokyo’s CENTRIC call
center service is the latest customer.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nemesysco-empowers-emotion-detection-and-analysis-service-for-leading-outsourced-call-center-operation-in-japan-300965341.html http://nemesysco.com/
Newsweek’s Best Backup software. (TY Atid-EDI)
The Office 365 Backup software from Israel’s Cloudally was named as one of the top
five backup solutions in Newsweek’s Best Business Tools 2019. The ranking was based
on a survey of more than 10,000 professional users of software and software service
providers.
The Internet knows it’s you. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Emza Visual Sense, in partnership with Taiwan’s Chicony Electronics, has
designed the world’s first battery-powered human sensing solution for the Internet
of Things (IoT). It gives Internet-enabled devices the ability to detect and recognize
different people.
Turning plastic waste into baby oil. Israel’s Ran Sharon founded cleantech startup Clariter in 2004. For
the last 16 years he has been developing technology to turn a variety of
plastic waste items into non-toxic, odor-free industrial oil, wax, and solvents.
These can then be raw materials for paints, candles and even baby oil.
Recycling waste for Mercedes. Mercedes parent company Daimler AG is testing whether an ecological
thermoplastic manufactured by Israel’s UBQ could be used in its vehicles. UBQ (see here), has developed a process
to recycle residual municipal solid waste into a plastic-like raw material.
Fighting fires from
above. Israel’s Elbit has successfully tested its HyDrop
automated water pellet system. Israel’s Fire and Rescue Authority used two
aircraft to extinguish a burning field from 152 meters up – over 4 times the standard
height for aerial firefighting and twice as effective. (See this article about plane
crash)
https://elbitsystems.com/pr-new/elbit-systems-successfully-demonstrates-high-altitude-high-precision-aerial-firefighting-solution/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3779630,00.html
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israel’s
economic surge. Ambassador
Ettinger highlights Israeli growth since 2000 includes GDP (+206%); exports (+149%)
and foreign reserves (+396%). 60% of women are now in the workforce (+25%);
university students (+351%); and tourists (+108%). But debt per GDP was down
24.7% and US aid per GDP down 57%.
A thriving
1st-world economy in a 3rd-world sea. Israel possesses assets and innovations that
can solve many of the problems that plague its Arab neighbors. If peace can
possibly be achieved between Israel and the Arab world, the potential for
mutually beneficial, practical and economic relationships is huge.
Tech
exits increase by 72%. The total value in 2019 of the 138 Israeli tech firms exits (take-overs,
mergers and IPOs) was $21.74 billion – 72% higher than in 2018.
Israir’s
new direct flights. Israeli carrier Israir Airlines is to launch a new weekly route from Tel
Aviv to the Armenian capital, Yerevan. It also plans to launch seasonal routes from
Tel Aviv to Palma de Mallorca in Spain and the Latvian capital Riga. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3780211,00.html
Three joint homeland security projects. The Israel-US Binational Industrial
Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation is granting $2.3 million to 3 US-Israeli
security projects. Israeli startups involved are Blue White Robotics (drone
control), S.H. Goren (indoor GPS for first responders) and Cawamo (video
security).
Nine more. The BIRD Foundation granted $8
million to another 9 joint US-Israeli projects in Jan. They include Advanced
MemTech (oil-water separation), Agroscout (drones to detect crop diseases) and
MDI Health Technologies (personalized medication). Also to DosentRX, GaitBetter,
Raicol Crystals and three more.
Air
defense radar for Czech Republic. (TY Atid-EDI)
ELTA Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, has been awarded a
$125 million contract to supply an “Iron Dome” radar defense system to the
Czech Republic. The deal strengthens Israeli-Czech relations and those with other
NATO countries.
How
Teva benefits the world’s economy. This article describes the contribution that Israel’s Teva makes to GDP
and employment in 19 of the 60 countries that it operates in. It is in addition
to the medical benefits and the world’s largest generic medicine manufacturer’s
role in keeping personal and national treatment costs down.
Just
what I want. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s WeBuy is beta-testing the first on-line, on-demand platform for local shopping.
It connects customers to local businesses selling only those products and services
they are looking for. Shoppers receive offers
for those items and communicate with the seller. Plus, they earn reward tokens.
Appsflyer
becomes a Unicorn.
Israel’s Appsflyer (see
here) provides marketing analytics and more to help companies with mobile
app products. Appsflyer has just raised $210 million in funds, giving the
company a value of $1.6 billion and the status of a Unicorn – a company with a
market value over $1 billion.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2020/01/21/appsflyer-raises-210-million-to-build-out-mobile-attribution/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/appsflyer-marketing-analytics-company-raises-210m
So
does Snyk. Investment
in Israeli startups continues in 2020. Israeli cybersecurity startup Snyk (see
here) has completed a $150 million funding round, at a company valuation of
more than $1 billion – another Unicorn.
Osem-Nestle
to promote Israeli food-tech startups. Nestlé SA is setting up a food-tech
innovation arm under its Israel-based subsidiary, Osem Investments. Nestlé,
with an annual turnover of $100 billion, sees Israel’s huge potential and
expects to help at least two Israeli startups enter the global market by the
end of 2020.
An
all-Israeli takeover. Israeli ad-tech company Perion Network Ltd has taken over Israel-founded
data analytics firm Content IQ for $73 million. Perion will integrate Content IQ’s
51 New York and Tel Aviv employees into its local offices. The acquisition will
also help Perion comply with new “cookie” laws.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
A Lebanese female Master Chef in Israel. When Farah Raslan fled from Lebanon to Israel, she did not speak a
word of Hebrew. She now has a Masters’ degree in biotechnology. She has also reached
the finals of Israel's Master Chef by preparing authentic Lebanese cuisine. (Make sure you turn Captions on for the
subtitles)
Food for lawmakers. (TY Janglo)
Jerusalem has opened the Mitbahon, a new culinary complex, in Wohl Rose Park,
opposite the Knesset and adjacent to the Supreme Court. It will include three mobile
food trucks from leading Jerusalem restaurants that will be rotated monthly. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Jlm-Heritage-Ministry-inaugurate-restaurant-complex-in-Wohl-Rose-Park-614054
Israel’s first luxury hotel to be restored. Israeli hotel chain Fattal Hotels Ltd has acquired the building
that once housed the Palatin Hotel, Tel Aviv’s first luxury hotel, built in
1926. It is investing NIS 150 million to restore Tel Aviv’s first luxury hotel
to its former glory and aims to launch an ultra-luxury hotel by end 2022.
The world’s oldest working journalist. 96-year-old Walter Bingham is in the Guinness
Book of Records as the oldest living radio talk-show host. Last year, the star
of “The Walter Bingham Show” on Israel News Talk Radio became the oldest
Israeli skydiver. Ex-Kindertransport, he took part in WWII’s Normandy landings.
Israel
is my playground.
Don’t try this at home. 24-year-old
Austrian biker and urban free-rider Fabio Wibner came to Israel and filmed a six-minute
video of his amazing bike-riding skills. He wheelies around Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Jerusalem,
the Dead Sea, Masada and the Ramon crater. His video has had over 1.7 million views.
THE JEWISH STATE
World leaders come to
Israel. 46+ heads of state and their entourages attended
the fifth World Holocaust Forum, “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting
Antisemitism,” at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. It commemorates the 75th anniversary
of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp at the end of World War
II.
After the rain. A 13-year-old Israeli boy
went out with his family in Caesarea after recent downpours. He saw a stone
slab uncovered by heavy rainfall and (from his school archaeology studies) recognized
Greek letters. Israel’s Antiquity Authority identified it as a Byzantine burial
inscription for the grave of “Anastasius”.
Israel’s kosher food industry. (TY Atid-EDI)
Over 80% of Israel’s $20 billion food industry is kosher. Most of Israel’s 1,800
food processing facilities produce kosher food. Multi-nationals like Nestlé, Unilever,
Danone and Pepsi Co. partner with Israeli food companies such as Osem and
Strauss. Most exports go to the EU.
My wedding can wait. (TY UWI)
Mordechai, a volunteer MDA first responder, was traveling to his own wedding with
his ambulance driver friend, when they noticed two vehicles had crashed. Despite
being in wedding suits, they immediately administered first aid until an
ambulance arrived to take the injured to hospital.
200119
·
An Israeli
medication has been selected for a major US multiple ALS treatment trial.
·
Historic joint
Israeli-Egypt statement as Israeli exports natural gas to Egypt.
·
An Israeli
video analysis system is helping to combat fires in Australia.
·
An Israeli
electromagnetic breakthrough can reveal hidden objects.
·
A major Russian
airline is starting direct flights to Israel from Siberia.
·
The first Israeli
Formula One racing team test driver.
·
Vast numbers
of Israelis celebrated completing the 7.5-year cycle of daily Talmud study.
·
Click here
to see the 12th January newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo and United With Israel with additional article on Inclusive and Global with 1,600 shares. Also (TY
Sandra) in German and
(TY Zachy) in Hebrew. Also
Hebrew translation of articles in 12th Jan newsletter by students of Reali school in Haifa. Please pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading contacts. Also (TY
Esty) please visit the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL Facebook page.
·
Please click
here, to donate (a small or large amount) to help me expand the reach of VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
·
If someone
wishes to be added to the free email subscription list, they should either click
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ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
US approves freezing of tumors. The US FDA has granted approval for Israel’s IceCure Medical to use
its tumor-freezing technology to destroy cancerous and benign tumors of the
kidney, liver, ear, nose, and throat. It already has FDA approval for benign
breast tumors and European approval to treat malignant breast tumors.
UK hospital introduces
Israeli remote diagnostic device. (TY OurCrowd) As reported previously (see here), Israel’s TytoCare device allows for doctors to examine patients from
remote locations. Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is to be the
first provider in the UK to partner with TytoCare.
Israeli
treatment in Mass trials. (TY Atid-EDI) Pridopidine,
from Israeli biotech Prilenia, has been chosen by the Healey Center at Massachusetts
General hospital for the first-ever platform (multiple treatments) trial for
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Prilenia is trialing Pridopidine for
several neurodegenerative disorders.
Two potential IBD therapies. (TY Atid-EDI) As
reported previously (see here) Israel’s
Biomica is using the human microbiome (stomach bacteria) to fight cancer, IBD,
acne etc. Bionica is starting pre-clinical studies for BMC321 & BMC322, two
developed microbial consortia aimed to treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
Spotting problems that
doctors may have missed. Israel-based medical device
startup IMedis AI develops technology that analyzes medical images and
documents to reveal discrepancies and unreported findings. The technology can assist
in the early detection of cancer, heart diseases, and vascular diseases.
Women at risk of diabetes
during pregnancy. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann
Institute have developed an algorithm that can predict which women have a high
risk of gestational diabetes. Records of 600,000 Israeli pregnancies were
examined. Those found to be at risk could avoid diabetes with exercise and diet.
An all-in-one genetic
test. Israel’s Variantyx has developed the first
comprehensive, all-in-one diagnosis test for rare inherited disorders. It
eliminates the need to order multiple tests, saving time, money and (potentially)
lives. There are more than 7,000 rare diseases, affecting 30 million in the US
and over 350 million globally.
Helping patients breathe. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Biovo Technologies manufactures the Airway Medix line of disposable respiratory
devices, used for mechanically ventilated (usually unconscious) intubated ICU patients.
Don’t over-vaccinate your
pet. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Biogal-Galed Labs (reported here
previously) has launched CombCam, an automated reading device that helps veterinarians
interpret antibody and vaccine tests on animals. Biogal’s various veterinary
diagnostic products are now available in over 35 countries.
From cancer to shrimps. This article focuses on Dr Avi Schroeder of Israel’s Technion Institute.
His company PEEP Therapeutics is developing a cancer treatment based on Elephant
protein gene P53 (see here). He is also working on personalized
chemotherapy and a cure for a deadly shrimp virus. He is a manager in four
startups.
Israeli medical startups in San Francisco. 16 of OurCrowd’s Israeli medical
portfolio companies attended the 38th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
in San Francisco (Jan 13-15). Their innovative solutions include cancer
treatments, blood testing, wound care, care for older adults, diabetes management
and more.
Israeli startups to help UK
healthcare. Ten Israeli heath tech startups have
been invited by UK Government’s Israel Tech Hub to help UK healthcare
organizations build more modern and effective healthcare services. They will
meet AstraZeneca, NHSX, Care UK, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Amazon Web Services
in London.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND
GLOBAL
Hi-tech Haredim conference. (TY Sharon) As reported previously, (see here) Bizmax is a business center for
ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem residents. It has just sponsored a hi-tech employment conference
in Jerusalem, in association with the Kemach Foundation, which has already helped
over 20,000 Haredim find jobs.
Israel begins exports of natural gas to Egypt. Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz
and Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla, jointly confirmed that
Israeli natural gas is now flowing to Egypt. It was hailed as the most significant
economic cooperation since the signing of the peace treaty between the two
countries.
https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Israel-starts-exporting-natural-gas-to-Egypt-energy-ministers-say-614214 https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-milestone-israel-starts-exporting-natural-gas-to-egypt/
Free hi-res weather
forecasts for India. As reported previously, (see here) Israel’s ClimaCell develops a highly accurate weather forecasting
system. It has now partnered with Google Cloud to launch a free high-resolution
model in India that predicts the weather for a 2km area in 15-min timesteps for
the next 48 hours.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/07/google-and-climacell-team-up-to-launch-a-new-high-resolution-weather-forecast-for-india/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUtZABssFc4
Going back to the Moon. As reported (1st Dec) Israel’s SpaceIL plans to make another
attempt to land an Israeli spacecraft on the Moon. These plans have just received
a boost with a $1 million donation from the Blavatnik Family Foundation. It
will also support putting Israel’s first nanosatellite into lunar orbit.
Giving a voice to those
unable to speak. As reported previously (see here) Israeli
startup Click2speak and Israeli charity Ezer Mizion are developing a keyboard for
stroke victims and others to operate with just their eyes. Ezer Mizion also operates
the Middle East’s only loan center for speech generating devices.
Extinguishing fires in Australia. One of the Israeli startups exhibiting
at CES 2020 Las Vegas was drone video analyst Edgybees (reported here previously). Having helped combat the fires
in California last year, they responded to an urgent request from Australia and
donated it to help put out fires in New South Wales.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3777796,00.html https://edgybees.com/public-safety/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Israel’s national
communications satellite. Israel Aerospace Industries
Ltd. (IAI) will develop and build Israel’s national communication satellite, “Dror
1”. The deal with the Israeli Government is worth $190 million and is intended
to fulfill the country’s satellite communication needs for the next 15 years.
Record number of Israeli
startups at CES 2020. This newsletter reported last
week (see here) that three
dozen Israeli startups exhibited at CES 2020 Las Vegas. It has now been reported that there were far
more. 70 Israeli startups presented their technologies, just in the area of transportation,
smart cities, and logistics.
A
revealing scientific breakthrough. Tel Aviv University
researchers have developed a new way to produce and control terahertz waves, which
can pass through opaque materials to detect hidden objects and reveal their
composition. The scientists shone infra-red light at nano-structured materials,
to generate the terahertz waves.
App helps visually impaired
avoid obstacles. Students at Israel’s Technion Institute
have been awarded the IEEE International Student Projects Award for an app to increase
the safety of visually impaired individuals. The “Bionic Eye” app sends vibrations
to the belt of the user to help negotiate stairways and other obstacles.
Autonomous taxis in South
Korea. Israel-based Mobileye will test and deploy
robot taxis powered by its autonomous vehicle technology in Daegu, South Korea.
Rollout is planned by 2022. Mobileye has
already announced its plans to have hundreds of autonomous taxis operating in Tel
Aviv’s streets, also by 2022.
Top Nine is number one. Top Nine is the most popular
Instagram app in the US and UK. It gives Instagram users a three-by-three grid
collage of their most popular posts. It was developed by Kevin Natanzon,
founder of Beta Labs, who attributes his Aliya, and the Israeli startup
ecosystem, as the reason Top Nine went viral.
https://worldisraelnews.com/as-year-turns-top-nine-instagram-collage-app-developed-by-israeli-hits-1-in-us-store/ https://topnine.co/
Milk chocolate, same taste,
nearly half the sugar. The SureChoc project is a partnership between
leading industrial bodies and the UK’s University of Reading. Its milk chocolate
bar uses special sugar developed by Israel’s DouxMatok (see here). It has the same taste as regular chocolate, but 44% less sugar and
more fiber.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Multinationals benefit Israeli economy. The 362 multinational companies
operating in Israel paid nearly $9 billion in direct taxation in 2019 –
approximately 18% of all tax income received by the Israeli Government. They employ
some 62,000 staff – the largest being Intel (11,000) followed by HP (3,000) and
IBM (2,000).
https://www.jpost.com/Jpost-Tech/Multinational-corporations-represent-backbone-of-Israeli-tax-revenue-612461 https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3776586,00.html
Startup Jerusalem. Good video highlighting the innovation and
startup ecosystem of Israel’s capital.
Direct flights from Siberia. Russia's second-largest airline
S7 Airlines is to begin direct flights between Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion
International Airport and Novosibirsk, Siberia. Apparently, half of Russian visitors
to Israel come from near Siberia and previously had to fly through Moscow. S7 begins
the new service on 2nd Apr.
Even more Japanese investment. 2018’s 28 investments and acquisitions
worth $710 million by Japanese companies in Israeli startups (reported here) was eclipsed in 2019 by 53 deals worth $815 million. Japanese interest in
Israel surged after PM Netanyahu’s 2014 Japan visit and PM Shinzo Abe’s to Israel
in 2015.
Tel Aviv fintech innovation hub launched. A new fintech and insurtech (finance
& insurance technology) innovation hub - “Axell” - has been launched in Tel
Aviv. It aims to generate partnerships between local and international corporations
(e.g. Generali, AIG and Israel’s Maccabi Healthcare Services), and Israeli startups.
Second
Israeli cybersecurity acquisition for Mimecast. US cybersecurity
company Mimecast has acquired Israeli cybersecurity phishing protection startup
Segasec Labs for around $40 million. In 2018, Mimecast acquired Israeli cybersecurity
startup Solebit Labs for $88 million in cash.
Sapiens intelligent acquisitions. Israel’s Sapiens (see here) has previously taken over US and
Spanish companies to build up its insurance software empire. Now it has bought German
digitalization software developer Sum.cumo GmbH for 28.4 million euros to help expansion
into Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Another connected car connection. (TY Hazel) As reported previously
(see here) Israeli connected car data company Otonomo has partnered Daimler/Mercedes,
Skoda, Jaguar/Land Rover and Avis. Now, it is to provide Mitsubishi Motors with
parking apps, smart electric vehicle charging, mapping etc. from over 100
companies.
See Israeli companies in Beverley Hills. 18 Israeli companies will be
presenting at “Merage-Homeland / Cybersecurity" in Beverley Hills on 22nd
Jan. The event has been arranged by the Southern California-Israel Chamber of
Commerce in collaboration with Elite Entrepreneur Organization.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
The
Jews of Yemen. (TY Sharon) A new exhibition “From Sheba
to Jerusalem" at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem, displays the history
and culture of the (now non-existent) Jews of Yemen and South Arabia. They traded
with the land of Israel and in the 4th century CE became subjects of the
“Jewish Kingdom of Himyar”.
Israel
Space Week. The events being held for Israel Space
Week at the end of Jan include the Bloomfield Science museum Jerusalem marking
50 years of the first Moon landing. Visitors to Netanya Planetanya can pretend
to be astronauts and the Israeli Space Agency hosts the 15th Ilan Ramon International
conference
CNN
and UK Times recommend yet-to-open hotel. The Six
Senses Shaharut hotel in Israel’s Negev desert has been recommended by CNN as
well as the UK’s Times as one of the top new lodges to stay at in 2020. “The
perfect destination for the intrepid luxury traveler” only opens later this
year.
Israeli MasterChef judge to feed Microsoft employees. Microsoft has hired celebrity TV
chef Haim Cohen to oversee six dining areas available to employees in its new
campus in the central Israeli town of Herzliya. Cohen owns two Tel Aviv
restaurants and is currently a judge on the Israeli TV version of MasterChef.
Israel’s first Olympic skiing medals. 17-year-old Israeli Noa Szollos made
history by winning two skiing medals at the Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne,
Switzerland. She won silver in the Alpine Combined and bronze in the Super G,
to gain Israel’s first ever winter games medals for either youth or adult
Olympics.
Israeli becomes Formula One test driver. British Formula One motor racing
team and constructor ROKiT Williams Racing has signed 25-year-old Israeli Roy
Nissany to their 2020 driver lineup. He will test drive in Formula One and race
in Formula Two until he gains enough points to compete in Formula One.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/British-Formula-One-constructor-Williams-Racing-signs-Israel-Roy-Nissany-614231 https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula-one/51120155
THE JEWISH STATE
Bags of room on Israeli bus. A 19-year-old US tourist discovered that Israeli bus drivers are
sometimes too keen to keep to the timetable. He was trapped inside the luggage compartment
whilst extracting his suitcase. As the bus drove off, he phoned the police who
tracked him by GPS and rescued him unharmed after 20 minutes.
Safed gets its first traffic light. Israel’s Northern city of Safed (Tzfat) and its cobbled alleyways have
been the center of Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah since the 16th century. Modern
technology, however, has finally caught up with it, as its popularity with tourists
has resulted in an upgrade to its roads and its first traffic light.
Learn Hebrew from milk cartons. (TY Jacob Richman) The birthday
of Eliezer Ben Yehuda, father of modern spoken Hebrew, is also Hebrew Language
Day in Israel. This year, on 16th Jan, the
Academy of the Hebrew Language, together with Tnuva, have printed groups of Hebrew
words on the side of milk cartons.
New club house for lone soldiers. The charity Lone Soldier Center caters for the physical and social
needs of around 7,000 IDF soldiers who came to Israel without their parents. It
had been operating a Jerusalem club in the basement in Yafo Street. It now
moves to much larger premises, able to host many more for Shabbat meals.
Completing the daily Talmud
study program. (TY Sharon) Israeli cities have been
celebrating the world-wide completion of Daf Yomi (a page a day) study of the
Talmud. The program takes 7.5 years. Thousands attended the Siyum HaShas (end
of Talmud) ceremony at Jerusalem’s International Conference Center.
200112
In the 12th Jan
20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights
include:
·
Israeli
scientists make a molecule to prevent viruses spreading from rodents to humans.
·
Israel sends
aid and volunteers to combat disasters in Australia and Puerto Rico.
·
Israeli innovations
win awards and praise at CES 2020 in Las Vegas.
·
An Israeli
startup is developing a waste-to-energy system.
·
A record number
of tourists visited Israel in 2019.
·
A million
Israelis watch the start of the 3rd season of Israeli TV series Fauda.
·
Archaeologists
find 2nd Temple period coins and stone measuring table.
·
Click here
to see the 5th January newsletter on IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo
and United
With Israel plus extra feature on Inclusive
& Global (with 2,200 shares).
Also (TY Sandra) in German
and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew. Also
Hebrew
translation of articles in 29th Dec newsletter by students of Reali school
in Haifa. Please pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading contacts. Please also read my feature blog “An
Excellent Year and an Incredible Decade” – also (TY Sandra) in German
and on Ruthfully
Yours, . Also (TY Esty) please visit and “like” / “follow” the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL
Facebook page.
·
Please click
here, to donate (a
small or large amount) to help me expand the reach of VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
·
Click here,
to SEARCH the IsraelActive archives of over
15,700 previous news articles.
·
If someone
wishes to be added to the free email subscription list, they should either click
here or send a request (with their
name) to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Decoy molecule neutralizes
dangerous viruses. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann
Institute and at Tel Aviv University have engineered a molecule called Arenacept
to fool and destroy viruses that migrate from rodents to humans. Arenacept
binds strongly to the virus, acting as a decoy. It also triggers the immune
system’s defenses.
US Government buys
Israeli wound treatment. As per its 2015 contract
with Israel’s MediWound (see
here), the U.S. Department of Health (HSS), is stockpiling $16.5 million
worth of MediWound’s NexoBrid burns treatment. HSS has options on another $50
million of NexoBrid.
Lowering the
cost of X-rays. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Nanox is an Israeli/Japanese cooperation that has created the world’s
first commercial-grade digital X-ray source for medical imaging applications.
Nanox’s novel technology can significantly reduce the costs of medical imaging
systems.
Program benefits
patients and doctors. Since 2015 Bar-Ilan
University’s ETGAR program requires its med students to visit patients at home after
discharge from hospital. A study shows patients benefit significantly,
especially those who are poor, isolated, understand little Hebrew, or lack education.
Future doctors also benefit.
Lessons
learned tackling measles in Samoa. The Israeli team
of nine doctors and nurses from Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer has returned
from helping Samoa combat its measles epidemic. The team emphasized how vital a
vaccination program was in preventing similar outbreaks.
Attorney leaves
$15 million to Israeli hospital. Although retired
attorney Daniel Jacobson led a modest life, he bequeathed 50 million shekels
(approximately $15 million) to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital. It will cover 10 new operating rooms and other
major upgrades to the hospital.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Government
funding for all citizens. This article highlights Israel Innovation Authority funding for women, ultra-Orthodox
and Israeli-Arab entrepreneurs. The startups featured include a medical device
to protect the eyes of diabetics; the world’s first property management computer
and a platform for smart beauty tips.
Coexistence in Israeli mixed cities. In every Israeli mixed Jewish-Arab city there is close cooperation
between Jews and Arabs at every level of municipal administration and activity.
81% of Jewish residents said relations with Arab residents were good and 89% of
the Arab residents said relations with Jewish residents were good.
Training PA and Gaza nurses. 16 nurses (11 from the Palestinian Authority and 5 from Gaza) took part
in a four-day medical simulation course at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center in
Ramat Gan. The program also featured
sessions on managerial skills, focusing on how to deal with tense situations.
Israelis win debating championships
again. For the 3rd time, an Israeli team has won the
World Universities Debate Championship. It was the first Israeli women’s team
to win, defeating 750 international contestants in the English Second Language
(ESL) category, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Israel sends aid for
fire-injured Australian animals. Jerusalem’s Biblical
Zoo has raised money to donate veterinary medical supplies to treat animals
suffering from the fires raging in Australia. The items include burn creams,
milk replacers, wound sprays and hydration concentrates to be used in
Victoria's East Gippsland region.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Jerusalem-Zoo-sends-money-to-help-fire-injured-animals-in-Australia-613203
https://www.causematch.com/en/jerusalemzoo/
Aid to Puerto Rico. Volunteers from Israeli NGO IsraAID were still helping Puerto Rico recover
from 2017’s Hurricane Maria (see here), when the
island was struck by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. Over one million people have no
electricity and water, and an estimated 300 are homeless. IsraAID is conducting
a needs assessment.
Surprise for Israeli in Sweden. Israeli Noam Shalev was worried when a Syrian refugee waitress in
Sweden asked where Noam was from. He said “Israel” and rushed to the exit. But
the waitress and her sister stopped him and thanked him for Israel’s medical
treatment that saved their mother during the Syrian civil war.
Video of the decade. Some of Israel’s major achievements
in the last 10 years, summarized in 2 mins 18 secs.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Israeli innovations at
world’s largest technology fair. Three dozen Israeli startups exhibited at CES
2020 in Las Vegas (Jan 7 – 10) It is the world’s biggest technology fair with
175,000 attendees. There were 22 startups in the Israeli pavilion. El Al even
added an extra flight to arrive on the morning of the first day. It was sold
out.
https://www.israel21c.org/20-israeli-companies-to-get-excited-about-at-ces/
https://www.israelatces.com/
A PA for the blind and
deaf. At CES 2020, Israel’s OrCam launched an upgraded
MyEye 2 with AI and voice commands. It has become a wearable Personal Assistant
for the visually disabled. OrCam also won the show’s “Best Innovation” award
for OrCam Hear, for the hard-of-hearing to follow a conversation in a noisy
room.
Watergen wins major
award at CES. Israel’s
Watergen, the company that turns air into drinking water, was named Energy
Efficiency Product of the Year at the 2020 Smart Home Mark of Excellence Awards
at CES Las Vegas. Each year, the Consumer Technology Association’s awards
recognize the top smart home innovations.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israeli-tech-company-producing-water-from-air-earns-honor-in-Las-Vegas-613623 http://nocamels.com/2020/01/water-air-generator-genny-watergen-ces-award/
Enjoy the ride. At CES 2020 Israel’s Mobileye released this video of a ride through
Jerusalem’s busy streets in an autonomous car controlled by Mobileye’s
12-camera sensor suite. It negotiates road works, unprotected left turns, busy
roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and some very heavy traffic. And it doesn’t put a foot wrong.
A decade of Israeli innovation. One of many articles highlighting the major technologies and
inventions of the past 10 years. Waze, Moovit, Watergen, MarginProbe, Iron Dome,
ReWalk, OrCam, 3D-printed heart, NanoGhost, DayTwo and SpaceIL’s Beresheet. All featured previously in this newsletter (see here).
How microbes decompose biomass. Ben Gurion University Professor Itzhak Mizrahi has already received
two European Research Council grants for his research into how microbes degrade
plant waste. Now he has received a third one – this time from German research funder
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
Breakthrough in laser defense systems. Following a “technological breakthrough,” Israel’s Defense Ministry
has re-started development of a laser beam system (see here) capable of destroying
incoming rockets and small drones, to complement Iron Dome. The new system is expensive
but will have negligible operational costs.
Digitizing Israel’s TV archives. The archives of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) are being
converted from film to digital format. The 5-year project will process hundreds
of thousands of Betamax tapes, cassettes, reel-to-reel tapes and film recorded
between 1948 and May 2017.
Cybertech is back. Cybertech 2020, the largest annual cybersecurity event in the world
outside the US, takes place in Tel Aviv Jan 28 - 30. Hundreds of Israeli startups are exhibiting
and some 18,000 attendees from over 80 countries are expected to attend. Startups
will also compete in Cybertech’s Startup Innovation Challenge.
Turning garbage into energy. One of the recipients of the latest joint US-Israel BIRD foundation
grant (see
here) is Israel’s Exency. Together with US Brayton Energy they are developing
“a low-cost and high-efficiency solid biomass and solid waste fueled electricity
generation system” in the Israeli town of Sderot.
Sustainable packaging keeps pomegranates
fresh. (TY Liat) Israel-based Stepac (now part of
Johnson Matthey) has launched its latest range of sustainable packaging
solutions for preserving the freshness and extending the shelf life of
pomegranates and extracted pomegranate seeds and arils.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sustainable-packaging-extends-the-pomegranate-season-300982439.html http://www.stepac.com/pomegranate
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israeli
growth tops all Western countries. Israel’s economy, measured by its GDP, grew by 3.3% in 2019. This was the
highest rate among Western countries and almost double the OECD average of 1.7%. Israel’s GDP has risen 44% in the past
decade. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3776899,00.html
Israeli
foreign reserves rise by $3.64 billion. Israel’s foreign currency reserves soared in
December by a record $3.64 billion to end the year at a new all-time high of just
over $126 billion. In 2019, the Israeli Shekel appreciated against all major Western
currencies and became the world’s strongest currency.
Record year for digital health. The 580 Israeli digital health startups raised $662 million in 2019
- a 32% increase on 2018. Israel is unique, as all citizens are members of a health
company, each with some three decades of (anonymized) digitized data, available
for startups to develop breakthrough systems and devices.
A booming decade. Just one of many articles summarizing Israel’s economic
achievements of the last 10 years. It highlights that there are more than 6,400
startups and 362 multinational companies operating in Israel today.
Record 4.6 million
tourists. (TY WIN)
A record 4.6 million tourists visited Israel in 2019 - 12% more than in 2018. Most
were from the US, followed by France, Russia, Germany and Britain. Tourism
contributed some NIS 22.5 billion ($6.6 billion) to the economy in 2019. Tel
Aviv is one of Google’s top trending destinations.
Direct flights from Moldova. Every airline seems to want to fly to Israel. The latest is Moldovan low-cost airline
FlyOne, which in April launches a twice-weekly route between Tel Aviv’s Ben
Gurion airport and Moldova’s capital Chisinau. Air Moldova, Israel’s Arkia and
Israir already fly the route during peak season.
Israeli Unicorns doubled in 2019. (TY Janglo)
Israel has 20 Unicorns, privately-held companies worth more than $1 billion.
Only the US, China and the UK have more. The new ones are Riskified, InMode, Monday.com,
Vayyar, Fabric, Lemonade, Next Insurance, Lightricks, Hippo, Trax and SentinelOne.
(See here).
Tesla
starts up in Israel. (TY Hazel & Jacques) US electric carmaker Tesla has opened a store
in the Ramat Aviv mall for shoppers to register for a new Tesla car. Tesla Motors
Israel has been registered as a fully owned subsidiary company in Israel and a 2000
sq. meter Tel Aviv showroom already has several Tesla Model 3 cars.
The
first Israeli accelerator for Italian startups. The Italian Embassy in Israel and Italian
Bank Intesa Sanpaolo has selected 7 startups to join its first accelerator
program for Italian startups in Israel, based in Eilat. The Italian Ambassador praised
“the Startup Nation’s extraordinary and dynamic ecosystem”.
The
largest cybersecurity exit. Israel’s Armis (see
here), maker of Internet of Things (IoT) security software, is being
acquired by US-based Insight Partners, a venture capital and private equity
firm, in a cash deal that values the Israeli firm at $1.1 billion. The deal is the
largest ever for a private Israeli cybersecurity company.
Roman
Abramovich buys $58 million Tel Aviv offices. Israeli-Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich
has bought a beach-front office building in Tel Aviv for NIS 200 million. The
property could be converted into a hotel or a residential building. Abramovich (see
here) is also building a $27 million mansion in Neve Tzedek.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Van Gogh comes to Israel. “Van Gogh Alive,” which bills itself as “the world’s most visited
multimedia exhibition experience,” is coming to Herzliya arena from Jan 16 to
Apr 18. Artificial Intelligence and multi-sensory projection technology will take
visitors on a journey through Vincent van Gogh’s life and work.
Tel Aviv street festival embraces cultural
diversity. The sixth Nightlight Festival comes to South
Tel Aviv’s Neve Sha’anan on Jan 16 and 18. The free event brings dance performances,
music and food to parks, streets, urban spaces and stores of the neighborhood, where
Israelis, African migrants and foreign workers live.
Mindboggling. The charity MyIsrael is hosting an
evening with mentalist Lior Suchard on Mon 10 Feb at the Suzanne Dellal Center
in Tel Aviv. Myisrael connects donors with 18 inspirational causes in Israel. You
can choose which to support and 100% of your money goes directly to helping
people in need.
Another smash hit season of Fauda. The first episode of the third season
of the Israeli hit drama “Fauda” was viewed by about 1 million Israelis. The TV
series, about an IDF commando unit, is in Hebrew and Arabic. Netflix aired its first
two seasons with English subtitles. The third season will be shown on Netflix during
2020.
Things
to do in Israel in January. This month’s events include The Batsheva Dance Company performing Ohad
Nahrin’s “Venezuela” in Tel Aviv; the Eilat Chamber Music festival and the
Israman Triathlon.
THE JEWISH STATE
The top finds of 2019. Another “best of” 2019 article this time focusing on the most important
archaeological discoveries in Israel over the past year. They include the ‘Ikkar
Ben Matanyahu’ and Adoniyahu seals. Goliath’s city, the Pilgrim’s Path, 5th century
synagogue mosaics, a 7000-year-old sea wall and Biblical beer.
Second Temple table
found in Jerusalem. (TY IsraPundit)
A rare 2000-year-old stone measuring table was recently discovered on the
Pilgrims’ Path in Jerusalem’s City of David. Archaeologists have dated it from the
Second Temple period, located in Jerusalem’s ancient square, inside the city’s
central market.
Archaeologists find
Chanukah gelt. During the festival of Chanukah, many
Jewish children receive chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil. Israeli archaeologists
discovered a 1,200-year-old hoard of real gold coins during excavations in
Yavneh, plus twenty 2,000-year-old coins at the site of the Biblical tabernacle
in Shiloh.
Growing Biblical plants in Israel. Between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, 20,000 plants are cultivated on
the 2-acre Balm of Gilead Farm. They include species mentioned in the Bible,
such as frankincense trees and myrrh bushes. Many of these plants were lost to the
Holy Land for centuries and are now beginning to flourish again.
Israel’s James Bond. Fascinating history of Mordechai Ben-Porat, whose leadership of
Operation Ezra and Nehemiah resulted in the rescue of 130,000 Iraqi Jews and
their journey to Israel. He later became a member of the Knesset, Israel’s
parliament; and he founded the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center.
Georgia to open cultural center in Jerusalem. Georgia has announced plans to open a cultural center in Jerusalem,
joining the embassies of the US and Guatemala and trade offices of Honduras,
Hungary, Australia, Brazil and the Czech Republic. Slovakia and Ukraine are
also expected to open such offices.
Rescuing stranded motorists. Another article (see
previous) about Israeli non-profit Yedidim (Hebrew for “good friends”) whose
20,000 volunteers help any motorists who have problems with their cars. Last
year they attended hundreds of thousands of incidents, including rescuing 1,500
infants from locked cars.
Jewish Agency photo exhibit at Ben
Gurion Airport. (TY Algemeiner)
A new photo exhibit entitled “One to Ninety” at Ben-Gurion airport depicts the
story of the Jewish Agency for Israel as it celebrates its 90th anniversary. These
photos will welcome those flying to and from the Jewish State until 30th March.
200105
In the 5th Jan
20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights
include:
·
An Israeli
study shows that the vaccine against TB also protects against Alzheimer’s.
·
An Israeli,
non-profit cares for dementia patients individually, according to their needs.
·
An Israeli,
Hebrew name has been given to a new planet.
·
Disposable
plastics are being removed from Israeli schools and key cities.
·
Israel’s
largest natural gas field has begun production.
·
Eilat is a
major center for music and cultural festivals.
·
Aliya
(immigration to Israel) numbers are the highest in a decade.
·
Click here
to see the 29th December newsletter on IsraelSeen,
Ruthfully
Yours, Janglo
and United
With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) in German
and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew. Please
pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading contacts. Also (TY Esty) please visit and “like” / “follow”
the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL
Facebook page.
·
Please click
here, to donate (a
small or large amount) to help me expand the reach of VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
·
Click here,
to SEARCH the IsraelActive archives of over
15,500 previous news articles.
·
If someone
wishes to be added to the free email subscription list, they should either click
here or send a request (with their
name) to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
TB vaccine can prevent
Alzheimer’s. Israeli scientists have studied 1,371
bladder cancer patients receiving treatment at Hebrew University’s Hadassah
Medical Center. They found that those who had received the BCG vaccination against
tuberculosis were half as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as those who hadn’t.
Countering the
side-effects of cancer treatment. The Israel Cancer
Research Fund (ICRF) has given $72 million for Israeli cancer research. Much of
this is used by scientists to develop treatments that alleviate the damage from
chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy.
Several examples are given in this link.
Half a billion
shekels extra for subsidized medicines. Israel’s Ministries
of Health and Finance have increased the budget for the health basket by NIS
500 million. There is now NIS 54.2 billion available in 2020 for subsidized medicines
and medical devices required by Israeli citizens and permanent residents.
Theranica is a
2020 game-changer. The Nerivio migraine-zapping
wearable device from Israel’s Theranica has already been reported (see here) as one of Time
Magazine’s 100 Best Inventions for 2019. Now it has been selected by US
research company CB Insights as one of 36 game-changing companies in 2020.
Funding for “ghost”
cell cancer therapy. Israel’s aMoon fund, has invested
$5 million in the new NanoGhost anti-cancer therapy of Technion Professor
Marcelle Machluf. (reported
here previously). In lab tests NanoGhost reduced small lung carcinoma,
prostate, and pancreatic cancer tumors, by as much as 85%.
US approval
for AR surgical headset. As reported previously (see here) Israel-based
Augmedics has developed xvision - an augmented reality X-ray-like headset for surgeons
to use in spinal and pelvic operations. Xvision has just received US FDA clearance.
US approval
for robotic orthopedic brace. (TY Jacques) As
reported previously (Sep
2018) Israel’s Orthospin is a smart, robotic, self-adjusting, external
fixation system for helping heal bones after complex orthopedic operations.
Orthospin has now received US FDA approval.
How retina implants
integrate. Researchers from Israel’s Bar-Ilan and
US Stanford Universities report the discovery that the brain can integrate artificial
vision from retina implants together with natural vision from healthy retina. It
implies that AMD patients with advanced prosthetic devices can restore their sight.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/on-campus/bar-ilan-stanford-researchers-find-treatment-for-common-form-of-blindness/2019/12/27/ https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(19)31467-8
A better diet
for diabetics. Israeli research published in Diabetes
Care suggests that the current recommended diet for diabetics, of small frequent
meals, worsens their condition. They should eat a big breakfast of bread, fruit
and sweets in the early hours of the morning, a substantial lunch and a small
dinner.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Warm
coats for poor children. Israeli charity Yad Ezra V’Shulamit is distributing free winter coats,
boots and blankets to thousands of Israel’s poorest children. The distribution
includes only brand-new items, in line with the organization’s philosophy to
bring not only warmth, but also self-esteem and dignity to recipients
Empowering the disabled. Israeli non-profit Kelev Tov (Hebrew for “good
dog”) gives jobs caring for dogs to people struggling with physical and mental
disabilities.
Dementia
sufferers are not alone. Israeli non-profit Melabev works with people who have dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Its centers are divided up by language (English, French, Russian and Hebrew) and
by cognitive level. Malabev’s ethos is that the person has not changed, but the
way to connect and interact with them has.
Empowering
Arab women. Israeli
NGO Seeds (Zarayim) operates a bilingual and multi-cultural (Arab-Jewish) seminar.
Its inclusive environment allows Arab and Jewish women to learn together, exchange
ideas, build friendships and bridge the cultures. As a result, many of the Arab
women become pre-school teachers.
An
Arab-Israeli alliance is taking shape. Ed Husain, writing in the UK Spectator
magazine, claims that new maps of the Muslim mind are being drawn and old
hatreds are on the run. He cites recent events in Oman, Abu Dhabi, the UAE,
Dubai, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to suggest that this may yet be the decade of
peace.
Israelis name new
planet. (TY Jacques) The International Astronomical
Union invited the public to name an “exoplanet” discovered 1,500 light years
from Earth. They selected the suggestion of an Israeli - “Aleph” - the first
letter in the Hebrew alphabet. They also selected the name for its mother star -
“Tevel”, meaning Universe.
Partnerships with Portugal. Whilst Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Portugal to
meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he also met with Portugal’s PM António
Costa and Foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva. They agreed new joint ventures
in defense, cyberterrorism, entrepreneurship, and agri-tech.
Israel helped find crashed Chilean plane. IDF Intelligence, Israel’s ImageSat International and an Israeli
satellite helped locate the crash site of Chile’s C-130 Hercules plane that
vanished in Antarctica with 38 on board. The Israelis significantly reduced the
search area. Unfortunately, there were no survivors of the crash.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Electronics to improve energy
production. Professor Lior Kornblum, working in the
Grand Energy Program (GTEP) at Israel’s Technion, is pioneering new ways to
generate and store energy to meet rapidly expanding demand. He is developing smart
electronic devices to improve energy efficiency.
Study archaeology in Israel. For anyone wanting to study archaeology in English, Israel is probably
the most significant region in the world to do it. Nowhere offers such a concentration
of archaeological sites - from Neolithic to Crusader periods, underground and
underwater. Summer courses are offered at Israeli universities.
Getting rid of disposable
plastic. Israel’s 2017 plastic bag law saves 7,091
tons of non-recyclable plastic from landfills every year. Now, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
are removing disposable plastics from schools.
Herzliya has launched its “City without Plastics” project. IKEA, Sodastream
and many Israeli companies are following suit.
“The Start-up Nation for Medical Innovation”. Dr Rob Norman’s new book explores the world of Israeli medical and
scientific innovations. It highlights the achievements of some of the 1,000+ Israeli
companies in healthcare or life-science products and provides compelling reasons
why Israel is a world leader in innovation.
Clean, renewable energy. Israel’s Ellomay is a developer of renewable energy and power
projects in Europe and Israel. It has just sold 12 of its power plants in Italy
to JP Morgan’s Sonnedix Group for 38.7 million Euros. Ellomay has another four photovoltaic
plants in Spain.
System to counter Gaza fire balloons. (TY Hazel) There is a new solution to stop the thousands of incendiary
balloons, kites and drones that Gaza terrorists have launched to burn large
areas of Israeli farmland. Light Blade’s laser system has a 2km range and tests
were conducted during the past week.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
A grand
end to the decade.
Ambassador Ettinger’s final report of 2019 highlights 2019 hi-tech exits totaling
$9.9 billion (double that in 2018). The past decade featured 587 exits, totaling
$71 billion. If follow-on deals are included, the total surges to $108 billion.
The report also includes some excellent economic indicators.
Now we’re really pumping. Israel is commencing production from Leviathan’s 22 trillion cubic
feet of natural gas field, formally turning the Jewish state into an energy powerhouse.
The milestone for the country will pave its way to “energy independence” and,
via exports, to stronger ties with its neighbors.
Another multi-million fund for Israeli
startups. Israel’s Aleph Venture Capital has raised
a $200 million fund, for investing in Israeli startups. It previously raised a $180
million fund in 2016 and $150 million in 2013. It aims to support ambitious Israeli
entrepreneurs who want to build global brands from Israel.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3775993,00.html
https://aleph.vc/aleph-iii-71819670289e
Third intake for TAU and Shin Bet accelerator. Tel Aviv University and Israel’s Shin Bet Security Agency have
announced the 3rd cohort (intake) of its accelerator program Xcelerator. Its six
new startups work in fields including speech recognition, real-time video
analysis, and cybersecurity.
New IAI accelerator. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has opened an innovation center
in Tel Aviv, in partnership with US-based accelerator Starburst Ventures. The Israeli
teams chosen for the first class of the accelerator develop radar, robotics, and
autonomous driving technologies.
Via to open second Israeli R&D
center. Israeli-founded ride-sharing company Via (reported here previously)
already has one Research & Development center in Tel Aviv, with 250
employees. It has just announced it will
be opening a second R&D center in Jerusalem, employing another 50 staff.
Defense gear for Dutch army. Israel’s Elbit has just won a $65 million order to supply the Armed
Forces of the Netherlands with protection equipment for soldiers, radio gear
and wearable computer units, as well as vehicle and command and control systems.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Studio
of Her Own. (TY Sharon) The new women’s art center “Studio of
Her Own” at the former Jerusalem home of the artist Pinchas Litvinovsky, was
the venue for an exhibition on the 3rd night of Chanukah. Initially featuring works
of professional Jewish women, it plans to encompass those of Israeli women of
all religions.
Caesarea
is the top Middle East tourist spot for 2020. Caesarea Port and National Park ranked 12th
among 50 most recommended tourism sites in the world for 2020 by Travel + Leisure
magazine. It ranked highest and most recommended of all Middle East tourist
destinations. Its new visitor center opened in June (see
here)
Eilat festivals. Eilat is the warm winter venue for several music festivals. Isrotel Classi-Cameri
(Jan 1 – 4); Electronic Music festival (Jan 9 – 11); the Eilat Chamber Music
Festival (Jan 22 – 25); Red Sea Guitar Festival (Feb 13 – 15); and Red Sea Winter
Jazz Festival (Feb 20 – 22). Eilat hosts
35 festivals from Jan to May 2020.
Jamie
Oliver praises great Israeli breakfast. Famed UK chef Jamie Oliver visited Israel
this summer, and one of his breakfasts, eaten at Jerusalem’s café Kalo,
recently hit prime time on Israel’s Food Channel. “This blows most breakfasts around the world
out of the water,” Jamie said.
Jesse
Underhill performs in Israel. Jewish-American teen sensation Jesse Underhill is one of the biggest
performers on the Tik Tok application with six million people following his
uploads. On Dec 29th he made his first stage performances in Tel Aviv and Beersheba.
Eurovision
Israel was the best of the decade. In an official post, the European Broadcasting Union announced that the
2019 Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv has been voted as the best song contest
of the decade. Via social media, viewers
were asked to judge the stage, songs, voting sequence and overall production value.
THE JEWISH STATE
A real
Zionist. Geula
Cohen, who passed away recently aged 93, joined the Jewish underground at 17 years
old as a radio announcer during the Mandate period. She escaped twice from the
British – including from prison. After Israeli
Independence, Geula became a Member of Knesset and won Israel’s highest civilian
honors.
President
and Netta sing for Bar/Bat mitzva kids. Eurovision song contest winner Netta
Barzilai and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sang to Bar and Bat Mitzvah boys
& girls who had been bereaved or injured in terror acts. A separate
ceremony was held earlier for the children at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem.
Holydays
in Jerusalem. (TY
Sharon) Here are some of Sharon’s photos of
this year’s biggest and best Chanukah happenings this year in Jerusalem. And her photos show that Jerusalem is for all
religions.
The largest Aliya in a decade. 34,000 people immigrated to Israel during
2019 – the largest annual figure in the past 10 years. Over the decade Israel
received 250,000 immigrants from 150 countries. More than three million people
have immigrated to Israel since 1948, with around 44% of them arriving after
1990.
US
Ambassador packs food for the needy. US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman joined
volunteers at Israeli charity Colel Chabad's Pantry Packers center in Jerusalem
to prepare packages for Israel's needy. They also re-packed rescued food for 200
elderly Israelis and gifts for 150 orphans.
Experiential
learning in the Land. At Israel’s JNF Alexander Muss High School, students learn 4,000+ years
of Jewish and Israeli history in a matter of months. The school uses experiential
learning, teaching history chronologically at an advanced level, utilizing the Land
of Israel as an immersive classroom
