In the 30th Mar 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Israelis were able to celebrate Passover again with their families and friends.
· On World Water Day a JNF video shows desert city Beersheva is now a water city.
· Three Israeli nanosatellites have been launched into a synchronized orbit.
· Israel is developing the world’s smartest microprocessors.
· Two more Israeli companies have become worth more than $1 billion.
· Israel’s Linoy Ashram won two world medals in rhythmic gymnastics.
· Israel broke two matzah world records without breaking a single matzah.
· Click here to see the 21st Mar newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours (with great festive intro) and United With Israel with extra feature on Entertainment. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. Please pass on the following links to German and Hebrew-reading contacts. Also (TY Esty) please visit the www.facebook.com/VerygoodnewsIL Facebook page. Thanks also to Myer for placing adverts for the newsletter in the monthly Charlotte Jewish News (see page 20)
· Please click here, to donate (a small or large amount) to help me publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (18,000+ 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
Huge drop in coronavirus reproduction. Israel’s “R” factor – the average number of people that one person infects with the SARS-Cov-2 virus – has fallen to just over 0.5 and less than 1% of tests are returning positive. Israel has no “red” (high infection rate) cities for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/299353
IDF has herd immunity. (TY WIN) Israel’s Defense Force was the first army in the world to vaccinate over 80% of its personnel. The whole operation was conducted with military precision in just 10 weeks without wasting a single vial. Currently, no IDF member has died from Covid-19 and only one had a serious infection.
https://www.jns.org/idf-becomes-first-vaccinated-military-in-the-world/
It could have been much worse. Excluding the Negev desert, Israel’s population density is by far the highest in the OECD – a key factor for high Covid-19 mortality rates. But Israeli fatalities were lower than most of the 37 OECD countries. Only South Korea had both less deaths per million and a higher total population density.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298575
The human-cloud interface. Israel’s X-trodes has developed a wireless sensor patch combined with data analysis algorithms that a patient wears on their body. It remotely measures and analyzes the health of the brain, eyes, muscles, or heart during sleep or everyday tasks. The technology was developed at Tel Aviv University.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896277,00.html
Developing an oral Covid-19 vaccine. Israel’s Oramed (reported here previously) has launched Oravax – a joint venture with India’s Premas Biotech to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine is administered orally (not injected) and targets 3 virus proteins, so should counter any mutations. Human trials expected soon.
https://www.oramed.com/oramed-forms-a-joint-venture-oravax-medical-inc-for-the-development-of-novel-oral-covid-19-vaccines/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQXaylnGXLM
Treating heart & kidney patients remotely. The IPUD (Implantable Peritoneal Ultrafiltration Device) from Israel’s Paragate Medical (reported here previously) removes excess fluid from patients coping with chronic heart and kidney failure at home. Paragate is a portfolio company of Nazareth’s NGT3. Human trials start soon.
https://www.med-technews.com/news/latest-medtech-news/implantable-device-developed-for-remote-care-of-heart-and-ki/ https://www.startupvalley.news/uk/paragate-ngt3-vc/
Saving lives from snakebites. (TY Israel21c) Some 1.8 million people are bitten by snakes each year – about 94,000 fatally. An international research team including Tel Aviv University’s Eyal Goldstein have designed a model to determine (and so avoid) the probability of a snakebite at specific places, months, and times of day.
Training the brain to see. Israel’s Revitalvision has developed vision training software to improve eyesight in adult amblyopia, eye diseases and vision impairments. The FDA-approved therapy uses Gabor patches with a patented stimulation technique to stimulate the visual cortex and create new neural connections.
https://www.revitalvision.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEWPRCUDbw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gyvsyKBZmQ
Treating diabetics & women in Dubai. (TY Hazel) Doctors from Israel’s Sheba Medical Centre are flying out to Dubai to treat an initial 350 diabetes patients in the UAE army, police, and firefighting services. Sheba is also sending physicians to train medical staff at Medcare Women & Children Hospital in Dubai.
Saved twice by the same medic. When United Hatzalah volunteer medic Alan Malka saved a 30-year-old man who suffered a heart attack in Petah Tikva, he recognized that he saved the same man two months previously. Resuscitation was much quicker this time, and he now should get treatment to prevent a further incident.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298658
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Relatively happy. (TY WIN) Israel climbed two spots to 12th in the 2021 World Happiness Report which measured GDP, life-expectancy and opinions in 149 countries. Citizens of 100 countries were surveyed on social support, freedom of life choices, society corruption and generosity. Israel ranked 11th in that survey.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-climbs-to-12th-spot-in-pandemic-focused-world-happiness-survey/
World Water Day. (TY JNF-USA & ILTV) To mark World Water Day, this great video summarizes the work of JNF USA in helping Israel conserve its water. The JNF supports hydroponic farms, wastewater recycling and helped fund Israel’s largest artificial lake that has turned Beersheva in the Negev desert into a water city.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMoVHYs0Dc4
Moshav in Vietnam. (TY Hazel) Four young Vietnamese men have started an organic farm in Khanh Hoa province after training in Israel. It is based on the Israeli Moshav communal farm system. It grows coconuts, pomelos, guavas, grapes, jackfruits, mangos, and herbal medicine plants, as well as raising chickens and sheep.
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/901675/young-men-launch-organic-farm-after-studying-in-israel.html
Most resilient Middle East country. (TY JNS) The Institute of Economics, Society and Peace in the Middle East Studies ranked Israel top of its resilience list of 33 Middle East countries. Military strength was excluded but Israel scored high in economy, social, gender equality, global openness, plus ethnic and religious variance.
Leaders of Tomorrow. (TY UWI & I24 News) Discussion on I24 News about the first Abraham Accords Virtual Social Hackathon (reported here 14th Mar). The 3-day Hackathon began on 23rd Mar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKpLCGeHQ4I https://www.uae-isr.online/hackathon/
“Nobel Prize” for Math again. For the second year in a row (see here for last year) an Israeli has won a share of the Norwegian Academy of Science’s Abel Prize - the math equivalent of a Nobel Prize. Israel’s Avi Wigderson won the 2021 prize for contributions to theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VxOhzNv9To
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Satellite orbit launch closes the circle. Professor Pini Gurfil of Israel’s Technion Institute is the mastermind of the project to launch 3 nano satellites into orbit from Kazakhstan. Ironically, Kazakhstan is where USSR dictator Stalin had exiled Prof. Gurfil’s father and grandparents to, just because they were Jewish.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/3-tiny-israeli-satellites-to-orbit-earth-on-just-1-gram-of-fuel-a-day/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9zPWA8YprI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1nfIV-4_e8
https://unitedwithisrael.org/three-israeli-nano-satellites-successfully-launched-into-orbit/
3D printed communications in space. The first 3D printed integrated radiofrequency (RF) circuit from Israel’s Nano Dimension has been sent to the International Space Station (ISS) for space effects studies. The circuit will be used to transmit data to and from the ISS, to assess if such components can withstand the rigors of space.
30-second baggage disinfection. The AirFort machines from Israel’s WarpUV use a 3D array of UV lights to disinfect travel bags and packages. They will help stop the spread of bacteria, spores and the viruses that cause, seasonal influenza, Covid-19, and viruses yet to come. WarpUV plans to start delivering AirForts this year.
https://www.israel21c.org/30-second-baggage-disinfection-coming-to-airports/ https://www.warpuv.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHHe4wB36FA
Turn your smartphone into a 3D studio. Israel’s TetaVi (reported here previously) is developing a system to transform a regular smartphone into a portable broadcast-quality video studio. It will enable users to create 3D holograms of themselves and project themselves into a video game, on a concert stage or anywhere they want.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/israeli-startup-puts-your-tiktok-on-steroids/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoRhVQTDlQg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uuniOEBg08
A new Industrial Revolution. The flagship product, DataMind AI from Israel’s Razor Labs transforms heavy industrial machinery into smart machines. The manufacturing process is transferred to the cloud, integrating with the machine’s sensors remotely, reducing resources and the CO2 footprint.
Generating simulations. Israel’s Datagen Technologies develops visual simulations and recreations of the real world. It allows machine learning models to be trained more efficiently and at a far greater scale. It eliminates current bottlenecks of relying on manually collected real-world imagery.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3899272,00.html https://www.datagen.tech/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONSfE8f6swg
Sporting success is all in the mind. Israel’s iBrainTech (reported here previously) was runner up in the Israeli round of the Startup World Cup 2021. A sports player uses a brain sensory cap to control a screen avatar just with their mind. Training the brain improves co-ordination etc. and results in better performances on the field.
https://nocamels.com/2021/03/sports-ibraintech-athletes-performance-brain-training/
Solving sustainability challenges. (TY JNS) Sapir Academic College and the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council hosted ECO-thon to help companies reduce their environmental impact, while helping the population of the western Negev. ZutaCore won the competition section with its “energy from computer cooling” solution.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/03/22/startup-zutacore-wins-western-negev-eco-thon-event/
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/03/17/eco-thon-event-aims-to-tackle-industrial-challenges-in-southern-israel-and-beyond/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF4KfjIp7Pg https://zutacore.com/
Israel’s hi-tech election. (TY JNS) Israel employed several hi-tech innovations for the 2021 elections. They included “Vote & Go” polling stations with taxi transport for coronavirus patients and quarantined citizens. Incoming air passengers could vote at Ben Gurion airport and drones redirected voters stuck in traffic jams.
Google’s Israeli microchip development center. (TY JNS) Google is expanding in Israel by establishing an Israeli team to develop microprocessors for computer servers. These will comprise Systems on Chip (SoC), where multiple functions sit on the same chip, or on multiple chips instead of the traditional motherboard.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-google-sets-up-israel-chip-development-center-1001364996
Next-gen semiconductors. Israel’s Teramount has developed the Photonic-Plug, for connecting optics to silicon. Silicon-photonics is the process that sees ‘speed-of-light data transfer’ at low power consumption. Teramount’s breakthrough will ease bandwidth challenges from 5G rollout, sensors, and mobility systems.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3899311,00.html http://www.teramount.com/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Economy improves. Israel's Composite State of the Economy Index for February increased by 0.4 percent, due to the easing of restrictions in the third lockdown. Positive factors were more job vacancies, services revenues, building starts and retail trade revenues. A survey also showed increased optimism amongst business leaders.
https://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/24-3-2021.aspx
Didn’t they do well. The Bank of Israel grew its reserves of foreign currency deposits by some $47.3 billion in 2020. It bought foreign currency to keep Israel’s shekel from soaring in value, which damages Israeli exports. The Bank invested these reserves and, despite low interest rates, made 4% profit – its highest in 5 years.
https://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/22-3-21.aspx
Look who is flying to Israel. Passengers with travel exceptions can travel to Israel using several airlines. They include El Al, Israir, United, Delta, Lufthansa, Swiss, Ethiopian, Wizzair, Air Canada, Air France, Belavia, Ryanair, Austrian, Turkish, AirMoldovia, Aegean, Europa, Pegasus, Easyjet, Ukraine and FlyDubai.
https://www.touristisrael.com/whos-flying-to-tel-aviv-during-covid-19/31894/
A socially aware cell phone company. Israeli cell phone company Partner and the 8200 Impact accelerator have partnered to solve social problems of equality, empathy, inclusivity, and doing good to help emerge from the financial crisis. Their aim is to support builders of solutions to social problems using technology.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3899652,00.html
Twitter acquires Reshuffle. Israeli startup Reshuffle, which develops an integration platform for developers, has been acquired by Twitter to help build its new Twitter API. Reshuffle has built an integration platform that lets developers easily build workflows and connect systems using any API.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3901231,00.html https://www.reshuffle.com/
Fyber exits for $600 million. Digital Turbine, Inc. is set to acquire Israeli-founded Fyber N.V. for $600 million. Fyber says its platform helps app developers monetize their products and optimize profitability through quality advertising, with its technology infrastructure reaching more than one billion monthly active users.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/03/22/fyber-n-v-ad-tech-co-bought-out-for-600-million-by-digital-turbine/ https://www.fyber.com/
Latest Unicorns. Israel’s Yotpo (see here) has just raised $230 million to give it a market valuation of $1.4 billion. Simultaneously, Israel’s Orca Security (see here) raised $210 million for a $1.2 billion valuation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAdYLzvuvFo
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3901012,00.html https://orca.security/
Fast companies. Israel’s Surgical Theater, Theator & TytoCare made Fast Company’s 2021 world list of most innovative companies. Beewise was the most innovative company in Europe, Middle East & North Africa with Quantum Machines 4th. Identiq (2nd) and PerimeterX (7th) were top innovative security companies.
https://www.israel21c.org/5-israeli-firms-on-fast-company-2021-most-innovative-lists/
https://nocamels.com/2021/03/7-israeli-firms-most-innovative-2021-fast-company/
Investment in Israeli startups: Yotpo raised $230 million; Orca Security raised $210 million; Incredibuild raised $140 million; Veev raised $100 million; StarkWare raised $75 million; Axis Security raised $50 million; SCADAFence raised $12 million; Utilis raised $6 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Virtual tours of Israel. For those currently unable to physically visit Israel, Israel is Beautiful offers instant access to original and informative virtual tiyulim (tours) in Israel.
https://israelisbeautiful.com/
Laughter and Music in Ra’anana. Celebrate spring and freedom with comedy and song. One of Israel's top stand-up comedians, Yohay Sponder performs live at Center Stage in English on 1st & 17th April. Also, Evan Kent’s Musical “Shards, Putting the Pieces Together” on 21st April. Plus, “On Cue” Interviews on Zoom.
https://www.eventer.co.il/yohay0104 https://www.eventer.co.il/yohay1704
https://www.centerstageisrael.com/shards.html https://www.centerstageisrael.com/on-cue.html
CBS to remake Shtisel. CBS Studios says that it is developing an American adaptation of the popular Netflix-distributed Israeli drama “Shtisel.” It is described as a modern take on “Romeo and Juliet” and will be a TV directing debut for Oscar-winner Kenneth Lonergan. Fremantle is the co-studio.
https://www.jns.org/cbs-to-create-american-remake-of-hit-israeli-series-shtisel/
Israel to host world flag football championship. Israel will host the Flag Football World Championships in Jerusalem from Dec. 6-8, 2021. More than 40 teams from up to 30 countries will compete for the world title that was postponed in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. Jerusalem hosted the 2019 European Championships.
https://www.jns.org/after-a-difficult-year-israel-set-to-host-world-flag-football-championship/
Nigerian female basketball star’s Israel tours. (TY UWI) Nigerian international basketball player Rosalyn Gold-Onwude has a Russian Jewish mother and a Nigerian father. She toured Israel with Birthright and then as a staff member on her sister’s tour. Rosalyn loved Israel and spent Shabbat with her mother’s Jerusalem family.
Two gold medals and more. Israeli gymnast Linoy Ashram won the all-around gold medal in the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria. She then won a second gold medal in the ball event a day later. To round off the tournament, Linoy won a bronze medal in the hoop event.
THE JEWISH STATE
Unleavening the playing field. (TY UWI & JNS) Two Israeli matzah world records. 200 residents in the city of Modi'in built a 5.4-meter tower of 950 matzahs and chocolate spread (recycled into chocolate balls). Then the Matzot Aviv factory in Bnei Brak baked the world's largest single matzah, some 6 meters by 1.06 meters.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/03/25/matzah-tower-breaks-guinness-world-record/
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/299288
One of the safest places in the world. Every month. Bloomberg calculates the best places to be during the pandemic based on a series of statistics. In time for the Passover festival, Israel became the first new entrant into the top five since the ranking began in November.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/299230
All who are hungry come and eat. This Passover, even more than previous years, Charity Colel Chabad is fulfilling the mission to feed and clothe Israel’s poorest citizens - Jews, Arabs, Druze, and Christians alike. Its dozens of programs include Pantry Packers, 23 soup kitchens, lunch-bags for kids and Passover Seder-in-a-Box.
https://www.jns.org/colel-chabad-ups-the-ante-to-help-fight-poverty-in-israel/
A glimpse of Passover in the Holy Land. (TY UWI & I24 News) In Israel, the Passover holiday is particularly special as practically the entire country celebrates. And (TY Sharon) Jerusalem came back to life, just in time for Passover. Hopefully, it will be “Next Year in Jerusalem” for many more visitors and new immigrants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o_qrMadfIw
http://rjstreets.com/2021/03/21/jerusalem-returning-to-life-with-new-colors/
210321
In the 21st Mar 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· With half the population fully vaccinated, Israel’s Covid-19 infection rates have plummeted.
· The UK benefits from two more Israeli medical innovations.
· Many Israeli activities for Good Deeds Day - the country where it began 14 years ago.
· Israeli-designed Instagram Lite is rolled out to 170 countries.
· Israelis enjoy newly opened parks, restaurants, entertainment and sporting events.
· Kosovo opens its Jerusalem embassy.
· 1900-year-old Jewish relics discovered in Dead Sea cave.
· Click here to see the 14th Mar newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours (with excellent topical intro) and United With Israel with extra feature on Medical. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (18,000+ 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
Huge drop in infections. (TY UWI) Israel’s Covid-19 infection rate has fallen such that hospitals are now closing their coronavirus wards. 50% of Israelis are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19. See also the YouTube animation showing relative percentages of each country’s vaccinations over the last 3 months.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HJbiwkpmd https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298855
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MzBmOURnB8
Together we can do miracles. Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer explains why he chose Israel as the priority destination for his company’s SARS-COV-2 vaccine. A small population, a good healthcare system, a high degree of electronic data and an obsessive Prime Minister. And the scientific partnership has a great future.
The Covid-19 benefits of Aspirin. (TY UWI) A joint team from Israel’s Leumit Health Services, Bar-Ilan University, and Barzilai Medical Center analyzed records of over 10,000 Leumit patients. They found low-dose aspirin (75mg) reduced Covid-19 infection risk by 29% and shortened virus duration by about two days.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/aspirin-may-protect-against-covid-19-israeli-research-finds/
Successful UK trial of anti-Covid-19 nose spray. Israel’s SaNOtize (reported here previously) has announced that UK trials showed its Nitric Oxide nose spray successfully reduced virus severity in infected patients and prevented it being transmitted to others. Emergency deployment is now being sought in Britain and Canada.
Portable blood count system for UK hospital. Israel’s Sight Diagnostics (reported here previously) has deployed its lab-grade Sight OLO solution to the UK’s John Radcliffe Hospital, part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation. The portable system delivers Full Blood Count (FBC) results in just a few minutes.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3898111,00.html
Guiding catheters to the tumor. Israel’s Cortica (reported here previously) has launched another medical spinoff – CORDiguide. It is developing AI-based technology to navigate catheters, using angiographic imaging, to transport miniature treatment devices to a cancer target, along a road map of blood vessels.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3897691,00.html
Reducing nerve damage from cancer treatments. A study of 500 cancer patients at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center found that those who took cannabis prior to oxaliplatin chemotherapy suffered 40% less nerve damage than those who didn’t. Oxaliplatin’s neurological side effects affect 70% of cancer patients.
Faster recovery from strokes. Israel’s BrainQ (reported here May 2018) reported that the double-blind trial of its AI-based electromagnetic therapy shows that patients recovered 77% faster from the disabilities caused by the stroke and were able to resume normal life. The therapy now has FDA Breakthrough Device Designation.
Safe insertion of feeding tubes. (TY WIN & I24 News) Thirty million feeding tubes are inserted into patients annually. One million are inserted incorrectly, many with tragic consequences. The ENVue electromagnetic wave-guided system from Israel’s Envizion prevents those mistakes. Its use is mandatory at many US hospitals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAyaP0zWOOU https://www.envizionmed.com/
Saving Eli. Scientists at Tel Aviv University’s Blavatnik Center (see here) are racing to find a cure for 2-year-old Eli Reich from New York, who suffers from the rare FOXG1 syndrome that damages brain development. They have already identified several FDA-approved medications that could repair Eli’s faulty FOXG1 proteins.
https://www.jpost.com/health-science/can-israeli-innovation-save-the-life-of-a-2-year-old-jew-from-new-york-662070 http://www.webelieveinacure.org/our-story
Paramedics save Jerusalem mother at 3am. Just before 3:00 a.m., a 56-year-old mother suffered a heart attack at her Jerusalem home. A total of eight United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs ran up five floors to administer CPR and defibrillator shocks. After 12 minutes, the woman’s pulse returned, and she opened her eyes.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298489
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Running from Jerusalem to Eilat. (TY Sharon) Israeli charity Afikim provides children-at-risk in Israel, and their parents, with tools to help escape the cycle of poverty through education. At 230 miles, Run4Afikim (R4A) is the longest organized charity relay run in the world. This year it has already raised over NIS 2 million.
https://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=37&ARTICLE_ID=141984
Israelis clean up on Good Deeds Day. Israeli entrepreneur Shari Arison launched Good Deeds Day (GDD) in 2007 (reported here previously). Many Israeli hi-tech startups organized volunteering activities for GDD 2021. They included Elad Software, GeoEdge, Capitolis, Bezeq Online, Riskified and Urban Place.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israeli-tech-companies-volunteer-for-good-deeds-day-662059
El Al flight simulator is made wheelchair accessible. In honor of Good Deeds Day, the pilot’s seat of EL AL’s Boeing 737 flight simulator was replaced with a wheelchair. One young woman and three young men from ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran and ADI Jerusalem, each enjoyed 60-minute flight instruction simulations.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298613
Israeli disabled emerge from lockdown. 60 residents of Colel Chabad’s centers for Multiple Sclerosis, were able to go on an outing from their rehabilitative residences for the first time in nearly a year. 90 staff members took them to the Galilee’s fully accessible Jordan Valley Village.
Elite IDF unit to train women for tech. The Woman2Woman program set up by graduates of the IDF’s elite 8200 tech unit is to train women for positions in Israel’s booming hi-tech industry. The program will partner leading tech companies, including Microsoft Israel, Salesforce, Dell and General Motors.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/alumni-of-8200-unit-win-tender-to-boost-women-in-rd-jobs/
Arab-Israel teens build a satellite. (TY UWI) Israeli-Arab teen Mariam Fahoum led her Nazareth classmates in building a fully functional satellite. The students worked on the project for three intense years, including while fasting during Ramadan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOj4OBR1iZE
Arabs and Jews save lives together. Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA) not only saves lives around the world, but its Arab and Jewish medics are a model example of Israeli coexistence. Israeli-Arab blogger Nas Yassin (famous for Nas Daily - reported here previously), shows the reality.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/real-life-superheroes-how-arab-and-jewish-medics-save-lives-together/
The largest Israeli-Egyptian conference in 20 years. (TY JNS) Some 60 Israeli and Egyptian officials and businesspeople recently held the largest bilateral meeting in the last two decades. The event in Sharm el-Sheikh aimed to expand economic ties in agriculture, desalination, textiles, food, tourism and much more.
Unique performance. Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Performed by Israel’s “special” Shalva Band, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, with top UAE musicians including singer, Tareq Al Menhali. Shalva’s 31st anniversary is aptly themed “Building Bridges to the Future.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298528
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIbc7PL8VZ8
More water from the air for Colombia. Israel has donated two more WaterGen water from the air devices to Colombia (see here for previous) – this time to schools in drought-ravished La Guajira. The area accounts for a disproportionate 20% of Colombia’s malnutrition fatalities among children under 5.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The agrarian revolution. UK entrepreneur Jim Mellon, author of “Moo’s Law: An Investor’s Guide to the New Agrarian Revolution”, highlights Israel’s role at the forefront of meat alternatives development. By replacing intensive farming, cultivated cell-based, slaughter-free meat can help solve global food scarcity.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/02/10/israels-part-in-the-agrarian-revolution/
Turn old photos into movies. Israel’s MyHeritage may have been taken over by Francisco Partners, but it is still innovating. It has now released Deep Nostalgia - a new feature for its photo enhancer app that allows users to turn old photos into short video clips, where those pictured move their faces naturally as if they are alive.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3897061,00.html
A sonic black hole. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have generated a sonic black hole – a system from which sound waves cannot escape. Its purpose was to emulate a true black hole from which light cannot escape. It even emits Hawking radiation, as predicted by the scientist Professor Stephen Hawking over 50 years ago.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2021/02/hawking-radiation-and-the-sonic-black-hole/
M.A. in Smart Cities. For the first time, students can study in Israel for a master’s degree in Smart Cities and Urban Informatics. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is offering a one-year international program in English to educate a new generation of urban planners, administrators and decision-makers.
https://overseas.huji.ac.il/academics/international-graduate-programs/masters-programs/m-a-in-smart-cities-and-urban-informatics/ https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298435
Institute for future technologies. Israel’s Ben-Gurion University is partnering the New Jersey Institute of Technology to establish a world-class Institute for Future Technologies in Newark, New Jersey. The new joint NJIT-BGU Institute will offer dual degrees and research posts in cybersecurity and environmental engineering.
https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/pages/news/BGU-NJIT.aspx
Israel’s commercial drone network. Israel is testing a first-of-its-kind national drone network, primarily to transport cargo in cities. Using software from Israel’s Airwayz, 20 drones from different companies have been flying simultaneously over the city of Hadera, managed from Israel’s air traffic control center in Haifa.
https://worldisraelnews.com/drone-deliveries-israel-tests-national-commercial-uav-network/
https://www.airwayz.co/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od955PrSDXM
Israeli-designed Instagram Lite. Facebook has begun roll-out of Instagram Lite, designed by its Tel Aviv team. The software was developed for people in remote communities with poor internet access. It requires only 2MB to download on Android (unlike the 30MB full version) and will be launched in 170 countries this week.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/facebook-rolls-out-instagram-lite-sired-by-tel-aviv-team/
https://www.africanews.com/2021/03/19/facebook-rolls-out-instagram-lite-to-sub-saharan-africa-and-other-emerging-markets// https://nocamels.com/2021/03/tel-aviv-instagram-lite-170-countries/
Building systems faster. The software from Israel’s Incredibuild is used by world leading brands such as Microsoft, Amazon, Barclays, Citibank, Disney, Intel, and Samsung to build IT systems much faster than using traditional methods. Incredibuild redistributes idle computer resources to accelerate all development processes.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3899614,00.html https://www.incredibuild.com/
Hi-tech truffles. Israel’s Ilsar Truffles grows its truffles in a solar-powered, eco-friendly nursery in the Golan Heights. Ilsar inoculates every seedling root system with pre-qualified truffle spores and tags each with a unique data tracking ID code. A truffle takes 7-10 years to mature. No truffle-sniffing pigs or dogs required.
Ice batteries. (TY WIN & I24 News) Israel’s Nostromo has developed IceBrick – water-based energy storage cells as an environmentally friendly alternative to Lithium-based storage for renewable energy. Excess solar energy is converted into ice, which is then used to cool offices, hospitals etc. when the sun goes down.
https://www.israel21c.org/6-million-flows-to-joint-israel-us-clean-energy-projects/ https://nostromo.energy/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx3PAPTaOtM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrTebbadifM
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
$4 million for more clean-energy projects. The Binational Industrial Research & Development (BIRD) Energy program is making available an additional $4 million to fund joint US-Israeli clean innovative energy technology initiatives. Candidate projects can be submitted until Aug 2021.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3899373,00.html
Bringing expat techies back to Israel. The Israel Innovation Authority has initiated the Back2Tech project. Its aim is to reduce Israel’s hi-tech employee shortage by attracting the 10,000 expats working in that area. Israeli companies will guarantee positions to returning citizens, and even let them work remotely, before they return.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3899590,00.html
Business opportunities from Israel. The Federation of the Israeli Chambers of Commerce (FICC) is promoting business matchmaking for Israeli companies. Here is March’s edition of its members' business offers. All are looking for new business partners, distributors, representation or suppliers.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pu6oxtb6pbywltc/Business%20Opportunities%20From%20Israel%20-March%202021.pdf?dl=0 https://www.chamber.org.il/37679/post-your-offer/
Why to invest in Israel. You’ve probably read many articles here about Israeli companies successfully raising funds. This article explains why so many companies and individuals choose to invest in the Startup Nation.
Via makes $100 million acquisition. Israeli ride-sharing firm Via Transportation is acquiring US-based Remix for $100 million. Remix is used to design city transportation systems for more than 350 local governments. Its systems impact more than 240 million people in 22 countries.
An all-Israeli security takeover. Israeli cybersecurity Kape Technologies (reported here previously) is acquiring Israel-based consumer focused privacy and security content startup Webselenese for $149.1 million. Webselenese produces content on security and privacy issues and has 105 million readers.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-kape-acquires-israeli-co-webselenese-for-149m-1001363243
https://www.webselenese.com/about/
Wiz becomes a Unicorn. Israel-based cloud security company Wiz (reported here previously) was founded only nine months ago. Three months ago, it raised $100 million in funds and now another $130 million gives it a market valuation of $1.7 billion and the financial status of a “Unicorn”.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3899676,00.html
Investment in Israeli startups: Fireblocks raised $133 million; Wiz raised $100 million; Viz.ai raised $71 million; Overwolf raised $52 million; EyeYon Medical raised $25 million; Stor.ai raised $21 million; Vulcan Cyber raised $21 million; Datagen raised $15 million; Ravin raised $15 million; Noogata raised $12 million; Teramount raised $8 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
The rise of Mizrahi music. Excellent new video explaining Mizrahi (Middle Eastern Jewish pop) music from its origins to the modern day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nKFsLYqf6Y https://unpacked.media/
Israel vaccinates South Park. A special one-off episode of the popular South Park animation comedy series featured an El Al plane landing in South Park with supplies of vaccine for all the residents. “South ParQ Vaccination Special” also gave Israel a separate compliment for its cool, efficient vaccination process.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/south-park-celebrates-the-vaccination-nation/
Kosher comedy. (TY JNS) Efi Skakovsky and Meni Wakshtock, two ultra-Orthodox comedians, are proving that being Haredi and not using profanity doesn't mean you can't be funny. The duo, known as Bardak, are incredibly popular among secular Israelis with 4.7 million views of their 25 Youtube videos.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/03/14/ultra-orthodox-duo-takes-the-comedy-world-by-storm/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1Ovu-5xFsw (no English subtitles but easy to interpret)
Fully booked. Israelis have flocked back to restaurants, bars and cafes in huge numbers as vaccinated diners celebrated the re-opening of Israel’s culinary and leisure facilities. Some restaurants reported non-stop requests for bookings with a 10-day waiting list for tables.
New sights at Jerusalem’s sites. (TY Sharon) The new Hebrew month (Rosh Codesh) of Nisan coincided with the opening of many of Jerusalem’s sites, entertainment venues, hotels and businesses. A large number had been renovated and upgraded since the beginning of the lockdown. Just in time for the festival of Passover.
http://rjstreets.com/2021/03/14/how-many-jerusalem-sights-do-you-recognize/
Israel opens nature parks. The Nature & Parks Authority has renovated many of Israel’s nature and heritage sites ahead of Election Day, a national holiday. Jerusalem has also opened four nature park activity centers - Cedar Valley, Saker Park, Ein Kerem and Nahal Refaim Park.
https://www.newsrael.com/post/-MVkk7rPiUnrCz2bpS-v
https://www.newsrael.com/post/-MVoSWD4RyYpZ_ZbqORS
Fans return to stadiums. For the first time in over a year, Soccer supporters are back in Israel’s stadiums. A maximum of 1,500 vaccinated or Covid-19 recovered fans over the age of 16 were permitted to attend matches in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Netanya and Kiryat Shmona.
https://www.newsrael.com/post/-MVlwmfeINW9tQ_LBWxe
Israel to host French Champions Trophy. (TY Hazel) Bloomfield Stadium Tel Aviv will stage the French Champions Trophy soccer match on 1st Aug. The opening match of the French soccer season, between the Ligue 1 champions and the winners of the French Cup, is traditionally held outside of France.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/french-champions-trophy-soccer-season-opener-to-be-held-in-tel-aviv/
THE JEWISH STATE
Kosovo opens its embassy in Jerusalem. Kosovo is the third country with an embassy in Jerusalem. Kosovar Ambassador Ines Demiri tweeted "A truly proud and historic moment for Kosovo-Israel relations. The greatest honor of my life is to have this opportunity to open the embassy and proudly serve my country in Israel."
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/kosovo-opens-embassy-in-jerusalem-661966
Czech diplomatic office opens in Jerusalem. Czech PM Andrej Babiš opened a new diplomatic mission in Jerusalem - the second EU member state to do so, following Hungary, whose PM also attended the opening. There is already a Czech cultural and trade center in Jerusalem. Both PMs then had a summit with Israel’s PM.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/czech-republic-opens-diplomatic-office-in-jerusalem/
Thousands of Israelis clean up beaches. (TY WIN) The Israeli government issued a call for help in cleaning Israel’s beaches from the tar dumped by an oil tanker into the Mediterranean. Over ll,000 volunteers joined IDF soldiers and paid workers in removing tar and rescuing injured wildlife from Rosh Hanikra to Ashkelon.
https://www.israel21c.org/israelis-rally-to-clean-tar-spill-and-avert-future-crises/
Bar Kochba discovery. Israeli archaeologists have discovered scroll fragments from ancient writings of Biblical prophets, coins and other relics in a cave near the Dead Sea. The Israelis rappelled down to the cave, where Jewish refugees from the Bar Kochba revolt against the Roman occupation hid almost 1900 years ago.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/bible-scroll-fragments-among-dazzling-artifacts-found-in-dead-sea-cave-of-horror/ https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298577
210314
In the 14th Mar 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Israel re-opens to millions of vaccinated and recovered Israelis.
· Israeli researchers have successfully implemented an alternative to animal testing.
· An IDF medical team is on its way to treat victims of explosion in Equatorial Guinea.
· An Israeli diaper cleaning system protects the environment.
· Israeli cultured beef will help Brazil cut greenhouse gas emissions.
· After a century, Israel’s Moshav farms are still going strong.
· Click here to see the 7th Mar newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours and United With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) her 200th translation into German here and here and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (18,000+ 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
5 million vaccinated. Israel’s five millionth recipient of the Covid-19 vaccine was a pregnant 34-year-old from the Tel Aviv suburb of Petah Tikva, Restaurants, cafes, attractions, hotels, event venues, places of worship, most school grades 7-10, and more, have opened. Only 3% of serious Covid-19 cases had received a 2nd shot.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/1615223985-israel-s-vaccination-drive-passes-5-000-000-mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKdoAsxY8KE
Learning from our mistakes. One of Israel’s Health Medical Organizations (HMOs) accidentally used a half-sized needle to apply the first Pfizer vaccine into 1,000 Israelis. But when 60% of them were tested three weeks later, they were all found to have high levels of antibodies. The US CDC was pleased to hear the outcome.
SARS-Cov-2 treatment subsidiary. Israeli biotech Pepticom (reported here previously) has raised $2.6 million to establish a company that can treat SARS-Cov-2 and its mutations. It will implement AI technology to design, discover and develop novel peptide molecules.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3897696,00.html https://pepticom.com/
Helping Covid patients to breathe. Israel's Sheba Medical Center is partnering Israel’s Inspira Technologies in trials of its new respiratory treatment for Covid-19 patients suffering from acute breathing difficulties. The Augmented Respiration Treatment (ART) directly oxygenates blood while the patient remains conscious.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894246,00.html https://inspira-technologies.com/
A natural treatment for Covid? IDC Herzliya researchers at Israel’s MIGAL laboratory, with Icelandic scientists, have identified that spirulina algae can reduce the cytokine storm that kills Covid-19 patients. The algae was supplied by Israel’s VAXA (Iceland based) who have EU funding to find natural cures for Covid-19.
https://www.newsrael.com/post/-MUZUMu2rI9dtUFz07He https://www.vaxa.life/
https://www.jpost.com/health-science/israeli-researchers-say-spirulina-algae-could-stop-covid-19-deaths-660064 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10126-021-10020-z
Breakthrough in protein synthesis. Arab-Israeli Professor Ashraf Brik (see here previously) of Israel’s Technion and his team have overcome a 60-year technical problem to synthesize plectasin, a peptide with promising antibiotic results against multi-resistant bacteria, and linaclotide, to treat irritable bowel syndrome.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2021/02/six-decades-old-protein-synthesis-problem-solved-at-technion/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21209-0
New way to diagnose neurological conditions. Scientists at Ben Gurion University have confirmed the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury and stroke from electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns. Analysis of changes in brain blood vessel pathology can provide fast diagnosis of those conditions.
https://www.israel21c.org/scientists-discover-new-way-to-diagnose-neurological-conditions/
Eliminating animal testing. Hebrew University researchers have developed a chip containing human tissue with microscopic sensors to precisely monitor the response of the kidney, liver and heart to specific treatments. It is believed to be the first treatment to be submitted to the US FDA for human trials without animal testing.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israelis-create-cancer-drug-using-human-simulating-chip-instead-of-animal-tests/ https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/13/582/eabd6299
Fast glaucoma treatment in trials. Israel’s Belkin Laser (reported here previously) is conducting a large-scale clinical study of its Eagle laser glaucoma treatment in Europe and Israel. Patients at more than 10 sites are testing the computer-guided device that uses healing lasers far less intrusively than currently approved devices.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-glaucoma-treatment-that-only-takes-seconds/
Transforming ophthalmic surgery. Israeli startup ForSight Robotics is developing a microsurgical robotic platform for eye surgery. The platform will exceed human surgical capabilities with unprecedented dexterity and maneuverability to within only a few microns.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3897656,00.html https://www.forsightrobotics.com/
Minimally invasive hysterectomies. (TY Nevet) Some 600,000 hysterectomies are performed annually in the US. The US FDA has just approved the Hominis Surgical System, developed by Israel’s Memic. The surgeon operates using the Robotically Assisted Surgical Device (RASD) via tiny incisions in the patient’s body.
Israeli women saving lives. Four women from Israel’s diverse, inclusive society enthusiastically speak about their life-saving work as volunteer paramedics with Israeli emergency service United Hatzalah.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQyaVKKgUFE
Ask me anything. (TY Nevet) Tel Aviv University Professor Neta Erez made the unusual offer on Reddit.com to answer any questions in one day, about her specialty of cancer research. She answered 61 tough questions.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Helping Israeli women get technology jobs. “AI for Women” is a project set up by Bella Abrahams, director at Intel Israel. It uses artificial intelligence tools to analyze and group career advice. A vital resource to help Israeli women launch or boost their tech career and get better paid employment. In Hebrew only.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/women-at-intel-israel-are-using-the-power-of-ai-to-boost-other-women/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1qbfsrEMN4 https://aiforwomen.supersonas.com/
The women that harvest the land. (TY JNS) This article highlights some of Israel’s female agricultural pioneers, plus those that currently grow vegetables, milk cows and make artisanal olive oil, cheese and wine.
https://www.israel21c.org/meet-the-women-breaking-barriers-and-harvesting-the-land/
Giving back to their communities. (TY UWI & TML) Former Vogue cover model Israel’s Michaela Bercu helped develop the app Tribu to optimize the world of volunteering. The App matches 800,000+ Israelis with hundreds of local projects all over Israel on days and hours that are convenient for each volunteer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAVMZP0U05c https://www.we-tribu.com/?lang=en
National library exhibit of Bedouin culture. The National Library of Israel is displaying the Clinton Bailey Archive of Arab Bedouin Culture. It includes 350 hours of interviews, digitized in English, Arabic and Hebrew, plus hundreds of images, slides and video clips documenting Bedouin tribal culture over the past half-century.
https://www.jns.org/clinton-bailey-archive-of-bedouin-culture-comes-to-national-library-of-israel/
Vaccine rollout to Palestinian Arab workers. (TY Hazel) Israel’s vaccination program was successfully trialed last week by 700 grateful Palestinian Arab workers. The program will now be rolled out to the 87,000 PA Arabs with Israeli work permits, plus another 35,000 that work for Israelis in Judea and Samaria.
Israeli-Arab social hackathon. Tel Aviv non-profit “Israel-Is” is co-sponsoring the first Abraham Accords Virtual Social Hackathon to be held March 23-25. 25 mixed teams of four, each from Israel, Bahrain, Morocco and the UAE, will develop social products focusing on peacebuilding at a societal and grassroots level.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-hackathon-hopes-of-new-ties-between-young-israelis-and-arab-peers/
Helping Africa develop a vaccination strategy. (TY IsraPundit) Israeli charity IsraAID has launched the first of several missions to help African countries build their COVID-19 vaccination program. Seven IsraAID volunteers are in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) on invitation from the Eswatini government.
Medics to treat injured in Equatorial Guinea. (TY Hazel) An Israeli medical team has landed in Equatorial Guinea, following blasts at a military camp that killed over a hundred and injured more than 600. The team of 50 IDF medics and 10 civilians includes intensive care physicians, pediatricians and other specialists.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft Israel Ignites interest. At its annual Ignite Conference, Microsoft revealed many of the developments emanating from its Israeli R&D center. They include digital tools that integrate into Microsoft Teams; comprehensive organizational data snapshots and a Data Loss protection service.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896435,00.html
New head of Israel’s IBM Research. IBM has announced that its new Director of the IBM Haifa Research Lab is Aya Soffer. She also continues in her role as IBM's VP of AI. Soffer is one of the most influential people in Israeli tech because of her positive impact on the local and global AI ecosystem.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896570,00.html
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3885814,00.html
Out of this world. Israel’s Ramon.Space develops small, low-power, high-capacity space super-computers and systems. Their remotely programmable radiation-hardened microchips can withstand extreme temperatures and have been deployed in over 50 international missions, including to the Sun, Mars and Jupiter, with zero failures.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894650,00.html https://www.ramon.space/
Reaching remote communities. Israel’s Spacecom (reported here previously) has partnered with Ignite Power, to provide remote telehealth and educational services across Africa, using its Amos-17 satellite. The platform can function as a “school” in the morning, a “clinic” in the afternoon, and as an “internet cafe” in the evening.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896750,00.html
An electric train on wheels. The Israeli city of Ashdod is the first city outside China to test a new electric land train that could revolutionize the world of public transportation. The train can carry up to 500 passengers, and travel semi-autonomously, following road markings - the “driver” just controls the speed.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/298187
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miwMp3LJWF0
Foretellix partners Volvo for autonomous testing. Volvo Autonomous Solutions is partnering Israel’s Foretellix (reported here previously) to develop the testing of self-driving solutions that operate on public roads and in confined areas. The system will be adapted to test scenarios from highways to mines and quarries.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896337,00.html
3D printing from dentistry to car parts. Israel’s Nexa3D prints dental accessories without lab work and multiple teeth molds. Nexa3D’s printers produce car parts, protective face shields, drones and more. Its clients include BMW, Subaru Lexmark, Motorola, Keystone, BASF and Siemens. TED talk from Nexa3D’s founder.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/israeli-startup-takes-3d-printing-out-of-the-workshop-and-into-the-factory/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TITuM3_yeF4 https://nexa3d.com/
https://www.ted.com/talks/avi_reichental_what_s_next_in_3d_printing?language=en
Your personal digital photo album. Israel’s Pomvom uses AI image recognition technology to enable event operators in the entertainment and attractions industry to offer guests the chance to capture images that would have previously been impossible. They can then view and order content from a personalized digital album.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896690,00.html https://pomvom.com/#home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H_rFDeLMus
An AI automated camera. Israel’s Pixellot has launched Air, an AI-automated camera co-developed with FC Barcelona. Portable and lightweight it provides performance analytics to players and coaches. 12 hours of play can be recorded and instantly uploaded without the need for a camera operator, electricity, or even Internet.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896657,00.html
Next-gen video analytics. Israeli AI chipmaker Hailo (reported here previously) has partnered Amazon Web Services, Leopard Imaging and Socionext to launch EdgeTuring - a next-generation AI processing solution for video analytics. Applications include smart retail, smart devices, industrial automation, and more.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896666,00.html
A safe shower. Israel’s Safe Shower has developed a shower head with a continuous disinfection unit that minimizes the risk of Legionnaires’ disease and other bacteria-born diseases. Safe Shower’s device was chosen as one of 50 promising inventions in the 2020 Blue Tulip Awards.
A mini diaper washing machine. Some 258 billion used diapers are sent to landfills every year. Now Israel’s Alon Cohen has invented a cleaning and storing system for reusable diapers. PIKA doubles as a diaper bin and can wash and sanitize 1-10 diapers. No pre-cleaning or soaking necessary. Also provides a nutrition analysis.
https://www.israel21c.org/a-mini-diaper-washing-machine-for-reusable-diapers/
https://www.pikadiapers.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulLPyZxOR_s
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Another rise in currency reserves. Israel’s reserves of foreign currency reached another record level at the end of February. The total of just over $185 billion was $5.59 billion more than the total at the end of January.
https://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/07-3-21.aspx
Israel’s robust tech ecosystem. The recent IVC report on the Israeli tech ecosystem from 2015 to 2020 reveals that Covid-19 hit the Startup Nation hard in the first half of 2020. But investments bounced back in the second half, so that 2020 investment in Israel exceeded 2019 by 31%. And the key reasons were very encouraging.
The skies begin re-opening. El Al’s 8th March flight from Tel Aviv to New York carried 280 passengers of which 168 were fully vaccinated. The others, mostly children under 16, took a rapid Covid-19 test developed by Israel’s Sheba Medical Center that gave the results 15-20 minutes later. Everyone passed the test.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/el-al-trials-rapid-covid-testing-for-passengers-prior-to-flight/
The Next takeover. Just three months after acquiring Denver-based Juniper Labs, Israel’s Next Insurance is buying another US company - digital insurance agency AP Intego. The acquisition will double Next’s annual revenue to some $400 million, add 160 employees to its current 400 payroll and bring in 75,000 new customers.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896533,00.html
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-next-insurance-buys-ap-intego-doubling-revenue-1001362844
Bringing cultured beef to Brazil. (TY WIN) Aleph Farms (reported here previously) is partnering Brazil’s BRF, one of the largest meat producers in the world, to jointly develop cultivated meat and bring it to Brazilian tables. Livestock production causes high emissions of greenhouse gas, which Brazil must cut by 43% by 2030.
PayPal acquires Curv. PayPal is to acquire Israeli crypto security Curv (reported here previously) for nearly $200 million. Curv will join PayPal's newly formed blockchain, crypto and digital currencies business unit.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-paypal-buys-israeli-digital-asset-security-co-curv-1001363282
Another Unicorn. Israel’s Aqua Security (reported here previously) has just raised $135 million at a market valuation of $1 billion. This makes it another Israeli company with the financial status of a “Unicorn”.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-israeli-co-aqua-security-raises-135m-at-1b-valuation-1001363589
Investment in Israeli startups: Snyk raised $300 million; Aqua Security raised $135 million; Optibus raised $107 million; Xsight Labs raised around $100 million; Massivit raised $50 million; Identiq raised $47 million; Ibex Medical raised $38 million; Demostack raised $13.3 million; Forsight Robotics raised $10 million; retrain.ai raised $9 million; Pepticom raised $2.6 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Take a zoom photo walk of Jerusalem. (TY Sharon) Contact Sharon to enjoy a guided tour on zoom of the lesser-known Jerusalem sites in the comfort of your home. Available for family groups of up to 10 people. Plus, you can see venues and hear about events not usually open to the public. Choose History, Nature or Tailored.
http://rjstreets.com/jerusalem-photo-walks/ Contact sharon@rjstreets.com
Israel Women Museum. Later this year, curator, art historian and TV producer Yael Nitzan plans to open Israel’s first museum dedicated to women in a former Haifa private school building. It will showcase at least 100 women who played - and continue to play - important roles in the history and culture of Israel.
https://www.israel21c.org/new-museum-to-showcase-the-women-who-helped-build-israel/
Top culinary destination. Prestigious American magazine Food and Travel chose Tel Aviv in its six most recommended culinary destinations around the globe. It said, “The difference between Tel Aviv and the other cities is the seriousness and depth with which the chefs treat the dishes and the richness of the local flavors.”
International Jazz award. Israeli trumpeter Itamar Borochov’s blend of Mideast-North African & classic jazz has won him a 2020 LetterOne Rising Stars Jazz Award, ahead of 700+ candidates. When festivals resume, he will receive the services of a professional team to arrange his appearance at seven top international jazz events.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-trumpeters-unique-east-west-sound-wins-jazz-prize/
Israeli joins NBA Rising Stars World Team. (TY JNS) The US National Basketball Association has selected the Washington Wizards' Israeli rookie forward Deni Avdija (reported here previously) to the 2020-21 NBA Rising Stars World Team roster. https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/03/04/respect-israeli-rookie-deni-avdija-selected-to-nba-rising-stars-world-team-squad/
THE JEWISH STATE
Honoring the builder. The late American philanthropist Dr Irving Moskowitz was responsible for hundreds of projects to return Jewish life to Israel’s capital city. He also established the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism. The Jerusalem municipality is naming a city square after him in the Ma’aleh Zeitim neighborhood of Jerusalem.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297242
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5VyMNeJlWo
We are family. Twins Gili and Nadav Dekel have just together completed the commander's course in the IDF Artillery Corps. Twins Ben and Tom Sorer also completed the course together. Ben and Tom’s parents both served in the Corps. Finally, the Corps’ Lieutenant Ben Kitzoni awarded his sister Liel her Sergeant’s rank.
https://www.newsrael.com/post/-MUJWpabDnk2WQe3rZLE
100th anniversary of the Moshav. Israel celebrated the centenary of the founding of the first moshav (Nahalal) in 1921. There are now 450 moshavim (cooperative agricultural villages and communities) in Israel. President Rivlin told of his late wife, Nechama’s mother who ran a moshav farm alone with her daughters.
https://www.jns.org/israel-celebrates-100-years-since-establishment-of-first-moshav/
Greetings from the Pope. Pope Francis sent a warm message to Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin during his flyover of Israel on the way from Rome to Iraq. In the first-ever papal visit to Iraq, the Pope met with representatives of the three Abrahamic religions in Ur of the Chaldeans, the city where Abraham originated.
https://www.jns.org/pope-francis-sends-message-to-israeli-president-people-during-flyover/
Mum, look what I found. Ancient artifacts can be discovered all over Israel. 11-year-old Zvi was hiking with his family when he stumbled upon a pottery figurine at Nahal Habesor in southern Israel. The Israel Antiquities Authority identified it as a 2,500-year-old iron-age amulet and awarded Zvi a certificate of appreciation.
https://www.israel21c.org/11-year-old-stumbles-on-ancient-fertility-amulet-while-hiking-with-family/
210307
In the 7th Mar 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· 90% of Israel’s high-risk citizens are now protected against Covid-19.
· The first woman-led billion-dollar Israeli company.
· The UAE’s first Ambassador to Israel arrived in the Jewish State.
· An Israeli kit transforms tractors into self-driving vehicles.
· Israel is one of the world’s leaders in telecommuting.
· An Israeli chess competition attracted players from many Muslim countries including Iran.
· Israeli superheroes brought joy to sick children on the Jewish festival of Purim.
· Click here to see the 28th Feb newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours and United With Israel with extra feature on Medical. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (18,000+ 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
90% of over-50s vaccinated or recovered. Israel’s Health Minister Yuli Edelstein has announced that 90% of Israelis over the age of 50 have been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19. 75% of them are eligible for a “Green Pass,” as they had their second vaccine over a week ago or have antibodies after virus recovery.
Israeli vaccine study answers global question. Researchers at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center have published the results of their study on medical staff, showing the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to be 75% effective two to four weeks after a single shot. Many countries were pleased to know that they were right to prioritize the first shot.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00448-7/fulltext
Racing to a Covid-19 cure. Excellent summary of Israel’s involvement in five highly promising treatments for coronavirus. Also, separate news of Phase 2 trials of the two Covid-19 treatments from Israel’s Redhill.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/corona-cure-five-israeli-teams-racing-toward-prize/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3895977,00.html
Vaccines for animals from microalgae. Israel’s TransAlgae has developed microalgae to deliver oral vaccine powder for animals. Current tests include against diseases affecting fish. Eventually the technology could produce oral vaccines for humans. TransAlgae has signed an agreement with giant French-based Virbac.
https://www.israel21c.org/microalgae-deliver-animal-vaccines-orally-covid-next/
Using the microbiome to fight infections. Israel’s MyBiotics has partnered Swiss multinational Ferring to use MyBiotics’ microbiome-based treatments for women’s health. The aim of the alliance is to reduce the need for antibiotic use and provide a long-term treatment solution. https://mybiotics-pharma.com/
Pandemic research center opens. (TY UWI) Tel Aviv University has now launched its new Center for Combating Pandemics (plans reported here previously). Thought to be the first of its kind, the center connects hospitals, government and academic institutions in Israel and around the world to prepare for future epidemics.
https://www.israel21c.org/tel-aviv-u-opens-unique-center-for-combating-pandemics/
Femtech monitoring in hospital. Israel’s Sheba Medical Center says it is the first hospital in the world to introduce patient-operated devices for hospitalized Covid-infected pregnant mothers to self-monitor their unborn babies. Israel’s HeraBEAT and PulseNmore devices are supported remotely by hospital medics.
https://israelactive.com/?s=femtech+sheba
Heart attack patient saved with minimal invasive surgery. Doctors at Beilinson Medical Center performed the first cardiac accessory implant surgery in Israel. A patient had suffered heart failure during heart valve replacement. Doctors avoided open heart surgery by using a subcutaneous (beneath the skin) procedure.
Millions can benefit from synthetic cornea. (TY David F) Israel’s CorNeat KPro synthetic cornea, which was successfully implanted into Jamal Furani in February (see here), is now to be trialed in Israel, Canada, France, the US and the Netherlands. 30 million people are blind in at least one eye, due to corneal injury or disease.
https://nocamels.com/2021/02/israeli-startup-corneat-vision-corneal-blindness/
Training nurses and pharmacists. Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) has launched an MA course to train nurses in internal medicine to assess and care for those with complicated illnesses. JCT has also launched 4-year Pharmacy degree in association with the Hebrew University to resolve an acute shortage of pharmacists.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297272
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Israeli exit benefits charities. The recent exit of Israel’s MyHeritage for $600 million, benefited Israeli youth charities. MyHeritage donated share options in 2013 to the nonprofit Tmura (reported here previously) which distributes the proceeds. 718 Israel startups have donated options to Tmura since 2002 – 62 new ones in 2020.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-israeli-tech-shares-some-of-its-wealth-by-donating-options/
Massive economic support program. Israel has approved a NIS 700 million project to help 200,000 families most in need due to the coronavirus crisis. Colel Chabad and Pitchon Lev will manage the program which involves distribution of debit cards for purchasing critical food supplies in a way that protects family dignity.
Israel’s first woman-led Unicorn. Israel’s Papaya Global (reported here previously) whose CEO is Eynat Guez, has just raised $100 million of funds at a market valuation of $1 billion. It makes Papaya the first female-led company with the financial status of a “Unicorn”. Eynat concluded the finance deal late in her pregnancy.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3896671,00.html
Life-saving married couples. Beautiful video of four married couples where both partners are United Hatzalah paramedics. They manage to achieve a work-life balance, despite being called on at any moment to save lives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GehsyxAAV60
Zaka founder wins Israel Prize. Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, co-founder and chairman of the Zaka volunteer emergency response group (see here), was declared a winner of the Israel Prize. He won the life achievement award for his contributions to Israeli society and for being a role model for the spirit of volunteering.
App to keep women safe. (TY WIN+I24) Israel’s SafeUP app has been downloaded by approximately 12,000 Israeli women. Any woman at risk of attack can initiate a video call to summon help from women nearby. Eight Israeli municipalities have partnered with SafeUP and a community has even been launched in Boston USA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvvnoA_kepY https://www.safeup.co/
The first UAE Ambassador to Israel. (TY WIN) In mid-Feb, Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Khaja was sworn in as the first Ambassador to Israel from the United Arab Emirates. He had to wait two weeks before he could arrive in Israel, due to Covid-19 restrictions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d1k5Ewvs4Q
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/uaes-first-ambassador-to-israel-sworn-in-658958
https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-shared-mission-israel-officially-receives-first-ever-uae-ambassador/
Israel Summit. (TY UWI) 5,000 students from 100 global universities attended the on-line Israel Summit. Tal Zaks, the Israeli Chief Medical Officer at Moderna said, “The productive exchange of ideas in medicine and technology between the US and Israel is based on “alignment of fundamental values about the sanctity of life,”.
The 10th best hospital in the world (again). For the third year in a row, Newsweek magazine ranked Israel’s Sheba Medical Center in its “Top 10 Best Hospitals in the World” Its 10th place was due to superior care, innovation and pioneering research. Newsweek surveyed 2,000 hospitals globally in 2021 – twice that in 2019.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Joint AI program with UAE. Following September’s agreement (see here), Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) and the UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the two institutions have now established the WIS-MBZUAI Joint Program for Artificial Intelligence Research.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/-/weizmann-institute-science-and-mbzuai-establish-joint-ai
New BGU Chemistry building dedicated. Ben Gurion University has held a dedication ceremony for its new five-story 6,300 square meter Lorry I. Lokey Chemistry Building. Its modular, state-of-the-art laboratories and workspaces allow all BGU research groups to be located close together for the first time in 40 years.
https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/Pages/news/lokeybuilding_dedication.aspx
Reducing paper waste. Israel’s ePaper has developed technology to reduce the environmental footprint of office work. It uses tighter security and control printing systems to reduce paper usage by up to 35% and over 40% of office power consumption. Other impacts include far less pollution, CO2 and deforestation.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-print-technology-that-tackles-wasteful-printing-habits/
Zapping malaria-spreading mosquitos. Israel’s zzappmalaria uses topographical analysis to determine the formation of bodies of water. It helps professionals scan the fields, find these bodies of water where mosquitos may breed, and upload them to the system so that the spraying team can go in and apply treatment.
https://nocamels.com/2021/02/israeli-zzappmalaria-startup-ibm-watson-ai-xprize/
https://www.zzappmalaria.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr1g2IdSD-k
Green ammonia. Israel’s GenCell (reported here previously) has partnered Japan’s TDK to manufacture environmentally friendly ammonia at low cost. The patented electrochemical process uses solar energy to make ammonia without emitting CO2. The next stage is to develop a proof of concept.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-gencell-joins-forces-with-japans-tdk-to-create-green-ammonia/
Signaling the end to empty buses. (TY Hazel) Israel’s Opertti is developing a smart public transportation app that will send vehicles of just the right size to pick up travelers on set routes, on demand. It saves fuel, reduces pollution and ensures the most efficient use of drivers. Pilots are planned in Israel and in the Czech Republic.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-startup-wants-to-bid-farewell-to-late-empty-buses/
New UK center for Israeli wheels. Israel’s integrated wheel system developer REE Automotive (reported here previously) has opened a new Center of Excellence at the UK’s MIRA Technology Park - Europe’s mobility R&D center. It will help REE’s plans to bring its REEcorner technology to production by 2022.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894298,00.html
Put your tractors into automatic. Israel’s Blue White Robotics (reported here previously) has launched a kit that can convert any tractor into a fully autonomous unit or fleet with the flick of a switch. Its sensors, obstacle detection and AI allow multiple tractors to work 24 x 7, whilst monitored by a single human operator.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894475,00.html
https://bluewhiterobotics.com/agriculture/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpFxTCr7uhk
Smart farming in the Caribbean. (TY Hazel) Israel’s Volcani International Partnerships and the Caribbean Israel Leadership Coalition have launched a series of free webinars. In them, Israeli experts explain smart farming to government officials, farmers and entrepreneurs in the Bahamas, Anguilla, Aruba and Barbados.
https://www.jpost.com/jpost-tech/israeli-ngo-to-teach-israeli-smart-farming-to-the-caribbean-660022
Converting animal waste into odorless fertilizer. Intensive livestock farming has led to immense problems disposing of dung. Israel’s Paulee CleanTec (reported here previously) has developed the BioLizer to convert animal waste into odorless organic fertilizer. A demonstration system is on display at a kibbutz dairy farm.
https://www.israel21c.org/a-no-bs-answer-to-the-worlds-massive-manure-problem/
Israeli software for top UK bus company. Stagecoach, UK’s largest bus operator, is partnering Israel’s Optibus to help plan the bus networks of the future as people emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Optibus' AI-based software platform is already used in over 450 cities to deliver smarter timetables and networks.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
More UAE alliances. The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has established ties with Invest in Israel and the Israel Innovation Authority - government entities that help accelerate investment and innovation. Also, Gulf-Israel Green Ventures and the UAE’s United Stars Group are partnering for sustainable development.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3895345,00.html
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297620
World number 2 for home working. Israel’s Labor and Welfare Ministry reports that due to the high number of workers in education and technology, 47% of Israel’s employees can perform their jobs from home. Israel is second only to Luxembourg for telecommuting and far ahead of the OECD average of 38%.
Israeli-based vaccine factories. Israel is in talks with Covid-19 vaccine developers Pfizer and Moderna regarding setting up vaccine production in Israel. Austria and Denmark have expressed interest in Israel’s plan to enhance Pfizer vaccines to handle virus mutations, as they do not want to rely on the EU’s vaccine strategy.
Takeover expands testing. Israel’s Qualitest (reported here previously) has just acquired India’s QA InfoTech India. InfoTech’s 1,000 employees will triple Qualitest’s existing offshore automation testing capacity.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894492,00.html
Fresh packaging reaches San Diego. Divine Flavor, a San Diego-based grower-owned distributor of fruits and vegetables and part of Grupo Alta, have adopted the new Xgo standing pouches from Israel’s StePac (reported here previously). Customers were really happy with the extended freshness and sustainability of the packaging.
https://www.israel21c.org/cute-standing-pouches-cut-fresh-food-waste/
Wix is worth $20 billion. Website construction tools company Wix.com has become Israel’s most valuable company. Its market value of nearly $20 million tops that of Check Point, Solar Edge, Novocure, Nice Systems and Teva. Wix earned almost $1 billion in revenue in 2020 and, due to expansion, it is still not making a profit!
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-wix-becomes-israels-most-valuable-company-1001361448
Another Unicorn. Fintech startup Earnix develops artificial intelligence software that allows banks and insurers to personalize offerings to customers. It has just raised $75 million at a company valuation of $1 billion giving it the financial status of a “Unicorn”. Earnix has won recognition from both CB Insights and P&C 360.
https://earnix.com/ https://earnix.com/press/earnix-announces-75m-growth-funding/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P31MiZzmo0A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DltmoZGxA4
Yet another Unicorn. Israel’s Axonius (reported here previously) gives organizations a comprehensive cybersecurity asset inventory, uncovers security solution coverage gaps, and automatically validates and enforces security policies. Axonius has just raised $100 million for a $1 billion valuation and “Unicorn” status.
Lumenis’ surgical business sold for $1 billion. US medical devices maker Boston Scientific has bought the surgical business of Israel-based Lumenis (reported here previously) from Barings PE Asia for $1.07 billion. The unit will remain in Israel and become Boston Scientific’s global center of excellence in laser technologies.
Medi-Tate exits for $300 million. Israel’s Medi-Tate (reported here previously) has been acquired by Japanese medical corporation Olympus for $300 million. Olympus invested in Medi-Tate in 2018 and has been distributing Medi-Tate’s solutions for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH).
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/02/28/israels-medi-tate-bought-by-olympus-for-300-million/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3895672,00.html
Investment in Israeli startups: Yotpo raised $200 million; Axonius raised $100 million; Papaya Global raised $100 million; Earnix raised $75 million; TytoCare raised $50 million; Pomvom raised $40 million; Medisafe raised $30 million; Rewire raised $20 million; Seebo raised $15 million; Blend raised $10 million; Torii raised $10 million; X-trodes raised $1 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Covid-friendly cultural events. Thanks to the new Green Pass issued to fully vaccinated citizens, Israel has launched several cultural and entertainment activities. They included Jerusalem’s “Follow the Lights”, a Nurit Galron concert in Tel Aviv, the Tower of David’s Banai exhibit and a show at the Khan Theater in Jerusalem.
https://nocamels.com/2021/02/covid-friendly-cultural-events-israel/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalems-iconic-locations-light-up-for-driving-tour/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUYtDnkUt_Y (TY WIN & ILTV)
Environmental protection! (TY Hazel) Israel’s Magen David Adom took a mobile vaccination unit to a forest in the south of Israel, where thousands were visiting to see the spring flowers. The emergency service said that dozens of visitors to the Shokeda Forest were vaccinated in the operation in the national park.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/vaccination-unit-set-up-to-inoculate-israelis-on-forest-stroll/
We are sailing. Royal Caribbean is re-starting cruises from Israel. Its newest ship, Odyssey of the Seas, will make its sailing debut from Haifa in June with vaccinated Israeli passengers. Royal Caribbean said it will be the first cruise line operator to offer “fully vaccinated sailings”. The cruise will visit Greece and Cyprus.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/03/01/cruise-vaccine-royal-caribbean-israel/
https://worldisraelnews.com/royal-caribbean-chooses-israel-to-launch-new-flagship/
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/odyssey-of-the-seas?country=ISR
Iranian and Israeli chess players compete together. (TY UWI) For the first time, Iranian chess players took part in the Chess4Solidarity competition – an Israeli initiative. They joined chess players from over 40 countries, including Indonesia, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan and Yemen. Prizes totaled 1000 Euros.
https://www.jns.org/iranian-chess-players-join-global-competitors-in-israeli-led-virtual-tournament/
THE JEWISH STATE
Hear O Israel. Yehoshua Soudakoff, Israel’s only deaf rabbi, is bringing the entire Torah to life for Israel’s 15,000 hearing impaired. He and his team are translating the Tanach (Five Books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings) into visual format using Israeli sign language.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/deaf-rabbi-translates-torah-into-sign-language/
Herzl 125. The American Zionist Movement (AZM) has launched a Herzl 125 initiative to highlight important Zionist anniversaries in 2021-22. The 14th of February was the 125th anniversary of Herzl’s 1896 publication of Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) - the Zionist leader’s vision for a modern Jewish state in the land of Israel.
https://www.jns.org/azm-launches-herzl-125-to-mark-zionist-anniversaries/
Rolling stones. (TY WIN) The Israel Antiquities Authority discovered under the Western Wall plaza the single largest collection of ancient dice in Israel, and they’re identical to modern dice. It seems the Romans also cheated - one die contained two four-spot sides but no side with three spots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TXFrU1hcGo
Cancer survivor now defends his country. Nathan always dreamed of joining the IDF, but at age 6, he was diagnosed with cancer. Years later, after recovering, he was barred from the IDF due to his medical history. But he persevered and Sgt. Nathan has just completed his training in the IDF Nahal Brigade's elite battalion.
https://www.newsrael.com/post/-MSynVNaWzNl7_Z9OzWJ
Superheroes return. Coronavirus was not going to prevent Israeli superheroes from bringing Purim cheer to hospitalized Israeli children. Real life superheroes from elite units of the Border Police and Firefighters abseiled from the roof of Haifa’s Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital to deliver sweets to the delighted young patients.
https://www.newsrael.com/post/-MUJyu8iEZoEEkDfs19x https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diki4LVjaVE
https://www.rambam.org.il/en/rambam_news/Purim_at_Rambam_2021.aspx
Purim in Jerusalem. (TY Sharon) Because of Shabbat, Purim this year in Jerusalem was spread over 3 days and residents celebrated for a whole week. The pandemic meant multiple, socially distanced readings of the Megillah of Esther, listening on cell phones with outdoor meals & music, while wearing spectacular costumes.
http://rjstreets.com/2021/03/01/jerusalem-purim-highlights/
210228
In the 28th Feb 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Fully vaccinated Israelis are more than 95% protected against Covid-19 infection.
· Another African country is moving its embassy to Jerusalem.
· An Israeli University nanosatellite has been launched into Space.
· Watch a VeryGoodNewsIsrael presentation on Zoom.
· A record 22 Israeli startups each raised millions of funds in just one week.
· Gold for an Israeli judoka and silver for an Iranian in Tel Aviv event.
· Even the Western Wall has received vaccinations.
· Click here to see the 14th Feb newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours and United With Israel with extra feature on Medical. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (18,000+ 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
Astonishing vaccination results. (TY WIN) Over 50% of all Israeli citizens have now received at least one Covid-19 vaccination, with 3 million (nearly one-third) having had both. The Pfizer vaccine is shown to be 95.8% effective in preventing new Covid-19 infections and nearly 99% effective in preventing serious illness.
Breakthrough in fighting resistant myeloma. Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have overcome the resistance of the most aggressive forms of multiple myeloma. In a trial of 41 patients at 15 Israeli hospitals they discovered that Cyclosporin A neutralizes the disease’s resistance to cancer-killing proteasome inhibitors.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/uncovering-anti-myeloma-resistance-files
Blood cancer treatment trial succeeds. (TY Nevet) Israel’s Gamida Cell (reported here previously) published the results of its Phase 3 trial of omidubicel (previously NiCord) in blood-based cancer patients. The treatment resulted in faster blood count recovery, fewer bacterial and viral infections, and fewer days in the hospital.
Innovations in Life Sciences. On 2nd Mar, the JNF is hosting a webinar featuring Israeli and US innovations in the Life Sciences. It includes the Chief Scientific & Medical Officer Prof. Dror Mevorach of Israel’s Enlivex Therapeutics - developer of COVID-19 “cure” Allocetra. Registration required; donations are welcome.
https://www.jnf.org/events-landing-pages/us-israeli-innovations-in-the-life-sciences-part-2
A healthier alternative to antibiotics. Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a biological antibiotic derived from human monoclonal antibodies, as an alternative to traditional chemical antibiotics. The antibodies were taken from a recovered tuberculosis patient and were shown to kill TB bacteria – still a major global issue.
https://english.tau.ac.il/news/antibiotics-alternative-2021
Just one drop of blood. (TY UWI) Ben Gurion University researchers have invented a miniaturized micro-electrode sensor that accurately checks clozapine levels in a tiny sample of blood obtained by a simple finger prick. Clozapine treats schizophrenia but the sensor is the basis for monitoring many other chemical levels.
Unique medical approval for a wristwatch. Israel’s CardiacSense has received the European CE Mark for its medical-grade wristwatch that continually measures heart rate and arrhythmias. It is the first time an official regulator has approved such a device. CardiacSense has distribution agreements worth some $100 million.
https://www.cardiacsense.com/news/cardiacsense-medical-grade-watch-receives-ce-mark-for-continuous-detection-of-atrial-fibrillation/ https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3892750,00.html
Calm in a pandemic. Israeli-founded Dendro Technolgies and its Calmigo handheld device (reported here previously) are helping to make life less stressful for those struggling to cope in a coronavirus world. The US Veterans Administration is giving Calmigo free to veterans and the IRS have even approved it as tax deductible.
https://www.israel21c.org/a-new-handheld-device-aims-to-calm-panic-attacks-fast/
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/hillels-tech-corner-calmigo-anxietys-kryptonite-651770
Off the hook. Surgeons at the Baruch Padeh Medical Center near Tiberias saved the eye of a fisherman who accidentally speared himself with his own fishhook. The delicate operation included cutting the hook, releasing the eye tissue and repairing the eyeball. The doctors were optimistic of restoring full visual function to the eye.
https://worldisraelnews.com/fishermans-eye-saved-after-being-speared-by-his-own-hook/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Free food with your vaccination. (TY WIN & ILTV) Tel Aviv municipality is providing pizza, hummus and cholent as incentives for vaccinating. Other offers included a voucher for a free drink at the bar for those showing proof of vaccination. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRvWXkHCk48
https://nocamels.com/2021/02/vaccination-campaign-tel-aviv-young-israel-vaccinate/
Vaccinating all survivors. The Claims Conference is partnering United Hatzalah to ensure that all of Israel’s 11,000 homebound Holocaust survivors receive their Covid-19 vaccine. The Claims Conference is investing NIS 5 million in the project to pay for the transport of all survivors to and from the vaccination centers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vT_y6v0pIk
Keeping an ear on the vulnerable. Israel’s Sensi.ai offers “fly on the wall” security monitoring for the elderly and vulnerable who are looked after by caregivers. In the event of a mishap, Sensi delivers a voices-only record of care sessions, ensuring oversight for care agencies and peace-of-mind for family members.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894056,00.html https://www.sensi.ai/
Arab medics find love at corona testing site. Several months ago, Magen David Adom volunteers Walla Tamimi and Ahmad Qarut began working shifts together at the corona testing center in Jerusalem. Last week, Qarut proposed to Tamimi at the precise spot where the two met. Qarut thanked MDA for its role in the match.
https://worldisraelnews.com/volunteer-medics-find-love-at-jerusalem-corona-testing-site/
Cyber training to protect India. Israel's Cybint (reported here previously) has partnered IIT Jodhpur WhizHack Technologies to help Indian students earn an Advanced Certification in Cyber Defense. The new 480-hour, six-month course just launched will help India combat a huge increase in cyber-attacks during 2020.
Pipeline to Egypt. Egyptian Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Tarek El Molla came to Jerusalem to sign an agreement to connect Israel’s Leviathan gas field to the Liquefied Natural Gas facilities in Egypt. He discussed joint energy projects with Israel’s Prime Minister and visited Leviathan with Israel’s Energy Minister.
https://worldisraelnews.com/new-era-of-peace-and-prosperity-egyptian-minister-visits-jerusalem-for-talks-on-joint-energy-ventures/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dSVzNltPmA
Global sustainable award in UAE. (TY JNS) Swedish-Israeli wave energy developer Eco Wave Power (see here previously) won the public voting for the Global Innovation Award in the "Life Under Water" category at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Eco Wave Power generates clean electricity from ocean and sea waves.
Equatorial Guinea to move embassy to Jerusalem. President Teodoro Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say it is moving its embassy to Israel’s capital where it will join the USA and Guatemala. Kosovo and Malawi have also announced plans to open embassies in Jerusalem.
https://worldisraelnews.com/equatorial-guinea-to-move-embassy-to-jerusalem/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Campus satellite launches into space. TAU-SAT1, Tel Aviv University's first nanosatellite, launched into space from Virginia, USA on its way to the International Space Station. When placed into orbit TAU-SAT1 will conduct several experiments, including measurement of the cosmic radiation around the Earth.
https://www.jns.org/tel-aviv-university-nanosatellite-reaches-orbit/
https://youtu.be/ztLxqAAezyw?t=3130 (actual launch)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztLxqAAezyw (lecture about the satellite, followed by launch)
Center for Artificial Intelligence. Tel Aviv University has launched its new Multidisciplinary Center for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science (DS) to train the next generation of researchers and industrialists in the sophisticated and complex world of deep science. The center was launched during TAU's annual AI Week.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3895229,00.html
Dispensing sterile gloves. Israel’s IGIN Tech (part of AIDOR International) has launched a smart machine that automatically fits disposable sterile gloves onto your hands in less than 5 seconds with no waste. Designed by Israel’s Geomatrix, it is suitable for hospitals, food preparation facilities and more. Many smart control features.
https://www.israel21c.org/look-no-hands-automated-ppe-dispensers-cut-down-on-germs/
https://www.aidorinternational.com/ https://www.igintech.com/ https://www.geomatrix-eng.com/case_study/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOqZITz0Oqo
Dispensing full PPE uniforms. Israel’s Polytex dispenses clean uniforms and collects used ones in a fully automated, hands-free system. More than 3,000 Polytex machines have been installed in 20 countries.
https://www.israel21c.org/look-no-hands-automated-ppe-dispensers-cut-down-on-germs/
https://polytex-technologies.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t2yAjoWKm8
Vaccine delivery by drone. (TY Stuart Pa) Israel’s Gadfin (reported here previously) is preparing its drones for delivery of COVID-19 vaccines by fitting them with a vaccine delivery-compliant compartment that can maintain minus 80° centigrade for up to three hours. Gadfin’s goal is an all-weather “railroad in the sky”.
Light up your workout. Israel’s Blazepod (reported here previously) is now being used by some 300,000 athletes in 120 countries since its launch in mid-2019. Ideal for home workouts, BlazePod’s “Flash Reflex Training,” uses small LED “pods” that blink in eight colors to guide your exercise routine.
https://www.israel21c.org/a-fun-flashy-way-to-light-up-your-home-workout/
Preventing Avian flu. Israel’s eggXYt uses a gene-editing platform to develop genetic resistance in chickens against avian influenza. eggXYt (reported here previously) has also developed an ultrasound egg check that spares male chicks from being hatched. MIT selected eggXYt for its Sustainable Food Systems Challenge.
https://www.israel21c.org/biotech-startup-could-end-avian-flu-and-male-chick-killing/
Simulating physical stores online. Israel’s ByondXR is helping Coca-Cola, Target, Lancôme and other major brands and retailers to re-create the physical shopping experience for customers, but on the Internet. It immerses the customer and brings stores to life virtually. https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/israeli-startup-helps-coca-cola-lancome-and-big-brands-recreate-shops-online/ https://www.byondxr.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=417sNdCxuNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzK_NJkh6Ic
Beating bad bots. (TY JBN) Israel’s PerimeterX defends web businesses with Bot Defender, Code Defender, and Page Defender. It says it proactively managed threats to $100 billion of e-commerce revenue in 2020.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3895220,00.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2okUkK0A2A https://www.perimeterx.com/
VeryGoodNewsIsrael on zoom. (TY Ilana) This newsletter editor gave his first-ever zoom presentation “Good Times, Better Times” last week, focusing on some of Israel’s groundbreaking technological innovations. Luckily, the recording doesn’t reveal his shaking legs! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqO4dEybrdo
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Huge surge in job openings. The OurCrowd jobs index at the end of 2020 shows its Israeli portfolio of companies has seen a 400% increase in vacancies from six months earlier. Software engineers are most in demand. https://blog.ourcrowd.com/ourcrowd-job-index-q4-2020/
Innovation cities. Israel’s Interior Ministry and Peres Center for Peace and Innovation has selected Eilat, Beit Shemesh, Netanya and Sakhnin to join the Hazira innovation program to benefit municipal economies. They join Bat Yam, Ashdod, Acre and the Western Negev Regional Cluster, which have already launched projects.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/four-israeli-cities-selected-to-drive-innovation-659896
European VC giant makes first Israeli investment. EQT Private Equity, the giant European Venture Capital fund, has invested in its first Israeli company - cybersecurity startup EVC. EVC’s flagship product, Hyver, uses advanced algorithms and graph modeling to assess an organization’s security, as well as third-party vendors.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3892834,00.html
Fashion retailer launches tech accelerator. Israeli retailer Fox-Wizel has launched Fox Labs, an accelerator for companies and entrepreneurs that are active in the retail-tech sector. It is seeking startups to invest in, partner with and that can test and implement technology, solutions and products in the chain’s 800 stores.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3895103,00.html
Milk and Honey is a winner. Israeli single malt whisky distiller Milk and Honey (reported here previously) has won Whisky Magazine’s Craft Producer of the Year in the category Icons of Whiskies Rest of World 2021.
https://whiskymag.com/story/icons-of-whisky-row-2021-winners-announced https://mh-distillery.com/
The first Israeli bank digital wallet. Israel’s Bank Hapoalim has launched its new digital wallet, allowing customers to pay at stores by simply touching their smartphone to the checkout device. Bank Leumi and Israel Discount Bank, plus supermarket chains Shufersal and Rami Levy are also said to be developing digital wallets.
7th Israeli acquisition for Palo Alto Networks. Silicon Valley cyber powerhouse Palo Alto Networks has bought its seventh Israeli company. It is paying $156 million for Israeli cybersecurity startup Bridgecrew (reported here previously) which only emerged from stealth (secret development) in June.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894051,00.html
More protection for Europe. Germany has signed an agreement to protect its fleet of Leopard 2 tanks with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ Trophy active protection system. The system (called me’il ruach, or “windbreaker,” in Hebrew) is designed to protect armored vehicles from anti-tank missiles and rocket fire.
Investment in Israeli startups: CYE raised $120 million; Gamida Cell raised $75 million; Personetics raised $75 million; Pliops raised $65 million; PerimeterX raised $57 million; Lusha raised $40 million; Redefine Meat raised $29 million; Atera raised $25 million; Nanit raised $25 million; EquityBee raised $20 million; Galmed raised $18 million; accessiBe raised $16 million; Oribi raised $15.5 million; Theator raised $15.5 million; SecuriThings raised $14 million; FundGuard raised $12 million; SuperSmart raised $10 million; Mirato raised $9 million; Acumen raised $7 million; anecdotes raised $5 million; Bio-Fence raised $3.8 million; GOTO Global raised $3.5 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
The museums are open again. (TY Margaret) Many of Israel’s world-famous museums have just re-launched. The Israel Museum had activities for Purim with free entrance for children. See links below for other exhibitions. https://www.imj.org.il/en/content/visitor-information
https://www.imj.org.il/en/exhibitions/maharajas-court https://www.imj.org.il/en/exhibitions/1001-characters
Israel’s eco-friendly Fashion Week. (TY Jacques) For the first time ever, Israeli Fashion Week (28 Mar – 1 Apr) will spotlight designers who focus on sustainable manufacturing and production processes. It will feature 40 of the top designers who use recycled textiles and have a sustainable vision.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/fashion-week-in-tel-aviv-2021-to-promote-sustainable-production-consumption-658915 https://israelbetweenthelines.com/2021/02/18/israeli-fashion-week-gets-sustainable/
Bringing Israel home. Israeli-born chef and restauranteur Michael Solomonov is famous for the Israeli cuisine at his award-winning Philadelphia restaurant Zahav. He has now launched “Bringing Israel Home,” a new 16-part web series on Vimeo where he chats about Israeli cuisine, plus what he misses about his home country.
https://nocamels.com/2021/02/israel-chef-usa-philadelphia-taste-web-series/ http://www.zahavrestaurant.com/
https://www.fox29.com/video/891464 https://vimeo.com/showcase/bringingisraelhome
https://vimeo.com/495251159 (Episode 1 - skip to beginning at 5mins:30)
A red carpet of flowers. (TY Jacques) Every February, a burst of red anemones totally transforms the dusty landscape of the Negev Desert. Click on the video to see the brilliant red carpet of anemones spread out as far as the eye can see. https://israelbetweenthelines.com/2021/02/18/red-flowers-and-february-showers/
https://www.israel21c.org/israel-rolls-out-the-red-carpet-of-flowers/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq0Ay9kHhwc
Snow and light in Jerusalem. (TY Sharon) A blanket of snow covered the Jerusalem streets in mid-Feb. The streets were full of sounds of excited children, many seeing and playing in the snow for the first time. Ironically at the beginning of that week it was warm enough to walk barefoot through the streets of Jerusalem.
http://rjstreets.com/2021/02/21/snow-and-light-in-jerusalem/
One singer has all 8 top songs. For the first time all eight places on the Apple Music chart of most listened to songs in Israel are held by one Israeli singer - Omer Adam. He released a song each day from his new album, called simply “8”, with each gaining enormous popularity.
https://nocamels.com/2021/02/israel-singer-omer-adam-dominates-apple-music-charts/
Russian-Israeli makes tennis history. (TY UWI) Israeli-raised tennis player Aslan Karatsev reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in his first Grand Slam tennis tournament. He eventually lost to tournament winner Novak Djokovic, but his ranking soared to world number 42 (from 253) and he also won $850,000.
Gold for Israeli judoka. In an electrifying 20-second victory, Israeli judoka Timna Nelson Levy won the gold medal at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam in the women’s under 57-kg class.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-israeli-judoka-defeats-rival-in-18-seconds/
Iranian judoka arrives to a hero’s welcome. Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei fled Iran after refusing to avoid Israeli opponents. Saeid represented Mongolia at the recent Tel Aviv Grand Slam and won a silver medal.
https://www.newsrael.com/post/-MTwOOTZzeYN9kKWsSps
https://www.israelunwired.com/iranian-judoka-star-lands-in-israel-after-fleeing-iran/
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-iranian-judoka-says-thank-you-in-hebrew-after-match/
THE JEWISH STATE
Israel’s 105-year-old Air Force Colonel. (TY WIN) 105-year-old Alex Ziloni was promoted to the rank of full Colonel in honor of his vital work to help establish Israel’s Air Force. In 1948 he secretly purchased 21 Auster planes from Britain, despite an embargo and the UK’s military support for the Arab forces.
https://www.jns.org/105-year-old-iaf-founding-member-promoted-to-colonel/
Returning to their roots. A Holocaust survivor, her daughter and her grandchildren are formally returning to Judaism. The grandmother was born at the end of WW2 and brought to Israel at the age of two. In her teens she married an Arab, as did her daughter. All 3 generations went to a Rabbinical court to officially register as Jews.
302 Ethiopian immigrants and one sick boy. Israel briefly opened Ben Gurion Airport to welcome 302 new Ethiopian immigrants. All went into 14-day quarantine, apart from one six-year-old boy who was transferred to hospital for planned emergency heart surgery.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/296757
You know it’s time to make Aliya when... Emma was about to return home to the USA after having to cut short her yearlong Israel experience due to the pandemic. At the boarding gate at Ben Gurion Airport, she broke down crying. On Dec 30 she returned to Israel with 47 other Americans on the final Aliya flight of 2020.
https://www.newsrael.com/post/-MTZxp1N0m7ZcIgd8kRz
Vaccination for the Kotel. The stones of Jerusalem’s Western Wall are receiving injections, with medical-like syringes. Each 2000-year-old stone is inspected six-monthly for signs of weathering. Those needing repair are delicately injected with a liquid, limestone-based grout to protect the wall for at least another 2000 years.
https://www.jns.org/western-wall-stones-get-injection-before-passover/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk-zbcxzgPk
Unique megillah. A mid-15th century Megillah of Esther - one of the world’s oldest known scrolls from the Book of Esther has been donated to the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem. It originated in the pre-expulsion Iberian Peninsula and was gifted by Michael Jesselson and family just in time for the festival of Purim.
210214
In the 14th Feb 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Israel’s latest Covid-19 treatment has received worldwide acclaim.
· Two Israeli innovations could see the end to invasive biopsies.
· An Israeli hi-tech training NGO gives all its profits to Israeli charities.
· Israel has built 39 homes for volcano victims in Guatemala.
· An Israeli company can now 3D-print vegan rib-eye steaks.
· Israeli startups have received “impossible” high levels of investment.
· A global competition to help design Israel’s new World Zionist Village.
· Click here to see the 7th Feb newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Jewish Business News and United With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (18,000+ 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
“This can change the fate of humanity”. Israel’s PM heralded the latest Israeli Covid-19 therapy, EXO-CD24, developed at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center. When given to 30 moderate to severe Covid-19 patients, 29 were discharged 3-5 days after having the treatment and one recovered a little later.
https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/rJoYyaYeO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_8x2VOV3hA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA56LCCeuMc
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/296479
Fall in number of serious Covid-19 patients. The number of patients suffering from serious cases of Covid-19 has dropped below 1000, as more people over the age of 60 received their second doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/serious-coronavirus-cases-have-dropped-below-1000-658451
Recovered patients volunteer at hospitals. Israel’s Ichilov and Sheba hospitals are employing volunteers who have recovered from the Covid-19 infection to help look after seriously ill coronavirus patients. They are tested for antibodies and then work in shifts on the Covid-19 wards, providing reassurance and practical support.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-01/28/c_139704742.htm
Treatment for deadly bacteria approved. (TY Atid-EDI) Following successful Phase 3 trials, the US FDA has approved Reltecimod from Israel’s Atox Bio (reported here previously) for the treatment of NSTI (Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections), commonly referred to as flesh-eating bacteria. (fast-tracked in 2012!)
A mission to end food allergies. Israel’s Ukko is working to re-design gluten proteins so that they do not trigger an immune response in people with celiac and other gluten sensitivities. In addition, Ukko is developing an edible medicine that can promote immune tolerance for people with peanut allergy.
https://nocamels.com/2021/01/israeli-biotech-ukko-40m-food-allergies/ https://www.ukko.us/
The secret to reversing brain damage. (TY INN) Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers and Seattle scientists have demonstrated the restoration of communication between damaged nerve cells. They implanted artificial connections (synapses) in the nervous systems of tiny translucent C. elegans worms.
https://www.cell.com/cell-systems/fulltext/S2405-4712(20)30504-4
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-02/03/c_139719129.htm
The human touch in healthcare. Patients often lapse their health improvement programs. Israel’s Well-Beat (reported here previously) recently completed a pilot at Sheba’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Center where it proved to triple adherence to recommended care. Well-Beat recently received its 3rd Israel Innovation Authority grant.
https://www.well-beat.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCFp-j0ZF1M
European prize for pediatric endocrinology. Professor Moshe Phillip of Israel’s Schneider Children's hospital was awarded the Andrea Prader Lifetime Achievement Prize by the European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) for his outstanding contribution towards pediatric endocrinology.
https://www.schneider.org.il/?CategoryID=1011&ArticleID=4534
Safe testing for healthy babies. Israel’s AIVF has devised a method to test embryos in vitro in a noninvasive manner to detect possible genetic abnormalities. Its scanning device and an AI algorithm avoids the current riskier PGT (Preimplantation Genetic Testing) biopsies which remove cells from the embryo.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3892195,00.html https://aivf.co/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJyRZFjMj18
An end in sight to medical biopsies. Hebrew University scientists have developed a blood test that they say could replace nearly all cancer screenings within a decade. It detects cancer cells and identifies the exact location of the tumor in the body. New Israeli startup Senseera will now perform clinical trials.
https://www.jpost.com/health-science/biopsies-can-be-replaced-with-simple-blood-tests-hebrew-u-research-finds-657971 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-020-00775-6
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Give&Tech. Great name for an Israeli NGO that helps busy techies who wish to give back to communities in need. Give&Tech provides high tech courses for those in the sector looking to enrich their knowledge, and then donates the course proceeds to non-profits who need financial support. Everyone at Give&Tech is a volunteer.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3892155,00.html https://giveandtech.org.il/
Mental health app for company employees. Israel’s Binah.ai (reported here previously) has added a mental health and wellness app to its vital-signs solutions. Binah Team helps organizations monitor the wellbeing of their employees, students, or any other member. It supports iOS, Android and Windows, plus 11 languages.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3891533,00.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFZjeslvvH8
Israeli helps UK predict outbreaks. Epidemiologist Professor Michael Edelstein from Israel’s Bar-Ilan University has helped develop a complex algorithm that gives a 17-day early warning of any English towns that are at risk of Covid-19 outbreaks. It has already been tested in Italy, Australia and South Africa.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-021-00384-w
Helping to build accessible systems. Evinced is another “socially-aware” Israeli hi-tech startup that aims to make on-line systems more accessible to the one billion+ people globally living with a disability. Evinced’s platform visually analyzes websites and applications to detect and fix potential accessibility issues.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3891331,00.html https://www.evinced.com/
Food security conference to help UAE. 20 Israeli food-security and agri-tech companies attracted an audience of 1,000 to an Israeli-UAE online investment conference. The speakers addressed issues challenging the UAE in agriculture and food security, such as precision agriculture, desert farming, resilient species and food storage.
UAE trades with Judea and Samaria businesses. Yaakov and Naama Berg employ 40 - 50 Arab workers at their Psagot Winery near Ramallah, producing over 750,000 bottles of wine per year. They are seeing the Abraham Accords initiate trade links between the Gulf and Judea & Samaria and opening a new era of peace.
https://www.jns.org/uae-embraces-trade-with-israeli-owned-businesses-in-judea-and-samaria/
New homes for Guatemala volcano victims. (TY Hazel) Israel’s embassy in Guatemala has just finished its Guatelinda project in the town of Escuintla. It has built new homes for 39 families that lost their properties in the 2018 Fuego volcano eruption. The Guatemala Government named the street “Jerusalem Capital of Israel”.
From Startup Nation to VacciNation. Jon Medved is one of Israel’s leading high-tech venture capitalists and promoter of Israel’s achievements. He explains how Israel propelled its world-leading vaccination drive through its Startup Nation ethos, efficient health systems, medical expertise and desire to be a light to the nations.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/israel-from-startup-nation-vaccination-jonathan-medved/
https://nocamels.com/2021/02/israel-startup-nation-ethos-leading-vaccine-drive/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Vehicle AC removes coronavirus. Auto Cool is Israel’s leading manufacturer of customized Air Conditioning (AC) systems for commercial vehicles and trucks since 1982. It says its ADS3000 system will remove any virus from buses, trains, taxis, vehicle fleets, and ambulances in Israel and around the world.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/02/08/israels-auto-cool-offers-covid-19-disinfection-solution-for-public-transport/ http://www.autocool.co.il/?page_id=2 http://www.autocool.co.il/?page_id=1272 (Hebrew)
Speeding up websites. Israel’s Zaraz (formally known as Sweeps) helps reduce the time taken to load a website. It does this by optimizing the loading of third-party tools, connecting these using the website’s server instead of by the user’s browser. It claims a 40% improvement to company website loading times.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/02/07/israels-zaraz-offers-to-speed-up-any-website/
120 cyber companies on one page. Glilot Capital and IVC have published a map showing over 120 of Israel’s largest private cyber companies. They are split into 14 areas: access, application, blockchain, cloud, email, endpoint, fraud, IoT, network, ops & threats intelligence, privacy, vulnerability, web & workload protection.
https://glilotcapital.com/wp-content/uploads/Glilot-Capital_CyberScape_2021.pdf
AI machine is a mathematical genius. (TY Sandra) Professor Ido Kaminer of Israel’s Technion Institute has developed the Ramanujan Machine - an Artificial Intelligent device and program to generate new mathematical formulae. He has just published the 19 hardest to prove hypotheses it has generated over the last two years.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/worlds-hottest-new-math-mind-teasers-set-by-israeli-ai-formula-finder/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03229-4.epdf
Higher steaks (animal-free). Israel’s Aleph Farms (reported here previously) has announced that it has 3D-printed the world’s first laboratory cultivated rib-eye steak, complete with all the flavor and texture of regular meat, minus the harm to animals. Previously, Aleph Farms only 3D-printed thin cuts of meat.
Safe herbicide controls resistant weeds. Israel’s AgPlenus (reported here previously) has developed APH1 - a new herbicide that effectively controlled weeds and grass known to have resistance to existing herbicides. APH1 had no harmful effect on agricultural crops such as corn and cereals.
https://www.agplenus.com/copy-of-pr-corteva
Oracle opens cloud data center in Jerusalem. US tech giant Oracle, with Israeli systems integrator Bynet Data Communications, is launching an underground data center in Jerusalem. Oracle is the first global tech giant to open a cloud region in Israel and stated it constitutes “an unprecedented investment in Jerusalem”.
https://nocamels.com/2021/02/oracle-launch-underground-cloud-data-center-jerusalem/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/oracle-to-set-up-regional-cloud-center-in-jerusalem/
A virtual global SIM card. Israel’s Simtex provides a solution for travelers needing a low-cost Internet data-only package overseas for their smartphone, tablet or computer. No physical SIM is needed, just scan a QR Code. Most countries available. https://simtex.io/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgOJKQGwU_E
An iToF camera. Israel’s Tower Semiconductor (reported here previously) and China’s OPIX have developed a Time-of-Flight (iToF) technology platform where sensors accurately measure the distance to an object. Its applications include 3D imaging, face recognition, Augmented Reality, industrial inspection and robotics.
https://towersemi.com/2020/12/15/12152020/
Drone finds its way without GPS. Israel’s Sightec (reported here previously) has achieved the first-ever autonomous flight of a drone to its destination without GPS navigation. The drone flew five routes in southern Israel using Sightec’s NavSight software, that turns its cameras into smart “self-aware” sensors.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Even more reserves. Almost every month Israel hits a new record for its reserves of foreign currency deposits. In Jan 2021 they rose by another six billion dollars to almost $180 billion. The Bank of Israel is selling Shekels to encourage exports, but the value of the shekel keeps rising due to global confidence in the Israeli economy.
https://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/7-2-21.aspx
Record Japanese investment. In 2020 Japanese firms invested some $1.1 billion in Israel – 20% higher than in 2019. (In 2015 it was just £87 million.) Japan now accounts for more than 11% of all foreign investment in Israeli high-tech (compared to under 2% in 2016). Mitsubishi and Sumitomo were the largest investors.
Plenty of funds for new startups. A recent survey by US-Israel Ground Up Ventures debunks reports that there is a drought of funds for new Israeli startups. 37 of Israel’s leading venture funds they surveyed made 145 investments at the seed stage in 2020 (rising from 112 in 2019). The average investment also rose - by 20%.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3891311,00.html https://www.groundup.vc/
An impossible year. Israeli VC firms JVP, Pitango and Qualcomm thought the coronavirus pandemic would sink many Israeli startups. But something crazy happened - the opposite occurred, and funds flooded in. They found that business can be done without face-to-face meetings and that (in Israel at least) anything is possible.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3891591,00.html
The crisis with a silver lining. Caja Robotics (reported here previously) is another Israeli company that learned how to adapt to the new normal during the coronavirus pandemic. It used video in recruitment and communications but despite its robotics systems, Caja focused on the human aspects of employee relations.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3892133,00.html
The end of the exit. This article by newsletter supporter Zev Stub describes Israel as the Scale-Up Nation. Relatively few Israeli startups exit in takeover events, but rather expand to become billion-dollar “Unicorns” (nine new ones in the last three months). Another 80 Israeli companies are publicly traded in the US.
An index fund of the big 50. Israel’s Big-Tech 50 R&D Partnership has launched on the TASE, raising NIS 85 million to build a portfolio of the 50 largest private Israeli tech companies. In two years, the portfolio will hold NIS 1 billion worth of shares, resembling an index, and will allow investment in those companies.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3891571,00.html https://www.bigtech50.com/
Miami to Tel Aviv. The skies could be open again soon. Starting in June, American Airlines will operate a 12-hour non-stop service, 3 times a week, from Miami to Tel Aviv. It follows the May start of its New York to Tel Aviv service and (later in September), its Dallas to Tel Aviv route (both reported here previously).
Know your customers. Israel’s Leadspace has developed a Customer Data Platform (CDP) that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help businesses manage their customers. Its clients include Salesforce, American Express, and Zoom. It has just raised $46 million of funds including from Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP).
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3891303,00.html https://www.leadspace.com/
Card-less credit cards for businesses. Israel’s Mesh Payments (reported here previously) has developed a solution to replace business credit card transactions with an entirely card-less platform. Mesh issues virtual cards for both online and offline payments, linking with mobile wallets e.g., Apple Pay, Google Wallet etc.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3892611,00.html
Big deals for vegetable collagen. Israel’s Collplant (reported here previously) has closed big deals with Canada’s STEMCELL Technologies to supply plant-based collagen for STEMCELL’s cell culture media kits. Also with Allergan Aesthetics (worth $100+ million) for dermal and soft tissue filler products.
Protecting Europe. In addition to its recent massive contracts with Greece and UK navy, Israel’s Elbit Systems also recently won a $338 million contract with the Swiss Army; with the Netherlands ($65 million, $24 million) and $82 million, Romania ($27 million), UK army ($137 million) and also with Spain.
Investment in Israeli startups: Big-Tech 50 raised $26 million; Leadspace raised $46 million; Ukko raised $40 million; Granulate raised $30 million; Evinced raised $17 million; Mesh Payments raised $13 million; UNIPaaS raised $10 million; NeuReality raised $8 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
US dramas made in Israel. Israel’s Keshet Studios has renewed its deal with media and entertainment company Universal Television for the third time. The Israeli production studio will be developing two new dramas for NBC, “The A Word” and “Ties That Bind”. NBC also recently picked up Keshet drama “LaBrea”.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/keshet-renews-major-deal-with-universal-tv/
Israeli tech in Super Bowl ad. Israeli-founded Fuse.ar used its Alternate Reality filter in the Super Bowl ad for Dexcom – a diabetes management company. In the ad, actor Nick Jonas (who has Type 1 diabetes) becomes an old man, thanks to the special effects from Fuse.ar. His 30 million Instagram followers need not worry though!
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3892449,00.html https://fuse.ar/
More endings and beginnings. On Sunday 28th Feb there is another opportunity to watch Center Stage Israel’s live production of Endings & Beginnings, previously performed in December. Enjoy songs from the stage and charts that celebrate the fact that with every ending there is a new beginning. Smiles are returning to our faces.
https://www.centerstageisrael.com/online-at-center-stage.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89PH3PAXcsQ (sneak preview)
THE JEWISH STATE
Design the World Zionist Village. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) is inviting ideas for its new World Zionist Village in Be’er Sheva (see here previously). Dormitories, classrooms, conference center space, cafés, houses of worship, gardens, and an iconic structure. The competition is now open, and entrants can win up to $8,600.
https://zionistvillage.jnf.org/index.php/answer-architecture-rfp/
https://www.jns.org/jnf-usa-opens-design-competition-for-beersheva-world-zionist-village/
Helping vaccinate the vulnerable in 36 cities. In January, Israeli emergency NGO United Hatzalah volunteers began taking seniors in Mevaseret Zion to vaccination centers (reported here previously). It is now transporting the elderly, disabled and self-isolating for their life-saving inoculations in 36 Israeli municipalities.
https://israelrescue.org/blog/building-bridges-in-beit-shemesh-and-beyond/
Different views of Jerusalem. Sharon took some unusual recent photos on The Real Streets of Jerusalem. They include a clear view of the Knesset menorah, street signs “Jerusalem is Giving a Shoulder” (vaccinating), Gan Sacher Park’s memorial candle, the green roof on Jerusalem’s Bird Observatory and a very strange fisherman.
http://rjstreets.com/2021/01/31/did-you-see-these-jerusalem-photos/
Happy Purim. Purim, beginning on 26th Feb, is the happiest of all Jewish festivals and should be especially so in Israel as worries about the coronavirus pandemic begin to recede. Thank you Jacob Richman, who has updated his website of Purim resources to help everyone enjoy the festive occasion.
https://jr.co.il/hotsites/purim.htm
210207
In the 7th Feb 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· In trials, an Israeli treatment cured 89% of severely ill Covid-19 patients in under a week.
· Israeli scientists have discovered that camels can help fight cancer.
· Kosovo and Israel have signed an agreement to normalize ties.
· Israelis have won an Oscar for technology that benefits the movie industry.
· January was the best-ever month for investments in Israeli startups.
· Israeli discovery of the oldest symbols on earth.
· Click here to see the 31st Jan newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours with yet another great intro, IsraPundit, Jewish Business News and United With Israel with extra feature on Health. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (18,000+ 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
Vaccines for everyone over 16. (TY WIN) Israel is the first country to offer vaccines to any citizen over the age of 16. It aims to vaccinate 90% of the over-50s within two weeks. Nearly two million Israelis (20% of the population) have now received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine with just 0.066% re-infections.
Good Phase 2 results of Covid-19 treatment. (TY Nevet) Allocetra from Israel’s Enlivex Therapeutics (reported here previously) has cured the majority of the 37 seriously and critically ill Covid-19 patients in its Phase 1b and 2 trials. 33 patients were discharged from hospital an average of under 6 days after treatment.
Preventing Covid-19 outbreaks in schools. (TY Hazel) Israel’s Thermoguard has developed special data-gathering thermometers that flag small-but-significant peaks in body temperature. It has been testing them in kindergartens to alert staff to take early action to prevent mass classroom outbreaks from unvaccinated children.
Remote tech for cardio care. (TY Stuart Pl) Israel’s Sheba Medical Center’s partnership with Israel’s Datos Health (reported here previously) is transforming the delivery of cardiac rehabilitation programs. Datos has also partnered Israel’s Vaica Medical to add patient management facilities into its remote cardiac telemedicine app.
https://cardiacrhythmnews.com/remote-technology-in-cardiac-care-is-here-to-stay/ https://www.vaica.com/
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/datos-health-partners-vaica-medical-130000525.html
A Google map of brain RNA. Scientists from Bar Ilan University, Harvard and MIT have produced a detailed map of the genes inside the main memory center of a mouse brain. The researchers say the same technology will work in humans and could help treat diseases of the brain like Alzheimer’s, and others including cancer.
https://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aax2656
How stress moves through the body. Amazing new research in which scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have studied how the body responds to stress on a cell-by-cell basis. They have mapped the “stress axis” and the production of the hormone cortisol. The research opens up avenues to new treatments for chronic stress.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/stress-every-cell-mapping-stress-axis-detail
Migraine treatment device gets US approval. Israel’s Theranica (reported here previously) has received US FDA clearance to market its Nerivio therapeutic device for the acute treatment of episodic or chronic migraine in people 12 years and older. Theranica’s migraine patch was approved by the FDA in 2019.
https://nocamels.com/2021/01/israeli-device-gets-fda-approval-for-migraine-treatment-in-adolescents/
Acne treatment gets FDA approval. Israel’s Sol-Gel (reported here previously) has had its Twyneo acne treatment US FDA-approved following successful Phase 3 testing. https://ir.sol-gel.com/news-releases/news-release-details/sol-gel-technologies-announces-fda-acceptance-filing-new-drug-0
Stronger and safer than morphine. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Therapix Biosciences (reported here previously) is working with the University of Calgary to evaluate the pain relief effect of its THX-160 analgesic. In pre-clinical studies, THX-160 was in some instances even more effective than high-dose morphine.
http://therapix.investorroom.com/2020-12-02-Therapix-Biosciences-to-Collaborate-with-The-University-of-Calgary-to-Further-Examine-its-Proprietary-Drug-Candidate-THX-160-for-Pain https://therapixbio.com/
The seasons of our hormones. Anonymous big data in the systems of Israel’s four medical companies (HMOs) is providing researchers with the information they need to solve medical problems. In the latest example, scientists from Israel’s Weizmann Institute used data from Clalit to document the seasonal pattern of hormones.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/seasons-our-hormones
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/7/e2003926118
Cancer treatment from camels and sharks. Israel’s Ben Gurion University Professor Niv Papo discovered that tiny antibodies called nanobodies, found only in camels and sharks, can penetrate hard cancerous tissue to release chemotherapy treatments. BGU has bought a camel and have now begun trials on prostate cancer.
https://worldisraelnews.com/camels-and-sharks-may-help-kill-cancer-cells-israeli-scientist-says-in-startling-discovery/ https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00418
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Israel - melting pot in the Middle East. (TY BIG & I24 News) Great video featuring Yoseph Haddad showing how Israel’s minorities live in the Jewish State.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD1uj9-QqYo
Time not wasted. Israel’s Welfare Ministry listed its achievements during the current government’s 11 months as disability benefits, early childhood legal reform, a historic social workers agreement, refuge centers for women, special needs centers for toddlers, safety nets for the welfare of older population, and much more.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/296137
Startup training across the Middle East. (TY UWI) Israel’s Starting Up Together weekly zoom program helps young entrepreneurs from Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Gaza, and the PA. Its topics include market research, business plans and raising funds. 40% of participants are women.
Yad Sarah inspires US charity. American Elliot Sloyer was chaperoning an Israel trip for 8th-grade students in 2018. When one of the students suffered an injury, he borrowed a wheelchair from Israeli charity Yad Sarah. He was so impressed with the charity that in Oct 2020 he launched Wheel It Forward in Connecticut.
https://www.jns.org/yad-sarah-inspires-start-of-medical-equipment-lending-outlet-in-connecticut/
International cyber defense exercise. (TY UWI) In a cyber defense exercise, organized by the US Army's Cyber Center of Excellence, five IDF teams competed against nearly 60 teams from 13 countries. It was Israel’s first exercise coordinated by the IDF's Cyber Defense Directorate and proved to be a vital learning experience.
Kosovo establishes diplomatic relations. Israel and Kosovo officially signed an agreement to normalize ties. Kosovo’s Foreign Minister called the occasion “a golden page in the history of the people of Kosovo”. It will be the first Muslim-majority country and European nation to establish an embassy in Jerusalem.
World Cancer Day. To mark World Cancer Day 2021 on 4th Feb, Israel’s Ben Gurion University published a several articles about students and alumni who are working to eliminate cancer in Israel and across the world. Also, latest published (2018) figures show that Israel’s cancer mortality rates continue to drop.
https://msih.bgu.ac.il/highlighting-msih-alumni-on-world-cancer-day/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Israeli astronaut reaches for the sky. When Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe launches into space in 2022, he will be aiming high. The Israel Space Agency and the Ramon Foundation announced that the name of the Israeli part of the mission would be “Rakia,” Hebrew for sky. It was chosen by 60% of Israelis in an online poll.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3890214,00.html
Click on real world objects. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s PointMe has developed technology that can transform any object in the world into a clickable one - billboards, buildings, statues, museums, trade shows, restaurants and much more. It could transform the way we interact with things around us in the physical world.
Chewing gum to help resist sugary foods. (TY UWI) Israelis Gitit Lahav and Shimrit Lev have developed Sweet Victory, a patented mint-flavored chewing gum that blocks the sugar receptors on the tongue for up to two hours. Based on the Indian Gymnema Sylvestre plant it is being sold in the Philippines and New Zealand.
https://www.israel21c.org/new-chewing-gum-helps-you-resist-sugary-foods/
https://www.sweetvictory-gum.com/
Autonomous solar panel cleaning. Israeli startup Bladeranger is developing a robotic solar panel cleaning system. It recently listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and rocketed to a valuation of $1.5 billion. It is also developing a cloud-based management system. (See also Israel’s Ecoppia, reported here previously)
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3890831,00.html https://bladeranger.com/
3D-printing bones. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Stratasys has enhanced its J750 Digital Anatomy3D printer with advanced bone capabilities that are biomechanically realistic. The system mimics porous bone structures, fibrotic tissue, and ligaments for medical professionals to print models that behave just like human bone.
Fixing program bugs super-fast. (TY Atid-EDI) One for the real techies. Israel’s Rookout has developed a solution for system developers to quickly pinpoint and diagnose the cause of problems with their software. They can do this without stopping the program or changing it in any way. It makes fault analysis so simple.
https://www.rookout.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCQPeeJUBqg
Dyed fabrics with less water. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s NILIT (reported here previously) now offers clothing manufacturers its Sensil WaterCare pre-dyed fibers and fabrics, produced using sustainable, water-saving processes and environmentally- responsible pigments. Colors will not wash out, even at high temperatures.
http://www.nilit.com/fibers/pr-00161.asp
Israeli scientists win an Oscar. Tel Aviv University Professor Meir Feder and Israeli startup Amimon have won a Scientific and Engineering award by the American Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Their wireless video technology plus Amimon's chipset have made a substantial impact on the global film industry.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/and-the-oscar-goes-to-israeli-engineers-for-film-technology/
https://www.oscars.org/sci-tech/ceremonies/2020
Technology for top winery. Israel’s Trellis (reported here previously) has been chosen by Pernod Ricard Winemakers to support its operations across Australia and New Zealand. Trellis’ AI-powered platform predicts quality, yield, timing of harvest and associated expenses for fruit growers across USA, Europe and Australasia.
https://www.israel21c.org/major-winemaker-taps-into-israeli-grape-growing-intel/
https://trellis.ag/resources/pernod-ricard/
The flowering of wind energy. Dr. Daniel Farb is the inventor of the Israeli-developed Wind Tulip, now owned by Flower Turbines in the US with a Dutch subsidiary. Its main engineering team is still in Israel. The turbines are quiet, efficient and generate 50% more electricity when placed in clusters.
https://www.israel21c.org/flower-turbines-are-blowing-wind-energy-onto-the-grid/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRIs6vmYVFk https://flowerturbines.com/technology/
Recycling plastic and feed the world. Engineering students from Tel Aviv University have built self-watering micro farms from plastic waste. Their startup PotsFarms markets plant containers with a standalone hydroponic irrigation system made from recycled plastic bottles. They are looking to grow their budding green enterprise.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-students-invent-self-watering-micro-farm-from-plastic-waste/
Growing saffron indoors. Israel’s Saffron Tech (part of Seedo Corp) is testing a system for growing high-quality, high-yield saffron anywhere. One of most expensive spices in the world, 90% of the world’s saffron is currently grown in Iran. Saffron Tech have licensed the technology from Israel’s Growin Ltd.
https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/israeli-groundbreaking-technology-by-saffron-tech-challenges-iranian-1000-year https://growin.ag/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIPIB9wKR3A
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Record month for investments. January 2021 saw an unprecedented record $1.2 billion invested in Israeli companies. It included the generating of five new Israeli Unicorns (value over $1 billion).
https://www.israel21c.org/2021-opens-with-record-investments-for-israeli-startups/
Trade with Dubai tops $270 million. The Dubai Media office reports that since Israel and the United Arab Emirates normalized ties in September, trade between the Jewish state and Dubai has reached 1 billion dirham ($272 million). Figures for the other seven states in the UAE were not yet available.
Another digital health fund. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s OTV (formally Olive Tree Ventures) has closed a new fund totaling $170 million. OTV focuses on digital health products that have the potential to work in different countries, make healthcare more affordable and fill gaps in overwhelmed healthcare systems.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/03/otv-closes-new-170-million-fund-and-expands-into-asia/
Record exports for Intel Israel. Detailed accounts have just been released for Intel Israel. They show that the Israeli operation increased exports in 2020 by 14% to $8 billion. Intel is responsible for 14% of Israel’s hi-tech exports, and its 13,950 employees generate 2% of the country's GDP.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3891036,00.html
Saving the Australian almond crop. Israel’s Edete (reported here previously) is to trial its artificial pollination technology in the Australian state of Victoria. Its machinery that can be deployed both day and night, and at extreme temperatures. While Israel is busy saving the world’s honeybees, this is Plan B!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FNQiYOwVnU
Tesla launches in Israel. Tesla officially launched its official sales in Israel for its electric vehicle on a new website. It is also building a sales agency at Ramat Aviv Mall in Tel Aviv.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/tesla-launches-electric-car-sales-in-israel-unveils-prices/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3891058,00.html
A new sports partner. Israel’s Pixellot (reported here previously) is now partnering with NBC Sports Group company SportsEngine to launch Pixellot YOU. SportsEngine’s clubs can record their games via a virtual camera operator and receive highlights for each player. It will also help coaches improve team performance.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3890987,00.html https://vimeo.com/498861670
India’s unofficial Israeli trade ambassador. Saket Agarwal of India’s Onnivation Ventures, markets the services of 15 Israeli hi-tech companies to India’s largest corporates. His “portfolio” of Israeli expertise in cloud, data science, AI, cybersecurity and marketing, attracts millions of dollars in annual business.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-man-who-meets-indias-business-needs-with-israeli-products/
Investment in Israeli startups: Otonomo raised $280 million; Future Meat raised $26.75 million; vFunction raised $12.2 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
120.000-year-old etchings. Archeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Haifa have discovered what may be the earliest-known use of symbols on earth. They were found on a bone fragment in the Ramle region in central Israel and are believed to be approximately 120,000 years old.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1040618221000021
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WJO-OuaESwyBBLk8miXwTVh1ehiz6SLm
The earliest edible olives. (TY WIN) Olives are one of the seven species, mentioned in the Bible as produce of the Land of Israel. Israeli researchers have discovered evidence of table olives from 6,600 years ago at a submerged site off the Haifa coast. They pre-date the earliest known edible olives by some 4,000 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xisR-cgOGQI https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-80772-6 .
Israel’s Olympic marathon hope. (TY UWI & I24 News) Ethiopian-Israeli Girmaw Amare runs the marathon in just over 2 hours 7 minutes and is aiming for a medal in the summer Olympics in Japan. Here he talks about his life, why he enjoys the sport, his training and his pride in representing Israel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QigC_KrJIGA
THE JEWISH STATE
Wedding for Bnei Menashe couples. Eleven Bnei Menashe couples, who recently immigrated to Israel from India, were wed in a festive and emotional group ceremony at Shavei Israel’s absorption center in Nordia, near Netanya. They were remarried after their formal conversion to Judaism and return to the Jewish people.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/296181
Emotional hotline for new Olim. (TY IH) New immigrants can find coping in the pandemic more difficult than veteran Olim (Vatikim) and sabras (born in Israel). A new call center has now been setup, providing access 5 days a week to mental health professionals who speak English, French, Spanish, Amharic and Russian.
https://www.jns.org/israels-aliyah-ministry-launches-emotional-support-hotline-for-immigrants/
Warm weather kits for the elderly. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, plus Government agencies are to distribute 10,000 winter kits to elderly residents in public housing across the country. The kits, costing a total of $1 million, include a heated blanket and scarf, plus around $100 of vouchers for essentials.
https://www.jns.org/10000-elderly-residents-in-public-housing-across-israel-receive-winter-kits/
Every Jew is responsible for one another. (TY UWI) When Covid-19 hit Israel, Tal Ohana, mayor of the southern town of Yerucham, personally saw to everyone’s needs, checked those tested, called those infected, and brought education to children’s homes. Yerucham has had only one Covid-19 case in the last month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDd8FxfaHa0 (Great message at the end)
210131
In the 31st Jan 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Almost one third of Israelis have received their first vaccination against Covid-19.
· Breakthrough Israeli alternative to antibiotics gets European funding.
· Israeli voice technology gives independence to the disabled.
· A new Israeli tomato resists a virus destroying half the world’s crops.
· 3 Israeli companies have just become worth a billion dollars.
· With JNF-KKL you can now plant a tree in Israel and attend the ceremony on zoom.
· Click here to see the 24th Jan newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours with another great intro, Jewish Business News and United With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (18,000+ 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
The Vaccination Nation. Nearly 3 million Israelis have now received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 1.7 million have now received the second. Covid infections and serious illnesses of Israelis over the age of 60 are now 60% lower than before vaccinating started. An inspiring video.
https://www.jns.org/israel-surpasses-1-million-fully-vaccinated-with-both-doses/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvIjwpAsOdA
From coffee to vaccines. Israel’s Youtiligent has developed an IoT (Internet of Things) solution for checking that a vaccine has been kept at the correct temperature. Youtiligent is piloting the system with two of Israel’s four Health Management Organizations. Before Covid, Youtiligent monitored coffee machines and ice cream!
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888741,00.html https://www.youtiligent.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb2D7p5xjF8
A Breath of Health. Israel’s Breath of Health (BOH) has developed a breath test system that identifies Covid-19. Clinical trials at Israel’s Hadassah and Sheba Medical Centers have shown preliminary success rates of 98%. BOH has signed an agreement with India's Reliance Group to distribute the system throughout India.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3889818,00.html https://bohpharma.com/
New pathway for targeting cancer. Normal cells have 23 chromosomes from each parent. But cancer cells do not, and scientists have been trying for years to exploit that fact. Now Tel Aviv University scientists have deciphered the phenomena and can guide oncologists to the therapies most appropriate for each type of cancer.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03114-6
Hope for Parkinson’s treatment. Ben Gurion University researchers have discovered that proteins called BMP5/7 are new promising potential therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease. In lab tests, the proteins prevented the accumulation of toxic alpha-synuclein clumps and loss of vital dopamine-producing brain cells.
https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awaa368/6012790
Trial success for kidney monitor. Israel’s Serreno (reported here previously) reported over 96% accuracy in the trials of its Sentinel monitoring system for Acute Kidney Injury in three Israeli Intensive Care Units. The devices will now be manufactured by Israel’s Elcam Medical, which has also invested $1.5 million in Serreno.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888772,00.html
AI to improve IV. Israel’s Embrionics is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the success rates of fertility treatments. Founded by Haredi female entrepreneur Dr.Yael Gold-Zamir, Embrionics is breaking new ground in embryo selection, genetic analysis and utilizing Big Data to help bring happiness to childless couples.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/01/24/israels-embryonics-uses-ai-for-fertility-treatments/
Tel Aviv is world’s 6th healthiest city. Tel Aviv, known for its vegan scene and vibrant culture, was ranked the 6th healthiest city in the world, according to a new report from UK’s Money.co.uk. It compared life expectancy, obesity levels, pollution levels, safety score, sunlight hours, and cost to be healthy.
https://nocamels.com/2021/01/tel-aviv-is-named-the-6th-healthiest-city-in-the-world-in-new-report/
EU funding for antibiotic alternative. Israel’s Omnix (reported here previously) has been awarded €10.8 million in EU funding under the EIC Accelerator Programme, part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research funding program. Omnix’s OMN6 peptide destroys the bacteria’s membrane, regardless of its resistance.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3889749,00.html
https://www.omnixmedical.com/omnix-medical-wins-e10-8m-in-eic-accelerator-funding/
Europe approves skin tightening device. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Sofwave (reported here previously) has received Europe’s CE Mark plus Israeli approval for its revolutionary skin tightening and wrinkle reduction device. Sofware’s SUPERB (Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam) has already received US FDA approval.
Working to prevent pre-cancerous colon polyps. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Digestix Bioscience is in the early stage of developing a medical device and treatment to prevent recurrence of certain colorectal polyps. These polyps occur in at least 25% of people over 50 and if not removed can develop into colon cancer.
https://cannabics.com/cannabics-pharmaceuticals-founds-digestix-bioscience-inc-a-subsidiary-for-treatment-of-precancerous-and-early-stage-neoplastic-local-tumors/ https://www.digestix.com/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Reducing the stigma of mental illness. The Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) has partnered the McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School. 30 Haredi 4th year JCT nursing students will be the “agents of change” to deconstruct the stigma of mental illness in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/295553
Independence for the disabled. Israel’s VoiceITT (reported here previously) has enhanced its mobile speech recognition app to allow people with speech impairments to access and interact with Amazon's Alexa. Now the disabled can control lights, aircon, TV, computers etc. without having to call for help. Great video!
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/voiceitt-makes-alexa-accessible-for-people-with-disabilities-301185816.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmVCzeXPeWU
Arab hi-tech integration. The number of Israeli-Arabs studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Tel Aviv University’s School of Electrical Engineering has nearly doubled from 237 in 2016 to 459 in 2020. They include 150 Arab women - almost three times higher than in 2016. Small numbers but encouraging trend.
Helping Israel-Arabs MoveUp. Israeli non-profit PresenTense (reported here previously) has partnered with the British Embassy in Israel and others to launch MoveUp - an accelerator for Arab-Israeli tech entrepreneurs. 10 or 12 entrepreneurs will take part in a two-month virtual program led by Israeli and UK experts.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3889546,00.html
One of the world’s oldest mosques. Israeli archeologists had a surprise when they were unearthing an 8th century CE mosque in Tiberias. They discovered the foundations of a 7th century CE mosque underneath it! They also found coins and pottery which helped to date the older mosque – the world’s oldest to be excavated.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/one-of-the-oldest-mosques-in-the-world-uncovered-in-tiberias/
Planning for after Covid. In a video conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the heads of Austria, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Greece and the Czech Republic to work together to promote scientific research into vaccines. It would provide future pandemic protection for governments against market forces.
https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-urges-world-leaders-to-pool-scientific-economic-efforts-amid-pandemic/
Israel opens embassy in UAE. Israel has opened an embassy in the United Arab Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The new Ambassador, Eitan Naeh, and his staff will "expand ties with the Emirati government, financial bodies, and the private sector, universities, the media and more.” The UAE has approved having its embassy in Tel Aviv.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/01/25/israel-opens-embassy-in-uae-expanding-new-relations/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/arriving-in-uae-israeli-envoy-sets-sights-on-budding-trade-bonanza/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Young scientist awards. Tel Aviv Uni’s Professor Yossi Yovel, Technion Professor Ido Kaminer and Weizmann Professor Rafal Klajn have won international Blavatnik Young Scientist awards and $100,000 each for their breakthrough research in neuro-ecology, quantum physics and nanomaterials respectively.
https://nocamels.com/2021/01/three-israeli-researchers-science-award-blavatnik/
Israel’s largest solar power plant. The Israeli government has issued a tender for the construction of the largest photo-voltaic solar power plant in Israel, near Dimona. It will cover 3,000 dunams (750 acres) and include battery storage. Already an unprecedented 27 consortia have submitted applications to build the plant.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-tender-published-for-israels-largest-solar-power-plant-1001350088
Emergency WiFi. (TY Hazel) Israel’s SOS WiFi beams a signal that allows cellphones to freely connect to the Internet even in some of the most remote parts of Israel. It can send warnings of danger to hikers or give them a lifeline to the outside world if they need rescue or help.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/group-aims-to-give-hikers-emergency-wifi-no-matter-how-far-off-the-beaten-path/ http://soswifi.co.il/
Technology Emmy. Israel’s Beamr Imaging has won the Technology & Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Beamr has developed a technology which compresses video broadcasts on networks.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3889736,00.html https://beamr.com/
AI construction. Israel’s Swapp provides real estate developers and construction companies with a single platform to build their entire construction planning project. It says it simplifies the fragmented planning process, allowing developers to create architectural plans within weeks instead of up to 12 months.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888995,00.html https://www.swapp.net/
Saving 50% of the tomato crop. (TY TPS) The Israeli Vegetable Seeds R&D center of multinational Syngenta has developed a new tomato variety. It is the first to be resistant to the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBFRV), which over the past six years has ruined more than 50% of the tomato crop in Israel and globally.
https://www.zeraim.com/en/brandstory
Flying pizza. (TY UWI & ILTV) Pizza Hut Israel is said to begin June trials for pizza delivery drones. Multiple orders will be delivered to approved landing zones – e.g. parking lots - where a driver will collect them and take them to individual customers. Israel-Australia Dragontail systems (see here previously) will manage the trials.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/pizza-hut-israel-to-trial-drone-deliveries-this-summer/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gmOPFQcbCQ
Protecting against digital fraud. (TY Atid-EDI) Peruvian bank Banco de Comercio has selected Israel’s Paygilant to bolster its newly established digital channel. Paygilant secures digital and mobile banking services by intelligently analyzing transaction data for its risk of being fraudulent.
https://paygilant.com/news/israeli-anti-fraud-technology-powers-digital-banking-at-the-foothills-of-the-inca-empire/ https://paygilant.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDFXqhdfR28
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Economic resilience is down to technology. Israel has been able to survive the Covid pandemic better than most OECD countries due to its hi-tech exports. Despite high unemployment, Israel’s hi-tech companies have attracted record levels of investment by both the government and global markets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ7Nbuyr5cs
UAE-Israel tech fund. Israel’s Liquidity Capital and Dubai’s Vault Investments have formed a joint Venture Debt Investment fund with more than $100 million based in Dubai. It will finance tech companies across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe to create new growth in the region.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888596,00.html
New gas pipeline to Egypt. (TY Hazel) Israel Natural Gas Lines Ltd. is to lay a new subsea pipeline to export Israeli natural gas to Egypt. The $228 million route will send as much as 7 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Egypt. Gas is expected to begin flowing down the pipeline by April 2023 at the latest.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/chevron-to-invest-in-pipelines-to-send-israeli-gas-to-egypt-1.1550571
New York to Tel Aviv flights. American Airlines has announced a 6th May start date for its direct flights between New York JFK and TLV Ben Gurion airports. Tickets went on sale on 25th Jan. American has also announced direct flights from Dallas, Texas and Tel Aviv starting in September.
https://www.jns.org/american-airlines-to-launch-new-direct-flights-between-new-york-and-israel/
Record year for Intel. Intel Israel’s 13,000 employees have just received huge bonuses as recognition of their contribution to Intel Corporation’s best-ever year. Despite (or because of) the pandemic, the global demand for technical products increased Intel’s revenue by 8% in 2020 to $78 billion.
A $5 billion travel company. Israeli-founded TripActions (reported here previously) has just raised $155 million, giving it a market value of $5 billion - despite the coronavirus pandemic! During the past year, TripActions has launched 40 new products, including a Covid-19 focused dashboard.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888992,00.html
Vegan meat for Israel. Israeli meat distributor Best Meister is to distribute the plant-based meat alternatives of Israel’s Redefine Meat (reported here previously) to Israeli restaurants and high-end butchers in the first half of 2021. Trials of Redefine Meat products disguised as real meat, were extremely popular with Israeli customers.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3889012,00.html
A bridge so far. Israel’s Dynamic Infrastructure (reported here previously) has won its first contract on the Australasia continent. It will deploy its AI-driven technology to maintain dozens of bridges and infrastructure assets in Horsham Rural City Council in the Australian state of Victoria.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3889391,00.html
3 baby Unicorns. In just one week, three Israeli startups raised funds, to push their market value over $1 billion and gain the financial status of a “Unicorn”. They are Melio, OwnBackup and Drivenets, reported previously here, here and here. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3890213,00.html
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3889565,00.html
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3889911,00.html
Investment in Israeli startups: DriveNets raised $208 million; OwnBackup raised $167.5 million; TripActions raised $155 million; Melio raised $110 million; DarioHealth raised $70 million; Run.AI raised $30 million; Swapp raised $7 million; CardinalOps raised $6.5 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Tu BiShvat in the Land of Israel. Here is a link to the New Year for Trees edition of the Mizrachi magazine. Published in Jerusalem. https://mizrachi.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/HaMizrachi-Tu-BiShvat-5781.pdf
Tu Bishvat in Jerusalem. (TY Sharon) Some beautiful scenes of fruit and flora in Jerusalem.
http://rjstreets.com/2021/01/24/tu-bishvat-is-coming/
Plant a vine for Tu BiShvat. An alternative to planting trees is to plant a vine. With 10 vines you get a free bottle of wine from the winery of your choosing. https://www.wineonthevine.org/
King David’s colors. Israeli researchers working in the Timna Valley near Eilat have found three textile scraps colored with the biblically described “argaman” royal purple dye. They have been dated to circa 1,000 BCE - the era of King David. They were found in the area known as “King Solomon’s Mines”.
Set Me Free. Eden Alene anticipates becoming first Israeli of Ethiopian descent to represent Israel at the Eurovision song contest in May 2021. Hopefully, this time the contest will go ahead as Eden was originally chosen for the cancelled 2020 event.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/set-me-free-israel-picks-eurovision-song-entry-for-2021/
Chess unites new friends. Just six weeks since Israel and Bhutan agreed to formal diplomatic relations, the two countries are holding their first chess tournament. 170 participants are taking part, including 29 from Bhutan. Israel and Morocco have already held their first chess tournament, following new diplomatic relations in Dec.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/all-good-moves-in-bhutan-israel-chess-tournament/
THE JEWISH STATE
The fruits of Land. To celebrate the Jewish New Year for Trees, this article summarizes the annual harvest of the Jewish State. It includes 55,000 metric tons of grapes, 60,000 tons of pomegranates, 2400 tons of figs, 32,000 tons of dates, 4.5 million bottles of wine and 16,000 tons of olive oil. Read also about Israel’s trees.
Plant a tree by Zoom. No matter how far away you may be, KKL-JNF can plant a tree for you in the Tzora Forest near Beit Shemesh. You can fully participate in the ceremony online, together with members of your family anywhere. Visit the plantatree site, choose a date/time and get a link to the tree-planting ceremony.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/tu-bishvat-for-the-first-time-ever-plant-a-tree-via-zoom-656158
https://plantatree.kkl.org.il/
Israel’s oldest Indian Jewish community. Hundreds of India’s Bnei Menashe community have just arrived in Israel. But Israel’s 8,000 Cochin Jews can trace their Indian roots all the way back to the times of the biblical King Solomon. The Cochin Jewish Heritage Center is situated in Nevatim, a moshav in the Negev Desert.
https://www.jns.org/meet-the-cochin-jews-israels-oldest-indian-community/
Reaching out to the Jewish world. Israeli Diaspora Minister Omer Yankelevich has been holding virtual Kabbalat Shabbat services with Jewish communities around the world. They include Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Warsaw, Lausanne, Baku and Helsinki. Zoom has made it possible to globally share live music and learning.
Unit for women EMTs. More than 1,000 of United Hatzalah’s volunteer paramedics are women. Around 100 of them serve in UH’s special unit for religiously orthodox women. They attend emergencies where the patient would be uncomfortable being attended to by a male EMT. And delivering babies is all part of the job.
Returning Jewish artifacts to Israel. Before Covid, Israeli Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum traveled the world collecting Jewish relics found in junk shops and synagogue genizot (repositories for discarded holy items). Hundreds of objects telling the history of the diaspora are now displayed at Ohr Torah Stone in Eftat, Israel.
https://www.jns.org/collector-of-jewish-souls-a-rabbis-treasures-culled-from-around-the-world/
Jordan river unites faiths. (TY Sharon) Last week’s article on the Jordan River landmine clearance should have mentioned that the baptism site is also where the Children of Israel crossed into the Promised Land and where the prophet Elijah is said to have ascended to Heaven. Photos are from last year’s Jewish tour.
https://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=37&ARTICLE_ID=117123
Israeli Covid patients rescued from Nigeria. When 3 Israelis fell ill with Covid-19 in Lagos, Nigeria, the local Chabad went into action. They completed all the complex paperwork and organized the first ever El Al plane to land in Nigeria to take the Israel’s home before Ben Gurion Airport was closed to all flights.
https://anash.org/nigerian-shluchim-arrange-israeli-rescue-mission/
The end of the pandemic? On Thursday, Jerusalem residents woke up to the sight of a huge rainbow stretched across the whole of Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives. The director of Midreshet Kidmat Yerushalayim said, “... on this festive day of Tu B'Shvat may it symbolize the end of the deadly coronavirus…”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/295788
210124
In the 24th Jan 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Nearly 10% of Israelis are now fully vaccinated and the infection rate is falling.
· An Israeli 10-second breath test for Covid is more accurate than standard tests.
· An Israeli company can fully charge an electric car in five minutes.
· 8 new joint US-Israeli projects to develop innovative technology.
· The first Israeli novel to be translated into Moroccan Arabic.
· A clay inscription has been authenticated as from the 7th century BCE Kingdom of Israel.
· Click here to see the 17th Jan newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours with another great intro and United With Israel with extra feature on Economy & Business. We wish Don Harrison of San Diego Jewish World a speedy recovery. Thanks also (for 10th Jan) to Jewish Business News and (new) Thesopranosblog and Zoopnews. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here and (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (nearly 18,000 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
Vaccination progress. 27% of Israelis (2.4 million) have had their first Covid vaccination and rollout to the over-40s has begun. Numbers of seriously ill over-60s have fallen by a third and the reproduction rate is below one. Finally, Sheba hospital’s Professor Amnon Afek highlights how Israel’s experience can help the world.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israels-trailblazing-vaccine-campaign-puts-a-dent-in-infections/
https://www.jns.org/israels-covid-19-r-number-drops-below-one-indicating-infections-may-be-slowing/
https://www.jns.org/opinion/israel-will-lead-the-world-back-to-normalcy/
AI monitors progress of Covid patients. (TY Hazel) Israel’s Zebra Medical (reported here previously) has previously adapted its AI imaging analysis platform to detect Covid-19 infection in the lungs. Now it can chart Covid-19 as it progresses in the lungs, to help decide if the patient needs ICU, ventilator, or can be discharged.
Two Covid webinars. (TY Myer & Geoff F) Two Israeli experts explain about the latest coronavirus vaccines and the pandemic. First, Professor Jonatan HaLevy, President of Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. Second, Professor Manfeld Green, now Head of the National Public Health program at the University of Haifa.
https://vimeo.com/497554299 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6WVYTks9mA
Ventilators for California. Israel’s Inovytec (reported here previously) is to provide 1,500 of its advanced portable Ventway Sparrow turbine mobile ventilators to Californian hospitals. The ventilators are lightweight, durable, affordable, low maintenance and enable invasive and non-invasive ventilation for adults and children.
3D-printing to repair spinal cords. Israel’s Matricelf (reported here previously) has extended its 3D-printing platform for tissues and organs to producing spinal cord implants. The patient’s own cells are re-engineered into stem cells and eventually into a spinal tissue implant that isn’t rejected. Human trials are planned to begin 2023.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebox2Id4lnI https://matricelf.com/solutions/spinal-cord/
Monitoring coma patients. Israel’s BrainWatch Tech is developing a device that will continuously check a coma patient’s pupils for their reactions to light stimulus. Over a million patients suffer severe brain injury each year. Reaction to light signifies brain stem activity. No response suggests urgent medication or surgery.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/startup-hopes-to-track-coma-patients-condition-with-goggles-that-monitor-pupils/ https://ehealthventures.com/ehealthportfolio/21/
Helping kids grow. Israel’s Nutritional Growth Solutions (reported here previously) is expanding globally. Independent Medical Co-op (IMCO) will distribute NGS’ Healthy Height product to the US market. NGS is also selling to the Chinese market via Alibaba’s online Tmall; and NGS has just acquired the KidzShake brand.
https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/NGS/02322984.pdf
https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/NGS/02323593.pdf
https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/NGS/02328855.pdf https://kidzshake.com/
Benefits of a Green MED diet. An 18-month study by researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion University found that a Green Mediterranean (MED) diet reduced hepatic fat by 39%. This compared to 20% for the traditional MED diet and 12% for a regular healthy diet. The diet can prevent fatty liver disease, diabetes and heart disease.
https://gut.bmj.com/content/gutjnl/early/2021/01/04/gutjnl-2020-323106.full.pdf
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Windows protection for the disabled. It may sound like computer software, but this is an Israeli solution for large panes of shatter-proof glass in health clinics and hospitals. Normally, shielded windows are small and unsuitable for ground floor rooms that are accessible to the disabled. Now they can have security and sunlight.
Promoting more women in tech. Ruth Polachek is the Chairwoman, Founder and CEO of “she codes”, a community of 30,000 Israeli female software developers. The goal of “she codes” is to have 50% female representation in the tech industry within a decade. Ruth is also CEO of LessTests – for global Covid testing.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/295303
Israeli children to meet space “stars”. At the opening of Israel’s Space Week on 24th Jan Israeli elementary and middle school students will see and hear from Kfir Damari, co-founder of Israel’s SpaceIL, Israeli Eytan Stibbe, going into space in 2021 and Jessica Meyer who recently returned from the International Space Station.
https://www.space.gov.il/israeli-space-week
25 years helping Ethiopian Israelis. Marion Wiesel, widow of Nobel Prize winner Elie, will celebrate her 90th birthday online. Marion and Elie established the Beit Tzipora centers in the mid-1990s to support the education of Ethiopian-Israeli children and their families. Beit Tzipora now supports more than 700 children annually.
https://www.jns.org/virtual-90th-birthday-event-honors-marion-wiesels-support-of-ethiopian-jewry/
Landmines cleared at baptism site. After two years of work, the Franciscan St John the Baptist chapel beside the River Jordan in Israel is landmine free. Christians are again able to pray at the site, abandoned 54 years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7loQbXhTPts
Global training in agriculture. The Arava International Center of Agricultural Training (AICAT) trains 1,200 students from South East Asia and Africa every year. They include from Vietnam, Nepal, Cambodia, Fiji, Vanuatu, Myanmar, East-Timor, Cape Verde, Laos, Thailand and even Muslim Indonesia and Gambia.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/295331
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EXrN7Sjj5M
Moroccan PR alliance. This historic announcement from Casablanca and Jerusalem is of the first strategic partnership in PR between Morocco and Israel. Morocco’s Brand & Image Agency and Israel’s Kam Global Strategies will use their expertise to the benefit of business individuals and institutions in both countries.
https://www.mapnews.ma/en/actualites/economy/morocco-israel-brand-image-and-kam-global-strategies-announce-first-strategic https://kamglobalstrategies.com/
Direct flights to Morocco. Israel and Morocco have just signed an aviation agreement that will see direct flights launch between the two countries in two to three months.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/1611240162-israel-morocco-sign-direct-flight-agreement
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
More awards at CES 2021. Israel’s Vayyar and Tactile Mobility also won honors at the virtual Consumer Electronics Show CES 2021. Some 43 Israel companies presented. New to this newsletter are Talamoos (Netflix recommendations), Gamitee (Group travel bookings), and EyeNet (road collision protection).
https://www.israel21c.org/13-israeli-startups-that-made-waves-at-2021s-virtual-ces-in-las-vegas/
https://www.talamoos.com/ https://vimeo.com/298751809
https://gamitee.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHZeBoT-kTs
https://eyenet-mobile.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoAohl2_As8
Covid spit test for students. Students seen spitting at Israel’s Technion Institute are not protesting. Technion scientists have developed NaorCov19 - a saliva self-test that can verify Covid-19 infections in just one minute. It can help prevent outbreaks in student dorms and allow the University to reopen when the lockdown ends.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/technion-rolls-out-home-made-coronavirus-spit-tests-on-campus/
Breath test is 98% accurate. Israel’s Scentech Medical (reported here previously) has completed trials, on 784 individuals at Israel’s Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, of its 10-second Covid-19 breath test. The results displayed seconds later were 98% accurate – much better and faster than standard PCR-based swab tests.
Covid protection for nursing homes. Israel’s Pangea (reported here previously) is to deploy its smart nursing home solution in areas impacted by Covid-19. The multi-sensor solution integrates thermal imaging, video analytics, AI, and biometric access controls to protect the health, security, and safety of its residents.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888573,00.html https://pangea-it.com/
Contest to feed the world. Israel-based Adama Agricultural Solutions (reported here previously) and non-profit GrowingIL have launched a competition for Israeli agtech startups devise solutions to increase farmers’ crop yields in environmentally friendly ways. The prize is a field test, funded by Adama.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3887661,00.html
Helping new developers to Swimm. It always takes weeks for new members of an IT team to understand previously written code. Not anymore, as Israel’s Swimm tightly links tutorial-style documentation to a project’s codebase, thus continuously documenting the code. Much easier for new developers.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3887669,00.html https://swimm.io/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJz1ftQ0i0A
A robot that can hear. Israeli zoologists and scientists at Tel Aviv University have developed an “Ear-on-a-Chip” that will allow robots to hear. The breakthrough in robot sensing may eventually include vision, smell etc. Applications could include searching for explosives or survivors buried in collapsed buildings.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israelis-use-insect-ears-to-create-robot-that-hears/
Lowering the cost of autonomous cars. The technology of Israel’s Brodmann17 (reported here previously) allows AI systems to use inexpensive, low power computer chips. It is now aiming the software at ADAS Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) manufacturers. It could bring autonomous cars to the mass market.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/tel-aviv-startup-offers-clear-route-for-car-computer-vision/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpwwwrKsk7s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWq-N5vvJls
Taking control when things go wrong. Israel’s Phantom Auto has developed a call center for self-driving vehicles, where a remote operator can take control and drive if a problem arises. Uber-owned Postmates uses the Phantom Auto system in California for its meal delivery robots.
https://www.israel21c.org/whos-steering-that-forklift-the-phantom-knows/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OFV8rTr6dc
5 minutes to charge an electric car. Israel’s StoreDot (reported here previously) has developed the world’s first electric car battery that can be fully charged in 5 minutes. 1,000 of the batteries have been manufactured in China by German firm Eve Systems, for showcasing the technology to carmakers and other companies.
Elon Musk promotes Israeli startup. A video featuring Israeli robotics startup BionicHIVE was recommended by none other than Elon Musk to his 42.5 million followers. He wrote "The robot future is coming" and the video “SqUID warehouse logistics robot by Bionic Hive” has since received 1.9 million views.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888511,00.html http://www.bionichive.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l63CxPa-DYk
A good feeling about stress. Israel’s FeelIT (reported here previously) has now launched its innovative stress-analysis nano ink product RetroFeel. The sensing technology prevents machinery damage and has attracted the attention of Germany’s Henkel Adhesive Technologies. It has just invested $5 million in the Israeli company.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Still an A+. Fitch Ratings has affirmed Israel’s A+ rating with a stable outlook, citing its “strong external finances,” diversified economy and “solid institutional debt.”
The rise of the Shekel. The strength of Israel’s economy is reflected in the high value of its currency. The Bank of Israel has announced that it will purchase $30 billion of foreign currency in 2021 to curb the rise of the Shekel and help keep Israeli exports competitive.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/bank-of-israel-to-buy-30-billion-in-forex-in-2021-to-curb-shekel-rise/
Israel’s wealth fund. The Tamar Partnership, extracting natural gas from Israel’s Tamar field, has begun making contributions to Israel’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. The fund ensures that some profits of Israel’s natural gas bonanza are spent on strategic projects for the nation’s benefit and will provide around $300 million a year.
8 new joint US-Israeli projects. The Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation is funding 8 joint US-Israeli projects a total of $7.45 million. They include lighter airline seats, smart pollination, medical micro-optics, CAD inspection, remote skin scanning and epilepsy laser treatment.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-us-rd-fund-to-invest-7-45-million-in-8-new-projects/
Israeli CEOs are itching to take off. Three Israeli executives, about to get their second Covid vaccinations, express their excitement about a near future return to international travel and vital face-to-face meetings.
Radar defense for Slovakia. Following the Czech Republic and Hungary, Slovakia is the latest NATO member to purchase the MMR Radar system manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) subsidiary, ELTA systems. The 17 units will cost $182 million. The second link gives some broader context of the deal.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3887731,00.html
https://www.meforum.org/61940/israels-massive-radar-deal-with-slovakia
Wizz Air to launch Tel Aviv Abu Dhabi route. Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air is launching Tel Aviv - Abu Dhabi flights from 12 Feb. Daily flights are planned from 1 Mar. In Dec, 67,000 passengers flew from Israel to Dubai on four airlines - flydubai, Arkia, Israir and El Al. Wizz will be the first to fly to Abu Dhabi.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-wizz-air-to-launch-tel-aviv-abu-dhabi-flights-1001357166
Vertical farms for the UAE. Israel’s Vertical Field (reported here previously) is certainly going in the right direction – up! Following its deal with a Ukraine supermarket chain two weeks ago, it is now partnering Emirates Smart Solutions and Technologies (ESST) to deploy its vertical farm system in the UAE.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888820,00.html
Helping millions learn to play instruments. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Israel’s JoyTunes (reported here previously) has been downloaded some 10 million times. Its app Simply Piano is listed as one of Apple’s ‘Editor’s Choice’ in its App Store and voted Best App in Google Play.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888256,00.html https://www.joytunes.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSzzCV1xjPU
Bringg partners Uber for retail delivery. Israel’s Bringg (reported here previously) has partnered with US ride-sharing service Uber to improve the retail delivery experience for customers worldwide. Bringg’s customers will now have access to drivers through Uber Direct, which enables same-day and next-day delivery.
https://nocamels.com/2021/01/bringg-uber-direct-retail-delivery-improve/
4th carmaker invests in UVeye. Hyundai is the latest carmaker to invest in Israel’s UVeye, joining Toyota, Honda, and Volvo. Hyundai wants UVeye’s sensors and camera-based inspection technology for the automatic external inspection of vehicles, on its production lines as well as for used car sales activities.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888655,00.html
A tiny Unicorn. Israel’s Nano Dimension (reported here previously) launched on the Nasdaq in 2016 but has only recently become a popular stock. Its share price has risen, even as it raised some $332 million of funds. The company now has a market valuation of $1.4 billion, giving it the financial status of a “Unicorn”.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888513,00.html
A healthy Unicorn. Israeli-founded K Health (reported here previously) has become popular during the Covid pandemic when people could not reach their doctors. K Health managed to solve 90% of problems remotely. K Health has just raised $132 million, valuing the company at $1.4 billion and becomes another Unicorn.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888606,00.html
Sportstech innovation lab. Swiss-based Infront, provider of business services to sport organizations FIFA, UEFA, FIBA etc., has opened an innovation laboratory in Israel. Infront Lab is partnering Israeli companies WSC Sports, Minute.ly, and Videocites and says it will invest at least $1 million in Israel.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888415,00.html
Investment in Israeli startups: Playtika raised $1.9 billion; Nano Dimension raised $332 million; K Health raised $132 million; Quali raised $54 million; Carbyne raised $25 million; StackPulse raised $20 million; Swimm raised $5.7 million; Humanz raised $3 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Israeli novel for sale in Morocco. For the first time ever, an Israeli novel has been translated into Moroccan Arabic, for sale in Morocco. “A Girl in a Blue Shirt,” by Tel Aviv University Professor Gabriel Bensimhon, was chosen for translation by Prof. Mohamed Elmedlaoui of the Mohammed V University of Rabat.
Helping the World go green. Just in time for the Jewish New Year for Trees, please pre-register for this Technion UK webinar on 28th Jan from two researchers from Israel’s Technion Institute. They talk about Israel’s work to help to preserve and save our planet.
https://technionuk.org/event/how-israel-is-helping-the-world-to-go-green-webinar/
British bakers in Tel Aviv. (TY Israel21c) British bakers Georgia Green and Lee’at Gentely, who now live in Tel Aviv, make a fabulous rainbow cake to cheer your day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4riREXMskr8
Israeli restaurant in Paris wins Michelin star. Israeli chef Assaf Granit’s Shabour restaurant in Paris has won a coveted Michelin star and the accolade “a simple restaurant; one of our most delightful places.” Granit’s co-owned MachneYuda Group has 12 top restaurants in Jerusalem (6), Tel Aviv, London (3) and Paris (2).
https://www.israel21c.org/a-michelin-star-for-israeli-owned-paris-eatery-shabour/
THE JEWISH STATE
$11 million donation to transform youth village. The Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation has donated $11 million to renovate and upgrade Israel’s Kfar Silver Youth Village. It is the largest ever donation to an ORT school. The village supports some 740 students - one-third living as on-site boarders.
3D testimony from survivors. Israeli non-profit NeVer Again VR is crowdfunding its project to record the testimony of survivors of the Shoah (Holocaust). They are using volumetric video by Israel’s Tetavi (reported here previously) to produce lifelike holograms and keep the message of the survivors “alive” forever.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888474,00.html https://www.tetavi.com/news/
https://giveback.co.il/project/62147?lang=en https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRVOA6tbOzI
Unit 669 tribute Gala. Non-profit “American Friends of Unit 669” supports the Search and Rescue Unit of the Israeli Air Force. Its virtual gala event on 31st Jan is hosted by Israeli actress Rona-Lee Shim'on (Fauda) and features Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard and amazing IDF veteran Ziv Shilon, rescued by Unit 669 in 2012.
https://www.afu669.org/gala https://www.afu669.org/unit-669
Returning after 2,700 years. Good articles about the continuing immigration of thousands of the Bnei Menashe community who were exiled from the Kingdom of Israel some 27 centuries ago.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-return-of-a-lost-tribe-of-israel-27-centuries-later/
https://israelbetweenthelines.com/2021/01/21/another-lost-tribe-bnei-menashe-returns-to-israel/
Oldest seal. Originally thought to be a replica, a bulla (impression of a seal inscription) was bought for 10 old shekels in the 1980s. In ancient Hebrew, it says it belongs to Shema the servant/minister of Jeroboam who ruled the Kingdom of Israel from 788 BCE to 748 BCE. Technology shows it to be the oldest seal ever discovered.
210117
In the 17th Jan 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Israeli surgeons used a new Israeli device to unblock the heart valve of a 96-year-old woman.
· An Israeli Arab’s sight was restored by the first transplant of an Israeli artificial cornea.
· Despite Covid, Israel is still repairing the hearts of children from Gaza.
· Intel announced two more Israeli-developed microprocessors.
· An Israeli car safety device prevents its gas tank from catching fire.
· An Israeli company is to modernize the training of the Royal Navy.
· An Israeli is Belgium’s soccer Player of the Year.
· Click here to see the 10th Jan newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, San Diego Jewish World and United With Israel with extra feature on Culture. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here. Also (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (nearly 18,000 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
Vaccine rollout. 2 million+ Israelis have had their first Pfizer vaccination. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first of over 110,000 Israelis to receive the second dose. He also announced that Israel could be the first nation to be fully vaccinated. Inoculation of teachers and the over-50s has begun; the over-40s will start shortly.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-vaccine-shipments-arrive-netanyahu-says-over-50s-eligible-from-next-week/ https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294568
https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/BJ1mN11CAP
Allergies? No problem. (TY Hazel) Some 100 Israelis with severe allergies are being vaccinated at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center as part of a pilot program. Previously, those with severe allergies were turned away from health clinics because of the risk of serious reactions, including anaphylactic shock.
An effective anti-Covid nasal spray. The Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray, developed by Israeli-founded, Canada-based SaNOtize (reported here previously) has proved 99.9% effective in lab tests by Utah State University’s Antiviral Research Institute. Phase 2 trials continue in Canada and are just beginning in UK hospitals.
https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/could-this-israeli-s-anti-viral-nasal-spray-save-the-world-1.510530
A natural Covid-19 treatment? (TY UWI) Israel’s Novel Concepts Medical claims to have developed a combination of natural compounds that significantly decreases the amount of coronavirus spike protein, which binds the virus to the lungs. If its US patent application is approved, it will progress to clinical trials.
https://www.cityam.com/israeli-medtech-firm-claims-it-may-have-found-covid-19-cure/
https://cyprus-mail.com/2021/01/01/cure-covid-19-israeli-medtech-firm-claims-its-possible/
Groundbreaking heart surgery. Instead of open-heart surgery, doctors at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center performed the world’s first catheterizations to unblock heart valves, including of a 96-year-old woman. They used the “ShortCut” - a tiny knife inside a catheter, developed together with Israeli startup Pi-Cardia.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/in-first-of-its-kind-operation-israeli-doctors-use-micro-knife-instead-of-open-heart-surgery/ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210107005066/en/Pi-Cardia-Successfully-Treats-First-Patients-with-ShortCut%E2%84%A2-Device http://www.pi-cardia.net/
Improved diagnosis of heart problems. Researchers at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a way to detect heart problems based on routine electrocardiography (ECG). The new system demonstrated 96 percent average accuracy in diagnosing the various conditions, compared to 80% for currently available algorithms.
https://www.israel21c.org/automated-analysis-of-routine-ecg-detects-cardiac-problems/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73060-w
The correct personal treatment for cancer. Israel’s OncoHost (reported here previously) has achieved about 90% accuracy in predicting how melanoma and lung cancer patients respond to various therapies. And now Israeli Nobel Prize winner Professor Aaron Ciechanover has joined OncoHost’s scientific advisory board.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/oncohost-welcomes-nobel-prize-winner-to-scientific-advisory-board-301205142.html https://jitc.bmj.com/content/8/Suppl_3/A11.2
https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/nobel-prizewinner-ciechanover-hails-much-more-precise-cancer-treatment/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3IJFoPW60E
$1 billion for cancer therapies. Israel’s Biond Biologics (reported here previously) has signed an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Sanofi for its innovative cancer therapies. Biond will receive $125 million up-front with more than $1 billion in potential payments. Biond’s plans BND-22 human trials to start mid-2021.
Searching for pancreatic cancer cures. (TY EEJH) This article describes the work of 3 Israeli scientists who received grants from the Israel Cancer Research Fund to research pancreatic cancer therapies. They include cell profiling to find early-stage markers; how glucose affects resistance; and cancer spreading along nerve fibers.
Artificial cornea restores sight. (TY Hazel & EEJH) Surgeons at Rambam Medical Center conducted the first implant of a synthetic cornea from Israel’s CorNeat (reported here previously). 78-year-old Israeli Arab Jamal from Haifa was able to see clearly immediately after the transplant, for the first time in 10 years.
https://www.corneat.com/corneat-vision-primetime-news
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Social finance to support the elderly. Social Finance Israel (reported here previously) has launched its 5th issue of crowdfunded Social Impact Bonds. These will raise funds to reduce loneliness by installing the Uniper Care TV system (reported here previously) in the homes of 200 elderly residents of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3887040,00.html https://invest.fundit.co.il/project/1249
Celebrating female entrepreneurs. Israeli NGO Yazamiyot (reported here previously) now has 5,500+ Israeli female entrepreneur members in its community. At its first 2021 event, Yasamiyot gave out awards to the founders of Israeli companies Leo, MAO FoodTech and Peech.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3886918,00.html
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/2020-recap-israels-women-in-tech/
Women driving STEM. An impressive webinar last week featured three top female scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Professor Nathalie Q. Balaban (biological physics), Assistant Professor Dr. Naomi Habib (brain Sciences) and Assistant Professor Dr. Maayan Salton (molecular biology).
https://www.afhu.org/event/women-driving-stem/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abU1OOu7B3c
Bringing religious Druze women into hi-tech. Israel’s Lotus Hub recruits young women from the Druze Arab village of Daliyat el-Karmel, who majored in STEM subjects in high school. The religious Druze women are trained in computer programming and then work for companies from the shared office space in the village.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3886824,00.html https://www.lotustechhub.com/
Saving lives in Jaffa. Please watch this inspiring video featuring Ebrahim – a Muslim volunteer for Israeli emergency organization United Hatzalah. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsfV9AMB9ts
Saving the lives of Gaza’s children. New video by Nicky Blackburn, Israel21c Israel Director and Editor in Chief (and newsletter subscriber). It features Adam and Rinad from Gaza who (like hundreds of others) get free lifesaving surgery from Save a Child’s Heart doctors at Israel’s Wolfson Medical Center. Amazing scenes.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-israeli-organization-saving-the-lives-of-gazan-children/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx-jUUYFkf4
Saving Caribbean beaches. (TY Jacques) Ydgal Ach, CEO of Israel’s Maof Holdings, has a plan to turn the Sargassum algae polluting beaches in the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean islands, into methane biogas. The plan also includes an eco-park that would provide educational programs and ecological solutions.
https://israelbetweenthelines.com/2021/01/07/israeli-innovation-saves-caribbean-beaches/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Israel shines at virtual CES 2021. The International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2021 – the first to be held virtually, featured more than two dozen Israeli-founded companies – 19 in the virtual Israeli pavilion. Two, OrCam (reported here previously) and Voiceitt, had already won CES 2021 “Best of Innovation” Awards.
https://nocamels.com/2021/01/israeli-tech-shines-at-first-virtual-ces-2021-summit/
https://nocamels.com/2021/01/voiceitt-ces-innovation-award-speech-recognition/
Intel’s new Israeli-developed processors. Intel announced two “made in Israel” microprocessors at CES 2021 - Rocket Lake and Alder Lake. Intel also announced its partnership with Israel’s Cybereason, who will develop the first PC hardware security solution to protect businesses against ransomware attacks.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3887272,00.html
Radar for the road ahead. Israel’s Arbe Robotics (reported here previously) is planning to launch its high-resolution vehicle radar in 2022. The technology outperforms standard radar, which misinterprets stationary objects, and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) which suffers in snow, fog or bright light.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/israeli-radar-revolution-aims-to-fuel-safer-cars/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzTApfLW-mA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc4MfzbbtuI
Facial authentication. (TY Hazel) Intel Israel’s face recognition tool RealSense (reported here previously) has now been enhanced to provide secure and accurate facial authentication. It can even recognize a face with new facial hair or glasses.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3886071,00.html https://www.intelrealsense.com/
Non-polluting buses. There are currently some 80 municipal electric buses operating in Israel. New funding of NIS 47 million will increase this number to 200. The Ministry of Environmental Protection has now issued its roadmap for all Israeli bus companies to transition to zero-emission buses by 2025.
https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/city_buses_without_air_pollution_roadmap
3D sport on TV. Israeli hi-tech startup IMD Technologies (IMDT) has partnered with UK-based virtual reality (VR) startup Condense Reality to develop a new system for streaming hologram-style 3D video. It allows viewers to watch live sports events in full surround 3D either with a VR headset or even on their tabletop.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3886793,00.html https://imd-tec.com/company/
Growing where no crops could grow before. Israeli-founded, Texas-based Qualitas Health has developed iwi, a microalgae source of protein and omega-3 that grows in saltwater. Although now US-owned, Qualitas’ largest investor is Israel’s Minrav and Israeli-founded PeakBridge VC helped raise $10 million of new funds.
https://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Article/2021/01/11/Algae-cultivator-Qualitas-Health-DBA-iwi-closes-first-round-of-new-investment https://www.qualitas-health.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Berzin
Saving people from fire. Israeli-founded A2Z Technologies Corp has developed two fire-safety products. The first is a vehicle system that includes turning the fuel in the gas tank into a gel in the event of a collision. The second is a fire-fighting robot that extinguishes fires from inside the fire. The 2nd video has English captions.
https://vimeo.com/385098839 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49b8Gfq32o4
Smart shopping trolleys. (TY Nevet) Israel’s Cust2Mate, now part of Israeli-founded A2Z Technologies Corp, has developed a smart shopping trolley. Input your shopping list into the mobile app, and the smart cart will guide you through the store. Currently in Israeli trials and soon reported to go on sale in the UAE.
https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/SJVKbjFRP https://www.cust2mate.com/
Another alternative to milk. Researchers from Tel Aviv University are developing vegan milk that comes “from yeast, not beast”. Like Israel’s Remilk (reported here previously), the product has the same proteins, taste, aroma and texture as dairy milk, but no hormones, antibiotics, lactose or environmentally damaging cows.
https://www.israel21c.org/now-you-can-drink-milk-from-yeast-not-beast/ https://imagindairy.com/
Everything to ride on one app. Israel’s Ministry of Transportation has requested all ride-sharing companies to share their data for integrating on a single app to be developed by Netivei Ayalon (reported here previously). Information includes vehicle availability, their location and the location of available parking spaces.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3887037,00.html
A compressed air battery. Israel’s Augwind has won an Israeli government tender to build Israel’s first battery using compressed air technology, to store renewable energy and generate electricity when required. Augwind and France’s EDF will build and operate a power plant and storage system in Israel’s Negev desert.
Air conditioner kills coronavirus. (TY Hazel & UWI) Israeli air conditioning company Tadiran has developed an air purifier that kills 99.999% of germs, bacteria and viruses including SARS-COV-2 that causes Covid-19. The “Air Care 02” system converts air moisture to hydrogen peroxide, which eradicates the pathogens.
Radar defense for US tanks. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has just delivered its WindGuard (ELM-2133) radar systems to the American military. The radar system, which protects tanks from threats such as anti-tank missiles, has already been in use on Israel’s own Merkava tank for some time.
Measuring the removal of CO2. Israel’s Albo combines Satellite imaging, Artificial Intelligence and computer models to help farming and forestry organizations implement the best environment friendly practices. Forests and agriculture are two of the top ways to remove (sequester) carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
https://nocamels.com/2021/01/israeli-startup-albo-carbon-emission-ai/ https://www.albosys.com/
How to get a job in hi-tech. So many non-technical Israelis and non-Israelis ask about how to begin a career in the well-paid, high demand hi-tech industry. This article gives some helpful tips.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3886932,00.html
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Record sales of Israel Bonds. Despite the global economic crisis, Israel Bonds sold an unprecedented $1.8 billion in investments during 2020, mainly in the US. Proceeds of the sale of bonds are used to promote Israel’s technological growth. The funds will help Israel offset the economic challenges that are expected to come.
https://www.israelbonds.com/Home.aspx
Investing in mature tech. Israel’s Glilot Capital, which until now specialized in early-stage tech ventures, is launching a new $170 million VC fund focusing on investments in more mature companies. Glilot+ (Glilot Plus), will seek to place $5 – 20 million in each of around 15 enterprise software and cybersecurity companies.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3887294,00.html
Modernizing British navy’s training. The UK subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems has won a contract worth some $166 million from the UK Ministry of Defence, for the Royal Navy Future Naval Training Program. The 12-year program will modernize the Navy’s shore-based training, plus establish its “Future Submarine School”.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294680
You can check-in anytime you want. Israeli startup As You Stay lets travelers save money at 400,000+ hotels and properties by eliminating fixed check-in and check-out times. It also states that the current cost of this flexibility is far lower than pre-pandemic. And, unlike the song “Hotel California”, you can always leave!
https://asyoustay.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc-IrPWVL-c
Self-driving cars for everyone. Israel’s Amnon Shashua, Mobileye President and CEO, announced at the virtual CES 2021 event that its technology would make fully Autonomous Vehicles a reality in 2022 and widely available by 2025. Its Radar / LIDAR and camera-based AVs would be safer than vehicles driven by humans.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3887058,00.html
https://nocamels.com/2021/01/mobileye-test-autonomous-vehicles-4-cities-2021/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5pJMMO6i4w
Mental therapy is a growth business. Israeli-founded, New York-based Talkspace (reported here previously) has attracted huge numbers of customers during the pandemic. It is growing so fast that it could soon go public.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3887330,00.html https://www.talkspace.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk5A-znFWkY
Check your metabolism at the gym. When the Anytime Fitness gyms reopen in the UK, its 170,000 members will be able to enhance their fat burning program using Israel’s Lumen device (reported here previously).
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/01/06/israels-lumen-offers-a-hand-held-device-to-measure-your-metabolism/ https://www.lumen.me/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMeEWWLrC5Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8IBgyAMgn4
Rapyd becomes a double Unicorn. Israel’s Rapyd (reported here previous) has just raised a huge $400 million to give it a market valuation of $2.5 billion. Rapyd's real-time funds transfer platform is now used in more than 170 countries. Rapyd will use the funds to increase its workforce and purchase additional companies.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3887513,00.html
Investment in Israeli startups: Rapyd raised $400 million; Vdoo raised $25 million; Gett raised $15 million; Shareitt raised $2 million; Telicomm raised $1.3 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Israelis in Dakar rally. Two Israeli teams are competing in the Dakar motor rally, currently being held in Saudi Arabia this year because of the pandemic. The Israeli competitors entered the country with Israeli passports and official approval. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294944
Belgium’s soccer player of the year. Israel’s Lior Refaelov has won Belgium’s Golden Shoe - the trophy for the best player in the Belgian soccer league over the past year. The attacking midfielder plays for Antwerp and gave his club their first Golden Shoe win since 1966. In 2011, Lior won Israel’s Best Player award.
https://www.france24.news/en/2021/01/lior-refaelov-voted-best-player-of-the-year-2020.html
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/528816
Learning a new lifecycle. (TY Hazel) Four time Tour de France winner, Chris Froome, began his new career as a member of the Israel Start-Up Nation cycling team. He took the opportunity, in the weeks leading up to the 2021 season, to get acquainted with the Israeli lifestyle. Great video!
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/chris-froome-samples-hummus-tries-out-his-hebrew-in-preparation-for-2021-655098 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCsBoCnrV3Q
THE JEWISH STATE
UAE receives first goods from Samaria. (TY JNS) Israel has delivered to the UAE its first shipment of products from Samaria – the Biblical region recaptured by Israel during the 1967 Six-day War. They included olive oil from the Tura Winery in Rechelim, and honey from Paradise Honey in Hermesh.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/01/11/in-first-samaria-goods-shipped-to-uae/
Yamina leader does the “right” thing. Naftali Bennett, leader of Israel’s Yamina (to the right) party, stopped to help a man who had fallen (breaking his leg) while crossing the street. He helped carry him back onto the sidewalk and gave him water and first aid. He then waited until a Magen David Adom ambulance arrived.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294863
Vaccination – a light to the nations. Last week’s cover story on BBC World news featured Shira, a United Hatzalah volunteer EMT, vaccinating an elderly Israeli. The headline was titled, “Israel leads virus vaccine race with 12% given jab”. This article highlights five UH volunteer medics who typify what lifesaving is all about.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-55514243
The “blessing” of a scarce water supply. Israel is described in the Torah as a land where the people look to Heaven for its rain. In modern times, the scarcity of this valuable resource inspired the Jewish State to develop the infrastructure and technology to be a “water superpower” and export this knowledge to the rest of the world.
https://www.jpost.com/jpost-tech/is-israels-scarcity-of-water-a-blessing-in-disguise-654578
210110
In the 10th Jan 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Groundbreaking Israeli hi-tech innovations for brain, lung and knee surgery.
· Israeli air purifiers protect UK bus passengers from the coronavirus.
· An Israeli company recycles disposable personal protection equipment.
· Israeli companies are helping reduce pollution and car accidents in Japan.
· Beer making has returned to the Golan Heights after a 6,000-year absence.
· Some remarkable coincidences helped an Israeli paramedic save a man’s life.
· Click here to see the 3rd Jan newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, San Diego Jewish World and United With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here. Also (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
· Click here to keyword SEARCH almost any topic in the IsraelActive archives (nearly 18,000 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
More vaccines arrive. The first 120,000 doses of the 6 million coronavirus vaccines ordered from Moderna have arrived in Israel. These are to be primarily used to vaccinate homebound citizens. Over 1.5 million Israelis have now received their first vaccination and millions more Pfizer vaccines are arriving this coming week.
https://worldisraelnews.com/moderna-vaccine-warmly-welcomed-to-israels-shores/
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294287
Race for the vaccine. Technion UK hosted a webinar featuring Professor Yotam Bar-Or of Israel’s Technion, who explained everything you need to know about the vaccines to protect against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. He also gave many excellent answers at the end, to great questions raised by attendees.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn83-1RFjvs
Why Israel is a Covid-19 vaccination leader. The reasons for Israel’s high vaccination rate include universal healthcare, loyalty to health funds, focus on prevention, experience with emergencies and flu vaccines, secure access to patient medical records, hi-tech systems, publicity about vaccine availability and a willing public.
Green passports for vaccinated citizens. Israel’s Health Ministry is to issue “green passport” for Israelis who have been inoculated against the coronavirus. The app or printout will enable access to cultural and sporting events, museums, conferences, and possibly restaurants, cafes, malls, hotels, gyms and swimming pools.
Safe removal of blood clots. Israel’s Ceretrieve has designed and developed CathTrap, a unique catheter for neuro-thrombectomy - the fast and safe removal of blood clots from the brain that are the common cause of strokes. The CathTrap device has an expandable soft tip that enlarges its diameter to encompass the whole clot.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3886030,00.html https://www.ceretrieve.com/
Minimally invasive lung biopsies. Analysis of suspicious lesions in the lungs used to involve surgery. But the new bronchoscopic navigation system at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, now enables Israeli doctors to take biopsies even from the more distant peripheral regions of the lungs - all without having to make an incision.
https://www.rambam.org.il/en/rambam_news/lung_navigation.aspx
Robot-guided knee surgery. (TY UWI) Surgeons at Israel’s Galilee Medical Center successfully replaced the knee joints of two Israeli women. They used robots to adapt the implants to the precise anatomical structure of the patients. In addition, the surgeons were able to simulate the surgery in advance and in real time.
Radiology scans can save European lives. Israel’s IMedis (reported here previously) has received European CE approval for its AI-based quality control system for radiology departments. The IMedis system can identify anomalies that may be missed by the radiologist in an initial reading, that may otherwise lead to cancer.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3885413,00.html
Spray-on skin rolls out to Europe. The breakthrough SpinCare wound protection system from Israel’s Nanomedic (reported here previously) is now being used in hospitals in the UK, Germany and Switzerland. The news was reported in the normally anti-Israel UK Guardian.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-spray-on-skin-tech-has-burns-in-europe-india-covered-report/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/04/spider-man-style-medical-gun-spins-out-skin-substitute-for-burns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJlSm9sjM64 https://nanomedic.com/
Prize for human tissue printer. Israel’s Matricelf has won Calcalist’s StartUp+ competition for its platform that enables 3D printing of tissues and organs. Matricelf developed the technology that Tel Aviv University scientists used to 3D print the first heart produced from human tissue (as reported here previously).
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3884750,00.html
Fifteen uses for Hyperbaric Oxygen. There are three HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy) centers in Israel. Citizens can get treatment for 15 conditions including decompression sickness, wound healing, and strokes. But it can potentially also treat PTSD, cerebral palsy, complex pain, fibromyalgia, cognitive decline and even aging.
https://www.israel21c.org/from-aging-to-chronic-wounds-can-hyperbaric-oxygen-cure-everything/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Vaccinating the disabled. Israeli charity Shalva has launched a mass vaccination campaign for the disabled. In one day, 1,200 men and women with disabilities from across Israel, along with caregivers, therapists and medical staff, were inoculated at the Shalva National Center in Jerusalem.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294242
Vaccine for Arabs & Jews in remote areas. Leumit, one of Israel’s four healthcare organizations, has dispatched mobile units to boost the inoculation program for citizens in remote communities. They vaccinated several hundred at Ofakim in the south and at the Arab town of Baqa al-Gharbiyye in the northern Sharon.
Druze chief of Israeli education programs. Muhana Fares from Israel’s Druze community has been Head of the Bureau for National Programs at Israel’s Ministry of Education since 2014. His task is to double the number of students studying the top level of math and now he also manages Science and Technology Administration.
https://socialimpactil.com/muhana-fares/
Israeli-Arab startups graduate. Israel’s Hybrid Accelerator (reported here previously) was set-up by IDF veterans to help budding Israeli-Arab entrepreneurs develop their startups and their products. Its latest graduates include Petwork (ecosystem for pets), GemSight (jewelry & watches try on) and Flare (videogame streaming).
https://www.petworkeco.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX2TEXCs8Z4 https://www.gemsight.io/
Record number of Israel-Arabs join IDF. 1,000+ Israeli Arabs volunteered to serve in the IDF as conscripts or reservists in 2020, twice that in 2019. Most joined after the coronavirus crisis began in March. They include Muslims from Jerusalem and PA controlled areas, Galilee Bedouin and Christian Arabs from northern Israel.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rJVoNmyCP
First female head of Intelligence. In another first for Israeli women, deputy commander of the IDF's 9900th Unit, Lt. Col. R., has been appointed head of the Military Intelligence unit monitoring Iran, becoming the first woman to hold the position.
Protecting UK buses from Covid-19. Israel’s Aura Smart Air (reported here previously) is being widely used to protect UK buses, including the transport of key workers to their places of employment. The system kills the virus and replaces the air on the bus five times an hour. Sensors also monitor air quality and can alert the driver.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-tech-defends-buses-in-uk-against-covid-19/
https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/business/social-enterprise-fareham-office-adjutor-champions-air-filtration-system-aura-air-covid-19-fight-3003298 https://www.aurasmartair.co.uk/transport.html#/
https://www.busandcoachbuyer.com/alfa-travel-deploys-aura-air-after-successful-trial/
Israel delivers 2nd Iron Dome system to US. Israel has delivered a second Iron Dome defense system to the United States. The first was delivered in September (see here previously). Both were delivered on time. Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the system would help defend American soldiers against ballistic and air threats.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/01/03/israel-delivers-2nd-iron-dome-battery-to-us/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-ships-2nd-of-two-iron-dome-batteries-to-us-hopes-to-sell-more/
Computers for Indian children. (TY Hazel) The consulate-general of Israel to South India, in Bengaluru, donated tablet computers to 100 underprivileged children in rural Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The tablets included educational software to help children study at home during the pandemic.
UAE broadcasts Israeli TV news channel. The UAE's leading telecom group Etisalat has included the Israel-based network i24NEWS in the basic packages of its eLife and Switch TV services at no extra cost. This means that i24NEWS is the first channel broadcast from Israel to be officially available in the United Arab Emirates.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294276
Good stuff happened in 2020. Besides everything reported in this newsletter, this article lists some highlights from last year. The relevant Israeli ones are: - new Middle East peace agreements, fast vaccine development, telemedicine (remote treatment), computers for underprivileged children and progress with solar energy plans.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3884972,00.html
Sudan signs Abraham Accords. The office of Sudan’s prime minister has confirmed that Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari signed the “Abraham Accords” with visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
https://worldisraelnews.com/historical-leap-sudan-officially-joins-abraham-accords-with-us-signing/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Garbage to electricity. Jerusalem municipality has authorized the building of a new facility for the sorting and processing of garbage. Located in the Mishor Adumim area between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, it will convert waste residues into energy, for generating electricity.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294020
The next Israeli mission to the Moon. Israel’s SpaceIL has published a video describing its plan to land two spacecraft on the surface of the Moon in 2024. The mothership will orbit the Moon for more than two years while students, scientists and engineers globally will be able to communicate with it and perform experiments.
https://www.spaceil.com/home-page https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Apgk9bYKV0 (the new mission)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JMoZJYLBO0&t (background to the original mission)
AI to help athletes with nutrition. Israel’s Newt has developed an Artificial Intelligent platform which tracks a user’s daily habits to keep their diet in check. Newt initially focused on helping amateur athletes achieve their personalized nutrition goals, but anyone can apply its clinical and behavioral elements to their day-to-day life.
https://www.newtfit.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdmIKLf2zyU
Educating children about AI. Israel’s Edgify has authored a book to teach children (and many adults) about Artificial Intelligence. “Edgify - A New School of Thinking in AI Training" follows Goldie the fish as she and her friends try to cross the ocean to a coral paradise by shared learning. See also video about Edgify in Retail.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3885397,00.html https://www.edgify.ai/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SABOXrZd5I
Developing the car of the future. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance Innovation Lab in Tel Aviv aims is to advance state-of-the-art mobility. Its 30 projects with Israeli startups focus on vision sensors, cybersecurity, data, and AI. Israel is one only three Alliance innovation hubs. The others are in the USA and China.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3885253,00.html
Face recognition for e-scooters. E-scooter provider Bird is to implement face recognition technology from Israel’s AU10TIX. It will help deny access to underage riders and prevent fraud on its platform. An 8-second ID scan upon initial registration confirms the identity of the user. Subsequent rental requests are then checked.
https://www.au10tix.com/news/bird-levels-up-micromobility-id-verification-with-au10tix-to-prevent-underage-riding/ https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3885911,00.html
Recycling used facemasks. Most of the 52 billion disposable facemasks produced in 2020 will eventually be thrown away. Israel’s UBQ Materials (reported here previously) now includes Personal Protection Equipment in its recycling process without adversely affecting the reusable thermoplastic material produced.
Where to recharge my electric car? Israel’s Cellopark Technologies will develop and operate a government-run app for electric vehicle drivers to locate the closest charging stations to their location. Station operators in Israel include EVI-Sonol, EV-EDGE, Gingergy and Afcon, but their apps only locate their own charge stations.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3886061,00.html www.cellopark.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjUT_Qg_h5w
Five Hebrew U alumni in top 10 of their field. Stanford University’s world rankings (see last week) included five previous Hebrew University of Jerusalem Professors in the world top 10 of AI, nanotechnology, sociology / anthropology and chemistry. Steve Weiner (now at Weizmann) is No. 1 in the field of historical sciences.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/01/05/5-hebrew-u-alumni-listed-top-10-in-their-fields/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Government fund for early-stage startups. The Israel Innovation Authority has set up a new NIS 80 million fund to encourage investments in early-stage companies. Grants will be given to startups that team up with veteran investors. The aim is to help seed-stage startups developing tech solutions in high-risk fields.
New record for foreign currency reserves. The Bank of Israel has used the strengthening of the Shekel to purchase more foreign currency. The reserves leaped by over $6 billion in the last month of 2020 to a new record of more than $173 billion.
https://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/7-1-21.aspx
Surge in available tech jobs. The Secret Tel Aviv Job Board, a popular platform used by Anglos and Israelis in Tel Aviv, primarily in the tech sector, has seen a bounce-back to pre-pandemic demand levels, despite Israel entering its fourth lockdown. The board now has over 2,300 jobs available - more than ever before.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3886370,00.html
Upgrading Greek air force. Israel’s Elbit has won a $1.68 billion contract to build a training center for the Greek air force, in the largest defense deal ever between the two countries. It includes a flight training school, planes, simulators and Israeli trainers. The historic contract’s 20-year duration signifies long-term cooperation.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3885837,00.html
Investing in lifesaving. The Israeli incubator InNegev is dedicated to fostering Israeli innovation in the Negev. It has just made its first major investment in Israel’s SightBit (reported here previously). Sightbit uses AI and computer vision technology to detect and prevent swimmers from drowning off Israeli beaches.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-israeli-incubator-invests-in-startup-saving-lives-on-beaches/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssqggCWm5EM
Helping startups make contacts. Israel’s Lusha helps small, medium and large businesses establish a fast and trusted connection with their leads, contacts, and candidates. Lusha is used daily by over 250,000 sales representatives, recruitment managers, and marketers. Clients including Google, Amazon, and Apple.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/01/04/israels-lusha-is-a-b2b-startup-helping-companies-grow/
https://www.lusha.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFU76QkVQYc
Bringing cultured meat to Japan. Israel’s Aleph Farms (reported here previously) is partnering with Mitsubishi Corporation’s Food Industry Group to bring cultivated (slaughter-free) meat to the Japanese table. It will help reduce Japan’s reliance on imported food, and to reach its goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Transport for elderly Japanese. Japanese insurance giant Sompo and Israeli ridesharing company Via have launched NORAZA - a new app that enables elderly Japanese to share rides, paying with virtual local currency. Japan is trying to reduce car accidents involving the elderly and to reduce traffic congestion.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3886390,00.html
Buy and sell without cash. Israel’s Shareitt has developed a social trading platform that facilitates the buying and selling of second-hand goods in exchange for Shareitt coins. The platform will trade books, toys, and sports goods, among others. Shareitt has around 10,000 active users who have sold more than 61,000 items.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3885433,00.html https://www.shareitt.com/ (Hebrew)
Smart vertical farms for Ukraine. Israel’s Vertical Field (reported here and here previously) is to set up vertical farming installations at Ukrainian supermarket chain Varus.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/vertical-field-to-deploy-green-wall-farms-in-ukraine-supermarkets/
https://nocamels.com/2021/01/israel-vertical-field-smart-farms-ukraine/
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Brewing beer at ancient beer-making site. (TY WIN & I24 News) Beer was made on the Golan Heights over 6,000 years ago. Bazelet brewery has started up the industry again using the high-quality water of the region.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQpv9j1xdUg
Beautifying underserved communities. The Hebrew Wallpaper Project (HWP) is an initiative of The Israel Innovation Fund, to beautify underprivileged areas around Israel. Young artists will be painting large public wall murals in places with limited access to public art, to inspire, uplift and dignify the next generation.
https://tiif.org/projects/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbkiZknDuMY
Israeli model on cover of UAE magazine. Israeli model Yael Shelbia (reported here previously) is the first Israeli to appear on the cover of a magazine published in the United Arab Emirates. The Sabbath-observant, IDF soldier will appear in February’s issue of Dubai-based fashion and lifestyle magazine L’Official Arabia.
Israeli NBA star’s birthday gift. Israel’s Deni Avdija scored 11 points to help his team Washington Wizards win their first NBA win of the season. Deni also celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-wizard-gets-big-birthday-present-first-nba-victory/
THE JEWISH STATE
The happiest cities. (TY UWI) A recent survey conducted by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics illustrates the adage that “money can’t buy happiness.” Even though residents of central Israel are more affluent and had a higher standard of living, those in the periphery reported much lower levels of loneliness and depression.
EMT talks man down from mosque roof. Avraham – a United Hatzalah volunteer EMT - managed to persuade a young man from committing suicide in the mixed Jewish-Arab Israeli city of Ramle. The story is worth reading for the amazing sequence of coincidences in this real-life drama.
https://israelrescue.org/blog/talking-a-former-student-down-off-a-ledge/
Jews & Arabs fly the Israeli flag in bobsleigh. Israel’s bobsled teams of Jewish AJ Edelman and his Israeli Druze teammates do not expect a medal in the 2022 Winter Olympics. “We have no relevance other than the fact that we wear the Israeli flag…and so because of that, it’s an honor unparalleled that you can never repay.”
Israel cares for Muslim Covid-19 patients. Rabbi Mike Schultz is spiritual care chief at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center. With so many Israeli Muslim Arab coronavirus patients, he and his team of 19 Jews, Muslims and Christians helps them with non-health issues, including hopes, dreams, family, community and religion.
Another benefit of vaccination – positiveness. (TY EEJH) This article highlights the relief felt by many of the 1.2 million Israelis that have been recently inoculated against Covid-19 with the Pfizer vaccine. They are now looking forward to their second doses after 3 weeks. https://www.jpost.com/health-science/coronavirus-vaccines-in-israel-a-big-hit-a-year-of-emotion-in-one-vial-653920
210103
In the 3rd Jan 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Israeli surgeons used Augmented Reality to repair a patient’s eye socket.
· An Israeli NGO brought water and light to 200 African villages in 2020.
· Israeli prize-winning technology for hydrogen production.
· An Israeli startup is developing floating video phones to keep seniors safe.
· The UAE-Israel Business Council now has over 3,000 members.
· Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman 1984 is the most successful new release in the pandemic.
· Despite the pandemic, more than 20,000 people made Aliyah in 2020.
· Click here to see the 27th Dec newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, San Diego Jewish World and United With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) in German here and here. Also (TY Zachy) in Hebrew here and here. 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 publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
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ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
One million vaccinations. Over a million Israelis have now had their first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. More than 150,000 vaccinations are being administered each day – the highest per capita in the world. The number of vaccinated Israelis is now double the total number that have ever been infected with Covid-19.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294096
https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-health-minister-meet-500000th-israeli-to-receive-covid-19-vaccine/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-smashes-goal-of-150000-daily-covid-19-vaccinations/
Positive results for Covid-19 treatment. Preliminary data from Phase 2 trials of opaganib from Israel’s Redhill (reported here previously) on 40 hospitalized Covid-19 patients showed positive results. Patients receiving opaganib had significantly reduced dependence on ventilators and faster time to discharge.
Treatment may cure genetic deafness. One in 400 children are born with a genetic mutation that causes hearing loss. Tel Aviv University scientists have developed a harmless synthetic virus that replaces defective genes with healthy genes. It may prevent deafness when injected into the inner ear hair cells soon after birth.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israelis-develop-gene-therapy-to-restore-hearing-in-children/
https://english.m.tau.ac.il/news/gene-therapy-for-deafness
https://www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.15252/emmm.202013259
Futuristic surgery today. Doctors at Israel’s Galilee Medical Center successfully completed the first-ever repair of a fracture in the floor of an eye socket using augmented reality (AR) and 3D technology. A CT-scan of the patient’s eye was used to 3D print the new socket and the surgeon used HoloLens AR glasses to insert it.
15-minute Covid-19 test. Several years ago, Bar-Ilan University’s Dr. Amos Danielli founded the biotech MagBiosense (reported here previously) to commercialize his innovative device to detect an imminent heart attack and also to diagnose the Zika virus. He has now adapted it to diagnose Covid-19 in just 15 minutes.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3884554,00.html https://magbiosense.com/
https://www.israel21c.org/israel-races-to-find-solutions-for-coronavirus/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8mwBY4UjEc
Race for the vaccine. An opportunity on 5th Jan to attend a Technion UK webinar featuring Professor Yotam Bar-On of Israel’s Technion Institute. Professor Bar-On is a virologist, specializing in COVID- 19 who will speak about immunity, about the virus itself along with its variants and how different vaccines work.
https://technionuk.org/event/race-for-the-vaccine/
Genesis winner donates prize to medical startups. Israel’s 2019 Genesis Prize winner, Natan Sharansky, donated his $1 million prize to 10 Israeli startups developing innovations to combat Covid-19. The 10 are Kamada, Pluristem, Sight Diagnostics, Sonovia, Biobeat, EyeControl, K Health, Picodya, IAI and MyZeppi.
https://nocamels.com/2020/12/sharansky-genesis-prize-10-companies-covid/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Helping seniors get vaccinated. Israeli non-profits United Hatzalah and Yad Beyad for the Development of Mevaseret Zion have partnered in a project to transport the over 60s and the disabled to Covid-19 vaccination centers during lockdown. The volunteer EMT will also assist with registration and drive them home afterwards.
https://israelrescue.org/blog/community-volunteers-cooperate-to-transport-elderly-and-disabled-to-their-vaccinations-during-lockdown/ https://www.facebook.com/amutat.yad.beyad/
81 Haredi women complete tech training. 81 religious Jewish women completed the first two-year Adva program that trains women for tech development jobs. The virtual graduation event was attended by Israeli tech executives, who recruited the graduates for Apple, Facebook, Check Point, XM Cyber and others.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3884536,00.html
Proud female Christian Israeli IDF officer. (TY Stuart Palmer and BIG) Hadeel reveals what life is really like for minorities in the Jewish State. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpxoabjWOZE
Ethiopian woman is top advocate for Israel. (TY Meir) Ethiopian Israeli Ashager Araro (reported here previously) is one of Jewish News Syndicate’s top 40 global advocates for Israel. Born on the roadside on the way to Israel, she became a top IDF paratrooper, graduate of IDC Herzilya and ambassador at Stand With Us.
https://www.heyalma.com/this-israeli-ethiopian-activist-should-be-on-your-radar/
$1 million raised for social app. 21-year-old Israeli May Piamenta has raised $1 million for her social startup Vee. The platform connects companies and organizations interested in mobilizing their staff for the sake of the community with volunteer activities and allows all activities to be managed remotely – vital during a pandemic.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/21-year-old-israeli-raises-1-million-for-social-volunteering-app/
https://www.veevolunteers.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG97wWNI1Uo (Hebrew video)
Israel becomes a green economy. The Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) has accepted the Bank of Israel as a full member. The NGFS helps financial systems manage risks and mobilize capital for green and low-carbon investments and environmentally sustainable development.
https://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/28-12-20.aspx
Top of their class. (TY EEJH) A study by Stanford University identifies the top 2% of researchers in various disciplines worldwide. It includes 333 researchers from Tel Aviv University, with 74 of them in the top 0.5%.
The earliest grinding tool in history. Researchers at the University of Haifa have discovered that a rock found in the Tabun Cave on Mount Carmel near Haifa may be the earliest grinding tool used by prehistoric man. The artifact dates to the late Lower Paleolithic era. No similar finds from this period have ever been discovered.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israelis-discover-earliest-grinding-tool-in-history/
Bringing life to Africa during a pandemic. In 2020 and despite COVID-19, Israeli NGO Innovation: Africa brought water and light to over 200 villages across Africa. They used Israeli technologies to bring solar energy, clean water, healthcare, and food security to millions of the world’s most vulnerable people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbY6ucSf8n4 https://www.innoafrica.org/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Israel Innovation lab. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Merck, and Teva are to establish an Innovation Lab at Rehovot Science Park to research digital health and computational biology. The Israeli government has allocated the lab a NIS 32 million budget.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3884172,00.html
Going up. Approval has been given to begin construction of the Ramat Gan Diamond Exchange in a suburb of Tel Aviv. The new tower is set to become Israel’s tallest building at 120 floors and 520 meters, surpassing the Sarona Tower which is 238 meters tall, with 61 floors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BZ_zuP1zQ0
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-this-tower-is-about-to-become-israels-tallest-building/
International energy challenge winner. (TY UWI) Israel’s H2Pro (reported here previously) was named by Royal Dutch Shell as “best company in the scale-up track” in its New Energy Challenge competition. H2Pro’s E-TAC system generates clean energy hydrogen, plus oxygen in two separate low-cost processes.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-hydrogen-startup-wins-shell-energy-competition/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ISMgT9kYE
The road to hydrogen-powered vehicles. Israel’s Bazan Group, an investor in Israeli startup H2Pro (above) is starting a NIS 12 million pilot project to create Israel’s first hydrogen refueling station. Bazan is Israel’s largest producer of hydrogen and set up the Bnnovation cleantech innovation lab (reported here previously).
https://www.timesofisrael.com/bazan-group-embarks-on-3-7-million-project-to-advance-hydrogen-fueled-vehicles/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-6yGFeliuo
An eco-village in the Negev. Israeli NGO Ayalim Association is building an eco-friendly neighborhood in the Negev city of Dimona. Shahak Heights will rely on sustainable solutions for its water, electricity and sewage. Israeli HomeBiogas systems will supplement gas for cooking. Solar energy will provide most of the power.
Innovation award for accessibility. Israel’s Orcam (reported here previously) has won a CES 2021 “Best of Innovation” award in the accessibility category by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), for its handheld digital device that reads full pages or screens of text aloud from any printed or digital surface.
https://nocamels.com/2020/12/orcam-ces-2021-artificial-vision-best-innovation-award/
Mandating green construction. 40% of all construction approved last year complied with the Israeli Standard for Green Building (No. 5281). In March 2022, the standard will be mandatory for all new construction. It will cut pollution, reduce waste, recycle materials and result in buildings being more energy efficient.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/green-building-standard-becomes-mandatory-for-more-construction/
Growing coral in the lab. Ben Gurion University scientists are growing coral nurseries five times faster than natural coral production. These are then transplanted into the Red Sea and become floating coral islands. BGU is also partnering scientists in the Florida Keys, to grow coral tissue resilient to rising ocean temperatures.
https://lifewp.bgu.ac.il/wp/nadavsh/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d92T_OB-tms (1hr webinar)
Air quality on your iPhone. (TY Hazel) Israel’s BreezoMeter (reported here previously) has been integrated into the Weather app on Apple iPhones as part of the new iOS 14.3 update. BreezoMeter’s sensors and data feeds provide real-time, street-level air quality data including air pollution, pollen, and smoke from nearby fires.
https://nocamels.com/category/news-briefs/#post-95777
A solar farm for Dead Sea minerals. Israel Chemicals Ltd is to build a 5.5 MW solar power plant to supply energy to its Dead Sea Periclase magnesium production facility. ICL will test storing excess solar energy in bromine-based batteries and plans to install solar systems at other production sites and on its water reservoirs.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-chemicals-planning-to-build-solar-plant-in-southern-israel/
Pollination complete. During March, drones from Israel’s Blue White Robotics (reported here previously) transported pollen to date palm trees’ flower stigmata. 90% of the trees were successfully fertilized. Due to lack of labor during the pandemic, the system has been successfully marketed to New York and California farmers.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3884216,00.html
New species of Israeli bee. Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have found a new species of bee, joining the approximately 1,100 bee species known to live in Israel. The bee was discovered in the Alexander River National Park, which was established to reverse the effects of road construction and pollution on the area.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/honey-of-a-story-israelis-discover-new-species-of-bee/
Eat my dust. (TY UWI) Scientists at Ben Gurion University have discovered that plants in desert regions grow hair on their leaves when they are short of the essential element phosphorus. The hairs trap dust in the desert air, which contains naturally occurring phosphorus. The dust can replace harmful chemical fertilizers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFPw2t8jmsY
Silently protecting millions of computers. Israel’s Morphisec in June 2018 was preventing cyber attacks on a million computers and mobile users. Its shape-shifting software now outwits sophisticated hackers on 4 million computers worldwide. System managers are amazed that it works in the background, without making a fuss.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N092BDUDaAo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m9wj4516KM
The video call that floats. Israel’s MyZeppi has developed technology designed to help older adults and their caregivers “visit” each other through video calls via safe and unthreatening self-flying helium balloons. The 20-inch projection lets seniors feel their loved ones are there in their room and can even perform safety checks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11vzXf2wuAg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpx0cRAKlqo
Care-giving support. Israel’s Caring Company has launched a new app, CaringApp, to provide remote support and assistance to family members and relatives of the elderly. It can monitor and identify life-saving moments such as alerts to falling, mood monitoring, and inactivity. It can even interact with the senior’s phone.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3883690,00.html https://www.thecaring.app/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmKTNTCFLlk
Checkout by selfie. Israel’s Preciate has developed a facial recognition system called “Pay by Face”. A user registers with a selfie photo and uses the system to pay for goods and services. In use at Holon’s Azrieli Mall, it is relevant to fast food takeaways, stores with membership programs or just to acknowledge good customers.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3884071,00.html https://preciate.me/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7uzFC2gpQU
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Joint business council. Jerusalem deputy mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum has established the UAE-Israel Business Council which works to create deals in fields including technology, medicine and agriculture. The council already has 3,000 members and a similar Bahrain-Israel organization is in the works.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-3000-israelis-and-emiratis-unite-in-joint-business-council/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDWZJNmqnuc
Cooperation with Croatia. Israel and Croatia signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a strategic partnership between the Foreign Affairs ministries, aiming to promote political and economic cooperation and strengthen relations in areas of mutual interest.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-and-croatian-foreign-ministers-sign-partnership-agreement/
Promoting 5G deployment. Israel’s Innovation Authority and Ministry of Communications are to fund five Israeli companies a total of NIS 12.5 million to conduct pilots using 5G technology. They are Monogoto, Telicomm City Connect, Elbit C4I and Cyber Systems, Edgehawk Security and JpU.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3884632,00.html
https://monogoto.io/ https://www.telicomm.com/ https://www.edgehawk-security.net/ https://jpu.io/
Get trained in hi-tech skills. Israel’s Innovation Authority (IIA) is investing NIS 139 million in two new programs, the Human Capital Fund and the Emergency Training Program, to help the unemployed enter the Israeli tech ecosystem. It has selected 62 organizations to place 9,000 citizens in available hi-tech positions.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3884763,00.html
Good Night 2020. Ariella Drefuss’ summary of 2020 shows that it was a very good year for Israeli tech. Good news for investments, secondary sales, IPOs, venture capital, Arab partnerships, Covid-19 solutions and women entrepreneurs. The only low was the number of Israeli exits – which does not sound like bad news to me!
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/good-night-2020/
Toast 2021 with Israeli whisky. Say goodbye to the troubles of 2020 and l’Hayim to a better year with the award-winning single malt whiskies from Israel’s Milk & Honey. And enjoy a laugh with the second video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU0OsnlIwns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C81jyfwJrOY
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Birth of the Phoenix. The America-Israel Friendship League has released a video featuring the modern Israeli Dance Troup Vertigo’s breathtaking performance in Jerusalem: “Birth of the Phoenix". Vertigo have been streaming their works free as part of their December virtual festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxViVRX_d9k https://www.festival.vertigo.org.il/ https://aifl.org/
More success for Gal Gadot. The movie Wonder Woman 1984 staring Israel’s Gal Gadot is the most successful film of the coronavirus pandemic, grossing $16.7 million over the holiday weekend. Gal Gadot’s next movie is “Cleopatra” and work has already begun on Wonder Woman 3.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/12/28/work-already-under-way-on-wonder-woman-3
The world’s most beautiful face. (TY UWI) Israeli model Yael Shelbia has been awarded the top spot on the annual TC Candler magazine’s “100 Most Beautiful Faces of the Year” list. Yael, currently serving in the Israeli Air Force, was 3rd in 2018 and 2nd in 2019. Israeli actress Gal Gadot is listed at number 21.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-model-yael-shelbia-named-worlds-most-beautiful-face-of-2020/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbaK1xs_9Lw
The shark shall swim with the dolphin. Although not quite the wolf lying down with the lamb, this video shows two aquatic predators swimming happily together. A taste of things to come?
Ethiopian Israeli golfer wins Israel Masters. Iso Asher immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia in 1991 and has been working at the Caesarea Golf Club for 27 years. He decided to enter the Israel Men’s Masters tournament at the club for the first time. And at the age of 50, he won, after two rounds and a sudden-death playoff.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/ethiopian-israel-golfer-iso-wins-israel-masters-653728
THE JEWISH STATE
20.000 make Aliyah despite pandemic. Some 20,000 olim (new immigrants) arrived in Israel during 2020. They came from 70 different countries and despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Over half of the new citizens emigrated from the former Soviet Union, 2,550 from the US and 2,220 from France.
More Ethiopian immigrants. As part of Operation Rock of Israel (see here previously), another flight has brought 219 Ethiopian immigrants to the Jewish State. Thanks to the support of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) it has united many Ethiopian families who had previously made Aliyah.
https://www.jns.org/second-flight-from-ethiopia-arrives-in-israel-carrying-219-new-immigrants/
Pollard returns. Jonathan Pollard was a controversial figure, but most Israelis were pleased to see him come home. Together with Israel’s Prime Minister, he recited the Shehechiyanu blessing for auspicious events.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/294026
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-jonathan-pollard-kisses-the-ground-as-he-arrives-in-israel/
Still building. Israeli charity Livnot U’Lehibanot (“to build and to be built”) is celebrating its 40th birthday. The organization (reported here previously) provides immersive Israel programs for young English-speaking Jews, combining hikes, volunteering, and “learning about Jewish spirituality through the lens of nature.”
The Abrahamic family. The Arab delegation from the UAE and Bahrain in Israel this month visited historical and cultural sites in Israel. It was chaperoned by a new Israeli organization Sharaka (Arabic for “cooperation” or “partnership”). The delegation expressed its thanks for making them “feel like family members at home”.
