In the 10th Nov 24 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
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At least five news articles featuring Israelis bravely responding to
adversity.
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A major Israeli medical
discovery, trials and a new treatment for cancer.
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Israel organizes
vaccinations for over a million Gazan children.
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9% of Time Magazine’s “Best inventions of 2024” are Israeli.
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Israeli
innovations are globally preventing accidents and catching criminals.
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Thousands of
Bedouin Arabs watch Israel’s first state-approved camel race.
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Two vital new resources for teaching children about Israeli history.
· Click here to see the 3rd Nov newsletter on (TY
Steve) IsraelSeen, (TY
Ruth) Ruthfully Yours, and (TY Aviva) United With Israel. Also (TY Sandra) for translating it into German here, and
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POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR
Standing tall again. (TY Hazel) Nati
Ganon was seriously injured by Hamas terrorists at the Nova party on Oct 7
2023. After enduring nearly 400 grueling days of treatments and rehabilitation,
Nati stands tall again and able to continue to raise his three children. See
him dance with Israeli-Arab Zionist Yoseph Haddad (2nd link).
https://www.timesofisrael.com/nova-survivor-who-lost-wife-on-oct-7-goes-home-after-almost-400-days-in-hospital/ https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-7/
Proud
sisters. (TY Hazel) Despite losing their elder
siblings at the hands of Hamas terrorists, Yael Eshel, sister of Sgt Roni
Eshel, and Yuval Marciano, sister of Cpl Noa Marciano, have just begun their
IDF service on the same day. Their
sisters were serving together on Oct 7 at the IDF’s Nahal Oz base near the Gaza
border.
From
Sderot to the Technion, with nothing. Hila was
planning to study at Israel’s Technion Institute on Oct 10, 2023. When Hamas
attacked Sderot on Oct. 7, Hila had to evacuate her home, arriving at the
Technion without any belongings. The Technion, however, made sure she had
everything she needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WfhC77d6Hc
Farming
under fire. Moshav Liman, just 1.3 miles from
Lebanon, had a population of 850 before Oct 7.
Now, some 125 hardened Israelis continue to cultivate their small family
farms. They include Kfir and Clarise who lived through bombardments in 1978,
and the Lebanon wars of 1982 and 2006. They stayed then, as well.
Turning
shelters into schoolrooms. (TY WIN)
Kibbutz Yehiam near the Lebanese border, has converted its bomb shelters and
protected rooms into classrooms. Now, over 110 students can locally learn
instead of being driven on school buses to schools some half-an-hour away. When
safe, children join from outside the kibbutz.
“Heros of Life”. Israeli emergency NGO United Hatzalah honored Oct 7 volunteers and
victims at a “Heroes of Life” Memorial Ceremony in Jerusalem. The ceremony also
paid tribute to United Hatzalah’s volunteers who played a pivotal role on Oct
7, and in the ensuing months, transporting wounded to hospitals while under
fire.
Homeward bound. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel's Tekuma Administration – the government's arm for rehabilitating the
Gaza periphery – reveals that 87% (50,000 out of 64,000) of Gaza border
residents have returned to their homes. 244 projects, totaling $1.7 billion,
have been initiated, to rehabilitate the region.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/10/01/87-of-gaza-border-residents-have-returned-home-report-shows/
The first Haredi IDF
combat brigade. The Tavetz training base in the
Jordan Valley will serve as the training ground for the first cohort of
ultra-Orthodox soldiers who will form part of a standard infantry brigade
called “Hashmonayim”. It is also the first entirely new regular infantry
brigade since the 1980s.
https://www.jns.org/idf-launches-first-ultra-orthodox-combat-brigade/
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-827522
Spurs fans sing for
hostage. 70 fans of UK soccer team Tottenham
Hotspur (“Spurs”) sang before their team’s match against Aston Villa, to
publicize the plight of one of their own fans, Emily Damari. Emily was abducted
by Hamas from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct 7 2023. She holds both British and
Israeli citizenship.
https://www.jns.org/tottenham-hotspur-fans-sing-for-hamas-hostage/
US Jews support Israeli
businesses. Since Oct 7 2023, American Jews have
increased their purchases of Israeli Judaica by 134%. The study, conducted by
business management students at the Jerusalem College of Technology,
demonstrates American Jews' solidarity with war-impacted Israeli businesses.
https://www.jns.org/study-u-s-jews-bought-134-more-israeli-judaica-since-oct-7/
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL
ACHIEVEMENTS
Another antibody to combat cancer. Following last week’s Israeli cancer breakthrough (see here), now
Weizmann Institute researchers have found an antibody (against CD84) that
prevents tumors building molecular bridges from suppressing the immune system.
Lab tests were successful at treating triple-negative breast cancer.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-antibody-treatment-targets-most-aggressive-breast-cancer/#:
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/burning-cancer%E2%80%99s-bridges
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(24)01271-3#fig1
Treatment
for Esophageal cancer. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s BeiGene has received Israeli Ministry of Health approval for its
TEVIMBRA® to treat Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) after
chemotherapy. It has also gone on sale
in the USA. https://ir.beigene.com/news/beigene-receives-israeli-ministry-of-health-approval-for-tevimbra-for-the-treatment-of-oesophageal-squamous/dc2e4d21-42f4-4545-af69-ba4e09a40194/
https://ir.beigene.com/news/beigene-announces-availability-of-tevimbra-in-u-s/1d4b131f-7226-4196-bbac-dc310930b1ad/ https://www.beigene.com/
Treatment for knee
osteoarthritis. Denmark’s Medicines Agency has approved
Allocetra cell therapy from Israel’s Enlivex (see here previously) for Phase II clinical trials on patients with
osteoarthritis in the knee. 40% of men and 47% of women develop knee
osteoarthritis in their lifetimes. Allocetra also treats Covid and cancer.
$17 million for autism
research. (TY Yanky) Hebrew University of
Jerusalem’s Prof Haitham Amal (see here previously) is the only non-USA member of a new consortium focused
on pioneering autism research. It has just been awarded a research grant of $17
million by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Front-line soldier saves
3-year-old. (TY UWI) A
three-year-old boy hospitalized in Jerusalem with a severe blood cancer got a
new lease on life thanks to the selflessness of Matan Amir, a 21-year-old IDF soldier
fighting in Gaza who was identified as a suitable bone marrow donor for the
toddler.
Low blood sugar and green
Med diet. An international study led by Israel’s
Ben-Gurion University scientists showed controlling blood sugar levels is a
significant key mechanism linking diet to slower brain aging. The
300-participant study was one of the longest and largest brain MRI trials in
the world.
https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/sygjvxrzje
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916524007457
Nobel prize winners’
Israel connection. The Nobel Prize in medicine was
awarded to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of
microRNA. Both men were awarded Israel’s Wolf Prize in 2014. Ruvkun, who is
Jewish, won the Dan David Prize, headquartered at Tel Aviv University, in 2011.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE
AND GLOBAL
Scientist, dancer, teacher and mother. Dr.
Anastasia Braginsky, PhD graduate of Israel’s Technion Institute, teaches computer
systems at the Technion, is a professional dancer, a ballroom dance instructor,
and a mother of two. She also works full-time in Israeli hi-tech, now at Red
Hat, having been previously at IBM and Yahoo!
https://ats.org/our-impact/dr-anastasia-braginsky-renaissance-woman/
Global entrepreneurial university. Tel Aviv
University (TAU) has maintained its global position as the seventh highest
institution for producing entrepreneurs – graduates who founded companies and
raised capital. TAU is also the highest ranked non-USA institution. (See here for previous years’
rankings)
https://english.tau.ac.il/news/pitchbook-2024
1.1 million
Gazan children vaccinated. The latest polio
vaccination campaign in Gaza has been completed, with some 1.1 million vaccines
administered and a vaccination rate among children of over 90 percent. 211,170
children were vaccinated in northern Gaza; 379,361 in central Gaza; and 517,070
in southern Gaza.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/over-1-million-gazans-vaccinated-in-fresh-polio-campaign-idf-says/
Hundreds of sick Gazans evacuated. In one day, 231
patients and caregivers left Gaza via the Kerem Shalom Crossing and Ramon
Airport to receive medical treatment in the United Arab Emirates and Romania.
It was just one of several humanitarian initiatives led by Israel in
collaboration with the UAE, Romania and the EU.
4 female navigators in Israeli attack
against Iran. Four women combat navigators flew in F-16
fighter jets as part of the successful Oct 26 Israeli response to Iran’s
missile attacks.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/398099
They get it.
Straightforward message from beautiful, intelligent, Sarah Idan - ex-Miss Iraq. Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of the founder of
Hamas also understands. But is the rest
of the world listening?
https://www.jns.org/former-miss-iraq-israel-is-the-only-one-standing-against-the-terrorists/
SCIENCE &
TECHNOLOGY
A much bigger campus. Ben Gurion University’s new North Campus in Beer-Sheva will include
a 1,000-student village, plus Glazer Foundation Future Technologies, Helmsely
Computer Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Drahi Innovation and
Entrepreneurship buildings. Plus a culture center.
https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/friends/Pages/BGU%E2%80%99s_Development.aspx
Israel: The making of a
Global Cyber Power. (TY Laura). Two reports (one in detail) of Israel, a
country with the population the size of New York City, that is one of the
world’s top cyber powers. (Just as well as Israel’s enemies have attacked
almost all of the country’s major computer systems – many times.)
https://besacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/MSPS209web.pdf
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rkjsgjh11jg
Bees need a balanced diet
too. Researchers at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem have found that a balanced diet is essential for honeybees’ optimal
health and task performance. A diet with a high omega-6:3 ratio (5:1)
significantly affects bees’ ability to nurse larvae, both in delay and
frequency.
https://www.ynetnews.com/environment/article/h17tcd1c0
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347224001428?via%3Dihub
Let’s build drones. Too many Israel Defense Forces drones are fragile, and rely on China-based
production. However, drones are essential for protecting Israel soldiers in
Gaza and Lebanon. STEM-up Israel, together with other nonprofit groups, use
high-school students to procure, build, and maintain drones for the IDF.
https://www.jns.org/hero-drones-part-of-the-platoon/
1 million speech-enabled
devices. Israel’s Kardome (see here previously) has now implemented its AI-based voice-recognition
software into more than a million devices. Kardome’s Spatial Hearing software
enables devices to truly understand the context of speech, whether in a busy
car or a bustling street.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/99xfmd1li https://www.kardome.com/
https://vimeo.com/701285868 https://vimeo.com/820558294
Best inventions 2024. Time
Magazine’s 100 Best inventions of 2024 include 9 Israeli products. Nuvo, Aporia’s
Guardrails, OrCam’s Hear, UVeye, BeeHero, InnerPlant’s CropVoice, Emulait,
BelongAI’s Dave, and D-ID’s avitars. Only Emulait has not appeared before in
this newsletter. (See here for
previous years’ Israeli mentions.)
https://www.israel21c.org/8-israeli-products-on-times-best-inventions-of-2024-list/ https://emulait.com/
https://www.israel21c.org/how-a-bullied-boy-became-a-successful-med-tech-entrepreneur/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Startup investment up
32%. Israeli tech firms have raised about $7.22
billion from investors, an increase of 32% compared with the same period last
year.
Israel-Vietnam free trade
agreement implemented. The free-trade agreement
between Israel and Vietnam signed in 2023 (see here) took effect has just gone into operation. Israel’s Economy and
Industry Ministry anticipates a major boost in bilateral trade, which reached
$1.3 billion in 2023.
https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-vietnam-free-trade-agreement-to-take-effect-on-friday/
Gas royalties up 12.5%. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
Revenue from natural gas royalties in the first half of 2024 was NIS 1.133
billion, up 12.5% from the first half of 2023. Further state revenue comes from
taxes on profits of the oil companies. About half the revenue was due to gas
produced from the Leviathan reservoir.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-israels-gas-royalties-up-125-in-h1-2024-1001489220
Hungarian prize. Jon Medved, founder and CEO of Israel’s OurCrowd, received the John
Harsányi Prize, the Hungarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association’s
award to an individual or an organization recognized for exceptional
contribution to the development of entrepreneurial processes worldwide,
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jonathanmedved_a-great-honor-to-be-awarded-the-2024-hars%C3%A1nyi-activity-7245082693934141440-vq20/ https://startuponline.hu/jonathan-medved-a-magyar-szakembergarda-realis-alapja-lehetne-a-magyar-es-az-izraeli-okoszisztema-szorosabb-egyuttmukodesenek/ (in Hungarian)
Safer bus passengers. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
SaverOne (see here previously) has launched four pilot projects with customers of
Volvo Buses Mexico. It follows the OEM agreement signed with Volvo Group to
install the innovative software that prevents drivers from using distracting
applications that could cause accidents.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/saverone-launches-four-pilot-projects-120000414.html
A safer
world. (TY Atid-EDI)
Israel’s Corsight (see here previously) is helping catch criminals and terrorists globally.
Essex police (UK) used its Live Facial
Recognition technology to catch 5 criminals in August. Corsight has been
implemented in Santa Rosa, a safe city in the Philippines.
https://www.sourcesecurity.com/news/corsight-ai-facial-recognition-aids-essex-co-7121-ga-co-1590149149-ga.1725254930.html https://www.securityinfowatch.com/access-identity/biometrics/facial-recognition-solutions/press-release/55142971/corsight-city-of-santa-rosa-implements-corsight-ais-facial-intelligence-technology
Preventing stock
manipulation. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s
KOIOS analyzes conversations about publicly traded companies on social media
sites and blogs, and alerts the companies to possible price manipulation. The
AI-based platform provides real-time, alerts, allowing companies to foil
attacks and stay ahead of the curve.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/25/2953026/0/en/KOIOS-Raises-5-Million-in-Seed-Funding.html https://koiostech.ai/
Israeli whisky evaporates
and refills. Henry Jeffries reviewed several world
whiskies for The UK Guardian. But the (frequently anti-Israel) paper omitted
his glowing approval of Israel’s unique M&H distillery. However, after
protest, the reference to M&H was reinstated (online edition) with an
acknowledgement of the correction.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/guardian-removes-israeli-whisky-reference/
https://amp.theguardian.com/food/2024/nov/01/henry-jeffreys-more-to-whisky-than-scotch-and-bourbon
Correction! (TY Barton) In the last newsletter, I stated that Israel had
47,000+ tech workers. There are in fact
almost 400,000 workers employed in the Israeli high-tech industry. The article
quoted 47,000 in the 50 companies that were ranked by Dun & Bradstreet
Israel as the best places in Israel to work.
My apologies.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-a-year-of-war-nvidia-overtakes-microsoft-as-best-firm-to-work-for-in-israel-db/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1472727/israel-annual-number-of-high-tech-workers/
Exits, mergers &
acquisitions – to 10/11/24: Israeli software
developer Incredibuild acquired German’s open source tools startup Garden for $65 million; US
cybersecurity Crowdstrike is acquiring Israeli cyber startup Adaptive
Shield for an
estimated $300 million.
Startup investment – to 10/11/24:
Kardome raised
$10 million; KOIOS raised $5 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT
& SPORT
The people of the book. 169 books and publications have been printed about the war since
Oct 7. The most topics are research studies (42 books); testimonies and stories
of heroism (29); the effects of attacks, the hostages, the IDF & politics
(30); religious (18), poetry (14); art (11); prose (9); and for children’s (3).
https://www.jns.org/national-library-of-israel-special-survey-books-published-since-oct-7/
Back in time in Jerusalem. (TY Sharon) As
Israel turned its clocks back, Jerusalem’s events included an academic
symposium at the Bible Lands Museum; the closing of the Kuma art exhibition,
the Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem Academic Symposium, and the first award
ceremony for Civilian Heroes of Oct 7 2023.
https://rjstreets.com/2024/11/03/october-in-jerusalem-ends-with-high-and-lows/
United for Life. A short video showing highlights of United With Israel’s “United
for Life” Jerusalem concert during the festival of Sukkot. It featured Israeli
stars Ishay Ribo, Gad Elbaz, and Shmuel, and 3,000 attendees, raising vital
funds for protective gear for first responders. Book now for the Dec 19 Miami
gala.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjaLlg6ZfSY https://israelrescue.org/ytdonate/
https://israelrescue.org/event/miami24/
Eden volunteers for IDF. (TY Yanky) Israel’s Eurovision singer Eden Golan was called up for
IDF service (see here
previously) but was rejected on medical grounds. Despite this, she has
requested to serve in the military on a voluntary basis and is expected to
continue her enlistment process soon.
https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hj9hvet0c
Judoka silver. (TY Nevet)
Israeli female judoka Yuli Alma Mishiner (age 19) won the silver medal at the
Zagreb Grand Prix (13 Sep 2024). https://www.ijf.org/judoka/64647
https://www.ijf.org/judoka/64647/results?results_rank_group=all
Israel’s first legal camel race.
Thousands of spectators watched Israel’s first-ever state-sanctioned camel
race. The event, held near Ashalim some 22 miles south of Beersheva, was
organized by the Bedouin community, in conjunction with the ministries of the
Diaspora, Agriculture the Development of the Negev and the Galilee.
https://www.jns.org/thousands-gather-in-negev-for-israels-first-legal-camel-race/
Solidarity at NYC
marathon. 150+ runners in the New York City
Marathon dedicated their race to raising awareness for the 101 Israeli and
foreign hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Dubbed the “Run for their Lives” team,
the runners wore t-shirts depicting the five hostages who were avid marathon
and triathlon competitors.
https://israfan.com/p/nyc-marathon-solidarity-israeli-hostages
THE JEWISH STATE
Online
courses in Israeli history. Please look at the
courses from innovative educational platform OFEK to inspire children and build
a deep connection to their heritage. Students learn the history of Israel and
the Jewish people, from the first days Israel was established, featuring Jewish
heroes and all significant events.
https://ofekhub.org/israeli-history/
New curriculum for
teaching Israeli history. The Committee for
Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) has released a new
“teacher-friendly curriculum”, for middle and high schools, that addresses “the
history of the Jewish people in the land of Israel from ancient to modern
times.”
https://www.jns.org/comprehensive-camera-curriculum-focuses-on-ties-of-jewish-history-to-israel/
Israel’s vehicle rescue service. (TY Yanky) Israel’s car rescue service Yedidim (see here previously) now has
65,000 members. Call 1230 from your
mobile phone and someone will arrive to help stranded motorists change a tyre,
or fix a problem with the car. Yedidim answers up to 3,000 calls every
day. Only in Israel.
How to help Israel. Here are some sites where
newsletter readers can donate to Israeli organizations that provide vital help
to Israelis at this difficult time. Many
thanks to those who have already contributed and to those who are helping by
donating their own valuable time and resources.
Friends of the IDF (US donors): https://www.fidf.org/
or IDF Soldiers Fund in Israel: https://www.ufis.org.il/en/donation-en/ (select the English speakers’ option)
American Friends of Magen David Adom (US
donors): https://afmda.org/
or Magen David Adom (Israel): https://www.mdais.org/en/donation
Zaka (US donors): https://donate.zakatelaviv.org/give/525578/ or (Israeli donors): https://charidy.com/zaka
or (Canadian donors):
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/bellevue-foundation/
United Hatzalah: https://israelrescue.org/campaign/israel-at-war-2/ or Canada https://www.uhcanada.org/
Leket Food Israel: https://www.leket.org/en/
JNF USA - https://my.jnf.org/gaza-emergency/Donate or
Canada https://jnf.ca/
Orthodox Union - https://www.charidy.com/ouisraelcrisis
Schneider Children’s Hospital: https://www.fos.org.il/en/donate
(Israelis)
https://system.smartgiving.org.uk/charities/8530/make-donation
(UK)
https://chaischneider.org/donate/ (USA)
Rambam Medical Center (Haifa) https://aforam.org/ways-to-give/ (US)
https://www.rambam.org.il/en/support_rambam/donate_now/
(Rest of the World)
Hadassah Hospital
Israel: https://www.hadassah.org/
Laniado Hospital (Netanya) https://my.israelgives.org/en/fundme/EmergencyLaniado
Buy Israel Bonds to support the Jewish
State. (TY Larry B)
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/state-of-israel-bonds
USA - https://www.israelbonds.com/
Europe - https://israelbondsintl.com/
Canada - https://www.israelbonds.ca/
