Seven Weeks in the Jewish State (Part 2) – Caring for the Other

http://blogs.jpost.com/content/seven-weeks-jewish-state-part-2-%E2%80%93-caring-other

http://blogs.jpost.com/print/5515

This is the second part of my review of Israel’s achievements during the seven weeks I was absent from the blog scene.  If you missed the first part - medical treatments - you can view it here.  The recent Jewish festival of Shavuot (Pentacost) showed us the proper way to treat those less fortunate than us.  There were many examples of that principle in the Israeli news during those seven weeks.

The Palestinian Arab leadership has not won many friends in Israel, but when individual Palestinian Arabs need medical help, Israelis come running.  That’s just what 2nd Lt. Ben Tzanani and his IDF medical team did when they rushed to save a one-month old baby from the village of Beitin near Ramallah.  The baby began to choke whilst her sister was playing with her.  Afterwards many Beitin villagers phoned the division headquarters to express their gratitude. 

Doctors from “Save A Child’s Heart” have treated over 1500 children from the Palestinian Authority, Gaza and neighboring Arab countries at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.  Supporting Jerusalem-based Christian organization Shevet Achim recently wrote in detail about how much effort Israeli doctors and medical staff exerted to keep one Iraqi baby alive.  In total SACH doctors have repaired the hearts of over 3300 children from over 45 developing countries since SACH was founded in 1995.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOD9q5R4S-4

Every week Israeli hospitals receive and treat Syrians who have been injured in the never-ending Civil War that has killed over 150,000 men, women and children.  In just one example, two severely wounded Syrians were transported to Israel and have been hospitalized in the Ziv Medical Center’s trauma unit in the city of Tzfat.  Saving Syrian lives won IDF paramedic Noga Erez the President’s Award for Excellence for her outstanding service.  What other nation would give one of their highest honors to someone who saves the lives of people from a country still technically at war with it?  Back on the border with Syria, CNN’s Nic Robertson reported on the work of Israeli doctors in the IDF field hospital on the Golan Heights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khvi3P-74YY

In yet another conflict area, Israel rescued several Ukrainians wounded in civil protests.  But the high-profile case was that of Gennady Kernes, the Jewish mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv who was shot and critically injured.  After being airlifted to Israel, he eventually regained consciousness in Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center having undergone two major operations in Israel to treat the damage to his lungs, stomach, liver and spine.

You might think that Israeli doctors would be busy enough, yet Israel's chief pathologist, Dr. Chen Kugel, head of Israel's Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine, somehow found time to advise medical students at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Slovakia on dealing with terror victims.  Meanwhile, despite some unnecessarily nasty comments by the Turkish Prime Minister, Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom offered assistance to the Turkish Red Crescent immediately after the explosion and fire in a coalmine in the town of Soma that killed more than 200 people.

I want to leave the medical arena briefly to highlight some amazing Israelis whom even the Jewish State’s doctors cannot (currently) restore to full strength.  Firstly, Zohar Sharon, who won the ISPS HANDA World Blind Golf Championship title for a fourth consecutive time.  Sharon lost his sight during his army service.  And there can hardly be a dry eye in the house for anyone watching this video of some very special teenagers.  For those that really want to serve their country, the Jewish State leaves no stone unturned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZC42c8lMqg&feature=youtu..be

Finally we return again to the subject of medicine.  Israel’s Dr. Rania Okby is excellent at her job as a specialist in maternal fetal medicine.  But her true claim to fame is that she is the first female Arab Bedouin doctor in the world.  And some people call Israel an Apartheid State!!

Israel - There is an “other” side to it.

Michael Ordman writes a free weekly newsletter containing positive news stories about Israel.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

For a free subscription, email a request to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com

A Question of Honor

http://blogs.jpost.com/content/question-honor

http://blogs.jpost.com/print/4953

Israel is full of citizens and organizations that deserve to receive an honor.  Not a political honor such as the Nobel Prize for peace given to an unrepentant terrorist leader, nor an award from the British Foreign Office for services that undermine the legitimacy of the Jewish State. Respect can only be given to those who enhance Israel in the eyes of the world.  Here are some of the most recent examples.

The medical profession is overflowing with worthy individuals who put Tikum Olam (repairing the world) far above financial recompense.  Kol Hakavod (all the glory) to the team of 20 Israeli doctors and medical staff from Save a Child's Heart (SACH) that has just flown to Tanzania to provide free heart surgeries.  And to the team of 11 cardiac surgeons and nurses from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center that performed 10 complex heart operations over 4 days in Nigeria.  SACH doctors can also take credit for restoring the sight of 10-month old baby Dennis from Romania who lost his vision shortly after birth.

The paramedics working for Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom deserve recognition for having saved countless lives during the life of the modern state.  MDA just unveiled their latest hi-tech mobile command vehicle designed to direct rescue operations on the most difficult terrain and during cellular network failure.  Another organization, Yad Sarah, employs the largest number of volunteers in Israel, providing services and equipment to help the elderly and disabled lead fuller, more comfortable lives.  One of Yad Sarah’s thousands of volunteers, Dr. Marjorie Kenyon, finally retired from serving the organization, in her 100th year.  Here are some of the innovative devices and gadgets that Yad Sarah is currently demonstrating to the public.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dy2TkrUSZg

It is a great honor to the Jewish State that so many of its scientists have developed apps and devices that can save lives.  Tel Aviv University researchers have just developed a website and smartphone app that sends your Genome (your individual Genetic DNA sequence map) for analysis.  You can then identify the most effective medications with the least side effects - or prior to pregnancy, you can use it to check for birth defect risks.  Another TA University graduate, Eugene Jorov, co-founded Seraphim Sense and developed the Angel sensor in honor of his father who died from a heart attack.  The Angel is a biofeedback wristband that monitors the motion, acceleration, skin temperature, blood oxygen saturation and heart rate of at-risk individuals and sends an alert if their medical condition changes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLChVKAxHO4

Foreign heads of state often treat the Jewish State with more respect than many of Israel’s own citizens.  In the past few weeks we have had been honored with the first ever visits from the sitting Prime Ministers of Malta and Papua New Guinea. Both arrived with large delegations and cooperation plans.  And President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit was the first time in the history of Nigeria that a sitting President went on pilgrimage to Israel.  He took the opportunity to sign a bilateral air services agreement between Nigeria and Israel.

Despite its flawed politics, the United Nations regularly turns to the Jewish State to solve issues of international concern.  The UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has granted ‘Special Consultative Status’ to 13 Israeli NGOs and is currently considering including a two more.  Similarly, all European Union political arguments were put aside in order to welcome Israeli scientists onto the Galileo project.  Israeli academics and companies have been given security clearance to work on the EU’s prestigious project to launch 30 satellites and become Europe’s alternative to the US GPS system. 

International stars from Rihanna to Tom Jones continue to honor Israel with their performances.  However, many pop fans will have missed that October 27 was the 30th anniversary of when Bob Dylan released his up-tempo Zionist anthem, the ironically-titled “Neighborhood Bully”.  Meanwhile brothers Arie and Gil Gat, explain that there is no conflict of honor between being devout Jews and covering rock hits on Israeli TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwWFA04sqEo

Israel’s sporting heroes have certainly been awash with medals, including windsurfer Shahar Zubari who cruised to a gold medal at the Sailing World Cup in Qingdao, China.  Maayan Davidovich won bronze in the women’s division.  Israeli swimmer Amit Ivri even won medals at FINA World Cup events in Dubai (UAE) and Doha (Qatar) although Qatar dishonored itself by blanking out the Israeli flag on its TV broadcasts.

There is no greater honor than when people volunteer to serve their country, despite physical disabilities.  At the closing ceremony for their special basic training the 150 graduates of IDF’s Ofek course used the deaf sign language to accompany the Israeli National Anthem – “Hatikvah”. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZYApGbgGT4

Finally, for the first time in the history of the Israel Defense Forces, an officer from Israel’s Druse community is to serve as the chief of the elite IDF Golani Brigade. Colonel Ghassan Alian was previously deputy commander of the Golan Division.  He follows fellow Druse Imad Fares who was chief of the IDF Givati Brigade.

Let’s honor those that deserve honor.

Michael Ordman writes a free weekly newsletter containing Good News stories about Israel.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

For a free subscription, email a request to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com

Israel Boycotters are in a World of their Own

http://blogs.jpost.com/content/israel-boycotters-are-world-their-own

http://blogs.jpost.com/print/4573

Here is my third and final medical analysis of the pointlessness and futility of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) crazies who target Israeli goods and services.  (For those who wish to be reminded of parts one and two, they can be read here and here.)  Again, please remember that all my examples are taken from news items that were published only in the last 4.5 months.  If I included all the medical work that Israel was doing, this article would run to hundreds of thousands of words.

I proved previously that BDS-ers have no heart, brains or spine – otherwise why would they boycott the country that is developing treatments for those areas of the body.  Now I suggest that the whole BDS idea is not only wrong - it is nonsense.  There is no sense whatsoever in boycotting a country that is working on restoring the senses of millions of people. 

-         Have they not heard that Tel Aviv University Professor Karen Avraham has discovered the reason for genetic hearing loss?

-         Have they lost sight of the benefit of Israel Technion’s research into substituting damaged retinas with a new area of the eye that has been turned into photoreceptors? 

-         Did they not read that US President Obama’s step-grandmother underwent emergency eye treatment at an Israeli-run hospital in Equatorial Guinea?

Would-be boycotters:

-         Do not have the guts to admit that Israeli research into colon disease is the best in the world.  Israel’s BiolineRX’s BL-7040 oral treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) could bring relief to 1.4 million individuals in the US alone. 

-         Obviously cannot stomach the fact that scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have discovered at the cellular level how the gut’s immune system maintains a healthy balance.

-         Will be really “down in the mouth” when they realise their doctors cannot use the video and endoscope system from Israel’s Peer Medical.

I wish the BDS crowd would grow up:

-         But how can they if they boycott the human growth hormone developed by Israel’s Prolor Biotech? 

It is the end of the line for childless BDS-ers who boycott Israel’s innovative fertility treatments.

-         Cytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection (IMSI) developed in 2004 by Benjamin Bartoov of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University is at the core of the recently opened IVF centers in New Delhi. 

-         A research team from Israel’s Technion has produced human eggs using cells from the amniotic sac that surrounds a baby in the womb.  Experts believe that donation of the amniotic sac will be more acceptable than egg donation from fertile women – but not to BDS-ers.

Life is just too complicated for BDS-ers:

-         And they should end it all, now that they know three Israelis invented the science of Biogerontology (the study of longevity and the aging process) and that Israel recently hosted the eighth European Congress of Biogerontology.

The despicable BDS-ers cannot have any wish to save life. 

-         They would have added to the deaths of those murdered in the Boston Marathon bombings through refusing Israel’s help train Boston medical staff for a mass-casualty event.

-         They have no pity for the Boston children who would have been permanently scarred but for the post-trauma help from the Israel Trauma Coalition.

-         They would rather say “Roger and Out” to reducing emergency response times with the innovative call centre system from Israel’s NowForce, now operating in Missouri or to any training with Magen David Adom – Israel’s emergency first response service.

-         They would happily switch off Israel’s EarlySense “under the mattress” patient vital signs monitoring system currently being distributed to hospitals across the United States.

-         They would tell you to hand back your Oxitone wrist-worn blood-oxygen monitor that warns of any sudden deterioration in an “at risk” patient’s condition.

-         No sweat to them that more Africans have to die from tropical diseases rather than allow Ben Gurion University students to carry out an extensive educational medical and sanitation program in Ethiopia.

The warped world that the BDS-ers inhabit has no desire:

-         To cure measles; the US National Institutes of Health wants Ben-Gurion University to discover why the measles virus persists

-         To recognise Downs Syndrome; Israel and Singapore established World Down Syndrome Day in 2006 and over 400 participants attended this year’s event at Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem in April.

-         To cure autism; Osnat Zomer-Penn received the L’Oréal-UNESCO “Women in Science” prize for determining its genetic basis.

-         To treat osteo-arthritis; Moebius’s injectable solution was demonstrated at US road shows in February.

Finally, ALEH - Israel’s largest network of facilities for children with severe cognitive and physical disabilities - has pioneered a virtual reality (VR) facility to allow their residents to go on occasional field trips in simulated environments.  BDS-ers, however, live permanently in a Virtual world.  I advise them all to undergo cognative therapy until they can recognise the real world in which Israeli medical innovations are indispensable.

Michael Ordman writes a free weekly newsletter containing Good News stories about Israel.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

For a free subscription, email a request to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com