5777 - What a Year That Was

The Jerusalem Post included two reports on the events of 5777 in its 20th September edition. Gill Hoffman wrote “very little of significance actually ended up happening in Israel” so he described the Top 10 stories that didn’t happen.  Amotz Asa-el struggled to find a “Person of the Year” – there was “no celebrity thinker, captivating artist or high-flying statesman”.

I would like to challenge these rather negative articles by providing a summary of just a few of the many hundreds of positive events of the past year.  Most of these news articles appeared in the Jerusalem Post. Where appropriate, I will name the exceptional people involved.

Tishri-Cheshvan 5777 / Oct-Nov 2016:-

Readers will know about IsraAID’s relief work after recent Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and Maria, but may have forgotten that IsraAID’s Navonel (Voni) Glick and Yotam Polizer were organizing volunteers back in 2016 to help Haitian survivors of Hurricane Matthew. IsraAID has since helped survivors of the Italian earthquakes, refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, Sierra Leone, Peru, Yazidis in Iraq and more.

In November, the IDF announced that Avraham Yitzhak will be the first colonel of Ethiopian descent in IDF history when he becomes chief medical officer of the IDF Southern Command. Yitzhak came to Israel in 1991, graduated in medicine at Ben Gurion University and was the first Ethiopian-Israeli combat doctor.

Kislev-Tevet 5777 / Dec-Jan 2016:-

Israel received rare recognition from the BBC in December, when (after protest for their initial snub) BBC News finally interviewed Weizmann Institute’s Professor Avigdor Scherz, co-developer of the globally acclaimed TOOKAD prostate cancer treatment. Also in December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his series of global trips to improve Israel’s international relations and bilateral trade by visiting two Muslim countries - Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. He subsequently visited London, Singapore, Australia, West Africa and of course, the USA and the UN.  In January the PM announced that Member of Knesset Ayoub Kara would become the first lawmaker from Israel’s Druze community to serve as a cabinet minister. In his previous role as Deputy Minister of Regional Cooperation, Kara was instrumental in setting up Israeli help for Syrian refugees in Syria, Israel and Jordan. Also in January, Israel’s leading crowdfunding organization OurCrowd, founded by entrepreneur Jon Medved, hosted Israel’s largest investment event with over 6,000 attendees. Most of OurCrowd’s portfolio of 110 startups were on view.

Shevat-Adar 5777 / Feb-Mar 2017:-

In February new judges chosen to sit on Israel’s Supreme Court of Justice included a Christian Arab, George Kara, and Yael Vilner - the first orthodox Jewish woman to get a permanent seat on Israel’s highest court. In the same month Dr. Michal Kaufmann of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital performed cochlear implant surgery on 16 Palestinian Arab deaf and mute children to allow them to hear for the first time in their lives.  Then in March, Israeli scientists announced one of the biggest breakthroughs in cancer treatment when they used derivatives of Phenanthridine to make tumor cells self-destruct in the most resistant and incurable cancers.  Also in March Intel purchased Israel’s Mobileye, founded by Ziv Aviram and Amnon Shashua, for $15 billion. Mobileye continues to be managed in Israel and expand through partnerships with Fiat-Chrysler and China’s Yutong and Nio.  Another Israeli company, SodaStream, led by David Birnbaum, unveiled its new packaging in March. It includes a picture of the Israeli flag, accompanied by the caption: "This product is made by Arabs and Jews working side by side in peace and harmony."

Nissan-Iyar 5777 / Apr-May 2017:-

One of April’s highlights was when Israeli President Rivlin invited Arab teacher Jehan Jaber to his Jerusalem residence, to praise her for teaching Hebrew to Arab elementary school children. The video of Jehan teaching catchy song “Geshem, Geshem Metaftef” (“Rain, rain is dripping”) went viral, with over two million views. In May Yehiel Tal, CEO of Israel’s CollPlant, which has been developing collagen-based bio-ink, made a major announcement.  He said that CollPlant is now “working with several large international companies, with the aim of collaborating in the development of organs and tissues printing.” Meanwhile, Israeli NGO Innovation: Africa, founded by Sivan Ya’ari, publicized its work installing solar power systems to provide electricity for Africans to pump water, illuminate homes and power medical centers. Sivan’s 8-year-old daughter then visited Uganda to see her mother’s work at first hand.

Sivan-Tammuz-Av 5777 / Jun-July-Aug 2017:-

In June, researchers at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital, led by Professor Benjamin Rubinoff, transplanted retinal pigment cells from embryonic stem cells to prevent five sufferers of retinal degeneration from going blind. In the same month, Jerusalem Rabbi Dov Benyaacov-Kurtzman setup the UK National Emergency Response, Resilience and Treatment Program for Stress and Trauma. Its first work was with the victims of the Manchester UK bombing. In July Eli Beer, founder and President of United Hatzalah, explained his organization’s revolutionary model of life-saving at the largest dedication of emergency vehicles in Israel’s history. Later, in August United Hatzalah despatched its Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit to Houston, Texas.

Ellul 5777 / Sept 2017:-

In September, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon took up his new position as Vice President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly (GA). Earlier in the year, as chair of the United Nations Legal Committee, Danon increased respect for Israel at the UN. He saw two Israeli-sponsored resolutions passed by the GA and arranged a co-operation agreement with United Nations Women - the world body’s institution for the empowerment of women. He even organized a UN event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Israel’s reunification of Jerusalem. Then just before this Rosh Hashana as the presiding GA chair, he proudly invited Israeli PM Netanyahu to speak to the General Assembly.

In fact, it was a Very Good News Year.

Michael Ordman writes about positive news stories from Israel. www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com and a searchable archive www.IsraelActive.com

 

Israel Opens Doors

The modern Jewish state was established after the world closed its doors to European Jewry.  Today, Israeli innovations are opening doors to millions across the planet who had previously thought that their window of opportunity was firmly shut.

Many sufferers from strokes, dementia, fibromyalgia and burns could be released from their “locked-in” existence now that Israel’s Assaf Harofeh Medical Center has opened the world’s largest high-pressure oxygen chamber.  It has a capacity for 150 patients per day and can also treat victims of diving accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning, radiation damage and bone infections.  Meanwhile, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, scientists have discovered that the visual cortexes of the blind from birth are similar to those of the fully sighted.  It has provided an open opportunity for the blind to be trained to “see” sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J9AGklNDUc

Open-minded Israeli doctors have known for some time that there is a genetic link between over eighty autoimmune diseases.  This has opened a new line of research leading to the discovery by scientists at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem that the rheumatoid arthritis medication Baricitinib is effective in the treatment of Alopecia Areata, whose symptoms are hair loss.  And research by Hebrew University of Jerusalem psychologist Professor Ariel Knafo has shown that children who mimic each other’s body language for mere minutes each day are more likely to open-up to others and share feelings of similarity and closeness.  The findings could open the way to new therapies for developing positive social behaviors in disruptive children.

Israel is open to sharing the credit for discoveries that can benefit humanity.  This has led to many joint research agreements between Israeli and international scientists, including recently with the UK’s Royal Society and also with France’s Atomic and Alternative Energy Commission.  Israel has also opened its doors to Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of India’s Maharashtra state who wants to replicate Israel’s agriculture technology in one of the most populous areas in the world.

Recent news is full of multinational companies wanting to open research and development centers in Israel.  German energy giant RWE AG is opening an Israeli innovation center in order to develop technology for a smart grid metering system that will keep track of how consumers use electricity.  Canadian handset maker Blackberry finally opened up in Israel by buying Israeli device security company WatchDox, whose 100 employees will form the core of Blackberry’s new Israeli R&D team.  And US video production giant Avid Technology’s purchase of Israel’s Orad Hi-Tec and its slick graphic technologies will result in the opening of Avid’s new Israeli R&D facility.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyJ4TFMYAN4

Now that Israel has signed Europe’s “Open Skies” agreement, it has opened up the country to the likes of Europe’s biggest airline Ryanair, which is eager to open up new routes between Tel Aviv and Europe.  The airways are also buzzing with the news that a consortium of top Israeli companies and universities is studying 3D printing technologies that could open up a radical new way of designing and manufacturing aircraft components.

Israel has some beautiful geographic features, including its award-winning beaches, which are now open right through until October.  However, I admit that I was openly surprised to read that the usually anti-Israel UNESCO recently added Israel’s open cave system at Beit Guvrin to its list of World Heritage sites.  Unfortunately, not all openings in the ground are positive, as the recent earthquake in Nepal has proved.  But it again has highlighted the openhearted nature of Israel in sending rescuers and humanitarian aid to save human lives wherever and whenever it can.

In Israel, the door of opportunity is open to anyone who has the desire to succeed.  One such example is Ilit Geller, the female CEO of Israel’s TradAir, who operates in the traditionally “man’s world” of Foreign Exchange trading.  And please watch this video of young Aaron Shapso – a Circassian (Sunni Muslim) from the village of Kafr Kama.  Aaron is the captain of the youth soccer team Maccabi Haifa Nahalal, which is open to children of all religions and ethnic groups.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15BIKfcb1eo

Finally, Avraham Nagusie epitomizes Israel’s open-door policy. Nagusie was a shepherd in Ethiopia before immigrating to Israel in 1985. He then graduated with degrees in Social work and Law and a PhD in Education. Now at 57, he has opened the door to Israel's parliament by becoming a lawmaker in Israel’s 20th Knesset.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fp6gaeUhE8 
  

Israel – it’s an open miracle. 

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

Israel Educates for Life

Having read so many recent stories of schoolchildren around the world being radicalized by Islamic extremists, here is a collection of contrasting education-related activities and news articles I’ve collected over the past few weeks concerning the Jewish State.

I will begin in the Israeli school system itself. Whereas 100 countries marked Feb 11 as Safer Internet Day, Israel’s Ministry of Education, on Feb 8, launched Annual National Week for Online Safety Education in Israel.  Throughout the entire state educational system, students engaged in classroom and online activities designed to increase awareness for Internet safety, reduce potential risks, and deal with any harmful online incidents. 

100,000 Israeli kids attend a Sci-Tech school – that’s 10 percent of all Israeli high school students (including Muslims, Christians and Druze).  The Sci-Tech network builds curricula based on the demand for professionals in various Israeli industries, and it currently has 18 industrial vocational schools.  This Bloomberg report shows how Israeli-Arabs (especially women) continue to flourish educationally, at Technion Institute of Technology – one of Israel’s top class higher education establishments.

Technion’s President Peretz Lavie has been describing the importance of Technology and Education.  Technion graduates have either founded or are managing two-thirds of the Israeli companies on NASDAQ.  And the trend is bound to continue with initiatives such as the brand new development lab that the Technion and Microsoft have built together. It has facilities that allow students to develop innovative technologies to rival anything a hi-tech company can design.  They might even eliminate cancer, thanks to a recent multi-million dollar donation for educational research into the disease.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrS_0cYm7iE

Life-changing discoveries continue to be made at other Israeli establishments of higher education.  Researchers at Tel Aviv University have been receiving large numbers of small public donations (known as “crowdfunding”) to allow them to conduct DNA sequencing tests. These have identified the genetic mutations responsible for severe educational developmental delays in children.  Meanwhile, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot have embarked on a project with a group of Japanese scientists to discover how autistic spectrum disorder progresses in the brain.  Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are also studying the brain – this time those of blind people, in order to shed new light on how our brains can adapt to the rapid cultural and technological changes of the 21st Century.  This led to the discovery that reading Braille utilizes “visual” areas of the brain.  Finally, Ben-Gurion University hosted “Light and Blindness” - an exhibition of research-and-development activities in Israel designed to improve the quality of life for people with visual impairment.  It included a startup contest and the opening of a trail for the blind.

Two Israeli companies recently reported achievements with their medical “education” technologies. First, Israel’s Pluristem Therapeutics announced that its stem cells help to educate the body to build muscle after a hip replacement.  Then Israel’s Meditouch demonstrated its wearable movement biofeedback devices and dedicated rehabilitation software, which are used in hospitals, clinics and at home to motivate patients to exercise and improve movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkrumdWCeps

Israel’s medical education programs are making a difference across the globe.  According to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, eight joint UK-Israeli stem cell research projects have “the potential to change the lives of hundreds of millions of people.”  In West Africa, Israeli humanitarian organization IsraAID has set-up a program entitled “Ebola Heroes” to provide psychosocial education and training to health workers, teachers, burial teams, policemen, social workers involved in treating Ebola cases. 

So before the Jewish State is delegitimized by billions of radicalized individuals, let’s use positive news like this to re-educate the world about Israel.  We are helped by the international education non-profit StandWithUs, which has launched its “Social Media Ambassadors” program. StandWithUs is educating university students in the use of multiple platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.  In another initiative, Israel’s Technion (again) brought over 50 university and secondary students from Hong Kong to educate them about Israeli entrepreneurial success.

We also need to educate ourselves so that we champion those who safeguard the future of the Jewish State. We need to publicize the message of the non-Jewish student visitor who is “awed by pluralistic, diverse Israel” and who leaves determined to educate the world about the democratic Jewish State.  We need to fight alongside people like Irish Catholic Belinda “Don’t judge Israel before you’ve seen it” Hickey who counters uneducated bigotry in Ireland.

Finally, here is another piece of good news. You may have heard already about Israel’s educational bus stop libraries that are still expanding locally.  Well what do you know?  The concept has just been adopted in Istanbul.  And guess what? The Turkish media report proclaims that it was inspired by Israel!

We learn something new every day.

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

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

Freedom Begins Here

http://blogs.jpost.com/content/freedom-begins-here

http://blogs.jpost.com/print/5335

Recent news is full of examples of how freedom continues to be championed by the Jewish State, where the concept began.  This is particularly appropriate at this time of year, in the lead-up to Passover - the Jewish festival of freedom.

Every week, Israeli discoveries and developments gives freedom to many suffering from deadly diseases.  March is Israel’s colon cancer awareness month, highlighting the decline of fatalities due to early diagnosis.  Genetic diseases Progressive Cerebro-Cerebellar Atrophy (PCCA and PCCA2) can now be detected in prospective parents thanks to a simple blood test developed by Dr. Ohad Birk of Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva.  And further breakthroughs in fighting neurological diseases are almost certain, with the establishment by the Weizmann Institute and the Max Planck Society of a new laboratory for Experimental Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurogenetics in Rehovot.

Arabs in Israel have more freedom than in any other country in the Middle East.  20 percent of students at Israel’s Technion are Arab. 100 have graduated from Technion’s NAM (Outstanding Arab Youth) program since 2006 and are now embarking on successful careers in hi-tech and engineering.  And as Chairman of “Druze for Israel” Mendi Safadi explains, Arabs, Christians, Druze and Jews are all equal in Israel. Mendi was born in the Golan Heights on the border with Syria and highlights Israel’s humanitarian aid to the beleaguered civilians of Israel’s neighbor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYqYlOt-UmE

It is significant that Israeli cooperation with the “Land of the Free” continues to go from strength to strength.  The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act.  The bill promotes bi-lateral military, energy, water, science, homeland security, and agriculture co-operation.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also signed a Research & Development agreement with California Governor Jerry Brown, focusing on water, energy, storage and cyber security.  Then, over 1,000 senior executives from around the world came to Israel Dealmakers Summit 2014 in New York to hear about Israeli innovation in Digital Media, Cleantech, Mobile, Internet, Big Data, Semiconductors, Software, Healthcare and Telecom. But the message really came home when it was announced that America’s symbol of freedom - the Statue of Liberty – is to incorporate Israel’s BriefCam in its state-of-the-art surveillance system. Briefcam’s unique Video Synopsis software solution enables law enforcement and security personnel to review hours of video in minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrDDqBXy6I4

Freedom of trade is bringing Israeli innovations to other parts of the world too.  Japanese companies Takeda, Rakuten, Samurai Incubate and now the Japan External Trade Organization are investing in the Israeli startup market in search of new technologies to expand their businesses.  Over in Europe, Israeli biotech Insuline has announced a new distribution agreement for marketing its InsuPad product in the Netherlands and Belgium.  InsuPad gives more freedom to diabetics by increasing the effectiveness of Insulin injections, lowering the required dose and allowing flexibility on timing the injections.

One of the most powerful aspects of liberty is “Freedom of the Mind”.  The Israeli education system encourages its citizens to aim for the highest level of achievement.  For example Israel’s National Science Day celebrates the birthday of Albert Einstein with the scheduling of hundreds of events at universities and research institutes.  And Israeli students were in free flight at the 54th Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences. It included a competition for students to build unique aircraft, which resulted in a mechanical bird, a short take-off drone, an electric passenger plane and an autonomous cluster of satellites.  Israel freely shares its educational developments with the world.  Israeli accelerator MindCet incubates education technology start-ups in Tel Aviv and in the Negev.  Its founders went to SXSWedu in Austin Texas, along with start-ups CodeMonkey, Simlisco and RoadStory to explain how technology can significantly change teaching and learning processes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3TU4MjCgfQ
 

Some sections of the community will benefit from Israeli support and technology in order to achieve maximum freedom in today’s society.  The UpWest Labs Female Entrepreneurship Program, funded by Google, is establishing a network of mentors in Silicon Valley and Israel.  Its co-founder Shuly Galili said, “Israel leads the world in empowering women to take command.”  Meanwhile, delegates at the recent AIPAC conference saw a demonstration of EyeMusic – a tool developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that provides visual information for the blind.  Shapes, colors and locations are converted to music in order to give an audible “picture” of objects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6bz1pOEJWg&feature=youtu.be 

Finally, here is an opportunity for those who want the freedom to become independent, self-sufficient and resilient.  In this “life-changing experience”, Naale Elite Academy enables students to complete their last three years of high school in Israel. The program, co-funded by the State of Israel and the Jewish Agency, provides a full scholarship with all expenses paid until graduation.

Israel – for the freedom to be yourself.

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

Can you see the future?

http://blogs.jpost.com/content/can-you-see-future

http://blogs.jpost.com/print/4765

As we approach the Jewish New Year it is appropriate to highlight Israelis and Israeli innovations that are likely to make a huge impact on our lives in the next few years. Here are some examples from the latest news stories to help people see the Jewish State in its true light.

It is hard to see the future when suffering from poor or non-existent eyesight. So imagine the foresight that Bar-Ilan Professor Zeev Zalevsky must have had to invent a bionic contact lens for the blind that receives the electrical signals from an image and transmits them to the wearer’s cornea.  From there, the image is translated, by sensory areas of the brain, into a tactile sensation that the wearer can interpret visually via the fingertips and the tongue.  Now checkout the other futuristic innovations that Professor Zalevsky is working on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPH-qyzqrCk

Israel’s EyeYon Medical has two solutions for corneal edema, which afflicts two million new patients every year.  First, a patented contact lens uses osmosis to release the dangerous fluid build-up.  Then a polymer film implant prevents the fluid forming in the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMNvoa7uPew

Half of the victims of one of the deadliest categories of stroke previously never got to see the future.  Now, thanks to the revolutionary Ventritek105 device from Tel Aviv’s Biosan Medical, more than 90 per cent of Intra Ventricular Hemorrhage sufferers who are treated using the device will survive.  Eli Beer certainly saw the future when he decided to set up United Hatzalah and its lifesaving ambu-cycles.  Eli was unwilling to see people die just because ambulances were unable to get through traffic.  United Hatzalah’s two-wheeler paramedics get to emergencies in 3 minutes. “It’s about saving people,” says Eli.

I keep urging people to see at how tiny the State of Israel is on the map of the Middle East.  So it is appropriate that some Israeli hi-tech research, innovations and discoveries involve technologies that you cannot even see with the naked eye.  The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has just founded the Quantum Information Science Center to advance computing and communications. Just imagine the size of the components inside the powerful 5.3 inch by 3.9 inch Utilite computer from Israel’s CompuLab. And another Israeli computer “giant” TowerJazz has just announced a major breakthrough in magnetic technology. 

Israeli cleantech is already helping urban communities around the world to reduce levels of smog and see their environment more clearly.  The latest development Israel’s SDE Energy is a 100MW sea wave power plant along the coastline of Conakry – the capital of Guinea.  It is good to see that we Israelis will also benefit soon from new electric trains and buses and power stations running on natural gas.

Several of the subscribers to my weekly newsletter have asked me whether I can see any future emerging from the current peace talks between Israel and the PA.  I make no comment other than to hope for more of the kind of co-existence stories that I publicize.  For example, a partnership between Israeli and Palestinian Arab companies to produce eco-friendly salt seasoning from the Dead Sea. Or the new industrial park near Bethlehem, being built with support from France, the PA and Israel. 

We also desperately need to see more people such as the pro-Israel Arab Christians of Nazareth who are trying to convince more young Arabs to join the army. Their reasoning is “We live in a Jewish state, which is democratic and free. As Israeli Christians we see ourselves as part of this state and not as part of those who oppose it”. And just look at Ahmed Inaim – a Bedouin Muslim from Nazareth - who enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces, despite losing one brother who fell in military service and having seen another brother severely wounded by terrorists in the same raid that captured Gilad Shalit.  Here, he explains why he chose to extend his service in the IDF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0dOvJp1ZFM

Finally, we should all be inspired by young Aviva Krainess from Bet Shemesh, who founded Aviva Productions despite suffering from Lupus and losing nearly all her eyesight.  Aviva wanted others who are visually impaired to be able to enjoy entertaining plays and has just finished producing “The Emperor’s Secret” – a unique production for “The Theatre of the Mind”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyD0tHIB_0M

My New Year wish is that with Israeli ingenuity and positive attitudes we will all see a brighter future.

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