In this topsy-turvy world, it is common to
find positive news about the Jewish State in most unusual circumstances.
Something weird happened at the United
Nations General Assembly last week. Someone
spoke the truth. Due to a
faulty open microphone, an interpreter broadcast to everyone her inability
to understand why there were 10 resolutions concerning Israel when
there was so much else happening in the world.
And then guilty laughter broke out from the delegates.
What was really strange was that the
nations were condemning Israel whilst ignoring the mass-murder of Syrian
civilians by the Syrian government.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Syria’s border with Israel, Syria’s “enemy”
was busy healing
wounded from Syria’s civil war. A fact that even an official from the
EU couldn’t ignore when he praised
Israel’s treatment of “the other”.
The UN also didn’t seem to notice that on the other side of the world, Israeli
doctors were among the first
international relief teams to arrive in the Philippines following
devastating typhoon Haiyan. Within a short
time they had set up a field hospital and were treating
over 300 patients a day, including delivering
premature babies.
The main story on the BBC World Service
last week was that a world crisis is imminent because life-threatening bacteria
has become resistant to all antibiotics.
So it was really weird that Tel Aviv University had just announced that
some of its researchers have just succeeded in isolating a protein
that kills these bacteria. The BBC of course failed to report this, or the
strange coincidence that another group of researchers at the same Tel Aviv
University have found a way to control
an overactive immune response that can trigger allergies and autoimmune
diseases.
Israeli companies have developed some
really weird and wonderful medical devices. One of the is the SAGIV,
invented by Hebrew University students, that provides 100% accurate insertion
of intravenous tubes into a person’s veins.
It is particularly applicable for the tiny veins of sick babies. I hope you have heard about the EarDoc from
Israel’s Kencap Medical solutions. It’s a non-invasive, non-surgical device
that can improve the quality of life for sufferers of earache.
Israelis have invented some weird new
energy sources. Israel’s Energy
Industries makes electricity
from garbage. It is
constructing a power plant in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city, to convert
the methane gas extracted from a giant landfill. Back in Israel, Ben Gurion University scientists have developed a
revolutionary
new method for producing liquid fuel from hydrogen
and carbon dioxide - two of the most common substances on earth.
It will probably seem strange to many
readers that the new
Dean of Exact Sciences at Bar-Ilan University is a female convert to
ultra-orthodox Judaism. You may also
like to watch this
unusual performance of one of the traditional songs for the Jewish
festival of Hanukkah by five talented students from Israel’s Technion. It will
certainly raise a few eyebrows in China,
where the Technion is building another Institute of Technology.
Another Asian country where Israel is
admired is South Korea. At the
first-ever Korea-Israel Creative Economy Forum, Ambassador Kim Il-soo predicted
that the two countries would combine to form
an economic powerhouse. Even
now, Samsung’s only foreign R&D center outside of Korea is located in
Israel. Israel’s innovative technology
drives the advanced cameras on Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones. You can also make some
weird gestures to control your Samsung Smart TV thanks to Israel’s
PointGrab. Its award winning gesture
technology has also just been selected by TCL Corporation, the third largest
television brand in the world.
I will end by returning to the BBC who
broadcast a weird interview last week.
The topic of discussion was the disappearance of Christians, due to
persecution, from their places of origin.
When the interviewee mentioned one of the problem countries to be
Pakistan, the BBC presenter quickly added “and Israel”. Strange, but the facts show that Israel is
the only country in the Middle East where the Christian population is
on the increase.
Isn’t it weird how wonderful the truth
is? (Pity
we don’t hear more of it.)
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly
newsletter containing Good News stories about Israel.
For a free subscription, email a request to
michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
