In summer excavations Hebrew University of
Jerusalem archaeologists discovered a treasure trove barely 50 meters from the base of Temple Mount. The items included a 7th
century gold medallion depicting a menorah (Temple candelabrum), a
shofar (ram’s horn) and a Torah scroll - a valuable reminder of Jewish
historical links to the holy site. To
accompany this, I have brought to the surface some more of Israel’s recent
“nuggets” of positive news and ask you to help ensure they receive appropriate
international exposure.
Almost every week Israeli scientists and
biotechs reveal more of cancer’s secrets.
Last week there were four relevant news items:
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Discovery of a protein
that triggers cell death, which is missing in cancerous tissue.
-
Successful transplant
of Gamida’s NiCord stem cells into a leukemia
sufferer.
-
BioLineRX’s treatment of acute myeloid
leukemia was given US FDA orphan drug status.
In the invisible field of molecular
biology, researchers at Israel’s Technion have developed the antioxidant 1-FE
that will be invaluable in the fight
against heart disease.
Meanwhile, deep under the surface of the skin, two companies are healing
damaged joints and bones. Active
Implants, whose R&D center is in Israel, is raising funds for the trials of
its polymer knee
implant for osteo-arthritis patients either too old or too young for a
total knee replacement. And Israel’s
Regenecure has revealed that, following the success of its BoneCure membrane in
healing
broken bones in animals, it is now working on a similar product for
humans.
Israeli Public Service Venture Fund, Tmura,
is a real treasure. It has just distributed
one million shekels to each of five youth charities, following its sale
of share options in Waze. Israeli start-ups donate options to Tmura when they
seek funding, which become valuable if the start-up goes public or gets taken
over.
Israel’s Ziv and Western Galilee hospitals
have no spare funds, but they are like gold mines to hundreds of victims of the
Syrian civil war. Last week, Ziv
treated 12
and 15-year-old brothers who had been wounded by a land mine. And the 15-year-old
Syrian girl, whose remaining leg Ziv doctors saved, was all smiles when
she was discharged. I’m pleased that
some of these reports are
being publicized.
While on this subject, here is a recent
fact sheet about Israel’s
humanitarian work for Palestinian Arabs that most news agencies try to
hide. And those who have read
“Pallywood” propaganda that Israel is depriving the Palestinian Authority of
water need to visit
this site, which exposes all the hidden PA swimming pools.
Israel’s Netafim knows how much of a
treasure water is. Netafim just collected the prestigious Stockholm Industry
Water Award for its drip
irrigation technology, which is vital for farmers in developing
countries. Drip irrigation was
discovered when a hidden leaky water pipe was found to be responsible for a
flourishing tree.
Until recently, the Jewish State’s oil and
gas reserves were very well hidden, which is why so many Israeli start-ups
developed clean energy alternatives.
One of these is Israel’s Ormat Industries, which extracts
geothermal energy from deep underground. Ormat will supply California
with another 12 years of electricity from its 46MW geothermal power plant at
the Heber complex in Imperial Valley.
Here in Israel, the Refuse
Derived Fuel (RDF) plant under construction at the Hiriya Recycling
Park will transform 1500 tons of garbage into usable fuel every day.
So at this time of year, when Jews go from
their houses and move into the outside world, with only the partly-exposed
roofs of the sukkah (tabernacle / booth) to protect them, it’s appropriate to
take the lid off this hidden treasure we call Israel. You could start by promoting Marcella Rosen's e-book "Tiny
Dynamo" about Israeli start-ups that are quietly changing the world. Inc.com
says it’s “a must-read for anyone passionate about entrepreneurship and
technology. Acre-for-acre, person-for-person, no place is innovating more than
Israel.” Or persuade your friends to
watch CBN’s excellent series “Made in Israel” by
Gordon Robertson about Israel's remarkable innovation and ingenuity to produce
breakthroughs in products and processes that affect the way we live our every
day lives.
Finally, one of the most unlikely
individuals came out of hiding recently.
Csanad Szegedi used to be vice-president of Hungary’s far-right,
anti-Semitic Jobbik party until his grandmother exposed the fact that he was
Jewish. Csanad abandoned Jobbik and
embraced the treasure that is Judaism. The change to his life culminated this
year when he made his first visit to the Jewish State.
Come back for more gems next week.
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
