Israeli achievements you cannot Pass Over

The Hebrew nation have come a long way since escaping Egyptian slavery.  Today’s oppression comes from those, such as in the BDS movement, who are still in “de-Nile” about this amazing people.  Here are some phenomenal examples from the last two weeks, that I have put into a sequence (Hebrew = “Seder”). They parallel the Biblical events we recall during the forthcoming Jewish festival of Passover.  If you are hosting or attending a Passover Seder this year, you may like to share this article with the other guests.

The Exodus from Egypt was preceded by ten plagues.  Today, Israelis have transformed the very essence of many of these plagues for the benefit of mankind.

The Nile was turned into Blood

A researcher at Israel’s Ariel University, has discovered that Gallium Nitrate can rapidly halt bleeding from deep wounds, without causing dangerous blood clots.  Next, in recent trials, 38% of “no-hope” patients suffering from the blood cancer acute myeloid leukemia went into complete remission after just two cycles of the treatment BL-8040 from Israel’s Bioline Rx.  Then Magen David Adom received its largest ever donation - $25 million - to build a new blood services center in Ramle.  We also heard that surgeons from Israel’s Save A Child’s Heart returned to Tanzania in March to perform more life-saving operations on the blood-pumping hearts of African children.  And finally, whilst Israeli doctors in Haifa were repairing the heart of a wounded Syrian girl, they discovered she had blood cancer.  Israeli secret services then located a relative with matching bone marrow from “an enemy state” and smuggled him into Israel.

The Plague of Boils.

There have been several recent breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of many disfiguring diseases.  First, Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers can now identify the source of fragmented DNA caused by cell death. In tests on 320 patients they have identified pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis, diabetes, traumatic brain injury and MS.  Then Israel’s Eximo successfully used its laser system and unique catheters to cure 20 patients of peripheral artery disease (PAD) without having to resort to leg amputations.  Meanwhile, esearchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Israel’s Technion have developed an enhanced micro-emulsion liquid that protects the skin (and other organs) against free radical damage.  Finally, the focused ultrasound brain surgery of Israel’s Insightec has been used for the first time in Israel to cure an Israeli Parkinson’s sufferer of her uncontrollable shaking.

The Plague of Lice

This was the first plague that Egypt’s magicians couldn’t emulate, because lice were just too small.  Size doesn’t matter for today’s Israeli scientists.  Israel’s Tracense has developed nanotech odor technology that can detect explosives, narcotics, stashed cash, banned metals and toxic liquids.  Israel’s Nano Dimension is a leader in the area of minute 3D printed electronics and has just listed on NASDAQ.  Meanwhile, Israel’s XJet has just received a $25 million investment to help fund its unique nanotechnology to 3D print metal parts without the need for expensive molds or lasers.  Finally, Israeli start-up Phresh has unveiled a non-toxic organic powder, which dissolves into the atmosphere to triple the shelf life of fruit and vegetables    

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

The Plague of Locusts

One of the recent winners of Grand Challenge Israel was Israeli startup BioFeed, which uses odor to attract insects to poison that eliminates the Zika virus carrier without spraying crops.  Admittedly, the insect Aedes aegypti which carries the virus is a mosquito rather than a locust, but BioFeed’s technology can eradicate many species of insect.

The Plagues of Wild Animals and Pestilence

Israelis today are more concerned with saving wild animals than eradicating them.  Israeli scientists have helped isolate the tilapia lake virus that is killing both wild and farmed tilapia fish - an important global food source and essential for freshwater quality.  Even when building roads, Israel tries to protect its wildlife. It is constructing an eco-bridge over Highway 1 between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv so that jackals and hyenas can cross in safety.  And the bond between man and animal could not be closer at the Red Mountain Therapeutic Riding School, in Israel’s Arava desert, where therapists, volunteers and 22 beautiful horses each week give 200 special needs children and adults increased control of muscles whilst helping their emotional development.

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

The Plague of Hail

In contrast to the destructive power of Biblical hail, Israeli water technology is now sought worldwide.  And no wonder, thanks to the un-mistakable fact that Israel’s wastewater recycling, desalination and conservation allowed it to escape the eastern Mediterranean area’s worst drought in 900 years.  Israel’s agriculture minister Uri Ariel recently opened India Water Week in Delhi, which featured eleven innovative Israeli companies specializing in irrigation, desalination, water purification, measurement and management for municipalities and farms.  Even the United Nations is hearing about Israeli water technology from Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon.  And for the second consecutive year, Israel’s Desalitech has reached the finals of Global Water Intelligence’s Global Water Award for Breakthrough Water Technology.

The Plague of Darkness

The fog in Egypt was so thick that Pharaoh and his people couldn’t see the hands in front of their faces.  Today, Israel’s threshold for the six most carcinogenic or toxic substances listed in the Clean Air Law are more stringent than European and US standards, making Israel one of the most advanced countries in terms of environmental regulation.  Overseas, meanwhile, Innovation: Africa has connected 104 rural villages in Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, DRC and Ethiopia to electricity.  It has brought solar energy to hundreds of thousands of people.  But some Israeli scientists don’t need the sun in order to see.  As with those working for Israel’s Opgal, the inventors of NDTherm and its Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) solution that uses thermal imaging to see faults in machinery and infrastructure.

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

Splitting the Sea

It would be interesting to imagine how Israelis today would react to seeing thousands of Egyptian soldiers washed up on the shores of the Sea of Reeds.  First of all, the Israel Defense Forces would set up a functioning field hospital within 12 hours of arriving at the site.  Israel would have likely prevented many from drowning by previously training them in water-safety.  The Egyptians would probably also have been equipped with smartphones containing the unique emergency video app supplied by Israel’s Magen David Adom.  But the most fascinating aspect of this Biblical event is that an Israeli has replicated it in a very small way.  Professor Lilac Amirav of Israel’s Technion, has just developed a nanotechnology and solar energy system to split water into hydrogen and oxygen with 100% efficiency.  Moses would have been proud! 

40 Years in the Wilderness

The Children of Israel’s marathon 40-year journey from Sinai to Jericho would probably nowadays take the 70,000 Jerusalem and Tel Aviv marathon runners just a few days – even without Waze.  With the 3D printers from Israel’s Stratasys, they can even print their own running shoes!  Certainly the 150 Israel startups in the field of Smart Transportation would be able to cut the travelling time even more.  But the fastest time would be achieved in any vehicle using the hydrazine thrusters built by Israel’s Rafael Industries for the Mars landing module of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission which blasted off from Kazahkstan on 14th March. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r7qqK5E7fU

And finally

3,500 years after the Hebrews built storehouses for Pharaoh, Israelis are still building in Africa.  Ghana’s State Housing Company has just signed a contract with Israel’s IDM International to build 20,000 housing units. The project will ease the massive housing problems facing Ghanaians.  And it took an Egyptian - journalist Ramy Azizto - to publicly praise Israel’s freedom, in that it has built the only true democracy in the Middle East and is open and accepting of religious and ethnic minorities.

There is nothing that can compare with the plague that finally convinced Pharaoh to release the Hebrews – the killing of the firstborn of Egypt.  But if anyone wonders about the plague of frogs, I left that to the end with this short video that shows the indispensability of Israeli technology.  It will really make the BDS idiots hopping mad!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Rkjp0rU-o

Happy Passover!

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

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com and a searchable archive www.IsraelActive.com

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

Israel Confronts Crisis

If you analyze the news for the most serious problems affecting the planet, they would include disease, hunger, drought, natural disasters and terrorism.  Israel’s superb work to combat these menaces deserves far more publicity.  Here are some recent examples.

The risk of contracting cancer is now estimated at 1 in 2, which puts the deadly disease firmly into the crisis category.  Weizmann scientists have just developed a triple-effect treatment to kill lung cancer cells and prevent them from returning.  The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has designed a tiny antenna that can be inserted into the stomach to detect and treat early-stage gastric tumors too small to be treated by current methods.  Meanwhile, Israel’s VBL Therapeutics reported interim results from its Phase 2 trials of its VB-111 advanced ovarian cancer treatment that reduced tumor size by at least 50% and also extended the survival of patients with aggressive brain cancer (glioblastoma).  And finally, let’s hear it for Israel Prize laureate Dr. Haim (Howard) Cedar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem whose work to detect wrongly reproduced instructions in the DNA may one day not merely cure, but actually prevent cancer from forming.

The media warns us that the next medical crisis will occur when bacteria becomes resistant to antibiotics and that there is insufficient research into alternatives.  But almost every week Israeli biotechs announce advances in this area.  Such as the P-1000 optical device from Pocared Diagnostics that performs bacteria tests in minutes and even identifies which antibiotics the bacteria is resistant to.  Or the pulsed light research at Tel Aviv University that kills the listeria bacteria in infected milk products.  In fact using pulsed light once a day may mean that milk no longer requires refrigeration.  Finally, Redhill Biopharma, which has just completed a Phase III successful trial of RHB-105 for H. pylori infections, the major cause of stomach cancer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r2jGrjz19o 

According to the World Bank, there is a crisis in food security, with one-third of global child deaths due to malnutrition.  Thankfully, Israel’s agricultural expertise is combatting this crisis.  The new government of India has deployed Israeli technology to feed its growing population in almost every state, the latest being Goa.  Visit the Israeli Pavilion at the Milano Expo to see Israel’s Hinoman, which is cultivating Mankhai, a sustainable vegetable containing more protein than meat or fish.  It is also high in vitamins, low in carbohydrate, fat, sugar and salt and is GMO, gluten and pesticide free.

There is an even bigger global crisis with drought.  So Israel has just signed an agreement to share its best practices on water with the World Bank.  The water crisis affects even developed countries and Israeli water technology experts are busy working in the Californian cities of Sacramento, Los Angeles and Beverly Hills.  

Ironically, too much water is one cause of the many crises from recent natural disasters.  Massive floods in Texas killed dozens and impacted thousands.  So the Israeli organization IsraAID sent a team of volunteers to help remove debris from damaged houses.  And in Tbilisi, the east European capital of Georgia, a team of Israeli veterinarians helped rescue wild animals that escaped during severe floods.  Meanwhile, IsraAID also launched its "A Roof for All" program to provide safe and sturdy transitional shelter for thousands of displaced families who lost their homes as a result of the last two devastating earthquakes in Nepal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MmaJciQmZE

Israel is a key player in solving the world’s energy crisis.  Despite its recent discovery of huge deposits of natural gas, Israel is firmly at the forefront of renewable energy developments.  Israel’s latest billion-dollar company, SolarEdge has just released a new solar energy storage system and expanded its commercial products.  And with Israel’s Ecoppia cleaning system, 5 million solar panels are now keeping free of the dust and sand that reduces efficiency by up to 40 percent.  Meanwhile, those companies still having to clean-up after oil-spill crises will be encouraged that Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists have developed a reagent that converts the oil into carbon dioxide and water.  And a new fast-deployed oil-spill containment boom from Israeli startup HARBO will provide a major improvement on disaster response times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Z1BaTQ3Zk

Israel’s work to combat the world terrorism crisis would take up too much room than I have available here.  Suffice it to say, however, that eleven Israeli companies exhibited products at the recent Paris Air Show.  One new Israeli device will prevent an on-board crisis should a pilot lose consciousness.  The Cannary flight helmet smart system from Tel Aviv’s Lifebeam has sensors that measure the pilot’s vital signs and will take control of the plane in order to prevent disasters. 

Finally, some 150 of the Jewish world’s leading change-makers from 32 countries gathered in Jerusalem for the 2015 ROI Summit.  They will no doubt learn to combat many crises as they seek to build a thriving Jewish future and a better world.

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

Version 2 of the Startup Nation

In reading about the Children of Israel leaving Egypt, it is easy to imagine that Moses was the original CEO of the very first Startup Nation.  Today, the “company mission” - to become a light to the nations - is certainly being fulfilled by the prolific recent achievements of the Jewish State and its current generation of young startup companies.

Israeli startups dominate the Life Sciences market, as attendees from 60 countries will experience at MEDinISRAEL in March, where medical solutions from 120 Israeli companies will be on display.  Lifesaving products include the tiny patch pumps from Israeli startup ToucheMedical that deliver meds directly into the bodies of diabetics and Parkinson’s sufferers.  Or MediSafe’s medication reminder app that sends you an alert if a dependent forgets to take vital medication.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seE6rCZGm2Q

Lighting up the nations takes on a new meaning with Israeli solar technology.  Thanks to Israeli startup Energiya Global, the new 8.5 MegaWatt solar field at the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda will add 6 percent to the East-African country’s electricity production.  Meanwhile at the site of the huge fields of solar panels at Kibbutz Ketura in Israel’s Negev desert, Israeli-designers are developing mud huts with solar panels in their roofs.

Anyone with a mission knows the importance of “staying on message” – being focused and consistent with your ideals.  Two Israeli startups have literally incorporated that message into their products.  Glide has developed video messaging that is so fast, you can begin watching a video on the other side of the world before your friend has finished recording it!  And years after an Israeli startup invented ICQ (the world’s first instant messenger) another Israeli startup has invented Music Messenger – already a huge hit in the music industry.

Israel is rated one of the world’s most innovative countries and the global potential of Israeli startups has certainly been recognized by the world’s multinationals. Johnson and Johnson together with Takeda have launched FutuRx an Israeli biotech startup incubator in Rehovot’s Weizmann Science Park.  Samsung invested in eight Israeli startups in 2014.  Five more recently graduated from IBM’s Alpha Zone accelerator.  And a further eleven have just graduated from the Microsoft Ventures cyber-security and medical accelerator program.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9JP4QhwAYQ

The demand for Israeli innovation was highlighted strikingly last month when overseas companies invested over $900 million in Israeli startups in just one week!  Acquisitions include Amazon’s of Israel’s Annapurna Labs for $370 million and Harman’s of Israel’s Red Bend Software for $200 million.  The Economist reported that Tel Aviv is the world’s no. 2 startup ecosystem.

Although the USA and Europe are still Israel’s biggest customers, there has been a massive increase of interest in Israeli startups from the Asian market.  Two $100 million-plus Chinese-based funds have recently been launched, investing in Israeli startups.  Next, Startup East is the first Israeli-Asian accelerator aiming to connect startups in Israel with East Asia. Finally, the “Israel Innovation in India” pavilion opened at Vibrant Gujarat 2015, showcasing Indo-Israeli cooperation, with special focus on advanced Israeli technologies in the fields of agriculture and homeland security. 

If you had any doubts about the democratic nature of the Jewish State, you should take note that Israeli-Arabs Aziz Kaddan and Anas Abu Mukh were just 19 when they started development of Myndlift - an app that teaches ADHD children and adults to concentrate by using their brainwaves to display a bright image.  Another Israel-Arab, Technion’s Professor Hossam Haick, is looking to incorporate his NaNose cancer “breathalyzer” technology into a mobile phone, called appropriately the “SniffPhone”.  And Israel’s Economy ministry has just awarded NIS 10 million to two organizations, Tsofen and ITworks, for the training and integration of Arab, Druse, and Circassian academics into the hi-tech sector.

Finally, the fact that the Start-up Nation is still in its infancy can be measured by the fact that Iddo Gino heads up the startup RapidPay, a year-old company providing a mobile payment platform for customers without a credit card.  Iddo studies at the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa and hopes to obtain a degree in computer science at the Open University next year.  Iddo is just 17 years old.

Israel – we’ve only just begun. 

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 is Getting it Together

In this week’s blog, I will illustrate how the Hebrew word “beyachad” (together) typifies the Israeli approach to innovating a better world.

Israel and the US continue to move closer together economically. The Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation recently approved $8.3 million in new funding for 11 projects where US and Israeli companies are working together.  Next, the new Israeli branch of US technology innovator Bell Labs is promoting itself as a new avenue for Israeli PhD graduates to pursue research careers in Israel.  Then, American Internet and media giant AOL announced that it is investing $5million in a joint US-Israeli video research project at the Technion-Cornell Institute.  AOL already has an Israeli R&D center.  And finally, US camera-maker Kodak is looking to acquire Israeli tech startups to help rebuild the company as a leader in digital printing.

Many countries realize that they need to get together with Israel if they are to tackle water scarcity and wastewater problems.  The University of Chicago has sought out Israel's Ben-Gurion University to help develop radical new approaches that may one day rejuvenate the world's water-starved regions.  Scotland’s BDS idiots must be “drowning their sorrows” following the successful UK pilot project of the recycling technology from Israel’s Applied CleanTech for wastewater - at Scottish Water!

Israeli biotechs are developing treatments that work together with the body’s immune system in order to beat cancer.  Israel’s cCAM has just received US FDA approval to commence trials of its CM-24, which targets a protein that blocks the immune system’s ability to destroy cancer cells.  Israel’s Compugen has several candidate drugs that target these proteins and has enlisted John Hopkins University in the US to help assess them.  And Israel’s Vaxil Biotherapeutics has reported that its cancer vaccine, ImMucin (that boosts the immune system to prevent cancer returning) triggers an immune response in about 90 percent of all types of cancer.

Many Israeli innovations are successful due to the way they use a combination of technologies.  Take for example Israeli startup BrightWay Vision, which has developed “BrightEye” – a unique night-vision system that gives drivers a clear, panoramic view of the road, five times beyond the range of headlights.  The system sends out a pulse of light that is reflected back to a synchronized camera that only accepts images that the pulse generated. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dQ42UKfTs

The Israeli startup, SolView, works with solar panel installers to check instantly whether a particular roof could generate sufficient solar energy to justify installation.  SolView takes data from Google Earth to power its automated rooftop scanning technology.  Another Israeli startup HealthWatch Technologies connects your heart instantly to your cardiologist by means of a washable T-shirt with printed electrodes.  It can read a patient’s vital signs, which are then transmitted to the specialist – speed being the key to preventing heart attacks.

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

Despite what you hear from Israel’s enemies, Israeli society is increasingly “getting it together”.  In a recent survey, 65 percent of Arab citizens said they were either “quite” or “very” proud to be Israeli in 2014, up from 50 percent the previous year.  The majority had faith in the Supreme Court, Israeli police and in the IDF.  And we can all be proud of the IDF’s performance in humanitarian medical rescue missions – just watch this inspirational presentation by Brigadier General Professor Yitshak Kreiss describing the leadership, medicine and the personal dilemmas faced when putting back together the lives of those injured in overseas disasters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ismeUdKx6vw

There is no denying the togetherness that Israeli Jews and Diaspora Jews share.  Unfortunately, these are troubled times for the Jews of Europe. 226 Ukrainian immigrants landed in Israel including dozens of families of refugees from eastern Ukraine. And as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said to the youngsters at Taglit-Birthright Israel’s 15th anniversary event, “In Israel, every Jew can say, ‘I am a Jew, Je suis Juif,’ out loud and proudly, without fear. Come to Israel… This is your land.”  Israelis Michael (92) and Marion (90) Mittwoch know all about troubled times and are now experiencing the good times.  They have just celebrated the birth of a new great-grandchild – their 100th!  After escaping Nazi Germany, the Mittwochs immigrated to Israel where they got together to become the first couple to be married at Kibbutz Lavi.  All children and grandchildren live in Israel. 

I will conclude with two apparently inanimate examples of Israeli togetherness.  In the first, you can watch Tel Aviv and Jerusalem getting closer together (at least in travel time) by selecting full screen view to see an amazing video tour of the new road construction along the highway to Jerusalem, together with the Biblical locations along the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxo6NJ65Amc

And lastly, when filmmaker Micha Shagrir donated a 1667 Hebrew Bible to Haifa University, staff discovered that a Bible written by the same person was already on the library's shelves.  An Egyptian Armenian gave Shagrir his Bible in gratitude for his film about the Armenian genocide and Shagrir’s gift reunited the two holy books after 350 years.

Yes, in Israel, everything’s finally coming together.

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