BGU- Dalhousie signing Photo: DANI MACHLIS/BGU highlights include: Israeli HIV research has led to a breakthrough in treatments for autoimmune diseases. Israel is helping the Philippines rebuild its agriculture after Typhoon Haiyan. An Israeli app uses local information from fellow farmers to help them manage their crops. 2013 was a record year for international tourists to Israel. An Israeli kibbutz firm has won the contract to fit water filters into new US Navy ships. An Israeli movie was a winner at the International Sundance film festival. Two religious students amazed Israeli doctors by reviving a terminally ill patient.
GoodNewsFromIsrael-Michael Ordman
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Killer HIV virus can save lives. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have identified how the HIV virus suppresses the T-cell immune response. It has helped them develop a peptide (small protein) that reduces the severity of Multiple Sclerosis – a disease characterized by an undesirable autoimmune T-cell response.
Transplants for 4 children on 1st Jan. While most of the world was bringing in the civil New Year, doctors at Schneider Children’s Medical Center were giving new life to 4 children. 10-year-old Miran received a new heart and lungs; a four-year-old was given a new liver and two girls (5 and 11) received a kidney each.
Why cancer resists treatment. Researchers at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center have discovered why most patients with estrogen receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer, who initially respond to endocrine treatments like tamoxifen, will eventually develop resistance to them. The finding can help develop new treatments.
How ultrasound affects brain cells. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have used ultrasound to generate electric charges in the cell membranes of the brain and stimulate nerve activity. It has tremendous potential, from treatments for epilepsy, to giving sight to the blind.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Child-centered education. Thanks to Stuart Palmer who has sent me details about the Haifa Center for Children with Learning Disabilities. http://www.haifacenter.org/en_default.asp http://www.haifacenter.org/en_movie.asp
Arab, female and an IDF commander. Mona Lisa Abdo is Arab, Christian, Israeli and a brave defender of all citizens of the Jewish State. She wasn’t required to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces, but her determination to protect Israel motivated her to volunteer. She has just completed 3 years service.
Co-existence through football. Jewish and Arab children in Israel will come together for a new initiative supported by the British Embassy. It will provide year-round football-based activities for Jewish and Arab children aged 10-12. More than 180 children participated in the launch tournament.
Syria’s Israeli guardian angel. Please read this latest article about Anat (not her real name) and il4syrians.org – the Israeli organization providing relief to thousands of Syrian refugees. The 200 volunteers include former Israeli commandos, doctors, social workers, nurses, and Arabic-speaking trauma specialists.
New Eilat ocean studies center. Israel’s Ben Gurion University and Canada’s Dalhousie University are to jointly build an Internationally recognized Ocean studies center in Eilat. The center will focus on marine biology, oceanography, under sea geology, endangered species, marine security and marine management.
Agro-tech help for Philippines. Staff from Israel’s Tahal Group arrived in Davao del Sur, Philippines to identify areas of the province that need technology assistance. Agricultural developers from Tahal’s Larisa Shlafer Water Treatment subsidiary met organic farmers and checked over the hydroelectric power plant.
Back to Africa. Building business relationships with Africa is a win-win, both for Israeli start-ups and for the Africans who will benefit from technology. The Pears Challenge encourages Israeli start-ups to connect with the needs of Africans, developing solutions in agriculture, health, water, ICT, education, and renewable energy.
Israeli education system goes global. 70 schools in the US, plus others in Australia, Austria, India, Poland and Singapore are now using the Israel-developed CIJE Excellence 2000 program. Mind-bending math problems and international competitions, puzzles and challenges build a school-wide culture of excellence.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Innovation Israel. Hope you “like” this great facebook site. Innovation Israel is the largest startup community in Israel with over 5,000 entrepreneurs, developers and investors. (See the Israeli bike path lit by solar studs.)
50% more usage. The power-extending products from Israel’s Lucidlogix Solutions can now extend battery life of smartphones and tablets by 50 percent. GameXtend, WebXtend and NavXtend are targeted at Android device manufacturers who want to reduce the power drain from high-performance hardware and software.
http://lucidlogix.com/press-release/lucidlogix-power-aware-software-adds-up-to-50-more-web-travel-and-play-time-to-mobile-devices/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcdmGe-6HBw
Building India’s National R&D Solar Center. Israel’s Ener-t beat out billion-dollar companies to win the contract for the National Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Center in Rajasthan, India. Ener-t uses ultra efficient next generation CSP Parabolic Trough technology and is already building a 50 MW power plant in Rajasthan.
The “Waze” of agriculture. (Thanks to Israel21c) Israel’s ScanTask has developed AgriTask, to help farmers make decisions on planting, harvesting and the use of pesticides. Its algorithms utilize weather reports, GIS data, information about agriculture from local governments and crowdsourcing data from individual farms.
Tel Aviv incubator develops Google Glass apps. Israeli lawyer Alexandra Gambrian is running a hi-tech incubator in Tel Aviv for eight developers, building applications that use Google Glass. Google’s new glasses are in trial mode and include a small screen, speaker and touch surface for an enhanced user experience.
Dialysis for Cities. (Thanks to Israel21c) At Tel Aviv’s recent WATEC water technology conference, the JNF showcased its expertise and exportable knowledge in water for countries experiencing similar conditions as Israel. Rain flows, water stress, and how to make non-arable land better suited for agriculture. http://israel21c.org/environment/planting-water-in-israel/
Seven startups in 3 days. 35 students from 15 different faculties participated in a 3-day workshop at Israel’s Technion to generate an innovative business start-up. Seven new start-ups were developed, of which two advanced to compete in Israel’s Biztec Entrepreneurship Challenge competition.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israeli tourism growth – the bright spot in the region. Israel attracted an all-time record of nearly 3.6 million international visitors in 2013, up 2% from 2012. Tourism in the rest of the East Mediterranean was gloomier. Rarely publicized cooperation between Israeli and PA tourism officials facilitated easy access to Christian sites.
Mediterranean tourism fair to bring thousands to Israel. The 2014 International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) will feature “exhibitors representing just about every aspect of Israel’s tourism market.
Israel’s currency reserves at another all-time record. The value of the Bank of Israel’s deposits of foreign currency rose in January by $1.4 billion to a new record $83.1 billion.
What is China doing in Israel? This brief summary shows how the Chinese discovered the start- up nation Israel and started to invest billions of dollars in Israeli technology. From agro-tech, medical, chemicals, tourism, solar energy and education to the massive project to turn Eilat into an alternative to the Suez Canal.
Israel’s top exporter of the year. In a ceremony in Tel Aviv Israel’s Economics Minister Naftali Bennett presented Ormat Technologies with Israel’s award for top exporter for 2013. Ormat’s environmental-friendly Energy Converter power generation unit converts geothermal heat into electricity.
Israel: The Innovative Nation. Israel will become an enhanced innovation nation with the establishment of a national cyber-park in Beer Sheva, in the Negev, that will be called Cyber Spark. The new initiative brings together multinational companies, investors, start-up companies, academic research, and even a high school.
US Navy ships to have Israeli water filters. (Thanks to Nevet – www.broaderview.org The US Navy will buy $2 million of water filters from Israel’s Amiad. The filters will be installed in all new ships built at the Navy’s Virginia shipyards including the massive new USS John F Kennedy aircraft carrier currently being assembled.
ClickSoftware gets you back in business. Israel’s ClickSoftware gives companies the ability to schedule employees to handle crises as well as normal activities. It is winning contracts for dealing with storms and “unscheduled” emergencies, like major fires, earthquakes, gas leaks, forest fires, and burst water mains.
Your start-up MBA. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar Ilan University and Israel’s Technion Institute have joined the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in offering budding English-speaking entrepreneurs the opportunity to acquire their MBA skills in the Start-up Nation.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Da Vinci is alive in Tel Aviv. Leonardo Da Vinci’s genius comes to life throughout February with “Da Vinci – Alive” – a multi-sensory traveling exhibition at Maxidome, Exhibition Grounds, Tel Aviv. Visitors will get a unique hands-on understanding of the scientific principles behind Leonardo’s incredible works.
Shalom, Mirembe! (Thanks to 12 Tribe Films) The Abayudaya Jewish Community of Uganda and Israeli artist Irene Orleansky partnered to create “Shalom, Mirembe!” as part of a music collection from Israelites and Jews of Africa and Asia.
Israeli film wins Sundance film award. Tel Aviv University student Yuval Hameiri won the Short Film Jury Award: Non-Fiction category at the Sundance Film Festival, one of the world’s largest cinematic competitions for independent filmmakers. “I Think This Is the Closest To How the Footage Looked,” beat 8,161 entries.
“Friends” star in adaptation of Israeli sitcom. (Thanks to Israel21c) David Schwimmer is set to take the lead role in the new ABC comedy, “Irreversible”. The series is based on Bilti Hafich – an Israeli show about how life changes when a baby joins the lives of an eccentric and self-centered couple.
Israeli missile tracking technology gives NBA statistics. (Thanks to Nevet – www.BroaderView.org ) The US National Basketball Association uses the SportVU system to track every dribble, pass, and off-ball movement 72,000 times a contest. Israeli scientist Miky Tamir, whose background is in missile tracking and advanced optical recognition, created SportVU in 2005. He sold the system to Stats in 2008.
THE JEWISH STATE
More help from our friends. The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), a Christian Zionist organization based in Jerusalem, has sponsored the immigration of another wave of members of India’s Bnei Menashe “lost tribe” to Israel, reuniting them with their families and ancestral homeland.
Preserving our history from earthquakes. Israeli officials are to install seismic monitoring systems to help protect the Jewish State’s most important ancient treasures from earthquakes. Previously, the focus has been to retrofit existing schools, hospitals and apartment buildings, but now key historical sites are to be surveyed.
Returning home to Jerusalem. A new 7 min documentary featuring Jewish families who lived in Jerusalem’s Old City for generations, but were evicted by the Arab Legion in 1948 after the State of Israel was declared. They returned home 19 years later in 1967 after Israeli forces liberated the Old City during the Six Day War.
“Allah gave the land of Israel to the Jews.” Jordanian Muslim scholar Sheikh Ahmad Adwan said on his Facebook page that Allah has assigned the Holy Land to the Children of Israel until the Day of Judgment (Koran, Sura 5 – “The Sura of the Table”, Verse 21), and “We made the Children of Israel the inheritors (of the land)” (Koran, Sura 26 – “The Sura of the Poets”, Verse 59). His comments were published in the Arab media.
12 survivors celebrate coming of age. Twelve Holocaust survivors, five men and seven women, celebrated a joint bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah ceremony in Haifa, which they were unable to mark during their youth. “At the age of 13 I was in Auschwitz,” one of them said. “There wasn’t really anyone to talk to about celebrations.”
Shabbat songs revive “no-hope” patient. On Shabbat morning, two religious students visited Netanya’s Laniado Hospital to distribute sweets and wish everyone a “speedy recovery.” They sang to a dying 60-year-old woman and by Monday she had revived, amazing the medical staff. “Thanks to them I am alive,” she said.
