Israelis have now won the L’Oréal-UNESCO “Women in Science” prize for three years running. An Israeli-Arab singer won the final of the latest series of Israel’s “The Voice. A nearly blind 12-year-old Israeli girl has started a “theatre for the mind”. An Israeli company uses solar power to turn polluted water into pure drinking water. At last, healthy confectionary – from the land of milk and honey. Israel’s natural gas has begun to flow – it could transform the Middle East. The number of Jews in Israel has exceeded the emotionally significant mark of six million.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Israeli wins European science competition – again. For the 3rd year running, an Israeli has won the L’Oréal-UNESCO “Women in Science” prize. Osnat Zomer-Penn received the European award for determining the genetic basis of autism. Israelis Hadar Gelber-Sagiv won in 2012, and Na’ama Geva Zatursky in 2011.
Teva has double success. There were two positive results from the latest trials by Israel’s largest biotech. Patients who started Teva’s Laquinimod MS treatment early halted progression of the disease. Then Teva’s Azilect add-on treatment for Parkinson’s disease improved patients’ condition significantly.
Another Israeli stent approved. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) Tel Aviv’s InspireMD has received CE mark approval for its self-expanding Nitinol carotid EPS stent. The stent is wrapped with a MicroNetmesh to prevent strokes that are common following stent insertions.
The stamp of approval. Three of Israel’s latest stamps celebrate Israeli cardiology innovations. The 3-shekel stamp depicts the Percutaneous Heart Valve. 4.2 shekels will get you the heart stent and on the 5-shekel stamp is a picture of the Implantable Defibrillator. Many thanks to Jacob Richman for posting the images.
A glucometer on your smartphone. (Thanks to NoCamels) Diabetics can now measure their blood-glucose level with the Israeli-developed “Dario” attachment to their smartphone. A lancing device takes your blood and a test strip measures the glucose. The smartphone displays the result and records it, for sharing with the doctor.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Gaza weekly deliveries: In the week to 23rd March, Israel delivered 31,953 tons of goods through the Keren Shalom crossing on 1,157 trucks. During US President Obama’s visit, Gaza terrorists fired 4 rockets at Israel, causing damage to houses and trauma to civilians in Sederot. The crossing was closed subsequently.
My Israel – Abdol Abugosh. (Thanks to Haifa Diary) “Israel is my home and where my friends – Arabs & Jews – live. Israel is where I have rights and Israel is where my family lives. I’m proud to be Arab & Israeli.”
Arab –Israeli wins “The Voice Israel”. 19-year-old Arab Christian Lina Mahoul from the northern town of Acre (Akko) won “The Voice Israel” television song contest with a touching version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. The three other finalists were all women and included a religious Jew, and an Ethiopian.
All life is precious. Fellow blogger (and ICAN and COHAV chief) Stuart Palmer personally intervened to help a Gaza father whose baby daughter was terminally ill at Haifa’s Rambam hospital. As Stuart said, “It was not possible to save Hadil, but we tried.”
Please accept our bread. Jews living in Judea and Samaria had surplus bread that they needed to dispose of prior to the Passover holiday. Rather than burn it, they distributed them to needy Palestinian Arabs. It was the 3rd consecutive year that members of the Eretz Shalom movement sent this message of peace to their neighbors.
Israeli army field hospital for Syrians. Due the number of wounded Syrians Israel has been treating, the IDF has set up a “military field hospital” in the Golan Heights. The hospital will treat injured Syrians near the border fence to avoid having to send serious cases on long journeys to hospitals inside Israel.
“Arabs and Muslims must learn from Israeli morality.” This is the title of an article by Mahdi Majid Abdullah, writing in “Elaph”, a pan-Arab newspaper based in the UK and Saudi Arabia. He begins “I regret with most remorse the daily hate I had of Israelis” and then includes a long list of Israel’s positive activities.
When you can’t see, visit Mind Theatre. 12-year old Aviva Krainess from Bet Shemesh lost most of her sight 5 years ago but never stopped dreaming of enjoying stories. Together with her father, they started Aviva Productions and Mind Theatre. It’s like a Hollywood movie where you create the pictures in your own mind.
Israeli kids grow food for Africa. (Originally in Ha’aretz) Pupils at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium are perfecting a growth system for Spirulina, an algae that’s been dubbed the “superfood” because it contains 70% protein. The algae growing system was developed in Kibbutz Ein Shemer to wipe out malnutrition in Africa.
Israel to star at Expo 2015. The theme of the Milan Fair is “Feeding the Planet – Energy for Life”. Expo’s CEO Giuseppe Sala said, “The outstanding innovative expertise of Israel in the field of technology for agriculture in arid areas undoubtedly represents a huge added value for the development of the Expo’s theme”.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Israel and NYC sign nano-tech agreement. New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to establish an international partnership in the field of nano-technology between New York State and the State of Israel. It will enable new investments and high-tech jobs for both.
Fresh water using the power of the sun. Israel’s SunDwater harnesses the sun’s energy to heat and distill polluted or salty water and turn it into safe, clean drinking water. Solar mirrors heat the water and turn it into steam, which is then re-circulated back into a holding tank as pure distilled water.
Keeping South Korea’s nuclear reactors safe. (From Atid-EDI) Waterfall Security Solutions of Tel Aviv has installed its Unidirectional Security Gateways at a South Korean nuclear generator. South Korea faces real physical and cyber threats and has recognized the value of strong protection for their critical control networks.
An infrared heart monitor – for your bike. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) Tel Aviv’s LifeBEAM unveiled its smart bicycle helmet with built-in heart rate sensor. The unique sensing technology is currently being deployed in test trials for fighter pilots and is also being analyzed by NASA for possible use in future space missions.
For smooth video messages, just Glide. Jerusalem-based Glide has launched a game-changing instant video messenger that makes it easy to communicate with friends and family. With Glide, video messages are broadcast live the moment recording begins and simultaneously saved to the cloud for on-demand consumption.
An Exodus into science. Thousands of Israeli children and their families swarmed the interactive exhibits of the Clore Science Garden at Rehovot’s Weizmann Institute of Science on Passover. Exhibits included a “xylostone”, a solar mirror, the “moon cradle” and activities included building a bridge from trapezoidal blocks.
Israeli sweets are good for you. (Thanks to Israel21c) Israel’s Carmit Candy Industries has launched innovative confectionary to help shed pounds, boost the immune system and promote bone health. They include a weight-management wafer bar and chocolate coins with calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K.
You can hardly avoid it. This new video shows just how much Israeli technology impacts on our lives.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
It doesn’t sound Chinese. Israel’s Lexifone, which has developed technology for simultaneous translation of telephone calls, has signed a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of a development center in Guangzhou, China.
Energy Independence Day. Sunday 31st March 2013 will forever be known as the day when Israel’s natural gas began flowing into Israel’s pipes. Gas flow from the Tamar natural gas field should end Israel’s natural gas shortage, reduce electricity prices and improve the standard of living and the environment.
A miracle in Pennsylvania. (Thanks to Atid-EDI.) Ness Technologies of Tel Aviv has expanded its operation with a new development center in Pittsburgh, PA. Ness (Hebrew for “miracle”) specializes in software product engineering and systems integration, application development, consulting, and software distribution.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
The website of Jewish culture. The website Tarbut IL has been launched, to provide educational resources on Jewish culture to teachers and educators in Israel. It covers Jewish ethics, social justice, models of Jewish identity, Zionism and Israel-Diaspora relations.
Anthrax hits Tel Aviv. It’s OK, it’s just the legendary US heavy metal band Anthrax who will give a concert at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv on August 13 2013. The band has sold over 15 million records worldwide and is considered one of the founding four of the thrash metal genre, alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer.
Israel’s defense beats Northern Ireland. The Israeli national soccer team won 2-0 away from home, against Northern Ireland in an icy World Cup qualifier thanks to a secret defense weapon – thermal underwear. They really warmed to the task and scored two late goals to keep them in hot contention in Group F.
THE JEWISH STATE
Shop for Israel. UK-based charity Myisrael has launched a free phone app to collect donations for Myisrael’s projects from about a thousand British retailers every time an online purchase is made. Participating retailers include Boots, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, PC World and Amazon.
The largest seder in the world. 1300 people attended the seder at Kibbutz Naan near Rehovot. They have their own haggadah and songs and the kids put on a show. But imagine all the washing up!
Thousands receive priestly blessing. A huge crowd gathered at the Western Wall plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem to celebrate the traditional priestly blessing performed during the Passover festival. The event is a reminder of the Jewish pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem, over 2500 years ago.
Six million Jews in Israel. The symbolic figure of six million has been registered by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, along with the fact that Israel now is the country with the largest population of Jews in the world. It has superseded the United States, which has a population of 5.5 million Jews.
