Tag: Settlers

  • This Weeks Sanity Report from Israel Jan 22 2017

    This Weeks Sanity Report from Israel Jan 22 2017

    This Weeks Sanity Report from Israel Jan 22 2017

    The highlights include:

    • An Israeli biotech has successfully transplanted lab-grown bone into 11 patients.
    • The President of Sierra Leone thanked Israel for helping to eradicate Ebola.
    • Israel has appointed its first Druze Arab cabinet minister.
    • Top ministers from 12 West African states attended a conference in Israel.
    • The Super Bowl will be broadcast using Israeli 360-degree video technology.
    • Israeli technology has saved an Italian power station from a massive outage.
    • Oracle is the latest multinational to open an Israeli R&D center.
    • A 17-year-old Israeli motorcyclist won a 6,500km race in the Sahara Desert.
    • An American and an Israeli are joint winners of the International Bible Quiz.

     

    ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

     

    Successful bone transplants. I reported previously (often) on the revolutionary method from Israel’s Bonus BioGroup for growing bone in the lab from a patient’s own fat cells. Latest trials show that bone, injected into the jaws of all 11 patients, successfully fused to existing bone and filled gaps in their deteriorating jawbones.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-company-performs-first-transplant-of-lab-grown-bones/

     

    http://www.bonus-bio.com/index.php/press-room/press-releases

     

     

     

    https://youtu.be/AD7bwLhG7dU

     

     

    European approval to grow bone from coral. (TY Harold G) I reported previously (twice) about Israel’s CoreBone which grows ultra-strong bone-graft material in the laboratory from corals. CoreBone recently received both CE and ISO 13485 certification to allow the company to sell the product in Europe.

    http://www.israel21c.org/growing-new-bone-from-corals-raised-in-the-israeli-desert/

     

    How viruses communicate. Weizmann Institute scientists have discovered that some viruses (phages) secrete small molecules that are read and updated by other copies of the same virus. Viruses use this to coordinate their attack and will go dormant if these molecules indicate that insufficient uninfected host cells remain.

    http://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/viruses-overheard-talking-one-another

     

    Pain relief for osteoarthritis. Israel’s Moebius Medical is developing MM-II, a novel treatment for osteoarthritis pain. MM-II’s proprietary liposomes lubricate arthritic knee joints, to reduce friction and wear, and pain in the joints. Moebius has contracted with India’s Sun Pharmaceutical to further develop MM-II.

    http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-moebius-and-sun-sign-osteoarthritis-drug-licensing-deal-1001166429

     

    Plant extract mimics insulin. (TY Liat) A new study in Austria has confirmed the anti-diabetic properties of the purslane herb extract Portulaca oleracea L. Israel’s Frutarom manufactures Portusana®, a scientifically supported and unique purslane extract.

    http://www.frutaromhealth.com/2016/12/07/research-suggests-purslane-extract-mimics-insulin/

     

    Improved ECG is saving lives. I reported previously (Nov 2014) about HyperQ from Israel’s Biological Signal Processing (BSP) that discovers heart problems that normal ECG tests cannot. BSP’s CEO Dr Yair Granot came on ILTV Daily and said HyperQ had been sold worldwide, including to anti-Israel Venezuela!

     

    Low-cost proton therapy to destroy tumors. I reported previously (twice) about Israel’s P-Cure which has developed low-cost Proton radiation therapy devices to kill cancer tumors. The revolutionary technology was explained recently on ILTV daily.

     

     

    App to streamline emergency response. Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency service, has developed the My MDA app. It provides dispatchers and ambulance teams with advance information, including the exact location of the user, medical information, and photos or a live video feed from the scene.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/magen-david-adom-app-aims-to-streamline-emergency-response/

     

    An excellent brain scientist. Professor Haim Sompolinsky of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem won Israel’s EMET prize for Excellence in Life Sciences (Brain Research) for his work on the principles of brain function and the behavior of neuronal networks, and for shaping brain theories into a systematic discipline.

    http://en.emetprize.org/laureates/life-sciences/brain-research/haim-sompolinsky

     

    Thank you for fighting Ebola. On the first ever state visit to Israel, the President Ernest Bai Koroma of the Muslim-majority Sierra Leone expressed his gratitude for the Jewish state’s assistance in fighting the Ebola virus. “That we have put the Ebola behind us is because of the support of this nation” he said.

    http://www.thetower.org/4435-watch-president-of-sierra-leone-thanks-israel-for-help-fighting-ebola/

     

     

     

     

    ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

     

    Promoting women, Arabs and haredi in hi-tech. The Israeli government has announced a $325 million six-year program to boost the number of higher education students by 40%, and to encourage women, Arabs, and ultra-Orthodox to get hi-tech jobs. The program aims to address the future likely shortage of hi-tech workers.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-to-hire-foreign-hi-tech-workers-to-stave-off-manpower-drought/

     

    First ever Druze cabinet minister. Member of Knesset Ayoub Kara is to become the first lawmaker from Israel’s Druze community to serve as cabinet minister. Kara will be minister without portfolio.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/likud-mk-ayoub-kara-to-become-israels-first-arab-minister/

     

    Arab volunteers in the IDF. “Why did I decide to enlist?” asks Sergeant Yusef Salutta, a 20-year-old Arab from the north of Israel who serves with the Desert Reconnaissance Battalion. “Because I’m from this country and I love the country and I want to contribute,” he said. “anybody who lives here should enlist.”

    http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-israel-arabs-army-idUSKBN13X1YF

     

    Co-operating over water. After a six-year hiatus, Israeli and Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have signed an agreement to jointly advance water infrastructure and development. In the last 18 months, the two sides have signed agreements covering electricity, mail, 3G cellular infrastructure and now water.

    http://www.bicom.org.uk/news/israel-pa-sign-deal-boost-water-cooperation/

     

    “Settler” medics treat Palestinian Arab. In a not-unusual event, United Hatzalah medics from Judea and Samaria treated a Palestinian Arab injured in a traffic accident near Gush Etzion. Afterwards they passed him to the Palestinian Authority’s Red Crescent ambulance service, which transported him to the nearest PA hospital.

    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/221399

     

    Celebrating 20 years of EU-Israel co-operation. (TY Sharon) In sharp contrast to political conflicts, European ambassadors to Israel joined Israeli scientists, entrepreneurs, and invited guests to celebrate a successful two decades of collaboration on scientific research and technological development.

    http://www.baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=37&ARTICLE_ID=82428

     

    Historic visit of African states. (TY Pamela Levene) Foreign ministers from 12 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) attended a major Jerusalem conference – the first ECOWAS meeting outside of Africa. Pamela’s son Adam of MASHAV talks about the visit on IBA news (view from 9 mins 30 secs)

    http://www.iba.org.il/program.aspx?scode=2188408

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/african-ministers-in-israel-for-first-ever-agricultural-summit/

     

    Jamaican PM meets Israeli PM. Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness visited Israel and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss cooperation in water, agriculture and domestic security. He also visited the Western Wall (Kotel) and invited Mr Netanyahu to make an official visit to Jamaica.

    http://opm.gov.jm/prime-minister-holness-meets-with-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu/

     

    Bringing laughter to Tanzanian tribe. The founders of Israeli-developed Powtoon brought their animation software to the remote Hadzabe tribe in Tanzania. On seeing PowToon’s cartoons for the first time, the entire tribe was in fits of laughter. After earning the tribe’s trust, the team brought doctors to treat their eye problems.

    www.nocamels.com/2017/01/powtoon-animation-africa-cartoon/

    https://www.powtoon.com/

     

     

     

     

     

    Saving the Peruvian monkey. Two Israeli researchers are behind a global campaign to rescue the last remaining yellow-tailed woolly monkeys of Peru – one of the world’s 25 most endangered Primates. The Israelis have launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to purchase lands that the monkeys inhabit.

    http://nocamels.com/2017/01/israelis-save-endangered-peruvian-monkey/

    https://www.generosity.com/animal-pet-fundraising/time-to-save-the-woolly-monkey

     

    SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

     

    An excellent mathematician. Professor David Kazhdan of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem won Israel’s EMET prize for Excellence in Exact Sciences (Mathematics) for his work in design of representation theory and its uses in algebra, algebraic geometry and number theory.

    http://en.emetprize.org/laureates/exact-sciences/mathematics/david-kazhdan

     

    Building the world’s tallest solar tower. (TY Jacques) Recent article and interesting video about the Ashalim project to build a 250-meter high solar tower in Israel’s Negev desert. Also, Leonardo DiCaprio has publicized the project.

    http://israelbetweenthelines.com/2017/01/12/israel-is-running-not-walking-on-sunshine/

     

     

    http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Tech/Leonardo-DiCaprio-showcases-Israeli-solar-thermal-plant-on-Instagram-479002

     

    Israeli tech comes to the Super Bowl and Laliga. (TY Pamela Levene) Intel bought Israel’s Replay Technologies and its 360-degree video technology for $170 million last year. FOX Sports will use it in the Super Bowl broadcast. Thanks to Pamela’s son Yonatan, Spanish soccer league Laliga is also now using it.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/tom-brady-ad-highlights-israeli-developed-video-technology/

     

     

    https://youtu.be/OHJDzHHHsrQ

     

    4000 smart rental cars. Israel’s Pointer Telocation Systems (see here) has won a tender to manage a five-year driver behavior project in cooperation with the American Transit Insurance Company (ATIC), which insures rented cars in New York. 4000 cars will be fitted with systems from Pointer and Mobileye.

    http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-pointer-enters-smart-car-market-1001172713

     

    Computerized companion for the elderly. Israeli startup Intuition Robotics is developing social companion technology to positively impact the lives of millions of older adults. Its first product is ElliQ, robot resembling a lamp that uses body language to convey emotion, plus sounds, light, in addition to voice, to express itself.

    http://www.ifcj.org/news/fellowship-blog/Israeli-Invention-Offers-Computerized-Companionship-for-the-Elderly.html

     

     

    Did we just get hacked? Israeli cybersecurity startup SECDO saves huge amounts of time following a security “incident”. It collects all data, all the time, from all endpoints. When the alarms go off, management can see it’s not a false alarm and can close the breach instantly. SECDO has just received $10 million of funding.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-cybersecurity-company-secures-10-million-in-funding/

     

     

    More joint science papers with the US. (TY Stan and Bennett) The number of co-authored scientific publications involving American and Israeli researchers has increased by 45 percent over the last decade, from 3,439 joint U.S.-Israel publications in 2006 to 4,979 publications in 2015.

    https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/07/joint-papers-us-and-israeli-authors-increase

    http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/219369/american-israeli-academic-collaboration-soars-despite-israel-boycott-efforts-on-campus

     

    Israeli tech finds major problem in Italian power station. I reported previously (Nov 20) on Israeli startup 3DSignals. Its acoustic technology has detected a malfunction in a hydroelectric power station run by Italian company Enel. Early repair of the faulty oil valve saved Enel hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Euros.

    http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-3dsignals-helps-enel-power-co-spot-major-fault-1001172580

     

    ECONOMY & BUSINESS

     

    The second most innovative nation. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 ranks Israel as the second most innovative nation in the world after Switzerland. Israel rose 3 positions to 24th for competitiveness, thanks to Venture capital (2), Research institutes (3), R&D (3) and collaboration (3).

    http://nocamels.com/2016/10/israel-second-most-innovative-country/

     

    BDS fail – investment in Israel tripled. Ambassador Yoram Ettinger’s recent report highlights that the foreign capital flow into Israel shows a near tripling from 2005 when the so-called BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaign started. 2016 was a record year and more is forecast by Israel’s Finance Minister.

    http://theettingerreport.com/Overseas-Investments/Israel-s-economy-defies-BDS.aspx

    http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-kahlon-billions-in-foreign-high-tech-investment-on-the-way-1001171835

     

    China to solve Israeli housing shortage. Israel and China have signed a draft agreement that will bring 6,000 Chinese construction workers to Israel in 2017 to build homes and alleviate the housing shortage.

    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/222776

     

    Low-sodium extract production to triple. (TY Liat) I reported previously (see here) about Mediterranean Umami – the vegan extract from Israel’s Salt of the Earth that reduces the sodium content of many food products. Its success has led the company to build new production lines to triple the output of this innovative ingredient.

    http://www.saltoftheearthltd.com/news-events/salt-earth-expands-reduced-sodium-solutions/

     

    No free plastic bags at supermarkets. (TY Janglo) The number of plastic bags being distributed at Israeli supermarkets has dropped by between 50% and 85% thanks to the new law requiring customers to pay for each one. Cynics thought the 10 agarot cost of each bag was too low but Israelis have already changed their shopping habits.

    http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/No-more-free-plastic-bags-at-Israeli-supermarkets-477165

     

    Tel Aviv is Start-up City. The Israeli entrepreneurs in this video are making everything from smart cars to apps that connect volunteers with their next project. See why Israel is called the Start-up Nation and Tel Aviv is the Start-up City

     

     

    FT Fintech award winner. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Transmit Security has won the UK Financial Times Future of Fintech Innovation Award for its ability to create lasting change in the financial services sector on a global scale. Transmit Security brings together biometric and other financial security services on to one platform.

    https://www.ft.com/content/1a92d762-ac1b-11e6-ba7d-76378e4fef24

    http://www.transmitsecurity.com/

     

    Oracle to open Israeli startup cloud accelerator. Computer giant Oracle is opening its Startup Cloud Accelerator program in Tel Aviv. It provides six months of mentoring from technical and business experts, state-of-the-art technology, a co-working space, plus access to Oracle’s customers, partners and investors.

    http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-oracle-to-open-israel-startup-cloud-accelerator-1001172301

     

    Car-sharing rentals in Tel Aviv. This summer, Israel’s Car2Go is starting operations of Auto Tel – a new car-sharing service in Tel Aviv. Subscribers can rent one of 260 cars, together with 500 reserved parking spaces. The service aims to reduce car ownership costs, traffic congestion, pollution and parking problems in Tel Aviv.

    http://nocamels.com/2017/01/tel-aviv-car-sharing-auto-tel/

    http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-tel-aviv-launches-car-sharing-service-1001172399

     

    Sweet smell of Israeli coffee in Canada. Israel’s Aroma has opened 35 cafes in Toronto since its 2007 launch in Canada. It has also opened in Ottawa, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Oakville and London Ontario, bringing to 39 the number of Canadian locations. In 2017, it’s planning to open 10 more branches, including in Vancouver.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-israeli-contender-in-torontos-coffee-wars-smells-sweet-success/

     

    CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

     

    The 8th best place to visit. America’s first fashion magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Israel should be number eight on your list as a vacation destination. The magazine states, “Don’t be fooled; its vibrant culture, phenomenal food scene, historic landmarks, beaches and endlessly impressive hotels are too much of a draw to ignore.”

    http://nocamels.com/2017/01/harpers-bazaar-best-travel-2017/

     

    http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/travel-dining/g8354/travel-destinations-2017/

     

    Israeli blues – Israel’s best kept secret. (TY Steve and Moshe) The Tel Aviv Blues festival, in the heart of south Tel Aviv, attracted some of the finest blues musicians from all over Israel. At the local “Tsuzamen” venue, Moshe Beauford played as guest violin with featured band Oded Weiss & Peripherya.

    https://israelseen.com/2017/01/16/moshe-beauford-blues-israels-best-kept-secret/

     

    https://youtu.be/xvkhNgG6JV0

     

    Rod Stewart is coming to Israel. Legendary Rock Superstar Rod Stewart will be “sailing” again into Israel when he performs on June 14 2017 in the Yarkon Park Tel Aviv. The video is of his 2010 concert in Israel.

    http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Rod-Stewart-announces-concert-in-Tel-Aviv-this-Summer-478718

     

     

    Israeli youth wins Africa Eco Race. 17-year-old Israeli motorcyclist Gev Teddy Sella won the 12-day, 6,500km Africa Eco Race. He beat experienced drivers racing motorcycles, SUVS and trucks through Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, plus the harsh Sahara Desert, whilst navigating by guidebook.

    http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=39589

     

    Blind golfer is world champion again. (TY Michael P) I wrote previously (twice) about Israel’s Zohar Sharon – one of the best known blind golfers in the world. He recently won his sixth (bi-annual) International Blind Golf Association tournament.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/this-blind-israeli-golfer-is-a-world-champ/2017/01/15/098e3431-ff4e-4cb9-a08d-457f8f195b65_story.html?utm_term=.65d42c510677

     

    THE JEWISH STATE

     

    Israeli and American share top Bible Quiz prize. Yair Shahak of New York City and Israel’s Yafit Silman were joint winners of the International Adult Bible Contest in Jerusalem in December. The competition is held every two years. Yair reached the last eight in 2014 and had to defeat his wife on the way to this year’s final.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/american-israeli-win-bible-quiz-in-jerusalem/

     

    Israel’s nationalism is a model to emulate. An article by ex-Labor MK Einat Wilf. The world should admire Israel. E.g. airport security – no need to remove belts and shoes or throw away bottles of water. Israel’s main problem is “timing”, because what once was only Israel’s problem, is now coming to everyone.

    http://www.israpundit.org/archives/63619986

     

    $10 million donation for Diaspora Museum. The San Francisco-based Koret Foundation has given a $10 million grant to the Beit Hatfutsot (Museum of the Jewish People) in Tel Aviv. It will fund an International School offering educational programs for visitors, online users, students, educators and community leaders.

    http://www.jta.org/2017/01/18/news-opinion/united-states/koret-foundation-gives-10-million-to-tel-avivs-museum-of-the-jewish-people

     

    Hebrew Language Day. Israel marks Hebrew Language Day every year on the birthday of Eliezer Ben Yehuda, the father of modern spoken Hebrew. This year, the Hebrew date falls on January 19th. The revival of the 3000-year-old language is unique, becoming a spoken language after being dormant for centuries.

    http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/History/Pages/Hebrew-Language-Day-The-revival-of-the-language-of-the-Bible.aspx

     

     

  • Reevaluating Settlement Policy

    Blog II
    Reevaluating Settlement Policy
    Since 1967 nothing has done more damage to Jewish unity and the status of Jews around the world than Israel’s misconceived settlement policy. A good case could be made that some of the post-Six-Day-War suburbs of Jerusalem and the middle-class settlements contiguous to Israel’s pre-Six-Day-War borders contribute to Israel’s vital interests.
    But the isolated ideological settlements have been detrimental economically and socially. The vast funds poured into them could have been better used expanding educational services and building infrastructure. They have consumed security resources that could have been better used elsewhere. The man-hours spent guarding settlements have undermined the army’s training regime, something which became painfully apparent during the second Lebanon war. They have also created a de facto border more than four times the length of Israel’s border before the Six-Day War. Simple security calculus dictates that diminishing concentrations of soldiers on longer lines of defense equals less security, while higher concentrations of soldiers on shorter lines of defense equals more security.
    Almost every embarrassing political difficulty Israel has experienced since the Six-Day War has been because of these ideological settlements or their supporters, and not a single country in the world has changed its mind regarding the official, legally constituted borders of the State of Israel because of them, including and especially the United States.
    The have generated alienation within segments of Israeli society. Many Israelis find the settlement subculture abhorrent and resent doing reserve duty because of it. By identifying Zionism with the settlements and calling the opponents of settlements post-Zionists and even anti-Zionists, the settlers themselves have contributed to the spread of post-Zionism. The erosion of Zionist moral self-confidence on the part of large segments of the Israeli public begins with the misguided settlement project.    The question is not whether the settlers are brave and idealistic but whether the settlement project contributes to or detracts from the values, goals, and aims of Zionism as it redefines itself in the 21st century.
    The British Light Brigade was composed of men who were brave and idealistic beyond measure, but their famous charge was an example of colossal stupidity. General Lee’s Confederate soldiers were brave and idealistic beyond measure, but that doesn’t mean that Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg was smart or that the cause they represented was sublime. One might wonder if Israel’s settlement policy is not the political equivalent of the ill-fated British landing at Gallipoli in World War I, upon which the German Admiral De Robeck commented, “Gallant fellows, these soldiers; they always go for the thickest place in the fence.” Israel’s settlement policy compels Israeli diplomacy to always try to break through the thickest part of the diplomatic fence, the one and perhaps only place where Arab political superiority is manifest.
    In political life, stupidity is the greatest sin, not immorality or illegality. Stupidity does greater harm to our fellow human beings than immorality. If we were to judge what is pro-Zionist and what is anti-Zionist according to their contribution to or their deleterious effect on Israel’s economy, security, society, and overall morale and moral fortitude, we must conclude that the ideological settlements in the occupied territories constitute the most anti-Zionist activity conducted by any group of Jews since the advent of the Zionist project itself.

    Tsvi Bisk Director

    Center for Strategic Futurist Thinking

    A division of Ziv Group Ltd

    Tel: +972-54-5587940

    bisk@futurist-thinking.co.il

    www.futurist-thinking.co.il

    www.theoptimisticjew.com

  • Erica Chernofsky in her article The great drift (JPost)

    Presents us with an interesting and varied exploration of the issue of the Jewish settlement enterprise in the Land of Israel, past and present. The current fundamental question is not whether the settlers are brave and idealistic, or if they are the true continuation of the past enterprise; or whether God did or did not give us this land, but whether the settlement project is wise or foolish under the contemporary challenges and dangers we face. It is also important to question whether it contributes to or detracts from the values, goals, aims and needs of Zionism and the Jewish people in the 21st century. I believe I am not the only one here concerned and alarmed by the appearance of a renewed apatite by our neighbors for a violent military confrontation with us; post the Hizbollah War results; the American setbacks in Iraq; plus the developing Iranian power play. It is in the context of these harsh and threatening realities that I remain skeptical as to the true potential consequences that the civilian settlements in Judea and Samaria will have for our future security, defense and survival. In the event of a future military confrontation the many settlement communities would become in effect dispersed individual points of population requiring separate individual defense units. These forces would need to be drawn from our already limited resources. In effect we would be scattering our few precious defense assets over a great area thereby loose the advantage of bringing the required powerful and focused forces we do have to bear on our enemies. This strategy of focused force is likely a basic requirement for victory in any future confrontation with our many surrounding enemies. This leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the continued presence of Israeli civilians and their defense requirements in the areas East of the 1949 borders are a foolish expression of distorted priorities and false historical considerations.