Photo is of Tel Aviv’s Yarkon River
This Weeks Sanity Report from Israel April 16 2017
Thanks to Michael Ordman and Very Good News from Israel
The highlights include:
- IBM and Samsung adopt Israeli stroke diagnosis technology.
- Israel has setup a free program to help Israeli-Arabs quit smoking.
- Israel is helping Peru recover from devastating floods.
- MIT has ranked Tel Aviv as one of the world’s greenest cities.
- Israel is Apple’s largest R&D center outside of its California HQ.
- New low-cost one-stop scheduled flights between the US and Israel.
- A new tourist trail of 2000-year-old Jewish baths along Jerusalem’s walls.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Huge boost for stroke diagnosis system. (TY Hazel) I reported previously (July 3) on Israel’s MedyMatch Artificial Intelligence platform for diagnosing strokes from CT-scans. MedyMatch has just signed separate 5-year agreements to integrate the groundbreaking technology with IBM and Samsung equipment.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/samsung-to-integrate-israeli-tech-to-spot-strokes/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-medymatch-inks-deal-with-ibm-watson-health/
Early diagnosis of Autism can save lives. (TY Jacques) Dr Hanna Alonim founded Israeli non-profit Mifne Center – the world’s first organization to diagnose and treat toddlers on the autism spectrum, and use a family therapy approach to treatment. Alonim’s ESPASI Screening Scale is used in Israel, the USA and across Europe.
http://israelbetweenthelines.com/2017/02/02/early-diagnosis-of-autism-has-88-chance-of-saving-lives
Releasing Glaucoma treatment automatically. I reported previously (Mar 5) about Israel’s Eximore which is developing a tiny device that is implanted into the tear duct to treat eye diseases such as Glaucoma, without the patient’s knowledge. Eximore’s Chairperson, Dr Daphne Haim-Langford went on ILTV to explain.
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-israeli-company-develops-system-to-replace-daily-eye-drops/
Manage your diabetes efficiently. Israel’s GlucoMe has developed a “Digital Diabetes Clinic” that monitors diabetics and recommends treatment programs. The platform uses a smart glucose monitor, an insulin pen monitor, a mobile app and a cloud-based management system. It has completed trials and is Europe approved.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-startup-uses-big-data-minimal-hardware-to-treat-diabetes/
The next generation in cancer diagnostics. I reported previously (July 31) on Israeli-founded Cleveland Diagnostics and its improved early prostate cancer test kit. Cleveland’s CEO Dr Arnon Chait went on ILTV to explain more and to announce the company’s new Israeli operations.
A robot to traverse the small intestine. Scientists at Ben-Gurion University are re-designing their Single Actuator Wave-like (SAW) robotic snake to carry a camera and squeeze through the human small intestine. It could extend and improve the effectiveness of colonoscopy tests.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-scientists-design-robot-to-squeeze-through-small-intestine/
UK lawyer has MS treatment in Jerusalem. Top UK Lawyer Mark Lewis (Director of UK Lawyers for Israel) suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, walks with a limp and cannot write with his right hand. He travels to Israel every six weeks to participate in the MS trial at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/uks-foremost-libel-lawyer-sets-his-sights-on-israels-enemies/
Bone marrow tests from Czech Republic in one day. Israel’s Ezer Mizion found a likely DNA match on their database for a bone marrow transplant patient. However, the donor was in the Czech Republic. Using their “Linked to Life” WhatsApp group, volunteers rushed the sample kit from Tel Aviv to Vienna to Prague to Brno and back again in less than 24 hours.
http://www.ezermizion.org/blog/czechoslovakia-no-problem/
Emergency app can save lives on the beach. A volunteer with Israel Emergency Medical Service United Hatzalah has developed a smartphone app to quickly locate swimmers in trouble off Haifa’s beaches, and navigate paramedics to that location.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-ems-volunteers-create-lifesaving-app-for-haifa-beaches/
Paramedic’s first patient was his nephew. Ben Shetiat’s first call, after completing his 6-months Emergency Medical training course, was an infant having seizures – at Ben’s sister’s house! He arrived in two minutes. After treatment, Ben’s nephew was taken to hospital and was well enough to be discharged later that night.
https://israelrescue.org/blog/newly-trained-emt-responds-to-first-call-and-saves-his-own-nephew/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Where the deaf and blind run the show. I reported previously (Mar 2011) on the Na Laga’at (“Please Touch”) center in Jaffa for professional deaf & blind actors. Here is an up-to-date video about the center.
BBC shows role of IDF autistic recruits. (TY Hazel) This rare positive BBC video shows the Israeli army giving important analysis jobs to young people with autism.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39106200
Jaffa school teaches co-existence. (TY Hazel) I24News interviews the amazing Veronica Fahel, a 13-year-old student at the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic Tabeetha school in Jaffa.
Free program to help Israeli-Arab men stop smoking. Hebrew University / Hadassah, with funding from the Israel Cancer Association and the Health Ministry, has initiated SMS Quit to help Israeli-Arab men quit smoking. Arab men have the highest smoking rate (44%) in Israel and therefore the shortest life expectancy.
http://www.israellycool.com/
An Israeli-Arab at Ariel University. (TY IsraellyCool) Amal Medlij, Coordinator for Minority Students at Ariel University, speaks about life for an Israeli-Arab attending a university across the Green Line.
Israeli medics treat 7 Syrians on border. The Israeli army provided medical treatment to seven Syrians, including four women and two children, severely wounded by shrapnel in their country’s civil war. After treatment, all were transferred to hospitals in Northern Israel.
http://www.cufi.org.uk/news/watch-israel-saves-wounded-syrians-at-border/
“Caring for Syrian patients is our duty”. Dr Salman Zarka is General Director of the Ziv Medical Center in the Northern Israeli city of Safed which has treated 800 of the 3000 wounded Syrians taken to Israeli hospitals. Most have serious war injuries, but Ziv doctors have also delivered 19 babies.
http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2607812
Cyprus and Israel, common values and vision. President of Cyrus, Nicos Anastasiades, at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, described Cyprus and Israel as two countries sharing “the same values and common vision”. They are “beacons of stability, and natural partners of the West in the Middle East.”
http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2017/02/22/cyprus-president-calls-israel-a-natural-partner/
Israeli wins Germany’s highest honor. Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s President Menahem Ben-Sasson has been awarded Germany’s Order of Merit – the country’s highest honor. It “recognizes Professor Ben-Sasson’s outstanding, extensive, and personal commitment to German-Israeli relations in the field of science. “
http://new.huji.ac.il/en/article/33644
Protecting UN troops. (TY Hazel) The UN is using Israeli observation balloons and unmanned aerial vehicles to protect its peacekeepers in the Central African Republic. The equipment is used to guard outposts, carry out operations and gather intelligence.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=40737
Training emergency responders in India. (TY Hazel) At the request of the International Committee of the Red Cross, instructors and paramedics from Magen David Adom spent two weeks in India training Indian Red Cross instructors to improve first response in India, a country prone to disasters and traffic accidents.
https://www.israel21c.org/israelis-lead-emergency-response-training-in-india/
Helping flood victims in Peru. Israeli emergency aid teams from the IsraAID organization are in Peru helping residents get back on their feet after rains caused floods and mudslides. Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless and thousands are still missing. IsraAID is helping in schools and with sanitation facilities.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Avoid hitting that motorcycle. I reported previously (here) on Israel’s Autotalks that warns vehicle owners of impending collision with hazards (other vehicles, people or objects). Autotalks has just received $30 million of funding to help it equip more new vehicles with its life-saving chipsets – a mandatory US DoT target by 2023.
http://www.eenewsautomotive.com/news/autotalks-switches-higher-gear-v2x-chip-market
Vital computer protection. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Javelin Networks markets the only product that protects a company’s most important computer asset – its Active Directory, containing all information about its users, servers, endpoints and applications. Javelin has just raised $5 million to fuel development and growth.
http://www.javelin-networks.com/press-release/javelin-networks-announces-5m
65 new Israeli cyber startups in 2016. (TY Eli) Israel’s proven agility to come up with solutions quickly is one the key factors that puts the nation in a leading position in the battle against cyberattacks. At the end of 2016 there were 365 cybersecurity companies active in Israel, compared to 187 in 2012.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/speed-agility-seen-as-israels-edge-in-cyber-war/
Tel Aviv – the World’s 7th greenest city. Tel Aviv, Israel, is among the greenest cities in the world, ranking No. 7 on a prestigious list compiled recently by MIT researchers in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. 260,000 trees cover Tel Aviv’s 52 square km, excluding those in parks. Green initiatives include city-sponsored bicycle and car-sharing services.
http://nocamels.com/2017/03/tel-aviv-seventh-greenest-city/
Surveying by drone. (TY Atid-EDI) The DatuSurvey drone and camera system from Israel’s Datumate (see Oct 10) has been chosen to survey new water ponds being built by Colorado’s Dept of Transport. The system also is being used on the UK’s re-development of London’s A14 road and railway intersection.
http://www.datumate.com/news/colorado-dot-adopted-datumates-cutting-edge-mapping-tools/
Public water stations. Here is a new video to accompany my previous reports (see here) about Woosh – the Israeli company supplying clean, low-cost, fresh drinking water vending machines in major cities.
Mellanox helps Jungle Book win an Oscar. I wrote previously (Mar 5) that Israel’s Mellanox was providing the power and bandwidth needed by ten Oscar-nominated animations. One of those – Jungle Book – won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-tech-brings-la-la-land-rogue-one-moana-to-the-world/
Inno-Negev demos 9 startup ideas. Nine members of the Inno-Negev startup accelerator of Ben Gurion University demonstrated the results of four months of mentoring and support.
https://aabgu.org/inno-negev-latest-tech/
Israel is Apple’s 2nd largest R&D center. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple’s offices in Herzliya is the company’s second-largest research and development office in the world.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/engineers-in-israel-said-developing-augmented-reality-for-apple/
Tel Aviv loves dogs. The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, home to 25,000 registered dogs, is launching a suite of digital functions and information called “Digi-Dog”, for dog owners keen to know where the nearest vet is, or where they can find the best dog-walking beach nearby.
http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/tel-aviv-launches-dog-revolution-with-new-high-tech-initiative/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Currency reserves at new record level. Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of March 2017 were just over $103 billion – an increase of $1,271 million from their level at the end of Feb. The reserves now represent 32.4 percent of GDP.
http://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/ForexReserves-5-4-17.aspx
Israelis buy US firm for $102 million. (TY Atid-EDI) In another example of a large takeover by an Israeli company of a US firm, Israel’s Sapiens International has bought Denver-based StoneRiver Inc for around $102 million. Both IT companies focus on the Insurance industry.
Australian entrepreneurs are landing. This video accompanies previous articles (see here) on the Australian “landing pad” in Tel Aviv. Australian entrepreneurs come to Israel to access the passion, knowledge and innovative abilities that characterize Israel’s startup ecosystem and help their ideas become a reality.
Wow! Tel Aviv to New York return for $550. From June, Iceland’s low-cost airline WOW air intends to run four flights a week from Tel Aviv to Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik. From there, travelers can connect with flights to nine cities in the USA and Canada. Prices will be around $260 – $280 each way.
http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/From-the-Holy-Land-to-the-Land-of-Fire-and-Ice-WOW-Air-comes-to-Israel-486589 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227953
Buy from the Shuk (market) without leaving home. (TY Janglo) Residents of Jerusalem and Gush Etzion can place orders with Israeli startup Shukrun to select, and have delivered, fresh fruit and vegetables from Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda market (the Jerusalem “Shuk”). Now with an English-language website.
Integrating Haredim into the Startup Nation. At KamaTech’s second annual fair for Haredi startups, the eight best companies (chosen from 450 applicants) demonstrated their ideas. Each received a 20,000 Shekel grant. The latest group included Doctorpedia which enables patients to have online consultations with doctors.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/are-israels-ultra-orthodox-ready-to-join-the-startup-nation/
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Israel’s largest delegation to Winter Olympics. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel plans to send its largest delegation ever to the Feb 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Israelis could win a historic medal in the men’s skeleton bobsled or in the men’s 1,500-meter short track speed skating.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=40509
Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition. Thirty-two competitors from 16 countries will participate in the 15th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv (April 25 to May 11). The event is one of the world’s most important piano contests and takes place every 3 years.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Outstanding-contest-486910
The world’s 5th largest whiskey museum. The world’s fifth-largest whiskey museum is situated in a former Templer wine cellar in Sarona, Tel Aviv. It features hundreds of illuminated whiskey bottles, including one worth NIS 40,000. For NIS 61 customers can taste 4 x 25ml of pure whiskey – enough for two people to share.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/A-museum-to-savor-486906
THE JEWISH STATE
Follow the mikveh trail. A newly-opened Jerusalem park takes you past many of the capital’s 200 ritual baths (mikvot), used by pilgrims in the Second Temple era. Jewish travelers purified themselves by immersion, prior to offering sacrifices in the Temple. 50 baths have been unearthed near Temple mount, most along its southern wall.
“People, Book, Land” reaches UK Parliament. The UK House of Commons is hosting the UNESCO travelling exhibition, “People, Book, Land: The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People with the Holy Land.” The exhibit explores the Jewish People’s eternal link to the Land of Israel.
Ironic venue for Balfour conference. The venue for the Conference “100 Years since the Balfour Declaration” was the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem. The hotel is sited on the earlier Palace Hotel – built by the anti-Semitic Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al Husseini. It was also the site of the 1936 Peel Commission.
https://twitter.com/JerusalemCenter/status/836491877306220544
Prizes for Sephardi and Oriental studies. The first-ever Prime Minister’s Awards for the Study of Sephardic and Oriental Jewry were to the Dahan Center at Bar-Ilan University, Levana Zamir for “The Golden Age of the Jews of Egypt – Uprooting and Revival in Israel” and Dr. Moshe Gavra for research of immigrations of Yemen Jews between 1948 and 1949. http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=40717
50 years of re-unification of Jerusalem. “Voices of Jerusalem” video, produced by the city for June’s 50th anniversary of the reunification of Israel’s Capital.
Brazil’s secret Jews renew ties in Israel. During a visit to Israel, with 18 other Brazilian Anousim (secret Jews) Lavor Serbim told her story at the Brazilian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv. She used to cry when she heard stories about Israel or heard Jewish songs, but there was no clear explanation for her emotions.
