This Week’s Sanity Report from Israel at War Oct. 29, 2023
The highlights include:
- Many examples of brave Israelis who saved countless lives on Oct 7.
- Successful launch of smart Israeli device that advises on best cancer treatment.
- Huge support for war effort from both religious and secular Israelis.
- Best-ever performance by Israeli students at Informatics Olympiad.
- Generous support for Israel from all over the world.
- Amazing stories of Jewish resilience.
POSITIVE NEWS DURING A WAR
More heroes. Many examples of brave Israelis confronting Hamas terrorists. A wounded battalion commander rescued an abducted French tourist and carried on fighting. A brigade commander got into three separate tanks, one after another, and then ran over Hamas vehicles to reach the Sderot police station besieged by Hamas.
https://www.ynetnews.com/
The few against the many. Less than ten brave young men on Kibbutz Kerem Shalom held 100 Hamas terrorists at bay for more than 6 hours, despite being low on ammunition, until the Israeli Army came in and rescued them. https://www.israelunwired.com/
Bedouin bus driver saves 30. On Oct 7, Bedouin Arab minibus driver Youssef Ziadna went to pick up one of his regular customers at the outdoor party near Gaza and came face to face with Hamas’ brutal massacre. He then dodged bullets and drove off-road to rescue 30 Jewish Israelis and bring them to safety.
https://www.
Protestors metamorphose. Organizations that only weeks ago were protesting on the streets are now helping victims of Hamas. Some 15,000 volunteers at the Expo Tel Aviv International Convention Center are distributing donated equipment and food, finding accommodation for evacuees, and much more.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Tons of aid arrive. An EL AL 787 Dreamliner that landed on Oct 23 in Ben Gurion Airport was filled with 22 tons of supplies donated to assist with the ongoing war effort. Jointly sponsored by the Phoenix Group and NY-based Amudim Community Resources, plus El Al, the cargo hold was full of medical aid and clothing.
https://www.
Vegan meals for 6,000 IDF soldiers. Israel’s Redefine Meat is producing thousands of nutritious protein-rich vegan dishes each week to feed the many vegan / flexitarian IDF soldiers serving on the front lines. Redefine Meat’s head chef has enlisted vegan startups, 100 volunteers, and private chefs to work at his Tel Aviv kitchen.
https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/
US firefighters respond. 23 American firefighters from the Emergency Volunteers Project (EVP – see here previously) left their homes to join the response effort in Israel. 60 more are on standby, ready to fly over at a moment’s notice. Many of those stationed in Ashkelon were hosted in Kibbutz Be’eri during a previous visit.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
https://www.evp.org.il/
8-year-old meets family of soldier who donated his liver. An emotional meeting was held at Schneider Pediatric Hospital between transplant patient 8-year-old Refael who received a liver lobe and the family of its donor – soldier Amichai Rubin – who was killed on Oct 7. https://www.
My home is your home. The World Zionist Organization has launched a project whereby owners of empty apartments in Israel release them to the WZO for evacuees from southern and northern Israel. The WZO will be the guarantor. The project includes a website, contact details, and global adverts in many languages.
https://www.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Better cancer treatment. (TY OurCrowd) A trial of the PROphet blood test from Israel’s OncoHost (see here previously) has proved its accuracy and reliability in predicting the best treatment for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. OncoHost has received orders from 29 US cancer centers since its 2023 launch.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/
Detecting too much calcium in the arteries. Israel’s Beilinson Hospital has completed a study of coronary artery calcium (CAC) levels using the HealthCCSng system from Israel’s Nanox.AI (see here previously) to review routine CT-scans. High CAC patients were referred to clinics for in-depth evaluation and treatment.
https://www.
Partnering to develop IBD treatment. Israel’s Teva is partnering with France’s Sanofi (see also here) to develop and commercialize TEV 574, currently in Phase 2b clinical trials, for the anti-TL1A treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease, two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
https://en.globes.co.il/en/
US approval for vision-correcting eye drops. The US FDA has approved the QLOSI eye drops, from Israel’s Orasis (see here previously), The prescription eye drops improve farsightedness (presbyopia) for up to eight hours without impacting distance or night vision. The treatment can benefit almost two billion sufferers.
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
Sports tech to heal injured soldiers. The ElectroGear device from Israel’s Healables (see here previously) was designed to enhance performance and accelerate recovery among athletes. It is now being repurposed to treat pain and injuries suffered by IDF personnel. You can even help towards donating one to an Israeli soldier.
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://electrogear.com/
Treating war-related head trauma. Israel’s Sheba Medical Center is using innovative methods to treat the complex injuries suffered by those wounded by Hamas terrorists. One example is the AI systems from Israel’s Aidoc (see here previously), used to analyze brain aneurysms from gunshot wounds and rocket shrapnel.
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
Using AI to speed up gene therapy development. Israel’s mana.bio harnesses the power of AI to significantly reduce development times for new nucleic acid therapeutics and vaccines. Mana.bio produces novel lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that deliver RNA and gene therapies to specific tissues in the body near to the liver,
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Optimizing clinical trials. Israel’s PhaseV develops causal machine learning (ML) technology that optimizes clinical trial design and analysis. Its goal is to prevent bio-techs wasting money on failed or badly designed trials of new treatments. It boosts clinical trial success rates while maximizing resource and time efficiency.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Haredi support for war effort. The offices of Haredi website Kikar haShabat have been transformed into an emergency control room. They help organize 4,000 ultra-orthodox volunteers who distribute supplies, visit the sick, and donate blood in many Israeli cities. 2,000+ have just volunteered for the IDF – 100+ each day.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
https://www.
Tel Aviv restaurants go kosher for the IDF. (TY Nocamels) More than 100 Tel Aviv restaurants have rushed to acquire temporary kosher certification so they could cook thousands of meals each day for soldiers, hospitals, and the evacuees of the Gaza border communities. They’re even closed on Shabbat for the duration of the war.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Agriculture accord with Morocco. Israeli Minister of Agriculture Avi Dichter and his Moroccan counterpart Mohamed Sadiki have signed an agreement to bolster agricultural cooperation between their two nations. It includes support for tech companies, new food supply chains, rural development, and countering drought.
https://www.jns.org/rabat-and-
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Technology for Israel. Israelis have been working hard to develop systems to support Israelis during the war. Digitaldome.io reports toxic content on social media with a single click. Swords of Steel helps families search for missing loved ones. Remember710 translates Hebrew personal testimonies into English in sharable format.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Israeli scientists awarded European grants. (TY Nevet) Two Bar-Ilan University scientists received a total of $3.6 million from the European Research Council. Dr. Assaf Ben-Moshe studies the properties of mirror images of chemicals. Dr Shahar Alon studies interactions between the immune system and tumors.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/
3 Golds at Informatics Olympiad. (TY Dr Salem) Israel’s Informatics team won three gold medals and an honorable mention at the International Olympiad in Informatics. It was Israel’s best-ever result at the Olympiad since it first competed in 1996 (see here previously). Israel came overall 4th of the 90 participating countries.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
A wave of new business for the new Middle East. On the 3rd anniversary of the Abraham Accords, this article describes the success of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and its success at providing Israeli entrepreneurs with a platform to explore new markets and foster cross-cultural partnerships.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-
Financial support for war victims. Israel’s Tipalti (see here previously) has raised and donated 2.5 million shekels in humanitarian relief. The Israeli Children’s Fund (ICF)is giving $100,000 to each child who has lost a parent. Over 200 Venture Capital funds have signed a letter of support for Israel. (now 500)
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://www.
Global corporate aid. Canada’s Leaders Fund is donating $50+ million to Israeli aid organizations. Salesforce – $3m; Disney – $2m; Paramount – $1m; Insight Partners – $1m; General Catalyst – $0.25m; Cisco is paying NIS 9k to each Israeli employee and NIS 19k to IDF reservists. Oracle is matching global employees’ donations.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Support from Diaspora Jews & friends. This article describes some of the Jewish and non-Jewish organizations who are raising funds to support victims of Hamas terrorism and their families. They include Israel Bonds, Victims of Terror, UJA, JNF-USA, synagogues, Christians United 4 Israel, and even Tieks shoes.
https://www.jns.org/american-
Bank of Israel freezes mortgage and loan repayments. Israel’s Central bank is to freeze mortgage and loan re-payments to Israeli citizens for 3 months to provide financial relief and ease cashflow crunch during the war.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Startup budget quadrupled. Israel has increased the budget of the Innovation Authority’s Fast-Track program by a factor of four, from NIS 100 million to NIS 400 million. It will provide vital support to startups facing financial difficulties because of the ongoing hostilities.
https://www.
Israel will emerge stronger. Positive messages from Jon Medved, CEO of Israel’s OurCrowd, and Economist Amir Kahanovich who predict Israel’s resilience will ensure that it will recover from adversity and grow even stronger. Medved also calls on everyone to combat misinformation, support Israel, and work for a better future.
https://www.bloomberg.com/
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Investment in Israeli startups in a war: Island.io raised $100 million; Blockaid raised $27 million; Mana.bio raised $19.5 million; PhaseV raised $15 million; Statement raised $12 million; Wanda Fish raised $7 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Transforming Hell. See the latest video showing the beautiful Valley of Hennom in Jerusalem (see here previously) which the City of David organization has transformed from the Valley of Hell into a family-friendly park, that was enjoyed by many during the recent Festival of Sukkot.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
10-y-o Chess champion. Noam Sasson has come joint-first in the European Rapid Chess Championship 2023 under-10s in Slovenia, following the conclusion of a day and a half of games. He previously won the European School Chess Championships 2022 and is a graduate of the “Chess4all” chess club (see here previously).
https://www.jpost.com/israel-
Israel wins Bridge Championships. (TY Dr Salem) For the first time, Israel’s women won the Venice Cup at the 46th World Bridge Championships in Marrakech, Morocco, beating Turkye in the final. The competition took place at the end of August, shortly before the Sept 8 earthquake.
http://championships.
THE JEWISH STATE
Jews who fled Ukraine, now help Israel in its war. Ukrainian teens and young adults, who fled Russia and Ukraine to avoid war, are helping Israel’s war effort. Via non-profit Shishi Shabbat Yisraeli (SSY), they work in 12-hour shifts packing medical equipment and field rations. But here they want to support Israel’s soldiers.
https://www.jns.org/olim-who-
No stopping new Olim. Even in war-time new immigrants are still arriving at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport. “Seeing olim arrive in Israel during the most challenging days we’ve ever known fills our hearts and gives us strength to carry on,” said Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog.
https://www.
The priority of saving lives. For the first time in 41 years, El Al flew on Shabbat, bringing back to Israel from New York and Bangkok (free of charge) Israelis called up for emergency military reserve duty. They also flew back security and rescue forces stranded abroad. The emergency rescue flights were religiously approved.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
From the ashes. 12-year-old Ariel Zohar survived the massacre that took his parents and sisters on Oct 7. During the shiva, Ariel asked Zaka volunteers to try to find his father’s tefillin that had been handed down by his grandfather – a Shoah survivor. The two men found a melted plastic bag. Inside was the tefillin – intact!
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Tzitzit for soldiers. Tzitzit, the fringes on a 4-cornered garment, are often worn by the non-religious in times of trouble. Today thousands of secular soldiers are wearing tzitzit and US Jews have launched project “Spiritual Armor” to send tzitzit to Israeli soldiers. https://raisethon.com/
https://www.jns.org/us-jews-
We’re closed, it’s Shabbat. Moshav Tekuma, just 7km from Gaza, was bypassed by Hamas terrorists because they were unable to enter it. The religious community was completely locked down on Shabbat Oct 7, after having been subject to repeated burglaries on Shabbat previously.
https://www.
How to help Israel. Here are some sites where newsletter readers can donate to Israeli organizations that provide vital help to Israelis at this difficult time. Many thanks to those who have already contributed and to those who are helping by donating their own valuable time and resources.
Friends of the IDF (US donors): https://www.fidf.org/
or IDF Soldiers Fund in Israel: https://www.ufis.org.il/en/
American Friends of Magen David Adom (US donors): https://afmda.org/
or Magen David Adom (Israel): https://www.mdais.org/en/
Zaka (US donors): https://donate.zakatelaviv.
or (Israeli donors): https://charidy.com/zaka
United Hatzalah: https://israelrescue.org/
Leket Food Israel: https://www.leket.org/en/
JNF USA – https://my.jnf.org/gaza-
Orthodox Union – https://www.charidy.com/
Hadassah Hospital Israel: https://www.hadassah.org/
Laniado Hospital (Netanya) https://my.israelgives.org/en/
And many more charities here:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
