Photo is of one of the mosaics at Sussia in the Hebron Hills, linking the Land of Israel and the Jewish people over many millenia – see article on Lod mosaics.
This Week’s Sanity Report from Israel Aug 5 2018
The highlights include:
- Israeli scientists have found how to prevent lung cancer from returning.
- Israel helped evacuate over 400 Syrian “White Helmets” and their families.
- Israeli intelligence prevented a terrorist attack in France.
- An Israeli app can predict earthquakes.
- Israeli hi-tech startups have raised a record amount of funds.
- Israel has won its first U20 FIBA basketball championship.
- In 22 years, three ancient Jewish mosaics were found on one site in Lod.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Triple treatment to defeat lung cancer. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have used a combination of 3 cancer treatments to prevent lung cancer tumors from re-occurring. In laboratory tests, when Tagrisso, Erbitux and Herceptin were used together they prevented the cancer from developing resistance to single treatments.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/triple-treatment-keeps-cancer-coming-back
Crohn’s treatment shows promise. Israeli biotech Redhill announced positive results of the Phase 3 trial for RB-104 in treating Crohn’s disease which affects 1.5 million people worldwide.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/redhills-drug-for-crohns-disease-shows-positive-results-study/
More European funds for Israeli cancer testing. I reported previously (see here) on Israel’s Nucleix and its innovative blood and urine tests for early-stage cancer diagnostics. Nucleix has just received a grant of 2.5 million Euros from the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program – its second grant in two years.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3743363,00.html
3 healthcare giants expand Israeli R&D. (TY TIP) Three life-science multinationals will grow their Israeli R&D centers over the next six years. GE Healthcare’s ultrasound, Change Healthcare’s cardiology and Medtronic’s imaging systems will receive a boost via a $33 million grant from the Israel Innovation Authority.
https://www.israel21c.org/3-healthcare-multinationals-to-expand-israeli-rd-activity/
Heart surgery for 20 Rwandan children. (TY Hazel) Israel’s Save Child’s Heart team is checking the hearts of 70 children at Kigali Teaching Hospital, Rwanda. The 20 most severe cases will be immediately transferred to Israel with all costs covered.
http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/twenty-children-heart-diseases-undergo-surgery-israel
Why some dyslexics are good readers. Researchers at Tel Aviv University and the University of California have identified the reason for some dyslexics having low decoding skills but high reading comprehension. Dyslexics with a high neuron density in the left DLPFC of their frontal brain were still able to read well.
Uganda praises Israel for hospital. (TY Hazel) Uganda’s Health minister, Dr Jane Aceng, hailed the Israeli government for supporting health services delivery in the country. Dr Aceng spoke while commissioning a diabetes clinic at Kiboga Hospital, which was established with support from Israel.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Funding for hi-tech haredi and Arabs. Israeli startups in the ultra-Orthodox sector will now be eligible for government funding of over 70% of their research and development costs – up to NIS 7 million over two years. A similar scheme is soon to be introduced to encourage Arab entrepreneurs to enter the hi-tech industry.
https://worldisraelnews.com/haredi-hi-tech-gets-cash-injection-from-israel/
Islands of Peace. (TY UWI and Sharon) There are 14 industrial areas in Judea and Samaria where Jewish Israelis and Arab Palestinians work alongside each other. They discover the “other” isn’t as they expected. And with jobs, these 15,000 Arabs add NIS 4.5 billion to the PA economy and can enjoy a normal and fruitful life.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/PwJ9JX95u5Q?rel=0
http://rjstreets.com/2018/08/01/barkan-whats-happening-over-green-line/
An everyday medical emergency. Just a normal case of Israeli police medics treating an injured Palestinian Arab boy outside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the city of Hebron. This is news for the international press.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-police-medic-treats-injured-palestinian-boy-in-hebron/
Israel evacuates Syrian White Helmets and their families. (TY UWI) Israel transported 422 volunteer “White Helmets” rescue workers and their family members from Syria, via the Golan Heights to Jordan. The operation was praised by many countries including the USA and Canada.
http://www.thetower.org/6482-u-s-eu-uk-praise-israels-daring-rescue-of-white-helmets-from-syria/
https://www.youtube.com/embed/HFjhUbaAAMk?rel=0
Seven years of secretly aiding Syrian civilians. For the last seven years, Israel’s Gal Lusky, founder of Israeli NGO Flying Aid, has been going undercover into Syria to smuggle aid into Israel’s war-torn neighbor. Now, this heroic woman has decided to tell her story. https://www.israel21c.org/the-israeli-saving-lives-in-syria/
https://www.youtube.com/embed/J9A18SfiLpE?rel=0
Help for Africa’s Green Revolution. (TY Hazel) A delegation from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) visited Israel to see how its agricultural technologies can help farmers in Africa. AGRA works with millions of African smallholder farmers to reduce poverty and hunger by investing in agriculture.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/delegation-seeks-israeli-startups-to-help-african-farmers-boost-crops/
Mossad thwarts Paris terrorist plot. TY Hazel) Israeli intelligence agents (Mossad) exposed an alleged Iranian plan to bomb the annual National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) rally in the town of Villepinte, a northern suburb of Paris, on June 30.
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5313291,00.html
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
On-line book of 100 Israeli innovations. (TY Barry) The Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry has just released the bi-lingual (English and Hebrew) online book “Israeli Innovations – Breakthrough Products that Changed the World”. It contains 100 success stories. Click on the following link and then on the left arrow.
http://innovationisrael.mag.calltext.co.il/magazine/80
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Ten-giants-of-Israeli-industry-honored-at-annual-event-562046
Olympiad medals for Israeli students. Israeli students continue to shine in International competitions. At the Physics Olympiad in Lisbon, Portugal, Israelis won two golds and three silvers. At the Chemistry Olympiad in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Israelis won silver and bronze medals.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-students-shine-at-international-science-competitions/
Award for accessibility app. Israeli startup GalaPrompter has developed the app GalaPro, which provides smartphone users at all Broadway shows with subtitles in many languages, dubbing, and amplification services. GalaPro has just won a prestigious 2018 Sapolin Accessibility Award for Communication and Technology.
http://nocamels.com/2018/07/israeli-app-ny-disabled/ https://www.youtube.com/embed/cLSLPZSU_jE?rel=0
http://www.playbill.com/article/mayors-office-awards-galapro-accessibility-award
Pilot project for foldable car. I reported previously (Dec 2013) on the Israeli-built City Transformer foldable car when it was just a concept. Now, the Tel Aviv municipality is to launch a pilot program next year that will see as many as 50 City Transformer vehicles being tested on the streets of Israel’s busiest city.
http://nocamels.com/2018/07/foldable-electric-city-transformer/
https://www.youtube.com/embed/nuxZNtXrwnI?rel=0
System to predict earthquakes. (TY Hazel) Israeli start-up SeismicAI uses sensors to detect small earthquakes and artificial intelligence (AI) to predict stronger ones. It also alerts management centers, for warning citizens and controlling traffic signals and critical infrastructure (e.g. power plants).
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-07/16/c_137326391.htm https://www.seismicai.com/
https://www.youtube.com/embed/7hSZsh7ZN8Q?rel=0
Saving Togo’s mango crops. I reported previously (10th Sep) that Israel’s BioFeed had developed a no-spray fruit-fly solution to protect mango crops in India. Now BioFeed’s FreeDome environmentally friendly pesticide has been deployed to defeat the two species of fruit fly currently decimating the mango crops in Togo.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-fruit-fly-lure-helps-save-togos-mango-crop/
10 Mass Challenge winners. (TY Sharon) MassChallenge Israel has accelerated over 100 companies since 2015. In its latest event in Jerusalem, 10 entrepreneurs were selected to go to Boston to present their businesses for funding. They included Solutum (dissolving bags), MonitHer (see here), MyPart, QPower and Ziron Labs.
https://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=37&ARTICLE_ID=106090
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israel’s rating outlook rises. (TY TIP) International rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has joined Standard & Poor’s (S&P) in raising its rating outlook for the government of Israel from “stable” to “positive”. Israel’s current rating is A1. Moody’s reasons were Israel’s fiscal discipline and strong economic growth.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-moodys-raises-rating-outlook-for-israel-1001246929
Hi-tech startups raise record $3.2 billion in six months. Funds raised by Israeli high-tech companies in the first half of the year soared to an all-time record of $3.2 billion – higher than the annual total capital raised in the full years between 2010 and 2013. The growth of investment from China and Europe was significant.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-tech-firms-raise-1-61-billion-in-2q-2018/
Facebook pays millions for Redkix. (TY UWI) Facebook’s fifth Israeli multi-million dollar acquisition is messaging developer Redkix, which has developed a platform to streamline an organization’s email chat. It is centralized instant messaging for the workplace to help employees collaborate by connecting to each other.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/facebook-acquires-israeli-startup-redkix-for-undisclosed-amount/
https://redkix.com/about.html https://www.youtube.com/embed/WcnUDWOLw2A?rel=0
Joint India-Israel fund launches 4 projects. The Israel-India Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) has just awarded its first grants. Israeli startups benefiting are Bacsoft, Ubiqam, Agrosolar and Samoculis. The projects are water/energy, cellular network quality, irrigation and glaucoma surgical devices.
Food ordering goes Dutch! Takeaway.com from the Netherlands has just acquired Israeli startup 10bis for $158 million. 10bis software and lunch card enables corporations to replace their canteens with a delivery service from local restaurants.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3743357,00.html
Israeli hotels as an investment. (TY Russell) The Israel Hotel Investment Summit (19-20 Nov) in Tel Aviv provides an in-depth analysis of the business opportunities within the Israel hospitality sector. With only 55,000 rooms for 3.6 million visitors, the market looks interesting for investors, developers, operators and advisors.
https://www.israelhotelinvest.com/ https://www.israelhotelinvest.com/schedule
Healthy partner for Europe’s largest sugar producer. I reported previously (May 2015) on the technology of Israel’s DouxMatok that makes sugar sweeter and reduces the amount required to be added to products. Now Germany’s Südzuckee is to set up production, joint marketing and sales of DouxMatok sugar to Europe.
http://nocamels.com/2018/07/douxmatok-deal-eu-sugar-producer/
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Listen to our friends. (TY Benyamin) From the Grapevine has launched a series of podcasts entitled “Our Friend from Israel”, featuring Israeli actors, academics, artists, archaeologists and much more. It is intended to show a side of Israel that is different to the one that the global media normally portrays. Please subscribe.
https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/podcasts
Tel Aviv Natural History museum opens. I reported previously (21st May) on the new Steinhardt Museum of Natural History in Tel Aviv. Now the largest natural history museums in the Middle East is officially open. It estimated to attract 150,000 visitors annually to explore the environmental artifacts and cultural displays.
https://www.touristisrael.com/steinhardt-museum-of-natural-history-in-tel-aviv/23826/
1500 children from 29 countries compete in Jerusalem. (TY TIP) 750 boys and 750 girls aged 12 – 15 from 29 countries came to Jerusalem, Israel for the 50th International Children’s Games. They competed in nine sports: basketball, soccer, street ball, volleyball, fencing, judo, athletics, tennis and swimming.
https://www.israel21c.org/international-childrens-games-begin-in-jerusalem/
http://www.icg-jerusalem2018.com/schedule/
Israel wins Euro U20 basketball championships. Israel won an historic first-ever FIBA title at the Under 20 European Championship 2018 in Chemnitz, Germany. Israel beat Croatia 80-66 in the final.
http://www.fiba.basketball/europe/u20/2018/news/israel-claim-historic-title-at-fiba-u20-european-championship https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/israeli-u20-team-claim-historic-basketball-win/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6hXA-4nMz8
Gold, silver and bronze for Israeli judokas. (TY WIN) At the Judo Grand Prix in Zagreb, Israel’s Tal Flicker won gold in the under 66kg category. Or Sasson won silver in the over 100kg category. There were also bronze medals for Israelis Baruch Shmailov (U66kg) and Tohar Butbul (U73kg). Israel finished 6th in the medal table.
https://www.judoinside.com/news/2776/Tal_Flicker_takes_gold_for_Israel_with_Baku_looming
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sports/Israels-Sasson-settles-for-silver-medal-in-Zagreb-563736
THE JEWISH STATE
Ancient pottery factory with games room. Excavations near Rehovot have revealed a pottery factory that manufactured large storage jars in the Roman and Byzantine periods – from the 3rd to the 7th centuries CE. The factory contained a room with game boards hewn out of the bedrock, and a complex of 20 hot and cold pools.
Roll away the stones. A 1700-year-old mosaic floor was discovered in Lod. Archaeologists believe that the original owner was Jewish as the mosaic depicts only animals and nature. It is the third mosaic to be found on the site. The video shows it being rolled up for transporting to a safer location for cleaning and preservation.
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/MAGAZINE-while-building-a-mosaics-museum-in-israel-another-mosaic-is-found-1.6318751 https://www.youtube.com/embed/VPudZ0h7XqE?rel=0
Legendary pitcher’s solidarity with Israel. Former New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera toured Israel with members of his church as part of a spiritual interfaith mission led by the New York Board of Rabbis. After visiting an IDF base, Rivera said, “For me, it was something special that I will take with me through my life.”
https://unitedwithisrael.org/ny-yankees-legend-rivera-shows-solidarity-with-idf-visits-army-base/
Public park preserves Second Temple village. (TY Sharon) Khirbet Arza is a little-known archaeological gem on a scenic hilltop in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood. When remains of a Second Temple era Jewish village were discovered, an archaeological green park replaced the planned apartments and shopping mall.
https://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=37&ARTICLE_ID=105819
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