This Week’s Sanity Report from Israel Feb. 11, 2024
The photo (TY Sharon) is of Sabra fruit growing on prickly pear cacti in the Jerusalem sunshine last week. Israelis are called after the sabra because they are thought to be prickly on the outside and sweet on the inside.
I think that you will find many of the news articles in this week’s positive Israel newsletter are sweet on the inside. So please have a look inside and below.
the highlights include:
- A dog rescued in Gaza could understand Hebrew.
- A volunteer US eye specialist has saved the sight of many wounded IDF soldiers.
- 50,000 volunteers show that they have “One Heart”.
- Another breakthrough in the production of green hydrogen.
- A startup used its own invention to save its business.
- Three instances of proactive women entrepreneurs.
- Israelis won international gold medals in skiing, kickboxing, windsurfing and jujitsu.
- The Argentine President promised to move his embassy to Jerusalem.
POSITIVE NEWS DURING A WAR
Cowboys to the rescue. (TY UWI & ILTV News) Ruthie’s horse farm in Binyamin, home to many troubled teens, faced closure when its male workers were called up. Then the Christian cowboys of Montana came to walk the horses, clean and maintain the farm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
If it could only talk. IDF troops in Gaza have rescued many abandoned pet dogs and cats, at least one parrot and three horses. One dog was a purebred Malinois, a.k.a. Belgian sheepdog. It responded to commands in Hebrew, which probably meant it (like many of the rescued animals) was looted on Oct 7.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Fauda star released from hospital. (TY Yanky) Actor and singer Idan Amedi, star of Israel’s Fauda TV series, was released from hospital after 8 weeks. Although badly burned in Gaza, he now hopes to be in Fauda season 5. He said, “The Israeli people are the strongest in the world. When we are united, we are invincible.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
20% of IDF reserves are hi-tech workers. Although hi-tech workers constitute only 10% of Israel’s employees, they make up 20% of the IDF’s reserve forces. Interesting, but not sure what to make of that!
https://www.calcalistech.com/
No place like home. (TY Yanky) After 10 weeks in limbo in an Eilat hotel, over 400 Kibbutz Re’im members have moved into two towers in Tel Aviv. A Tel Aviv Municipality banner welcomed relocated Kibbutz Re’im residents with this message: “There is no place like home, but in the meantime, feel at home.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
His prayers were answered. IDF Sgt. Major Malchiel ben Yosef saved his comrades from a Hamas terrorist who emerged from a Gaza tunnel behind them with an RPG launcher. Malchiel turned towards Jerusalem to pray the afternoon service and spotted the terrorist. He then alerted his comrades who dealt with the threat.
https://www.jns.org/prayer-of-
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Adapting animal antibodies for humans. (TY UWI & JNS) Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have developed an algorithm to help identify which antibodies, that work on animals, can be adapted for human use. Their CUMAb, algorithm generates 20,000 variants of a mouse antibody and predicts which are most stable.
https://tps.co.il/articles/
Why some children stop breathing. Researchers at Ben Gurion University and Tel Aviv University have discovered the impact of a genetic defect that causes Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) in children. They hope that their findings will lead to a cure to a dangerous form of sleep apnea.
https://www.jpost.com/health-
Ultrasound surgery just got more focused. (TY OurCrowd) Israel’s Insightec has announced Exablate Prime – the next generation of MR-guided focused ultrasound with many new features for incisionless neurosurgery. It comes as the US military and the Dutch government have approved Insightec for essential tremor therapy.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/
Netanya hospital opens pediatric playroom. Netanya’s Laniado Hospital has opened a brand-new playroom, courtesy of Toys for Simcha, based in Brooklyn. Happy Kids Heal Faster,” said Rabbi J.J. Hecht II, president of Toys for Simcha. Hundreds of the 8,000 evacuees living in Netanya have been treated at Laniado.
https://www.jns.org/netanya-
Overcoming trauma. As a boy, Yechial witnessed a bus explode, which motivated him to become a volunteer United Hatzalah EMT. He has helped at many tragedies: Miron, Ukraine, Hurricane Ian, Turkey, Morocco, and Oct 7. One of the last lives he saved was a dog. He now trains therapy dogs, to help others overcome trauma.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.instagram.com/
The medical specialists who answered the call. Israel’s Health Ministry and Nefesh B’Nefesh arranged for hundreds of physicians to fly to Israel to help those in need following Oct. 7. Many world-renowned specialists left their lucrative jobs, families, and children behind to come to Israel and boost the medical system.
https://www.israelhayom.com/
Restoring sight to wounded IDF soldiers. Eye specialist Dr Sid Shechet of Baltimore’s Elman Retina Group is volunteering for two weeks at the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva. He has been operating non-stop for more than twelve hours daily, helping to restore vision to severely wounded soldiers and anyone else in need.
https://baltimorejewishlife.
https://www.elmanretina.com/
Partnering for mental health therapy. Israel’s Sheba Medical Center has partnered with Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) to expand the mental health support provided to trauma-suffering war victims. FIDF Funds will help train new Shaba therapists to work in IDF veterans’ rehabilitation centers across the country.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Jewish Disabilities Month. JNF-USA is planning a series of events to mark Jewish Disabilities Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAAIM) and to celebrate their longstanding efforts to improve Israel for residents and visitors with disabilities. Feb donations to support this cause will be matched up to $1.25 million.
https://www.jnf.org/menu-3/
A campus for ultra-orthodox students. A consortium led by Ben-Gurion University and several academic colleges is to create a separate ultra-Orthodox campus in the South. A growing number of haredim want to pursue a higher education, but not compromise their beliefs and religious observance.
https://americansforbgu.org/
Empowering Ethiopian Israelis at Rambam. Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa and Boston-Haifa Connection have launched a 5-month course to educate 20 of its Ethiopian Israeli employees in Hebrew literacy and computer skills. The employees predominantly work in the Housekeeping and Custodian Department.
https://israfan.com/2024/02/
Prize-winning, women-led startups. The competition for female-led Israeli startups at an event organized by Yazamiyot (see below) was won by anydish (AI nutrition – see here previously). In 2nd place was Aisap (AI ultrasound heart monitoring – see here previously) and in 3rd was Kinoko (funghi – see here previously).
https://www.calcalistech.com/
It’s all in the Family. In a world that seems to devalue the family unit, Family Day (Yom HaMishpacha) in Israel on Feb 9 is a day to honor the family unit and its centrality to our lives. Israel has 2.25 million families with about half having two parents and at least one child under the age of 17.
https://www.jns.org/2-25-
See Israel through the eyes of the IDF. If you, your children, or grandchildren live in the USA, are aged 21-39 and want to gain a deep understanding of IDF soldiers’ mission in the current war, register for the Friends of the IDF’s National Young Leadership Mission to Israel from May 24 to May 30, 2024.
https://www.fidf.org/national-
Visitors. (TY Nevet) Friendly visitors to Israel in Jan included Chechia President Petr Pavel, former US Vice President Mike Pence, 9 UN envoys, 22 EU lawmakers, 40 US JCC leaders, 50 Hadassah leaders, Palantir directors, US student leaders, Christian Zionists, Indian influencers, Iran’s opposition leader, and many more.
https://www.broaderview.org/
50,000 volunteers mobilized. Last week’s article about Lev Echad (One Heart – see here) supporting wounded IDF soldiers didn’t give the US charity enough credit. Since Oct 7, some 50,000 volunteers have run Israeli mental health hotlines; supported displaced Israeli families and reservists; distributed food, and much more.
https://www.israel21c.org/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
An innovation hub in the Negev. Synergy7 is an innovation hub in Be’er Sheva, aimed at boosting both the area and the entire Israeli tech sector. The Israel Innovation Authority is providing NIS 100 million of funding and it is backed by Ben Gurion University, Clalit Healthcare, Elbit Systems, Dell, and the Merage Foundation.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
https://synergy7.co.il/
A better water splitter. A detailed scientific paper describing the efficient method devised by Technion Prof Avner Rothchild and his team to split water into “green” hydrogen and oxygen. It involves using Bromine in the Decoupled Water Electrolysis (DWE) process. See here for Technion’s research into Hydrogen production.
https://www.israel21c.org/
https://www.nature.com/
Turn your Apple watch into a wrist camera. It took over seven years (see here previously) but Israeli-developed wristcam is a smart wristband that uniquely turns an Apple Watch into a camera capable of taking photos and recording video and audio, without relying on an accompanying phone.
https://nocamels.com/2024/01/
Protecting vulnerable websites. Israel’s MazeBolt has developed RADAR – a system that constantly checks a company’s websites and reports any vulnerabilities to DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks. It performs a real attack on the webserver, but not disruptive enough to crash it. The server is then re-checked after fixing.
https://nocamels.com/2024/01/
Keeping railways safe. Israel’s Rail System develops AI-based safety technology for railways. It has just received European certification for its Main Line system which uses 2km range vision sensors to assess risks and detect threats for the railway industry. Even in poor visibility, they can prevent deadly collisions.
https://nocamels.com/2024/01/
What a way to run a business. Israel’s Alignment Labs lost two of its 3 key employees who were called up to the IDF reserves. One was released, but only so he could donate a kidney to someone he didn’t know. So, they used their own developed product – Goni – to help them focus on priorities and keep their customers happy.
https://www.israel21c.org/how-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.alignment-labs.
Ramon Space Conference. Another wow year. The 19th Ilan Ramon International Space Conference was introduced by Israel’s President Herzog. His message was “working together” for “the future of humanity”.
https://www.jns.org/space-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israel Resilience Fund progress report. Global venture investing platform OurCrowd presented progress of its Resilience Fund (see here previously) supporting war-impacted but high-potential Israeli startups. It has now invested in 22 startups – many building products to help win the war or have 50-100% of employees in the IDF.
https://www.ourcrowd.com/
Women-led startups in the south. Israeli NGO Yazamiyot (see here previously) and Arieli Capital held an event at Microsoft’s offices in Be’er Sheva to discuss how to support female-led startups in the south. When partners are called up, women entrepreneurs often must manage both the home front and lead the startup.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Finding the best employment for evacuees. The 710 West initiative, set-up by an all-women team, motivates and encourages evacuees of the western Negev to seek employment. Its personal and professional support helps them find the right fit of employer and suitable work, even though many are still displaced.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Smiling again. (TY Yanky) Oracle CEO Safra Catz, the US’s top-earning female tech billionaire, granted every Oracle employee in Israel a bonus for the difficulties they are facing. During her week-long visit to Israel, she revealed that her husband said that on Oct 7 she stopped smiling. Only on arrival in Israel did she smile again.
https://www.ynetnews.com/
$9.6 million BIRD Foundation grant. The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation has granted $9.6 million to 10 joint projects. The Israeli companies are Celleste Bio, CENS Materials, Diptera.ai, Opmed.AI, Hypervision, Imagindairy, IAI, LahakX, Tissue Dynamics and Sheba hospital.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Bringing cardiac ultrasound to Asia. Israel’s UltraSight (see here previously) has partnered with South Korean medical device manufacturer Selvas Healthcare to introduce the Israeli’s AI-powered cardiac ultrasound diagnosis system into the Asia market. It should help combat the increase of cardiovascular disease in Korea.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
Satellite tech for US Defense. Israel’s Gilat Satellite Networks (see here previously) has won a $10 million follow-on order from the US Department of Defense to supply more of its DKET 3421 terminals. Deploying in less than three hours, the DKET 3421 provides a satellite network hub anywhere in the world.
https://www.gilat.com/
One financial app to rule them all. It’s not there yet, but Israel’s Sequence looks a very useful future platform to manage all personal finances in one place. Keep track of bank accounts, investments, credit cards, loans etc. Automate regular financial activities, reduce debts, get the best interest rates, control investment strategies etc.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
More investment. The $473 million startup investment funding in Jan 2024 was 75% higher than Jan 2023.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Startup investment – to 11/2/24.; Ionix raised $42 million; Oobit raised $25 million; Sensos raised $20 million; Octup raised $4 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
The evolution of Israeli fashion. One of the upcoming Ezra lectures for English-Speaking Residents in Israel is an interactive journey through the history and future trends of Israeli fashion. Shenkar College graduate Ilan Dotan describes how fashion is connected to every milestone of Israel’s history. Feb 13 at 11am in Raanana.
https://esra.org.il/events-
Winter sounds festival. (TY Yanky) Tel Aviv’s Cultural Centre hosts the Winter Sounds music festival in May. Over four days, live music performances will feature the cream of Israeli music, from classical and Mizrahi music to singer-songwriter tributes and jazz. https://www.jpost.com/must/
Swamp cat seen in Hula valley. An Israeli nature conservationist recorded a swamp cat (also known as a jungle cat, reed cat, or jungle lynx) in the Hula valley in Northern Israel. The swamp cat is one of the three remaining species of wildcats in Israel. Israel is the most westerly location for these animals.
https://www.jpost.com/
We will bloom again. This year’s Darom Adom (Red South) festival, where Israelis visit the fields of red winter-blooming anemones that carpet the forests and fields, will be more muted that usual. But many events are to go ahead, such as the Anemone March, and the numerous opportunities to support local businesses.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
https://www.habsor.co.il/?p=
Hot wheels. (TY Hazel) Israeli driver Ariel Levi won Round 2 of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe Sport Division. See last few laps. Also (at 3mins 30secs) the Israeli National Anthem Hatikvah.
https://www.facebook.com/
Gold skier & kickboxers. Israeli skier Viktor Polinkovsky won the FIS Masters World Cup event (age category 60-64) in Slovenia. Israelis Yulia Sachkov and Deniz Serebyanikov won gold at the WAKO European kickboxing Athens Challenge. 12-year-old Karolina Chorny won the Kick Light European Championship.
https://www.instagram.com/
https://www.instagram.com/
https://www.instagram.com/
Gold windsurfer & jujitsu judokas. (TY Hazel) Israeli windsurfer Sharon Kantor on Saturday won a gold medal at the iQFoil World Championships in Lanzarote and qualified for the Paris summer Olympics. Meanwhile, Israelis Guy Borstein and Tommy Buaron won gold medals at the Jujitsu Genoa Open.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
https://www.instagram.com/
6,000 runners in the Dead Sea Marathon. Israeli Tourism Minister Haim Katz said the Dead Sea marathon “is a symbol of the willpower and the tremendous love of life of the State of Israel and its citizens. The Dead Sea is a wonderful natural phenomenon in the lowest place in the world. From here, you can only go up.”
https://www.jns.org/6000-run-
https://www.israel21c.org/
THE JEWISH STATE
What to do after a gap year in Israel. Nearly 450 students came to the Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah Campus in Jerusalem to learn more about what life after their gap year can look like in Israel. With a total of 25 booths and 60 volunteers on hand, students learned about Sherut Leumi, army and higher education options.
https://www.
Countering hostile Arab media. Since Oct. 7, Israeli political analyst and Arabic-speaker Idit Bar has engaged in intensive public diplomacy on BBC Arabic and social media. In the process, she has learned to gain support by emphasising common concerns (e.g., terrorism, Iran, fundamentalism, etc.) in the Arab world.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
The most consecutive rain days in 30 years. Israel has seen 14 straight days of rainfall in the north and south for the first time since February 1992. It is called a “rain of blessing” as the steady, persistent downpour allows rainwater to seep into the ground, enriching natural water sources without the damaging side effects of flooding.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Amulet found. IDF reservist Erez was hiking in Israel’s Nahal Tabor Nature Reserve during two days’ leave. He found a 2,800-year-old Assyrian scarab amulet at Tel Rekhesh, identified as the city of Anaharath in the book of Joshua. The Assyrians defeated the Kingdom of Israel but failed to conquer the Kingdom of Judea.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-
WW1 Jewish graves found in Gaza. (TY WIN) Soldiers in the IDF’s 188th Brigade were surprised to find stars of David on gravestones in a cemetery in the central Gaza town of Al-Maaziin. They were the graves of British Jewish soldiers who fell in 1917, in World War I, fighting the Ottomans in the Land of Israel.
https://www.jns.org/idf-
https://www.
Argentine Embassy to move to Jerusalem. Argentina’s new President Javier Milei stepped off his plane on arrival in Israel and immediately announced that his country’s embassy would be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He brought his personal Rabbi, visited Yad Vashem, and prayed at Jerusalem’s Western Wall.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
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 (Canadian donors): https://www.canadahelps.org/
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/
Schneider Children’s Hospital: https://www.fos.org.il/en/
https://system.smartgiving.
https://chaischneider.org/
Hadassah Hospital Israel: https://www.hadassah.org/
Laniado Hospital (Netanya) https://my.israelgives.org/en/
And many more charities here:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Buy Israel Bonds to support the Jewish State. (TY Larry B)
https://www.
USA – https://www.israelbonds.com/
Europe – https://israelbondsintl.com/
Canada – https://www.israelbonds.ca/
