This Week’s Sanity Report from Israel Feb. 16, 2020
This week’s newsletter is full of examples of Israeli individuals and innovations going above and beyond what previously was imaginable. Controlling a single cell, decoding brain signals and telemedicine. Highest achieving religious women; good relations between Jews, Arabs and Muslims. Producing energy from waste and from water. Breakthroughs in security, imaging and agriculture. Plus many astounding accounts of personal achievement.
The photo is of Tel Aviv’s Suzanne Dellal Center of Dance and Theater where Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard transcended the minds of the audience to raise funds for Israeli charities.
The highlights include:
- Israeli scientists have developed electrical fields to control single bacteria cells.
- Israel’s Olympic cycling team includes a Moroccan Arab.
- Israeli scientists extract Hydrogen from water using only sunlight.
- An Israeli company brings old photos to life.
- As one Israeli startup is valued at $1.1 billion, another exits for $1.9 billion.
- Tel Aviv hosted a huge vegan culinary education event for chefs.
- A 2000-year-old entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City is re-opened.
- On the Jewish New Year for Trees, Israel is blossoming.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Breakthrough in nanomedicine. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a microbiological technique to generate electrical fields that can manipulate individual bacteria cells. They can then introduce chemicals or DNA into a single cell, either for speeding up treatment testing or improving diagnostic tests.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-micromachines-deliver-treatments-with-laser-like-precision/
Decoding your brain signals. Israeli-founded startup Arctop is developing AI-based software called Neuos, which algorithms to decode emotion, attention, and memory from biosensor feeds of human brain signals. It opens a whole new world of possibilities for communication, health, training, entertainment and much more.
Telemedicine to treat coronavirus patients. (TY JNS) Israel’s Sheba Medical Center can treat potential coronavirus patients without risking the health of hospital staff and other patients. A remote-controlled robot enters the infected patient’s room and monitors the patient’s vital signs using a telemedicine app called Datos.
https://www.datos-health.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Sheba-announcement-October-23-9am-EST.pdf
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Telemedicine-conference-at-Sheba-a-next-step-in-future-of-Israeli-medicine-581588 https://www.datos-health.com/
Joined-up cancer research and treatment. Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center and Hala – The Rachel Nash Jerusalem Comprehensive Breast Clinic have joined forces in multinational research studies in the field of early detection of breast cancer. Hadassah will also serve as the main hospital for the treatment of all Hala patients.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275913
Monitoring kidney damage in hospital. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Serenno Medical has launched Sentinel – a device for automatic continuous monitoring and detection of kidney damage (AKI) in hospitalized patients. Monitoring of kidney function in ICU is intermittent and injury is detected late, leading to life-threatening conditions.
https://www.med-technews.com/news/continuous-urine-output-monitor-developed-for-kidney-functio/
Bringing early detection home. The amazing story of Yehudit Abrams, inventor of the MonitHer device for home breast cancer monitoring. Yehudit was born a Quaker, discovered Judaism and converted. She became a doctor, worked in Third World countries and then NASA. She invented the MonitHer after her cousin died.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275938
Jewish first responder saves his Arab neighbor. (TY UWI) Josh, a Jewish volunteer for emergency service United Hatzalah, saved the life of Munir – his Muslim next-door neighbor. Munir had been stabbed during an argument with other Arabs in Ma’ale Hazetim, a predominantly Moslem neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zArTV7MqkaM
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Lior Suchard has all the right numbers. Having previously raised funds only in the UK, the charity umbrella organization myIsrael (reported here previously) has now launched in the Jewish State. Its opening event brought star Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard to amaze the spellbound audience with his mind-reading act.
https://www.myisraelcharity.org/wwwmyisraelcharityorgil https://www.myisraelcharity.org.il/
At risk kids run Miami marathon. Eleven members of the Emunah Bet Elazraki Children’s Home in Netanya took part in the recent Miami marathon. They raised funds for various projects at the Home, where more than 170 at-risk children live. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275765
https://www.themiamimarathon.com/
Helping parents fight their children’s cancer. Israeli Oded Grinstein’s struggle to find information about his daughter’s cancer inspired him to found MyChild’sCancer (MCC) It helps 40-50 families each year resolve issues from access to experts and clinical trials to translations and negotiating bills and insurance claims.
https://www.jns.org/an-israeli-parents-medical-struggle-turns-into-his-tikkun-olam/ https://mychildscancer.org/
A woman wins Israel Prize for Talmud Studies. Tel Aviv University Professor Vered Noam has become the first woman to be awarded the Israel Prize for Talmudic Studies to be awarded on Independence Day. Talmud (Oral Law) study, traditionally men only, has been more popular with women over the past several decades.
https://worldisraelnews.com/unprecedented-a-woman-wins-israel-prize-for-talmudic-studies/
Head of MBA for AI and big data at IDC. Interesting article about Hagit Perry, the first female to join the elite IDF 8200 cyber defense unit. Following a PhD from Berkeley’s school of business, she now heads the MBA program for artificial intelligence and big data at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3790491,00.html
Muslim Arab joins Israeli Olympic cycling team. Chokri Elmehdi, an Arab Muslim from Morocco, has joined the Israel Start-Up Nation cycling team (see here) that will compete in the 2020 Tour de France. Chokru joins seven Israelis and five others from Canada, Eritrea, Australia, Colombia, and the Czech Republic.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israels-tour-de-france-team-welcomes-first-arab-muslim-rider/
Judoka friends for life. Israeli judoka Sagi embraced former Iranian champion Saeid Mollaei, who fled to Berlin after the Iranian government ordered him to lose bouts to avoid competing against Israelis. “Friend for life!!!” reads the caption to Muki’s Instagram photo. “Tag Israel and Iran people for peace!” he urged
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-judoka-makes-friend-for-life-with-iran-champ-who-fled-country/
Cyber security for Tokyo Olympics. Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), has signed an agreement with a leading (unnamed) energy utility in Japan to help it secure infrastructure against cyberattacks during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. IEC has developed software and hardware to protect the energy industry from cyberattacks.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Turning carbon waste into gas for energy. Scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University have developed a technology to turn carbon-containing waste into gas, including hydrogen and methane that can be burnt to produce energy. The process involves heated and pressurized water that decomposes organic matter.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-researchers-find-method-to-convert-carbon-containing-waste-to-gas-617023 https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/pages/news/carbonwaste_gas.aspx
Hydrogen from water and solar energy. Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have developed the world’s first (prototype) system for the efficient and safe production of hydrogen using only solar energy. https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2020/01/water-sun-hydrogen/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRHlB6FdOIw
The 4th industrial revolution. Israel’s II4 (Israel Industry 4) Week 2020 at Expo Tel Aviv (Feb 24 – 27) is one of the world’s largest industrial innovation technology conferences. Delegates from 15 countries will hear the latest advances in automation, AI, IoT, cloud computing etc. that are revolutionizing industrial production.
https://www.israelindustry40.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0
Giving AI power to memory. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have partnered with Israel’s TowerJazz to develop technology for adapting flash memory to the artificial intelligence era. It transforms digital hardware into a platform resembling the human brain – capable of performing millions of simultaneous processes.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2019/12/artificial-intelligence-for-commercial-transistors/
https://towerjazz.com/2019/12/11/12112019/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41928-019-0331-1
Microgrids for more efficient energy. Israel’s Brightmerge has developed artificial intelligence algorithms to help countries and cities move to decentralized “microgrids.” They are less expensive and more sustainable than a single electricity supply grid. They also reduce carbon emissions and are more resilient to power-outages.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-microgrids-pave-the-way-to-a-more-energy-efficient-future/
A Global AI energy company. Israeli-founded Grid4C (reported here previously) has been selected as one of five leading AI companies in the Energy Market among ABB, Siemens, GE, and IBM in “Global AI in Energy Market Analysis and Forecast 2019-2025” report by CMFE Insights. It also raised $6 million in funds.
https://www.grid4c.com/news-and-events/grid4c-selected-as-a-leading-ai-company-in-energy-market-2019-2025-by-cmfe-insights https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3783672,00.html
Making sensitive data invisible. Researchers from Israel’s Ben-Gurion University have developed the first all-optical “stealth” encryption technology. It uses fiber-optic light transmissions to secure cloud computing and data center network transmission. It works on the principle that if you can’t detect it, you can’t steal it.
App turns B&W photos into color. Israeli family tree software company MyHeritage has launched a groundbreaking feature to automatically colorize black and white photos. It brings family pictures to life and helps relate more personally to events and people from times gone by. See the youtube to watch the process.
https://www.jpost.com/Jpost-Tech/Israeli-company-launches-tool-to-turn-black-and-white-photo-to-color-617575 https://blog.myheritage.com/2020/02/colorize-your-black-and-white-photos-automatically-with-myheritage-in-color/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOqqMyvpG_A
Where is the bus stop? Israel’s Moovit has launched Way Finder, an augmented reality feature that adds digital directions, icons, and notifications to live camera view to help users locate correct bus stops and subway stations. It was in response to a user who said he was waiting for the bus on the wrong side of the street.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3791834,00.html
https://company.moovit.com/blog/wayfinder/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4xaLmjlAOI
Drone dome tests are 100% successful. (TY WIN) Israeli defense technology company Rafael’s Counter – Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) protects airports and critical infrastructure against malicious drones. Recent testing has resulted in 100% success in all scenarios.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adcG9wnsf68 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVNtz8gLhaY
Seedless lemons. (TY UWI) At Israel’s annual Citrus Conference, the Ministry of Agriculture presented seven new citrus varieties including the seedless Ayelet lemon. Other varieties included Einat (white pomelo / red grapefruit) and Aliza (mandarin / red pomelo) – both seedless.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
UK and Israel discuss free-trade zone. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his British counterpart Boris Johnson have agreed to begin talks on establishing a free trade zone between Israel and the UK. Israel was the first country in the world to sign a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK (see here).
Fifty startups head for Berlin. WeTech Berlin 2020 (Feb 26 – 27) is an exclusive innovation conference hosted by CTech and Calcalist. Fifty Israeli startups will showcase technologies and meet with local investors and strategic partners in European and German corporations. (All 50 startups are listed in the following link)
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3791891,00.html
Axis Tel Aviv Conference. Conferences do not have to be big to be successful. Axis Tel Aviv is limited to 250 decision makers and international investors – many visiting Israel for the first time. Israeli startups pitching to investors include in the fields of mobility, media and telecommunications, fintech, insurtech, and commerce.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3784832,00.html
https://www.telaviv.axisinnovation.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hACyJjCd-QM
Israeli freelancers earn double the global average. A survey by Israeli-founded Payoneer reveals that the $42 average hourly wage of Israeli freelance workers is nearly double that of their counterparts in other countries. 7,000 freelance workers in 150 countries were surveyed.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3791854,00.html
Maryland delegation seeks Israeli entrepreneurs. Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford recently visited Israel as the head of a delegation of state employees and Maryland-based businesses. His aim was to encourage Israeli companies and entrepreneurs looking to enter the US market, that Maryland is the ideal partner.
Sisense becomes a Unicorn. Israeli business intelligence company Sisense (reported here previously) has just raised $100 million from US-based VC and private equity firm Insight Partners. It gives Sisense a valuation of $1.1 billion dollars – joining the “club” of over 20 other Israel companies with “Unicorn” financial status.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3791531,00.html
Forescout exits for $1.9 billion. Israeli-founded cybersecurity company ForeScout was reported here in Nov 2018 when it paid $113 million for a US-Dutch company. Now Forescout itself has been bought by US-based Advent International for $1.9 billion, eclipsing the $1.1 billion (see here) that Insight paid for Israel’s Armis.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3790590,00.html
Milan Fashion Week for 21-year-old. Israel’s Maya Reik, fashion designer and founder of Marei1998 is debuting her Faux Fur at Milan’s fashion week – at the age of 21. Maya left school at 14 and studied fashion. Entrepreneurial skills run in her family. Her father sold his shipping business to DHL for $100 million.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275803
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsWeRNvD-DU
Brewing up a secure partnership. The world’s largest beer company AB InBev has signed a partnership agreement with Israeli cybersecurity startup foundry Team8, which will liaise between Israeli cyber companies and AB InBev. In June, AB InBev established a cybersecurity-focused hub in Tel Aviv.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3792151,00.html https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ab-inbev-israel-cyber/worlds-largest-brewer-opens-israeli-cybersecurity-unit-as-attacks-mount-idUKKCN1TE112
Innoviz partners Shaanxi for autonomous trucks. As part of the global expansion of Israel’s Innoviz and its all-seeing LiDAR sensors (reported here previously) , it has now partnered with China truck manufacturer Shaanxi to deploy up to 600 autonomous trucks in Xi’an, one of the biggest ports in China.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3792713,00.html
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
British synagogues on display in Tel Aviv. British artist Beverley-Jane Stewart is currently exhibiting her collection of paintings at Tel Aviv University’s Cimbalista Jewish Heritage Center until 20th Feb. “Halls of Prayer, The Spirit of British Jews” includes synagogues in London’s East End, Central London and elsewhere.
Lenny Ravich at Center Stage. Humor “expert” Lenny Ravich performs “Dance Life…Don’t Drag It” on 25th Feb at Center Stage – the new theater for English Speaking audiences in Raanana. Lenny’s hilarious journey touches on relationships, family, education and health. Lenny is director of the Gestalt Institute of Israel.
https://www.centerstageisrael.com/dancelife.html
A thousand vegan chefs. Israel’s Vegan-Friendly and the nonprofit Meatless Monday held a culinary innovation conference at Tel Aviv Port to showcase vegetarian and vegan food trends and developments to over 1000 chefs, catering companies, restaurateurs and food service professionals in Israel.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/vegan-roastbeef-nuggets-to-be-showcased-at-tel-aviv-confab/
Enjoy the tastes of Israel. Here are just some of the food and drink events and festivals in Israel that you may wish to partake of / in during 2020. They include Tel Aviv Eat, Vegan Fest, Jerusalem Wine Festival, Jerusalem Beer Festival and Tel Aviv Cocktail Week.
https://www.touristisrael.com/food-and-drink-events-in-israel/30890/
SodaStream at the Super Bowl. Israel’s SodaStream aired a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl. It featured US scientist Bill Nye and 18-year-old US astronaut-in-training Alyssa Carson. It portrays water being found on Mars, but another astronaut mistakenly puts it in a SodaStream system and drinks it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im1En6E4osw
Haredi woman wins Miami half-marathon. Haredi orthodox Israeli mother of five, Beatie Deutsch (reported here previously) won the Miami women’s half-marathon race, beating over 20,000 other runners. She is training to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, but she will not compete as the Marathon is scheduled for a Shabbat.
https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/orthodox-mother-of-5-from-israel-wins-miami-half-marathon-race
https://worldisraelnews.com/orthodox-israeli-woman-takes-1st-place-in-us-marathon/
Longest journey on a scooter. (TY Nevet) Israel’s Yonatan Belik and his American friend Mike Reid have just completed a tour of the 48 contiguous US states on 50cc scooters. It earned them the title of Guinness World Record holders for the “Longest journey on a 50cc scooter.”
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-breaks-world-record-makes-new-friends-on-the-way/
THE JEWISH STATE
Ancient Old City gate re-opened in Jerusalem. (TY Arutz Sheva & ILTV) After 2000 years, Israel has re-opened an entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City, previously discovered in the 1930s. Buried underneath the Damascus Gate, the entrance and plaza were used by the Romans when they ruled Judea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e2Nafo1vuQ
Kirk Douglas – great supporter of Israel. (TY TPS) Actor Kirk Douglas, who passed away last week at the age of 103, portrayed US Colonel Mickey Marcus in the movie Cast a Giant Shadow.” His donations to Israel included the Kirk Douglas Theater near the Western Wall and many Jerusalem playgrounds.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-mourns-kirk-douglas-a-proud-jew-and-great-supporter-of-israel/
World’s smartest child wants to study in Israel. 9-year-old Belgian Laurent Simons has a degree in electrical engineering and an IQ of 147. Although not Jewish, he and his family have just asked Emmanual Nahshon, Israeli Ambassador in Brussels, for help so he can study biotechnology, medicine, and bioengineering in Israel.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/smartest-kid-in-the-world-wants-to-study-in-startup-nation/
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/H134CS00G8
Hana reclaims her roots after 500 years. Portuguese Ana discovered her Jewish roots after meeting Israelis in Nepal and then visiting Israel. She then understood the reason for her family’s strange traditions as a descendant of Anusim – Jews forced to convert to Catholicism. Now as Hannah Eyal, she shares her story all over Israel.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-how-the-land-of-israel-helped-a-portuguese-woman-discover-her-jewish-roots/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nZ5VQvScec https://www.hannaheyal.com/copy-of-home
Survivor returns to Kotel plaza he helped clear in 1967. From 1948 – 67 the Jordanians blocked access to the Kotel (Western Wall) and banned Jews. After the Six-Day War, Shoah survivor Eliyahu helped turn the Kotel plaza into an open space for all. 52 years later, Israeli NGO Ezer Mizion fulfilled Eliyahu’s wish to see it again.
http://www.ezermizion.org/blog/52-years-later/
Ukrainian Olim land on International Holocaust Day. (TY Algemeiner) 184 new immigrants (Olim) made Aliyah from Ukraine on Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. They landed in Israel on six separate flights financed by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
https://www.jns.org/ukrainian-olim-land-in-israel-on-international-holocaust-remembrance-day/
Four hundred more Ethiopian Israelis. (TY UWI) The Israeli cabinet has approved the next wave of 400 Ethiopian Aliyah – immigration to Israel. These Falash Mura (forced converts to Christianity) maintained their connection to Judaism in Ethiopia and their hopes of coming to Israel. Many have relatives in the Jewish State.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr6P4Q6JrXY
US Ambassador plants tree at US embassy. On the Jewish festival of Tu BiShvat (New Year for Trees), US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman planted an olive tree (a symbol of peace) at the US Embassy in Jerusalem. And (TY Sharon) for photos and descriptions of how Tu Bishvat was celebrated in Jerusalem.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275907
http://rjstreets.com/2020/02/12/whats-new-for-tu-bishvat-in-jerusalem/
