This Week’s Sanity Report from Israel Mar. 24, 2024
Jews around the world have just heard how Queen Esther saved the Jewish people from annihilation over 2,000 years ago. This week, the positive Israeli news is full of the achievements of Israeli women.
They include the discoverer of a treatment for a common eye disease.
Three women who developed a test for newborns at risk of disabilities.
The Oct 7 survivor who is back on her feet thanks to Israeli technology.
Technion’s first female dean of aerospace engineering.
The winner of the “Nobel Prize” for Electrical Engineering.
And the founder of an NGO that has brought water & electricity to 1,100 African villages.
Read also about an Israeli startup that uses AI to increase fertility, and how the Technion is encouraging young mothers to join the ranks of future entrepreneurs.
The photo (TY Sharon) is of Jerusalem’s Bible Lands Museum – one of the venues for the Jerusalem Biennale which is featuring the works of Jewish and Israeli women artists.
the highlights include:
- An Israeli Arab policeman saved hundreds of Jews on Oct 7.
- Israeli scientists are testing new innovative treatments for Alzheimer’s and AMD.
- Israelis are the fifth happiest people in the world.
- An Israeli device that can detect infected food.
- Thousands of foreign workers are reviving Israel’s construction industry.
- An Israeli cycling team won the Tour de Taiwan.
- Archeologists have found where Jews prepared to fight the Romans.
POSITIVE NEWS DURING A WAR
Israel Prize for heroes. The Israel Prize for civilian heroism will be awarded to Menachem & Elchanan Kalmanson and Itiel Zohar, for saving over 100 lives on Oct 7. They named themselves “Team Elchanan” in honor of Elchanan Kalmanson, who died in the rescue operation.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
Bedouin Arab policeman rescues hundreds. On Oct 7 Police Sgt. Remo Salman El-Hozayel, a member of the southern Israel Bedouin community, drove hundreds of Nova partygoers to safety in a small, abandoned car he found after Hamas blew his up with a grenade. He later returned the car to its owner who had escaped on foot.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
Technion UK solidarity trip to Israel. UK readers can join Technion UK (May 6 – 10), for the “Solidarity trip to Israel”. Experience Israel’s innovative spirit firsthand through privileged encounters with pioneering startups, interactive sessions at the Technion Institute and adventure into the heart of Israel’s past, present, and future.
https://technionuk.org/event/
Directing $800 million of donations to Israel. (TY Yanky) North American Jewish response to the Gaza war has been phenomenal. Jeff Schoenfeld, co-chair of the Israel Emergency Allocations Committee, is busy allocating $800 million of funds raised by Jewish Federations of North America and other institutions.
https://jweekly.com/2024/03/
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Another approach to curing Alzheimer’s? (TY Nevet) In 2023, Bar-Ilan University Prof Shai Rahimipour (see here previously) worked with Canadian scientists on a peptide therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. Now he is working with Italian scientists developing nanoparticles to attack an early version of the Amyloid-beta protein.
https://tps.co.il/articles/
New pathway for treating wet AMD. Prof. Ofra Benny, cofounder and CSO of Israel’s Orsight, has developed a small molecule that (in lab tests) stops the formation of excess blood vessels in the eye, thus preventing the worst effects of wet AMD. It also has prospects for use in cutting off blood supply to tumors.
https://www.israel21c.org/
https://ngt-healthcare2.com/
Linking heart disease to cancer. (TY Nevet & UWI) Researchers at Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center found that a diseased heart releases bubbles, called extracellular vesicles (sEVs). These travel through the bloodstream and promote the growth of cancer cells. Spironolactone stops sEVs and prevents cancer.
https://tps.co.il/articles/
https://www.ahajournals.org/
Saliva tests can prevent lifelong disabilities. (TY Nevet) Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection causes (often lifelong) health problems for one in every 1,000 newborns in the USA. Hadassah / Hebrew Uni researchers have developed an efficient cCMV PCR saliva-based screening test for early detection & treatment.
https://www.jpost.com/health-
https://www.hadassah.org/
Innovative tech gets survivor back on her feet. Neta from Kibbutz Kfar Aza was badly wounded by Hamas on Oct 7. Technion doctors created a unique orthotic device tailored specifically for Neta based on 3D scans of her leg, to aid her in walking while her ankle is unable to bear weight. It allows for adjustment as her leg heals.
https://technionuk.org/news-
New technologies for treating wounded. (TY Nevet) Doctors at Hadassah’s hospitals in Jerusalem are using the latest technologies, like robot-assisted surgeries, 3D printing, and computer games, to treat wounded soldiers and civilians. A robot can extract a bullet easily, without damage to other organs.
https://www.hadassah.org/
https://www.voanews.com/a/
Increasing fertility with AI. Israel’s FertilAI has developed Fertilane – an AI platform for clinicians, to offer solutions for better patient care throughout the entire fertility journey. It also includes an app to help patients throughout the complicated process of fertility treatments and to improve clinic-patient communication.
https://www.israel21c.org/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Female-friendly Technion. (TY Nevet) This year, 50% of new undergraduate students at Israel’s Technion Institute are women. To encourage more new mothers to enroll, the Technion has installed 18 nursing rooms. They are located in each faculty, as well as in the Student House and the Ulman Building used by all faculties.
https://ats.org/our-impact/
First female head of aerospace engineering faculty. (TY Nevet) Professor Daniella Raveh is the first woman to become dean of the Israel Technion’s faculty of Aerospace Engineering. An alumna of the faculty, she graduated with honors and went on to earn both a master’s and Ph.D. degree at the Technion.
https://ats.org/our-impact/
80,000 Muslims pray peacefully at Al-Aqsa. Tens of thousands of Moslems peacefully worshipped in the compound of the Al-Aqsa mosque on the first Friday prayers of Ramadan. Police reported no unusual incidents, despite Hamas calling for violence. The Islamic Waqf estimated that 80,000 people took part.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Medtech hub utilizes Israeli Arab creativity. Israel’s MEDX Xelerator (see here previously) has generated the NorthMed innovation hub in the northern town of Sakhnin. In its first year, NorthMed helped Swift Duct (see here previously) develop its endoscope for navigating the bile duct.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
https://medxelerator.com/
Ramadan parade led by Israeli flagbearer. (TY Yanky) The Israeli Bedouin settlement of Bir al-Maksur, which means Broken Well, and is located near the Jezreel Valley. The village held a parade to mark the start of Ramadan. Leading the parade was someone proudly carrying the Israeli flag.
https://www.reddit.com/r/
“Nobel Prize” for Electrical Engineering. Tel Aviv University Prof. Hagit Messer-Yaron has been awarded the top prize in electrical engineering – IEEE’s Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies – for her groundbreaking technology that uses existing cellular networks to monitor meteorological phenomena.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Still happy despite the war. (TY Nevet) Although at war, Israel is fifth on the World Happiness Report 2024, just one place lower than in 2023 and four higher than in 2022 (see here). The scores are from asking citizens questions about GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption.
https://www.
https://tps.co.il/articles/
https://happiness-report.s3.
1,000+ African villages. Israeli NGO Innovation: Africa has brought water and electricity to 1,100 villages in Africa. Each village costs $65,000 to provide costs for drilling, solar pump, solar panels, tanks, piping, taps, a 10-meter tower, and remote monitoring. $20,000 brings light to all school classrooms and teacher’s homes.
https://innoafrica.org/ https://innoafrica.org/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Shaping future technology with India. (TY Nevet) Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a strategic partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi to foster research initiatives through collaborative projects, training programs, and research consultancy.
https://tps.co.il/articles/
Sensing food that has gone bad. Israel’s Sensifi promises to revolutionize pathogen detection. Using an ‘artificial nose’, Sensifi’s tiny sensors – electrodes covered with carbon nanoparticles – enable rapid detection of harmful pathogens like E. Coli and Salmonella in under an hour, far less than current alternatives.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
https://www.startuphub.ai/
Printing on the moon. Israeli 3D printing firm Stratasys is sending its 3D-printed materials on an upcoming lunar mission to test their performance on the surface of the moon. It is part NASA’s Tipping Point which is promoting companies that develop space technologies.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
Innovative cooling technology. Israel’s Storage Drop (see here previously) has won a 1 million Euros grant in the EU funding program – HORIZON in the Clean and Efficient Cooling 2023 Track. The system, receiving energy from solar panels, aims to supply electricity to the system to produce 5 TR of cooling 24/7.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/
Turning Beersheva into Singapore. A comprehensive article about the Synergy7 hub (see here previously) located in the Gav-Yam Advanced Technologies Park in Beersheva. It has just opened its new, first-of-its-kind robotics lab, with specialists from Israel’s Elbit enabling entrepreneurs to gain valuable practical experience.
https://www.israel21c.org/
https://www.gavyam-negev.co.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Thousands more foreign workers. (TY Hazel) The Ministry of Housing plans to bring about 40,000 more foreign workers to Israel for jobs in the construction industry. Already some 1,200 Indian workers are in Israel, increasing to 10,000 by end June. Similar numbers will be employed from Georgia, Sri Lanka, and Azerbaijan.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-
Facts about Canadian trade. (TY Hazel) In his announcement of an arms embargo on sales to Israel, Canada’s Foreign Minister forgot to mention that in the last decade, the Canadian Defense Ministry purchased Israeli weapon systems worth more than a billion dollars. (see also here previously)
https://www.jpost.com/israel-
Israel Resilience Fund invests in 34 companies. Israel’s OurCrowd has announced that commitment by investors to its Israel Resilience Fund had increased to $17 million, enabling it to increase funding to a current total of 34 startups. In addition, PwC Israel will provide business support to portfolio companies in the fund.
https://www.ourcrowd.com/
Europe continues to invest. The tenth Europe Days conference in Tel Aviv (see here previously) featured some 200 Israeli startups and entrepreneurs. All were hoping for investment from the 14 venture capital funds and 18 representatives of companies, authorities, and municipal bodies from Europe.
https://www.israel21c.org/
Europe invests in Israeli AI startup. Israel’s NeuReality (see here previously) has raised $20 million including from The European Innovation Council and Israel’s OurCrowd.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/
Securing payments in Africa. (TY OurCrowd) Egyptian-based PAPSS (the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System) has selected Israel’s Thetaray (see here previously) as its anti-money laundering (AML) and screening partner.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
Sports Illustrated is (for 10 years) Israeli. Israel’s Minute Media has reached a 10-year licensing deal for digital and print rights to publish Sports Illustrated. The Israeli company will oversee all digital and print editorial operations across the SI portfolio. https://www.calcalistech.com/
Exits, takeovers and mergers – to 24/3/24: US-based Gitlab is acquiring Israel’s cloud security startup Oxeye for $30-40 million. Israeli-founded Redis has acquired Israel’s Speedb.
Startup investment – to 24/3/24: BigID raised $60 million and achieved Unicorn status; NeuReality raised $20 million; Euno raised $6.25 million; IO River raised $5.4 million,
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
International Photography Festival. The 11th International Photography Festival has been rescheduled and will now take place Mar 27 – Apr 6 at the Enav Cultural Center and Ofer Garden complex in Tel Aviv. It is free and includes the Meitar 2024 exhibition, focusing on photographs of the evacuees of the Negev and the Galilee.
https://www.nbn.org.il/events/
https://photoisrael.org/en
Visit the Israel Museum. There are currently some interesting exhibits and lectures at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Shekels true or false (ends Apr 30); a VR tour of Aleppo’s Great Synagogue. Roman Road in the Desert; The lost album of Yemenite photos;
https://www.imj.org.il/en/
https://www.imj.org.il/en/
International Music Festival. The Felicja Blumental International Music Festival runs Mar 25 – 30 at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. It advertises as “the best of our Israeli songwriters and classical Arabic music, all wrapped within European classical music performed by orchestras and chamber ensembles”.
https://www.nbn.org.il/events/
https://fbmc.co.il/en/
Jerusalem in Harmony. The “Emunah” Concert – Jerusalem in Harmony, takes place on Weds Mar 27 at the Jerusalem Theatre. Chazanut, Classics, Broadway, Israeli, and more. Featuring Shai Abramson, Simon Cohen, Halellu Choir, & Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Proceeds go to the Emunah Centers for Trauma Counselling.
https://www.nbn.org.il/events/
https://www.jso.co.il/en/
Jerusalem’s new laser light show. The city of Jerusalem has just started its new laser light show along the Tower of David promenade. Through music and visuals, the show tells the story of Jerusalem’s cultural tapestry while offering spectators a panoramic view of the iconic landmarks of Israel’s capital city.
https://www.israel21c.org/
https://www.jwire.com.au/
Cycling team wins Tour de Taiwan. (TY WIN) Israel Premier – Tech cycling team continued its success at the Tour de Taiwan. After winning the first stage last week (see here previously) it won the overall team event after clinching the 5th and final stage in Kaohsiung City. The team’s 13th win of the year already beats 2023.
https://tps.co.il/articles/
The Israelis heading for the Paris Paralympics. Israel has 15 athletes so far in its team for August’s Paris Paralympics. Israel won nine medals at the 2021 games – eight of them in the swimming events.
https://www.israel21c.org/
THE JEWISH STATE
2,000-year-old hideout from the Romans. (TY UWI & WIN) Israeli archaeologists have discovered an extensive underground complex at Huqoq in the Galilee, just north of Tiberias, dating from the First Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire in 66 – 70 CE. It had been converted from a 2nd Temple period water cistern.
https://www.jns.org/2000-year-
https://www.
Virtual tour – the return to Zion. An immersive virtual tour (one-hour on Zoom) exploring the profound impact of Persian rule on ancient Israel and its enduring influence on the symbols of Zionism.
https://www.nbn.org.il/events/
https://www.museumtours.co.il/
Solidarity mission to Israel. This May, join the Friends of the IDF for a truly unforgettable mission to spend Israel’s Memorial Day and Independence Day on Israeli soil with her protectors. Spend Shabbat in Jerusalem; private meeting with Israel’s President; Yom haZikaron at the Kotel; Yom Ha’Azmaut with IDF soldiers.
https://www.fidf.org/wp-
Global hour of Jewish Unity. A global service of solidarity on Mar 21 was streamed live from the Kotel (Western Wall). The hour of psalms and please for the release of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas culminated with the simultaneous recitation of the Shema prayer. Also see the connection between Purim and this war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.jns.org/thousands-
Jerusalem’s first Purim parade in 4 decades. Despite the war, Jerusalem will host its first Purim parade since 1982 on Shushan Purim 25th March. It will include 30 floats and seven musical stages along the 1km downtown route. Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said it is “a victory of spirit and standing strong”.
https://www.jns.org/jerusalem-
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/
Mailing address: michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.
