This Week’s SANITY Report from ISRAEL Oct. 22, 2023
POSITIVE NEWS DURING A WAR
Mystery man buys tickets for returning reservists. An orthodox Jewish man stood by the counter of El Al Airlines at JFK airport and paid for anyone’s flight who presented him with an IDF call-up notice. He paid for 250 tickets. https://nypost.com/2023/10/
Arab Muslim tracker saves IDF families. A Bedouin IDF Lieutenant Colonel saved the lives of the wives and children of IDF officers at the division’s Re’im base. He removed his IDF uniform, called to the infiltrating terrorists in Arabic, and then eliminated them when they emerged, thinking he was also a Hamas terrorist.
https://www.
The heroine of Kibbutz Nir Am. (TY Laura B) Instead of sheltering during the Hamas rocket barrage on Oct 7, Inbal Rabin-Liberman, head of the security at Kibbutz Nir Am, armed her 12-person team. They were then able to defend against the infiltrating Hamas terrorists for almost three and a half hours until the IDF arrived.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-
Grandmother outsmarts Hamas terrorists. Rachel and David Edri survived a harrowing 20-hour ordeal, holed up with terrorists in their home in Ofakim. Rachel offered refreshments to the five terrorists, and later a meal, engaged them in small talk, playing for time until an elite IDF unit arrived and eliminated the terrorists.
https://www.jns.org/
How Israelis saved lives. Israeli civilians heroically fought back against Hamas on October 7. Citizens, police officers, and soldiers, at home and on base, scrambled, improvised, and fought back fiercely. These brave citizens not only saved countless lives: These Israelis saved Israel.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/
Life imitates art. Lior Raz, Tsahi Halevi and Idan Amedi are among the actors of the popular Israeli TV series Fauda who have joined the hundreds of thousands of IDF reservists. Lior posted “headed down south to join hundreds of brave “brothers in arms” volunteers”. They extracted families from the bombarded town of Sderot.
https://www.israel21c.org/
Soldier’s organs save five lives. The family of 23-year-old IDF Lt. Roi Nahari, killed by Hamas, donated his organs to five patients at Israel’s Beilinson Hospital. His liver went to a 44-year-old mother of five, suffering from hepatitis for 30 years. https://www.jns.org/slain-idf-
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Israelis overwhelm blood donation centers. So many Israelis wanted to donate blood for the wounded that many blood donation centers only accepted those with blood type O, which can be transfused universally.
https://www.israel21c.org/
Now it’s personal! I “normally” report about Israeli humanitarian organization IsraAID when it responds to global disasters. When the disaster is much closer to home, IsraAID is also there for us. IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer will be speaking at a free zoom meeting hosted by ESRA on Oct 24.
https://secure.givelively.org/
https://ireneo.formtitan.com/
Helping the survivors and trauma victims. It’s at these times that the people of Israel come together to help those who have been most impacted by these tragic events. Not just dedicated humanitarian organizations but hi-tech companies such as Mobileye, OurCrowd, More Foods, and even the Israel Tennis Education Centers.
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://www.israel21c.org/
https://itecenters.org/
Thanks to our friends everywhere. There are literally thousands of articles describing the help that Israel’s friends overseas are sending to the IDF and Israelis affected by the war in Gaza. Here are some of them.
https://www.jns.org/florida-
Supercharging Israelis. US company Tesla is providing free use of its 17 Israel-located superchargers for the estimated 10,000 Israeli Tesla electric car owners. Superchargers are the company’s fastest way of charging its vehicles, able to extend the cars’ range by up to 200 miles in just 15 minutes. More good Tesla PR in 3rd link!
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://www.tesla.com/findus/
https://www.israel21c.org/how-
Wedding. United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Penina had to postpone her wedding in Netivot. UH’s founder Eli Beer, however, organized an alternative wedding in Jerusalem, enlisting local vendors who provided their services to the couple free of charge. https://www.
Israeli Arab supporters. So many examples of Israeli Arabs standing shoulder to shoulder with Israeli Jews. Here is one. https://www.israelunwired.com/
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Protein discovered in cancer that fools immune system. (TY Israel21c) A team led by Weizmann scientists has discovered that the protein PSME4 is produced by cancer cells to stop the immune system from attacking the tumor. Reducing PSME4 levels should potentially render tumors more vulnerable to immunotherapy.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-
https://wis-wander.weizmann.
RNA molecule to treat Alzheimer’s. Researchers at Israel’s Technion Institute have engineered an RNA molecule that repairs a damaged ubiquitin-proteasome system – a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease. A faulty ubiquitin system leads to the accumulation of toxic proteins and amyloid plaque in Alzheimer’s patients.
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://www.nature.com/
Covid treatment also combats Ebola. Opaganib, a novel, twice-daily, oral medication developed by Israel’s RedHill Biopharma (see here previously) delivered a statistically significant increase in survival time in a United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in vivo Ebola virus study
https://www.israel21c.org/
Matching cancer patients to clinical trials. Israel’s Belong.Life (see here previously) has launched a chatbot “Tara” – a conversational AI cancer clinical trial matching platform. It records cancer type, mutation, diagnosis, treatment history, and can even scan medical files. Belong.Life also has platforms for IBD, MS, and Psoriasis.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
https://belong.life/clinical-
No laughing matter. A male striped hyena was certainly not a laughing hyena when it was caught in an illegal snare. Veterinarians at Israel’s Wildlife Hospital in Ramat Gan saved the animal’s life, treating its infected foot and dislocated toes. They also made skin flaps to cover the injuries.
https://www.jns.org/hyena-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
A hotel for emotional healing. Israel’s largest volunteer NGO healthcare provider Yad Sarah, with partner Nitzotzot Inbar, have opened a new recovery and wellness center for women after a stillbirth or newborn death. It is located at Yad Sarah’s Yirmiyahu 33 Hotel in Jerusalem, Israel’s first fully accessible luxury hotel.
https://www.israel21c.org/a-
https://ejewishphilanthropy.
Israel enters US Visa Waver Program. Israel has joined the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, allowing Israeli citizens to travel to America for 90 days without a visa, beginning sometime before Nov 30. A biometric passport will also be required, plus a digital form on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization site.
https://www.jns.org/israel-
https://www.israel21c.org/
Aid to fuel explosion victims in Armenia. (TY Hazel) Israel has sent a 14-person medical delegation to treat hundreds of victims of a fuel explosion at Nagorno-Karabach, Armenia. The team was led by Prof. Ofer Merin, director-general of Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center and a leading cardiothoracic surgeon.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
3D-printed cast for ibex with broken leg. Medics at Israel’s Safari Wildlife Hospital worked with Netanya-based Synergy3d Med to create a removable 3D-printed harness for fixing a fracture in the leg of a baby ibex (mountain goat). Following recovery, the kid was successfully reintroduced to its herd.
https://www.jns.org/
https://video.i24news.tv/en/
https://synergy3dmed.com/
And there was (and is) light. (TY Hazel) Researchers at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed new methods to evaluate daylight in hospital inpatient rooms and new design guidelines for improved inpatient health. The guidelines are also relevant for offices and schools.
https://www.israel21c.org/
Kits transform roofs into gardens. Bing Klima, based at Kibbutz HaGoshrim, has developed an all-in-one green roofing system that can pay for itself. Solar panels sit above crops and generate energy to offset electricity bills or be sold to the electric grid operators. Customers are mainly in the USA and Spain.
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://www.bing-klima.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?
I’ll follow the Sun. Another article about the floating solar panels from Israel’s Xfloat (see here previously). It contains a video showing the panels automatically tilting, to track the position of the sun as the earth rotates.
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Bee happy. Israel’s ToBe has developed a solution to eradicate the Varroa mite – the number one enemy of the honeybee. ToBe’s Hivemaster automatically monitors hives for the mite and at optimal times releases precise minuscule pulses of anti-Varroa compounds (natural or synthetic) without damaging the bees.
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://www.tobe.green/ https://www.youtube.com/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Raising funds for Israel in its time of need. Many organizations have been raising and distributing money to support Israel financially. They include the Jewish Federations’ $500 million campaign. Financial giant Jefferies raised $13 million for victims of the attacks. And Safe Dome – an emergency fund for Israeli startups.
https://www.jns.org/american-
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://www.israel21c.org/
Developing UK oil & gas field. The UK has given Israel’s Ithaca Energy (part of Delek) and its Norwegian partner Equinor, regulatory approval to develop Rosebank – estimated to be the largest untapped oil and gas field on the British continental shelf. https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Lifeguard software for UAE. The lifeguard assistance software from Israel’s SightBbit (see here previously) is being used for the first time to save lives off beaches in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai-based BlueGuard will use the system as part of its program that blends technology with traditional lifeguarding techniques.
https://www.israel21c.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Monitoring the elderly in the UK. The smart tracking system for elderly at risk from Israel’s Essence SmartCare (see here previously) is now available to over 12.7 million UK seniors. The solution has been used by city councils in Liverpool, Essex, Dorset, Devon, and the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham.
https://nocamels.com/2023/10/
https://www.essence-grp.com/
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
New nature reserve in the desert. (TY Hazel) Israel has approved the creation of a new, 90-square-kilometer (35-square-mile) nature reserve at Ramat Mazar in the Negev Desert in southern Israel. The area is home to several species unique to Israel, e.g., the Nubian ibex, dorcas gazelle, desert tawny owl and Blanford’s fox.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Bruno Mars performs in Tel Aviv. (TY Hazel) Bruno Mars was able to make his first appearance in Israel on Oct 4. The US pop superstar, accompanied by his band The Hooligans, wowed the 60,000 sold-out crowd for almost two hours at Tel Aviv’s Park Hayarkon. (His second concert scheduled for Oct 7 was cancelled.)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
New Israeli TV series in 190 countries. (TY Hazel) The series, Bros, an 8-episode Hebrew-language comedy-drama available exclusively on Netflix starts Nov 9. It will be shown in 190 countries. Bros tells the story of inseparable childhood friends, co-owners of a local Jerusalem bar, and die-hard Beitar Jerusalem soccer fans.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-
THE JEWISH STATE
Become a Jewish leader at an Israeli University. Tel Aviv University (TAU) has launched the gap-year program Exploration, Leadership, and Innovation (ELI). Taught in English from Aug 2024, students can choose 5 or 10-months, and from 5 tracks, including Jewish Peoplehood, and Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
https://www.aftau.org/news_
Please support us. 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.
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/
