This Weeks Sanity Report from Israel: The Aviv family and Giora Ofer today officially launched Blender – an online lending platform
Thanks once again to our friend and colleague : Michael Ordman-Good News from Israel
The highlights include:
- 20,000 international doctors connect using the Israeli medical network G-Med.
- A female Druze Arab is the first to become an Israeli police commander.
- Israelis have delivered humanitarian aid to 1000 Yazidis and Christians in Iraq.
- One billion products sold last year contained microchips from Israel’s CEVA.
- An Israeli company will coordinate security at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
- Google Tel Aviv has been designated one of the world’s “coolest” designed offices.
- A new film sets the record straight on the historical link between Jews and Israel.
This Weeks Sanity Report from Israel:
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
20,000 doctors use G-Med. (Thanks to Israel21c) Israel’s G-Med, the world’s first and only global social-professional network exclusively for physicians, allows doctors anywhere to consult with colleagues, and manage multinational research projects. Launched in 2013, G-Med now has 20,000 users in over 50 countries.
http://www.israel21c.org/headlines/first-global-social-network-for-doctors/
Diagnosing liver disease. A multi-center trial is to commence of the innovative diagnosis device developed by Israel’s Exalenz Bioscience to detect liver disease. The device is already used to examine a patient’s breath in order to detect bacteria in the stomach that causes ulcers.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-exalenz-bioscience-starts-liver-trial-1000979820
A treatment for bone infections. Israeli biotech PolyPid is raising funds for trials of its BonyPid process and device that can release medication over a long period of time. Currently, infections of dental implants and fractures may need treating by repeated surgery. BonyPid needs inserting only once.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-polypid-releases-prospectus-for-nasdaq-offering-1000979098
http://www.polypid.com/plex-platform/
Israel & Jordan work to cure parasitic disease. Israeli biotech Pharmaseed has initiated a new project bringing Israeli, Jordanian and Swiss researchers together to search for a cure for cutaneous leishmaniasis. The parasitic disease is common in the Middle East and can cause death in patients with weak immune systems.
Doctor saves Shaul twice. Reserves officer Dr. Oren Weisman saved Shaul Hanoni in July after a Hamas mortar severed Shaul’s arm during Operation Protective Edge. Weeks later, Shaul came to Sheba hospital and found that Dr Weisman was on the surgical team that successfully restored functionality to Shaul’s arm.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20923
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
More Israeli female medical directors. (Thanks to Margie) I erroneously reported that Professor Tamar Peretz was the first female head of an Israeli hospital. In fact, the medical director of HaEmeq medical center in Afula (Dr Orna Blondheim) is a woman, and so apparently is the head of the Carmel medical center in Haifa.
http://www.clalit-global.co.il/en/haemek_medical_center.html
The first female Druze police commander. Faten Nassraldin, from the Arab Druze town of Dalit El Carmel, received her post and pin as a platoon commander in the Israeli Police force. “I decided to become an officer myself because I wanted to contribute as much as possible to the country and to the police,” Nassraldin stated.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/186385#.VEZFs2cYiAY
Israeli police organize help for new immigrants. Police officers from the Ofakim precinct near Gaza have “adopted” a family of new immigrants who were struggling to make ends meet. They gathered food, furniture and clothing and collected donations for them. They even built them a tabernacle for the Sukkot holiday.
http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/22724/police-startling-discovery-miracle/#eeE7VT6m2pIhQ5hw.97
Passenger complaint leads to more buses. Is this the end to overcrowded buses? Following a resident’s complaint, Israeli bus drivers must report each occasion when more than ten passengers are forced to stand. If this happens three times in one hour, the bus company must add an extra bus for the hour of high demand.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/185781?fb_action_ids=710846960357#.VEU9uWcYiAY
Over 308,000 Israelis start college. The new Israeli academic year gets underway with 238,420 students studying for a bachelors (first) degree, 59,455 students are enrolled in graduate programs, and 10,860 are working on their doctorates.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/186451#.VEgTb2cYiAY
Tmura funds charities with over $10 million. (Thanks to Steve) Israel’s public service venture fund Tmura has given $10 million to over 100 education and youth-related charities throughout Israel. 360 Israeli and Israel-related high-tech companies have donated their shares to Tmura’s unique equity donation program.
Hadassah program saves Palestinian Arab children. Hadassah Medical Center’s physicians not only perform complex cardiac surgeries on Palestinian Arab children, they also train Palestinian physicians so that they can treat Palestinian Arab patients closer to home.
http://www.hadassahinternational.org/news/article.asp?id=2945&language=en
Aid for refugees fleeing Islamic State. The Israeli NGO IsraAid has distributed beds, blankets, basic supplies and food to over 1,000 Yazidis and Christians fleeing the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) terror organization in the Kurdish regions of Iraq. The Israeli team has been warmly received by the Kurdish refugees.
http://unitedwithisrael.org/israelis-aid-refugees-fleeing-islamic-state/
Green technology for Rwanda. An Israeli delegation is currently in Rwanda, as part of a program helping the poor east African nation save millions of dollars a year through recycling and green technology. It includes a 4,650 sqm solar array on the roof of the Rwandan parliament building saving $7,500 on electricity per month.
http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2014/10/19/israel-helping-rwanda-with-green-technology/
Pro-Israeli German magazine re-launches. The last issue of the original Judische Rundschau was published just before Kristallnacht in 1938. Now, Dr. Rafael Korenzecher has revived the magazine to “reach the German public”. His two senior editors have promised to “stand behind Israel”. We wish them much success.
http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Pro-Israel-German-language-Jewish-magazine-launches-379582
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Dairy technology in China. The Nestle Dairy Farming Institute has just opened in China. It features Israel’s SCR Engineers Ltd, a pioneer of Cow, Milking and Herd Intelligence, whose cow monitoring technology will optimize the productivity of every cow. SCR will also provide training and courses in farm management.
New smartphone-tablet has Israel inside. The new $200 Asus PadFone X hybrid smartphone-tablet contains a digital signals processor made by Israel’s CEVA Inc. It also has an Intel chip. In 2013 alone, one billion products were sold with CEVA’s chips inside. See another example of CEVA’s hi-tech innovation in the video.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-ceva-component-in-new-asus-smartphone-tablet-1000979156
http://www.ceva-dsp.com/Company-Overview
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQuRFQRdH2E&w=520&h=315]
Secure storage in the cloud. Amazon Web Services has just designated Israel’s CTERA Networks to be a Storage Competency partner. CTERA declares that it revolutionizes storage, data protection and collaboration for enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs).
$9.6 million donation for research. The Helmsley Charitable Trust is granting more than $9.6 million dollars to four Israeli institutions – the Technion, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Weizmann Institute and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2014/10/20/4-israeli-institutions-receive-cash-awards/
U.S. honor for Israeli Flash storage innovator. Dr. Eli Harari, Israeli founder of the SanDisk flash storage company, is one of the nine 2014 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Dr. Harari developed the Floating Gate EEPROM, which laid the foundation for flash memory.
Top prizes at international Physics event. Eight Israeli high school students from the Ilan Ramon Youth Physics Center at Ben-Gurion University have earned the top prizes in the First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics international competition. Some 80 nations participate in the annual competition, which is held in Warsaw.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20909
Doubling the Math numbers. Ten major Israeli international high-tech companies are working together on “Project 5times2”. Intel, Sandisk, Marvell Israel, Microsoft, IBM, Qualcomm, Red Hat, Amdocs, eBay, and Philips aim to double the number of Israeli high school pupils matriculating in the five units of Math.
http://www.iati.co.il/news-item/1681/tech-companies-band-together-to-boost-israeli-school-math
Israel’s global water solutions. At the International Water Association’s annual conference in Lisbon Israelis presented creative solutions to global water problems. Israel’s Miya received the IWA’s Project Innovation Award, Asia Pacific Region, for significantly improving urban water system efficiency in Manila, Philippines.
http://israelnewtech.com/2014/10/israel-iwa-portugal-looking-future-worlds-water/
Shipping data you can rely on. The Automatic Identification System that supposedly tracks the position of world shipping is being manipulated to conceal criminal activities and worse. Secure technology from Israel’s Windward provides reliable data for both economic and security purposes.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Managing security at Rio Olympics. The Olympic Committee and the agencies managing the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympiad have selected Israeli security company ISDS to provide security for the world’s biggest sporting event. ISDS will be the systems and security integrator at the various Olympic Games sites.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-israels-isds-to-manage-security-at-rio-olympics-1000980198
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/186462#.VEgSb2cYiAY
More British Airways flights to Israel. For Summer 2015, due to growing demand, British Airways is raising the seat capacity on the London-Tel Aviv route by about 50%. Six weekly flights will be added, raising the total number to 20. Also, schedule changes will help passengers connect to North American destinations.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-british-airways-expands-london-tel-aviv-service-1000979168
The first California Israel Summit. The California Israel Chamber of Commerce will hold the first annual California Israel International Business Summit at the Microsoft Campus in California on Oct 22nd and 23rd. The summit is a hub for Israeli and California-based firms to explore new joint business opportunities.
http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2014/10/20/first-annual-california-israel-business-summit-this-week/
Japan comes to Israel. Japanese Culture Week in Jerusalem showed that Japan has definitely found the Israeli market. Under the guidance of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Japanese food manufacturers are even obtaining kosher certification.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/186503#.VElr0WcYiAY
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMkSpfm0Vgo&w=520&h=315]
Increasing ties with Saskatchewan. The Canada-Israel Industrial Research Development Foundation, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Israeli Embassy announced a new program to encourage research and development between Saskatchewan and Israel, and strengthen innovation and economic ties.
http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2014/10/20/saskatchewan-and-israel-increase-tech-ties/
A hi-tech power couple. Forbes has declared the Israeli-born husband and wife team of Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen to be the high tech world’s “newest power couple.” Adi and Alon founded Houzz.com – a platform for home remodeling and design. Houzz has 25 million monthly users and the company is valued at $2 billion.
A cool place to work. (Thanks to Janglo) Google Tel Aviv is one of the eight companies included in Inc. Magazine’s 4th annual list of the World’s Coolest Offices. See pages 5 – 8 in the linked article.
http://www.inc.com/worlds-coolest-offices-2014.html
Telefonica to support Israeli start-ups. International telecommunications giant Telefonica is to provide help and funding to companies in Israel’s VLX Ventures technology incubator. Telefonica will invest up to $1 million in specific digital communications projects, and will also contribute its experience.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-telefonica-to-collaborate-with-israeli-incubator-vlx-1000979332
Cutting out the banks. Blender is a new Israeli on-line platform that connects borrowers to lenders without a bank acting as middleman. The result is less bureaucracy, better rates and lower fees, albeit with greater risk.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-blender-launches-peer-to-peer-lending-in-israel-1000979480
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Great Israeli music. Listen to the 1980s decade of Israeli music on Kol Cambridge from DJ Antithesis on Tel Aviv’s Radio TLV1. Hits include “Hora” and “Hai”.
http://tlv1.fm/music/kol-cambridge/2014/10/23/the-kol-cambridge-time-machine-1980-1990/
Here come the cranes. (Thanks to Israel21c) Summer has officially ended, as tens of thousands of cranes fly in to Israel’s Hula valley on their way to their winter retreat in Africa. They are just part of the 500 million birds from 200 species that will touch down for some Israeli hospitality during their migration from Europe.
http://www.israel21c.org/israel-in-the-spotlight/20000-cranes-fly-in-to-hula-valley/
Body and Soul: The state of the Jewish Nation. This is a film that I would really like to see – the latest documentary by Gloria Greenfield and her company, Doc Emet. The film will have its premiere later this month in numerous American and Canadian cities, as well as in Jerusalem.
http://americanthinker.com/2014/10/body_and_soul_the_state_of_the_jewish_nation.html#ixzz3Gmiqh0yA
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1Ak5Bo0ZLY&w=520&h=315]
This Weeks Sanity Report from Israel
THE JEWISH STATE
Roman inscription discovered in Jerusalem. The second part of a 130 CE Latin inscription has been unearthed at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, many years after the first part was discovered. The tribute to Emperor Hadrian is from the Tenth Legion, just prior to the final Jewish revolt against Roman rule.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/rare-roman-monument-bearing-hadrians-name-found-in-jerusalem/
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/186383#.VEY86WcYiAY
Let’s enjoy Shabbat together. Israelis joined an estimated 1 million Jews worldwide celebrating the latest Shabbat Project initiative. The Israeli message – it is not only in wartime that we can be united.
http://www.aish.com/jw/s/The-Shabbat-Project-Making-History.html
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b2O7WFpZIs&w=520&h=315]
This Weeks Sanity Report from Israel
