A Healthy and Good News Year



Today I present to you my predictions for Israel’s medical achievements that will take place in the forthcoming new Jewish Year of 5776.  They are reliable predictions, as they mirror actual events that occurred in 5775.  I have only sufficient space here to include detailed evidence for three of these predictions.  Please visit my website if you would like to view the remainder.

Here is my summary list of medical predictions in full.  The ones I expand here are highlighted in red.

1. There will be numerous major breakthroughs by Israelis in the search for a cure for cancer.
2. There will be huge Israeli advances in the treatment of brain diseases.
3. New Israeli treatments will be found for diabetes.
4. Israeli innovations and research will give heart to cardiology patients.
5. Israelis will make major discoveries about the immune system and auto-immune diseases.
6. Israelis will find new ways to fight resistant strains of bacteria
7. Israelis will continue to pursue treatments for rare diseases and conditions.
8. Israeli doctors will personally intervene to save the lives and limbs of thousands of non-Israelis.
9. New Israeli medical innovations will improve the lives of disabled people.
10. There will be new Israeli medical treatments for the relief of pain.
11. New Israeli devices and techniques will diagnose disease and injuries earlier and quicker.
12. New Israeli medicines, devices and techniques will save and change lives and give hope to millions.

1.  There will be numerous major breakthroughs by Israelis in the search for a cure for cancer. 

The most promising Israeli news on cancer treatment in 5775 included Weizmann Institute’s triple treatment to stop tumor growth.  Also, the Technion’s use of the body’s natural chemicals to suppress malignant growth and protect healthy cells and its tiny silicon containers that deliver chemotherapy without damaging healthy tissue.  Vaxil Biotherapeutics’ continues to make progress with its anti-cancer vaccine and so are Israel’s Compugen with its five candidate antibody therapies and cCAM (just bought by Merck) with its CM-24 antibody for many types of cancer.

Further down the road, Israel’s Quiet Therapeutics has developed nano-particles that target biomarkers on tumors; an Israeli scientist has documented which of 20,000 genes are targets to kill tumors. Weizmann scientists have discovered a molecule to prevent “cell membrane spam overload” – a trigger for cancer and Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists have discovered anti-tumor neutrophils among white blood cells.

Many Israeli treatments target specific cancers, such as the VB-111 ovarian cancer treatment of VBL Therapeutics.  Novocure’s TTFields scalp device slows the growth of brain tumors.  Gamida Cell’s NiCord stem cells treats leukemias and Hodgkin lymphoma and IceCure Medical is now treating breast cancer with its IceSense3 system.  Finally, Israeli researchers have discovered what causes melanoma cells to turn into aggressive tumors and are convinced that it will soon lead to a breakthrough treatment.



7. Israelis will continue to pursue treatments for rare diseases and conditions. 

I have included this prediction in detail, as I want to emphasize that Israeli scientists and companies do not just want to ensure a big financial income from selling treatments for ailments affecting millions of patients.

Last year, advances by Israeli biotechs and scientists included:
-          BioBlast’s Cabaletta treatment for oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3)
-          Advanced Inhalation Therapies’ Nitric Oxide treatment for cystic fibrosis
-          Chiasma’s oral treatment Octreotide, for acromegaly
-          Protalix Biotherepeutics’ PRX-102 treatment for Fabry’s disease
-          Enlivex’s ApoCell treatment to prevent Graft-vs-Host Disease
-          Foamix’s Finacea Foam treatment for Rosacea
-          Nutrinia’s NTRA-9620 treatment for intestinal failure in preterms
-          Tel Aviv University researchers who are solving mysteries regarding rare genetic diseases



8. Individual Israeli doctors will save the lives and limbs of thousands of non-Israelis.

Israeli medicine is truly giving light to the nations.  In 5776 we will definitely see more from Israel’s skilled and dedicated surgeons who were repairing shattered lives throughout last year. 

Save A Child’s Heart doctors are currently working at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon to fix the hearts of 13 children from Ethiopia, 9 from Zanzibar, 6 from Iraq, 5 from Kenya, one from the Palestinian Authority and one from Gaza.  In May, SACH surgeons repaired a heart deformity in baby Lisa from East Timor – the 50th country to send patients to SACH.  In July, 20 SACH doctors, nurses and technicians repaired the hearts of 10 children in Tanzania and examined hundreds more.  In April, heart surgeons at Hadassah hospital saved Iraqi toddler Maryam, who had previously been given little hope of survival.  The doctors at Hadassah’s “Heart for Peace” organization have also treated hundreds of children with congenital heart diseases from Gaza and the PA territories.

To see two contrasting examples of Israelis treating Palestinian Arabs, doctors at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon helped a 4-year-old girl from Gaza to walk again, while a senior Hamas member had spine surgery at an Israeli hospital.  Israeli doctors certainly have no problem treating patients from Moslem countries – whether travelling to Kyrgyzstan to restore eyesight to 90, or continuing to treat Syrian casualties of their civil war at hospitals in Northern Israel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR4Euhzp2lY


Although global natural disasters cannot be predicted, tiny Israel will always be among the first to respond.  It had the largest medical aid team in Nepal after the country’s devastating earthquakes. The 250 Israeli aid workers included IDF medics and doctors from Rambam, Sheba and Sha’are Zedek hospitals.

To finish, Israeli scientists are also being inspired to achieve some “out-of-this-world” medical goals.  They aim to re-write DNA to correct genetic mutations, eliminate all brain diseases, regenerate organs using stem cells, automatically deliver your medications intravenously, and stop the aging process altogether. 

So I can confidently predict that in the coming years,

Israel’s medical achievements will be amazing!

Michael Ordman writes a free weekly newsletter containing positive news stories about Israel.
For a free subscription, email a request to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com

History of Israel's Good News - Jul to Sep 2015



History of Israel’s Good News Jul to Sep 2015
150927


In the 27th Sep 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:                


·         A unique Israeli search engine helps find the best hospital for a procedure.
·         An Israeli brain device is to be used to treat ailing US Navy personnel.
·         A United Nations exhibit publicizes child-education in Israeli hospitals.
·         An Israeli company has developed a low-cost virtual reality system.
·         More direct flights connect Tel Aviv to New York and Beijing.
·         A 3000-year-old stone seal was found in rubble from Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo and United With Israel with extra features on Health, and Global Impact.

Page Down for details on these and more good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news articles.  Please use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Oral proteins get US patent.  The United States Patent and Trademark Office has approved a patent from Israel’s Oramed for its invention, titled “Methods and Compositions for Oral Administrations of Proteins.”  The patent is the basis for Oramed’s ORMD-0801 oral insulin for the early treatment of types 1 and 2 diabetes.

Find the best hospital for your procedure.  Israeli entrepreneur Moni Milchman has developed ArchimedicX, the world’s first search engine that rates hospitals by procedure. Its criteria includes results and repeat treatment statistics, budget, staff quality, reputation, beds per room, waiting time, language, food quality and much more.

Groundbreaking fetal test.  Genetics experts at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center have devised a patent-pending process to screen a fetus for genetic diseases using a blood sample from the mother.  It is the first that can detect genetic mutations from both the father and mother’s DNA. 

Monitoring for heart failure.  Israel’s Kyma Medical Technologies has developed a radio frequency-based technology device to monitor fluids in the lungs – an early sign of congestive heart failure.  Kyma has just been acquired by US medical device company ZOLL for a minimum of $35 million.

US launch of stress-management supplement.  US-based Jarrow Formulas has launched its supplement PS-PA Synergy, which is based on Lipogen PSPA, developed by Israel’s Lipogen.  Lipogen PSPA has been clinically shown to alleviate stress response and improve cognition.

New Jersey-Israel health foods alliance.  Rutgers University in New Jersey, Tel Hai College in Upper Galilee, and the Israeli Knesset signed a memorandum of understanding to launch the New Jersey-Israel Healthy, Functional and Medical Foods Alliance.  It will research and commercialize disease-preventing foods.

US Navy buys Israeli brain therapy system.  The UN Navy has ordered several Deep TMS therapy helmets made by Israel’s Brainsway.  Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation will treat service personnel with a range of psychological conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder.



ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Sobar Jerusalem’s future site.  (TY Tracey) The Sobar Music Center Project has just announced that its no-alcohol music center for Jerusalem youth will be based in Shoshan Street.  Sobar’s partners are the Jerusalem Municipality and the Musrara Community Center. See facebook for exciting events and fundraising activities.

Migrants’ first contact is with Israelis.  When many Syrian, Iraqi, Afghan and Pakistani migrants arrive at the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos they first meet IsraAID Doctor Tali Shaltiel from Jerusalem and Nurse Majeda Kardosh from Nazareth.  They treat them for hypothermia, dehydration, wounds, illnesses and trauma.

Fighters for Life.  (TY Hazel) Three ex-IDF commanders decided to show the world the humanity of Israel’s soldiers. Their organization, Fighters for Life, encourages young post-army Israelis to volunteer in poverty-stricken areas worldwide.  Some 7,000 Israelis have now signed up and the first 30 have just left for Mumbai.

UN exhibit of Israeli education of hospitalized children.  The United Nations in Geneva is displaying the photo exhibition “Education Without Borders” about children’s education in Israeli hospitals. Israel is the only Middle East country to provide education for all hospitalized Israeli children, including Arabs and minorities.

Gas pipeline to Jordan approved.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel is to lay a 15.5km underground pipeline to transport natural gas from its Sdom 2 gas station to the Jordanian border.  The pipeline is designed to make it possible to transport gas to Jordan within a year, in accordance with the agreement signed between the two countries.

US delegation learns Israeli counterterrorism.  (TY Hazel) America’s Anti-Defamation League has brought 15 officials from US security agencies and police departments to Israel to study counterterrorism strategies and compare tactics.  It is the 13th such trip that the ADL has organized.  http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/American-law-enforcement-delegation-learn-anti-terror-tactics-from-Israeli-experts-415757

Wheels for US veterans.  Wheelchair-bound US army veterans will be among the first to use the revolutionary Acrobat Wheel created by Israel’s SoftWheel.  Selective suspension mechanism kicks in when going over uneven terrain, stairs etc.  Veterans can apply to the US Independence Fund or (soon) the Veterans Association.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Why was DLD Tel Aviv so popular?  (TY Michelle) Thousands of international visitors at Digital Life Design (DLD) week in Tel Aviv gave their reasons for attending the festival.  Plus a longer video on what they saw.

New Negev Railway line opens.  Israel Railways has inaugurated its new Negev line, taking passengers from Ashkelon to Beersheba in just 50 minutes.  The service will help drive the expansion plans for the desert city.

Los Angeles signs water agreement.  In the latest of a series of deals in California, Los Angeles County has signed an agreement to work with Israel and use its know-how and experience to solve the state’s ongoing water problems.  http://www.timesofisrael.com/socal-looks-to-israel-to-solve-its-water-problems/

The desalination fix.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s desalination is described here as a “water revolution”.

Annual Researchers Night.  Israel’s Bar Ilan University hosted the annual Researchers’ Night, this year dealing with topics related to science of the brain.  The event, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space and the European Union, includes fun science-related activities for the entire family.

The kibbutz has gone hi-tech.  (TY Michelle) Long gone are the days where kibbutzim relied on selling their agricultural products.  Now they include businesses from cyber-security to satellite agronomy analysis.

Reversing combustion.  More about Israel’s NewCO2Fuels which can produce fuel from carbon dioxide gas.  Weizmann Institute Earth Sciences Professor Jacob Karni’s research has resulted in a profitable process that can reduce the CO2 content of the atmosphere.  It extracts oxygen, leaving carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas.

The secret of fast battery charging.  (TY Michelle)  Dr Doron Myersdorf, CEO of Israel’s StoreDot, reveals that the low resistance of his company’s organic “nanodots” allow 100 times more current than can be provided to traditional batteries.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NUTnYjH6Cs

Virtual Reality on a chip.  Israel’s GemSense has developed an instant Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality (VR/AR) environment on a microchip.  GemSense is working with Samsung and Google to turn ordinary items into a 3D experience.  GemSense’s Cave Driver 3D game was a huge hit at Tel Aviv’s DLD Innovation Conference.  The innovation also opens up major possibilities for medical treatments.

Teen invents GPS ID tag to prevent kidnapping.  16-year-old Israeli Amit Saban, a member of the gifted students' program at Tel Aviv University, has launched a startup that makes "smart" ID tags with built-in GPS technology that can help soldiers and civilians in distress, and even prevent abductions. 

Israeli robots to protect USAF troops.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s Roboteam is to supply the US Air Force with 250 anti-IED Micro Tactical Ground Robots (MTGRs). Each robot weighs less than 20 pounds, has 5 cameras, a microphone, infrared laser pointers, travels at 2 mph, climbs stairs, and has a range of more than 500 meters. 


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Average salary rises 7.9% in June.  (TY Atid-EDI) The average Israeli wage rose by a massive 7.9% in June to NIS 10,078 ($2562).  82,000 people joined the workforce in the first quarter, making a total of 3.41 million.

The best governor – again.  Bank of Israel Governor Karnit Flug has made the Global Finance's list of best central bank governers for the second year in a row.  Flug was one of eight to receive an A ranking.  Full list.

Direct flights to China start in April.  I reported in a previous newsletter (Feb 1 2015) that China’s largest private airline Hainan was to commence direct flights between Tel Aviv and Beijing.  A 3-flights-a-week service commences on 28th April.  By Aug, 2015 tourist numbers exceeded the 33,000 for the whole of 2014.

Delta adds 4 weekly Tel Aviv flights.  Delta Air Lines is picking up traffic American Airlines will lose when it halts its Philadelphia-Tel Aviv route in January. In May, Delta is adding four flights a week to its JFK-Tel Aviv route in addition to the current daily round-trip service, making it one of Delta’s largest trans-Atlantic services.

$50 million to invest in TV shows.  (TY Michelle and others) Tel Aviv-based TV Format Fund has about $50 million to invest in companies developing new TV shows over the next five to seven years.  It has spent $3 million so far and will eventually sell shares in the fund.  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-17/netflix-lite-dream-merchant-wants-to-make-you-a-tv-millionaire

Inno-Negev accelerator launched.  | Israel’s Ben-Gurion University has officially opened Inno-Negev - the first technology accelerator in the Negev region.  Inno-Negev provides a free program for early-stage startups matching one of its 6-month cycles (Cyber, Homeland Security, ICT, Medical Devices, and more).

Funding university innovation.  (TY Michelle) The President of Tel Aviv University writes about how TAU raises funds to commercialize innovations that arise from the 3,500 projects that students are working on.


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

International guitar festival in Netanya.  The festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot) means it is also time for Netanya’s tenth annual International guitar festival and competition.

Other things to do during Sukkot.  Activities include a concert by Dudu Tassa, the Jerusalem Biennale, the fourth International Circus Festival, the largest artisan fair in Israel  and much more.

Sabra humus stars on Late Show.  The BDS thugs were not happy with Stephen Colbert’s debut hosting of the Late Show on CBS.  Nearly seven million viewers watched as he performed a highly entertaining skit to advertise its sponsor Sabra humus.  Sabra is 50% owned by Israel’s Strauss and 50% by PepsiCo.


THE JEWISH STATE

Start-up Aliya.  New video from Nefesh b’Nefesh showing how Jews are coming back to the Land to fulfil the promise of being a Light unto the Nations.  Jon Medved describes these amazing times.

Israeli hotels fill up for the holidays.  The 5776 High Holiday Israeli vacation season is one of the best ever, according to travel officials.  Major hotels in Israel are filled to capacity, and thousands of apartments have been rented to tourists who will be spending the holidays in Israel. http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/thousands-head-to-israel-for-holidays-and-fill-up-hotels/2015/09/25/

Seal unearthed from time of King David.  A 10-year-old Russian volunteer at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount Sifting Project discovered a 3000-year-old stone seal.  The dating of the seal corresponds to the historical period of the conquest of Jerusalem by King David and the construction of the Temple by his son, King Solomon.

Injured soldiers out of danger.  Yuval Appel and Yarin Ashkenazi were critically injured in an Arab terrorist attack in August and placed on ventilators.  Ashkenazi gained consciousness within a few days and Appel has just woken up after being over a month in a coma.  Both will require a long rehabilitation program.

Respect for the Land.  When a cyclist spotted the trash dumped after a party in the Ben Shemen forest, he was so angry that he posted photos on Facebook.  His friends then used Instagram and other networks to locate those responsible, and the family was so embarrassed that they returned to clean up the mess.



150920

In the 20th Sep 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         South Africa has chosen an Israeli system to screen blood for viruses.
·         An Israeli aid organization is distributing donated baby slings to Syrian migrants.
·         Israel is to provide Europe’s cyber security defense training center.
·         As Israeli gas flows in at record levels, oil is discovered in the Golan Heights.
·         Israel cuts taxes as Government debt and inflation rate fall dramatically.
·         An Israeli company makes its tenth takeover of the year.
·         The BBC features Tel Aviv as one of the best beach cities.
·         Happy New Year video messages from the Jewish State.

·         My medical predictions for the Jewish New Year has now been published online in the Jerusalem Post.  Feel free to publish any comments at the end of the JPost article.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo and United With Israel.

Page Down for details on these and more good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news articles.  Please use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Liver cancer treatment gets on the fast track.  The FDA has granted fast track designation to the CF102 treatment from Israel’s Can-Fite BioPharma for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. A CF102 trial is about to start on 78 patients with Child-Pugh Class B cirrhosis, who failed the only FDA approved treatment on the market - Nexavar.

A smarter bed.  Israel’s EarlySense is launching its “smart bed” solution myEarlySense. The “under the mattress” sensors record data on how you are sleeping, such as tossing, turning, waking, sleeping, breathing and heart rates.  It can also turn on heaters and make the coffee.

South Africa buys Israeli virus testing system.  Israel’s Ilex Medical has won a tender issued by the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) for its Panther blood testing systems to detect and identify viruses. 

IBM and Teva team up to find chronic treatments.  IBM Israel has granted Israel’s Teva access to its Watson supercomputing Health Cloud program.  Teva plans to use the global technology platform to design treatments for millions of people who suffer from chronic conditions like asthma, migraine, and pain.

Opening up a new strategy for HIV.  Technion scientists have discovered that when the HIV virus encounters resistance, it looks for detours. It then mutates and replicates itself, like a Trojan horse, exploiting redundancy in the DNA of host cells.  http://www.technion.ac.il/en/2015/08/new-strategy-for-hiv/

Detecting cancer using nanopores.  Further to a previous (15 Mar 2015) newsletter, scientists from Israel’s Technion are the only team working for European research consortium BeyondSeq on early diagnosis of cancer.  They are using tiny silicon “nanopore” scanners to detect molecular DNA biomarkers in cancer cells.

Genetic test for BRONJ.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Micromedic Technologies, has identified several new genetic markers for predicting BRONJ (necrosis of the jawbone).  BRONJ is a side effect of intravenous treatments in cancer and osteoporosis patients.

Microneedles deliver vital vaccines.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s NanoPass Technologies is supplying its MicronJet600 microneedle system to US-based Immune Design who will use the system to deliver vaccines to cancer immunotherapy patients. 

Israel ranks 6th in Healthy Life Expectancy.  (TY Atid-EDI) The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks Israel 6th in the world, with the average Israeli living without a terminal illness to age 71.5.  Israeli men have the world’s fourth longest total life expectancy of 80.2 years.  For women, Israel is ranked tenth with a total life expectancy of 84 years.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4696329,00.html

IBM Haifa’s diagnostic apps.  More about the app developed by IBM Haifa to diagnose ADHD sufferers (see Sep 6 2015 newsletter). It won top prize at the Brain Inspired Technology for Education (BITE) Hackathon at Israel’s Technion Institute.  Also describes IBM Haifa’s dementia early-detection app (Aug 9 2015 newsletter).


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

IDF rescues kidnapped deer.  The IDF’s Judea Regional Brigade a number of deer being held illegally and in harsh conditions in a Palestinian Arab village in Judea.  The deer will be rehabilitated at nature reserves and later released back into the wild.  Last month the IDF rescued deer whilst searching for weapons in Samaria.

Seminar for Palestinian Arab doctors.  (TY Nevet) Israel’s Civil Administration organized a seminar at the Emeq Afula hospital for 8 Palestinian Arab doctors from the PA city of Jenin.  The Jenin doctors learnt the workings of the hospital departments such as surgery, trauma, internal medicine and pediatric care.

Israel to host International Space legal debate.  The International Astronautical Federation reports that three judges from the International Court of Justice will preside at October’s Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition in Jerusalem.  International law students will argue the legal issues of a near-miss asteroid event.

Aiming to save 3 million lives.  Chamutal Afek Eitam presented her Three Million Club to 200 entrepreneurs and investors at the annual ID2 (Israeli Designed International Development) conference in Caesarea. Her plan is to feed the poorest people in the world, not by donations, but by returning a profit for investors.

Israeli PM meets UK PM.  Three areas were discussed when UK Prime Minister David Cameron met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Security, Peace and Technology. 

Israel’s female ambassador to Jordan.  Israel's new ambassador to Jordan, Einat Shlain, presented her credentials to Jordan's King Abdullah II at a ceremony at the Basman Palace in Amman.  Shlain is the first female ambassador to an Arab country.

Israelis donate baby slings to migrants.  Israeli humanitarian organization IsraAID has been distributing aid to Syrian refugees arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos and on the Hungarian-Serbian border.  IsraAID has also begun distributing baby slings donated by Israeli families to mothers and fathers.

Israel is a model for resettling migrants.  Nice to see Israel getting credit for something connected to this global upheaval, however I suspect that the situation is not quite as similar as the Swedish official believes. 


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Scientists correctly predict El-Nino.  (TY Nevet) In the fall of 2013, a team of German and Israeli scientists published an early warning of the “El Niño” weather phenomenon.  In March 2015, the US NOAA meteorological service confirmed that El Niño had arrived. Previously only 6-month predictions were possible.

Israel can help resolve Brazil’s water crisis.  Beni Lew, from Israel’s Volcani Center, has been advising hundreds of Brazil’s water experts on how to deal with their water shortage.  Speaking fluent Portuguese, Lew has encouraged delegations to attend Tel Aviv’s WATEC 2015 in October.

The build-up to WATEC.  More details here about this major international event in Tel Aviv in October.

Training Europe’s cyber defenders.  CyberGym is the Israel Electric Company’s cyber security training center and equips employees to thwart attacks on Israel’s electricity infrastructure.  The IEC is now to export CyberGym to the Czech Republic where it will be the center for cyber-security training throughout Europe.

Creative Israeli toys.  Keeping it simple, Israeli inventors look at the world from a child’s point of view and create new, fun toys that are produced and sold all over the world.

Your front door has just got smarter.  The ENTR system from Yavne-based (Swedish-owned) Mul-T-Lock raises the simple door-lock to a hi-tech Bluetooth-enabled device.  Using algorithms from US-owned Freescale Israel, the “combination” of global marketing and Israeli-ingenuity “opens up” huge possibilities.

Smarter irrigation.  This article features Israeli agro-tech features Galacon - manufacturer of smart monitoring and control irrigation solutions, based on Kibbutz Kfar Blum.  It previously won the European Irrigation Association’s “Product of the Year”.

Record gas flows.  Output from Israel’s Tamar natural gas field has reached 1 billion Cubic Feet (1BCF) per day.  http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-noble-tamar-reaches-record-1-bcf-per-day-1001068567

Oil discovered in Golan Heights.  (TY Phillip) Israeli energy company Afek has confirmed it has discovered an oil reservoir in the Golan Heights.  It has now requested permission from the Israeli Government to drill more exploratory wells in the area.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4699008,00.html

An app for contacting your Senator.  Israeli NGO Shurat Hadin has commissioned the development of a app that allows Android smartphone users to contact their US Senator about the Iran nuclear deal.

Counting on the apple harvest.  Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a program and algorithm for estimating the fruit content of an apple tree.  The program searches nighttime photographs of illuminated apple trees, counting glints in the foliage from light reflecting off the shiny fruit.

Start-up Nation on France24.  (TY Michelle) The first 5 minutes of this France24 Tech24 program is entitled “The Start-up Nation: Israel leads in tech innovation.”  http://www.france24.com/en/20151209-tech-24-israel-startups-poland-mars-rover-competition-qrokee-sketching-drawing

The smart City Summit.  (TY Michelle) Tel Aviv hosted the sixth annual City Summit as part of its DLD Innovation Festival.  The main debate was about how city residents engaged with the municipality in the Technological Age.  Tel Aviv won the World Smart Cities Award in 2014.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Taxes lowered.  Israel’s budget deficit fell to 2.1% and inflation was negative in August, allowing the Government to cut VAT to 17% and Companies’ tax to 25%. Taxes on alcoholic beverages were also reduced. 

Israel is a manufacturing and R&D powerhouse.  Ambassador Yoram Ettinger’s monthly summary highlights that business in Israeli technology is booming despite the latest global economic slowdown.

Where to grow your business.  (TY Michelle) Israel was ranked second (to Singapore) in Grant Thornton’s Global Dynamism Index, which combines 22 indicators across five growth areas to rank the business growth environments of the 60 largest economies in the world. http://www.grantthornton.global/globalassets/1.-member-firms/global/insights/article-pdfs/2015/gdi2015_report_final_update.pdf

US VC fund 500 Startups invests in Israel.  (TY Nevet) US venture capital fund 500 Startups is opening an Israel office. The fund, which operates one of the world's five leading accelerators, will invest up to $5 million in 10-20 early stage Israeli startups in the coming year.

Are you a potential angel?  I’m not giving investment advice, but some readers may be interested in a US company Sunrise Securities Corp that has built a platform (ZionTech) for reviewing and seed-funding promising Israeli startups.  Sunrise’s President, Nathan Low can provide more details.

What India can learn from Israeli startups  (TY Michelle) Indian businessmen are eager for their Prime Minister to adopt some of Israel’s policies that have led to the success of the Startup Nation.  They include Government loans, universities embracing entrepreneurs and the acceptance of failure.

Indian accelerator includes two Israeli startups.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s global reach is highlighted by two of the startups chosen to be included in India’s GenNext Innovation Hub, an accelerator program managed by India’s Reliance Industries (RIL) and Microsoft Ventures.  They are Israeli - In*Q*Sec and eLoan.

Another medical incubator is launched.  (TY Michelle) Following the launch of the John Hopkins / Luminox Israeli startup incubator (see last week) US giant Meditronic and IBM have won a grant from the Israeli government to open a digital medicine incubator to join an ever-growing list.

Sell your own home.  Israeli startup Fisbo provides a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) facility for homeowners to sell their homes without using estate agents.  Following a 2-month pilot in Israel, Fisbo has opened an office in New York.  Fisbo’s database verifies FSBO homes and provides anything a buyer needs to know.

A fruitful New Year.  Just a week before the start of the Jewish New Year, Israel’s Frutarom made its tenth acquisition of the year - Spain’s Nutrafur, specializing in natural plant extracts and antioxidants for food and health products.  Frutarom has 31,000 products, sells in 145 countries and 2015 revenues could reach $1 billion.

More security for automobiles.  (TY Michelle) I mentioned Israel’s Argus Cybersecurity last month as being able to prevent remote carjacking.  There has been much interest and Argus just raised $26 million of funding.

Switzerland buys 6 Israeli drones.  The Swiss Government has approved the purchase of six Hermes 900 unmanned planes from Israel’s Elbit Systems for $256 million. The Swiss Defense Minister said the aircraft would be used for surveillance by border guards.

Mini-booster seat project is fully-funded.  Israel’s mifold has now closed the crowdfunding project for its tiny car-booster seat.  Mifold aimed to raise $40,000 but received a massive $690,762.  They received orders for 20,000 mifolds from 7,000 customers in 87 countries.

Mellanox wins Israel-America Chamber of Commerce award.  (TY Sharon) Israel’s Mellanox Technologies has won the 2015 Israel - America Chamber of Commerce award in recognition of the company for "innovation and technology excellence, and developing human capital."


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

Israeli beers for the festive season.  (TY Yehudit) Doug Greener has produced this excellent write-up of the highlights of the latest beer festivals in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  In it, he reviews some excellent local brews.

First Israel visit for fashion bloggers.  (TY Nevet) Pro-Israel organization Stand With Us brought 10 leading international fashion bloggers to see Israel at first hand for the first time.  Based at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC) in Herzliya, they visited Tel Aviv Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and met leading Israeli designers.

The best beach city for expats?  A rare extremely positive article about Tel Aviv from the BBC.

Israeli rhythmic gymnasts win ticket to Rio.  Israel’s rhythmic gymnastics team secured its place at the Rio Olympics by finishing sixth in the group all-around final at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.  Neta Rivkin will represent Israel in Rio after she finished seventh in the individual all-around final.


THE JEWISH STATE

Technion robots’ New Year message.  Tradition and technology meet in a new video depicting robots, developed at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, preparing for the upcoming Jewish New Year.

And from the eternal capital, Jerusalem.  Israel’s Prime Minister highlights that Israel stands out like a beacon of progress and modernity, of democracy and human rights in a region of fanaticism. 

New festive postage stamps.  (TY Jacob Richman) Latest Israeli stamps include of childhood memories of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.  Also Rivers of Israel and the 70th anniversary of the Jewish Resistance Movement.  http://www.history-of-israel.co.il/stamps/index-2015.html

The treasures in Temple Mount rubble.  Israeli archeologists have been sifting through the rubble dumped by the Arab Waqf during their illegal building work on Temple Mount.  This video reveals some of the treasures and how you can join in as volunteer sifters.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ByafwjlsTY


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In the 13th Sep 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         An Israeli brain cancer treatment device is shown saving life on US TV news.
·         Large numbers of Israeli-Arabs are making successful careers as pharmacists.
·         An Israeli startup can detect a toxic water supply in five seconds.
·         The world’s largest shipping company is to start using the port of Haifa.
·         Israel has advanced to the European Basketball Championship last 16.
·         Immigration to Israel increased by 13% during the past year.

·         Last week’s Israel Good News descriptive summary.  Click here for “A Healthy and Good News Year” (fast-loading version, no adverts).  Also published on Jewish Business News, San Diego Jewish World and United With Israel websites.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo, IsraPundit and United With Israel with extra features on Health, Inclusiveness and Technology.

Page Down for details on these and more good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news articles.  Please use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Slowing down aggressive brain cancer.  Israel’s Novocure was featured recently on ABC 10 News, which showed Novocure’s TTFields helmet being used to keep a San Diego brain cancer sufferer alive.  Novocure is soon to trial TTFields on other solid cancers and has just filed for an IPO to raise up to $300 million.

Israeli device warns of risk to liver.  I featured the “liver-on-a-chip” testing device invented by Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists in a previous (Aug 2015) newsletter.  The device has now shown that acetaminophen (a readily-available pain relief) can be toxic at far lower doses than previously thought.

Huntington’s treatment gets go ahead.  (TY Atid-EDI) The US FDA has approved the application by Israel’s Teva for its SD-809 (deutetrabenazine) treatment for Huntington’s disease.  SD-809 was part of Teva’s May acquisition of Auspex and has completed two Phase-III studies.

Glaucoma treatment goes global.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s BioLight has announced the first sale of XLVision Sciences’ IOPtiMate to a medical center in Peru.  The innovative CO2 laser system has previously been purchased by hospitals in Hong Kong, Poland, Hungary and Romania. (See Sep 2014 newsletter)

MDA training for Israeli-Arab sector.  Israel’s emergency services Magen David Adom has completed its first training course for 15 young medics who will provide emergency response to Eastern Jerusalem.  The medics are bilingual in Hebrew and Arabic.  The program was the initiative of Ziad Jadla, MDA’s Arab liaison.

Exercise to cure fatty liver disease.  Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) commonly known as “fatty liver disease” is the most common liver condition in the Western world.  A study by Israeli doctors showed that 40 minutes resistance training, three times a week for three months reduced liver-fat and cholesterol significantly.


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Handicapped make music with their bodies.  The Grabski Rehabilitation Center in Migdal Haemek has installed a room with cameras and laser sensors, connected to computers and screens.  By cutting the laser beams, the 40 patients can control sounds and create a computerized melody.

Disabled enjoy the sea.  Israel’s Blue Flag program together with Netanya Municipality arranged for 12 disabled Israelis to enter the Poleg beach using amphibious chairs with wheels.  Israel has 23 beaches accessible for disabled people.  http://unitedwithisrael.org/wheelchair-bound-israelis-swim-in-ocean-for-first-time/

Jeep trip for 150 cancer patients.  Israel’s cancer charity Ezer Mizion has just completed its 20th Summer Camp for children and adults with cancer.  Its jeep trip is always one of the high points and this year 160 volunteer drivers took 150 cancer sufferers in 14 groups on different trails across Northern Israel.

Israeli women joining workforce highest in OECD.  (From Haaretz) Women joined the workforce in Israel faster than anywhere else in the OECD over the last three decades, thanks to changes in the labor market, the tax regime and available daycare. 79.7% at ages 25-34 is 24% up on 1985. 78.9% at ages 35-44, is 21% up.

Building an inclusive Israeli city.  Just 45 minutes north of Tel Aviv, Israel is expanding the sleepy 1000-residents town of Harish into a city with up to 100,000 inhabitants.  The plans have been praised by its modern-orthodox and ultra-orthodox Jews, secular Israelis, former Soviet and Ethiopian immigrants and Arabs.

Pharmacy brings Jews and Arabs together.  The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies reports that Jewish and Arab pharmacists are satisfied with their careers and that pharmacy has led to increased levels of tolerance and acceptance on both sides. In 2015, 35% of Israeli pharmacists are Arab – up from 20% in 2000.

Israeli BioGas for rural Arabs.  The portable “anaerobic digester” from Israeli start-up HomeBioGas turns kitchen waste and livestock manure into cooking-gas.  It has become popular with Negev Arab Bedouins and rural Palestinian Arabs who previously damaged their health by burning wood or goat manure for cooking.

Glide - the mainstream video messaging app the deaf are signing up to.  Film director Jules Dameron is deaf and uses the Israeli video messaging app Glide to communicate using American Sign Language both on and off the set.  Glide has really caught on amongst the deaf community, as the youtube videos in the article visibly demonstrate.  http://www.fromthegrapevine.com/innovation/glide-deaf-app

India launches course about Israeli startups.  (TY Michelle) Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) is to start a three-credit course on ‘Developing technology partnerships between entrepreneurial firms in India and Israel’.  Students will visit Israel and work in India with companies seeking Israeli tech partnerships.

Beverley Hills partners with Israel.  (TY Michelle) Beverly Hills City Council and Israel have signed a formal partnership.  It covers water conservation and management, technology and cyber security, public health, emergency services, disaster preparedness, public safety, counter terrorism and art and culture


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

10,000 attend Innovation Festival.  Israel’s largest international hi-tech event, the DLD (Digital Life Design) Innovation Festival Sep 6-12, has attracted huge numbers of power players from the world’s leading tech and finance firms, all eager to get a piece of the Startup Nation’s action.  http://dldtelaviv.com/

Investing in food-tech.  (TY NoCamels.com) Israeli food conglomerate Tnuva is joining the investors of TechForGood’s Rally accelerator. Tnuva hopes that the startups within the accelerator can increase its exposure to breakthrough technologies in the food-tech sector.

Winning the water quality test.  Israeli startup Lishtot just won the StartUp Open Israel 2015 competition run by the Global Entrepreneurship Network.  It will now represent Israel in November’s global finals.  Lishtot’s low-cost product detects water pollutants in a 5-second test, based on the electromagnetic properties of water.
(See why this could be a vital product - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWMRWngrZC8 )

Israel’s untold story of “Hydro-diplomacy”.  (TY Ruth) Here is a brief account by Seth M Siegel of the history of Israel’s work since the 1950s to tackle the scourge of drought in the developing world.  Mr Siegel’s new book “Let There Be Water: Israel’s Solution for a Water-Starved World is published this week. (see here)

SkySaver is launched.  (TY Arlene) News of the Israeli-developed Skysaver escape harness that allows you to evacuate safely from the window of a high-rise building (see Jan 2014).  SkySaver has received final certification from the Standards Institute of Israel and officially launched on Aug 3rd.

Israel to train Japanese to combat cyber hackers.  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a contract to supply Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) of Tokyo with a training program for those whose job it will be to prevent cyber-attacks in the real world.  DNP will become a reseller in Japan of IAI’s TAME Range training system.

Extending the life of dental fillings.  Israel’s NanoLock (see Aug Newsletter) has developed antibacterial nanotechnology that can be used to make prevent infections in tooth fillings, medical devices, even food and to combat air pollution.  http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Israeli-nanotech-could-improve-fillings-breast-implants-413529

Two products of the year awards.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s SQream produces software to analyze huge amounts of data.  Its SQL Database won bronze in the Best New Enterprise Product category of the Best in Biz Awards 2015 International program.  And its GenomeStack won a bronze “Stevie” award in the Best New Product of the Year – Big Data Software Solution category in the 2015 International Business Awards.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Israeli tech launches Chinese wine industry.  (TY Michelle) Eight years ago, Chen Qide leased from the Yinchuan government 100,000 acres of land in NW China and started planting grapes using Israel's technology.  Chen now plans to establish 100 small wineries, with a 10 billion yuan ($1.57 billion) profit target.

World’s largest shipping company comes to Israel.  (TY Janglo) In October, Haifa Port will begin serving 2M - the world's largest shipping alliance, comprising giants Maersk and MSC.  On Oct 15, The Gustav will be the largest ship ever to dock at an Israeli port.

The Windward of change.  Israel’s maritime data and analytics company, Windward, has announced two new high-profile investors.  Dan Senor, co-author of “Start-up Nation” and ex-CIA Director General David Patraeus.

Google Chairman explains why he is investing in Israel.  (TY Nevet) Google chairman Eric Schmidt praised Israel’s “culture of entrepreneurship”, its impact on science and technology, innovation and willingness to challenge authority. He also urged Israeli researchers to think big.

Japan loves Israeli shoes.  (TY Nevet) Israeli shoe and sandal manufacturing giant Teva Naot is to open its fourth retail branch in Tokyo.  The Israeli chain produces specially designed shoes for the Japanese market, including 20 different models that were tailored according to local specifications and trends.

John Hopkins to launch Israeli medical incubator.  (TY Michelle) John Hopkins Technology Ventures has inked a multiyear agreement with Israeli digital health business Luminox that will set up an accelerator for Israeli digital health startups.  http://medcitynews.com/2015/09/johns-hopkins-technology-ventures-luminox-deal-sets-up-accelerator-for-israeli-digital-health-startups/

Israeli merger connects a billion customers.  (TY Michelle) Israeli firms IronSource and Supersonic are to merge.  Over 450 million use IronSource’s InstallCore to download software to PCs and mobiles every month.  Supersonic works with companies such as Adidas, Intel and Coca Cola to deliver ads during installation.

Record levels of Private Equity investment.  (TY Michelle) Israeli tech firms continued to benefit from increased investment, both by local venture capital firms and international players. Private equity investments hit an all-time high of $1.4 billion in the second quarter of 2015. 


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

Jerusalem is a top 10 destination.  Israel’s capital city, Jerusalem, was listed by the widely read Travel and Leisure (T&L) magazine as one of the world’s 10 most “spectacular” cities.

Israeli exhibit at USA institute.  (TY Michelle) Israeli architect Zvi Hecker is opening a highly visual exhibition at the Southern California Institute of Architecture.  http://archinect.com/schools/release/88/zvi-hecker-two-strips-exhibition-opens-october-9-sci-arc-gallery/136281113

Masada from above.  (TY Avi) Great drone camera video showing the Judean desert fortress of Masada.

Matisyahu “Jerusalem - if I forget you”.  American Jewish rap singer Matisyahu returned to Israel for the Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival.  He will also perform a show at the capital's Sultan's Pool on Oct 10.

World’s largest paint party.  Hadera River Park was the venue for Israel’s hosting of the World’s Largest Paint Party.  http://www.festicket.com/festival/life-color-big-bang-tour-israel-2015/

Israel advances to EuroBasket last 16.  Israel's national basketball team qualified on Wednesday for the final sixteen stage at the EuroBasket tournament for the first time since 2007, with a 75:73 victory over Poland.


THE JEWISH STATE

Tel Aviv Great Synagogue is 90 years old.  It was a tremendous achievement to construct the magnificent Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv in 1925.  For its 90th birthday present it received four new Torah scrolls.

What do you want to be in 5776?  Jerusalem U asked some people on the streets of Jerusalem “What do you want to be in the New Year?”  Here are their answers.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=30&v=qtSOchzleKY

Aliya increased by 13% in 5775.  Approximately 29,500 Jews moved to Israel in the Jewish Year 5775, an increase of 13% on the 26,000 who made Aliya the previous year.  Jews arrived from 97 different countries including 7,350 from France (up 10%) and 6,900 from Ukraine (up 50%).

Help to solve Israel’s problems.  (TY Nevet) This exciting website features the latest Israeli news, facts, solutions, and humor.  It aims to help political and business leaders learn the good truth and the value of Israel, countering misinformation and protecting Israel’s reputation. It is working hard to increase the support of Israel.

Feeding the poor at the New Year.  Colel Chabad, Israel's longest continuously running social services organization, is delivering tons of food for the New Year, to over 18,000 Israeli families, including 2,500 single-parent families.  Each family will receive boxes of dry goods, vegetables and vouchers for chicken.


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In the 6th Sept 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         IBM Israel has developed an app that can identify sufferers of ADHD.
·         Israel is providing an extra $230 million for Arab-Israeli integration.
·         IsraAID is heading to Greece to help with the influx of migrants.
·         Intel’s new Israeli-developed Skylake microchip goes public.
·         An Israeli-app can keep track of your most important possessions.
·         The largest exit ($900 million) for an Israeli medical device company.
·         An Israeli Paralympic rower won gold at the World Championships.

·         Last week’s Israel Good News descriptive summary.  Click here for “Israel can prevent it” (fast-loading version, no adverts).  Also published on the Jerusalem Post, San Diego Jewish World, IsraPundit and United With Israel websites.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo, IsraPundit and United With Israel with extra features on Health, Inclusiveness, Technology and Sport.

Page Down for details on these and more good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news articles.  Please use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

An app to detect ADHD.  (TY SDM) Researchers at IBM Israel have developed a prototype app that can detect attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Subjects trace an imaginary rectangle ten times and the app analyzes the hand movements.  ADHD sufferers have difficulty with continuous motor activity.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4694706,00.html

Link between Leukemia and HIV.  Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered similarities between Leukemia and HIV.  Dr. Ran Taube is convinced that his team’s discovery is key to finding a clinical solution that can prevent infection with HIV and destroy the deadly virus.

High-pressure Oxygen to treat fibromyalgia.  I reported previously on Israel’s Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment here and here.  Now a study by 13 Israeli researchers has proved that the high-pressure Oxygen treatment reduces or eliminates medication needed for sufferers of the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia.

Calming autistic children.  Israel’s Association for Children at Risk has developed an Autism and Resiliency Program aimed at soothing frayed nerves of the 1,000 Israeli children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  The program relieved trauma during Operation Protective Edge but is now being adapted to everyday needs.

Two Israelis in prestigious MIT list.  Two Israelis have made MIT's prestigious "35 Innovators Under 35" list for 2015.  Cigall Kadoch, 30, holds a doctorate from Stanford where her expertise is cancer research.  Gilad Evrony, 33, from Harvard Medical School, made a major discovery advancing research into brain disorders.


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Israel’s first special needs integration village.  Israel’s top building committee has approved land for a rural town integrating 50 Israeli families with dozens of high-functioning special needs adults.  The community will employ the special needs adults alongside its regular workers in the local services, and in agricultural tourism.

A record 2.191 million schoolkids.  2,191,004 students began school on 1st Sept, almost 50,000 more than the 2,141,850 enrolled the previous year.  Improvements this year include smaller classes in 1st grade; a second kindergarten assistant; new tools for special needs children and a new advanced maths program.

Intel Israel increases bonus for recruiting women.  Intel, Israel's biggest high-tech employer is doubling the bonus for employees helping to recruit women employees.  Intel Israel VP human resources Judith Yampolsky said, "We believe that diversity in employment is the company's engine for innovation and creativity”.

$230 million aid for Israeli-Arabs.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to give a one-time budgetary supplement of 900 million shekels ($230 million) to Israeli-Arab councils. It is designed to “integrate Israel's Arab citizens into Israeli society as equals among equals”, said the PM.

Employment for Bedouin women.  Israel’s Economy Ministry and the Joint Distribution Committee-Israel (JDC) have opened 19 Arab-run Rayan Employment Centers serving 63 municipalities in northern and southern Israel.  Since 2012 they have placed 9,100 Arabs, including many Bedouin women, in local jobs.

Israeli help for Gaza farmers.  Farmers in Israel’s Nahal Oz have been giving agricultural advice to Gaza farmers in Khan Younis.  The Gazans are seeking new varieties of potato suitable for food such as chips.  Israeli farmer Yankale Cohen said, “Maybe they’ll stop shooting at us because of the potatoes?”

Help for refugees in Europe.  IsraAID Director Shachar Zahavi has announced a campaign to help Greece with the thousands of refugees washed up on the shores of Europe.  IsraAID brings its experience of its program to help the Bulgarian Red Cross last year with its influx of Syrian refugees.

Water technology for Nigeria.  Israel is to help Nigeria manufacture irrigation equipment, manage water resources, monitor accessibility, produce a water quality safety plan, and develop educational and management techniques.

The fifth most influential fashion school.  (TY SDM) Israel’s Shenkar College's Fashion Design Department in Ramat Gan is among the five most influential fashion schools in the world and the 11th-best overall, according to rankings released on Sunday by the influential Business of Fashion publication.

Saving rare species.  (TY Simon) Israel hosted a global UN event last week when 200 scientists from 40 countries came to Tel Aviv to attend the Animals Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).  A key issue discussed was illegal hunting.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Israel’s wild wheat can feed the world.  Video to accompany my previous article about how Israel’s NRGene mapped out the genome of wild Emmer wheat, with its promise of new hardy and resistant strains.  Emmer wheat – the ancestor of modern wheat - was discovered in 1906 by Aaron Aaronsohn in pre-state Israel.

Skylake - Intel Israel’s next generation chip.  The Israeli-developed Intel Skylake is another huge advance in microprocessor technology, with more than double the performance, triple the battery life, and 30 times better graphics than most computers in use today.  It consumes just 3 watts of power – current chips use 30-45 watts.

Doubling students of advanced math.  Education Minister Naftali Bennett, former President Shimon Peres and Israeli high-tech companies have launched “Give 5” – a program to double to 18,000 the numbers studying for advanced (5-point) math matriculation exams.  It includes more teachers, resources and hi-tech lecturers.

Smart garbage bins.  Afula is the first Israeli city to have sensors fitted to 150 of its public trash cans.  Garbage collectors will be now alerted to the receptacles that need emptying more urgently.

A spoon to measure sweetness.  Israeli startup Valiber has developed a spoon-like tool that measures the exact levels of sweetness found in drinks and foods.  “The swizzle” is a spoon with a sensor that communicates with your smartphone using Bluetooth.  Valiber has also invented the “Val” scale to quantify sweetness.

Express delivery - by drone.  Israel’s Flytrex claims to be the world’s first delivery drone that operates over the cloud.  Its Messenger app lets operators use their Sky drone to perform short-range deliveries of small parcels to friends and family.  It is also planning drone deliveries of medicines to rural African villages.

Delivery on one wheel.  Kobi Shikar, a student at Shenkar School of Engineering and Design, has conceptually designed a one-wheeled robotic delivery drone that uses GPS to navigate and facial recognition software to identify recipients.  Each wheel features a self-balancing gyroscopic system.

Intel Israel 3D tech to power Google’s Tango.  (TY SDM) Intel Israel is working with Google to develop a 3-D environment. Intel’s RealSense technology, largely developed in Jerusalem and Haifa, is to be a key input to Project Tango - a Google experiment using smartphones and tablets to record an in-depth, 3-D environment.

Why Israel is so good at cyber security.  (TY Michelle and Nevet) Another article explaining why Israel dominates the cyber security industry.  Reasons include defense against threats, investment in science, and military service.  http://fortune.com/2015/09/01/why-israel-dominates-in-cyber-security/

I don’t like the sound of that.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s Augury has developed the Auguscope – a low-cost innovative device that “listens” to machinery to diagnose problems.  Preventative maintenance can then save the huge costs of downtime and replacement equipment.  Augury has just raised $7 million of initial funding.

Never lose anything ever again.  (TY Yehudit) Israel’s GetPixie has developed the Location of Things (LoT) platform and produced Pixie points that you stick to your valued objects (keys, wallet, sunglasses etc.)  Use your smartphone to find them anytime. Pixie can even alert you if you leave the house without them.

3D printed fashion collection.  (TY Michelle) Danit Peleg used a relatively cheap, home 3D printer to produce clothing for her final project at Israel’s Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. Her video of the “dishwasher-safe” fabrics has had over 100,000 views.  Imagine - if you are cold, just print yourself a sweater!


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

20,000 car booster seats.  Israel’s Mifold has now had 20,000 orders for its innovative folding car booster seats.  It also has released a video of a child attaching his seat belt to the booster seat.

Israel’s Smartbus app launches in California.  SmartBus already helps Israelis arrange 40,000 trips per month, whether a regular route (such as a workplace shuttle) or a one-time ride to an event. In Israel, about 1,600 drivers participate in the scheme.  Now in four languages, the app is being rolled out California,

Tennessee delegation to Israel.  (TY Michelle) Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is leading a 23-person plus delegation to Israel.  They will meet Israeli researchers, venture capitalists and government representatives. Industries involved include life sciences, high-tech, biotech, and health care.

Old and new together in Jerusalem.  (TY Michelle) This video features Erez Yerushalmi, CEO of Israeli startup Sling, a mobile platform that allows smartphone users to purchase without cash from micro merchants such as street vendors.  Here, though, Erez is publicizing the Citi Mobile Challenge, Jerusalem.

The Garner Innovation Center.  (TY Michelle) Take a look at how Studio BA transformed the inside of a 100-year-old building in Tel Aviv.  http://design-milk.com/gartner-innovation-center-tel-aviv/

Amazon calls up Israeli mobile ad firm.  (TY Michelle) I featured 21-year-old Tomer Hen’s MobCo mobile ad company previously here.  Tomer has just landed the biggest deal of his life as Amazon has chosen MobCo to advertise the launch of its shopping app in India.

A billion-dollar exit.  In the biggest deal ever for an Israeli medical device company, US-based HeartWare International is acquiring Israeli biotech start-up Valtech Cardio.  Valtech shareholders will receive HeartWare stock worth over $900 million, depending on milestones.  Valtech makes heart valve surgery devices.

Investing in Israel to boost Japanese innovation.  (TY Michelle) Japan’s Samurai Incubate has invested in sixteen startups from Israel, with a target of 100 portfolio companies in three years.  The VC firm uniquely focuses on seed and pre-seed startups, offering something no one else does – the opportunity to enter Japan. 

A multi-million company, almost by accident.  (TY Michelle) When Israel’s Or Offer left the army, he began selling his mother’s jewelry.  Someone said the jewelry resembled that of US designer David Yurman.  Or then built a search engine to find similar websites and the hugely popular SimilarWeb was spawned.

Dubai firm can rent you a car in Israel.  (TY Hazel) On-line car rental company travelauto.com, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is to allow its users to book rental cars for pick-up in Israel.  Reps from travelauto.com came to Israel to sign agreements with Israeli rental providers.


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

 “Let there be water”.  Seth M. Siegel has just written a new book, entitled “Let there be water: Israel's Solution for a Water-Starved World”.  Mr. Siegel will be a keynote speaker at each of the JNF Water Summits in 10 USA cities this fall (see last newsletter). 

Jerusalem Biennale 2015.  The Jerusalem Biennale explores the meeting of Contemporary Art and the Jewish World of Content. The 2nd Jerusalem Biennale for Contemporary Jewish Art will showcase the work of nearly 200 Israeli and international professional artists in 10 exhibitions hosted in seven city-center venues.

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.  Legendary British rock band Manfred Mann’s Earth Band is coming to Israel to perform at the Wohl Amphitheater in Tel Aviv on Sept 21.  Born in South Africa, Manfred Mann (originally Manfred Leibovitz) is considered one of the greatest keyboardists in the rock genre.

Israeli touchdown in Spain.  (TY Sharon) Israel’s National American Football Team beat Spain 28-20 on its international debut.  The game was good-natured and both coaches praised their opponents.  The Israeli team advanced to play in European Federation of American Football’s B-Group next year.

World champion Paralympic rower.  Moran Samuel won the gold medal in the arms-shoulders single scull 1,000-meter competition at the World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France.  She was over a second faster than Great Britain’s Rachel Morris, with previous world champion Birgit Skarstein of Norway third.


THE JEWISH STATE

A comfy seat in Jerusalem.  (TY Janglo) Only in Israel. Someone obviously was not happy about the stark metallic benches that Jerusalem municipality installed in the nation’s capital.  So they did something about it.

No more dummies.  (TY Janglo) Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat joined sixty children as they inaugurated the city’s first pacifier tree. The children hung their pacifiers on the tree, part of a project to assist children in breaking away from their trusted friend. The tree stands outside the well-baby clinic on Eliezer HaGadol Street.

Yalla – let’s go!  NFL star Julian Edelman shares his enthusiasm for the Jewish State in this video.

59 lone soldiers make Aliya.  A Nefesh B'Nefesh chartered flight with 232 olim from North America, including 59 lone soldiers, landed at Ben Gurion airport.  Many intend to serve with elite IDF units. And thanks to Friends of the IDF for organizing a day out for more than 5000 lone soldiers at Israel’s Shefayim Water Park.

2000-year-old podium found in Jerusalem.  Archeologists have excavated a podium on a 2,000-year-old Jerusalem street in the Old City, leading from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount.  Four large stone rectangles form steps up to a platform, commonly used for public announcements in biblical times.

The impact of religion on the Startup Nation.  (TY Michelle) Interesting opinion piece that suggests Judaism’s historical greater respect for economic liberty and commerce than for military power is one reason for Israel’s modern day success. http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Culture-religion-and-Israels-economy-413748

Go forth and multiply.  (TY SDM) Six-year-old white rhinoceros Keren Peles has given birth to a female calf at the Ramat Gan Safari.  She is the 27th rhino born at the safari, which belongs to an international consortium of zoos working to pull the white rhino back from the verge of extinction.

I am an Israeli.  (TY Janglo) I echo everything that Roi says in this video.


150830

In the 30th Aug 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         Israeli eye doctors restored the sight of 90 patients in Kyrgyzstan.
·         El Al has enrolled its first Haredi woman onto its elite pilot training course.
·         Israeli water experts are holding summits in ten US cities.
·         The Philippines is adopting Israeli greenhouse technology to feed its population.
·         An Israeli company is to build a huge water system for 131 Indian villages.
·         Maccabi Tel Aviv beat FC Basle to qualify for the European Champions League.
·         Lifeguards, police and a diving club rescued a dolphin stranded on rocks in Acre.

·         Last week’s Israel Good News descriptive summary.  Click here for “Always Expect the Unexpected” (fast-loading version, no adverts).  Also published on the Jerusalem Post, San Diego Jewish World and United With Israel websites.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo, IsraPundit and United With Israel with extra features on Health, Inclusiveness, Technology and Entertainment.

Page Down for details on these and more good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news articles.  Please use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Treatment slows onset of Alzheimer’s.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Avraham Pharmaceuticals announced successful interim results in a Phase 2b clinical trial of ladostigil, for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Fewer MCI patients using ladostigil for 2 years progressed to Alzheimer’s than those using the placebo.

Detecting lung cancer mutations in the genes.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Rosetta Genomics has just had approval from the New Jersey Department of Health, for its OncoGxSelect diagnostic test for lung cancer.  The test detects genetic mutations responsible for the tumors and help clinicians make relevant treatment decisions.

A device to treat Peripheral Artery Disease.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Eximo has developed a patented hybrid catheter, which is connected to a pulsed laser system, for the treatment of blocked arteries associated with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD).  PAD affects 8-12 million Americans.  Eximo has just received $1.6 million of funding.

Restoring eyesight in Kyrgyzstan.  A group of Israeli doctors restored the eyesight of 90 adults and children in Kyrgyzstan thanks to Israeli-Jewish Eye from Zion volunteer organization.  The doctors performed cornea surgery, plastic surgery and removed tumors and cataracts.  Many patients had been blind for years. 

How to check if your baby is healthy.  Israel Technion Professor Eli Ben-Sasson and his wife Ayelet have developed an online community (CROINC (CROwd-based INteractive Clustering)) where parents can share information about their child’s development - and compare it to actual scientific and medical facts.

HIV is six times less in Israel.  (TY Nevet) Due to circumcision, the annual incidence of HIV infection in Israeli men is on average six times lower than that of the Netherlands and France and for women it is ten times lower.  The Health Ministry study was published in the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research.


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Women in Wireless in Israel.  (TY SDM)  The writer of this article, Stefanie Amini, founded Women In Wireless Israel to help empower women.  She concludes that the Start-up Nation encapsulates the innovative spirit typical of Israelis, inspiring and helping women incorporate Israeli culture into their work life.  

Haredi woman on El Al pilot course.  (TY Nevet) Nehama (full name withheld) is the first haredi woman to be accepted into El Al's elite pilot training course.  She earned her pilot’s license in the US and had to travel back to America in order to accumulate sufficient flying hours to take the course, which begins in November.

One of the best places to raise your kids.  Israel has been ranked fourth in the world for expat families to bring up their children, according to the Family Life Index carried out by the Inter Nations institute.  The index ranks countries in categories such as quality, cost and availability of childcare and education.

20,000 tons of goods for Gaza – as usual.  I don’t report it every week, but every day over 600 trucks bring over 20,000 tons of goods into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing.  The items include medical supplies, food, construction materials and electronic devices.  Each truck is inspected to prevent smuggling terrorist supplies.

The IDF’s humanitarian missions.  This new video shows that beyond protecting Israel’s citizens, its soldiers embrace another role: serving a source of relief for people all over the world. From Japan to Haiti, from Nepal to the Philippines, Israel’s soldiers have worked miracles and saved lives.

Italian and Israeli bio-meds collaborate.  Dozens of Israeli bio-medical companies are to meet with their Italian counterparts in Milan next fall.  Collaboration between the two countries in the life sciences has been strong since Israel helped many Italian companies rebuild their R&D facilities after the 2012 earthquakes.

Why Israel-India relations have grown closer.  Efraim Inbar gives reasons for the improved ties between Israel and India.  They include the return to power of the BJP party; bilateral interaction in defense, intelligence, agriculture, health, science, and technology; increased Indian economic power and less global Arab influence.

Water summits in the USA.  The JNF is holding water summits in ten US cities to share Israel’s technological advancements and amazing accomplishments in water resources.  Israeli experts will speak in Albany, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and Washington DC.

Israel’s contributions to the world.  Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the Israeli pavilion at Expo 2015 in Milan that millions around the world have personally benefited from Israel's advances.  Israel shared its water and agricultural technology, benefiting millions in India, China, Latin America and Africa.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The 2015 World Science Conference in Israel.  The WSCI 2015 World Science Conference Israel in Jerusalem not only had 15 Nobel Prize winners under one roof, it also featured Magic, Science, Technology and lots of inspiration.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtCwwQLdn_A

Israeli medical startup wins global competition.  Israel’s DiACardio has won the 2015 Shengjing Global Innovation Award in Beijing China.  DiACardio has developed revolutionary software to decode echocardiograms.  Another Israeli startup, Wayerz, came fifth.  All 5 finalists receive $200,000 prize money.

Net Zero Energy communities.  Ben Gurion University of the Negev has received an EU Horizon 2020 grant to develop a “Zero Plus” system that preserves energy in buildings.  BGU will then implement four projects across Europe to turn Net Zero Energy (NZE) buildings into NZE communities.

Genes that are natural insecticides. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Evogene has used its BiomeMiner computational discovery platform to identify microbial genes with insecticidal properties.  EvoGene will now validate the genes’ insect control properties against some of the world’s worst agricultural pests.

Missile protection for the world’s aircraft.  (TY Atid-EDI) Many readers will have seen the video of the C-MUSIC directed infra-red countermeasures (DIRCM) system from Israel’s Elbit that repels terrorist missiles launched at commercial airliners.  Recent international demand for the system is simply phenomenal.

Israel and US sign space collision prevention pact.  (TY Nevet) Israel’s Defense Ministry and US Strategic Command (USSTATCOM) have signed a new cooperation arrangement to prevent satellites and other objects colliding in space. The Space Situational Awareness (SSA) agreement will ensure safe spaceflight operations.

Preventing evaporation and much more.  I featured the Israeli “Top-up” water-saving spheres previously in Sep 2014.  The company that makes them has just renamed itself from “Top-It-Up” to “NeoTop” and is launching its 2nd generation of product, preventing algae, and even deterring birds from fish farms and airports.

5 minutes to recharge an electric car.  (TY Michelle & Nevet) Israel’s StoreDot has promised that by May 2016 it will be able to recharge an electric vehicle from zero to 100% in 5 minutes.  StoreDot is famous for its 30-second cellphone recharging technology, which the company says will be on the market in mid-2016.

Agro-tech for the Philippines.  (TY Michelle) Davao City, the 4th largest city in the Philippines, is planning a greenhouse model using Israeli technology to increase food production.  A 1,000sqm greenhouse using Israeli technology can produce 25,000 kilos of tomatoes compared to 4,000 kilos on the same size of open land.

Making fashion shopping less frustrating.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s Liat Zakay has developed Donde - an app that uses artificial intelligence to trawl over 6,000 major retailers, classifying fashion images into color, length, neckline etc. Users select an item and filter by anything from hemline and pattern to brands and price ranges.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

High-speed Jerusalem-Tel Aviv link gets on track.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel Railways has begun laying the tracks of the high-speed railway line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv - the first in Israel to run on electricity.  The 56km link will have five tunnels, eight bridges and cost around NIS 7 billion (about $1.85 billion).

Work starts on Tel Aviv light railway.  (TY Atid-EDI) Construction of the Tel Aviv light rail system has officially begun.  Workers started excavations near the Allenby Street-Yehuda Halevi Street intersection, where one of the light rail stations will be located.  The project is expected to take six years to complete.

Water for 131 Indian villages.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s TAHAL Group signed a $74 million agreement with the Government of Karnataka State in India, for the design, construction and operation of a water supply system for 131 villages in the state.  It includes 600km of pipeline, a treatment plant and eight reservoirs.

Israeli firm to open start-up center in Korea.  (TY Michelle) Israeli venture capital firm Yozma is opening a campus for startups in Pangyo Valley, Gyeonggi, Korea.  It is also forming a 200 billion won ($169.3 million) start-up fund called Korea Yozma Fund.

India to emulate Israeli VC fund.  (TY Michelle) The Indian government has launched a venture capital (VC) fund. Dubbed the India Aspiration Fund, the 20 billion rupee ($306 million) fund hopes to emulate Israel’s Yozma program.  Today Israel has a thriving VC ecosystem.

Why China and Israel are doing great trade.  (TY Michelle) Here are some of the reasons why China is likes Israel.  They include China’s ambitious expansion plans and the Israeli technology to help achieve them.

Hi-tech dental implants get US partner.  (TY Michelle) Evolution Dental Science in Buffalo New York is to house the U.S. sales and distribution headquarters of Noris Medical, one of Israel’s largest manufacturers of implants and dental devices.  Noris already has operations in China, India, Russia and Italy.

Multimillion dollar projects in Georgia.  (TY Michelle) Tbilisi Mayor Davit Narmania promoted Georgia to 101 businessmen at the Georgia-Israel business forum.  President of the Israel-Georgia Chamber of Business Itsik Moshe confirmed several multimillion dollar projects will be implemented in Georgia in the coming months.  http://agenda.ge/news/40955/eng   http://agenda.ge/news/41130/eng

Israeli start-up competition goes global.  (TY Michelle) Startups have been competing in 21 countries to win one of the 21 available places on “Start Tel Aviv” - a 5-day intensive boot camp in Israel in September.  Here is the Danish winning entry.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRuK6s5De88

Changing unwanted foreign currency.  (TY Michelle) More about Israel’s TravelersBox – developers of the handy machines installed at airports that stop you wasting your spare change.  Redeem it from brands such as Starbucks, H&M, Skype, Paypal, iTunes, Google Play, GAP, and countless others.  Or donate it to charity.

US-Iranian support for Israel Bonds.  (TY Michelle) The Iranian Jewish community in Los Angeles and New York has been encouraging friends and family to invest in Israel Bonds.  Iranian Jews typically give $100 Israel Bonds for weddings, bar mitzvahs, births and other happy occasions.  http://www.jewishjournal.com/iranianamericanjews/item/l.a.s_young_iranian_jewish_professionals_hot_for_israel_bonds


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

Music to our ears.  The 18th Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival takes place Sep 3 – 12 2015. Musicians from all over the world will perform new compositions, rarely performed works, as well as popular chamber music works.  http://www.midnighteast.com/mag/?p=32181

Classic cars in a young state.  Israeli members of the 5 Club, Israel’s largest antique car club, met in a parking lot in Ness Ziona, south of Tel Aviv to show off their restored motor-vehicle marvels. They included Jaguars, Corvettes, Oldsmobiles and a 1967 Ford Anglia, first produced when the UK declared war on Hitler in 1939.

Israeli cycling team joins USA Pro Challenge.  “Cycling Academy” is the first Israeli team to enter America’s top cycling event - the USA Pro Challenge - America’s equivalent of the Tour de France.  In its first year, Cycling Academy has won stages of the Tour d’Azerbaijan, the Tour de Berlin and the Visegrad 4.

Maccabi Tel Aviv reach Euro Champions League.  Israeli soccer champions Maccabi Tel Aviv have won through to the Champion League group stage where they meet Chelsea, Porto and Dynamo Kiev. Tel Aviv beat Swiss champions FC Basle in the 3rd qualifying round; Eran Zahavi scored his 7th goal of the competition.

Israeli triple jumper wins silver in World Championships.  Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko became the first-ever Israeli woman (and the second Israeli) to win a World Championships athletics silver medal when she came second in the triple jump in China.  Her second round jump of 14.78 meters broke the Israeli record.

Israeli wins world judoka bronze.  Israel’s Golan Pollack won the bronze medal in the under 66kg category at the World Judo Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan.  The 23-year-old (23rd in the world) beat Davaadorj of Mongolia by landing a yuko with just 5 seconds.  See the video for Pollack’s patriotic reaction at 6:15 mins.


THE JEWISH STATE

108 Ukrainian Jews fly to freedom.  The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews brought 108 Jews from war-torn Ukraine to make a new start in the land of their spiritual forefathers.  They were welcomed at Ben-Gurion Airport by members of the IDF, with Israeli flags, balloons, and warm greetings.

Free summer camps for children of French Olim.  Bnei Akiva, aided by the Immigrant Absorption Ministry and the AMI association for French Olim, are holding free summer camps for the many recently arrived French children. Funds were raised by the camp counselors through public events, car washing and other initiatives.

A safe and fun place to visit.  (TY Nevet) Julie Bort recently spent a week in Israel and wants everyone to know that it is extremely easy and safe to travel there, even if you're an American non-Jewish woman traveling alone who doesn't speak or read Hebrew.  http://www.businessinsider.com/israel-travel-for-americans-2015-8

Dolphin rescued at Acre beach.  An exhausted dolphin surprised swimmers at an Acre beach when it was found on the rocks.  Lifeguards, the district veterinarian, naval police and the Shavei Zion diving club all helped rescue the dolphin and transport it for medical treatment by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.


150823

In the 23rd Aug 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         Doctors at an Israeli hospital used innovative surgery to save two pregnant women.
·         Israel donated vital equipment to treat Taiwan burns victims.
·         Israel refueled Jordanian jets on route to joint exercises in the USA.
·         Israeli mapping of the DNA of wheat promises stronger varieties.
·         An Israeli company is building a wind farm in Ireland.
·         Israel’s largest indoor market has opened in central Tel Aviv.
·         Three rare baby sand cats were born at an Israeli safari park.
·         75 Torah scrolls were dedicated at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, IsraPundit, Janglo, and United With Israel with extra features on Health, Global impact and Technology.

Page Down for more details on these and other good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to so many of these positive news articles.  Use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Doctors revive mother with amniotic embolism.  (TY Phillip) In a first of its kind event, a 43-year-old woman who was declared clinically dead after suffering an amniotic embolism during a C-section has woken up.  Doctors at Israel’s Beilinson Hospital removed a massive blood clot from her lungs with the aid of innovative technology.  Her new baby daughter is also doing well.

Doctors remove tumor from womb of pregnant woman.  A team of doctors at Petah Tikva's Beilinson Hospital have succeeded in surgically removing a 15cm long tumor from a woman's womb in the middle of her pregnancy without harming her or the baby.  Danielle Skald later had a normal delivery of a baby boy.

Israeli medial clowns at Chinese hospitals.  Israeli medical clowns from “Dream Doctors” visited seven hospitals and orphanages in Chengdu, southwestern China.  In colorful clown costumes and with big red noses, they sang songs, played ukulele, performed magic tricks and blew bubbles in the wards to cheer up the patients.

Bacteria or virus?  Israel’s MeMed has discovered a protein in blood called TRAIL that dramatically increases in patients infected with viruses but decreases in bacterial infections.  It has developed proprietary algorithms and a blood test called ImmunoXpert that could save hundreds of thousands of lives in Europe alone.

FDA approval for Rosacea treatment.  I reported previously (Sept 2014) on the successful results of the acne treatment from Israel’s Foamix.  The company’s Rosacea treatment - Finacea Foam - has just been approved by the US FDA.  Rosacea is a skin condition of unattractive dilated blood vessels, often on the face.

New Center for Autism in Jerusalem.  The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Hadassah Medical Center will establish the first interdisciplinary university-based autism center in the Middle East.  The Autism Center will bring together cutting-edge research, clinical services, state of the art training and education for professionals and parents in the community.  http://new.huji.ac.il/en/article/27508

Liver-on-chip device to replace animal testing.  Another liver cell innovation from scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (see Aug 2nd) who have partnered with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute to build a a liver-on-chip device mimicking human physiology.  Soon, toxicity tests no longer need performing on animals.

Medical aid for Taipei burns victims.  Israel is donating two skin graft meshers worth more than $10,000 each, to Taiwanese hospitals.  498 people were injured (202 in need of skin grafts) following a horrific water park explosion accident in a Taipei water park.


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Israeli hospitals unite Israelis and Arabs.  A study conducted at Schneider Children's Medical Center finds that parents from the Arab sector whose children have been treated in Israeli hospitals feel a stronger sense of solidarity with the State of Israel.

A truly moderate Palestinian Arab politician.  (TY Elder of Zion) Mohammed Dajani Daoudi heads Israel’s tiny Wasatia political party.  He was educated to hate Israelis, but completely changed when his father had his cancer treated in an Israeli hospital.  He accepts Jews having equal rights to Arabs and fights holocaust denial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaUf9Mojr-c

Israeli hospital treats Hamas officer.  Not sure if this is good news, but it needs to be reported.  Nayef Rajoub, a senior member of Hamas and the brother of senior Palestinian Authority figure Jibril Rajoub, is currently recuperating in a private hospital in Tel Aviv, apparently after having undergone spine surgery.

Infant mortality in Gaza.  (TY Stuart) A recent UNWRA report criticizing Israel for the health of Gaza infants was simply another case of “propaganda masquerading as science”.  Here are the true facts.

Defying expectations.  (TY Michelle and Avi) Haisam Hassanein, an exchange student from Egypt, received his Master’s degree and became the valedictorian of Tel Aviv University. He delivered a remarkable speech - his insights, both timeless and timely, illustrate the hope for there to be real peace in our time.

Israeli Air Force refuels Jordanian F-16s.  An Israeli tanker plane supported a flight of Jordanian F-16 Vipers which were on route with Israeli Air Force planes to exercises in the US.  The sight of Israeli and Jordanian jets flying together was a unique experience.

Israeli professor joins Iranian environmental journal.  Hebrew University Professor Renata Reisfeld has accepted the invitation of Maryam Pazoki, assistant professor at the Faculty of Environment at the University of Tehran to join the editorial board of the Tehran-based International Journal of Environment, Energy and Waste.

Ivory Coast Health Minister comes to learn from Israel.  Ivory Coast’s Health Minister Dr. Raymonde Goudou Coffie is in Israel on a “learning tour” of Israeli hospitals, especially regarding emergency medicine.

Israel promotes science in Ghana.  Israel has flown two outstanding female science students from Ghana to the World Science Conference in Israel.  Lilian Abrafi Yeboah and Nana Esi Nyarko were given free all-expensive return trips to join 400 young science masterminds from over 70 countries and 15 Nobel laureates.

World class universities.  Six of Israel’s eight universities are in the top 500 of the 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities produced annually by the authoritative Shanghai Jiao Tong University.  The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was ranked at 67 and Israel’s Technion in Haifa was number 77 on the list.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Play on computer?  Exercise first.  Israeli Eylon Porat has built an accessory for his daughter’s computer.  It comprises an exercise bike that she has to pedal in order to unlock games on the computer for a certain time period. When she run out of credits the computer locks again until she pedals enough “credits” to unlock it.

Haifa to be Israel’s first Clean Air Zone City.  For the first time in Israel, a Clean Air Zone will be enacted, banning polluting diesel-powered vehicles from areas of Haifa, as part of a five-year plan announced by the Environmental Protection Ministry to reduce air pollution and environmental hazards in the Haifa Bay area.

Wheat genome cracked.  It took Israel’s NRGene just 3 months to map out the genome for wild Emmer wheat – a task that had eluded dozens of scientists from 55 countries.  It will now be easier to develop varieties of wheat that will thrive in drier, hotter climates and help relieve world hunger.  And related article by Sharon.

3 Olympiad medals for Israeli high school chemists.  Three members of Team Israel won bronze medals at the oldest (and perhaps toughest) high school competition - the International Chemistry Olympiad, held in Baku, Azerbaijan.  Teams used chemicals to synthesize material and identify unknown elements.

Tinned tuna in low sodium brine.  (TY Liat) Israel’s Salt of the Earth has successfully reduced the sodium content of canned tuna by 35% with its new Umami Essence ingredient - a proprietary, natural liquid formula derived from vegetables and sea salt.  In trials, the taste was indistinguishable from ordinary tuna in brine.

Polly can park your car.  Tens of thousands of Israelis have used the Israeli developed app Polly to park their cars in Tel Aviv.  It is now being expanded to Jerusalem.  Polly uses GPS, crowdsourcing, municipal information and its own algorithm to guide drivers to streets where spaces are more likely to be available.

Israeli wind farms in Ireland.  Enlight Renewable Energy (part of Israel’s Eurocom Group) has just closed a deal worth 24 million Euros to build a 14MW windfarm in Ireland and more are planned.  Ireland is aiming to generate 40pc of all its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

The ultimate altruism app.  Only in Israel would a startup develop an app that connects people who want help with those who wish to give help.  Angels Nearby uses a search engine to connect people based on the type of help needed, “trust level” (everyone, Facebook friends only, friends of friends), and location.  

New stamp honors Nobel laureate.  (TY Michelle) Israel releases a new stamp on Oct 10 to celebrate the 2013 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.  Israel’s Arieh Warshel, one of the joint laureates for Computational Chemistry, was the key researcher who deciphered the role of the protein rhodopsin - the biological pigment in retina cells.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

State of economy improves again.  July’s rise in the composite state of the economy was 0.3%.  The main reasons were increases in goods exports and services.

Turkey gas deal would be a win-win.  Turkey’s Turcas Petrol CEO Batu Aksoy says that importing Israeli gas is beneficial to both countries.  Turkey has no gas reserves but generates 50% of its electricity from gas.  It pays high prices to gas suppliers, including Iran and Russia.  A deal with Israel can also improve political ties.

Israel’s largest indoor market is open.  The 8,700 square meter Sarona Market has opened across from the Azrieli towers in the heart of Tel Aviv.  It comprises 89 businesses and anticipates up to 15,000 visitors per day.

Invest in companies that can change the world.  Israel’s Terra Partners is an “impact investment fund, specializing in startups with world-changing ambitions.  It is not looking at fast exits but rather building sustainable companies. (See also May 17 Newsletter)

Electricity prices to fall 7%.  (TY Janglo)  Electricity rates will fall 7% in September.  This is the second decrease over the past 12 months and means that annual electricity prices would have fallen by 16%.  Reasons include increased renewable energy sources that are supplying the national grid.

A strategic water alliance with China.  Israel’s RWL Water has entered into a strategic partnership with Chinese infrastructure giant China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC). CGGC implements major infrastructure projects in more than 100 countries and regions. 

Making big business of Israeli businesses.  (TY Nevet) Readers used to ask me why there were no big Israeli companies.  Not anymore.  http://www.businessinsider.com/china-is-all-over-israel-startups-2015-8

How athlete and mother built a $10m business.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s Chen Levanon is CEO of ClicksMob was a hurdler at college.  She now has 2 kids and runs a fast-moving business that matches advertisers and publishers. Half her management team are female.  ClicksMob generated $10 million of revenue last year.
                                                           
A photo finish?  (TY Michelle) Lightricks is the Israeli startup behind successful smartphone photo-editing apps Facetune and Enlight.  Founded in 2013, Facetune has 4.5 million customers with another million on Enlight.  With a graphics engine and mobile ad software, Lightricks is a likely target for Apple or Facebook.


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

Droning over Apollonia.  Amateur drone pilot Jesse Peters flew an aerial quadcopter over Israel’s Apollonia National Park near Herzliya to capture a bird’s-eye perspective of its limestone cliffs. See the 13th-century fortress, remains of a Roman villa, and a self-built “hobbit” home carved into the cliff by artist Nissim Kahlon.

Rare baby sand cats born in Israel.  Rotem, a sand cat at the Ramat Gan Safari, has given birth to three kittens.  The sand cat is the only species of cat able to survive in total deserts but now exists mostly in captivity.

Operation Isotope – the movie.  A new film is to be released shortly of the 1972 dramatic rescue, by Israel’s elite Israeli Sayeret Matkal unit, of hostages on a high-jacked Sabena airlines plane.  The unit included current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former PM Ehud Barak.  Both enjoyed the movie premier.

Street Art.  The International Bat Yam Festival features theater, circus, clowns, acrobats, music parades and more.  It also includes the French show Les Girafes, featuring eight-meter high giraffes.  You can also camp for free on the beach.   http://www.carnifest.com/events/israel/bat-yam/65/street-c-a-t-bat-yam-international-festival-2015.aspx  http://batyamfest.co.il/

Golf in the Negev desert?  Nisim Nir, of the Omer Regional Council is planning a new 18-hole golf course in the Negev.  It will provide a venue for tourism and for company executives at the nearby Omer Industrial Park and Beer Sheva Technology Park to conclude business deals.  And make the desert bloom even more.


THE JEWISH STATE

UK Parliamentarian’s admiration for the Jewish State.  (TY Michelle) UK Member of Parliament Sir Eric Pickles writes that Israel has held on to its central ethics while embracing modernity. Israel is a country that boasts the history of Jerusalem’s Old City alongside its title as a world leader in biotech and cyber-security. This tiny spit of land along the Mediterranean is not just one of modern history’s most unlikely success stories, but a vital partner and ally to the United Kingdom.  And its humanitarian heart also beats strong.

Never too late to make Aliya.  (TY Janglo) Felix and Feige Bandos, 94 and 90 have just made Aliya.  The two Holocaust survivors arrived in Israel to a warm welcome from their family.  "I'm glad I'm here," Felix said upon arrival. "This is the right place to be.”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv3qhezBWBs

Progress of the desert Argan trees during the Shmitta year.  Shoshana and Yoni Rappeport have followed the Torah commandment that requires them to perform only basic maintenance every seventh (Shmitta) year on their Negev desert Argan tree plantation.  But the trees keep on growing nevertheless.

A home for lone soldiers.  (TY Elaine) The latest video about HaBayit Shel Benji – the charity that provides accommodation for those who have no family in Israel but who just want to help protect the Jewish State.

75 Torah scrolls dedicated to fallen Israelis.  (TY Sharon)  Tens of thousands of Israelis crowded into the Kotel (Western Wall) Plaza to watch the ceremony dedicating 75 new Torah scrolls – one for each Israeli that fell in last summer’s Operation Protective Edge. This event typifies Israelis’ positive response to tragedy - part of resilience that has kept Jewish people through so many difficult times.  And please read about the 76th scroll.


150816

In the 16th Aug 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         Independent study confirms that an innovative Israeli device relieves lower back pain.
·         Israeli summer camps promote co-existence between Jews and Arabs.
·         Israeli humanitarian aid has been delivered to flood victims in Myanmar.
·         A unique Israeli device gives train drivers a 3km warning of objects on the track.
·         Israelis are developing a radiation protection suit for safe travelling in outer space.
·         A new record number of passengers using Ben Gurion airport.
·         A 91-year-old Israeli won the World Championship race for senior runners.
·         A cyclist pedaled 2900 km from London to Israel to raise funds for charity.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo, and United With Israel with extra features on Health, Global Impact, Technology, and Jewish State.

Page Down for more details on these and other good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle, Barbara, Hazel and other readers for sending me so many links to these positive news articles.  Please use IsraelActive to search the archives.

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Success for treatment of back pain.  Israel’s Nervomatrix has reported success from independent controlled trials of its hyper-stimulation pulse device for treating lower back pain.  The study on 28 patients at Belgian’s Free University of Brussels obtained significant pain relief after 4 treatments compared to a control group.

Protection against future flu strains.  Israel’s BiondVax has published independent tests of trials showing that its M-001 Universal Flu vaccinations given 3 years ago have protected patients from flu strains that only came into existence well after the vaccine was administered.

Sealing up after surgery.  Israel’s LifeBond has developed LifeSeal (see Aug 2011 newsletter) - a sealant to greatly reduce surgical leaks, which are associated with potential infections and other serious complications, risking the lives of hundreds of thousands every year.  LifeBond has just raised $27 million of funding.

2015 WEF Technology Pioneers.  Three Israeli companies were chosen by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its 2015 list of 14 Technology Pioneers in the Life Science and Health category.  ElMindA’s Brain Network Activation identifies brain damage.  Consumer Physics’s SCIO is a chemical analyzer.  Novocure uses electric fields to treat solid tumors.

Robotic needle steering.  Israeli startup XACT Robotics developed a robotic system for needle steering, for use in biopsies and ablations, or to inject medications in specific areas of the body. The first application of XACT’s technology will be for biopsies in lung tissue.  XACT has just raised $5 million to fund US trials.

Fast track for Muscular Dystrophy treatment.  The US FDA has given fast track approval to Israel’s BioBlast for its Cabaletta treatment for two rare and currently untreatable conditions - oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3).


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

NIS 18,000 for every Israeli child.  (TY Janglo) The Israeli government is to create a savings account for every Israeli child, regardless of religion that will be worth up to 18,000 shekels (around £3000 or $4700) on the child’s 18th birthday.  http://www.jpost.com/landedpages/printarticle.aspx?id=410449

“I am a Zionist because I am an Arab”.  Excellent article by Fred Maroun.

OECD praises Israel for improving Israeli-Arab job situation.  (TY Hazel) An OECD report praises Israel in its efforts to deal with Israeli-Arab unemployment.  Whilst recommending further improvements, it noted the important role of Israeli employment centers in advancing employment for the Arab and Beduin sectors.

The first Israeli Arab to coach an Israeli soccer team.  Israeli-Arab Salah Hasarma made history when he took over as coach of Israeli soccer club Kiryat Shmona (K8) in the Europa League qualifying game against Czech team Slovan Liberec.  Although K8 lost, their Israeli-Arab striker Ahmed Abed scored a vital away goal.

Israeli-Arab delivers baby of mother of terror victim.  Magen David Adom paramedic Ziad Dawiyat has met Chana Braun twice.  Firstly he transported her 3-month-old baby Chaya to hospital, where she died from being run-over by an Arab terrorist.  The second, though, was when he came to deliver Chana’s new baby.

Israeli police save Palestinian-Arab girl.  (TY Hazel) A team of Border Police in Hebron responded to the emergency call from the family of a young Palestinian-Arab girl suffering acute respiratory distress.  Corporal Shai Chen administered oxygen to stabilize the girl’s breathing and bring her pulse down to a normal rate.

Israeli summer co-existence camps.  Three Israeli summer camps bring together Jewish, Israeli-Arab and Palestinian Arab youth.  ILAN, The Israeli Association for Disabled Children; Rosh Tzurim, a religious kibbutz in Judea, hosted disabled Arab-Israelis; Wings of Peace brings together Palestinian Arabs and Israelis.

Photos of things only seen in Israel.  (TY Lorraine) I hope you enjoy this compilation from Ira Jacobson.

Israeli help for Syrian Druze.  (TY Michelle) Rabbi Yechiel Z. Eckstein, head of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, is helping destitute Syrian Druze refugees sheltering in Jordan.

Sandstorm diverts Jordanian planes to Tel Aviv.  (TY Hazel) A major sandstorm swept through most parts of Jordan. It prevented multiple flights from landing at the country's main international airport in the capital of Amman, Queen Alia Airport, sending two flights to divert to Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport.

Tel Aviv on the Seine.  Visitors to Paris will be able to experience Tel Aviv beach as they wander down the River Seine.  The Paris municipality is inaugurating the Tel Aviv artificial beach, despite a BDS campaign.

Chinese science competition prize is a trip to Israel.  19 Chinese teenagers who won a prestigious science competition are scheduled to visit Israel as their prize. The winning group was given a choice of travel destinations and opted to attend a special 10-day workshop hosted by Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science.

Flood relief for Myanmar.  Israel responded quickly to recent severe flooding in Myanmar. Ambassador Daniel Zonshine personally delivered a truck of food, medicines, mosquito nets and hygiene packs to the hard-hit Thayarwaddy delta area. Israel’s MASHAV is preparing more supplies, including water purification tablets.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Tamar-Ashdod-Sorek gas pipeline completed.  A new 22 kilometer extension to Sorek has been laid to the pipeline connecting the Tamar natural gas field to Ashdod.  It will increase the gas supply to power stations in the South of Israel.  Eventually 160 km of pipelines will transport gas all over Israel.

How ants carry heavy loads.  Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have analyzed the methods that ants employ to transport food to their nests.  Teams of ants are organized into formation by a guiding ant.

Look, no hands.  Middle school students of Israeli startup Graffiti came 3rd in this year’s Junior Achievement Europe Company of the Year competition.  They designed the Sit Up - a safety harness to carry children on one’s shoulders, leaving the adult’s hands free.  Sit Up is manufactured by Israeli company Netiv, which employs people with special needs.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4689503,00.html

Stand and sit up straight.  Israel’s Oded Cohen has developed the UpRight wearable training device.  Embedded with dual sensors, it attaches to your lower back with hypoallergenic adhesive strips and gently vibrates every time you slouch. Regular use trains your muscles and mind to sit and stand upright.

System warns of objects on the track.  (TY Hazel) Israel’s Rail Safe is developing a smart system for Israel Railways to detect objects on the tracks up to a distance of 3 km. The system, the first in the world of its kind, uses a thermal sensor that detects and classifies objects in real time, warning the driver to prevent a collision.

Device allows ALS sufferers to communicate.  Not everyone can afford the complex technology that ALS sufferer Stephen Hawkins uses to communicate.  Israel’s EyeControl provides a much cheaper option using a laser device connected to spectacles.  It achieved its $30,000 funding target on Indiegogo in under 20 days.

World Science Conference Israel.  Fifteen Nobel Laureates and 400 outstanding science students from 71 countries are attending the first World Science Conference Israel (WSCI) in Jerusalem.  The program includes Nobel Laureate master class sessions, a science workshop competition and excursions around the country.

Israelis dominate cyber security competition finalists.  Three Israeli cyber security start-ups are among 11 chosen from around the world to compete in the finals of the Kaspersky Lab Security Startup Challenge – its search for global “cyber-stars”.  They are Re-Sec Technologies, Cyber ​​DriveWare and Security in Motion.

Radiation protection for astronauts.  More details on the radiation protection suit being developed by Israel’s StemRad that I mentioned here in last week’s newsletter.  StemRad is working with US defense giant Lockheed-Martin to develop a version of its gamma-ray shielding vest for use in deep-space missions.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Israeli economy gets S&P A+ rating.  Standard & Poor's has affirmed Israel's international credit ratings as positive, giving it an A+ score. The agency's economic forecast for Israel was positive as well, defining the economy as "stable" and projecting it would grow by 3% between 2015 and 2018.

Israeli cyber security merger.  Israeli NASDAQ cyber security company CyberArk Software has acquired Israeli cyber detection company Cybertinel for an estimated $20 million.  The merger enhances CyberArk’s ability to detect early security threats.  CyberArk’s $36 .4 million 2nd quarter revenue was 70% up on Q2 2014.

A map of Israeli cyber security startups.  (TY Michelle) Bessemer Venture Partners have produced an excellent map showing how the main Israeli cyber security startups fit into the various technology and business areas.  http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/10/mapping-israels-cyber-security-startups/

15 new Dreamliners for El Al.  El Al has announced the largest-ever procurement of new aircraft in the company’s history.  It is buying and leasing 15 Boeing 787 (“Dreamliners”) jets costing $800-900 million.  The planes will replace El Al’s 747-400 and 767 fleet on medium to long haul routes.

New flights from UK to Israel.  UK’s Monarch Airlines is to commence Sunday, Monday and Thursday flights between London Luton and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion from Jan 2016.  Prices start at £49 TLV-LTN and £89 LTN-TLV.  Monarch will also operate Thursday flights between Luton and Ovda Eilat.  Tickets on sale now.

Record number of passengers at Ben Gurion.  On Aug 13 a record 80,000 passengers passed through Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport.  The Israel Airport Authority assesses that some 2 million passengers will pass through the airport in August – the largest number of passengers to come and go in a single month.

SAP leverages the Startup Nation.  (TY Michelle)  Orna Kleinmann, MD of SAP Labs Israel, says that Israel’s innovation spirit derives from necessity: Israel is a small country, with no substantial natural resources, and must fight for its existence. This breeds creativity and is the foundation for the local innovation ecosystem.

62 electric locomotives for Israel Railways.  Israel Railway’s electrification project has advanced with a deal to buy 62 locomotives from Canada’s Bombardier for NIS 1 billion.  The NIS 13.7 billion project involves converting 420 kilometers of track over to electric operation.

Tel Aviv’s hottest startups.  (TY Michelle) Wired describes 10 of Israel’s startups with most potential in its magazine featuring the 100 hottest European startups.  They include Consumer Physics, Playbuzz, StoreDot, Winward, Moovit, SimilarWeb, Zebra Medical, AppsFlyer, Adallom and FeeX.

Australia resumes “VISITS”.  (TY Michelle) The government of Victoria State, Australia has agreed to restart the Victoria–Israel Science Innovation and Technology Scheme (VISITS) after an 8-month closure.  The $AUS 2 million innovation partnership supports jobs, innovation and bi-lateral trade.


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

European debating champions.  Stav Singer and Iddan Golomb from Tel Aviv University, won the gold trophy in the English as a second language category at the European Universities Debating Championship in Vienna.  Six Israeli teams successfully fought through to join 700 competitors in the knockout rounds.

Jerusalem Beer Festival.  (TY SDM)  Enthusiasts of the amber nectar should make their way to Independence Park in Jerusalem on Aug 26 to sample over 150 different beers at the Jerusalem Beer Festival.  There will also be food and entertainment from live bands including Hadag Nahash.

Kanye West to perform in Israel.  Rapper Kanye West will perform in Israel on Sept. 30 in Ramat Gan's stadium.  Three months ago, Kanye visited the Jewish state with his wife, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, and their daughter North, who was baptized at an Armenian church in Jerusalem.

62 medals at Special Olympics.  Israeli athletes this week won 62 medals at the Special Olympics in Los Angeles.  Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu congratulated all the athletes, saying “Even those who did not win, to reach the games and compete, this says that you have something special”.

91-year-old Israeli wins senior world championship.  (TY Hazel) Three months after being named European champion, 91-year-old Israeli long-distance runner Semion Simkin won the world championship for senior runners in Lyon, France.  Simkin finished the 6.2 miles in 1:20:01, over 21 minutes ahead of the runner up.


THE JEWISH STATE

The Facebook wedding.  The death of the bride’s father led many invited guests to believe that the wedding was canceled and only 10 relatives turned up.  One of them used Facebook to request strangers to fulfill the mitzvah of making the bride and groom happy.  Over 1,000 people came out to celebrate.

From England to Israel, by bicycle.  (TY Hazel) Kevan Green, a member of my local Netanya synagogue, cycled the 2,900 km from Romford, Essex to Laniado Hospital in Netanya, Israel in four weeks, beginning on his 30th wedding anniversary.  He raised £17,000 for the hospital and was featured on Israel’s Channel 1 News.

Archaeologists discover Goliath’s birthplace.  Israeli archaeologists at Bar-Ilan University have discovered an entrance gate and other remnants of the Philistine city of Gath, which was mentioned in the bible as the home of the giant Goliath, who fought and lost against the man who later became King David.

The best place to view the Heavens.  (TY Nevet) Thousands of Israelis stayed up all night to watch the skies and enjoy a magnificent, unobstructed view of the Aug 12th Perseids meteor shower.  Six thousand gathered at the Mitzpe Ramon crater in the Negev where there was no interference from urban lights or pollution.


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In the 9th Aug 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         Israeli researchers have discovered the trigger for deadly skin cancer.
·         An Israeli-developed polymer protects against infections.
·         An Arab Druze school obtained Israel’s top matriculation results.
·         An Israeli algae-derived “superfood” can prevent malnutrition in Africa.
·         Israeli security can shield your car from cyber attack.
·         A popular Israeli app provides companies with attractive loyalty incentives.
·         2000-year-old Jewish inscriptions have been discovered in a Jerusalem cave.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo, and United With Israel with extra features on health, inclusiveness and global impact, technology and entertainment.

Page Down for more details on these and other good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to so many of these positive news articles.  Use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Discovery of the melanoma trigger.  A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University, Israel’s Technion, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Sheba Medical Center have discovered what causes melanoma cells to turn into aggressive tumors.  The scientists are convinced that it will soon lead to a breakthrough treatment.

Diagnosing malaria in only 3 minutes.  (TY Hazel) Israel’s Sight Diagnostics (SightDx) uses computer vision technology to scan “stained” blood samples under a fluorescent microscope and detect the presence of anomalies in blood cells due to malaria. The 3 minute test contrasts with current tests that take one or two days.

Dancing can treat Parkinson’s.  When Professor Rafi Eldor was told that he had Parkinson’s disease, seven years ago, he felt that the sky had fallen on him.  Two years later he took up dancing and now watch him dance to the theme tune of the movie “Skyfall”.

Pluristem stem cells control the immune system.  A new study on stem cells developed by Israeli biotech Pluristem shows they can be used to regulate the immune system, speeding it up or slowing it down as needed.  They release a cocktail of therapeutic proteins in response to a host of inflammatory and ischemic diseases.

Voice monitoring to diagnose brain disease.  (TY Michelle) IBM Israel researchers are working on a project to detect brain diseases such as dementia, much earlier. It involves monitoring the patient’s voice remotely and detecting changes, so that activities and medication could slow down the advance of the disease.

Protection against microbial infections.  (TY Atid-EDI) Professor Ervin Weiss, founder of Israel’s NanoLock, has invented a nano-polymer additive that protects against microbial infections – one of the most urgent medical problems.  NanoLock has just acquired licenses and patents for the technology.


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Speed mentoring for women entrepreneurs.  (TY Sharon)  Top women in the fields of mobile, tech and startups attended “Speed Mentoring Night with Women who Inspire and Mentor in the Startup Nation” at the Google Campus in Tel Aviv.  120 hopeful female entrepreneurs benefited from 5-minute mentoring sessions.
And (TY Michelle) Israel has the world’s 7th most women startup leaders. 

Women excel in the smart nation.  Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the number of Israeli graduates has increased five-fold since 1990.  In the last academic year, one and a half times as many women as men were awarded an undergraduate or Masters’ degree.
           
Jerusalem light railway is popular with Arabs.  (TY Hazel) The BBC failed to mention in its Panorama program that the Jerusalem light railway also makes it easier for Arab residents of Jerusalem to travel around the city to hospitals, shopping malls or other areas that Arabs freely access alongside their Jewish neighbors.

Druze village tops Israeli matriculation.  (TY Hazel) The Druze village of Beit Jann achieved Israel's highest rate of matriculation certificate eligibility among high school students in the 2013-14 school year, having come in at third and second places in the last two years. 

Scholarships and pride for Druze students.  (TY Hazel) Thanks to International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), many Druse students received University scholarships in memory of former Druse IDF officer and Majdal Shams mayor Maj. Salim Shufi.  The current mayor said the event gave the students a sense of pride.

A Heart for Peace.  Since it began in 2005, A Heart for Peace’s Israeli and Palestinian Arab doctors at Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital have treated 607 children with congenital heart diseases from Gaza and the PA territories.  No child has been prevented from receiving care.  All costs are funded by the hospital and AHFP. 

Haifa doctors save two Palestinian Arabs in Jerusalem.  18 year-old Muhammad Jabri nearly died in a Hebron car crash but was saved by doctors from Haifa’s Rambam hospital who were at Augusta Victoria hospital in Jerusalem treating another Palestinian Arab when Jabri was brought in.

Israel donates helicopters to Jordan.  (TY Hazel) Israel has given around 16 retired U.S.-supplied Cobra combat helicopters to Jordan to help fend off insurgent threats on Jordan’s Syrian and Iraqi borders.

Jersey City emergency volunteers learn from Israel.  (TY Michelle) Jersey City is training a team of citizen volunteers that utilizes GPS mobile app-based technology to respond to emergency incidents ahead of ambulances. The program is modeled on United Hatzalah, an Israeli community-based emergency organization.

Superfood for Rwanda.  (TY Nevet) Five young agronomists from Rwanda have spent a year studying Israeli agriculture.  The most significant project was how to grow spirulina algae, a superfood that contains all the essential nutrients a human body requires.  It could save millions of Rwandan children from malnutrition. 

Training 150 Indian police.  (TY Michelle) Last week I reported about the Israeli-trained Indian anti-terror SWAT team.  This week, Israel’s ambassador to Israel announced that Israel will give anti-terror training to 150 Indian policemen at the new state-of-the-art national police academy in Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem.

Israel Africa hub is launched.  (TY Michelle) Israeli startup Fundz has launched the online community Israel Africa Hub.  It will leverage technology to support the fast growing technology ecosystems across Africa, allowing entrepreneurs and investors to interact, co-invest or expand existing enterprises.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Preventing carjacking.  Israeli startup Argus currently has the world’s only effective system to detect and prevent the kind of electronic attack launched recently on a Jeep Cherokee in St Louis.  Argus analyzes data transmitted to a vehicle’s IP address and only accepts genuine commands.

Lunar landing.  The second man to ever walk on the moon, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, 85, is scheduled to make his first touchdown in Israel when he attends the International Astronautical Congress in Jerusalem in October.  Aldrin’s 1969 Apollo 11 mission commander Neil Armstrong visited Israel several years ago.

All for one and one for all.  If you need to use Israeli app Musketeer to call for help in an emergency, you should get a very fast response.  The nearest Musketeers (professionals and do-gooders) will come to your aid and stay with you until the official emergency services arrive.  Another caring app from the Jewish State.

An on-line makeover.  Busy women entrepreneurs who haven’t time to spend trying on cosmetics can now use the app TryItOn from Israel’s EZ Face.  It connects to a database of 25,000 beauty products.  Take a selfie in the store and then scan the Universal Product Code (UPC) of any cosmetic to see what it would look like.

Joint space projects with Florida.  (TY Atid-EDI) The Space Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program has awarded second round funding to four innovative joint space-related projects.  The Israeli beneficiaries are Micro-gRx, Israel Aerospace Industries, STEMRAD and Elbit Systems Land.

Security for ARM chips.  Microprocessor manufacturing giant ARM has bought Israel’s Sansa Security for at least $85 million.  Sansa has developed embedded security for microchips – which will be very useful for ARM as the market for Internet-connected devices increases.  Sansa will become ARM’s Israeli R&D center.

Israeli drones to protect Australian sheep.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s Ninox Robotics and Bluebird Aerosystems are employing Israeli drones with thermal imaging to guard farms from pests such as kangaroos and wild dogs.  It saves farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of sheep, plus hours spent defending them.

Elbit’s new cyber security unit.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s Elbit has launched a new cyber security unit called Cyberbit.  It has two separate departments - one, focusing on law enforcement unit and the other being the Cybershield department, for detecting and defending against cyber attacks.

Technion produces the 8th most Nobel laureates.  (TY Michelle) The Technion Israel Institute of Technology topped the list of institutions outside the US with the most Nobel prizewinners this century. 


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Tech investment at record high.  A record $1.12 billion poured into Israel’s high-tech ecosystem in the second quarter of 2015, according to the Israel Venture Capital (IVC) Research Center.  Also, the increased volume of funds from foreign private equity investors is a sign of maturity for the Israeli tech economy.

Tourism is on the up.  (TY Hazel) Tourist arrivals in Israel over the past 10 years have tripled to 3.3 million.
 Christians accounted for 56% of last year's tourist arrivals, up from 33% a decade ago. 

Currency reserves up again.  Israel’s foreign currency reserves hit another all-time record in July of $88.424 billion, including $7.41 billion in the reserve due to the natural gas purchase program.

An app to find the best duty free prices.  Israeli app Shopnfly informs travelers on where to get the lowest prices on duty free shopping.  At the airport, on the plane or duty paid in the local supermarket.  Shopnfly is in use in nearly 50 airports and has just partnered with El Al. 

Calling all Hebrew U alumni.  The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has launched HUJiconnect.com.  It provides more than 30,000 HUJ alumni with their own exclusive place to professionally and socially connect with one another in order to find training and employment opportunities. 4,000 alumni have already signed up

Yet another fruity takeover.  Israel’s Frutarom has made its 9th acquisition of the year by purchasing Florida’s Scandia Citrus for $6 million.  Scandia Citrus specializes in R&D, manufacture, sales and marketing of specialty products in the field of citrus.  http://www.frutarom.com/FrutaromNew/Templates/showpage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=178&FID=618&PID=889&IID=2276 http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-frutarom-acquires-florida-co-scandia-citrus-1001056538

The Global Entrepreneurship Summit.  Ran Korber, co-founder and CEO of Israeli startup Breezometer represented Israeli innovation at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.  The event was attended by about 1000 people from 120 countries, including US President Barack Obama.

A $50 million deal.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s Taboola has signed a 3-year deal worth $45 - $55 million with USA Today’s parent company Gannett.  Taboola’s content recommendations will be seamlessly integrated across Gannett’s vast network of digital publishing assets in more than 110 markets.

Keeping customers loyal.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israeli startup Keeprz has developed a sophisticated app that offers customers a variety of loyalty incentives.  Keeprz’s customers include Burger King, Coca Cola, BMW and Cafe Joe.  Keeprz has just been acquired by another Israeli company – Como – for around $50 million.

888 buys Bwin.party for $1.4 billion. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s 888 Holding plc, which operates the world’s largest online casino and poker operation, is acquiring the British-Austrian Bwin.party Digital Entertainment for $1.4 billion.  The merger will make 888 one of the most dominant players in the online gambling industry.

The first kibbutz startup accelerator.  (TY Atid-EDI) Kibbutz Revivim in Israel’s Ramat Hanegev is set to become Israel's first kibbutz to launch a startup accelerator. “Hamadgera” (incubator) will uniquely offer three months free accommodation on the kibbutz for Internet and mobile startups participating in the program.

Colossal failure is now much fitter.  (TY Michelle) Israeli Benny Shaviv lost $4 million of venture capital on his first startup and had to sell his house to pay his debts.  But his new startup Fitness22 is making huge profits without any funding, selling Benny’s innovative fitness apps.  One - 5K Runner has over 4 million downloads. 


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

This is Israel in 60 seconds.  A fast-paced view of a fast-paced nation that also knows how to relax and have fun. Beautiful landscapes, energizing events, cutting-edge technologies and exciting people. From parties to prayers, beaches to bicycles … and great food. Visitors can look forward to an unforgettable experience.

The first Israeli in MLB draft.  Israel senior national team member Dean Kremer became the first Israeli to ever be selected in the US Major League Baseball draft, being chosen by the San Diego Padres.


THE JEWISH STATE

UK Prime Minister’s speech to the Knesset.  I know it was 12 Mar 2014, but I missed British Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech to the Israeli Parliament then. He revealed that Israeli technology was protecting British troops in Afghanistan.  I just wanted to make sure that you hadn’t missed the speech too.

Putting Hebrew texts on-line.  The National Library of Israel and the British Library in London are to digitize all of the 3,200 rare Hebrew manuscripts at The British Library.

50,000 Christian Zionists for a united Jerusalem.  Israel365, an Israeli NGO that promotes the biblical significance of the Jewish state to Evangelical Christian Zionists, presented Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein with a “Jerusalem Covenant” proclamation signed by more than 50,000 people affirming the unity of Jerusalem.

2000-year-old Jewish inscriptions in Jerusalem.  Archeologists have excavated a ritual bath (mikve) dating to the time of the Second Temple (first century CE) inside an underground cave in Jerusalem.  The walls were adorned with paintings and Aramaic inscriptions in cursive Hebrew script.


150802

In the 2nd Aug 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         Israeli scientists have turned stem cells into large quantities of liver cells.
·         An Israeli device can be used by non-medics to check a patient’s heart and lungs.
·         Indian police successfully ended a terror siege thanks to Israeli training.
·         Tel Aviv is to build an environmental park on the roof of its main highway.
·         Israel’s largest solar field goes live as another three times bigger is started.
·         Teva takes over Allergan in the biggest business deal in Israel’s history.
·         Israeli veterinarian surgeons saved the life of Samuni the lion.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Janglo, and United With Israel with extra features on Health and Inclusiveness.

Page Down for details on these and more good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle, Barbara and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news articles.  Please use IsraelActive to search the archives.

Unfortunately a recent report published in the Jerusalem Post about a pro-Israel Saudi Prince was later found to be a hoax.  Apologies to VGNI readers – I have since removed the article from my website and archive.

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Liver cells produced from stem cells.  Scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have successfully engineered large amounts of functioning liver cells from stem cells.  It is a major breakthrough as currently, biotechs testing new liver treatments have to rely on donated or purchased organs.

Simple test for smoke inhalation damage.  Researchers at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center have devised a simple blood test to determine the extent of damage done to the lungs of smoke inhalation victims.  High levels of free DNA in the blood indicates greater damage and will determine resuscitation and treatment requirements.

Award for 3D denture scanning.  Israel’s HoloDent produces a 3D holographic image of the mouth, reducing the time taken to produce dentures to just 30 minutes. (see Sep 2013 newsletter)  The students on the BioDesign program that designed HoloDent at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have won Startup Open Israel award.

Successful trials for novel treatment.  Israeli biotech Peritech announced successful results in its pivotal trials for PP-110 – an advanced treatment for hemorrhoids.  Worth reading here about how PP-110 works.

One device to check them all - anywhere.  (TY Michelle) Israeli startup Tytocare is developing a handheld diagnostic device that enables a local nurse to check a patient’s ears, throat, heart and lungs, skin, temperature etc. and then send data and photos electronically to a medical specialist. Tytocare has just raised $11 million.


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Israel’s Palestinian Arab diplomat.  (TY Michelle) George Deek is a Christian Arab whose family fled to Lebanon in 1948 but returned to the Jewish State.  George is an Israeli diplomat and an amazing speaker.

The IDF now caters for vegans.  (TY Atid-EDI) The Israel Defense Forces is providing new culinary options for vegan soldiers.  To date, bases nationwide offered vegetarian menus, and vegan soldiers received a special allowance to purchase vegan foods.  http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=26721

Israeli-American Conference.  The Israeli American Council is holding its second annual conference in Washington in October.  It will bring together over 1,000 Israeli-American leaders from throughout the US.

India’s President to visit Israel.  (TY Michelle) It is reported that India’s President Pranab Mukherjee will make the first historic visit of an Indian statesman to Israel in October.  

Israeli-trained Indian SWAT team ends terror siege.  A 28-commando Indian SWAT team trained by Israel in 2010 ended an apparent terrorist siege at a police station in the Punjab, near the Pakistan border.  An Indian intelligence officer stated “This was their first operation since they were trained. And they have done well.”

The 23rd best university in the world.  The Saudi Arabia-based Center for World University Rankings has ranked the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at number 23 on its list of the best 1,000 universities in the world.  The Hebrew U is one of the very top universities outside of the United States.

Tel Aviv is the world’s top non-US startup hub.  (TY Michelle) The Compass Global Startup Ecosystem has placed Tel Aviv as the best startup center outside of the US.  It commended Tel Aviv’s uniquely high-quality talent and ability to develop startups and attract global capital.

Israel funds startups to solve world problems.  The Israeli Government is offering funding of up to NIS 500,000 ($130,000) in the 2nd round of “Grand Challenges Israel” for up to 10 companies with innovative technology that could solve problems in Africa, Asia, South America, and poverty-stricken areas in the West.

Nigeria’s speaker praises Israel.  (TY Michelle) Nigeria now has a Muslim President, but the Speaker of its House of Representatives, Dogara Yakabu, was most impressed during the first Nigerian youth pilgrimage to Israel.  He urged pilgrims to open their intellect and learn agricultural skills from the innovative spirit of Israel.

Israel supports Nairobi Innovation Week.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s Ambassador to Kenya Yahel Vilan is helping the University of Nairobi, Kenya with its Innovation Week beginning on Aug 3rd. 


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A green park on top of Tel Aviv’s highway.  Tel Aviv’s congested Ayalon highway is to be transformed into an oasis of greenery.  The Ayalon Roofing Project will create a 593-acre public space for recreation, while enabling traffic to continue flowing below.  It will be Israel’s largest municipal project, costing over NIS 2bn.

Keeping your computer healthy.  Israeli startup Fixico has been chosen by IBM to export its remote Endpoint Management product to the private market.  Now you can download Fixico to check your computer’s functions, disk and programs upon startup. Fixico has free basic features or paid-for advanced service.

Ashdod fishing rig will increase fish stocks.  A ​​6,000 hectare aquaculture project to be constructed off the coast of Ashdod in Israel includes a fishing rig, which will serve as a logistics center management of fish farms.  Hi-tech cages six miles from the shore will lower in stormy weather to protect the fish.

Hebrew version of Office for iPad.  Microsoft has just released a new version of its Office365 suite for iPad users.  This one comes with Hebrew language support.  The reviews were quite positive.

Port handling by robots.  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is introducing the Robotic Container Management & Storage System (RCMS).  The system uses robotic carts and elevators to automatically load and unload containers efficiently in less time and requiring 50% less port storage space.  It can revolutionize port handling.

Cyber help for airline industry.  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has signed an agreement with Tel Aviv University that will setup a new joint center for innovation in aviation. It will develop technologies to protect airline reservations and financial systems and run airlines more efficiently.

The first global remote control.  Israel’s WiseSec has developed the Genii Internet hub that can control up to 800,000 Bluetooth devices anywhere on the planet.  By end 2015 you could have long-distance smartphone (IOS or Android) control of your house lights, televisions, air conditioners, ovens etc. for just $90 on Indigogo.

$1bn solar power plant for Israeli desert.  Israel’s Shikun & Binui and Spain’s Abengoa are to build a massive 121MW solar power plant, costing NIS 4bn ($1.05 bn), in the Negev desert.  It is the second of 3 local solar schemes that together will eventually provide up to two percent of Israel’s total electricity needs.

(Meanwhile) Israel’s largest solar field goes live.  (TY Algemeiner.com) The 40MW solar array at Kibbutz Ketura is now operational, making it the largest solar array to be an active part of the Jewish state’s electric grid.  140,434 solar panels are spread over 134 acres.  http://www.jns.org/news-briefs/2015/7/29/here-comes-the-sun-largest-solar-array-in-israel-becomes-operational#.Vbn-rflViko=

The water will flow from Jerusalem.  A delegation from California governor Jerry Brown came to Jerusalem Institute’s Milken Financial Innovations Lab to learn how best to alleviate California’s severe drought. They heard from Israeli water companies Arad, Ayyeka, Emefcy, Miya, Netafim, RealiteQ, and Takadu and others.

From our roof, to your table.  Several Tel Aviv restaurants are serving very fresh, locally-sourced vegetables.  In fact they are grown on the roof of the nearby Dizengoff Center.  They are supplied by Mendi Falk, the director of Green in the City, a hydroponics project in the center of downtown Tel Aviv.

New safe efficient Graphene production.  Researchers from Israel’s Ben Gurion University and the University of Western Australia have developed a new optical process to generate Graphene - a chemical vital for medicine, electronics and energy.  It is faster than existing methods and avoids current toxic substances.

Australian delegation to Israeli innovation.  (TY Michelle) The Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce and Spacecubed have organized its Entrepreneurs ‘Start Up Nation’ Innovation Delegation to Israel Oct 29 - Nov 5.  It will explore Israel’s business and investment opportunities and entrepreneurial and innovation eco-system.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Israel’s Chief Scientist is the key to the Startup nation.  (TY Michelle) Avi Hasson explains what his role is as Israel’s Chief Scientist and how his office uses the public-private partnership to fuel Israeli innovation.

A marketing phenomenon.  21-year-old Israeli Tomer Hen started mobile advertising when still at school.  When he graduated from high school he had already made $250,000.  His communication skills helped him to launch the Tomer Hen Mobile Marketing College. Now he is CEO of MobCo Media, with 10 employees. 

Jerusalem’s Freedom Pyramid.  Approval has been given for the building of a 105-meter high building in downtown Jerusalem.  The “Freedom Pyramid” will house a hotel, apartments and businesses. Its architect is Daniel Libeskind, who designed the Berlin Jewish Museum and NYC’s World Trade Center Memorial.

Award for solar panel cleaning robot.  Israeli start-up Ecoppia was selected to Red Herring’s Top 100 Europe List.  Red Herring selects start-ups they predict will “grow at an explosive rate”.  Also, solar industry publication PV Magazine ranked Ecoppia 15th in their list of “50 Array-Changing Technologies.”

Expanding trade with Japan.  A high-level Israeli trade delegation is in Japan discussing expanding business relations between the two countries.  They cover medical treatments and equipment, agro-biotech, diagnostics and health IT.  http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-delegation-in-tokyo-for-trade-talks/

Sharing gas facilities with Cyprus.  (TY Michelle) In order to exploit the full potential of the offshore natural gas reserves of each country, Cyprus and Israel have agreed to expand cooperation, including pipeline and grid sharing as a means of reaching the European market.

The largest deal in Israel’s history.  (TY Michael H) In the largest deal in country’s history, Israel’s Teva has acquired Dublin-based Allergan for $40.5 billion.  Teva stated “This strategic acquisition brings together two leading generics businesses with complementary strengths, brands and cultures, providing patients with more affordable access to quality medicines, and creating significant financial benefits for Teva stockholders.”

Merck buys Israeli cancer biotech.  (TY Michelle) Germany’s Merck will acquire cCAM Biotherapeutics, the Israeli developer of cancer immunotherapies, for an estimated $600 million.  cCAM is developing CM-24, for the treatment of melanoma and certain lung, bladder, gastric, colorectal and ovarian cancers.




CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

The Jerusalem Season of Culture.  (TY Janglo) The Jerusalem Season of Culture July 27 - September 4 is inspired by Jerusalem’s unique aspects - its history, aesthetics, social & political arena, and religious significance. It not only entertains but also reflects upon this complex environment.

Indie music scene thriving in Israel.  Tel Aviv is a hub for indie bands and solo musicians.  Sun Kil Moon, alt-J, Toro Y Moi, the Antlers, Ben Frost and more are scheduled to play Tel Aviv, Rishon, and other cities.  Also, TY Size Doesn’t Matter and The Culture Trip for the top 18 non-touristy things to do in Tel Aviv.

Maccabi games in Berlin.  It has been called the triumph over evil.  70 years after the Holocaust, a record 2300 Jewish athletes from Israel and all over the world gathered for the Maccabi Games, known as the ‘Jewish Olympics’ in Berlin, at the site where Hitler opened the 1936 ‘Nazi Games’, which barred Jewish participants.


THE JEWISH STATE

Restored Galilee home is a sea of sunlight.  Israeli architects have converted a centuries-old building in spiritual Safed into a beautiful modern home, whilst conserving and revealing the ancient stone masonry walls.  Previously hidden under plaster, the ancient stones now star as main feature of the restored building.

Free bridal gowns to orphan brides.  (TY IsraelSeen) Israeli charity Chessed Ve’Emet has acquired 60 bridal gowns which will be loaned free of charge to orphan Jewish brides marrying and setting up their home in Israel.

Omri Casspi lays tefillin every day.  Israeli-born NBA Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi told a fan on twitter that he is committed to the Orthodox-Jewish practice of wrapping the small Scripture-filled boxes called tefillin in Hebrew around his arm and forehead during morning prayers.

Israeli vets save Samuni the lion.  The lion story that didn’t make international headlines this week is that Israeli veterinarian surgeons removed a tumor from the stomach of Sumani – an 8-year-old lion at Ramat Gan safari.  The two-hour operation was successful and biopsies will determine Sumani’s future treatment and care.


150726

In the 26th Jul 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         Israeli scientists have developed a “smart” anti-inflammatory treatment.
·         Israeli volunteer surgeons saved the lives of ten children in Tanzania.
·         The first Ethiopian-born Associate Professor of an Israeli University.
·         An Israeli-developed tracking device keeps “special” children safe.
·         An Israeli fraud-prevention system has won an international award.
·         Mariah Carey is to make her first Israeli performance on August 18.
·         A Jewish community in ancient Israel was the first to breed chickens for food.

·         Last week’s Israel Good News descriptive summary.  Click here for “Israel Goes Nuclear” (fast-loading version, no adverts).  Also published on the Jerusalem Post, San Diego Jewish World, Ruthfully Yours and United With Israel websites.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Janglo, IsraPundit and United With Israel with extra features on health, global impact, technology, and the Jewish State.

Page Down for details on these and more good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news articles.  Please use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

New smart anti-inflammatory protein.  (TY Michael H) Two researchers from Ben Gurion University and one from Colorado University have engineered an anti-inflammatory protein that only activates when it finds inflammation.  Current anti-inflammatory treatments suppress the immune system and risk causing infections.

Patent for lung disease treatment.  (TY Atid-EDI) Europe, Russia and Australia approved a patent for Israeli biotech Kamada’s nebulizer that delivers its Alpha1-Proteinase Inhibitor–Human (AAT) treatment for lung disease.  AAT also treats Type 1 diabetes and immune system diseases.  Its USA brand name is Glassia.

Grant for brain cancer treatment.  US biotech Lauren Sciences has received a grant from Voices Against Brain Cancer (VABC) to support developing V-Smart delivery of a treatment for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor.  Lauren Sciences’ research team and labs are located at Ben-Gurion University, where V-Smart technology was invented before it was licensed to Lauren.

Weizmann Institute is top non-US research institute.  Holland’s Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) of Leiden University has ranked Israel’s Weizmann Institute as the 10th best research establishment in the world and the top institute outside of the USA.  http://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/weizmann-institute-of-science-10th-in-the-world-for-research-quality#.VaumSfnn-YA

Why some people age faster.  The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Dr. Salomon Israel was part of an international team that found a way to measure the aging process in young adults. The results may eventually lead to the prevention of age-related diseases by slowing down the aging process itself.

Heart surgery saves 10 children in Tanzania.  (TY Size Doesn’t Matter) An Israeli delegation of 20 doctors, nurses and medical technicians from Israel’s Save A Child’s Heart (SACH) has performed lifesaving heart surgery on more than 10 local children in Tanzania and examined hundreds more with congenital heart defects.

Leading the way in mobile health.  The mHealth conference, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, brought investors, entrepreneurs, health professional and hospital executives to see the latest technology produced in Israel for mobile health.  The article features Israel’s Medivizor, Doctors 2.0 Startup Winner (see also here).


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Government to subsidize employment of disabled.  The Israeli Government is implementing a NIS 5 million plus program to provide up to NIS 200,000 a year to any nonprofits and other “social enterprises” with at least five disabled workers. It will fund up to 50% of their first year salaries and 40% in the 2nd year.

Ethiopian-born Israeli becomes Associate Professor.  Dr. Anbessa Teferra, an expert in Semitic linguistics at Tel Aviv University, is the first Ethiopian Israeli to be appointed a senior lecturer at an Israeli university.  Dr Teferra immigrated to Israel in 1990 after completing his master’s degree in linguistics in Addis Ababa.

Huge cycle path network for Central Israel.  Israel’s Ministry of Transport is to build 150km of cycle paths in the next 4 years.  They will cover Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Ramat Gan, Holon, Bat Yam, Petah Tikva, Givat Shmuel, Givatayim, Azur, Ramat Hasharon, Rishon Lezion, Ra'anana, Kfar Saba, Herzliya, Ramle, and Or Yehuda.

The Zionist, Arab Muslim mother and Masterchef contestant.  All I can say is, “please watch this video”.

Syrians treated in Israel:  Two recent reports (TY Michelle) on the Ziv Medical Center in Tzefat (Safed) Galilee, over two years since it started treating Syrians wounded in their civil war.

The 3rd most innovative country.  (TY Michelle) An article by a World Economic Forum writers on the most Innovative countries.  Israel comes 3rd as it spends more on R&D than any other country. (See Feb newsletter)

150,000 help Tel Aviv research.  150,000 members of IBM World Community Grid donated processing power to help researchers at Tel Aviv University figure out how water interacts with nanotubes.  The results can help lower the cost of water purification and develop better ways of delivering medicines into the bloodstream.

Sharing data on cyber criminals.  (TY Michelle) US Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited Israel and signed an agreement with Dr. Eviatar Matania, Head of the Israel National Cyber Bureau, to deepen the exchange of data on digital intruders and digital defense tactics.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Cleaning solar panels.  The Indian-Israeli company NaanDanJain has developed smart sprinklers for cleaning both commercial and residential solar panels.  One type distributes water over the whole roof, and the other is a micro sprinkler for each individual panel.  Both types can use recycled water.

Funding for biogas project.  The US-Israel Bi-national Agricultural Research and Development (BARD) Fund has awarded a grant to Ben-Gurion University and University of Florida researchers for the design of new anaerobic digesters (biogas systems).  The goal is a feedstock enrichment for current manure-only systems.

A better tractor.  An Israel Technion team won two categories of the International Quarter-Scale (IQS) Tractor Student Design Competition, the world’s biggest engineering and design contest for farm vehicles.  The judges said “Never has a team in its first appearance in the competition shown such professionalism and originality.”

Keeping autistic kids safe.  The Israeli tracker device AngelSense contains a GPS chip, a cellular phone network connection, a camera and a microphone, which can be attached to any child that is at risk of wandering.  Parents receive notifications on their smartphones telling them exactly where their child is at any time.

New wastewater recycling system.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s MIGAL Research Institute and Israel Chemicals have completed a year-long pilot of their innovative method and unique component to help lower pollution levels of wastewater so that the water may be reused for irrigation. 

New UK-Israel water science programs.  (TY Michelle) The new British ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey has launched 3 new UK-Israel water tech programs. The Fund to Support Innovative Water Research; the UK-Israel Researcher Links Fellowships; and UK-Israel Science and Innovation Lectureship Grants.

Five Israeli medals at Physics Olympiad.  Israeli teens won three silver and two bronze medals in one of the toughest high school international science competitions – the International Physics Olympiad in Mumbai, India.

The next hi-tech revolution.  (TY Michelle) An interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Beer Sheba where Ben Gurion University, the IDF, cyber security and a new business park are propelling Israel to an even higher technological level.   Plus another article on the new cyber capital growing in Israel’s desert.

Catching on-line thieves.  Some 25% of on-line users have had their usernames and passwords stolen at some time.  Israel’s LogDog detects when someone tries to use your credentials illegally and then notifies you.  LogDog has hundreds of thousands of users and has just raised $3.5 million to grow further.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Expanded free trade with Canada.  A new free-trade agreement between Canada and Israel expands market access opportunities for agricultural, fish and seafood products through the reduction or elimination of tariffs on a large number of products.  It will further strengthen Canada’s bilateral relationship with Israel.

Deregulating the Energy industry.  Israel’s government has granted licenses for three energy companies to supply electricity to businesses.  The 20-year licenses will generate competition and hold down prices.

Average hi-tech exit soars. (TY Atid-EDI) The number of Israeli hi-tech companies being taken over in first half of 2015 was roughly the same rate as in 2014.  However, the average value of each acquisition increased by 51%.  54 deals in 2015 raised $5.29 billion whereas 107 deals in 2014 raised $6.98 billion.

Israeli fraud prevention wins business award.  I reported previously (see Nov 2014) on Israeli startup fraud prevention company Forter.  Its technology is used by merchants to approve online transactions.  Forter refunds the value of any wrong decision it makes and has just won a silver “Stevie” from American Business Awards.

Speedy funding for car booster seat.  Israeli startup Mifold wanted to raise $40,000 on Indigogo to help fund the rollout of its innovative tiny car booster seat for children.  It reached the target in just 3 hours of starting the campaign and with 20 days remaining, has had pledges for over $270,000.

Chelsea boss invests in AnyClip.  The owner of UK soccer club Chelsea, Roman Abramovich is part of a $21 million investment in Israel’s AnyClip Media.  AnyClip is responsible for the distribution of almost two percent of the world’s video advertisements and is in the top 10 list of sites with the most number of unique viewers.

Microsoft’s 10th Israeli startup.  (TY Michael H) Microsoft is to acquire Israeli start-up Adallom for about $320m, Microsoft’s tenth and most expensive Israeli purchase.  Adallom currently has around 60 employees and will expand to become Microsoft’s cyber-security development headquarters in Israel.

Clicksoftware exits for $438 million.  (TY Atid-EDI and Globes) I reported on Israeli disaster recovery scheduling startup ClickSoftware previously (in Feb 2014).  It has just been acquired by US Francisco Partners for $438 million (45% above its NASDAQ average value) and becomes a private company again.

Judea’s new startup hub.  (TY Sharon) Over 70 people from Tel Aviv, Modi’in, Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem as well as throughout Gush Etzion, came to network at Hub Etzion in the new Gush Etzion Industrial Park. The hub is due to open on Oct 15 and be the regional center for start-ups, entrepreneurs and Venture Capitalists. 

Why Israeli trade with the UK is booming.  (TY Michelle) Britain’s trade with Israel reached a record high of £5.1billion last year after doubling during the last decade.  Some of the reasons for this are the innovative Israeli products, UK-Israeli partnerships, and the quality and all-year-round availability of Israeli produce.


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

The Spirit of Entebbe.  Visitors to a new exhibit on Operation Entebbe, at the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv, will be able to view photographs, documents and items from the daring hostage rescue that until now were shut away in the halls of Mossad headquarters.

Mariah Carey to perform in Israel in August.  Mariah Carey, one of the best-selling pop artists of all time, announced that she will perform in Rishon LeZion's Live Park on August 18.  Mariah Carey made her first-ever visit to Israel last month.  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4682246,00.html

Top things to do in Israel this summer.  There are still plenty of events and tours to enjoy in Israel during the summer holidays.  http://www.israel21c.org/headlines/13-top-free-summer-events-in-israel/  For example, visit some of the new and updated sites in Beer Sheva (TY Sharon – the Real Jerusalem Streets).

Three windsurfing gold medalists.  At the RS:X Youth World Windsurfing Championships in Gdynia Poland, 15-year-old Israeli Nov Drihan won a double gold – in the RS:X U17 and RS:X Youth Women categories.  Israel’s Yoav Omer, won the RS:X Youth Men category while Israel’s Kfir Azulay won the RS:X U17.


THE JEWISH STATE

Bringing cheer to the brave.  Every morning, IDF volunteer Ritasue Charlestein takes her guitar and drives to one of Israel's hospitals, wherever there are wounded or sick soldiers.  She sings to them and tells them how much we all love and appreciate them.  Her message is, "I am here a few minutes for you as a tiny token of my appreciation to you for being here 24/7 for me and for all Am Yisrael".  http://www.ritasuemusic.com/

1500-year-old Torah scroll deciphered.  45 years ago a burnt remnant of a Torah scroll was discovered in a ruined synagogue in Ein Gedi (near the Dead Sea).  Carbon dating places the scroll as from the 5th century CE. Latest CT-scan technology has identified the contents of the scroll as from the book of Leviticus (Vayikra). 

Chicken and eggs were here first.  Archeologists excavating in the southern Judean plain have found that chicken and eggs, were raised and consumed in the town of Maresha, around 300 BCE, well before any other antiquity sites.  Once the Romans reached Maresha, chickens became a culinary craze throughout the Empire.

Excavating Bible mosaics.  (TY Michelle) Latest news about the exciting discoveries at the ancient Jewish village of Huqoq in the Galilee. One mosaic is of Samson and another may depict Alexander the Great.

Birthright dedicates ancient synagogue to Max.  Taglit-Birthright Israel has dedicated the partially restored ruins of 1,800-year-old synagogue in Arbel National Park in memory of fallen soldier Max Steinberg. Birthright participants celebrating an event will have meaningful experiences, while honoring someone just like them.

Did farming start in Israel?  Researchers from Tel Aviv University, Harvard University, Bar-Ilan University, and Haifa University have concluded that plant cultivation may have started in the Galilee some 23,000 years ago.  Ohalo II, 9km south of Tiberias is the earliest example of small-scale cultivation anywhere in the world.


150719

In the 19th July 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         Israel’s United Hatzalah presented its emergency response innovations in Dubai.
·         A new IDF medical unit is dedicated exclusively to caring for Palestinian Arabs.
·         Israeli bees have been dispatched to help save Japan’s agriculture.
·         Israel’s Iron Dome technology is to detect electric power problems in New York.
·         A blind Israeli teenager updates smartphone apps for use by the visually impaired.
·         The first non-stop service between Tel Aviv and Tokyo has been agreed.
·         The English National Theatre of Israel has successfully completed its first year.
·         A Yeshiva teaches cyber security to religious students prior to IDF service.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo, IsraPundit and United With Israel with extra features on health, global impact, technology and Jewish State.

Page Down for more details on these and other good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to so many of these positive news articles.  Use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Stem cells may repair damaged lungs.  A study by Weizmann Institute scientists has shown that embryonic stem cells may be able to repair damaged lung tissue and help alleviate chronic respiratory disease. Mice with damaged lungs were injected with these cells and in six weeks their breathing had improved. (Nature medicine)

Good early results in Universal flu vaccine tests.  Preliminary results from the Phase 2 clinical trials of Universal Flu vaccine M-001 from Israel’s BiondVax have shown the treatment to be effective and safe.  Recipients showed an immune response against strains not included in the standard flu vaccine.

Israeli medics at Dubai conference.  Israel’s emergency response organization United Hatzalah attended a first-ever conference in the Arab Emirate, Dubai on improving medical and emergency care around the world.  Hatzalah explained how Israeli hi-tech, volunteers and motorcycle ambulances dramatically cut response times.

Israeli cancer research charity gets top rating.  (TY Atid-EDI) The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) received a top 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator, the world’s premier charity evaluator.  ICRF has given 2,115 grants worth over $52 million to Israeli cancer researchers, leading to significant breakthroughs.

Analyzing disease at the single-cell level.  Israeli scientists are working with those at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT to help eradicate diseases at the cellular level.  One Israeli scientist at Broad has published a paper of which of the 20,000 genes is essential to particular cancer cells, and therefore weak spots to target.

A medical wonderland for healing kids.  (TY Michelle) Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center has just opened its Wilf Children’s Hospital.  It has several facilities to calm young patients, including an animal house, music school, arts and craft therapy, books and games libraries and Israel’s specialty - medical clowns.

Israeli vets save tooth of US peacekeeping dog.  Veterinary surgeons at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem operated on Belgian Shepherd dog Dano to repair a canine tooth broken during service with the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in the Sinai.  Dano broke the same tooth during previous service in Afghanistan.
                                                                                                          

ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

El Al stewardess uses sign language.  (TY Hazel) El Al’s Larisa Speyer studies sign language and discovered that a deaf athletic team was flying out to Taiwan.  So she managed to get assigned to the flight. The deaf passengers were delighted.  And if you are flying from Luton UK, look out for EasyJet’s Israeli flight attendant.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4677831,00.html                      

An iPad keyboard for disabled kids.  (TY Michelle) Four employees of SAP Labs Israel have developed an interactive keyboard that disabled children at Beit Issie Shapiro can use in order to learn to type. 

IDF medical unit for Palestinian Arabs.  (TY Hazel) A newly designated IDF reserves company will focus entirely on providing medical care and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian Arab population. They also will work closely with Palestinian Authority medical institutions to help develop PA medical infrastructure.

Israel Inside: Netafim.  Worth watching this video from Jerusalem U featuring Israel’s Netafim and its drip irrigation system.  Internationally, transforming unproductive land into flourishing agricultural centers.

Israeli bees save Japan’s crops.  (TY United with Israel) Israeli bumblebees are being sent to Japan to help make up for a lack of bees caused by increased use of pesticides in the rice fields.  Israel’s Bio Bee firm, at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, ships the bees in spacious hives, each with an impregnated queen bee and 50 worker bees.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

AVG launches R&D center in Israel.  Online security company AVG is establishing its global Center of Excellence for mobile technology in Tel Aviv. AVG previously bought Israel’s DroidSecurity which developed AVG’s AntiVirus for Android with over 100 million downloads.

Snap it, find it, and buy it.  The on-line shoe business is worth $10 billion per year and Israel’s SnapGet’s Android or iOS app makes it even better for customers.  Just take a photo of a shoe that you want to buy and SnapGet will search 50,000 styles and 18,000 merchants to find it (or something very similar) at the best price.

Ensuring the purity of our drinking water.  Israel’s national water company Mekorot is implementing remote water monitoring kits from Israeli startup Ayyeka.  The kits work with all types of sensor to measure the level of chlorine and turbidity (murkiness).  Mekorot plans to roll out the kits throughout Israel.

Iron dome tech to maintain New York power supply.  Israel’s mPrest will use a $900,000 grant from the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation to change its missile-deflecting technology so it can detect malfunctioning power transformers operated by the New York Power Authority.

Yet another “doggy” app.  PlayDate can now be added to the list of dog-friendly Israeli apps.  The app is a one-stop service that allows dog owners to connect in a completely new way. Dog owners can swipe through profiles of canines in the area, and set up doggy dates through instant messaging.

Solving world hunger with – grasshoppers.  Israeli startup Steak Tzar Tzar (Hebrew for “cricket”) is farming grasshoppers to solve the world’s protein shortage.  The insect is 70% protein and marketable to at least the 2.5 billion people who already consume insects.  And they are even kosher – to the traditions of Yemenite Jews.

A smart helmet for formula racing.  The entry of Israel’s Technion for the 2015 Formula SAE competition in Italy in September features a helmet with a head-up display, so the driver can read the car’s systems whilst keeping eyes on the road. The car has also been vastly improved. The students won prizes in 2013 and 2014.

Technobrain 2015.  Watch the students of Israel’s Technion compete to race elastic-band powered boats (built in advance) to travel eight meters, anchor by means of a magnet, and fire a jet of water into a funnel from a distance of three meters – all this is in the shortest possible time and with smallest number of rubber bands.

Eco-friendly pesticide for nematodes.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Adama has received Israeli approval to market NIMITZ, a novel, non-fumigant nematicide with unprecedented user safety and simplified application features.  The innovative product controls nematodes, one of the most destructive and problematic pests in agriculture.

Gett updates app for blind passengers.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s Gett, the black cab app, has made its smartphone app more accessible to visually-impaired passengers.  17-year-old Israeli developer Adi Kushnir, who has been blind since birth, worked with Gett to integrate Apple’s “VoiceOver” and Google’s “TalkBack”.

A driverless car on Israel’s roads!  (TY Michelle) The Bloomberg reporter takes off his shoes and puts his feet on the dashboard as he takes a car fitted with Israel’s MobileEye on Route 1 - Israel’s busiest highway.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

New record currency reserves.  Israel’s foreign currency reserves as at June 2015 rose to a new all-time record level of $88.186 billion.  It includes a $7.15 billion fund from the natural gas program.

Chinese giant buys Israeli bio-fungicide developer.  Israel’s Stockton Group, a world leader in the bio-pesticide business, is being acquired by China’s Hebang Group for $90 million.  Stockton’s Timorex Gold bio-fungicide is sold in 20 countries to treat rice, coffee, grapes, tomatoes, bananas, and other fruits and vegetables.
                                           
Facebook buys Israeli hand-tracking startup.  Facebook’s Virtual Reality subsidiary Oculus has spent around $60 million to acquire Israel’s Pebbles Interfaces, which specializes in technology that can track hand movements. Pebbles says it uses micro-optics and computer vision to help take virtual reality to the next level.

Non-stop to Tokyo.  Representatives from Israel’s airline El Al and Japan’s biggest airline, All Nippon, have signed a deal to offer 14 direct flights each week between Tel Aviv and Tokyo.  13,000 people travelled from Japan to Israel in 2014 but had to make connections via Hong Kong or Seoul.

Israeli business students visit China.  (TY Michelle) Graduate students in real estate and business administration at the Netanya Academic College have had first-hand encounters with corporate leaders in China. They learnt how to deal with the challenges that foreigners face when seeking to operate in China.

Intel launches accelerator for Israeli startups.  Intel Israel has announced its Ingenuity Partner Program (IPP), an accelerator program that will provide assistance, mentoring, and connections to Israeli startups.  Nine companies are already enrolled into the first six-month program.

SAP’s Israeli R&D center.  (TY Michelle) SAP’s innovation center in Ra’anana is profiting strongly from its relationships within the Israeli startup ecosystem.  SAP Israel has partnered with “The Junction,” Israel’s most successful accelerator for young startups. SAP Labs Israel will support by selecting and mentoring the teams.

11 graduates of Microsoft’s 6th startup program.  Another 11 Israeli startups have completed Microsoft’s accelerator program, bringing to 70 successful Israeli startups launched by the program.  The latest include employment apps GetJob and Highr; DOV-E and Bontact support shopping; Taranis is an agro-tech startup.

An incubator for food tech startups.  A new incubator in Ashdod, The Kitchen, hosts Israeli food technology startups.  In partnership with the Strauss Group, the program was awarded a government franchise for eight years. It will tackle alternative sources of protein, spoilage of food, quality and food safety, and robotics.

Germany opens startup initiative in Tel Aviv.  (TY Michelle) Israel is the first country to participate in Germany’s EXIST program, which has been supporting students, graduates, and scientists from universities and research institutes as they work to get highly innovative start-up projects off the ground.


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

The English National Theatre of Israel.  Launched in June 2014, the English National Theatre of Israel produces, promotes and provides a platform for professional theatre and musicals in English.  They have just finished staging five performances of "You won't succeed on Broadway, if you don't have any Jews".

Keeping cool in the summer heat.  Tourists walking in Jerusalem’s pedestrianized Yoel Moshe Solomon Street will be able to get a little shade this summer thanks to 1000 colored umbrellas suspended across the artsy lane.  The Umbrellas Street Project has free shows by local street artists and musicians until 5th Oct.  And TY Size Doesn’t Matter and The Culture Trip for 5 other ways to cool down in Jerusalem.
http://theculturetrip.com/middle-east/israel/articles/5-ways-to-cool-down-in-jerusalem/                                       

For music, head for the Port.  (TY Janglo) Rock & Port is a series of outdoor concerts with top Israeli musicians and bands at the Port of Tel Aviv – all free!  The sandbox on the north deck will turn into an outdoor concert venue during July and August.  E.g. Aug 23 - Avraham Tal, Tuesday, August 25 - Hadag Nachash

Lacrosse in Israel.  (TY Joseph) My wife recently met a US intern working with the Israel Premier Lacrosse League (IPLL).  He had been coaching children at an Israeli summer camp.  El Al sponsored a Taglit-Birthright trip for more than 40 US lacrosse athletes who have donated equipment and are teaching Israelis to play.


THE JEWISH STATE

2000 Olim from North America this summer.  Nefesh b’Nefesh reports that 2,000 Jews from the USA and Canada are to begin new lives in the Jewish State this summer.  Last week 221 (32 families and 53 singles) arrived on a charter flight.  25% are in the “Go North” and Go South” programs to settle in the periphery. In the Youtube, 90-year-old Olah Sue Friedman is coming home.  (TY Jacob Richman for photos of the arrival flight)

Yeshiva opens IDF cyber defense program.  For the first time ever, Hareidi religious boys are learning cyber defense in a four-year Beit Midrash program, whilst preparing for IDF service.  After the first year at Beit Midrash Derech Chaim, 80% of the boys passed the cyber test in which 35% is considered a high achievement. 

Israeli-Christian group produces anti-BDS guide.  The Christian Empowerment Council, an Israeli Christian group headed by Father Gabriel Naddaf, has released a new guide entitled “Test the spirits: A Christian Guide to the Anti-Israel Boycott Movement”.  The guide challenges Christian anti-Zionism at the ideological level.

The “Israelification” of Jerusalem’s Arabs. (TY Hazel) Almost all Arabs living in Jerusalem used to opt for permanent resident status in order to identify with other Palestinian Arabs in Judea and Samaria.  Now, hundreds apply for Israeli citizenship every year.  They are abandoning politics for a better quality of life.


150712

In the 12th Jul 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         An Israeli-US project will ensure that you never forget to take your meds.
·         Israeli pensioners are the workforce of a new environment public awareness program.
·         Israeli technology is providing free Wi-Fi on buses in South Africa.
·         An Israeli sensor advises farmers on how to improve the health of their crops.
·         Parents will love the portability of a new tiny Israeli car booster seat.
·         Read about the Israeli connections to the world’s 50 smartest companies.
·         An ancient Jewish necropolis is Israel’s 9th UNESCO World Heritage site.
·         Book for an outstanding tour of Eastern Jerusalem.
·         My Mum’s 90th birthday today.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo, and United With Israel with extra features on health, inclusiveness, technology and entertainment.

Page Down for details on these and more good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news articles.  Please use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Implant to give meds automatically.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s Teva is partnering with US firm Microchips Biotech use its implanted microchip to deliver Teva-made treatments direct to patients.  The technology avoids having to measure out meds or to even to remember to take them - perfect for the elderly and forgetful.

Light-stimulated genes may replace pacemakers.  Scientists at Israel’s Technion have injected the heart with light-stimulated genes and used pulses of light to regulate the heart, just like a mechanical pacemaker.

Electrical pulses are better than Botox.  Botox (botulin toxin) is not the only way to get smoother, less-damaged skin.  In the laboratory Tel Aviv University researchers have shown that very short, high-tension electric pulses can reduce wrinkling and damage to the skin from disease without causing scars or heating.

Test your dog for diseases in minutes.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Biogal Galed Labs has now developed seven veterinary test kits for diagnosing infectious diseases in pets.  The PCRun molecular detection test kits save tens of thousands of dollars of equipment and produce results in 75 minutes instead of previously several days.

Non-invasive test for bladder cancer.  (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s BioLight Life Sciences Investments announced that its CellDetect non-invasive test for detecting bladder cancer in urine has obtained CE Marking, enabling the product to be marketed and sold in Europe and other countries.  http://www.bio-light.co.il/blog/eu-ce-mark-for-celldetect-non-invasive-test-for-detecting-recurrence-of-bladder-cancer/

Successful trial of Parkinson’s treatment.  Israeli biotech Pharma Two B has announced positive results in its Phase IIb pivotal clinical study of P2B001 for the treatment of early stage Parkinson’s disease.  The tests combined two low dose chemicals that separately had limited effect and were dangerous in high dosages.


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Investing in the weakest members of society.  Jerusalem Venture Partners founded Bakehila (In the Community) in 2002. Since then, it has helped more than 25,000 poor Jerusalem residents (Jews and Arabs) to be self-sustaining contributors to their communities. 

Pensioners to become environmental activists.  Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MoEP) is working with the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) to initiate a program called "Environmentally Active Retirees."  Elderly Israelis will raise public awareness about reducing and separating waste.

The woman who founded iAngels.  (TY Michelle)  Israel’s Mor Assia explains why she moved back from New York to Israel where she founded the social investment company iAngels.  She knew personally many of the entrepreneurs that launched over 1000 startups per year, and she wanted to be part of this Israeli ecosystem.

Yahoo sends top employees to Israel.  (TY Herb) Yahoo’s senior Product Development Director brought ten participants of the Yahoo Associate Product Manager (APM) program to Israel.  They visited the Technion and Jerusalem and had lectures in Yahoo’s Haifa and Tel Aviv R&D centers.

Greek Foreign Minister visits Israel.  Interesting that despite the Greek economic crisis, Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias came to Israel for a 3-day visit.  Perhaps he wanted to learn how Israel transformed itself in the 1980s from financial chaos into an economic success.

Free Wi-Fi on South African buses.  Israel’s Radwin has deployed its FiberinMotion wireless mobility to provide free Wi-Fi onboard buses in the South African city of Tshwane which includes the capital Pretoria.  Over 200,000 unique users have accessed the free Wi-Fi service since it was installed in Dec 2014.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Good press coverage for Israeli water.  In advance of October’s WATEC Israel 2015, Israel’s Ministry of Economy took 21 international journalists on a tour of Israel’s water installations and companies.  Adi Yefet of Israel NewTech said, “I feel like we’re riding a great wave of positive publicity.”

Measuring a plant’s health.  Israel’s Phytech is bringing the Internet of Things to the plant world.  Plantbeat’s sensors measure how healthy a plant is and what to do to improve it.  Phytech is to sell its PlantBeat alert system to farmers in North and South America.

Samsung launch Israel startup incubator. Samsung is founding a startup accelerator in its Israel development center.  Samsung is looking for 6-10 startups in mobile communications, information security, wearable computers, big data, cloud computing, biometric identification, wireless charging, and autonomous vehicles.

Wearable and IoT conference.  Over 100 Israeli and international startups participated in Israel’s first major global Internet of Things (IoT) conference in Tel Aviv - the Wearable Tech & IoT Israel.  They’re aim was to discuss how wearables are evolving and becoming an integral part of our life.

Not just coffee – it’s art.  Israeli startup SteamCC has invented the Ripples coffee “foam printer” that produces a personalized design in the foam on the top of your coffee.  Choose one of the hundreds of designs available on the Ripple Maker’s touchscreen, which is printed out through the tiny openings in the machine’s nozzle.

A better booster seat.  Israeli entrepreneur Jon Sumroy has developed mifold, a booster seat that is 10 times smaller than the typical booster seat.  It holds the seat and shoulder belts down to match the child’s height and body contours, so as to fit securely. It is easily folded up - ideal for carpools, taxi rides, and even bus rides,

Israeli tricorder is ready to beam up.  The SCIO molecular scanner from Israel’s Consumer Physics is ready to ship to its first customers.  The SCIO has been 4 years in development and raised $2.76 million on Kickstarter (1381% more than it asked for).  So prepare to hear cries of “It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it!”

National Authority for Technology and Innovation.  (TY Atid-EDI)  The Israeli government approved the establishment of a National Authority for Technology and Innovation (NATI).  The authority aims to help strengthen Israel's international economic relations and maintain its position as a technological powerhouse.

Turning plastic waste into fuel.  (TY Atid-EDI)  The Israeli government’s Environmental Services Company Ltd is to begin operating a new facility recycling plastic waste and turning it into fuel (600kg oil per ton of waste).  The facility will process 3,000 metric tons of plastic waste every year.

The fastest open switch in the world.  Israel’s Mellanox has launched “Spectrum” - the world’s first 100 Gigabit open Ethernet-based switch.  It allows businesses to increase the bandwidth of their data centers without having to upgrade all their other equipment.  (A bit nerdy, but vital to computer managers!)

Detecting dangers on Facebook.  Israel Technion student Eden Saig has developed a system that classifies sentiment in texts on social media.  The system can identify potential terrorist threats or suicide risks.  Eden’s system won Amdocs’ Best Project contest.

LCD screens using organic molecules.  Israel’s StoreDot (famous for its technology that re-charges a dead phone battery in one minute) has now developed a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) made of a single layer of organic molecules.  The LCD displays vivid colors for TVs, phones, tablets and (future) roll-up screens.

Google launches Waze ride-sharing app.  (TY Michelle) Google has launched a pilot carpooling service for Tel Aviv commuters.  It is being offered through Israeli navigation app Waze, which Google bought in 2013 for about $1 billion, and through RideWith - a new app for passengers who are not Waze users.

Powering Mobile development.  (TY Michelle) Excellent article about Israel’s success in mobile technology.  It includes company features on Israel’s Moovit, Clear Sky Apps, IronSource and Zikit.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Tel Aviv has some prime property.  (TY Michelle) A report on Tel Aviv real estate focuses on the iconic 39-floor Meier on Rothschild Tower.  Three-bed apartments cost from £1.5 million and are popular with both Israeli and British buyers.  One 8-bed penthouse, however, will set you back a cool £28.5 million.

“Breakthrough” deal with IDB in Latin America.  (TY Michelle)  Israel’s Ministry of Economy hailed as a “breakthrough”, a deal stipulating cooperation with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).  IDB is the largest investment body in Latin America and the Caribbean. It funds $12 billion of projects annually.

Israel National Day at Expo 2015.  (TY Michelle) Israel celebrated its Expo National Day at Milan’s world fair. At the celebrations Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely praised the Expo’s theme 'Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life'. The Israeli pavilion is one of the top 4 most popular of the 145 exhibiting countries.
Tens of thousands of jobs for Jerusalem.  Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has approved the construction of nine new office towers in Givat Shaul that will provide space for a range of businesses from high-tech to medical. It will create tens of thousands of new jobs and employment opportunities.

That’s smart.  (TY Michelle) In MIT Technology’s Review of the 50 Smartest Companies, Israeli desalination company IDE Technologies is number 18. There is also Israeli technology in Tesla (1st), Alibaba (4th), Google (12th), Amazon (13th), Apple (16th), Freescale (24th), Bristol-Myers (26th), Facebook (29th), IBM (46th) and of course Microsoft (48th) and probably others.  http://www.technologyreview.com/lists/companies/2015/

30 new RyanAir flights to Eilat.  (TY Michelle) Low cost airline RyanAir has announced it will commence six weekly flights to Eilat originating from Budapest (Hungary), Krakow (Poland) and Kaunas (Kovno, Lithuania).  RyanAir expects to bring 40,000 passengers a year.  http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/RyanAir-announces-30-euro-flights-from-Europe-to-Eilat-408229

Security systems for UK Gatwick airport.  (TY Michelle) Israel’s SerVision has won a contract with London Gatwick airport for the supply of live mobile CCTV systems. The project will install SerVision MVG400 streaming systems into 12 vehicles used for airfield operations.  http://www.airport-technology.com/news/newsisraels-servision-to-supply-security-systems-to-gatwick-airport-4617125


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

Israel’s 9th UNESCO Heritage site.  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has declared a 2nd century CE Jewish burial complex at Beit She’arim in northern Israel a World Heritage Site.  The necropolis contains the tomb of Judah the Prince, who documented the Mishna, the Jewish Oral Law.

Israeli mind-reader on America’s Got Talent.  (TY Nevet – www.broaderview.org) Israeli “mentalist” Oz Pearlman drove the jurors “out of their minds” with excitement on the “America’s Got Talent” TV show.

Netanya hosts Israeli beach soccer.  (TY Janglo) On July 17 and 31, from 1pm to 6pm Poleg beach, Netanya is hosting the Israel Beach Soccer Games.  http://www.netanya.muni.il/liga

Israel hosts UEFA Women’s U-19 soccer tournament.  Israel is hosting the European Women’s Under-19 Championships starting on 15th July.  http://www.uefa.com/womensunder19/news/newsid=2260941.html

Israeli reaches Wimbledon tennis semi-finals.  38-year-old Israeli Jonathan Ehrlich and his German tennis doubles partner Phillipp Petzschner won through from the UK Wimbledon tennis championships qualifying competition to the semi-finals before eventually being beaten by the 13th seeds Jamie Murray and John Peers.


THE JEWISH STATE

Israel thanks Philippines for WW2 rescue.  (TY Michelle) Israel held a ceremony to thank the Philippines for facilitating the 1935-41 escape from Nazi Germany and Austria of 1,301 Jews. It was held at the Holocaust Memorial Park in Rishon LeZion, south of Tel Aviv. (I gave feedback on one mistake in the article)

The only Roman garrison in the Middle East.  Archeologists have discovered at Megiddo the remains of the garrison of the Roman Sixth Legion that kept order following the Jewish Revolt of 66-70 CE and the Bar Kochba Revolt of 132 to 135 CE.  The Jews then lost sovereignty until 1948 and the modern Jewish State.

Eastern Jerusalem as you’ve never seen it. I highly recommend www.keepjerusalem.org for an eye-opening tour of Eastern Jerusalem.  Did you know that some 300,000 Jews and 250,000 Arabs now live in the area of Jerusalem that Jordan occupied from 1948 to 1967? 

Israel’s haredi whiz-kids.  (TY Michelle) CNN reports that devout Jews are joining Israel’s next wave of hi-tech programmers.  With no prior computer knowledge, just one year later they can build web and mobile apps.  Years of strict religious study is also good training to help think outside of the box or deeper about a problem.

More immigrants employed than sabras.  Good news for those needing to work after making Aliya.  An OECD study shows that Israeli immigrants have a lower unemployment rate than native-born Israelis.  This is the reverse of the situation in similar high immigrant countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada.


150705

In the 5th Jul 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·         Israeli scientists are able to transplant corneas without using stitches.
·         Israeli researchers have developed a sniffing test to identify children with autism.
·         A religious Muslim woman is an Israeli bus driver.
·         An Israeli app running on an old smartphone caught a thief.
·         Israeli scientists can identify anyone by their unique aroma.
·         An Israeli company uses radio waves to make hydrogen fuel from aluminum and sea water.
·         German giant Merck has opened an Israeli R&D center.
·         The JNF has received a record $100 million donation to establish an advocacy center.

·         Last week’s Israel Good News descriptive summary.  Click here for “It does not add up” (fast-loading version, no adverts).  Also published on the Jerusalem Post, San Diego Jewish World and United With Israel websites.

·         Click here to see the newsletter on Jewish Business News, IsraelSeen, Ruthfully Yours, Janglo, IsraPundit and United With Israel with extra features on health, global impact and technology.

Page Down for details on these and more good news stories from Israel.  Thank You Michelle and other readers for sending me links to many of these positive news articles.  Please use IsraelActive to search the archives.


ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

No-stitch corneal transplants.  Scientists from Tel Aviv University and Israeli medical centers have developed a groundbreaking method for sealing the incisions in the eye following cornea transplant surgery.  They used silver halide optical fibers to deliver an infrared laser beam at the precise temperature needed to bond the tissue.

Eilat coral can help cancer research.  A team of international scientists, including researchers from Tel Aviv University and Israel’s Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences (IUI), have discovered that fluorescent pigments in Eilat’s rainbow coral are ideal for use as biomedical markers for tracking cancer cells. 

4th lowest deaths from heart disease in OECD. A report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ranked Israel's mortality rate for cardiovascular disease (less than 200 per 100,000 population) the fourth-lowest among OECD nations. Japan was the lowest, followed by France and South Korea.

MyMDBand in action.  I reported previously (Jun 7) on Israel’s MyMDBand - a wristband with a QR code that gives paramedics access to vital patient data.  Here now are two latest videos about the exciting product.

Fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  Tel Aviv University Professor Udi Qimron has published in PNAS his research about bacterial viruses (phages) that attack bacteria.  The phages transfer "edited" DNA into resistant bacteria to kill off resistant strains and make others more sensitive to antibiotics. Clinical tests will begin soon.

A sniff test for autism.  (TY Hilton) A rare positive report on Israel by the BBC (and in The Independent).  Weizmann scientists have discovered that whereas normal children spend longer inhaling the aroma of roses than that of rotten fish, autistic children don’t differentiate between pleasant and unpleasant odors.

Canada funds $35 million for neuroscience & biomedicine.  (TY Michelle) Canada’s Finance Minister Joe Oliver announced a seven-year, $35-million program will fund up to 30 joint Canadian-Israeli research projects. The first projects will focus on neuroscience, with up to six $1 million grants per year for up to three years.

Researching pancreatic cancer with Canada.  Top scientists from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer are working together on the Alex U. Soyka Pancreatic Cancer Research Project.  The OICR is giving $4.6 million to the project.


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Cyber education for Israeli schoolchildren.  Israel’s Science and Technology Ministry has signed a deal with Lockheed Martin to produce educational curricula in science and technology, with an emphasis on teaching the principles of cyber-security.  Minister Danny Danon said, “Ensuring that all children have an opportunity to learn science and technology is essential to the future of Israel.”

Israel’s female Muslim bus driver.  You may not have heard about this before, but Soheila Fedila, a 44-year-old mother of four, has been a public bus driver for three years. Soheila is a religious Muslim - she always dresses modestly and wears a hijab during work hours. She currently drives a “Metropolin” bus in Kfar-Saba.

Dr Qanta Ahmed awarded Technion fellowship.  (TY Michelle) On her seventh visit to the Israel, Dr. Qanta Ahmed received an Honorary Fellowship from Israel’s Technion, for her tireless and courageous battle for human rights in the Muslim world, her vigorous opposition to radical Islam and her friendship with Israel.

Save “at risk” ecology – buy the land.  Israeli environmentalist Professor Uri Shanas of Haifa University is raising $25,000 to launch “This is my Earth” - a crowd-sourced website that buys up land at risk of ecological disaster.  If successful, “This is my Earth” members would vote on which biodiverse areas should be purchased.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Catch a thief with your old smartphone.  Israel’s Salient Eye uses the camera on your old and unwanted smartphone as a motion-sensor, taking photos of intruders as they walk past the phone. The app then sends these photos and a loud alert to warn the homeowner of the intrusion. Here’s a thief it caught last week.

20,000 visit Technology 2015.  More than 20,000 people came to the recent Technology 2015 exhibition in Tel Aviv to see the latest Israeli developments and innovations in computers and software, automated command and control systems, hydraulics, robotics, calibration tools, industrial printing and dozens of other fields.

Making the most from sesame.  Dr. Zvi Peleg, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has found a way to develop a new elite sesame variety with enhanced yield and seed quality suitable for modern agricultural practice.  Dr Peleg screened over 100,000 seed variants to produce the basis of an important Israeli export crop.

Seeing Israeli agri-tech up close.  JNF Toronto brought to Israel a business mission of North American young professionals to experience Israeli agri-tech.  They visited companies such as Kaiima, Forrest Innovations, Evogene, Phenome Networks, Saturas, Rootility, GroundWork Bio, miRobot, Taranis and AlphaStrauss.

Smell based fingerprints.  Practically every human being has his or her own unique smell. Israel’s Weizmann Institute researchers have developed an “olfactory fingerprint” that tests 34 different odors and could be used to identify any of the 7.3 billion people on Earth. It could also help match organ donors and even detect diseases.

Better security in churches.  Israeli start-up Churchix uses facial recognition technology to identify dangerous criminals who try to infiltrate into church congregations.  Unlike synagogues and mosques, church security is traditionally at a minimal level, yet needs to prevent atrocities such as that recently in Charleston.

Imagination just got even easier.  Israel’s Cimagine (featured here in March) has just upgraded its augmented reality software.  Now you can “virtually furnish” a whole room, displaying the results on your smartphone.

Support your club – brand your keyboard.  Israel’s Kibo keyboard app not only checks your spelling but it turns your smartphone or tablet keyboard into the logo and colors of one of six top international soccer clubs.  Apple has just approved the app for its iPhone and iPad.  The Android version already has 6 million users.

Europe buys Israeli smart vest.  Israel’s Elbit has won a $150 million contract from the Dutch Ministry of Defense to supply advanced protective systems for infantry soldiers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg.  The Smart Vest program includes advanced audio and data radio systems and specialized displays.

Radio waves to release hydrogen from water.  H2energy Now is the first Israeli startup to be invited to the European Union-sponsored Alpine High-tech Venture Forum.  H2energy’s technology uses radio waves to break the hydrogen-oxygen bond in salt water.  The hydrogen produced is a source of clean energy.

400,000-year-old teeth reveal their contents.  (TY Size Doesn’t Matter) A 400,000-year-old set of teeth, discovered in Qesem cave outside of Tel Aviv, has revealed minute traces of food, charcoal and possibly the remains of a rudimentary toothbrush in the teeth’s plaque. 

The world is your touchscreen.  A new video from Israel21c featuring the Bird - the finger-controlled device from Israel’s MUV Interactive – that turns any surface (walls, tables etc.) into a virtual touchscreen.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Another $8 million for Israeli-US projects.  The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation has approved $8 million in funding for ten new projects between U.S. and Israeli companies. The projects will also access an additional $11 million of private sector funding.

Apple opens in 20 Israeli cities.  Apple is opening 20 sales booths in almost all major Israeli cities.  Apple’s products will be marketed by Partner employees who have been trained via the Apple “Masters” program.

Mapal Green to launch on London AIM.  Israeli wastewater technology company Mapal Green Energy is seeking to raise £2-3 million by listing on London’s Alternative Index Market.  Mapal’s systems significantly reduce the energy costs of sewage purification plants at the water utilities serving half of English households.

Frutarom gets even fruitier.  Israeli flavors and ingredients company Frutarom has just acquired its eighth company in 12 months.  It has paid $4 million for US flavors company Foote & Jenks.  F&J specializes in flavors that mask the aftertaste of medicines.  The purchase helps Frutarom expand its US activity.

US giant buys Israeli fire-detection company.  Israel’s Spectronix, developer of sensors and fire and gas detection systems, has been bought by Emerson Electric (part of the $37.8 billion US Emerson Group) for $99 million. After the acquisition, Spectronix will continue to operate its business in Sderot.

Merck’s Israeli R&D center.  (TY Michelle) The German giant Merck joined the growing number of multinationals with Israeli Research & Development centers by purchasing Jerusalem’s Qlight Nanotech.  Qlight’s innovative nanocrystal technology is ideal for low energy LCD screens and LED lighting.  Merck’s other Israeli ventures include biotech Serono which has developed Rebif (MS) and Erbitux (cancer) treatments.

Direct flights to Boston.  (TY Michelle) El Al have just begun their non-stop service from Tel Aviv to Boston Logan airport,   the fastest route to the USA.  Last year 67,000 passengers flew from Boston to Tel Aviv via other cities. There are strong Israeli business links, with over 200 Israeli companies operating in Massachusetts.

Get your Andy Ram watch.  Israeli tennis star Andy Ram has reached the $75,000 crowdfunding target for his new “Pulse Play” sports watch.  It is a first of its kind, displaying a table of results during the game, a games history, and social and global rankings.  The first version sells for $50 and is due for delivery in October.

Business ties with Taiwan.  Ernest Lin, from the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), attended Israel’s Technology 2015 Exhibition.  He suggested Taiwan could be a good testing ground for Israeli technology, with advanced tech installed in factories to ensure that they work properly on large scales.”

Trade with Vietnam soars.  (TY Michelle) Trade between Vietnam and Israel exceeded $1 billion in 2014 and increased over 80 percent in the first quarter of 2015.  A Vietnamese delegation was in Israel, and discussed plans to increase bilateral trade and investment as well as cooperation in technology, agriculture and security.

India and Israel: A good partnership.  (TY Michelle) A summary from India on the status of Indian and Israeli bi-lateral co-operation.  It covers agriculture, water, energy, defense, IT, technology and medicine.


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

International opera workshops in Tel Aviv.  The Israel Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI) will hold its international opera workshop in Tel Aviv between July 9 and 29.  The public are able to watch students learn from some of the best teachers in the world.  It includes the staging of Verdi’s Rigoletto.

Help make an Israeli film.  Israeli film director and producer Barak Shavit is raising funds on Indiegogo for his new short film iSyndrome, a sci-fi story about understanding consciousness.  His goal is to raise $14,800.

Mariah Carey visits Israel.  (TY Hazel) Pop diva Mariah Carey told her Israeli fans of her excitement at finally realizing her dream of visiting Israel.  “I waited many years to come here, and I am very moved,” she said. Miss Carey sang Israel’s national anthem Hatikvah in Adam Sandler’s 2006 film “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”.

Jerusalem Biking Festival.  Biking up and down across Jerusalem's hills, while enjoying the iconic walls of the old city and the many green parks is a unique experience. This year, over 5,000 bikers took part in the Tour Jerusalem annual biking event, which was held for the third consecutive year.


THE JEWISH STATE

Zionism 101.  I highly recommend readers to visit this site and set up a free account to view exciting 3-minute video clips of important historical events associated with the establishment of the State of Israel.

Ritual bath found under living room floor.  The Shimshoni family called in archeologists to investigate and secure a perfectly-preserved 2,000-year-old ritual bath (mikvah) under their living room. 

India’s young Jews eye Israel.  A Group of 22 Indian Jews, mostly from the Mumbai area, have completed a 10-day free Taglit-Birthright Israel educational trip to explore the Jewish state.  They saw Tiberias, the Golan Heights, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, and an Indian spice shop in the Ramla market.

$100 million for Zionist advocacy center.  The Jewish National Fund has established a new center for Israel education and advocacy, thanks to a $100 million donation from the estate of John and Dora Boruchin.  The JNF Boruchin Israel Education Advocacy Center aims to strengthen Americans’ connection to the Jewish State.

The Most Daring Hostage Rescue in Israel’s History.  July 4 was the anniversary of the amazing 1976 Israeli commando raid on Uganda’s Entebbe airport to rescue 106 passengers of a hi-jacked Air France plane.  This 4-minute animated film captures the events.