The Jewish State in its true light.
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In the 7th Oct 2012 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Success announced in NaxVax’s trials for Hepatitis C treatment.
· Gaza baby saved at Israeli hospital after siblings died at Egyptian hospitals.
· UNICEF has bought Israeli water purification tablets for use in Syria.
· Israeli schoolchildren won the 2012 junior equivalent of the Nobel Prize for Physics.
· The massive production platform for Israel’s Tamar natural gas field has been launched.
· A great song by the Ein Prat Fountainheads to celebrate the festival of Sukkot.
· Thousands of Christian supporters of Israel paraded in Jerusalem.
· Last week’s JPost Israel Good News descriptive summary
Click here for “How Goodly are your Tents”
Page Down for more details on these and other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Battling breast cancer. In honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Israel21c has put together a list of the top 10 latest Israeli advances in breast cancer treatment. They include IceSense3 (freezing tumours), RUTH (alternative to mammograms), Marginprobe from Dune Medical and several treatments currently in trials.
Preventing cancer spreading to the brain. The most dangerous form of metastasis (secondary cancer) is when it infects the brain. A team of Tel Aviv researchers has identified proteins secreted by brain cells that attract melanoma cells. Inoculating mice with non-metastatic cells prevents the secondary cancer developing.
Leukaemia cure is due to Israeli. Patients suffering from acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) are now routinely given all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA). This causes the cancer cells to return to their normal function – a therapy known as differentiation and helps cure 70% of all APL sufferers. Differentiation was discovered by Professor Leo Sachs of Israel’s Weizmann Institute.
Success in Hepatitus C trials. Israel’s NasVax has announced success in the Phase IIa clinical trial of its oral anti-CD3 antibody for treating hepatitis C, a chronic disease, which disrupts the functioning of the immune system. The treatment also worked on patients who don’t respond to interferon – the current medication.
Do we have your full attention? The latest research from Dr. Nurit Gronau, of Israel’s Open University, sheds new light on how our brains filter information, prioritize what we see and hear, and digest our surroundings. To avoid being flooded with stimuli, our brains process within a limited visual field, called the “field of attention.”
Japanese make stem cells; Israelis explain how they did it. A few years ago, Japanese scientists turned adult cells into stem cells. However, they were baffled why it happened and the process was unreliable. Weizmann researchers have now worked out the science involved and are confident of making a biomedical breakthrough.
Bionic ears work better together. Cochlear implants are electronic devices surgically implanted in the ear to help provide a sense of sound. Now Tel Aviv University researchers have proof that, in certain situations, two synchronised implants have the ability to salvage binaural sound processing for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Gaza woman chose Israeli hospital to save baby. A Palestinian Authority mother from Gaza is home with a healthy baby thanks to Israeli doctors in Kfar Sava, after a complicated surgery. Jian Abu Agram, 31, already had lost three babies to rare birth defects at Egyptian hospitals.
4 Gaza children get Israeli kidney treatment. The four kids, nephrology patients suffering from kidney insufficiency, have been hospitalized for several months in the Children’s Hospital at Rambam Health Care Campus, where they have been receiving lifesaving therapy while awaiting kidney transplants.
UNICEF use Israeli water tablets in Syria. Israel’s Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz authorised the sale of “AquaTabs” water purification tablets from Israel Chemicals for use in the UNICEF’s relief mission in Syria. Syria’s water sources, have suffered significant damage during the 18-months revolt against President Assad.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Israelis win High School Nobel Prize. Israeli high school students beat 80 other countries to win first prize at the 20th annual First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics competition, held in Warsaw. 14 Israelis won prizes including overall first for Yuval Katznelson, for his research of energy in unique gases found in charcoal fibres.
PM takes Technion to the UN. Israel’s Prime Minister praised Israel’s Technion – one of Israel’s leading hi-tech academic institutions – in his 30-minute speech to the United Nations in New York last Thursday.
Colombia welcomes Israeli water experts. The Israeli pavilion took pride of place at the Acodal 2012 Water Congress in Bogota, Colombia. 14 Israeli companies were represented. Colombian companies recognize the Israeli water industry as a world leader in innovative solutions.
Solar Succa. During the feast of Succot (Tabernacles), the city of Kfar Saba is hosting a unique type of municipal Succa – a “Solar Succa,” to operate on solar energy only. The solar panels, on the environmentally friendly booth, absorb the sun’s energy during the day and operate LED lights during darkness hours.
October is Israel Innovation Month. Watch the new video from the Jewish Virtual Library.
Hoozin? (Thanks to NoCamels) Israeli startup Hoozin has launched a social group-messaging app for mobile smart-phone users that aims to simulate the way interactions between groups of people happen in real life. Hoozin displays users as if sitting around a table, where messages are ‘stacked’ much like playing cards.
“The largest infrastructure project in Israeli history”. The 290-meter high production platform for Israel’s Tamar natural gas field is taller than Israel’s tallest skyscraper. The platform has left Texas, after 18 months of construction, and will arrive in Israel on board the largest barge of its kind. Production at the Tamar field is scheduled to begin in March 2013, and will (hopefully) supply natural gas to the Israeli economy for decades.
Maria is a genius. Israeli Technion graduate Maria Chudnovsky has just been awarded a $500,000 “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation. As professor at Columbia University she has succeeded in proving “graph classification theory” and now works on real-world applications of the theory.
Silence is golden. Rehovot-based Silentium has implemented silencing technology that reduces the noise of data centre computers, air-conditioning systems and even cooker hoods by up to 90%. Silentium’s “anti-noise” signal destroys the original sound wave and cancels out the noise. It reduces stress and heat and saves money.
Traditional farming needs Israeli technology. Israel’s Embassy representative Yahel Vilan gave a message to Sri Lankan farmers at AgriTech 2012 in Colombo. Sri Lankan agriculture is not far behind that of Israel. It just needs a little Israeli help to bridge the last mile.
Israeli self-cleaning towel system. UltraClean is an automatic non-touch cotton towel dispenser, with a self-laundering system inside, meaning the towel never needs to be replaced. Compared to hot-air dryers and paper towels, UltraClean avoids recycling germs, reduces CO2 emissions and eliminates paper-waste.
Future scientists on display in Peres’ Sukkah. Israeli President Shimon Peres invited young scientists from around the country to display their inventions in his Sukkah. In 2009 Peres founded the Future Scientists and Inventors program to target the most creative minds among the country’s youth and then push them further.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Record tourist numbers in August. Throughout last month, 248,000 tourists entered the country – a 10% increase as compared with August 2011. A record number of 2.3 million visitors arrived between January-August 2012, a 7% increase as compared with last year and 5% more than the previous record year of 2010.
Israeli exports up 6%. Israel’s exports, excluding diamonds, increased by 6% in July and August, compared to the two previous months. Pharmaceutical products led the way (up 26%) followed by agricultural products (up 19%).
Building roads in Nigeria. Israel’s Solel Boneh has won a $390 million contract from the Nigerian government to build a road in the Shgamu-Benin area of Nigeria. The project will take three years to carry out
Israeli fashion at the New York trade show. Three Israeli designers showed their collections at the recent New York trade show. Frau Blau, Kedem Sasson, and Ronen Chen participated in this year’s Coterie, the biannual trade show in which taking part is a sure sign of a designer’s success.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
American hip hop in Tel Aviv. (Thanks to Israel21c) Producer Gilat Weiman brought R&B singer Monique Baines and NYC Rapper Clap Cognac to Israel in order to meet Israeli producer / composer Meli One and make the record “Finish Line”. As Clap Cognac says, music brings everyone together.
Artists bring traditional music to Jerusalem. At the Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival, artists and musicians from Israel and abroad shared a variety of musical traditions. Events and shows featured esoteric, meditative and ceremonial music from Azerbaijan, Iran, Africa, Morocco, Iraq, Brazil, and India.
Things to do during Sukkot in Israel. If you’re quick you may catch events and sights including Jerusalem – the largest sukka in Israel, Tel Aviv – biking festival, Jaffa – photography festival. Plus special programs in the North, the Galilee, the Negev and the Dead Sea.
More things to do. Ideas include Haifa’s International Film Festival, Bat Yam International Street-Theatre Festival, Dona Gracia Festival in Tiberias, the Negev Bird-watching Festival and Emek Hamaianot.
Livin’ in a Booth. Happy Sukkot from the Ein Prat Fountainheads
The future of Science Fiction. Icon Tel Aviv features re-enactments of scenes from comic books and fantasy games, a science fiction film festival, discussions on animation and a superhero costume contest. This year’s festival will also feature a special workshop on “Scientific Singularities,” that could change life for the better.
THE JEWISH STATE
On your bike. There’s been a huge jump in Tel Avivians riding on two wheels in the last decade. About fourteen percent of all Tel Aviv residents use their bikes as the main form of transport to work or school.
An observant reporter in New York. Last week I included an amusing article about the Israeli press on the way to report on PM Netanyahu’s speech at the UN. The same reporter describes the lengths he went to in order to keep the Sabbath during the hectic trip that bridged Yom Kippur and the feast of Tabernacles.
Thousands march to support Israel. Christians from over sixty countries paraded down the streets of Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, to show their support for the Jewish State.
Vote for Tel Aviv. Citigroup are running an on-line poll to select the World’s Most Innovative City for 2012. As the Hi-tech hub for the Start-up Nation, Tel Aviv must be in with a chance – especially with your help. Add the following link to your favourite sites / bookmarks and vote every day from 15th October.
I am so proud when I read a list of so many
achievements by the amazing Jewish people.
No more to be said.
@ James B – Montreal:
U never heard of: “the Jews healing the whole world” (Tikkun Olam)!
Israel is a great country and Israelis are great people. But why waste its talent and precious resources on arab muslims? There is no pay back.