In the 12th Aug 2012 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Israeli stem cells have saved the life of another patient with bone marrow failure.
· Israeli treatment success for epilepsy that does not respond to medication.
· The Israeli government is paying Israeli companies to employ Israeli Arabs.
· Israeli broadcast communications technology is a winner at the London Olympics.
· An Israeli firm will employ hundreds to make bio fuels in Mississippi.
· Two Israeli mothers have invented a unique biodegradable packaging material.
· For the first time, a Pakistani media company is translating an Israeli news feed into Urdu.
· Last week’s JPost Israel Positive News descriptive summary
Click here for “A Fresh Look at the Jewish State”
Page Down for more details on these and other good news stories from Israel.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Pluristem saves another bone marrow patient. PLX stem cell therapy by Israel’s Pluristem Therapeutics saved a 54-year old Israeli woman with lymphoma cancer and terminal bone marrow failure at Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital. The patient failed to respond to chemotherapy or bone marrow transplants. She has now been discharged from the hospital. In May, Pluristem saved a 7-year-old girl with an aplastic bone marrow.
Good results from initial pulmonary fibrosis trials. Pluristem Therapeutics positive results in pre-clinical test of its PLacental eXpanded (PLX) stem cells for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. It reduced pulmonary fibrosis (scarring of the lung tissue) and improved lung function in interstitial lung disease (ILD).
Caesarean at 30 weeks saves baby and mother. (Thanks to Israel21c) A routine ultrasound scan discovered that an unborn baby had a blockage in its breathing passage. Surgeons at Israel’s Sheba medical centre performed a rare operation on the baby while it was still attached to its mother by its umbilical cord.
Record 30 cornea transplants. Normally surgeons at the Rabin Medical Centre – Beilinson campus perform 10 transplants a month. But in July, they tripled the number of operations to restore the sight of patients. This is another positive result of the new ADI organ donor cards that more and more Israelis have signed up to.
Can prayer prevent Alzheimer’s? A new joint American-Israeli study has found that praying regularly can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 50%. Spiritual well-being slows progression of the disease by reducing stress levels. Memorising prayers helps cognitive function. (And maybe other factors?)
Deep Brain Stimulation stops epileptic seizures. Professor Itzak Fried of Sourasky Medical Center implanted electrodes deep inside the brain of a patient with intractable epilepsy (does not respond to medication). So far, the treatment has been a complete success. There are some 20,000 Israelis with intractable epilepsy.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Israel pays firms to employ Arabs. The Israeli government will pay 25% of the hi-tech salaries of Israeli-Arabs for 2.5 years as part of a NIS 5 billion, multi-year plan to integrate Arabs into the economy. 600 companies have agreed to participate in the incentives program by hiring qualified Arab workers.
The road to Peace – watermelon? It has as much chance as anything the PA leadership is doing. Watermelon and Israeli cheeses brought together Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem’s Musrara neighbourhood as part of the first annual “Between Green and Red” festival. It revives the atmosphere in 1967 when the city was re-united.
Terrorist leader’s family treated in Israeli hospital. The sister of Gaza’s Hamas PM, Ismail Haniyeh, accompanied her husband for one week’s treatment in Beilinson Hospital four months ago. The sister’s husband chose Israel rather than Egypt, following a serious heart condition. (Are we crazy?)
Israeli charity to advise UN. Beit Issie Shapiro, Israel’s leading special needs organization and global innovator of new therapies, has been awarded Special Consultative Status by the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Beit Issie Shapiro will provide Israeli expertise on disability rights and innovations.
Angola and Israel to strengthen cooperation. Israeli President Shimon Peres received Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Chicoti and both agreed to strengthen the science and technology links between the two countries.
Indian Navy on goodwill visit. Four Indian navy warships arrived on a goodwill visit to Haifa to “strengthen service-to-service linkages”, as the two countries celebrate 20 years of diplomatic ties this year. The Indian sailors will also be paying their respects at the memorial of Indian soldiers buried in Haifa. Haifa schools’ history textbooks include how Indian soldiers fought to liberate the city from the Ottoman Turks in 1918.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-01/ news/32981189_1_indian-navy- warships-indian-soldiers-haifa http://www.haifa-israel.info/ANZAC.html
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Israeli technology at the Olympics. 100 broadcasters including BBC, NBC, Globosat, Terra, TV Record, Televisa, and Uno TV, are all using a remote television uplink technology developed by Israel’s LiveU. And Orad TV developed the software to display national flags on the lanes for swimming and track events.
Israel’s “Start-up Olympics”. The “Tech Trailblazers Awards” is a new initiative for taking innovative Israeli tech start-ups into Gold Medal Territory. A £1 million prize fund and guaranteed publicity will launch any new enterprise off the starting blocks and on track for a podium finish.
The Olympic games of green construction. An Israeli team will submit an entry for the prestigious Solar Decathlon China competition scheduled for August 2013. The competition will include academic teams from 20 countries who will compete for the title of champion of ecological construction.
Windbreaker intercepts Gaza missile. (Thanks to Phillip Pasmanick) The IDF‘s innovative Windbreaker defense system intercepted an anti-tank missile fired at an Israeli tank in the central Gaza Strip, near Kissufim. It is only the second time that the system has been used to save IDF lives since made operational in 2010.
The John is now the Paulee. It’s a toilet that requires no water or electricity and its end product can simply be put on the compost. Israel’s Paulee Cleantech so impressed the Gates Foundation that they have awarded it an $110,000 grant. The same company makes the AshPoopie that deals with dog waste (featured here last year).
A recycled cycle. Israeli entrepreneur Izhar Gafni has developed a prototype bicycle that is waterproof, humidity-resistant, eco-friendly, affordable and … made out of recycled cardboard. Despite the focus on low costs, Gafni paid a lot of attention to design and it’s really hard to tell that it’s made out of cardboard.
Biodegradable packaging is here. (Thanks to Israel21c, Green Prophet & Margaret) Inspired by their children who kept throwing away their packed lunch wrappings, two Israeli mothers have invented a packaging material that can be disposed of without any environmental impact. (But just look at the CV’s of these mothers)
Robot education. No it’s not an article about boring teachers. This is about World ORT’s program to advance science and technology education by getting Israeli students to build robots. Robots help kids learn to think more creatively, exposing them to principles of physics, energy, environment, and infrastructure.
Israeli hi-tech comes to Atlanta. The 16th annual American-Israeli Chamber of Commerce’s professional seminar in Atlanta, Georgia, is to focus on the impact of Israel’s growing technology sector on the USA. Israeli speakers include from companies Elbit, SpaceIL, BigBand Networks and NeuroTech Solutions.
Geothermal plant goes operational. Israel’s Ormat Technologies has announced that its McGinness Hills geothermal power plant located in Lander County, Nevada met the requirements for commercial operation. Ormat has a contract to sell the electricity produced to Las Vegas based NV Energy for the next 20 years.
An Israeli biofuel plant in Mississippi. Israel’s Virdia is to build a factory in the Southern US State to convert Mississippi vegetation into fermentable sugars – a key stage to making fuel from plants. The factory will create hundreds of vital local jobs.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Why is Israel’s economy so strong? There are many books and articles that try to answer that. “Start-up Nation” and “The Israel Test” are probably the best. Mitt Romney gave his thoughts during his recent visit. Here is another in an opinion piece from Jordan Weissmann.
Israel’s gas is worth $240 billion. A Bloomberg News report estimates that Israel has enough natural gas to last for 150 years. So it must decide what it is going to do with it. (A great situation to be in.)
July air passengers up 4.5%. The Israel Airports Authority reports that 1.4 million passengers passed through Ben Gurion airport in July, up 4.5% from last year. In July there were 9,576 incoming and outbound flights, a 1.5% rise. The summer vacation peak saw 60,000 passengers come and go on 390 flights on a single day.
Israel system to monitor Chinese agricultural products. The Anhui province of China has selected the Israeli company Agricultural Knowledge Online (AKOL) to supply agricultural survey and monitoring systems. China is ramping up its agriculture production using Israel’s advanced computerized technology.
Investors flood in for Israeli clean water company. Israeli wastewater treatment solutions provider Aqwise has raised $4.5 million to expand its projects, especially in India. Aqwise is one of Deloitte’s Israeli Fast 50 Technology companies and also on the “Global Cleantech 100”.
Israeli news in Urdu. Tazpit News Agency is the first Israeli media company to collaborate with a Pakistani media group. Toronto based Weekly Press Pakistan (WPP) will carry Tazpit’s stories in Urdu. Tazpit director Amotz Eyal said that the link-up has “exposed millions to news and balanced information coming from Israel.”
Israeli firms expand overseas. Israeli industrial companies have taken advantage of the global slowdown in the first half of 2012 to buy 40 small and medium-sized companies in Europe and India. In all of 2011 there were only 20 such acquisitions by Israeli industrial companies overseas.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
“Living water from Jerusalem”. 2015 will see the opening of an NIS 80 million aquarium at Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo. The two main tanks will focus on life in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Visitors walk under 2 million cubic meters of seawater for a 180-degree view of the sharks, sea turtles, coral reefs and exotic fish.
Israel’s first professional music conference. The Jerusalem Music Conference, the first international music conference in Israel for music business professionals, will be taking place from August 27-31. Hundreds of delegates are expected and it will feature over 40 Israeli artists and bands.
It’s not all studying at the Technion. Israel Technion’s 2012 International Beach Volleyball Tournament gave the hard-working students a chance to unwind.
THE JEWISH STATE
From terror victim to policewoman. Ten years after being seriously wounded in a bombing attack in Karnei Shomron, Shira Chazan completed the first portion of Israel Police training academy. With a degree in criminology and following a long and painful rehabilitation process, Shira is getting on with her life.
Tel Aviv – city of architecture. (Thanks to Israel21c) International travel magazine Conde Nast has included Tel Aviv as number 3 in its list of cities every architecture lover must visit. “Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tel Aviv’s ‘White City’ contains 4,000 International Style buildings” the website reported.
Free Wi-Fi throughout Israel. Just a couple of catches. Firstly, you must be a Bezeq customer (I am) and secondly, you donate 1-2 Mb of your home wi-fi bandwidth to the service accessed by others. Your home effectively becomes a hotspot. 10,000 have already signed up and I’m thinking seriously about joining them.
IDF prevents mega-terror attack from Sinai. The incident is all over the news and worth recording here.
@ yamit82:
Note that most of Israel’s generals and intelligence personnel are not on board to attack Iran. Do you know something that they don’t know? with regard to yourself, may I quote a well known latin saying, OKSHMAY, POTSMAY. May you go in peace, but go already.
Desalinized water is more important than oil…add to this impressive list
copied from:
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/israeli-innovation-could-make-water-drinkable-in-africa/2012/08/13/
@ steven belsky:
As soon as Iran began their project and it became known outside of Iran the ideas of surprise is mute. An attack by Israel or America was always factored into their program and expected. . It’s not a matter of surprise but of how good our Intel is as to what they got and where it is….Everything else is an operational problem easily overcome with the proper assets, training and the political will to exercise them.
America has the conventional assets, size and logistics to methodically destroy the Iranian project and preempt and nullify their ability to hit back in any serious way. Israel can do the job with different assets than America and to ensure successful mission will have no choice but to use what we have. Israel need not even have to use her Air Force.
Let me understand you.
You think that Israel should allow Iran to reach the status as a nuclear power. Ignore the threats emitting from their leadership, Civilian and Military. That we should risk another Holocaust because of what will or might happen to the economies of the world?
You ain’t too bright and I am being Kind.
@ yamit82:
Eidelberg for King. All say ,hail!
@ yamit82:
Israel should have attacked Iran ten years ago- that is exactly the time they initially threatened to begin bombing. Now it is much too late. The advantage of surprise has been lost. The western world is struggling with a serious economic crises and starting new hostilities in a sensitive area at the very worst of times would not be too bright.
Israeli Tourism Booming
2012 Record year.
Israel caters to Christians, and Slavs. What a menagerie.
Israel helps India clean up the Ganges river
US didn’t foresee 9/11, officials in Jerusalem say, after White House claims it would know if Iran was about to get the bomb
Withering response from anonymous sources in Israel to Obama spokesman’s attempt at reassurance
Quote of the Day!!
Khamenei’s Sacred Word: Destroy Israel
by Clifford May
Moment Magazine
Israel elecric company threatens to pull plug on West Bank
From Ma’an:
An Israeli electricity company has threatened to cut off supplies to the West Bank over unpaid debts, a Palestinian electricity company official said Monday.
The Jerusalem Electricity Company received an official warning from the Israeli Electric Corporation that it would cut off electricity due to unpaid debts amounting to 424 million shekels ($105 million), Hasan Muslih, a member of the JEC’s board of directors, told Ma’an.
A major reason for the accumulation of debt is that refugee camps in the West Bank refuse to pay their bills, Muslih said. There is also a disparity in the buying and selling tariff of electricity, he added.
The threatened cut to supplies would affect areas in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Jericho, Muslih said, adding that power cuts in the West Bank could become as frequent as in the Gaza Strip.
The Jerusalem Electricity Company has organized a campaign to collect unpaid bills.
The “refugee” camps aren’t paying their bills…I wonder if UNRWA usually takes care of that or not.
Of course, if IEC does cut off electricity, the world will blame Israel. Because free electricity is a human right, at least for a small percentage of humans
@ Canadian Otter:
Look at BB’s moves as a backdoor strategy to incrementally effect a presidential system in all but name.
It’s good if we have a wise and beneficent King but when we have a stupid evil and cowardly King it could be bad. 🙁
The people always have the right of insurrection. 8)
@ yamit82:
USA & EU brought to their knees by wrecking their economy first.
The article you cite fits perfectly with the international elite’s strategy:
The international elite’s plan is to wreck Israel’s superior performance, which will weaken the country. They will then try to subjugate the population as in Southern Europe, where banksters are running the show. In the case of Israel, they want to accelerate the elite’s complete takeover of the country and to expedite Israel’s partition and eventual dismantling.
Yesterday’s announcement of an unprecedented increase of the Israeli Prime Minister’s power is disturbing because it reminds us of the general outline set by the international elite to erode US and European democracies (although the EU was half-way there with the creation of the European Union).
The US is unrecognizable already, with TSA’s widening powers, and with Congress approval of the NDAA, which allows the president to order the arrest and indefinite imprisonment of a citizen based on something as tenuous as a “rumor”. No requirement to follow the normal judicial process with access to a lawyer or anything. The person can be simply “disappeared” into a dungeon somewhere. The NDAA is only one of several new measures based on the war on terror that are being used to stifle dissent and erode people’s rights.
In the case of Israel, new measures expanding the PM’s power came about based on the threat by Iran, an indefinite threat that will result in indefinite superpowers for the PM.
We can only hope that those powers won’t be abused or increased, because even if Mr Netanyahu uses them with restraint, the chances are high that his successor could use them to launch a complete takeover of the government.
Revised Gov’t Protocol Gives PM Unprecedented Powers
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4267396,00.html
PS: It’s rather curious how the PM’s increased powers to legislate came about just as nationalist forces opposing partition are beginning to gain popularity and to make themselves heard in the Knesset.
Begins with corruption and ends with just plain stupidity. Corruption and stupidity is a toxic blend.
Israel gives green light to Palestinians for developing our gas field
The government has agreed to lift the long-standing ban preventing the Palestinians from developing the gas field offshore of Ashkelon, which is ridiculously called the Gaza gas field (it is opposite of Israel, not only Gaza). Barak gave that field to Arafat to make the terrorist government economically viable.
Developing the gas field would beef up Hamas’ coffers, since the terrorist group exercises control over Gaza’s waters. Israel will be buying our own gas back from the Palestinians.
Are there any sane intelligence chiefs in Israel?
After Meir Dagan publicly opposed an Israeli strike on Iran, Aharon Farkash (head of MI for many years) joined the fray. He agrees that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and that Obama is not likely to stop the ayatollahs, but argues that an Israeli strike would lack the necessary international legitimacy. Why exactly we need the world’s approval to defend ourselves, Farkash did not explain. And indeed, we bombed Osiraq despite an international outcry, so what’s different now
Egypt demonstrates normality to Israel
The world remains silent about Egypt sealing its border with Gaza in response to the terrorist attack on Egyptian police in Sinai. A clear case of collective punishment, yet effective in bringing Hamas to its knees.
So far, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood appears powerless to help Hamas. It remains to be seen how long the junta will be able to ignore the MB-led parliament.
Only in Israel: Military approves universities
Netanyahu broke Israeli security, now economy
Gas barons dictate Israeli foreign policy
The Tamar consortium is considering a $15 billion contract to sell liquified gas to Russia’s Gazprom. Such a sale would create conflict between Israel and France, which also wants to buy LPG from us, incidentally to protect itself against the Gazprom racket.
The contract would run for fifteen years, which is the projected life span of the gas field. After that time, having sold our gas to international bidders, Israel would again be at the mercy of Muslim gas suppliers.
Netanyahu broke Israeli security, now economy
Benjamin Netanyahu
After missing every opportunity to bomb Iranian nuclear installations, Netanyahu has turned to destroying Israeli economy.
The proposed doubling of the budget deficit to 3% removes possibly our most important safeguard, one which the Bank of Israel’s CEO cites as responsible for Israel’s stability amid the world financial crisis. Raising taxes and expanding welfare projects while simultaneously cutting down on equally important social expenses testifies to the lack of any government economic policy except juggling for the ad hoc survival of the coalition.
Gas barons dictate Israeli foreign policy
The Tamar consortium is considering a $15 billion contract to sell liquified gas to Russia’s Gazprom. Such a sale would create conflict between Israel and France, which also wants to buy LPG from us, incidentally to protect itself against the Gazprom racket.
The contract would run for fifteen years, which is the projected life span of the gas field. After that time, having sold our gas to international bidders, Israel would again be at the mercy of Muslim gas suppliers.
Only in Israel: Military approves universitiesNetanyahu broke Israeli security, now economy
Benjamin Netanyahu
After missing every opportunity to bomb Iranian nuclear installations, Netanyahu has turned to destroying Israeli economy.
The proposed doubling of the budget deficit to 3% removes possibly our most important safeguard, one which the Bank of Israel’s CEO cites as responsible for Israel’s stability amid the world financial crisis. Raising taxes and expanding welfare projects while simultaneously cutting down on equally important social expenses testifies to the lack of any government economic policy except juggling for the ad hoc survival of the coalition.
The Defense Ministry is obstructing the attempt by Ariel college to obtain university status. That continues the years-long controversy over granting such status to education centers located in the ‘occupied’ territories.
The ministry is open about its doubts: it is concerned about diplomatic repercussions. What does the Defense Ministry have to do with diplomacy, except for Barak’s personal relations with world leaders? Instead of defending our country against Iran, the Defense Minister trembles at the thought of goyim condemning us over the purely domestic issue of university status.
Govt pays companies to hire Arabs. “Good news”?
Open discrimination against unemployed Jews in Israel – a good thing? While Arabs repeatedly set fire to fields, attack Jews, and call for the destruction of the state?
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There was an article the other day about the reaction of a Samaria leader to the United Church of Canada boycott of Yesha products. I kept sending talkbacks about the hiring of Arabs but something about this leader’s plea kept bothering me. By the time I identified it, the news report was already gone from the front page.
So I kept attacking Jews employing Arabs. But it was a day or so afterwards that Havivri’s words resonated as an echo of a time, not long ago, when Jews pleaded to be allowed to live one more day because their work was essential to their masters’ war effort.
Decades later many of us sometimes give the impression of trying to justify Israel’s existence by the quality of its contributions to the world, or in Samaria’s particular case, by the fact that it provides work to the otherwise unproductive Israeli and PA Arabs, the world’s darlings.
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I celebrate as much as any other Jew the Israel’s achievements. But there is something in this celebration that has a subtle but clear message that these accomplishments are Israel’s way of justifying its existence to the anti-Semitic world. Something nobody would expect from the Arab “culture”.
Example of Arab achievements: http://masada2000.org/ramallah.html (Caution – graphic evidence)
Two of those Arab high “achievers” were captured by Israel but then released along with a thousand other Arab “achievers” in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. They were recently recaptured for terror related activities in the “moderate” Palestinian Authority territory.
In the meantime Jews continue to hire them, and even brag about it ….