|
Good News from Israel
Israel is actively blessing others around
the world with emergency help despite its own problems. Within 48 hours of
the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, Israel was there with 747 jets bringing medical
and emergency rescue personnel and equipment. Experienced in casualty
recovery, the teams knew what to do. Within 8 hours, a field hospital able
to handle 500 patients a day was set up, the only one in Haiti for the next
5 days. The Israeli hospital had imaging, scanning machines, operating
theaters, ventilators and monitoring equipment.
Communication lines were destroyed by the
earthquake. A satellite-based communications system was set up by Israel’s
Defense Forces. The system enabled doctors to conduct surgery using video
conferencing with surgeons at Israeli hospitals. Journalists from around the
world used the system to file stories. Israel still maintains a noble
presence in the strapped Caribbean nation. Within a month after the
earthquake, Israelis had organized a tent school with 40 teachers and 800
students. Newborns in Port-au-Prince have been given Hebrew names in
tribute.
Darkness which can be felt
(Thanks to George Ekeroth of Inside
Israel Newsletter, this item arrived just in time)
Tomas Sheleg, founder and CEO of Luna Road,
a solar lighting company, has always been interested in reaching out to
needy populations. Sheleg was in the planning stages of bringing light to
schools in Rwanda, when he heard Haiti was in need of immediate help. Living
conditions there are still bad and in one tent camp, about half the size of
a football field, there were 6000 people living in squalid conditions with
no electricity, meaning pitch-black nights and high crime. A high number of
young girls were being raped within the camps.
Sheleg rushed to Haiti with a few
solar-powered street lamps and had them installed within 30 minutes.
Haitians were extremely grateful for the new lights. The solar street lights
are small, easy to install and very cost effective. Sheleg said, “We’re
Israelis; we saw a situation and said, how can we fix it?”
Israel is the world’s leader in water
recycling. Israel recycles 70% of
its wastewater and sewage, and in distant second place is Spain, with a mere
12%. Israel also has several sewage treatment plants. After the water is
treated, it can be used for agricultural purposes.
The announcement that Israel
was allowing the transfer of seven thousand cows into Gaza didn’t make
headlines. Only negative reports demonizing Israel was deemed newsworthy.
The Jewish faith
encourages a belief in progress and personal accountability. It is
learning-based, not rite-based. Israel has more high-tech start-ups per
capita than any other nation on earth, by far. It ranks second behind the
U.S. in the number of companies listed on the NASDAQ. Israel’s
technological success is the fruition of the Zionist dream. It was founded
so Jews would have a safe place to come together and create things for the
world. The surrounding nations do not have the tradition of free
intellectual exchange and technical creativity.
The Weizmann Institute
is established as a worldwide leader and global hub of scientific genius.
For example, Prof. Ehud Shapiro has created the world’s smallest biological
computing device to identify changes in the balance of molecules that
indicate the presence of certain cancer, to diagnose the type of cancer, and
to react by producing a drug molecule to fight the cancer cells.
A week-old Iraqi infant
underwent an emergency operation in Israel to correct a congenital heart
defect.
An Israeli made device
helps restore the use of paralyzed hands. This device electrically
stimulates the hand muscles providing hope to millions of stroke sufferers
and victims of spinal injuries.
Hope for Bees,
which is hope for humanity as we now know it. The disease that is killing
bees is worldwide. Can we get along without bees? Scientists point out
that without the cross-pollinations that bees provide field crops and fruit,
there would be no harvest. It is a problem never encountered before. Good
news from Israel! An Israeli company has tested a “revolutionary” new drug
in Israel and America that has shown the ability to stop what has been
described as Colony Collapse Disorder. The new drug is called
Remembee. It has been tested on millions of bees that have proved
the effectiveness of the new drug. In addition it has improved the health
and longevity of the bees. The report states that the drug is, “Based on
Noble prize-winning RNAI technology, Remembee helps the bees
overcome IAVP virus, also discovered in Israel, which has been associated
with colony collapse.
Called “Blind Aid”
a new software tool from Israel allows the
blind and virtually impaired to make accurate mental maps, giving them the
confidence to venture into unfamiliar environments of their own. Various
training programs for the blind enable them to move freely within familiar
environment. However, when some event brings them beyond, it requires
another seeing individual to be there. The new Israel software will give
the visually impaired the independence to venture out on their own. This
tool lets the blind touch and hear virtual objects and deepens their sense
of space, distance and perspective. It has been developed under the
direction of Dr. Lahv of Tel Aviv University.
Researchers from Haifa University
have stumbled upon a rare desert plant living in Israel’s Negev desert,
which can irrigate itself.
An innovative bonding agent,
developed by an Israeli biomedical company,
can be applied to wounds to stop severe bleeding.
In the Hebron area, Jews and Arabs work together to save olive trees.
An Israeli
has invented “bone glue” that will reduce the need for bone transplants and
heal bone defects caused by cancer.
A demographic study
in Israel shows a drop in Arab birth per woman,
and a rise in births among Jewish women. Over the past 15 years, the number
of Arab births remained at around 39,000, while Jewish births rose from
80,000 to 120,000.
Israeli school system
has made teaching peace a cornerstone of its curricula. By contrast,
Palestinian textbooks ignore the Jewish historical and religious
significance in the region and present martyrdom in a positive light.
Prime Minister Netanyahu
was quoted as saying, “Judea and Samaria
will not be Judenrein [rid of Jews].” Among other quotes, Deputy Prime
Minister Moshe Yaalon, “I do not believe in the solution of 2 states for 2
peoples.” Benny Begin, “No to a Palestinian state; no to a foreign entity in
Judea and Samaria.” Finance Minister Steinitz, “A Palestinian state will
lead to the end of Israel.” Education Minister Saar, “Any blow to the
settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria will be a blow to the security of
Tel Aviv and Netanya. Preserving the Land of Israel is our guarantee for
security.” Coalition Whip MK Elkin said, “I will fully oppose the
establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria.”
Naturally occurring
oil-munching bacteria, grown at Tel Aviv
University lab, can clean hard-to-reach oil pockets that occur when
oil mixes with sand and organic matter on beaches and forms a thin layer on
precious waterways. Researchers identified a naturally occurring variety of
sea-borne bacteria that digests oil. The solution could clean up the
residual oil that can’t be removed by mechanical means using nature itself
to do the final cleanup.
Bible Contests:
The Israeli government announced it would resume the tradition of sponsoring
a Bible contest for adults. Netanyahu’s 15-year-old son, Avner, won first
place in Israel’s Bible Contest and went on to win third place in the
International Bible Contest.
A recent survey
shows that almost every Israeli has a
complete set of the Bible texts, a Jewish prayer book, or five Books of
Moses in their home. Only five percent of those polled said they had none
of these items.
Good News FOR Israel
The Polish government
is embarking on an educational initiative to teach secondary school students
about the Holocaust and combating anti-Semitism, using materials and
expertise from Amsterdam’s Anne Frank House, Krakow’s Polish-German Center,
and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
An overwhelming majority of our U.S.
Senators and Congressman signed
letters to President Obama encouraging him to stand strongly behind Israel
in face of the challenge to Israel’s international standing because of the
Flotilla-Gaza blockade situation. The President was commended for his veto
of the unfair United Nations Security Council resolution against Israel and
deplored the actions of the United Nations Human Rights Council which again
singled out Israel. Both letters called on President Obama to use his veto
power in the U.N. Security Council to block one-sided, anti-Israel
resolutions.
Ohio and Israel:
The Buckeye state is home to some of America’s richest and most fertile
farmland, with 73,700 farms and 14.3 million acres of land for agricultural
purposes alone. Israel’s total land mass is less than half that of Ohio’s
farmland. Only 20% of Israel’s land is naturally fertile and agriculture
represents a mere 2.5% of the country’s GDP. Thus, the two states are
seemingly on opposite ends of the agricultural spectrum.
However Israel is somewhat of an
agricultural marvel. Despite its small size, Israel has developed a
multitude of innovative agricultural production methods and is able to
produce 95% of its own food requirements. This has not gone unnoticed by
Ohio farmers and business people, who have forged a symbolic relationship
with their counterparts in Israel, benefiting both agricultural communities.
The collaborative effort has enabled Ohio and Israel to tackle common
agricultural problems. Ohio farmers are intrigued by Israel’s ability to
grow enough crops in the desert to feed 7 million people. The agricultural
know-how of Ohio farmers equally impresses Israeli farmers.
(Source: Near East Report)
Israel brought water from the Sea of Galilee to the
Negev. Bedouins also could water their flocks. |
