POSITIVE NEWS FROM ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN
Read this episode of pluck and fairness in the American spirit:
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA )waves Israeli flag from his roof after pro-Hamas protesters gather outside his Pa. home: https://nypost.com/2024/01/27/news/john-fetterman-mocks-pro-hamas-protesters-with-israeli-flag/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp&utm_source=mail_app
And here is a fact of ironic truth:
Among the protesters and Congressional legislators and journalists who harbor and promote anti-Israel bias, you can bet that the majority, whether in diagnosis, illness and cure, or in their cameras, cellphones and computers, or in general security technology, profit from Israeli research and development in some form every single day.
Michael Ordman’s catalogs of the foregoing are essential reading. rsk
www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com
POSITIVE NEWS DURING A WAR
Druze woman saved Jewish town. On Oct 7, Druze IDF Sgt Maj Iyyad Yousef captured two Hamas terrorists who invaded the Jewish town of Yated where he lived. His wife Nasreen then interrogated them in Arabic and extracted vital information that helped IDF forces to eliminate the threat to their town.
https://worldisraelnews.com/how-a-druze-woman-saved-her-jewish-town-on-october-7/
Foreign students maintain Gaza border dairies. (TY Hazel) Dairy farms near Israel’s Gaza border have been supplying milk uninterruptedly since the outbreak of the Oct 7 war thanks to a few staff that remained behind while most residents were evacuated. Among those who stayed are university students from Africa and Asia.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/undeterred-by-oct-7-massacre-foreign-interns-keep-gaza-periphery-dairy-farms-afloat/
Good news from Bet Shemesh. (TY Yanky) Journalist Hanoch Daum offered to pay a Tel Aviv restaurant owner for the meals of the IDF soldiers sitting at a table. The owner replied, “you’ll have to get in line, six other people have offered to do the same thing before you!” (more articles below)
https://www.shemesh.co.il/en/highlights/good-news-corner-11th-january-2024/about
Read all about it. Don’t miss these: A wallet lost in Gaza 10 years ago returned to its owner. A record 39,000 ADI organ donor cards were issued in 2023. 31,000 Jewish Israeli babies were born since Oct 7. Volunteers present soldiers with gift packages for them to give to their wives on returning from Gaza. And more…
https://www.shemesh.co.il/en/highlights/good-news-corner-11th-january-2024/about
In Gaza together, re-united in maternity ward. IDF reservists Eliya Rosen and Daniel Novogrotzky fought together for six weeks in Gaza. They were drafted on Oct 7, to join the same IDF unit. They were astonished to meet up again when they discovered that their wives were sharing a maternity room at the same hospital.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/383577
IFCJ donates $19 million in 100 days. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) provided $19 million in aid and assistance to thousands of Israelis in the first 100 days of the war with Hamas. IFCJ will continue to support evacuees and displaced war victims with basic needs and other essentials throughout 2024.
https://www.jns.org/wire/ifcj-provides-19-million-in-aid-in-first-100-days-of-war/
https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-782687
14 ambulances donated. North Carolina based Samaritan’s Purse has donated 14 new MDA ambulances to replace those destroyed by Hamas on Oct 7. In addition, the organization is donating seven armored ambulances to MDA, which are still in production and will be dedicated this spring.
https://www.jns.org/samaritans-purse-replaces-14-mda-ambulances-lost-on-oct-7/
Something is afoot. There are a great many happy feet in the IDF due to the thousands of pairs of US-certified military-grade boots being delivered each week. 10,000 pairs of boots have been distributed to Israeli soldiers, thanks to some $850,000 of donations, raised mainly from individuals in the US at private funding events.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/something-is-afoot-volunteers-fit-idf-soldiers-with-us-military-boots-amid-hamas-war/
Asylum seekers cook for IDF soldiers. Dozens of Eritrean migrant workers hosted hundreds of IDF soldiers serving on the border with Gaza to a festive barbecue dinner. The Christian Orthodox Eritreans self-funded the cost of all the steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, kebabs, and salads.
https://www.jns.org/eritrean-migrants-barbecue-for-israeli-soldiers-near-gaza-border/
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Finland gives $1 million to MDA. (TY Hazel) The Finnish government is to donate $1 million to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service. Finland’s ambassador to Israel Dr. Nina Nordström signed the agreement after she toured the MDA 101 Emergency Call Center in Kiryat Ono.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/finland-to-donate-1-million-to-magen-david-adom/
US approval for ultrasound software. Israel’s Techsomed Medical Technologies (see here previously) has received US FDA approval for its BioTraceIO groundbreaking ultrasound-based liver ablation software. It helps surgeons to see the real-time status of liver tumors while they use thermal ablation therapy to destroy them.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/techsomeds-biotrace-solution-achieves-de-novo-clearance-from-fda-as-the-first-ultrasound-based-software-for-tissue-response-prediction-in-liver-tumor-ablation-302028369.html https://nocamels.com/2024/01/israeli-company-gets-fda-clearance-for-liver-tumor-software/
A sensor to guide the endoscope. Israel’s SwiftDuct has developed a smart endoscope for navigating the complex and dangerous route needed to check the condition of the bile duct. 20% of the 2 million annual ERCP procedures cause damage to the nearby pancreatic duct. SwiftDuct’s sensor and guidewire solve this problem.
https://nocamels.com/2024/01/unique-sensor-offers-safe-solution-for-tricky-intestinal-procedure/
https://swiftduct.com/
Boosting survival rates for wounded IDF soldiers. The current 6.7% mortality rate for wounded IDF personnel is half of that during the 2006 2nd Lebanon war. This can be attributed to faster evacuations, better protective equipment, and medical tech from Israeli founded companies such as Mazor Robots and Aidoc.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-cutting-edge-israeli-med-tech-is-boosting-survival-rates-of-war-wounded/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaEdmYrNAO0
DNA sequencing to combat pathogens. (TY OurCrowd) Israel’s Sequentify (see here previously) was awarded a grant by the Israel Innovation Authority to help develop a targeted DNA sequencing panel for infectious disease research, focusing on pathogen diagnosis and antibiotic resistance surveillance.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sequentify-awarded-grant-by-israel-innovation-authority-for-infectious-disease-sequencing-panel-302031466.html
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Child-friendly bomb shelters. The central Israel city of Holon is often called the children’s city as it hosts a huge children’s museum complex, a children’s library, and kid-friendly story parks. The municipality has now employed artist Rinat Luk Elhaik to paint each of the city’s 23 public shelters in the style of a children’s book.
https://www.israel21c.org/this-is-how-bomb-shelters-look-in-israels-childrens-city/
More emergency interpreting services. (TY Yanky) A previous article (see here) mentioned the services provided by volunteers at Bar-Ilan University for non-Hebrew speakers. It links to the Bar-Ilan professional hotline for mental support 03 531 8811. BIU’s emergency interpretation service is *9392 extension 4.
https://www.biu.ac.il/en/article/23412 https://www.biu.ac.il/en/article/23379
Israel’s educated Christians. (TY Hazel) Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics has just reported that 55.1% of Israel’s Arab Christians studied for a bachelor’s degree within eight years of graduating high school, compared to 34.6% of Arabs and 48.1% of all Israelis.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/01/15/israels-christian-community-booming-data-show/
My Life in Israel as an Arab Muslim. Sophia Khalifa tells her story. Please watch and forward this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkvaxLaIsG0
Winning Arab hearts and minds. Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee is head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, tasked with refuting the lies of Al Jazeera and other Hamas supporters. His deputy is Major Ella Waweya (see here previously) – a Muslim woman, known as “Captain Ella”, even after promotion.
https://www.jns.org/how-the-idf-spokesperson-in-arabic-wins-hearts-and-minds/
Indian journalists, including Muslims from Kashmir, tour Israel. (TY WIN) Israeli NGO Sharaka (Partnership) brought a delegation of Indian journalists and social-media influencers, to tour Israel in the wake of Oct. 7 and the current war. It included three Muslim writers and an Afghan journalist living in Germany.
https://www.jns.org/indian-journalists-including-muslims-from-kashmir-tour-israel/
We know who our friends are. (TY Hazel) Czech President Petr Pavel assured his Israel’s President Herzog that his country stands shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish state in its battle to defeat Hamas. “You can always rely on the Czech Republic,” Pavel told Herzog when they met at the President’s residence in Jerusalem.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-782289
A good time to be in Israel. Superb support messages from Oracle’a CEO Safra Catz. “America in particular loves a winner. And Israel is a winner”. Oracle put ‘We stand with Israel’ on global websites in the local language to publicize how important Israel is and what the difference is between good and evil.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hklfqi7kt
Ride for Freedom. Tens of thousands of cyclists around the world responded to Israel-Premier Tech cycling team owner Sylvan Adams’s call to join the ride in over 40 cities across the globe to mark 100 days in captivity for the hostages of Hamas. https://www.jns.org/ride-for-freedom-marks-100-days-of-our-people-in-captivity/
UAE opens Israeli AI/IR R&D center. (TY Yanky) Despite the war, the United Arab Emirates is to open a Haifa center for research into Artificial Intelligence and Information Retrieval. It will be the Israeli arm of the UAE’s the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) that invented the Falcon Open Source Large Language Model.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/b1rklvfut https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/h13tjctua
Securing friendly Gulf states. (TY OurCrowd) Israel’s Perception Point (see here previously) has partnered Dubai-based Securenet FZC to protect Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from online attacks.
https://www.ec-mea.com/perception-point-partners-with-securenet-to-distribute-effective-threat-prevention-solutions/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Returning to space. Israel Space Week (see here previously) is making its return from Jan 28 to Feb 2, with special events held for Israeli evacuees and for IDF reservists. Conferences will feature leading Israel’s space professionals, such as Israel’s 2nd astronaut Eytan Stibbe, plus space agencies of Italy, France, and Azerbaijan.
https://www.jpost.com/science/space/article-783201 https://www.space.gov.il/special-event/285
Cleantech 100 companies. International research and consulting company Cleantech Group has issued its 15th annual Global Cleantech 100 list. It included Israel’s BeeHero (see here previously) in the Agriculture & Food category. Israel’s Copprint (see here previously) was cited in the Materials & Chemicals category.
https://www.israel21c.org/beehero-copprint-make-the-cleantech-global-top-100/
From the Battleground to the Showground. The IDF gave permission to the founders of several Israeli tech startups to fly on a specially chartered El Al plane to CES 2024 in Nevada to demonstrate their innovative products to the world. Visionary.ai CEO Oren Debbi will return to IDF helicopter rescues in Gaza next week.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/h1ge8ba00a
Eldercare robot gets AI upgrade. (TY OurCrowd) Israel’s Intuition Robotics (see here previously) has just launched ElliQ 3 – the generative AI version of its ElliQ companion robot desk lamp. The company notes, “Now users can discuss a virtually infinite number of topics in a more natural and detailed manner with ElliQ.”
https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/09/elliq-ces/
Israel’s cultured meat is a “Game” changer”. (TY UWI) In a landmark event, Israel has approved Israel’s Aleph Foods to sell its cultured (kosher / parve) beef to the public. (The USA and Singapore previously only approved cultivated chicken.) Aleph Farms hopes to roll out its Black Angus Petit Steak later this year.
https://www.jns.org/israel-gives-worlds-first-regulatory-approval-to-cultivated-beef/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bkm3zsst6
https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/article-783204 (the “game” changer article)
Boosting cultivated meat production. (TY OurCrowd) Israel’s ProFuse Technology has launched ProFuse -S1 – a supplement that accelerates muscle cell development in the cultivated meat industry. In the future it could also benefit the rehabilitation of human muscle cells.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/profuse-technology-revolutionizes-skeletal-muscle-research-with-groundbreaking-media-supplement-profuse-s1-302035743.html
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
NIS 1.2 billion to support hi-tech. Israel’s latest aid for startups includes a huge fund to invest in deep tech breakthrough scientific developments. It ranges from 50% of a pre-seed round to NIS 50 million for series A rounds. Startups with women, Haredi, or Arab entrepreneurs, or from the periphery will receive 10% more.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/b1cnkrput
Not a bad year. The IVC-LeumiTech Israeli Tech Review 2023 has just been published. In summary, considering that Israel is at war, the Israeli tech ecosystem kept going well. High-tech capital raising was stable; foreign investors were not scared by the war and increased their share of funding over local investment.
https://www.ivc-online.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=d0tSSB_wMH8%3d
Vote of confidence in Israel’s economy in the face of war. Very positive assessment by Ambassador Yoram Ettinger. A low debt to GDP ratio; high foreign exchange reserves; He even quotes a positive article in the New York Times. And that according to Intel’s CEO: “The Israeli people are the most resilient people on earth”.
https://theettingerreport.com/vote-of-confidence-in-israels-economy-in-the-face-of-war/
$250 million for early growth. Israel’s Red Dot Capital Partners (see here previously) has completed the funding of its third Israeli fund. It has over $200 million to invest in early-growth startups working across the Israeli tech industry sectors, including enterprise software, fintech and cybersecurity.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/s114aojka
$120 million fund for deep tech. Israeli-European venture capital firm Cardumen Capital has raised $120 million for its second deep tech fund to invest in early-stage Israeli startups. The Israeli-European VC will select companies in fields such as AI, cybersecurity, big data, and information technologies.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rkcejrbta
J.P Morgan expands its Israeli tech center. Global financial services firm J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is reaffirming its commitment to Israel with the expansion of its Israel Tech Center in Herzliya, home to its risk and trade management platform Athena.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hk4lupsfa
Indian workers seek jobs in Israel. (TY Ted) Thousands queued in India’s northern state of Harayana during a recruitment drive to send workers to Israel, where there is a shortage of labor. Masons, painters, electricians, plumbers and some farmers can earn five times more than in India where 17% of under 29s are unemployed.
https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-workers-seek-jobs-israel-undeterred-by-conflict-2024-01-18/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/h1b19yvft
An island desalination plant. (TY Dr Salem) Israel is helping India establish a desalination plant in Lakshadweep – a group of islands off the Southwest tip of India.
https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/israel-to-begin-desalination-program-in-lakshadweep-today-what-it-means-124010900370_1.html https://viswagyan.com/israel-to-open-desalination-plant-in-lakshadweep/
Be the President of your field. (TY OurCrowd). Very clever new marketing video from Israel’s CropX (see here previously). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JZtaANYVOk
Exits, takeovers, and mergers – to 28/1/24: Israel’s Snyk is acquiring Israel’s Helios.dev for several tens of millions of dollars.
Startup investment – to 28/1/24. Silverfort raised $116 million; Bluewhite Robotics raised $39 million; Vicarius raised $30 million; Xyte raised $20 million; SeeTree raised $17.5 million; Cyabra raised $5.7 million; Sequence raised $5.5 million; Prompt Security raised $5 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
45,000 Yemenite manuscripts. The family of the late Yemenite Jew Yehuda Levi Nahum (1915-1998) has donated his entire collection to Israel’s National Library. Over 60 years, Nahum assembled some 45,000 Yemenite-Jewish manuscripts plus 15,000 Hebrew fragments including renditions of works by Maimonides.
https://www.jns.org/jerusalem-library-gets-45000-jewish-manuscripts-from-yemen/
Israeli wins Indian Open. (TY Hazel) Israeli tennis player Orel Kimhi won the PET ITF Mandya Open in India. The third-seeded Israeli beat Jelle Sels of The Netherlands 6-2, 6-4 to win his third ITF title in front of a packed crowd at the PET Stadium.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysuru/kimhi-wears-crown/articleshow/106849067.cms
First Israeli medal at European Track Championships. (TY Hazel) Michael Yakovlev is the first Israeli cyclist to win a medal at the European Championships. He won bronze in the sprint race and dedicated the medal (see here) “to the abductees who have been in captivity for 100 days. I am proud to raise the Israeli flag.”
https://twitter.com/IsraelPremTech/status/1746275247735603505
THE JEWISH STATE
Kingdom of Judah coin unearthed. (TY WIN) An extremely rare silver coin was recently discovered during an excavation in Israel’s Judean Hills. It is around 2,500 years old (6th–5th centuries BCE) and was found whilst excavating a First Temple period building. Archeologists also discovered a shekel measuring weight.
https://www.jns.org/unearthed-2500-year-old-silver-coin-from-kingdom-of-judah/
Help reveal the Jerusalem Stone. What is the secret that lies beneath the Jerusalem Stone underneath the Dome of the Rock? Help make this ground-shattering movie that explains what is currently happening in the world. Please watch the trailer and then consider becoming part of history as one of the movie’s sponsors.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-jerusalem-stone#/
Internship opportunities. ISRAEL21c is cultivating the next generation of digital communication experts who want the world to know the truth about life in Israel. College students aged 18-25 can create innovative social media content that shares the positive stories of Israel. Non-political impactful storytelling to the world.
https://www.israel21c.org/digitalambassador/ link for applications
Keeping Shabbat for Israeli soldiers. The organization Shabbat 4 Soldiers asks US families that normally don’t observe Shabbat, to keep it on behalf of an IDF soldier on active duty who normally keeps it but currently cannot. In its first month, 85 families have kept Shabbat for the first time, and more are joining each week.
https://www.jns.org/those-who-can-keeping-the-day-for-those-who-cant-shabbat-4-soldiers/
https://www.shabbat4soldiers.com/
A synagogue in Khan Yunis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9HE6a5ebtc
How to help Israel. Here are some sites where newsletter readers can donate to Israeli organizations that provide vital help to Israelis at this difficult time. Many thanks to those who have already contributed and to those who are helping by donating their own valuable time and resources.
Friends of the IDF (US donors): https://www.fidf.org/
or IDF Soldiers Fund in Israel: https://www.ufis.org.il/en/donation-en/ (select the English speakers’ option)
American Friends of Magen David Adom (US donors): https://afmda.org/
or Magen David Adom (Israel): https://www.mdais.org/en/donation
Zaka (US donors): https://donate.zakatelaviv.org/give/525578/ or (Israeli donors): https://charidy.com/zaka
or (Canadian donors): https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/bellevue-foundation/
United Hatzalah: https://israelrescue.org/campaign/israel-at-war-2/ or Canada https://www.uhcanada.org/
Leket Food Israel: https://www.leket.org/en/
JNF USA – https://my.jnf.org/gaza-emergency/Donate or Canada https://jnf.ca/
Orthodox Union – https://www.charidy.com/ouisraelcrisis
Schneider Children’s Hospital: https://www.fos.org.il/en/donate (Israelis)
https://system.smartgiving.org.uk/charities/8530/make-donation (UK)
https://chaischneider.org/donate/ (USA)
Hadassah Hospital Israel: https://www.hadassah.org/
Laniado Hospital (Netanya) https://my.israelgives.org/en/fundme/EmergencyLaniado
And many more charities here:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/where-people-abroad-can-donate-to-israels-hospitals-troops-survivors-and-more/ https://chesedtoday.com/campaigns/soldiers/ (Warm winter clothes for Israeli soldiers)
Buy Israel Bonds to support the Jewish State. (TY Larry B)
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/state-of-israel-bonds
USA – https://www.israelbonds.com/
Europe – https://israelbondsintl.com/
Canada – https://www.israelbonds.ca/
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