RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.jns.org/?ct=t%28Daily+Syndicate+1-31-21+%28old%29_COPY_01%29

Yaakov Berg, who owns the Psagot Winery with his wife, expresses his hope that “peace with the Emirates will change our relationship with Palestinians.”

The Psagot Winery sits on the peaks of the Binyamin region mountains in Judea and Samaria, north of Jerusalem and just east of Ramallah. Though Psagot and many Israeli-owned businesses operating over the 1967 armistice lines have historically experienced boycotts in Europe and throughout the Arab world, many say that in the context of the Abraham Accords, this may be changing.

When Yaakov Berg and his wife, Naama, established the Psagot Winery in 2002, they made fewer than 3,000 bottles. Today, that number has grown to 750,000 bottles per year—70 percent of which are exported to 30 countries, including North America, as well as throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. Their new goal is to produce 1 million bottles with a vast majority of them for export, including to Arab countries, which was not before possible.

According to Yaakov Berg, he and wine suppliers in the United Arab Emirates are finalizing “several deals in the making” to export the Israeli wine to the Gulf, crediting the progress made in trade relations between Israel and the UAE to the Trump administration and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who visited the Psagot Winery during his most recent visit to Israel, becoming the first top American diplomat to tour an Israeli-owned company located beyond the pre-’67 borders.

In December, Hamad Baumim, the UAE head of Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in an interview with Globes that he has “no problem” with Israeli products made in the West Bank, and that when they are imported to the UAE, they will be treated as all other Israeli products and with no special labeling.

https://www.discoursemagazine.com/culture-and-society/2021/02/03/why-israel-lea

No country has been more successful in getting COVID vaccine to its citizens than Israel. Why? Three reasons stand out, and the third one is likely to help people around the world.

Israel can vaccinate the population quickly because it has a very competent, comprehensive national health system, based on several health maintenance organizations, all supervised by the Ministry of Health. The system includes digitized medical records for everyone in the country.
Israel bought enough vaccine. Earlier in the pandemic, it contracted for millions of doses from Moderna. More recently, it agreed to buy millions more from Pfizer so everyone over 16 can be vaccinated by the end of March. To clinch the Pfizer purchase, Jerusalem gave the company two incentives: It paid well above the market price, and it offered to share medical data with the company—data that few other countries could gather.
Israeli biostatisticians can pair the medical reactions of millions of vaccine recipients with each one’s medical history and demographic data. This will allow public health professionals worldwide to gain a nuanced understanding of how the vaccine works, both in the entire population and in various subgroups, such as women over 80 or people with Type II diabetes.

The country could afford the mass purchases thanks to decades of economic growth, grounded in high-technology, medical research, water conservation, sophisticated weapons development, cybersecurity and more. The growth was spurred by market-oriented public policies, adopted after years of sluggish European-style socialism under Labor governments.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-sends-2-000-doses-of-a-covid-19-vaccine-to-palestinians-11612201397?mod=world_major_1_pos8

TEL AVIV—Israel transferred the first batch of a Covid-19 vaccine to the Palestinians amid growing concerns over the disease’s spread in the neighboring West Bank and Gaza becoming a threat to the country.

The Defense Ministry on Monday supplied 2,000 doses of Moderna Inc.’s vaccine to the Palestinian Authority, which governs part of the West Bank, Israeli officials said. Israel has agreed to give a total of 5,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to the Palestinians to inoculate front-line medical workers, they added.

The shipment was approved out of health concerns resulting from the mixing of Israeli and Palestinian populations, the officials said. A local committee of professional health advisers last week told the Israeli government that vaccinating the Palestinians is a “clear necessity” for Israel’s battle with the pandemic.

Israel two weeks ago had sent the Palestinian Authority 100 doses of a coronavirus vaccine for Palestinian health staff as a one-time humanitarian gesture, according to an Israeli security official.

Palestinian Authority officials couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

Israel leads the world in vaccinating against Covid-19 in terms of percentage of the total population inoculated. It aims to vaccinate much of its population by March, but even if it succeeds, the coronavirus could still be a risk as long as it continues to spread in the West Bank and Gaza. Tens of thousands of Palestinians enter Israel and the Jewish settlements in the West Bank for work, mainly in the construction sector, every day.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17024/palestinians-normalization-israel

The anti-normalization campaign, which is also waged by Palestinians, means that any Palestinian leader or negotiator who is seen sitting with an Israeli will be condemned by Palestinians and possibly other Arabs as a traitor…. and accused of committing treason.

The last thing any Palestinian officials wants is to be labeled a traitor because, in the world of Fatah and Hamas, that crime is punishable by death.

If… Abbas wants to avoid such a fate, he must do an about-face and put an end to the anti-Israel incitement that is coming, first and foremost, from his very own loyalists.

If and when the Biden administration manages to revive the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, it will have to take into consideration that the Arab campaign against normalization with Israel remains as aggressive as ever.

The anti-normalization campaign, which is also waged by Palestinians, means that any Palestinian leader or negotiator who is seen sitting with an Israeli will be condemned by Palestinians and possibly other Arabs as a traitor.

Two recent examples of the ongoing campaign:

On January 6, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), a body dominated by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction and representing hundreds of Palestinian journalists, issued a warning to its members against engaging in normalization activities with Israelis.

The warning came in response to reports that the Israel Defense Forces had invited Palestinian journalists to participate in a Zoom briefing on Israel’s measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Some of the Palestinian journalists who reportedly received the invitation alerted the PJS, which swiftly issued the warning to all its members.

For decades, America’s foreign-policy establishment has, in the name of peace, incentivized conflict in the Middle East. Now that it’s back in power, can it learn from its mistakes?

https://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/

The pandemic is now under control in Israel, but the political bickering in the scrappy democracy never stopped. However, in the background and in the labs and research facilities, state of the art developments to ameliorate global suffering and concerns also never stopped. As Michael Ordman relates: “On Thursday, Jerusalem residents woke up to the sight of a huge rainbow stretched across the whole of Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives.” His weekly posts bring a rainbow of good news. rsk

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

The Vaccination Nation. Nearly 3 million Israelis have now received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 1.7 million have now received the second.  Covid infections and serious illnesses of Israelis over the age of 60 are now 60% lower than before vaccinating started. An inspiring video.

https://www.jns.org/israel-surpasses-1-million-fully-vaccinated-with-both-doses/

https://www.timesofisrael.com/week-after-2nd-pfizer-vaccine-shot-only-20-of-128000-israelis-get-covid/

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

From coffee to vaccines. Israel’s Youtiligent has developed an IoT (Internet of Things) solution for checking that a vaccine has been kept at the correct temperature. Youtiligent is piloting the system with two of Israel’s four Health Management Organizations. Before Covid, Youtiligent monitored coffee machines and ice cream!

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888741,00.html  https://www.youtiligent.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb2D7p5xjF8

A Breath of Health. Israel’s Breath of Health (BOH) has developed a breath test system that identifies Covid-19. Clinical trials at Israel’s Hadassah and Sheba Medical Centers have shown preliminary success rates of 98%.  BOH has signed an agreement with India’s Reliance Group to distribute the system throughout India.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3889818,00.html  https://bohpharma.com/

New pathway for targeting cancer. Normal cells have 23 chromosomes from each parent. But cancer cells do not, and scientists have been trying for years to exploit that fact. Now Tel Aviv University scientists have deciphered the phenomena and can guide oncologists to the therapies most appropriate for each type of cancer.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-scientists-unveil-powerful-tool-advancing-personalized-cancer-medicine/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03114-6

Hope for Parkinson’s treatment. Ben Gurion University researchers have discovered that proteins called BMP5/7 are new promising potential therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease. In lab tests, the proteins prevented the accumulation of toxic alpha-synuclein clumps and loss of vital dopamine-producing brain cells.

https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awaa368/6012790

Trial success for kidney monitor. Israel’s Serreno (reported here previously) reported over 96% accuracy in the trials of its Sentinel monitoring system for Acute Kidney Injury in three Israeli Intensive Care Units. The devices will now be manufactured by Israel’s Elcam Medical, which has also invested $1.5 million in Serreno.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/startup-hopes-life-saving-kidney-monitor-will-hit-us-hospitals-this-year/

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3888772,00.html

AI to improve IV. Israel’s Embrionics is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the success rates of fertility treatments. Founded by Haredi female entrepreneur Dr.Yael Gold-Zamir, Embrionics is breaking new ground in embryo selection, genetic analysis and utilizing Big Data to help bring happiness to childless couples.

https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/01/24/israels-embryonics-uses-ai-for-fertility-treatments/

Tel Aviv is world’s 6th healthiest city. Tel Aviv, known for its vegan scene and vibrant culture, was ranked the 6th healthiest city in the world, according to a new report from UK’s Money.co.uk. It compared life expectancy, obesity levels, pollution levels, safety score, sunlight hours, and cost to be healthy.

https://nocamels.com/2021/01/tel-aviv-is-named-the-6th-healthiest-city-in-the-world-in-new-report/

https://www.money.co.uk/guides/healthiest-places-to-live#valencia-is-the-healthiest-city-in-the-world

EU funding for antibiotic alternative. Israel’s Omnix (reported here previously) has been awarded €10.8 million in EU funding under the EIC Accelerator Programme, part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research funding program. Omnix’s OMN6 peptide destroys the bacteria’s membrane, regardless of its resistance.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3889749,00.html

https://www.omnixmedical.com/omnix-medical-wins-e10-8m-in-eic-accelerator-funding/

Europe approves skin tightening device. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Sofwave (reported here previously) has received Europe’s CE Mark plus Israeli approval for its revolutionary skin tightening and wrinkle reduction device. Sofware’s SUPERB (Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam) has already received US FDA approval.

https://sofwave.com/news/press-release/sofwave-receives-ce-medical-mark-and-additional-key-regulatory-clearances-for-its-revolutionary-skin-tightening-and-wrinkle-reduction-device/

Working to prevent pre-cancerous colon polyps. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Digestix Bioscience is in the early stage of developing a medical device and treatment to prevent recurrence of certain colorectal polyps. These polyps occur in at least 25% of people over 50 and if not removed can develop into colon cancer.

https://cannabics.com/cannabics-pharmaceuticals-founds-digestix-bioscience-inc-a-subsidiary-for-treatment-of-precancerous-and-early-stage-neoplastic-local-tumors/  https://www.digestix.com/

https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-american-jews-politically-correct-bigotry-opin

Israel is the world leader in COVID-19 vaccinations. By late January, more than 85 percent of Israelis over the age of 60 had completed the two-round vaccination process. If the vaccination drive continues apace, Israel will have completed the vaccination of its adult population by mid-March.

Many observers watch Israel’s breakneck vaccination drive with admiration. But several powerful anti-Semites are using Israel’s unmatched efforts to protect its population from the pandemic as a basis for spreading a new blood libel against the Jewish state.

Israel, its haters insist, is engaging in “vaccine apartheid.” Israel is “racist” for vaccinating its citizens—both Jewish and non-Jewish—before it vaccinates the Palestinians, who are governed by the Palestinian Authority.

Representative Rashida Tlaib is one of the most powerful voices promoting this new blood libel. In a recent interview, Tlaib said of Israel’s vaccination drive, “[Israelis] have the power to distribute that vaccine to the Palestinian people, their own neighbors.”

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/295758
Herb was our tireless leader and good friend. Rael Jean Isaac and I published OUTPOST with contributing columns both in print and online for decades. I also worked with Peter Goldman as an editor of the film NBC Goes to Lebanon- conceived by Jeffrey Benson with whom I spent endless hours reviewing news clips about Israel,  which Jeff catalogued and ordered from a news film archive. Those were heady days in AFSI’s  efforts to defend Israel. I miss Herb until this day…..rsk

A true giant of pro-Israel activism in America passed away ten years ago this Tu B’Shvat. Herb Zweibon, the founder and president of Americans For A Safe Israel / AFSI, died on Tu B’Shvat, January 19, 2011. It seems extremely appropriate that someone who focused so much of his energy, money, and time dedicated to bringing peace, security. and prosperity to the Land of Israel should have his life forever connected to a holiday that has at its core the themes of Israel’s agriculture and land, the centrality of Jerusalem, and the importance of contributing to charity.

Herb Zweibon was born and raised in an extended family that was one of the leading pillars of the Jabotinsky movement in America since the 1940s. He was a successful businessman, a loving family man and a highly patriotic American who served in the U.S. military in World War Two. Perhaps those things were all a direct result of his personal internalization of the great pre-World War Two Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s teaching of concepts such as Hadar, self-respect and self-discipline.

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/aviv-kochavi-hail-to-the-idf-chief-opinion-657085

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi’s speech at the annual Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference on Tuesday aroused the kind of debate among Israeli pundits and politicians that is particularly relevant in the wake of US President Joe Biden’s inauguration this month, and in the lead-up to the March 23 Knesset elections.

In his address, Kochavi conveyed a two-pronged message: that the administration in Washington should not return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in its current form or any updated version of it; and that the Israeli military is preparing for the possibility of an attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities.
The way he did this, in part, was to underscore the difference between friend and foe.

“The world power with which we have the strongest ties is the United States,” he stated. “The cooperation [between us] is outstanding, both strategically and operationally. With each passing year, we increase the scope of coordination and achieve the highest level of intimacy. We also have understandings and even operational coordination with Russia – something that can’t be taken for granted – and our coordination and military ties with Egypt and Jordan are only strengthening.”

He then pointed to the Abraham Accords. “The normalization [with Arab countries in the region] creates a counter-wave against our enemies, many of whom…  were already quite isolated, and now are even more so,” he said, adding, that “for the most part, we have considerably minimized [those] enemies’ ability to transfer weapons via air, land and sea, and… funds earmarked for terrorism.”

Here he issued a warning to the regime in Tehran and its proxy groups in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.