Displaying posts categorized under

ISRAEL

Biden Considering Obama’s Anti-Israel Shill for Israel Ambassador by Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2021/05/biden-considering-obamas-anti-israel-shill-israel-daniel-greenfield/

Wexler, now the head of the far-left S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, was back in town. Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, he said that Israel should consider extending the ban on Jewish property rights to within the 1949 armistice lines. Anyone Biden picks as his ambassador to Israel is going to be bad. 

While some Jewish Biden donors thought that they would get the job, that’s not happening. It’s a State Dept post for leveraging pressure on Israel to make concessions to Islamic terrorists, take the blame for failed Biden policies in the region, and to do nothing about Iran.

The word is that the horse race has come down to Tom Nides and former Rep. Steve Wexler.

Here’s Tom.

While he was seen as a pro-Israel voice in the Obama administration, he also did work to thwart efforts by Congress to limit US support for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, as well as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Biden administration recently announced that it would restore funding for UNRWA that had been cut by the Trump administration.

That’s the nicer version of it.

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

This week, a deadly crush at a religious festival, still under investigation, brought shock and gloom to Israel’s citizens and the nation’s protagonists. The resilient nation responded swiftly with succor to survivors. America’s strong commitment to Israel suffered a setback with the Biden administration’s reversion to past discarded policies. Behind the headlines Israel’s contributions to science, health, agricultural innovation, water resource technology and quantum computing continued apace. Here is another dazzling list brought to us by Michael Ordman. rsk

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Panic over. Israel is recording less than 100 new Covid-19 cases a day, with under 1,600 total infections. Swimming pools, gyms and dining at restaurants are to be opened even to the unvaccinated. And a new Israeli report shows that any country can control Covid-19 if more than 50% of the over-60s are vaccinated.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/scientists-israel-proves-every-developed-country-can-subdue-covid-with-vaccines/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-sees-just-38-new-covid-cases-the-lowest-daily-tally-in-a-year/
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/coronavirus/1619419343-israel-sees-just-36-new-covid-cases-in-24-hours-less-than-2-000-active-patients-in-total

Masks cut asthma and allergies. A study by Israel’s Sheba Medical Center has concluded that the wearing of facemasks protected many citizens not only from Covid-19 but also from asthma and allergies. Urgent visits to Sheba’s emergency unit during the pandemic by asthma patients dropped by 49% and hospitalizations by 65%.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-sees-dramatic-drop-in-severe-asthma-due-to-face-masks/
https://www.israel21c.org/wearing-masks-for-covid-saved-us-from-asthma-and-allergies/

Nose spray blocks Covid variants. In recent trials at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center, the Taffix nose spray from Israel’s Nasus (see here previously) blocked 100 percent” of the British and South African variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus.  https://nocamels.com/2021/04/israeli-nasus-nasal-spray-taffix-covid-variants/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqdurzubL18

Poised to transform brain surgery. Israel’s Tamar Robotics (see here previously) is developing a surgical robot to revolutionize brain surgery. It will give doctors a minimally invasive tool to remove tumors and blood clots and treat other brain conditions that now require major surgery. See video of founder Professor Shohan.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/israeli-startups-precision-robots-poised-to-transform-brain-surgery/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbPYQOycveU

Proteins that cause intestinal disease. Researchers from Tel Aviv University have developed an Artificial Intelligence platform that can identify the specific proteins that allow bacteria to infect the intestines. It should lead to new therapeutics that can neutralize the proteins and prevent disease, eliminating the use of antibiotics.
https://www.aftau.org/news_item/tau-researchers-identify-proteins-that-cause-intestinal-disease/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33707240/

Opening the arteries. MultiGeneAngio from Israel’s VESSL Therapeutics is in human trials for treating peripheral and coronary artery disease. The patient’s cells are extracted, enhanced with genes and re-implanted, to increase blood flow to oxygen-starved muscles. And VESSL’s MultiGeneGraft treats end-stage renal disease.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/04/25/vessl-therapeutics-is-a-medtech-startup-offering-new-cardiovascular-treatments/  http://vessltherapy.com/

Repairing bones. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have new technology for bone and soft tissue repair. Instead of grafting bone from elsewhere in the body, they used stem cells from the soft tissue inside discarded teeth. They then combined this with other cells to repair spinal cord in laboratory tests.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/04/27/technion-scientists-develop-new-technology-for-bone-and-soft-tissue-repair/   https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adfm.202008687

European approval for smart IVF treatment. Israel’s AIVF (see here previously) has received the CE Mark for its unique AI IVF analysis platform that avoids risky biopsies. AIVF’s system improves the success of IVF treatment – a costly and invasive process. US approval is now also being sought.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3906485,00.html

ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Arab woman is Vice President of Hebrew U. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has elected Professor Mona Khoury-Kassbari Vice President of Strategy and Diversity.  She will be responsible for broadening the mix of faculty members and students from Orthodox Jews, Arabs, Ethiopians and those with disabilities.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/israeli-arabs/hebrew-u-appoints-arab-woman-as-vice-president/2021/04/28/

Saving life in Jerusalem. Khaled is one of nearly 700 Muslim paramedics in United Hatzalah – Israel’s emergency medical organization. During Ramadan, Khaled fasts during the day but still responds to all calls and treats patients of all religions equally.
https://www.jns.org/view-from-the-other-side-of-violence-saving-lives-in-eastern-jerusalem/

Making every drop of water count. (TY UWI) Great video of Israel’s globally enhancing water technologies. A single drop of saltwater taken from the Mediterranean, travels from an Israeli desalination plant to a domestic tap, is drunk, re-cycled, and piped across Israel to water crops via Israeli drip irrigation. Hardly a drop is lost.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YscEfqIllt4

La Parisien promotes post-Covid Israel. (TY JNS) Israel’s success in beating coronavirus attracts much attention in the international media. French magazine Le Parisien devoted a cover story to Israel as an example of “life after Covid”. It describes a busy Tel Aviv and Israel’s unprecedented national vaccination operation.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/04/25/french-magazine-devotes-cover-story-to-post-covid-israel/

Israeli and UAE jets in exercise together. Israeli Air Force planes flew alongside Emirati aircraft week as part of the Iniohos international aerial exercise hosted by Greece. The other countries involved were Cyprus, France, the US, Spain and Canada. The UAE and Israel flew together also in 2017 and 2019 (see here previously).
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-uae-fighter-jets-fly-together-in-large-international-exercise-in-greece/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-idf-fighter-pilots-join-uae-troops-for-aerial-drill/

Another agreement signed with UAE. (TY JNS) Israel and the UAE signed a bilateral accord to tackle pandemics, cybersecurity and data protection. The agreement will also see the enactment of large-scale joint economic and health-related projects. Minister Yuli Edelstein said it would “bolster Israel’s healthcare system”.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/04/22/israel-uae-sign-healthcare-agreement/

AI for social good. (TY JNS) Google has partnered Tel Aviv University to launch a new program to promote AI-related multidisciplinary research for the benefit of society. AI for Social Good selected 10 researchers who are using Artificial Intelligence to advance humanity by addressing major global social issues.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/on-campus/google-tau-launch-new-program-ai-for-social-good/2021/04/27/

Aid to Uruguay, Ethiopia, India & Caribbean. Doctors from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center are heading to Uruguay to help it tackle coronavirus. Also, from Assuta Ashdod Hospital to Ethiopia and equipment from Israel’s SmartAID to India. And IsraAID responders go to the Caribbean following a major volcanic eruption.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israel-to-send-covid-aid-to-uruguay-665521
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-dispatching-team-to-ethiopia-to-help-fight-covid-19/
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305115
https://www.jns.org/israaid-sending-team-of-responders-to-caribbean-in-wake-of-volcano-eruption/

A Palestinian State: What Would Ben Gurion Have Said? by Amir Taheri

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17331/palestinian-state

When the decision to hold the elections was first declared, some of us hoped that it would provide an opportunity for Palestinians to attempt three changes in their political trajectory: to organize a change of generations at the top levels of political decision-making, to forge a minimum of understanding among long rival political groups on the basic rules of the game, and, more importantly, to transform their various versions of “the cause” into a state-building project rooted in reality.

In its current form, Palestinian politics remains atrophied in a lost cause that, in zombie style, bars the route to positive energies.

He [the late Palestinian “negotiator” Saeb Erekat] ignored the fact that ceasefire lines exist in the context of a truce, not of peace and that, if achieving peace is the aim, there is no point in choosing them as a sine qua non in a negotiated deal.

The third “condition” concerned the status of Jerusalem as the capital of a putative Palestinian state. Here, too, the Palestinian position suited those for whom Palestine is a cause not a project for state building.

When the British mandate ended in 1948, there was no Palestinian nation, in the universally accepted sense of the term at least in the Westphalian treaties, to claim a state of its own. In fact, all mandate and subsequent United Nations documents refer to “inhabitants” of mandate Palestine presented as Arabs, Jews, Druzes, Armenians, Bahais, Turks and numerous Christian denominations, including Assyrians and Chaldeans.

Another missed opportunity?

Tony Blinken’s Mideast Blind Spot Martin Peretz

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/tony-blinken-mideas

The U.S. secretary of state and his regional envoy Robert Malley played in the sandbox together as children in Paris but speak different languages when it comes to American foreign policy. The results may be the same.

Antony Blinken has been secretary of state for less than 100 days. On the most important strategic issue facing the United States, China, and on the most important moral issue, human rights, he has marked those days with a brand of muscular internationalism that has been absent from Foggy Bottom for too long. He has labeled China’s treatment of its Muslim Uyghur minority as genocide and taken a tough stance on trade imbalances, while committing to work with China on issues like the environment—using exact but firm language backed by coherent policy.

For the most part, Blinken’s stated policies have been strong yet moderate. On the one hand, for example, he will probably not press for international sanctions or reparations from China when it comes to its responsibility for the COVID outbreak. He will probably not use a boycott of the Beijing Olympics to respond to China’s crimes against the Uyghurs. On the other hand, he will push to sanction Chinese officials for their clear, documented, ongoing violations of human rights in Hong Kong. The Biden administration has warned Wall Street not to expect government support for corporate expansion in China—a stand with real substance, since it affects both daily investments and America’s ethical position in the world. For its part, the Treasury Department is pushing for a global minimum tax rate to constrain corporate outsourcing.

But Blinken does have blind spots when it comes to both rhetoric and policy, and these could have large consequences for him and the Biden administration in its larger project of promoting human rights abroad while confronting China. The twinned issues where Blinken has remained conspicuously reticent and indistinct are the Middle East and the elephant in the Middle East, Iran. In lieu of asserting himself, the secretary of state has approved the reopening of nuclear talks with Iran and outsourced them to Robert Malley, whom he appointed or allowed to be appointed U.S. special envoy to that country. Blinken’s reliance on Malley, and Malley’s own history of finding any opportunity to engage with groups and countries that demonstrably align themselves against American interests, point to a large lacuna, so far, in the otherwise sober vision Blinken has laid out.

It is worth noting here that Malley, besides being an architect of President Barack Obama’s Iran deal and a longtime proponent of outreach to Iran and Hamas, is a childhood friend of Blinken’s: The two grew up together in Paris, Malley as the son of a European-style Jewish communist with anti-imperialist politics and links to Yasser Arafat and Fidel Castro, and Blinken as the stepson of an active and influential Zionist businessman and philanthropist who was also a public supporter of détente between the West and the Soviet Union. The divergences and convergences of their fathers’ politics are not irrelevant to understanding the sons.

The Sentimental Antisemite The CIA’s case for Palestinian statehood was based on analysis. Then the analysts turned out to be wrong. By Lee Smith

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/sentimental-antisemi

It’s not hard to see the dilemma facing John Brennan, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Decades of U.S. intelligence assessments of the Middle East, including many he composed and greenlit himself, were trashed during the past four years, as Donald Trump crossed virtually every red line previously drawn by the CIA and other U.S. spy services. Even pro-Israel organizations had assumed that it doesn’t matter what presidential candidates say on the stump—like Bill Clinton, like George W. Bush, and like Barack Obama, they all inevitably walk back their campaign promises. Sure, all presidents would like to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. But after seeing the top-secret intelligence and consulting with their well-connected spy chiefs, what president would risk the war that such a move would start?

But the so-called Arab street didn’t erupt when Trump moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Islamists didn’t topple the regimes in Cairo and Amman when the U.S. recognized Israel’s sovereignty in the Golan Heights. Saudi Arabia, the custodian of the two holy shrines in Mecca and Medina, gave all but explicit approval when the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalized relations with Israel.

That left Brennan with egg on his face. Now out of government, Brennan believes that despite “dealing with a dizzying array of domestic and international problems,” the Biden administration should prioritize “the Palestinian quest for statehood.” Why? To put an end to Israel’s “oppressive security practices,” Brennan wrote on Tuesday for The New York Times. But the case he makes for bumping Palestinian nationalism to the top of the White House’s to-do list is not strategic or rational. It’s sentimental, with a dollop of antisemitism on top—just like his decades of poor intelligence assessments.

“I always found it difficult to fathom how a nation of people deeply scarred by a history replete with prejudice, religious persecution, & unspeakable violence perpetrated against them would not be the empathetic champions of those whose rights & freedoms are still abridged,” Brennan tweeted Tuesday, promoting his Times op-ed.

Why Abbas Does Not Want Elections by Bassam Tawil

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17321/abbas-does-not-want-elections

The violence erupted for one single reason: hatred for Israel and Jews. It erupted because many Muslims do not want to see Jews in Jerusalem or any part of Israel.

Attacks on Israeli security forces and Jews in Jerusalem have been taking place for decades — with or without a “reason”.

The call to murder Jews (“Oh Jews, remember Khaybar; the army of [prophet] Mohammed is returning”) is a reminder that today, for many, this war from the seventh century is not over.

Israel never said it would prevent PA elections from taking place in Jerusalem…. Israel said nothing.

The overwhelming majority of Jerusalem Arabs have not shown the slightest interest in, or enthusiasm for, the upcoming Palestinian elections…. It seems, in fact, that the United Nations and European Union officials were more interested in Abbas’s planned elections than most of the Arab residents of Jerusalem…. Abbas evidently announced the elections only to appease his Western donors.

In the past he used to accuse his Hamas rivals; now he is casting around, trying to blame Israel for “obstructing” the elections.

Abbas’s attempt to hold the Israeli government responsible for not holding Palestinian elections is simply the result of his and the PA leadership’s ongoing, vicious incitement to violence against Israel and the demonization of Jews.

It is this type of deliberate and constant race-baiting that is driving young Arabs in Jerusalem to take to the streets to attack policemen and Jewish civilians, and to whip up Jew-hate among the Palestinians.

Those who claim that the recent violence in Jerusalem erupted because the Israel Police did not allow Arab Muslims to hold nightly celebrations during the fasting month of Ramadan have no idea what they are talking about.

Those who say that the violence erupted because Israel did not allow the Arab residents of Jerusalem (who hold Israeli-issued ID cards in their capacity as residents, and are not citizens of Israel) to participate in the Palestinian Authority elections also have no idea what they are talking about. What they all seem to have no idea about is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli Religious Festival Stampede Kills Dozens Tragedy, in which at least 44 people were killed, occurred during celebration of Jewish holiday Lag b’Omer

https://www.wsj.com/articles/dozens-killed-in-stampede-at-israeli-religious-festival-11619748818

TEL AVIV—At least 44 people were killed in a stampede at a religious bonfire festival in northern Israel early Friday, Israel’s national emergency service said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident “a terrible disaster,” and Israel’s military dispatched medical teams and an elite rescue unit to assist with evacuating casualties and providing treatment.

Magen David Adom, the emergency medical service, said it had evacuated 103 injured people to local hospitals, including more than 20 in severe condition.

Dozens of ambulances were on scene where military and emergency-service officials set up a field hospital. Rescue workers could be seen on television and video clips shared on social media running into the site trying to navigate large crowds of people.

Abraham Accords Could Be Next In Biden’s Retreat By Benny Avni

https://www.nysun.com/foreign/abraham-accord-could-be-next-in-bidens-retreat/91493/

As Washington retreats from prior conditions it has set to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, Arab allies recalculate their approach to the Islamic Republic. Can reversal of the Abraham Accords be far behind?d

“We are seeking to have good relations with Iran,” Riyadh’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Saudi TV this week. Huh? Until recently the Kingdom’s de-facto ruler was considered one of the region’s top hardliners on Iran. Now his emissaries are reported to meet in Baghdad with top American and Iranian officials.

What changed? America.

Washington’s attitude toward the Islamic Republic is obviously much softer than it was under President Trump. But now it seems to have softened even in the course of President Biden’s first 100 days.

Gone is National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s vow to seek a “longer and stronger agreement.” Instead American negotiators in Vienna now toil to appease Tehran counterparts with the hope of merely returning to the original 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Yet another American condition for reinking the JCPOA is fast eroding. Washington said it would not remove sanctions before Tehran reverses all recent enrichment violations. That condition is now melting, even as Tehran is resolute, vowing to not move an inch before all sanctions are removed.

Democratic Norms Come First Shoshana Bryen

https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/insight/

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with regard to elections in South America, tweeted earlier this month: “I recall @POTUS saying: ‘Democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant.’ Elections are the first step. We must respect results and hold leaders accountable to sustain our democracies.”

President Joe Biden is right: Democracy IS fragile. Secretary Blinken, on the other hand, is wrong.

Elections are not the “first step” in building a democracy. And where elections are fraudulent, coercive or outright anti-democratic, the United States has no general obligation to simply “respect the results.” Consider the current Middle East electoral calendar.

Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, says he’s holding an election in May with five candidates—including himself—running for president. Candidates have to be approved by 35 members of a parliament dominated by Assad’s party. They have to have lived in Syria for the past 10 years—meaning no opposition figures in exile—and be married to a citizen. This follows 10 years of Assad’s war, in which more than half a million Syrian civilians have been killed, nearly 12 million others have been displaced internally and externally, and the government has been credibly accused of using chemical weapons on its own people.

Iran has elections in June. Candidates for president, as well as for the legislature and local councils, must be vetted by the Guardian Council, an appointed panel of Islamist jurists. Candidates cannot have a criminal record, thus effectively eliminating any Iranian who has been caught protesting the fanatical regime. All must pledge to adhere to Iran’s constitution and the “guardianship of the jurist”—meaning that ultimate authority lies in the hands of Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Iranian state television announced in January that the Council disqualified more than 6,500 of 12,213 total possible candidates.

Israel’s Covid-19 Economic Trends Ambassador (Ret.) Yoram Ettinger

https://bit.ly/3gMxy3D
Foreign investment in Israel’s high-tech companies surged to new heights in the 1st quarter of 2021 – $5.7bn in 172 deals – which is up 89% over the impressive 4th quarter of 2020 and double the volume of the 1st quarter of 2020.

2020 was the first year of surpassing $10bn in capital raised by the Israeli high-tech sector from investors in the US, Asia and Europe, who trust the maturity of Israel’s brain power. Investments in Israeli companies more than tripled in six years, reflecting the effective response by Israeli startups to the technological, medical, pharmaceutical, educational, social and digital challenges posed by Covid-19.

Israel’s economic performance in defiance of Covid-19 is presented by Dr. Adam Reuter, the Chairman and Founder of “Financial Immunities,” Israel’s largest financial-risk management firm, and the co-author of Israel – Island of Success:

1. Israel has led the globe in the rapid administration of Covid-19 vaccinations due to effective negotiations with Pfizer and an efficient, country-wide medical infrastructure.

2. Israel is the second lowest among OECD countries in the number of Covid-19 deaths per number of Covid-19 cases: 0.7% compared to the 2.3% OECD average. Israel features a young population (median age of 30 compared to the OECD’s 42) and an effective country-wide medical infrastructure, including top level HMOs and hospitals.

3. Israel is ranked 12th from the bottom among the 37 OECD countries in the number of deaths per million inhabitants: 645 compared to 1,145 OECD average.

4. The International Monetary Fund’s 2025 GDP growth forecast for OECD countries: Israel – 4%, OECD average – 2.2%, US – 1.8%, Australia – 2.5%, Ireland – 2.6%, France and Canada – 1.7%, the UK – 1.6%, Germany – 1.2%, etc.