RUTHFULLY YOURS

http://q4j-middle-east.com

As of September 3rd, with the failure of talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Beitenu’s Avigdor Liberman to form a national unity government, Israel’s fate is still anyone’s guess. 

Possibly the only good news is that the give-away-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Left, which repeatedly has prostrated itself to Arabs who won’t accept a viable Jewish State in the neighborhood whether it’s nine or nine hundred miles wide, has been so horrendously discredited by the murderous rejectionist violence by the very Arabs whose derrieres they’ve kissed, is that no suicidal, Lefty government is on the horizon. The willingness, however, of some Jewish parties to ally themselves with Israeli Arab parties which call for the destruction of the Jewish State themselves, and support other non-Israeli Arabs who actively murder Jews, is yet another headache.

Given all of this, perhaps it’s time to turn the clock back–way back–and rethink what politics in the reborn nation of the Jews should be all about. 

Let’s begin…

“And it came to pass that when (the Hebrew Prophet) Samuel was old, he made his sons Judges over all of Israel…And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, took bribes, and perverted justice…So all the Elders of Israel came together in Ramah and said to Samuel, ‘appoint a king over us so that we can be like other nations’ [Note: Ramah is located in the area of the 20th century C.E.’s renamed , formerly known as Judea and Samaria… 

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-EUs-hypocritical-patronizing-attitude-toward-Israel-603650

Alan Baker served as legal adviser to Israel’s Foreign Ministry and as Israel’s ambassador to Canada.

One wonders why the EU did not view the recent declarations by the Palestinian leadership canceling the territorial division between areas A, B and C in a similar light.The curious article in The Jerusalem Post (“Peace needs international law and political will,” September 21), by European Union Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process Susanna Terstal, is indicative of a serious and worrying lack of awareness as well as considerable possible ignorance by the EU as to the legal and political realities inherent in the peace process.

The EU representative evidently believes that incessant repetition of the phrase “two-state solution” adds some element of legitimacy and feasibility to the idea. But the two-state solution has never been agreed-upon between Israel and the Palestinians, and does not figure in any of the agreements between them. It is nothing more than an expression of wishful thinking within the UN and the EU. 

To the contrary, the Oslo Accords, to which the EU itself is a signatory, clearly leaves the issue of the permanent status of the territories to be decided in negotiations. The accords do not predetermine the outcome of the negotiations. Thus, whether the outcome will be one, two or three states, or a federation or confederation, remains on the negotiating table. This cannot be dictated by the EU, however much they might be enamored with the idea of a two-state solution.

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Right-from-Wrong-Owing-Israel-an-apology-603662

The week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur might be described as a cheerful lead-up to the holiest and most solemn of Judaism’s High Holy Days.

Every year at this time, the Israeli public is treated to tips on how to get through the 25-hour fast with minimal suffering. Pointers from medical experts interviewed in print and over the airways include the healthiest methods for avoiding feeling faint from hunger and thirst, and the best ways to prevent caffeine withdrawal.In addition, people on the street begin wishing one another an “easy fast,” and bidding them a gmar hatima tova – that the sealing of their fate in the Book of Life for the coming year may be a good one.

It is a particularly odd social convention, considering that the purpose of fasting is precisely to create the optimal conditions for undertaking the toughest spiritual task there is: atoning for sins against God and man.

Theoretically, then, the process of abstinence is not meant to be easy; it is geared towards maximizing the effect of prayer and confession. In practice, however, it translates into a focus on food. We Israelis are Jews, after all.

Another thing we are, like all human beings, is hypocritical.

INDEED, NO SOONER does Yom Kippur end than the very people who spent days apologizing to their friends and family members for any wrongdoing they may have committed – and hours upon hours in synagogue beating their breasts before God – promptly resume mistreating their fellow man without the slightest twinge of remorse.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14943/anti-normalization-israel

If greeting a Jew on his or her holiday, cleaning the beach with an Israeli, or working in Israel are considered by many Arabs a “crime,” what will be the fate of any Arab who makes peace with Israel?
Those who are calling for boycotts of Israel — and are threatening and inciting their people against any Arab who dares to host a Jew or send him or her greetings — are also emphatically opposed to peace with Israel. For them, making peace with the “Zionist entity” is considered an act of treason.
They are worried that an Arab who greets a Jew may one day make peace with Israel. They are worried that an Arab state that hosts Israeli athletes may one day make peace with Israel. They are worried that Arabs who go to work in Israel may fall in love with Israelis and stop thinking of ways to kill them or destroy Israel.

Arabs who dare to greet Jews in public on the Jewish New Year are being denounced by their fellow Arabs as traitors. Arabs who dare to engage in sports activities with Jews are also being condemned by their fellow Arabs as traitors.

In the past week, many Arabs have taken to social media to express outrage over a Jewish New Year greeting by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On September 29, the minister posted on his Twitter account “Shana Tova” (“Good Year” in Hebrew). His greeting to Jews celebrating the Jewish New Year has triggered a wave of condemnations from many Arabs, including Palestinians, who accused the minister of promoting normalization with Israel.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14932/palestinians-electricity-theft

Apparently, the Palestinians believe that they have a “right” to free electricity — even if that leads to the collapse of their own electric company.

This conviction is in keeping with the longstanding Palestinian perception that someone else — preferably Israel and Western donors, but basically anyone else — should pay their way in the world, particularly their electricity bills.

Palestinian officials are using the electricity issue to incite not only the international community against Israel, but also their own people. These officials are telling Palestinians that Israel is seeking to punish Palestinians for no good reason, and that their anger should be directed against Israel, not against the electricity thieves or the Palestinian leadership.

The controversy surrounding the unpaid electricity debts is yet another example of the Palestinians’ unceasing search for ways to blame Israel for self-inflicted miseries. Instead of assuming responsibility for the electricity theft and unpaid bills and taking punitive measures against the offenders, the Palestinians are doing what they do best: trying their utmost to convince the world that it is all Israel’s fault.

For a long time now, many Palestinians have refused to pay their bills to the Arab-owned Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JDEC).

Many other Palestinians, taking a more direct line of theft, have been stealing electrical power from their company, a crime punishable by fines and/or incarceration in any country that respects law and order. The thieves do so by directly hooking to the power line (“cable hooking”) or tampering with electric meters.

https://bit.ly/2m4TM7c

In defiance of Israel’s “demographers of doom” – who have promoted the myth of an Arab demographic time bomb – the September 2019 data published by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS) documents the sustained Westernization of Arab fertility rate (number of births per woman), a persisting increase in the Jewish fertility rate, growing Aliyah (Jewish immigration) and the decline of Jewish emigration.

According to the ICBS, the Jewish fertility rate for 2018 ascended to 3.17 births per woman, while the westernized Arab fertility rate decreased to 3.04. When the Jewish father is Israeli-born, which points at the current trend, the Jewish fertility rate grows to3.34 births per woman.

In 1969, the gap between Arab and Jewish fertility rates was six more births per Arab woman; in 2015, the gap was closed at 3.13 each.  This evolved into a Jewish edge in 2016 (3.16:3.11), and reached all-time high Jewish edge in 2018 – 3.17:3.04.

The systematic Westernization of the Arab fertility rate characterizes the Muslim World, other than the Sub-Sahara societies.  According to the 2019 edition of the CIA World Fact Book, Jordan’s fertility rate is 3.14 births per woman, the West Bank – 3.2, Saudi Arabia – 2.04, Kuwait – 2.35, the UAE – 1.73, Egypt – 3.41, Iran – 1.96, etc. Israel’s Jewish fertility rate is higher than any Arab country other than Yemen, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan.

The Westernization of the fertility of Israeli Arabs (as well as the Arabs of Judea and Samaria) has been, primarily, a derivative of a rapid and substantial urbanization, as well as the enhanced stature of Arab women. Israeli Arab women are rapidly upgrading their integration in the education system (74% of registered Arab students from elementary schools through academic institutions), expanding their role in the job market and career opportunities, delaying wedding age to 23-25 year old (not 15 as it used to be), completing the fertility process at 45 (not 55 as it used to be) and dramatically increasing the use of contraceptives and resorting to abortion. There has also been a rise in the number of single Arab women. 

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Heart implant is a breakthrough (twice). (TY Atid-EDI) I reported previously (see here) on the interatrial shunt developed by Israel’s V-Wave. The US FDA has just granted two Breakthrough Device Designations to the device – the first is for Heart Failure (HF), and the second, for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH).
http://vwavemedical.com/2019/09/12/v-wave-receives-second-fda-breakthrough-device-designation-interatrial-shunt-for-pulmonary-arterial-hypertension/
 
Spine device gets humanitarian status. (Ty Atid-EDI) I reported previously (see here) on the twisted spine treatment from Israel’s Apifix. The U.S. FDA has given Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) to Apifix to market its MID-C system. Apifix addresses the unmet clinical need for an alternative to spinal fusion.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190827005604/en/ApiFix-Receives-FDA-Approval-Commercialize-MID-C-System
 
US approval for upright wheelchair.  I’ve reported previously (see here)about Israel’s UPnRIDE robotic standing wheelchair that allows wheelchair users to travel upright. The US FDA has just cleared the UPnRIDE for marketing and use in the US. Cofounder Dr Amit Goffer is a quadriplegic who uses the UPnRIDE himself.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-upnride-standing-wheelchair-receives-fda-clearance-1001301453
 
FDA approves diabetes management system. I’ve reported previously (see here) on the diabetes monitors from Israel’s DreaMed. The US FDA has just given approval to DreaMed’s Advisor Pro, to add to its EU approval. The software tells Type 1 diabetics how much insulin to use, without having to contact a physician.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/DreaMed-wins-FDA-clearance-for-AI-insulin-recommendation-technology-601846  
 
Smartphone CKD diagnosis approved. (TY Atid-EDI) I’ve reported previously (see here) on Israel’s Healthy.io and its smartphone-based urinalysis for Chronic Kidney Disease. It is now US and EU approved and some 100,000 kits have been sold. Healthy.io has just raised $60 million of funds. https://healthy.io/about-us/
https://vimeo.com/200176528 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLQ5lqsq2Y0(UK Financial Times video)
 
US approval for ultrasound skin tightening. (TY Atid-EDI) I recently reported (20th Aug) that Israel’s SofWave had received CE certification for its non-invasive ultrasound technology for skin tightening. It has now also received FDA approval. 86% of a recent trial demonstrated improvement in wrinkle appearance.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sofwave-medicals-low-divergence-ultrasound-technology-has-received-fda-clearance-for-the-aesthetic-treatment-of-facial-lines-and-wrinkles-300918611.html
 
US approval for lung diagnosis catheter. I reported previously (May 2017) on Israel’s Body Vision Medical when it was producing hi-res maps of the lungs to aid tumor removal. Since then it has developed a disposable lung navigation catheter which recently received US FDA approval. The company has also raised $20 million.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3771163,00.html
 
EU funds heart protection device. Israeli startup Filterlex Medical has received 2.1 million euros from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. Filterlex develops an embolic protection device to reduce the risk of stroke and other complications during catheter-based heart procedures.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3770877,00.html http://filterlex.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e48mW5-Zdxo
 
Treatments for eye diseases. (TY Atid-EDI) Israeli biotech Wize Pharma markets Israeli-developed LO2A eye drops for the treatment of ophthalmic disorders, including Dry Eye Syndrome. Wize is now to develop and trial the WP-REP1 gene therapy from Cleveland’s Copernicus for treating the rare eye disease Choroideremia.
http://wizepharma.investorroom.com/2019-09-09-Wize-Pharma-Enters-Exclusive-License-Agreement-for-Ophthalmic-Non-viral-Gene-Therapy-Technology   https://www.wizepharma.com/lo2a-eye-drops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBw3cO_YMsM
 
Innovative infusion systems. (TY Atid-EDI) The infusion systems of Israel’s Eitan Group (Q-core, Sorrel and Avoset), are installed worldwide. E.g. there are 100,000 of Q-cores Sapphire devices in the market. Eitan has now agreed that Canadian Hospital Specialties will supply and support Sapphire across Canada.
https://www.massdevice.com/how-the-eitan-group-aims-to-disrupt-the-infusion-pump-industry/
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canadian-hospital-specialties-to-distribute-eitan-groups-sapphire-infusion-systems-in-canada-300918470.html  
 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/09/26/as-attack-drones-multiply-israeli-firms-develop-defenses/

Israel, one of the pioneers of drone warfare, is now on the front lines of an arms race to protect against attacks by the unmanned aircraft.

A host of Israeli companies have developed defense systems they say can detect or destroy incoming drones. But obstacles remain, particularly when operating in crowded urban airspaces.

“Fighting these systems is really hard … not just because you need to detect them, but you also need to detect them everywhere and all the time,” said Ulrike Franke, a policy fellow at the European Council of Foreign Relations.

Drones present unique challenges that set them apart from traditional airborne threats, such as missiles or warplanes.

They can fly below standard military radar systems and use GPS technology to execute pinpoint attacks on sensitive targets for a fraction of the price of a fighter jet. They can also be deployed in “swarms,” which can trick or elude conventional defense systems. Even small off-the-shelf drones can be turned into weapons by rigging them with explosives or simply crashing them in crowded areas.

A series of drone strikes across the Middle East, including an attack on a Saudi oil field and processing plant that jolted international markets earlier this month, have underscored the devastating effectiveness of small unmanned attack aircraft.

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/09/27/israeli-birth-rate-reaches-all-time-high-as-population-tops-9-million/
Jewish population in Israel hits 6.74 million, or 74.2% of the country’s population. 43% of the population describes itself as secular, 10% as haredi, and the rest fall somewhere in between. Shanah tovah!

As the Jewish world prepares to usher in the year 5780, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics published its annual population data for the country, which show that this past year, the population reached 9.092 million people and is expected to increase to 10 million by 2024.

According to demographic projections, when Israel celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2048, it will have a population of 15 million.

According to the CBS data, 43.2% of the population is secular, with 12.8% defined as “traditional,” 11.3% “religious,” and 10.1% ultra-Orthodox. Another 22.1% define themselves as “traditional but not very religious.”

Heading into the new year, Israel’s Jewish population numbers 6.74 million, or 74.2% of the total population. The Arab population numbers 1.91 million, or 21% of the population. Another 4.8%, or just over 440,000 Israelis, made aliyah under the Law of Return but are not listed as Jewish by the Interior Ministry’s Population Administration.

Since Rosh Hashanah 2018, Israel’s population grew by 184,000 (2.1%), a growth rate that has remained fairly stable in recent years. This past year also saw an all-time high birth rate for Israel, with 196,000 babies born. The average Israeli woman gives birth to 3.09 children.