RUTHFULLY YOURS

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Treatment for genetic pancreatic cancer. Researchers at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center have had positive results in trials of Lynparza (olaparib) for treating pancreatic cancer in carriers of BRCA mutations. An international trial of 154 patients showed improved response, time to progression and quality of life.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-researchers-find-potential-hope-for-some-pancreatic-cancer-patients/
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Sheba-medical-team-finds-treatment-for-4th-leading-cause-of-cancer-death-591409  
 
New early test for Parkinson’s. Tel Aviv University scientists have discovered a new method for detecting the aggregation of the protein alpha-synuclein, before Parkinson’s symptoms appear. Doctors can then monitor how treatments affect this aggregation.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/TAU-unveils-new-method-for-detecting-delaying-Parkinsons-591602
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00401-019-02023-x
 
Transmitting neural messages to the next generation. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have identified a nervous system mechanism that can transmit neural messages to future generations. They showed that data on environmental factors are stored in brain cells (neurons) and expressed in germline genes to one’s children.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israeli-study-Nervous-system-can-transmit-messages-to-future-generations-591795   https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-study-says-neurons-not-just-dna-can-affect-progenys-fate/
 
US approval for soft Exo-suit. Last week (see here) ReWalk’s soft exoskeleton received European (CE) approval.  This week, the US FDA approved the Israeli innovation. Things are “looking up” for stroke victims.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-issues-clearance-for-the-restore-exo-suit-the-first-soft-robotic-system-for-stroke-therapy-300861824.html
 
Tracking response to cancer treatment. Israel-based Techsomed develops an image analysis system that helps track tissue response to thermal ablation – the process of destroying tumors using extreme heat or cold. It works with ultrasound to simulate the effects over time and provide surgeons with better control and accuracy.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3763298,00.html
 
Israeli diet is good for the brain. I reported previously (14th Apr) that Israel has the lowest rate of diet-related deaths in the world.  Now, the American Academy of Neurology medical journal has found that the diet can also help preserve memory and thinking abilities.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/new-study-israeli-diet-not-only-healthy-also-preserves-memory/
 
Foolproof Ambulance inventory list. Three students from Jerusalem College of Technology won first prize at the college’s third annual Great Minds hackathon. They devised a system using sensors to eliminate human error when checking crucial inventory on ambulances before they are dispatched from their stations.
https://www.israel21c.org/jlem-hackathoners-hatch-bright-idea-for-ambulance-crews/

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14342/palestinian-leaders-priorities

Let us consider some of those “other priorities….” Last week, Palestinian sources revealed that the ministers of the Palestinian Authority government have given themselves a $2,000 raise in their monthly salary… at a time when the Palestinian leadership is claiming that it is suffering from a financial crisis.

Hardly a day passes without another Palestinian reported killed in Syria. The latest victim died under torture in a Syrian prison last week. The victim’s family has requested that his name not be published out of concern for their lives… His death brings to 606 the number of Palestinians who died under torture in Syrian prisons in the past eight years.

When was the last time a senior Palestinian official talked about the torture and arrest of Palestinians in an Arab country? They really don’t have the time: they are too busy condemning Israel and the US administration to take note of the fact that thousands of their people are being killed, displaced and tortured in Arab countries.

Palestinian ministers take yet more money for themselves from the pockets of their own people. Hamas leaders are obsessed with gagging anyone who dares to call them out for their violent and despotic behavior…. This is the Palestinian leadership in action. When, one might ask, might we see some reaction on the part of the international community and media?

Some 18 Palestinian journalists, political and social activists, and academics have been killed in Syria in recent years, while dozens of others have been arrested. This figure was recently revealed by the Action Group For Palestinians of Syria, a London-based human rights watchdog organization that monitors the situation of Palestinian refugees in war-torn Syria.

This revelation, however, did not make it onto the radar of the international community or “pro-Palestinian” groups in the US, Canada, Britain and other Western countries. The most probable reason: Israel had nothing to do with the deaths of the Palestinian journalists, political activists and academics. They died in an Arab country (Syria). They were killed by their own Arab brothers, not by Israelis.

Had the Palestinians been killed or injured or arrested by Israel, their plight would have been immediately criticized by the international community, foreign journalists and media outlets. Yet, why should major media organizations report on these Arabs when they are victims of Arab brutality and repression?

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273943/ron-desantis-challenges-bds-movement-caroline-glick

“If you openly support BDS in Florida, you’re dead, politically.”

That was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s conclusion from the surprisingly large role the issue of the antisemitic “boycott, divestment and sanctions” (BDS) campaign against Israel played in his close race against Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum in Floridan’s gubernatorial election last November.

DeSantis edged out the hardcore progressive Democrat by a mere 0.4 percent, or 32,000 votes.

DeSantis made the remark during the course of his official visit to Israel last week. He led a massive trade mission of Florida business leaders, cabinet secretaries, and university presidents on a five-day trip to the Jewish state. During the course of the mission, Florida universities signed collaboration agreements with Israeli universities spanning a vast spectrum of undertakings from water purification to space research.

The mission merged the twin goals of increasing Florida-Israel economic, academic and commercial ties; and fighting anti-Semitism generally, and the BDS campaign against Israel specifically. Its success was a stunning expression of DeSantis’s state government’s friendship with Israel. It also placed the sharp contrast between progressive Democrats — like his opponent, Gillum — and DeSantis in stark relief.

Throughout his three terms in Congress, DeSantis distinguished himself as one of the most active defenders and promoters of the U.S. strategic alliance with the Jewish state. In contrast, in the years preceding Gillum’s general election run for Florida governor, he cultivated and benefitted from close ties with BDS groups.

DeSantis made his remark about the negative effect his opponent’s support for Israel’s worst opponents in America had on Gillum’s election prospects during a visit Wednesday to the Hub Etzion in the Gush Etzion industrial park. The Hub is a flexible work office space and a central meeting place for the growing hi-tech, small business and self-employed community of Gush Etzion and Efrat in Judea and Samaria.

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/06/06/report-iran-planning-to-arm-palestinians-in-judea-and-samaria/

Former Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi “blesses” process of supplying the Palestinians with upgraded weapons, says Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei predicts “Zionist regime will disappear.”

Iran is working to arm the various terrorist organizations active in Judea and Samaria with the aim of sparking fresh hostilities against Israel, recent remarks by senior officials in Tehran reveal.

A report published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs on Wednesday exposed a series of comments from officials showing that the Iranian regime has not abandoned its hopes of instigating a bloody uprising in Judea and Samaria.

Former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, who now serves as security adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, spoke on Quds Day – marked last Friday – and said that support for the Palestinians was a fundamental principle of the Islamic Revolution, and would continue until the “Zionist regime” was eliminated.

Safavi praised the upgraded weapons the Palestinians have been using and stressed that the “blessed” process of procuring advanced weaponry was still underway. Safavi said that in contrast to the past, when Palestinians had waged war against Israel using rocks and sticks; they were now supplied with an arsenal of rockets that would allow them to respond to “any Israeli attack.”

–
https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/06/05/in-search-for-innovation-eu-c
Silicon Valley may hold the global crown when it comes to attracting European corporations looking to tap innovative new technologies, but Tel Aviv is closing the gap, and fast.

Forty-one large European corporations currently operate an innovation outpost in Israel, almost half of which have set up shop in the past three years, according to a new report published Monday by Mind the Bridge, a Silicon Valley-based innovation advisory firm. In comparison, the number of large European corporations that operate an innovation hub in Silicon Valley currently stands at 60.

The report’s authors divided international presence in Israel into four categories: the corporate innovation antenna — a small scouting team that looks for technologies on a case-by-case basis; the corporate innovation lab — an incubator-like entity that recruits out-of-house research and development; the research and development center — an established outpost numbering at least 50 local employees, which draws on both local startups and local human talent; and a corporate venture capital (CVC) outpost — a local venture fund presence set up by an international corporation.

In terms of presence in Israel, the four top countries are Germany, with 13 corporations, among them Bosch, Daimler AG, Volkswagen, Bayer, and Merck; France, with 10, including the Renault Group and insurance company AXA; the UK, with seven, including ARM and Barclays; and Switzerland, with four — Novartis, Lonza, Nestle, and Syngenta.

Overall, of the industry sectors represented among these corporations, the most popular are automotive and engineering and electronics, with life sciences a close third. Some corporations operate multiple outposts, such as Merck, which has one R&D center spread over four facilities, a lab, and two corporate venture capital (CVC) offices, according to the report.

In comparison to Silicon Valley, the authors conclude, Israeli outposts tend to be fewer in number but larger in scope — with R&D centers dominating thanks to Israel offering faster results and requiring smaller teams “due to the greatly concentrated and networked market, and the distinctive execution pace of local teams.” In Silicon Valley, only 19 percent of the outposts are R&D centers, compared to 60 percent in Israel, while CVCs amount to 30 percent, compared to 12 percent in Israel.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-05/israeli-navy-deploys-drone-boat-hunt-submarines-during-war-exercise

Seagull, Elbit Systems’ groundbreaking autonomous vessel recently participated in an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) exercise conducted by the Hellenic and Israeli Navy.

The multi-mission drone ship deployed dipping sonar sensors initially designed to be carried by helicopters.

“The Seagulls’ performance in the exercise demonstrated that operating a dipping sonar onboard such a vessel significantly increases the operational working time while substantially enhancing detection capabilities and the effectiveness of Anti-Submarine Warfare,” said Elbit.

Three months before the exercise, the Israeli Navy completed a Sea Acceptance Test (SAT) for the dipping sonar (otherwise known as the Helicopter Long-Range Active Sonar (HELRAS)) that was successfully converted from operations on a helicopter to an autonomous boat.The HELRAS was developed in the 1970s by FIAR and British Aerospace to detect submarines. The sensor was used throughout the Cold War for detection of Russian submarines.

The Seagull team includes three operators, with two remotely managing the mission and the third monitoring the autonomous navigation.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/48018/hammer-jared-kushner-right-palestinians-do-not-josh-hammer

White House senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is helping the president devise and (one expects) eventually unveil his much-ballyhooed “deal of the century” for Israeli-Palestinian peace, is in the news this week for some recent comments made in an interview with Axios. In the interview, Kushner equivocated on the purported urgency of Palestinian statehood and seemed to question whether the Palestinian-Arab populace is presently deserving of an autonomous state to call its own. As summarized by Jordan Schachtel of Conservative Review:

“The hope is that they over time will become capable of governing,” Kushner said in an interview broadcast on HBO on Sunday.

“There are some things the current Palestinian government has done well, and there are some things that are lacking,” Kushner added. “And I do think that in order for the area to be investable, for investors to want to come in and invest in different industry and infrastructure and create jobs, you do need to have a fair judicial system, you need to have freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions.”

A people that needs more “time” to “become capable of governing” is, by definition, not capable of governing in the present. And a people that is deemed incapable of governing in the present is necessarily undeserving of a state in the present.

For this bit of axiomatic truth-telling, Kushner was lambasted by all the usual suspects. This was a “condescending slur,” bellowed Muhammad Shehada at far-left Haaretz! “Kushner very clearly hasn’t spoken to a single Palestinian if this is what he thinks,” tweeted the self-hating ignoramuses of the egregiously misnamed jihadist apologists at “Jewish Voice for Peace.”

But Jared Kushner is clearly correct. And it is easy to understand why.

Let’s start with irredeemable, ubiquitous, genocidal Jew-hatred.

http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/

The abrupt termination of Israel’s 21st Parliament with new elections being called for 17 September has seen the New York Times claiming that Israel has been plunged into unprecedented political chaos.

A more sober assessment – based on comparing Israel’s 2015 election results with the April 2019 results – provides a different picture – in which Prime Minister Netanyahu will be returned once again as Israel’s next Prime Minister.

In an earlier article written in March, I opined:

“The cards have certainly been stacked against Benjamin Netanyahu being Israel’s next Prime Minister after three recent major developments — but he is by no means down and out.”

Those developments were:

Israeli Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit’s decision to pursue Netanyahu for alleged criminal offences.
Three political parties coalescing into the Blue and White Party — promising that two of the three previous leaders — former Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid — would each be Prime Minister for half of the next Government’s term of office.
Netanyahu’s role in precipitating a marriage of convenience between Jewish Home, National Union and an extreme right-wing party Otzma Yehudit with alleged links to the assassinated Rabbi Meir Kahane’s banned political party Kach

I pointed out then that:

“The 2015 election results provide a useful guide as to the likely impact these three developments might have on Netanyahu’s chances:

the Likud Party only received 23.4% of the vote—hardly a ringing endorsement for Netanyahu and
72% of those eligible voted—very high when compared to America’s 58.1%.

Likud’s low supporter-base seems unlikely to desert Netanyahu.
Voter turnout would have to increase dramatically or huge swings away from other right-wing parties would be needed to give Blue and White the nod needed to be invited by President Rivlin to form a coalition Government ahead of Netanyahu.
The unknown elephants in the room are the number of terrorist attacks and international political developments affecting Israel in the next five weeks that will concentrate voters’ minds — when actually casting their votes – on who can best safeguard their personal safety and Israel’s security.
Netanyahu is certainly not out of the race”.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14324/iran-palestinians-trump-peace-plan

Iran’s support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad also needs to be seen in the context of Tehran’s effort to undermine Arab states that have close relations with the Trump administration.
By boycotting the US-led conference in Bahrain, Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority in the West Bank have placed themselves in the same league as Iran — a country that despises them, deems them traitors and bankrolls their rivals, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in the Gaza Strip.
Even so, Abbas and Palestinian Authority officials match Iran’s incendiary rhetoric of violence at the US administration and its “Deal of the Century” by denouncing it as a conspiracy against Arabs and Muslims.
Iran’s leaders have every reason to be satisfied with Abbas, whose every remark indirectly bolsters the Ayatollahs in their campaign to undermine any Arab and Muslim who wants to work with the US or make peace with Israel.

As the US administration prepares to roll out its long-awaited plan for peace in the Middle East, also known as the “Deal of the Century,” Iran appears to be increasing its efforts to help its allies in the region try to thwart the plan.

Recently, Iran seems to have stepped up its political and military support for radical Palestinian groups that are staunchly opposed to any peace agreement with Israel. These groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, do not recognize Israel’s right to exist and are publicly committed to its destruction and replacement by an Iranian-backed Islamic state.

Iran, of course, has long shared the same ambition of destroying Israel and has never hesitated to make its position known to the world. In several statements during the past few decades, Iranian leaders have been frank about their wish that Israel be “a one-bomb country.”

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14327/bahrain-conference-peace

Bahrain allows the Arab states to reach back, meet their obligations under UN Resolution 242 and restart the process the way the United Nations intended….

The UN did not offer Israel a nebulous “peace” but a concrete set of conditions to create “security”: “Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.”

All of that was to be given to Israel not by the Palestinians, who did not and do not meet the requirements of a state, but the belligerents of 1948 and 1967. Egypt and Jordan have done so.

Some of the countries that have to make their peace with Israel will be in Bahrain, and UN Resolution 242 should be on the table. Fifty-two years late is not too late.

The return of Israel to election mode is no reason to change the Trump administration’s plans for the U.S.-led economic conference set for Bahrain in late June. The Palestinian decision to boycott the meeting certainly is no reason to change — or cancel — it. It needs only a few tweaks to emerge as a potentially dramatic event in the history of Middle East “peacemaking.”

The modern phase of the Arab-Israel conflict began in the 19th century and solidified in 1948. It morphed by design or neglect into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the Oslo Accords in the 1990s. The Arab states escaped responsibility for wars they initiated in 1948, ’56, ’67, ’73, and ’82, leaving Yasser Arafat to figure out how to do what they never could — either make peace with, or win a war against, the State of Israel.

Bahrain allows the Arab states to reach back, meet their obligations under UN Resolution 242 and restart the process the way the United Nations intended — when its intentions were honorable.