RUTHFULLY YOURS

http://www.israelhayom.com/2019/02/04/israel-releases-

Several dozen current or former members of Hamas and the PFLP are involved in BDS activity through Palestinian and international NGOs, Strategic Affairs Ministry report says • “What we discovered surprised even us,” says Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan.

The government released a report Sunday claiming to reveal close links between the Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel and terrorist groups.

The Strategic Affairs Ministry, which leads Israel’s efforts against the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, said it uncovered extensive connections between pro-boycott groups and activists affiliated with Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The BDS movement dismissed the report as “wildly fabricated.”

The 80-page report claims several dozen current or former members of the Palestinian groups, both designated terrorist organizations by the U.S., European Union and Israel, are involved in BDS activity through Palestinian and international nongovernmental organizations.

“We have always seen indications of connections between BDS groups and designated terrorist organizations,” Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said. “What we discovered surprised even us.”

Most of the cases were based on accusations of affiliation or expressions of sympathy for terrorist groups, in some instances connected to acts that took place years ago. At least two people on the list have received international recognition for human rights work.

https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/israel-red-lines-lebanon-syria/

Israel’s low-profile military campaign against the Iranian-Shiite axis in Syria is continuing despite changes in the geo-strategic environment. But the use of Israeli air power to disrupt enemy force build-up has yet to cross into Lebanon. It is possible that this could represent one of the most significant regional escalation scenarios in the near future.

The “War Between Wars” is an ongoing Israeli military and intelligence effort to disrupt the force build-up of the Iranian-Shiite axis throughout the Middle East. This campaign, which has evolved into an entire force activation doctrine, has seen the Israeli defense establishment employ an approach that differentiates between Syria and Lebanon.

In Syria, Israel launches frequent intelligence-fueled air strikes that target Iranian military build-up sites. The strikes also destroy Iranian weapon transfers that use Syria as a transit zone on their way to Hezbollah bases in Lebanon.

The scope of Israel’s preventative air strike campaign in Syria is enormous, as recently outlined by former IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot. Eisenkot told the New York Times that Israeli jets had fired 2,000 air-to-ground munitions at targets in Syria in 2018 alone.

This has clearly disrupted Iran’s plans to build a Shiite army in Syria under its command, made up of 100,000 militia members. Iran was also planning to build missile factories, launch sites, weapons storage facilities, and a network of cross-border attack positions along Syria’s border with Israel.

All these advances in technology, science and medicine are available to all Israel’s population- Christian, Moslem, Jews, Arabs, Africans…giving the lie to the spurious and venal claims of the myriad pseudo human rights organizations that routinely slander Israel. rsk

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Multiple attack on cancer. Israel’s Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies (AEBi) is developing an anti-cancer technology that identifies multiple peptides (small proteins) for targeting specific cancer cells and any mutations. Each treatment will also include a toxin to suppress the cancer’s ability to deactivate the treatment.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/A-cure-for-cancer-Israeli-scientists-say-they-think-they-found-one-578939 http://www.aebi-bio.com/

Using antibodies to treat damaged cells. I’ve reported previously (see here)on Israeli medical innovations to boost the immune system to fight diseases. Israeli biotech Biond Biologics is developing a platform to enable antibodies to enter cells, destroy tumors or treat autoimmune diseases. Biond just raised $17 million of funds.
http://www.biondbio.com/platform/ https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3753832,00.html

Using yeast to find cures for metabolic disorders. Tel Aviv University researchers have uncovered a new pathway that can speed up the search for cures for hundreds of metabolic disorders that are fatal to infants. They have modified yeast cells to generate a toxic build-up of metabolites in the lab, for testing possible therapies.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/science-and-tech/new-israeli-research-may-lead-to-life-saving-therapies-for-metabolic-disorders/2019/01/17/

US approval for bio bone-fixing pins. (TY OurCrowd) The US FDA has granted clearance to Israel’s Ossio for its OSSIOfiber family of bio-integrative bone pins, which secure broken bones during the healing process while leaving no permanent hardware behind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhiHflP1nGE
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/fda-clears-ossio-s-integrative-mineral-bone-pins-for-orthopedic-surgeries https://ossio.io/

Pfizer partners with Israeli AI biotech. (TY Calcalistech) I reported previously (16th Dec) on Israel’s CytoReason which uses an Artificial Intelligent learning model to discover treatments related to the human immune system. CytoReason has just partnered with Pfizer – its fifth alliance with a major company.
http://nocamels.com/2019/01/drug-discovery-cytoreason-pfizer/
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/216dd2_5d94d4baffe5460d80e3fcbe79c5c1ea.pdf

Partners to prevent dementia. The innovation arm of Israel’s Sheba Medical Center has partnered with Japanese telecom manufacturer OKI Electric Industry to set up a new joint research project that will focus on the prevention of dementia in high-risk middle-aged individuals.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/sheba-medical-center-japans-oki-electric-join-forces-against-dementia/

How to measure pain. Israelis Yariv Adan and Ariel Assaf are the co-founders of Lab 39, developer of the Genie pain tracker. It comprises a wristband with sensors that track sleep patterns, physical activity and heart rate. Its partner is a smartphone app which requests the patient to enter a pain score several times a day.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/to-measure-and-track-pain-israeli-duo-develops-objective-monitor/

Israeli medic saves life in Mecca. Refai Amer, a Muslim Israeli-Arab from Kfar Qassim is a volunteer medic for Israel’s United Hatzalah. He recently went to Mecca for the Haj, taking his medkit with him. In the middle of prayers, surrounded by around 7 million worshippers, he saved the life a man suffering from a hypoglycemia.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-meet-the-israeli-medic-who-saved-a-life-in-mecca/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w15eMWSeYmY

https://worldisraelnews.com/female-terrorist-killed-during-stabbing-attack-near-jerusalem/

Police are investigating where the suspect came from. Security has been beefed up in the area.

An Arab female terrorist attempted to stab Israeli security personnel at the A-Zaim checkpoint in Judea on Wednesday. The checkpoint is located at the southern entrance to Jerusalem.

Security forces responded quickly, shooting and killing the terrorist.

No Israelis were wounded in the attack.Jerusalem’s District Police Commander Yoram Halevi arrived at the scene of the attack and was briefed on the details.

The terrorist has not yet been identified. A police spokesman said they are investigating where the suspect came from and security will remain heightened in the area.

https://www.jns.org/opinion/commanding-scorn/

In a letter to the officers in his command early this week, the head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Judea and Samaria Division declared that “immoral and illegal actions” by IDF soldiers against Palestinians would not be tolerated.

“Those who cannot control themselves and do not undertake to operate professionally during a security mission and in accordance with the spirit of the IDF will have no place with us,” warned Brig. Gen. Eran Niv. “We will stand firm against our subordinates.”

Niv went on to assert that the use of force is legitimate only when required for the execution of a mission, and only against those who pose an immediate threat. So, for example, he explained, it’s OK to break down the door of a suspect, but not to trash his home as a form of punishment.

According to Kan 11 News, which broke the story on Monday evening, Niv was spurred to pen this directive by four investigations underway into the allegedly criminal or unbecoming conduct of IDF soldiers in the field.

Too bad Niv is not among them.

In the first place, such a seasoned, high-ranking officer ought to be aware that his dramatic “new” directive is as old as the 1994 IDF Code of Ethics and Mission. In fact, if it weren’t for that 25-year-old document—concerned with the “purity of arms” of the Israeli military—none of the investigations that supposedly sparked his letter would be taking place.

Nor would so many Israeli boys and girls in uniform be given the sense that they need to sling their rifles over their shoulders to free up their hands for law books and cameras. Fear of not being able to provide evidence at a later date to judges and hostile NGOs that they acted according to the IDF’s often ridiculously stringent rules of engagement will do that.

https://worldisraelnews.com/synagogue-desecrated-in-jerusalem-recalls-dark-periods-of-jewish-history/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=push_notification&

A synagogue in Jerusalem was vandalized over Monday night. It is the second case of a synagogue having been desecrated this week.

A synagogue serving the French community in Kiryat Yoval, a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem, was vandalized on Monday night. The synagogue’s Torah ark was smashed and the Torah scrolls thrown on the ground.

Police have already set up a special investigation team and the synagogue was closed this morning to allow forensic investigators to work, Israel’s Channel 20 reports. The neighborhood has a history of friction between religious and secular Jews, according to Israel Hayom.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin expressed shock at the news. Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon said the vandalism was “a grave event reminiscent of dark periods of the Jewish people.”

“I’ve spoken with the Jerusalem bureau at the moment and I am sure that the Israeli police will soon put their hands on the criminals,” the mayor said.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Arming white blood cells to fight cancer. Scientists at Tel Aviv University have discovered that the white blood cells called Eosinophils secrete powerfully destructive proteins that can kill tumors. When activated by the protein IFN-gamma, they induced an even greater immunotherapy response and a new anti-cancer pathway.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/science-and-tech/israeli-research-white-blood-cells-related-to-allergies-asthma-may-also-destroy-cancer-cells/2019/01/22/

New biomarker helps detect high risk of cancer. Researchers from Tel Aviv University and others have found that high levels of the protein ubiquilin-4 cause cells to become prone to genome instability and more likely to develop into tumors. Once discovered, these cells can be treated with other forms of cancer therapy.
https://www.israel21c.org/israelis-find-biomarker-linking-genome-instability-cancer/
https://www.aftau.org/weblog-medicine–health?&storyid4704=2430&ncs4704=3

Successful trials of treatment for severe burns. I reported previously (see here) on the innovative NexoBrid treatment for severe burns from Israel’s MediWound. MediWound has just announced positive top line results of its pivotal U.S. Phase 3 clinical study. Dead skin was completely removed from 93% of trial patients.
http://ir.mediwound.com/news-releases/news-release-details/mediwound-announces-positive-top-line-results-its-pivotal-phase

US approval for groundbreaking inhaler. (TY Atid-EDI) The US FDA has approved the ProAir Digihaler made by Israel’s Teva. It is the first and only digital inhaler with built-in sensors that connects to a companion mobile app and provides relevant information to people with asthma and COPD.
https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/teva-announces-fda-approval-of-first-and-only-digital-inhaler-with-built-in-sensors-proair-digihalertm-albuterol-sulfate-117-mcg-inhalation-powder-2018-12-21

The neurons that recognize a face. Researchers at Israel’s Bar Ilan University and in Paris have identified neurons in the human visual cortex that can selectively respond to faces. The discovery came while studying an epileptic patient that had micro-electrodes implanted in the vicinity of the Fusiform Face Area.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/i-see-you-in-first-israeli-french-team-finds-neurons-that-respond-to-all-faces/
http://n.neurology.org/content/92/4/197

Breakthrough cancer treatment available to Israelis. (TY I24 News) The Israeli-developed CAR-T cancer treatment is one of NIS 460 million worth of new treatments added to Israel’s 2019 Health Basket. CAR-T has over 80% success rate, even in terminal cases. The new treatments will benefit an estimated 70,000 Israelis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7UtUXNF4_U
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/257940
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-over-half-israels-2019-drug-basket-budget-goes-to-cancer-1001267676

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/israel-gives-irish-ambassador-severe-dressing-down-for-anti-semitic-d%C3%A1il-bill-1.3770529

Irish ambassador to Israel Alison Kelly has been warned of “serious consequences” for Irish-Israel relations and Dublin’s standing in the region if the controversial Bill prohibiting importing goods from the occupied territories in Palestine becomes law.

The ministry said Ms Kelly was given an “angry rebuke” over the “scandalous” Bill. The severe diplomatic dressing down at the foreign ministry in Jerusalem on Friday morning followed Thursday’s passage of the first reading of the measure in the Dáil.

The Israeli government described the Bill, which covers goods produced on the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Golan Heights and in east Jerusalem, as “hypocritical and anti-Semitic.”

Israeli officials told the ambassador that Dublin should “concentrate on dark dictatorships and terrorist organisations instead of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.”

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272651/week-military-and-diplomatic-success-israel-ari-lieberman

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured another diplomatic victory for Israel with the dramatic announcement that Chad and the Jewish State would be reestablishing diplomatic relations. The Muslim majority nation had severed ties in 1972 following intense pressure from Libya, its menacing neighbor to the north, which at the time was led by the dictator, Col. Muammar Qaddafi. But following a visit by Chad’s President Idriss Déby to Jerusalem and a reciprocating visit by PM Netanyahu to N’Djamena, forty-seven years of animosity instantly vanished.

Israel’s historic diplomatic achievement occurred despite intense efforts by the Palestinian Authority and Iran to torpedo the initiative, and reflects a rise in Israel’s standing on the African continent and in the Muslim world at large. Indeed, Israel has much to offer in terms of military expertise, cyber technology, water technology and agricultural technology, commodities that are in high demand in parched, battle-plagued Africa.

Upon Netanyahu’s return flight to Israel, Sudan granted permission for Netanyahu’s plane to fly in airspace controlled by Khartoum. This may seem to be insignificant but considering that Sudan was once firmly in Iran’s camp and served as an Iranian transit point for arms shipments to Gaza, the gesture was remarkable.

Following the breakthrough with Chad, Jerusalem announced that it is preparing to host Mali’s Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga in the “coming weeks.” The West African Muslim majority nation severed diplomatic relations with Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War but is now set to restore full diplomatic ties.