POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR
Ex-hostages give Purim gifts to cancer children. Heroic former hostages Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy joined Rabbi Asher Levi to bring joy to cancer patients at Schneider Children’s Medical Center, delivering Purim gifts and sharing a powerful message: “Giving to others gives us strength.”
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-released-female-hostages-give-out-purim-gifts-to-children-battling-cancer/
130-year-old violin given to ex-hostage. Tzachi Beck refurbished and gifted a 130-year-old Czechian violin d to freed hostage Agam Berger. Agam played Amir Benayoun’s “You overcame everything with me.” breathing new life into its strings, decades after its original owner, an orchestral violinist, perished in the Holocaust.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-845407
Hostage’s grape juice lasted 5 months. Released hostage Omer Shem-Tov told of a miracle he experienced in captivity. “For five months, I had half a bottle of grape juice that I used for Kiddush. The bottle never ran out, and the juice never spoiled. It showed me how good God is and how He was with me.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/405094
Turning a Kibbutz green. Residents of Kibbutz Be’eri live on dry, arid land in Kibbutz Hatzerim while Be’eri is being rebuilt. 2,700 Birthright Israel volunteers in 100 groups will create 300 gardens – one for each Be’eri family and the surrounding areas. They will feature 1,500 trees, 41,000 herb plants, and thousands of flowers.
https://www.jns.org/wire/birthright-israel-launches-major-greening-initiative-for-hard-hit-kibbutz-beeri/
Sunshine volunteers. A group of volunteers ages 55 and older recently participated in Jewish National Fund-USA’s inaugural Sunshine Volunteer Mission to Israel. They spent five days restoring Israeli communities destroyed on Oct 7 2023, fixed schools and playgrounds, helped farmers, prepared food for the IDF and more.
https://www.jns.org/wire/jewish-volunteers-ages-55-plus-leave-lasting-impact-on-mission-to-israel/
Let’s get to work. Ex-hostage Gadi Mozes has called on his fellow Kibbutz Nir Oz members to rebuild their destroyed kibbutz and help return it to its former glory. Mozes (80) has decided “to buckle down, to roll up my sleeves and to join all those who want our home, Nir Oz, to return to being a warm and vibrant home.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/lets-get-to-work-ex-hostage-gadi-mozes-calls-on-nir-oz-members-to-rebuild/
Strawberry fields forever. Uri Patkin owns the strawberry farm Uri Tutim in Moshav Yesha near the Gaza border. Yesha’s emergency squad bravely fought off terrorists on Oct 7 2023, at a heavy price. Now Uri is once again farming his high-quality, long shelf-life, hanging strawberries.
https://www.israel21c.org/strawberries-bloom-once-again-near-the-gaza-border/ https://uritutim.co.il/
An IDF rescue from Gaza. Israeli hostage Andrey Koslov revealed details of the daring IDF rescue of him and three other hostages from captivity in Gaza on Jun 8 2024.
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-freed-hostage-andrey-koslov-reveals-details-of-incredible-hostage-rescue/
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Gene deletion shrinks cancer cells. Researchers from Tel Aviv University (Dan Peer’s lab) utilized CRISPR to cut the SOX2 gene from cancer cells of head and neck tumors – and in lab tests successfully eliminated 50% of the tumors. The breakthrough defied general belief that knocking out a single gene wouldn’t have any effect.
https://english.tau.ac.il/research/crispr-cancer-removal
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-845688
Blood test to detect cancer. Israel’s OncoRedox is developing a new platform for the early diagnosis and monitoring of cancer and chronic diseases. Its disposable sensor plus AI-powered technology is designed to detect and profile cell-free metabolites within minutes, providing a unique metabolic fingerprinting.
https://www.peregrinevc.com/portfolio/oncoredox/ https://www.peregrinevc.com/portfolio/
Developing immunity against cancer. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Purple Biotech (see here previously) has partnered with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, to develop CAPTN-3, a platform of activated antibodies. The aim is to enhance tumor-specific immunity against various cancer types.
https://purple-biotech.com/press-viewer/?i=142208
No more injections. Researchers at Israel’s Technion Institute have discovered that a protein in breast milk facilitates the passage of nanoparticles through the intestinal wall, delivering essential nutrients to the baby. Mimicking this mechanism, can protect medications from the digestive system and allow non-needle delivery.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/breast-milk-proteins-superpowers-lead-to-breakthrough-for-new-class-of-oral-drugs/ https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/b1dzwouqyg
Brain study can transform speech to text technology. (TY TPS) An Israeli-led research team has analyzed how the brain processes speech and transforms sounds into conversation. It could lead to new advancements in speech recognition technology, tools for people with speech disorders, and personalized assistive devices.
https://worldisraelnews.com/speech-to-text-tech-could-be-transformed-by-new-israeli-brain-mapping-study/
Anti-virus nasal spray for the US. Israel’s Enovid (see here previously) has now launched its SaNOtize Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray as NOWONDER in the US. NOWONDER delivers advanced nasal cleansing, viral protection (e.g. against COVID-19), and sinus health support.
https://www.openpr.com/news/3895202/sanotize-launches-nowonder-nasal-spray-in-the-u-s
260 doctors attend MedEx in New Jersey. Over 500 Jewish doctors and healthcare professionals, including 260 doctors, gathered at the 10th annual MedEx event in Teaneck, New Jersey. The International Medical Aliyah Program (IMAP) started MedEx to bring 2,000 Jewish doctors to Israel. In 2024 alone it brought 519.
