RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2022/05/can-israel-be-loyal-both-america-and-russia-joseph-puder/

For the first time since Israel began its aerial bombing over Syria, a battery of S-300 aerial defense missiles (ground-to-air) manned by Russian crews fired at an Israeli jet earlier this month. The missile missed its target, and apparently was not intended to shoot down the Israeli jet, but merely to serve as a warning. Putin’s Russia wanted to signal to Israel that it has perceived a tilt by Jerusalem toward Ukraine in the ongoing conflict between the two countries, and that it will not be without a price for Israel to pay.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is clouding the skies over Europe. It has increased the threat of a nuclear exchange between Russia and the NATO alliance. The fear that Russia might cross into their territory has prompted Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO membership. Russia’s significant submarine bases in the Baltic seaports, armed with nuclear missiles, and bases in the Kola Peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, bordering Finland, is an appetizing target for Putin. Sweden has been a neutral state for over one hundred years, and Finland, close enough to Russia geographically, has been very careful about alienating its powerful neighbor. But, Putin’s aggression and his expansionist designs have convinced Finland and Sweden to throw caution to the wind, and get a security blanket.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

Happy Jerusalem Day!  55 Years Anniversary

Jerusalem is and has been the geographic and spiritual center of the Jewish people for millennia. There has been a Jewish presence in Jerusalem, despite conquerors, wars, and massacres for centuries, and a Jewish majority since the mid-1800s. In the war occasioned by Arab rejection of Israel’s sovereignty, Jordan, (80% of the Palestine Mandate Promised to the Jews) occupied East Jerusalem, trashed graveyards and holy sites, debased and ransacked churches and limited visits to the city. In June 1967 the Israeli paratroopers liberated the despoiled and vandalized city and restored it to its glory with meticulous respect for all religions and restoration of churches, parks and shrines.  It is also the home of a world class institution- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and its Faculty of Medicine which is available to students of every ethnicity. 

rsk

And here is another compilation of Israel’s contributions to the  health, welfare , hope and aspirations of millions of citizens throughout the world from Michel Ordman.  

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Neurological discovery. Researchers at Tel Aviv University found that a mutation in genes ADNP and SHANK3 causes conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, and neuro-degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. They also found that an experimental therapy Davunetide can counter the effects of the mutation.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/328097  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01603-w
 
Gene therapy can treat AHDS. A team of international scientists, led by Dr. Gad Vatine of Ben Gurion University, discovered a thyroid hormone MCT8 mutation causes Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome (AHDS). Sufferers cannot walk or talk. They developed a gene therapy AAV9-MCT8 to restore the hormone’s function.
https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/pages/news/AHDS_neurology.aspx
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/thy.2022.0034
 
Less than 100 serious Covid-19 cases. According to new data from Israel’s Health Ministry, the number of serious coronavirus cases in Israel has dipped below 100 for the first time since end Dec 2021. On 15th May there were only some 15,500 active Covid-19 infections in Israel.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/serious-covid-cases-in-israel-drop-below-100-for-first-time-in-months/
 
Rare heart valve transplant saves heart patient. (TY Yehoshua) Surgeons at Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital performed a “first time in Israel” aortic valve transplant to save a patient unsuitable for open-heart surgery. The hybrid team of catheterization specialists and cardiac surgeons used the carotid artery as the point of entry.
https://www.hadassah.org/story/an-israel-first-aortic-valve-transplant-via-carotid-artery-at-hadassah
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-707289
 
How to avoid 400,000 US deaths a year. Excellent article about Israel’s DecideVR (see here previously) – the most advanced Virtual Reality simulator for reducing errors and saving lives in Intensive Care Units. It was developed by Prof Alex Mintz, Director of the Computerized Decision-Making Lab at Reichman University.
https://www.israel21c.org/virtual-reality-could-help-avoid-deadly-medical-errors/
https://www.runi.ac.il/en/research-institutes/government/cdm/
https://www.decidevr-simulation.com/
 
Israel’s first mental health expo. Some 1,000 people registered to attend Israel’s first mental health expo. It was conducted entirely in English and tailored to the needs of English-speaking immigrants. Its aim was to give a sense of what’s available in Israel to help and treat people facing mental health challenges.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ousting-stigmas-israels-first-mental-health-expo-happening-monday-in-english/  
 
Medical incubator launches in the north. Israel’s MEDX Xelerator (see here previously) has partnered with the Portland Trust to launch an incubator branch in the Sakhnin Valley region in northern Israel. It will support health and medical startups in the Galilee and northern Arab and Jewish regions.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rjat9g5d9
 
Saving Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Since March, volunteer doctors (Jews & Arabs) from the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem, have been running the medical clinic at the Przemyśl Humanitarian Aid Center, near the Medyka border crossing in southeastern Poland. Also, at a refugee center in nearby Korczowa.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327886
 
 
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
 
Safer schools. Israel’s Safe School Analytics is a content streaming platform that works with some 600 Israeli schools to combat and reduce bullying and cyberbullying. The company produces videos about online safety, empowerment, empathy, teamwork, and more. Israeli actress Gal Gadot and her husband are recent investors.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hkl80079p5  https://www.safeschool.co.il/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/safe-school-analytics/
 
Thousands of Gazans enter Israel to work.  Israel opened the Erez crossing allowing 4,600 Palestinian Arabs workers from Gaza to enter Israel – the highest single day number at the border crossing in 15 years.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/palestinian-territories/1652625000-4-600-gazans-enter-israel-highest-total-at-erez-crossing-in-15-years
 
Impact for Good. The “Impact for Good” conference in Jerusalem on May 30 is a joint initiative of the Society for International Development (SID) Israel and the parliamentary lobby for Israel’s positive impact in the developing world. It focuses on how Israeli innovation and world Jewry can address global challenges.
https://www.nbn.org.il/events/impact-for-good-conference/
 
Jerusalem – city of innovation. 1000+ people attended the 2022 Arutz Sheva-Israel National News Jerusalem Conference in Manhattan.  See all the ceremonies and speeches here, especially the discussion about Business Development in the city. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/tags/Jerusalem_Conference_in_NYC
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/328193
 
Innovation conference in Casablanca. (TY WIN & ILTV) Israeli non-profit Startup Nation Central launched “Connect to Innovate” – an historic conference attended by 150 Israeli and Moroccan government and business leaders in Casablanca.  13 agreements were signed, especially in food tech & agriculture tech.
https://www.jns.org/israel-morocco-business-and-tech-ties-flourish-post-innovation-conference/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-casablanca-morocco-and-israel-see-the-beginning-of-a-beautiful-tech-friendship/  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqaulhT3esQ
 
Israel at Davos. Israel’s President Herzog spoke at the World Economic Forum – “I call on all countries and nations from near and far to join these winds of change, partner with Israel, lead the future & make history! By working with all countries and nations in the region, we can build a future of peace, prosperity, and progress.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/at-davos-herzog-issues-sweeping-call-for-renewable-middle-east/
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/328196
 
Israeli food tech at the UN. On Israel’s Independence Day, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan presented, to dozens of UN ambassadors, food produced by Israeli sustainable food tech. They included vegan milk, protein from chickpeas and cultivated meat.
https://www.jns.org/israels-un-ambassador-turns-to-food-tech-to-win-hearts-minds-and-stomachs/
 
Ukrainian sings to help MDA relief efforts. Ukrainian-born singer Viktoria Leléka lives in Berlin and was able to help rescue all her family from Ukraine. Leléka made her first visit to Israel to perform with her band and Israel singer Ivri Lider in a concert that benefited Magen David Adom’s emergency efforts in Ukraine.
https://www.jns.org/ukrainian-singer-performs-in-israel-to-raise-funds-for-mda-relief-efforts/

https://www.jns.org/opinion/shooting-for-gun-control/

“The spike in anti-Semitic assaults also spurred the Israel Police to urge the public to volunteer for the Civil Guard, and led to a steep rise in the number of civilians seeking gun permits. In other words, desperate times call for commensurate measures.Americans with an aversion to firearms, particularly those “progressives” who have been on a campaign to defund the police, would do well to keep this in mind. They should also wake up to the reality that Israelis live with daily: villains on a mission to spill blood don’t need guns; cars and kitchen knives get the job done, too.Furthermore, guns in and of themselves aren’t the problem; in the hands of heroes, they’re often the only solution.”

 The May 24 slaughter of 19 children and two adults at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas provided fresh ammunition for the rhetorical and ideological battle over gun control. Combatants in this ongoing war tend to be diehards on the left and right.
The former hold firearms and those who champion the constitutional right to bear them responsible for such horrific acts of violence. The latter hail the Second Amendment and support the National Rifle Association, which backs the right of law-abiding citizens to to defend themselves and their homes.
Both groups came out swinging, each from its own political corner, following the horrifying mass murder committed on Tuesday by 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. Arguments on each side included comparisons between his dastardly deed and the Dec. 14, 2012 massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, carried out by killer Adam Lanza.
One parallel between the two incidents is that Lanza committed matricide before murdering 20 children and six adults, while Ramos attempted to kill his own grandmother (who is currently hospitalized in critical condition with bullet wounds to her face) prior to his vile spree.
A far more recent mass shooting has been noticeably absent from the gun-control debate, however. Indeed, the May 14 slaying of 10 shoppers at a Tops Friendly Markets store in Buffalo, New York aroused a different left-right fight: the one surrounding “systemic racism” in America.

https://www.jns.org/opinion/rescuing-the-coalition-at-israels-literal-and-figurative-expense/

When Israeli lawmaker Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi reversed her decision to quit the government, a sigh of relief was heard in the halls of half of the 120-seat Knesset. Had the Knesset member from the left-wing Meretz Party upheld her resignation, the coalition, which had already lost its single-mandate majority with the exit of Yamina MK and coalition chair Idit Silman, would no longer be in a 60-60 tie with the opposition.

Even worse for her partners, who were already miffed that she had failed to inform anyone of her plan to bolt, her move didn’t include evacuating her Knesset seat to make way for the next in line on the party list. Their fear was that her vote might tip the scales in favor of toppling the government if a no-confidence motion were put forward.
Her assurance that she had no intention of contributing to the replacement of the current coalition with a right-wing one was not sufficient, and she knew it. She also milked it for all it was worth, issuing a list of demands as a condition for a change of heart on her part.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18553/palestinian-vote-destroy-israel

These Palestinians are evidently fed up with the rampant corruption and bad governance of the Palestinian Authority leadership. Moreover, these Palestinians who no longer support Abbas are stating that they have no interest in any peace process with Israel.

As the last poll showed, 70% of the Palestinians are opposed to an unconditional return to peace negotiations with Israel. Another 58% expressed opposition to the two-state solution.

The truth is that Abbas called off the elections [in 2021] because he was afraid that Hamas would defeat his Fatah faction in the parliamentary election, as took place in 2006.

The results of the Birzeit University elections prove that Abbas’s fears were not unfounded. Had he insisted on proceeding with the presidential and parliamentary elections, it is most likely…. that Hamas would have taken control of the Palestinian presidency and parliament.

Hamas, for its part, said that it sees the results of the university election as a vote of confidence in its policy of pursuing deadly terrorist attacks against Israel.

The students who voted in support of Hamas fully identify with the terrorist group’s covenant, which states that “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”

Palestinians have been radicalized by their leaders and media to a point where they do not want to hear anything about a peace process with Israel. In fact, they want to see Israel vanish from the map, as the results of the student council elections and the polls clearly illustrate.

The results of the Birzeit University elections and the polls stand in sharp contrast to the views expressed by the Biden administration concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Over the past year, Biden administration officials have repeatedly stated their commitment to the “two-state solution” while totally ignoring the widespread support among the Palestinians for the elimination of Israel.

The Hamas victory at the university’s student council should sound alarm bells in the Biden administration, especially the State Department, regarding the true intentions of the Palestinians – that their sole commitment is to have a state that would replace Israel, not one that would exist peacefully alongside Israel. That is why it is nonsensical to pressure Israel to make any territorial (or non-territorial) concessions to the Palestinians, who are openly proclaiming that they want to establish a Palestinian state on the ruins of Israel and the bodies of dead Jews.

The Palestinians have once again shown that they have not given up the dream of destroying Israel and replacing it with an Islamist state funded by Iran and its terrorist proxies, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hezbollah.

http://www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

As regular newsletter readers know, Israel has a huge positive impact on the world. This week’s news includes an Israeli Covid-19 treatment that also helps cancer patients; super-fast blood tests and DNA sequencing; plus good news for ALS patients, back pain sufferers and sick elderly Ukrainians. Israeli tech is providing better education opportunities for religious women, refugee Ukrainian children, language students, business managers, and those wishing to re-train in the hi-tech industry. The environment is benefiting from smart Israeli agriculture devices and new low-pollution manufacturing and construction processes. Israel’s economy gets better and better, with an unprecedented level of hi-tech exports, European and Asian partnerships, and continued investment in Israeli startups. Finally, as travel restrictions are removed, there is no better opportunity for overseas visitors to get a better view of this remarkable country.   Michael Ordman
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Covid-19 therapy also helps cancer patients. MesenCure – the life-saving Covid-19 treatment from Israel’s Bonus BioGroup (see here) also prevents a lethal inflammatory response that affects cancer patients receiving immunotherapy. In California trials MesenCure significantly reduced an overreaction of the immune system.
https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-covid-drug-also-aids-cancer-immunotherapy-patients/
 
Slowing the progress of ALS. Israel’s Neuromagen (see here previously) has received US FDA Orphan designation for its AGS-499 candidate treatment of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. AGS-499 has shown outstanding promise in lab tests, including using human cells.
https://www.biospace.com/article/neuromagen-pharma-ltd-receives-fda-orphan-drug-designation-for-its-ags-499-drug-candidate-to-slow-the-progression-of-als-amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-/
 
Life-changing 5-min blood test device. (TY UWI) Israel’s PixCell Medical (see here previously) has donated a HemoScreen 5-minute blood test device, along with hundreds of cartridges, to Ukraine, as it is ideal for “extreme point of care” use. It is also essential for emergencies and for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
https://www.israel21c.org/new-blood-test-device-saves-chemo-patients-time-and-energy/
 
Fast DNA sequencing. Israel’s Sequentify, a spinoff of Israel’s Weizmann Institute, enables fast and focused DNA sequencing, by combining tools from synthetic biology and artificial intelligence. Its Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) products include Covid-19 surveillance, cancer diagnostics, carrier screening and more.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bjemsap8c    https://www.sequentify.com/
 
Speeding development of treatments. Israel’s Code Ocean has developed a consistent, secure, digital lab that integrates research in the cloud and helps speed medical and scientific discoveries to market. It enhances computational science and aims to boost the rapid development of treatments including personalized medicine.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bye5fdfw9  https://codeocean.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnloe01lxD8
 
Herbal medicine in a chocolate bar. Israel’s Solveat has manufactured health bars that are adapted to take herbal medicine extracts to treat specific medical conditions. The medicine can be eaten with a meal like ordinary food in the form of chocolate, crackers, or health bars.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bjut6t1p9
 
Honor for biochemist. Professor Nahum Sonenberg has been awarded an honorary doctorate at Israel’s Ben Gurion University. Born in a DP camp, his came to Israel in 1949, eventually studying biochemistry at Tel Aviv University. His groundbreaking work on proteins has advanced research into memory, cancer, autism and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhbgBrkoYKI   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahum_Sonenberg
 
An implant to relieve back pain. Ofer Levy, CEO at Israel’s ZygoFix (see here previously) explains how his company’s implant can relieve lower back and leg pain caused by pressure on the spine. The ZygoFix solution is far less invasive than current screws and bridge fusion surgery and is performed in the outpatient department.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bkavsfgd9