RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/03/a_funeral_in_israel_shows_the_remarkably_power_of_faith.html

“The most important difference, though, as those 750,000 or more mourners show, is religious people have babies, lots and lots of babies. Secular people do not. Secular Europe is dying (including Russia, which no longer has the wherewithal to throw bodies into battle as it once did), while religious communities are demographically booming.”

On Friday, March 18, in Bnei Brak, a city near Tel Aviv, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky passed away at the age of 94. I’m sure that means very little to you. Unless you are an ultra-Orthodox Jew whose life is dedicated to the study of the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible), your life will not have intersected with Rabbi Kanievsky’s. However, he was important enough to Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community that, on Sunday, over 750,000 men (or almost 8.5% of Israel’s total population) poured into the streets of Bnei Brak to be part of his funeral.

Still, why should that matter to you? It matters because a religious text that’s around 2,500 years old in its present form and existed in other forms before then, and that recognizes and seeks to tame and elevate human behavior, has such power. Compared to that, today’s wokism, firmly grounded in fantasy, cannot and will not last.

Because the Daily Mail has the best photographs, I’ll quote from its report:

Born in Pinsk, Belarus, he had moved to the country when he was a child and when it was still British-ruled Palestine. He remained there for the rest of his life, becoming revered by many in the Jewish religious world, and was one of the few remaining leaders of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel born before the Holocaust. 

Police closed several highways in Israel’s densely populated Tel Aviv area to traffic for several hours, and other main thoroughfares were expected to be gridlocked. Authorities urged the public not to drive into the area by car.

A separate women’s section was created in the streets of Bnei Brak for the funeral that the Magen David Adom, Israel’s equivalent of the Red Cross, said was likely to be one of the largest ever gatherings in ‘Israeli history.’ 

Rather to my surprise, Reuters live-streamed all two hours of the event.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 
As of December 2020, Israel, once the battered orphan state of the United Nations, has diplomatic relations with 164 of the 193 total UN member states. How did this come about? Much credit is due to the Abraham accords forged by former President Donald Trump, his Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, the Israeli political establishment, and modern new leaders in the Arab world.

The credit must also go to Israel for the reasons that Michael Ordman catalogs on a weekly basis, namely, Israel’s dazzling research, technology and innovation which could be tapped into by cooperative nations.

By every measure, in spite of its biased detractors, Israel is a successful modern democracy on the cusp of its birthday of 74 or 5, 782 years. rsk

With so much in the world to worry about, the Jewish festival of Purim arrived just at the right time. It coincided with Israelis bringing relief to Jews sheltering in Ukraine, to refugees in border countries and those rescued and now safe in Israel. Israeli volunteers flew to the region to treat, donate aid and bring Purim cheer to Ukrainians of all religions. In other news, Israeli medical advances have put smiles on the faces of many of those suffering from Covid-19 and cancer. There was further uplifting news of Israel’s improving relations with the UAE, Morocco and Egypt. Meanwhile, two inspiring Israeli startups launched “out of this world” innovative technology. No wonder Israel has leaped up to ninth place in the United Nations-sponsored World Happiness Index. Michael Ordman

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Tons of equipment for Israeli Ukraine field hospital. Israel airlifted some 17 tons of equipment to build its $6.5 million “Kochav Meir” (Shining Star) Ukraine field hospital (see here previously), which is expected to treat around 100 patients per day. Also, Magen David Adom is sending 4 bullet-proof ambulances to Ukraine.
https://www.jns.org/el-al-planes-take-off-with-17-tons-of-equipment-for-israeli-field-hospital-in-ukraine/
 
Dental NGO relieves pain for Ukrainian child. 4-year-old Feiga arrived in Israel from Ukraine, unable to eat due to her poor dental condition. Just 24 hours after contacting Dental Volunteers for Israel, Feiga had root canal treatment to alleviate her pain, while pediatric dentists gently prepared her for further treatment.
https://dental-dvi.org.il/feige-a-4-year-old-jewish-refugee-from-ukraine-newly-arrived-in-jerusalem/
 
New Covid treatment available. Ziv Medical Center in Tzfat (Safed) is currently offering AMOR-18 from Israel’s Amorphical (see here previously) to all moderate to serious COVID-19 patients. It is also undergoing clinical trials at four Israeli hospitals. All 18 patients in Ziv’s trials of AMOR-18 recovered quickly.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/new-israeli-covid-drug-offered-to-ziv-medical-center-patients/
 
Diagnostic blood test advances. Israel’s OncoHost (see here previously) has opened a new laboratory in North Carolina for its PROphet blood test to identify which cancer treatments are likely to work. Israeli Nobel Prize winner Aaron Ciechanover is an OncoHost’s advisor. PROphet may also help autoimmune disease sufferers.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/lifting-the-veil-of-uncertainty-around-cancer-treatments/
 
Remote monitoring pilot success. Israel’s Essence SmartCare has completed a successful pilot of its VitalOn remote patient monitoring system. Patients of Clalit Health Services and homecare provider Sharan Medical Center were monitored at home on transfer from hospital.  VitalOn even saved a patient suffering low oxygen.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-701244  https://www.essencesmartcare.com/
 
A fierce medical company. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s MeMed (see here previously) has been named as one of the “Fierce MedTech Fierce 15” most promising medical technology companies. The annual list is produced by the prestigious medical magazine and resource Fierce Biotech.
https://www.me-med.com/_files/ugd/6a0f21_298b9f7e9e074852a576b8bf12773912.pdf
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/special-reports/fierce-medtechs-2021-fierce-15
 
A breath test for any disease. Israel’s Breath of Health (BOH – see here previously) was featured on I24 News. Its trial at Israeli hospitals showed that it could replace the PCR test for COVID detection. Its blow test pattern analysis can be adapted to detect any pathogen – e.g., different cancers, Alzheimer’s, or diabetes etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIpBD_5Hk_U
 
Improving outcomes for cancer patients. The Israeli-developed Intelligent Care platform of US-based Canopy improves life-saving care provided to cancer patients. Canopy’s suite of intelligent, electronic health-record integrated tools helps cancer centers engage with their patients and streamline clinical processes.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rkgqe9lfc  https://www.canopycare.us/
 

https://worldisraelnews.com/us-working-to-change-stupid-israeli-policies-ambassador-infuriated-with-jewish-settlement-growth

In a Tuesday webinar with left-wing Americans for Peace Now, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides firmly espoused the “two-state solution” and said he is working to change Jerusalem’s policies that stand in its way.

“If we talk about anything but a two-state solution, it’s not good for the Palestinians, it’s certainly not good for Israel, it’s not good for the Jews, it’s not good for anyone,” Nides told his virtual audience.

There are “four or five” issues that he said he constantly brings up in order for his plan to come to fruition. Interestingly, the very first example he gave was higher internet speed.

“Who the he** has 3G [today]?” he asked. He said he’s been “pounding the table” at the Communications Ministry so that the Palestinians could all have “4G or even 5G” on their phones.

Nides has also urged the biggest corporations working in Israel today, such as Google and Microsoft, to “open offices in the West Bank” in order to provide Palestinians with better employment possibilities.

These kinds of ideas “don’t compromise Israel’s security,” he said, while if the Palestinians don’t see avenues to prosperity, “we’re going to wake up with a bigger catastrophe than we currently have.”

https://www.jns.org/opinion/a-free-lunch-for-amnestys-anti-semitism/

 It’s not clear what it will take for critics of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to admit that it wasn’t he who turned support for Israel into a “wedge issue” in the United States between Democrats and Republicans. The current government in Jerusalem, formed precisely to oust him, certainly won’t acknowledge it, especially not while boasting of repairing the ostensible damage to “bipartisanship” wrought by its predecessor.
Given the increasing radicalization of the Democratic Party, embodied in but not exclusive to “The Squad,” it’s odd for anyone at home or abroad to believe the nonsense. Even the “anti-Israel is the new pro-Israel” camp knows that it’s false.
In fact, members of this group have no desire to cross the literal and figurative aisle. It’s the liberal Jews in America and Israel who don’t grasp that the Jewish state itself—not one policy or another—has become a bone of contention, an issue to be debated.
If any skepticism remained about this situation, the Women’s National Democratic Club (WNDC) dispelled it last week, when it hosted Amnesty International USA executive director Paul O’Brien and listened attentively while he said that Israel “shouldn’t exist as a Jewish state.”
Yes, the WNDC, a self-described “hub for civic engagement, learning and political action in the heart of the nation’s capital … a meeting place for Democrats, Independents and Progressives to come together in order to protect and promote our democratic values … [and] advance shared political interests,” invited O’Brien to address a ladies’ lunch.
Thanks to Jewish Insider, which covered the March 9 event, O’Brien’s remarks can’t be brushed under the carpet. Not that the 20 attendees in person and another 30 via video would have considered his words outrageous enough to warrant keeping under wraps.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/03/the-false-narrative-of-israeli-neutrality-in-russias-ukraine-invasion/

The nation is not ‘sitting on the fence,’ but is playing an important mediating role.

Jerusalem — “We condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid said this week, during an official visit to Romania. “[The invasion] has no justification, and we call on Russia to stop the shooting and the attacks and solve the problems around the negotiating table.”

Additionally, Lapid said, “Israel will not be a route to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and other western countries.”

But Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett, has been a bit vaguer in his messaging. He’s spoken about “solidarity with the people of Ukraine” and is careful not to mention Russia when he talks about the war. In fact, he doesn’t talk about war; his messages speaking out against the bloodshed mostly say “the situation” — which is a more commonly used catch-all in Hebrew than in English, but still fairly weak — and recently, “the fighting.”

Israel also hedged at the U.N. when the war in Ukraine began. The U.S. gathered signatures for a Security Council resolution from countries that are not on the council in order to show a united front against the Russian invasion, even though Moscow would inevitably veto it. Israel declined to sign. Days later, Lapid said that Israel is “on the right side of history,” and announced that Israel would vote in favor of the resolution against Russia in the U.N. General Assembly — and it did.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

This newsletter could well be titled “Israel Abroad.” First, Michael Ordman highlights the enormous contributions Israel is making in providing material help to Ukraine’s beleaguered citizens. Second, Israeli medical innovations and technology are used in hospitals throughout the world; famine and drought in Africa are prevented with agricultural tools and techniques developed in Israel; traffic is relieved with Israeli systems in South Korea; 5G networks from Israel are deployed in Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, the U.S, and Greece; Finland’s defense ministry has decided to purchase defense systems from Israeli companies. Finally, the increasing number of Jewish refugees who find a haven in Israel evokes the grim memory of the infamous Evian conference of July 1938 when the Dominican Republic was the only Western nation that would grant some refuge to the millions of Jews trapped in Europe and targeted for genocide. Their last words were “hear oh Israel. “As Michael Ordman records, Israel heard and has responded. rsk

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Medics rush to Ukraine. Israeli emergency NGO United Hatzalah chartered a plane and sent 40 paramedics, EMTs, doctors, psychologists, and therapists, to join its volunteers already treating local Ukrainians. The plane also delivered tons of medical supplies, donated food, plus other aid, and brought back 150 refugees to Israel.
https://israelrescue.org/blog/united-hatzalah-charters-plane-to-send-additional-teams-and-supplies-to-ukrainian-border-and-return-150-israeli-refugees-to-israel/
 
10 seriously ill children rescued from Ukraine. The Israeli embassy in Bucharest, Romania helped rescue 10 Ukrainian children with serious illnesses and bring them to Israel for treatment. Israeli medical personnel flew on a special plane to safely transport the children to Schneider Children’s hospital in Petah Tikvah, Israel.
https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-airlifts-10-hospitalized-kids-from-ukraine-for-care/
https://www.jns.org/israels-romanian-embassy-evacuates-pediatric-cancer-patients-to-israel/

Health monitoring for Ukrainian women. (TY UWI & I24 News) The Gynescope  from Israel’s Illumigyn (see here previously) is being used by medics from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center to diagnose cervical cancer in Ukrainian women.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqw1VZ2IUjo
 
Israeli field hospital for Ukraine. Israel is sending a medical delegation to Ukraine, to set up a field hospital. It will be operated by Sheba Medical Center, Clalit Health Services, and medics from other hospitals. The field hospital will include wards for children and adults, an emergency room, a delivery room, and a first aid clinic.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/323322  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4ulTXTmM2c
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-israel-sets-up-virtual-hospital-in-ukraine/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH59FSvDNHU
 
Delegation from Moldovia visits Israel. To help understand how a hospital is run during an emergency, a delegation of senior medical officials from Moldova visited Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa. The visit had been planned long before the start of the recent Russian / Ukrainian conflict.
https://www.rambam.org.il/en/rambam_news/Moldovan_delegation_at_Rambam.aspx
 
MS patient regains ability to walk. Malia Litman, from Dallas Texas, was unable to walk due to her MS condition. Then she discovered the stem cell treatment being trialed at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.  Thanks to the treatment, she was able to dance with her son Zachary at his wedding.
https://tjpnews.com/malia-litman-a-hadassah-medical-miracle/
 
Linking diet, bacteria, and the heart. An international study, led by Ben Gurion University Professor Iris Shai, has shown that the green Mediterranean (MED) diet modifies the bacterial population in the gut. These changes in the microbiome can bring substantial health benefits, including reduced cardiac risk.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/bgu-research-green-mediterranean-diet-mediates-weight-loss-reduces-cardiac-risk/2022/03/10/
https://genomemedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13073-022-01015-z
 
Space medicine course. Professor Sara Eyal of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has launched Israel’s first university course for therapy development research in space, or “space medicine.”  Her first session attracted some 40 students from different disciplines such as medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and biology.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-first-space-medicine-university-course-gets-underway-in-jerusalem/
 
Healthcare agreement with Bahrain. Israel and Bahrain have signed an agreement for health care cooperation in epidemics and emergency management, education, and research.  It will cover the fields of information sharing, digital health, medical innovation, and genetic research.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-and-bahrain-sign-agreement-on-health-collaboration/

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/03/the_lefts_war_on_israel_is_coming_into_the_open.html

Following the Holocaust, many in the world understood that Jews, the ongoing victims of the world’s oldest hatred, needed a safe haven where they would be masters of their own destiny.  That haven was Israel, a land acquired through an unbroken four-thousand-year history, purchase, and gift, and, eventually, through attacks against them, the spoils of war.  For many years, American support for Israel was consistent across the political spectrum.  However, as Israel became associated too strongly with America during the Cold War, the left turned against her — and now leftists, including those in the Biden administration, are increasingly open about their animosity.

A couple of days ago, The Washington Free Beacon revealed that the Biden administration is offering almost $1 million in taxpayer money to whatever groups can dig up dirt on Israel:

The Biden administration is offering nearly $1 million for groups to investigate alleged human rights abuses in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, an effort that will delegitimize Israel, according to sources who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon.

The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) is soliciting nonprofit groups to apply for grant money up to $987,654 to “strengthen accountability and human rights in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza,” according to a grant notice first posted online in mid-February.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/amnesty-international-hell-yes-we-want-to-destroy-the-jewish-state/?utm_

Amnesty International’s fixation on Israel veered into antisemitism with the publication of a “report” accusing the liberal democracy of employing “apartheid.” This ludicrous accusation — Arab Israelis, not without their own troubles, are perhaps the freest Arabs in the Middle East — is meant to associate the Jewish state with the defunct racist South African regime in mind of Westerners to help spark an effort to isolate and economically destroy it.

If you think this is an exaggeration, let Amnesty International’s United States director Paul O’Brien set you straight. Speaking to the Women’s National Democratic Club last week, O’Brien argued that Israel “shouldn’t exist as a Jewish state,” and that the purpose of Amnesty’s report was to “collectively change the conversation,” which “needs to start first and foremost with the Jewish community.”

O’Brien contends that “we are opposed to the idea — and this, I think, is an existential part of the debate — that Israel should be preserved as a state for the Jewish people.” Though polls still show support for Israel among Jews, O’Brien told the group, his “gut” tells him that most do not actually support the Jewish state, per se, but a “safe Jewish space” that is predicated on “core Jewish values.”

I missed last week’s good news from Israel. In an avalanche of grim world news, it is heartening to know how Israel’s outsize contributions to every aspect of human endeavor bring succor to those struggling with the ravages of illness, famines, epidemics, and wars…..rsk

https://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Stopping cancer spreading during chemotherapy. A Technion doctorate student has discovered that the LOX enzyme plays a major role in helping cancer spread (metastasis) when the patient is having chemotherapy. Inhibiting LOX protects the patient from this deadly effect.

https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2022/02/world-cancer-day-chemotherapy-metastasis/ 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34666995/

Hope for when cancer has spread. Israel’s New Phase has developed hyperthermic treatment that kills up to 50% of metastatic cancer. In animal and human trials, iron-oxide nanoparticles, produced in a lab managed by three Druze Arab women, are injected into stage 4 cancer patients, and then heated to 45º C using RF radiation.

https://www.israel21c.org/novel-hyperthermic-treatment-offers-hope-for-stage-4-metastatic-cancer/

https://newphase.co.il/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ6h6szr4eM

Prostate cancer treatment is saving lives. (TY Don) Although not an Israeli treatment, Israel’s Sheba Medical Center is one of the few global hospitals treating prostate cancer patients with Lutetium-177 therapy. It attaches to prostate-specific membrane antigens (PSMAs) on tumors and emits beta radiation to neutralize them.

https://www.shebaonline.org/how-does-lutetium-177-therapy-work/ 

We have the cure inside us. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have found that misfolding proteins in the brain cells of ALS and Huntingdon’s sufferers can be corrected by other proteins already in the cell, called “chaperones”. But the cell doesn’t activate them or activates the wrong ones! New treatments are anticipated.

https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2022/02/huntingtons-als-chaperone/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-27982-w

Longer-lasting heart valves. An Israeli-led team of researchers has prevented the deterioration of bioprosthetic heart valves (of animal origin). These last only 10 years due to calcification of the tissues. They used hearts from pigs that were engineered to stop expressing foreign sugars and this prevented calcification.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01682-w

Repairing heart valves without replacing. The calcification of heart valves is currently resolved by transplanting a new prosthetic valve (see above). Israel’s Pi-Cardia (see here previously) has been developing the Leaflex system to treat the calcification, and is currently conducting human clinical trials across Europe.

https://www.israel21c.org/novel-non-surgical-solutions-for-aortic-valve-stenosis/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NXQQ-Zqnes

Gut bacteria could prevent heart attacks. Scientists from Israel’s Rabin Medical Center and the Weizmann Institute studied the microbiome of 200 patients just hours after a heart attack. They found most were missing a Clostridiaceae family bacterium that was present in a control group. They are now isolating it into pill form.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-study-mines-donor-poop-for-bacteria-that-could-avert-heart-attacks/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01686-6

Helping preemies absorb food. The ELGN-GI insulin formulation developed by Israel’s Elgan can save the lives of preterm babies with immature stomachs that cause feeding intolerance. It will avoid the adverse effects of intravenous nutrition, which often leads to infection and liver problems. A Phase 3 trial is being planned.

https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/pregnancy-and-birth/article-699123 https://www.elganpharma.com/

http://www.ngt3vc.com/elgan-pharma/

A physical therapist on your smartphone. Israel’s OneStep uses the power of the smartphone to analyze gait (how you walk) and provide feedback directly to patients and their physical therapists. OneStep is partnering with Kinomatic in the US to bring OneStep’s app to all patients using Kinomatic’s Virtual Reality solution.

https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/digital-physical-therapy-company-onestep-partners-with-smart-surgery-provider-kinomatic-to-enhance-physical-therapy-for-surgery-patients-301477411.html

https://www.onestep.co/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=335FEpK2y7Y

Successful trials for portable eye test. Israel’s AEYE Health (see here previously) has just completed Phase 3 clinical trials of its hand-held retinal analysis system. The hand-held fundus camera and single-image AI software detected diabetic retinopathy with high accuracy, far better than current expensive specialist cameras.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/seeing-straight-with-the-help-of-artificial-intelligence/

The best partners for innovation. Israel’s Sheba Medical Center has again been ranked as the 10th best hospital in the world by Newsweek Magazine. Sheba also announced a partnership with GE Healthcare to develop digital healthcare solutions in cardiology, remote pregnancy monitoring and molecular imaging.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/323198 

https://www.jns.org/israels-sheba-ge-team-up-to-advance-digital-healthcare/

Global DNA sequencing center. Illumina – the world’s leading DNA sequencing company, worth over $50 billion, is opening a Center of Excellence in Tel Aviv. It will develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions that dramatically shorten genome analysis time for diagnosing rare diseases and transform lives.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/ryfdj7ce5

Advanced Materials. Several issues of the international journal Advanced Materials, including cover pages, feature the breakthrough skin patches developed in the lab of Israel’s Technion Arab Professor Hossam Haick (see here previously). They include Strain sensors, Wound dressing (and cover), Micro-needles sensor, Electronic skin and more.  https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2022/02/hossam-haick-diagnosis-micro-needles/