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ISRAEL

Peter Beinart’s assault on the Abraham Accords By Ruthie Blum

https://www.jns.org/opinion/peter-beinarts-assault-on-the-abraham-accords/

 Peter Beinart’s latest attack on the Jewish state that he opposes as vehemently as he professes to have its best interest at heart is a work of remarkable sophistry.

In a lengthy op-ed on Monday in the radical-leftist quarterly Jewish Currents, the author of The Crisis of Zionism—recently hired by the equally ill-intentioned New York Times as a “contributing opinion writer”—bashes Israel by denigrating the Muslim-majority countries with which it is forging warm peace treaties.

That the Abraham Accords and Sudan agreement were brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump made them even more treif in the eyes of the kosher-keeping New York Jew, who boasts of attending an Orthodox synagogue and of feeling a “spiritual connection to Jewish people.”

The piece in question—“Israel’s Repressive Diplomacy”—delves into the Israel-United Arab Emirates and Israel-Bahrain deals signed at the White House on Sept. 15, and Sudan’s pledge on Friday to jump on the bandwagon. In it, Beinart attempts to refute the joint assertion by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that these developments will promote “human dignity and freedom” in the Middle East.

He begins by going after the regime in Abu Dhabi, citing a report in the Middle East Monitor stating that “scores of Emiratis, Palestinians and Jordanians living in the UAE have already been imprisoned “for opposing Abu-Dhabi’s peace deal with Israel.”

One example he gives is that of Emirati poet Dhabiya Khamis, who recounted on social media that she was prevented from boarding a Cairo-bound flight from the Dubai International Airport “probably because of my announced opinion against Zionism and normalization.”

The tragic fight over a Zionist leader’s resting place Moshe Phillips

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24211

In Jabotinsky’s case, the controversy over his re-interment, decades later, is also a matter of significance—and offers important lessons for our own era.

The anniversary of the passing of a Jewish leader is often an occasion to reflect on the deceased’s life and legacy, and the death of the Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky in August 1940 is no different. 

But in Jabotinsky’s case, the controversy over his re-interment, decades later, is also a matter of significance—and offers important lessons for our own era.

Jabotinsky was one of the most dynamic and influential Zionist orators of the 20th century. Speeches were vital for inspiring the masses—especially the downtrodden masses of interwar Eastern Europe. He exhorted the Jews of Russia and Poland to take pride in their heritage, to recognize that violent anti-Semitism was on the horizon, and to prepare to settle in the Land of Israel.

But Jabotinsky was much more than just a speechmaker; he also was a man of action. He was the founder, in 1917, of the Jewish Legion, the first Jewish military force in nearly two thousand years. He created the Haganah, in 1920, to protect the Jews of Palestine against Arab pogromists, and spent years in a British prison for the “crime” of organizing Jewish self-defense. He was the spiritual father of the Irgun Zvai Leumi, the underground Jewish militia that fought for Jewish independence.

Two of Jabotinsky’s most devoted followers, Jewish underground leaders Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, would later serve as prime minister of the State Of Israel that their leader did not live to see.

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL

Who could have foreseen President Donald Trump’s impressive policy triumphs in the Middle East? Three- and still counting -Arab nations making peace and establishing airline travel between their nations and Israel. However, the turpitude of the Israel bashers in the media, academia, and even in the United States Congress continues. My friend Michael Ordman does a yeoman job in rebutting the lies in weekly reports on Israel’s outsize contributions to science, the arts, technology, agriculture, medicine and a better life in every corner of the world…..rsk

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

 
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Update on Israeli Covid-19 vaccine. The Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) is beginning Phase 1 human trials. Head of IIBR, Professor Shapira confirmed this at the recent Christian Media zoom Summit attended by this newsletter editor, who asked a question at 1:38:47.
https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-corona-vaccine-brilife-to-start-human-testing-in-october/
https://youtu.be/EUx5EL1CANQ?t=4976    https://youtu.be/EUx5EL1CANQ?t=5927
 
Israeli Covid-19 antibody serum for Israeli Health ministry. Israel’s Kamada (reported here previously) has signed a deal to supply Israel’s Health ministry with its plasma-based hyperimmune immunoglobulin (IgG) product. The product treats COVID-19 patients with pneumonia and is currently in Phase 1 & 2 trials in Israel.
https://nocamels.com/2020/10/kamada-deal-supply-israel-health-ministry-covid-19-antibody/
 
Hospital uses drones to save lives. (TY TPS) Ziv Medical Center in Tzfat (Safed) will be the first Israeli hospital to use drones. They will transport medical equipment, medicines, and blood and Corona tests, to and from the hospital. Initially, they will carry 5kg loads up to 10km, saving time and bypassing road blockages.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/first-israeli-hospital-deploys-drones-to-save-lives/
 
Preventing worldwide blindness. Israel’s AEYE Health (reported here previously) is pushing hard to get its retinal disease AI diagnostic eye scanner approved by the end of 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has seriously cut the number of patients visiting eye specialists. The eye scanner can be used easily by GPs or clinic staff.
https://www.israel21c.org/diagnosing-retinal-disease-with-artificial-intelligence/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cx5XmwLJPw
 
US clears PE diagnostic. Israel Aidoc’s triaging and notification algorithms for flagging and reporting incidental pulmonary embolism (see here) have just been approved by the US FDA.  The solution is an ‘always-on’ safety net for unexpected cases. It is Aidoc’s sixth FDA-approved tool for triage and notification:
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3863760,00.html
 
Another Covid-19 breath test. Israel’s NextGen Biomed is developing a breathalyzer test (see another here)
 to identify Covid-19 infections. The biological markers were identified in an April study by Israel’s Scentech Medical. The two companies are now being merged and a validation trial is scheduled to commence shortly.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-company-announces-identification-of-covid-19-indicators-in-breath-test
https://www.scentech-medical.com/  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rGian6PWqQ
 
Autonomous vehicle imaging can detect Covid-19. Israel’s Adasky (reported here previously) develops and manufactures high-resolution thermal vision AI sensors for the advanced vehicle industry. Its Viper-R system can detect Covid-19 instantly, by scanning multiple individuals 10 meters away for elevated body temperatures.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3864150,00.html
 
Molecular test for Covid-19 or cancer. Nanotechnologists at Israel’s Technion Institute have eliminated the time-consuming amplification process in coronavirus and secondary cancer tests. 100 molecules of the sample are passed one by one through a nanopore – a tiny hole and assessed for the presence of a specific bio-marker.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/slowest-part-of-covid-tests-eliminated-with-israeli-single-molecule-method/
 
Replacing antibiotics in the dairy industry. Israeli biotech Mileutis has developed Imilac – designed to treat mastitis in cows by boosting their immune systems. Imilac is near the marketing stage and can replace the wide use of antibiotics for which resistance is growing and being passed to humans via milk products.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3862670,00.html   http://mileutis.com/
 

Palestinians: What Needs to Be Done by Khaled Abu Toameh

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16634/palestinians-what-needs-to-be-done

The question is: Will Iran step in to influence the Palestinian Authority? Will Iran manage to convince the Palestinian Authority to become part of an axis that includes Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and all the Iranian‑backed militias in Iraq? Where is Mahmoud Abbas taking the Palestinian Authority? No one knows. Most people I speak to they say he doesn’t really have a strategy to deal with the with the Middle East conflict. His only strategy, they say, is just to remain in power forever.

The Palestinians…. are further isolating themselves by alienating the entire Arab world by going against countries such as Egypt, Jordan and all these Gulf states that once used to give them a lot of money…. Those who were inciting against Israel all those years are now inciting against the Arab world. Those who were demonizing Israel are now trying to demonize their own Arab and Muslim brothers…. The gap between the Palestinians and the Arab world is growing.

One of the reasons why mainstream media does not want to report about many stories over here, is that these stories do not have an anti‑Israel angle.

This whole conflict, whether we like it or not, is not about a settlement, a checkpoint, a wall, and a fence or a settlement. This conflict is really about Israel’s very existence….

They [Palestinian leaders] do not want Arabs and Muslims to be exposed to the wonderful things that are happening in Israel. They do not want them to see that Israel has been a story of success. They do not want these wonderful things to be seen in the Arab and Muslim world because then the Arabs and Muslims might go to their leaders and say, “Excuse me. We want something like what these Jews have. Why can’t we have democracy? Why can’t we have a functioning parliament?”

The question we need to ask ourselves is not who is going to succeed Mahmoud Abbas. The question is will anyone who succeeds Mahmoud Abbas, will he be different? Will he be able to bring about any changes? I’m sorry to tell you that the answer is no…. We are talking about the same ideology, the same mentality, and the same people running the show.

Do not expect many changes in the post‑Abbas era. What needs to change is the mindset. What needs to stop is the incitement, the daily delegitimization of Israel. It is very bad, and it is very widespread. If you do not change that, then you will not see any changes. In addition, the Palestinians need to change their education system. They need to start preparing their people for peace with Israel.

Palestinians: What Failure Looks Like by Khaled Abu Toameh

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16652/palestinians-failure-syria

The leaders did not travel to Syria to find ways to help the Palestinians living there.

It is one thing to fail your people by stealing the money that the international community sends to them. But it is another level of unacceptable indifference to turn a blind eye to atrocities committed against your own people by an Arab country.

By praising the Syrian government for “achieving security and stability,” the Fatah leaders are actually sending the message to Assad that he can continue to kill, imprison and torture Palestinians by the thousands.

By holding meetings in Damascus without discussing how to help their beleaguered people in Syria, Palestinian leaders are sending the message that thwarting peace plans and condemning Arabs for making peace with Israel take precedence over the safety of their people. In short, this visit marks another star “failure” of the Palestinian leadership.

When Arabs such as Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz denounce Palestinian leaders as “failures,” they are specifically referring to financial corruption, divisions among the Palestinians, ingratitude toward Arab countries that supported them financially and politically, and the many missed opportunities to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Recently, however, Palestinian leaders displayed another of their ongoing “failures” when they visited Syria, where, for the past nine years, thousands of Palestinians have been killed, wounded, displaced, arrested and forced out of their homes. The leaders did not travel to Syria to find ways to help the Palestinians living there.

This time, the Palestinian leaders, representing the ruling Fatah faction, arrived in Damascus during the first week of October for talks with leaders of Syria-based Palestinian factions on ways of achieving “national unity,” holding new elections for the Palestinian Authority (PA) presidency and parliament (Palestine Legislative Council) and “confronting Israeli-American conspiracies” against the Palestinian people.

Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge – What’s in it for the USA? Ambassador (Ret.) Yoram Ettinger

https://bit.ly/3jevDm4

Benefits to the US

The reinforcement of Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME) – through the most advanced US military systems – bolsters Israel’s national security, while enhancing the US’ own geo-strategic interests.

For example:

*Israel’s QME has upgraded its capabilities to extend the strategic hand of the US with no need for US soldiers, serving as the most cost-effective, battle-experienced, reliable and democratic force-multiplier; as a US outpost in the inherently explosive geo-strategic junction of Europe-Asia-Africa, between the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Persia Gulf.

*Israel’s QME has elevated its efficiency as the most cost-effective, battle-tested and trustworthy laboratory of the US armed forces (sharing with the US unique air, ground and sea battle tactics and intelligence) and providing the US defense industries unique lessons (operation, maintenance and repair), which have been integrated as upgrades, sparing many years of research and development, increasing US exports and expanding US employment.

*Israel’s QME has improved its potential to circumvent the regional and global maneuverability of rogue Middle East regimes and organizations (e.g., Iran’s Ayatollahs, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah), which have served as epicenters of the global proliferation of Islamic terrorism, conventional and non-conventional military systems and drug trafficking from Central Asia through the Middle East and Africa to South and Central America.

*Israel’s QME has boosted its posture of deterrence, in the face of a multitude of rogue regimes and organizations, thus reducing the threat of regional wars – which could expand globally – while enticing moderate Arab regimes to seek peace, rather than war, with the Jewish State.

Ruthie Blum Arab-Israeli politicians against peace

https://www.jns.org/opinion/arab-israeli-politicians-against-peace/

The Joint List—the third-largest faction in the Knesset—is more hostile to Zionists than the sheikhs of Abu Dhabi and Manama.

 An overwhelming majority of Israeli parliamentarians, including those in the opposition, voted on Thursday to ratify the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords. With 80 members of 120-seat Knesset in favor of the treaty with the United Arab Emirates and 27 in absentia, the remaining 13 lawmakers were unable to block the historic peace agreement that was approved unanimously by the Israeli Cabinet on Oct. 12.

Though the quantity of MKs nixing the deal was negligible, their identity is not. All of the more than dozen legislators who reject Israel’s peace-making—not only with the UAE, but with Bahrain as well—are Arab citizens of the Jewish state, belonging to the Joint Arab List.

The Joint List is a bloc of disparate communist, socialist, Islamist and Arab-nationalist parties Balad, Hadash, Ta’al and the United Arab List, supported by an increasing number of radical Jews disillusioned with the Zionist left.

It is headed by MK Ayman Odeh, who said last week that Israel’s normalization with the Gulf states is based on “twisted logic” that [the Joint List] cannot accept … either morally or nationally.”

He was referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-standing view that a lack of peace with the Palestinians is not at the root—or even a blip on the radar screen—of Middle East strife in general or of traditionally regional hostility to Israel in particular. It is this position that the Israeli left, obsessed with the failed “land for peace” paradigm, cannot tolerate.

U.S.-Sponsored Arab-Israeli Rapprochement Gaining Steam By P. David Hornik See note please

https://pjmedia.com/columns/p-david-hornik/2020/10/19/u-s-sponsored-arab-israeli-rapprochement-gaining-steam-n1067479

David Hornik is one of the best commentators and writers in Israel today. He is also a wonderful writer of fiction and his new novel is: “And Both Shall Row.”

On September 15, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain signed a U.S.-sponsored deal in Washington on normalizing relations between Israel and the two Arab Gulf states.

Since then things have been moving fast. On Sunday, at a ceremony in Bahrain’s capital of Manama, Israel and Bahrain inked an agreement formally establishing diplomatic ties between them. It was accompanied by memoranda on cooperation in a wide range of fields from aviation to agriculture. The U.S. was represented by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who called the signings “a remarkable accomplishment.”

Things are moving forward with the UAE as well. Also on Sunday, Israel and the UAE agreed to enable 28 weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi. Calling it “one of the first, important fruits of the peace agreement,” Israel’s Transportation Ministry said the flights would smooth the way to “tourism, trade, and business between the countries.”

It’s all a far cry from the days of the “Arab-Israeli conflict,” when the Arab states were perceived — not entirely accurately, but considerably so — as a united bloc of hostility toward Israel.

With the Trump administration claiming it’s hard at work on further normalization deals between Israel and Arab countries, speculation centers on which of those countries may be next.

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL COMPILED BY MICHAEL ORDMAN

https://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/ 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Covid-19 prevention cocktail. Trials will start soon of an antibody cocktail developed by Tel Aviv University scientists to treat Covid-19 patients and to protect highly vulnerable individuals from the virus until a vaccine is available. The serum contains six different antibodies that can provide immunity for several months.

https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-corona-cocktail-provides-covid-19-immunity/

Nasal spray prevents Covid-19 spread. Israeli biotech Nasus has developed the Taffix anti-viral nasal spray. It creates a thin gel over the nasal mucosa, blocking viruses for 4-5 hours. In recent tests, Taffix reduced Covid-19 infections from 10% down to 2.4%. Taffix is marketed in Europe and available at SuperPharm in Israel.

https://www.nasuspharma.com/nasus-pharma-announces-first-clinical-data-demonstrating-efficacy-of-taffixtm-intranasal-antiviral-protection-against-sars-cov-2-in/  https://www.nasuspharma.com/taffix/

BBC says Israeli Covid-19 tests work like magic! (TY Hazel) Ben Gurion University Professor Tomer Hertz, was interviewed on the BBC World Service’s statistics show “More or Less” about how Israel’s “mathematical magic” of testing pooled swab samples could help countries to ramp up their Covid-19 testing capacity.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08s7b5d

Webinar featuring Professor Haick. An opportunity to see and hear the amazing Technion Professor Hossam Haick (reported here previously), discuss with fellow Professor Naama Geva-Zatorsky, about fast Covid-19 testing. The Technion UK event is on Tues 20 Oct at 6pm (UK), 8pm (Israel) or 1pm EDT.  Register below.

https://technionuk.org/event/imagine-covid-19-testing-being-cheap-and-fast-webinar/

Sleep apnea device wins major US award. The US National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has chosen Israel’s Itamar Medical.(reported here previously) as the winner of its 2020 SleepTech Award, which recognizes the year’s most innovative achievement in sleep technology. Itamar’s WatchPAT ONE diagnoses sleep apnea.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/itamar-medicals-sleep-apnea-device-wins-us-national-sleep-foundation-award/

AI triage for Brown University. Israel’s Diagnostic Robotics (reported here previously) is bringing its Artificial Intelligence-powered patient triage and prediction platform to the Brown University-Lifespan Center for Digital Health in Providence, Rhode Island.

https://nocamels.com/2020/10/diagnostic-robotics-ai-triage-brown-lifespan/

Train the brain for a better game. Israel’s i-BrainTech uses neuroscience to train the brains of soccer players off the field. With a unique helmet, players visualize their tactics while an avatar (image of the player) performs the actions on a screen. A 30% improvement in 2 months is claimed.  It is also used in stroke rehabilitation.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3857331,00.html  https://i-brain.tech/en/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjDyLccrWwk

Spine surgery under local anesthetic. (TY UWI) Surgeons at Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital repaired several vertebral fractures in the spine of an Israeli who stayed awake throughout the operation. Due to the 74-year-old patient’s heart and lung issues, only local anesthesia was used – a procedure only Hadassah surgeons perform.

https://www.israel21c.org/amazing-spinal-surgery-done-with-patient-fully-awake/

Surgeons save baby unable to breathe. During a C-section at Israel’s Ichilov hospital, doctors bypassed a tumor that was blocking the baby’s airways. Only then could they cut his umbilical cord to avoid oxygen starvation. The doctors practiced the complex operation using a 3D-printed model of the baby’s neck. 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/halfway-through-birth-tel-aviv-doctors-open-babys-tumor-blocked-airways/

Bio-convergence is the next big thing. The Israel Innovation Authority is to invest up to about $30 million in bio-convergence technologies and companies, the next growth engine for the Israeli economy. Bio-convergence is the overlap of biology, physics, computer science, math, engineering, materials science and nanotechnology.

https://www.israel21c.org/whats-the-next-big-thing-from-israel-bio-convergence/

Middle East Vibrations Shoshana Bryen

https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/insight/

One more regional look.

Although I don’t think the Saudis will “make peace” any time soon, the Kingdom has been publicly pleased with the current machinations and publicly furious with Palestinian leadership. Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, former Ambassador to the U.S. and head of security for the Kingdom, gave an extraordinary interview to Al Aribiya. Not pro-Israel, not even historically accurate in many ways, but the truth of the Saudi position…..

In the movie, “The Guns of Navarone”the WWII commandos evade the enemy, scale the mountain, enter the fortress, plant the explosives designed to wreck the guns used against Allied forces, and escape to a safe place to watch the effects. But there are no effects, no blast. One team member berates the explosives expert, who calmly replies, “It is the accumulation of little vibrations that does it.” And indeed, in short order – and in the nick of time – the accumulated vibrations crumbled the side of the mountain, washing away the guns that threatened the allied advance.

It isn’t always that – sometimes it is Hiroshima and Nagasaki – but the old Middle East appears to be crumbling bit by bit, decision by decision.

Two fundamental propositions underpinned the old Western (read State Department) view of the Middle East: that the Palestinians had to be satisfied before the Arab States could make peace with Israel; and that this was, in large measure, due to the adamant and sometimes violent “Arab Street” that would rise up against conservative Arab leaders if the Palestinians were unsatisfied, or the status of Jerusalem changed.

The move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem produced hardly a ripple. Resolution of Israel’s Golan border was met with yawns.

President Donald Trump’s “Vision” for Middle East Peace changed the focus from Palestinian demands to Israel’s security – leaving room at the table for the Palestinians, should they accept the invitation and its conditions. The participation of the Ambassadors from the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain in the White House ceremony with the President and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a visible vibration, but it followed years of quiet communication and consultation (and trade) between Israel and Gulf States concerned about Iran. Modification in the “Vision,” led to the Abraham Accords between Israel, Bahrain and the UAE, with the U.S. as mediator and witness.