RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.jns.org/opinion/viral-apathy-in-israel/

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a joint press conference on Monday evening with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and National Coronavirus Project coordinator Ronni Gamzu.

The purpose of the event, after which only Netanyahu responded to reporters’ questions, was pretty clear: to display a unified front in what has begun to seem like a circus of contradictory COVID-19 rules and a losing battle against the spread of the virus.

The discrepancy between the Jewish state’s stellar record during the first wave and its current failing grade—listed earlier this week by John Hopkins University as having the world’s highest rate of new infections per day per million people—is only part of the reason that Netanyahu, Gantz, Edelstein and Gamzu each took to the podium to make a statement.

The greater impetus was the recent confusion surrounding the government’s latest conflicting announcements on how it intends to tackle the worrisome infection rates and rising death toll. On Thursday, the coronavirus cabinet decided to impose a general seven-day lockdown on some 30 of the country’s “red” towns and cities—those with the highest morbidity rates—in accordance with Gamzu’s color-coding “traffic light” model, which was to go into effect on Sunday.

The cabinet determined that the week-long lockdown on the yet-to-be-finalized areas would be extended if necessary. By Sunday night, however, two things happened.

The first was that the number of “red” cities was increased to 40. The second was that the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties, realizing that their population was going to be hard-hit by the lockdown, railed against Netanyahu.

https://worldisraelnews.com/malawi-to-open-embassy-in-jerusalem-making-it-first-african-country-in-israels-capital/

“Looking forward to continue advancing with your government this important goal and our relations,” said Oded Joseph, Israel’s ambassador to Malawi.

Lazarus Chakwera, president of the southeastern African country of Malawi, announced his plan to open an embassy in Jerusalem during a State of the Nation address to the Malawian parliament on September 4.

“My administration recognizes that foreign relations have a significant role to play in promoting the socioeconomic development and growth of Malawi,” Chakwera said.

Lazarus Chakwera, president of the southeastern African country of Malawi, announced his plan to open an embassy in Jerusalem during a State of the Nation address to the Malawian parliament on September 4.

“My administration recognizes that foreign relations have a significant role to play in promoting the socioeconomic development and growth of Malawi,” Chakwera said.

“Our focus on the world stage will be reforming the foreign affairs ministry headquarters and its missions abroad so that our embassies are able to deliver on the ambitious objectives of promoting Malawi’s national interests globally,” he said.

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/the-lefts-moral-crusade-against-israel-and-zionism-641210

Accusations Israel is “occupying Palestinian territory,” “stealing Palestinian land” and building “illegal settlements” – which the ICC’s chief prosecutor, a Muslim, condemns as “war crimes” – are commonly used by Israel’s enemies to denounce and delegitimize Israel. Although thoroughly refuted, these legal arguments are effective weapons in the propaganda war against Israel.

Less controversial, however, is a moral argument which appeals to many, including marginal Jews and leftist Israelis who consider themselves to be pro-Israel and Zionists; this helps to explain why people turn against Israel. It is a generally accepted principle that one national group should not rule over and suppress minorities under its control. Used successfully against racist regimes in South Africa, Rhodesia and other countries, it is used to depict Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

This crusade is also part of the Left’s media campaign against Israel (i.e. Jews) who target “innocent Palestinians,” such as the “al-Dura incident,” in which a child was killed by a Palestinian sniper but was blamed on the IDF. It is used to depict “Jewish settlers” (most of whom are religious) for violence against left-wing activists who attack Jewish-owned property and efforts by Jews to protect their homes and property.

They are powerful indictments because, even though they are untrue, they suggest that Israel is violating laws and human rights and, just as important, Jewish ethics and values – justice. Settlers, it is claimed, are undermining the “rule of law.” This generates self-doubt and feelings of guilt and shame.

 www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
More patients to receive Covid-19 treatment. Israel’s Pluristem (reported here previously) has launched an FDA-cleared Covid-19 expanded access program. It enables Pluristem to use its PLX-PAD cells to treat up to 100 more infected patients outside its current trials in the USA and Europe and compassionate use in Israel.
https://www.pluristem.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/PSTI-Expanded-Access-Program-last-version.pdf
 
Maintaining Covid-19 antibodies. Israel’s Elicio Therapeutics has published the results of a pre-clinical study of its ELI-005 protein subunit vaccine for Covid-19. It extended the life of coronavirus antibodies and may resolve the problem whereby patients who recover from the virus can be re-infected if later exposed to it.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2020/08/24/israeli-startup-elicio-therapeutics-fights-covid-19-with-immunotherapy/   https://elicio.com/
 
Breath test for Covid-19. Technion’s Hossam Haick, the Israeli-Arab Professor who invented the Sniffphone cancer detector (reported here previously) has led the development of another Israeli coronavirus breathalyzer test (see here for previous). The rest of his team is in Wuhan, China where Covid-19 likely originated.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2020/08/23/breathalyzer-tests-for-corona-virus-israel-scientists-say-yes/
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnano.0c05657
 
UK uses Israeli colon cancer risk software. (TY Hazel) Barts Health, one of the largest providers to the UK’s National Health Service, has selected the ColonFlag software from Israel’s Medial EarlySign (reported here previously) to identify members at high risk for developing colon cancer – the UK’s 4th most common cancer.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/uks-barts-health-to-use-israeli-tech-to-flag-patients-at-risk-for-colon-cancer/
 
Stimulating the brain to help quit smoking. The US FDA has approved the use of the Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) system from Israel’s BrainsWay (see here) to treat cigarette smokers who seek to quit. The patient wears a helmet containing a patented H-coil that generates a magnetic field for 20-minutes.  
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3846389,00.html
 
First delivery of burns treatment. Israel’s Mediwound (reported here previously) has delivered its first batch of its Nexobrid treatment for burns to BARDA (the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) for the US Department of Health’s emergency response preparedness.
http://ir.mediwound.com/news-releases/news-release-details/mediwound-and-vericel-announce-acceptance-first-delivery
 
DayTwo wins Roche Diabetes Care Innovation contest. Israel’s DayTwo (reported here previously) won the 2020 Roche Diabetes Care Innovation Contest. Its virtual pitch convinced the judges that its personalized nutrition solution, using microbiome data, could best integrate with Roche Diabetes Care.
https://www.israel21c.org/daytwo-wins-roche-diabetes-care-innovation-contest/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_n3H8XlIGo
 
The patient room of 2030. (TY Stuart Pl) This video simulates how the futuristic patient rooms at Israel’s Sheba hospital integrate artificial intelligence, robotic technologies, wearable devices, virtual reality and other smart technology to simulate the most extreme medical situations, including the current coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdQEVGHP3NE
 
 

https://melaniephillips.substack.com/p/blind-eye-to-incitement?token=eyJ1c2VyX

Why do so many well-meaning people committed to ending abuses of power ignore the evidence of who is actually committing these abuses and blame their victims instead?

An official investigation funded by Britain and the European Union into textbooks used in Palestinian schools has descended into farce.

In April 2018, finally responding to concerns about anti-Israel incitement in Palestinian-Arab schools, the United Kingdom pushed the EU to commission a report on Palestinian textbooks from the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in Germany.

In April last year, the Institute published as a preliminary what it called its “Inception Report.” This, it said, developed a framework for “an academically rigorous review” of “how peace, tolerance and an understanding of the other are incorporated into Palestinian textbooks.”

This report, however, was itself riddled with so many mistakes that the European Union ditched it. Bafflingly, however, the EU has continued to use the Georg Eckert Institute to finish the project.

Its final report is due out next month. But it has now produced an interim report, which the EU is choosing to keep secret.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16456/palestinian-tragedy

Unlike their leaders, however, the Palestinians living in Syria and Iraq do not appear to be worried about the Israel-UAE accord. These Palestinians have more existential concerns — such as providing shelter for their children and safe drinking water for their families. They are disturbed about the homes they have lost, and they are in a state of anguish about fate of their missing sons.

The Palestinian families complained that the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations, including the United Nations, have refused to assist them in their search for their beloved ones.

Palestinian writer Nabil Al-Sahli said that the 4,000 Palestinians who remain in Iraq are facing an “ongoing tragedy.” He said that according to some studies, at least 20,000 Palestinians have been displaced from Iraq to 40 countries around the world because of the “massacres” committed against them by sectarian militias.

By extreme contrast [to Syria and Iraq], the UAE and other Gulf states have long opened their doors to Palestinians and provided them with jobs and high living standards. Puzzlingly, Palestinian leaders have plenty of time to castigate the UAE, but no time at all to comment on the systematic abuse and killing of Palestinians in Syria and Iraq. For the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, the true tragedy is when an Arab expresses willingness to make peace with Israel.

Palestinian leaders are so committed to condemning the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for its normalization agreement with Israel that they have no time left to notice the horrific suffering of their people in some Arab countries, particularly Syria and Iraq. Specifically, these leaders seem unperturbed that in some in Arab countries, Palestinians are mysteriously disappearing.

Unlike their leaders, however, Palestinians living in Syria and Iraq do not appear to be worried about the Israel-UAE accord. These Palestinians have more existential concerns — such as providing shelter for their children and safe drinking water for their families. They are disturbed about the homes they have lost, and they are in a state of anguish about fate of their missing sons.

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/a-kobe-bryant-fan-and-the-concept-of-kavanah-opinion-641036

Shame on Israelis for elevating American hysteria to a higher plane than Jewish wisdom and, more importantly, common sense.The Jewish concept of kavanah – intention – refers to a worshiper’s sincerity during prayers and the fulfilling of commandments. Though scholars disagree on the extent to which certain rituals are meaningless without the necessary purity of heart and mind, the idea that a person’s intentions are often as relevant as his actions is pretty universal.

Even courts of law examine intent – such as “malice aforethought” – when determining a defendant’s guilt or innocence.

One exception among many at the moment – thanks to the cancel-culture climate in the US – concerns the use of “blackface,” dark makeup applied to white skin for theatrical or costume-party purposes. In the mid-19th century, minstrel shows popularized this custom, and by the early 20th century, it became its own art form. Al Jolson, the “king of blackface performers,” is the name most associated with the practice.

Today, any blackface is considered racist and therefore taboo, regardless of the kavanah of those accused of having violated it, even in the distant past – no matter what its aim. In a McCarthy-like sweep of self-censorship, Hollywood and Broadway not only have been removing all vestiges of blackface, but have been engaged in a kind of ongoing breast-beating far more intense than any Yom Kippur service.

David O. Selznick’s 1939 film, based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel, Gone with the Wind, and Disney’s 1946 partly animated musical movie, Song of the South, are examples of blockbusters that portray blacks in a cringe-worthy stereotypical fashion – something that is understandably offensive to African-Americans. Blackface, too, is and always has been an atrocious form of comedy.