RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/21/europe-considers-nazi-idea-requiring-jewish-businesses-identify-labels/

The EU may begin targeting businesses in Israel in the name of neutrality, but the ramifications will be anything but neutral.

Europeans are considering stigmatizing Jewish businesses — an idea last popularized by the Nazis — all in the name of neutrality. This time, the focus is on Jewish-owned businesses located in the world’s only Jewish nation state and the European Union’s not-so-subtle suggestion that Israel exists only within its pre-1967 borders.

In June, Gerard Hogan, an advocate general at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, issued a nonbinding opinion, which many expect the court’s judges will adopt, suggesting that EU member states marginalize foodstuffs from Israel through detailed labeling. So products produced by Jewish citizens of Israel on land Israel won in the Six Day War is supposed to be labeled as hailing from “Israeli settlements” rather than being labeled “made in Israel.”

The advocate general writes that it’s not acceptable to simply mark a product as being from the West Bank or the Golan: “Although these terms do refer to the wider area or territory from which the product originates, the omission of the additional geographical information that the product originates from Israeli settlements is likely to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product. In such cases, it is necessary to add, in brackets, the term ‘Israeli settlement’ or equivalent terms.”

https://www.jns.org/opinion/netanyahus-carrot-and-stick-policy-on-gaza/

Of all the criticism lobbed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu these days, the claim that he has been exercising restraint towards the terrorists in Gaza to distract from his legal battles and guarantee victory in the fast-approaching Sept. 17 Knesset elections is the most ridiculous. As any member of the Israeli public and political echelon is keenly aware, the one thing that should worry Netanyahu’s opponents is a war.

This is particularly true today, when Israeli residents of the Gaza-border communities—the “envelope” around the Hamas-ruled enclave—are suffering from an understandable mixture of fatigue and fury. Traumatized by living under daily threat of death and destruction with only minimal respite between rockets, riots and incendiary balloons will do that. Especially considering the fact that while Palestinian children in Gaza attend summer camps where they learn how to kill Jews, the Israeli kids on the other side of the fence spend their vacation listening for Red Alert sirens telling them to take cover in the nearest bomb shelter.

That the politicians to the right of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party have been shouting about a lack of Israeli deterrence makes perfect sense. Though only a handful of such candidates believes in reoccupying Gaza—and the rest don’t really have a viable plan other than applying even more Israeli firepower in the ongoing battle of attrition—all of those running on right-wing tickets are telling the electorate that Netanyahu, whose re-election is the only shot they have at being players in the next government, needs a fierce hawkish push.

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/palestinian-authority-bans-lgbtq-organizing-in-west-bank/

The Palestinian Authority has banned all LGBTQ political organizing in the West Bank in response to the news that a pro-LGBTQ advocacy group was planning to hold a gathering for its members at the end of the month.

The ban, which was first reported Sunday by the Jerusalem Post, was issued in response to the organizing efforts of Al-Qaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society, a pro-LGBTQ political group that held an event last month and was planning to hold another in the coming weeks.

Palestinian Authority police spokesperson Luay Zreikat said that LGBTQ events were “harmful to the higher values and ideals of Palestinian society” in justifying the ban. Zreikat also accused unspecified “dubious parties” of attempting to “create discord and harm civic peace in Palestinian society” through the group’s events.

In response, Al-Qaws, which means “the bow” in Arabic, argued that it is an organization that is firmly embedded in Palestinian society and does not seek to disrupt it.

“The Palestinian police announcement about our activities is very unfortunate,” the group said in a statement. “It’s very strange that they are accusing us of being a suspicious entity working to take apart Palestinian society. Al-Qaws is a Palestinian organization that has been operating since 2001, and is carrying out educational and professional programs on sexual and gender diversity. We totally reject the attempt to create an atmosphere of prosecution and intimidation, as well as threats of arrest.”

https://amgreatness.com/2019/08/16/bds-is-an-anti-semitic-movement-and-tlaib-and-omar-are-its-face/

“Because of who we are as a people, because Israel is our closest and most trusted ally in the Middle East, because of basic human decency, we must do what we can to combat this anti-Semitic movement. If we truly believe in “never again,” we must do all that we can to eradicate the BDS movement. ”

By barring Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from entering the country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did what he needed to do when confronted with his nation’s enemies. Israel quite rightly refuses entry to people who advocate its destruction. As any sane country would. (Ahem.) 

When Tlaib was extended a humanitarian visa on Friday to visit her family—specifically her grandmother—on the condition she not agitate politically, Tlaib refused the privilege. Apparently, “seeing gamgam” was just a ploy. What she and Omar apparently wanted was to discuss, promote, and agitate for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) movement that targets Israel and seeks to strangle it to death economically.

The movement was founded by Omar Barghouti, a Palestinian activist born in Qatar who now lives in Israel. Barghouti’s goal is not a two-state solution, but a one-state solution in which Israel ceases to exist and the land is returned to the Palestinians. The leaders of the BDS movement are quite clear about that: they seek to eliminate Israel, eradicate it, and replace it with “Palestine.” It was no accident that Omar and Tlaib’s agenda for their trip to Israel was titled “U.S. Delegation visit to Palestine.” 

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/274675/palestinian-authority-threatens-prison-gay-group-daniel-greenfield

There have been thousands of stories on Israel’s travel ban for two anti-Semitic Democrat House members, Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib, who wanted to express their support for anti-Israel terrorists, including, no doubt, the Palestinian Authority.

And there will be approximately zero mainstream media stories about the “Palestinian Authority”, a fancy way of saying the PLO, threatening to lock up members of a gay organization.

The Palestinian Authority banned members of the Palestinian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community from carrying out any activities in the West Bank.

The ban came after the grassroots group Al-Qaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society (Arabic for “the bow”), which engages and supports Palestinians who identify as LGBTQ, was planning to hold a gathering for its members in Nablus at the end of the month. The group operates both in the West Bank and among Arab-Israelis.

Explaining the decision to ban the LGBTQ group from operating in PA-controlled areas, Luay Zreikat, spokesperson for the PA Police, said that such activities are “harmful to the higher values and ideals of Palestinian society.”

Zreikat said that the group’s activities were completely “unrelated to religions and Palestinian traditions and customs, especially in the city of Nablus.”

https://freebeacon.com/

Dems and Jewish Groups pick wrong side on Omar-Tlaib

Should the Netanyahu government have barred “Squad” members and BDS advocates Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country? Chattering classes in both countries quickly took sides. Surprising is how quickly major American Jewish organizations—those one would most expect to defend Israel—jumped to condemn its decision, arguing that it should have rolled out the red carpet for the two congresswomen. While their argument is that keeping the women out harms the Jewish State, it is their position that damages Israel and strengthens its enemies.

“A good-faith visit to Israel is the best way to be exposed to its democracy, complexities, and range of views. And so while we absolutely disagree with the pro-BDS positions of Reps. @IlhanMN & @RashidaTlaib, keeping them out is counterproductive,” tweeted ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt on Thursday, echoing a nearly identical tweet sent out less than half an hour earlier by AIPAC, which declared “every member of Congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally Israel firsthand.”

The problem is that Omar and Tlaib weren’t visiting Israel. They were visiting a fictitious country called “Palestine,” which Arabs hope will replace Israel. Their itinerary, titled “U.S. Congressional Delegation to Palestine,” was loaded with meet-and-greets with Palestinian Authority officials. The only Israel representative was the group B’Tselem—a radical organization that last made headlines condemning Israel at the U.N. Security Council. Israel’s ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer described the itinerary as a “BDS circus.”

http://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/2019/08/israels-good-news-newsletter-to-18th.html

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

A nano-vaccine for melanoma. Scientists at Tel Aviv University have developed a novel nano-vaccine for melanoma (skin cancer) that has proved effective in laboratory tests. Tiny particles made of bio-degradable polymer were packed with two “safe” cancer-expressed peptides for the body to develop immunity against.

http://nocamels.com/2019/08/israeli-scientists-nano-vaccine-treatment-melanoma/ 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/nano-vaccine-against-melanoma-developed-by-tel-aviv-university-researchers/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-019-0512-0

New test for Alzheimer’s. The SRY subsidiary of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center has developed Vizamyl, a radioactive agent that can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. Used in a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan, it estimates amyloid neuritic plaque density in the brain – the main indication of Alzheimer’s.

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/New-non-invasive-brain-test-could-help-prevent-stymie-Alzheimers-597620

Good results for anti-radiation vaccine. I reported previously (see here) on the PLX-R18 stem cell treatment for radiation sickness from Israel’s Pluristem. Animal trials by the US Department of Defense demonstrated that PLX-R18, administered before and after radiation exposure increased survival rates by 46-70%.

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Pluristem-gets-positive-results-from-radiation-treatment-trials-597271

US approval for antibacterial dental fillings. I reported previously (Aug 2018) about Israel’s Nobio and its nano-polymer that causes bacteria to die immediately on contact. Nobio has just received FDA approval to market its antibacterial material for dental fillings.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/startup-nobio-gets-fda-nod-for-antibacterial-dental-fillings/

Agreement for psoriasis treatment. I reported previously (see here) on the small molecule treatments from Israel’s Can-Fite for psoriasis, liver and inflammatory diseases, and cancer. Can-Fite AND South Korea-based Kyongbo have just signed a distribution agreement for Can-Fite’s psoriasis treatment Piclidenoson (CF101).

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3767633,00.html

Innovation hub for hi-tech medicine. Israel’s Innovation Authority and the National Digital Israel Initiative are setting up an innovation hub dedicated to computational biology, digital health, pharmaceuticals, and artificial intelligence. They are asking for bids worth up to NIS 32 million to build the hub.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3767709,00.html

Ultrasound skin therapy. Israeli startup SofWave Medical is developing non-invasive ultrasound technology for skin tightening. It targets specific layers of skin to reduce wrinkles and has received CE (European) approval. SofWave has just raised $8.4 million of funding.  https://alon-medtech.com/portfolio/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sofwave-medical-closes-8-4m-financing-round-announces-appointment-of-louis-scafuri-to-ceo-position-300896907.html

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3767858,00.html

Facial recognition of genetic diseases. Israeli-founded FDNA has developed artificial intelligence to detect physiological patterns (phenotypes) that reveal disease-causing genetic variations. With one of the fastest growing and most comprehensive genomic databases, FDNA is changing the game for precision medicine. https://www.fdna.com/

First response training for medics in Chile. (TY Hazel) Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom is helping to train municipal security personnel as first responders to medical emergencies in the Chilean capital Santiago. It is in preparation for Chile hosting two major international conferences at the end of the year.

https://www.israel21c.org/israels-mda-helps-build-first-responder-system-in-chile/

Israeli-Druze officer saves Jordanian boy. (TY Hazel) Kalai Housam Tarif, an Israeli Prison Officer of the Druze community, donated half of his liver to an unrelated eight-year-old boy from Jordan. Surgeons at Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petach Tikvah transplanted around half of Tarif’s liver to save the boy.

https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-prison-officer-donates-liver-lobe-to-jordanian-boy/