;
Buy American - Destroy The CCP.
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Glick advises Bibi.
No going wobbly now, Bibi
By Caroline Glick
Over the past week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has changed his mind countless times regarding how and when he will implement Israel’s sovereignty plan in Judea and Samaria in consonance with President Donald Trump’s vision for peace. Netanyahu’s vacillations are clearly a product of the immense pressure being exerted on him to cancel the plan to apply Israeli law to the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and to the Jordan Valley and turn his back on President Trump’s Middle East peace plan.
This is a shame. It is also absurd. When we consider the source of much of the pressure – and the reasons it is being exerted – it becomes glaringly clear that the critics and opponents must be ignored. Their actions are not being taken out of conviction so much as hostility or distress. Israel must cast aside their hectoring and pressure and implement the sovereignty plan with all due haste.
Consider one of the most talked-about recent efforts to pressure the Israeli public and Netanyahu to set aside the sovereignty plan and spurn Trump.
Last Friday, United Arab Emirates Ambassador in Washington Yousef al-Otaiba published an article in Yedioth Ahronoth. Otaiba threatened that if Israel implements its sovereignty plan in Judea and Samaria, the prospect of normalized ties with the Sunni Arab states in the Persian Gulf will fly by the wayside.
The media played up the author. But it quickly became clear that the idea of publishing the article in Hebrew in an Israeli newspaper didn’t come from Otaiba. Hours after the morning papers arrived, the media reported that it was Democratic mega-donor Haim Saban’s idea to have Otaiba publish his threatening article in Yedioth Ahronoth.
On its face, Saban’s role in the Otaiba opinion piece seems strange. The former Israeli billionaire is well-known for his support for Israel. He is a major donor to Friends of the IDF and to AIPAC. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 10 in 2010, Saban harshly attacked the Obama administration for its hostility towards Israel. Back then he said of Barack Obama and his team, “They are really left leftists, so far to the left there’s not much space left between them and the wall.”
At the time he made those remarks, Saban believed in cooperating with Republicans to advance the common goals of defending Israel and fighting anti-Semitism in the US and throughout the world. He spoke to Channel 10 at a conference of the Israeli Leadership Council in Los Angeles. The ILC, which later changed its name to the Israeli American Council was founded to provide an organizational home for the Israeli émigré community in the US It was a joint initiative by Saban and Republican megadonor (and owner of Israel Hayom) Sheldon Adelson.
In July 2015, the two men extended their cooperation to fighting the anti-Semitic boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Jewish students on campuses. They co-founded the Maccabees on Campus group to fight BDS groups.
So what has happened to Saban? What changed and made him want to use Otaiba as a means to spook the Israeli public and pressure Netanyahu to act in a way that would harm the sovereignty plan and through it, undermine Trump’s peace plan?
Apparently, the answer is found in the leftward lurch of his party. By 2015, Obama’s “left leftism” had become the mainstream position of the party. Today many Democratic activists revile Obama for what they view as his “conservative” positions.
To be clear, it’s not that Obama moderated his views, it’s simply that the “wall” Saban conceived in 2010 as the ideological edge of the party was blasted through long ago.
If Obama’s positions on Israel shifted at all during his presidency, they became more radical, not moderate. On Monday, a report in Israel Hayom gave a glimpse of just how hostile he was towards Israel when he left office.
According to the report, in a recent closed-door conversation, Netanyahu revealed that in the final weeks of Obama’s presidency Obama wanted to kick Israel where it really mattered. By this time, Obama had already engineered the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 that defined all of Israel’s civilian presence beyond the 1949 armistice lines, (including the Western Wall) as a breach of international law. With less than a month left in office, Obama wanted a second, even harsher resolution. Netanyahu reportedly told his interlocutors that Obama wanted to pass a resolution which would require Israel to agree to withdraw to the 1949 armistice lines.
Netanyahu said that when he heard of Obama’s plan, he turned to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Netanyahu said he explained to Putin that such a resolution would massively destabilize the Middle East and asked Putin to veto the measure. Putin agreed.
According to Netanyahu, when word reached Obama that Putin would veto his resolution, Obama abandoned his plan. He realized it wouldn’t do to be exposed as more hostile to Israel than his Russian counterpart. Such exposure would out him as an enemy of Israel before the American Jewish community.
On Thursday, a Kremlin spokesman denied that Putin had made such a pledge. Obama’s ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, denied that such a measure had been raised. Other US sources admitted it had been under consideration.
Considering that Obama’s views are now the mainstream views of the Democratic Party, and given the depth of his hostility towards Israel, it is self-evident that a Biden administration will begin its treatment of Israel where Obama left off. So as far as US politics go, it is clear now that Democratic opposition to the sovereignty plan is not based on a studied assessment of the situation but of visceral hostility.
Which brings us to Saban’s attempt to use the UAE ambassador to manipulate public opinion and pressure the prime minister.
The Democratic Party’s turn against Israel placed Jewish Democrats in a wretched position. For generations, the party has not simply been their political preference at the ballot box. Being Democrats has been a way of life. Their party’s rejection of Israel has had a dramatic impact on the pro-Israel Jewish Democrats’ readiness to act on behalf of Israel and against anti-Semitism.
Saban is a case in point. Just three months after he co-founded the Maccabees on Campus with Adelson and worked with Adelson to build the IAC into a national organization, Saban pulled out of both ventures. Reports at the time of his withdrawal from both groups were speculative. But all the speculation zoned in on one conclusion. The shift in his party made Saban abandon his previous willingness to work across the partisan divide. By October 2015, he was no longer willing to be associated with organizations that could in any way be viewed as out of step with the Obama administration and the Democratic Party.
This brings us to AIPAC, the pro-Israel group Saban has continued funding. Last week it was reported AIPAC told lawmakers that it won’t mind if they oppose Israel’s sovereignty plan so long as their opposition isn’t translated into efforts to curtail US military aid to the Jewish state.
Since its founding, AIPAC’s policy has always been to support the policies of the governments of Israel no matter what they were. So it was that at the outset of the Rabin government’s Oslo peace process with the PLO, AIPAC leaders ordered all of the group’s employees to support Israel’s policy even though just weeks before, AIPAC had opposed recognition of the PLO.
AIPAC lobbyists who were incapable of lobbying for US aid for the PLO or embracing Yasser Arafat as a peace partner were forced to resign. Considering AIPAC’s sudden shift towards opposing the sovereignty plan despite the fact that it enjoys the support of a large majority of Israelis and is set to be implemented as a complement to President Trump’s vision for peace, Jonathan Tobin wrote earlier this week, “If AIPAC is going to worry more about what the Democrats want rather than seeking to persuade them to back Israel’s policies, then it has for all intents and purposes become one more liberal group, and not the reliable force it has always been.”
More than a sign of hostility, AIPAC’s unprecedented position and Saban’s manipulative behavior appear to be signs of distress. Their party’s hostility towards Israel has left Jewish Democrats with no easy way forward. They have four options.
The obvious response to the party’s animosity to Jewish interests would be for Jewish Democrats to oppose and fight this animosity. They can either have the fight inside the party or leave the party and fight it. Although some groups, like J Exodus, have formed to encourage Jews to leave the Democratic party, no polling data indicates a major shift in Jewish partisan opinion. No Jewish Democratic leaders have made significant statements or staked out positions opposing what has happened in their party.
The second option is for Jewish Democrats to ignore partisan politics and just concentrate on Israel and other issues of importance to them as Jews like fighting anti-Semitism. Saban was clearly trying to adopt this posture when he joined with Adelson in establishing the Maccabees on Campuses and the IAC. The swiftness with which he abandoned the programs indicates how difficult it is to swim against the stream in the Democratic Party as presently constituted.
A third option is to adopt the party’s hostile positions on Israel. Progressive Jewish groups like J Street and the Union of Reform Judaism have done so openly, among other things by defining the party’s positions as Jewish “values.” Groups like Bend the Arc, IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace are leading the party’s charge against Israel and for the anti-Semitic BDS campaigns.
The final option is to try to have it both ways. AIPAC’s passive-aggressive opposition to the sovereignty plan is clearly an attempt to remain relevant to Democrats while not losing all credibility as a pro-Israel organization. Unfortunately for AIPAC, the ship has already sailed. The Democrats do not lack for Jewish fig leaves like J Street to mask their anti-Jewish actions. The progressive megadonors that oppose Israel have far deeper pockets than AIPAC donors.
Many Republicans, for their part, stopped listening to AIPAC during the Obama years when, in the interest of securing Democratic support for all Israel-related issues in Congress, AIPAC pressured Republican lawmakers to water down their pro-Israel bills and resolutions, often to meaninglessness.
As for Saban, he too is no longer is viewed as important by anti-Israel politicians. The far-left funding networks have made Saban largely irrelevant in the party. Certainly, he lacks the financial muscle to influence its positions on Israel and the fight against contemporary anti-Semitism.
And so we return to Israel and the massive pressure being exerted on Netanyahu to scupper the sovereignty plan or water it down to nothingness. Israel doesn’t have four options. Israel only has one option. Israel’s only option is to straightforwardly advance its national interests. Today that means only one thing. Israel must fully implement its sovereignty plan with US backing as quickly as possible and without conditions or apologies.
Originally published in Israel Hayom.
And:
Candace speaks out:
This week, Candace Owens discusses the hot-button issues of the day: reactions to her viral video on Black Lives Matter, Rayshard Brooks, defunding the police, and the state of Black America. You don’t want to miss this. Click here to watch now!
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Iran must be stopped, plain and simple.
Return to the status quo on Iran nukes isn’t enough
Biden’s adviser says he will keep sanctions in place until Iran returns to the nuclear deal. But merely restoring an agreement that gave Tehran a path to a weapon won’t work.
If you listen to Anthony Blinken, Iran shouldn’t celebrate the possibility that his boss, former Vice President Joe Biden, will become the next president. Blinken, deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, is Biden’s chief foreign-policy adviser, and in recent appearances, he has tried to pour cold water on the notion that a Democratic victory in November will be a godsend to Tehran. But you don’t have to read too far between the lines to know that the ayatollahs aren’t exactly worried about how tough Biden will be on them.
For the past two years, some prominent Democrats have been sending advice to Iran’s leaders asking them for patience. In May of 2018, The Boston Globe first reported that Blinken’s former boss, former Secretary of State John Kerry, had been conferring with his former negotiating partner, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. The pair spent their time together “strategizing” about how to “wait out” the Trump administration until a Democrat was elected in 2020.
The point of that effort was to reassure the Iranians that if they could just hold on until January 2021, a new president would bring the United States back into the nuclear deal negotiated by Kerry. At that point, the tough economic sanctions that President Donald Trump had reimposed on Tehran would be lifted, and the rapprochement with the Islamist regime that had been the signature foreign-policy achievement of President Barack Obama would be restored.
Kerry’s promise, which, had it been conducted by someone who was not a darling of the mainstream press would be condemned as collusion with a hostile foreign power, is looking like it may become a reality. If you believe the polls, Biden is now favored to defeat Trump and, for all intents of purposes, give Obama the third term he thought he would have when Hillary Clinton was his designated successor in 2016.
Nevertheless, Blinken is trying to persuade centrist voters, and especially Jewish Democrats, that the assumption that Biden’s presidency will merely be a rerun of Obama is a mistake, especially when it concerns Iran.
Blinken, an early favorite to be the next National Security Advisor, as well as a possibility to head the State Department, has sounded a moderate note on Iran. He has been trying to distract from Kerry’s assurances and instead assert that lifting the sanctions on Iran will not be among the top priorities on a Biden “To Do” list next January.
According to Blinken, a putative Biden administration will keep the sanctions in place until Iran ceases its violations of the nuclear deal. That will, in effect, restore the situation to the status quo of January 2017 when Trump took office.
That makes sense to the foreign-policy establishment and the rest of the chattering classes who are anticipating the restoration of the Democratic ancien regime with the fervor of members of France’s Bourbon dynasty after Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo.
According to Blinken, all of the trouble with Iran is solely the fault of Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who have sought to force the Islamist regime to renounce its funding of international terrorism and illegal missile-building, as well as to give up their hopes for a nuclear weapon.
The sanctions have done much to curtail Iran’s efforts to spread terror via proxy groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis, with many of its auxiliaries publicly complaining that they are being starved of funds to the financial hardships Trump has imposed on Tehran. The campaign of “maximum pressure” has fueled dissent inside Iran’s repressive society and made the regime’s hold on power shakier than ever. If Trump is given the chance to keep squeezing the Iranians, inevitably they will have little choice but to start negotiating a new agreement that would make the world safer.
Blinken, however, argues that the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal has given the Iranians the excuse they were looking for to violate its loose terms and to return to activities that bring it closer to achieving their nuclear ambitions.
By making them return to observing the deal, Blinken says it will eliminate the danger of a quick Iranian “breakout” to a nuclear weapon. At that point, he argues, the United States will have the support of its Western allies, and even Russia and China, to begin renegotiating the nuclear pact to make it tougher.
While that sounds sensible, it’s exactly what Iran wants.
Biden and Blinken’s tacit acknowledgment that another deal is necessary betrays the fallacy at the heart of their proposed return to Obama’s strategy.
Iran was not only enriched and empowered by the nuclear deal; its leaders also knew that their tough bargaining against men like Obama, Kerry and Blinken, who were desperate for a deal at any price, gave them all they needed. Contrary to Obama’s campaign promises when he ran for re-election in 2012 pledging to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, Tehran retained its nuclear infrastructure and advanced research capability.
The deal also came with sunset provisions that ensured that within 10 to 15 years, all of the restrictions on their program would disappear, giving the ayatollahs a legal path to the ultimate weapon.
Should Biden lift sanctions, even after Iran returns to the provisions of Obama’s agreement, it will eliminate any leverage the West might have to force the rewriting of the deal to drop the sunset provisions. A restoration of the status quo doesn’t eliminate the threat of an Iranian nuke; it guarantees they will get one in the next decade.
In the wake of recent revelations from John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor, there’s been a lot of focus in the last week on the president’s foreign-policy missteps. But on Iran, Trump and Pompeo effectively refuted Obama’s assumptions that the only choice there was appeasement or war, which Bolton seemed to favor. By avoiding being goaded into a military confrontation with Tehran, Trump has steadily increased the pressure on the regime and made it possible to head off Iran’s quest for regional hegemony and force them to give up the victories Obama handed them.
Far from worrying about Biden being tougher than Obama, the Iranians seem to be heeding Kerry’s advice about simply waiting out Trump. Biden and his adviser may think that can lead to a safer Middle East, but the moment they lift sanctions, Iran’s entry into the list of nuclear powers will be assured.
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More good news from Israel (edited:)
Many of this week's positive Israel articles highlight Israelis working with nature for global benefit. They include urban and desert agriculture, accessible beaches, renewable energy, water purification that makes biogas and educating children about the environment. In contrast, Israelis have overcome natural barriers to combat the corona-virus, develop self-healing artificial skin, block radiation in space, clear the pathways in holy Jerusalem and welcome hundreds of immigrants escaping an epidemic.
Best regards
Michael
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Best regards
Michael
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In the 21st June 20 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
- An Israeli Covid-19 antibody product is available to treat urgent infections.
- Israeli artificial skin can repair itself.
- An Israeli-Arab “superwoman” is also an MDA volunteer.
- Israelis make energy from wastewater and from humid air.
- Investment in Israeli financial technology doubled to $1.8 billion in 2019.
- US versions are to be produced of two successful Israeli TV series.
- Newsletter supporter United With Israel won a Genesis “Speak out for Israel” grant.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Covid-19 antibody treatment is now available. Israel’s Kamada (reported here previously) has completed manufacturing the first batch of its plasma-derived Immunoglobulin G (IgG) product for Covid-19 patients. Initial vials of the antibody have been made available for compassionate use in Israel.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Human trials for possible Covid-19 cure. (TY Dick) In a world first, a trial of Ivermectin - an antiparasitic treatment - has been launched at Sheba Medical Center on Covid-19 patients. Ivermectin has been available since 1981 and in the laboratory was recently found to kill the coronavirus within 48 hours.
https://www.jpost.com/health-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Remote detection of Covid-19 complications. Israel’s Clew Medical (reported here previously) has just received US FDA emergency use authorization to remotely identify patients who are likely to experience common coronavirus complications, including respiratory failure and hemodynamic instability.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Adapting virus test for Covid-19. (TY Hazel) Israel’s MeMed (reported here previously) identifies whether an infection is viral or bacterial. MeMed is now working with hospitals in Israel, the Netherlands and elsewhere to identify Covid-19 patients and the potential severity of the infection.
https://www.israel21c.org/
Israeli progress combating Covid-19. Good video summarizing some of Israel’s latest projects to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
More telemedical devices. Israel’s Beecardia connects patients, doctors and remote specialists. The startup of ex-Ukrainian immigrants has developed a portable cardiograph, a wireless ECG recorder, a digital stethoscope, a portable spirometer (measuring lung capacity), a pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor and glucometer.
https://beecardia.com/products https://beecardia.com/about
Donating blood saves lives. New video featuring Magen David Adom’s blood donation service and how vital it is for use in surgical operations and medical research. Also, blood plasma helps patients with compromised immune systems. Finally, construction of the world’s first underground blood bank is proceeding well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Self-healing electronic artificial skin. Muhammad Khatib, PhD student at Israel’s Technion. has developed a polymer that is strong, water resistant, conducts electricity and is super elastic. Furthermore, when it is cut and put into water it will repair itself! Future applications include robotic skin, prosthetics and wearable devices.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Focusing protons to kill cancer. (TY I24 & WIN) A new video from Israel’s P-Cure (reported here previously) that is using its focused proton radiation therapy device to destroy cancer tumors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Special needs kids heal injured animals. (TY Janglo) The Israeli charity Tzohar Halev operates education institutions, rehabilitation centers and housing facilities. It has just opened a therapeutic zoo in Ashdod for special needs kids, called Ohel Dov (Dov’s Tent). The kids interact with birds, hamsters, snakes and chickens.
https://www.
Urban agriculture in the heart of Tel Aviv. A new video of the farm on the roof of Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff shopping center. The hydroponics grow lettuce, cucumbers, basil and spinach. The vegetables go to local restaurants and non-profits. Leftovers make biogas. There is also a butterfly garden, beehives and a tree nursery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Tel Aviv beaches are accessible. (TY Jacques) All 13 of Tel Aviv’s beaches are now fully accessible. In the past, only five of those beaches were accessible to people with disabilities. The city also provides paths to the shoreline, accessible parking, amphibious chairs, and an app to guide the visually impaired.
https://israelbetweenthelines.
The skies are open permanently. The EU has given its approval to Israel's permanent membership of the European Union’s "Open Skies" agreement. A temporary agreement was signed in 2013. Now Israel will be permanently open to full competition between airlines, lowering fares and (post-corona) increasing tourism.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
Greece’s PM visits Israel first. (TY INN) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chose Israel for his first foreign visit post-Covid-19. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu praised their friendship and discussed re-opening mutual tourism. They also signed three Memoranda of Understandings - on cyber, agriculture and tourism.
https://worldisraelnews.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Top Mexican-Israeli achiever. Mexican magazine Lideres named Dr. Samuel Tobias, a senior neurosurgeon at Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, among 101 Mexicans with significant influential achievements outside their native country. He was chosen for treating hundreds of Syrian civil war casualties from 2013 to 2018.
https://www.israel21c.org/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Israel raises its renewable energy target. In 2016, Israel committed to 17% renewable energy production by 2030. Plans have changed - Israel has just raised the target to 30%. It is investing massively in solar energy, reducing pollution and greenhouse gases. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Sustainable development projects. Rural Senses is one of Israel’s “AI for Good” accelerator startups. It uses novel data collection methods plus AI-based data annotation to help analyze the impact and success of social projects. It helps design projects and interventions that are both financially and socially sustainable.
http://ruralsenses.com/
Doubling cycle paths. More good news for a cleaner Israel. The Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality has approved a strategic plan to double the length of bike paths in the city from 140km to 300km by 2025. The municipality announced the plan on 3rd June - World Bicycle Day.
http://nocamels.com/2020/06/
Hi-tech training for medical staff. (TY Hazel) Sheba Medical Center is using Microsoft HoloLens 2 Mixed Reality headsets to train dozens of physicians, biomedical engineers and nurses on how to operate ventilators for Covid-19 patients. It is also helping staff remotely monitor what is happening in a patient’s room.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/
From hydroponics to respirators. Israel’s Growponics normally produces hydroponic greenhouses. But when coronavirus struck, it teamed up with physicians to develop a low-cost solution to help COVID-19 patients breathe. The device uses a respiratory balloon connected to an oxygen tank and a computer-controlled piston.
https://finder.
Microsoft’s AI-powered virtual classroom. Microsoft has launched a virtual classroom system that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide feedback on the individual performance of students. Built by Microsoft Israel’s education group, it also provides security, group collaboration and teacher supervision / inspection.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Clean water plus energy. Israel’s Agrobics (reported here previously) purifies wastewater, producing energy to power the process. Its reactor uses anaerobic bacteria Archaea to eat pollutants, clean the water and excrete biogas. It has 3 Israeli test sites and a BIRD grant to build one in California with US firm Bennett & Bennett.
https://www.jpost.com/jpost-
Power from humidity. Scientists from Tel Aviv University simulated lightening by exposing two different metals to different levels of humidity. They found that voltage develops when humidity rises above 60%. It opens the possibility for developing renewable energy batteries that can be charged from water vapor in the air.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
ADAM’s driving test. Israeli startup ADAM CogTech can identify a driver’s cognitive state. It tests the driver’s reaction to light stimulation and determines if a vehicle operator is tired, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The system is based on artificial intelligence, machine learning and brain science research.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Anti-radiation vest proved in space. The vest to protect astronauts against radiation from Israel’s StemRad (reported here previously) was worn by Jewish astronaut Jessica Meir on the International Space Station (ISS). Now StemRad has been awarded a grant to turn ISS plastic waste into radiation protection equipment.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
Joint US-Israeli space projects. In addition to StemRad, other Israeli companies to benefit from the 7th round of funding from the Space Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program include SolCold (manipulate solar energy), Green ICPS (corrosion protection coating), and MobiliComm (communications system).
https://www.calcalistech.com/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Record $1.8 billion raised for fintech in 2019. Israeli fintech (financial technology) companies raised a record $1.8 billion of investment funds in 2019 – more than double that in 2018. Israeli firms account for 5.1% of global investment in fintech – the fifth highest country in the world.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
SAP expands its Israeli R&D. SAP SE is expanding its research and development office in Israel. It is looking to hire several dozens of software engineers, big data experts, and managers for both its SAP-Gigya development office located in Tel Aviv, as well as its Ra’anana office. SAP has some 700 employees in Israel.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Huge order for wearable medical watches. Israel’s CardiacSense (reported here previously) has signed an exclusive distribution agreement in India worth at least $32.4 million for 150,000 of its medical watches. The device remotely monitors and detects patient vital signs of fevers, heart arrhythmias and chronic diseases.
https://www.cardiacsense.com/
Another smart car connection. Israel’s Otonomo (reported here previously) has added another car maker to the partners for its connected vehicle data analysis systems. Its latest deal with automotive giant Fiat Chrysler is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
NetApp uses Israeli AI for customers. As reported here, US IT giant NetApp bought its fifth Israeli company recently. NetApp has now paid millions of shekels to Israel’s Iguazio (see here) to use its Artificially Intelligent technology to help data analysis and storage optimization for its customers.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Improved probation system for Latvia. Israel’s Supercom (reported here previously) has won a 5-year contract from the Latvian government to deploy its enhanced PureSecurity product suite. It will provide Latvia’s probation service with innovative advanced features to give a secure alternative to prison incarceration.
https://www.prnewswire.com/
Rapid wave of innovation. Israeli-Australian VC firm Square Peg Capital expects a wave of innovation and says that the equivalent of a decade’s worth of change has occurred in just two months. Square Peg has raised $250 million for its fourth core fund, of which the Israeli market represents around 40% of its investments.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Israeli startups raising funds. Latest investments in Israeli startups include: ECOncrete raised $5 million; CardiacSense raised $6 million; ADAM CogTech raised $2 million; Salt Security raised $20 million; Pagaya raised $102 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Photographing the Holy Land. Photographers Jodi Sugar, Yosef Symonds and Moshe Schlass have captured many beautiful and inspirational images of Israel. Click on the links below to view some of their classic photos.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
http://www.jodisugar.com/best-
https://www.
New TV series connects kids with nature. The new TV show Zormim (Hebrew for flowing) is an educational mini-series that promotes Israel’s many rivers and streams and their fascinating ecosystems. It helps connect Israeli youth and the environment - especially important during this time of home isolation due to Covid-19.
http://nocamels.com/2020/04/
Apple buys Tehran. The new drama series "Tehran,” by Israel's public broadcaster Kan has been sold to Apple in what the corporation calls "one of the largest deals in the Israeli industry”. The show is one of the first foreign productions purchased for subscribers of the Apple TV+ video streaming service.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Amazon buys On the Spectrum. Amazon Studios has bought the format to Israeli-made “On the Spectrum,” a half-hour comedy-drama series about three roommates with varying levels of autism. The Israeli show won nine Ophir Awards, Israel’s top honor for TV and movies, in March 2019. The Amazon version is yet to be named.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
THE JEWISH STATE
Israel welcomes Peruvian Olim. 37 members of the Peruvian Jewish community flew to Israel on a charter flight for new immigrants, organized by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Peru is suffering from high rates of COVID-19 infections, plus riots due to the scarcity of food and medical supplies.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
https://www.jta.org/quick-
Covid-19 antibody treatment is now available. Israel’s Kamada (reported here previously) has completed manufacturing the first batch of its plasma-derived Immunoglobulin G (IgG) product for Covid-19 patients. Initial vials of the antibody have been made available for compassionate use in Israel.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Human trials for possible Covid-19 cure. (TY Dick) In a world first, a trial of Ivermectin - an antiparasitic treatment - has been launched at Sheba Medical Center on Covid-19 patients. Ivermectin has been available since 1981 and in the laboratory was recently found to kill the coronavirus within 48 hours.
https://www.jpost.com/health-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Remote detection of Covid-19 complications. Israel’s Clew Medical (reported here previously) has just received US FDA emergency use authorization to remotely identify patients who are likely to experience common coronavirus complications, including respiratory failure and hemodynamic instability.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Adapting virus test for Covid-19. (TY Hazel) Israel’s MeMed (reported here previously) identifies whether an infection is viral or bacterial. MeMed is now working with hospitals in Israel, the Netherlands and elsewhere to identify Covid-19 patients and the potential severity of the infection.
https://www.israel21c.org/
Israeli progress combating Covid-19. Good video summarizing some of Israel’s latest projects to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
More telemedical devices. Israel’s Beecardia connects patients, doctors and remote specialists. The startup of ex-Ukrainian immigrants has developed a portable cardiograph, a wireless ECG recorder, a digital stethoscope, a portable spirometer (measuring lung capacity), a pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor and glucometer.
https://beecardia.com/products https://beecardia.com/about
Donating blood saves lives. New video featuring Magen David Adom’s blood donation service and how vital it is for use in surgical operations and medical research. Also, blood plasma helps patients with compromised immune systems. Finally, construction of the world’s first underground blood bank is proceeding well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Self-healing electronic artificial skin. Muhammad Khatib, PhD student at Israel’s Technion. has developed a polymer that is strong, water resistant, conducts electricity and is super elastic. Furthermore, when it is cut and put into water it will repair itself! Future applications include robotic skin, prosthetics and wearable devices.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Focusing protons to kill cancer. (TY I24 & WIN) A new video from Israel’s P-Cure (reported here previously) that is using its focused proton radiation therapy device to destroy cancer tumors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Special needs kids heal injured animals. (TY Janglo) The Israeli charity Tzohar Halev operates education institutions, rehabilitation centers and housing facilities. It has just opened a therapeutic zoo in Ashdod for special needs kids, called Ohel Dov (Dov’s Tent). The kids interact with birds, hamsters, snakes and chickens.
https://www.
Urban agriculture in the heart of Tel Aviv. A new video of the farm on the roof of Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff shopping center. The hydroponics grow lettuce, cucumbers, basil and spinach. The vegetables go to local restaurants and non-profits. Leftovers make biogas. There is also a butterfly garden, beehives and a tree nursery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Tel Aviv beaches are accessible. (TY Jacques) All 13 of Tel Aviv’s beaches are now fully accessible. In the past, only five of those beaches were accessible to people with disabilities. The city also provides paths to the shoreline, accessible parking, amphibious chairs, and an app to guide the visually impaired.
https://israelbetweenthelines.
The skies are open permanently. The EU has given its approval to Israel's permanent membership of the European Union’s "Open Skies" agreement. A temporary agreement was signed in 2013. Now Israel will be permanently open to full competition between airlines, lowering fares and (post-corona) increasing tourism.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
Greece’s PM visits Israel first. (TY INN) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chose Israel for his first foreign visit post-Covid-19. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu praised their friendship and discussed re-opening mutual tourism. They also signed three Memoranda of Understandings - on cyber, agriculture and tourism.
https://worldisraelnews.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Top Mexican-Israeli achiever. Mexican magazine Lideres named Dr. Samuel Tobias, a senior neurosurgeon at Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, among 101 Mexicans with significant influential achievements outside their native country. He was chosen for treating hundreds of Syrian civil war casualties from 2013 to 2018.
https://www.israel21c.org/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Israel raises its renewable energy target. In 2016, Israel committed to 17% renewable energy production by 2030. Plans have changed - Israel has just raised the target to 30%. It is investing massively in solar energy, reducing pollution and greenhouse gases. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Sustainable development projects. Rural Senses is one of Israel’s “AI for Good” accelerator startups. It uses novel data collection methods plus AI-based data annotation to help analyze the impact and success of social projects. It helps design projects and interventions that are both financially and socially sustainable.
http://ruralsenses.com/
Doubling cycle paths. More good news for a cleaner Israel. The Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality has approved a strategic plan to double the length of bike paths in the city from 140km to 300km by 2025. The municipality announced the plan on 3rd June - World Bicycle Day.
http://nocamels.com/2020/06/
Hi-tech training for medical staff. (TY Hazel) Sheba Medical Center is using Microsoft HoloLens 2 Mixed Reality headsets to train dozens of physicians, biomedical engineers and nurses on how to operate ventilators for Covid-19 patients. It is also helping staff remotely monitor what is happening in a patient’s room.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/
From hydroponics to respirators. Israel’s Growponics normally produces hydroponic greenhouses. But when coronavirus struck, it teamed up with physicians to develop a low-cost solution to help COVID-19 patients breathe. The device uses a respiratory balloon connected to an oxygen tank and a computer-controlled piston.
https://finder.
Microsoft’s AI-powered virtual classroom. Microsoft has launched a virtual classroom system that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide feedback on the individual performance of students. Built by Microsoft Israel’s education group, it also provides security, group collaboration and teacher supervision / inspection.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Clean water plus energy. Israel’s Agrobics (reported here previously) purifies wastewater, producing energy to power the process. Its reactor uses anaerobic bacteria Archaea to eat pollutants, clean the water and excrete biogas. It has 3 Israeli test sites and a BIRD grant to build one in California with US firm Bennett & Bennett.
https://www.jpost.com/jpost-
Power from humidity. Scientists from Tel Aviv University simulated lightening by exposing two different metals to different levels of humidity. They found that voltage develops when humidity rises above 60%. It opens the possibility for developing renewable energy batteries that can be charged from water vapor in the air.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
ADAM’s driving test. Israeli startup ADAM CogTech can identify a driver’s cognitive state. It tests the driver’s reaction to light stimulation and determines if a vehicle operator is tired, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The system is based on artificial intelligence, machine learning and brain science research.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Anti-radiation vest proved in space. The vest to protect astronauts against radiation from Israel’s StemRad (reported here previously) was worn by Jewish astronaut Jessica Meir on the International Space Station (ISS). Now StemRad has been awarded a grant to turn ISS plastic waste into radiation protection equipment.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
Joint US-Israeli space projects. In addition to StemRad, other Israeli companies to benefit from the 7th round of funding from the Space Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program include SolCold (manipulate solar energy), Green ICPS (corrosion protection coating), and MobiliComm (communications system).
https://www.calcalistech.com/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Record $1.8 billion raised for fintech in 2019. Israeli fintech (financial technology) companies raised a record $1.8 billion of investment funds in 2019 – more than double that in 2018. Israeli firms account for 5.1% of global investment in fintech – the fifth highest country in the world.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
SAP expands its Israeli R&D. SAP SE is expanding its research and development office in Israel. It is looking to hire several dozens of software engineers, big data experts, and managers for both its SAP-Gigya development office located in Tel Aviv, as well as its Ra’anana office. SAP has some 700 employees in Israel.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Huge order for wearable medical watches. Israel’s CardiacSense (reported here previously) has signed an exclusive distribution agreement in India worth at least $32.4 million for 150,000 of its medical watches. The device remotely monitors and detects patient vital signs of fevers, heart arrhythmias and chronic diseases.
https://www.cardiacsense.com/
Another smart car connection. Israel’s Otonomo (reported here previously) has added another car maker to the partners for its connected vehicle data analysis systems. Its latest deal with automotive giant Fiat Chrysler is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
NetApp uses Israeli AI for customers. As reported here, US IT giant NetApp bought its fifth Israeli company recently. NetApp has now paid millions of shekels to Israel’s Iguazio (see here) to use its Artificially Intelligent technology to help data analysis and storage optimization for its customers.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Improved probation system for Latvia. Israel’s Supercom (reported here previously) has won a 5-year contract from the Latvian government to deploy its enhanced PureSecurity product suite. It will provide Latvia’s probation service with innovative advanced features to give a secure alternative to prison incarceration.
https://www.prnewswire.com/
Rapid wave of innovation. Israeli-Australian VC firm Square Peg Capital expects a wave of innovation and says that the equivalent of a decade’s worth of change has occurred in just two months. Square Peg has raised $250 million for its fourth core fund, of which the Israeli market represents around 40% of its investments.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Israeli startups raising funds. Latest investments in Israeli startups include: ECOncrete raised $5 million; CardiacSense raised $6 million; ADAM CogTech raised $2 million; Salt Security raised $20 million; Pagaya raised $102 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Photographing the Holy Land. Photographers Jodi Sugar, Yosef Symonds and Moshe Schlass have captured many beautiful and inspirational images of Israel. Click on the links below to view some of their classic photos.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
http://www.jodisugar.com/best-
https://www.
New TV series connects kids with nature. The new TV show Zormim (Hebrew for flowing) is an educational mini-series that promotes Israel’s many rivers and streams and their fascinating ecosystems. It helps connect Israeli youth and the environment - especially important during this time of home isolation due to Covid-19.
http://nocamels.com/2020/04/
Apple buys Tehran. The new drama series "Tehran,” by Israel's public broadcaster Kan has been sold to Apple in what the corporation calls "one of the largest deals in the Israeli industry”. The show is one of the first foreign productions purchased for subscribers of the Apple TV+ video streaming service.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Amazon buys On the Spectrum. Amazon Studios has bought the format to Israeli-made “On the Spectrum,” a half-hour comedy-drama series about three roommates with varying levels of autism. The Israeli show won nine Ophir Awards, Israel’s top honor for TV and movies, in March 2019. The Amazon version is yet to be named.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
THE JEWISH STATE
Israel welcomes Peruvian Olim. 37 members of the Peruvian Jewish community flew to Israel on a charter flight for new immigrants, organized by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Peru is suffering from high rates of COVID-19 infections, plus riots due to the scarcity of food and medical supplies.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
https://www.jta.org/quick-
Building cities in the Negev desert. Since 2012, the Or Movement has built 8 cities in the South of Israel. Its Equitable Cities program aims to reduce gaps between development towns and the cities in the center of Israel; to strengthen the cities in the periphery and to support the sustainability and success of the Negev and Galilee.
https://www.israelgives.org/
https://israelbetweenthelines.
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Who was Aunt Jemima?
The world knew her as "Aunt Jemima," but her given name was Nancy Green, and she was a true American success story. Born a slave in 1834 in Montgomery County, KY, she became a wealthy superstar in the advertising world, as its first living trademark.
While in Kentucky, Green was employed by Charles Walker, then an attorney and later a distinguished Circuit Judge. She moved with the family to Chicago just after the Great Fire in 1872.
Walker heard that a friend was looking for a model for the Aunt Jemima character, and he suggested Green who, by that time, had served the family for many years. She was instantly recognized with the characteristics the guy was looking for--charisma, humor, and a fantastic cook.
Green was 56-yrs old when she was selected as spokesperson for the new ready-mixed, self-rising pancake flour and made her public debut in 1893 at the World’s Fair in Chicago. She demonstrated the pancake mix while serving up thousands of pancakes . . . and became an immediate star. She was a wonderful storyteller, her personality was warm and appealing, and her showmanship was exceptional. Her exhibition booth drew so many people that special security personnel were assigned to keep the crowds moving.
Nancy Green was signed to a lifetime contract, traveled on promotional tours all over the country, and was extremely well paid. Her financial freedom and stature as a national spokesperson enabled her to become a philanthropist, a leading advocate against poverty, and a fighter for equal rights.
She maintained her job until her death in 1923, at age 89, after becoming one of America’s first black millionaires.
She was a remarkable woman, as was CJ, the first female millionaire and another black woman.
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