It’s Not
Systemic....Addendum
I
fear I may have left the impression that, with the Movement having become a Racket,
black Americans have nothing to complain about that isn’t their own fault, and
deserve no sympathy in their distress.
On
the contrary,
I think they suffer heavily from the bias that arises from a friction of
cultures with the larger society, and whites have a necessary role to play in
mitigating it. I think white Americans have an obligation arising from simple
humanity to understand and attempt to mitigate the effects of bias against
black citizens, however legitimate that bias may – or may not - be. To do this
it’s not necessary or helpful to wallow in shame, cringe in fear, or embrace
standards that are anathema. It’s only necessary to be mindful of everyone’s
fundamental human dignity. As I’m sure I made clear, I think our society has
made enormous – indeed unprecedented -- progress to that end.
On
the other hand, if the friction is to be reduced, I don’t think it’s reasonable
to demand that the larger society adopt or condone a minority culture of which
it disapproves. Rather, the burden properly rests on the minority culture to
accommodate itself reasonably to that of the majority.
This
is called assimilation, and while it shouldn’t be taken to the extreme of
absorption, I can’t think of an historical example of a diverse population
whose coexistence didn’t depend on it.
I
think this assimilation has been made immeasurably more difficult by the Racket
that has become all that’s left of the Movement. Black people generally aren’t
to blame for this, nor is it caused by some stubborn intransigence on the part
of white people generally. The whole miserable scam is being carried forward
over the heads of the ordinary run of the rest of us.
It’s
all being done by white liberals and black leaders, to the deep annoyance, I
believe, of the rest of the American population. It should be obvious they’re
not doing it to help ordinary black people, or we’d see some evidence of that. Moreover,
they aren’t mere enablers, but active saboteurs who expressly deprecate the
very notion of assimilation. Recalling that people respond to incentives, it’s
clear they’re doing this because they benefit from it -- even as everyone
else suffers.
Those
who argue that white Americans haven’t done enough to accommodate the special
history and needs of our fellow citizens have the burden of saying clearly and
specifically what else must be done to be enough, and whether they have a
constructive role to play in it – and by what measure we’ll know when we’ve
succeeded.
--
Spencer
P.S.
– An item I meant to include in saying white prejudice arises not from racism
but from culture : How else to explain the well documented socio-economic
success in America of our West African immigrants, perhaps most notably those
from Nigeria?
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Begin was a very dear friend of Lynn's great, great Uncle, Avram Appel. Avram died some 10 or more years ago, was one of the founders of the Likud Party in Israel and helped train Bibi for government. He was a wonderful man and we had the pleasure of being with him in his home on one of our visits to Israel.
The lessons Menachem Begin left us
As Israel prepares for a change in leadership, a new documentary film on one of the country’s founding fathers is a reminder of what his successors can learn from him.
(June 11, 2021 / JNS) The release of a new documentary film about one of Israel’s past prime ministers wasn’t timed to coincide with a historic change in power in Jerusalem. But the coincidence adds to the timeliness of Jonathan Gruber’s “Upheaval: The Journey of Menachem Begin,” which became available this week via virtual theaters for home viewing.
Partisans and detractors of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the duo that will be replacing him—Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid—can no doubt use Begin’s example as ammunition to praise or snipe at the current generation of Israeli leadership. But tempting as that might be, such an exercise is pointless. Much as was the case with Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion—Begin’s bitter rival—there is no comparison between the founding generation of Israeli leaders and those who came after them.
In part, that is because both Ben-Gurion and Begin were larger-than-life characters whose life stories were epic journeys that illustrated the history of the Jewish people in the 20th century. But it is also a product of the times. Only one person could, as Ben-Gurion did, found the first sovereign Jewish state in the land of Israel in 2,000 years and help it survive a turbulent infancy. And only one person could be, as Begin was, the one responsible for helping Israel take the first steps beyond that infancy of ceaseless strife not only to make peace with its most formidable opponent but also help bring the country together in ways that Ben-Gurion did not.
As historian Daniel Gordis has pointed out in his 2014 biography, what makes Begin so important is the way he embraced Jewish tradition in a way that Ben-Gurion and the Israeli left, who had done so much to build Israel, never could. Rather than transcending the Jewish past, Begin sought to preserve it and the memory of the Holocaust, while also playing a pivotal role in both helping Israel gain independence and then ultimately leading it in a new direction.
A man of profound contradictions, he is associated with great violence as well as peace. He was a much-admired orator and public figure who belatedly reached the pinnacle of success, but also someone vulnerable to deep depression who spent the last years of his life in seclusion after suffering both political and personal losses.
Gruber, a veteran documentarian who has done a number of Jewish and Israeli-themed films, including a particularly poignant one about the life of Entebbe rescuer Yonatan Netanyahu, has given us a largely sympathetic portrait of Begin.
Utilizing archive footage and interviews with those who knew Begin, like Hart Hasten, as well as contemporary commentators such as Gordis, former Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, and former ambassadors Michael Oren and Ron Dermer, Gruber does a good job of giving his audience a bare outline of his subject’s life and its place in Jewish and Israeli history. But to his credit, he does not ignore the more troubling incidents associated with his career. The result is a film that while unabashedly adulatory still manages to avoid the perils of hagiography.
Born in Poland in 1913, Begin was raised as a traditional Jew but also a devout Zionist. As a young man, he was “conquered” by Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the founder of the Revisionist movement that is the ideological ancestor of today’s Likud Party, and became a leader in its Betar youth movement. Jabotinsky’s philosophy combined a strong belief in Jewish self-defense and the need for a Jewish state that would be a liberal haven, and guided Begin the rest of his life.
In Poland, when that country was invaded by both Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia in 1939, Begin wound up being arrested and imprisoned by the latter for the “crime” of being a Zionist. If not for Adolf Hitler’s decision to invade the Soviet Union in 1941, Begin might have died in the Gulag Archipelago to which he was sentenced. Once the Soviets united with the Allies, he was released, joined the Polish “Anders’ Army” and made his way to British-ruled Palestine, where he soon became the commander of the Irgun Zvai Leumi, the right-wing Zionist resistance movement.
It was at this point in his life that the decades-long duel with Ben-Gurion began. In the years preceding Israel’s independence in 1948, Begin led a revolt against the British, who were determined to avoid making good on the promise they had made of establishing a Jewish homeland in the 1917 Balfour Declaration. This put him in conflict with Ben-Gurion and the Jewish establishment in Palestine—and its Haganah defense force—that wavered between accommodation with the British and resistance.
One episode skipped by the film is the way Begin refused to let the Irgun retaliate against the Haganah when it betrayed members of the resistance to the British, thereby avoiding a civil war that might have made independence impossible. He would stick to the same rule in 1948 when Ben-Gurion ordered the fledgling Israel Defense Forces to fire on the Irgun ship Altalena, which was carrying arms and immigrants to Israel, weeks after independence was declared. Ben-Gurion and his Labor Party represented this deplorable action as a defense of democracy; however, it was really an attempt to discredit a future political opponent, who, through the Irgun’s efforts, had played a major role in convincing the British to give up the struggle. Yet, as he did before, Begin refused to let his followers fire back and again prioritized Jewish unity.
After the War of Independence, Begin became the leader of the country’s democratic opposition to Labor, a role in which he would languish for 29 long years.
During this period, he repeatedly clashed with Ben-Gurion, most memorably over the question of accepting reparations from Germany. The film adequately represents the two positions, and both men were essentially right. Begin was correct to be offended at the notion that Germany could buy re-entry to the civilized world by paying blood money for the millions of Jews it had murdered. And yet Israel needed the money in its first years as a poverty-stricken country attempting to first resettle hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors and then another 800,000 Jews who were forced to flee their homes in the Arab and Muslim worlds after 1948. Ben-Gurion was also right to think that those who murdered and robbed Jews should help pay for this.
Left out of the film is the fact that Begin actually incited a march on the Knesset that led to a riot.
That incident aside, Begin’s principled parliamentary actions did, as the film asserts and in contradiction to the Labor slur that he was a “fascist,” help ensure that Israel remained a democracy.
Just as important, it was Begin’s outreach to Mizrachi Jews left out and discriminated against by the Labor establishment that helped unify Israel. He was a believer in Jewish multiculturalism and respect for all Jews, as well as someone who had a strong respect for the rights of Israeli Arabs. And it was support from Middle Eastern Jews that, along with Labor corruption and incompetence, created the mahapach or “upheaval” of the film’s title when, in 1977, Begin was finally elected prime minister.
Once in power, Begin stuck to his belief in Jewish nationalism and that Jews should bend their knees to no one but God. That led him to establish what is now known as the “Begin doctrine,” in which Israel reserves the right to take action to forestall threats against its existence. Deeply influenced by the memory of the Holocaust in which he had lost most of his family, Prime Minister Begin would not shy away from flexing Israel’s military power to that end with the 1981 airstrike against Iraq’s nuclear facility being the most important of such actions.
To the chagrin of his opponents, he was also the man who was able to sign Israel’s first peace deal after Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat accepted his invitation to come to Jerusalem. It’s not clear that anyone else, and certainly no one without Begin’s credibility on security issues, would have been strong enough to withdraw completely from the Sinai in order to secure that peace deal. Though many thought it would not last, that pact, which has in recent years become warmer after decades of “cold” peace, is the foundation of Israel’s security equation.
That the man of peace was also the man who accelerated Israel’s efforts to secure Jewish settlement in the West Bank, which Begin rightly referred to as “Judea and Samaria,” was a puzzle to his opponents. But a belief that peace was vital was not a contradiction of his belief that the Jewish state must both defend itself and its rights to the heart of its ancient homeland. As Jabotinsky taught, peace will only come when the Arabs are reconciled to the irreversibility of Zionism.
Begin’s last years were marked by tragedy because he took to heart his responsibility for the country’s blunders in the 1982 Lebanon War, even if those mistakes were largely those of his Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. Grief for the many soldiers lost in that war, along with that for his wife, Aliza, who died in 1982, was Begin’s undoing. He resigned the following year, leaving the political stage entirely and living in seclusion until his death in 1992.
Where does that leave his legacy today?
Deeply controversial in his own lifetime, Begin’s modest lifestyle and principled politics, coupled with his punctilious observance of both political and legal norms, now not only looks good in retrospect but inspires admiration from even those who are on the left.
As “Upheaval” is at pains to point out, at a time of rising anti-Semitism and demonization of Israel, Begin’s brand of stiff-necked Jewish identity and belief in assertive self-defense also makes more sense than ever.
Moreover, his embrace of traditional Jewish beliefs and emphasis on uniting all branches of the Jewish people is equally relevant, especially in Diaspora communities like the United States, where the faith in Jewish peoplehood is on the decline.
Both outgoing and incoming Israeli leaders can learn a lot not only from his life but, as the film points out, from his death as well.
Rather than choosing to be buried among Israel’s great heroes on Mount Herzl, Begin chose the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives. While his constant refrain that he was just “a simple Jew” was always somewhat disingenuous since he was such a complex person, the modesty of his request and his manner of living stands as an example of selfless leadership. Begin thought of himself as a servant of a Jewish people, whose history, faith and diverse communities deserved respect. Moreover, he was not burdened with the notation that he was an indispensable man for whom rules and political principles were flexible and could be broken with impunity. That’s a lesson that all politicians should heed.
As such, Gruber’s film stands as a timely reminder of a style of leadership that is—regardless of one’s ideological leanings—exactly what all democracies need in turbulent times.
Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS—Jewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.
And:
Dermer and my cousin, who now lives in Israel, were the best of friends growing up in Miami Beach and Hollywood, Florida. Ron has been an advocate of Sam for years.
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Since I have been away 6 days I am inundated so I will make a few comments and post a limited number of articles:
I am more than half way through Jason Riley's, Biography of Thomas Sowell, entitled: "Maverick." I will do a very brief review at a later date but for anyone who is a "Sowellian" this is a must read.
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This link is to an article suggesting for Jews the honeymoon with Democrats may be over. I am not so sure but it would be refreshing if Jews could come to their senses:
https://www.algemeiner.com/
Meanwhile the long marriage of Bibbi and Israel may well be over. Time will tell. He was a great prime minister and the nation flourished under his tenure, both economically and diplomatically.
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What has happened to America since the "60's?
a)The mass media no longer engages in factual reporting and thus, are no longer trusted.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/
c) The Democrat Party has turned anti-Semitic and no long cares if their members collude with Chinese agents, and vocally express their hatred of our nation.
d) Democrats believe illegal immigrants should be entitled to many benefits even American Citizens have difficulty in receiving and are willing to allow our borders to be penetrated .
It would be nice to see this in newspapers and TV.Hungary's New Border Fence called a 'Spectacular Success'.."Skeptics who believe a border wall will not stop illegals from entering the United States may want to look at what's happening in HungaryOn the day its border fence was completed, the influx of illegals entering Hungary went down from 6,353 per day to 870 the next. For the remainder of that month, illegal border crossings were steadily below 40 per day, officials said."They don't even try," a local border guard told The Daily Caller News Foundation. "We haven't had a single Muslim migrant in six months."Prime Minister Viktor Orban's pledge to stop illegals from flowing into the country appears to be a spectacular success.Hungary's 96-mile long, 14-foot tall double-line fence includes several layers of razor-wire capable of delivering electric shocks. The barrier features cameras, heat sensors and loudspeakers ready to tell migrants they're about to break Hungarian law if they as much as touch the fence, the DC report said.Nearly every police officer in Hungary is part of a rotation to monitor the border fence at all times. Temporary military bases house the police while they do their rotation.Additionally, Hungary will train and pay more than 1,000 volunteers to deploy as "border hunters".Illegals who are caught are arrested and dropped off on the Serbian side of the fence. They don't get a chance to apply for asylum unless they do so at a "transit zone" where they are held in housing containers while their cases get processed, the report said.In September 2016, thousands of migrants streamed across the border every day as they made their way north to Austria, Germany and Scandinavia."It was an invasion," Laszlo Toroczkai, the mayor of Asotthalom, told the Daily Caller. "Illegal immigration is a crime in a normal country. It's not a normal thing to break into a country.""By mid-year it was well beyond 100,000 people who came across," said Zoltan Kovacs, a spokesman for the Hungarian government. "You should at least have the ability to handle what's going on."Kovacs added: "You might not like it, it's not a nice thing, but ... the only way to stop illegal border crossings is [to] first build a fence, man it, equip it, and also, in parallel, build up your capabilities in terms of legal confines, legal circumstances to be able to handle what is coming."It's no surprise the mainstream U.S. media refuses to report this story to the American public. Can you imagine how support for a Southern border wall would spike?DEAR READERS:Facebook has greatly reduced the distribution of this story in readers' news feeds and is instead promoting mainstream media sources. When you share to your friends, however, you greatly help distribute this content. Please take a moment and consider sharing this article with your friends.Take several moments and consider exiting Facebook.
e) Faculties of colleges and universities, as well as administrators, have lowered entry standards, have abandoned holding their students to higher academic standards and grades in order to claim they are more diversified. (Read Allan Bloom"s: "The Closing Of The American Mind," 1987.)
f) We have reverted back to issues that surfaced in the '60's when black radicals were patronized, ie. reparation nonsense has surfaced again as has the spread of affirmative action demands.
Tom Sowell is a brilliant empiricist and has proven diversified black employment increased before Civil Rights' Legislation and black IQ disparity scores narrowed before Civil Right's legislation. He argues blacks must embrace aspects of the white culture to accomplish assimilation in order to benefit from upward mobility America offers all. citizens.
g) Patriotism is waning and Black Lives Matter and similar such radical organizations are being allowed to spread messages of hatred and engage in acts fostering racial division.
h) We have allowed China to excel while we have fallen behind in education and particularly in math, science and engineering.
i) In order to have more consumer goods at lower cost we allowed American product manufacturing to relocate creating a negative impact on middle class employment ,wages. and family stability, the bedrock on which our society rests.
j) Law enforcement has been under attack as have those who protect and defend our citizens, ie. the police
A peer-reviewed psychoanalytic journal publishes a grotesque anti-White screed-----------Wil
"Critical Race Theory" nonsense has been resurrected to propagate hatred toward the white culture:
In Israel a new political era has begun. Can it continue is the question all are asking in view of the razor thin and heavily diverse knitting together of disparate segments of the political structure?
https://www.
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Caroline Glick comments on the unravelling in Israel:: https://www.jns.org/opinion/th
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"Nevertheless, more good news from Israel:
Best regards
Michael"
-
In the 13th Jun 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
- Israel has now had several days with no new coronavirus cases.
- An Israeli eye-scanning device performs blood tests without blood.
- Israel was overwhelmingly voted onto the UN Economic and Social Council.
- Israelis use bacteria to keep crops fresh - in the ground and on the shelf.
- 2021 investment in Israeli startups has already exceeded the total for all of 2020.
- Divers can explore Israel’s new unique underwater nature park.
- Evidence that the land of Israel was an ancient trade center.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
No new Covid infections. Last
Shabbat (5th June) Israel registered zero new local COVID-19 infections for the
first time in more than a year. There are now only some 200 coronavirus
infected patients in the whole country and inoculation of children aged 12-15
has begun. On 15 Jun, Israelis can stop wearing facemasks indoors.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/06/06/israel-records-zero-new-local-covid-19-cases-for-first-time-in-more-than-a-year/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/kids-line-up-for-covid-shots-saying-they-want-to-protect-family-go-on-vacation/
Healthcare appreciation ceremony. (TY Sharon &
ILTV) Israel has honored its health system personnel and partner agencies for
their work in defeating Covid-19 in Israel. Speakers at the Jerusalem
Theater event included Israel’s Prime Minister, Health Minister, Austria’s
Prime Minister and the CEO of Pfizer.
https://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=37&ARTICLE_ID=144873
https://www.jns.org/israel-honors-health-care-workers-in-battle-against-covid-19/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unIOgfwH830
Cancer patients benefit from Covid vaccine. Doctors at Israel’s
Beilinson Hospital monitored 102 cancer patients after inoculation with two
shots of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. Only 10 failed to generate an antibody
response. It should calm the fears of patients who have been self-isolating
even after vaccination.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/covid-vaccine-effective-for-90-of-cancer-patients-israeli-study-finds/
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2780584
Using good viruses to kill bad bacteria. For 6 years Tel Aviv
University scientists have studied how certain viruses (bacteriophages) take
control of dangerous antibiotic resistant bacteria (see here). They
found that a virus protein uses a DNA-repair protein in the bacteria to
"cunningly" cut the bacteria's DNA during repairs.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/tau-scientists-discover-process-to-get-good-viruses-to-destroy-bad-bacteria/2021/06/06/ https://www.pnas.org/content/118/23/e2026354118
Eye scan to replace blood tests. Doctors
at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center have developed a blood test without removing
any blood. A handheld device scans the blood vessels in the eye - ideal for
those who dislike needles, and no laboratory involvement is necessary. It will
be tested in zero-gravity by Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/invented-in-israel-no-needle-blood-test-will-blast-off-for-testing-in-space/
https://unitedwithisrael.org/new-israeli-prickless-blood-test-heading-to-space/
Saving the sight of AMD patients at home. The ForeseeHome
ophthalmic home diagnostic service from Israel’s Notal Vision (see here previously)
detects when dry AMD turns to wet AMD and can be treated. It is Medicare
accredited and Notal Vision has just raised $60 million to monitor other
retinal diseases.
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2021/06/07/israels-notal-vision-raises-60-million-for-its-ophthalmic-home-monitoring-services/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP7DnYDNbco https://www.foreseehome.com/
Cancer diagnostic tech is a breakthrough. Having just received
European CE mark certification for its Galen AI cancer diagnostic software
(see here), Israel’s
Ibex Medical has now been awarded “Breakthrough” designation by the US FDA.
This will help fast-track clinical review and regulatory approval of its
technology.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-tech-to-help-pathologists-detect-cancer-gets-fda-breakthrough-nod/
PillCam and the UK NHS. A couple of weeks ago I publicized Technion
UK’s online event featuring the Israeli-invented PillCam colon imaging capsule.
11,000 UK National Health Service patients are to be studied using the
capsules. Here is a recording of that event for those interested but who
missed the live presentation.
https://technionuk.org/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqN24JJeltk
We can fix you. (TY Nevet) Social
worker Tali used to support staff at Hadassah’s Jerusalem Medical Center. Now
her colleagues administer Hadassah’s CAR-T therapy (in Phase 1 trials see here) to
hopefully cure Tali’s multiple myeloma. Hadassah hopes to develop cellular
therapy for any type of cancer – affordable to everyone.
https://www.hadassah.org/story/hadassah-develops-its-own-car-t-therapy-to-treat-multiple-myeloma
More swords become plowshares. During the coronavirus pandemic, Israel
Aerospace Industries (IAI) used their missile factory to produce ventilators
(see here). Now IAI
subsidiary Elta and Soroka hospital are setting up an innovation center where
doctors and defense engineers can jointly develop medical tech solutions.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/from-swords-to-scalpels-iai-soroka-hospital-to-use-army-tech-for-medical-edge/
Bystanders can save lives. (TY UWI) The
award-winning SALI video medical system from Israel’s Inovytec (see here previously)
enables the public to perform non-invasive airway management, automated oxygen
therapy, vitals monitoring, and defibrillation. SALI has been implemented in
Germany, Romania and Israel.
https://www.israel21c.org/automated-first-aid-system-wins-smart-cities-connect-award/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbKqQzjJRWY https://www.inovytec.com/sali/
Now everyone can express themselves. Back in Dec 2020, Israel’s
Voiceitt (see here) announced that its real time automatic
speech recognition app will allow people with speech impairments to access and
interact with Amazon’s Alexa. Now anyone can download the Voiceitt app for free
from Apple’s App Store.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3909558,00.html
35-second response time. When United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Ron
Cohen was called to a choking baby, he rushed from his apartment, jumped onto
his ambucycle, drove down his street and ran up 4 floors. 35-seconds after
receiving the call he expelled the blockage in the infant’s throat, and she was
able to breathe again.
https://israelrescue.org/blog/emt-arrives-in-35-seconds-to-save-a-neighbours-choking-baby/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Stereotype-breaking photo exhibit. Passengers travelling through
Ben Gurion airport will see a new exhibit of 34 photos representing the
different shades of Israeli society. They depict religious, secular,
ultra-Orthodox and Arab Israelis, outside of the stereotypical way in which
they are often portrayed in the media.
https://www.israel21c.org/34-stereotype-breaking-photos-of-israelis-inspire-unity/
Biotipac wins Women of AgriFood Nation 2021. Ifat Hammer, CEO of
Israel’s Biotipac (see below) won the Women of AgriFood Nation competition
designed to increase exposure to women-led technological ventures in AgriFood.
Hammer receives a $200,000 investment from Israel’s COPIA Agriculture and Food
Technologies.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3909561,00.html
The Arab dentist who builds bridges. Muslim Arab Khalil Bakly has a
dental practice in Netanya and Nof Hagalil. His local organization Habustan
(the Orchard) brings together Nof Hagalil’s Arabs and Jews. They have just
initiated a social media campaign called “Arabs and Jews in Nof Hagalil against
violence”.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-arab-dentist-drilling-coexistence-into-his-hometown/
Toys for Arabs and Jews. The Toy Movement of Canada and Israel’s
Peres Center for Peace and Innovation (based in Jaffa) have been distributing
toys to Arab and Jewish children at four nursery schools in Jaffa.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/307698
The benefits of peace with Israel. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al
Nahyan - Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for the
United Arab Emirates – made the case for peace between Arabs and Israelis plain
and simple. He stated that, ironically, the coronavirus pandemic accelerated
the peace process.
https://www.jns.org/uae-leader-to-ajc-forum-abraham-accords-show-benefits-of-peace-with-israel/
Israel joins UN’s ECOSOC. (TY
TPS & UWI) For the first time, over two thirds of UN members voted Israel
onto the United Nations Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC). Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan
said it was a “… recognition of our innovation and creativity, which serves to
benefit all nations of the world …”
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-elected-to-uns-prestigious-economic-and-social-council/
Israel hosts OECD security forum. (TY Sharon)
Israel’s National Cyber Directorate hosted the 2021 Global Forum on Digital
Security for Prosperity, an online conference of the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD). The 3-day virtual event began on June 7
with some 40 speakers from 60 countries.
https://www.baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=1&ARTICLE_ID=144953
https://nocamels.com/2021/06/israel-oecd-global-forum-digital-security/
First country to ban sale of fur. (TY Nevet /
Arthur) In Oct (as reported here), Israel
announced it would ban the sale of fur to the fashion industry – the first country
in the world to do so. Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel
has now formally signed the amendment into law, and it goes into effect in six
months.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israel-bans-the-fur-trade-to-fashion-industry-first-country-to-do-so-670538
https://www.peta.org/blog/israel-bans-fur/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Emerging Explorer. The National Geographic Society has named Haifa
University marine conservationist Aviad Scheinin one of 2021’s 15 “Emerging
Explorers”. These are individuals who are changing the world “one idea at a
time.” He joins the ranks of dedicated scientists that included Jacques
Cousteau.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-researcher-named-national-geographic-society-emerging-explorer/
Tel Aviv skyscraper wins international design award. The
Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat chose Tel Aviv’s ToHa
skyscraper as the overall winner in the office building category of its 18th
annual awards program. The 2019 28-story tower by Israeli architect Ron Arad is
shaped like an iceberg.
https://www.israel21c.org/tel-aviv-skyscraper-wins-international-design-award/
https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/toha-tower-1/27420 https://tallinnovation.com/2021-winner/
To boldly go (and return). (TY UWI and
I24 News) Here is an interview featuring Jonathan Geiffman – co-founder and CEO
of Israel’s Helios (see here previously)
explaining his company’s process for extracting oxygen from the surface of the
Moon and Mars. Space exploration could be dependent on this technology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2t0KcujYqQ
Watch your crops from space. Israel’s PlanetWatchers analyses the
condition of crops using AI and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) from satellites’
microwave radiation. The information is useful to farmers, financers and
insurance companies. Reports can be produced quickly, remotely, and in any
weather conditions.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/crop-monitoring-startup-planetwatchers-raises-3-5-million-from-investors/
https://www.planetwatchers.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goj3fP1JCnk
Keeping it naturally fresh. Israel’s
Biotipac has developed technology to keep agricultural produce fresh in the
field, on the shelf and in food products. It prevents spoilage by encouraging
beneficial bacteria while eliminating pathogens. It means less fungicides,
longer shelf life, reduced packaging and less food wastage.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3909561,00.html https://www.biotipac.com/the-product
Real milk, no cows. Israel’s Imagindairy (see here previously)
uses proprietary precision fermentation to produce nature-identical,
animal-free versions of whey and casein proteins for the dairy products
industry. The startup, founded by Tel Aviv University researchers, has raised
$1.5 million in seed funding.
https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/israeli-precision-fermentation-startup-imagindairy-milking-new-technology-to-leave-cows-out/ https://imagindairy.com/
A cellular network for emergencies. Israel Aerospace Industries and
Israeli-founded Carbyne have jointly developed a new emergency communications
network. 911 Ultra-EN is an instant alternative private cloud-based cellular
network to reconnect users in disaster zones with emergency services.
https://www.jns.org/israel-aerospace-industries-and-carbyne-unveil-cellular-network-for-emergencies/
https://www.iai.co.il/iai-and-carbyne-introduce-911-ultra-en
No more passwords. Israel’s Transmit Security has developed BindID
which uses biometric sensors built into every new smartphone to log you in
securely and seamlessly. No more complex combinations of numbers, letters and
symbols to memorize. All you need is a fingerprint or a scan of your
face.
https://www.israel21c.org/say-goodbye-to-annoying-passwords-with-bindid/ https://www.transmitsecurity.com/
O for the wings of a dove. Researchers at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem and in Oregan USA have discovered that birds are able to fly because
they genetically lack the molecule ephrin-B3. The molecule allows mammals and
reptiles to walk with a stepping motion but unable to flap wings (if they had
them) and fly.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.29.428748v3
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
More investment than all of
2020. Anti-BDS news - investment in Israeli startups so
far in 2021 has beaten the total for the whole of last year. Investment up to
8th Jun totaled $10.5 billion compared to $10 billion for all of 2020 (also a
great year). It includes 30 investment rounds of over $100 million (only 21 in
all of 2020).
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-tech-raises-whopping-10-5-billion-this-year-topping-2020-record-total/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3909578,00.html
20 projects for US-Israel joint funding. The US-Israel Bi-national
Agricultural Research and Development (BARD) Fund (see here previously)
is investing $6.7 million in 20 joint US-Israel projects. They focus on
irrigation, harvesting, disease control, plant nutrition, production
efficiency, food & water quality and safety.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-israel-agriculture-fund-chooses-20-joint-projects-for-6-7-million-investment/
A sustainable future. Having established ICL Innovation in 2012,
Israel’s ICL (see here previously)
has now launched ICL Planet Startup Hub. It says its mission is to propel
food-tech and ag-tech startups to the marketplace. It seeks to empower
pilot-ready startups to work with ICL and implement their technologies.
https://www.icl-group.com/innovation/planet-startup-hub/ https://www.icl-group.com/our-mission/
CyberArk’s new Beersheva R&D center. Israeli cybersecurity
giant CyberArk has inaugurated its new R&D center at the Gav-Yam Negev Tech
Park in Beersheva. It will be close to Israel’s Cyber Directorate’s CERT
center, IDF’s C4I unit, Ben Gurion University and more than 70 development
centers and startups.
https://www.jns.org/cyberark-inaugurates-a-new-rd-center-in-beersheva/
UK buys Israeli night vision goggles. Israel’s Elbit Systems UK has
won an £11.5 million ($16 million) contract from the UK Ministry of Defence to
provide the UK Armed Forces with XACT Night Vision Goggles (NVG). Elbit’s XACT
systems are used in several NATO countries, including Germany and the
Netherlands.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-elbit-systems-wins-night-vision-system-contract-in-uk-1001373680
On-line retail with a difference. Israel’s Avo supplies products to
New Yorkers and Tel Avivians. It has contracts with large companies and owners
of large buildings. When employees or tenants order products, Avo consolidates
the orders and delivers them to the company or building location, with no
shipping fees.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3909330,00.html
https://www.avonow.com/companies https://www.avo.co.il/companies
Face-painting failure inspires fintech success. Great article about
Israel’s Adam Kima who founded PayMe after his previous business crashed due to
the lack of payment facilities. Now PayMe’s platform provides own-branded
fintech services to companies of all sizes. It is now expanding its services to
European clients.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3909250,00.html
Traveltech prepares for tourist boom. Israel’s TripActions
(see here previously)
is preparing for the return of global tourism by expanding its Israeli R&D
center to employ 200 developers. As soon as coronavirus vaccines were
available, TripActions received a massive investment of funds and launched new
travel products.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3909487,00.html
$120 million VC fund for Israeli tech. Israel’s Sweetwood Ventures
has launched its second venture capital Fund-of-Funds, targeting $120 million in
investments in leading early and growth-stage Israeli technology companies. The
fund “aims to provide investors with access to the most promising Israeli
technology startups”.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3909498,00.html
Israel’s latest Unicorn. Israel’s Verbit (see here previously)
has just raised $157 million, giving it a valuation of more than $1 billion and
the financial status of a “Unicorn”. Verbit’s transcription and captioning
services are used by more than 1,500 customers including CNBC, CNN, FOX,
Harvard and Stanford Universities.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/transcription-firm-verbit-raises-157-million-becomes-israels-newest-unicorn/
Monday has a very good day. Israeli project management firm monday.com (see here previously)
completed its Nasdaq IPO, raising $574 million at a valuation of some 7 billion
- one of Israel’s largest tech listings. With offices in 8 major global
cities, monday.com reports
having 120,000 customers in more than 190 countries.
https://nocamels.com/2021/06/largest-listings-monday-com-ipo-6-8b-valuation/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/monday-com-raises-155-million-in-nasdaq-ipo-at-6-8-billion-valuation/
Investment in Israeli startups: Monday.com raised $574 million; Verbit raised $157 million; Notal Vision raised $60 million; TailorMed raised $20 million; Stoke raised $15.5 million; Monogoto raised $11 million; PlanetWatchers raised $3.5 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
Crime novel is a love poem to Tel Aviv. Michael Fertik’s latest
book, HIP SET, is a page-turning crime mystery based in Tel Aviv that
introduces the reader to some of Israel’s cultural diversity.
https://worldisraelnews.com/hip-set-gripping-crime-novel-is-a-love-poem-to-tel-aviv/
Israel opens first underwater
National Park. Israel’s first marine national park off
the coast of Caesarea, is now open to snorkelers and scuba divers. The waters
of the park hold ancient Roman ruins including vessels, and coin treasures.
Aquatic tourists can also explore many species of fish, stingrays, octopuses
and corals.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-opens-first-underwater-national-park-amidst-ancient-roman-ruins/
Rihanna has another baby. 11-year-old white rhino Rihanna gave
birth to her third calf (see here previously)
at Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv. It is the 33rd rhino to be born at the
safari – the world’s leading rhino breeder. After a poll, the baby was named
“Ruvi” – the nickname of outgoing Israeli President Reuben Rivlin.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/307566
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxOzVHaEZeA
THE JEWISH STATE
Hatikva wows judges – in Uruguay. Lucia Abealar advanced to the
next round of “Got Talent Uruguay” after impressing all four judges with her
performance of Hatikva - Israel’s national anthem. Lucia translated the lyrics
and one of the judges said, “‘To be a free nation in our land’ - That is
something that touches each of us.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/singer-belts-out-hatikva-at-got-talent-uruguay-audition/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSujeWQ_WfQ
Jerusalem in transition. (TY Sharon) The
buildings and streets of Jerusalem are in a state of flux. Reasons include
preparing for a new President, the Israel Festival, summer activities for children,
building a new business park, wedding ceremonies, preparing for tourists and
pomegranates forming on trees along the streets.
http://rjstreets.com/2021/06/06/jerusalem-a-week-of-transitions/
Christian “birthright” tours to resume. American NGO Passages has
restarted its tours that connect Christian students with modern State of
Israel. The program plans to bring 1,000-plus American students to Israel by
the end of 2021, and 3,000 by the summer of 2022. Since 2016 Passages has
brought 8,000 US students to Israel.
https://www.jns.org/christian-birthright-tours-to-israel-resume-with-plans-to-bring-3000-students-by-2022/
Which came first? An intact chicken egg dating back 1,000 years has
been discovered by Israeli archaeologists at a site in Yavne. Whole chicken
eggs are rare and this one was cracked during its extraction. Experts say
poultry farming was introduced in Israel 2,300 years ago, during the
Hellenistic and Early Roman periods.
https://www.jns.org/intact-1000-year-old-chicken-egg-unearthed-in-central-israel/
The oldest legal instruments. Archeological
finds at Tel Tsaf in Israel’s Beit She’an Valley included 150 clay seal
impressions (bulla). Analysis of the bulla and other items at the site provided
unique evidence of long-distance trade in the Southern Levant over 7,000 years
ago - predating the development of written language.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/307823
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Why cultural elites turned on JD Vance, working-class author of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’
“The whole culture of the media has shifted from, ‘Let’s try to understand the other half of the country,’ to ‘Let’s just beat up on the other half of the country.’ ”
Click here for the full story
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