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One begets the other. They are linked
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Jew Hatred Is Not the Problem at Penn (or Other Universities). Radicalism Is.
Understanding the true problem is the only way to land on an effective solution
Late last year Pennsylvania’s Gov. Josh Shapiro interjected himself forcefully into the uproar over former University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill’s congressional testimony (in which she failed to say that calling for “the genocide of Jews” would necessarily violate the school’s code of conduct) and the events on the Penn campus that would soon culminate in her resignation. The governor came out strongly against antisemitism in all its forms—never bad in itself. But Shapiro’s widely reported speech on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, at Philadelphia’s Rodeph Shalom synagogue, in which he proclaimed, “hate has no place here,” misnamed the chief problem that had plagued Penn and a number of other universities this past fall. That problem was not the expression of group hatred toward Jews, of which only a handful of examples have existed on most American campuses for many years now, but rather the radical politicization of higher education to the detriment of the free expression of ideas, which constitutes the lifeblood of any college. Threatening in this way to undermine the very idea of a university, political extremism may also predictably endanger the safety and well-being of individuals—Jews among them—who live, study, or work at one.
In the flood of commentary that followed President Magill’s ouster, right-leaning columnists justly pilloried elite institutions like Penn for their hypocrisy in scrupulously defending the legal principles of free speech on campus concerning criticism of Israel while ignoring years of restrictions on faculty and outside speakers whose views challenged “social justice” norms on race, gender, religion, and other topics. Meanwhile, left-leaning columnists properly warned of dangers to academic freedom if wealthy donors, politicians, or other self-interested parties can bypass normal university procedures to influence educational content—in this case, in the name of opposition to antisemitism. Neither side in this clash has been keen to acknowledge its own contributions toward undermining academic freedom and diversity of thought at universities, turning the conversation into yet another skirmish in the “culture wars.” A focus on what has provided the stimulus for so many recent campus controversies, the perception of speech and actions that are considered hateful, may offer some clarity toward useful university reforms and an assessment of the current moment’s dangers for Jews.
Incidents of reported antisemitism at Penn this past fall received a boost from two singular events—a high-profile conference showcasing Palestinian literature and political activism, which took place on the campus in late September, and the savage assault by Hamas on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, precipitating the ongoing war between Israel and the terrorist organization in Gaza. As a result, the record of these incidents (detailed in the next three paragraphs), while at first glance startling in number, on further examination of what’s known about their circumstances suggests somewhat less cause for alarm. Overall, this record comports with the general findings of the Anti-Defamation League for two recent years, which downplay the significance of universities as settings for antisemitic attacks. For both calendar years 2021 and 2022, the ADL found that just under 6% of the total number of antisemitic incidents occurring throughout the United States (which rose to its highest number on record in 2022 at 3,697 incidents; no doubt that number will be far higher for 2023) took place on college campuses. And most of the recent ones at Penn, as we will see, are best classified as political in nature.
In terms of its content, despite the presence of occasional generic symbols of antisemitism, this record of attacks on Jewish targets is best described as an extremist outgrowth of political radicalism stemming from the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The record for Penn this past fall is as follows: On Sept. 13 students discovered a swastika painted on an inside surface of Penn’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design, with no apparent leads turning up as to the identity of the perpetrator or the significance of the precise target. On Sept. 21 Penn’s Division of Public Safety apprehended a man for entering the campus’s Hillel building, overturning some furniture, and shouting, “F—k the Jews. They killed JC.” The man, who the Penn police said was “experiencing a crisis,” had been spotted earlier overturning trash cans on a nearby city street. His relationship to the Penn community has never been clarified. (The Washington Free Beacon, citing an unnamed Hillel spokesperson, reports that the intruder was a Penn student, but all other sources refer only to “an individual.”) As part of the three-day “Palestine Writes” conference, held on the campus Sept. 22-24, speakers excoriated Israel from multiple angles, including as a nation of “settlers from Europe” who became “occupants of our country.”
On Sept. 27 the display of a foliage-covered booth for the Jewish holiday Sukkot, erected by Penn’s Chabad organization, was desecrated with unreadable graffiti, but Penn’s police did not consider the incident antisemitic. On Oct. 16 a pro-Palestinian demonstrator, not affiliated with Penn, told students in a pro-Israel counterdemonstration that they should “leave us in peace or go back to Moscow or Brooklyn.” He later pushed a bystander and ripped down pictures of Israelis held hostage by Hamas, for which he was apprehended by Penn’s police. Two days later a Penn library staffer also tore down pictures of the people assaulted and taken captive by Hamas. When confronted by a Jewish student over what he was doing, words were exchanged and the staffer swore at the student. On Oct. 20 students at the off-campus Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi found the phrase, “The Jews R Nazis,” written on the door of an adjoining empty building (owned by a Jewish landlord). There are no leads as to the perpetrator(s).
On Oct. 28 an Israeli flag was ripped down and taken from an off-campus residence hall for Orthodox Jewish students. The perpetrator was found to be a Penn student involved in the campus’s anti-Israel group Penn Against the Occupation. On the night of Nov. 8 Penn Against the Occupation projected pro-Palestinian slogans, including “Let Gaza live,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” “Zionism is racism,” and “Penn funds Palestinian genocide,” onto the faces of a number of campus buildings, messages which President Magill denounced the next day as “vile” and “antisemitic,” promising a full investigation by the Penn police. Throughout this period (with dates unspecified), according to Penn Hillel’s rabbi, “a small number of Penn staff members” received hateful, antisemitic messages and violent threats that targeted the recipients’ personal identities. And on Dec. 3 in a citywide protest, some 500 pro-Palestinian demonstrators ended a march by spray-painting graffiti on several Penn properties and stores that line the campus.
Even a single one of these reprehensible incidents is one too many. But overall, how should we understand this record? Among these roughly 10 incidents (leaving aside the “Palestine Writes” conference), two of the perpetrators were identified as Penn students (or a student group), a third as a Penn employee, and a fourth as holding an unspecified relationship to the campus community. A fifth perpetrator was an off-campus community radical. The perpetrators of four more of these incidents remain unknown, and one incident may not have been antisemitic at all.
In terms of its content, despite the presence of occasional generic symbols of antisemitism, this record of attacks on Jewish targets is best described as an extremist outgrowth of political radicalism stemming from the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The political character of most of these attacks is underscored by the fact that the Jewish population at Penn, by no means weak at 16% of the undergraduate student body, sponsored a variety of its own public, political stands, most supportive but some critical of Israel, during this same period. None of this interpretation goes to minimize the potential for violence against Jews embodied in the anti-Israeli radicalism at Penn. Rather, it serves to name the threat in a manner that connects it to the dominance at so many American colleges today of radical left-wing ideology on behalf of causes said to represent such “oppressed groups” as African Americans, other people of color, and a variety of sexual minorities. At Penn, as at other college campuses, Palestinians, not Israelis or Jews, are considered an oppressed group.
For universities, the fact that these incidents derive more from radical political sentiments than from traditional Jew-hatred points the way toward how these institutions should handle the problem. It is lucky that ethnic hatred per se does not lie at the root of today’s campus woes, because colleges are not—or should not be—in the business of inculcating moral values or teaching civics. Those responsibilities are best left to families, lower-level schooling, religious bodies, and voluntary organizations. Universities exist for the purpose of furthering higher education and fostering the pursuit of truth through advanced research, both of which goals demand wide open forums for the presentation and discussion of ideas. At the same time, universities must proceed with internal rules that enable their mission to go forward and not be impeded by illiberal elements (whether arising from among faculty, students, administrators, or outside parties) who would disrupt their educational and research functions.
For many years now, universities have been doing exactly the opposite of what is required to support these goals. They have restricted the free flow of ideas by “canceling” presentations they think might offend an “oppressed group,” while allowing protesters presumed to represent “oppressed groups” to take over campus buildings, block pathways, or interfere with quiet learning environments. Examples abound, from left-wing students at Middlebury College in 2017 shouting down sociologist Charles Murray’s guest lecture on cultural and genetic differences among social groups, to Penn’s own ongoing disciplinary investigation of law professor Amy Wax for, among other things, inviting a white supremacist to make a presentation to one of her classes. If anyone believes that radicals on the political right might not act similarly to restrict the speech they dislike, were they to be in control of these same universities, one need only glance at the attempt to institute more conservative tenets of orthodoxy in the teaching of American history at colleges in Florida.
As it happens, the threat to university life posed by political radicalism can best be mitigated by colleges adhering to these twin principles of encouraging wide-open speech—excluding foul language or any true threat of violence or intimidation directed at an individual or group (which would include, for example, any “call for the genocide of Jews”)—and placing strict physical limits on campus protests. There is no reason why, for example, the claim that Israel has committed “genocide” against the Palestinian people, or even that the nation of Israel should not exist as a refuge for Jewish people, abhorrent as these ideas are to me and many others, should be ruled out of order at a university. The best way to discredit such radical misconceptions and convictions is precisely by airing them to reasoned criticism and debate, including by experts in related fields of study, through lectures, classes, teach-ins, and written work. That’s what universities are for. The problem with the “Palestine Writes” conference was not that it was allowed to take place but rather that the faculty who set it up made no effort to seek balance or diversity in the perspectives and expertise that were represented on its panels. Meanwhile, plenty of college rules and criminal laws already exist for prosecuting anyone committing acts of disruption, vandalism, harassment, or personal assault on a college campus. They need to be enforced.
In responding to the recent increase in reported incidents of antisemitism, universities should resist the temptation simply to add “antisemitism awareness” to the list of topics already covered in the mandatory DEI (“diversity, equity, inclusion”) orientation sessions that have become commonplace on campuses. There is little evidence that such efforts at overt moralizing accomplish their stated aims, while they more reliably inhibit the expression of unpopular views. Given that the greatest threat to the universities today stems from political radicalism, a far more effective counter to the ugly manifestations of campus protests lies in demonstrating the shallowness and dangers of the radicals’ ideas and rhetoric.
Political radicalism on campus can best be mitigated by colleges adhering to twin principles: encouraging wide-open speech and placing strict physical limits on campus protests.
For Jews, the fact that recent campus actions perceived as antisemitic proceed from left-wing political beliefs as opposed to ages-old myths about the Jewish people, or, for that matter, as opposed to newer, right-wing political ideas like the “great replacement” theory, which holds Jews responsible for encouraging illegal immigrants to come to the United States, may offer little comfort. After all, acts of vandalism, shoving and swearing at individuals, or leaving anonymous, threatening messages are frightening and intimidating regardless of their perpetrators’ motives. Radical beliefs, which so often arise from misplaced anger and poorly understood historical relationships, also have a way of migrating from one side of the political spectrum to the other. Marx, for example, contributed an early, derisive text on Jewish commercialism (On the Jewish Question) that figured in the later evolution of European fascist thought. Additionally, at any point along the way a mentally ill individual might act on these radical ideas to produce terrible violence, or mob psychology might take hold of a portion of a radically engaged crowd, resulting in similar consequences. The latter development never happened at Penn this fall, but it almost did at New York City’s Cooper Union College, where pro-Palestinian demonstrators banged on the glass windows of the campus library, frightening some of the Jewish students inside, as a security guard kept the door closed.
Moreover, in the current era of collegiate-based pro-Palestinian radicalism, which appears to have arrived at Penn as early as 2015 with the rise of groups pushing the goals of the “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” campaign, there really is an element of hatred involved. This is the hatred of Israel. One has only to witness the fury expressed by so many of the speakers at pro-Palestinian campus rallies to recognize that for most of the leaders, if not the followers, at these rallies, Israel is perceived as an illegitimate nation, whose majority Jewish population is living on stolen land that rightfully belongs to Palestinian refugees. This anger toward Israel not infrequently spills over into attacks on Jews who have no immediate connection to Israel. “[B]ecause you have never known the sanctuary of a home,” one presenter at Penn’s “Palestine Writes” conference put it, “… it’s no wonder you want our land for your own.” Who is the “you” in this sentence if not worldwide Jewry? And how else to explain the Penn rally speaker’s retort, noted above, to American Jews in the crowd to “go back to Moscow or Brooklyn,” or the target of one of the threatening messages, also noted above, in this instance conveying a bomb threat aimed at the Lauder College House, Penn’s newest, large dormitory, which was named for its biggest donors, Jewish family members of the Estée Lauder estate? One cannot read the 84-page civil complaint, filed in December by two Jewish students at Penn, alleging that Penn has allowed a hostile environment for its Jewish students to be created on its campus, without acknowledging the genuine sense of fear that evidently gripped many of these students (over 200 placed their names on one petition), as they watched and heard boisterous displays of anti-Israel sentiment and received occasional antisemitic slurs week after week throughout the fall.
And yet, it would be a mistake to think the recent events at Penn and other American college campuses signify a true resurgence of virulent antisemitism akin to the widespread abuse Jews suffered during the 1930s in the United States, let alone in the cities of Europe. A number of factors serve to limit the current wave of anti-Jewish sentiment, but perhaps the main one is that the hostility at present really is focused on Israel, not on Jewish people as such. (See Eitan Hersh’s valuable observations about this distinction, as revealed in attitudes held by far left-wing as opposed to far right-wing college students.)
It is probably not an accident that the lead student plaintiff in the civil lawsuit against Penn is a dual Israeli American citizen, for he has reason to feel particularly vulnerable to attack under these circumstances. And while this young man succeeded in obtaining the signatures of roughly 200 Penn students on a petition to prod the university to curtail pro-Palestinian activism, that number is still a relatively small fraction (about 12%) of Penn’s overall Jewish student population. It is likely that a majority of Jews at Penn did not feel personally threatened by the events of last fall. (Two post-Oct. 7 surveys that purport to show widespread fear and anxiety among Jewish college students have drawn their respondents from those students with particularly strong attachments to Israel, in one case from a pool of young adult Jews who had applied to Birthright Israel, in the other case from students who appear to have been selected with the help of Hillel campus organizations. A more relevant recent survey, one specifically designed not to exclude students with more minimal Jewish identities, found that roughly one-third of all Jewish students expressed anxieties about being visibly Jewish on campus, about the same proportion who said they had been personally targeted by antisemitic comments, slurs, or threats. That proportion rose to somewhat less than two-thirds when respondents were asked if they believed Jewish students “pay a social penalty” for supporting Israel as a Jewish state.)
Indeed, some of Penn’s Jewish students conspicuously joined in many of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations, either in formal groups or as individuals. One Jewish student group found itself in a confrontation with the university administration, when it insisted on going ahead with showing a documentary film critical of Israel’s West Bank policies despite the university’s decision to delay the showing until passions on the campus had cooled. We should not be surprised by this split among Penn’s Jewish students, because American Jews under the age of 40 hold considerably more critical opinions about Israel’s general policies toward Palestinians than do those older than 40.
The demographic characteristics of the campus protesters, so far as can be determined by second-hand observation, also fit with the demonstrators’ focus on Israel. Palestinian Americans appear to have dominated the protests at Penn, both as the leading speakers at rallies and in the makeup of the supporting crowds. Some are even Palestinians attending American colleges as foreign students—the Penn student who ripped down the Israeli flag from above the Orthodox Jewish student residence hall appears to belong to this category. Many are likely to be in contact with relatives and friends living in the West Bank or Gaza.
To some extent, the radicalism of these ethnic Americans, focused on harsh legacies from “the old country” and fueled by the desire for upward mobility in the face of perceived prejudices in their new country, resembles past waves of second-generation immigrant radicalism (among, for example, Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Mexican Americans) common throughout our country’s history. Knowing this history, however, doesn’t make anger-driven radical actions any the less worrisome for institutions, such as universities, that require openness and reasonability to operate, or for individuals, who may easily be demonized as “enemies of the people.”
Radical movements tend to suffer from an unwillingness to look inward and to recognize the failings of their own group’s past leadership, choosing instead to place all blame on their historical antagonists and the latter’s perceived representatives in the present. The pro-Palestinian campus radicals clearly suffer from this flaw, as they have uncritically carried forward the tragic failings of past Palestinian leaders to seize numerous opportunities since 1947 to build a Palestinian nation alongside Israel. As today’s pro-Palestinian radicals have attracted support from among young black, feminist, and other radicals, they have allowed themselves to demonize Israel, just as the Black Lives Matter movement and certain gender radicals have demonized white people as “privileged racists” or men as “cis-gendered patriarchs.”
As a species of scapegoating, antisemitism is inherently unpredictable in its trajectory. It is well to be on guard to see if in the future today’s political antisemitism may burst out of its current anti-Israeli boundaries or spread beyond college campuses, their adjacent youthful urban enclaves, and Arab American ethnic communities. For now, this worry remains muted by the firewall of sorts that exists in the overwhelming support for Israel shown by most Americans after the attack of Oct. 7. However, the threat posed by left-wing political radicalism itself, particularly to college campuses, is real enough and must be countered by reasoned argument and the enforcement of lawful behavior.
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Modestly edited this E mail from AIPAC
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Dear Dick,
Six months ago today, we awoke to a nightmare. The State of Israel, and all of us, were forever changed.
The terrorists who broke a ceasefire, stormed through Israeli communities, and barbarically massacred 1,200 people on October 7 left an entire nation devastated and mourning. With each day, we learn more stories about the torture, abuse, and unimaginable trauma from survivors who witnessed loves ones murdered in front of their eyes and were held hostage by Hamas.
250 Israeli children had a parent murdered on that day. 31 children had both parents murdered.
While our friends and family grieve, they are still under attack. 9,100 rockets have been launched by Hamas and Islamic Jihad into Israel since October 7. Another 3,100 rockets have been fired into Israel by terrorists in Lebanon. Drones and missiles have reached Israel from Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, and the genocidal regime in Iran is orchestrating it all, launching a multi-front war on our ally.
The courageous soldiers of the IDF are fighting an unprecedented war to prevent the atrocities of October 7 from ever happening again.
While Hamas despicably hides behind and beneath civilians in Gaza, the IDF has done more than any military in history to prevent civilian casualties, while simultaneously fighting in dense urban areas to root out the terrorists and dismantle their military capabilities.
Over 12,000 Hamas terrorists have been killed by the IDF, and thousands more have been apprehended. The majority of Hamas' battalions have been eliminated in Gaza.
But this war is far from over, and America must continue to stand with Israel until it achieves its three objectives: Eliminating the threat from Hamas, removing Hamas from power, and freeing the hostages.
Our work together has never been more vital. Last month, after lobbying Congress together, the United States delivered nearly $4 billion in critical funding for Israel's security. These resources will help save lives.
But as Congress returns to Washington this week, we must redouble our efforts to ensure passage of the $14.3 billion emergency supplemental package for Israel....
Six months after the deadliest day in Israel's history, the people of Israel are still devastated, but have never been more determined to win this war and live in peace and security. Together, we will ensure Israel prevails and evil is defeated.
Sincerely,
Alisha Tischler
AIPAC Southeast Regional Director
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Iran threatens Israelis embassies, Gallant says Israel prepared for all scenarios
An advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today that, "The embassies of the Zionist regime are no longer safe," threatening attacks on Israeli targets globally.
Iran's top military chief vowed a strike that "will be carried out at the right time, with the necessary precision and planning, and with maximum damage to the enemy so that they regret their action," referring to Israel's elimination of a top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander in Syria.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel is ready to respond to any attack by Iran and that the IDF has "completed preparations for a response against any scenario."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added, “We will know how to defend ourselves, and we will act according to the simple principle: that those who harm us or plan to harm us, we will harm.”
IDF withdraws ground troops from southern Gaza, no implications for Rafah
The majority of Israel's ground forces withdrew from southern Gaza today, in a move similar to that carried out in the northern Gaza Strip last year after the IDF's initial ground offensive.
The IDF believes that raids based on new intelligence, such as the recent operation at Shifa Hospital and others in the northern part of the Strip, are a more effective way to operate against remaining Hamas cells.
18 of Hamas’ 24 original battalions have been dismantled, meaning they do not function as an organized military unit, while smaller cells still exist.
Substantial Hamas infrastructure remains in Rafah, including four intact battalions augmented by many thousands of terrorists who have fled there and are hiding among over 1 million civilians.
Learn more about why an operation in Rafah is essential to achieving Israel's war objectives and destroying the threat from Hamas.
"There will be no ceasefire without the return of hostages."
In a statement marking six months since October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed again to achieve complete victory over Hamas.
He reiterated Israel's commitment "to return all our hostages, to complete the elimination of Hamas in the entire Gaza Strip including Rafah, and to ensure Gaza will no longer constitute a threat to Israel."
“I made it clear to the international community: There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages. It just won’t happen,” Netanyahu said. “This is the Israeli government’s policy, and I welcome the fact that the Biden administration made it clear the other day that this is still its position as well.”
The prime minister also slammed Hamas' extreme demands and refusal to accept a U.S.-brokered deal, agreed to by Israel, to pause the fighting and free the hostages...
AND:
Pro-Israel Americans need to stop cowering and start protesting
After months of biased news coverage and open antisemitism, friends of the Jewish state need to take back the streets and tell Biden that he should worry about them.
By JONATHAN S. TOBIN
The debate going on in the United States about Israel’s war against Hamas took a new and disturbing turn in the last week. But there was one thing missing from the discussion. Many of the Jewish state’s enemies talk a lot about the mythical power of the “Israel lobby” and nefarious Jewish influence over Washington, which betrays the antisemitism that runs through much of their discourse. But mobs chanting for Israel’s destruction and terrorism against Jews in the streets of American cities and on college campuses have become commonplace. And those advocating for a ceasefire in the war that will let the perpetrators of the Oct. 7 massacres get away with mass murder also seem to have enormous, even decisive influence with the Biden administration.
But there seems little indication that the legacy Jewish organizations that claim to speak for American Jewry are using much or any of their vaunted influence to halt the momentum of those working to destroy the U.S.-Israel alliance. Nor is there much sign that the organizers who helped turn out 300,000 people for a “March for Israel” in November have seriously contemplated what it means for the Jews and other pro-Israel Americans to concede the streets and campuses to extremist Jew-haters as has largely happened in recent months as a surge of antisemitism continues to grow.
After months of slowly moving away from its initial position of strong support for Israel, the Biden administration took a crucial step towards pleasing its left-wing critics. So-called “progressives” have been calling for President Joe Biden to put the screws on the Jewish state to make it stop the war against Hamas. As a result, the president has abandoned his previous positions on Hamas and is now clearly more worried about losing left-wing voters in his campaign for re-election—particularly in the state of Michigan, which has the highest Arab population in the United States—than he is about eliminating the perpetrators of the Oct. 7 massacres or the influence of Iran.
Who does Biden fear?
It’s not just that he is in thrall to a vocal ideologically woke anti-Israel protest movement that commands the support of most of the activist wing of the Democratic Party and the liberal corporate media. Biden also seems to think that he will pay no political price for abandoning Israel.
That was the context for Biden’s phone conversation this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Though supposedly a response to the accidental killing of seven aid workers in Gaza, Biden’s threats and demands seemed to make it clear that he was prepared to do as leftist allies bid him.
That means that if Israel continues its necessary campaign to eradicate Hamas and seeks to finish off the last terrorist strongholds in Rafah in the southernmost part of the Strip, as well as failing to make even more dangerous concessions in the hostage ransom talks which Hamas has been emboldened to stonewall, Biden appears ready to punish it with a cutoff of military aid. On the other hand, if Netanyahu—buffeted by criticism from home and abroad, and worried about whether his nation can stand alone—bows to these demands, then he will essentially be conceding defeat in the war begun by Hamas on Oct. 7 with the largest mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. And that is a decision that would guarantee even more horrors in the future from Israel’s array of regional enemies.
It’s hard to imagine any Israeli government, no matter who led it, being willing to let Hamas win in this manner. Israelis elected Netanyahu in November 2022 but are deeply divided about his continued hold on power. Nevertheless, they overwhelmingly support the war on Hamas and want their government to finish off the terrorists in Gaza, and then neutralize the threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon to the north by one means or another. But should the United States join the growing movement to isolate the Jewish state, it would be foolish to think that the consequences would be anything but dire.
This would seem to be the cue for the pro-Israel community to find its voice again. Yet outside of the usual staunch voices like that of the Zionist Organization of America, Jewish leadership is largely silent. Mainstream entities can be counted on to denounce antisemitism, as is their job; however, their leaders and likely many of their main politically liberal donors are too invested in support for Biden’s re-election campaign to be willing to speak out against the administration’s pivot away from its initial post-Oct. 7 positions.
Many Jewish liberals—always inclined to be critical, if not outright hostile to both Israel and Netanyahu—have gone silent in the face of the deluge of biased coverage of the war from the corporate media. They either believe the claims that falsely depict Israel’s war efforts as “genocide,” accepting bogus Hamas claims about civilian casualties and the plight of those in Gaza, or they are too fearful of going against the political fashion of the day to challenge these lies. Or they are afraid to face increasingly violent groups of demonstrators.
Still others, like the leftist Forward newspaper, have joined those demanding that the war stop, even if that means that Hamas wins and the 100-plus Israeli hostages who are still in their hands continue to undergo torment.
Under the circumstances, a repeat of the mass turnout for another Washington rally seems unlikely, if not impossible. By the time of the Nov. 14 rally—already six weeks after the slaughter in southern Israel—much of the media had already flipped the narrative about the conflict from one about the Oct. 7 pogroms and the orgy of murder, rape, torture, kidnapping and wanton destruction that began the war to one about a “disproportionate” Israeli response. But things are worse today, with outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post and MSNBC already mainstreamed anti-Semitic advocacy for Israel’s destruction, added to the chattering classes and popular culture embracing the idea that the only real victims of the war are the Palestinians who themselves cheered the Oct. 7 crimes when they happened and still support them.
The need for supporters of Israel not merely to speak up but to do so in as loud and public a way as possible is now far greater. Jews and their allies in the Christian community must return to the streets for two reasons.
Fearful of confrontations
Jewish groups tend to want to avoid confrontations with their opponents out of fear of potential violence and because they believe that their influence is best employed in the corridors of power. But by effectively abandoning the public square to antisemites, the Jewish community has not only encouraged those screaming for violence against Jews, especially Israelis but has also created a dynamic whereby it seems as if there is only one side to the argument about whether a war against a genocidal terrorist group is justified.
Equally important, the lack of public clamor on behalf of Israel and against the pro-Hamas ceasefire advocates has sent the message to the administration that there is only one side in the debate about the war that they should listen to or fear.
This was made abundantly clear early in the Democratic primaries when Biden showed that he was far more interested in appeasing pro-Hamas voters in Dearborn, Mich., than those who advocate for Israel. In the last two months, even after Biden secured the Democratic presidential nomination, he has continued to go out of his way to avoid antagonizing Israel-haters.
Perhaps he’s right to believe that Jewish Democrats dislike former President Donald Trump too much to consider defecting from their party. Or that they are more concerned about abortion rights than about defending the Jewish state. But at a time when antisemitism—and the demonization of Israel and its supporters—is escalating, perhaps it’s time for even those who intend to vote for Biden to start showing up at his rallies and speak up about the administration’s abandoning Israel. Jewish Democrats need to say that they expect Biden to stand by Israel in its just war, not to threaten it.
If Biden was made to see, as he should, that there are more votes to be lost in the political center from Americans who back Israel and don’t believe the blood libels being thrown at it, then he might understand that there is a greater political price to be paid for kowtowing to anti-Semites than for keeping faith with the Jewish state.
Beyond that, Jewish groups around the nation also need to understand that their mission must also include efforts to reclaim the streets.
Teaneck shows the way
A great example of a community that understood what was at stake was on display this past week in Teaneck, N.J. A month ago, an Israel real estate fair at a synagogue in that New York suburb was threatened by an anti-Semitic mob, egged on by Internet lies about the event. But when another pro-Israel event at a synagogue—this time honoring ZAKA volunteers charged with the gruesome task of handling corpses from the Hamas pogroms—was similarly threatened, the Jews didn’t simply depend on law enforcement to protect them. Neither did they, as sometimes happens elsewhere, cancel the event due to justified fears of violence. Instead, they organized a counterprotest that outnumbered those who were bussed into that town to vent their hatred.
The effort reflected a consensus in that community that, in the words of a spokesman for the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County, “these attacks on our synagogues have to end. Full stop.”
This example needs to be emulated everywhere. Synagogues and other Jewish institutions have been targeted by vandals and antisemitic protests from those seeking to eradicate Israel “from the river to the sea,” falsely accusing Israel of “genocide” while ignoring or even denying Hamas crimes. Yet ever fearful of what a confrontation might lead to, Jewish groups don’t turn out to demonstrate that the streets don’t belong to the hatemongers and their allies. And that needs to change.
Beset by doubts about their place in a society that has embraced woke intersectional myths that marginalize Jews and browbeaten into thinking that the cause of Israel is too controversial to be compatible with a comfortable American life, too many leaders have gone silent at a moment of crisis when they need to speak up loudly that they will not be intimidated or taken for granted by politicians like Biden. They need to understand that even though support for Israel can seem a lonely, unfashionable position, most Americans stand behind the Jewish state. Jews need to stop cowering and start protesting. If they don’t, they’ll soon see that the antisemites will only grow bolder in their affronts to Jewish sensibilities—and political leaders will continue to believe that they need not fear losing their support.
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Good News Israel (Edited.)
With so many false accusations, distortions, and propaganda in the Mainstream Media, it is only possible to see the “real” Israel in a newsletter such as this. I recommend this article for a true perspective of recent events.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, Israelis have been rebuilding their lives after Oct 7. They have been developing cures for MS, bone cancer, post-surgical complications, chronic pain, and major diseases. They have continued to promote freedom for its citizens of all religions, while resolving global problems such as drought in rural African villages.
Quite a few of Israel’s latest innovations will in the future provide more protection in a hostile world. They include real-time battle maps, anti-drone systems, cybersecurity for planes and trucks, and systems for safer driving. Meanwhile, Israelis are developing agricultural products to alleviate global hunger. It is gratifying that Israel has many international friends who can see the real world that Israel exists in.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, Israelis have been rebuilding their lives after Oct 7. They have been developing cures for MS, bone cancer, post-surgical complications, chronic pain, and major diseases. They have continued to promote freedom for its citizens of all religions, while resolving global problems such as drought in rural African villages.
Quite a few of Israel’s latest innovations will in the future provide more protection in a hostile world. They include real-time battle maps, anti-drone systems, cybersecurity for planes and trucks, and systems for safer driving. Meanwhile, Israelis are developing agricultural products to alleviate global hunger. It is gratifying that Israel has many international friends who can see the real world that Israel exists in.
POSITIVE NEWS DURING A WAR
After 6 surgeries IDF soldier’s eyesight is restored. (TY WIN) IDF soldier Dor lost his eyesight in the war in Gaza. But thanks to Israeli medical technology and six eye surgeries, he can now see again. “I am born again” he says in Hebrew at the end of the video. Many tears were shed at his final eye test.
Wounded IDF soldier holds newborn daughter. Omer was seriously injured in the Gaza war, when an explosive device was detonated. He was evacuated to hospital, to be treated and rehabilitated just as his wife gave birth to their firstborn daughter. Their private victory gave Omer strength to recover and return to his unit.
https://www.
You don't need to be a spokesperson to speak up for Israel. Eylon Levy has been an excellent spokesperson for Israel since Oct 7. He has now established a Civilian Public Diplomacy initiative called “the New Israeli Discourse”. It includes his State of the Nation podcast. https://www.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.jgive.com/new/en/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
The Diaspora donates. Israel's Diaspora Ministry reports that world Jewry has donated NIS 5 billion to Israel since Oct 7. Also, some 60,000 volunteers came to Israel. https://www.jpost.com/
Supporting and investing in Israel. Since Oct 7, Israel Bonds has raised more than $1.5 billion worldwide. This article explains why this is so important, why it’s a win-win activity, and how you can be a part of it.
https://www.jns.org/forever-
70% of Gaza periphery residents return home. Nearly six months after Oct 7, most evacuees from the Gaza periphery have made the decision to return to their homes. The towns located between 4 and 7 km from the Strip (including the city of Sderot) have seen the return of 75% of residents.
https://www.jns.org/70-of-
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Stem cell injections benefit MS sufferers. (TY Nevet) A study of 23 progressive multiple sclerosis patients at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem highlighted significant beneficial effects of repeated stem cell injections. They improved neurological function, cognition, and quality of life with no adverse effects.
https://www.hadassah.org/
Possible therapy for bone cancer. (TY Nevet) Researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered in the laboratory that two existing medicines can be used to enhance treatments against bone cancer. It is important as bone cancer is often the result of metastasis (spreading) in breast cancer patients.
https://tps.co.il/articles/
https://aacrjournals.org/
3rd clinical trial for gastro leakage sensor. The xBar sensor from Israel’s Exero Medical (see here previously) is about to begin a Phase 3 pivotal clinical trial in the USA and Israel. The device aims to immediately detect post-operative leakage following gastro surgery, which is fatal in 40% of affected cases.
https://nocamels.com/2024/04/
Live greener, live longer. What seems to be an obvious statement has been proved in a study by Tel Aviv University researchers. They examined over 3,000 heart bypass patients and found that patients who live in a “greener” environment are at a lower risk of mortality than those who live in a “non-green” environment.
https://www.jpost.com/health-
https://www.aftau.org/news_
https://journals.lww.com/
Video game app to combat chronic pain. The pain-relieving video games from Israel’s TrainPain (see here previously) are now available to download on iPhone and Android phones. You also need to order (fees required) the haptic pod and cables. Available in the US only.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
https://www.trainpain.com/
Using AI to find cures for diseases. (TY Nevet) An interesting article explaining how Israel’s CytoReason (see here previously) is using AI and big data from the medical companies themselves to help reduce the cost and time required to bring a new remedy to market.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
400 French doctors & dentists seeking to make Aliyah. The first European MedEx event took place in Paris, gathering more than 400 doctors and dentists from France and Belgium. At MedEx, potential immigrant medics can convert licenses and engage directly with representatives from Israeli healthcare institutions.
https://www.jns.org/more-than-
Global Change-maker. (TY Nevet) The prestigious Nature magazine named Israeli Tal Patalon, outgoing head of the KSM research and innovation center of Maccabi Healthcare Services, as one of the world’s change-makers in medical research. Her team’s COVID-19 research changed vaccination policies in the United States.
https://www.nature.com/
https://www.ksminnovation.com/
https://www.jpost.com/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Children with trauma can make a wish. The NGO Make-A-Wish Israel (see here previously) has granted more than 5,500 life-changing wishes for sick children in Israel (one-third for Arabs). It is now to help children traumatized by Oct 7 events. Philanthropist Sylvan Adams has just been named its global goodwill ambassador.
https://www.jns.org/sylvan-
Double amputee joins twin sister in IDF. (TY Nevet) Due to a premature birth, Emanuel suffered cerebral damage and the eventual amputation of both legs when she was one year old. But she was determined to join the IDF, like her twin sister Maayan. Now, thanks to Special in Uniform, she serves at a Home Front base.
https://tps.co.il/articles/
Yale faculty members amazed in Israel. 25 Yale University faculty members, including at least 4 professors, visited Ben Gurion Uni, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv Uni, the Technion and Weizmann Institute. They were astounded to see Arab and Jewish students learning together during the war and global hostility.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
Call for co-existence. 20 prominent leaders from across the religious spectrum in Haifa have issued a statement calling for cooperation between their religions and recognizing a deep commitment to the State of Israel and its laws. The 20 include men, women, Jews (Orthodox, Chabad and Reform) Muslims, Christians, and Druze.
https://www.jns.org/wire/
Peace in Jerusalem. So far, Friday prayers during Ramadan at Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque have been attended each week without incident by tens of thousands of Muslims. Meanwhile, thousands of Christian Arabs converged on Israel’s capital to celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
https://www.jns.org/ramadan-
Israel-UAE relations - no news is good news. Don’t be fooled by the media blackout: business between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, bolstered initially by the Abraham Accords in 2020, has been thriving despite Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas and intense scrutiny from the rest of the world.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Richie Torres gets it! Israel needs more friends like the South Bronx Congressman Richie Torres. Democrat, progressive, Hispanic, gay, and proud to stand up for Israel. See the Youtube interview with Eylon Levy.
https://www.jns.org/im-an-
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Providing water to 64,000 in Kenya. In the past year, IsraAID has drilled or rehabilitated 17 boreholes in the county, restoring access to safe water for more than 64,000 Kenyans.
https://www.jns.org/wire/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Vegetables from a vending machine. Israel’s replantin’ is developing a specialized vending machine that grows a variety of high-quality, nutritious leafy greens inside it, and in less time than it takes in a field. Each plant starts as a seed inside a coffee-capsule-sized pod, which provides all the nutrients it needs to grow.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
https://replantin.com/
Realtime maps save lives. The IDF’s Hunter system, developed during the current war, detects threats in real time and sends signals to soldiers. The software allows soldiers to see drone launches, rocket launches and terrorist activities as they happen - sensing a missile attack before conventional technology picks up on it.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Drone startups partner to make sky safer. The Goshawk anti-drone UAV from Israel’s Robotican (see here previously) is to carry the advanced Halo system from Israel’s Elsight (see here previously) to boost the Goshawk’s success rate in catching rogue unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and avoiding breakdowns.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
https://www.elsight.com/
Shhh! It’s the Oron spy plane. The Israel Aerospace Industries-developed, US-manufactured Oren is Israel’s new and advanced intelligence aircraft. The 1-billion-dollar plane has already logged hundreds of operational flight hours, totaling close to 100 missions. It possesses multiple sensors and operates at over 40,000 feet.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Protecting planes from cyber-attack. Latest article on Israel’s Cyviation (see here previously), developing security technology that protects commercial and private aircraft from cyber-attacks. Its 4 layers comprise “SkyRay” for vulnerability scanning; training for pilots; event management and real-time detection devices.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
https://cyviation.aero/
Liquid AI – the thinking car. Israel’s Autobrains (see here previously) has unveiled Liquid AI - a paradigm shift in autonomous driving and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Like the human brain, it adapts dynamically, activating only AI modules specific to the driving context and thus reducing power consumption.
https://www.ourcrowd.com/
Fully autonomous defense vehicles. Israel’s Elbit (see here previously) is to deploy the 3D image processing software from Israel’s Foresight (see here previously) in the fully autonomous defense vehicles of one of Elbit’s leading defense customers. https://ir.foresightauto.com/
Rewarding good drivers. Israel’s Letstop has developed an app that incentivizes good driving of any vehicle. If the phone has not been used for texting etc., during the journey, the driver earns credits which can be converted into cash or vouchers for a range of stores and eateries; or in-app purchases at various businesses.
https://nocamels.com/2024/04/
https://www.letstop.io/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Hi-tech is thriving. Despite 15% of employees in the IDF reserves, plus air travel restrictions, most Israeli startups continue to thrive. Startup Nation Central reports that 220 investments since Oct 7 raised some $3.1billion. March’s $822m exceeded Jan + Feb. Plus, 20 new Israeli venture capital funds raised $1.7bn.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Fast innovative companies. US magazine Fast Company recognized four Israeli startups in its annual list of the world’s most innovative companies. Vis.ai was ranked 43rd of the top 50, for “harnessing AI to expedite lifesaving diagnoses”. Highlighted in specific sectors were Papaya Global, UVeye, and GreyMatters Health.
https://www.fastcompany.com/
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
Tel Aviv Sparks. (TY Jacob, David, and Jason) The Tel Aviv Sparks Innovation Summit & Expo (Apr 8 -12) features the latest Israeli startups, organizations, and company exhibitors showcasing their cutting-edge products and solutions. Plus (at the summit) key presentations and discussions that shape the future.
https://www.tlvsparks.com/
European VC fund to invest in Israel. (TY Yanky) New Europe-based venture capital fund Vinthera is to invest tens of millions of dollars in Israeli funds and startups in growth stages. Past investments by the team in Israel include Grove Ventures, Angular Ventures, Oryzn Capital, and the cloud data storage company Firebolt.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Innovation winner. Israel’s Kaltura (see here previously) has won an Innovation in Business award at the 2024 MarTech Awards for its video event platform. The award recognizes outstanding creative products, solutions, and services in the fields of marketing, advertising, and sales technology.
https://nocamels.com/category/
See it now on Amazon Connect. Israel’s TechSee (see here previously) is now working with Amazon Web Service's (AWS) new and improved Amazon Connect Agent Workspace. TechSee’s computer vision AI empowers AWS digital channels to see the physical world and offer AR-guided automated technical support.
https://www.ourcrowd.com/
Israeli security for Daimler trucks. Israel’s C2A Security is to supply its EVSec cybersecurity platform to Daimler Trucks. C2A’s CEO said it was "one of the most significant product security deals that was done in the industry". Also, in 2023 C2A sold its platform to BMW Group, Marelli, NTT Data, Siemens, and Valeo.
https://www.reuters.com/
More vegan milk from mushrooms. Israel’s ImaginDairy (see here previously) has partnered with one of America’s biggest biotech companies, Ginkgo Bioworks, to scale up production of ImaginDairy’s no-cow “dairy” proteins. Ginkgo’s AI capabilities will be used to create biological systems that reduce production costs.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
New fungicide for Europe. Israel’s Adama (see here previously) has launched a new early-stage multi-crop cereal fungicide in Europe. Forapro protects crops such as wheat and barley from common fungal diseases including Powdery Mildew, Septoria, and Yellow Rust. It is highly absorbent, fast-acting, and cost-effective.
https://nocamels.com/category/
Startup investment – to 7/4/24: Hailo raised $120 million; Lumana raised $24 million; Nucleai raised $14 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Look what we found when we had a clear-out. When the National Library of Israel (NLI) moved to its new building, it discovered priceless artifacts that had been languishing in boxes in the basement of the old library building for decades. The Seattle-based Samis Foundation has given $1 million to catalog and digitize them.
https://www.jns.org/seattle-
https://www.nli.org.il/en/
Boutique hotel joins elite club. Jaffa’s Drisco boutique hotel, and its onsite (non-kosher) top Middle East restaurant, George & John, are the first Israeli establishments to be admitted to the Relais & Châteaux association. The Drisco once hosted Mark Twain, fell into disrepair, now refurbished in the American Colony.
https://www.israel21c.org/
See the parade. (TY Sharon) The photos of Jerusalem’s Purim Parade by the Real Jerusalem Streets are far more interesting than those published here last week. The costumes of many of the spectators also deserve much praise. https://rjstreets.com/2024/03/
Matisyahu ascends to new heights. Rap singer Matisyahu uplifted the spirits of the crowd at Jerusalem’s Zappa at the Lab. The eclectic musician entertained his secular and religious fans for two hours with his 20 years of hits. From his recent “Ascent” memorial to the Supernova victims, to his 2009 hit “One Day”.
https://www.jns.org/matisyahu-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
THE JEWISH STATE
Preparing for Pesach (Passover). Jacob Richman has updated his websites of useful material for the upcoming Jewish festival of Passover. Just one seder in Israel, of course. https://jr.co.il/links/#
https://jr.co.il/hotsites/
Fate or providence? A scroll, dubbed the “Horoscope” scroll unearthed in the Judean Desert reveals the beliefs of a secretive sect that lived thousands of years ago. In reversed Hebrew writing, Greek, Aramaic, ancient Hebrew, and cipher symbols, it claims that your birth date determines personality and physical appearance.
https://www.jpost.com/
How to help Israel. Here are some sites where newsletter readers can donate to Israeli organizations that provide vital help to Israelis at this difficult time. Many thanks to those who have already contributed and to those who are helping by donating their own valuable time and resources.
Friends of the IDF (US donors): https://www.fidf.org/
or IDF Soldiers Fund in Israel: https://www.ufis.org.il/en/
American Friends of Magen David Adom (US donors): https://afmda.org/
or Magen David Adom (Israel): https://www.mdais.org/en/
Zaka (US donors): https://donate.zakatelaviv.
or (Canadian donors): https://www.canadahelps.org/
United Hatzalah: https://israelrescue.org/
Leket Food Israel: https://www.leket.org/en/
JNF USA - https://my.jnf.org/gaza-
Orthodox Union - https://www.charidy.com/
Schneider Children’s Hospital: https://www.fos.org.il/en/
https://system.smartgiving.
https://chaischneider.org/
Rambam Medical Center (Haifa) https://aforam.org/ways-to-
https://www.rambam.org.il/en/
Hadassah Hospital Israel: https://www.hadassah.org/
Laniado Hospital (Netanya) https://my.israelgives.org/en/
And many more charities here:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Buy Israel Bonds to support the Jewish State. (TY Larry B)
https://www.
USA - https://www.israelbonds.com/
Europe - https://israelbondsintl.com/
Canada - https://www.israelbonds.ca/
Wounded IDF soldier holds newborn daughter. Omer was seriously injured in the Gaza war, when an explosive device was detonated. He was evacuated to hospital, to be treated and rehabilitated just as his wife gave birth to their firstborn daughter. Their private victory gave Omer strength to recover and return to his unit.
https://www.
You don't need to be a spokesperson to speak up for Israel. Eylon Levy has been an excellent spokesperson for Israel since Oct 7. He has now established a Civilian Public Diplomacy initiative called “the New Israeli Discourse”. It includes his State of the Nation podcast. https://www.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.jgive.com/new/en/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
The Diaspora donates. Israel's Diaspora Ministry reports that world Jewry has donated NIS 5 billion to Israel since Oct 7. Also, some 60,000 volunteers came to Israel. https://www.jpost.com/
Supporting and investing in Israel. Since Oct 7, Israel Bonds has raised more than $1.5 billion worldwide. This article explains why this is so important, why it’s a win-win activity, and how you can be a part of it.
https://www.jns.org/forever-
70% of Gaza periphery residents return home. Nearly six months after Oct 7, most evacuees from the Gaza periphery have made the decision to return to their homes. The towns located between 4 and 7 km from the Strip (including the city of Sderot) have seen the return of 75% of residents.
https://www.jns.org/70-of-
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Stem cell injections benefit MS sufferers. (TY Nevet) A study of 23 progressive multiple sclerosis patients at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem highlighted significant beneficial effects of repeated stem cell injections. They improved neurological function, cognition, and quality of life with no adverse effects.
https://www.hadassah.org/
Possible therapy for bone cancer. (TY Nevet) Researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered in the laboratory that two existing medicines can be used to enhance treatments against bone cancer. It is important as bone cancer is often the result of metastasis (spreading) in breast cancer patients.
https://tps.co.il/articles/
https://aacrjournals.org/
3rd clinical trial for gastro leakage sensor. The xBar sensor from Israel’s Exero Medical (see here previously) is about to begin a Phase 3 pivotal clinical trial in the USA and Israel. The device aims to immediately detect post-operative leakage following gastro surgery, which is fatal in 40% of affected cases.
https://nocamels.com/2024/04/
Live greener, live longer. What seems to be an obvious statement has been proved in a study by Tel Aviv University researchers. They examined over 3,000 heart bypass patients and found that patients who live in a “greener” environment are at a lower risk of mortality than those who live in a “non-green” environment.
https://www.jpost.com/health-
https://www.aftau.org/news_
https://journals.lww.com/
Video game app to combat chronic pain. The pain-relieving video games from Israel’s TrainPain (see here previously) are now available to download on iPhone and Android phones. You also need to order (fees required) the haptic pod and cables. Available in the US only.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
https://www.trainpain.com/
Using AI to find cures for diseases. (TY Nevet) An interesting article explaining how Israel’s CytoReason (see here previously) is using AI and big data from the medical companies themselves to help reduce the cost and time required to bring a new remedy to market.
https://nocamels.com/2024/02/
400 French doctors & dentists seeking to make Aliyah. The first European MedEx event took place in Paris, gathering more than 400 doctors and dentists from France and Belgium. At MedEx, potential immigrant medics can convert licenses and engage directly with representatives from Israeli healthcare institutions.
https://www.jns.org/more-than-
Global Change-maker. (TY Nevet) The prestigious Nature magazine named Israeli Tal Patalon, outgoing head of the KSM research and innovation center of Maccabi Healthcare Services, as one of the world’s change-makers in medical research. Her team’s COVID-19 research changed vaccination policies in the United States.
https://www.nature.com/
https://www.ksminnovation.com/
https://www.jpost.com/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Children with trauma can make a wish. The NGO Make-A-Wish Israel (see here previously) has granted more than 5,500 life-changing wishes for sick children in Israel (one-third for Arabs). It is now to help children traumatized by Oct 7 events. Philanthropist Sylvan Adams has just been named its global goodwill ambassador.
https://www.jns.org/sylvan-
Double amputee joins twin sister in IDF. (TY Nevet) Due to a premature birth, Emanuel suffered cerebral damage and the eventual amputation of both legs when she was one year old. But she was determined to join the IDF, like her twin sister Maayan. Now, thanks to Special in Uniform, she serves at a Home Front base.
https://tps.co.il/articles/
Yale faculty members amazed in Israel. 25 Yale University faculty members, including at least 4 professors, visited Ben Gurion Uni, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv Uni, the Technion and Weizmann Institute. They were astounded to see Arab and Jewish students learning together during the war and global hostility.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
Call for co-existence. 20 prominent leaders from across the religious spectrum in Haifa have issued a statement calling for cooperation between their religions and recognizing a deep commitment to the State of Israel and its laws. The 20 include men, women, Jews (Orthodox, Chabad and Reform) Muslims, Christians, and Druze.
https://www.jns.org/wire/
Peace in Jerusalem. So far, Friday prayers during Ramadan at Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque have been attended each week without incident by tens of thousands of Muslims. Meanwhile, thousands of Christian Arabs converged on Israel’s capital to celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
https://www.jns.org/ramadan-
Israel-UAE relations - no news is good news. Don’t be fooled by the media blackout: business between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, bolstered initially by the Abraham Accords in 2020, has been thriving despite Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas and intense scrutiny from the rest of the world.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Richie Torres gets it! Israel needs more friends like the South Bronx Congressman Richie Torres. Democrat, progressive, Hispanic, gay, and proud to stand up for Israel. See the Youtube interview with Eylon Levy.
https://www.jns.org/im-an-
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Providing water to 64,000 in Kenya. In the past year, IsraAID has drilled or rehabilitated 17 boreholes in the county, restoring access to safe water for more than 64,000 Kenyans.
https://www.jns.org/wire/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Vegetables from a vending machine. Israel’s replantin’ is developing a specialized vending machine that grows a variety of high-quality, nutritious leafy greens inside it, and in less time than it takes in a field. Each plant starts as a seed inside a coffee-capsule-sized pod, which provides all the nutrients it needs to grow.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
https://replantin.com/
Realtime maps save lives. The IDF’s Hunter system, developed during the current war, detects threats in real time and sends signals to soldiers. The software allows soldiers to see drone launches, rocket launches and terrorist activities as they happen - sensing a missile attack before conventional technology picks up on it.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Drone startups partner to make sky safer. The Goshawk anti-drone UAV from Israel’s Robotican (see here previously) is to carry the advanced Halo system from Israel’s Elsight (see here previously) to boost the Goshawk’s success rate in catching rogue unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and avoiding breakdowns.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
https://www.elsight.com/
Shhh! It’s the Oron spy plane. The Israel Aerospace Industries-developed, US-manufactured Oren is Israel’s new and advanced intelligence aircraft. The 1-billion-dollar plane has already logged hundreds of operational flight hours, totaling close to 100 missions. It possesses multiple sensors and operates at over 40,000 feet.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Protecting planes from cyber-attack. Latest article on Israel’s Cyviation (see here previously), developing security technology that protects commercial and private aircraft from cyber-attacks. Its 4 layers comprise “SkyRay” for vulnerability scanning; training for pilots; event management and real-time detection devices.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
https://cyviation.aero/
Liquid AI – the thinking car. Israel’s Autobrains (see here previously) has unveiled Liquid AI - a paradigm shift in autonomous driving and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Like the human brain, it adapts dynamically, activating only AI modules specific to the driving context and thus reducing power consumption.
https://www.ourcrowd.com/
Fully autonomous defense vehicles. Israel’s Elbit (see here previously) is to deploy the 3D image processing software from Israel’s Foresight (see here previously) in the fully autonomous defense vehicles of one of Elbit’s leading defense customers. https://ir.foresightauto.com/
Rewarding good drivers. Israel’s Letstop has developed an app that incentivizes good driving of any vehicle. If the phone has not been used for texting etc., during the journey, the driver earns credits which can be converted into cash or vouchers for a range of stores and eateries; or in-app purchases at various businesses.
https://nocamels.com/2024/04/
https://www.letstop.io/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Hi-tech is thriving. Despite 15% of employees in the IDF reserves, plus air travel restrictions, most Israeli startups continue to thrive. Startup Nation Central reports that 220 investments since Oct 7 raised some $3.1billion. March’s $822m exceeded Jan + Feb. Plus, 20 new Israeli venture capital funds raised $1.7bn.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Fast innovative companies. US magazine Fast Company recognized four Israeli startups in its annual list of the world’s most innovative companies. Vis.ai was ranked 43rd of the top 50, for “harnessing AI to expedite lifesaving diagnoses”. Highlighted in specific sectors were Papaya Global, UVeye, and GreyMatters Health.
https://www.fastcompany.com/
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
Tel Aviv Sparks. (TY Jacob, David, and Jason) The Tel Aviv Sparks Innovation Summit & Expo (Apr 8 -12) features the latest Israeli startups, organizations, and company exhibitors showcasing their cutting-edge products and solutions. Plus (at the summit) key presentations and discussions that shape the future.
https://www.tlvsparks.com/
European VC fund to invest in Israel. (TY Yanky) New Europe-based venture capital fund Vinthera is to invest tens of millions of dollars in Israeli funds and startups in growth stages. Past investments by the team in Israel include Grove Ventures, Angular Ventures, Oryzn Capital, and the cloud data storage company Firebolt.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Innovation winner. Israel’s Kaltura (see here previously) has won an Innovation in Business award at the 2024 MarTech Awards for its video event platform. The award recognizes outstanding creative products, solutions, and services in the fields of marketing, advertising, and sales technology.
https://nocamels.com/category/
See it now on Amazon Connect. Israel’s TechSee (see here previously) is now working with Amazon Web Service's (AWS) new and improved Amazon Connect Agent Workspace. TechSee’s computer vision AI empowers AWS digital channels to see the physical world and offer AR-guided automated technical support.
https://www.ourcrowd.com/
Israeli security for Daimler trucks. Israel’s C2A Security is to supply its EVSec cybersecurity platform to Daimler Trucks. C2A’s CEO said it was "one of the most significant product security deals that was done in the industry". Also, in 2023 C2A sold its platform to BMW Group, Marelli, NTT Data, Siemens, and Valeo.
https://www.reuters.com/
More vegan milk from mushrooms. Israel’s ImaginDairy (see here previously) has partnered with one of America’s biggest biotech companies, Ginkgo Bioworks, to scale up production of ImaginDairy’s no-cow “dairy” proteins. Ginkgo’s AI capabilities will be used to create biological systems that reduce production costs.
https://nocamels.com/2024/03/
New fungicide for Europe. Israel’s Adama (see here previously) has launched a new early-stage multi-crop cereal fungicide in Europe. Forapro protects crops such as wheat and barley from common fungal diseases including Powdery Mildew, Septoria, and Yellow Rust. It is highly absorbent, fast-acting, and cost-effective.
https://nocamels.com/category/
Startup investment – to 7/4/24: Hailo raised $120 million; Lumana raised $24 million; Nucleai raised $14 million;
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Look what we found when we had a clear-out. When the National Library of Israel (NLI) moved to its new building, it discovered priceless artifacts that had been languishing in boxes in the basement of the old library building for decades. The Seattle-based Samis Foundation has given $1 million to catalog and digitize them.
https://www.jns.org/seattle-
https://www.nli.org.il/en/
Boutique hotel joins elite club. Jaffa’s Drisco boutique hotel, and its onsite (non-kosher) top Middle East restaurant, George & John, are the first Israeli establishments to be admitted to the Relais & Châteaux association. The Drisco once hosted Mark Twain, fell into disrepair, now refurbished in the American Colony.
https://www.israel21c.org/
See the parade. (TY Sharon) The photos of Jerusalem’s Purim Parade by the Real Jerusalem Streets are far more interesting than those published here last week. The costumes of many of the spectators also deserve much praise. https://rjstreets.com/2024/03/
Matisyahu ascends to new heights. Rap singer Matisyahu uplifted the spirits of the crowd at Jerusalem’s Zappa at the Lab. The eclectic musician entertained his secular and religious fans for two hours with his 20 years of hits. From his recent “Ascent” memorial to the Supernova victims, to his 2009 hit “One Day”.
https://www.jns.org/matisyahu-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
THE JEWISH STATE
Preparing for Pesach (Passover). Jacob Richman has updated his websites of useful material for the upcoming Jewish festival of Passover. Just one seder in Israel, of course. https://jr.co.il/links/#
https://jr.co.il/hotsites/
Fate or providence? A scroll, dubbed the “Horoscope” scroll unearthed in the Judean Desert reveals the beliefs of a secretive sect that lived thousands of years ago. In reversed Hebrew writing, Greek, Aramaic, ancient Hebrew, and cipher symbols, it claims that your birth date determines personality and physical appearance.
https://www.jpost.com/
How to help Israel. Here are some sites where newsletter readers can donate to Israeli organizations that provide vital help to Israelis at this difficult time. Many thanks to those who have already contributed and to those who are helping by donating their own valuable time and resources.
Friends of the IDF (US donors): https://www.fidf.org/
or IDF Soldiers Fund in Israel: https://www.ufis.org.il/en/
American Friends of Magen David Adom (US donors): https://afmda.org/
or Magen David Adom (Israel): https://www.mdais.org/en/
Zaka (US donors): https://donate.zakatelaviv.
or (Canadian donors): https://www.canadahelps.org/
United Hatzalah: https://israelrescue.org/
Leket Food Israel: https://www.leket.org/en/
JNF USA - https://my.jnf.org/gaza-
Orthodox Union - https://www.charidy.com/
Schneider Children’s Hospital: https://www.fos.org.il/en/
https://system.smartgiving.
https://chaischneider.org/
Rambam Medical Center (Haifa) https://aforam.org/ways-to-
https://www.rambam.org.il/en/
Hadassah Hospital Israel: https://www.hadassah.org/
Laniado Hospital (Netanya) https://my.israelgives.org/en/
And many more charities here:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Buy Israel Bonds to support the Jewish State. (TY Larry B)
https://www.
USA - https://www.israelbonds.com/
Europe - https://israelbondsintl.com/
Canada - https://www.israelbonds.ca/
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