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Ordman's Good News: (Partially edited.)
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Israelis might not have the wisdom of King Solomon, but some of their inventions, innovations, and achievements are extremely clever.
Israeli electronic sensors can restore the sense of touch to damaged nerves. Doctors are 3D-printing prosthetics for amputees in Israeli hospitals. An Israeli smart catheter is the first device specifically designed to clear blocked veins. And Israeli long-distance tele-medicine is treating and caring for patients across Israel and in Africa.
Smart sensors make Israeli beehives 50% more productive. An Israeli innovation improves the health of cows and the quality of their milk. Israeli paint prevents diseases. The roads are less polluted thanks to Israeli electric mopeds, and the free world is safer thanks to Israeli hi-tech defense systems. Plus much more.
If this email arrives in your spam / junk folder, please mark it as "NOT SPAM".
Please recommend www.verygoodnewsisrael.
In the 2nd Jun 24 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
Israeli electronic sensors can restore the sense of touch to damaged nerves. Doctors are 3D-printing prosthetics for amputees in Israeli hospitals. An Israeli smart catheter is the first device specifically designed to clear blocked veins. And Israeli long-distance tele-medicine is treating and caring for patients across Israel and in Africa.
Smart sensors make Israeli beehives 50% more productive. An Israeli innovation improves the health of cows and the quality of their milk. Israeli paint prevents diseases. The roads are less polluted thanks to Israeli electric mopeds, and the free world is safer thanks to Israeli hi-tech defense systems. Plus much more.
If this email arrives in your spam / junk folder, please mark it as "NOT SPAM".
Please recommend www.verygoodnewsisrael.
In the 2nd Jun 24 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
- Israeli doctors saved the Arab girl critically injured in Iran’s attack on Israel.
- An Israeli dedicated his Mount Everest climb to an Oct 7 victim.
- Israeli medical tech is in touch with patients physically and virtually.
- An Israeli device is the first to unblock veins to treat DVT.
- A kibbutz startup devastated on Oct 7 is eradicating diseases at an Israeli hospital.
- Israeli electric mopeds deliver the goods in Europe, the UAE & South Africa.
- Israel topped the medals table at the Jiu-Jitsu European Championships.
- Golden ring discovery makes a full-circle connection between Jews and Jerusalem.
- Please click here, to donate (a small or large amount) to help me publicize VeryGoodNewsIsrael.
Bedouin girl saved. Israeli doctors have revived Amina al-Hassouni, the seven-year-old Israeli Bedouin Arab Muslim girl who was critically wounded in Iran's massive missile and drone attack on Israel in April. She had been put into an induced coma whilst surgeons fought to save her life. She is conscious and speaking again.
https://www.
Kidney donor saves IDF commander. On Oct 7, a Hamas terrorist wounded company commander Avichai Moula, and a few days later his kidneys began to fail. Of 3,400 offers to donate a kidney, Eitan Aviner from the Samaria town of Yitzhar was found to be the best match. After the transplant, the families met and embraced.
https://www.
15 babies. (TY Yanky) 15 babies have been born since Oct 7 to members of Kibbutz Nir Am, which was attacked by Hamas on that fateful day. This photo encapsulates Israelis sense of hope, optimism and belief in a shared future. https://www.instagram.com/
Rebuilding Kibbutz Be’eri. The process of restoring communities devastated on Oct 7 is beginning. The first of approximately 250 mobile homes have arrived at Kibbutz Be’eri, to provide survivors with temporary accommodation while their homes are being rebuilt.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/
Cafes for Southern evacuees. Cafe Otef in Tel Aviv’s Sarona complex supports survivors from Gaza envelope communities. Seven of the hardest-hit communities will each have their own rent-free cafe run by their own residents, where they can gather, work, and chat with locals who come in to support them.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Project Heroes. Gilad Segev’s Project Heroes is an immersive multimedia show that weaves together recorded and live music, music videos and documentary scenes - in English or in Hebrew with English subtitles - to honor the unexpected heroes of Oct 7 and its aftermath. All profits go to those impacted by Oct 7 events.
https://www.israel21c.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Israeli battery chargers for the IDF. The IDF has commissioned Israel’s Epsilor (see here previously) to develop multi-charger racks (MCRs) for batteries in the launchers of its Spike SR and LR precision missiles. Epsilor manufactures millions of batteries and chargers for scores of customers around the world.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
From the lowest to the highest. Israel’s Ran Kraus has climbed to the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. He dedicated the achievement to his friend Matan Mordechai Lior, an Oct 7 victim. Krauss has also successfully climbed Kilimanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Russia), and Aconcagua (Argentina).
https://israfan.com/p/israeli-
Support for reservist engineering students. Afeka Academic College of Engineering in Tel Aviv (see here previously) has launched the “AsOne” student-support fund. It has allocated NIS 5 million and is raising another NIS 10 million to help the 42% of its students called to active military duty since Oct. 7.
https://www.jns.org/wire/4-
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Restoring the sense of touch. Nerve damage in the hand results in loss of both motor and sensory capability. Surgery can restore movement, but not sensation. Israel’s Tengable has developed tiny sensors that are implanted under the skin. On touching an object, an electrical charge is transmitted to a healthy nerve-ending.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
3D-printing body parts. Since Oct 7, Israel’s Synergy3d Med has progressed from 3D-printing prosthetics for animals (see here previously). Its Patient Specific Instruments (PSIs) create customized replacement limbs or implants of bones and joints for wounded Israelis, inside hospitals in a few hours. Also used in UK and Spain.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
Caring for patients remotely. An updated article about Israel’s Laguna Health (see here previously) whose AI platform records and analyzes conversations during telehealth consultations for social, emotional, and cultural context. It highlights issues enabling care managers to treat their hundreds of patients as individuals.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
A virtual hospital. Israel’s Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva has launched a virtual medical center in line with a 25% increase in demand for telehealth services since Oct 7. The Beilinson NEXT service is available for no additional cost to all Israelis. They can be treated whilst in their kitchen or workplace.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
Wearable devices can save lives. Dr. Shirit Kazum-Beiser is Head of the Sports Cardiology Clinic at Israel’s Beilinson Hospital. She said that smart technology accessories, such as smartwatches, provide data that cardiologists can use to advance research and development and, with new AI tools, can save many lives.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Transforming healthcare. The 150 innovative Israeli health-tech companies presenting at the 2024 BioMed Israel conference featured several new to this newsletter, including Epilog (companion app); Innoventric (valve replacement); Pangea Bio (AI oncology); and QRGenetics (AI therapy discovery).
https://www.israel21c.org/13-
https://epilog.world/ https://www.innoventric.com/ https://pangeabiomed.com/ https://qrgenetics.com/
Clearly the best way through. Israel’s Veinway has developed Traversa - a literally revolutionary device that removes blockages in narrow veins caused by disease, clots, scar tissue etc. It can treat many of the 900,000 US patients diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). Compassionate use trials have been very successful.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
One happy donkey. (TY Atid-EDI) Miri, a 7-year-old female 3-legged donkey with an abscess under its hoof was in so much pain, that euthanasia was the only option. But after one injection of liposomal-CBD from Israel’s Innocan (see here previously), Miri regained her mobility and the abscess healed.
https://finance.yahoo.com/
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Woman at sea. Technion graduate Rafaella Waissertreiger is a natural gas engineer for Chevron on the Tamar gas platform in the Mediterranean Sea, some 50 miles from Haifa. As an offshore facility engineer, she is responsible for operations support and project management, working with 10 other Technion alumi.
https://ats.org/our-impact/
After-school tennis continues for Arab & Jewish kids. Despite Oct 7, the Freddie Krivine Initiative is still running four afterschool tennis and community clubs for Arab and Jewish youth.
https://www.israel21c.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
50% better beehives. To coincide with World Bee Day on May 20, Israel’s BeeHero (see here previously) has reported that its hives have, on average, close to 50% more bee frames (the structures holding honeycombs) per hive when compared to the industry norm. BeeHero is the world’s largest provider of pollination services.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
Science agreement with Guatemala. Israel and Guatemala have reached an agreement to promote scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries, furthering bilateral relations. It includes exchanges of researchers in the fields of fields of agriculture, water and artificial intelligence.
https://www.jns.org/israel-
Fixing Rwanda children’s hearts. A team of 22 cardiologists, physicians, nurses and medical staff from Israel’s Save A Child’s Heart travelled to Kigali, Rwanda to treat young cardiac patients. Children will also be flown to Israel for surgery as part of a 5-year agreement. SACH has also trained two Rwandan doctors in Israel.
https://www.jns.org/medical-
Israeli medical tech in Ghana. The JDC(Joint), and the Ruderman Family Foundation have launched a new healthcare initiative, ImpactWell, which utilizes Israeli mobile and tele-medicine technologies in developing countries. Its one-year pilot has reduced illness and infant mortality and improved life expectancy in Ghana.
https://www.jns.org/wire/jdc-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Aid to Papua New Guinea. Israel’s Foreign Ministry is assessing what assistance Israel can provide to alleviate the suffering of the many thousands of victims of the Papua New Guinea landslide. PNG is a good friend to Israel and in Sept moved its embassy to Jerusalen.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Redefining the dairy industry. Israel’s Yotvata (see here previously) has partnered with Israel’s Mileutis (see here previously) to make the milk industry more sustainable. Yotvata’s Dairy Farm management system, plus Mileutis’ Imilac product creates healthier, happier cows that produce better quality milk without antibiotics.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Turning PVC waste into fuel in Thailand. Israel’s Plastic Back (see here previously) has teamed up with Thai petrochemicals company SCG Chemicals on a project to recycle polyvinyl chloride (PVC) waste into naphtha fuel for industrial use in Thailand.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
Getting into hot water. Israel’s Sowillo Energy (see here previously) has developed a system to use energy from the hot water wasted in showering or washing dishes or clothes. Instead of going down the drain, the system redirects the water to a tank where it heats a coil that generates hot water for others in the building.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
Paint that kills pathogens. (TY Aubrey) Israel’s Nirlat’s Kibbutz Nir Oz paint factory was destroyed on Oct 7. But together with Israel’s Nanosono (see here previously) it created Aquanir Active Shield - an acrylic paint that eliminates almost all bacteria, viruses, and molds. It is already being used at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-
The robot that picks and packs. More on the robotic technology from Israel’s 1MRobotics (see here previously). Select your goods and a robot will retrieve your purchased items in under 10 seconds. The first autonomous grocery store will be operated by a supermarket chain with 20 stores in New York.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-
From the patient’s perspective. Israel’s OtheReality has developed a virtual reality app that teaches medical staff to show more empathy with patients. The startup launched via a partnership between Bar-Ilan University and Sheba Medical Center’s ARC Innovation Center, and is being piloted at Sheba and other Israeli hospitals.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
https://www.othereality.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?
See Israeli innovation in Washington DC. Israel Aerospace Industries has inaugurated its first visitor’s center in the US, in Washington, D.C. IAI says it reflects its strategy to work to deepen business and technological activities with its partners in the U.S. IAI also plans to launch an innovation center in DC at the end of July.
https://www.jns.org/israel-
Top-rated software again. (TY Atid-EDI) For the second year in a row, Israel’s Zesty (see here previously) has been named a Top Rated Software by FeaturedCustomers, the world's only customer reference platform for B2B business software & services. Zesty optimizes the cloud computing usage of its 500+ customers.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/
https://www.featuredcustomers.
Putting AI into Excel. Israel’s DataRails (see here previously) has developed FinanceOS, a financial planning and analysis (FP&A) platform that integrates artificial intelligence into the Excel program. It connects Excel securely to the company’s cloud systems and then automates the updating of spreadsheets with cloud data.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Tel Aviv startups lead the world. Despite the war, Tel Aviv continues to outperform other global tech hubs like San Francisco and New York. Almost one in every 20 of the city’s privately held startups (4.8%), backed by venture capital, has become a unicorn (valued over $1 billion) - the highest percentage in the world.
https://www.israel21c.org/tel-
3 huge new towers for Tel Aviv. (TY Yanky) In another sign of a vibrant, growing economy, in 2026 Carasso Group will start building 3 towers in Tel Aviv, each of 41-48-floors. The 410 housing units will include 144 affordable homes, as well as some 120,000 sq meters of office, commercial, hotel and public space.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/
They all want Arrow 3. (TY UWI & ILTV News) One month after Iran’s missile assault on Israel, and Israel’s Arrow 3 defense system is now in very high demand. Many countries are negotiating with Israel’s Aerospace Industries. Germany (see here) recently bought the system for $3.5 million (see here previously).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
An electric delivery experience. Israel’s Blitz Motors (see here previously) replaces gasoline-fueled delivery motorbikes with cheaper, safer, and more sustainable electric mopeds. It says 400 mopeds save 29.000 trees a year. Companies use Blitz e-mopeds in Israel, the Netherlands, the UK, the UAE, Belgium, and South Africa.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
Robots for the US Marines. Israel’s Roboteam (see here previously) has won another US order – this time to supply 200 Micro Tactical Ground Robots (MTGR) to the US Marine Corps. The MTGR is a lightweight tactical all-terrain robot equipped with 360-degree imaging cameras. The IDF use MTGRs in Gaza.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/
Google’s AI lifeline fund. (TY OurCrowd) Google’s AI Lifeline fund (see here previously) is supporting several cash-strapped Israeli startups. They include MagniLearn, NeuroBrave, and IXDen.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Can you trust an on-line company with your data? Israel’s Hoggo has created an AI-driven platform that combs through and assesses a company’s publicly available policies on consumer protection. It creates a privacy passport and grade that prospective online buyers and sellers can read to decide if they can trust them.
https://nocamels.com/2024/05/
https://hoggo.io/
Exits, takeovers and mergers – to 2/6/24: Israel’s CyberArk is acquiring US-headquartered Venafi for $1.54 billion.
Startup investment – to 2/6/24: Firefly.ai raised $23 million (co-founder murdered on Oct 7); Orca AI raised $23 million; Unlimited Robotics raised $5 million.
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
So busy in Jerusalem. (TY Sharon) Recent and forthcoming Jerusalem events include Economy and Society Conference, Education Week, Writers Festival, “In-attention” new tech & design at Hansen House, Design Week, Jerusalem Street Orchestra concert, and the Lag B’Omer bonfire and dancing at the Kotel.
https://rjstreets.com/2024/05/
The Israeli Mind: The Story of Israeli Innovation. I have just been alerted to this book, by Galit Hemi, which was written in 2021. The Calcalistech article below features ICQ, and the four Israeli “nerds” who kick-started Israel’s Hi-tech Revolution. https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://www.amazon.com/
30 years of writers’ café. Tmol Shilshom, the literary (dairy kosher) coffee house in Jerusalem’s Nachalat Shiva neighborhood, is marking 30 years with a series of events in June.
https://www.timesofisrael.
https://www.tmol-shilshom.co.
Dig, Dive & Discover. The University of Haifa’s School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures (SAMC) has launched a new science-oriented international one-year master’s program in archaeological research. It brings underwater and coastal archaeology, geology, geoarchaeology, history, ecology, and lab work under one roof.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
A sure bet for success. Israeli actress Daniella Pick, wife of acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino, is to play the lead female role in a new American action thriller titled, “The Perfect Gamble”.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-
Hiking the Holyland. (TY Laura) The next group hike organized by Hiking the Holyland is on Jun 9. Ben Zaltzman will guide the group along the 23rd segment of the Israel Trail, through Hadera Forest. 13.5 km of easy, flat walking from Hadera Stream to Turtle Bridge. Transport available from Tel Aviv.
https://hikingintheholyland.
Jiu-Jitsu team European gold & silver. (TY Hazel) At the 2024 Jiu-Jitsu European Championships, Israel topped the medals table. In the Team Competition, the Israeli B team won, and the A team were runners up. Sara Kovaliov, who is deaf, won the para gold and sang Hatikva in sign language. (see Facebook videos)
https://www.facebook.com/
https://www.facebook.com/
https://www.insidethegames.
https://www.sportdata.org/ju-
THE JEWISH STATE
2,300-year-old ring found in Jerusalem. (TY UWI) Archaeologists discovered a 2,300-year-old child’s ring at an excavation in Jerusalem’s City of David archaeological park. The gold and gemstone ring upgrades the previous historical view of the nature and stature of Jerusalem’s inhabitants in the Early Hellenistic Period.
https://www.
Israel’s largest mezuzah scroll. Rabbi Meir Peretz from Ashdod has written a 56 cm (22-inch) mezuzah - roughly a third of the size of an average person. Rabbi Peretz is a certified Sofer (scribe) of the Mishmeret Stam Institute, but admitted it was a very complex task. The mezuzah cost the customer NIS 1500 (approx. $400)
https://www.
Celebrate Jerusalem Day. Jacob Richman has updated his Jerusalem pages to include new links for Yom Yerushalayim on June 4th – the anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967 during the 6-day war.
https://jr.co.il/hotsites/
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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My Conundrum. What's Your's?
Essay By Dick Berkowitz
What the Trump Haters have accomplished, through trials, is evident to me and most Americans but it also has a secondary conundrum effect., for lack of a better explanation/word.
The definition of the word conundrum is something that is puzzling or confusing.
I submit, the Trump verdict, raised six Conundrums relating to socialism in the United States of America, for me to re-digest.
They are:
1.America is capitalist and greedy - yet half of the population is subsidized
.
2.Half of the population is subsidized - yet they think they are victims.
3.They think they are victims - yet their representatives run the government.
4.Their representatives run the government - yet the poor keep getting poorer.
5.The poor keep getting poorer - yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.
6.They have things that people in other countries only dream about - yet they want America to be more like those other countries.
These three, short sentences tell you a lot about the direction of our current government and cultural environment .
Seems we constantly hear about how Social Security is going to run out of money. But we never hear about welfare or food stamps running out of money! What's interesting, and another conundrum, is the first group "worked for" their money, but the second didn't.
"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." – Plato
Worst of all, we elect district and local attorney's, many financed by Soros and his family, that no longer focus on criminality but attacking a specific person, ie.Trump. They have weaponized our judicial system while Biden has established the most corrupt and egregious Department of Justice in contemporary history.
The goal of the Trump haters was to pin the felonious tag on him at all cost and if that meant ignoring justice so be it and If that helps elect Biden, tough. If the trial meant preventing Trump from campaigning, who cares?
Furthermore, I have often said progressive elite radicals do not care about America, the constitution or our republic. Their goal is power, control over America's unwashed citizenry and if that means climbing over whores to rape their mothers they are ready and willing.
These people are truly sick, truly demented and so goal and hypocritically driven they are very dangerous. Think de Niro. What did he ever do for New York?
For us "deplorables," we must take them at their word and believe their actions are purposeful and intended. If we do not, then, we are damn fools and deserve what we get, which is the end of our democracy.
How we can ignore what is happening in America and remain passive, while our decline is evident and accelerates, becomes the conundrum, at least for me. What about you?
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Subverting democracy and the fate of the Jews
Jews uniquely thrived in America because of its exceptionalism and rule of law. The prosecution of former President Donald Trump could mark the end of the era of safety.
By JONATHAN S. TOBIN - JNS
The last eight months have shaken the faith of many American Jews in the future of their community. The surge in antisemitism, especially on college campuses, has shattered any illusions we might have had about ensuring that Jew-hatred would be confined to the fever swamps of the far right and left in U.S. society. But as grievous as that threat to their safety may be—and the gravity of that peril cannot be overestimated—the Jewish community should also be pondering just how secure they can be in an America whose democratic norms and the rule of law can no longer be relied upon.
The prosecution and now the conviction of former President Donald Trump in a New York City courtroom on dubious charges and via a judicial process that is, at best, questionable, forces us to ask that question.
Breaking norms and precedents
To broach this topic and consider the consequences of a partisan prosecution of both a former president and the choice of the Republican Party for the 2024 election, one needn’t be an admirer of Trump or even be planning to vote for him in November. Trump is a singular figure in American political history and has broken all sorts of precedents with his behavior and speech—before, during and after his presidency. But at this point, the same can be said of his opponents, who seem to believe that his allegedly unique awfulness not merely permits but obligates them to break rules and precedents in their efforts to stop him from governing while he was president, to prevent his re-election, and now, to thwart him from gaining a second term in 2024.
Any discussion of which side is worse in this debate can be attributed to the type of “whataboutism” that involves justifying things that shouldn’t be justified. But suffice it to say that when he took office in 2017, he rejected the idea of having his administration pursue criminal charges against his opponents, in particular, his 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. In what for him was a relatively rare instance of rising above feuds, Trump rightly understood that following up on the irresponsible rhetoric about “locking her up” that was heard at his campaign rallies was the last thing the country needed, regardless of whether a partisan prosecutor could have resurrected charges about her violating the rules about the handling of classified information.
But his opponents, outraged at the thought of Trump sitting in the White House, did not reciprocate. They promoted the Russia collusion hoax—a conspiracy theory about Trump being a Russian agent for whom Moscow supposedly stole an election—for years and then impeached him on a partisan charge of withholding foreign aid to Ukraine. Silicon Valley oligarchs that control the virtual public square and major media outlets then conspired to suppress stories about corruption charges against the family of his 2020 opponent.
All of this was done because of the conviction that Trump was an opponent of democracy, though there was no evidence of any efforts on his part to behave in this manner while president. But his reaction to the 2020 vote seemed at least in part to confirm the claims that he was not prepared to accept an election loss. While he can be blamed for the events that led to the disgraceful Capitol Riot on Jan. 6, 2021, it was no insurrection, and, though he behaved recklessly and without grace, he peacefully left office that month.
It is possible that the Republican Party might have been prepared to choose an alternative to Trump in 2024, but once Democrats began efforts to confiscate his income, throw him off the ballot and then jail him on a raft of charges that were not just flimsy but politically motivated, the chances of the GOP moving on from him were over. Convinced—and not without reason—that what was going on was a campaign of lawfare, akin to the sorts of bills of attainder (in which the British parliament and crown had historically legislated against specific individuals) specifically prohibited by the U.S. Constitution, his party rallied around him.
Burning down democracy to save it
Undaunted by the idea that they were essentially burning down democracy to supposedly save it, Democratic prosecutors, cheered on by their party base, moved ahead. The most dubious of those charges was the case brought against him in a New York state court. In this instance, a prosecutor who had gained election by promising to jail Trump conjured up an unprecedented indictment involving not only murky legal theories but also a state trial on federal election law. It did involve a disgraceful (though not necessarily illegal) hush money payment by Trump to a former porn star. While designed to humiliate the ex-president, it was also conducted in such a blatantly unfair manner that it did nothing to undermine support for him. The pre-ordained guilty verdict is unlikely to be sustained in the appellate courts but, like the trial, it constitutes a form of election interference that both parties would denounce as the stuff of banana republics or President Vladimir Putin’s Russian regime if it were happening elsewhere.
None of this represents a reason to vote for Trump or President Joe Biden. Still, the effort to imprison an American political leader, no matter how controversial, in this manner is a crossing of the Rubicon that could have devastating consequences going forward. At this point, it no longer matters who did what to whom first. The only thing to be considered is that Democrats are trying to imprison the leader of the GOP and that it is unlikely that Republicans will refrain from playing the same game in the future, especially if, as the polls currently indicate, they return to power in January 2025.
What does this have to do with the fate of American Jewry?
Like all Americans, Jews have a stake in the preservation of their country’s democratic form of government. What made the United States a haven in the history of the Diaspora was its particular brand of constitutional democracy based on the ideal of equal justice under the law. That allowed Jews to ascend to leadership positions in virtually every sector of American society, secure in the belief that there were no religious tests to constrain them and that the rule of law protected them in a way it had never consistently done elsewhere. America wasn’t a Jewish utopia, but it did provide an opportunity for freedom without requiring Jews to give up their identity, faith or interests.
On the surface, the Trump drama and the backlash it is causing may not seem to have anything to do with the Jews. But if the United States is, as it might be, on the verge of no longer being a place where we can count on the rule of law as well as one with a political culture in which the major parties will seek to jail each other’s leaders, then even a cursory knowledge of Jewish history, would teach us that Jews will no longer be safe from persecution.
A surge in anti-Semitism
The post-Oct. 7 surge in antisemitism has already shaken confidence in the Jewish future. A form of left-wing Jew-hatred—rooted in toxic ideas like critical race theory and intersectionality—has created a new orthodoxy in academia by which Jews and Israel could be smeared and delegitimized as “white” oppressors and undeserving of rights. The willingness of mainstream corporate media outlets to normalize this new antisemitism remains deeply troubling. Their willingness to treat prejudicial canards about Zionism being a form of racism—a blatant lie that has its roots in Marxist and Soviet propaganda of the past—as something that decent people should agree to disagree about has resulted in Jews being marginalized, shunned and endangered.
If you add this factor of newly fashionable antisemitism to a toxic brew of political instability caused by the anti-Trump lawfare campaign, it’s possible to imagine a scenario where the sort of Jew-hatred on college campuses spreads with unimaginable consequences. The strife at academic institutions, which is part of a broader battle over the future of America and the West, again illustrates that the Jews are always the canaries in the coal mine. We can’t know where all this will end, but in an atmosphere of this sort of political strife, it isn’t unreasonable to wonder about scenarios in which American Jews will be targeted in ways that seemed unimaginable not that long ago.
The only reason I can give for optimism is that I’m reasonably sure that the vast majority of Americans don’t want any of this. They may be bifurcated in their politics and distrust people on the other side of the political aisle. But if there is anything that I’ve learned in my travels around the country in the last eight years, it is that most Americans don’t want their politicians to be at each other’s throats and oppose extremism of all kinds. The talk of “civil war,” which was given full expression in a recent dystopian film of the same name, seems easy to imagine among the chattering and governing classes yet abhorrent to the overwhelming majority of people they hope to influence and rule.
The conviction of Trump on the most unreasonable and openly partisan charges against him may mean that there is no turning back. In spite of that, reasonable people must urge their political leaders to step back from the abyss. The surge in antisemitism is a warning to Jews and non-Jews alike that ideas essentially at war with American exceptionalism pose an immediate danger to our society. If we are now to add a new political norm whereby those who lose elections must fear prosecution, regardless of their actions, then it is entirely possible that the era when Jews could regard America as a safe place could well be over.
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Master of Ceremonies and Sponsor of Israel's 76th Independence Day Event for Israeli Embassy in Washington DC
By Avi Jorisch
United in Hope: It was my great pleasure to MC the 76th Independence Day Event for Israeli Embassy in Washington DC last week. The Israel Economic Forum (www.IEFnetwork.org), the organization which I co-founded a year ago and serve as its CEO, was a proud sponsor of this event. IEF is an elite membership organization of deeply committed pro-Israel CEOs, business executives, and world leaders who leverage their success and influence to ensure the future of the Jewish people and the State of Israel’s long-term economic success. I was delighted to co-MC this event with alongside my colleague Brooke Goldstein, Founder of the Lawfare Project.
Watch the video here (please fast forward to event start at 3:35): https://shorturl.at/LBod9
Being together gave the community an opportunity to reflect on the past seven months of Israel's war against Hamas following the brutal October 7th terrorist attacks. Approximately 1,200 guests attended the event at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
Ambassador Michael Herzog spoke at the event, along with Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Democratic Caucus Chair Representative Pete Aguilar (D-CA). Their speeches, and presence, highlighted the strong bipartisan support of Israel in the United States Congress and its members' solidarity with Israel at this dark time, as shown through the passage of the national security supplemental package merely a month after the largest direct attack against Israel by Iran.
The attendees hailed from a wide variety of sectors, including government officials, members of the U.S. Congress, civil society leaders, members of the media and representatives of the Jewish and Israeli communities. Members of Congress in attendance included Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Kathy Manning (D-NC), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Bill Foster (D-IL), Brandon Williams (R-TX). Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Regional Security in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Mira Resnick and Counselor of the United States Department of State Derek Chollet also joined the reception.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog sent a video message for those in attendance, highlighting the enduring strength of the Israel-U.S. alliance: "The unbreakable bond is indeed unbreakable. It is an emotional bond...spanning over so many topics and issues. Thank you to the U.S. administration, members of both sides of the aisle and all our friends in America for being there with us and standing with us at this very difficult and challenging moment."
Renowned Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza performed several songs, as well as Hatikvah, Israel's national anthem. Jake Hoot, the winner of Season 17 of The Voice, performed the Star-Spangled Banner.
The theme of this year's Independence Day event was United in Hope. There were 128 yellow chairs set up in the event hall to represent the 128 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Additionally, guests viewed a series of photos taken by renowned Israeli photographer Avishag Shaar-Yeshuv, whose work has been featured in the New York Times, of Israel post-October 7th. The photographs showed Israelis from all walks of life and the communities of the Gaza envelope in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks, providing a deeply human perspective of Israeli society today.
I send you all light as our community faces darkness. May all the hostages be returned safely and may the One who creates peace in the heavens bring peace to us all, and to all of Israel. Find Out More
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