RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.jns.org/opinion/shameful-comparisons-in-the-name-of-politics/

Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the same breath as Kim Jong-un and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan goes beyond the pale.

Is it too much to ask of Israeli politicians that they take a pause before providing priceless ammunition to the Jewish state’s worst enemies?

Clearly, the answer is “yes.”

In what can only be described as a frenzy to finalize party lists and mergers before the Aug. 1 deadline (and ahead of the Sept. 17 Knesset elections), the already disturbing rhetoric used by candidates and wannabes against one another in general, and against Prime Minister Benjamin (“Bibi”) Netanyahu in particular, has sunk to new lows.

This is no small feat, considering the vile name-calling that characterized the previous campaign, which culminated in the coalition stalemate responsible for the current re-do.

Until Sunday, when Yisrael Beiteinu’s Avigdor Lieberman called Netanyahu’s style of running the ruling Likud Party “North Korean,” the most egregious crossing of ethical red lines came from Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz.

In an interview on April 7, exactly one week before the last Knesset elections, Gantz had the gall to compare Netanyahu to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and to express “deep worry” for the future of Israeli democracy.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/50269/bryen-trumps-middle-east-plan-undermines-shoshana-bryen
The Trump administration’s presentation of an economic plan — rather than a political plan — for the Palestinians was generally mocked or dismissed. As it percolates, however, it appears the administration, as is its habit, was reading trends. The formulation takes an axe to the notion that all plans, politics, money, and political benefits have to be filtered through the “Sole Legitimate Representative of the Palestinian People” — i.e., the PLO or its successor, the Palestinian Authority (PA).

This plan, unlike then-Secretary of State John Kerry’s idea to funnel $6 billion in “investment” through PA strongman Mahmoud Abbas, acknowledges that the PA is a terrible steward of its people and their lives. Inviting individual Palestinian businessmen — even if they didn’t show up — and Arab state representatives and businessmen, instead of the PA, may have evinced proper judgment.

In a recent poll by the Palestine Center for Public Opinion, published by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, only about one-third of respondents supported the a priori rejection of President Trump’s plan by PA officials. And 86% of respondents in Gaza, along with more than 60% of respondents in Jerusalem and the West Bank, favored Arab government participation in the process. The president himself did not poll well, indicating that those polled differentiated between the individual and the process.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24263

The idea that there is “an Auschwitz in every city in Palestine” may puzzle some people, because every major Palestinian Arab city (and most minor ones, too) are under the exclusive rule of the PA, not Israel.

A senior Palestinian Authority official is claiming that there is “an Auschwitz in every city in Palestine.” The revelation is shocking—and it’s also timely, since Congresswomen Rashid Tlaib and Ilhan Omar will be able to investigate the situation during their upcoming visit to the Palestinian Authority territories.

When Tlaib and Omar recently announced that they wanted to visit Israel and the PA, it seemed as if their purpose was just to do some old-fashioned Israel-bashing. But now their trip will take on a much more urgent mission: to see all of the Auschwitzes there, and then share their eyewitness testimony with the outside world.

The Auschwitz allegation was leveled by Palestinian official Jibril Rajoub in a July 8 interview with the Kuwaiti television station Sawt Al-Arab. He said that as a result of Israel’s “barbaric and racist” policies, “Auschwitz is here in every city in Palestine.” (Thanks to Palestinian Media Watch for the translation.)

Lest you think Rajoub is some just some run-of-the-mill lunatic, note that he holds a number of senior positions within both the PA and the PLO. To begin with, he is secretary-general of the Central Committee of Fatah, which is the PA’s ruling party (chaired by PA head Mahmoud Abbas). 

With all the possible pressure, the BDS, the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, sanctions movement could not convince Jennifer Lopez, Bon Jovi and Lionel Richie to cancel their concert in Israel. Nurit Greenger

Enjoy:

1/ Lopez and family in Israel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgsXlBnFIvw

2/ Bon Jovi Shows His Love to Israel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuDmrVHBsds

3/ Lionel Richie: When they tried blocking @LionelRichie from coming to the#Israel – he blocked @codepink right back!

Haters gonna hate, and sometimes it ain’t worth your time to chat with them…

https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/05/shocking-ethics-report-proves-trump-right-defund-un-palestinian-refugee-agency/

In the past decade alone, the United States poured more than $3 billion into the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, which a new report tars for corruption.

The latest allegations of corruption and abuse at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, also known as UNRWA, prove the Trump administration was right to stop spending taxpayer dollars on the organization.

According to a confidential report by the UNRWA ethics office, its top management, including Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl, allegedly “engaged in sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination, and other abuses of authority.” The allegations include of an improper relationship between Krahenbuhl and his senior adviser Maria Mohammedi that resulted in a “toxic environment,” causing “frequent embarrassment.” Mohammedi allegedly was also granted a “fast-track” to promotion to a position that Krahenbuhl created.

In the past decade alone, the United States poured more than $3 billion into UNRWA. The Trump administration cut funding in 2018, a decision U.S. Special Envoy Jason Greenblatt assured was “in part due to UNRWA’s unsustainable business model and fiscal practices.” Now, Greenblatt has called for the UNRWA ethics probe to be as transparent as possible in order to ensure the organization did not improperly use U.S. tax dollars.

Established in 1950, UNRWA was created to assist Palestinian refugees following the 1948 Arab-Israeli crisis. But since its inception, it has been an ineffective and corrupt mess.

As pointed out in a report by attorney Ran Ban-Yoshafat of Kohelet Policy Forum, an organization I have been working with this past summer, the UN violated its charter to treat all categories of people equally when it established UNRWA. While the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is tasked with assisting refugee groups across the globe, UNRWA was created explicitly to support only one group of refugees: Palestinians. Thus, in creating UNRWA, the UN unfairly discriminated in favor of Palestinian refugees.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/274501/israels-successful-testing-arrow-3-joseph-puder

The Start-Up nation that has become a technological powerhouse has once again displayed its inventive capacity to provide protection for the people of Israel. Earlier last month, in Alaska’s air space, Israel successfully tested the Arrow 3 interceptor, its latest anti-ballistic missile-missile. The testing of the Arrow 3 system in Alaska proved that it is able to intercept and destroy an incoming ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead in the outer atmosphere before it dangerously splits and flies toward its target. The test, conducted at the Spaceport Complex Alaska in Kodiak, was a joint effort between the Israel Missile Defense organization of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development, and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. Israel’s Aerospace Industries and Boeing jointly developed the Arrow. The Arrow system became operational in 2017 and has been deployed to counter Iranian and Syrian missiles.

The Arrow 3 interceptor successfully demonstrated its capability against the exo-atmospheric target.  Vice Admiral Jon Hill, the director of the Missile Defense Agency said, “These successful tests mark a major milestone in the development of the Arrow weapon system.” He added, “it provides confidence in the future capabilities to defeat the developing threats in the region.” As for the State of Israel, the successful testing of the Arrow 3 interceptor is particularly encouraging for Israeli civilians. They now know that Arrow 3 provides the Jewish state with a security net against an Iranian attack with ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads. Then again, it is essential for Israel to produce an appreciable quantity of the Arrow 3 launcher and interceptor missiles to forestall an Iranian or possibly a Hezbollah attack with multiple missiles launched at once.

At the July 28, 2019 cabinet meeting, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Our innovative tests in Alaska took part in collaboration with our ally, the United States. The tests outside the atmosphere went perfectly: each target was a bulls-eye! Israel has the ability to send ballistic missiles to Iran, a huge gain for Israel’s security.” The successful Israeli testing of the Arrow 3 exposes Iran’s vulnerability to an Israeli missile attack. Iran lacks the weapon system that is capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missiles. It is now noteworthy to recall PM Netanyahu’s warning to Iran that Israel would destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities should Tehran become an imminent nuclear threat to Israel. The inclusion of the Arrow 3 in Israel’s arsenal makes Netanyahu’s warning much more credible. Israel, however, is unlikely to initiate a war with Iran unless the Islamic Republic is close to producing a nuclear bomb or invades Israeli territory.

https://www.jns.org/opinion/j-streeters-duped-on-alternative-tour-of-israel/

Nonprofit advocacy group J Street has recently been campaigning against Birthright Israel, an educational program that sponsors free 10-day heritage trips to Israel for young Jewish adults. Over 600,000 young adults have participated in the program since its founding in 1999.

J Street charges that Birthright trips lack Palestinians voices, fail to incorporate the Palestinian narrative and neglect to visit Palestinian sites in the West Bank. As an alternative to the traditional Birthright tour, J Street recently sponsored a trip to Israel for 28 participants who visited Palestinian sites in the West Bank and heard from spokesmen for the Palestinian cause.

According to The New York Times, “In the West Bank settlement of Har Gilo,” the J Streeters “received a harsh history lesson from a veteran opponent of the occupation. Then they toured an impoverished, water-starved Palestinian village that Israeli settlers want to demolish, and visited the city of Hebron, where repeated outbreaks of violence have turned an entire Palestinian business district into a ghost town.”

The J Street trip and the Times article about it were highly criticized in a pointed piece in Commentary magazine. The Commentary review noted that there was not a word in either the trip or the Times article “on the murderous Palestinian anti-Semitic violence that necessitates Israel’s policing of such places [as Hebron] to begin with,” “no mention of the kleptocratic Palestinian leadership that’s consigned generations of Palestinians to certain ruin” and “no mention of the fact that the Palestinians have, again and again—and again—refused to make peace with Israel when it was offered.”

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Re-igniting cells to kill cancer. Ben Gurion University scientists have discovered a protein in the membrane of cancer cells that helps the cancer to grow by disabling the immune system’s white blood cells. They have also identified a potential antibody antidote and have secured a startup and funding to develop and commercialize it.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-researchers-discover-how-to-disable-Natural-Killer-cancer-cells-597159
 
MRIs detect molecular changes in the brain. Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists have transformed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect microscopic changes in the biological makeup of brain tissue. Doctors can now get an early warning if a patient is developing a disease such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-imaging-technique-could-help-doctors-predict-Alzheimers-cancer-597134  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266682
 
Analyzing brain cells for Alzheimer’s.  Israel’s Quantified Biology uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) to analyze images of those cells in the brain responsible for electrical communication between neurons. The startup helps researchers into Alzheimer’s treatments by identifying their effect on these key cells.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3766658,00.html
 
A gene to protect against the Zika virus. I reported previously (see here) on Israeli work to eradicate the deadly Zika virus. Now Tel Aviv University scientists have identified the gene IFI6, which combats the Zika virus by protecting cells from infection and preventing cell death. It can lead to a new anti-viral therapy.
https://www.israel21c.org/israelis-identify-genes-that-protect-cells-from-zika-virus/
 
Detecting undiagnosed head injuries. More than 50 million people worldwide suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBI) ever year. CT and MRI scans often fail to detect mild concussions. Israeli neurobiologist Dr. Adrian Harel has founded Medicortex Finland which detects TBI cell damage in a biomarker in saliva and urine.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israeli-founded-company-aims-to-rapidly-detect-undiagnosed-head-injuries-597096
 
Hello Heart.  Israeli-founded Hello Heart is a Smartphone app that helps users lower their blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, strokes and coronary heart disease. It provides tools to self-manage hypertension by encouraging behavior change in companies’ employees. FDA approved and HIPAA compliant.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3767452,00.html  https://helloheart.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCNjuwnA8NI
 
Novel diet for children with Crohn’s disease. Israeli and Canadian researchers have developed a diet that in a 12-week put 75% of children with Crohn’s disease into remission.  The diet comprised eggs, chicken, potatoes, apples, and mashed bananas and initially excluded wheat, dairy, fish, rice, and other fruits and vegetables.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/gastroenterology/inflammatoryboweldisease/80308 
https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(19)36714-9/fulltext?
 
Live long and prosper. (TY Roc) Israel’s National Plan on Aging includes increased budgets for R&D for healthy longevity; health education and increased awareness about aging-related diseases; better public systems for early detection and prevention of aging-related diseases. See also report “Longevity in Israel”.
http://longevityalliance.org/?q=enhancing-research-development-and-education-healthy-longevity-included-israel-national-masterplan https://www.israel21c.org/israel-fast-becoming-world-hub-of-aging-industry/
https://aginganalytics.com/longevity-in-israel/
 
Saving babies in Ghana. (TY Arlene) Israel has upgraded neo-natal facilities in the Kumasi South and Suntreso hospitals in Ashanti, Ghana. Israeli medical personnel from Beersheva’s Soroka Medical Center also trained staff at those hospitals. Doctors there estimate that some 700 babies have been saved as a direct result.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/07/30/israeli-experts-upgrade-neo-natal-units-in-ghana-saving-700-babies/
https://yen.com.gh/131224-israel-upgrades-neonatal-units-kumasi-south-suntreso-hospitals-photos.html
 
Enhancing emergency services in Mexico. Many Mexicans lose their lives each year because emergency calls from mobile phones do not accurately pinpoint the caller’s location. Israel’s Carbyne, is to provide Google’s ELS (Emergency Location Service) in real time. For previous newsletter articles on Carbyne,.see here.
https://www.israel21c.org/google-and-israels-carbyne-improve-911-service-in-mexico/