COMMENT

“Those who today always look for disciplinarian solutions, those who long for an exaggerated doctrinal ‘security,’ those who stubbornly try to recover a past that no longer exists – they have a static and inward-directed view of things. In this way, faith becomes an ideology among other ideologies.” – Pope Francis.

by Alan Simons

During 2015 in Israel and in the Palestinian Territories nothing has drawn these two peoples more devastatingly apart than the extreme violence and evil perpetrated by the thirst and willingness to kill young children, pregnant women and the elderly. Egged on by an abhorrent president, who was originally elected in 2005 for just a four-year term, and ten years later, with two thirds of the West Bank demanding his resignation, we must face the reality that while Israel will proudly continue to harness their inventive power to design and produce solutions to the world, the vast majority of Palestinians under Abbas, will persist to be lost souls, full of jealousy, wallowing in hate and unrestrained pleasure in detesting everything that is Israeli. Pity! Palestinians living in the West Bank and in Gaza, at one time, were amongst the highest educated of all Arabs. No longer! For 2016 they deserve more from their government.

Unfortunately in 2015, Israel the West Bank and Gaza had vastly different agendas. The disparity between them, as seen in the following quotes, grew as the year concluded.

December 2015

Israel

– Haifa team IDs activity of proteins linked to memory loss. Using this discovery, University of Haifa scientists will attempt to develop drugs delaying the onset of cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

– Israel to open world’s first aviation cyber innovation center. International Air Transport Association asks Tel Aviv University’s Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center to invent safety and security techs.

– Self-healing ‘electronic skin’ may not be sci-fi much longer. Israeli scientists used a new synthetic polymer to develop a self-healing, flexible sensor that mimics the self-healing properties of human skin.

– Forbes to hold Under 30 Summit in Israel. 600 young entrepreneurs and game changers from across the world to take part in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv events in April 2016.

– China wants Israeli robotics technology. First Chinese investment in Israeli robotics puts $20 million toward development of robots for manufacturing, security, tourism and other sectors.

Palestinian Territories

– Abbas’ Fatah movement chose to celebrate 51 years of violence and killing to mark the 51st anniversary of its founding. On Facebook, Fatah’s official page cheered the results of its terror attacks – what it calls “sowing terror” among Israelis – and posted a picture of a masked Fatah fighter with the words: “Half a century of sowing terror in the eyes of the sons of Zion.”

– Child killer. The new Palestinian superhero Samir Kuntar who murdered a four-year-old Israeli by smashing her head with the butt of his rifle, is the newest PA – Fatah hero and role model. “The [PLO] Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners’ Affairs established a house of mourning for the most senior of Arab prisoners, Martyr (Shahid) Samir Kuntar, who Israel assassinated… Director of PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Karake stated: ‘Martyr Samir Kuntar is a Palestinian symbol

November 2015

Israel

– Colombian farmers welcome Israeli bugs for pest control. BioBee’s microscopic predatory mites are naturally effective at wiping out insects that plague crops.

– Germany woos Israeli entrepreneurs. Berlin offers €150,000 to Israeli teams looking to set up shop locally for at least a year.

– Discovery about ovary formation sheds light on fertility. Novel pathway in the development and maintenance of the ovary has implications for diagnosing and treating infertility and lack of puberty.

– Japanese companies seek Israeli innovations. New Israeli Trade mission inaugurated in Osaka; Toyota hosts Israeli innovation day.

– CBA signs MoU with Chief Scientist of Israel. Australia’s largest bank to test Israeli cybersecurity and big data analytics technologies in new collaboration venture.

Palestinian Territories

– Terrorist Muhannad Halabi murdered two Israeli civilians and wounded the wife and infant of one of them, in a stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem in October. Now, the Yasser Arafat Youth Center in Jenin has named a football tournament after the murderer.

October 2015

Israel

– NASA signs historic agreement with Israel Space Agency. Science Minister Akunis: Historic agreement with tremendous implications for the Israeli space community.

– World’s largest space conference to land in Jerusalem. Despite violence, some 3,000 participants — including heads of world’s space agencies– to attend International Astronautical Congress.

– The new Silicon Valley emerging in Israel’s desert. In the wake of our article on Beersheva becoming the cyber capital of the world, Forbes picks up on the theme.

– Facebook to launch Israeli satellite to bring Africa online. Social media giant partners with France’s Eutelsat Communications to launch AMOS-6 satellite and expand internet access everywhere.

– MediWound awarded US contract for burn treatment. Valued at up to $112 million, the government contract positions NexoBrid as a tool for mass casualty preparedness in the United States.

Palestinian Territories

– A senior official of Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement posted on his Facebook Page that Fatah was accepting responsibility for yesterday’s murder of a young Israeli couple, Eitam and Naama Henkin, in front of their four children. Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Al-Aloul posted: “Palestine Today: The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement Fatah, accepted responsibility for the Itamar operation (i.e., murder of Eitam and Naama Henkin), carried out against settlers, leading to their deaths.”

September 2015

Israel

– SodaStream offers 1,000 jobs to Syrian refugees. Israeli company SodaStream offers Syrian refugees an opportunity to create a new life in Israel.

– Israeli aid workers rescue drowning refugees. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Israeli volunteers dove into the water and saved Mideast refugees after their boat’s engine exploded.

– Novocure files for $300 million IPO. FDA has approved the Israeli company’s device for treating brain tumors using an electric field.

– John Lewis partners with Cimagine. UK’s leading retailer will use Israeli augmented reality technology to create a virtual showroom and enhance shopping experience.

– Israel ranks 6th in global healthy life expectancy study. Life expectancy climbs worldwide but people spend more years living with illness and disability.

– Amazon picks Israeli firm to help it conquer India. Internet retail giant aims to conquer the Indian market with the help of Israel’s MobCo Media.

Palestinian Territories

-Dozens of Palestinian schools are named after terrorist murderers. The official Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA now reports that the naming of state schools “is under the authority” of the PA Minister of Education.

August 2015

Israel

– Tel Aviv University’s valedictorian is Egyptian. ‘We must always question our assumptions. Being here in Israel has taught me…that things are often not as they are made to seem’ — Haisam Hassanein.

– $75 million autism center to open in Jerusalem. Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Center plan to host Mideast region’s first interdisciplinary university-based autism center
– Israel delivers emergency aid to Myanmar. Food, medicines, mosquito nets and hygiene packs provided to flood-ravaged Tharrawaddy region.

– 15 Nobel laureates, 400 science prodigies head to Jerusalem. Leading academics and students from 71 countries taking part in 1st World Science Conference Israel.

– ElMindA, Consumer Physics, Novocure awarded Technology Pioneer by world body. World Economic Forum chooses three Israeli life sciences and health companies among the ‘world’s most innovative companies.’

– 7 lifesaving pediatric transplant operations in 48 hours. Schneider Children’s Medical Center doctors perform back-to-back surgeries to give children ages four-to-16 a new lease on life.

Palestinian Territories

– Sheikh Khaled Al-Mughrabi, who teaches Islam twice a week in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, taught in his most recent class that Jews own 95% of the pharmaceutical industry and therefore train doctors to create new diseases in order to increase profits for the industry.

July 2015

Israel

– World’s biggest generic-drug empire created. Teva Pharmaceuticals makes history with $40.5b deal; Allergan purchase is the largest-ever acquisition by an Israeli company.

– Israelis perform lifesaving heart surgery on 10 Tanzanian children. Pediatric surgeons with Save a Child’s Heart charity give children with congenital heart defects a new lease on life.

– Microsoft, Facebook on $380m shopping spree of Israeli start-ups. ironSource acquires Supersonic mobile app monetization in deal worth some $150 million.

– Germany-Israel mark 50 years of collaboration with innovation day. ‘We must work together to nurture and to promote innovative businesses in both our countries and to maximize our shared advantage.’

– Samsung, Intel launch accelerators in Israel. International technology giants seek further Israeli ingenuity in connected devices, mobile, IT, IoT, wearables, big data and robotics.

Palestinian Territories

– The Palestinian Authority continues to present murderers as heroes to the Palestinian public. One of the two killers who murdered four worshippers in a synagogue with butcher’s knives and guns and later a policeman last November in West Jerusalem, was honored as a “Martyr” in recent reports in the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and WAFA, the official PA news agency. The attack was referred to as “the synagogue operation”

June 2015

Israel

– Israeli biologists find enzyme that produces ‘smell of the sea’. Weizmann Institute scientists point to Alma1 redox-sensitive enzyme behind familiar salty seaside odor.

– Israel and World Bank collaborate on global water issues. New agreement to support Israeli activities in the developing world, create more exposure to Israeli best practices.

– Fraunhofer SIT announces Cybersecurity center in Israel. Europe’s biggest cyber-tech company says hub will pave way for new products to ‘protect freedom and democracy and benefit both societies and their economies.’

– Google CEO praises Israeli high-tech for not following the rules. ‘Israel is booming in terms of entrepreneurship because you have a culture to challenge authority and to question everything. You’re not going by the rules,’ — Eric Schmidt.

– Technion to help build desalination plant in Jordan. Multinational team including Israeli researchers wins a $125,000 USAID grant to build a joint groundwater treatment plant in Jordan.

Palestinian Territories

– More than 150 children “of Martyrs and prisoners” participated in the camp “Jerusalem in the Eyes of the Lion Cubs and Flowers of Palestine” run by the PA’s National Security Forces in coordination with Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah’s youth movement “the Lion Cubs and Flowers of Palestine.”

May 2015

Israel

– Nepalese see Israel as source of inspiration. How several Israeli professionals are giving Nepal villagers tools to rebuild their houses and their lives after the earthquakes.

– World’s first – Israeli scientists grow lymphatic cells in the lab. Breakthrough by Weizmann Institute researchers reveals how lymphatic system develops in embryo and solves longstanding riddle.

– Queen Elizabeth honors BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi. Buckingham Palace bestows appointment of honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire for scientific and academic relations between the UK and Israel.

– Biomed companies in Israel hit record numbers. IATI Biomed 2015 conference in Tel Aviv attracted the cream of the healthcare-industry crop from 45 countries.

– Israeli researchers use supercooling to revolutionize delivery of drugs. Process of crystallization through rapid-cooling could improve timely drug release and provide more effective nanoscale drug encapsulating system.

– Ziv Av Engineering to design, supply electric vehicle battery switching facilities in China. Israeli company signs cooperation agreement with China’s Bustil, responsible for electric vehicles infrastructure in Nanjing, China.

Palestinian Territories

The official PA daily has claimed that Israeli prisons have a “system called ‘slow death”’ to do away with prisoners, and has compared Israeli treatment to the medical experiments of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, who experimented on Jews in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

April 2015

Israel

– Israeli innovations save lives in Nepal. Israeli medical devices and technology help teams locate and treat victims, says United Hatzalah paramedic in charge of a three-organization relief effort.

– Beating the malaria parasite at its own game. Israeli scientists develop a novel method to suppress malaria parasite’s virulence genes so that it cannot evade the immune system.

– Israeli technology can sniff out stomach cancer. NaNose technology, already proven as effective tool in detecting early-stage lung cancer, shows effective in gastric cancer detection.

– Scientific breakthrough as Israelis find cancer-suppressing proteins. The ubiquitin system produces two substances that greatly restrict the development of cancerous tumors.

– Israeli scientists develop all-season grapes. Researchers announce new seedless grapes all year round, seedless eggplants, and a new method to limit height of date palms.

Palestinian Territories

– Hamas does not intend to foster peaceful relations with Israel. Hamas’ Ministry of Interior posted a photo on its Facebook page of a little boy, no more than five years old, posing in military uniform and holding an automatic rifle. The text beside the photo explained that children under Hamas rule grow up learning “the love of Jihad” – religious war for Islam – and aspire to die as Martyrs for Allah.

March 2015

Israel

– Make-a-thon harnesses technology for people with disabilities. Tikkun Olam Makers seek to solve unmet social challenges in disadvantaged communities and nations, fulfilling the traditional Jewish value of repairing the world.

– Alibaba invests in Israeli cyber-security. 5,000 people from 50 countries are in Tel Aviv for Cybertech 2015 International Conference & Exhibition.

– South Korea likes Israeli natural pest control. Minister of Agriculture visits Israel’s BioBee to learn how natural predators such as sterile fruit flies can reduce use of chemicals on food crops.

– Israeli start-ups in New York raise over $1 billion in 12 months. WeWork, Taboola lead funding rounds; majority of money comes from venture capital firms.

– PayPal to buy CyActive cyber security firm. Online payments company makes second Israeli acquisition with $60 million buyout.

Palestinian Territories

– Palestinian Authority TV broadcast a school activity whose stated framework was to use culture to teach children to boycott Israeli products. However, the boy whose interview PA TV chose to broadcast said he was also learning through the school theater that Jews should be killed.

February 2015

Israel

– Apple CEO Tim Cook: “We have an enormous admiration for Israel.” President Reuven Rivlin celebrates opening of new Apple center in Herzliya.

– Tel Aviv is world’s 3rd best place for technology business. Savills’ research looked at business environment, tech environment, quality of life, talent pool and property affordability to come up with an overall score.

– Infosys buys Panaya for $230 million. Indian IT giant makes first acquisition in Israel with buyout of SaaS provider; plans to turn Ra’anana office into R&D center.

Palestinian Territories

– In Friday’s sermon on official Palestinian Authority TV, the cleric demonized Jews as “apes and pigs.” “Many Muslims are being harmed these days by a group whose hearts were sealed by Allah. ‘He made of them [Jews] apes and pigs and slaves of deities’ (Quran, 5:60). They are harming the livelihood of the believers [Muslims]… They withhold their [the Palestinians’] money and collect interest on it.”

January 2015

Israel

– Israeli cancer geneticist wins first Olav Thon Foundation prize. Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Yosef Shiloh honored for research on cell survival and DNA stability.

– World’s smallest, cheapest patch pump for diabetics. TouchéMedical is developing a low-cost ‘smart’ patch pump designed for patients of all ages with diabetes, Parkinson’s and other chronic conditions.

– Turns out anti-inflammatory protein can kill bacteria in immune-compromised patients. BGU researchers discover Alpha1-antitrypsin combats infections and eradicates bacteria.

– Compugen teams with Johns Hopkins University on immune checkpoints. Collaboration to assist Israeli drug discovery company in further substantiating potential of its novel proteins as targets for cancer immunotherapy.

Palestinian Territories

– Following the terror attacks against the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish store in which Muslim terrorists killed 17 people in France earlier this month, columnists writing for the official Palestinian Authority daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida have claimed that Israel was behind the attacks. This view is shared by the vast majority of Palestinians, according to a poll conducted by Ma’an (an independent Palestinian news agency). The poll found that 84.4% support the claim that “the operation (i.e., terror attack) was suspicious, and that Israel may be behind it,” while “only 8.7% believed that the murder of the French [citizens] in Paris was a natural result of the spread of Islamic extremism in Europe.” [Ma’an, Jan. 19, 2015]

To quote from the Midrash: “Kingdoms arise and kingdoms pass away, but Israel endureth for evermore.”

Amen.

(Media credits: Israel 21c | Palestinian Media Watch. Photo credit, verysimplethoughts)