Israel Keeps on Building

Israel Keeps on Building

Here is an alternative strategy to use when responding to those criticizing Israel’s plans to build houses in its capital city.  Change the conversation.  Describe some of the many construction projects that Israel is working on in the fields of education, technology, humanitarian aid, medicine, interfaith relations, the environment and commerce.  Here are some examples from the “real news” of Israel’s recent building achievements.

 

Israel is the only country in the Middle East working to build a better future for all nations.  Daniel Carmon, head of Israel’s Agency for International Development has just signed a foreign aid agreement with Canada’s International Co-operation Minister in Ottawa.  Carmon said, “We have obligations as developed countries ... to not sit idle and see people in the developing world suffer or not get the education or the health or the most basic human rights and other rights that every human being should receive”.  Spend eight minutes to see what sixteen Israeli technology companies have been building by watching this new video of some of the products displayed at Israel Agritech 2012.

Recent international projects include Israel’s Galilee International Management Institute, which has been building policies for the Kenyan Central Bank and training students from the Kenya School of Monetary Studies.  Kenya asked the World Bank for help and they called in the Israelis.  Another role model is Professor Shimon Benita, director of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Pharmacy, who has just received the “Knight in the National Order of Merit of France” for his scientific achievements and success in building close ties with French research.

 

The key to building a better world is education, and Israeli companies have built many world-renowned educational systems.  The latest is an intelligent learning platform from Israel’s Mindojo. Its artificial intelligence allows individuals or companies to create an online course that will automatically adapt to each student’s needs and learning style.  Dr. Zohar Komargodski has certainly built on his educational qualifications from Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute.  The Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation has just awarded him the New Horizons in Physics Prize for his Quantum theories proofs.

 

The Jewish State is constantly rebuilding lives thanks to its advanced medical innovations.  For the first time in 10 years, Canadian Tony Lightfoot’s uncontrollable tremors stopped.  It followed four hours of non-invasive treatment on his brain, using focused ultrasound from Israel’s InSightec.  Tony is the fifth patient at Toronto’s Western Hospital to have the life-changing Israeli treatment.  Surgeons across the world now have a vital aid for stopping problematic bleeding during surgery now that the US Food and Drugs Administration has given approval for the Evarrest biological sealant developed in Israel by Omrix Biopharmaceuticals.

 

Even Israel’s soldiers are rebuilding lives.  In common with seventy percent of Israelis who are drafted into the IDF, Sgt Idan Ducach gave a blood sample to Israeli charity Ezer Mizion when he enlisted.  Later he was told he was a bone marrow match for Alex – a young American boy.  Idan donated his bone marrow and one year later met a very healthy Alex in New York.  In contrast, the Palestinian Authority refuses to pay for medical treatment on its own children.  So in order to save the life of a two-year old Palestinian Arab boy, Israel’s Civil Administration for the Territories funded his bone marrow transplant at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

               Bone Marrow (Wiki Commons)

 

Two Israeli companies are building more efficient environments in North America.  Winnipeg businessmen Michel Aziza and Hans Peper have set-up the North American headquarters of Israel’s Traffilog. Traffilog’s on-board systems provide real-time feedback to the driver and to the fleet operator on driver safety, fuel consumption, vehicle performance, and vehicle health.  Back home, Traffilog’s systems are being installed in every Volvo and Scania truck in Israel.  Another entrepreneurial company, Israeli online farmers market Farmigo aims to put local, fresh-from-harvest produce on the American table, instead of the industrialized food that most families buy currently.  It expects to fundamentally change the way food is purchased and distributed.

  

The Jewish State continues with its impressive re-building process.  Firstly, GDP growth forecasts have been revised upwards to reflect the natural gas output from the Tamar field scheduled to commence in a few months.  Secondly, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported satisfaction with Israel’s progress in building a cleaner environment.  And thirdly, Tel Aviv has now become the world’s number two most successful start-up center after Silicon Valley.  No wonder that skilled Israeli ex-pat professionals, like Dekel Ovadia, after living abroad for seven years are coming home to Israel.

 

In conclusion, Israelis are destined to be builders – it’s part of our DNA.  As the Mishnah says, “Read not banayikh (your children) but bonayikh (your builders).  And as far as Jerusalem is concerned – just watch this video.  Israel has re-built its capital as a united city and the majority of its residents (Jews and Arab alike) wish it to remain so.

http://blogs.jpost.com/content/israel-keeps-building