Keeping The Lights On: Israeli Startups Protect Against Dire Cyber Attacks

By Lauren Blanchard - January 27, 2016

Originally appeared here in NoCamels

“We are currently experiencing one of the most severe cyber-attacks on the Israeli Electricity Authority,” Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure Dr. Yuval Steinitz announced yesterday at the third annual CyberTech Conference in Tel Aviv. The minister assured the 11,000 attendees that, fortunately, the attack is handled by his office and the Israeli National Cyber Bureau.

It seems that ‘fortunately’ was quite an understatement, as the attack incapacitated many of the computers of the Israeli Electricity Authority. Only because the malware had been previously identified, a patch was able to neutralize the attack before it could cause considerable damage. Steinitz stressed that “cyber-attacks on infrastructure can paralyze power stations and the whole energy supply chain – from natural gas, oil, petrol to water systems – and can additionally cause fatalities.”

His warning reflects the growing concern both in Israel and abroad that 2016 will bring a wave of new cyber attacks, not on virtual assets, such as credit card and social security numbers, but rather physical ones — telecommunication towers, public transport, hospitals — an attack on the scale of that which sabotaged an Iranian nuclear facility a few years ago.

Yet, protecting critical infrastructure (yes, we know it is not sexy) is looking increasingly daunting, because despite the plethora of cyber security companies coming out of the US and Israel (respectively, the number one, and number two exporters of cyber-security solutions according to Israel’s National Cyber Bureau), only a small number deal with critical infrastructure. Read More

Israel sends donations to flood victims in Paraguay and Uruguay

(Photo: Office of the President, Paraguay)

By Abigail Klein Leichman - January 17, 2016

Originally appeared here in Israel21c

Israel’s embassies in Asuncion, Paraguay, and Montevideo, Uruguay, are organizing donations of humanitarian-relief supplies for families displaced by the severe floods that have impacted tens of thousands of citizens in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil.

Paraguay is the hardest hit of the South American countries affected by what is being called the worst flooding in 50 years, and its government has declared a state of emergency as approximately 130,000 people – most of them residents of the capital city — are living in temporary shelters.

Israel’s embassy in Paraguay is donating PYG 60,000,000 ($10,150) worth of supplies to be purchased in Paraguay and distributed along with the Ministry of National Emergency, according to Israeli Ambassador Peleg Lewi.

The Israeli embassy in Montevideo is contributing an equivalent amount to flood victims in Uruguay, where more than 13,000 people were displaced by the disaster. Read More

Ethnic harmony in an Israeli city you never heard of

(Photo: Juliana Hashoul)

By Abigail Klein Leichman - January 5, 2016

Originally appeared here in Israel21c

Can Jews, Muslims and Christians live side by side peacefully in Israel? It’s a question many people ask themselves.

But they can, and they do, in cities such as Haifa and in less well-known Lod, whose slogan is “A mosaic of cultures.”

The municipality is working hard to raise the profile of this mostly working-class city of 77,500. It recently invited a group of journalists and diplomats to help spread the message that coexistence is alive and well in Israel — even in the climate of heightened fear and mistrust engendered by stabbing and shooting attacks by Arabs in various parts of the country lately.

“In the past few months, as a Jew I have not felt any tension here, and most of the people I speak with agree that regardless of whether they are Jews, Christians or Muslims, people here feel very, very safe,” said Deputy Mayor Aviv Wasserman, a graduate of the London School of Economics and a major force in the turnaround of Lod from hardscrabble to hopeful in the past seven years. Read More

Op-Ed: I belong to one of Israel’s minorities

(photo: emaze.com) 

By Jonathan Elkhoury - January 4, 2016

Originally appeared here in Arutz Sheva

Israel has many minorities that over the years have become unseparated parts of Israeli society, such as the Druze people - around 122,000, Christians-around 123,000, Muslims - over 1,200,000, the Bahai people around 700, Bedouins around 250,000 and more.

I belong to one of the smallest minorities in Israel, the refugees from the SLA (South Lebanese Army).Those are former soldiers and their families (around 700 families) who were supported by Israel during the South Lebanon conflict, to fight against the PLO and Hezbollah in 1982 until 2000.

After the decision of the Israeli government to leave the south of Lebanon on May 23rd 2000, SLA people were given the choice to flee to Israel and get asylum. My father left Lebanon that day and my mother, my brother and I followed him on August 28 2001. At the beginning the Israeli government arranged motels, hotels and holiday villages for the families for a year and a half. During that year they sent the children to special schools so they could learn Hebrew and continue their studies in school and the grownups were sent to Ulpan for Hebrew studies. Also each family received a small amount of money every month.

After we grew up and finished school with full diplomas, had learnt to speak Hebrew fluently, as children of SLA’s we were given the choice to join the army. Some of us joined it or the national service, like my brother and I, as we wanted to feel like regular Israeli citizens and do our civil obligations. Read More

5 places you must visit this Christmas in Israel

(Photo: Itay Cohen/FLASH90)

By Viva Sarah Press - December 17, 2015

Originally appeared here in Israel21c

Christmas markets and concerts in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Haifa, Ramla and Tel Aviv-Yafo embrace the true holiday spirit of tolerance and inclusion and attract people of all religions to celebrate together.

Christmas in Israel means walking through the small streets of Jerusalem’s Old City, taking part in a Christmas parade, attending a Christmas Mass or church service, playing in the snow at Jaffa’s Winter Festival, and sampling traditional foodstuffs at one of the holiday markets.

Of course, many tourists will also want to visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The Ministry of Tourism offers free shuttle transportation between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Check the schedule, here.

Just don’t forget to make time to visit the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth or the Franciscan parish church of St. Joseph in Ramla or the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, as well.

ISRAEL21c brings the holiday highlights from five Israeli cities: Read More

Israeli ed-tech start-up finds fans in Dubai

(photo: REUTERS)

By Niv Elis - December 9, 2015 

Originally appeared here in The Jerusalem Post

There was nothing too remarkable about the email that Raz Wasserstein, co-founder of education technology start-up Remini, received from one of its early users.

The user said how much they liked the product, how well both students and parents were responding and offered up a suggestion for a new feature.

The only strange thing was the signature: The email came from a school in Dubai.

“We were regularly checking our users, and we started to see names like Ahmed, Fatima, Amer, and then we realized they were coming from the United Arab Emirates,” Wasserstein recalls.

Remni is a company that offers an internal social network for schools, where teachers can post updates on students for parents and relatives to see and to document a child’s experiences. Several schools in Dubai picked up the application, and eagerly corresponded with the founders. Read More

Seal bearing name of Judean king found in Jerusalem

(Photo: Ouria Tadmor)

By Ilan Ben Zion - December 2, 2015

Originally appeared here in The Times of Israel

Archaeologists deciphered a seal impression bearing the name of the 8th century BCE biblical King Hezekiah recently found during excavations next to the Old City of Jerusalem, the Hebrew University announced Wednesday.

The bulla, a stamp seal impression, was one of dozens found in recent years in a royal building in the Ophel, excavation leader Dr. Eilat Mazar said at a press conference held at the Mount Scopus campus, and bears the name “Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz, king of Judah,” an 8th century Judean ruler.

Mazar called the artifact “the closest as ever that we can get to something that was most likely held by King Hezekiah himself.” She said that the bulla “strengthens what we know already from the Bible about [Hezekiah].” Read More

Israel opening renewable energy office in Abu Dhabi

(Photo: Courtesy of IRENA)

By Abigail Klein Leichman - November 29, 2015     

Originally appeared here in Israel21c

The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed plans to open a mission to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, following a visit to IRENA headquarters there last week led by Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold.

The announcement does not signal any change in the non-existent relationship between the two countries.

However, Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon tells ISRAEL21c this will be the first Israeli mission located in a country with which Israel has no diplomatic ties, and the first time current Israeli citizens will go to live in the UAE. Read More

Israel trains French trauma experts in wake of terror attacks

(Photo by Serge Attal/FLASH90)

By Abigail Klein Leichman - November 24, 2015

Originally appeared here in Israel21c

When 130 people were killed and 368 injured in a series of terror attacks in Paris earlier this month on November 13, 15 clinicians trained by Israeli experts fanned out to area hospitals to offer psychotrauma interventions as the victims were brought in.

These French mental-health professionals from OSE, the largest Jewish welfare organization in Paris, were among a group of 80 who had been trained by members of the Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC) following the terror attack on a Paris kosher supermarket last January.

ITC Director Talia Levanon tells ISRAEL21c that Israel’s unfortunate experience and expertise in the psychological effects of terror bring a critical perspective to foreign professionals more used to dealing with isolated incidents.

As France is suffering such attacks on a more frequent basis, the ITC and Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) are stepping up efforts to train clinicians there – even as a wave of terror in Israel is keeping the ITC very busy at home. Read More

Israelis create material that heals itself like human skin

By Ynet - November 20, 2015

Originally appeared here in Ynetnews

Researchers at the Technion in Haifa have developed a new platform that is sensitive to touch and flexible, which also repairs itself automatically in the event of damage such as scratches or cuts.

The research, carried out at the Technion's chemical engineering faculty and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, was published in the leading journal "Advanced Materials."

Researchers at the Technion say that the platform has sensors which are sensitive to pressure, heat and volatile particles. Its potential uses include electronic skin, which can simulate human skin and continuously monitor the health of the person it is attached to; touch screens that can maintain transparency for long periods; transistors in electrical circuits that can permanently monitor for and correct flaws; and more. Read More

Paris synagogue holds memorial for terror victims

(photo: AFP PHOTO/LOIC VENANCE)

By JTA And Times of Israel Staff - November 15, 2015

Originally appeared here in The Times of Israel 

Some 200 people gathered under heavy guard at a Paris synagogue to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks in the French capital on Friday night.

Led by the chief rabbi of France, Haim Korsia, leaders of French Jewry and Israel’s ambassador to France were among those who assembled at the Synagogue de la Victoire on Sunday evening.

“Our people, which has been tested more than others, knows the healing power of solidarity and unity in the face of the pain of torn families, broken couples and orphaned children,” said Michel Gugenheim, the chief rabbi of Paris, of the 132 fatalities and more than 350 wounded in multiple attacks.

The event included a prayer for the souls of the dead and a separate prayer, led by Rabbi Moche Lewin, director of the Conference of European Rabbis, for the speedy recovery of the wounded. Read More

Palestinian Woman Crowned Israel’s Miss Fitness

By Heba Zoabi - November 10, 2015

Originally appeared here in i24news

Anoush Belian holds the title of Israel’s Miss Fitness 2015. Not only is she the first Palestinian to win the Israeli competition, but she is also the first Palestinian woman to choose to compete in a bodybuilding competition.

Up to a year ago, Belian led a completely normal life. She studied English at the Armenian School in Jerusalem and worked in various fields, including teaching English. But last year, at age 27, the young East Jerusalemite decided it was time for a challenge. Her chosen field - weightlifting.

She joined a gym run by the person who later became her personal trainer, Basel Saeed, and went on an intensive regimen, diet and all.

The training sessions cut Belian off from her family and friends, and even her mother's cooking which she had to give up as part of the diet she made for herself in order to reach her goal - to compete in Israel’s National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA). Read More

Four years after the tsunami – a look at IsraAID’s work in Japan

By Abigail Klein Leichman - November 9, 2015 

Originally appeared here in Israel21c

When ISRAEL21c President Amy Friedkin was touring Japan recently, she met with representatives of IsraAID-The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid.

“I wanted to see for myself what they’re doing in Japan four years after the tsunami, and to learn from Yotam Polizer, IsraAID Global Emergencies Director, where else they are in the world right now,” Friedkin says.

She met with Polizer at the Japan International Center for Trauma and Emergency Relief and showed him the Israel Aid Map recently added to the ISRAEL21c home page.

Polizer explained to Friedkin that IsraAID is the only foreign organization still on the ground after arriving in March 2011 to provide assistance after the tsunami. This is in keeping with IsraAID’s policy of helping communities move from devastation to self-sustenance, he told her. Read More

WATCH: Ethiopian Jewish hip hop Jam in Jerusalem

(photo: YouTube screenshot)

October 4, 2015

Originally appeared here in the Times of Israel

IndieCity is a project that brings musical performances to various Jerusalem (and Tel Aviv) neighborhoods, capturing the music with high quality video production and bringing a lively concert to diverse neighborhoods.

(Watch the video here) 

This performance, by Lucille Crew, took place in the neighborhood of Kiryat Menachem. Wikipedia’s description:

Kiryat Menachem and Ir Ganim are a single geographic unit with a population of about 15,000. The neighborhood’s population is quite heterogeneous, with veteran residents and new immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. Read More

6 made-in-Israel devices for disaster relief

(Photo: Shay Wagner/IDF Spokesperson/FLASH90)

By Abigail Klein Leichman - October 8, 2015

Originally appeared here in Israel21c

When disaster strikes anywhere in the world, Israelis are always among the first on the scene to offer search-and-rescue, first aid and secondary medical care.

Some of the most critical pieces of equipment they take with them to help victims of earthquakes, fires, typhoons, hurricanes and terror attacks are home-grown.

But these innovative devices are not just for Israeli aid workers. Here are six blue-and-white innovations that emergency responders in many countries keep at the ready in case of disasters. More are in development, to be discussed at today’s seminar on product innovation for first responders in Herzliya. Read More

Israel, India aim to step up bilateral ties during Mukherjee visit

(photo: wikimedia)

By Press Trust of India - October 4, 2015

Originally appeared here in Business Standard

India and Israel will aim to further step up bilateral engagement and are likely to sign three MoUs in water, energy and education sectors during President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to the Jewish nation later this month, which will be first ever by an Indian Head of State. 

Noting that ties between the two countries are on an upswing, Israeli Ambassador Daniel Carmon said Mukherjee's visit will be a "landmark" one during which both sides will try to expand cooperation in a range of areas. 

"For many years, our relationship was held under the carpet. Now, they are more visible and open where each side brings to the table each other's advantages. We are so different, yet we are a combined force," the envoy told PTI. Read More

What Draws the Kardashians, Madonna, Ashton Kutcher and Mariah Carey to Israel?

(photo: Gil Eliyahu)

By JTA - October 2, 2015

Originally appeared here in Haaretz 

After Kanye West performed in Israel on Wednesday night, he presumably had to sleep in a bed that he didn’t own. The declared presidential candidate may not have to suffer that indignity on his next trip to the Holy Land.

The Kardashian family, into which he is married, is among a number of non-Jewish American celebrities reportedly shopping for real estate in the Holy Land. Others include Madonna, Ashton Kutcher and Mariah Carey.

What does Israel have to offer these stars? The answer, it seems, varies from spirituality to family and friendship to money-making opportunities.

The Kardashian sisters, of reality TV fame, reportedly entered talks in January to buy two apartments for $30 million in a beachfront building in Tel Aviv. A spokesman for Kim Kardashian denied that report, but entertainment news website E!Online later reported that Kourtney Kardashian’s husband Scott Disick was in fact ready to buy a $5-6 million penthouse in Tel Aviv as a real estate investment. Read More
 

The surgeon who gave Zion a pair of hands

(photo courtesy: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)

By Amanda Borschel-Dan 

Originally appeared here in The Times of Israel

An Israeli child runs to pick up a seemingly abandoned toy from the street. In a tragic flash, he discovers it is a bomb and with the loss of both his hands, child’s play is over.

Until now that boy would have never again been able to grasp his mother’s hand in his. But with a new groundbreaking procedure performed by a team led by Dr. L. Scott Levin in Philadelphia this July, there is renewed hope.

And the hope springs forth from Zion.

Today a bubbly, active and precocious eight year old, at age two Zion Harvey was struck by a sepsis infection that led to the amputation of his hands and feet. Barely hanging on two years later, he also underwent a kidney transplant through a donation from his mother, Pattie Ray.

This July, he underwent a further organ transplant — a pair of hands — made possible by an unknown boy of similar size and pigmentation whose life was severed too early. This groundbreaking bilateral pediatric hand transplant opens up a world of possibilities to Zion, as well as to a world of children who, through birth defects, infection, or injury, have lost their hands and who, until now, had no recourse to regain them. Read More

When Israeli volunteers help Syrian, Iraqi and Pakistani refugees

(photo: Boaz Arad/IsraAID)

By Gavin Rabinowitz - September 23, 2015

Originally appeared here in the Times of Israel 

LESBOS, Greece (JTA) — As the small rubber dinghy crowded with Syrians and Afghans emerged from the midnight-black sea to land on a desolate pebble beach, the first people to greet the bewildered and frightened refugees were two Israelis.

“Does anyone need a doctor?” Majeda Kardosh, 27, a nurse from Nazareth, shouted repeatedly in Arabic as the asylum seekers scrambled ashore amid cries of celebration and tears of relief at surviving the short but perilous crossing from Turkey to this Greek island.

Her team partner, Tali Shaltiel, 31, a physician from Jerusalem, stood knee deep in the water, helping a shivering 4-year-old girl out of her wet clothes and a pair of inflatable armbands that would have provided little protection had the overloaded boat capsized at sea.

Kardosh and Shaltiel are part of a small advance group of volunteers from IsraAid, an Israeli non-governmental organization that is trying to provide some assistance to the hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants who are flowing into Europe. 

While IsraAID has plenty of experience in disaster relief and assistance in 31 countries — from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa — this mission presents a unique challenge: The beneficiaries come from countries that are traditionally hostile, or even officially still at war, with Israel. Read More

These Israeli Companies Fight World Hunger With Innovative Technologies

By Roseanne Tabachnik - September 21, 2015

Originally appeared here on NoCamels

The escalating global food crisis might soon mean that increasing yields and sowing more crops may simply no longer meet the demand for nourishment. By 2050, it is estimated that the world will need to produce at least 50 percent more food to feed its 9 billion people. However, due to global warming, crop yields could drop by 25 percent, according to the World Bank.

In the face of world hunger, some Israeli companies are working hard to put a halt to world hunger and agflation – the rising food prices caused by increased demand for agricultural commodities. Since the 1950s, Israelis have found innovative ways to feed the world and grow crops in their very own desert. NoCamels highlights five major Israeli technologies that could end world hunger.

Tal-Y: While water scarcity has plagued desert countries for decades, it is no longer an inevitable concern for Israel’s desert thanks to technologies like Tal-Ya Agriculture Solutions. The Israeli firm has developed technologies designed to grow more food with less water.

Among the company’s technologies are: Reusable plastic trays that capture dew from the air, reducing the water needed by crops by 50 percent. The square tray, which costs $3-$5 per piece, is made of recycled plastic. The innovative trays work by surrounding each plant, collecting dew as the weather changes overnight, and funneling it to plants and tree crops. The trays, which are supposed to last for 10 years, also block weeds that would otherwise compete with crops for water. Read More