New look at ancient shards suggests Bible even older than thought

(Tel Aviv University/Michael Kordonsky, Israel Antiquities Authority)

By Tamar Pileggi and AP - April 12, 2016

Originally appeared here in The Times of Israel

High-tech handwriting analysis of First Temple period writings inscribed on pottery shards indicates the Bible may have been written earlier than some scholars believe, Tel Aviv University researchers have found.

Most scholars agree that key biblical texts were written in the 6th century BCE, during the Babylonian exile after the destruction of the First Temple.

But a collection of military orders written in ancient Hebrew dated to the end of the First Temple period uncovered in the Negev Desert is shedding new light on the age of the oldest biblical texts.

With the help of sophisticated imaging tools and complex software, Tel Aviv University researchers determined the series of 2,600-year-old inscriptions were written by at least six different authors, indicating that literacy in the Kingdom of Judah may have been far more widespread than commonly believed. Read More

Israeli author creates Hebrew-Arabic-English arts center

Photo by Micha Fallenberg

By Abigail Klein Leichman - March 31, 2016

Originally appeared here in Israel21c

The timeworn stone house was dilapidated and neglected. Yet when award-winning Israeli novelist and translator Evan Fallenberg saw photos of the structure two years ago on an Israeli real-estate website, he went to visit and decided to purchase and restore it.

Now, that centuries-old Ottoman building in the historic Old City of Acre (Akko) on Israel’s northern seacoast is embarking on a second life as Arabesque: An Arts and Residency Center.

Fallenberg will have plenty of company in the 300-square-meter renovated house. It includes three residential units that can be rented by short- or long-term vacationers, and a great room intended for literary, artistic, musical and culinary events in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

One of the reasons he chose the name “Arabesque,” after months of deliberation, is that it works in all three languages. Read More

Israeli doctors rally to save 5-year-old Syrian girl

By Times of Israel Staff - April 7, 2016

Originally appeared here in the Times of Israel 

Almost from the start of the bloody conflict raging in Syria, Israel has agreed to treat in its hospitals any wounded Syrians who reached its border seeking help.

But one five-year-old girl from the war-torn land has led doctors, as well as Israel’s security services, to take unprecedented steps to try to save her life.

The girl arrived at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa in recent weeks with very serious wounds that she received after finding herself caught in a firefight between rival militias, according to an exclusive report Wednesday night on Channel 10.

Some two weeks after she arrived at the hospital, after her wounds had nearly healed, Rambam doctors discovered the young girl had cancer. Read More

Israeli Researchers Find Key To Long-Term Preservation Of Organs For Transplant

By Yonatan Sredni - March 24, 2016

Originally appeared here in NoCamels

When transplanting donated organs, time is of the essence. Transplantation stands the best chance to succeed when performed as quickly as possible after the donor surgery. A heart or lung is kept viable for transplantation for only six hours before deterioration begins. A pancreas or liver go to waste after 12 hours in storage, and a kidney can be kept outside the body for less than 30 hours.

Keep cool, not frozen

One of the main problems standing in the way of storing organs for more than a few hours is ice growth. When organs are frozen, expanding ice crystals damage the cells in a way that they cannot be revived.  Therefore, organs which are removed from a donor are kept cooled but not frozen.

A Hebrew University team led by Prof. Ido Braslavsky is now contributing significantly to the effort to perfect the process of preserving cells, tissues and organs in sub-zero temperatures. This would enable long-term banking of tissues and organs and efficient matching between donor and patient, eventually saving the lives of millions of people around the world. Read More

UN turns to Israel for advice on inclusion of disabled

(photo: REUTERS)

By Judy Siegel-Itzkovich - March 28, 2016

Originally appeared here on Jpost.com 

Seeking insights on inclusion, the UN has turned to Beit Issie Shapiro, a leading Israeli facility in Ra’anana that was awarded “special consultative status" to the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2012.

Benjy Maor, the organization’s global resource development director, addressed a UN conference a week ago on World Down Syndrome Day on the topic of “Changing Attitudes as Leverage for Social Inclusion,” reviewing Beit Issie Shapiro’s extensive research on attitude change and the different innovations created by the organization to promote inclusion within all age groups.

One of these is Friendship Park – Israel’s first inclusive and accessible playground for children with and without disabilities, which serves as a model for similar projects worldwide and was established with the support of Let All the Children Play, an organization that also presented at the conference. Read More

Wounded Syrians Treated in Israel ‘Overwhelmed With Gratitude’

(Photo: Our Soldiers Speak video/Screenshot)

By Ruthie Blum - March 8, 2016

Originally appeared here in Algemeiner.com 

“At first, they were afraid to be treated by Israelis, whom they were taught their whole lives are their worst enemies,” the deputy surgeon general of the IDF Medical Corps told The Algemeiner this week. “But once they began to accept our medical help, they became overwhelmed with gratitude and their entire attitude towards us changed.”

Col. Dr. Tarif Bader was referring to the many wounded Syrians who have crossed the border into Israel from their war-torn country to receive top-tier care, both at the IDF field hospital set up along the border and at official medical centers in the north of the country.

Since 2013, Bader said, the IDF has been administering the same advanced care to Syrians injured in the fighting between President Assad’s forces (backed by Russia and Iran) and rebel groups as it does to Israeli civilians and soldiers. This, emphasized Bader, is “without selection or prying into their ethnic background or side in the conflict” that has led to the death of an estimated 200,000 combatants and civilians over the past five years.

“But this is in keeping with what we teach our teams in the military medical academy: that their job is to treat all injured people, regardless of who they are, and the only thing they have to do in primary triage is to treat those with the most serious injuries first, including if they are terrorists,” he said. Read More

Syrian refugee creates website to thank Israelis

(Image via Facebook)

By Viva Sarah Press - February 21, 2016

Originally appeared here in Israel21c

Aboud Dandachi, a Sunni Muslim from the city of Homs now living in Istanbul, has created a website dedicated to the Israeli and Jewish organizations and people helping Syrian refugees.

The website, Thank You Am Israel, highlights the humanitarian aid being given to displaced Syrians and also refutes any reasons why Israelis and Syrians should be enemies.

“As a Syrian, I am morally obligated to ensure that the goodwill that Israelis and Jews have displayed towards my people will not be overlooked nor forgotten. The day will come when the conflict in Syria will come to an end, as all things come to an end. On that day, it is imperative that Syrians reciprocate the enormous goodwill shown towards us by Israelis and the Jewish people. Whatever supposed reasons we may have had to be adversaries is dwarfed by the compassion shown to us during our darkest days, a time when we have nothing to give back except our gratitude,” writes Dandachi in a January opinion article on his site. Read More

IsraAID sends team to help Taiwan’s earthquake victims

By ISRAEL21c Staff - February 10, 2016

Originally appeared here in Israel21c   

With the death toll still rising in the wake of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake, Israeli humanitarian aid organization IsraAID has sent a team of three experts to Taiwan to assess needs in the country, and offer psychosocial support to quake victims still looking for family members.

The earthquake struck Taiwan on Saturday, killing an estimated 41 people and injuring over 500. Worst hit was the city of Tainan, where a high-rise apartment block built using shoddy materials including tin cans, collapsed with hundreds of people inside it. One hundred people are still thought to be trapped in the rubble.

After carrying out a rapid needs assessment in Tainan, IsraAID has “joined Taiwanese professionals and assisted them in their relief efforts to support the families affected by the quake,” says IsraAID Director Shachar Zahavi.

“IsraAID’s psychosocial team met with the families of those who are still unaccounted for as they struggle between hope and despair, all the while the death toll continues to rise.” Read More

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