$38 billion, ten-year U.S. aid package to Israel begins
The U.S. State Department issued this advisory on Monday:
“Today, as we enter the new fiscal year, the ten-year period of the $38 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the United States and Israel in 2016 begins.
Under the terms of the MOU, the United States will set funding for Israel at levels of $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing and $500 million for cooperative programs for missile defense over each of the next ten years, a significant increase enabling Israel to acquire additional advanced military capabilities from the United States that will, over time, enhance Israel’s security and strengthen our bilateral relationship.
Our implementation of this historic MOU reflects the enduring and unshakable commitment of the President, this Administration, and the American people to Israel’s security. The MOU was negotiated under the previous Administration, reflecting the bi-partisan nature of this commitment. Israel is a valuable and capable ally to the United States that today faces dangerously escalating regional threats, first and foremost from the Iranian regime’s sponsorship of terrorist groups seeking to attack not only Israel but also American interests. Israel is also threatened by the reckless proliferation of destabilizing weapons systems into the region that increase the possibility of an escalated conflict in an already dangerous and volatile theater.
The United States unconditionally affirms Israel’s right to self-defense, and this MOU is a concrete demonstration of our commitment to Israel’s capacity to defend itself with a qualitative military edge over all potential regional adversaries.” — From the U.S. State Department
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Discrimination suit against San Francisco State continues after President Wong’s resignation announcement
Today the Lawfare Project and Winston & Strawn LLP issued the following statement after the announcement that San Francisco State University President Leslie Wong will resign at the end of the 2019 academic year.
“We were informed today that SFSU President Leslie Wong plans to resign from the University. President Wong remains one of several named defendants in the federal lawsuit we filed that is pending in the Northern District of California. On behalf of the Plaintiffs in both that case and in the state court lawsuit we have filed, we remain focused on our goal of bringing about necessary change at SFSU with regard to the repeated and ongoing pattern of targeting and discriminating against Jews and Israelis on campus, and depriving them of their civil rights. We look forward to holding SFSU and the Board of Trustees of California State University accountable for their discriminatory conduct related to the February 2017 ‘Know Your Rights’ Fair during our trial in San Francisco Superior Court that will take place in March 2019.” — From the Lawfare Project
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Information evening planned for those considering military academies
SAN DIEGO (SDJW) — U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) will host an information night Thursday, Oct. 18, for high school students interested in being recommended for one of the nation’s military academies.
The 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. event will be held at the Lemon Grove Community Center, 3146 School Lane, Lemon Grove.
In addition to representatives from the Army, Navy, and Air Force Academies, there will also be in attendance representatives from local Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) — Based on information provided by Congresswoman Susan Davis
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Ben-Gurion University researcher: Artificial sweeteners may be harmful to your health
FDA-approved artificial sweeteners and sport supplements were found to be toxic to digestive gut microbes, according to a new paper published in Molecules by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
The collaborative study indicated relative toxicity of six artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, saccharine, neotame, advantame, and acesulfame potassium-k) and 10 sport supplements containing these artificial sweeteners. The bacteria found in the digestive system became toxic when exposed to concentrations of only one mg./ml. of the artificial sweeteners.
“We modified bioluminescent E. coli bacteria, which luminesce when they detect toxicants and act as a sensing model representative of the complex microbial system,” says Prof. Ariel Kushmaro, John A. Ungar Chair in Biotechnology in the Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology Engineering, and member of the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev. “This is further evidence that consumption of artificial sweeteners adversely affects gut microbial activity which can cause a wide range of health issues.”
Artificial sweeteners are used in countless food products and soft drinks with reduced sugar content. Many people consume thisadded ingredient without their knowledge. Moreover, artificial sweeteners have been identified as emerging environmental pollutants, and can be found in drinking and surface water, and groundwater aquifers. — From Ben-Gurion University
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Samuel Waxman, M.D., honored by People’s Republic of China
Samuel Waxman, M.D. has received China’s highest honor granted to a foreigner. The Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Liu He, presented the “Friendship Award,” to Dr. Waxman at a ceremony in Beijing over the weekend, it was announced by The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF), an international nonprofit organization that funds cancer research.
The award was established in China in 1991, and is conferred annually to foreign civilians who have made significant contributions to the country’s “national development.” This year, more than 50 individuals from more than 20 countries were presented with the Friendship Award and included experts in healthcare, engineering, and education.
More than 30 years ago, just as the United States and China governments began normalizing relations, Dr. Waxman, SWCRF founder and CEO, started a collaboration with investigators at China’s cancer research universities and institutions including Shanghai Second Medical University, and Ruijin Hospital Shanghai Institute of Hematology (SIH).
“The SWCRF established a collaboration between my laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Shanghai-based scientists who previously had minimal contact with Western medicine. The SWCRF provided funding to train these scientists who then returned to China and became leading clinical investigators,” said Dr. Waxman. “The SWCRF also provided new laboratory equipment and materials, and upgraded the leukemia treatment facilities that became the Shanghai Institute of Hematology.”
Dr. Waxman and China-based investigators focused on researching leukemia and would achieve two significant breakthroughs that indelibly changed the outcome for thousands of patients diagnosed annually with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), a once devastating subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
“One of our first landmark achievements was reported in a western journal in 1988 and was the first example of successfully using differentiation therapy as an emerging form of treatment for some cancers that was less toxic and more effective,” said Dr. Waxman. “Differentiation therapy started in my laboratory with the idea that it was possible to reverse the abnormal growth and function of a cancer cell, an idea that was radically distinctive from the conventional wisdom and treatments at the time.” — From Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation
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Preceding articles culled from news releases. Send yours to editor@sdjewishworld.com