Middle East

Good News from Israel – December 26, 2021

NETANYA, ISRAEL — In the December 26, 2021 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
–An Israeli treatment for Parkinson’s has successfully finished trials.
–Israel is the only Middle Eastern country where Christians are thriving.
–Israeli nanomaterials are reshaping the manufacturing industry.
–The UAE hosted an event in its Embassy to showcase Israeli technology.
–An Israeli woman has won Israel’s first World Championship swimming gold medals.
–Three major archaeological discoveries in Israel. [Michael Ordman]

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Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions

Getting to Know a Shaliach from Israel Can Be Life Changing

Shlichim (plural of shaliach or shlicha, the feminine form of the word) are emissaries who are trained and sent from Israel to be equal parts teacher, ombudsman, and friend to myriad kids, staff, and community members with whom they come in contact over the course of a shlichut (literally, a “mission”) that typically lasts between two and three years. Those years are spent far from home and as a time-out from career pursuits, but with a vitally important purpose: to bring Israel to life for Jews throughout the Diaspora. [Doron Krakow]

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International, Middle East, USA

OpEd: Israel’s Energy Muddle

 In 2000 a natural gas field was discovered in Israel’s offshore waters near Ashkelon, and amid great rejoicing commercial production started in 2004. An offshore rig can be seen from the coast, which doesn’t do much to improve the beauty of the scenery but certainly helps Israel’s energy-starved economy. Till then Israel relied on imported coal and oil to fuel its power stations, as well as on its only natural resource – ample sunshine – to heat water by means of solar panels on the roofs of houses. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East

Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, Hebron-Based Rabbi

Much has been written about the Jewish community in Kiryat Arba and Hebron, but I would like to share three personal memories of Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, of blessed memory, who was among the founders of the renewed Jewish community in the city of our forefathers, who passed away on December 18th. [Toby Klein Greenwald]

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Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Toby Klein Greenwald

Lebanon Blast Reminds of Hamas’s Growing Armed Presence to Israel’s North

By Yaakov Lappin (JNS) The deadly explosion that tore through a Hamas arms depot on December 10 in a mosque in the Burj Al Shimali refugee camp, in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, is a vivid reminder of Hamas’s growing organized armed presence on Lebanese territory – and Iran’s role in helping it grow.

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Middle East

Meet the Orthodox Skater Representing Israel at the Beijing Olympics

By Josh Hasten (JNS) In a true “Cinderella story,” 19-year-old Hailey Kops, a religiously observant athlete from West Orange, N.J., is preparing to take on the world’s finest ice skaters while proudly representing Israel at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Kops and her partner 33-year-old Evgeni Krasnopolski recently qualified for the pairs ice skating

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International, Middle East, Sports & Competitions, USA

2021 Sees 30% Global Surge in Aliyah, Record-Breaking Immigration from US

JERUSALEM (Press Release) — Aliyah (immigration to Israel) surged in 2021, with the 27,050 new arrivals from across the globe representing a 30% increase over the previous year’s 21,820 olim (immigrants), according to statistics released today by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, The Jewish Agency for Israel and Nefesh B’Nefesh. This past year also

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International, Middle East, USA

Russia’s Chess Game Against Ukraine Places Israel in Awkward Position

By Israel Kasnett (JNS) Russia has built up roughly 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine, sparking international concerns of an imminent invasion. U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call last week during which Biden warned of severe consequences including “strong economic measures.” The National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry

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International, Middle East

Jake Sullivan Heads to Israel to Discuss Iran’s Nuclear Program

By Mike Wagenheim (JNS) As U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan prepares for his trip this week to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a senior Biden administration official said on Monday that talks in Jerusalem will center around developing a plan on Iran for the near-term. “We will talk about where we see the state

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Middle East, USA

Elephant in the Room: Early Humans Hunted Largest Animals Available, Israeli Research Says

TEL AVIV (Press Release) — A groundbreaking study by researchers from Tel Aviv University tracks the development of early humans’ hunting practices over the last 1.5 million years – as reflected in the animals they hunted and consumed. The researchers claim that at any given time early humans preferred to hunt the largest animals available

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Israeli College President Lauds Southern California’s Support for ‘Start-Up Nation’

JERUSALEM — For Prof. Chaim Sukenik, president of the Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT), a recent visit to Southern California marked a homecoming of sorts. Sukenik’s personal history in the region dates back to his time as a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena from 1972-1976 and a postdoctoral fellow at

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Middle East, USA

Constant, Endemic Violence Between Israeli Jews, Palestinian Arabs

Israel’s situation remains dicey.  We haven’t had a strong attack on us for some years, although Iran is a serious threat.  But there have been enough reminders that we’re not really welcome in this region. Individual attacks and some killings of Israelis in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

Tel Aviv Study Indicates Medical Cannabis Oil May Ease Autism Symptoms

Researchers at Tel Aviv University, led by PhD student Shani Poleg and Prof. Daniel Offen of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Felsenstein Medical Research Center and Sagol School of Neuroscience, have successfully treated autism in animal models with medical cannabis oil. The researchers found that this treatment improves both behavioral and biochemical parameters of autism. The results of the surprising study were published in Translational Psychology published by Nature. [Tel Aviv University]

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education