Today: September 9, 2010

New Adventures in Israel

Posted: Wed 3rd March 2010 11.38 AM | Author: GoodNews Israel

Quote for the Week
"A billion Indians love us, a billion and a half Chinese hold us in high esteem. We’re having a little problem with Sweden but we’re working on it." - Attributed to President Peres but we have to admit that we’re not sure of its provenance

Christians Helping Jews

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ)has contributed over NIS 1 billion toward Jewish immigration, resettlement, social welfare, and security projects in Israel in recent years and this makes it the largest funder of social services in Israel after the government. Through the generosity of its donors most of whom are evangelical Christians a further $3m is being distributed to Israel’s poor to make life easier for them. Outstanding people, who practice what they learn, preach and teach.

Historical Roots

The more they dig, the stronger our historical ties to this narrow strip of Land that we call Home, become. An Israeli archaeologist said Monday that ancient fortifications recently excavated in Jerusalem date back 3,000 years to the time of King Solomon and support the biblical narrative about the era. If the age of the wall is correct and the pottery unearthed certainly seems to indicate that it is, then it would be an indication that Jerusalem was home to a strong central government that had the resources and manpower needed to build massive fortifications in the 10th century B.C. E. The fortifications, including a monumental gatehouse and a 77-yard (70-meter) long section of an ancient wall, are located just outside the present-day walls of Jerusalem's Old City. So there we have it folks the Bible as accurate history as well as a lot of other things besides.

New Adventures

The story goes that in the early 50’s our present President was flying with an associate to the US in an ageing and somewhat rickety aircraft when he said that Israel needs an aircraft industry and sure enough it didn’t take long for Israel Aerospace Industries to get off the ground, literally and figuratively and they have just unveiled a new drone that they say is capable of reaching Iran. The Eitan, one of the largest unmanned aerial vehicles in the world, was launched Sunday at an official ceremony. It can fly at medium to high [really high] altitudes for more than 20 hours carrying heavy payloads for thousands of miles while its ‘pilot’ sits safe and sound in a fortified bunker in. … well that might be classified information.

Max Brenner is coming to Las Vegas. The Israeli chain, which specializes in chocolate, will open an enormous branch in the Caesars Palace mall spreading over two floors and measuring 865 square meters (9,310 square feet).It will include more than 200 seats, a bar with 12 stools and tables and a chocolate shop – obviously.The chain has 30 branches worldwide: in Manhattan, Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Israel, generating revenue of NIS120m pa. Now we at GN may not be connoisseurs but we know a good chocolate when we taste one and Max Brenner is the best there is and if the folk who do research at McMaster University in Ontario are to be believed a daily dose of dark chocolate will help to reduce the risk of strokes. What more could one ask for.

A clean tech revolution is beginning to sweep the world. And not a moment too soon we would add. The UN predicts that 8.5 million people will work in the green sector by 2030, while the US, Europe and other countries are making massive amounts of money available for clean technology development. Israel is no exception. There are more than 150 companies in the clean tech field here that didn’t exist just two years ago. But there’s a problem. A shortage ofwell-trained people who have learnt to work in the field in an ordered professional wayTo that end, Mediatech, has created the first college to retrain mid-career professionals for the clean tech sector. Matrix Greentech College will begin its first course at the end of April and will start producing people with the requisite professional skills within the year.

A Heartwarming Story

Traffic officer Ran Leicht was doing what traffic officersdo, issuing a ticket when a gentleman tapped him on the shoulder and said: ‘I’ve just been called by Sourasky Medical Center and told that the liver that I have been waiting for, for a number of years has been donated but I have to be at the hospital in under a half an hour and it’s peak traffic time.’ Officer Leicht wasted no time and policeman and prospective recipient set off on a hair raising drive in the police cruiser with the police dispatcher doing her best to clear as much traffic out of the way as possible on the radio. In the meantime another police vehicle was doing the same driving acrobatics to get the donor organ to the hospital. Both patient and liver arrived with only minutes to spare and a successful transplant was performed. What makes this a real Israeli story is, that after all the excitement police dispatcher and patient discovered that they were related. Sort of warms the heart.