JEWS
“I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
“Surely we see fulfilled the declaration that Israel shall be separate from all other nations. What other nation of that day remains a people of preserved identity?
“How true the statement that those who have cursed, or injured, Israel have brought injury upon themselves! As we scan the whole field of the world, we find that every nation which has dealt harshly with Israel has received severe chastisement or blight. On the contrary, Great Britain and the United States, nations which have blessed the Jew, have in turn received great blessings.
“The lines referring to Messiah's Kingdom are equally true. The scepter did rise out of Israel. The one who is to have the dominion of earth is of Jacob’s posterity, according to the flesh. As the bright and morning Star, he is leading on to a glorious sunrise - the dawning of the Messianic day, which is to scatter the earth's night and to bring blessings instead of the curse.” (Reprint 5323, col.2, near bottom)
“Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the world would soon witness the destruction of the State of Israel. According to the Iranian Islamic Republic News Agency, the hard-line president said that last summer’s war between Israel and Hizbullah showed for the first time that the ‘hegemony of the occupier regime [Israel] had collapsed, and the Lebanese nation pushed the button to begin counting the days until the destruction of the Zionist regime.” (World Jewish Congress, June 4, 2007)
Comment: “You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit… His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue is trouble and iniquity... May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things.” (Psa. 50:19; 10:7; 12:3) Ahmadinejad has cursed Israel and he will be cursed.
“INVESTORS FIND SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT IN ISRAEL: The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) has confounded conventional wisdom by proving that despite whatever hiccups are taking place on the Israeli landscape, the reasons to invest in Israeli companies are stronger than ever. With 37 new IPOs in 2006 and an annual appreciation of over 20% experts are bullish in touting TASE as a sound investment opportunity. And the numbers bear that out.”
(Israel 21c, August 20, 2007)
“KING HEROD FOUND: A team of Israeli archeologists from Hebrew University are believed to have found the lost tomb of the Jewish King Herod who ruled the Holy Land under the Romans around the time of the second Temple in 40 B.C. The tomb was discovered amid the ruins at Herodium east of Jerusalem in the Judean Desert.
“King Herod is best known for the massive construction projects undertaken during his reign, such as Massada, Caesarea and the still-intact wall around the Old City of Jerusalem.” (July-August 2007)
“PIUS CONFLICT: Thirty-five Jewish and Catholic scholars have called on the Vatican to open its Holocaust-era archives so that the role of Pope Pius XII, the pontiff during the period, can be examined ahead of rumored Vatican plans to have him beatified, the first step in achieving sainthood.
“The Pope's role during World War II has been a source of friction between Jews and Catholics.” (February 2007)
“REST IN PEACE: In response to protests from Jewish groups, spokespersons of the Church of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons, say that the name of Jewish Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, who died in 2005, has been removed from the Church's International Genealogical Index, a database of names of people baptized posthumously.
“In 1995, the Church agreed to stop the practice of baptizing Holocaust victims, and removed 400,000 names from its Index.” (February 2007)
“BIASED IMAGE: Google Earth, an online mapping and navigation service, had been found to be replete with anti-Israel propaganda. The interactive atlas program contains incorrect data and biased images relating to Israel.” (March 2007)
“BAH, HUMBUG: An email Christmas greeting card sent to members of Poland's Parliament by the ultra-right-wing nationalist NOP party shows an image of Santa Claus giving the Nazi salute and calling for a ‘Free Nationalist and Catholic’ Poland.
“The NOP is openly anti-Semitic and was actively involved in the defense of convicted Holocaust denier David Irving.” (March 2007)
“PREACHING HATE: According to a documentary film, aired recently on British television, one of London's most established mosques is selling DVDs featuring two radical Islamic preachers predicting the mass-extermination of the world's Jewish community.
“The film is based on a twelve-month undercover investigation of hate-preaching and extremism in Britain's Muslim religious institutions.” (March 2007)
“HATE DETERRED: A neo-Nazi website that praised Adolf Hitler and alleged a ‘Jewish takeover of the most important Canadian social institutions has been taken down by unknown hackers.’
“The site, belonging to the National Socialist Party of Canada, but hosted on a U.S. based server, was created in 2006, calling for an end to ‘Jewish influence’ on Canadian institutions and ‘restoring white sovereignty in the country.’” (April 2007)
“WARNING: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Britain's most senior Anglican Christian leader, has condemned the recent Holocaust denial conference held by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling it a ‘disgrace,’ and called for the Holocaust to be remembered so that future generations could not challenge it.
“The statement followed a British poll that found that 41% of those asked believe that a Holocaust could happen in Britain, and 35% thought that most people would do nothing to stop it.” (April 2007)
“PUBLIC ENEMY: A white supremacist gang, calling itself Public Enemy Number 1, has been growing in power at an alarming rate throughout California, and has a strong presence in the state's prisons, operating together with such racist groups as the Aryan Brotherhood and the Nazi Law Riders. According to a report, in the past several months, more than 67 members of the gang have been arrested.” (April 2007)
“SOBERING REPORT: According to a recent annual report by the Tel Aviv-based Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Anti-Semitism and Racism, 2006 saw the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents worldwide since 2000, with a twofold increase in physical attacks against Jews from the year before.
“The primary cause for the increase, according to the study, was Iran's increasing use of Holocaust denial and the Second Lebanon War. Of greatest concern was the large rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Western countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, France and Canada.” (June 2007)
(The above 10 items are from World Jewry)
“EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO HOST ANTI-ISRAEL HATE-FEST: Under the auspices of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, a ‘Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace’ will take place on August 3-31 in Belgium. These meetings are part of a round-robin of anti-Israel gatherings organized year-round by the UN 16-member Division for Palestinian Rights.
“It all dates back to 1975 when these mechanisms were installed within the UN on the same day that the General Assembly adopted its infamous ‘Zionism is Racism’ resolution. What is new, however, is the venue: the European Parliament in Brussels.
“What the conference will pronounce is pre-determined, the UN Palestinian Division runs a tightly controlled operation that accredits only anti-Israel NGOs and speakers. And recently they've become quite clever. Without altering the virulently anti-Israel nature of their meetings, the organizers instead seek to make their activities under such innocent-sounding titles as ‘support for Israeli-Palestinian peace...’
“None of the radical Israeli Jews at the Brussels conference represents even a tiny segment of the Israeli Jewish population. So it’s like holding a conference on U.S.-Islamic rapprochement and inviting John Walker Lindh - the American who joined the Taliban - to represent America's position. Technically, Walker is as American as Warschawski and Hass are Israeli. But only a scoundrel or a fool would treat either exercise as anything but a sham.
“Who was behind the European Parliament's decision to play host to this poorly disguised hate-fest? With the conference facade removed, who in Europe will now have the courage to speak out?”
(UN Watch, April 17, 2007)
“Over the past half-century, many of the most important breakthroughs in science, medicine and computers have happened in Israel, like: Sophisticated medical equipment, such as ultrasound scanners and surgical lasers. A miniature camera that can be swallowed and used to diagnose gastro-intestinal disease. A computer mouse that allows the visually impaired to ‘read’ text and graphics on screen.
“New computer applications for digitizing, processing, transmitting and enhancing images, speech and data.” (Israel: Global Edge of Technological Development, August 14, 2007)
“ISRAEL’S IOPTIMA SHINES A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE GLAUCOMA TUNNEL: An Israeli specialist in complex eye surgery for glaucoma patients has developed a new laser technology that promises to transform the difficult and rarely done surgery into a commonplace procedure that can be carried out by regular eye surgeons all over the world. The technology, being developed by Israeli start-up IOPtima, is aimed at making glaucoma surgery a fast and effective treatment for the three million Americans who suffer from the irreversible condition that is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S.”
“TREATING ALZHEIMER’S - THROUGH THE NOSE: Israeli scientist Prof. Beka Solomon used her brain when coming up with a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease which affects over five million Americans. Or, rather she used the nose to get to the brain. Solomon found in mouse trials that a harmless bacterial virus can be an effective treatment against Alzheimer’s when carried to the brain through the nose. There the bacteria locks onto the extracellular plaques associated with Alzheimer’s and dissolve them, reducing inflammation in the brain without any side affects. Solomon’s research is on the verge of being commercialized and licensed to a startup company.”
(The above 2 articles are from Israel21c Newsletter, October 4, 2006)
“ISRAEL’S ECONOMY FIVE GOOD YEARS: ‘Israel’s economy now has experienced five years of continuous growth, the longest period in the state’s history,’ reports Israel news agency Arutz Sheva, and unemployment is down to 7.6% from 9.2% in 2005. Whereas the United States only experienced a 0.6% gross domestic (GDP) increase in the first half of 2007. Israel’s was 6.6%, jumping beyond the predictions of even the Bank of Israel and Finance Ministry. And, Israel21c reported that the ‘Tel Aviv stock Exchange (TASE) seems unstoppable,’ and that the ‘market has appreciated 20% in the first half of the year.’
“‘Since the beginning of 2003, investors have earned a 100% return in dollar terms in long-term Israeli government non-CPI linked bonds,’ Vered Dar, chief economist at Tel
Aviv investment house Psaget Ofesk told Isrrael21c. ‘Equity investors have earned 250%.’
“Despite the Second Lebanon War last summer, the government is now experiencing a U.S. billion surplus due to strong earnings growth and increased tax revenues from Israeli corporations, reports microanalyst Avinoam Nachum.”
(BFP, Dispatch from Jerusalem, September/October 2007)
Comment: The above shows that Israel is a country on the upward move, in contrast to the other countries that are on the downward course.
“SUBSTITUTE TREES: Three professors at Tel Aviv University are conducting research into the Kenaf plant, a distant cousin of cotton with the potential to replace wood pulp in the manufacturing of paper.
“Originally from Africa, Kenaf holds a gene, which could produce a longer, thinner, and more environmentally friendly fiber. Several international firms, including some from Italy and Brazil, have shown interest in developing this substitute paper.”
(World Jewry, October 2007)
“SUBSTITUTE BRAIN: A professor and graduate student at Tel Aviv University are conducting experiments into a chemical stimulation that imbues the brain with specific neurological patterns which could in the future be read by computer software.
“The link between brain functions and computers holds the potential to treat neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The findings were published in the May issue of Physical Review E, and were also highlighted in Scientific American.”
(World Jewry, October 2007)
“ISRAEL’S MINI-NOSE SNIFFS OUT IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVES: An Israeli company has developed a hand-held device that digitally mimics the human nose to sniff out would-be terrorists trying to sneak through an airport or port with homemade explosive devices. Funded partly by the Pentagon and Israel’s ministry of Defense, Scent Detection Technologies’ Mini-Nose has won the support of former heads of the CIA and Mossa. The non-radioactive ‘green’ device, which is already in use at airports across Europe and the US, replaces today’s cumbersome, slow and radioactive explosive detection devices, making screening fast, efficient and safe.”
(Israel 21c, September 3, 2007)
“ISRAEL: Turkey and Israel have agreed in principle to build a water and gas pipeline system connecting the Black Sea to the port of Eliat on the Red Sea. The ambitious project involves the building of oil, gas and water pipelines, as well as electricity and fiber optic cables, as part of a seabed pipeline system in the eastern Mediterranean. Passing through Turkey and bypassing Syria and Lebanon - countries which are hostile to Israel - the pipeline will reach the port of Ashdod, where an existing pipeline terminates at the port of Eilat at the Red Sea. The Turkish-Israeli pipeline could convey crude oil to East Asian markets. The system could also be used to bring Turkish water to parched Israel.” (Israel National News.com, January 10, 2007)
“EPILERT - an Israeli warning system for epileptic seizures: As any parent of a child with epilepsy knows, there's been a long needed solution for monitoring their child when a seizure occurs. Israeli startup Biolert says they have the solution - the Epilert - which will detect and recognize epileptic seizures within 20 seconds and alert caregivers or parents that an epileptic episode is occurring, according to the company's CEO Amos Shaham. Developed by one of Israel's most experienced doctors in epilepsy, Uri Kramer, the Epilert idea has proven to be so popular that it won a ‘Start Up is Born’ contest two years ago beating out 700 other submissions, and this summer won a prestigious British award - the Medical Futures innovation Award for Best Medical Device.” (August 20, 2007)
“ISRAELI-DEVELOPED DRUG COULD MINIMIZE BRAIN DAMAGE AFTER HEAD TRAUMA: A researcher from Israel’s Weismann Institute of Science is developing a drug that could drastically reduce damage to the brain after a head injury. The new treatment pumps glutamate, a toxic chemical released after a head trauma, out of the patient's brain where it kills healthy neighboring cells, and into the blood supply where it can be safely disposed of else where in the body. The drug is now being developed by Braintact, a startup in Kiryat Shmona, and is set to be fast-tracked through FDA regulations.” (June 25, 2007)
“Israeli scientists have developed a tiny 'submarine' robot that has the unique ability to 'crawl' through tubes with the width of human veins and arteries.” (June 25, 2007)
“Israeli company Solel has signed a contract to build the world's largest solar energy park in California.” (June 25, 2007)
(The above four items are from Israel21c Newsletter)
“Did You Know: A U.S. investment company has invested $45 million in 15 Israeli companies.”
(Israel 21c, October 1, 2007)
“BRITISH HOLOCAUST DENIER PLANS COMEBACK SPEAKING TOUR: Discredited British historian and Holocaust denier David Irving has announced that he is to launch a comeback with a speaking tour of UK cities and a series of new books.
“Described by a High Court judge as a Holocaust denier and a racist, Irving was imprisoned in Austria for three years in February 2006 on Holocaust denial charges after a judge ruled that two speeches he made in 1989 breached Austrian law. He questioned the existence of extermination camps in his speeches and dismissed the gas chambers at Auschwitz as a “fairy tale…”
“Irving was released halfway through his sentence last December following a successful appeal. A judge said his crime had been committed a long time ago and Irving had since undergone an ‘impeccable conversion.’
“However, Irving says his views on the Holocaust have crystallized, rather than changed. He says that the Jews were responsible for what happened to them during World War II and that the ‘Jewish problem’ was responsible for all the wars of the past 100 years…
“‘In 2000, a British High Court judge branded David Irving a ‘falsifier of history’ and a ‘racist,’ Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said…
“She added: ‘We must not tolerate Holocaust denial in whatever guise it may unfold, and the best vehicle for challenging it is through educating and informing future generations about the lessons of the Holocaust.’”
(The International Jerusalem Post, October 5, 2007)
“ISRAELI GOVERNMENT THREATENS TO DIVIDE JERUSALEM: As the U.S.-sponsored East peace summit approaches next month, a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is actually suggesting his government is now open to the previously unthinkable prospect of dividing their capital city of Jerusalem.
“‘Wouldn’t it be the right deal today for the Palestinians, the Western world, and the international community to recognize (Israel’s) annexation of… (Jewish) neighbor- hoods as part of Jerusalem, and for us to quit the Arab neighborhoods?’ Vice Premier Haim Ramon told Israel Radio.
“Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu quickly denounced the government’s talk of giving up control of Judea and Samaria (commonly known as the West Bank), as well as East Jerusalem, as dangerous and destabilizing, especially in the light of the rising Hamas and Iranian threats to the Jewish state.
“‘The unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon created an Iranian outpost - from which Israel is being attacked - in the North, and the unilateral pullout from Gaza created a second Iranian base in Gaza, Hamastan,’ Netanyahu said on the floor of the Knesset [Parliament]…
“‘Jerusalem is an inalienable asset of the State of Israel, Palestinian refugees will not be returned to Israel, and Jerusalem will not be divided,’ said Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former chief of staff and member of the prime minister’s own Kadima party.
“Now is the time to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), not carve it up and serve it to the radical Islamic jihadists now in charge of the Palestinian Authority.”
(By Joel C. Rosenberg, Reported by Bridges for Peace, October 9, 2007)
“SELLING OUT ISRAEL ON THE INSTALLMENT PLAN: Name one concession Israel has made in recent years that has been reciprocated by its sworn enemies. This is not a trick question. There is none.
“That’s why next month’s announced ‘Middle East Summit’ in Annapolis, Md., should be viewed as one more installment payment in the sellout of Israel and of American interests in the Middle East. While the United States continues to struggle to shore up democracy in Iraq, the Bush administration - like administrations before it - proceeds in undermining the likelihood that the region’s first democracy will endure.
“At every negotiating session, Israel is pressured into making concessions for ‘peace’ and receives more war in response. Mostly this is because of the wishful thinking in the West that has replaced sound policy. Why should the Palestinians make concessions when they are drawing closer to their objective of eradicating Israel by throwing stones and bombs and stonewalling negotiations?
“In an address to the Israeli Knesset, President Shimon Peres reaffirmed the flaw of Western thinking: ‘…even if there are some who express doubt at the ability of the Palestinians to achieve peace, the impression must not be created that Israel has doubts regarding the need and the willingness to achieve full peace.’ So it’s not about hard bargaining resulting in the preservation of Israel with defensible borders and the cessation of terrorist attacks, its about ‘impressions’? No wonder Israel’s enemies are emboldened as never before.”
(By Cal Thomas, Orlando Sentinel, October 6, 2007)
“ISRAELI RESEARCHERS SHOW THAT GREEN TEA HAS REJUVENATING AFFECT ON DAMAGED CELLS: Research-ers at the Technion Institute in Israel have been working for almost a decade to show that an extract of green tea could be an effective treatment for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. In a new study presented in Washington DC, the research team fed green tea extract to mice suffering from the degenerative diseases and found it protects brain cells from dying and helps rescue already damaged neurons in the brain. Tests are now underway on early Parkinson’s patients in China, under the auspices of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, to check whether green tea extract is slowing down the progression of the disease.”
“ISRAELI ‘SMART’ SYSTEM PRE-VENTS BLOOD AND DRUG TRANS-FUSION ERRORS: An Israeli startup has developed a new pro-active solution that could prevent costly intravenous drug and blood transfusion errors. The simple and easy to use system, PRIDE (Prevent Intravenous Drug Errors), ensures that transfusions can only be administered to a patient only once five predefined conditions are met. With some 35-40 percent of all medical errors in hospital due to mistakes in IV administration, Pro-IV Medicals solution is already sparking great interest with investors and customers alike. A prototype will be ready in a month, and clinical trials begin this year.”
“WIDENING THE WINDOW OF TREATMENT FOR STROKE SUFFERS: Stroke patients need to get treatment fast - within three hours, in order to prevent serious damage that can affect movement and speech. But the good news is that an Israeli research team has discovered that minocycline - an antibiotic used traditionally to treat severe acne and urinary tract infections - will significantly reduce brain damage and physical impairment of a stroke if taken within the first 24 hours. Chief researcher Dr. Yair Lampi says he now plans to confirm the results of the successful clinical trial in a larger double-blind trial. If it goes well, ‘[minocycline] will be probably one of the most used and effective treatments of ischemic stroke that we have,’ said Dr. Argye Hillis of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.”
“GENE DISCOVERY COULD LEAD TO PERSONALIZED MEDICINE FOR MS SUFFERERS: A group of Israeli scientists have identified genes responsible for positive response of many multiple sclerosis patients to the drug Copaxone. The first original Israeli drug to be approved by the FDA, Copaxone is today marketed in over 40 countries worldwide, including the US, Europe, Australia, and Latin America. The findings of the study conducted by the Technion, the Weizmann Institute and Teva may contribute to the development of personalized medicine for multiple sclerosis sufferers.”
“ISRAEL - DARING IN QUALITY: Even if Israel is small in body, its scientific head is large.”
(The above five articles are from Israel21c, October 1, 2007)
“ISRAEL: The Israel Antiquities Authority’s excavations in Tiberias have exposed a Byzantine church paved with polychrome mosaics decorated with geometric patterns and dedicatory inscriptions. The discovery, in the heart of the ancient Jewish city, refutes the theory that the Jews of Tiberias prevented Christians from establishing a church in the middle of their neighborhood. The church’s remains were discovered adjacent to ancient public buildings, among them a basilica, bathhouse, streets, and shops that were exposed at the site in the past.”
(Israel Antiquities Authority, August 7, 2007)
“With fewer than seven million inhabitants, Israel has more companies listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange than any country except the U.S. Its start-up companies attracted nearly $2 billion in venture capital over the past two years, equal to the amount raised during that time in the much larger United Kingdom.”
(Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2007)
“A nuclear power plant for the production of electricity may soon be built in Israel. The country has toyed with the idea for decades, but recent discussions in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Infrastructure Ministry point to a more serious consideration of nuclear power as an environmentally friendly way of generating electricity. If the idea were to become a reality, Israel would be forced to allow international supervision of the power plant. Officials discussed the probability of harsh international opposition, should Israel decide to go ahead with building the plant.”
(Netnews.Com, August 1, 2007)
“PARIS: Marcel Marceau, 84, who revived the art of mime and brought poetry to silence, died on September 22 in Paris, French media reported. A French Jew, Marceau survived the Holocaust and worked with the French Resistance to protect Jewish children.”
(Jerusalem Report, October 15, 2007)
ENVIROMENTAL CONCERNS BRING ISRAELIS, JORDANIANS AND PALESTIN-IANS - A new initiative called the Dead Sea Triangle has been launched by Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian scientific and community leaders, in an effort to protect the unique environment of the Great Rift Valley, which passes through all three communities. Under the program, which includes research facilities in all three regions, the founders hope to introduce a range of projects to study and conserve the valley’s fragile ecosystem, preserving it as a haven for the 500 million birds that migrate along the route twice a year. And just as importantly, it will forge new areas of cooperation between the neighbors of the region.
US-CANADIAN FUND LOOKS TO ISRAELI CANCER RESEARCHERS FOR ANSWERS - Researchers from the Weizmann Institute in Israel have identified a specific family of proteins that enables breast cancer cells to spread via the blood stream to other organs. The team hopes the discovery will facilitate the development of drugs that block or inhibit the production of these proteins to stop the spread of cancer elsewhere in the body - the leading cause of cancer death. This is just one project being carried out under the auspices of the US-Canadian founded Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), which aims to stem the scientific brain drain from Israel and provide crucial ideas to help bring an end to the cancer crisis. (The two above are from Israel21cNewsletter,October 4, 2006)