Israel Update 1.12.22

LAST WEEK’S JERUSALEM BOMB ATTACKS

 

Tadese Tashume Ben Ma’ada, 50, a victim of last week’s terror bombing in Jerusalem succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, raising the death toll to two. He immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia 21 years ago and leaves a wife and six children. Read more here

 

 

 

RAMMING ATTACK

 

 

A female Israeli soldier was seriously wounded and suffered head injuries on Tuesday in a car-ramming attack in the West Bank.Read more here

 

 

 

GAZA

 

 

The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees announced Tuesday that it had recently identified a man-made cavity underneath the grounds of an UNRWA school in Gaza. UNWRA protested strongly to the relevant authorities in Gaza to express outrage and condemnation of the presence of a man-made cavity underneath an UNRWA school, calling it a serious violation of the agency’s neutrality and a breach of international law Read more here

 

Note: Hamas terror tunnels have previously been discovered below residential areas, including schools.

 

 

COUNTER TERRORISM

 

 

 

The IDF’s ongoing Operation Break the Wave in the West Bank has seen thousands of troops and reservists crack down on Palestinian terrorism, arresting over 3,000 suspects and thwarting over 500 terror attacks.  The IDF has recorded 281 shooting attacks this year, compared to 91 in 2021.
There were 8,483 violent incidents by Palestinians such as riots or stone-throwing, a rise of almost 20% from the 7,039 attacks in 2021…With a large number of troops newly stationed along the separation barrier, the number of illegal infiltrations has dropped from 34,085 per week in March to 475 a week in November. Read more here

 

 

 

SAVE A CHILD’S HEART PROGRAMME

 

For the first time, Israeli aid workers are to airlift four children from South Sudan to Tel Aviv to receive life-saving heart surgery. Three years after the end of South Sudan’s civil war, the country’s health system is in chaos and doctors simply can’t provide specialist treatments like those needed for children with congenital heart conditions. Read more here

 

 

 

COVID-19

 

 

Israeli Health Ministry data shows a significant increase in the number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients. There has been a rise of 41% in seriously ill hospitalized patients to 117 in the past week and 26 are critically ill. 13 people died of complications in the past week, a 19% increase over the previous week. Despite a decrease in testing, almost 11,000 have been found positive and 1,838 were confirmed to have been infected in the previous 24 hours. Read more here

 

 

MASK

 

 

Technion researchers have developed a revolutionary invisible face mask to protect wearers against the transmission of COVID, MERS, ‘flu & other viruses. Read more here

 

 

CO-EXISTENCE

 

 

Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan-Nahoum co-founded the Gulf-Israel Women’s Forum, which first met in October 2020 in Dubai following the signing of the Abraham Accords…The forum now has hundreds of members and includes women from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. They meet up to eight times a year, either in person or via video conferencing. Read more here

 

 

 

DEFENCE

 

 

 

The Pentagon’s Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office has approved the Drone Dome system made by Israel’s Rafael for federal contract opportunities in the U.S. Read more here

 

 

Israeli TV reported Monday that a delegation of Ukrainian military arrived in Israel for talks on assisting Ukraine to create a missile warning system.Read more here

 

 

RESEARCH

 

 

 

In a world first, Israeli scientists have derived male and female stem cells from the same person. The researchers have successfully grown nervous system cells from the stem cells, with genetically identical male and female versions. Read more here

 

 

 

BUSINESS & INNOVATION

 

 

 

Fujitsu Ltd is to establish a data security R&D centre in Tel Aviv, following its 2021 launch of an innovation hub in the south of Israel. Read more here

 

 

 

 

Israeli construction tech start-up Buildots recently won “Innovation of the Year” at the Construction Computing Awards, and “Most Innovative New Software Product” and “Most Innovative On-Site Monitoring Tool” at the Building Innovation Awards, both in London. Read more here

 

 

 

 

A subsidiary of Israeli infrastructure construction company Electra won a $62 million tender to make hundreds of crosswalk signals in Manhattan and Staten Island voice-accessible to pedestrians with visual impairment. Read more here

 

 

 

Dr Amit Goffer has developed, and is about to start selling, UpnRide–a unique mobility device which gives wheelchair users the freedom to sit, stand and travel in an upright position. He also invented the “bionic” ReWalk, a wearable device that allows paraplegics to walk. Read more here

 

 

 

Israeli startup Tipa has developed a breakthrough process that turns food and clothes packaging into garden compost. Tipa’s plastics have the same elasticity, durability, and look and feel as conventional ones. Read more here

 

 

An innovative technology developed at Tel Aviv University  will reportedly make possible the regeneration of bone to correct major defects by means of a special hydrogel.Read more here

 

 

 

The chief scientist at the University of Maryland visited the Holon Institute of Technology, meeting with senior management to strengthen connections between Israeli & American cyber systems. Read more here

 

 

 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

 

 

Israeli Insoles company Upstep is set to launch the first technology system of its kind with artificial intelligence  which enables a 50% reduction in the time it takes to manufacture customized insoles.The company sells about 270,000 insoles in the US.Read more here

 

 

Israeli start-up Gabriel has been deploying next-generation security technology across the United States, which can instantly and automatically detect and respond to violent threats. This week Gabriel announced the release of its newest software upgrade to combat the rise of mass shooting threats which will further leverage its use of artificial intelligence.Read more here

 

 

ARCHAEOLOGY

 

 

A 3,000-year-old scarab, an ancient amulet and impression seal, was discovered during a school field trip to Azor, about 7 km. from Tel Aviv. Carved into the scarab is the picture of an Egyptian pharaoh.      Read more here

 

TRAVEL

 

The David Kempinski Tel Aviv was named “Best New Hotel in The World 2022” at the 14th edition of luxury travel awards ceremony, the ULTRAs, October 31 in London. Read more here

 

Condé Nast Traveller recently published The Best Countries in the World: 2022 Readers’ Choice Award and Israel came in at number 18.(out of 48 listed)Read more here?

 

 

SPORT

 

 

Tel Aviv Heat, Israel’s first professional rugby union team defeated Saracens 29-26 in a friendly match at StoneX Stadium.  Saracens are former European champions.   Read more here

 

 

Israel hosted the Middle East Ironman championship for the first time. There were over 2,500 participants including 800 from over 50 other countries. Read more here