World’s First Innovation Lab For Healthy Aging

by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich   December 27, 2017

A novel state-of-the-art lab will re-create the living conditions of the elderly to improve their mental and physical health.

The world’s first innovation lab for healthy aging has been established in Beersheba. The lab, which will simulate the living environment of senior citizens in the future, will take on the increasingly complex challenges of today’s aging population.

According to World Bank data, the proportion of the world’s population over the age of 65 increased from 5% in 1960 to 8.5% in 2015.

The lab is a collaboration between the Center for Digital Innovation, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the National Insurance Institute, the Beersheba Municipality, the Joint Distribution Committee and the Amal & Beyond Group. CDI is located in the Advanced Technologies Park adjacent to the university, whose president, Prof. Rivka Carmi, serves as chairwoman of the nonprofit lab’s board.

 “In 10 years, Beersheba will become the center of senior citizen-focused research and innovation,” CDI founder & CEO Ziv Ofek said at the launch of the lab last week. “When I think about this lab, I think about my parents and the real challenges they face. Instead of looking for merely technological solutions, we went back to analyze the problem. We developed a 360-degree approach that looks at all aspects of a senior’s life. When we founded CDI, we chose the fields of health care, social welfare, education and smart cities to specialize in. In this lab, we are combining all of them.”

Ofek and his team realized that senior citizens’ diverse needs, ambitions and activities cannot be considered separately. Rather, they are all linked, and only an innovative approach that takes all of these elements into consideration has a chance of making a real and significant change in the lives of senior citizens.

Among the main challenges are preventing falls, alleviating loneliness, slowing the deterioration of those whose capabilities are already limited, treating pain, and developing new technologies to assist the aging in basic domestic activities like bathing and using the toilet.

Read here the full article  

A Meaningful Haircut aids Cancer Sufferers

The Israeli NGO 'Zichron Menachem​' spares no effort to collect hair

offered by donors or salons and turns it into wigs, supporting

children who have lost their hair during cancer treatment.

In fact a number of our grandchildren have taken part in this

project over the last few years.

Next Embassy to Move to Jerusalem

Guatemala will move its embassy to Jerusalem, following its decades long-tradition of supporting the Jewish state. 

Guatemala has announced that it will move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, making it the first country to officially follow the US in doing so.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced on his Facebook page that he spoke on Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two discussed “the excellent relations” the two countries share.

One of the most important topics discussed was the move of the Guatemalan embassy to Jerusalem, he wrote.

“So I inform you that I have instructed the chancellor to initiate the respective coordination so that it happens,” Morales announced.

Guatemala has supported the creation of the state of Israel and was the second country to recognize it after the US. It was one of the nine nations that voted against last week’s United Nations resolution that condemned the US for President Donald Trump’s historic recognition of Jerusalem.

Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon tweeted his thanks to Guatemala for its “important decision” to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

”Wonderful news and true friendship! Viva la amistad entre Guatemala,” he wrote, which means “long live the friendship” in Spanish.

Earlier this month, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel announced that her country supports the US’ decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Morales made an historic visit to Israel in November 2016. He is a devout evangelical Christian. Shortly after taking office, he visited a synagogue in Guatemala City, where he announced his intention to visit Israel. The Central American leader said during his visit that he looks forward to bolstering agriculture, science, technology and security ties with Israel.

“In this visit, we want to deepen the dialogue between the two countries and strengthen bilateral ties,” Morales said. “As allies, the excellent relations between our countries will continue.”

Teenage Provocations

This is what Israeli soldiers have to go through.

Palestinian women caught hitting, pushing and cursing Israeli 

soldiers in order to provoke them to respond on camera. 

The soldiers don't respond.

You will never see this on the news.

Did You Know That.....

Did you know that throughout 2016, over 30,000 people from the Gaza Strip received medical treatment in Israel? Or that over 7,000 tons of medical supplies were transferred to hospitals and clinics in the Gaza Strip? And what about the emergency ambulances that are on-call 24 hours, 7 days a week at Erez Crossing? These are just a few of the many activities of the Health Coordinator Department at the Gaza CLA (Coordination and Liason Activities).

In accordance with Oslo Accord's initiated in the 1990’s, responsibility for healthcare lies with the Palestinian Authority. However, the healthcare system inside the Gaza Strip is very limited and overburdened as a result of Hamas control. As a result, the Health Coordinator at the Gaza CLA is a critical partner for assisting Gazan patients to get treatment inside Israel, Judea and Samaria or elsewhere.  In order to ensure treatment for these patients, the Health Coordination Department works with the Israeli Ministry of Health and representatives of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip, as well as collaborating with hospitals in Israel and the World Health Organization (WHO).

In addition, this department facilitates health professionals from Gaza to attend industry conferences and seminars. This educational participation is designed to keep them current on up-and-coming medical advancements in order to contribute to the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip. In 2016, 275 medical professionals from Gaza received visas to participate in medical workshops and seminars in Israel.

It is unfortunate that Hamas target those civilians most in need, but they do. There has been a rise in fraudulent applications for medical permits as part of Hamas's ongoing efforts to harm the security of the State of Israel. Consequently, in order to ensure that medical permits are given to civilians with real medical needs, the Health Office works with the different security agencies to verify the legitimacy of every request.

The UN Fraud

UN Watch is an  NGO fighting the battle for Israel in the United Nations. Here are just three examples of their wonderful work on Israel’s behalf in the most biased international arena.

1. When UNRWA launched a global campaign showing 11-year-old girl “Aya from Gaza” in a bombed-out building—portraying Israel as a cruel oppressor of Palestinian children—UN Watch exposed a fraud: the photo was actually from Syria! The story went viral online. UNRWA suffered massive embarrassment, and was forced to remove the photo worldwide.

2. When the U.N. held its 'Hate Israel Day,' we brought the Son of Hamas to deliver an epic speech exposing Palestinian crimes. He stunned the assembly into silence, and literally caused heads to turn. The video has been seen more than 8 million times on Facebook and YouTube. Israel’s prime minister called it “an extraordinary moment of truth at the United Nations.”

3. When Arab states accused Israel of Apartheid, I took the floor at the U.N. to remind the world that “Israel’s 1.5 million Arabs enjoy full rights to vote and to be elected in the Knesset; they work as doctors and lawyers; they serve on the Supreme Court.” Then I asked the accusers: “How many Jews live in your countries? Once upon a time, the Middle East was full of Jews. Algeria had 140,000 Jews. Algeria, where are your Jews? Egypt used to have 75,000 Jews. Where are your Jews?"  The speech went viral—viewed more than 5 million times—and continues to reverberate.

Tell a Lie Often Enough and Everyone Will Believe It

The latest concoction from the Palestinian Authority shows that with the oft repeated lies, even those stating them have come to accept them as truth!! The archeological results disprove every one of the statements below.

This latest offering from the PA, courtesy Palestinian Media Watch only convinces the Israeli public that there is no partner for peace - sad.

PA: Jews have no history in "Palestine"

i

Trump's decision on Jerusalem  "aligned with the false Zionist narrative...

Israeli archaeologists have searched for the last 70 years and have not found a single archaeological remnant  related to the...Temple or... to Jews in Palestine in general"

[Columnist in official PA daily]

•        PA TV: There is "no documentation" the Western Wall was ever a "place of worship" for Jews before the Balfour Declaration was issued in 1917

        

•        Abbas' advisor: "[The Jews have] no connection to this land, not religiously or historically"

•        PA minister: "Israel's claims regarding the finding of Jewish antiquities are a clear falsification of the city [of Jerusalem's] history"

•        PLO official: Jewish historical ties to the land are "a Zionist invention;"  Jews are in "Palestine" only because "Europe wanted to get rid of them"

PA TV: "The Judaization of Jerusalem ... [is the] attempts... to erase the Arab Islamic identity and change the Arab Islamic characteristics... of Jerusalem and to stamp it with a new fictional character that is called the Jewish character"

Newsflash: Jerusalem Not on Fire!

by Bassam Tawil  December 10, 2017

Full article at https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11523/jerusalem-not-on-fire

The Palestinians declared a three-day-long "rage" spree over US President Donald Trump's announcement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Thus far, however, it seems that the real anger is showing up in the international media, not on the Palestinian street.

Question: How many foreign journalists does it take to cover the Palestinian reaction to Trump's announcement? Answer: As many as the Israel-Palestinian-conflict-obsessed-West can manage to send.

The massive presence of the international media in Jerusalem and the West Bank has taken even the Palestinians by surprise. Since Trump's announcement on December 6, dozens of additional journalists and camera crews have converged on Israel to cover "the big story."

Some of these reporters, including those working for American networks, have been flown in from their working posts in London, Paris, Cairo and New York to cover what many of them are already calling the "New Palestinian Intifada." But is it really a new intifada, or is it simply wishful thinking on the part of the swarm of Palestinian and foreign reporters?

In the past few days, we have seen wild exaggeration in the media as to what is really happening in and around the Old City of Jerusalem. What is evident, however, is that the number of journalists and photographers covering the protests in the city has thus far exceeded the number of Palestinian protesters.

Let us start with Friday, December 8, the final day of the announced Palestinian "rage." The Palestinian Authority, Hamas and other Palestinian groups told us to expect mass rallies and protests after Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. So did the reporters.

By early morning, at least six television production trucks were stationed in the small parking lot outside the Damascus Gate, the main entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem. The trucks belonged to various television stations were presumably brought there to film live broadcasts of the anticipated mass protests. Another 70-80 journalists and photographers were waiting, some impatiently, for the Muslim worshippers to finish their prayers and start their protests against President Trump's announcement.

What we got in the end was a small and peaceful protest of some 40 Palestinians, who chanted slogans against Israel, the US and Arab leaders -- including Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, who was dubbed a "traitor" and "Israeli spy."

Björn Stritzel, an honest and brave German journalist, tweeted from the scene: "More journalists than protesters after Friday prayers."

The media frenzy was echoed by several other reporters. "Three days of 'rage' have passed since Trump's Jerusalem declaration and Armageddon hasn't arrived," remarked journalist Oren Kessler. "One is loath to make predictions of continued calm in the region, but thus far the doomsday prophecies have not materialized."

French journalist Piotr Smolar, who also waited for the "big" protest, wrote: "Dozens and dozens of journalists at Damascus gate, where nothing has happened until now."

Joe Dyke, a reporter with Agence France Press (AFP), tweeted  a photo showing more journalists than protesters at Damascus Gate. He wrote: "Small Palestinian protest at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem broken up by the Israeli police. They seemed to object to a picture of Trump as a toilet."

Dyke later reported that he had "just walked through Jerusalem's Old City and the situation is very calm. More police on streets but no issues as yet. Tourists milling about."

Here is how the journalist Seth Frantzman of The Jerusalem Post, who was at the scene, described the situation: "There are more people with cameras here than anyone clashing (with police) at the moment."

Frantzman later had this to say about the "clash": "There are as many media and onlookers taking photos here as there are youth and police waiting for the clashes."

Protests against Israel and the US are not uncommon on the streets of Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem. But for the "war correspondents," there is nothing more exciting than standing behind burning tires and stone throwers and reporting from the heart of the "clashes." Such scenes make the journalists look as if they are in the middle of a battlefield and are risking their lives to bring the story home to their viewers. They might even receive an award for their "courageous" reporting from danger zones!

That is what happens when you are afraid to go to Yemen, Libya, Syria or Iraq to cover the real bloodshed.

Newsflash for the journalists: There's nothing new on the Palestinian street. Palestinian threats of violence and walking out of any "peace process" is old, old news. Jerusalem is not on fire. Jerusalem is tense, and has long been so, because the Palestinians have not yet managed to come to terms with Israel's right to exist. That is the real story. The Palestinians rage and rage and rage for only one reason: because Israel exists. Put that in a story and publish it.

Bassam Tawil is a Muslim based in the Middle East.

Bahrain Delegation Visits Israel with Message of Peace Amid Trump Turmoil

by: AP and United with Israel Arab Staff – Dec 11th

Amid the tension surrounding Trump’s Jerusalem declaration, a group from Bahrain is visiting Israel, taking a step towards better relations with the Jewish state.  

An interfaith group from Bahrain is visiting Israel amid turmoil over President Donald Trump’s historic declaration recognizing Jerusalem as the capital, angering some in the island nation who support the Palestinians.

The group’s trip comes after two US-based rabbis have said that Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa thinks that the longtime boycott of Israel by Arab countries should end.

While organizers repeatedly described the trip as nonpolitical, the timing comes as Bahrain increasingly looks like the test case for other Gulf Arab nations in seeing what could happen if they recognize Israel.

A group of 30 people from Bahrain, including Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews and Muslims, flew to Israel for the event. They plan to visit universities and talk to officials there about topics of common interest, said Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC).

“The goal here is to multiply the interactions and contacts among people doing similar things in the overall region,” the rabbi told The Associated Press on Sunday. “Until now, there was absolutely no chance of having contact.”

King Hamad hosted Cooper and another SWC rabbi in February. In September, King Hamad’s son, Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, went to the center to promote a religious tolerance declaration signed by the king.

Will Arab Boycott on Israel End?

It was at that September event that word spread of King Hamad’s comments about wanting the Arab boycott of Israel to end.

That goes against decades of Arab opposition to Israel, which at its heart remains the demand for the creation of a Palestinian state and Israel’s withdrawal from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Only Egypt and Jordan have made separate peace deals with Israel.

However, in recent years, since the forging of the Iran nuclear deal, Sunni Arab states have found themselves on the same side as Israel.

Bahrain, an island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia connected by a 25-kilometer (15.5-mile) causeway, has long been known as more liberal than its ultraconservative neighbor. Its bars and nightclubs attract cross-border traffic, as well as sailors based there with the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

The island also hosts a small Jewish community, whose presence occasionally makes waves. An online video last year from Bahrain during Chanukah caused a minor stir when it showed yarmulke-wearing Jews dancing with Arabs in traditional robes and kaffiyeh headdresses.

Betrayal of the Palestinians?

As news of the Bahraini delegation in Israel spread, many took to social media in anger Monday. Already, many had been sending messages of support to Palestinians over Trump’s Jerusalem decision.

“I reject this normalization of relations with the usurping enemy’s entity,” Ebrahim Sharif, a secularist politician, wrote on Twitter. “I consider this visit by the delegation a betrayal of the Palestinian people.”

Living With the Palestinians? ‘NO?’

By  Moshe Dann  Dec 4th 

Full article at http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Living-with-the-Palestinian-No-517000 

Awaiting a Trump administration “peace plan,” hoping to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, it would be wise to recall foreign minister Abba Eban’s observation that “the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” It is important, however, to understand that this persistent failure is not because of poor judgments or unintended mistakes; it is deliberate PLO policy, strategy and ideology.

Rejecting peace with Israel is and has always been fundamental to what Palestinians demand – an independent state – and what Palestinianism means: the struggle against Zionism in any form. Any compromise based on accepting Zionism and the State of Israel is, for Arab Palestinians, a non-starter.

The reason is simple: Palestinian nationalism – according to PLO and Hamas charters – is dedicated to wiping out Israel. Accepting Israel would be denying the PLO/Hamas raison d’etre and admitting that those who sacrificed themselves in terrorist attacks died in vain, that Palestinian “martyrdom” was a fraud. It means the end of the Palestinian revolution and its ideology.

Arab Palestinian leaders recognized this nearly a hundred years ago, when, led by the pro-Nazi Mufti Haj Amin Husseini, they rampaged in murderous attacks against Jews. After the State of Israel was established, many Israeli Arabs accepted the new reality, but many did not and never will. The reason is simple: Arabs view Jewish success as their defeat. Moreover, unlike Arabs who migrated to what was called Palestine, Jewish nationalism, Zionism, is rooted in a historical and biblical attachment to the land. Nor did local Arabs imitate Zionist institution-building during the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s. Jews built hospitals and agricultural settlements; Arabs raided them. Jews built schools and parks; Arabs initiated pogroms.

What determines – and will determine – the future of Israel and Arab communities on both sides of the “Green Line” (the armistice lines of 1949) is not “Palestinian self-determination” politically, but the imperative of working together economically. The flourishing of Jewish communities in Area C of Judea and Samaria (“settlements”) is irreversible. Arabs can sabotage and try to slow the settlement movement, but they cannot stop it because it has become a committed national policy.

Despite this, the PLO hopes that the international community, led by the EU and UN, will stop Israel from expanding, and that a Palestinian state in some form will emerge. Most experts agree, however, that a Palestinian state is not viable. And political pressure is no substitute for economic development. Economists have concluded that the Palestinian economy is a “basket case,” unsustainable, dependent on foreign aid and Israeli markets, technology and infrastructure. No “peace proposal” can replace that bottom line.

Ironically, the very countries, institutions, organizations and individuals which provide generous funding and are dedicated to Palestinianism have misled and impaired Palestinians. Like it or not, the Palestinian and Israeli economies are bound together. In 2014, officially 12% of employed Palestinians in the West Bank worked in Israel, mostly in construction; many more work illegally and even more work in West Bank settlements. Currently, about 60,000 Palestinians from the West Bank possess Israeli work permits, though estimates are that about twice that number are actually employed and that number is increasing. Two-thirds of all goods imported into the Palestinian Authority come from Israel; sales to Israel account for 80% of PA exports; the PA is Israel’s biggest export market after the US. The Palestinian GDP is only 7.4% of Israel’s. The Palestinian economy relies entirely on the Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian currencies – and the US dollar; their banks depend on Israel’s banking system. Without monetary independence, political independence is meaningless. The Palestinians simply can’t survive without Israel – and they know it.

This leaves Arab Palestinians only three realistic options: 1) federation with Jordan, 2) peace with Israel, or 3) moving to another country. They can continue building their communities, economy and infrastructure; defeating Israel and/or establishing a separate state  is not possible.

Beyond Deception Strategy

BDS... three letters to de-ligitimize Israel through defamation. Hatred, anti-Semitism, sometimes Nazism, often terrorism, feed the BDS behind a veil of "humanity". It is time to expose them, while showing the reality of Israeli society.