Israel Produces First 3D Heart

Tel Aviv University researchers have "printed"

the world's first three dimensional

(3D) vascularised engineered heart using a

patient's own cells and biological materials.

Their findings were published on 15 April in

a study in Advanced Science.

BDS loses again in Airbnb Litigation!

AIRBNB rescinded its decision & settles lawsuit: It will return the listings of Jewish homeowners in Judea and Samaria to the site   This dramatic announcement comes in the wake of negotiations between the Shurat HaDin Law Center and AIRBNB in recent weeks to rescind the company's decision to delist the properties of Jewish homeowners in Judea and Samaria and as result of a federal lawsuit filed by the Shurat HaDin organization against the AIRBNB  on behalf of Israeli-American homeowners   Shurat HaDin Law Center: “This is a powerful defeat for the anti-Israel boycott movement. Other international companies need to learn lessons."

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Dear Friends, (from Shurat Hadin) We just scored a tremendous victory in the lawsuit we launched against Airbnb!  The online hosting platform has agreed to completely retract its policy of delisting Jewish homes in Judea & Samaria.  This is an important and precedential decision in the battle against the racist BDS movement. Over the past few weeks we have been negotiating a settlement agreement with the hospitality giant Airbnb to rescind its discriminatory policy redlining Jewish-owned properties in the Judea and Samaria region. That policy, announced in November 2018, had banned Jewish property owners in Judea and Samaria from listing properties on Airbnb, while allowing Muslim and Christian property owners to list properties in the same area. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Airbnb has agreed to repeal the discriminatory policy, thereby resolving the discrimination lawsuit.

When Airbnb publicly announced its redlining policy barring rentals of Jewish-owned properties in November, it stated it would no longer agree to list these homes due to claims that such properties are located in Palestinian-owned territories illegally occupied by Israeli settlers. The plaintiff homeowners, however, dispute that contention and contend that all the properties are legal. Further, the plaintiffs asserted that Airbnb had succumbed to pressure from the extremist Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (“BDS”) propaganda movement which seeks to delegitimize Israel and challenges its right to exist. Under the settlement agreement, Airbnb has agreed to adopt a neutral policy towards all properties in the region, allowing all homeowners to list their houses for rental on its web platform regardless of their religion, race or national origin. May we go from strength to strength,

Cutting your Nose to Spite your Face

PA Denies Sick Palestinians Treatment to Pay Benefits to Terrorists

http://www.thetower.org/7413-pa-denies-sick-palestinians-treatment-to-pay-full-benefits-to-terrorists/

The Palestinian Authority has decided to penalize Palestinian civilians in need of medical assistance to avoid cutting salaries of Palestinian terrorists and their families under the so-called “pay-to-slay” scheme, which led the United States and Israel to cut aid until the PA stops inciting terror.

Explaining the decision, PA Ministry of Health Spokesman Osama Al-Najjar said: “The decision is political par excellence and comes in response to Israel deducting sums from the money that it collects for us.”

Israel’s Diplomatic-Security Cabinet decided in February to implement a major slash in the tax revenues that Israel collects on behalf of the PA, with the amount the PA pays to terrorists and their families to be deducted from the aid Israel hands over to the Palestinian leadership. The PA paid out some 502 million shekels ($138 million) to living terrorists in 2018, according to recent Israeli media reports.

The PA is using those cuts as an excuse to no longer permit Palestinians to travel for medical treatment in Israel — which costs the PA $100 million a year — while still paying in full the salaries to both imprisoned and released terrorists, as well as the allowances to wounded terrorists and the families of dead terrorists.

The decision comes on the heels of the PA’s decision to cut the salaries of civil servants, 40 percent of which earn less than 2,000 shekels per month (about $535). It demonstrates the reality that under the so-called “pay-to-slay” scheme, Palestinians terrorists who have been in prison for a cumulative period of three years earn higher salaries than 40 percent of the PA’s law-abiding public employees.

Additionally, in February, in response to the Israeli law, the PA said that it would not accept tax payments from Israel. PA President Mahmoud Abbas said at the time, “I tell you honestly that if we only had 20 or 30 million shekels, which is what is paid [monthly] to families of martyrs, we will give them to the families of martyrs. I mean if the [Palestinian] Authority doesn’t have anything other than that [amount], I will pay it to the families of martyrs and prisoners and wounded persons. This needs to be understood.”

Last year, PA President Mahmoud Abbas swore he would make paying terrorists a top priority. “By Allah, even if we have only a penny left it will only be spent on the families of the martyrs and prisoners and only afterward will it be spent on the rest of the people,” Abbas vowed.

Israelis and Palestinians can achieve peace through humanity and medicine

A Palestinian woman’s life has been saved thanks to the expert care of Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer. And in an amazing turn of fate and friendship, the Israeli doctor who helped save her was once rescued by her family when he was attacked by a vicious crowd in a Palestinian village.

Four years ago, Dr. Eitan was traveling with his son and made a wrong turn into a Palestinian village near Ramallah. An angry mob formed around the car, throwing stones and breaking the car windows. The lives of Dr. Eitan and his son were clearly in danger when two bystanders who lived in the village, Imad and his cousin Ayoub, rescued them.

Imad and Ayoub ushered the Israelis into their home, calling for a rescue team and protecting them from the threatening crowd that closed in around the house. Without question, Imad and Ayoub saved their lives.

As a result, a deep friendship was born between the three men, and now it has come full circle.

When Imad’s sister-in-law was severely injured in a vehicle accident, Imad knew just who to call – Dr. Eitan. The doctor helped facilitate the sister-in-law’s transfer to Sheba Medical Center for lifesaving treatment and continues to oversee her care. Her condition is improving, and she will soon be transferred to Sheba’s Rehabilitation Hospital.

This story is the latest example of Sheba Medical Center’s long history of spreading peace through medicine. This hospital without borders has a firm belief in providing the highest quality of medical care available, regardless of nationality or religion.

Sane Arab voice not often heard.

Oh that this opinion should be

spread far and wide

Israel Blessed with Abundance of Rain

TThe Sea of Galilee is likely to fill up completely as the heavy snows melt on the peak of Mount Hermon through the spring.

Weather that is seemingly more regular for Israeli winters has spilled into April.

The good news is that this means rising water levels for Lake Kinneret, which is another name for the Bible’s Sea of Galilee and the country’s only freshwater source, according to the Environmental Protection Ministry.

Lake Kinneret has risen to 316 centimeters below its maximum level, says the Globes business news outlet, citing the Israel Water Authority. According to this report, the lake is likely to fill up completely as the heavy snows melt on the peak of Mount Hermon through the spring.

The lake had in recent years reached dangerously low levels.

Weather forecasters say that this has been an especially wet winter after several years of much smaller amounts of rainfall and even drought. Most of all, it helps the Israel’s water supplies and the livelihood of farmers. However, hikers have also benefited from the tremendous amount of colorful vegetation throughout the country.

The many previous dry winters prompted Israel to construct desalination plants.

Israel currently has eight plants, with the plant in Hadera, a city in the Haifa area in the north of Israel, being the largest seawater desalination plant in the world, according to Interesting Engineering. In 2015, 50% of Israel’s water for households, agriculture, and industry was from desalination, it says.

Still, experts say that desalination does not solve all of the problems caused by a lack of rainfall and even with conservation, so that Israeli authorities are relieved by the plentiful supply of precipitation this year.

With Passover and then summer vacation approaching, the rains will stop, but the benefits will remain amid hopes that the trend will continue in future winters.

Hamas Sends 8 year olds with knives into Israel

On Saturday morning, IDF troops found two children near the Gaza security fence carrying a knife who explained they hoped to infiltrate Israel and be sent to prison.

IDF troops gave the children water to drink and then returned them home via the Erez Crossing.