Israel Goes Global

OCTOBER 29, 2014 06:43

Abraham, the first Jew, was told to journey from Ur of the Chaldees to the Promised Land where he would become a blessing to the world. Some 4000 years later his descendants in the Jewish State are traversing the planet with innovative products, technology and aid to benefit humanity.

An Israeli delegation is currently in Rwanda, as part of a program helping the poor east African nation save millions of dollars a year through recycling and green technology. At the International Water Association’s annual conference in Lisbon, Israelis presented creative solutions to global water problems. At the same event, Israel’s Miya received the IWA’s Project Innovation Award, Asia Pacific Region, for significantly improving urban water system efficiency in Manila, Philippines.

Israel’s G-Med, the world’s first and only global social-professional network exclusively for physicians, allows doctors anywhere to consult with colleagues, and manage multinational research projects. Since its 2013 launch, G-Med has linked up 20,000 medical professionals in over 50 countries. One project, initiated by Israeli biotech Pharmaseed brings Israeli, Jordanian and Swiss researchers together to search for a cure for cutaneous leishmaniasis. The parasitic disease is common in the Middle East and can cause death in patients with weak immune systems.

Doctors at Hadassah Medical Center not only perform complex cardiac surgeries on Palestinian Arab children, they also train Arab physicians so that they can treat Palestinian Arabs closer to home. However, the major humanitarian story this week concerns the Israeli NGO IsraAid, which has been distributing beds, blankets, basic supplies and food to over 1,000 Yazidis and Christians fleeing the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) terror organization in the Kurdish regions of Iraq.

Israeli technology has certainly gone global. The Olympic Committee and the agencies managing the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympiad have selected Israel’s ISDS to integrate systems security for the world's biggest sporting event. Amazon Web Services is partnering with Israel’s CTERA Networks for its technology to secure storage in the cloud. Meanwhile, Israel’s Dr. Eli Harari just received the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation for his invention that led to Flash Memory. And in 2013 alone, one billion products were sold globally with microprocessor chips developed by Israel’s CEVA Inc. The latest Asus PadFone X hybrid smartphone-tablet contains a CEVA digital signals processor.

The next generation of Israeli scientists is already receiving the global treatment. Eight Israeli high school students from the Ilan Ramon Youth Physics Center at Ben-Gurion University earned the top prizes in the latest “First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics” international competition. Some 80 nations participate in the annual competition, which is held in Warsaw. Ten major Israeli and multinational high-tech companies are encouraging Israeli children to achieve the same success in Math. Intel, Sandisk, Marvell Israel, Microsoft, IBM, Qualcomm, Red Hat, Amdocs, eBay, and Philips have combined efforts in order to double the number of Israeli high school pupils matriculating in the five units of Math.

Keeping track of world shipping isn’t as straightforward as you might think. The Automatic Identification System that supposedly tracks the global position of maritime freight is being manipulated to conceal criminal activities and worse. Secure technology from Israel’s Windward provides reliable data for both economic and security purposes. No secrets about the growing attraction of global travel to the Jewish State. Due to increased demand, British Airways is adding six more weekly flights this coming summer, raising the seat capacity on the London-Tel Aviv route by about 50%. Also schedule changes will give passengers more convenient connections to/from North American destinations.

We can certainly expect an increase in business travel between Israel and California following the first annual California Israel International Business Summit at Microsoft’s Mountain View Campus last week. And the Canada-Israel Industrial Research Development Foundation announced a new program to encourage research and development between Saskatchewan and Israel, and strengthen innovation and economic ties. Hi-tech trade links continues to develop with China,where Israel’s SCR Engineers are installing dairy cow monitoring technology. Finally, Japanese Culture Week in Jerusalem showed that Japan has definitely found the Israeli market. Under the guidance of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Japanese food manufacturers are even obtaining kosher certification.

Those lucky employees of Google Israel that get a chance to spend some quality time in the Jewish State will be able to appreciate working in one of the World’s Coolest Offices – as can be seen on pages 5 – 8 of Inc. Magazine’s 4th annual list. Even millions of migrating birds use Israel’s Hula valley as a global hub, enjoying some Israeli hospitality on their way to their winter retreat in Africa.

Finally, as millions of Jews worldwide finish celebrating the first global Shabbat (Sabbath) Project together, a new world-class film is about to have its international premiere. “Body and Soul: The state of the Jewish Nation” tells of the remarkable journeys made by the Jewish people. It culminates with the establishment of the modern Jewish State – a global powerhouse - in the land where it all began.