Israeli avocado takes Europe

Article published on Ynetnews February 28, 2010
By Navit Zomer

Wall Street Journal praises Agrexco company, says its avocado exports total one-third of amount of fruit in Europe. This season's exports expected to increase by more than 50%

The pear-shaped green fruit's sales have totaled reach one-third of all the fruit sold in the continent, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article dedicated to Agrexco. The Israeli company was defined by the leading American newspaper as the biggest Israeli exporter of fresh agricultural produce of high quality. According to the paper, 2009 saw a 12% rise Agrexco's sales turnover and the company leads Israel's agricultural exports this year.

Last year, the company exported agricultural produce under the Carmel brand for about € 492 million (about $663 million). Agrexco CEO Shlomo Tirosh told the paper that Israel markets 390,000 tons of fresh agricultural produce to countries all over the world, with avocado taking the first place. According to the Tirosh, there is no other product with such an outstanding presence from one single exporter. This season, the fruit's exports are expected to reach 36,000 tons compared to 22,000 last year – an increase of more than 50%. Pepper came in second with about 36,000 tons, in spite of the difficult winter in the Arava region. It was followed by organic tomatoes and conventional ones, mainly cherry tomatoes.

Green herbs have also had a strong presence – particularly basil, chives and mint. Despite the competition from Egypt, Morocco and Spain, the Israeli herbs' popularity is stable thanks to their high quality. In addition, the sales of Israel's melons have risen by 50% after years of decline.

The article reveals that Israel has a real advantage when it comes to organic products. Agrexco began specializing in the organic field 25 years ago, providing all its organic products with a good reputation and advantage over other countries. Tirosh estimates that the company's annual sales turnover will see a 3% rise in 2010.

The Unique Jerusalem Bird Observatory

Congo Surgeon Trains in Burn Treatment at Rambam

Article on Arutz Sheva February 14, 2010
By Hana Levi Julian

Rambam Medical Center in Haifa is training a surgeon from the Democratic Republic of Congo in burn treatment and plastic surgery, a field that 33-year-old Dr. Leon Mubenga says does not exist in his country. Upon completing the two-month course, Mubenga will be the first doctor in his country trained to care for burns, an area of specialization he said is desperately needed.

“Treatment options are few due to limited knowledge and suitable equipment. In contrast to Western countries, many patients with relatively small percentages of burns on their bodies die,” he said.

The surgeon was sent to Rambam by Project Moriah Africa, a voluntary organization founded by Dr. Gila Garaway and which is dedicated to assisting the Congo Republic.

Garaway, an environmental development specialist living in Tiberias, founded the group in 2002 after her husband died in a plane crash. The couple had worked together for many years in Congo as consultants for different organizations, and as the 62-year-old specialist explained, “In this project we constantly seek experts with whom we can collaborate.”

Dr. Yosef Berger, senior physician in Rambam's Department of Plastic Surgery and Director of the Plastic Surgery Service at Poriyah Hospital in Tiberias, is a long-time acquaintance of Garaway, and helped introduce the project at Rambam.

An initial plan to send Berger to Africa to train doctors was scuttled at the last minute when funding pledges didn't materialize, and instead Mubenga, who works in a large hospital in the city of Bokabo, was brought to Haifa. The facility where the Congolese surgeon works serves an area larger than the State of Israel – the eastern part of Congo, considered a war zone in recent years.

The difference in prognosis for a burn victim in Israel and one in Congo is stark. According to Professor Yehuda Ullman, Rambam's Director of Plastic Surgery and Chairman of the Israel Association of Plastic Surgery, a Congolese victim suffering with burns on as little as 30 percent of his body might die. In Israel, however, noted Ullman, “we succeed in saving those with burns on 80 to 90 percent of their bodies.”

Mubenga has worked hard since beginning the program two weeks ago, said project officials. “These have been two eventful weeks, and Dr. Mubenga has taken part in six operations,” Ullman noted. “While he is here, Dr. Mubenga can certainly gain the expertise needed to save his patients.”

The Congolese surgeon, meanwhile, vowed to pass his knowledge on to his colleagues upon his return. “This way,” he said, “we can save more lives.”

Israel on schedule to inaugurate electric car grid

Article on Ynetnews February 12, 2010
Published by Associated Press

Israel is on schedule to inaugurate a revolutionary electric car grid with dozens of recharge stations and thousands of cars on the road by next year, the project's developers said Sunday.

The California-based company Better Place hopes Israel's model will lead a shift toward electric transportation worldwide.

Between 70 and 100 recharge stations will open across the country by 2011 to service a fleet of electric vehicles, the company announced at a news conference unveiling a visitor center north of Tel Aviv.

Beginning in September, the company will test hundreds of cars and install a preliminary infrastructure before the project's commercial launch.

When the grid is complete, drivers will be able to recharge their vehicles using plugs installed next to parking spaces. On longer trips, motorists can stop at stations where a machine can replace the car's lithium ion battery. The cars, developed with Renault-Nissan, have a range of about 100 miles (160 kilometers) before the battery must be replaced.

Better Place has said users will pay for a monthly package that will include the price of the car, the battery and use of the grid. But it has yet to announce how much all of this will cost, saying only that the price will be equal to or less than the price of a regular car.

'Solving problem for entire world'

The company, founded by Israel-American businessman Shai Agassi, a former top executive at software giant SAP AG, raised $350 million from an HSBC-led investor consortium last month, one of the largest clean-tech investments in history. The new financing values Better Place at $1.25 billion.
Speaking Sunday, Agassi said his goal was to help end global dependence on oil. "Israel has taken on the problem (of oil dependency) and has decided independently to solve this for the entire world," he said. The visitor center opened Sunday offers interactive tours, test drives of the electric car, and an automated station to get on the wait list to buy the new car. Agassi reported heavy interest in the vehicle, but gave no numbers.