IAI to set up US electronic defense systems co

Article published by GLOBES Israel's Business Arena

October 25, 2011

By Ran Dagoni

ELTA North America is to be located in Maryland and will produce radar and combat communications systems.

The board of directors of Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1) has decided to set up a new company in the US to be called ELTA North America to market electronic defense products in the western hemisphere, IAI North America president Uzi Rosen has told "Globes."

Rosen stressed that planned production in the US will not result in layoffs at IAI unit ELTA's plant in Israel. The new company, which will be located in Maryland, will be part of IAI North America. ELTA Systems Ltd., based in Ashdod, is one of the world's leading electronic defense systems companies, which develops, designs and manufactures radar and electronic combat communications systems.

Rosen said, "This is an important strategic decision, which will deepen IAI's penetration into the US and other markets."

He added that the decision was based on the positive experience gained by IAI's first subsidiary in the US, Stark Aerospace in Mississippi, which was established five years ago to manufacture and market Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and electro-optic payloads to North American customers.

Rosen said, "Stark is growing at a satisfactory rate and we are planning to add new production lines for other avionics and payloads."

According to Rosen, ELTA North America will be virtually a mirror image of Stark Aerospace from the organizational structure point of view but will specialize in products developed by ELTA. Stark is a US company in every sense. It is managed by Americans, and does not employ any Israelis. This will be the organizational format of ELTA North America. The company is expected to begin the final assembly of products, inspect quality and deliver products to clients before the end of 2011.

IAI decided to locate the new company in Maryland because of the availability of appropriate skilled labor. Rosen said, "Following the economic crisis there are fantastic human resources here looking for work. I've been in the US for five years and I've interviewed many prospective employees but I've never before encountered workers of this level. Today, it is very easy task to hire quality people in the US."

He added that IAI is preparing to put ELTA's technology onto the US market with an emphasis on ground radar to detect people and equipment. The company is focusing marketing efforts on two types of customers: the US military and all its arms, which have for years been developing infrastructures to defend mainly its overseas bases and installations, and internal security agencies engaged in defending the country's lengthy borders with Mexico and Canada.

Rosen said, "IAI already provides ground radar to the US market because its quality is far better than that being offered by the local market."

He was very much in favor of opening a US plant but he stresses that the final decision was reached by IAI's board of directors in Israel, which understood the potential of such a large market for the venture. Rosen expects a major rise in orders for ELTA's products once ELTA-North America begins to provide customers with local support.

Questioned on whether production in the US will lead to layoffs in Israel, Rosen said, "The very opposite. We are not moving production lines from Israel to the US. We are duplicating production lines. IAI management understands that if it does not open US production lines then it will not get more orders from the American market. The way I see it every extra order from the US market will in the end require more production of sub-systems in Israel and only the final assembly will be implemented in the US. Every new order in the US will add 100% - 50% going to Israel and 50% to the US."

He insists that ELTA's workforce understands this new decision and that the works committee realizes that more orders in the US means more work in Israel.

Rosen expects that within five years ELTA North America will record annual profit of $200 million.

Turning gray water green

Article published on ISRAEL21c July 21, 2011

By Karin Kloosterman

A simple Israeli system for collecting, treating and reusing household water arrives right on time for global water shortages.

The facts on the ground are stark: Israel is in a serious water deficit. The Sea of Galilee is shrinking every year, as are its underground aquifers. Yet water needs are increasing along with energy costs.

One answer to this crisis may be found in the water we send down the sink and bathtub drains. Much of this "gray water" can be lightly treated and reused to flush toilets and water gardens.

Putting that ideal into action on a large scale is the target for Gil Ben-Meir, inventor of the Evergreen gray water solution developed by his company, Green Solutions. Some 150 family Israeli homes have already installed Evergreen. This business owner, working since 2009 on the project, is intent on making a dent in the foreign market with Israel's already well-known water solutions that work.

Water levels in the Sea of Galilee are dropping dramatically year by year.

Speaking at the 15th annual Cleantech Exhibition in Tel Aviv in July, he tells ISRAEL21c that the Evergreen system is a small, affordable and easy-to-maintain gray-water processing device that can treat up to 600 liters of household water a day, or about 150 gallons.

Fitted to every pipe but the kitchen sink and toilet - wastewater from these drains contains too much organic material and oil to be safely recycled -- the system collects gray water from baths, showers, hand-washing basins and washing machines. Running through a specially developed biofilter, the treated gray water is then sent to the toilet and to the garden, where it can be reused instantly.

The system may be just the solution needed in chronically dry areas, including the Greek Isles, other Middle Eastern countries and American states like California and Nevada.

Rinse and repeat

The average household in America consumes about 350 gallons of water per day, according to the website drinktap.org. About one third of that could be salvaged, treated and reused with this new Evergreen system.

It's easy to install, the filters are self-cleaning and the maintenance is simple - "once every three or four months," says Ben-Meir. "Everything one needs to operate it is supplied with the system."

With the average cost for parts and installation about $4,000, or NIS 15,000, the return on investment is about five years, and the system runs on the same amount of electricity as it takes to burn a 70-watt bulb all day. Evergreen can be scaled up for apartment complexes and other higher demand locations.

Quieter than an air conditioner, Evergreen measures about 180 by 70 centimeters (71 by 27.5 inches) -- much smaller than similar solutions, says Ben-Meir. "The innovation here is its adaptation to smaller applications with a small footprint. What usually takes three to four square meters of space is now contained in less than two square meters, at a 50 percent cost reduction."

He assumes the tool would also work in cold climates like Canada and northern Europe, since the system can be installed in a basement and operates on the temperature of the water fed into the system.

Evergreen can be fitted with a holding tank to process water and store it for use during peak hours and days.

Energized by Israel's challenges

Ben-Meir founded Green Solutions after living in the United States for 13 years and studying energy management at the New York Institute of Technology.

"I came back from a long stay in the States, where I was doing something completely different, and in 2005 I decided to switch to the environment field -- to the clean-tech sector," says Ben-Meir. "I completed a master's degree and decided to come back to Israel and to work on solutions for gray water."

At that time, Israel was at the start of five years of drought. "There was a serious shortage of fresh water, and I was looking for ways to recycle and save water. Here is the fruitful soil to grow on and develop it," he adds, referring to Israeli expertise in water reclamation.

Based in Zichron Yaakov, Green Solutions currently employs three people, and also provides solar energy solutions for homeowners.

Kishon River: From poison to pristine | environment

Kishon River: From poison to pristine | environment

The volunteers from Boston

Article published on Ynetnews.com March 31, 2010
By Danny Spector

Every year, Steve and Carol Doppelt gather a number of American friends and volunteer in Haifa for an entire month.

Steve and Carol Doppelt have been living in the United States for four generations. At first the family lived in New York and then moved to Boston, where they live to this day. And yet every year they arrive in Israel with a growing group of volunteers for an entire month of voluntary activities in the Haifa area.
Why? Because they feel like it.

"We visited Israel for the first time to celebrate our son's bar mitzvah in Jerusalem," says Steve. "After that time we simply fell in love with the country and realized that we wanted to come back here again and again.

"Since then we try to come every year, just to volunteer. We bring along good Jews who love the country and try to do all they can to develop Haifa and help educate the next generation."

The latest delegation, which landed here about two months ago, included 15 people who volunteered in the northern city's schools for four weeks. They taught the children English and tried to help in whichever way they could, even with matters requiring labor.

All this took place thanks to the Boston-Haifa Partnership which flew them here, while the city's residents took care of their accommodation.

"We feel like we've come home when we arrive here," Steve adds. "We want Israelis know that in spite of the situation there are always people who will come and stand by them here. We do it every year and we're happy to see the positive effect of what we do. Let's hope we can continue coming and doing this for many more years."

Why don't you just make aliyah?

"The truth is that we've also taken the opportunity to study Hebrew in an ulpan. Who knows, maybe in the future we'll even make aliyah."

Israel brings a cold sport to a hot country

Article publishe on ISRAEL21c February 23, 2011
By Harvey Stein

Toronto it's not, but Metulla's Canada Centre provides a cool venue for immigrant and native Israelis thirsting for fast-paced fun on the ice.


A mere kilometer from the Lebanese border, Israel's only permanent regulation-size ice rink draws hockey players of all ages from throughout the country. It's not a sport normally associated with the Middle East, but for Israel's many Russian and Canadian immigrants, ice hockey is part of their culture. And they're willing to drive for hours to maintain it.


Hockey lovers drive for hours across Israel just to get a chance to skate on the ice.

Since its start in 1989, the federation has started drawing native Israelis as well, and competing in an international division. Kids come for two-day mini-camps on the ice, and senior leagues - with players from 16 to 60 -- meet weekly. When they're not at the Metulla rink, most players must practice on rollerblades for lack of an appropriate venue.

Plans are afoot to build a second Olympic-size rink in central Israel. For now, however, the diehards are happy to trek up north to the Canada Centre for a bracing breath of cold air and an action-packed, competitive workout.

Forever21 to open first Israeli store in September

Article published by GLOBES Israel's Business Arena

January 23, 2011

By Ilanit Hayut

The fashion store will open in Tel Aviv's Azrieli Center.

Sources inform ''Globes'' that fashion chain Forever21 will open its first store in Israel at Tel Aviv's Azrieli Center, in September 2011, just before Rosh Hashana. The two-floor store will cover 1,500 square meters, apparently replacing the Yotvata In the City dairy outlet on the first floor.
After negotiating with a number companies, Forever21 decided to operate in Israel directly, rather than through franchises. Gillerman Global Ltd., owned by Dan Gillerman, will manage the brand in Israel.
Gillerman told "Globes", "I strongly hope that we'll meet the timetable, and that the first store will open by Rosh Hashana."

Ancient human remains found in Israel

Article published by YAHOO! news December 27, 2010

By Daniel Estrin

Israeli archaeologists said Monday they may have found the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern man, and if so, it could upset theories of the origin of humans.

A Tel Aviv University team excavating a cave in central Israel said teeth found in the cave are about 400,000 years old and resemble those of other remains of modern man, known scientifically as Homo sapiens, found in Israel. The earliest Homo sapiens remains found until now are half as old.

"It's very exciting to come to this conclusion," said archaeologist Avi Gopher, whose team examined the teeth with X-rays and CT scans and dated them according to the layers of earth where they were found.

He stressed that further research is needed to solidify the claim. If it does, he says, "this changes the whole picture of evolution."

The accepted scientific theory is that Homo sapiens originated in Africa and migrated out of the continent. Gopher said if the remains are definitively linked to modern human's ancestors, it could mean that modern man in fact originated in what is now Israel.

Sir Paul Mellars, a prehistory expert at Cambridge University, said the study is reputable, and the find is "important" because remains from that critical time period are scarce, but it is premature to say the remains are human.

"Based on the evidence they've cited, it's a very tenuous and frankly rather remote possibility," Mellars said. He said the remains are more likely related to modern man's ancient relatives, the Neanderthals.

According to today's accepted scientific theories, modern humans and Neanderthals stemmed from a common ancestor who lived in Africa about 700,000 years ago. One group of descendants migrated to Europe and developed into Neanderthals, later becoming extinct. Another group stayed in Africa and evolved into Homo sapiens — modern humans.

Teeth are often unreliable indicators of origin, and analyses of skull remains would more definitively identify the species found in the Israeli cave, Mellars said.

Gopher, the Israeli archaeologist, said he is confident his team will find skulls and bones as they continue their dig.

The prehistoric Qesem cave was discovered in 2000, and excavations began in 2004. Researchers Gopher, Ran Barkai and Israel Hershkowitz published their study in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

Israel-Cyprus exclusive economic zone set

Article published on Ynetnews December 19, 2010

By Zvi Lavi

Agreement provides Israel with exclusive economic, research rights and sovereignty over artificial facilities built within maritime area. 'Delimitation of territorial water borderline enables investors to feel economic certitude, promote and develop Israel's energy market,' says Minister Landau.

The exclusive economic zone within the territorial waters between Israel and Cyprus was set on Friday morning at the maritime half way point. The clarification of the borderline is essential in protecting Israel's rights to oil and underwater gas reservoirs.

The border was set in an agreement between Israel and Cyprus, signed this morning in Nicosia by Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau and Cyprus' Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou.

During the signing ceremony, Landau said that "the delimitation of the territorial water borderline will enable investors to feel economic certitude and promote and develop Israel's energy market."

The exclusive economic zone is an area where the country has exclusive economic and research rights but has no sovereignty other than over the artificial facilities it builds in the area. The accord was signed after vigorous negotiations in recent months, between diplomatic and professional representatives from both sides.

Delineation of the maritime borderline with Cyprus was done with Cyprus' full cooperation through experts from both countries, according to the accepted principles of international law according to the accepted professional measuring methods.

Until now, Israel operated in Mediterranean waters according to the principles of international law concerning the international shelf. According to these principles, the country has automatic rights over all natural resources within her international shelf even if it doesn't make a formal announcement.

The delimitation of the exclusive economic zone allows for more maritime border certainty towards investors and neighboring countries and will help Israel anchor its economic rights in the Mediterranean as well as pave the way for searching for and developing energy sources at sea.

Joint resources will be divided

In the agreement, Israel and Cyprus commit to cooperating on the development of cross border resources if any are discovered, and will hold negotiations over the nature of the technical and professional arrangements needed in order to divide the joint resources.

Following the signing of the agreement Minister Landau said: "The signing reflects the close relations and ongoing cooperation between Israel and Cyprus.

In light of the recent significant natural gas resources discovery in the Mediterranean, the delimitation of the maritime border has an important role in anchoring the essential economic rights of the state in connection with the ocean's natural resources."

Druze and Bedouin join ZAKA's rescue operations

Article published on ISRAEL21c November 15,
By Abigail Klein Leicman

Israeli rescue organization ZAKA is now training volunteers from minority communities to be first responders in the wake of tragedy.

A Bedouin volunteer joining one of the four new Arab units in ZAKA

For 15 years, Israel's unique voluntary rescue organization, ZAKA, has been sending volunteers to work alongside law enforcement and emergency personnel following acts of terrorism, accidents and natural disasters across the globe.

Now ZAKA is expanding its network within Israel to better serve Arab, Bedouin, Circassian and Druze populations. Two new units in the north and two in the south will be staffed by members of those minority communities, after receiving training that will be adapted to their own religious and ethnic customs.

Until ZAKA (a Hebrew acronym for Disaster Victim Identification) was founded in 1995 by Jerusalemite Yehuda Meshi-Zahav in response to a spate of terrorist attacks, the Jewish state had no organized system for dealing with victims' body parts and blood, considered sacred by Jewish law.

More volunteers means a more perfect world

Fifty-one-year-old Meshi-Zahav tells ISRAEL21c that ZAKA also handles bodies of non-Jewish victims - even terrorists - with sensitivity to cultural and religious principles However, he is eager to have volunteers from Israel's non-Jewish sectors become full participants.

"We believe everyone wants to do good work," he says. "Adding as many people as possible to our volunteering circle is a means to perfecting our world."

Meshi-Zahav was a yeshiva student when he witnessed the first bus bombing just outside Jerusalem in 1989. He and some other students ran to help, but could not offer much assistance without expertise in forensics or first aid. "I went home and the images kept replaying in my mind like a horror movie," he recalls.

Over the next six years, he built up the basis for what would become the world's only Jewish organization of its kind.

Today, about 1,500 ZAKA volunteers - including canine, diving, and rappelling specialists - take responsibility for ensuring that all human remains are treated in accordance with religious guidelines. The only organization authorized by the Israeli police to handle recovery and body part identification, ZAKA participates in search-and-rescue missions and firefighting efforts, international disaster relief, and accident-prevention programs.

Government-sponsored training for minorities

Although small ZAKA units are already active among the Bedouin population in the south and the Druze communities of the north, this marks the first time ZAKA's expansion is being sponsored by the government. Galil Ayoob Kara, a Druze member of Israel's parliament and Deputy Minister for the Development of the Negev and Galilee, has termed the arrangement "holy work" and a critical step toward equality for all Israeli citizens.

Meshi-Zahav looks to the project as a way of breaking barriers and building bridges between Israeli Jews and minorities, which is one of his priorities. "We are open to all: Religious and not, Jews and non-Jews, Israelis and Arabs," he says. "Our guiding principle is our belief that man was made in the image of God."

An ultra-Orthodox Jew with side curls and a black skullcap, Meshi-Zahav has been present at some grim scenes as a result of his work with ZAKA.

ZAKA assisted at the sites of the World Trade Center and Mumbai terrorist attacks; the Columbia space shuttle tragedy in Texas; the carnage in the wake of Hurricane Katrina; synagogue bombings in Istanbul; the tsunami aftermath in Southeast Asia; plane crashes in Phuket, Thailand, Mexico, and Namibia; the earthquake in Haiti; and a recent murder of a Jewish traveler in the Ukraine, among other tragedies.

The United Nations officially recognized ZAKA as an international humanitarian volunteer organization in 2005.

UN recognition opens doors

"UN recognition is extremely important in our overseas operations," explains ZAKA spokeswoman Lydia Weitzman. "That recognition allows us to go into all areas, even countries where Israel does not have diplomatic relations. The humanitarian message of ZAKA is the key that opens doors to all communities."

ZAKA recently established International Rescue branches in foreign countries including Mexico, France and Hong Kong, with another planned for Kiev to serve Eastern Europe. Community volunteers are to be trained to offer an immediate professional response to a disaster in their region, before Israel-based volunteers can arrive.

The four new Israeli units will begin gearing up this winter. Gadi Kellerman is working with about 15 Bedouins in the south, recruited mostly from among border patrol and police officers. Hezki Farkash is setting up the new Druze units in Beit Jann and Yirka up north.

"In the north and the south, our goal is to keep growing the number of volunteers from the Druze and Bedouin communities," stresses Meshi-Zahav.

Meet the Israeli Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle - AvantGuard

Direct flights from Denmark to resume after intifada halt

Article published by GLOBES Israel's Business Arena

October 24, 2010

By Globe's Correspondent

Cimber Air's direct flight will cuts the time of the trip in half.

Danish airline Cimber Air will operate three direct scheduled and charter flights a week from Copenhagen to Tel Aviv beginning November 1.

A Cimber Sterling Airlines Boeing 737-700

There has been a significant increase in the numbers of tourists visiting Israel from Scandinavia during 2010. This, together with the anticipated continued increase with the commencement of the new and reinstated flights is expected to return the Scandinavian countries to the incoming tourism map of Israel and generate a 25% increase in incoming tourism from these countries. In January-September 2010, 47,400 tourists arrived from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark (16% more than the same period last year and 19% more than 2008.)

The direct flight cuts the time of the trip in half, as what was a nine-hour journey, including a changeover in Vienna or another European capital, is now about 4.5 hours.

Daily El AL and SAS flights between Israel and the Scandinavian countries ceased operating ten years ago with the onset of the intifada, after a significant drop in demand.

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov said, “The Tourism Ministry will continue its marketing efforts in 2011 to bring back the tourism traffic from Scandinavia to Israel, as main source countries for incoming tourism."

Google to bring Dead Sea Scrolls online

Article published on Ynetnews October 21, 2010

By Associated Press

Technology giant, Israel announce plan to launch public viral database for ancient archaeological treasure.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, among the world's most important, mysterious and tightly restricted archaeological treasures, are about to get Googled.

The technology giant and Israel announced Tuesday that they are teaming up to give researchers and the public the first comprehensive and searchable database of the scrolls – a 2,000-year-old collection of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek documents that shed light on Judaism during biblical times and the origins of Christianity. For years, experts have complained that access to the scrolls has been too limited.

Once the images are up, anyone will be able to peruse exact copies of the original scrolls as well as an English translation of the text on their computer – for free.

Officials said the collection, expected to be available within months, will feature sections that have been made more legible thanks to high-tech infrared technology.
"We are putting together the past and the future in order to enable all of us to share it," said Pnina Shor, an official with Israel's Antiquities Authority.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the late 1940s in caves in the Judean Desert and are considered one of the greatest finds of the last century.

After the initial discovery, tens of thousands of fragments were found in 11 caves nearby. Some 30,000 of these have been photographed by the antiquities authority, along with the earlier finds. Together, they make up more than 900 manuscripts.

For decades, access to 500 scrolls was limited to a small group of scholar-editors with exclusive authorization from Israel to assemble the jigsaw puzzle of fragments, and to translate and publish them. That changed in the early 1990s when much of the previously unpublished text was brought out in book form.

Restricted access
But even now, access for researchers is largely restricted at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, where the originals are preserved in a dark, temperature-controlled room.

Shor said scholars must receive permission to view the scrolls from the authority, which receives about one request a month. Most are given access, but because no more than two people are allowed into the viewing room at once, scheduling conflicts arise. Researchers are permitted three hours with only the section they have requested to view placed behind glass.

Putting the scroll online will give scholars unlimited time with the pieces of parchment and may lead to new hypotheses, Shor said.

"This is the ultimate puzzle that people can now rearrange and come up with new interpretations," she said.

Scholars already can access the text of the scrolls in 39 volumes along with photographs of the originals, but critics say the books are expensive and cumbersome. Shor said the new pictures – photographed using cutting-edge technology – are clearer than the originals.

The refined images were shot with a high-tech infrared camera NASA uses for space imaging. It helped uncover sections of the scrolls that have faded over the centuries and became indecipherable.

If the images uploaded prove to be of better quality than the original, scholars may rely on these instead of traveling to Jerusalem to see the scrolls themselves, said Rachel Elior, a professor of Jewish thought at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

"The more accessible the fragments are the better. Any new line, any new letter, any better reading is a great happiness for scholars in this field," she said.

'May spur new interpretations'
The new partnership is part of a drive by Google to have historical artifacts catalogued online, along with any other information.

"There are artifacts in boxes, in museum basements. We ask ourselves how much this stuff is available on the Internet. The answer is not a lot, and not enough," said Yossi Matias, an official from Google-Israel.

Google has worked to upload old books from European universities and pictures of archaeological finds from Iraq's national university. This project is different, Matias said, because access to the scrolls may spur new interpretations of the highly debated text and because the scrolls have a more universal appeal.

For the last 18 years, segments of the scrolls have been publicly displayed in museums around the world. At a recent exhibit in St. Paul, Minn., 15 fragments were shown.

Shor said a typical 3-month exhibit in the US draws 250,000 people, illustrating just how much the scrolls have fascinated people.

"From the minute all of this will go online, there will be no need to expose the scroll anymore," Shor said. "Anyone in his office or on his couch will be able to click and see any scroll fragment or manuscript that they like."

Much mystery continues to surround the scrolls. No one knows who copied these ancient texts or how they got there. The scrolls include parts of the Hebrew Bible as well as treatises on communal living and apocalyptic war.

Over the years, the texts have sparked heated debates among researchers over their origins.

Some believe the Essenes, a monastic sect seen by some as a link to early Christianity, hid the scrolls during the Jewish revolt of the first century AD, Others believe they were written in Jerusalem and stashed in caves at Qumran by Jewish refugees fleeing the Roman conquest of the city, also in the first century.

IAI presents new Panther UAV

Article published in Jerusalem Post October 5, 2010

By Yaakov Lappin

The new 65-kilogram UAV can stay in the air for up to six hours and fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet. It comes equipped with a specialized day and night camera with a laser range-finder on board.

Israel Aerospace Industries is set to unveil a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during a conference in Latrun on Tuesday.

The Panther UAV “combines the flight capabilities of an airplane with helicopter- like hovering, a tilt-rotor propeller, and a fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system, which enable a runway-free takeoff and landing on an unprepared area,” IAI said in a press release on Monday.

The Panther will go on display at the Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) 2010 annual meeting and exposition in Washington, to be held October 25-27.

Itzhak Nissan, president and CEO of IAI, said, “The Panther’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, along with its effective use of changing flight dynamics, make it a unique and invaluable asset on the tactical battlefield for the Israel Defense Forces and for foreign customers. We consider the innovative technology used in this system to be ground-breaking.”

The new 65-kilogram UAV can stay in the air for up to six hours and fly at an altitude of 10,000 feet. It comes equipped with a specialized day and night camera with a laser range-finder on board.

Milk drinkers lose more weight, research shows

Article published on ISRAEL21c September 26, 2010

By ISRAEL21c staff

A two-year weight loss study held in Israel reveals that dieters who consume milk lose more weight on average than those who don't.

A new weight loss study conducted in Israel has revealed that dieters who consume milk or milk products lose more weight on average than those who consume little to no milk products.

The two-year dietary intervention study, of 300 overweight men and women in middle age, was carried out by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). The researchers found that regardless of diet, dieters with the highest dairy calcium intake - equal to 12 oz. of milk or other dairy products, lost about 12 pounds (6kg) at the end of two years.

Dieters with the lowest dairy calcium intake - about half a glass of milk, only lost seven pounds on average.

The researchers, led by Dr. Danit Shahar, of BGU's Center for Health and Nutrition, and the Faculty of Health sciences, also discovered that levels of vitamin D found in the blood, also affected the success of weight loss treatments. The results confirmed existing research showing that overweight participants have lower blood levels of the vitamin.

Higher vitamin D levels in successful dieters

"It was known that over-weight people had lower levels of serum vitamin D but this is the first study that actually shows that serum Vitamin D increased among people who lost weight," says Shahar. "This result lasted throughout the two years that the study was conducted, regardless of whether [participants] were on a low-carb, low fat or Mediterranean diet."

Vitamin D increases calcium absorption in the bloodstream and in addition to sun exposure can be obtained from fortified milk, fatty fish and eggs. Americans generally consume less than the recommended daily requirement of Vitamin D which is found in four glasses of milk (400 international units).

The study, which was published in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was part of the Dietary Intervention Randomized Control Trial (DIRECT) held at the Nuclear Research Center in Israel in collaboration with Harvard University, the University of Leipzig, Germany and the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Some 322 moderately obese people, aged 40 to 65, took part in the study evaluating low fat, Mediterranean or low-carb diets for two years.

In earlier findings, scientists discovered that low-fat diets aren't the best way to lose weight, but that dieters are likely to lose more weight on a Mediterranean diet, or a low-carb diet.

The study was supported by the Israel Ministry of Health and the Israel Dairy Council, the Israel Chief Scientist Office, German Research Foundation and the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Research Foundation.

Google acquires Israeli start-up Quiksee

Article published on GLOBES [online] September 13, 2010

By Noa Parag

According to Quiksee CEO Royz, the company's technology enhances Google's Street View.

Search giant Google has found a second company to acquire in Israel, buying start-up Quiksee. The price is estimated to be several million dollars. Both Google and Quiksee declined to respond.

The firm was founded in 2007 by CEO Gadi Royz, VP R&D Rony Amira, CTO Assaf Harel, and Pavel Yosifovich. The company's software allows Internet users to turn a simple video clip into an interactive video clip. Users can photograph any location where they are with a digital camera or mobile device, upload the file to Google Maps, and take part in the dynamic mapping of the world.
Quiksee's software turns the clip into an interactive one, by allowing people to wander through and get a real visit experience, without physically being there. Essentially it allows anyone to create location based media.
According to CEO Royz, Quiksee's technology enhances Google's Street View. It allows surfers to virtually enter a hotel, business office, or other property, without GPS or any other medium.
Estimates are that the company has raised $3 million to date, from Van Leer Group Foundation unit Docor International BV and from Ofer Hi Tech Ltd.
In April, Google made its first acquisition in Israel, buying start-up LabPixies.

Number of high rises in Israel doubles

Article on Ynetnews.com September 1, 2010

By Billy Frenkel

Israeli Union for Managing Houses and Buildings says construction of towers 21 stories and higher jumps 125% in last two years

Israel is getting taller. New construction of towers with 21 stories or more rose 125% in 2008 and 2009 in comparison with 2006 and 2007, according to an analysis of Central Bureau of Statistics figures performed by the Israeli Union for Managing Houses and Buildings.

The figures show that the start of construction on high-rise buildings rose between 2006 and 2009. The rate of new construction on residential towers with 11 stories or more in urban areas stood at 16.5% of all new construction in 2006 and 2007. This figure rose to 23.5% by the end of the first quarter of 2010, with a total of 10,836 apartments overall.

The figures also show that Petah Tikva is gaining height the fastest in the past two years with 1,585 new apartment units being built in buildings 11 stories and taller. Of these, 485 apartments have started being built in buildings with 21 floors or more – 593 apartments in buildings with 16 to 20 floors, and 507 apartments in buildings between 11 and 15 floors.

Tel Aviv leads in 21-story building growth
Second in terms of overall new apartments built in towers 11 stories and taller is Be'er Yaakov with 1,016 such apartments being constructed during these years.

Tel Aviv came in third with construction being started on 782 new apartments in buildings with 11 stories and more. A breakdown of the figures by height of the apartments shows that Tel Aviv has the highest number of apartments being built in towers of 21 stories and higher with 539 new units.

The next cities on the list in descending order are Holon, Netanya, and Rishon Lezion.

Israel wins taekwondo gold after Iran withdrawal

Article published on The Jakarta Post August 16, 2010
By The Associate Press

Politics threatened to overshadow the inaugural Youth Olympic Games after an Iranian athlete cited injury before withdrawing from the boys taekwondo final against an Israeli athlete on the first full day of competition.

The Iranian delegation said Mohammad Soleimani aggravated an injury and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Soleimani was unable to face Israel's Gili Haimovitz or attend the medal ceremony late Sunday.

Israeli officials said they expected Iran to refuse to compete and that the withdrawal was politically motivated. Daniel Oren, head of the Israeli delegation, said he was thrilled at the gold medal but expressed frustration that the victory was not earned in the final.

"When Gili won the semifinal, we knew the Iranian was making the final. Already, we knew that the Iranians would not come," Oren said. "This is their system. On the one hand, we got the gold medal. It's very exciting for us. On the other hand, we would prefer winning by competing."

Haimovitz said he was happy to have won gold.

"Actually, I don't want to get into politics or that kind of thing," the 17-year-old Oren said. "I don't know. I was ready for a fight. If he came out or not, I don't care."

An Iranian official did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said it is "my understanding is that he was taken to hospital and unable to compete."

The World Taekwondo Federation confirmed Haimovitz's victory. When contacted by The Associated Press, the federation spokesman denied that there was a political motive for the withdrawal.

Alex Gilady, an IOC member from Israel who handed out the medals for the competition, said it was a tactic by Iran to avoid violation of Olympic rules.

"Once he (Soleimani) was injured, that meant he still would win the silver ... have to stand on the podium and listen to the Israeli anthem and see the Israeli flag over the Iranian flag," Gilady said. "They put him in an ambulance so at least they would not create a crisis that would have demanded further action. So it looks like everything is OK."

Iran in the past has stated that its policy is to withdraw from competing against Israel because it does not recognize the country. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Iranian Arash Miresmaeili - a two-time world judo champion - refused to compete against Israel's Ehud Vaks in the opening round of the 66kg competition. He said his decision was to show solidarity for the Palestinian cause.

Haimovitz's victory was Israel's first gold medal of the Games, a 12-day event which will feature 3,600 athletes ages 14 to 18 from 204 national Olympic committees competing in 26 sports across Singapore.

Youth Olympics organizers have sought to emphasize the educational and cultural benefits of bringing together teenage athletes from around the world.

In an unofficial medal tally because organizers are not collating standings, Russia led with six followed by China with four and the United States with three after the first day of competition.

On Monday, medals will be awarded in fencing, swimming, taekwondo, triathlon, wrestling and weightlifting.

How Israeli Technology Can Help Clean Gulf Oil Spill

Article published on Arutz Sheva August 5, 2010

By Baruch Gordon

It’s taken millions of dollars to cap it, and it could take billions more to clean it up. BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is perhaps the environmental catastrophe of the century. But Tel Aviv University has a solution that may help remedy the remaining oil residue through a natural, biological process.

Prof. Eugene Rosenberg and Prof. Eliora Ron of Tel Aviv University’s (TAU) Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology are using naturally occurring oil-munching bacteria, grown at the TAU lab, to clean the hard-to-reach oil pockets that occur when oil mixes with sand and organic matter on beaches and forms a thin layer on the Gulf’s precious waterways.

“It’s worked to clean up an oil spill on the coast of Haifa, Israel, so we’ve already got good evidence it could work in Florida too,” says Prof. Ron. Details of their decades of research appear in The Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology, published this year by Springer Verlag.

Using nature itself to fight contamination
The researchers identified a naturally occurring variety of sea-borne bacteria that digests oil. By studying the bacteria’s genetic background, developing methods of growing the bacteria, and increasing their capacity to ingest the oil, the scientists have developed a solution that could clean up the residual oil that can’t be removed by mechanical means.

Prof. Ron says that sucking up surface oil pools and containing the oil are important and necessary first-step actions. But her solution addresses the smaller amounts of oil left behind ― that which isn’t easily removed from sand and water. It is this small percentage of oil that sits under rocks and forms a thin film on the water’s surface. Her bacterial solution can remove this oil, which is necessary to protect the sea’s wildlife.

“We see sad pictures of birds covered in oil and people with good intentions cleaning bird wings,” says Prof. Ron. “But by the time the oil is on their wings, it’s too late. Birds die because oil gets into their lungs.”

Going the last mile
“The problem is huge and even with just a little bit in your lungs, oil is bad. Even when cleanup crews reduce the amount of oil at sea, there will probably be enough left behind to kill birds and wildlife.” At this level of oil removal, the researcher says, the only solution is bioremediation ― using nature itself to do the final cleanup.

Israel’s hard-won disaster expertise reaches South America

Article published on ISRAEL21c July 29, 2010
By Karin Kloosterman

Israeli experts in disaster response stress communication and infrastructure planning when teaching Chilean professionals how to cope with mass casualty situations.

It was a strange twist of fate: At the same time as an Israeli emergency response team was planning a program to train Chilean professionals in how to handle mass casualty situations, disaster struck in Chile, when an 8.8 Richter Scale earthquake hit the country in February, killing hundreds.

Last month, an Israeli team of six professionals traveled to Santiago to analyze the aftermath of the disaster and hold a five-day workshop to train more than 300 emergency response personnel from Chile and Paraguay in how to deal with mass casualty events.

Israel's long history of coping with terror and formidable road accidents has prepared the country to deal with the worst, says Gila Hyams who heads the Teaching Center for Trauma Mass Casualty Situations at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel.

She and her team travel the world teaching medical staff and response teams how to deal with events that most people would prefer not to even think about.

While Hyams was aware of the earthquake in Chile, she tells ISRAEL21c that she could never have imagined the scope of the disaster because it wasn't emphasized in the media she was exposed to in Israel. "When we arrived there they took us to the area of the tsunami, which was caused by the earthquake, and we saw something unbelievable," she recounts.

"We've learned with blood"

A whole village on the country's southern coast that was built in contravention to the building codes had been swept into the sea, killing 60 people. Adding to the tragedy, the community center set up to deal with emergencies was also swept away with the massive tidal wave, leaving no place for the critically injured to be treated. And the absence of efficient communication with the authorities to secure needed help - even for the most basic things like bandages - made matters even worse.

In their workshop, the Israeli team, comprised of doctors and members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), focused on communication and infrastructure planning - the two most problematic areas in the Chilean experience. And since by Latin American standards Chile is considered a very developed country, it is hoped that the ripple effects of the workshop will be better emergency responses in the entire region.

Each of the six Israelis led a working group, through which they shared the Israeli experience, unique in the world. Hyams says that the workshop "was a real eye opener" for the participants. "We've learned through blood, through the mass causalities we have here [in Israel] from terror attacks," she says. At the same time, Hyams feels compelled to mention "... the heroism of the medical teams that worked in such awful conditions during the catastrophe."

Israeli and Chilean participants in the course designed to help Chile handle mass casualty situations in the wake of disasters.

Among the Chileans who attended the workshop were senior members of Chile's air and ground forces and representatives from its rescue units and police force. News of the Israeli delegation also drew 12 doctors and nurses from Paraguay.

"These people get paid for this and we regulate what they need to do," explains Hyams, who has also brought a number of teams to the United States where American peers learn about the Israeli response to emergencies.

She has been to Dayton, Ohio; to a conference at New York University; another in Dallas, Texas; and most recently her team was in Detroit, to trade tips with specialists there. "We learn about trauma, and it is mass casualty we teach. We have more experience in this area unfortunately," she says. Also, due to Rambam's expertise with mass casualties, the center recently held a course in trauma for medical personnel in NATO countries.

Stressing communications and infrastructure

Team member Dr. Amir Blumenfeld, former head of the IDF Trauma Unit, relates that communications were so uneven following the earthquake in Chile that "... when we arrived there we found that... in some of the areas nobody knew what had happened." And Hymans adds, "There weren't enough people to treat the injured. They couldn't even find bandages.

"One of the most important points to stress when dealing with this situation is collaboration between ambulance, police and army and hospitals. They didn't have this in Chile. We have many things in place [in Israel], on our computers, and a network that connects representatives, on call, who are ready to deal with a state of mass casualties," he tells ISRAEL21c.

"When they get the calls they will all arrive to the same place for command and control, which will include a rep from the ministry of health, the hospitals, police and army." This is so all the forces can be united on a common front. And while it sounds intuitive, a lack of communication and ground control was one of the criticisms that the Bush Administration faced over its response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Hyams lauds the Jewish community in Santiago for helping to rebuild the local medical support system: "The pictures here are very difficult. Four months after the disaster there is still damage everywhere. Where hospitals once stood, there are now tents," she says, pointing out that the Jewish community's assistance has been very significant.

She would like to return to Chile and is in contact with MASHAV, Israel's National Agency for International Development Cooperation, in the hope that the organization will help sponsor more workshops or bring Chileans to Israel to learn more. Her idea is to organize more workshops through a local MASHAV office in Santiago, set up to service the wider Latin American region.

The recent June workshop in Chile was sponsored by Israel's Rambam Hospital; Israel's Ministry of Health, the Jewish community in Chile, and the Las Condes Hospital, a private medical facility in Chile.

2,000-Year-Old Gold Coin a Testament to Galilee Ancient History

Article Published on Arutz Sheva July 18, 2010

By Hana Levi Julian

A 2,000-year-old gold coin discovered by a West Virginia University student at an archaeological site in the upper Galilee has proven to be the find of the season.

It is the first Antonius Pius coin ever found in Israel and was discovered by Alexis Whitley and her friend, on one of the hottest days of the summer. The two were clearing away dirt and rocks at the Bethsaida site when suddenly, Alex spotted the sparkle of a coin as it slipped down.

Unaware of its significance, it took a while for Whitley to understand why excavation director Dr. Rami Arav immediately had her pose with the coin as photographers raced to the site.

The coin, which Arav described as a discovery of Biblical dimensions, weights 7 grams of 24-karat gold – 97.6 percent gold, to be exact. It depicts the portrait of Antonius Pius, a Roman emperor who rules from 138-161 CE.

“Not every job that is boring has boring results,” Arav chuckled, when asked in an interview with Israel National News how he managed to stay focused on one site for the past 24 years. “Sometimes the results are fascinating.”

Arav, a professor at the University of Nebraska, said the coin was issued to celebrate Pius' designation of consul for a second time, which according to historical records took place in the summer of 138 CE. He noted that Pius' ascension to consul should have been indicated with an announcement on the flip side of the coin – but instead, the coin shows a portrait of the goddess Pietas – which the chief archaeologist said may have been a rare and valuable misprint. “Somebody in the Roman Imperial mint goofed. It is like having a rare and mistaken silver dollar,” Arav explained.

The coin also supports the theory that Pius embraced the Jewish population in Rome, unlike his father, who brutally oppressed the Jewish revolts. Pius is considered to have been a personal friend of Rabbi Yehudah (Judah) the Prince, creator of the Mishnah.

Bethsaida was founded as a capital of the ancient kingdom of Geshur and was the birthplace of at least three Christian apostles – Peter, Andrew and Philip. The ancient town is located at Park HaYarden, north of Lake Kinneret, also known as the Sea of Galilee. The site, discovered by Arav in 1987, has seen 24 seasons of excavations thus far.

Other finds over the past years have included a golden earring, an Athenian tetradrachm, a small Egyptian figurine (Pataekos) and common cooking pots.

The golden earring was made of two pieces comprised of the head of an unidentified animal, decorated with small gold balls, with gold and silver twisted filigreed strings, soldered together with a gold strap.
The tetradrachm, a find which relates to the Persian period(450-330 BCE), dates back to approximately 450 BCE, according to a post on the Bethsaida excavation web site. The small figurine depicting the Egyptian god Pataekos was unearthed from beneath a 10-cm level of sediment of red burnt soil at the dig in 1994. Although most of the blue glazing was faded or peeled away, noted Arav at the time, “a few deposits under the right arm and under the neck indicate its original turquoise color.”

A globular cooking pot was also found at the site, one of the most common that exists in the excavation of the Hellenistic-Roman periods in the Land of Israel. The globular pot, equipped with two handles that emerge from the rim and were attached to the shoulders, was a common find at the site, said Arav.

He added that the coin, as well as all the other finds at the Bethsaida dig, remain the property of the State of Israel. “It is part of the heritage of this country,” he said. “Soon after the professional publication of the coin it will go to the Israel Antiquities Authority and I believe that it will be on display in a museum.”

The Bethsaida Excavation is being carried out by a consortium of 20 universities and colleges worldwide, Arav explained. Among the institutions involved are American, European, Australian and Israeli universities, headed by the University of Nebraska at Omaha.