Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Bethel Finance: Israel is a Super-Power

www.bethelfinance.com
I get angry when I read the way the media and Israel’s detractors always blame the Jewish State for all the evil in the world. The real truth is that Israel is a major driving force for good and is advancing the planet to a better future. Look at all these items that I have found in just last week’s news stories.

You would expect that a “super-power” would be “up there” with the best of the space pioneers. And the Jewish State is certainly maintaining its “heavenly” connections. Israel’s Spacecom just reported that its Amos 5 communications satellite has reached geo-synchronous orbit and will begin commercial operations to Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Then Israel’s Technion announced that it is developing three unique “nano-satellites”, each less than 6kg. This will boost the miniaturisation of electronic components and advance a variety of civilian applications. The Technion launched an 84kg satellite in 1998 that worked for 21 years.

Israelis are also conducting space research to benefit the planet. Professor Avi Domb from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has conducted an “out of this world” battle against bacteria. His experiment, sent aboard the space station Atlantis, shows how a polymer can cut into bacteria and neutralize it. Meanwhile, Israeli high-school students Ariel Berko and Yoav Levi from Kiryat Ata have been selected from thousands as finalists in a competition to run their zero-gravity experiment on Space Lab.

Still up in the air, Israel’s Orbit Technologies has won a NIS 2 million order from the Canadian Air Force for its airborne telemetry and monitoring systems to monitor objects flying in Canadian air space. And the Jewish State is utilising its technological leadership in solar energy to encourage green energy entrepreneurs, with funding for up to 2,000 hectares of 50-megawatt solar-power plants. And under the sea, a proposed 2000-megawatt sub-sea electric power cable will link Israel, Cyprus and Greece, to export electricity from natural gas through to Europe. Eilat’s new inland port and high-speed railway link to the rest of the country will also help Israel to power ahead.

In the medical world, Israel’s is certainly a super-power. Recently, Tel Aviv University researchers found an important cancer clue in that chromosome aberrations leading to cancer, happen in pairs. Another TAU team has linked mobility deficits in leg muscles to the initial stage of Multiple Sclerosis – far earlier than standard neurological tests. A third TAU team has discovered that the ulcer-causing bacteria Helicobacter pylori protects against the Shigella bacteria.

Meanwhile, Ben Gurion University researchers are moulding the next generation of surgeons by their research into Minimally Invasive Surgery. And last week’s drug developments from Israeli biotechs Avraham Pharmaceuticals and Nasvax will certainly bring hope to those at risk of contracting Alzheimer’s disease.

Israel’s super-power status emerged from unlikely beginnings. Saul Singer, co-author of “Start-up Nation” captured the miraculous transformation of the Jewish State in the book he wrote with Dan Senor. Saul will be speaking at a Business Breakfast at the Embassy of Israel in London on 7th February. The future of the Start-up Nation is still bright, despite the current global economic crisis. Israeli start-up companies raised a record $2.14 billion in 2011, an 11-year high, and 70% more than the $1.26 billion raised in 2010. And canny investors certainly recognise our potential. On Jan 22nd Israel raised $225 million in bonds; the biggest overnight sale of its debt securities

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