Scroll down to read in
this ‘Better News
from
1)
NEW! Israeli doctors
treat Iraqi children with heart diseases –‘Beyondimages’ Oct 28, 2007
2)
Despite concerns,
3)
Weird, Human and Funny from
4)
Warren
Buffet's Visit to
5)
Ten
recent Israeli Success items
6)
Good News and 'Bad News' about
7)
Warren
BUFFET Thinks
8)
JEWS AND ARABS MEET IN
9)
10) RA'ANANA – the "SAFEST CITY" in
the MIDDLE EAST
11)
“The Economist”:
12)
Only in
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1)
. From: Beyond Images
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 10:14 AM
Israeli doctors treat Iraqi children with heart diseases
Top Israeli
doctors screened 40 Iraqi children with heart disease at a one-day cardiology
clinic which they set up in the Jordanian capital of
The
children made the journey from
The project
was organised by the Israeli group Save A Child's Heart (www.saveachildsheart.com), and achieved in
cooperation with the Red Crescent hospital in
Said one
parent: "I am grateful to the Israeli doctors and to their country for
helping us out. The
Israelis are not our enemies.... Many Muslims have wrong ideas about
Israelis...."
Read more :
Click
here for newly-published Briefing 204 on the Beyond Images
website.
----------------------------------------------------
2)
Despite concerns,
Israel a vibrant country
SEATTLE
POST-INTELLIGENCER
(Last
updated October 9, 2007 5:08 p.m. PT)
By DAVID
BRUMER
GUEST
COLUMNIST
Having
just spent the past three weeks in Israel, I'm happy to report that, rumors to
the contrary, Israel is alive and well and thriving.
We took
off from Herzilya airport, on the Mediterranean coast just north of Tel Aviv.
Flying east, we were at the edge of the
The coastal
plain, where 80 percent of Israelis live, is literally minutes by foot from the
In
Qalqilya, the barrier is in fact a concrete wall. This is because Qalqilya sits
on a hill above Highway
Flying
southwest from
I came
away from the helicopter tour with a renewed appreciation for the security
dilemmas
Despite
those concerns,
From the
magnificent Baha'i Gardens in Haifa (home to the holiest shrine in the Baha'i
faith) to the Druze village of Daliat al-Carmel to the streets of Rehovot (home
of the world-class Weizmann Institute for Scientific Research), Israelis of all
ethnicities and amazingly diverse backgrounds are dancing, studying, dining and
doing it all with a great zest for life.
It is
said that great wines are produced from vines that are most stressed and must
dig deep into the Earth's surface in search of nourishment. The few grapes
those vines produce make the finest of wines. And so it is with Israel, a
people who must dig deeply within their greatest resource -- themselves -- to
meet the prodigious challenges that this amazing land presents, and in so doing
create the modern miracle that is Israel.
--------------------------------------
David
Brumer is a geriatric social worker and psychotherapist. Visit his blog,
BRUMSPEAK, at www.brumspeak.blogspot.com , for more
in-depth dispatches from
©
1998-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/334828_brumerisrael10.html
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3)
Weird, Human and Funny story from
Shot
by their own side, healed by the enemy http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/10/wirq310.xml
By Charles Levinson in Ashkelon , Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:55am BST 10/06/2007
|
In the Gaza Strip's Jabaliya refugee camp, Aref Suleiman was raised on Palestinian struggle against the Jewish state. Today he lies in an Israeli hospital bed, his body riddled with Palestinian bullets, his wounds tended daily by Israeli nurses. For the 22-year-old Mr Suleiman, who was shot five
times point blank by Hamas militants last month during a renewed bout of
Palestinian infighting, this is not the Arab-Israeli conflict he learnt about
as a child growing up in "Palestinians shoot me and Jews treat me," he laughs bitterly. "It was supposed to be different." The Barzilai, however, has become a rare bastion of civility in an increasingly hate-filled conflict and a unique meeting ground for two peoples who otherwise have little direct contact. Wounded Palestinians who get permission from the
Palestinian Authority and the Israeli army are allowed into Mr Suleiman, who was only 15 when the second intifada
erupted in 2000, had never been to As he flirts with the Israeli nurses who bring him lunch, check his wounds and blood pressure and empty his bed pan, Suleiman seems, at least for the time being, to have forgotten historical grievances. "The Jews are like honey, like flowers," he says theatrically. "They wash me, clean me, and change my gown every day. Even in my home, my own family wouldn't change me every day." "Here, everything is beseder," he adds, using the Hebrew word for "okay". For the young Israeli nurses, most from nearby communities that live in constant fear of the Palestinian rocket fire, the cultural exchange flows both ways. The Palestinian patients they treat put a human face on the conflict. Nurse and patient can even find a shred of common cause now that the Islamist Hamas movement, which has killed dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings, is locked in a deadly power struggle with the more moderate Fatah movement. Victims on both sides of the war's de facto frontline are treated side by side here. Five doors down from Mr Suleiman, Ludmilla Visiptzky, 60, awaits her third session of surgery to patch up the shrapnel wounds she suffered when a Palestinian Qassam rocket struck her home in mid-May. Both confined to their hospital beds, the two patients have had little contact, but each knows the other is within shouting distance. Meanwhile Nurse Kokhava Kohi, says gleefully of her patient, Mr Suleiman: "He's going to go home and shoot Hamas in the head," - as if that alone would justify her daily ministrations. |
*Information
appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited
and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full
copyright statement see Copyright
**Quoted
in Take A Pen’s website www.take-a-pen.org , in the ‘Better News from
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4)
Warren Buffet's Visit to Israel 29th September, 2006
Warren Buffett is considered to be the most successful stock-market
investor and the second richest man in the world, after Bill Gates. He is
also known as "the Oracle of Omaha." His insurance and investment
firm, Berkshire Hathaway, has purchased 80% of the shares of Iscar Metalworking
- an Israeli company -- for US$4 billion, his largest investment ever
outside the
He recently visited
Iscar was founded in 1952 when Stef Wertheimer, a young and ambitious
entrepreneur who had fled with his family from
Wertheimer has handed over the reins to his son Eitan. He now focuses on using
his business acumen to promote peace in the
"Industry is a tool to make peace by creating jobs," said
Wertheimer during Buffett's visit. In parting, Buffett replied, "This is a
great place to find brains... there's a wealth of talent here. Imagine a city
of seven million people in the
----------------------------
Warren Buffet is considered the best odds maker in
the world. If he says and does so, it follows that
----------------------------------------------------------------
5. Ten recent Israeli Success items:
The following is a small random sampling of ten
positive items about Israel, from great technological innovations developed
recently in Israel to simple good news, which no doubt had a bearing on Warren
Buffet's perceptions and decisions:
US Marines repeats order from Elbit
Elbit received $ 50 million order to supply US Marines with vehicular defence system before the end of 2006. Last year's order amounted to 70 million dollars.
*
Xerox invests in
Digital printer giant Xerox Inc. is making
its first investment in
*
Gene that withstands salinity discovered
*
Technion develops herbicide-resistant plants
Herbicide-resistant plants have been
engineered by scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in
collaboration with a
*
Eliminating the possibility of
Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals
Israeli firm "Cross ID marks medication packages invisibly using a new, super-secret method. This is an important step in todays time of Internet pharmacies.
*
Ben Gurion airport hits record for
passenger traffic
The number of international passengers reached 4.1 million, up 12 % in the first six months of 2006, compared to the 3.7 million passengers in the same time period of 2005. The number of flights also increased by 11 %, up from 28,300 in 2005 to 32,000 this year.
*
Israeli economy continues to take off
According to an analysis of the Israeli economy from March to May 2006, Israelis are buying more (20.3%), manufacturing more (7.8%) and exporting more (4.1%). The number of tourists increased 49.3%.
*
Internet solutions are in demand.
The Israeli firm "Daronet" has
opened a development centre in
*
Israeli Internet for
"Optibase" delivers streaming technologies for on-line television transmission to leading Chinese firms.
*
Amnesty International
In past years, A.I. routinely criticized
*
4.6% Growth
Despite of the war in
*
Arts, culture,
and sports are also flourishing, with many exhibits, concerts, and sporting
events, all well attended.
Sent by Max Yas
--------------------------------------------
6. Good News and 'Bad News'
about
The 'bad' news is that
Maccabi Haifa, the champion of the Israeli league last year, lost to the
favorite
The match took place on
Wednesday night (9 August) in
The good news, and a much more important one, is that as the coach with the Israeli football team left Liverpool FC a crowd of real scousers gathered round the bus, joined hands and sang:
"
------------------------------
- Based on note in the Jewish Chronicle's sports page sent us by Lennie of Liverpool
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7.
Warren BUFFET
Thinks
Warren BUFFET apparently thinks that
Some politically correct experts, some left liberal
professors and of course any Israel-hater would say otherwise, but Warren
Buffet - the second wealthiest man on earth -probably knows more on business. And that is exactly what Warren Buffet
DOES: his largest ever purchase of a non-American company – is Iscar in
|
|
|
Warren Buffett to buy 80% of Iscar
Warren Buffett, the legendary
The deal is the largest ever
purchase of an Israeli company and makes the Wertheimer family the single
wealthiest family in
Buffett is the chairman and chief
executive officer of the Berkshire Hatherway investment firm, which is valued
on the New York Stock Exchange at some $135 billion (while Warren Buffet
himself is valued above $ 40 billion) The firm owns shares primarily in
insurance companies, but also in such giants as Coca Cola and American Express.
The purchase marks the largest non-American company
ever purchased by Buffett.
Iscar is among the world's leading
metalworking companies, producing advanced cutting tools for multiple
industries. The company employs thousands of workers in
Though the deal includes Iscar's
subsidiaries, it excludes Iscar Blades, the maker of airline industry cutting
devices, which will remain in the hands of the Wertheimer family.
The deal is still pending approval
by Israeli and American regulators, but is widely expected to be approved on
both sides of the
Buffett added in his announcement
that there would not be
significant changes in the company's Israeli management. CEO Ya'akov
Herpez and Chairman Eitan Wertheimer, the son of company founder Stef
Wertheimer, would remain in their positions and would continue to run the
company from Tefen in the
________________________________________________
8. For the International Anti-Racism Day:
JEWS AND ARABS MEET IN
By Dr
Jesse Lachter
200,000 Jews and 20,000 Arabs, Christian and Moslem alike, have been
living as neighbors for more than fifty years now in the beautiful Israeli port
city, Haifa, and they meet all the time in their everyday life.
This one was a special meeting though:
Jewish "Or Hadash" Synagogue Meets
Ahmadiyya Moslems
Friday night March 17th, Emir Muhammad Sharif, leader of the
Ahmadiyya Moslem community of
Rabbi Nof is well known as
being involved in open dialogue with the several religious groups of
Emir Sharif described the origins of the Ahmadiyya Movement, begun in 1889, based on one founder whose reforms led mostly to the return to original religious texts. The later interpretations, or mis-interpretations, are seen by the Founder as having misled the religion and its followers to often misunderstand the purposes and goals of religion, and to turn towards enmity and hatred rather than religion turning people towards, and encouraging, love of the other, and mutual respect.
Later
(mis-)interpretations of the Koran are what have led
to enmity, strife, war, and distortion
of religion.
Not shying away from the hard stuff, the Emir explained the concept of Jihad. The very word Jihad, he said, makes many people who misunderstand it anxious. Jihad appears in the Koran as meaning, consistently, the making of a great devoted and sincere effort. Jihad never appears in the context of war, or enmity, or sword. For that matter- the word sword, said the Emir, never appears anywhere in the Koran. The Koran describes the feeling a Moslem should have towards his fellow man and woman, being a feeling of love, as much or more than that of a mother for her child, even if that other person considers one as an enemy.
Using the Koran as a source, an Ahmadiyya Moslem reaches conclusions of brotherhood and respect among peoples, especially for the People of the Book. Later (mis-)interpretations are what have led to enmity, strife, war, and distortion of religion. The Emir made a clear statement, in his demeanor, his tone, his words, and his leadership in physically coming to visit Or Hadash. The Emir was most warmly and respectfully received by the hundred Jews who came that evening to pray, and to usher in the peaceful Shabbat.
The Or Hadash and Ahmadiyya communities plan to share near future events, probably involving the youth groups as well as the adults who plan a reciprocating visit.
Or Hadash showed leadership in providing the stage for this event. The Emir, this "Other" was seen to be personable, pleasant, peace-loving and respectful, knowledgable, and altogether a good neighbor. A quick survey of the Ahmadiyya movement using google on the internet found that this is a movement with 200 million followers in 178 countries, a movement believing in reforms. As we all know, the term Jihad is used quite differently by those in our region claiming to belong to the Islamic Jihad. What was new was the message that movements within the non-homogeneous millions of Moslems, are Moslems with dedication to interfaith dialogue, based on peace and brotherhood, and spurning warring and fighting.
Or Hadash has been organizing a
lecture/meeting series based on the writings of Bruce Feiler of
One way to counter those who have mis-interpreted religion to be a road to war, is to meet with those who preach oppositely, and to learn that others are so preaching, and to spread the word that there are good people on all sides trying hard to bring about peace and brotherhood.
May the sincere and
dedicated and devoted religious efforts of all peoples bring us closer
together. May the boundaries of ignorance which foment suspicion and enmity be
lowered. May reducing racism and prejudice, and enmity be the reward for all
who struggle towards not doing towards others as one would not like having done
to oneself.
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9.
I went to our Pediatric ICU in search of M.Z. from
baby daughter was flown here from
I found M.Z. sitting alone outside on the other side of the building
...
smoking and looking dazed. Thus our conversation began. After
introducing myself and shaking his hand, I asked about his daughter.
"She's only one year and
eight months old ... and the only one of my eight children who looks like
me." His eyes were red, tired and reflected great pain. M.Z.
told me how the little
girl one day could not breathe and how he rushed her, without incident, from
and seriously deteriorated and that's when our team flew to hopefully rescue
her. M.Z. was angry at the fateful turn of events that had befallen his
daughter
and could only refer to Allah (God) for mercy. He was grateful that our
people were doing everything possible to save his child.
We began discussing politics and the direction our two peoples were heading.
There we were ... a Jewish grandfather
(me) and a Muslim father of a gravely ill child from
The mere fact that a patient from
Politically, certainly not ... medically, we are hoping for the best.
Just
another example of life in
Larry Rich
Israel's
Affiliated with the Rappaport Faculty of
Medicine, Technion,
www.haemek.co.il
Afula 18101,
---------------------------------------------------------------
10. RA'ANANA – is the "SAFEST CITY"
in the MIDDLE EAST.
2005–09–30
In light of the frequent pessimistic critics of quality of life and
personal safety in
Would you believe it: RA'ANANA – is the
"SAFEST CITY" in the MIDDLE EAST.
The World Health Organization awarded this title to Ra'anana, a quiet neighbor of greater Tel-Aviv, primarily due to maintaining the safety of children and elderly at very high level, standing well any international comparison.
|
11. “The Economist” ranks |
|
One of the reasons for |
|
Zeev
Klein |
|
|
|
Israel’s
quality of life is higher than that of Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea,
Argentina, Hungary, Poland, and Mexico, but lower than that of Hong Kong,
Germany, France, the UK, and the Netherlands, according to a quality of life
index published by the the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). EIU
put Norway
was rated highest on the quality of life index, followed by Australia,
Canada, Switzerland, the US, and Japan.. The countries placed at the bottom
of the index were The
quality of life index is based on a number of variables, including health and
per capita GDP. South
Africa has fallen by 35 places to 120th place since 1990, due to the high
occurrence of AIDS there, although the country’s per capita income places it
among advanced Western countries. One
of the reasons for Published
by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on September 19, 2005 |
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12. ONLY
IN 
Supporters of the Jewish
settler movement and Israeli police officers pray together at the site of a
demonstration against the disengagement plan, in Kfar Maimon, southern
What other nation or
culture in the world has ever shown such a union even when painfully divided?
(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
----------------------