Dispatch from Jerusalem

Boosting Wind Energy

{image_1} Wind power is a good energy alternative to free America from its oil dependence, but it could be made a lot more efficient. The wind can blow in gusts and spurts, it can tickle your ears or rip out trees, but the massive blades of today’s wind turbines can’t match the wind’s temperament: the rotors are fixed to spin at an even speed, maintaining a constant RPM (rounds per minute). The result is that a large amount of wasted energy just dissipates with the wind.

Israel Tourism Revisited

By Joshua Spurlock, Correspondent, BFP Israel Mosaic Radio

{image_1} Imagine horseback riding on a mountain, kayaking downriver, relaxing in a spa, and visiting a city that never sleeps—all in one vacation! No it’s not a hectic cross-country trip in the United States or an exotic trip to some far-away island; it’s just a few of a multitude of options a tourist has when visiting Israel. From the lush Golan in the north to the awe-inspiring desert in the south to central, busy Tel Aviv, the modern state of Israel is realizing exactly what God meant when He promised them a good land. Thanks to the relative peace since the end of the Second Intifada terror war, tourists are realizing it too, in record numbers.

Exodus Passenger Makes Aliyah

{image_1} On July 19, 1947, Frances Greenberg, then 27, and 4,514 other olim (immigrants) aboard the ship Exodus were denied their dream of entering the Land of Israel. On July 22, 2008—61 years and three days later—Frances and 209 other olim achieved that dream on a Nefesh B’Nefesh flight, a new adventure for all of them, and for Frances, coming full circle. Joining her on the aliyah (immigration) were immigrants from across the United States and Canada, who came from a variety of occupational backgrounds, including 23 who are joining the Israel Defense Forces.

Not Just for Asthma

{image_1}Someday soon, the box of prescription medicine may take the form of tiny, credit card-sized inhalers that deliver the medication directly to your lungs. Thus envisions Ian Solomon, VP of business development at Aespironics, a company that has discovered a way to create small, cheap inhalers that deliver world-class results. Solomon explains that they can actually be ideal conveyors of other medications as well. “Pills are very common, but are not really the most effective types of drugs. They have to get through the intestinal tract and go across the body as a whole, generally to get somewhere else.” In contrast, medications delivered via inhaler travel through the lungs directly into the bloodstream.

A Peculiar Treasure—Segulah

{image_1} Segulah is used eight times in the Hebrew Scriptures. Six of those times, it refers to Israel (Exod. 19:5; Deut. 7:6, 14:2, 26:18; Ps. 135:4; Mal. 3:17). It is translated in various Bible versions as peculiar treasure, special treasure, or treasured possession. One commentator defined it as “property in the special sense of a private possession that one personally acquired and carefully preserves.” Rabbi Sheldon Marder, on MyJewishLearning.com, gives Rabbi Hirsch’s definition (19th-century) as an “exclusive possession to which no one else except its owner is entitled and which has no relationship to anyone except its owner.”

Iran Won’t “Retreat One Iota”!

{image_1}Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said his country would not “retreat one iota” in its nuclear activities. In his first reaction to a new call by envoys from the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations for Tehran to end uranium enrichment within two weeks or face possible new sanctions, the hard-line leader said: “The Iranian people are steadfast” and they “will not retreat one iota in the face of oppressing powers.”

Rabbi Finds His “Righteous Gentile”

{image_1} Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Meir Lau was reportedly deeply moved as he told how the identity had recently been discovered of a man who helped save his life during the Holocaust 63 years ago. Lau, formerly chief rabbi of Israel, told Israel Radio that while he had known the first name of his 18-year-old rescuer, Fyodor, he had not known his family name of Michajlitschenko, a name that was only uncovered during a search of hitherto inaccessible Nazi records.

Israel Warns Russia!

{image_1} It is rare to read a headline that says, “Israel warns Russia!” Recent reports suggesting that Russia is on the verge of selling the advanced electronic warfare S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Iran caused Israel to threaten to neutralize the S-300 and its salability.

Living in Bible Times

By Cheryl Hauer, International Development Director

{image_1} One of the most common statements uttered by Christians as they explore the Land of Israel is, “It would have been so wonderful to have been here during Bible times.” Their minds are filled with first-century images of quaint villages in the Galilee, the mighty Temple in Jerusalem, and eager crowds gathering to listen as itinerant rabbis preach from hillsides—definitely “Bible times” images. But those images are no more so than the exciting and diverse sights and sounds that are everyday life in this remarkable nation today.

Israeli Wave Energy in China

{image_1}Israeli company S.D.E. Energy, developer of an innovative technology for generating electricity from sea waves, has signed an agreement for selling sea wave power plants in China. Construction of the power plants will be financed by investors from Hong Kong and China. Two joint venture companies will build an initial model in southern China. If successful, it will launch the establishment of sea wave power plants throughout China.