Good News

Haitian Child Receives Cardiac Op

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When the members of Israel's rescue team returned home from Haiti, they brought along six-year-old Woodley Elisse.

Israel, Syria Open the Border for Apples

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Israel and Syria may be enemies and currently not even meeting for peace talks, but there’s at least one simple interest they share in common: apples from the Golan Heights. According to an Israel Defense Forces [IDF] press release, thousands of apples grown in the Israeli Golan, which was taken by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War, will be transferred into Syria.

Hand Sanitizer STOPS Swine Flu

While people all over the world worry about contracting swine flu, an Israeli company has come up with a product to prevent its spread. Yissum Research Development Company, the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University (HU) of Jerusalem, presents EtoClean, a new antiviral hand sanitizer that stops the swine flu virus in its tracks.

Israel Assesses 2009 Aid to Gaza

A meeting of international aid agencies has reviewed their Gaza efforts and found, in 2009, their humanitarian goods deliveries rose 28%. The spokesman for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (CoGAT) said international organizations were more active in the Gaza Strip despite the complex security situation.

Aroma Goes Global

{image_1}Move over Starbucks! There's a new competitor on the block. Israel's popular Aroma coffee chain is exporting its special brand of Israeli coffee culture to cities around the world. “We just opened a third branch in Toronto, Canada and opened a third in New York. We are expanding in Europe. We have branches in Romania, Cyprus… and the next is in Kazakhstan,” Gil Kiriyati, Aroma's COO tells ISRAEL21c.

New Medical School in Safed

Bar-Ilan University, Israel’s second-largest university, is expanding its reputation as a leading research institute by building a medical school in Safed, north of the Sea of Galilee.

Investors Should Focus on Israel

BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH has advised international investors to temporarily avoid speculation in Dubai and focus on the Israeli stock market. The report, “Play Defense,” earmarks Israel’s banks and telecom companies as particularly promising businesses. “Israel should go back under investors’ attention,” Haim Israel, head of Research with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Israel, told The Media Line.

An Eye from Zion

“AT FIRST, I THOUGHT I'D DIE.”That's what an ex-Mossad [Israeli intelligence] chief said about his first “operation.” Yoram Hessel, now the director of Eye from Zion, wasn't talking about a secret operation for the Israel government. He was referring to sight-restoring cataract surgery that he had witnessed firsthand.

Investing Millions in Jerusalem

THE ISRAELI TOURISM MINISTRY is putting money behind their words with plans to invest 15 million shekels (US $4 million) in Jerusalem during 2010. According to a press release, the funds will go towards tourism infrastructure and tourism event promotion “in order to encourage domestic and incoming tourism…This is in line with the new work plan presented by the Tourism Minister which positions Israel as the Holy Land with Jerusalem at its center.”

Tax Exemptions for Israeli Food

{image_1}GOOD NEWS for Israeli food manufacturers: As of January 1, 2010, food products exported to Europe have been tax exempt. The products include chocolate, pastries, waffles, pasta, coffee, fruit juice concentrates, marshmallow, fresh salads, and more. As a result, the prices of Israeli products in European markets could be reduced, increasing their competitiveness. So far, the exports of Israeli processed foods have been exported to Europe under restrictions of high levies, preventing their exports in some cases.