Israel News Roundup – JULY 2017

Welcome to Pillar & Cloud’s Israel News Roundup for this month. Below are some interesting articles we came across and wanted to share with our P&C community.

1. First-ever Definitive Test for Parkinson’s Developed in Israel

By Ruth Schuster 

Meanwhile, other research found mysterious link between Parkinson’s and melanoma: Having one should lead to examinations for the other.

The good news about Parkinson’s is that a scientist in Jerusalem has developed a test that detects the degenerative brain disease both definitively and earlier, hopefully improving the prognosis for patients.

The bad news is that the Mayo Clinic has noticed an association between Parkinson’s and melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. They can’t explain it, but a significant association has been found.

Parkinson’s disease is the second most prevalent degenerative brain disorder in the elderly, after Alzheimer’s. But by the time one knows one has the condition, it may be spiraling out of control. By the time patients are symptomatic, around two-thirds of the brain cells that make dopamine (the substantia nigra part of the brain) are already dead, says Suaad Abd-Elhadi of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, winner of the Kaye Innovation Award for inventing the method to – finally – achieve a categorical diagnosis of Parkinson’s. Not only that but at an early stage of the disease.

SOURCE: Haaretz

2. A brave Muslim woman bashing UNESCO’s resolution

A brave Muslim woman bashed UNESCO for denying Jewish ties to the Old City of Hebron, including the Cave of the Patriarchs.

Sara Zoabi, an Israeli Muslim Arab, spoke out against the UN’s anti-Israel bias, despite having received death threats the last time she stood up for the Jewish state.

SOURCE: United with Israel

3. India Gives Israel a Firm Embrace

Modi’s visit reflects a deep realignment in India’s domestic politics.
By Sadanand Dhume 

Even to the casual observer, the symbolism of Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel this week was hard to miss. But the visit also reflects deep changes in India’s domestic politics. Traditional opponents of a closer India-Israel relationship have lost in the court of public opinion.

Mr. Modi’s three days in Israel, the first visit ever to the Jewish state by an Indian prime minister, unfolded as a series of carefully choreographed photo-ops designed to emphasize the warmth that exists between New Delhi and Jerusalem. Accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Modi paid tribute to Holocaust victims and to Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism.

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal

4. Evangelical Christians Fume Over Latest UNESCO Resolution

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz

‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations. Genesis 17:4 (The Israel Bible™)

The recent UNESCO vote on Hebron placed the Cave of the Patriarchs entirely in Palestinian domain, ignoring the existence of both the Bible and modern Israel. The move earned the ire of Israel and the Jews, while millions of Christians joined in, decrying the outrage as an offense against their religion as well.

Last Friday, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held an unprecedented secret ballot in which Hebron and the Machpela (Cave of the Patriarchs) were declared an Endangered World Heritage Site in “Palestine“. The most disturbing aspect of the UNESCO vote is that it effectively erases an entire chapter of the Bible which describes Abraham purchasing the site in perpetuity from Ephron the Hittite.

SOURCE: Breaking Israel News

5. How an Israeli NGO helps Children battling cancer become kids again

BY Daniel K. Eisenbud 

“There are many organizations for kids with cancer, but what is unique about this one is the optimism.”

When Chaim and Miri Ehrental’s first-born son, Menachem, was diagnosed with leukemia as an infant in 1976, they felt utterly alone.

For nearly 15 years, the Ehrentals’ learned first-hand the agony and isolation encountered by families with a child facing a malignant disease, manifested by an overwhelming lack of psychological and social support. By the time Menachem died six months before his 16th birthday – after five relapses, a failed bone-marrow transplant from his brother, and incalculable psychological and physical pain – Chaim and Miri knew the challenges all too well.

Six days before his death, Menachem made one last request of his parents: ensure that other children suffering from cancer can get the support they need to live and die with as much dignity and happiness as possible.

SOURCE: The Jerusalem Post