Israel Active

Researchers at Tel Aviv University analyzing prehistoric human teeth found in Qesem cave, in central Israel, say the signs of wear and tear reveal much about the diet and table manners of our ancestors, down to the very gestures they used when they gathered around the fire to share food.

Israeli Moran Zur’s father passed away in 2002 and missed Moran’s wedding. It gave Moran the idea for giving absent relatives the ability to leave video messages to their loved ones. In 2012, Moran’s wife was diagnosed with advanced brain cancer, prompting Moran to develop SafeBeyond.

Israeli archeologists have discovered the site of the Acra, an ancient Greek citadel, built by Seleucid Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215-164 BC) to control Jerusalem and the Jewish temple there during the Syrian-Greek rule over the Jews of Israel. The Acra is mentioned in both the Jewish Book of the Maccabees and by 1st Century AD historian Flavius Josephus. The site will open to the public prior to the Jewish festival of Chanukah, which celebrates the Jewish victory over Antiochus.  

Researchers from Israel’s Ariel University have created a white wine made from grapes indigenous to Israel. They located a living sample of the Hamdani / Marawi grape species. Israel’s Recanati Winery in Emek Hefer then grew the grapes, and has now produced nearly 2,500 bottles of Marawi 2014. The wine was presented at the International Milan EXPO on October 18.

, I forgot to mention last week that Egypt voted for Israel to join the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. It was the first time that Egypt has voted in favor of Israel at the UN since the Jewish State was founded.

Israeli army medics used revolutionary (and expensive) battlefield plasma to save the life of a Palestinian Arab who had just stabbed a border policeman. The Arab had been shot, was suffering from multiple system failure and had already lost a lot of blood.

Arabs murdered Israeli policewoman Maya Stolero’s father, Alexander Levlovitz, just over a month ago. But it didn’t stop Stolero giving medical help to a Palestinian Arab who had attempted to stab an Israeli border policeman and was shot while being apprehended.

Thanks to United With Israel for publishing my blog “What is Going On Between Arabs and Israelis?” It has received almost 6000 “Likes” on their site.

Thousands of people in New York took part in a massive pro-Israel rally in Times Square. Rome, Paris, Madrid and Kiev had similar rallies, where senior members of the ruling political parties joined in the call of support for the Jewish state.

Mumtaz Halawa’s journey from Kuwaiti Muslim to Israeli Jew featured in my newsletter. Together with StandWithUs, Mumtaz (now Mark) has since developed an Arabic-language YouTube video series. It aims to dispel spurious anti-Semitic notions among the Arabs in the Middle East and start conversations about a free and democratic Israel.