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By Karin Kloosterman, Israel 21C
February 28, 2010
Peace in the Middle East may seem elusive, but Jews and Arabs across Israel are working hard to create bridges though business. ISRAEL21c brings you a list of Israel’s top ten coexistence business ventures.
Making peace in the Middle East will never be an easy task, but what many people don’t realize is that even in the midst of conflict, there are thousands upon thousands of Israeli people working dedicatedly for coexistence and the promise of a better life.
Some of the most effective of these peace projects are those based on business. Peace through prosperity is not a new concept, but as Yoav Stern, director of the Business and Economics Department at the Peres Center for Peace, admits, projects like these help building confidence.
It’s a “win-win-win game,” says Stern, who helped ISRAEL21c compile this top 10 list. “I think that what’s unique in these kind of businesses is the fact that the interests are clear for all sides. In order to have a sound business project you must identify the interests of all sides, not just the Israelis not just Palestinians.
“They are very good ideas when you want to build confidence measures,” he adds. “The business community is a very good engine for the peace train and without its commitment and involvement peace will not come,” he asserts. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts, Science and Technology on March 2, 2010 - ט"ז אדר תש"ע at 9:50 pm
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Incubating peace with Israel’s Arab sector |
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A flagship incubator in Israel is helping to create coexistence while ensuring that Muslim and Christian Israeli Arabs develop expertise in biotech and the life sciences.
Israel’s Muslim and Christian Arabs can develop expertise in biotech and life sciences thanks to a national business project created in 2002. While the Jewish state was founded as a home for Jewish people from all over the world, it is also home to Arab Muslim and Arab Christian minorities, mostly living in the Galilee region in the north of the country.
In the United States, equal opportunity initiatives are well developed to ensure that blacks, Asians, Latinos and every other minority can access education and find gainful employment and opportunities. Israel is providing something similar for its minorities.
Based in Jesus’ boyhood home in Nazareth, a team of seven at New Generation Technology (NGT) is doing more than providing Israeli Arabs with access to jobs. The tech incubator company, funded by the government and private investors, is amplifying the expertise in the Arab community so that its members can interact with the population at large and grow companies that will ultimately impact the world.
“We also have one IT company,” Yosi Turkaspa, CEO of NGT tells ISRAEL21c. “But most are in the area of biotech and life sciences. It was partly a strategic decision. If you look at the Arab community in Israel these are the areas in which they are educated. Most of their PhDs are in biology, medicine, pharmaceuticals and dentistry, more than electrical engineering.”
Working together as equals
An hour’s drive from Tel Aviv, the incubator houses about 20 startups. And although the focus is on the Arab sector, the companies’ management personnel come from both the Arab and Jewish sectors, making it a unique project where the two populations are encouraged to work and build together. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Business and Commerce, Education, Health Sciences, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Recent Posts, Science and Technology on January 29, 2010 - י"ד שבט תש"ע at 3:13 am
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Ben Gurion Airport launches pilot biometric security system
The system aims to more accurately locate passengers’ security data, thereby shortening waiting times at check-in.
By Orly Peleg-Mizrachi, Globes Online, 5 Jan 10
The Israel Airports Authority today launched a pilot of a new biometric security system at Ben Gurion Airport developed by the Airport Authority’s computers and security division.
The system uses biometric identification and technological procedures to produce a smart card for passengers, who can then use the card for subsequent flights. The system aims to more accurately locate passengers’ security data, thereby shortening waiting times at check-in.
The system cost $15 million to develop, and will in future interface with the HBS luggage security system without the need for human contact. Ben Gurion Airport is currently installing the HBS system beneath the check-in hall. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East, News Articles, Recent Posts, Science and Technology on January 5, 2010 - י"ט טבת תש"ע at 2:21 pm
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Burj Dubai to open tomorrow
Press Trust of India / Dubai January 03, 2010
Amidst the crisis, Dubai is keeping its date to create history by opening the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, tomorrow, even as it is keeping the whole world guessing about the final height of the magnificent tower whose parent is fighting for survival.
Though the final height of the super-scrapper is not known, the 1-billion pound Burj Dubai is at least 2,683 ft from its base to the tip of its spire—-equivalent of three-and-a-half Canary Wharf towers or two Empire State Buildings stacked up.
Its final height is being kept a secret until tomorrow, but architects who have worked on the building have hinted it could break the 2,700-ft mark. The tower is more than 1,000 foot higher than its nearest inhabited rival, Taiwan’s 1,671-ft Taipei 101.
The Burj Dubai, which is not just the tallest building on the planet but also the world’s tallest man-made structure, surpassing even the 2,063-ft KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, America, will be opened by the the Emirate ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum tomorrow.
Meanwhile, online news site ArabianBusiness.Com said the “inauguration of the Burj Dubai, developed by Emaar Properties, (it parent Dubai World is fighting a USD59-billion debit crisi) will feature a spectacular display of sound, light, water and fireworks”.
A combination of 10,000 fireworks, light beams, choreographed water displays, and sound & music effects on Monday will describe the evolution of the world’s most iconic new building.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Climate Change, Islam, Middle East, Recent Posts, Science and Technology on January 3, 2010 - י"ז טבת תש"ע at 3:02 pm
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Cloud computing co CloudShare raises $10 million
The company’s product enables sales teams to demo software using cloud computing.
By Shiri Habib-Valdhorn, Globes, 13 Dec 09
Cloud computing software start-up CloudShare has raised $10 million in a series B funding round. Participating in the round were Sequoia Capital, Gemini Israel Funds, and new investor Charles River Ventures.
The company changed its name from IT Structures last week.
Following the investment, Charles River Ventures partner George Zachary will join the board of CloudShare. Zachary was one of the first investors in micro-blogging network Twitter.
The investment brings CloudShare’s total funding up to $16 million.
CloudShare was founded in 2007 by VP products Ophir Kra-Oz and CEO Zvi Guterman. CloudShare employs tens of employees, and according to Kra-Oz the company intends to hire more development workers in Israel. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Business and Commerce, Middle East, Recent Posts, Science and Technology on December 14, 2009 - כ"ז כסלו תש"ע at 7:08 pm
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A Window That Washes Itself? New Nano-Material May Revolutionize Solar Panels and Batteries, Too
TAU’s nanosized “forest of peptides” can be used as the basis for self-cleaning windows and more efficient batteries.
ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2009) — A coating on windows or solar panels that repels grime and dirt? Expanded battery storage capacities for the next electric car? New Tel Aviv University research, just published in Nature Nanotechnology, details a breakthrough in assembling peptides at the nano-scale level that could make these futuristic visions come true in just a few years.
Operating in the range of 100 nanometers (roughly one-billionth of a meter) and even smaller, graduate student Lihi Adler-Abramovich and a team working under Prof. Ehud Gazit in TAU’s Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology have found a novel way to control the atoms and molecules of peptides so that they “grow” to resemble small forests of grass. These “peptide forests” repel dust and water — a perfect self-cleaning coating for windows or solar panels which, when dirty, become far less efficient.
“This is beautiful and protean research,” says Adler-Abramovich, a Ph.D. candidate. “It began as an attempt to find a new cure for Alzheimer’s disease. To our surprise, it also had implications for electric cars, solar energy and construction.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Middle East Report, Science and Technology, Solar Energy on December 5, 2009 - י"ח כסלו תש"ע at 7:34 pm
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Posted By Maurice Picow On December 6, 2009 In Cleantech, Science & Technology |
A Seambiotic algae farm grows biofuel
Seambiotic’s been teaming up with NASA [1] to to create a biofuel suitable for sending astronauts into space (?), and now this company is once again making news in a new venture with the China Goudian utility company [2] to grow micro algae for use as a biodiesel fuel to power electrical power stations all over China.
Founded in 2003, Seambiotic [3] develops and produces marine microalgae for the nutraceuticals [4] and biofuel industries by using flue gas from electric power plants.
Seambiotic’s success in utilizing an organic substance that is found in abundance in the world’s oceans and in fresh water sources as well, may one day solve much of the world’s energy needs as well as provide food products for the earth’s continuing increasing population. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Alternative Energy, Biomass fuels, Climate Change, Middle East, Recent Posts, Science and Technology, Solar Energy on December 5, 2009 - י"ח כסלו תש"ע at 7:11 pm
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ISRAELI PROFESSOR WORKS TO REGENERATE LOST LIMBS
An Israeli researcher’s breakthrough provides a major boost to the regeneration of human tissue.
By Benjamin Joffe-Walt, Media Line, November 30, 2009
A 3D scaffold that can replace missing bone while helping it regenerate, a biodegradable stent that releases drugs while keeping a weak artery open, a wound dressing that releases antibiotics and then magically disappears when the job is done… all this has been made possible by Meital Zilberman, an Israeli researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering who has invented a series of drug-releasing fibers that dissolve over time.
Zilberman’s most notable invention involves soluble fibers that can be used to form a biologically active and flexible ’scaffolding’ to encourage tissue and bone regeneration in humans.
The flexible scaffolding, shaped so that regenerating bone will take the proper form, can release drugs in a controlled fashion and then completely dissolve into non-toxic material.
“The main idea here is that we succeeded in developing a scaffold that is not only biodegradable but that also releases very sensitive bioactive agents in a controlled manner,” Professor Zilberman told The Media Line. “So for example if a segment of a bone is missing then we could use such a scaffold to promote cell growth and regeneration of damaged tissue.”
Zilberman said the challenge she faced was to develop a fiber that allowed for the release of drugs that break down easily.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Health Sciences, Middle East Report, Recent Posts, Science and Technology on November 30, 2009 - י"ג כסלו תש"ע at 12:40 pm
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by Hana Levi Julian, Arutz Sheva,November 15, 2009
(Israelnationalnews.com) The Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa has inaugurated an advanced laboratory for an innovative cancer treatment using nano-particles of gold, and laser beams.
The treatment is non-invasive, has no side effects and damages only the cancerous cell, without damaging the healthy cells that surround it.
The laboratory itself is located at the Laurie I. Lokey Interdisciplinary Center for Life Sciences and Engineering, which was built in 2006 with major support — $30 million — from philanthropist Lauri Lokey.
The cutting-edge research has stimulated interest both locally and on the international front, winning additional grants of two million euros from the European Union and more than $1 million from the Israel Science Foundation. Millions of dollars were invested to equip the new laboratory dedicated last week, according to a statement released by the Center, headed by Nobel Laureate, Professor Aaron Ciechanover.
The multidisciplinary laboratory includes researchers from the fields of physics, optics, biology, engineering and biomedical nanotechnology, and is currently engaged in a number of innovative projects, all of which are linked to advanced diagnostics and medical treatment.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Health Sciences, Middle East Report, Recent Posts, Science and Technology on November 15, 2009 - כ"ח חשון תש"ע at 2:18 pm
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Andrew Donoghue, BusinessGreen 11 Sep 2009
A Ford car plant which was recently shut down as part of cost savings by the car maker is being converted into a facility for renewable energy companies.
The facility in Wixom, Michigan, which at the height of production had about 5,000 workers, closed in 2007 with the loss of 1,000 jobs. The site will now be converted into a business park for a series of renewable energy companies, which the backers claim could generate about 4,000 jobs.
Ford said it has been working with energy storage system provider Xtreme Power and solar panel maker Clairvoyant Energy, who will be the first companies to take up residency in the 320-acre site and its 4.7 million square feet of plant space. The two renewable energy providers have invested about $725m (£635m) to redevelop the site, with work expected to begin early next year and clean tech manufacturing expected to get underway in 2011. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Air & Water, Alternative Energy, Biomass fuels, Climate Change, Recent Posts, Science and Technology, Solar Energy on September 12, 2009 - כ"ג אלול תשס"ט at 11:19 am
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