Lucky For Some

Green Fingers for a Lucky Bamboo

We’d only just arrived in Karmiel and our delightful white-walled flat was almost bare.

How could I begin to cheer it up before our shipment arrived from the U.K.?

A florist in Rabin named “Bucket” (yeah, it took me a couple of weeks to work it out!) came to the rescue with a pretty miniature ‘Lucky Bamboo’ decorated with pebbles in an attractive dark pink glass pot.

But only a few weeks later, the lovely leaves began to yellow. Had the plant had too much sun? No. It sits in a shady spot on the breakfast bar.

Had it been overwatered? I don’t think so.

However, it had been watered with ordinary tap water and I should have used the spring or filtered variety.

Now read the experts:

“As millions of "lucky" consumers around the world have discovered, Lucky Bamboo makes the perfect house or office plant.

“It needs little care - only about an inch of water and little direct sunlight to keep it happy and thriving...

“What is ‘Lucky Bamboo’?

“Known for centuries as Lucky Bamboo, the plant is not a bamboo  (botanical name: Dracaena) but a resilient member of the lily family that grows in the dark, tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia and Africa.

“How Much Care Does Lucky Bamboo Need?

“Keep water fresh by changing it every week, and always keep water levels at approximately an inch from the base of the canes. Lucky Bamboo prefers plenty of indirect sunlight and room temperatures at 65-70^o.

“Although opinions differ on feeding, your Lucky Bamboo is a living organism, so it makes sense to  add a mild solution to the water occasionally such as African Violet fertilizer. Since growth can be controlled by feeding, small amounts of fertilizer will keep the plant at a manageable size.

“Why Are the Leaves Turning Yellow?

Two of the most common factors are:

“1.) Too much direct sunlight

“2.) Too salty or heavily-fluoridated tap water. Give your new Lucky Bamboo a thriving start be sure to keep it away from direct sunlight, and water only with filtered or natural spring water.

“Why Is It Called "Lucky" Bamboo?

“Along with its ease of growth, Lucky Bamboo has long been associated with the Eastern practice of Feng Shui - or the bringing of natural elements of water, fire, earth, wood and metal into balance within the environment. Lucky Bamboo is believed to be an ideal example of the thriving wood and water element, with the addition of a red ribbon sometimes tied around the stalks - which is believed to "fire" the positive flow of energy or chi in the room.

“The number of stalks also has meaning : three stalks for happiness; five stalks for wealth; six stalks for health. Four stalks, however, are always avoided since the word "four" in Chinese sounds too similar to the Chinese word for "death"!

“Can I Take Cuttings from Lucky Bamboo?

“Yes. New stalks can be propagated from the original plant by using a sharp knife to cut through a stalk - just below the joint. Place the cutting in fresh, clean water. A fine mist spray to stalks is sometimes suggested to stimulate new bud growth.

“How Do I Re-pot Bamboo?

“Like any other houseplant, Lucky Bamboo can be transferred to a vase or pot two inches larger than the original, or planted permanently into a loose sand or soil mixture that provides lots of bottom drainage. To avoid root rot, be careful to let the top of the soil dry out between waterings.

Technorati Tags: Lucky Bamboo,Dracaena,Lily Karmiel,Rabin,'Bucket',Feng Shui,Plant Care Instructions,Cuttings,Re-Potting

msniw

My Neighbourhood Named For Yitzhak Rabin

The original name for my neighbourhood in Karmiel was a very flowery

" רמת טללים" - 'Dewy Heights'. 

It was changed to 'Ramat Rabin' after the assassination 15 years ago, of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. The Hebrew calendar date of his death - 12 Cheshvan 5756 -  was marked earlier this week while the secular  anniversary is 04 November.

 

Rabin's official portrait will feature on the home pages of the entire 'Perfectlywrite' series, up to and including the secular anniversary of his passing.

Meanwhile, our elegant,  modern neighbourhood began life in 1998 with a target population of 10,000. Twelve years on, it has become one of the most sought-after areas in this beautiful north Galilean city and building, much of it clad in imitation of traditional 'oolite' ('Jerusalem stone'), continues even as I write.

At the official memorial ceremony for Rabin held at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem earlier this week, President Shimon Peres - once Rabin's co-Prime Minister - called for differences to be solved democratically.

He also eulogised the assassinated Nobel Peace Prize laureate, commemorating his contribution to the nation and the untimely nature of his death.

"We will not forget that you were murdered. You were murdered by an evil man who planned to kill the nation's spirit," Peres said, addressing Rabin.

"Your legacy, Yitzhak, was the contribution of a statesman truly leading  a nation: not to look back in rage, but forward with faith. You earned the faith of a nation".

On Tuesday night, several thousand youngsters gathered at Tel Aviv’s Kikar Rabin to take part in a memorial ceremony organized by the Israel Scouts to mark the 15th anniversary of the assassination.

Speaking at his official residence (Beit Hanassi), Peres lit a memorial candle at a ceremony known as Ner Yitzhak ('Light of Yitzhak'), commenting that it was a candle dedicated to peace, to a promise whose flame would never be extinguished.

Yitzhak Rabin Fact File:

  Yitzhak Rabin (1922- 1995) was an Israeli politician and general and the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995. In 1994, Rabin won the Nobel Peace Prize together with Shimon Peres and PLO leader,Yasser Arafat.

On November 4, 1995 Rabin was shot to death by a Jewish assassin, at the end of a mass demonstration in Kikar Malchei Yisrael in Tel Aviv in support of the peace process.

There will be those reading this piece who refuse - all differences considered - to be 'dewy eyed' about Israel's heroes - indeed those of any state.

They will say, quite understandably, that Rabin was as much a man of war as peace and that at the time of the first Palestinian Intifada, he threatened to quell the unrest with 'force, beatings and might' or as another story has it: "We will break their bones."

However, his wife, Leah Rabin, insisted in her memoir, Rabin - Our Life, His Legacy that he never said it. Other versions claim that Rabin made the statement in order to encourage soldiers to refrain from shooting at stone-throwing Palestinians.

But whatever happened during the 1980s, by the time of his assassination, Rabin had all the  hallmarks of a man of peace. Since his death, it may be argued that, as is common in such circumstances, an almost unhealthy aura of sanctity has developed around his memory. But the week of his yahrzeit (Hebrew memorial) may not be the time to investigate.

 

Technorati Tags: Karmiel,'Dewy Heights',Ramat Rabin,Yitzhak Rabin,Jerusalem Stone,Shimon Peres,Nobel Peace Prize,Israel Scouts,Ner Yitzhak,Leah Rabin,First Intifada,Yasser Arafat

msniw

‘Eat Pork and Save the Planet’!

It seems that where life  in the U.K.doesn’t get darker, it get dafter.

The Daily Telegraph reported today that the Foods Standards Agency has published an edict proposing to save the planet with increased consumption of pork, eggs, yogurt and beer.

Now read on:

“Diets should change to help the planet with beef replaced by pork, cheese by eggs, ice-cream by yoghurt and whisky by beer, according to research for the Food Standards Agency.

Photo: ALAMY

“Eating less beef, sugar, and cheese, as well as drinking less tea and coffee, were recommended, as well as eating more pulses and cereals

“Scientists from the University of East Anglia analysed existing data on the nutritional and environmental effects of different kinds of foods.

“Eating less beef, sugar, and cheese, as well as drinking less tea and coffee, were recommended, as well as eating more pulses and cereals.

“Other recommendations included eating more seasonal produce to reduce transportation and switching to microwave ovens and pressure cookers to use less energy in preparing food.

“The report suggests that schools, hospitals and other public bodies should be expected to lead a change in national behaviour by putting food on their menus which has contributed little to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

“The report noted: "The highest GHG emissions are associated with beef, cheese, coffee, tea and cocoa consumption."

“It continued: "The way we as a society, and as individuals, choose to mitigate climate change as regards food, will also alter the way we eat."

“UEA was at the centre of allegations last year that it had manipulated climate change data to magnify the problem.

“Its report, called Food and Climate Change, could raise opposition among those who enjoy eating produce from around the world at any time of the year.

“However, the recommendations will be welcomed by vegetarian campaigners and those who support organic farming, which is recognised in the study as producing food that is lowest in harmful emissions.

“A spokesman for the National Farmers' Union said: 'It is simply not true that fruit and vegetables are a better climate option than meat and milk. You have to look at how these crops are produced in terms of the energy used for growing and transport."

“The report was commissioned by the Food Standards Agency to try to change the way people cook and eat”.

Related Article - Smell of bacon offends Muslims – not to mention Jews and vegetarians – but we’ve long since learned to put up and shut up! By the way, I think someone should advise the gurus at the FSA that pork is neither kosher nor vegetarian while eggs and yogurt (unless the yogurt be made from soya) do not suit a vegan lifestyle. Oh, dear!

Technorati Tags: Food Standards Authority,edict,bacon,pork,vegetarian,Muslims,Jews,climate change,National Farmers' Union

msniw

My Brother’s On The Mend!

My Shabbat (weekend) was kick-started by an outstandingly good piece of  news. I spoke to my brother yesterday!

Julian, who as many of you are aware, was severely injured in a traffic accident near his Ramot Bet, Jerusalem home on Monday 06 September, was able to enjoy a full telephone conversation and even mentioned recuperating at home within the foreseeable future.

He has been at the Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital since the accident, which happened when a woman drove through a red light on Golda Meir Avenue, crashing into a moving van.The driver of the van lost control of the vehicle and drove onto a traffic island where Julian and several other people were standing.

Now it’s time to thank the scores of people – close relatives, friends, warm acquaintances from the U.K. and the United States as well as Israel  – even shocked strangers and my virtual friends on ‘Facebook’! - who all offered prayers, good wishes and on-going encouragement when they heard the  news.

It would be invidious to single out people by name, instead I’ll mention organisations, communities and their leaders: So, in no particular order, on behalf of the family I offer more thanks than I can express to:

• Prof. Charles Sprung and his team at the Intensive Care Unit, Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital, Jerusalem.
• Julian’s devoted friends from the synagogue near his home in Jerusalem led by Rabbi Kannai.
• My  own congregation, Kehillat Hakerem in Karmiel where regular prayers were offered by Rabbi Reuven Resnick and a neighbouring community, The Beit Knesset at Amit led by Rabbi Mike Schultz.
• Sha’arei Shalom North Manchester Reform Synagogue led by Rabbi Norman Zalud.
• Menorah Cheshire Reform Synagogue led by Rabbi Brian Fox.

Technorati Tags: Julian Wood,traffic accident,Jerusalem,Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital,U.K.,USA,Israel,Rabbi Kannai,Kehillat Hakerem,Rabbi Reuven Resnick,Rabbi Mike Schultz,Shaarei Shalom Synagogue,Rabbi Norman Zalud,Rabbi Brian Fox,Facebook

msniw

With a Political Will, There's a Human Way

I'll never forget Northwick Park Hospital. After all, it was where my dear late mother was taken after her sudden death during a visit to London in January 1996.

Indeed, very few British people  will ever forget that hospital.

A bare decade later during March 2006, six healthy young men ended up in intensive care there after volunteering to test an anti-inflammatory drug at its research unit. The paid volunteers suffered multiple organ failure after testing the drug and at one stage, two of them were critically ill.

Kathy Archibald of the Safer Medicines Campaign recalled the episode during a  recent BBC TV Politics Show interview (clip above) as part of the drive to reduce and finally stop the increasing use of animals in testing the safety of medicines for human consumption. She, like me, and countless others, fervently believes that there is always another - human - alternative.

While the pros and cons of the argument continue to be aired,  several facts are clear in favour of non-animal tests:

• Testing drugs on animals is immeasurably cruel.
• Animals and humans do not react similarly to many drugs - as the notorious consequences of Thalidomide and Avandia    make abundantly clear.
• Stem cell tissue and computerised techniques are accurate and painless.
• Many if not most of the decisions made about this issue are political not scientific.

As many British companies are being compelled to move away from animal tests for cosmetics and household products, let us hope that it is not too long before their use in medicines is also outlawed.

See also: http://wwwperfectlywriteasrain.blogspot.com/2010/10/safer-medicines-in-britain-and-israel.html

Technorati Tags: Animal Testing,BBC TV,Politics Show,Northwick Park Hospital,Kathy Archibald,Safer Medicines Campaign,Thalidomide,Avandia,UK

msniw

 

Tasting of Cardboard and What's Gone Green!

"O for a draught of vintage! that hath been

  Cool'd a long age in the deep-delvèd earth,

Tasting of Flora and the country-green,

  Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!

O for a beaker full of the warm South!

" Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,

    With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,

          And purple-stainèd mouth;

  That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,

    And with thee fade away into the forest dim:"

(John Keats - 'Ode to a Nightingale')

 

Call me  a daft, sentimental ol' romantic but I reckon not all's sweet and rosy in the glorious Galilee.

I'm not the only one to complain that local food, which I had imagined to be swollen with  pride and desperate to fall off the vine and onto my lap, is in fact a grave disappointment.

Someone, who thinks like me, opined this week on a chat board:

"... since  making aliyah (emigrating to Israel) over two months ago we are yet to taste any decent fruit and veg! Everything seems tasteless, and it's obvious they use a lot of pesticides round here. We have been sent to Dahan (the market) which was cheap but still not very tasty. All the tomatoes, cucumbers, melons... tasted of nothing. For this we made aliyah??!"

 

I agree wholeheartedly. The Dahan (or Dohan) in Karmiel at first glance is a cornucopia of exotic and more mundane fruit and vegetables, but these most often are hard, dry or perversely wet and mangy and last barely a week in the fridge before they droop, wrinkle and develop age spots or worse.  Further, the produce available is 'repeated' in many guises throughout the market. So, you can buy a half-dozen varieties of  pepper and aubergine, sweet apples and plums, mangos and all sorts of other exotica - but try buying dark green cabbage - until they feel like supplying it ...

Meanwhile, this afternoon, I spent a half-hour salvaging once green, glossy pears which had become blackened and bruised just by sitting carefully bagged in the fridge.

I wondered on becoming a resident, why everything was sold on such a large scale: fridges the size of wardrobes, vegetables bearing Amazonian tendrils,  squashes and aubergines the size of baby whales ...

I also wondered - not unreasonably - why so many foods available year-round in the U.K., never appear on the shelves here.

"Oh, the market's seasonal ..."; "you'll only see (whatever) when it's in season ...";  "it's not the season ..."  "wait until next month ..."

So, can anyone explain, please, why  certain produce appears and disappears within a week, only to reappear several weeks later? Even as a ignorant townie, I know that a 'season' lasts for more than a week or a fortnight and does not conclude only to resume a couple of weeks later. Maybe it has more to do with supply and demand. Israeli food is surprisingly expensive. Even so,  I guess the local farmers prefer to sell for export and while  the best goods are flown abroad, we are treated to left-overs!

However, I have enjoyed experimenting with some 'new' fruits for the first time, even when they've disappointed. This summer I've dished up a prickly pear, a huge courgette (more like a gourd), exquisitely tiny aubergines, Jerusalem artichokes and unpleasantly hard, dry and tasteless fresh dates. The last were particularly disappointing compared to the sweet, dried variety I remember as an extra to mandarins during the winter holiday in Blighty. I didn't have a clue how to prepare the prickly pear and scoured the Internet until I found:

"How to Cut and Prepare Prickly Pears"

by Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic

 

"Method

1 Slice both ends of the prickly pear off. Discard them.

2 Make one long vertical slice down the body of the prickly pear.

"3 Slip your finger into the slice and grab a hold of the skin.

"4 Begin to peel back the thick fleshy skin that's wrapped around the prickly pear. Discard the skin. You'll be left with the prickly pear itself. The flesh is studded with tons of little edible seeds, if you like them, feel free to just chop the prickly pear up and eat, seeds and all.

"I myself prefer just the juice. To extract the juice, place the "husked" prickly pears into a blender or food processor and pulse until liquefied. Place the juice into a fine mesh sieve and push out the juice into a pitcher or bowl. Discard the remaining pulp and seeds.

"Use the juice as you like. About four prickly pears will get you about 1 cup of juice. It's great mixed in with some fresh lemonade, just use equal parts of prickly pear juice to lemonade".

McCord recommends using the juice  in jam and sweets and says it "works wonders in cocktails and used in vinaigrettes for salads. I've used the juice to flavour cream cheese frosting for a lime flavoured cupcake, and have seen others boil it down with a bit of orange and lemon juice to make a sauce for fruit salads and cheesecakes".

 

Back to me: To be honest, I took the easy way out and after following the basic guide, simply chopped the pear and included it with other fruit salad ingredients. However, it helped to make everything temptingly pretty!

Further, a lovely blog Feed Your Vegetarian published this delightful and unusual recipe for the adventurous:

The author describes it as a "south-western twist on the classic mojito".

She writes: "... Instead of simple syrup, we used prickly pear cactus syrup! The syrup gives the drink a wonderful magenta and a mild fruity background. It's a very nice, refreshing combination".

 

"Prickly Pear Cactus Mojito

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoon prickly pear cactus syrup
6 to 8 spearmint leaves
juice of 1 lime (about 2 ounces)
2 ounces rum
1 to 1/2 cups cubed or crushed ice
2 ounces club soda

Method

In a tall glass, place the mint leaves, lime juice and the cactus syrup.
'Muddle' the leaves for 20 seconds to release the mint oils using either a 'muddler' or a wooden spoon.
Add the rum, and stir.
Fill the glass until 3/4 full with ice.
Top off with the club soda club soda.
Makes 1 mojito".

* For all those who believe, with some justice, that  I've been 'muddled' for years, I'll explain that a 'muddler'  is "a bartender's tool, used like a pestle to mash — or 'muddle' — fruits, herbs, and/or spices in the bottom of a glass to release their flavour".

So, now we know!

 

Have a great weekend!

Technorati Tags: John Keats. Ode to a Nightingale,Galilee,Karmiel,Dahan Market,Food,tasteless,seasonal,prickly pear preparation,Gareth McCord,Vanilla Garlic,Feed Your Vegetarian,prickly pear cactus mojito,muddler

msniw

 

Perfectly Write As Rain!: Safer Medicines In Britain - and Israel#links#links

http://www.safermedicines.org/safermedicines/index.shtml

Safer Medicines In Britain - and Israel

With  a brother tucked up at Jerusalem's Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital, enjoying the best that modern medicine can offer, you may wonder slack-jawed at my chutzpa.

How dare I question the provenance of the drugs which helped to save Julian's life following his horrific traffic injuries or by what means he's been  given a chance to enjoy a long and productive life?

Well, I do dare! Not only is the issue of using animals to test the efficacy of new drugs for humans a major concern in Britain, it is of equal importance in Israel where the Chai Online animal welfare website claims:

"While the Animal Protection Law at least attempts to promote animal welfare, the Animal Experimentation Law appears mainly to protect the interests of the bio-medical industry in Israel. Indeed, the aim of the Law from its inception was to regulate, not restrict, animal experimentation".

Although Israeli law effectively allows individual research institutes  to authorise animal experimentation at will and without public accountability, Israel's National Council for Animal Experimentation may  prohibit animal use where a "reasonable alternative" exists.

However, most council members are either representatives of the very  universities and drug companies conducting animal research or of government agencies heavily involved in the practice, such as the Ministries of Health and Science.

Indeed, the Council employs only one part-time veterinarian to inspect all research animal facilities throughout Israel.

To date, claims Chai, "the Council has not approved a single alternative to animal use". Shame on them as their action - or lack of it - in part runs contrary to Jewish law and traditional Jewish values.

While Jewish law maintains that saving human life is paramount, the principle of tzaar ba-alei hayyim is supposed to prevent causing animals unnecessary pain and should therefore stop their being used to test non-essentials like cosmetics and cleaning materials.

I would like to suggest that as there is a large "Anglo" community in Israel (citizens who originate from English-speaking countries) that Chai considers working in tandem with the U.K.'s Safer Medicines Campaign which has the support of many prominent people, including Members of Parliament.

Kathy Archibald, director of the Safer Medicines Campaign  was interviewed live last week on British TV's The Politics Show. The studio discussion focused on testing the safety of medicines.

The video above is a short clip about the SMC's work and philosophy. Be warned - although there are no animal images - it does not make comfortable viewing!

But for now I'll sign off by repeating what a cross-party group of British MPs was told in July this year at the launch of the Safety of Medicines Bill:

"A million Britons are hospitalised by medicines every year, costing the NHS £2 billion. We believe 21st century science can do better"...

"There is strong evidence that human biology-based technologies may offer significant improvements in safety as well as large reductions in cost and time. The comparison of safety testing methods proposed by the Bill is unprecedented and could benefit the NHS and patients dramatically. "

See  more  at:http://www.safermedicines.org/safetyofmedicines/bill.shtml)

Technorati Tags: Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital,Julian Wood,drugs,animal testing,Chai Online,Britain,Israel,Safer Medicines Campaign,Kathy Archibald

msniw

The Guy Who's Saved My Brother's Life!

Meet Professor Charles Sprung, who heads the General Intensive Care Unit at the Ein Kerem Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Centre in Jerusalem and  founded and chairs Hadassah's Institute  of Medicine, Ethics and Law, and co-chairs the working group of the European Society of Intensive Care Medical Ethics.

Astoundingly, American-born Professor Sprung also has a degree in law and has commented on Israel's first case of euthanasia.

He explained in an interview with JewishPost.com: "In Western society, disconnecting a ventilator is seen as no more than passive euthanasia ... "In the Western ethical system, active euthanasia is performing a life-ending procedure, such as injecting a fatal drug. The Jewish approach, however, is moulded by halacha or Jewish law, and views things differently.

"In Jewish law, passive euthanasia is withholding treatment - for example, not attaching a patient to a ventilator in the first place. But once a patient is on a ventilator, disconnecting him (that is, withdrawing treatment) is judged as active euthanasia, since it's an action that results in the patient's death. Jewish law thus makes a crucial distinction between withholding and withdrawing treatment that's not found in the Western approach."

Thank Heaven no such decisions have had to be made about any patients injured in the crash on 06 September and as I write, although Julian is still sedated, his condition has improved.

Technorati Tags: Prof Charles Sprung,Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital,euthanasia,Halacha

msniw

 

 

 

THE BEST BOOK OF ALL!

Wishing all Jewish clients, friends and acquaintances in Israel, the U.K. and throughout the world a sweet and fulfilling 5771.

It is also time to thank our friends from the wider community for their continued love and support for us and for Israel.

"L'Shana Tova" and best regards from

 

Natalie Wood and Brian Fink.

Natalie Wood @ WoodPerfect ~

Office Services with a Twist!

"We Love Good Causes" 

msniw

"... Nor Stumbling Block Before The Bind ..."

With a background in law, Israeli Arab Abbass Abbass is fighting for the rights of the blind in Israel's Arabic community.

Like the soul singer Ray Charles, Israeli Arab Abbass Abbass, was born with a congenital defect that causes blindness. However his calling wasn't music, but the law. A lawyer, today he is also general director of AlManarah, a Nazareth-based association for the blind whose Arabic name means 'lighthouse'.

Legally blind, Abbass doesn't allow his handicap to keep him at home, out of sight of his society that tends to shun the disabled, often viewing them as defective, shameful and unworthy of marriage.

Born in the city of Nazareth where Jesus was raised, Abbass loves to travel to conferences around the world. His most-recent trip was to San Francisco and New York, where he went to raise funds and awareness about AlManarah - Association for the Advancement of the Blind in the Arab Society in Israel, which he co-founded in 2005 and which is funded by the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Ted Arison Foundation and the Moriah Fund,

"We called our association 'The Lighthouse' because we think that we should light the path. Not the path of the blind, but the path for society as a whole. Our society is blind. It fails to see the blind," he says.

To illustrate his point, a member of the AlManarah staff tells the following story: "There is an Arab blind girl aged 19, living in Nazareth, who suffers from economic oppression, imposed on her by her family, by controlling her finances and preventing her from applying to a university and getting a degree. This type of situation, unfortunately, is not uncommon among Arab blind women in our community."

Abbass says that the Arab community is characterised by fewer resources than those accorded the Jewish Israeli population; high rates of intermarriage; and a serious social stigma that accompanies blindness. According to Abbass, being vision-impaired in the Arab community is a major handicap, despite the fact that in North America and Europe many visually impaired people have found opportunities and pathways to integrate into society.

A lack of Arabic books in Braille, audio books, programmes in public institutions and even pavements in some villages, has meant that some 7,000 blind Arab Israelis are seriously neglected members of society. Through AlManarah, Abbass is beaming his big bright light of hope to educate, create opportunities and organise international conferences.

Abbass refers to himself as a social entrepreneur who is working to educate Arab society about the dangers of congenital disease from inter-marriage, the value of educating parents about their blind offspring and society at large about the disabled.

While the changes haven't been radical, he believes that he is succeeding in modifying perceptions, as increased numbers of visually impaired people join the workforce and gradually move toward acceptance by their society.

His crowning achievement is the new Multi-Centre for the Blind in Nazareth, a meeting place for the blind Arab community. Featuring a special computer room, a Braille printing machine and a sophisticated recording studio, the center serves a number of Arab towns in the region.

Thanks to AlManarah, about 2,500 schoolchildren and adults from the Arab community in Israel are being educated about the blind. In fact, the Nazareth centre has much to teach Arab communities worldwide about the value of people with disabilities. It is Abbass' aspiration that his centre in Israel will be a model for countries like Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

"We'd like to make this a model for other Arab organisations in the world. The situation with people in the other Arab countries is worse than in Israel," says Abbass.

"The communities are more conservative than the community is here, and the disadvantaged are suffering very much. Arab society classifies disabilities as shameful, something like sin, and they don't want to talk about it," he explains.

Arab society considers the blind as impossible to match with a life partner; and in a society that is very involved in choosing spouses for its children, this is significant. That's why Abbass also targets parents of blind children in educational programmes. He hopes to change the situation of young blind women who are encouraged not to marry and are  fated mostly to a life ofdependency on the kindness of others.

Abbass was born in 1976 with congenital Retinitis Pigmentosa. He lives at home with his parents (his father is a lawyer, his mother is a housewife, and his three brothers and two sisters are all in academia), and he manages to read emails with a magnifying glass. What he doesn't see is his disability. He plans to marry and raise a family of his own, one day.

"I am what you say is a..." he pauses to laugh for a few seconds and to figure out the translation from Arabic: "I am single because I am a workaholic. Like many crazy people in the world, we are looking to change the world. I too am infected - infected by this good virus."

 

With a BA and Master's degree in Law from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Abbass intends to continue in academia, earning a PhD either in Israel or the US. He has worked as a volunteer at the Study Centre for the Blind at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and at Bizchut, the Israel Human Rights Centre for Peoples with Disabilities, and at the Arab Association for Human Rights.

Before assuming his position at AlManarah, between 2004 and 2006 he ran his own law practice. In 2007, he was part of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), the US Department of State's premier professional exchange program.

Four of the seven people working at AlManarah are blind. Abbass, who is computer proficient - he uses email, the Net, and Skype - recognises the importance of narrowing the digital divide between those who see and those who do not and encourages the sight impaired to engage in high tech and the Internet.

While progress has been made, the centre in Nazareth has only one Braille printing press (such a press costs about $10,000) and each book costs about $50 to print since the paper is very expensive. Even small donations can be a great help to the organization that is registered to receive tax-deductable funds through American givers.

msniw

I got to read this story - which I've edit edonly  very slightly for any British English readers - via the Israel news service, ISRAEL21c.

A Haitian Baby Named "Israel"!

 Thanks to top billing on Sky News, the whole world  knows that Israel's Medical and Rescue operatives were among the first to help survivors of the  Haiti earthquake. What's more, a woman whose baby was delivered with the team's help has offered the best possible thanks by naming her new-born "ISRAEL"!

Wow, that means a kid born in hell in the Caribbean has the same name as my maternal grandfather - an Anglo-Jewish gentleman of Lithuanian stock. May be one day 'Baby Israel' will have a chance to visit  the Holy Land  and thank his rescuers in person.

Meanwhile, the Israeli delegation landed in the capital of Port-Au-Prince on Friday evening last and established an operation centre in a soccer field near the airport. 

Two teams, comprising search and rescue personnel and canine operators from the IDF canine unit were sent on rescue missions. The first team was sent to the Haiti UN H.Q. to assist in rescuing survivors.

The IDF Medical and Rescue Team also set up a field hospital in Port-Au-Prince and is treating patients there. Personnel are preparing to receive ambulances evacuating injured children from the different disaster struck areas and dozens of truckloads of medical and logistical equipment have already been unloaded.

On Saturday - the Jewish Sabbath - even the most religiously Orthodox among the  the Israelis - buckled down to the rescue operation as Jewish tradition insists that saving life supersedes even the most stringent Sabbath laws. Their efforts included the rescue of a senior income tax official from his government office building which had collapsed in the earthquake. The man had been trapped underneath the rubble for four days.

The field hospital team includes 40 doctors, 25 nurses, paramedics, a pharmacy, a children's ward, a radiology department, an intensive care unit, an emergency room, two operating rooms, a surgical department, an internal department and a maternity ward. The hospital can treat about 500 patients daily and will also perform preliminary surgery. The Israelis are scheduled to stay in Haiti for at least two weeks.

Meanwhile, the ZAKA humanitarian voluntary rescue unit in Haiti pulled eight students alive from a collapsed university building The six-man team (four from Israel and two from Mexico) had arrived in Haiti aboard a Mexican air force Hercules immediately after completing their work in recovery and identification in the Mexico City helicopter crash.

On arrival, the ZAKA members were dispatched to the collapsed eight-storey university building where cries could be heard from the trapped students. After 38 hours of work around the clock with the Mexican military delegation and other Jewish volunteers from Mexico, the ZAKA volunteers succeeded  in pulling all eight students alive from the rubble.

Amid the stench and chaos, the ZAKA delegation took time out to recite Shabbat prayers - a surreal sight of ultra-orthodox men wrapped in prayer shawls standing on the collapsed buildings. Many locals sat quietly in the rubble, staring at the men as they prayed facing Jerusalem. At the end of the prayers, they crowded around the delegation and kissed the prayer shawls. 

Just minutes after landing in the airport in Port-au-Prince the IsraAID team was met by David Darg, Operation Blessing Director in the field and his staff and joined them to unload a planeload of food and medical equipment.

The Israeli medical professionals of IsraAID - F.I.R.S.T. travelled to the main Port-Au-Prince Hospital to start treating patients, joining local physicians at the site of the collapsed central hospital where thousands of wounded have gathered desperate for help.

Technorati Tags: Haiti,Port-Au-Prince,earthquake,ZAKA,Israel,crisis,thanks

 

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... And These Pigs Swim!

Who says pigs aren't kosher! As Israelis face a hike of up to 41% in their water bills to compensate for droughts and new desalination techniques, an Ashkelon company claims it may help to save up to 30% of the 88 billion litres of water lost to pinhole leaks in water pipes, every day, worldwide.

 

And their secret? 'Pigs'! Curapipe claims to have devised a gadget which detects and repairs problems lying below the radar of the water and gas industries. Tiny pinhole, almost undetectable leaks emit water, oil and natural gas, wasting money and causing unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, the World Bank estimates that about 88 billion litres of water is lost through urban pipes every day - in both rich countries like the USA and poorer ones where every drop counts.

Traditionally, water companies deal with tiny cracks in pipes by reducing water pressure. But this technique is simply delaying expensive repairs  so Curapipe's cost-effective solution can seal leaks fast, with little inconvenience to the customer.

The company's solution is based on an existing method to clean water mains - small spongy objects known as 'pigs.' Water maintenance teams suspend the water supply while a 'pig' is pushed through the system using water pressure. As the pigs are propelled through the pipes they remove scale and other types of unwanted build-up. The pigs work in pipes made of lead, cast iron and even concrete.

Curapipe's device employs two pigs with a sealant material held between them.  If they find a crack or leak as they are pushed through the water pipes in the normal way, a composite material is squirted to fill the gap. The material then hardens in place. Once the pipe has been flushed with water to clean it, it returns to normal use.

Curapipe now awaits a 'seal of approval' from regulatory bodies and health officials confirming that the technique does not affect the quality of drinking water.

Astoundingly, Curapipe is only three years old with a tiny staff of seven. Its next task is to look at the problems in  natural gas mains. Natural gas, made mostly of methane, can be a potent greenhouse gas, more potent than its carbon dioxide equivalent.

Curapipe is now working with the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company, Israel's major oil pipeline company, to test the 'pigs' in both water pipes and oil pipes. The solution could also prevent devastating leaks and oil spills in nature. Next, we'll learn they've learned to fly!

Technorati Tags: Curapipe,pigs,water,pipes,leaks,greenhouse gas,methane,cost,bills,World Bank

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52 Books for 2010

'Shock' Cure For Male Shortcomings!

I'm fed up  to  the back teeth - as are most of you, I'm sure - with spam messages for erectile dysfunction cures. As a mere woman  I can reveal that I've never suffered in that department. Not even once.

But what I didn't know was that while medicines like Viagra and Cialis may improve a couple's sex life, there are associated risks of heart attacks and adversely affected vision. I maintain that natural cures in all fields of medicine are better than any combination of chemicals.

Now new research from Israel, presented to The European Society of Sexual Medicine in Lyon, France late last year, suggests that that the same device that uses shockwaves to blast kidney stones appears to have a restorative effect on the blood vessels of the penis.

In an initial study of 20 middle-aged men with erectile dysfunction, researchers conducted a series of treatments that comprised three weeks of shockwave therapy administered in two 20-minute sessions each week.

The patients were allowed to rest for three weeks and then an additional course of low-dose shockwave treatments, with about 100 bars of pressure per shockwave, was administered over another three-week period, using a device resembling a computer mouse.

Dr. Yoram Vardi, head of the Neuro-Urology Department of Ramban Medical Centre, found mostly consistent results in 15 of the 20 men who benefited from the therapy. All the men noted a return of erectile functioning around the seven-week mark, and a six-month follow-up found that for 13, the effects were long lasting, while two will require additional treatments.

"There was no pain or additional side effects within six months," said Vardi.  "There was an improvement [in erectile function]. A huge improvement ...  we feel the effect is something biological," he says and suggests that the treatment encourages blood vessel growth, as found in animal studies. His research team is now measuring possible placebo effects. 

"We have done 20 patients more and after a few months the results are approximately the same," added Dr Vardi. But he advised that such a treatment wouldn't work on men with muscle or nerve problems, but on those whose erectile problem stems from reduced blood flow.

The idea of using sound waves to treat erectile dysfunction came to Vardi when he learned that shockwaves were used to treat men with a curvature of the penis known as Peyronie's disease.

What's more, research indicates that the treatment may be useful for growing new blood vessels for the heart and Vardi hopes that the shockwave therapy could be used to diagnose heart disease at an early stage. At present, it is used with higher levels of shockwaves to treat shoulder pain in orthopaedic patients.

But Vardi warns that he can not predict when the treatment may be generally available.

"First of all we want to test it more and understand better how effective it can be and how long the [effects of] treatment lasts." Also, while many men currently self-medicate their erectile disorder, the new shock treatment would require medical consultation and would have to be administered by a physician.

Since erectile dysfunction appears in the early stages of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, a flaccid penis could be a warning about a life-threatening disorder. Now, that IS serious!

Technorati Tags: Erectile dysfunction,Cyalis,Viagra,Dr Yoram Vardi,Neuro-Urology Department of Ramban Medical Centre,Israel,shockwave treatment,visionThe European Society of Sexual Medicine,Peyronie's disease,heart disease,adverse affected vision,kidney stones

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Does A Year Make A Difference?

I was going to write: "What a difference a year makes!"

But does it?

Not in Israel - nor in Britain - where the Jewish Israel haters have reportedly reduced a fellow Jew - and leading medical man - to tears with their vicious, traitorous campaign of hate against the JEWISH State.

This last year ended with a hastily convened peace rally, "The Sderot Rally for Hope" organised as counter-response to the proposed "Gaza Freedom March", which was due to convene in Egypt with more than 1,300 people from 43 different countries protesting against the Israeli ’siege' and Operation Cast Lead.

The peace rally, organized by Sderot Media Centre, involved hundreds of Sderot residents, Israeli youth, university students, and international supporters who gathered  to "call for an end to wars and the terrorist threat, and to give hope and a chance for peace in our region and throughout the world."

The organisers intended to bring a message of peace to civilians targeted by terror worldwide for 2010.

Speakers at the Sderot rally  featured the presidential candidate for the 2011 elections in Zambia, the Honorable Dr. Saviour Chishimba, Former Member of Parliament-National Assembly of Zambia and founder of the Zambia-Israel Alliance.

In a recent visit to Sderot, Dr.  Chishimba said: "Now is the time for Africa to stand up and fight terrorism wherever it emerges ... the threat on Israel and the Jewish people is the threat on all the peoples of the world.”

Contrast this with the speech made by leading cancer surgeon, Professor Michael Baum who told this year's mid-winter  Limmud educational Conference in the U.K. how his career almost ended after he challenged an accusation that the Israel Medical Association (IMA) was complicit in the torture of Palestinian prisoners.

He revealed that not only did he receive online and hard-copy hate-mail by the sack-load but was threatened with being 'struck off' the register of the General Medical Council. If this campaign had succeeded he would have been unable to work.

So bad did the pressure become that he broke down and cried during a meeting about the situation with Mr Ron Prosor, Israel's Ambassador to Britain. I almost wept with him while reading the report, threw aside my copy of the Jewish Chronicle and wandered off to do something else while I cooled down. I guess Professor Baum had neither the leisure nor the  opportunity to do likewise. My heart goes out to him and I hope he and his supporters have a better 2010.

Technorati Tags: Sderot,Gaza,rally,Israel Medical Association,torture,Palestinian prisoners,Prof. Michael Baum,HE Ron Prosor,Honorable Dr. Saviour Chishimba

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