Israel's Good News Newsletter to 25th May 25
In the 25th May 25 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
l Israeli medics have boosted skills and treatments in the war.
l A UK surgeon’s legacy is the saving of 132,000 Israeli lives.
l See the IDF save abused animals and protect Gazan children.
l The US military hugely benefits from Israeli technology.
l Israel has nearly a thousand active climate tech startups.
l Israel’s Yuval Raphael won the public vote in the Eurovision final.
l Read how an Indian and a Chinese man joined the Tribe.
· Click here to see the 18th May newsletter on (TY Steve) IsraelSeen, (TY Ruth) Ruthfully Yours, (TY Peloni) IsraPundit, (TY Aviva) United With Israel, and Joan Swirsky (email her to get daily news). Also (TY Sandra) for translating it into German here, and Hebrew here, and with (TY) Claude into French here. Also (TY Barbara) into Spanish here. (Please forward this newsletter to German-speaking, Spanish-speaking, French-speaking and Hebrew-speaking contacts. Also please visit my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/verygoodnewsIL.
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POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR
Saving lives on the battlefield. A tragic fact of war is the number of casualties. But even here, Israel is setting global standards. We already know about the record low ratio of civilian to combatant ratios. But the IDF Medical Corps is also achieving the world’s fastest casualty evacuation times, saving hundreds of lives.
https://www.jns.org/idf-sets-global-standard-in-combat-casualty-evacuations/
Israeli hospitals innovate to rehabilitate. (TY Hazel) One of Israel’s major achievements post 7 Oct 2023 has been how Israeli hospitals have developed protocols for treating the 139 returning hostages from Gaza. They had to cater for children who had suffered abuse and adults suffering severe psychological and physical injuries.
Movie about female tank brigade heroines. (TY Yanky) On 7 Oct 2023, Israel’s first all-female tank unit (see here previously) pitted their three armored vehicles against hundreds of Hamas terrorists in a battle lasting over 17 hours. The story of these fearless female soldiers is now to be featured in a new movie, entitled “Tankistas”.
https://deadline.com/2025/05/swell-ariel-or-october-7-film-tank-unit-tankistas-1236388126/
Honoring Oct 7 victims at the highest level. Minyan Everest, a group of Jewish climbers, pray and unfurl a banner of 7th Oct 2023 victims’ names at the top of the highest mountains. On one climb their sherpa guides told them that Hamas had murdered 10 of their fellow Nepalese in the attack. Their names were on the banner.
https://www.jns.org/french-jewish-mountaineers-bring-solidarity-to-new-heights/
One in five combat soldiers is a woman. The IDF has reported that women now account for 20% of troops serving in both active and reserve combat units. It highlighted efforts to integrate women into additional roles and units. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ryk15009xeg
Wounded Fauda star performs at airport. Israeli singer-songwriter and Fauda actor Idan Amedi was filmed giving an impromptu performance at Miami airport. He was about to fly to New York on his first US tour since being wounded in battle in Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/408305
New El Al plane named “Acheinu”. El Al’s 17th Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” has not been named after an Israeli city, rather “Acheinu Kol Beit Yisrael”, meaning “Our brothers, the entire House of Israel.” It is from the morning prayer, asking G-d to protect and have mercy on Jews in captivity and bring them home in peace.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/408633
German TV features Herzog hospital Jerusalem. (TY Yanky) The German news network RTL featured how Herzog Medical Center in Jerusalem has helped Israelis cope with trauma during the war. The RTL Foundation also made a significant donation to the hospital. Turn on captions and auto-translate into English.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsqOXgttsVY
Israeli Arabs reject Hamas. After Oct 7, Israel’s 2-million-strong Arab minority didn’t riot, wave Hamas flags or cheer. Arab medics treated the wounded. Arab mayors calmed tensions. Arabs donated blood, delivered aid and helped evacuate families. Arab enlistment in the IDF grew. Israeli Arabs stood with Israel.
https://nypost.com/2025/05/15/opinion/arab-israelis-stand-with-their-country-reject-hamas-hate/
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Deciphering the Microbiome. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Alphabiome uses AI and and analytics to identify previously uncharacterized microbial DNA patterns that are scattered across different chromosomes, microbes, and biological kingdoms in the human microbiome. It could lead to new therapies for huge numbers of diseases.
https://www.alphabiome.ai/ https://vimeo.com/1069105976
Allergy-blocking nasal spray is safe. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Polyrizon (see here previously) announced the successful preliminary safety study for a formulation of its PL-14 Allergy Blocker, marking a significant advancement in the product’s development path. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/polyrizon-ltd-announces-successful-preliminary-safety-study-pl-14-allergy-blocker
AstraZeneca R&D center in Tel Aviv. (TY Atid-EDI) UK giant AstraZeneca is teaming up with Tel Aviv University and the Meuhedet and Leumit health funds to launch “Beam” - Illuminating Healthcare Through Data Center. Anonymized data will help AstraZeneca understand disease mechanisms and more.
An Israeli health outpost in Boston. Sheba Medical Center, the largest hospital in Israel, has announced that it will open its first U.S.-based health-care startup accelerator in Massachusetts in 2026. It will join existing hubs in London, Berlin, Singapore, Melbourne and New Zealand as part of Sheba’s ARC innovation network,
https://www.jns.org/sheba-medical-center-to-open-outpost-in-boston/
Cancer charity expands to USA. 17 years after its founding, Israeli non-profit Jeremy’s Circle (see here previously) connects 1,100 families across Israel. Its aim is the same - give children suffering cancer the tools to process, connect, and thrive. It has teamed up with Lev Echad and is now bringing its programs to the USA.
https://www.jns.org/jeremys-circle-helping-youth-with-cancer-expands-to-us/
132,000 lives saved. (TY Yanky) Norman Rosenbaum (see here previously), a retired surgeon and newsletter subscriber living in North London, passed away aged 90. Over two decades, he crowdfunded 16 ambulances for Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom, which helped save some 132,000 lives and deliver 997 babies.
https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/ambulance-hero-norman-rosenbaum-dies-at-90/
$10 billion for nursing center. (TY Yanky) On International Nurses Day, the University of Haifa received $10 million from the Azrieli Foundation to establish the “Azrieli Advanced Nursing Center” (ADVANCE). This donation, one of the largest ever given to an academic institution in Israel for the field of nursing.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
Empowering women in the Negev. (TY Yanky) Women’s empowerment program Kumi (Rise), has helped 300+ women from the western Negev region gain confidence, entrepreneurial skills and funding. Sessions include effective communication, team building, leadership, crisis management, networking and much more.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-western-negev-budding-female-entrepreneurs-rebuild-their-communities-and-themselves/ https://www.kumi-sherise.com/en
A Muslim Israeli-Arab speaks. Marwan Jaber tells of what life is like for an Israeli Arab teenager in Israel. Signposts in Hebrew and Arabic; schools that accept Arabs and Jews; hospitals where Arabs and Jews are treated side by side; religious sites where Arabs, Jews, and Christians can pray according to their beliefs.
Safe in Israel. A Bahraini Moslem woman visited the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Hear what she says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDLNd1TVVDo
Israel rescues abused animals from PA zoo. An Israeli delegation of IDF soldiers, park officials, and wildlife experts raided an illegal zoo in the Palestinian Authority, rescuing dozens of endangered animals kept in brutal conditions - many of them beaten, abused, and visibly distressed.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-israel-launches-massive-raid-to-rescue-abused-animals-from-palestinian-authority/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sakxc4mU4QI
Protecting Gaza children from Hamas. Very short, but important video to promote.
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-idf-soldiers-protect-scared-palestinian-children/
Interfaith dialog in Berlin in Arabic. A landmark interfaith dialogue featuring religious leaders from Israel, across the Middle East, and North Africa took place in Berlin - exclusively in Arabic. The event was led by NGO Sharaka (see here previously) in cooperation with the Abraham Accords Institute.
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-854139#google_vignette
Nas honored by BGU. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev presented an honorary doctoral degree to social-media star Nuseir Yassin (better known as “Nas Daily” see here previously). It recognizes his commitment to promoting tolerance and coexistence as well as to building bridges between people everywhere.
More night vision goggles for US troops. The American subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems has received a $112 million order from the US Marine Corps Systems Command for Squad Binocular Night Vision Goggle (SBNVG) systems. This is in addition to previous US Army orders reported here previously.
https://www.jns.org/us-marines-order-112-million-in-night-vision-goggles-from-elbit/
Israel Day Parade. On Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, over 40,000 marchers united in the Israel Day Parade to celebrate Israel’s rich heritage, honor its resilience, and demand the return of the hostages.
https://www.jns.org/people-of-israel-arent-alone-thousands-march-in-israel-parade-in-nyc/
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-israel-day-parade-begins-in-new-york-city/
Saving the monk seal. Israeli and Cypriot researchers have teamed up to create an extreme cave makeover for rare monk seals. The project aims to provide safe and dry breeding places in northern Israel for the endangered marine mammals, of which only 600-700 remain in the world. (See articles about Maya & Yulia previously)
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Israeli tech improves the US military. (TY Atid-EDI) Many Israeli developments also help the US military. Emergency bandage, armored bulldozers, Trophy active protection, countering IEDs, K9 dogs, anti-tunnels, precision missiles, F-35 add-ons, anti-drone systems, AI armored vehicles, cybersecurity, and much more.
https://www.inss.org.il/publication/usa-army-idf/
Take control of your data. (TY OurCrowd) Israeli-founded Velotix has developed an AI-powered data security and governance platform that automates data access control. Its clients include AIG, London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of Singapore. Based in the USA with R&D operations in Israel.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/velotix-unveils-velotix-one-from-data-chaos-to-clarity-302350192.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsxxuAM6Vl8 https://www.velotix.ai/
https://www.velotix.ai/velotix-one/
Augmented Reality for Windows. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Sightful (see here previously) has launched Spacetop for Windows, a software-only version of its Augmented Reality (AR) laptop solution.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hy6gyyb1xl
Modernizing Japanese networks. Japan’s giant telecoms provider KDDI Corporation, has partnered with Israel’s DriveNets (see here previously) to accelerate the deployment of open network architecture across its national infrastructure. KDDI will install DriveNets’ Network Cloud software in its backbone core routers.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/r1aeriywxe
Defense tech startup launched. Israeli startup Line 5 has emerged from stealth, raising $20 million, the largest seed funding in the defense tech sector so far this year. The company is named after the bus route where one of the co-founders’ friends was murdered. It is anticipated that Line 5’s new technology will be devastating.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bjxgxgizex
Automating what finance teams shouldn’t do manually. Israel’s Celery uses AI to spot problems in seconds that used to take finance teams vast amounts of time – and may never have spotted. Duplicate entries, fraud, compliance breaches – all now a thing of the past. Celery is already used by dozens of US healthcare providers.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Stepping on the gas. Since Israel began profiting from gas production, it has collected almost $8 billion in revenues, with little effort. Annual revenues are expected to double from $1.3 billion in 2024 to $2.6 billion in the next few years. The gas companies made around $700 million in profit last year, but had to do all the work.
https://www.jns.org/stepping-on-the-gas-israeli-natural-gas-revenue-set-to-surpass-2b-annually/
Israel’s resilient climate tech. The 2024-2025 Climate Tech Status Report from Israel’s Innovation Authority and its subsidiary, PLANETech, reports that Israel’s climate tech ecosystem has demonstrated remarkable resilience, sustained growth and strong international trust. The 946 active companies include 49 new in 2024.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-climate-sector-shows-remarkable-resilience-report-finds/
US VC backs Israeli hi-tech startups. New York-based venture firm Insight Partners has invested $5.8 billion in the Israeli tech ecosystem over the past two decades. It has backed over 125 Israeli startups, including Wiz and Monday.com. In the last two years Insight has done 15 AI-related investment deals in Israel.
Delta is back. Delta Air Lines is resuming daily nonstop service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tel Aviv, becoming the first U.S. carrier to restart after the Houthi attack on Ben Gurion airport. Delta said that all flights to Israel were fully booked through next week due to strong demand.
https://www.jns.org/delta-resuming-flights-to-israel/
More defense technology for Europe. (TY Yanky) Israel’s Elbit Systems has been awarded a $100 million contract to deliver its UT30 MK2 unmanned turret systems to General Dynamics European Land Systems. They will then be integrated into the ASCOD armored fighting vehicles for a European NATO member.
Spatial hearing AI for LG. (TY OurCrowd) Israel’s Kardome (see here previously) has partnered with LG Electronics to integrate Kardome's Spatial Hearing AI into LG's next-generation smart devices. Kardome’s highly accurate voice-activated user interfaces will first be built into LG's line of smart TVs.
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/251553
Protecting financial institutions from fraud. (TY OurCrowd) Israel’s BioCatch (see here previously) has partnered with Alloy.com to help protect Alloy’s 700 top financial and fintech customers from fraud attacks.
https://idtechwire.com/biocatch-and-alloy-partner-to-boost-digital-banking-security-with-biometrics/
Modernizing San Marino’s oldest bank. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s HUB Cyber Security (see here previously) has won a 20 million Euros contract to modernize the oldest bank in San Marino - Cassa di Risparmio della Repubblica di San Marino. HUB will fully overhaul the bank’s core, mobile and online banking platforms.
The most valuable property sold in Israel. A mansion in Caesarea has been sold for $22 million – the highest real-estate deal of 2025 in Israel thus far. The anonymous buyer is a resident of the United States.
https://www.jns.org/the-mar-a-lago-of-israel-sold-via-instagram-for-a-record-price/
Exits, takeovers, and mergers to 25th May 25: Israel’s Sapiens International has acquired London’s AdvantageGo. US Fortinet has acquired Israeli SaaS security startup Suridata.
Startup investment – to 25th May 25:.AI21 Labs is raising $300 million; PhaseV raised $50 million; Line 5 raised $20 million; Rhino Federated Computing raised $15 million; Alphabiome raised $8 million; Celery raised $6.25 million (total $9 million);
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
The art of the brew. The Malka Brewery in the Western Galilee is one of Israel’s many successful craft beer breweries. At Kibbutz Yehi’am everything was produced naturally; herbs, fruit and clean water from the nearby Ga’aton Springs. In 2018, production moved to a state-of-the-art brewery in the Tefen industrial zone.
https://www.jns.org/the-art-of-the-brew/
Huge win for Yuval at Eurovision. Israel’s Yuval Raphael won the global public vote at the Eurovision Song Contest to earn overall second place after the judges only placed her 14th. The truth-loving majority certainly made their voices heard. Thankfully, by coming second, Israel does not have to host the 2026 event.
https://worldisraelnews.com/israels-yuval-raphael-scores-2nd-at-eurovision-despite-backlash/
First rookie on Indy 500 pole is Israeli-born. Israeli-born Robert Shwartzman the first rookie in more than 40 years to secure the top starting position at the iconic Indy 500 race. Shwartzman, who drives for Prema Racing, posted a four-lap average of 232.790 mph. “I’m proud to represent Israel”, he said.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-born-rookie-robert-shwartzman-takes-indy-500-pole/
THE JEWISH STATE
From Cochin to Jerusalem. Shmuel Ranganathan’s journey to Judaism began on Jew Street, Cochin, India. Then in Montreal friends invited him to Bar Mitzvah celebrations and Shabbat dinners. He converted in 1983 and made Aliyah. He returned to Canada, but retired to Israel and saw his grandson Bar Mitzvah at the Kotel.
Secret Chinese Jew goes public. (TY UWI) When Cormac Lee was growing up in China, his mother revealed his family had Jewish roots and practices. His journey took him to ranches in Washington State, Seatle, and then to Israeli yeshiva. He formally converted with the name Uriah, but is known as the Asian Kosher Cowboy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eYokFlwKi8
Rings around Jerusalem. Archaeologists have unearthed in Jerusalem another 2,300-year-old gold ring, probably belonging to a child (see here previously). There was a Hellenistic period custom in which betrothed women buried childhood objects as a symbol of the transition from childhood to adulthood.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/408723
Preparing for Jerusalem Day. Jacob Richman has updated his Jerusalem pages in time for Jerusalem Day on Sunday evening / Monday. https://jr.co.il/hotsites/jerusalem.htm
How to help Israel. Here are some sites where newsletter readers can donate to Israeli organizations that provide vital help to Israelis at this difficult time. Many thanks to those who have already contributed and to those who are helping by donating their own valuable time and resources.
Friends of the IDF (US donors): https://www.fidf.org/
or IDF Soldiers Fund in Israel: https://www.ufis.org.il/en/donation-en/ (select the English speakers’ option)
American Friends of Magen David Adom (US donors): https://afmda.org/
or Magen David Adom (Israel): https://www.mdais.org/en/donation
Zaka (US donors): https://donate.zakatelaviv.org/give/525578/ or (Israeli donors): https://charidy.com/zaka
or (Canadian donors): https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/bellevue-foundation/
United Hatzalah: https://israelrescue.org/campaign/israel-at-war-2/ or Canada https://www.uhcanada.org/
Donate a medic bag, save a life https://israelrescue.org/campaign/medicbag/
Leket Food Israel: https://www.leket.org/en/
JNF USA - https://my.jnf.org/gaza-emergency/Donate or Canada https://jnf.ca/
Orthodox Union - https://www.charidy.com/ouisraelcrisis
Schneider Children’s Hospital: https://www.fos.org.il/en/donate (Israelis)
https://system.smartgiving.org.uk/charities/8530/make-donation (UK)
https://chaischneider.org/donate/ (USA)
Rambam Medical Center (Haifa) https://aforam.org/ways-to-give/ (US)
https://www.rambam.org.il/en/support_rambam/donate_now/ (Rest of the World)
Hadassah Hospital Israel: https://www.hadassah.org/
Laniado Hospital (Netanya) https://my.israelgives.org/en/fundme/EmergencyLaniado
Buy Israel Bonds to support the Jewish State. (TY Larry B)
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/state-of-israel-bonds
USA - https://www.israelbonds.com/
Europe - https://israelbondsintl.com/
Canada - https://www.israelbonds.ca/
