Page 18 - TORCH #16 - August 2020

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CUFI.ORG.UK
Israeli innovation
and COVID
How the ‘start-up nation’ has been Ia light during coronavirus crisis
srael has been part of the global battle against COVID-19 with Israeli start- ups giving their best efforts in trying to prevent the spread of the virus and
helping treat its victims. In this article
we look at some of the ways Israel has been a light to the world despite the very difficult challenges, ranging from scientific breakthroughs to innovative ideas you may not have heard about.
Unprecedented mass prayer
Half a million Jews participated in a mass online prayer event regarding the coronavirus staged on various different digital platforms and involving rabbis and participants from around
the world. Yarden Leitner, a young student who suggested Jews around the world unite to pray for divine intervention to stop COVID-19, said, “not only will the virus not prevent us from gathering, we will unite as the Jewish people never did before in all of history.” Leitner declared, “When the people of Israel are united, nothing is too big for us to handle.”
Israel leads UN innovation conference
Israel led a UN innovation conference in May focused on developing technological tools to combat the coronavirus. It featured world- renowned experts including Israeli Nobel Prize winner Professor Ada Yonat and Israeli scientist Dr. Kira Radinsky, recognised worldwide for her advancements in predictive analysis. Israel is showing itself as a frontrunner of innovation on the global stage.
UK and Israel bilateral research
In Israel, several pharmaceutical companies have been intensively researching and developing drugs to combat symptoms of COVID-19. In the early periods of the pandemic, Israel was the first to try certain drugs that are now more widely used. Meanwhile, here in Britain, teams at the Weizmann Institute for Science in Israel and the Diamond Light Source laboratory in Oxfordshire have been working together in pioneering an “open” and fast research method that could lead to an anti-coronavirus drug.
“I have never seen anything like this,”
said Sharon Gould, the Executive Director of Weizmann UK, “we normally think of research as being a grindingly slow process, especially basic research, but in this case the race is really on to find a solution to stop this deadly virus”.
Solidarity in the Arab world
The Israeli Foreign Ministry (IFM) received messages of solidarity from across the Arab world as the coronavirus crisis intensified. Responding to an IFM social media post in Arabic, one user from Iran called it a “beautiful message of solidarity
and peace.” An Iraqi user posted, “Our hearts
are with Israel and the world at large, in all its diversity, religions, and beliefs, to defeat this virus together.” A woman from Morocco wrote, “May God preserve everyone. Humanitarianism first and foremost. Perfect health to all the sick.” It is wonderful to see that in such trying times people from different backgrounds were brought together in unity.
Professor Gabby Sarusi with breakthrough COVID breath test