On the other hand
The long hot summer school vacation is slowly winding down..writes Michael Kuttner.
In contrast, Israel’s contributions to humanity are ramping up another notch.
BABY BOOM
While many countries are showing negative population growth and rapidly aging demographics Israel is heading in the opposite direction.
Massive numbers of births in Israeli hospitals are breaking records around the country, with departments reporting labor and delivery services above maximum capacity.
Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheva broke its record for births in a month with 1,518 deliveries in July, a 10 percent increase over the number recorded there during the last six Julys.
Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv saw 1,014 births in July, a 10 percent rise over its monthly average in a new maternity ward with 51 private rooms and a newborn department.
HaEmek Medical Center in Afula had a nearly 15 percent increase in July, delivering 392 babies.
According to statistics taken in 2016, Israel has a fertility rate of 3.11 children per mother—the highest fertility rate in the developed world.
AUTUMN STORK MIGRATION BEGINS
The annual migration of the storks has started in Israel. Thousands of storks were spotted flying over the Rotem Plain in southern Israel, according to the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.
Is there a connection with the record births mentioned above?
REDUCING SUGAR IN FOOD
An Israeli company that says it is able to reduce the quantity of sugar in foods without affecting the taste announced on Monday that it had teamed up with Europe’s leading sugar company to give consumers access to the groundbreaking product.
Reducing sugar in foods is a goal in the Western world where obesity rates continue to rise significantly.
GLASSES COULD BECOME OBSOLETE
Would you rather wear glasses or contact lenses, have laser surgery, or put drops in your eyes to see well? Consumers are starting to demand the third option, as new scientific advances have made corrective eye drops possible.
In Israel, two startups are in the clinical stages of testing their corrective eye drops. This could radically alter the way people improve their vision in the future.
ISRAEL AIDS FLOOD STRICKEN KERALA
Israeli humanitarian NGO ISRAaid announced that it is sending an emergency response team to the southern Indian state of Kerala, which has been hit by the worst flooding in living memory.
The emergency team traveling to Kerala consists of international and Nepali staff from IsraAID’s office in Nepal, who will distribute urgent relief items and assess the longer-term psychosocial and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) needs of the affected communities. Members of this same team responded to heavy flooding in the Terai region of southern Nepal last year.
As of 2018, IsraAID has responded to crises in 47 countries, and has programs in 17 countries.
A WORLD LEADER
If you have ever wondered how Israel manages to be at the cutting edge of technological advances watch this video and see how one of the country’s leading institutes helps to achieve this aim.
