Monday, November 16, 2009

Med slør og høje hæle

En serie om sider af Mellemøsten som vi ikke troede fandtes. Sendes hver søndsg på DR1. Se når Anja Al-Erhayem er i Jerusalem. Her møder hun unge jøder, der er stolte af deres baggrund og land.

http://www.dr.dk/DR1/Dokumentar/2009/Med_sloer_og_hoeje_haele/index.htm

Thursday, November 12, 2009

De unges guide til Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv-Yafo
Af Mikkel Sander Rydzy og Pia Glud Munksgaard
Tirsdag den 10. november 2009

http://www.rejseliv.dk/guide-til-de-unges-tel-aviv


Israels Tel Aviv er en suveræn blanding af sand, vand, strand, fest, farver og falafel - de lokale unge viser vej til det bedste i deres by.

Rejseinfo:

En flybillet til Tel Aviv koster omkring 3.500 kroner.

En taxa fra lufthavnen og ind til midtbyen koster omkring 200 kroner.

Nogle hostels kan arrangere transport fra lufthavnen for dig.

Du kan overnatte på hostel i fællesrum for omkring 100 kroner per nat, for eksempel på Hostel Hayarkon 48 og Momo’s (Ben Yehuda Street 28), som begge ligger få hundrede meter fra stranden.

Værd at vide:

Afstandene i Tel Aviv er ikke så store, så du kan nå de fleste steder til fods. Men er du træt i benene, kan du tage almindelige busser eller de mindre cherutter, der kører, så snart de er fyldt.

Husk at give drikkepenge – i hvert fald 10 pct.

En hovedret koster fra omkring 50 kroner.

En øl i byen får du fra omkring 20 kroner.

Der er ikke meget kriminalitet i byen. Hav alligevel altid dit pas på dig.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Jagten på en fredelig løsning

Nov. 9

http://www.dr.dk/dr2/deadline2230

I dag mødtes den israelske premiereminister Benyamin Netanyahu med præsident Obama i Det Hvide Hus i forsøget på at sætte skub i de stivnede fredsforhandlinger. Det sker i en periode med fortsat udvidelse af bosættelser på Vestbredden, og hvor den moderate palæstinensiske leder Mahmoud Abbas for nyligt meldte sin snarlige afgang på posten. Spørgsmålet er om fred overhovedet er mulig under de nuværende omstændigheder? Se med i aften, hvor Israels viceudenrigsminister, Danny Ayalon, gæster Deadline 22.30.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Lieberman: 'Ties with Diaspora vital against Iran'

Jerusalem Post By TOVAH LAZAROFF Nov 10, 2009 12:44


Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman compared Iran's regime with the Nazis when he spoke Monday in Copenhagen at a special ceremony in memory of the Danish Jews who were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman lays a wreath in memory of the Danish Jews who were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, during a ceremony in Copenhagen, Monday.

Photo: Foreign Ministry

"Once again we are standing against those who have threatened to exterminate Jews, and not just those who live in Israel," said Lieberman.

He accused the Iranian regime of funding global terrorism and of specific activities against Jews.

"The Jewish state is responsible for Jewish communities throughout the world, and those communities have a responsibility to Israel," he said.

These joint ties were essential in the fight against the threat from Iran, Lieberman said.

"The fight against the Iranian threat is one of the greatest challenges the democratic world faces today," he said.

The foreign minister thanked the Danes for risking their lives during World War II to rescue most of Danish Jewry from the Nazis.

"Denmark will always have a special place in the history and heart of the Jewish nation," Lieberman said.

During the day, Lieberman met with Gitte Lillelund Bech, chairperson of the Danish parliament's Foreign Policy Committee which plans to visit Israel in the near future.

He also spoke with Danish Minister for Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs Birthe Rønn Hornbech about the dangers of Islamic extremists within Europe who abuse the freedom of the democracies in which they live to incite and inflame hatred, particularly against Jews.

Lieberman and his deputy foreign minister are on a five day visit to Denmark and the Netherlands that ends on Thursday.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Den grønne side af Israel

Der fokuseres i øjeblikket meget på Cleantech op til Klimakonference i december fra israelsk side. Israelerne kender til den danske model og ser Danmark som forgangsland indenfor vedvarende energi. Israel ligger på femte pladsen i top 10 af de lande, der har mest fokus på Cleantech, Danmark ligger på første pladsen.

Derfor har det også været naturligt for Shai Agassi fra Better Place at se mod, samt promovere, sit storstilet projektet om elbiler i Danmark. I samarbejde med DONG energy ønskes, det at sætte elbiler på markedet, hvor batteriet kan skiftes for at fremme køreglæden for alle, og ikke kun for folk, der kører korte distancer.




Ovennævnte eksempel er sikkert det første, der tænkes på når man tænker Cleantech i Israel. Men Israel har en længere historie indenfor vedvarende energi, der kommer til udtryk i deres forskning og R&D, men også at der findes over 100 virksomheder indenfor vedvarende energi, der generer millioner af dollar hvert år.

Israel var et af de første lande til at anvende solenergi til opvarmning. Den dag i dag udgører 14-22 procent af elektriciteten, der udbydes i Israel af energi fra solpaneler. Særligt kendte er virksomhederne Orbotech og Camtek. Et andet aspekt er udvindelse af geotermal power som Ormat er kendt for.




Der kigges også mod vindenergi i Israel, men mere på teknologien bag at få mest muligt ud af elektriciteten, der genereres af vindmøllerne. Elspec er et førende firma for at få mest muligt ud af motorerne i vindmøllerne, de har også Danmark i kiggerten, men det er et emne Vestas og Greentech selv forsker meget i.

Ud over solenergi som er udbredt i Israel er også vandteknologi. Hvert år i november afholdes WATEC som belyser forskellig teknologi til at rense, oplagering, og udvindning af vand indenfor adskillige sektorer. Israel var et af de første lande til at forske og udføre rensning af salt vand, dette forskes der stadigvæk i for at nedsætte omkostningerne. For første gang deltager en større dansk delegation i WATEC i år, det bliver spændende at følge om der kommer flere projekter mellem Danmark og Israel i fremtiden.

For mere information læs:
http://www.israelcleantech.com/default.asp
http://www.export.gov.il/Eng/SubIndex.asp?CategoryID=179

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Better Place will spend $1.1b on Israeli electric car project

Dubi Ben-Gedalyahu - Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 4, 2009

Better Place will have to invest $1.1 billion over the next six years to buy the batteries and build the battery replacement centers and recharging points for its electric car venture in Israel alone, according to a report by Deutsche Bank on electric cars.

Over the past year, Deutsche Bank conducted an in-depth analysis of Better Place's business plans and economic model, which includes the capital investment (for purchasing the batteries), locking in energy costs with long-term contracts with utilities, and payment by customers through subscriber fees.

Deutsche Bank concludes that most of model's profitability comes from the arbitrage gap between the wholesale purchase price of the electricity and the price of fuel. The bank estimates that as the global price of oil rises, and as governments increase incentives for emissions-free vehicles, the arbitrage gap will widen, rendering Better Place's business model more attractive.

Deutsche Bank believes that Better Place's model could be feasible even without government aid, but mainly in specific areas around the world with high fuel prices and relatively long journeys. The bank figures are partly based on Better Place's own estimates.

The bank estimates that the company could achieve a 5% share of Israel's vehicle fleet by 2016, amounting to 110,000 electric vehicles.

This 110,000 figure is based on a net annual growth rate of 14,000-30,000 subscribers a year in 2012-16. Deutsche Bank believes that if this target is reached, and assuming average annual revenue of $4,250 per subscriber, Better Place could see $500 million revenue a year by the end of 2016.

Deutsche Bank estimates that the majority of Better Place's investment will be capital investment in buying the batteries. Deutsche Bank expects the cost of the batteries to gradually drop from $14,000 each today to $9.500 each in 2015. Assuming 110,000 cars by 2016, the investment could reach $1 billion. In addition, Better Place will have to invest $25 million to set up 50 battery replacement centers, and up to $57 million to set up 77,000 recharging points at $750 per point.

Israeli scientists find stroke drug could help cure cancer

By Ofri Ilani, Haaretz Correspondent

Israeli scientists have identified a substance that can kill cancerous cells without harming healthy ones, paving the way for more effective cancer treatment.

The findings by researchers at Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, were published in the current issue of the international peer-reviewed journal Breast Cancer Research.

"We actually found the Achilles heel of the cancer cell," said Prof. Malka Cohen-Armon from Tel Aviv University, who headed the research team. "As soon as you can target cancerous cells without killing healthy ones, you can produce medications that would cause a lot less suffering to the patient. We can even give a much more aggressive treatment without worrying about harming healthy tissues."

The substance identified by the researchers, which delays cell proliferation in healthy and cancerous cells, is a component of a drug developed a decade ago to preserve nerve cells and prevent them from dying after a stroke.

But while the drug causes the rapid death of cancer cells, healthy cells activate a mechanism that overcomes the delay in proliferation within hours, and those cells continue to proliferate exactly like cells not exposed to the substance.

Cohen-Armon said the drug's effectiveness in treating cancer cells was discovered accidentally.

"I'm not even a cancer researcher," she said. "But two years ago an article we published on various functions in the cell got me interested in cancer cells."

She said the scientists involved in the discovery - who include doctoral student Asher Castiel and Professor Shai Izraeli's research group at the Sheba Cancer Research Center - haven't figured out why the drug affects the cells the way it does.

"We don't even fully understand why this is happening, but we see cancerous cells die and healthy cells overcome this obstacle," said Cohen-Armon. "They somehow find a way to proliferate even in the presence of the substance."

She said the drug was tested on several types of cancer, but so far only the breast cancer tests results have been published.

The experiment has been carried out on female mice, which were injected with human cancerous cells. The substance was gradually released over two weeks. The mice that weren't treated with the substance developed malignant tumors - but in those that got the treatment, the substance either prevented or significantly stalled the development of the cancerous cells.

The experiments did not find any changes in the behavior of the mice treated with the substance.

One of the obstacles to applying the discovery to all forms of cancer is that the medicine is registered as a patent of an American pharmaceutical company. Tel Aviv University's technology transfer company, Ramot, has secured a usage patent enabling it to develop the drug to treat only breast cancer.

The future development of the drug depends on the goodwill of the American company, or on another company developing a similar substance.

"We really want to develop this drug, but there are some completely non-scientific obstacles," Cohen-Armon said. "I hope the research doesn't fade away because of that."

Monday, November 2, 2009

Israel: Leader of business innovation

Dan Senor, co-author of 'Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle,' discusses with CNBC how Israel has managed to become a leader in business innovation and how Israel as one of the few countries have not been hit by the financial crisis.

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/Israel-Leader_business_innovation_28-Oct-2009.htm