More Good News, Yeah!

I had quite a bit of positive feedback from last week’s column, in which I highlighted some positive developments in Israel. By the nature of this thing, I usually write about something “negative.” Israel has a lot of enemies, internal and external. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t happy outcomes in this volatile region.

For about 10 years, I have been tracking the innovations of Israelis in various fields: medical, scientific, agriculture. The things being accomplished there are truly astounding. I’ve written before about my tour of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv several years ago; I had gone to investigate my options regarding the eye injury. The complex at Sheba is incredible. They are working on myriad issues, ranging from spinal injuries to helping people overcome their fear of flying.

I would go so far as to say that if the Israelis can’t fix something, it can’t be fixed.

Now comes word that a possible breakthrough in cancer treatment is being tested.

An Israeli medtech company has developed a process that freezes tumors. According to a site known as No Camels:

“IceCure Medical has developed the ProSense system, which uses extremely cold liquid (known as cryoablation) to freeze and destroy abnormal tumors as an alternative to surgical removal, with its focus being early-stage breast, lung, liver, and kidney tumors.”

The Canadian government has given approval to test this system in that country. Cryoablation isn’t new, but what IceCure has done is make it possible for doctors to perform the procedure at their offices; no hospital required! Amazing.

I certainly don’t have to tell you how much the world needs seriously effective cancer treatments. From time to time, I hear of a breakthrough treatment, then nothing happens. But with the Israelis involved, I believe they are credible.

The company is expanding its reach:

“’As we continue to gain traction in the United States, this approval in Canada will create synergies for us in the broader North American market,’ said Eyal Shamir, CEO of IceCure.

“IceCure’s ProSense system currently has regulatory approval in 15 countries, including the United States and China.

“Founded in 2006, IceCure Medical is headquartered in Caesarea, northern Israel.”

Just one of the extraordinary characteristics of Israel is that while the country fights a daily terrorism battle with both legs and arms tied behind its collective back, they still find time to thrive in virtually every area. Israeli tech companies are ahead of other countries, and the aforementioned medical advances are stunning. If the Lord tarries, I believe there will be life-changing innovations available for patients around the world.

While at Sheba, I was struck by the intensity of the compassion medical providers have for their own, of course. Injured soldiers, many with extremely serious and complex problems are given utmost priority. But I was also struck by the fact that Palestinian children are swiftly sent to the head of the line for treatment. Many, many lives have been saved. Thank God!

When I visited Sheba, I was struck by the fact that the staff, to a man and woman, were committed to treating anyone in need. In fact, I interviewed one former IDF officer, high-ranking, that seemed to fit the mold: tough, gruff, and highly capable. I asked him why they would commit to treating enemies (Hamas has also received treatment at Israeli hospitals). He glared at me for a second, then said, “Why wouldn’t we?”

The Israeli commitment to human life is second-to-none. I don’t know that I could be so magnanimous. Sometimes, terrorists are treated in rooms adjacent to their victims.

In any case, Israeli advances in things that help the whole world are a testament both to the nation and to the God that watches over them.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

Jimfletcher761@gmail.com

www.patreon.com/TheGodThatAnswers

(I’ve had positive feedback to our new endeavor, our Patreon page, “The God That Answers.” Here I offer an apologetic that is somewhat different from others. I aim to use Bible prophecy as an evangelism tool, because frankly, the hour is very late. I discuss everything from prophecies already fulfilled to origins issues. All related to helping people find God through the Bible’s internal evidences. Each month I offer a unique set of materials that will help you bolster your own faith or help you reach the non-believers in your life. Consider checking us out and sign up for the free week trial and access to exclusive material. I am genuinely interested in your feedback!)

It’s Not All Bad

Sometimes we have to admit that how we look at people might be skewed. I’m the worst offender and try to look in the mirror from time to time. I had such an experience this week, with regard to the Palestinians. My memory goes in and out these days, but if I haven’t mentioned it, when I was in Israel in May, I was walking through the Old City of Jerusalem and all of a sudden in front of me was a group of school children—backpacks, laughter, and chatter. It was almost identical to a scene that affected me on my first trip 25 years ago.

The obvious conclusion is that they are people just like we are, and their children are precious. The problem, of course, is that the Palestinian leadership is wicked. Demonic. They don’t care about the Arab people, only about enriching themselves and killing Jews. It is unknown how many of the population shares that view (something like the complicity of the German people during World War 2), but there must be a sizeable number of Palestinians that are decent people. I’ve met some.

I was reminded of this today as I noticed a posting on Facebook by my friend, Jonathan Feldstein. Jonathan lives in Efrat and does many good things, emphasizing cooperation between different people groups. He spends a lot of time forming friendships for Israelis and Christians. Most importantly, he’s a genuinely nice person. Not terribly common anymore.

In any case, the guy knows tons of people, and his post today was especially remarkable in that way. It involves the kind of story you won’t hear from most media outlets. It doesn’t fit the narrative of either the right or the left, honestly. Because it shows us what is possible. Here is the post in its entirety:

From Im Tirtzu

Hagit, a religious Jew living in Lod, planned to donate a kidney to her friend Yochi.

At the same time, Myaser, a religious Muslim resident of Acre, planned to donate a kidney to her husband Rifad.

Both of them ended up not being a match for donation, but they were both matches for donating to others, and so they did… Hagit donated her kidney to Rifad, and Myaser donated her kidney to Yochi!

A speedy recovery to Yochi and Rifad and their donors Myaser and Hagit

Wow! There you have it. It’s quite incredible that this set of circumstances brought these people together and I believe it clearly shows the hand of God. These acts of selflessness display what humans are capable of if they tap into the slivers of decency inside us. The above story is mind-blowing and should not leave our memories. I know I will remind myself of it more often. Slogging through the Arab-Israeli conflict is often a disheartening thing. The level of evil from Arafat to Abu Mazen, and their international handlers in diplomacy is jarring, and ongoing.

But the people themselves deserve a better life. I admit I am taken aback that a practicing Muslim would donate a vital organ to a Jew. Yet it happened.

Not all the news from Israel is bad.

[On another note, can you drop me an email to let me know you are seeing this column? I wonder if some of the “search engines!” Gorogle are monkeying with communications from conservatives. You don’t even have to write a message or even fill in the subject line. I am doing an experiment to see if there is a problem with BiGtech! censoring us. Thank you]

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

Jimfletcher761@gmail.com

www.patreon.com/TheGodThatAnswers