Israel is country of miracles! What it has achieved in 62 years in the fields of science and inventions is unbelievable. This article is about a very small selection of the many Israeli inventions… some of them even changed the world. To mention a few: Solar energy, drip irrigation, cherry tomatoes, Rummikub, Taki (a well known card game), Epilady (the original device for women to remove hair electronically).
Even though it is not always mentioned these are all Israeli inventions. And who does not know the vegetarian sausage by Tivall, delicious in a sandwich. Tivall, founded in 1985 in Kibbutz Lochme Hagetaot produces meat substitute products which are sold all over Europe. In the medical field the “camera pill” has been devised to investigate the intestines in a simple and painless manner. The idea is simple. The patient swallows the pill, (a mini camera and transmitter) and during its passage through the body, a large number of pictures are transmitted to a recorder which the patient carries on his person in a shoulder bag. 
But there is much more. Israeli scientists developed new methods to measure and inject insulin for diabetics. Copaxone, a medicine that diminishes the physical breakdown caused by MS comes from Israel, as do two other well-known MS medicines Betaseron and Avonex. To improve treatment for Parkinsons, a special stem cell therapy has been devised. There is a new method to prevent acne and an automated recipe system that works more efficiently. For both diagnostic and treatment methods, devices have been developed, such as: computed tomography (CT), scanners, magnetic resonance systems (MRI), ultrasound scanners, nuclear medical cameras and laser surgery. Dutch immigrant Professor Rob Viskoper, who has lived in Israel since 1966, heads the Israeli Society for the Prevention of Heart and Cardiovascular Diseases. He was among the inventors of Resperate, an interactive breathing device, for lowering blood pressure. Viskoper: “One wears the device around the waist and through ear microphones signals are being given to the breathing. This causes it to slow down and lowers the blood pressure. What is so great about this invention is that there are no side affects at all. And it also works with patients who do not react to medicines”. 
Why does Viskoper think that so many top inventions originated in Israel?“Objectively it is because of our well-known military industry. That is why investors are always interested in what is happening in Israel. Also the government subsidizes many research projects. Subjectively …. Israelis are curious, inventive and look further. And Viskoper adds: ”I always think one motivates the other”. Mels Sluyser, biochemist and former head of the Department of Tumor Biology of the Dutch Cancer Institute “Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital” took part in several projects at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. Today he is the editor-in-chief of two scientific journals, Anti-Cancer Drugs and Apoptosis. “The research level in Israel is high for a country that small. For instance in regards to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, AIDS, auto immune diseases, Alzheimer, cardiovascular diseases and aging. “I ask Israeli scientists to judge the articles that I receive from all over the world. Israel plays a noticeable role in cancer research as shown by the fact that one of the most important discoveries in this field by two Israeli scientists Professor Avram Hershko and Dr. Aaron Ciechanover of the Technion in Haifa (together with the American Irwin Rose) were awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2004. They discovered how cells break down and remove the proteins that they cannot use and remove them. This discovery led to the development of medicines such as Bortezomib(Velcade) that are significantly effective against certain kinds of cancer. Bortezomib works specifically against multiple myeloma, also called the Kahler desease, one of the most common forms of blood cancers there is.
One of the last medical inventions in Israel is the ReWalk, created by engineer Amit Goffer, founder of Archomedical. Goffer:“Because of an accident in 1997 I became paralyzed and discovered that in these kinds of circumstances the wheelchair is the only way to move”. The Rewalk is a kind of robot suit that enables wheelchair users to walk, sit and stand again. A crutch, a system of movement censors, mini computers and rechargeable batteries all wrapped in a very lightweight material is part of this. Goffer: “The paralyzed person does not only get a big part of his or her independence back, a number of physical problems with the digestive and the urine tracts are prevented as well”. 
Currently, clinical trials are taken place in Europe and the US and the ReWalk is expected to be on sale in 2011. How did Amit get to this invention? “Like most Israelis I received a very liberal upbringing. I am a bit bold and have a lot of chutspa, which has its disadvantages and advantages. It helps to make sure that you do everything in order to reach your goal! Also the impact of my army time was very important, which I call “the university of life”, something you do not find anywhere else in the world”, says Goffer. Pages could be filled with IT inventions: Security Software, Network Firewalls, Anti-virus programs, System Software, Microsoft Operating System Software (XP and Vista), Google’s search machine, Hardware, Disk on Key (USB stick), Wi-Fi, and Intel Pentium Chips etc. Yossi Vardi, one of Israel’s most well-known High Tech entrepreneurs: ”Everywhere in the world you can find talented people, however, the Israeli culture leads people to take risks and to go to the very end. How did this happen? Maybe because of the Jewish mother, the waves of immigration, or the fact that the Jews had to start all over again time and time again. Every generation knows his successes. Around 1900 there were the kibbutzim, in 1948 the foundation of the State of Israel and now we have the internet explosion”.
The apple does not fall far from the tree. His son Arik, together with three friends, founded Mirabilis, the success story of the Israel High Tech industry. Their invention, ICQ, is a revolutionary, user- friendly internet device that at any given moment enables connected users to see which one of them is on line, and to contact one another. Yossi:”In 1996 when they came up with their idea, I was the first and only investor. Nobody believed in them. After only 18 months American on Line bought it for 400 million dollars. Then shortly afterwards, everywhere in Israel you could find stickers on cars with the text “I also did not invest in Mirabilis”. Also in the field of telecommunication, many Israeli inventions made the world look differently like mobile telephony (developed in Israel by Motorola), the camera telephone chip, Voicemail and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) such as Skype and Digital Voice. Israel is very proud and well-known for its agriculture! Scientist Shmuel Zilkah of the Volcani Institute in Rehovot:”We are mainly busy with improving the quality of the various fruits and are working on all kinds of techniques to improve and prolong the harvest season. Shoham, a family company of growers, packers and exporters of many varieties of fruit such as the pomegranate, was looking for a method to promote this red piece of fruit. Ella Harduf, art manager:”The pomegranate is a tasty and healthy fruit, but not easy to clean and that is why we developed “Arils Removal Tool”. In February of this year during the yearly Fruit Logistica in Berlin, the biggest European vegetable-and fruit fair, we won the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award 2010”. 
Hillel Miller, forestry expert, works in the Avocado branch. “Ettinger, a very tasty avocado, originally from Israel, opens the avocado season yearly”. Fruit has to be picked and also here Israeli inventions are on the market. Miller: “The Efron, developed around 1960, also called the Michaelson (the name of the guy who invented it) is a picking machine that moves through the orchards with a long neck that goes up and down”. 
Although it is not an invention... the milk production in Israel is worth looking at. The average milk yield per year of the Israeli cow has already been for many years the highest in the world. This is due to genetic selection, artificial insemination and good nutrition. Every cow is registered in the computer and all the information - including details of every quarter of an udder - is registered. Veterinary treatment is abundant- the herds are insured and there is no need to pay separately for every visit, thus treatment is regular. And the results are great! For example in Holland in 2009 an average cow gave 7,926 liters of milk per year, while the Isareli cow gave 11, 653! Shmuel Friedman, scientific Director of the Israeli Dairy Organisation:”The milk industry is very well organized, there is no competition and everyone works very well together. Our parents and grand-parents laid the foundation for this in the kibbutzim”.
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