Israel-is-Incredible #2

A Canadian perspective.

To my Jewish friends: Do we spend too much time (obsessively?) exposed to the hatred of Jews and Israel from algorithms or personal media consumption choices? We simply don’t get enough of the good stuff about Israel. There’s LOTS there but hard to discover unless you sort through the vast amount of military, war, terrorism information and disinformation – so I did start sorting. It was fun and made me happy. My humble hope is that this also brings a small amount of joy into your life.

To my non-Jewish friends who have not yet formed a strong opinion about Israel, have legitimate concerns about many unsettling headlines, and yet should not be expected to spend a lot of time doing research. Understandable. This 6-minute read might help you see the real Israel – people, sports, diplomacy, science — and maybe counter the global “conflict bias” in the media.

To Our Canadian Politicians: This is a chance to lead, to educate your young staff and your constituents with a bigger picture – about a democratic ally, positively contributing to the world – disproportionately to its size – despite facing hostility and existential threats for its entire history. Please read, better still visit Israel, and understand the possibilities for a better future for all.

Every 2 weeks I will uncover factual and positive stories about Israel and attach a brief newsflash. I hope you enjoy it and learn something. If you do, would you do me the honor of sending it to 3 non-Jewish friends and maybe they will send it to 3 of THEIR friends. Maybe we can start a fun movement? Let continue our journey…

Tikkun Olam:

In 2025 alone, through IsraAID, Israeli volunteers have been in:

• • • Myanmar, Thailand and Bangkok after their deadly March earthquakes.
    • Malawi to bore fresh-drinking water holes.
    • Ukraine – training railway workers in bomb areas in first aid,
    • Gaza leading the humanitarian efforts.
    • …all while helping its own citizens still recovering from Oct 7^th and 2-years of wars in the North and South.

Start-up Nation:

• USB flash drive: The original “Disk-on-Key” invented in 1999 and sold by IBM.
• Waze: Launched in 2009. The world’s most popular GPS.
• Firewalls: The first commercially available internet firewall was developed by Checkpoint Software Technologies from Israel in 1993.
• Intel processors: Including the 8088 and MMX (dual-core processing), an innovation designed to improve computer processing. It’s now considered a milestone in the company’s history.
• VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol): In 1995 by VocalTec, voice communication over the internet – Facetime, What’s App. Israel brought down the cost of long distance for billions of people.
• ICQ: In 1996, this was the first widely adopted IM program created by Mirabilis from Israel.  You may have heard of it… as SMS or texting.  
• Mobileye: Advanced driver-assistance safety systems and the core technology behind them for autonomous vehicles. Used by all the top car manufacturers around the world.
• TourEngine: Through a sophisticated thermal management strategy, significant reduction in fuel consumption and harmful emissions by common engines. Helping climate change.
• The PillCam: A tiny, pill-sized camera you swallow to take endoscopy pictures in the digestive tract. This has lowered the risks of gastrointestinal issues.
• TACount: Real-time microbiology enables, in minutes, the detection and counting of harmful microorganisms rather than the typical hours or days.

https://startupnationcentral.org/

Diplomacy and Politics:

India’s relationship with Israel has flourished in recent years!

Israel has emerged as one of India’s key partners in areas such as defense, agriculture, science and technology, and counterterrorism. Full diplomatic relations were established 33 years ago with 2-way embassy openings.

• The Indian population (1.5 billion!) is widely viewed as being exceptionally supportive of Israel. After the October 7 attacks, Israel’s ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, was surprised at the overwhelming support for Israel from Indians.
• He stated, “If you look at the Israeli Embassy’s social media, it’s amazing. I could have another IDF with Indian volunteers. Everyone is telling me that they want to volunteer and go to fight for Israel. This level of support is unprecedented for me. The closeness between India and Israel is something I cannot explain”.

Travel in Israel:

• • • The Hula Valley was a giant mosquito-infested swamp in the early 1900s, salvaged by Kibbutzniks in the 1950-70s and then the Israeli government in the 1990s and is now a world-famous nature reserve, incredible hiking area, full of rivers, waterfalls, and rolling hills.

• • • 177 square kilometers just north of the Sea of Galilee is where 500 million birds’ drop by while migrating for winter and back between Europe and Africa. That’s half a billion, folks, and they’re mighty hangry from 1000s of kilometers of excessive wing flapping and bickering over directions. Israel has created dedicated food stations, acres of metaphorical truck-stops for birds (especially cranes) – so they do not ravage the surrounding farmers’ crops!

• • • The Hula Valley Information and Tourist Centre opened in 2019 has a Canadian connection – it was opened by JNF Canada and named in honor of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, one of Israel’s greatest friends.
    • Birds and More on the Hula Valley.

Sports and Culture:

The Israeli Film/ TV industry is booming.

Israel has many of the top-rated shows on Netflix, Apple, and Prime including Fauda, Tehran, In Treatment, The Beauty and the Baker, The Queen of Jerusalem, Hit and Run. An entire streaming service, Izzy.streamisrael.tv, was started in 2020 to support so much Israeli film and TV content of the past decade. Known as the Netflix of Israel, it is available in Canada. The only country globally with no Izzy availability is – wait for it – Israel!

These links take you to the vast collection of Israeli content.

• https://www.netflix.com/ca/browse/genre/100383
• https://izzy.streamisrael.tv/

A few interesting Israeli TV and Film factoids:

• Who knew? Fauda (“Chaos” in Arabic) is one of the most popular shows in Arab countries, #1 on Netflix in Lebanon and UAE, top 3 in Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey. We’ll search for other things Arab countries like about Israel – Fauda can’t be the only one!
• Actor Lior Raz, the writer and star of Fauda (Doron), was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodyguard.
• There are many films by Israeli Arab directors include Omar: by Hany Abu-Assad, Amreeka: by Cherien Dabis, Syrian Bride: by Eran Riklis, Pomegranates and Myrrh: The debut feature film from Palestinian director Najwa Najjar. Check them out!
• One of the best TV series of all time, Homeland, starring Claire Danes, originated in Israel as Hatufim (Prisoners of War). If you are among the last 7 people to have never seen Homeland (from 2011 – 2020; 96 episodes) it is a suspenseful thrill-ride.
• Israel had its first Academy Award nomination in 1964 and has been nominated 25 times. Overall, Israel or Israelis have won 4 Academy Awards. Best Actress (Natalie Portman – 2010), Best Sound (Gravity – 2013), Best Live Action Short (Skin – 2018), Best Foreign Film (No Other Land – 2024).

I hope you enjoyed this bi-weekly newsflash and will pass it along to others to give them a moment of joy … or improved understanding. Episodes 3-9 coming soon.  or jump the queue by going to my Substack page. https://winstonsiegel.substack.com/p/israel-is-incredible-newsflash