Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on August 10, 2022

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. Middlebury has named Yaron Peleg as the new director of the School of Hebrew. He will begin his new position on September 1, succeeding Vardit Ringvald, who founded the program in2008.

The School of Hebrew is one of 13 Middlebury Language Schools, known internationally for their full immersion approach to languageteaching.

Peleg is currently the Kennedy Leigh Professor in Modern Hebrew Studies at Cambridge University (UK) and has taught at the School of Hebrew since 2012. His research and scholarship cover cultural topics in Israel such as literature, film, and identity. Peleg and Ringvald helped author the textbook Brandeis Modern Hebrew.

The School of Hebrew includes a seven-week summer immersion program, graduate program, three-week Lifelong Learner program for adult students, and four-week Classical Hebrew program. The school has grown significantly from its inaugural summer of 29students.

Steve Snyder, dean of Language Schools, said these experiences have prepared Peleg well for leading the School of Hebrew. I join the Language Schools staff and faculty in welcoming Yaron Peleg in his new role. We look forward to working with him.

Snyder commended Ringvald for all of her work in building the program. The School of Hebrew has been led by Vardit Ringvald since the founding of the program 15 summers ago, and we greatly appreciate all the work she has done both for the Language Schools and MiddleburyCollege.

Peleg said, I look forward to the new role with anticipation. I am excited to continue the good work of Vardit Ringvald, together with the wonderful faculty the school has attracted over the years and the extraordinarystudents.

More information about the Middlebury Language Schools is available online or by contacting the Language Schools at 802-443-5510 or languages@middlebury.edu.

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Yaron Peleg Named Director of the Middlebury School of Hebrew - Middlebury College News and Events

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2022

Congratulations, you're having a boy! Now it's time to come up with a name that will be perfect for your new addition. You may be imagining yourself calling out the name of your little one when he is getting into a bit of trouble. Sometimes you will have time and want to draw out the name for emphasis. This is a good time to use the middle name as well. However, other times you have to be quick. You can bark out a short name easier than something that is more of a tongue twister.

If you are looking for a name that can be written quickly or said easily, you will want to check out these 200 short boy names. This list of names is made up of ideas that are only four letters and under or that have just one syllable. You will find a variety of classic, popular and unique names to choose from.

Many of these names have more than one spelling. So, if you like the name but want a more unique spelling or need a name that fits a letter that you are looking for, many of these short boy names can be adjusted. The meaning of each name is also included to help give you inspiration.

1. Alex - A nickname for Alexander that means "defender of man."

2. Andy - A nickname for Andrew that means "manlike" or "brave."

3. Axel - Scandinavian origin that means "father of peace."

4. Adam - Originating from the first man, this Hebrew name means "man of the earth."

5. Ace - A modern name that means "one" or "expert."

6. Asa - Dreaming of your son becoming a doctor? This name means "healer" or "physician."

7. Alan - For your new cutie pie, the name stands for "handsome, cheerful."

8. Alec - A name of Greek origin meaning "defending men."

9. Avi - Hebrew origin meaning "father."

10. Aron - A prominent figure in the Old Testament. This name means "teaching" and singing."

11. Ben - Hebrew origin meaning "son."

12. Bo - A form of beau that means "living" or "to live."

13. Bryce - You may not know if your boy will have freckles or not but this one-syllable name means "freckled" or "speckled."

14. Blake - English origin meaning "fair-haired, dark."

15. Brock - A preppy name of English origin that means "badger."

16. Brett - British origin meaning "of Briton."

17. Brad - British origin meaning "broad" or "wide."

18. Burke - This boy's name originates in France and means "from the fortress."

19. Beck - German and Hebrew origins meaning "brook" and "stream."

20. Blane - Scottish origin meaning "yellow."

21. Bode - German origin meaning "messenger."

22. Chase - This boy's name originates from France and means "to hunt."

23. Charles - German and French origin meaning "free man."

24. Crew - A short boy's name of Latin origin meaning "chariot."

25. Cruz - Derived from the Latin word "crux" meaning "cross."

26. Cody - Means "decent and helpful one."

27. Curt - A boy's name meaning "courteous, polite."

28. Cas - Dutch origin meaning "imperial."

29. Cole - English origin meaning "victory of the people."

30. Chris - Greek origin meaning "bearing Christ."

Related: Long Boy Names

31. Dan - This Hebrew name means "God is my judge."

32. Dave - Nickname of David meaning "beloved."

33. Dean - English name meaning "from the valley."

34. Dezi - Spanish origin and means "desired."

35. Dane - Similar to Dan, this is a boy name of Scandinavian origin which means "God is my Judge."

36. Dex - This name means "right-handed" or "fortunate."

37. Drew - Greek origin meaning "strong and manly."

38. Doug - Scottish origin meaning "black water."

39. Drake - English origin meaning "dragon" or "snake."

40. Doyle - Of Irish or Gaelic origin meaning "black stranger."

41. Eli - Hebrew name meaning "high" or "elevated."

42. Evan - A popular Welsh name that means "the Lord is gracious."

43. Eric - Masculine boy name meaning "forever ruler."

44. Eddy - British origin meaning "rich in friendship" or "wealthy friend."

45. Evyn - Means "God is gracious; good messenger."

46. Esau - Hebrew name from the Old Testament which means "hairy."

47. Edan - Irish origin meaning "little fire."

48. Eron - Hebrew origin that means "peace, enlightened."

49. Earl - A popular given name meaning "warrior" or "nobleman."

50. Ev - As a boy's name, means "God is gracious, born of yew, or youth."

51. Finn - Boy's name of Irish origin meaning "fair."

52. Ford - Originating from Britain, this name means "river crossing" or "dweller at the ford."

53. Frank - The name means "Frenchman" or "free man."

54. Fred - Meaning "peaceful ruler" this name's origin is German.

55. Flint - English origin meaning "born near an outcrop of flint."

56. Flip - Dutch origin which means "lover of horses."

57. Fritz - German origin meaning "peaceful ruler."

Related: Unusual Baby Names

58. Grant - English name meaning "tall" or "large."

59. Graham - Old English name that means "gravel homestead."

60.Grey- British origin meaning "gray haired".

61. Gale - As a male name, Gale means "pleasant" or "merry."

62. Gary - Old English origin meaning "spear."

63. Glen - Scottish origin meaning "a narrow valley."

64. Gage - This name means "pledge" or "oath" and its origin is French.

65. Hugh - British origin meaning "intellect."

66. Heath - English origin meaning "land of heather and grass."

67. Hank - This classic name means "home ruler" and is of German origin.

68. Hugo - Masculine given name meaning "mind" or "intellect."

69. Hyde - English origin meaning "hide."

70. Ian - Scottish origin meaning "God is gracious."

71. Ivan - Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious."

72. Ike - This name has an American origin and means "he will laugh."

73. James - James and Jacob have the same meaning which is "supplanter" or "one who takes the heel" from the Bible story of Jacob and Esau.

74. Jack - Like many of the other names, this one means "God is gracious" and is of English origin.

75. John - A traditional name of Biblical origin meaning "graced by God."

76. Joey - English and Hebrew origins meaning "God will increase."

77. Jade - British origin meaning "precious stone."

78. Jax - Short for Jaxon and means "God is gracious."

79. Jake - Hebrew origin meaning "supplanter."

80. Jeff - English origin meaning "pledge of peace" or "God's peace."

81. Jet - Means "black gemstone."

82. Josh - Hebrew origin meaning "Jehovah is salvation."

83. Jed - Hebrew origin meaning "beloved by God."

84. Joel - Hebrew origin meaning "Jehovah is the Lord."

85. Jace - Greek origin that means "healer."

86. Jules - Means "youthful" and is of French origin.

87. Kyle - Rooted in the Gaelic word "caol," this name means "slender" or "strait."

88. Knox - Scottish origin meaning "round top hill."

89. Kash - Indian origin meaning "universe, sky."

90. Kane - In Irish traditions, this name means "little battler."

91. Kobe - Hebrew origin means "supplanter."

92. Kian - Means "ancient."

93. Kole - Slavic origin that means "victory of the people."

94. Kye - American origin that means "ocean."

95. Kace - "Courageous and vigilant, always on the watch."

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A-Z List Of 200 Short Boy Names That Are Simple And Sweet - Parade Magazine

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2022

A range of international guests are set to present at the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA)s Jewish Educators Conference next weekend.

The 12th iteration of the biennial event it was not held in 2020 due to COVID will take place on August 14 and 15 at Mount Scopus Memorial College.

The purpose of the conference is to provide professional development to Jewish educators from around Australia, as well as the opportunity to exchange ideas with their peers. More than 50 presenters will participate across 78 sessions.

The keynote address for the opening of the conference will be a conversation between Dr Alex Pomson, who has published numerous articles and books in many areas of Jewish education, and ZFA president Jeremy Leibler on the topic Jewish day school education: reasons for optimism or pessimism?

Alex Pomson will present at the ZFA Jewish Educators Conference.

Other educators from Israel and the USA include Beit Midrash Program director Wendy Amsellem, chief Hebrew advocacy officer at Hebrew at the Centre Tal Gale, director of education at the Lookstein Centre for Jewish Education Rabbi Zvi Grumet, founder of the Space Torah Project Rachel Raz and executive vice-president of OpenDoor Media Noam Weissman.

ZFA education chair, interim CEO and conference coordinator Miriam Munz said, We are so delighted with how this wonderful program has come together this year.

She said despite initial concerns COVID might keep people away, there has been an increase in the number of registered participants. 360 are so far set to attend.

I would imagine this is largely due to a real thirst for professional development, and for the kind of collaboration that takes place between educators when they come face-to-face, which cannot be replicated in an online forum, she said.

Additionally, we are excited by the quality of international and Australian speakers all of whom are outstanding in their own fields and who are bringing a real depth of knowledge and practical experience to this event.

She added, The Educators Conference is a wonderful opportunity for people working in Jewish and supplementary schools across Australia to network, to exchange ideas, and to feel a part of a greater whole to be invigorated with new energy and new ideas.

The Conference will have six or seven presentations in parallel across the eight streams of Hebrew language, early childhood, Jewish history, text study, advocacy, Israel studies, informal education and general over six hours each day.

The ZFA Educators Conference will take place on August 14-15 in Melbourne. More info: educatorsconference@zfa.com.au

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Outstanding speakers to inspire our teachers - Australian Jewish News

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2022

If youre a fan of the Golden State Warriors, chances are you follow the team on social media. The official Twitter account @GoldenStateWarriors is followed by more than 7 million fans, and its tweets go viral during games. In all, there are reportedly more than 50 million people following the Warriors on various social media around the globe.

Zach Gayer, 29, the social media manager of the team, is the voice of the Warriors brand. When he composes the teams tweets, Instagram content and Facebook posts, he keeps the organizations image and personality in mind.

He describes the posts as having some swagger or confidence, while also reflecting the humble champion mindset displayed by players like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole.

Humility, a key trait in Jewish tradition, is something Gayer knows a lot about, too. He spent his younger years in the Detroit suburbs in a reform Jewish household, then attended a Jewish day school when his family relocated to Southern California. Back in 2008, Gayers dad took him to see an NCAA playoff game at the Elite Eight, the quarterfinals of the NCAA national basketball tournament, in Detroit. Curry, then a star at Davidson College, was in that matchup, and Gayer could see that he was a one-of-a-kind talent.

I remember being so enthralled watching him, Gayer said in a Zoom interview with J. from his Chase Center office in San Francisco. I was like, I want to follow this dude forever.

These days, Gayers the one taking his dad to see Curry play.

Around Hanukkah each year, the Warriors celebrate Jewish Heritage Night at Chase Center, and for the last one, Gayers dad was in town and he went to the game, where T-shirts with the Warriors logo and a Star of David were being given out as souvenirs.

Oh, you gotta get me some of those! Gayer recalls his dad saying; he was excited about giving them to his rec basketball friends at the JCC in Irvine.

For Gayer, a self-described basketball nerd, his love of basketball has always been tied to his Jewish community. He grew up playing at his local JCC, and enjoyed competing in the Maccabi games during middle school. After his family moved to Irvine, Gayer played basketball for Tarbut VTorah Community Day School, a K-12 school in Orange County. He joined the team in 2010 for his junior year, and the Lions made the state tournament that season.

We were the No. 1 ranked Jewish team in the country, according to Jewishhoopsamerica.com, Gayer said, astonished that a website even keeps track of such things.

Aware that his basketball skills werent good enough for college, Gayer went to the University of Michigan hoping to get into coaching. In 2013, on a college Israel trip, he and his friends stumbled upon a kids pickup game. Gayers college T-shirt caught the attention of some of the kids, who began rattling off the names of their favorite Michigan basketball players. Gayer couldnt figure out how they knew so much about NCAA basketball.

They had consumed March Madness content through social media, through Twitter and Facebook, and were seeing highlights that way, Gayer said. That was kind of my initial spark for considering a career in sports social media.

After college, Gayer moved to New York and worked his way up the media production ladder at the NBA league office in Secaucus, New Jersey. He also had a short stint working in media partnerships for Major League Soccer.

He moved to San Francisco in 2019 to join the Warriors social media team that he now manages.

In June, a photo of Curry walking through TD Garden in Boston prior to Game 4 of the NBA Finals set Jewish social media abuzz. The All-Star point guard was wearing a black sweatshirt with seemingly indecipherable Hebrew letters on it. Israelis and Hebrew speakers were puzzled.

Almost as soon as the photo went online, Gayer immediately noticed an uptick in Hebrew tweets mentioning the Warriors. Even Gayer, who has a strong grasp of Hebrew, was stumped over what was written on the sweatshirt.

It didnt catch my eye that it was backwards, Gayer said of the Hebrew letters that were evidently misprinted on Currys sweatshirt. At first. I was just like, oh, thats pretty cool. What does it mean?

Thats just a taste of the social media fandom that erupts within Dub Nation on a daily basis. Our fans are diehard, Gayer said.

He called the Warriors NBA championship run this year, after two straight disappointing seasons, a pendulum swing of a journey that was as special as any of his four seasons with the Warriors. Although it was the teams fourth NBA title in an eight-year span, it was Gayers first taste of the title the Warriors were defeated in the finals by Toronto Raptors in his first season.

I think to be part of the team [as] the voice of these accounts, in a moment like this, has been truly, truly incredible, Gayer said.

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How this Jewish basketball nerd became the voice of the Warriors J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2022

Sunday, August 7, 2022. Today, human rights organizations Gisha, Adalah, Physicians for Human Rights -- Israel, and Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights sent an urgent letter (Hebrew) to Israel's Minister of Defense, Attorney General, and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, demanding they take action to put an immediate stop to the killing and harming of Gaza's civilian population. The organizations also called on Israeli authorities to open Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings without delay so as to allow humanitarian access, at the very least, including exit of patients in need of urgent medical treatment that is not available in Gaza and entry of fuel and other essential goods. In the letter, the organizations stated that Israel's violation of its legal obligations towards Gaza residents may amount to war crimes.

Since August 2, Israel has blocked all movement and access through its crossings with Gaza, Erez and Kerem Shalom. The crossings were closed for a full three days before Israel launched its military attack on the Strip on Friday (August 5), which has already resulted in a high death toll, hundreds of injuries, and the displacement of dozens of families from their homes. Israel is blocking travel via Erez Crossing even for urgent medical treatment and other humanitarian needs, and preventing all transit of goods via Kerem Shalom, including entry of fuel for Gaza's sole power plant, which shut down yesterday (August 6) due to a lack of fuel. As a result, Gaza's already insufficient electricity supply has been further reduced, now standing at less than 20% of actual demand. The severe shortage means that power is now available to residents for up to 4 consecutive hours, followed by at least 16 hours of outage. Civilian infrastructure and services, such as Gaza's hospitals, which are treating high numbers of casualties, and water and sewage treatment facilities across the Strip, have already been impacted.

Israel's closing of its crossings with Gaza causes grave harm to Palestinians in the Strip, compounding the damage caused by its repeated military assaults and the illegal closure it enforces regularly. "The existence of security threats, including risks posed during hostilities, do not absolve Israel of its humanitarian obligations towards residents of the Gaza Strip," the organizations emphasized in their letter.

The organizations further emphasized that Israel's attacks on civilians and homes, prevention of movement of people, including medical patients, and blocking the supply of essential goods are illegal according to the principles of international law. "The violation of these principles raises serious suspicion of flagrant violations of the laws of armed conflict that may amount to war crimes, and you are required to stop them immediately," the letter stated.

To read the letter, click here (Hebrew).

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Human rights organizations to Israeli Defense Minister, Attorney General, and COGAT: Cease attacks on Gaza's civilian population immediately and open...

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2022

Ethereums (ETH-USD) big upgrade to proof-of-stake, the Merge, is a big deal. But does the market see it that way? Or just as a flash in the pan? Heres the latest intelligence from the New Digital World.

Source: shutterstock

When is record interest in call options not a good omen for future prices? Right now, with ETH, say Glassnode analysts in todays Week On Chain newsletter.

Specifically: After September assuming the big Merge to proof-of-stake happens on schedule ETH could be headed for a significant sell the news moment.

As of Saturday, when Glassnode prepared this chart, open interest in ETH options had reached $6.6 billion. Thats a return to 2021 levels, and darn close to the all-time high. Not to mention, its much higher OI than Bitcoin (BTC-USD) options (for the first time ever)!

Importantly: If we look at the September contracts on Deribit, the directional bias of Ethereum traders is immediately clear. Call options dwarf put options for size, with traders betting on ETH prices upwards of $2.2k, with significant open interest even out to $5.0k, Glassnode analysts write.

It sets up for a very interesting month ahead. Thats an understatement, since it implies traders are betting on anywhere from 24% to 181% further upside for ETH in September!

However: October is not shaping up nearly the same way. For each monthly set of options contracts, Glassnode charts the implied volatility smile. This is where we can see if traders are placing super-bullish bets on higher prices or playing it safe, betting on prices closer to current levels.

For ETH options in October, we can see a dramatic decline on the right tail, with a relatively flat shape compared to September, Glassnode notes. Plus, on the left tail, we see significantly higher implied volatility, indicating traders are paying a premium for sell-the-news put option protection post-Merge.

So, thats what we see in the options market What about ETH itself? After all, if people are flooding into the crypto the way they are with the calls, its hard not to be optimistic! Well, Glassnode is picking up relatively light spot demand for ETH.

Below is the ETH trading action, going back to 2021. That way, we can see the broader context:

Source: TradingView

Source: TradingView

The blue line is ETH prices, which surged over +500% before the crypto winter took hold in November way more than BTC prices (orange line). Today, were back to +144% since January 2021.

The green and red bars along the bottom show that, during the 2021 bull market, we often saw 500,000 ETH traded per day (or more). Yet here in 2022, weve only seen that level of trading volume twice:

On June 13 when Terras collapse took down Celsius Network (CEL-USD), etc. 840,000 ETH traded on the downside.

The other time was June 15, when 564,000 ETH traded on the upside as the crash stalled out. ETH prices then consolidated for a good month until ultimately breaking out after July 14 When developers set a September 19 goal for the Merge.

Since then, ETH trading volumes have been more like 150,000 per day. If people were excited to buy/own ETH versus simply speculate on a single event wouldnt you expect much more volume on the upside now?

Bottom line: It may take investors more time to see how big of a deal the Merge will be beyond September. But our next story throws that into clear focus.

On Friday, we got a new report on ETH mining from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the top-ranked university in Israel (and which Albert Einstein helped found!)

The report, Uncle Maker, has a quirky title and shines a very serious light on unethical miners gaming the system.

Researchers accuse a large, longtime group of miners, F2Pool, of manipulating block timestamps on Ethereum to obtain consistently higher mining rewards compared to the honest protocol.

How it works: The attack allows an attacker to replace competitors main-chain blocks after the fact with a block of its own, thus causing the replaced blocks miner to lose all transactions fees for the transactions contained within the block, which will be demoted from the main-chain, explain the Hebrew University researchers.

First, they had to verify that a consensus-level attack is even possible on Ethereum. Well, after designing algorithms that prove it, in theory Researchers say they found evidence of F2Pool actually doing it!

Then, their report explains how it got its name: The victims block, although kicked-out of the main-chain, will still be eligible to be referred to by other main-chain blocks, thus becoming what is commonly called in Ethereum an uncle.

The Hebrew University researchers kindly suggest concrete fixes for Ethereums protocol and implemented them as a patch which can be adopted quickly and mitigate the attack and its variants.

Still, it doesnt reflect too kindly on F2Pool which researchers told CryptoSlate earned 14% more from block rewards than they should have, plus all the transaction fees contained within the affected blocks

Plus, it suggests the proof-of-work setup in the Old Ethereum is already a bit of a Wild West Even before the Ethereum ecosystem largely shifts over to the new proof-of-stake chain in development.

Justin Sun of TRON (TRX-USD) is encouraging people to stay and keep mining on the Old Ethereum, which seems to be getting a separate nickname of ETHW:

But as I wrote on Thursday: Other prominent voices in crypto are warning that sticking around is dangerous increasingly so as DeFi, stablecoins, and probably NFTs leavecreating a security risk.

Chainlink (LINK-USD) is the latest, Monday morning, to say itll follow the Ethereum Foundations lead as it upgrade[s] the Ethereum blockchain to PoS consensus. Chainlink will not support any PoW forks even if activity does continue on the Old Ethereum, as it has on Ethereum Classic (ETC-USD).

We believe the fundamental catalysts are aligning in a way that will help BTC break out of that downtrend and snap into a new uptrend. Luke Lango & Charlie Shrem,Crypto Investor Network

What are those catalysts? All of those bullish on-chain metrics weve shown you over the past few weeks have held their critical support levels. The contagion from the Terra collapse has stopped spreading, Luke and Charlie write in Saturdays update to their Crypto Investor Network.

Technically speaking, we see a gradual appreciation in BTC prices to $30,000 by the end of the year, followed by a melt-up to $40,000 in early 2023 to kickstart a new boom cycle.

Again, were talking end of the year, early 2023. Today, Luke and Charlie advise to remain patient and wait for confirmation of a breakout above the $25,000 level.

Even so, a handful of cryptos have emerged as Strong Buys. Get the short-list of elite cryptos when you check out the Crypto Investor Network. The latest opportunity they highlight there is simple and elegant: Grab on to a major catalyst on the horizon then ride it higher as the rest of the world catches on. Charlies free briefing on the strategy is available here.

On the date of publication, Ashley Casselldid not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. To have more news from The New Digital World sent to your inbox,click here to sign up for the newsletter.

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Ethereum (ETH-USD) Traders Prepared to "Sell the News" in September - InvestorPlace

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2022

Global events such as the intensification of the global warming phenomenon and the war between Russia and Ukraine have emphasized in the past year how dependent all humans are on the foodtech industry. When droughts, fires and floods strike large areas of Europe and America, and when one of the world's largest granaries is paralyzed for many months due to war - the world needs technological solutions that create nutritious, tasty raw materials that can be used to make high-quality food products.

All of these, plus the recognition of the growing demand for healthy and sustainable food, are the reason why Calcalist and Tnuva Ventures, the new investment arm of Tnuva set up to promote the promising growth engines in the future food market, are looking for, for the fifth year in a row, the next innovative development in the food industry. In preparation for Calcalist and Tnuva's Foodtech 2022 competition, Calcalist investigated what the hottest areas in the foodtech industry are, what is the role of the more institutional bodies in pushing the industry to the next stage, and what is the contribution of the Israeli ecosystem to global trends?

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Eyal Malis (from right), Orit Marom, Hanan Brand, and Nurit Argov.

(Rami Zerenger, Orel Cohen, Israel Innovation Authority)

Startups and entities that meet the threshold conditions and operate in areas such as protein and meat substitutes, circular economy, supply chain optimization, nutrition and health and more - can submit their application and win exposure and a prize package. The judges for this year's competition are: Eyal Malis, CEO of Tnuva; Yuval Zehira, Chief Investment Officer, Leumi Partners; Haggai Schreiber, Chief Investment Officer, The Phoenix Holdings; Ori Keren, Partner and Chief Investment Officer, More Provident Funds; Noga Sela, CEO of Fresh Start Foodtech Incubator; Professor Nurit Argov-Argaman, Department of Animal Sciences at the Hebrew University and the founder of Wilk, developer of cultured production of cow's milk and mother's milk; Yoel Esteron, publisher of Calcalist; Yaacov Chen, Deputy CEO and CFO, Tnuva; Dr. Michal Halpert, Academic Engagement Manager, GFI Israel; Orit Marom Albek, Chairman of the Investment Committee, NevaTeam Partners; and Hanan Brand, Vice President of the Startup Division, Israel Innovation Authority. The competition is accompanied by Ron Zadok, audit partner and head of food-tech and ag-tech at KPMG Somekh Chaikn.

"The Israeli foodtech industry is one of the leaders in the world, and Israel is in second place in the world in alternative protein investments after the U.S. and before China or Singapore. We are the foodtech nation. Every year, an average of 42 foodtech companies are established in Israel, in a technology-rich market in which hundreds of billions of dollars are invested every year," says Eyal Malis, CEO of Tnuva. "Tnuva as a food company that is responsible for the food security of the public in Israel, and takes care of a healthy diet, and is accessible to every consumer - strives to be in every home and on every plate, and to bring the latest in Israeli foodtech to the whole world."

According to Melis, the company's concept of innovation is based on three components: the understanding that there has been a change in consumer demand for healthier and cleaner food, the change in the way food is consumed with the transition to online purchases, and the need to create new sources of food, innovative growing methods and technology-oriented production methods. "In the last five years, Tnuva has been undergoing a huge digital and logistical transformation, which includes, among other things, the introduction of robotics, the replacement and upgrading of the production lines and their adaptation to the challenges of the future, the establishment of a new and advanced logistics centers for food, and huge investments in the development of human capital in the company.

"In addition, we established an innovation arm led by Shay Cohen, the group's CINO, whose role is to examine investments in the foodtech field, which are relevant to the core of Tnuva's activity. In the last year, we established the Tnuva Ventures investment arm, which is the group's CVC (Corporate Venture Capital Investment Fund), which is led by the deputy CEO Yaakov Chen, and Shayi Cohen. We are in contact with many startups that reach out to us, and with academic bodies, and research bodies. Our strategy is to invest in companies, and be a beta site for them, based on our proven capabilities. Tnuva invests in the foodtech sector through partnerships with other companies such as the Fresh Start incubator in Kiryat Shmona, in which we invest together with Tempo, and the American funds Finistere and OurCrowd. And today there are nine groundbreaking startups in the incubator as well as direct investments in companies," said Malis.

Last year the competition was won by the company Profuse Technology, which uses a development of the Weizmann Institute that allows to accelerate the growth of meat and muscle cells, thereby helping companies in the cultured meat industry to increase production yields. In 2020, the competition was won by Future Meat Technologies, which develops a platform for growing cultured meat, and in 2019 by Zero Egg, which developed a vegan egg liquid that can be used to make omelets, cakes and baked goods and sauces. In 2018, two companies won first place in Calcalist and Tnuva's Foodtech competition: InovoPro, which developed a technology to produce protein and starch from the hummus grain, and Hargol Foodtech, which specializes in the agricultural cultivation of grasshoppers for the food industry and uses grasshoppers as an alternative protein source.

According to Orit Marom Albek, chairman of the investment committee at NevaTeam Partners, who serves as a judge in the competition: We are witnessing two major trends relevant to the foodtech field: one, the significant increase in the population. According to the data there is an expected increase of 70% in the world's population by 2050, and the second, the growing awareness of the relationship between health and the food we consume, with a clear trend to reduce the consumption of less healthy food." According to Marom Albek, these two trends create a real need, both for technologies that will increase food production capacity, to catch up with the rate of population growth, and for technologies that offer healthy food, and substitutes for food that is considered less healthy.

Professor Nurit Argov-Argaman, from the Department of Animal Sciences at the Hebrew University and the founder of Wilk, which deals with the cultured production of cow's milk and breast milk, states that the main incentive for the development of the foodtech industry is the need to feed almost 10 billion people in 2050. "We all need to look with open eyes and understand that if we don't find a real solution, the near future holds wars over food between countries. We can learn from what is happening in Africa in the context of drinking water and irrigation - wars between tribes over water sources that have been reduced due to climate change. We need to provide a response for the lack of quality and safe food".

However, according to Argov-Argaman, a judge in the competition, we must not neglect the "traditional" food industry, which is very advanced and develops innovative technologies that increase the efficiency of the production of meat, milk and egg products and reduces the impact on the environment. "There is still a lot to be done in order to reduce the damage to the environment and animals, but such technologies are being developed around the world and Israel certainly has something to be proud of in promoting these processes. We should strive for these technologies to work side by side, and be used to produce safe, high-quality and tasty food with minimal harm to the environment."

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Noga Sela.

(Photo: Rami Zinger)

According to Hanan Brand, Vice President of the Start-up Division at the Israel Innovation Authority, and a judge in the competition, the Israeli ecosystem has several strengths that make it an international leader: "Research leadership in relevant fields, alongside a strong traditional food industry and a concentration, quantitatively and qualitatively, of startups. In Israel there are over 370 researchers and experts in the field, including world-renowned researchers in the fields of food engineering, agrotech and species cultivation, biotechnology, chemistry, genetic engineering, microbiology and tissue engineering, working in 17 research institutes and universities," he said.

According to him, "in recent years we have witnessed exponential, active and innovative growth in the Israeli foodtech industry, and we are happy that the Innovation Authority has been an integral part of this growth since 2015, supporting ventures from the idea stage. IVC data shows that over 320 foodtech companies have been established in Israel from 2010 up until today and the Innovation Authority has supported more than 50% of them from the beginning. However, in our eyes, this growth is only the beginning, and in the coming years we will see very interesting combinations of technologies from the worlds of big data, artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), digital twin engineering and biology (bioconvergence) which together will create disruptions that are difficult for us to imagine today in the way the global food industry operates and our consumption habits," Brand said.

Argov-Argaman also referred to the role of the state bodies in pushing the industry to the next level and said: "Investments in the development of production capabilities are always welcome. In recent years, many funds of government ministries have been established for the development of technologies and for upscaling (upgrade and growth). Funds intended for cooperation between academia and industry, combining the incubators as a springboard, is the way to develop new technologies and bring more possibilities to the field of foodtech."

Here too, we should not forget the work with animals themselves, because there is a tendency at the moment to deal only in the areas of alternative food production and somewhat abandon the production of food from animals. This industry also needs funding sources to carry out research that can lead to the development of innovative technologies, as has been the case in the past decades. All the studies show that the animal food production industry is increasing in its production volume, therefore this industry also needs to carry out studies that will promote it. According to her, another important thing is directing funds to basic research. "Research funds need to realize that basic research is needed, which is the basis for almost all development, and that such research takes time. A lot of money from the government research authorities is directed to short-term research - which should lead to the applied phase in only two or three years. These are too short time frames to conduct basic research that can lead to breakthroughs," Argov-Argaman noted.

According to Marom Albek, state bodies can play a significant role, and not only in grants and funding. "Government activity on the international marketing level that will focus the spotlight on Israel as a global center for agritech and foodtech technologies will encourage huge companies that already look at Israel as a technological source, to invest in these technologies and it is equally important to promote these technologies in the international arena. Also on the academic level, the state bodies have a considerable role, among other things, encouraging the change in the commercialization policy of the universities. Ground-breaking research and technologies are being developed in these institutions today, and entrepreneurs who wish to establish companies based on research from academia encounter quite a few difficulties with the commercialization of research."

Noga Sela, CEO of Fresh Start Foodtech Incubator, estimates that the current trend of integrating biotechnology in the food industry will continue over the coming years and that more advanced tools of synthetic biology will be imported into the sector in order to improve efficiency, sustainability, and secure nutritional security based on independent manufacturing capabilities. The food industry is still very traditional and there is a lot that needs to be done in order to improve data collection and analysis, said Sela. In addition, the currently accepted SaaS business models could be challenging for clients in the food industry and this requires creativity in tailoring them for profit margins, the decentralization of manufacturing infrastructure, and the many links in the chain.

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The challenge: To feed 10 billion people with healthy food by the year 2050 - CTech

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2022

Devarim, 5:7: You shall not recognize other gods in My Presence.Devarim, 6:4: Hear, Israel, HaShem is our G-d, HaShem in the One and Only.

Two of the most well-known passages in the Torah appear in this weeks Torah portion: The Ten Commandments and the Shema. On close analysis, there seems to be a repetition between two of the mitzvot that feature in these passages.

The second of the Ten Commandments is the prohibition to follow other gods (elohim acheirim), and the Shema itself is the mitzvah to believe that God is the one and only God, (Yichud Hashem), which indicates that it is forbidden to believe in many gods. This prohibition seems to have been already covered in the mitzvah not to follow other gods, so what is added by the mitzvah to believe that there is only one God?

Evidently, the mitzvah of belief that God is one goes a lot further than just the requirement to believe that there is only one God.

In order to fully understand this mitzvah and contrast it to the mitzvah of not following other gods it is first necessary to explain what it means not to follow other gods and how this applies nowadays. In earlier times, there was a widespread desire to actively worship false gods so this mitzvah was highly pertinent. However, the Talmud relates that the Men of the Great Assembly removed the inclination of Idol worship, therefore, it would appear that from that time on, this mitzvah is basically obsolete. How does it apply to us?

In truth, this mitzvah is highly pertinent at all times. A false god is not just a physical idol, rather it is anything that a person ascribes power to, meaning that he believes that this thing is the source of a persons success. It can include money, desires, oneself, ones boss, or any number of other things that a person feels are the key to his success in life.

The Gemara1 points out another false god that influences everyone. King David in Psalms2 states that there should not be within you a strange god. The Gemara explains that this strange god refers to the negative inclination (yetzer hara) that actually pervades a persons very consciousness. One possible meaning of this is that the negative inclination itself is what controls a persons drives and fulfilling its desires will provide a person with satisfaction. And in this form, it is a kind of false god.

Thus, the mitzvah not to have other gods tells us that all those forces that convince us that the way to succeed is through them, are null and void when contrasted to the all-powerful God.

Yet, there is still something lacking in what a persons attitude should be towards the various sources of power outside of God - that is where the mitzvah of belief in one God steps in: This mitzvah teaches that all of these powers are not fighting God, they are not against Him. Rather, in truth, they are part of Gods purpose, just like everything in Creation.

For example, the ultimate goal of the negative inclination is not to cause us to turn away from God, rather its goal is for us to overcome its temptations and thereby become closer to Him. This is why the Sages state that when God saw that the creation on the sixth day was very good in contrast to the other days where it was merely good, He was referring to the creation of the negative inclination - it is indeed very good because it brings us closer to our purpose of coming closer to God by overcoming its challenges. So too, the other powers that we view as taking away from closeness to God are also tools to get closer to Him.

In this vein, another application of belief in one God is that everything that happens to a person is directed at the same purpose of bringing him closer to God. Thus, seemingly bad events that take place come from God just as much as pleasant Divine Providence. Both are there to bring us closer to him, albeit in different ways. Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits, Rosh Yeshivah of Aish HaTorah, expresses this even regard to minor suffering that we view as nuisances. In his words3:

We say that some things are good and some things are bad. What are you talking about? That negates [the idea of] "Hashem is our God, God is one!" You mean some things are working in one direction and some things in the other direction? Everything was created for the same purpose, because it has the same source, and its source is only good! Everything is made up of this Hashem-liness. Everything is good. Everything is created only for the sake of bringing us back to connecting to Hashem, being one with Hashem, and taking pleasure in it! Oh, I'd really want to learn, but I keep getting these problems in life. I really want to learn but I caught a cold, what a nuisance. It's standing in the way of my service of God.

Baloney! You mean there's something other than nature that is there for the sake of bringing you to eternal pleasure? You mean this cold is a nuisance that came in from Mars, it came from another sphere? This cold was created to bring you closer to Hashem no less than anything - than your siddur and your Gemara and your Chumash. It is just that there are lots of different aspects of our growth. There are many different things we have to learn, and there are some things you can only learn when you have a cold. Now go figure out what that was for. Absolutely everything is pointing in the same direction. Everything has the same purpose. There's total unity in everything. There are no other forces. There's no evil. It's illusion! We're misunderstanding it, because we take it seriously. We think it's really, really evil. It's not.4

Thus, the mitzvah to believe that God is one builds on the mitzvah not to follow other gods, and tells us that as well as viewing these perceived sources of success in our lives as null and void against God, we should actually look at them as helping us get close to God. May we all succeed in fulfilling both of these seminal mitzvot in the ideal fashion.

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Don't Believe in Other Gods Versus God is One - aish.com Ancient Wisdom & Modern Psychology - Aish.com

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2022

If you want to know what evil is true, unmitigated evil, you need to look no further than Gaza, where one of the many Arab terrorist organizations launched about a thousand rockets against Israel in the last week.

Each rocket was intended to terrorize.

Each rocket was intended to murder.

Each rocket was intended to destroy.

And they succeeded, but not in destroying Jewish lives but in destroying the lives of their own people, for each death that occurred in the Gaza strip was their responsibility, including rocket attacks that were intended to kill Jewish children falling into their own territory killing their own children instead.

Jews do not celebrate that, but our enemies do. For their goal is a dark goal a goal of such depravity that while we celebrate saving lives, they celebrate taking them including their own.

The intentional act of murdering innocent people, especially children, is an act of such wickedness that its hard for a human mind that is capable of compassionate thought to understand, yet those are the kind of people Israel faces.

The Arab terrorists, whether they are called Islamic Jihad or Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, invest their vast resources, given to them by a world community that is blinded by their prejudice against Jews and their failure to understand the lessons of history, into weapons of death and destruction and mayhem and misery.

And these terrorists, who should be ostracised into the filthy corners of society, far from all decency and morality, are actually supported by so many in a world whose moral compass has never found true north.

Whether its the United Nations who will always find Israel the only guilty party, or the dictatorial leadership of Turkey who farcically accuse Israel of killing children, or the morally deficient Russian spokeswoman who in the irony of ironies, condemned Israeli actions that targeted Islamic Jihad terrorist.

Perhaps we should call it a special military operation instead?

Our enemies and critics arent going away. We know that.

But neither are we and we know that too.

For Israel, a country besieged by this darkness of humanity somehow, in an act that defies all logical thought and understanding, still manages to shine a light that penetrates the thickness of this evil fog.

It is a miracle.

And it must be, for thousands of rockets rained down on this tiny democratic country, and yet there were no deaths. They should have been. There were supposed to be. The sheer vastness of the odds tells us there has to be.

And yet there werent.

And it wasnt dumb luck. It was the epitome of the Sanhedrin quote in the Talmud that says, anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world.

Despite all the flaws that exist in Israel, as in any other country, and despite the many flaws of people and politicians, that also exist in every other country, I could not be more proud of our Jewish homeland, a country in which, despite so many challenges, the Jewish spirit still manages to find its way.

It is that Jewish spirit that infuses Israel to do the opposite of what our enemies do, to invest resources not in taking lives, but in saving lives. The technological marvel of the Iron Dome epitomizes that, for while it may be built with steel and iron and cutting-edge technology and the greatest minds alive, it is powered by our ancient Jewish spirit and our ancient Jewish belief that every life is important.

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Discerning Between Darkness and Light - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2022

Elana Dykewomon hoped to see her first play staged before she passed away from cancer.

I would like to see it at least have a reading before I die, which I expect to do, she told J. matter-of-factly in an interview last month. But its not so tragic to die.

This summer, Dykewomon an acclaimed Jewish, lesbian and Oakland-based writer and activist worked with the actors who would perform two staged readings of How to Let Your Lover Die during the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Hers was one of five plays selected for the festival out of 240 submissions.

Shortly before the plays second reading began on Aug. 7, Dykewomon died at home. Her death was announced and mourned in the chat of the livestream. She was 72 and had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer in September, her brother, Dan Nachman, told the Bay Area News Group. The 2016 death of her spouse, Susan Levinkind, inspired her to write How to Let Your Lover Die.

In a statement, the Playwrights Foundation, which sponsors the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, said, Playwrights Foundation mourns the passing of Elana Dykewomon, whose gripping play was recently featured in our 45th Annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival. When selecting the shows for this years festival, our committee of readers was deeply moved while reading her tribute to her late partner, Susan Levinkind, and knew that we wanted to uplift her emotional story of love, grief, and community. A true trailblazer with remarkable wit and a legend within lesbian literature, we were honored to work with Elana during her final weeks, bringing her words to life onstage.

After news of her death began circulating online, Jewish Womens Archive tweeted, We mourn the loss of Elana Dykewomon, a queer activist, author, and teacher with a fiercely dedicated readership. May her memory be a blessing. The tweet included a poster promoting Dykewomons 1976 book, They Will Know Me By My Teeth: Stories and Poems of Lesbian Struggle, Celebration, And Survival.

Jews for Racial and Economic Justice tweeted that Dykewomon was a proud JFREJ member and dear comrade and teacher to so many of us.

Elana Dykewomon z"l was a proud JFREJ member and dear comrade and teacher to so many of us. May her memory be a blessing & a revolution. https://t.co/iUcFhaTdcG

Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (@JFREJNYC) August 8, 2022

Rachel Spangler, a non-Jewish author of sapphic romance novels, tweeted about Dykewomon: Its hard to imagine our community without this pillar of strength to hold us up. Few of us have ever written without walking through doors she helped kick open with her words, her defiance, and the name she chose to carry.

Born Elana Nachman in New York City in 1949, Dykewomon changed her name after the publication of her first novel, Riverfinger Women, in 1974. She wanted to distance herself from the Nachman line of rabbis from whom she descended, she told J. in 1997. She adopted Dykewoman, then Dykewomon, to demonstrate her allegiance to the lesbian community. If I had to do it all over again, I might have chosen Dykestein or Dykeberg, she said at the time.

Dykewomon was raised in a fiercely Zionist household; her father fought in Israels War of Independence, and her mother worked with a Zionist smuggling ring. Dykewomon spent part of her childhood in Puerto Rico, studied fine art at Reed College in Portland and settled in Oakland in the early 1980s. She was drawn to the area because of its Jewish lesbian activist community, she told J.

Though she rejected religion after becoming a radical feminst, she said, she often wrote on Jewish themes and included Jewish characters in her novels. Her second novel, Beyond the Pale, is set at the turn of the 20th century and features two Jewish, lesbian protagonists who emigrate from Russia to New Yorks Lower East Side. Dykewomon studied Yiddish, Torah and Talmud while writing the book, which won the 1998 Lambda Literary Award for lesbian fiction.

It cant be that we are the first generation of Jewish lesbian activists on the planet, she said in 1997. So part of what the novel is about is searching for our ancestors and ancestral community as Jewish lesbians.

Her other books include the poetry collection Fragments from Lesbos (1981), and the novel Risk (2009), about a Jewish lesbian who lives in Oakland and makes a living tutoring high school students. Her poetry and essays appeared in many collections and magazines.

In addition to writing, she edited Sinister Wisdom, a lesbian literary and art journal, from 1987 to 1994. In 2021 she co-edited a special issue titled To Be a Jewish Dyke in the 21st Century. She also taught writing at San Francisco State University for more than 15 years.

Julie R. Enszer, the current editor of Sinister Wisdom, wrote in a newsletter announcing Dykewomons death that she was an innovative and practical theorist of lesbian-feminism who championed publishing for women only and reading her work for lesbian-only audiences as a way to foster community. Her ideas and their practical implications were not easy and caused conflict in multiple communities, Enszer wrote. The ideas at their core, however, have proven over time to be life-giving and valuable.

Sinister Wisdom will hold a virtual memorial ceremony on Sept. 18.

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Activist-writer Elana Dykewomon dies, just as her first play debuts J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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