Happy 70 to Israel By Moran G , 11 th Grade

As you walk the streets of Israel this time of the year, you are most likely to notice the white and blue theme: The Israeli flags that are hanging everywhere, the streets that are lit up with blue and white

lights etc.

This indicates of the special time of the year which is Independence Day.

In honor of Israel's Independence Day, the whole country is wearing the colors of our flag.

This year, 2018, our small county is celebrating 70 years since it was founded back at 1948.

But you know what they say, it gets better with age.

Israel may be a tiny country but it is very advanced and rich with its spirit.

It can be credited with technological inventions that have changed the face of the world, groundbreaking academic research and some impressing achievements. 70 years and Israel is stepping up the game.

On this day, the birthday of the State of Israel, we celebrate the establishment of our State, our independence and who we are.

Some of this day's events include a special ceremony in "Har Herzl" which is broadcasted live all over the country, an outstanding air force flight of the IDF and shows of famous Israeli artists in festivals. 

The events are ending along with a phenomenal fireworks show that leaves our all hyped with expectation for the next year's celebrations to come.

Another Great Israeli Invention By Moran G, 11 th Grade

 Imagine this: It's an emergency, the place is filled with wounded people and there is nowhere to evacuee them. Unfortunately, these days, it might happen. 

Here comes the outstanding blue and white invention to save the day.

Infallible surgery room.

The system is actually a unit that folds into three handbags that weigh less than 100 kilograms together, and within minutes can be deployed and become a pollution-free treatment environment.

This is why it is effective in emergencies! The system was developed in 2012 by the Israeli company "SYS technologies" and has already been used in disasters throughout the world, for example in the 

Congo.

This is a revolution in medical treatment in emergency situations and an innovative solution for treating the

 wounded.

Heart Muscle Cells Regrown in Medical Research Breakthrough By: Ron B Grade 9

Unlike animals such as the salamander and the zebrafish, humans are unable to easily regenerate heart cells, making it difficult to recover from the permanent damage caused by heart attacks.

In our near future, we may be able to regenerate our heart cells just like the salamander and the zebrafish!

A group of scientists from Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the Victor Chang Institute in Sydney have discovered a way to stimulate heart muscle cells to grow!

The heart is markedly different in this respect from human blood, hair and skin cells, which are renewed throughout life. But as far as heart muscle goes, we can’t match some animals.

In my opinion, this idea is going to change the way we’ve lived so far. We could live more than 150 years, and the blessing “May you live to be 120…” will be offensive. 

There’s No Place Like Home By : Shani O. Grade 11

Recently, I was on a plane heading to the United States with our Jewish Diller (a teen leadership program) delegation.  It was my first time ever leaving Israel, and I had absolutely no idea of how it was going to be out of my country.

At first, we were excited, it was really thrilling knowing that you are meeting with complete strangers, that you're talking in a different language and walking on a foreign land.  Quickly the excitement wore off. We drove around town, picturing through the windows that those were Tel Aviv's streets we were passing.

We all kept imagining ourselves eating our Israeli Humus, Jachnoon and Shawarma, and how we cherish each bite.

We were all dreaming about Israeli weather and the warm sunshine patting our faces, about Israeli trees, Israeli birds and Israeli ants.

We couldn't stop thinking about Israel. 

Don't get me wrong, it's not that we didn't have fun! We truly did, in the most superlative way of the word! 

After all, it wasn't just a trip aboard. 

Our delegation had very important and exciting causes --to strengthen the connection between Israeli Jews and Jews in the diaspra.

Learning about Jewish communities outside of Israel, and many more beautiful goals, which we all believe we have succeeded reaching, thank Hashem! 

It wasn't anything like we imagined, and we can't believe how privileged we all are getting to that spectacular program.

I guess we just had a major case of Homesickness. 

Israeli-sickness!

It's amazing how you can have the tallest buildings, the cheapest living, exotic food, amazing malls and gigantic houses -- and still, you just know...it's not it.

A week ago, the national memorial day of the Holocaust was taking place in Israel. Yesterday, we had the national memorial day of the IDF and Terror casualties.

Tzur Erlich, An Israeli writer, said once that the difference between those two was how much it has cost keeping the Jewish nation safe inside Israel, and how much it has cost without it. 

Israel, thank you for being our home.

Thank you, Hashem, for giving us our home. 

Actually, thank you for everything.

Young Ambassadors Seminar By :Senem N Grade 8

During the Pesach vacation my friend Sharon and I were getting ready to get on the bus. We had a few more people joining us Ravit , our teacher from our school,  three more people from Ronson and one other student. The seminar was a very interesting experience. We had to sleep in tents, but boys and girls were separated. The tents were huge and very close to each other. We learned about the Buddhist religion. We learned that men could have up to five wives if he wanted to, because he needed to have as many children as he could. But the women were not allowed to have more than one husband because if she did she would not know who the father was. We also learned that if you get lost and a Buddhist family finds you; you will be their guest for  up to three days. If you don’t leave by then, you are considered to be a part of the family and will be treated like someone in the family. You will do work and help other family members. The family can also kick you out of the house after the three days had ended if they wanted to. The food was delicious and we had a good night sleep. We woke up five in the morning to get breakfast but we didn’t eat where we were, we went to a Masada to eat. We had some activity before we ate.  After we ate we were separated into groups to talk about the events that happened there. Jews were living on Masada for about  seven years or and barely had  anything to eat.  To add to their lack of food they were under attack by the Roman people. They thought that the best way to escape this nightmare was suicide. So the men killed their own family and then killed each other.  When the Roman people came to the place where the Jewish people were staying almost everybody was dead.  There were a few people who didn’t think that suicide was the right way out:  They were taken by the Romans as slaves. It was quite interesting to see what different people thought was the best for their family and themselves.  We then went to some kind of a museum that I don’t remember the name of. But it was so cool and a lot of fun. We could play games there and it was so awesome.  On the ride home most of the people were dead tired; it was wonderful to go home and sleep in my own bed. A great finish to a wonderful trip. 

  

Tel Aviv Has Been Chosen as One of the Top Ten Beach Cities in the World By: Maxim Grade 9

The National Geographic channel posted an article about the top ten beach cities in the world.  Surprisingly Tel Aviv has been included in the list, in the 9^th place. I visited in Tel Aviv’s beach a few times; it’s a beautiful place and I would recommend anyone to go there. Besides its amazing beach, Tel Aviv is an economic, social and cultural center and one of the most developed cities in the world. In summary, I would recommend to anyone visiting Israel, to visit Tel Aviv.

The Expedition By : Eilon C. Grade 9

Around the time of Purim students from the 11^th and 12^th grades flew to Poland to remember those who were killed and those who survived the holocaust. They visited a Concentration Camp where many men woman and children were murdered just for being Jewish. When the students came back we had a big welcome for them by the school gate.  Afterwards they went up on stage where they gave emotional speeches about how we shouldn't forget what happened 70 years ago in Europe. The fact that this expedition happens every year made me realize that we do this to prove a point, anti-Semitism will never bring us down.

In my opinion it's great that this expedition flies every year to Poland to 

make the young generation understand what happened in that time in a more illustrated way.

StoreDot’s Battery Charger

By Ron B. Grade 9

First, I’ll explain about the company a bit, StoreDot. StoreDot, a promising Israeli company, seems to have figured out smartphone batteries once and for all.

Now, I’ll explain about their battery charger, but first, let me ask you a question: 

How often have you found yourself being delayed somewhere waiting for your phone to charge? Well, that (and many other charging-related issues) may very soon be a thing of the past with Israeli company StoreDot’s technology. The company developed an array of materials based on organic nanodots, which enable all sorts of great applications, such as a phone battery that charges in 30 seconds and data storage devices that are much more efficient than anything else currently on the market.

The addition of such technology to a smartphone would increase the phone’s cost by $50. In my opinion, the buyers wouldn’t mind adding the extra price for this technology.

So, from now on, don’t be afraid to use all your battery. With StoreDot’s technology, you’ll catch any event.

Green, Technological and an Israeli Pride - Taxibot

By : Daniel D, Grade 10

Something good is going on in the aviation field.

A semi-robotic, pilot-controlled towing tractor, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries known as "Taxibot" , was deployed for use on February 19th 2015 at Frankfurt airport. This was the first time the Taxibot was officially used.

The pushback tractors currently used in all airports worldwide only move aircraft from the terminal itself. This is a costly and inefficient procedure.

The Taxibot eliminates this drawback by towing loaded planes to the start of the runway with their engines switched off. Using the "Taxibot" is expected to cut fuel costs, reduce airport carbon emissions and eliminate bottlenecks in the gate area.

Seeing this great invention fills my heart with great pride. We may be a small country, but one with great minds .

The Small Screen in Israel

By :Netan-El S. Grade 9

Like most other countries, we have cable companies in Israel.  The citizens of Israel have two different major cable companies, offering a lot of varied and unique television entertainment.

The first of the cable companies is called Hot. Hot has its own studio. The Hot cable company has a lot of shows that are specific to Hot. Since I only had this cable a couple of years ago and for the "very lengthy" duration of an entire week, I am not one to know too much about this company. However, the majority of my classmates own this cable and they are satisfied with it.

The second cable company is called Yes (I don’t have a clue why both of them chose an English name). While this company lacks unique content, it delivers great show/film theme based channels. For example, an entire channel is for action films, another channel is dedicated for documentaries and one for drama shows. This allows a movie geek such as me the opportunity to jump from one channel to another and experience a movie thrill similar in scale to the one you get to experience in the cinema.

On a slightly smaller scale, Yes and the two major commercial channels (10 and 22) also produce their own successful shows, creating a stream of Israeli content to the watcher. Depending on what cable you own and what channel you choose, it affects the content that you watch, even on the same channel. I've found that, for example, shows that are made for the kid/teens channel by the channel itself are comedy-based while shows made specifically for the adult cable viewers tend to be plot-based.

The vast amounts of sheer entertainment value I get from the small screen in Israel satisfies me, and I can say wholeheartedly that it is a privilege to be blessed with such content.

ORT Israel: A Top Rated School System

By : Katia N. Grade 9

ORT Israel network was founded in 1949 as a network of vocational schools. Today, ORT Israel is the leading educational network of comprehensive schools in Israel, specializing in the high-tech and science fields. Ort instills knowledge, skills and values in its pupils. The ORT Israel network operates throughout Israel, especially in peripheral regions; in all cutting-edge fields of scientific-technological education. 

ORT Israel has over 100,000 students. One out of every 10 Israeli High School student's studies in an ORT managed and run institution.

As one of the world’s largest non-governmental educational organizations, World ORT operates in over 60 countries. Its’ focus on technology-driven education and training has transformed the lives of millions of graduates.

I am really proud to be studying in a school that is part of a worldwide organization that has so many students and has such a big impact on the education in Israel and in the world.

Israel: A Beautiful Country

By :Nicole E. Grade 9

Can you imagine a place where you can go from a beautiful forest to an amazing desert in less than 4 hours? Well I can because I live there. 

Israel is a picturesque small country with a lot of welcoming views starting from the snowy Hermon Mountain in the North to the Negev Desert in the South. As for me, I love all the views in Israel and fortunately I lived in almost all of them. When I was born I lived in the Lower Galilee in the North. Behind my house was a forest in which I, my friends, and family always liked to walk and play.  When I was seven I moved to the South where I live near the sea. The forest I used to play in switched to the quiet dunes by the sea.

Besides the places I was living in I also traveled in Israel. Every time I saw a new place or a view I was very fascinated even though I previously saw it in pictures. The breathtaking views from the Masada to the Dead Sea or the Judaean Desert; or the outstanding feeling of standing on the top of the Golan and seeing the whole Israel from there, are the things I would remember for  the rest of my life.

I love Israel very much, the people, the food but most of all I love the views.

Chinese Giant Alibaba will invest in the Israeli Start-up Company Visualead

By: Shahar H Grade: 9

Alibaba (China) will invest $6 million into the Israeli start-up company Visualead. Visualead specializes in designing animated and colorful Q R (quick response) codes to be scanned by cellphones. This is the second round of fundraising for Visualead.  In the first round they received over $ 2.2 million dollars of funding. Alibaba is the biggest e-commerce company in the world; they provide e –commerce services for sellers and merchants over the World Wide Web. After Visualead won a start-up contest in Beijing they made a strategic move, to persist in the Chinese market. The CEO of Visualead, Nevo Allva stated “Alibaba is an ideal strategic partner."

The Kinect Sensor

By :Malachi B, Grade 9

I'm sure most of you have heard about the Kinect and maybe even own one. For those reading this who do not know what Kinect is, it is basically a line of motion sensing input devices for the Xbox 360; that enables users to control and interact with their console without the need for a game controller.

 This is yet another of many marvelous  Israeli inventions!

Without this sensor there would be no Kinect.

In 2005 five Israelis started a company called "PrimeSense" which developed a 3D sensor that allows tracking of the user's body movements.

Microsoft recognized the potential of their technology and quickly started to combine the Israeli sensor with their game console.    

That is how the Kinect was born, and the human interface with the machine has changed forever.

  

The Israeli Technology That Will Change the World : The Everlasting Solar Battery

 By: Ron B. Grade 9

A battery with infinite power: Yes Israel has that too. A Haifa-based company “Sol Chip” has developed the world’s first solar battery that is able to recharge itself to power wireless sensors and mobile electronics devices. Through a cross pollination of solar-cell and microchip technologies, the company now offers the missing technology that will improve battery life or in many cases completely eliminate the need to recharge or replace the power source. 

Although currently limited to an output of 8.4 volts of power, the solar battery can provide power to a vast array of outdoor devices. Right now, the company is working on integrating their technology into the fields of agriculture, farming, and weather testing and security-related applications.

In my opinion, this battery will change the world as it is today.

This battery will be able to charge everything, at any time. Although, this battery’s limited output is low, the invention itself is amazingly genius! Just imagine yourself with infinite electricity for all your devices!

Another reason why it’s very useful is because if someday there will be a zombie apocalypse, you’ll be able to charge your phone or anything else.

All in all, this solar battery is a very useful thing, and should be in everyone’s hand.  Just in case….

Je Suis Juif by: Wayne Kleinman U.S.A

We walk to the Synagogue and are stopped by an armed guard at the door. He demands to see our passports and IDs.  We show them to him and enter the Sanctuary.  We put on our tfillin and talis, but even with the guard at the door we feel frightened.   Fortunately that doesn’t happen to us because we don’t live in France, Germany, Sweden, or other European Country.  We live in the U.S.A. We just walk through the door, start to pray, and don’t think about our safety, just our prayers. We are lucky.  There are millions of people around the world and on social media saying in solidarity Je suis Charlie. “I am Charlie” for the Charlie Hebdo tragedy.  They were killed because some people didn’t like what they did. The four men who were killed in the kosher supermarket weren’t killed for what they did, they were buying food for the Shabbat.  They were killed for who they were, Jewish. Now the world is saying Je suis Juif, “I am Jewish”.  This was not the first time people were killed in France for being Jewish.  One incident a little less than three years ago Rabbi Jonathan Sandler (age 30) and his two sons Areh (6) and Gavriel (3) were murdered by terrorists in a Jewish School. We should think about our fellow Jews in the diaspora. We should show solidarity for one another at all times, not only in times of tragedy.

One of the oldest Cities in the World

By: Sharon F, Grade 9

Where do you think this ancient tomb is? Athens? Rome? Or is it in Ashkelon? If you guessed the city with the strange name you would be right.You might be surprised to learn that Ashkelon is the most ancient of the three.  Ashkelon is over 5000 years old (the agricultural revolution started only 10,000 years ago) making it one of the oldest cities in the world! Ashkelon was once ruled by nine people, and each one made their mark in the rich history of that city.  So next time you think about going to Athens or Rome think about Ashkelon in Israel or think about visiting another city here.

The Dead Sea

By : Shimon A, Grade 10

Some people who live in Israel think that there are no interesting places in their country. They are wrong; one very interesting place is the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east, and Israel to the west. Its’ surface and shores are 427 meters (1,401 ft) below sea level; making it the lowest land area on Earth . The Dead Sea is 306 m (1,004 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. Every year there are thousands of tourists visiting in the Dead Sea for the beautiful beaches and to visit the lowest place in the world? Many people with ailments (e.g. skin diseases) visit the Dead Sea for its’ healing powers.

The Dead Sea is very relaxing. Many people with “incurable” skin diseases go there and are cured. It is one of the only places in the world where people can heal themselves naturally. What I like best about it is that everyone floats in the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is also very historical. Many ancient ethnic groups lived and evolved in that area. One such group was the Essenes who lived around the time of the second Temple.

I think that the Dead Sea is the best place in Israel and all Israeli Citizens have to take care of this area to save it for future generations.

Israeli Company Develops a Healthier Cooking Oil

                                                              

                                                 By: Netanel C, Grade 9

The Israeli company Shemen Ta'asiot (Haifa) has developed a new cooking oil, which is said to be much healthier than the current ones.

The oil, named Prolio Oil is a mixture of oils, with the base being canola oil as "the bread and butter" of the mixture. The mixture which also contains Omega 3 and antioxidants is intended for commercial use only. The company plans to use this new oil in the manufacturing of many currently non-healthy food items.

Natalie Portman

By: Senem , 8th Grade

Natalie Portman is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Shelly Stevens, an American homemaker and Avner Hershlag, an Israeli Doctor, Her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants to Israel. Natalie’s paternal grandmother, from Romania, had the maiden name “Portman”. Natalie’s paternal grandfather, Zvi Yehuda Hershlag, was born in Poland in 1914, and in 1938 he moved to then British mandate of Palestine, now Israel, where he was an economics professor. Zvi’s parents died at Auschwitz. Natalie’s Romanian-born great-grandmother was a spy for British intelligence during World War 2.

Natalie’s original Hebrew name is “Neta-Lee”, which literally translates to “A planet for me”. After a while Natalie and her parents moved to the United States where her father received his medical training. Portman, a dual citizen of the United States and Israel, has said that she “really loves the states…. But my heart is in Jerusalem. That’s where I feel at home.” Natalie Portman was a quite serious kid. She knew what she wanted and worked hard to get it. On school holidays, she attended theatre camps. When she was ten, Portman auditioned for the 1992 off-Broadway show “Ruthless”: A musical about a girl who is prepared to commit murder to get the lead in a school play. During the mid-1990’s Portman had roles in movies “Heat”,” Everyone says I Love You” and “Mars Attacks!”  She also had as a major role in “Beautiful Girls”. Natalie was the first choice to play Juliet in William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, but the producers felt her age wasn’t suitable. But she got other roles in other movies.

After filming “Where the Heart is”, Portman moved into the dorms of Harvard University to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Physiology. In a 1999 interview, she said that with expectations of the Star Wars prequels that she would not act for the next four years in order to concentrate on studying. Portman studied quite well she graduated from Charles E. Smith Jewish Day school, Hebrew university of Jerusalem, Syosset high school (1999) and Harvard college (1999-2003). Her career grew bigger and bigger as well. She starred in movies such as “Black Swan”, “Leon: The Professional”, “Thor”, “Thor the Dark World”, “V for Vendetta”, “No Strings Attached”.  She also starred in “Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith”, “Where the Heart is”, “Closer”, “Anywhere but Here” and many, many more.  In 2012 she married Benjamin Millepied.  They have a son Aleph Portman Millepied.

My personal thought about Natalie Portman:

I personally think that she is a great role model. Not just because she is Jewish but she is a human being. She has come far at life. She is a very talented and lovely woman. And she is never afraid to tell the world that she is a Jew.