Abigail Klein Leichman
October 21, 2013, Updated July 17, 2019

The three remarkable Israeli inventions demonstrated to 1,600 delegates at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) National Summit in California earlier this month had been revealed to the world in their earliest stages by ISRAEL21c.

AIPAC’s Innovation Showcase featured Elie Isaacson, co-founder of Agilite, maker of revolutionary portable rescue equipment used across the world; serial biotech inventor Prof. Oded Shoseyov, inventor of the Paulee CleanTec device that scoops up dog droppings and turns them into odorless, sterile ash within seconds; and Gideon Ben-Zvi of award-winning video surveillance synopsis company BriefCam, whose technology helped Massachusetts police find the Boston Marathon terror attack perpetrators quickly.

Agilite’s Elie Isaacson with Amy Friedkin.
Agilite’s Elie Isaacson with Amy Friedkin.

ISRAEL21c President Amy Friedkin was among the attendees, and proudly notes that AIPAC relies on the website to find exciting new Israeli inventions to present to its members.

This was the NGO’s second Innovation Showcase; the first one stole the show for 13,000 participants at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC, last March.

Session moderator Brian Abraham of AIPAC was brought to the stage carried on a helper’s back with the aid of Agilite’s Injured Personnel Carrier. Primarily meant for rescue situations, the device is also being used by people with disabilities the world over, Isaacson told AIPAC delegates.

“He read a letter from a parent of a disabled child in the US who thanked him profusely because now the family can take their child on hikes,” Friedkin recounts.

Isaacson told her that after ISRAEL21c broke the initial story on the new company, Agilite received inquiries from across the world.

ISRAEL21c President Amy Friedkin with Inbal Arieli of the Gammado high-tech incubator.
ISRAEL21c President Amy Friedkin with Inbal Arieli of the Gammado high-tech incubator.

Startup maven Inbal Arieli, most recently the CEO and founder of elite tech incubator Gammado, was on hand during the Innovation Showcase to offer insights as to why Israelis are such great innovators. Tolerance for failure, a need to improvise, and being permitted to play with “junk” from an early age are among the secret ingredients to later success, she said.

AIPAC member Dr. Katie Rodan tells ISRAEL21c that she had never heard of the three showcased companies before, and her main reaction was: “Those Israelis are damn smart!”

In the larger picture, Rodan adds, the showcase “helps to frame Israel beyond the conflicts of the region. It makes me very proud to witness the innumerable ways Israel is making the world a better place.”

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