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In this very pastoral Jerusalem neighborhood houses the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies, which got a lot of media attention recently for an in-depth survey the conducted on the probability of the legalization of cannabis in Israel. And it looks like the report is going to boost a new bipartisan initiative at the Knesset which just might make Israel one of the growing numbers of countries who decided legalize cannabis.

Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
In this very pastoral Jerusalem neighborhood houses the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies, which got a lot of media attention recently for an in-depth survey the conducted on the probability of the legalization of cannabis in Israel.

Corinne Sauer, is the executive director of the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies, who has recently published a very comprehensive study about Israel’s public opinion about legalizing cannabis.

Corinne Sauer, Director, Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies:
We decided that it would be good to make a study and really find out how Israelis felt about cannabis for medical and recreational use. The survey is actually a copy of a same survey that was done by the PEW Institute in the United States and when it comes to the medical marijuana actually the results are the same and that is that three-quarters of Americans and three-quarters of Israelis are in favor of using cannabis for medical reasons. Now, when it came to recreational use, there was a big difference because the Americans supported 52% and in Israel we only found 26% percent of people that supported it.

First time Knesset Member, Dr. Tamar Zandberg, has been very active since she’s been elected, for the left-wink Meretz party, making headlines for the new bill she is trying to pass to decriminalize cannabis.

MK Tamar Zandberg, Meretz:
Criminalization of cannabis is not only stupid and not only not right, but it also cost a lot of money, both from taxation and law enforcement that is actually not needed. I support legalization because it’s the right thing to do but I hope that it would give another argument for people who worry and here, you know, all of a sudden we discover 1.6 billion Shekels that can suddenly come to the governments budget and that might be a good reason to do sodz.

Zandsberg’s very unlikely bedfellow for the decriminalizing of cannabis is ultra-right religious Likud Knesset Member, Moshe Feiglin, who also serves as the Knesset’s Deputy Chairman. At a recent rally in Tel-Aviv’s Rabin Square Feigling was very vocal about letting everyone know that the Jewish tradition has no prohibition against the use of cannabis.

MK Moshe Feiglin, Likud, Deputy Chairman of the Knesset: Judaism is about freedom, it’s about free choice, to choose life, this what Judaism is all about. When you have simple medicine like that you won’t use it, I just can’t understand that. I can’t live that. The establishment fighting against it, I have no doubt that at the end what is happening all over the world will behappening in Israel too. Its about the freedom of the people to feel better, talking about healing people who can cure themselves from pain and more than just pain so why not? I can’t understand that, can you?

Dr. Bareket Shif-Keren is in the forefront of the physicians who believe in prescribing cannabis to patients who need it. Today to get an appointment with the daring doctor you will have to wait over 7-months. Although, she is probably the only Israeli physician, who openly speak out about her views, she is a representative of a growing number of doctors who secretly think she is right.

Dr. Bareket Shif-Keren, Achiclov Hospital:
Fact is if that if more and more people get cannabis because they are pain patients or patients who need it there is going to be cannabis in every household, cannabis in every household is like legalizing, that’s why the ministry of health is kinda holding this process and my colleges, the doctors, they don’t feel that they can take the responsibility of so many people using cannabis they think that cannabis may be harmful and the thing is, that there is not enough evidence that it isn’t harmful. The only thing that I can say is look at countries in which cannabis is legal and see if you compare the time before it was legalized to the time after the legalization there is no difference.

and there is one more aspect of legalizing cannabis, which the JMS study looked into.

Corinne Sauer, Director, Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies:
Right now, if Israel was to legalize marijuana, and tax it in the same level as cigarettes and alcohol, the government will get an extra income of around a billion shekels a year. With that, I will also save on law enforcement and on police and all courts expenses, so the total of the extra income the government will get will be around 1.6 billions shekels a yeardz.

Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
It looks like the report is going to boost a new bipartisan initiative at the Knesset which just might make Israel one of the growing numbers of countries who decided legalize cannabis.
For JN1 I am Ron Jacobsohn in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem

Microsoft Israel is celebrating the first year of its Start-Up accelerator program with 13 new Israeli companies launching at this festive event at the Jaffa Port, while already starting to look ahead for the second year of the program.

Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
Microsoft Israel is celebrating the first year of its Start-Up accelerator program with 13 new Israeli companies launching at this festive event at the Jaffa Port.

When Microsoft Israel announced it is initiating the Start-Up accelerator program many companies had their suspicions on the real motives of the software giant.

Zack Weisfeld, Dir. Strategy & Business, Microsoft Israel:
So a lot of people who think that Microsoft is not relevant in the new entrepreneur world, so there is a lot of talk about open source and things that are not on the Microsoft stack or the Microsoft world, and many people don’t see Microsoft as so innovative and so fast, so we think that’s wrong and there is another side to Microsoft and through this program we actually connect to entrepreneurs all over the world and here in Israel and we do this start-up engagement program where we show that we drive a lot of value for these start-ups through costumer engagement, through connecting them business opportunities, connecting with experts and user experiences, mentors from the industry. So its not about the Microsoft stack or the Microsoft technology, its about making start-ups in Eco system more successful and we gain because we such a big player in the technology space and when the tide raises all ships, we’re a big ship so we are being raised with the tide as well.

Start-Up entrepreneur and a mentor in the accelerator program, Yanki Margalit, is really proud of the environment that was created for the new companies to flourish.

Yanki Margalit, Mentor:
When I met the companies and I saw the energy and I saw what they get out of it and I saw the whole Eco system and atmosphere around those companies Microsoft did a great job here. I almost hate to say it but they did a great job, they created really an atmosphere and environment which is almost completely clean interests and its wonderful. I wouldn’t take all the credit all but I do think if you look at hubs and accelerators and incubators and this whole Eco system that we have created in Israel, it’s a very unique setup, but we are of course influenced by others as well, I mean we have not invented it all, maybe we just practice it in a very good way.

Shefa Weinstein, who’s start-up Shopetti was one of the chosen ones at the accelerator program is a rarity being she is an orthodox woman and a mother of four, however she claims she fit right in.

Shefa Weinstein, CEO, Shopetti:
Coming into this, yeah, being the only female founder of the 13 companies is a little overwhelming, but there is always a bathroom stall available whenever you need!!! Its good, I mean, I am treated just like everybody else. There is no day off nobody gets a day off. Friday in the morning I am cooking, I got my laptop going, my kids are running around and then Shabbat ends and I go right back at it. But the 25-hours of just silence with my kids on the floor playing games it makes me a better mom.

Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 Correspondent:
The success of the Israeli program has now encouraged Microsoft to initiate similar accelerators in other countries. And if you believe your start up could be one of the 13 to be picked for the next program, the deadline for submissions is in less than a month.
For JN1 I am Ron Jacobsohn at the Port of Jaffa.

There is a lot of negative talk about the turbid relationships between the Jewish settlers and the Palestinians in the West Bank, however we found out that there are many exceptions to the rules of collaborations and understanding between the two people who occupy the same land.
Although one can’t really conclude that all is rosy between the Israelis and the Palestinians on the West Bank we were able to see some very touching human connections that can serve as an exemplary behavior to others.