Original Article Published on the JNS

On Tuesday, on the 150 flat kilometers (93 miles) from Redon to Fougeres, Israel Start-Up Nation was blessed with its first top 10 result in this year’s Tour de France. 

Days before the start of the annual Tour de France, cycling’s most prestigious race, the Israeli national team’s star rider and four-time winner of the event, Chris Froome, was enthusiastic and optimistic.

Froome has been working hard to return to his previous level of performance following the severe injuries he sustained in a 2019 crash that occurred while he was previewing the time trial course at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné. He suffered a double femur fracture to his right leg, multiple additional fractures and a collapsed lung.

Yet in the “Israel Start-Up Nation” team’s pre-Tour de France press conference, Froome expressed hope that this year’s Tour de France, held from June 26-July 18, “will be a steppingstone to get to my formal level of racing. I am really hoping to be on the starting line and put my recovery process behind me.”

Little did Froome know that a few days after those comments, he would be involved in another, highly preventable crash. On the first day of the Tour de France, a spectator stepped into the path of the riders to unfurl a sign, causing a massive pileup of cyclists. Consequently, seven of eight riders for Israel Start-Up Nation crashed in Stage 1 of the race.

Froome did not sustain any broken bones and the new injury was to his left leg, not the one fractured in 2019. He experienced swelling and bruising to his left inner thigh. He also slightly injured his thorax, which initially affected his breathing. He underwent scans and checks until 1 a.m. and was able to resume riding in Stage 2.

In regard to his left leg, Froome reported, “It’s pretty swollen and pretty painful, it hurts when I stand up but it’s alright. I was able to get through today and if I take it one day at a time, I can try and survive until the time trial. Then I can maybe take it as a recovery day. I hope to come round and give more to the team over the next week.”

Ultimately, all of the Israeli team’s riders completed Stage 1, with experienced Tour de France rider Guillaume Boivin ranking as the team’s best finisher in 31st place. After the stage, Boivin recounted, “My teammates had told me that the first day would be hectic and they were right on the money on that one. For sure, it’s not ideal to start a Grand Tour like this, but we also have to remember that this is a three-week race….We have to put this behind us and look forward. There is still a lot of racing to come.”

Israel Start-Up Nation bounced back during Sunday’s second stage. Michael Woods, the team’s leader, was true to his word from the pre-race press conference. At the time, he reported, “I think I can be quite competitive. I am one of the stronger climbers on the world tour.” Indeed, he was competitive on the climbs and on the uphill finish of Stage 2 on Mûr-de-Bretagne, though he acknowledged the day was tough and that he was shaken up by Saturday’s crashes.

“Mentally, it was a struggle out there today,” Woods said Sunday. “After the crash yesterday, I was pretty scared all day. However, my legs felt really good. When Van der Poel took off, I was a little too far back. I tried attacking but I didn’t want to play the GC (general classification) game, so when the win wasn’t an option anymore, I just sat in. Still, I’m really happy to bounce back like this and see that I’m able to climb with the best guys. This gives me a lot of confidence for the mountain stages.”

Woods finished Stage 2 race in an impressive 11th place. He is humbled to be leading the Israel-Start Up Nation team, saying, “If you had told me earlier in my career I’d be leading a national team, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

Stage 3, from Lorient to Pontivy, also featured several crashes — but the Israeli team was not involved in them. Boivin was the team’s best finisher, in 23rd place. Israel Start-Up Nation’s sports director, Rik Verbrugghe, said Monday, “Today was a really nervous stage, especially towards the end…but the good thing is that we passed this stage without any crashes. Now, we look forward to tomorrow.”

On Tuesday, on the 150 flat kilometers (93 miles) from Redon to Fougeres, Israel Start-Up Nation was blessed with its first top 10 result in this year’s Tour de France.  André Greipel was 10th in the bunch sprint on stage 4.  Teammates Rick Zabel and Boivin Guillaume finished 15 and 21 respectively.

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Original Article Published On the JNS

In a third consecutive year, JNS took home a number of annual Simon Rockower Awards earned by editors, staff members and freelance writers in the American Jewish Press Association’s 40th annual competition for excellence in Jewish journalism for work done in the year 2020—the most to date, in fact.

JNS won its first two Rockower Awards for work published in 2018. Last year, it doubled that, winning four in 2019. And this year, it earned eight.

Editor and columnist Ruthie Blum won the Louis Rapoport Award for Excellence in Commentary. Her first-place pieces included “Let us remember what the survivors are unable to forget” about aging Jews and Yom Hashoah; “Owing the ultra-Orthodox an apology” about overriding blame directed at religious Jews in Israel during the coronavirus pandemic; and “Gang rape at the Red Sea Hotel” about societal ills and how Israel reacted to a horrible crime.

The award, named for the late author and editor of The Jerusalem Post, honors the top regular opinion columnist in Jewish journalism.

Freelancer Heather Robinson won first place in writing about health care for her story, “As race for coronavirus vaccine intensifies, Americans think back to Salk.” She interviewed Peter Salk, the eldest son of Dr. Jonas Salk of polio-vaccine renown, and others as the world grappled with the coronavirus and the creation of a vaccine during 2020.

Peter Salk receives a polio vaccination from his father, Dr. Jonas Salk. Credit: March of Dimes.

JNS news editor Sean Savage earned first place in the category of Writing About Jewish Heritage and Jewish Peoplehood in Europe for his story, “Working to serve needs of Jews in Eastern Europe in age of corona.” The article covered the challenges of reaching out during the pandemic to help the elderly and others in Poland, Ukraine, Russia and other communities where Ashkenazi Jews have long resided. The judges wrote, “Interviews with the chief rabbis of Poland, Ukraine, and Hungary show that—despite being miles and miles away—they pivoted their Torah classes and daily minyan to Zoom, just like us. The excellent, fine-grain reporting that Savage does here with many details gives readers an intimate look at these communities during these difficult times.”

Regular writer Josh Hasten received first place for Excellence in Writing About Food and Wine. His story, “Diplomacy marches on its stomach: One rabbi helps cook up kosher fare for UAE delegation,” describes one of the direct perks of the Abraham Accords that Israel signed with four Arab countries in 2020.

Freelance writer Howard Blas won second place in the sports category for “The education of Deni Avdija on and off the court,” which was one of a number of stories throughout the year on the young basketball talent from Israel who plays for the NBA’s Washington Wizards.

Freelancer Faygie Holt earned first place in business writing for her story, “Jewish businesses start to feel heat as coronavirus affects product acquisition and sales,” about the early economic effects on everything from a kosher Chinese restaurant to Israel travel agents to a fashion designer on Long Island, N.Y. She also took home second place in the education category for “How to teach the lessons of the Holocaust in the school classroom.” 

Members of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel take part in prayer on the Sigd holiday at the Armon Hanatziv Promenade overlooking Jerusalem on Nov. 16, 2017. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

Longtime JNS contributor Deborah Fineblum got second place in a new category about interfaith and intercommunal relations for “Black (and Jewish): Braving the pitfalls, Jews of color find inner and outer peace.” The judges said, “It was a fascinating look at how committed (and very desperate) Jews of color navigate having feet in both worlds, particularly in light of this year’s heated racial debates and demonstrations.” Last year, she earned an honorable mention in the David Frank Award for Excellence in Personality Profiles” for “Meet Michael Schudrich: Rabbi to Poland’s Jews, the living and the dead” about the American-born chief rabbi of Poland.

In the 2020 Pennsylvania Press Club/National Federation of Press Women contest, JNS managing editor Carin M. Smilk received first place in the science and technology category for “New president of Technion seeks ‘soft sciences’ to meld with Israeli high-tech,” and first place in the personal essay category for one of a series of blog entries written during the initial months of the coronavirus lockdown, “Day Seven: Banking on the beer distributor.” She also got third place in personality profiles for a story on Chabad emissary Dini Freundlich of Beijing, guest speaker at the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Women Emissaries in Brooklyn, N.Y., one month before national lockdowns due to the pandemic. Her science story was also submitted to the national-level competition, where it earned an honorable mention.

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Original Article Published On The Jerusalem Post

Two olim, one from London and one from Khazakstan discovered their mutual love for dogs in a class on start-ups, and founded their own.

When two immigrants – one from northwest London and one from Khazakstan – met in an IDC Herzliya class on start-ups, they discovered their mutual love for dogs.At the time, they could have never imagined a day when they would join forces to start Dogiz, a unique and growing Tel Aviv-based dog-walking service that also creates career opportunities for people with disabilities. Meet COO and founder Danny Djanogly, and CEO Alon Zlatkin.

When Djanogly was 18, he was looking for something “a bit more” than a traditional gap-year program in Israel. He decided to become a lone soldier in the IDF’s Kfir Brigade. After a post-army trip, he began studying government and politics at the IDC and soon after adopted Mufassa, a dog he describes as half German Shepherd and half Japanese Akita. “It was a game-changer,” reports Djanogly.

Zlatkin moved to Israel in 1991 at the age of five with his family from Almaty, Kazakhstan. He grew up in Ariel, attended yeshiva, and served six years in Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit of the Israel Navy, often referred to as the Navy Seals. Following a stint in West Africa working on maritime strategy, piracy and humanitarian projects, Zlatkin returned to Israel and began his studies in business and economics at IDC Herzliya.

When Djanogly and Zlatkin met, they commiserated on the difficulties of being both students and dog owners.

“We found it hard to make arrangements for our dogs,” reports Djanogly. “We had to rely on friends, neighborhood grannies and others. It was not reliable. We came together and said, ‘Why not do it ourselves?’” They began discussing ideas for what would become Dogiz, and the dog walking business and platform began.

In 2015, they were accepted into the HIVE, an accelerator for new immigrants and won a Google competition that landed them their first $100,000 investment. They have also received support from Samurai Incubate Inc, an early-stage Japanese Venture Capital firm with branches in Tokyo, Rwanda and Tel Aviv. Samurai has invested in more than 30 Israeli start-ups.

“Tokyo has more dogs than children,” observes Djanogly playfully, speculating as to why Samurai might have been interested in supporting Dogiz.

Two years ago, Djanogly and Zlatkin had the good fortune, through a funder, to meet Aviad Friedman, Israeli businessman, chairman of the Israeli Association of Community Centers (IACC), author, advisor in several Israeli ministries and former advisor to prime minister Ariel Sharon. He is also the father of Avrumi, a 22-year-old man with disabilities.

DJANOGLY NOTES that Friedman was impressed with the company’s concept, shared data on the high rate of unemployment among people with disabilities, and suggested they work together on the project, which had great potential for success if it would train and hire people with disabilities.

“We stumbled upon disabilities by accident,” reports Djanogly, who read Friedman’s book, B’yom Bo Tikrah Li Aba, and took his advice about hiring people with disabilities.

Friedman also serves as chairman of the board for the now 18-month-old company, which currently employs 12 dog walkers with disabilities and hopes to soon increase to 20.

Friedman reports, “This business is good for the dog and for the walker. Both thrive on routines. It is better when every day looks the same. An 8 o’clock walk is 8 and not 8:30, and the walk is always on Dizengoff Street, not Allenby!”

His son, Avrumi, became the company’s first autistic employee.

The program involves a one-month course on how to work with dogs and how to use the scheduling app. A counselor offers ongoing support for workers with disabilities. Zlatkin and Djanogly are determined to employ even more people with disabilities.

“We want to increase the number of employees with disabilities from the current 10% to 20%. Our goal is to become one of the top three largest employers of people with disabilities in Israel.”

Suzy Goldberger, the chairwoman of Ken’s Krew, a US-based nonprofit that supports 500 adults with neuro-developmental disabilities in the workplace, praised the efforts of Dogiz.

“Dogiz shines a light on the benefits to employers of hiring workers with disabilities. This population is eager to work, loyal and hard-working. Employee turnover is far lower than the norm, and overall employee morale is enhanced. Dogiz is a leader in understanding that hiring workers with disabilities is not charity, it is good business. Ken’s Krew has enjoyed sharing best practices with Dogiz, and hopes for their continued success.”

Through the process of beginning and running their start-up, Djanogly, 31, and Zlatkin, 36, have become close friends. They spend so much time together that the good-natured, unmarried Djanogly playfully reports, “I am his second wife.” Zlatkin is married and has a two-and-a-half year old daughter.

The two plan to take their Tel Aviv pilot program and expand it to London and other cities around the world. They are also developing Dogiz Health, which uses artificial intelligence and focuses on digital health for dogs. Fortunately, they continue to receive inspiration and support from friends, investors, and perhaps most importantly, an inner circle of dogs. These have included Zlatkin’s late dog, Jack, a German Shepherd who recently died of cancer (he continues to be listed on the company’s website as “The Godfather”), and Djanogly’s dog, Mufassa, the “Chief Dog Officer.”

In no time, these two immigrants are likely to meet and walk all of Tel Aviv’s estimated 41,000 dogs!

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