Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Chris Coons, D-Delaware, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, are launching a bipartisan effort to ween the U.S off of medical reliance on China and replace it, at least partially, with Israel. They are also seeking a $12 million appropriation in the Phase 4/CARES 2 bill in order to “enhance partnerships between companies in the United States and Israel to develop innovative medical projects aimed at detecting, treating, and curing COVID-19.”

“I’ve long said that China poses the most significant, long-term geopolitical threat to the United States. Our dependence on China for life-saving medications and treatments is deeply problematic,” Cruz said in a tweet. “Israel is not only our friend and ally, but also a global leader in medicine with which we already cooperate on exactly those issues. I’m proud to push forward to ensure both American and Israeli companies can work together to develop cures and treatments to defeat COVID-19.”

“The United States and Israel are world leaders in the medical technology industry, and it is in the interest of all Americans, Israelis, and the rest of the world that we work together to fight COVID-19. This virus knows no borders, and our bill underscores the importance of international collaboration in the face of a truly global pandemic,” Coons stated.

Israel’s medical industry has been on the front lines of developing both treatments and even vaccines in the battle against the novel coronavir us. Israel’s Pluristem Therapeutics Inc.’s treatment has a 100 percent survival rate in patients who have been treated. Additionally, researchers at MIGAL, a research institute located in Israel’s Northern Galilee, say that they’re on the path to developing a coronavirus vaccine.