Four critical pieces of news this week about Israel have been hidden by more important events, such as the continuous banal spats between Hilary and Clinton.

• Yehia is nearly two years old. Born in Afghanistan with chronic heart complaints, a desperate plea from his family was picked up in Israel. Despite the lack of diplomatic relations, the child and his family were brought over to Tel Aviv in order to save his life.
• Yasmeen is a 6 year old Syrian girl, who suffered from blood cancer. She has just spent the past six months in a hospital in Haifa and she has been cured. Can you imagine the logistics required to have allowed her to pass through the border?
• According to a paper published on August 22 in the journal Nature Cell Biology, Israeli scientists believe that they may have discovered the causes melanoma, a horrendous form of skin cancer. This is liable to prevent countless deaths, particularly in the hot regions of the Middle East.
• And moving away from the field of medicine, we are beginning to understand that Israel has taken water technology to a completely new level. It has created the largest reverse-osmosis desalination plant in the world. Not bad for a country that is 50% desert. Jordan already benefits and others neighbours could follow?

It is difficult to find another country like Israel that engages in such a rich source of activity, which is going to help countless others in so many ways. Certainly, this does not apply to those countries at war with Israel.

And it is that thought that reminded me of a debating incident a couple of years ago. The motion called for the house to declare Israel a rogue state, assumedly because rogue has a negative context. True, but it also means somebody who is mischievous, looking for a means to go around obstacles. And it can also imply that somebody is on their own, not necessarily for their own fault.

The motion was carried, unanimously. Everybody realised just how it applied to the positive side of Israel. However, take this logic one step further, and link it to the amazing facts I described above.

There is a concept in Jewish philosophy, dating back to the Middle Ages: “Who is the greatest hero? One who turns an enemy into a friend.” The common theme that links the above case studies is one of helping people, and this includes those who see Israel as a foe.

Far fetched? For my last item, let me remind my readers of what happened last week in Glasgow. Celtic hosted the Israeli football champions Hapoel Beersheba, who were greeted by a wave a political insults and a wall of Palestinian flags. This incitement has been referred to the European footballing authorities.

The return match was played on Tuesday in Israel. After the game, in which Celtic just came through, Brendan Rogers, the manger was full of praise for his hosts. At a press conference, he detailed how his team had been welcomed warmly.

Is it not time that other countries in the Middle East realised that Israel no longer needs to be a rogue state? Because when that happens, everyone stands to gain big time.