Intel gives firm commitment on new Israeli fab

Intel Israel sources: A senior Intel manager may have said what he said, but there are people more senior than him.

Hadas Manor 27 Jul 05 13:30

Sources inform ''Globes'' that Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) has informed Investment Promotion Center director Hezi Zaieg that it will build its next fab in Israel. The Investment Center has received a written commitment for the establishment of Fab 28 in Kirayt Gat from Intel Israel managing director Alex Kornhauser, so there is no doubt that Intel has decided to build it in Israel. Intel has bought a 300-dunam (175-acre) site in the Kiryat Gat industrial zone, adjacent to Intel’s current fab, for the new fab.

The decision belies statements by Intel SVP and general manager Technological Manufacturing Group Robert Baker in the US this week that no official decision had been taken concerning establishing the fab in Israel, despite a telephone call to that effect to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from Intel CEO Craig Barrett over the weekend. The Intel manager made the comment in an announcement on building the Intel Fab 32 in Arizona.

Intel also announced that it would officially apply to the Investment Center for a $4 billion investment next week. The Investment Center will then be able to send the application immediately to the Industrial Development Bank of Israel (TASE:INDD.P), which will carry out a viability study. Construction of Fab 28 will begin when the letter of authorization is received.

The Investment Center assumes that a grant to Intel amounting to 15% of the investment ($525 million) will generate a clear benefit to the economy, on the basis of preliminary studies, data presented by Intel, and Israel’s experience with Intel’s first fab in the country, which generated NIS 3.5 billion in added value within five-six years. Intel received a $580 million grant for that fab.

At a recent meeting between representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor with Intel VP finance and enterprise services and director, tax, licensing and customs Nanci S. Palmintere, she said, “Give me the money, and I’m authorized to tell you ‘yes’ today that the new fab will be built in Israel, without having to return to Intel for approval.”

Zaieg said, “There is no doubt that Intel has decided to invest in Israel. After examining all the alternatives, Intel decided that Israel was best. Intel received immediate tax breaks in Arizona, but in Israel, this is subject to a viability study, which will be completed by the end of the year.”
Intel Israel’s management issued a denial of Baker’s comment, saying, “Baker’s comments were taken out of context, and in no way referred to the establishment of Intel’s fab in Israel. They merely referred to the examination of sites for new fabs around the world.”

Sources at Intel Israel told “Globes” this morning, “A senior Intel manager said what he said, but there are people senior to him. There is a very solid basis for the Investment Center’s statements.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 27, 2005

Sesame seeds and their derivatives are blamed for the growing phenomenon of food allergies around the world and are the third most common food source of sensitization among Israeli children, after eggs and cow's milk.
These facts were revealed by Dr. Venu Gangur of Michigan State University in a just-published study in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. The article specifically cited Israel, as consumption of tehina, halva and other products containing the seeds is especially widespread, especially among children, and much more common than in the US.
Health Ministry Food and Nutrition Service director Dr. Dorit Nitzan-Kalusky, commenting on the US study, said that the ministry had indeed learned within the past year of the increasing number of cases of sesame seed allergies, especially among children. It has informed public health nurses at Tipat Halav (family health) centers, who now instruct parents to avoid giving children sesame products until the children are at least a year old.
Allergic reactions to sesame seeds were reported by the Michigan researchers to be second only to cow's milk as a leading cause of anaphylactic shock – a severe, system-wide allergic reaction that is potentially fatal.
Gangur said the inclusion of sesame seeds and oil in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries has greatly increased, but research and public awareness on sesame allergy are very limited.
Among the less severe reactions are vomiting, nausea, stomach cramps, indigestion, diarrhea, hives, headaches, acute asthma and other respiratory symptoms. Almost any food can trigger a hypersensitivity reaction in sensitized people, but most food allergies in the US are caused by eight major foods: milk, eggs, fish, wheat, tree nuts, legumes (particularly peanuts and soybeans), crustaceans and mollusks.
Nitzan-Kalusky told The Jerusalem Post that too little is known about what amounts of allergens cause reactions in sensitive people. While allergies can develop in any individual, she said, if there is an allergy to a given food in one member of a family, "we recommend not introducing it to the diet of babies and toddlers." It can be introduced gradually when the child gets older to see if there are any reactions.
The ministry lists sesame seeds and its derivatives on the list of major allergens but, at present, there is only a recommendation that companies list them on food labels as a warning to people allergic to them. Nitzan-Kalusky said that next year such labeling would be mandatory. The use of sesame oil is not widespread in processed foods, she said, because of the higher cost. The ministry wants to require food companies to designate the source of all oils, rather than just saying it is of a "vegetable source."
There is a difference of opinion among allergy experts and pediatricians on whether sesame seeds should be avoided by younger children. Prof. Yehuda Danon, a senior pediatrician and allergy researcher at the Schneider Children's Medical Center for Israel in Petah Tikva said he recommended not giving sesame seeds to children under the age of two.
"We check infants allergic to cow's milk at a year to see if they are also sensitive to sesame seeds," he said. He added that, unlike early exposure to bacteria or fungi which can reduce the prevalence of allergies to these substances in children, early exposure to allergenic foods does not reduce the frequency of allergies to them in children.
Danon is collaborating with a London researcher who is comparing the allergic tendencies of Jewish children there to peanuts and sesame seeds with those of Jewish Israeli children.
Prof. Meir Shalit, head of the allergy unit in the immunology department at Jerusalem's Hadassah University Medical Center, said his clinic has seen numerous cases of children with allergic reactions to sesame seeds.
"In the US, peanuts are among the most common causes of food allergies in children, but less so here. If they start eating allergenic food at an older age, allergic reactions are less common," he said.
But Prof. Yitzhak Katz, a leading pediatric allergy researcher at Assaf Harofeh Hospital in Tzrifin, disagreed with his two colleagues. He said early exposure to peanuts (as in peanut-butter-coated corn snacks) reduces the prevalence of peanut allergies in children. While there is no scientific proof so far that early exposure to sesame seeds minimizes allergic reaction to them, Katz thinks there is no reason to avoid giving sesame seeds to children
under the age of two, or even one.

On estime que d’ici 5 ans, Israël sera le seul pays du monde à utiliser toutes ses eaux usées, principalement pour l’agriculture. Aujourd’hui, Israël utilise de 70 à 80 pour cent de ses eaux usées. Derrière Israël, l’Espagne n’utilise pour le moment que 12 pour cent des eaux usées.
La compagnie israélienne de l’eau, Mekorot, a lancé WaTech, un programme qui permet à des entrepreneurs de participer à la recherche sur l’eau et au développement de projets. Ainsi, la start-up Atlantium, créée en 2003, a développé un système hydro-optique de désinfection de l’eau. Ce procédé, qui permet de désinfecter de 5 à 200 m3 d’eau par heure, remplace avantageusement la chlorinisation de l’eau : pas de produits chimiques utilisés, pas de sous-produits créés et procédé faiblement consommateur d’énergie.

Israeli research shows it's the voice - not the eyes - that is the window to the soul
By Allison Kaplan Sommer July 17, 2005
Dr. Lan Lossos and her partner Dr. Yoram Levanon have developed a way in which to map 30 seconds of speech on an electronic graph.
They say that first impressions can often be misleading. But Israeli researcher Dr. Yoram Levanon believes that listening to someone for only 30 seconds can tell you everything you need to know.
Using a unique new tool for analyzing the human voice that Levanon has developed with his partner, Dr. Lan Lossos, a half a minute of speech is plenty.
In that small span of time, he says, he's able to outline the speaker's basic personality, likes and dislikes, and can even detect whether or not they have a learning disability or developmental disorder. In time, he says, he will even be able to tell if the speaker might be suffering from a disease - before any symptoms have appeared.
Potentially, this means that a telemarketer could someday get a quick and accurate idea as to what kind of a person they are speaking with on the phone, and thus, the best way to sell them a given product.
This would all sound far-fetched, coming from someone without serious credentials to back it up. And Levanon is a veteran Israeli marketing expert, with a long resume behind his newly patented ideas, which he has recently made public after six years of work. He's now in the process of creating three start-up companies to develop what he is calling the 'Emotional Marketing Method.'
Levanon's marketing consulting firm, MSR Communications is located in the bustling business district of Ramat Gan. He works behind a desk piled high with paper from his numerous projects. Above it hangs a fingerpainting by his one-year-old granddaughter. "It's a castle she made for Grandpa," he proudly tells ISRAEL21c.
Levanon, born and raised in Tel Aviv, holds advanced degrees in theoretical physics and operations research. His early expertise was applying mathematical models to management science - helping executives make decisions based on the best data possible.
Levanon first put his ideas to work in the Israeli Air Force during his army service, developing new weapons and methods of training soldiers to use them. After his service and while completing his doctorate, he worked in police intelligence.
Applying his scientific knowledge to the business world, Levanon became the vice president of a software company, and then became the chief scientist of the Eisenberg Group. In 1989, he left and formed his own marketing consultancy. At the same time he continued in academia, and is a senior lecturer in marketing at Bar Ilan University and in business administration at Netanya Academic College.
Levanon attributes the origins of his current project to a major shift in his philosophical orientation which occurred seven years ago.
"The focus of my work has always been decision-making," he explains. "But until seven years ago, I always concentrated exclusively on rational decision-making. But I came to the point where I knew I wanted to understand and focus on emotional decision-making."
He made the switch from the rational to the emotional when he realized that this is where the most powerful decision-making takes place.
"We make our first instinctive decisions in the first fifth of a second. It's a lot longer before the cognitive decision takes place."
Marketing research has shown, he says that an 'emotional relationship' is created between a person and something they experience - a sound, a word, a picture, a person they meet, within these first milliseconds, while the cognitive wheels only begin turning after half a second. The focus of his work has been trying to identify and harness this quick and powerful emotional decision-making system, to figure out how best to influence people.
Lassos, Levanon's partner in this endeavor, bounds energetically into his office when he calls her in to help explain the system they have devised to do this. They are an unlikely pair - the grandfatherly Levanon, and Lossos, who is young, dynamic, with short-cropped hair and multiple earrings piercing her earlobe. But they are very much a team - finishing one another's sentences.
Her psychology and scientific expertise complements his experience in business and marketing research. Lossos was born in Lithuania and moved to Israel when she was six years old. Despite her youthful appearance, she holds a PhD. in neuropsychology from Hebrew University, and has worked as a copy writer in an ad agency. Now she is combining her work with Levanon with post-doctoral study at Harvard University.
Levanon and Losso began sorting people into emotional decision-making 'types' which affects the way in which they sort information. Levanon became 'anti-Darwinist' in deciding that not everybody is motivated strictly by survival concerns. He identified three basic motivating factors and says that they have different levels in different people.
"Why do babies cry? Because they are in trouble, in danger and need help surviving. Or because they are uncomfortable and want a state of familiarity and comfort. Or because they are bored and want attention and entertainment."
These are also what drives adults he believes - and studies have shown through brain scan that the brain emits different hormones for different states - adrenaline when we are afraid and threatened, Acetylcholine when we are in a routine comfort state, and dopamine when we are interested and intrigued by something.
Our differing limbic systems, he theorizes, divide us in to three basic types - survivalists, homeostatists, and growth-oriented - what they call S, H, and G values. We are all combinations of the three, but he believes that in everybody, one type dominates.
Knowing the levels of 'S,H, and G' in each person, Levanon says, is the key to knowing what kind of advertising or marketing approach will have an effect on them.
Levanon came to these conclusions using thousands of questionnaires. But he was looking for a short-cut, theorizing that if these personality types are based on biochemical reactions, there should be a way to measure them physically.
He first ruled out looking at body language, because recording it was complicated, and people are more conscious of how they look and often manipulate their movements. But the voice - not what you say, but how you say it - turns out, he believes, to be a good way to measure a person's basic emotional personality.
Levanon and Lossos thus developed a way in which to map 30 seconds of speech on an electronic graph, and quickly identify which of his basic personality categories they fall into. The potential for the sales field and telemarketers is unlimited, as Tomer Chen discovered.
Tomer Chen, former Microsoft marketing manager for small and medium-sized business customers conducted an experiment for Levanon, and found that using his approach, he could double sales, compared with control group that did not use the 'eemotional marketing' technique.
He told the financial daily Globes "we knew how to approach customers, we kept them from procrastinating. We gave them confidence in buying by appealing to needs to which they were naturally inclined. The ratio was almost six to one."
Lossos and Levanon are most excited about an aspect of their research that they stumbled upon by accident. It happened when they were exploring the use of their voice analysis for potential application in a dating service.
"We found a disruption in the profiles that were falling into the same pattern," said Lossos. "It turned out that all of the disruptions were people who were dyslexic. You could tell by their voices. Dyslexics can't hear some frequencies well, and that affects the way that they speak."

Levanon calls this a "fascinating breakthrough" with tremendous potential: finding concrete clues to disabilities, developmental disorders and medical conditions through the voice.
"We are already working with several medical and research centers to explore this further," he says. "We are working with the Weizmann Institute on autism, with the cardiology department in Meir Hospital regarding detection of heart disease, and with Hadassah Hospital on using our technique for early diagnosis of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and with Sheba hospital on schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder."
One of the start-up companies he is creating will be devoted to harnessing his technique for medical applications. The second will be oriented towards human resources - helping companies sort workers into the jobs best suited to their personality types, and a third will focus on the telemarketing applications.
You don't need a graph to sense how charged and excited Levanon and Lossos are about the potential of their work to contribute to numerous fields. Without measuring it, you can hear it in their voices.

An Israeli version of a gourmet treat
By David Brinn July 17, 2005
The Israeli researchers were able to speed up the fertility stage in which the female sturgeon produced the eggs from which the caviar is made.
Forget the gefilte fish - bring on the caviar with the Made in Israel tag. For the first time, the culinary delicacy is being produced from sturgeon roe grown in an Israeli fish farm.
And thanks to Israeli scientific savvy, the process by which fish reach maturity and can lay their eggs, has been cut nearly by half: to seven or eight years instead of 12 to 14. The accomplishment was the result of more than a decade of research undertaken by Galilee Caviar, a subsidiary of Dan Fish Farms in the north of the country, in cooperation with Israel's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
"The research began about 12 years ago," said Prof. Dan Levanon, the ministry's chief scientist. "Our idea was to try to grow sturgeon artificially in fish ponds."
Levanon explained that historically, almost all caviar originates from sturgeon caught in the Caspian Sea close to the former USSR and Iran. Since the break up of the USSR, the hazards of over fishing, and habitat loss and pollution, there has been dramatic decline in sturgeon populations in the Caspian, and diminishing harvests of caviar.
By 1998, the decline was so pronounced that an international committee known as CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna) indicated that without international actions, there was an imminent threat of extinction of sturgeon from the Caspian Sea. This action has led to tight regulation and control of the international trade of all caviar from all species worldwide.
Dan Fish Farms, owned by and located on Kibbutz Dan, close to the Lebanese border in the north of Israel, has specialized for years in developing new species for agriculture, fish vaccines and vaccination systems, fish feeds and feeding experiments and assimilation of biotechnology products in fish.
According to Avshalom Hurvitz, a biologist with the company, the changing nature of the caviar industry due to the shortage of sturgeon, prompted the launch of the program in 1994.
"We aimed at monitoring and controlling the maturation of the female sturgeon," he told ISRAEL21c.
Since sturgeon do not exist naturally in Israel, Galilee Caviar - a subsidiary of Dan Fish Farms - was founded to oversee the project. They initially imported a small amount sturgeons from Russia, which were raised in fish farms at the kibbutz.
According to Levanon, the focus of the project was to learn how to grow the fish artificially.

"That's taken the bulk of the time - growing fish artificially instead of in a river. We have fish ponds in the north with water taken from the Dan River - the optimal temperature is not higher than 23 degrees Celsius. After many years, we've succeeded in this stage," he said.
The next step in the process was to speed up the fertility stage in which the female sturgeon produced the eggs from which the caviar is made.
"In order to produce caviar from the eggs of the female, they need to get to the fertility stage, which in nature takes anywhere between 10-14 years. So for the last two years, we've worked on decreasing the time it takes to reach the fertility stage. And we've succeeded in producing amounts of caviar from the female after only seven to eight years," said Levanon.
Initially, Caviar Hagalil has produced its first 20 kg of caviar. In Western markets, caviar can be sold for up to $2,000 per kilo.
"We've given samples to several chefs, and we've gotten a very high ranking," said Hurvitz, who's studing for his Phd at Hebrew University's school of agriculture. "Our goal is to produce 4,000 kg. of caviar per year, and we hope to achieve this by the end of 2007."
"We're now working hard to develop a protocol of production which will enable this to occur regularly - it's mainly to due the controlled conditions - optimal food and optimal temperature, and they'll grow faster and reach a fertile age earlier," added Levanon.
For Hurvitz, the experiment in raising sturgeon is a natural extension of his work at the Dan Fish Farms.
"We raise all different kinds of freshwater fish - mainly rainbow trout - about 350 tons a year and about 200 tons of carp," he said.
Being around the scaly creatures so much hasn't dulled his taste for fresh fish, with rainbow trout being his professed favorite. Hurvitz admitted, that before he began working on the caviar project, he had never tasted the delicacy before.
"Before we started the caviar project, I didn't anything about it, and had never tasted it. Now I've tasted it, and like it very much," he said. "And I'll tell you, I've been to Russia as part of our research and tasted the original from the Caspian, and I've tried ours. And in my unprofessional view, our product is very, very good."

Israel's 'Accordion Pill' unfolds according to plan
By Karin Kloosterman July 10, 2005
The Accordion Pill technology will enable Intec to be a conduit for major slow release drugs that can be administered once daily cutting out the need for someone to take as many as five pills a day.
Most people have heard of and been amazed by Given Imaging's camera-in-a-capsule - the groundbreaking Israeli technology that has redefined gastrointestinal diagnosis and benefited tens of thousands of patients worldwide.
Well, it must be an Israeli thing, because now Jerusalem-based startup Intec Pharma has come up with its own equally innovative 'in-the-capsule' technology which could likely create the next big splash in the Pharma industry - the Accordion Pill.
An oral drug delivery system, the Accordion Pill may look like an ordinary-sized capsule, but once inside the stomach it unfolds like an accordion and positions itself as a controlled-release platform. This unique technology will enable Intec to be a conduit for major slow release drugs that can be administered once daily cutting out the need for someone to take as many as five pills a day.
Our bodies naturally have a hard time absorbing certain medication into the bloodstream. In some instances a drug dosing may be too sudden - and too much active ingredient enters the narrow absorption window; in other cases, an insufficient amount of drug is absorbed and the active ingredients get quickly flushed outside the body.

The Accordion Pill ultimately solves this problem by retaining the pharmaceutical ingredients in the stomach for as long as 24 hours, compared to a maximum stomach residency of three hours in a regular formulation. It can also be designed to release the ingredients at desired intervals according to a drug developer?s demands. Within a day the small accordion structure biodegrades and passes through the system.
The Accordion Pill targets drugs that need to be absorbed by the bloodstream in a limited area of the upper small intestine known as the 'narrow absorption window', a physical area of the lower stomach and the upper part of the small intestine. Drugs that could benefit from Intec's technology are used for treating a wide variety of conditions such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, hypertension, AIDS, obesity and for pain relief.
The potential market for the Accordion Pill is so large that Intec succeeded in wooing CEO Efi Cohen-Arazi - a vice president of Amgen, the largest biotech company in the world - to its small offices in the hills of Jerusalem.
After just a few months on board, he was able to be part of Intec's latest milestone - last month's successful completion of Phase I clinical trials for a drug platform. The Accordion Pill will pass through further clinical trials depending on what company co-develops active compounds with them.
The study, conducted at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, demonstrated that the Accordion Pill could double the amount of Riboflavin retained in the body.
The study was based on cross-over data from thirteen healthy volunteers who received alternate 75 mg. doses of Accordion Pill Riboflavin and regular immediate release Riboflavin following a low calorie meal (280 calories).
The study results showed that the Riboflavin Accordion Pill was retained in the stomach and continued to release Riboflavin to its absorption sites for significantly longer periods of time than regular Riboflavin. The stomach retention time for Accordion Pill Riboflavin was more than 6 hours compared to less than 2 hours with regular Riboflavin; the absorption time for Accordion Pill Riboflavin was 8 hours compared to 3 hours for regular Riboflavin. As a result, the total amount of Riboflavin absorbed by the body was 100 percent greater when the Accordion Pill was used than when it was not.
The study results were presented last month by Prof. Amnon Hoffman of the Hebrew University at the 32nd annual meeting of the Controlled Release Society in Miami, Florida. Hoffman together with Prof. Michael Friedman is co-developer of the Accordion Pill and a member of the Intec Pharma Scientific Advisory Board.
Besides working with drug developers on making new drugs more potent, or effective, Intec hopes to enter into what is known as the super-generic drug market. The goal here is to give one generic drug manufacturer a strong competitive edge over all others by substantially improving the drug's absorption capability.
Intec is currently negotiating with several large US pharmaceutical companies and plans to soon begin working on several compounds.
No doubt having a former Amgen VP at the company's helm will certainly help Intec company commercialize its technology as Cohen-Arazi is well-versed in international pharmaceutical culture and is already on a first name basis with heads from companies like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.
Over the last ten years, Cohen-Arazi made a meteoric rise in the drug industry. He started out working with InterPharm in Israel where he played a key role in developing beta-interferon (today the main drug used for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis) from where he advanced to an executive position at the headquarters of Interpharm's owner, Switzerland's Serono.
He then obtained a leading position at Immunex and when the company merged with Amgen, he found himself as a VP at the world's largest biotech company. There, he managed a $400 million budget and helped orchestrate a company of 15 000 employees.

One of Cohen-Arazi's most fulfilling achievements at Amgen was developing what he calls the miracle drug, Enbrel, which gives a new lease on life to rheumatoid arthritis sufferers.
"I managed Enbrel's development for the last five years and was enriched and rewarded by patients and families who told us on how drugs like Enbrel changed their lives," Cohen-Arazi told ISRAEL21c. "I am always thrilled that I can do something good for humanity and get paid for it at the same time."
Over the last three years, Cohen-Arazi has been following the fruits of Israeli biotech investments made in the late nineties. By last year already he was eager to help jumpstart a biotech company back in Israel.
"The year 2004 marked a completely new trajectory for Israel's biopharma industry," says Cohen-Arazi, "I was looking for opportunities in Israel because I wanted the challenge to learn and grow with a company from scratch."
Although it is may be easier to grow in a big company like Amgen that has experts on hand in every field, Cohen-Arazi was looking for a new kind of challenge - one where his efforts wouldn't feel diluted. Cohen-Arazi wanted the feeling of creating something completely unique, and Israel is where he knew he could do that.
Today Intec predicts its business will develop in two ways. First, the company will sign licensing agreements with large pharmaceutical companies and accept upfront payments as well as royalties from co-developments. Second, the company has identified and is developing certain target molecules which will be commercialized through a strategic partner.
Cohen-Arazi is downright excited to see what the future will bring at his new position at Intec. During those moments when he gets feedback from drug developers and potential investors from Israel and the US, he begins to understand that the Accordion Pill may be the biggest development he's ever been involved in.

Karin Kloosterman is a freelance reporter living in Israel.

Israeli expertise solves a hairy problem
By Allison Kaplan Sommer July 17, 2005
The Syneron hair removal devices are based on Elos - a combined energy technology that uses Bi-Polar Radio Frequency and optical energy (either laser or IPL.)
Maybe it's because Israelis are always interested in fields in which scientific and technological expertise can be harnessed commercially, or maybe it's because they are a Middle Eastern and rather hairy people, it's a problem that speaks to them personally.
But whatever the reason, Israel has been at the forefront of developing better ways to keep our bodies smooth and free of unwanted fuzz.
The most legendary invention is the best-selling Epilady, an electric hair removal system, developed by Yair Dar and Shimon Yahav in 1986 and manufactured at Kibbutz Goshrim. The device took the US by storm in the late 1980s, after it was introduced there by the three South African sisters, who acquired the US distribution rights. Within six months of introducing Epilady into such high-end department stores as Bloomingdale's and Marshall Field, it was one of hottest products to hit the US personal-care market in years, with millions of devices sold in its first few years on the market.
Though the Epilady still sells, the name of the hair removal game in the 21st century is laser technology. And Israeli companies are active players in the game, with hair removal representing just one part of a growing market segment - non-invasive aesthetic procedures that are FDA-regulated and usually performed by medical personnel. In addition to hair removal, these procedures include reducing unsightly varicose veins, lesions, treating acne and other skin problems, and wrinkle reduction.

Laser technology has been around since the 1970s. It was first used for hair removal in the mid-90's safety and effectiveness concerns severely limited its availability and affordability until recent years.
"There were limitations for its use with various kinds of skin and hair," explains David Shlachet, Chief Financial Officer of Syneron, an Israeli company that has quickly become a leading force in selling devices that remove unwanted hair and perform other cosmetic procedures to US doctors since its establishment five years ago.
"Laser technology is essentially based on absorbing optical energy by specific colors - which works best when you have contrast -- dark hair against light skin - but it is much more difficlut when the skin is very dark or the hair is very light and there is not enough contrast. Very dark skinned people are a particularly difficult group to work with effectively," he told ISRAEL21c.
After many years went by without any significant breakthroughs in cosmetic laser technology, an Israeli scientist named Dr. Shimon Eckhouse developed a technique called IPL or Intensive Pulse Light - which allowed more flexibility in laser use and widened the number of procedures it could be used for. Machines using this technique were sold by Eckhouse's first company, which was later sold and evolved into the company called Lumenis - which is still a force in the laser hair removal market in the US (Those who are in the business are careful to refer to 'permanent hair reduction' and not 'removal' as per the direction of the FDA.)

Eckhouse subsequently left the company and became one of the founders of Syneron, established in 2000. Teaming up with new collaborators, Eckhouse then developed what the company calls 'the third generation' of aesthetic laser and light technology.

Their patented technology is called Elos - a combined energy technology that uses Bi-Polar Radio Frequency and optical energy (either laser or IPL.)

"Using Elos is safer than using pure optical energy, and offers better efficacy; this expanded the range of applications," said Shlachet.

The company says that its technique offers safer, more effective, permanent hair reduction from all parts of the body. It can better treat those with light-colored hair or dark-colored skin.

The combined effect of the Bi-Polar Radio Frequency and Diode Laser energies allows the use of less overall optical energy (when compared to light or laser-only devices), increasing the safety of the device and causing less patient discomfort.

"It can be effectively used on dark-skinned people and very blond people with light hair and light skin -- and it is safer and more effective for them than laser or IPL alone," claims Shlachet.
The company's devices, manufactured in the north of Israel, started to sell quickly after they hit the market in late 2001. The Syneron companies in North America are wholly owned; there are subsidiaries in Germany and Austria, which operate through distributors in 41 countries.
In the US, the company has a sales staff of more then 40. Shlachet says that the company is "one of the leaders" in market share for laser hair removal - it is hard to measure, he says, since the laser platforms have multiple uses and not all of the companies share their sales information.
It is a busy and highly competitive market, but it is also growing. "The market is growing; there are more doctors and clinics and the number of procedures are increasing by 20-25 percent per year. People care more and more about the way they look, and getting hair removed by laser is becoming more socially acceptable," says Shlachet.
He notes that between 30-40 of hair removal clients and other aesthetic treatment in the U.S. are men. Another reason for its growth: "With the advance of non-invasive technology, it's become a lunch-break procedure. You can go to a doctor's office or clinic, get it done, and then go back to work."
Another factor that is driving sales is the growing number of doctors interested in performing such procedures. In the United States, only doctors are authorized to purchase the laser equipment and perform the procedures. Until now, the doctors doing this were nearly exclusively dermatologists and plastic surgeons. But as it becomes more popular and lucrative, companies like Syneron report that more general practitioners and other specialists like OB/GYNs are entering the market.
There are six publicly traded companies in the United States selling hair removal devices and more than 10 private companies. Of the six public companies, two are Israeli: Lumenis and Syneron, traded on NASDAQ.
Most of the companies, like Syneron, sell different devices for various aesthetic procedures. Syneron sells six platforms, and each platform is capable of being used for a number of applications, including acne and other skin treatment, wrinkle reduction, and cellulite treatment.
Syneron's primary Israeli competitor in the US marketplace is its predecessor Lumenis, which markets devices using lasers and IPL light sources to reduce unwanted hair. In addition, it manufactures different types of medical equipment for various types of laser surgery, both for regular medical needs, and in veterinarian's offices on pets.
Another Israeli force in the hair removal arena is a privately-held company called Radiancy, which focuses on making laser and light technology hair removal more affordable and easily available by developing smaller and less expensive devices.
Until now, according to the company's website, existing laser technology for hair removal has forced current systems to be cumbersome and expensive and the capital investment has kept the price high for the consumer.
Radiancy claims that its SpaTouch product is the only system of its kind to be cleared by the FDA for self-use by the patient. Radiancy's corporate headquarters is located in Orangeburg, New York, with research and development facilities in Israel.
Syneron, which also has its headquarters in Israel - something which gives it an edge in the field, says Shlachet.
"Growth is our sector is 15 to 20 percent per annum," he noted. "But because it's a mature industry, not a new industry, you have to be innovative to move ahead. The reason we had such early success was that after 12 years with no innovations we came in with a new technology."
What continues to give the Israelis their edge, he is convinced, is the availability and price of local brainpower. "We have a great advantage over our competitors by being based in Israel. Every dollar spent on research and development in Israel gives us about 60 percent more output in Israel than it would if it were spent in Boston or Silicon Valley."

Pas moins de huit nouveaux sites israéliens ont été ajoutés dimanche à la Liste patrimoine mondiale de l’Unesco. Ces derniers ont été choisis pour leur importance archéologique. Israël est décidément à l’honneur pour l’organisation des Nations Unies, qui avait déjà classé ces dernières années Massada, Akko et Tel Aviv « sites patrimoine mondiale de l’Unesco ».
Cette distinction n’est pas seulement honorifique, mais aura des projections sur le plan touristique. Elle engage aussi le pays élu à protéger son patrimoine culturel, archéologique pour les générations à venir. Une commission israélienne de l’Unesco composée notamment de responsables des ministères du Tourisme, des Affaires étrangères, des autorités administrant les sites archéologiques, est habilitée à soumettre chaque année à l’organisation une sélection de nouveaux sites.
L’Unesco a donc choisi cette année les tells bibliques de Meggido, Hazor et Beershéva.
«Sur plus de 200 tells en Israël, Megiddo, Hazor et Beer-Sheba sont représentatifs de ceux qui abritent d’importants vestiges de cités aux liens bibliques. Ces trois tells présentent également quelques-uns des plus beaux exemples de systèmes d’adduction d’eaux souterraines dans le Levant, datant de l’âge du fer, très élaborés et créés pour desservir de denses communautés urbaines », explique l’organisation.

La route de l’encens et les anciennes villes du Néguev sont également apparues comme des sites archéologiques de premier plan à protéger : « Dans le désert du Néguev, les quatre anciennes villes nabatéennes d’Avdat, Haluza, Mamshit et Shivta, ainsi qu’une série de forteresses et de paysages agricoles, jalonnaient la route par laquelle transitaient l’encens et les épices. Tous ces sites constituent un témoignage du commerce extrêmement rentable de l’encens et de la myrrhe, entre le sud de la Péninsule Arabique et la Méditerranée, qui prospéra du IIIe siècle avant J.-C. au IIe siècle après J.- C. Leurs vestiges de systèmes d’irrigation extrêmement perfectionnés, de constructions urbaines, de fortins et de caravansérails témoignent de la façon dont ce désert inhospitalier fut colonisé pour le commerce et l’agriculture ».
La ministre de l’Education Limor Livnat, qui est aussi la présidente de l’Unesco Israël, s’est félicitée de ce choix de l’organisation, soulignant qu’il s’agit pour Israël d’une distinction sans précédent. Pour célébrer cette performance israélienne, les autorités des Parcs et réserves naturelles organisent des visites gratuites le 23 juillet des tells de Meggido, Hazor, Beershéva et de Avdat à 11h, 13h et 15h. HA

The Health Ministry will issue a director-general's advisory recommending that consumption of soya products be limited in young children and adults and avoided if possible by infants.
After a year's work, a committee of experts said that people who eat soya products should do so in moderation, pending additional studies in the coming years that reach firm conclusions on whether it promotes cancers, harms male fertility or has other harmful or beneficial influences.
The 13-member committee, headed by Prof. Zvi Weizman, included ministry Food and Nutrition Service head Dr. Dorit Nitzan-Kalusky, oncologist Prof. Tamar Peretz, Metabolism expert Prof. Elliot Berry, gynecology Prof. Amnon Brzezinski, pediatrics Prof. David Branski and other specialists, who looked into soya products and health.
Soya contains an estrogen-like hormone (phytoestrogen) that can have some of the effects of human estrogens if consumed in large quantities. The local food industry is a major developer and producer of soya-based food.
Nitzan-Kalusky said that soya is widely used by all ages because it is a cheap protein substitute for meat. The ministry, as it said during the Remedia baby formula scandal a few years ago (in which babies died or suffered permanent neurological damage due to the lack of a B vitamin in soya-based Remedia formula) reiterated that infants should ideally be breastfed, and if not, given baby formula based on cow's milk. Only in special circumstances (such as allergies to cow's milk) should they get mother's milk from a breast-milk bank or be given soya-based formula, which is popular among haredi families who do not want to mix milk-based baby formula with meat meals for supposed kashrut reasons.
The ministry decided not to adopt a regulation allowing babies to get soya formula only upon recommendation of a physician (in effect in some countries such as New Zealand). However, because of potential dangers of significant amounts of soya in the diet, the ministry will disseminate information to the public and health system workers about possible harm from its frequent consumption.
Nitzan-Kaluski said that day care centers, which frequently serve soya products several times daily, should limit it to only one serving a day and no more than three times a week. In addition, babies and toddlers suffering from hypothyroidism and drink soya-based formula or soya foods should have their blood thryroxine levels monitored.
Middle-aged women who suffer from menopausal symptoms and do not get hormone replacement therapy can have a diet with phytoestrogens from soya and flaxseed, even though studies have not consistently shown that they are of benefit.
The ministry said it could not reach practical conclusions regarding soya and cancer, as study results were conflicting. Excessive estrogen is known to be involved in breast cancer, but since the evidence is not clear, women at high risk for breast cancer or who have the disease itself should consult their physican before starting a high-phytoestrogen diet.
Since estrogen is a female hormone, there is evidence that it may reduce male fertility, thus men who eat soya should do so in moderation, the ministry said. Soya and flax seed have been shown to reduce blood cholesterol, which is beneficial, but there is no clear proof that isoflavones in these products reduce the risk of heart disease, the ministry said.
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What is being described as the world's first science hotel has opened on the Hebrew University's Givat Ram campus. With 72 beds, the Beit Bretter hotel – located next to the Belmonte Labs for teaching science to high-school pupils – will accommodate 5,000 teenagers from around the country each year.
The hotel was initiated by Prof. Yitzhak Parnas, former head of the National Council for Research and Development, who believes that the academic world should take an active part in promoting science among young people. It is hoped that the informal setting will kindle an interest in pursuing a scientific career.
The teenagers stay for a week – at no cost to them or their parents – and study life sciences, physics, chemistry, biotechology, electro-optics and environmental quality. The first guests were 40 teenagers from development towns, residents of the Beduin city of Rahat and Druse from Usfiya and Daliat el-Carmel. The Belmonte Labs have until now been utilized almost exclusively by some 15,000 science pupils from Jerusalem, but the new hotel makes it possible for out-of-town youngsters to use them as well. The young guests were also taken on tours of Jerusalem, with visits to the Old City, hi-tech companies, the Biblical Zoo and the Supreme Court building.
The hotel was made possible thanks to donations via the Jerusalem Foundation and the Landa Foundation. Parnas's project has already served as a model for a number of foreign cities, including Heidelberg, Mexico City and Marseille. So far, 80 science and education ministers from around the world have visited the complex.

THINKING SMALL

Semiconductor nanocrystals are only a few nanometers (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter) in size. They exhibit unique optical and electrical properties controlled by modifying their size, composition and shape, creating promising building blocks for future devices,
Prof. Uri Banin and students Taleb Mokari and Eli Rothenberg have developed nanocrystals that emit light in the near-infrared, a range important for optical telecommunications. Another invention is nanocrystals in the form of tiny, gold-tipped dumbbells. The nanodumbells help in the building of new nanocrystal transistors – the basic component of computer chips. Their invention was described last year in Science.
For their work, two of the researchers recently received Kaye Innovation Awards, and Rothenberg received the Barenholz Prize in Applied Science, established by Prof. Yechezkel Barenholz, a medical technology innovator at the Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Medicine. All three recipients have been involved with groundbreaking research on colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals, specifically the development of new, varied shapes.
The nanodumbbells provide strong chemical bonds between the gold and the semiconductor, leading to good electrical connectivity. The gold tips are also anchor points that could be used for integrating the nanodumbbells into electrical circuits. This might help solve the problem of wiring nanocrystals into real-world, nanoelectronic applications such as mini-computers, nanosensors for chemical and biological molecules, novel solar-cell devices, or various biomedical applications.
Some $6 million has been invested in HU's new nanoscopic characterization unit, and about $4 million is to be invested in a nanofabrication center, making the university one of the country's leading centers for nanotechnology.

Yesh Li Sod Ve'od – Ani Koreh! (Part 1 (for ages four to six); Yesh Li Sod Ve'od – Ani Koreh! Part II (for ages four to six); Yesh Li Sod Ve'od – Ani Koreh! Part III (for ages five to eight), three CD-ROMs in Hebrew sold separately (NIS 112) or in a set (NIS 300), by the Center for Educational Technology in Ramat Aviv (www.cet.ac.il), requires Windows 95 and up and a 116 Mhz Pentium PC or better.
Rating of each : HHHHH
At least six months are invested in teaching first graders how to read Hebrew – and there are many children who still can't read well when they reach third grade. As a mother who has used computer programs to teach her kids Hebrew reading and writing before they started kindergarten, I can't understand why so much frontal class teaching has to be wasted on the mechanical process of learning how to read words of an absolutely phonetic language.
The Center for Educational Technology (CET), a non-profit organization that produces software for schools and home use, released the first edition of this trio of programs on floppy diskettes a decade ago and the second in 2000 on CD-ROMs. These were very good and cost about NIS 200 then; now the third edition costs about half and is even better. It is the most serious and comprehensive set of programs among the many on the local market that claim to teach kids to read.
Although some schools – and kindergartens – use the third edition for class teaching, many parents buy them to give a boost to their kids via their home PC. The parents' guide included in every box advises them to support and encourage kids to use the program, but absolutely not to force them. "So that their motivation is not harmed and they will enjoy it, the learning process must be without coercion or pressure," the guide says. Instead, children should proceed with the lessons and games at their own pace and repeat them as many times as they like.
The hero of Yesh Li Sod Ve'od! (I Have a Secret And More!) is a red, pear-shaped character named Alfi (as in alef bet); he shares the screen with a pony-tailed girl named Tzippi and a Dalmatian named Shva-Na (a misunderstood Hebrew vowel). Their home base is an Israeli street scene with a pillbox serving as a directory for lessons. There is a signpost to access a wide variety of games, film clips, stories, an illuminated guide to Hebrew letters and a digital writing pad that can be decorated with colorful objects. The third edition is a step up graphically.
The content of short films from TV shows or commercial videotapes ranges from visits to the zoo and unwrapping presents to an explanation of how bats hang upside down. Only a minority of the "extracurricular" activities featured in Part I are repeated in Part II and Part III, and all the stories and film clips are different. Only Part III offers a welcome feature of icons of letters and vowels that can be clicked sequentially to produce the human sound of their combination. The programs also have their own Web site, and anyone with an Internet connection can click on an icon for extra educational material and games.
As children today have much-reduced attention spans, the Hebrew reading lessons are shorter than in the previous versions and introduced with 3-D animations of Alfi or Tzippy with Shva-Na. Each disk has five learning units, each of which is comprised of six lessons. These come in the form of text-word; sound; practice of phonetic characters by identifying what you hear and see; building words out of syllables; and review. Then come the games – presented as boxes in the window of a toy shop – at various levels of difficulty that bolster the process. All the material can be printed out, and if you have a microphone attached to your PC, the child can pronounce the words and read out the text as practice. Each level is sold with a printed, 32-page workbook with space for writing words, answering questions and filling in crossword puzzles.
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Devorah's Song & the Battle of Kishon, a CD-ROM in English by the Davka Corporation of Chicago, distributed in Israel by Dekel Software (02-991-2718 and alanr@netvision.net.il)., requires Windows 98 and up and a 166 Mhz Pentium PC or better, for ages 12 and up, NIS 99 ($19.95 abroad). - Rating: ****
Few stories in the Bible carry as feminist a message as the fourth chapter of the Book of Judges.
Subjugated by Canaanite king Yavin in Hatzor as punishment for their sins, the Israelites came to Deborah the Prophetess, who sat under the palm tree at Mount Ephraim, for judgment. She called on Barak to take 10,000 men from the tribes of Naftali and Zevulun to Mount Tabor, promising that God would help him defeat Sisera, the captain of Yavin's army, with its 900 iron chariots. Barak replied that he would face the battle only if Deborah was willing to accompany him.
After Sisera's army was routed, he fled on foot to the tent of Yael, the wife of Heber the Kenite (descendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses). Yael gave him a flask of milk to quench his thirst and make him drowsy, covered him with a mantle and, when he slept, hammered a tent peg into his temple, killing him. With his general's army defeated, Yavin surrendered to the Israelites, who had since repented and prospered.
These 24 verses serve as the basis of this adventure, which stars Deborah, who appears only with her back to the player, apparently so as not to upset English-speaking haredi parents in the Diaspora and Israel with a female face. Joel, the "wise old scroll," offers hints, and a map of ancient Israel is provided to help you navigate using clickable arrows. Pick up objects such as a sheep, bone, torch, harp, tent peg, hammer and saw for future use. A hieroglyphics chart helps you decipher hidden messages.
The disc doesn't lack for humor: If you click something while Deborah is speaking, a sign appears saying "A little respect!," and if you click on a hummingbird too often in an attempt to gain points, you are told: "Stop bothering me!" This game presents the background and encourages investigation of the Biblical text - presented on the disk in Hebrew and English - by visiting the locations on the map. Kudos for Davka's second disk aimed at making a Bible story come alive for children.
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, a CD-ROM in English by Disney Interactive, distributed with a 16-page Hebrew-language user's manual, requires Windows 95 and up and a 90 Mhz Pentium PC or better, for ages four and above, NIS 59. - Rating: ** 1/2
Poor programmers at Disney Interactive, who have the tough task of turning Disney's animated films into exciting software games. Too often they end up unimaginative and repetitive, like this disk for preschoolers. It features Melody, the daughter of Ariel who starred in the first Little Mermaid movie. The software actually has no plot and no scenes from the movie, only five activities - none of which plows new ground in the underground world called Atlantica. Melody insists on deep sea diving to find find precious stones to make jewelry. You use your arrow keys to maneuver her towards the gems while bumping into bubbles in the water to supply her with oxygen so she doesn't pass out (I thought mermaids don't have to breathe underwater).
A very ordinary maze, which awards you with a gold trident if you get through it, makes up the conventional second activity. The third teaches you how to choreograph underwater dances starring mermaids and fish. The fourth is a karaoke sing-along with a few ditties from the movie if you have a microphone. "Melody's memories" offers a reasonable variety of backgrounds, characters, objects, patterns and sound effects to choose from drawers to decorate them, none very exciting. While four-year-old kids who have seen the movie or read the storybook may want to take a first dip, they are not very likely to want to make many more dives.
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new initiative at Yeshiva University here aims to tackle an issue that organizers say has received insufficient attention in the Orthodox Jewish community: Judaism and sexuality.
Tzelem, which is Hebrew for "image," is a nascent organization founded by two Y.U. alumni, Koby Frances and Jennie Rosenfeld, who say they hope to encourage a greater willingness to discuss questions surrounding intimacy, relationships, dating and sexual identity among the Orthodox.
To accomplish that goal, they are planning a series of educational programs and seminars concentrated on Orthodox high schools, the Y.U. campuses and singles.
"People just don't know what Judaism says about sex because they haven't been taught," says Rosenfeld, a doctoral candidate in English literature at the City University of New York. "The idea is that education is really key."
Frances, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at CUNY, agrees. People "are willing to discuss these issues, but just don't know how," he says.
Some 2,800 undergraduates attend Y.U.'s three Manhattan single-sex liberal arts and business schools – Yeshiva College, Sy Syms School of Business and Stern College for Women. The institution, which also has graduate programs in Jewish studies, law, medicine, social work and psychology, derives most of its undergraduate population from modern Orthodox day schools, where active contacts between men and women, let alone sexual relationships, are generally not encouraged.
The program, which will launch this fall, will operate under the auspices of Y.U.'s new Center for the Jewish Future, which is being headed by Rabbi Kenneth Brander, a former leader of the Boca Raton Synagogue in Florida. The center constitutes a think tank that seeks to develop educational and leadership initiatives within the Y.U. and Orthodox communities on a broad range of issues.
"I think that kids and adults in the Y.U. and Orthodox communities are raised with a large degree of discomfort and awkwardness with the opposite sex," says Alan Goldsmith, a Yeshiva College senior.
Because sex is supposed to only take place within the context of marriage, he says, people often view any day-to-day interaction with the opposite sex as inappropriate.
"Rabbis and parents must encourage a healthy outlook on sexuality within the framework of halacha," or Jewish law, he says. "We have to avoid demonizing sexuality."
ALTHOUGH HARD data on the subject is difficult to come by, anecdotal evidence suggests that students at Y.U. are far less likely to engage in premarital sex than their Jewish counterparts at other universities in North America.
At the same time, many Y.U. students do come from coed day schools, so they have had interaction with members of the opposite sex.
Teens will receive particular attention from Tzelem, which aims to work with Orthodox high schools to develop curricula and seminars that address sexuality.
According to Brander, Tzelem's message will essentially be threefold: First, healthy self-esteem lies at the root of numerous problems related to interactions with the opposite sex.
"Teenagers are looking for acceptance and approval," he says, noting that schools need to be teaching teenagers to appreciate their lives and identities and that a lack of self-esteem can sometimes lead teens to rebel by engaging in promiscuous sex and drugs.
Second, Brander says, schools are not effectively communicating to students the holiness of sexuality.
"The rabbis recognized its power and greatness," Brander says. "The problem is we focus on only one dimension: that teenagers should not be involved in sexuality before marriage."
Of course, the underlying assumption among both Tzelem educators and students will be that premarital sex is not condoned.
Third, says Brander, schools must address the forces of peer pressure, providing opportunities for teenagers to socialize in a wholesome framework.
"There have to be places to hang out, to interact in a healthy fashion," he says, pointing out that peer pressure can often lead otherwise good students to participate in unsupervised parties or social gatherings where promiscuity and drugs are rampant.
Shayndi Raice, a student at Y.U.'s Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and a 2004 graduate of Stern College, says the Orthodox community needs to focus more on psychological issues surrounding sex and dating.
"I think there's definitely a lot of guilt associated with sexuality for men," she says. "And it affects their relationships."
According to Dr. Michelle Friedman, a psychiatrist who chairs the department of pastoral counseling at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a modern Orthodox rabbinical school in Manhattan, the primary challenge facing the Orthodox community on sexual issues lies in the discrepancy between the explicit sexuality of modern secular culture and the ideals of modesty and restraint in the Jewish religious tradition. Ignorance of Jewish views on sexuality often lead to misperceptions that cause undue hardships, Friedman notes.
"When you educate, you normalize," she says. "People tend to be more restrictive when they don't know. They assume a negative stance – and that's not often what Judaism is about."
Friedman is currently working on a survey that asks Orthodox married women about their sex lives and views on sexuality.
Tzelem has different aims for college-aged and young adult Jews. One initiative is to develop updated curricula for teachers who train kallot, or women engaged to be married. Brander says such classes must expand beyond the traditional instruction in the laws of nidda, or family purity, to include such topics as abuse, infertility and gynecological procedures.
Likewise, Tzelem hopes to organize optional seminars on dating and relationships for Y.U. students, which will be led by rabbis, therapists, sexual health educators and communication specialists.
"Students are never educated about how one communicates in a relationship," says Rosenfeld.
This is a problem she hopes the seminars will address.
According to Ari Fridman, an undergraduate senior who serves as editor in chief of The Commentator, the student newspaper of Yeshiva College and Sy Syms, the issue of premarital sex is particularly troubling for modern Orthodox couples.
"While large portions of the Orthodox world now accept dating as a precursor to marriage, new issues related to that process continue to emerge, not least of which is the premarital sexual relationship, commonplace in general society, but unacceptable according to Jewish law," he says. "For American Orthodox Jews, foregoing a premarital physical relationship proves quite difficult, particularly because the partners have imbibed from the youngest age a cultural view that permits, even encourages, such relationships."
"The issue plagues many dating couples in the modern Orthodox world," Fridman adds. "Whether there is a halachic solution to this dilemma, I am not sure." (JTA)
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Israeli company develops bone injection gun
Jul. 20 - Israeli company WaisMed Ltd. has developed a bone injection gun (BIG) which has taken manual procedure that was traumatic for the paramedics and doctors who had to carry it out, and turned it into routine act, Globes reported. WaisMed's device works by inserting a needle directly into bone in order to deliver drugs or liquids into the blood via the bone, a method called 'intraosseous'. This method was discovered in 1922, and was in wide use through the 1940s, but was pushed aside in favor of polymer intravenous catheters and needles. WaisMed was founded at Technion Entrepreneurial Incubator Co. Ltd. (TEIC) in 1995. "The American Heart Association first recommended BIG's use for adults in 2003. We hope that in 2006 it will be declared the primary alternative when intravenous treatment is unsuccessful, which means that everyone learning advanced CPR will also learn how to use our device," said CEO Mickey Flint.

Israeli lice treatment demonstrates 96% efficacy
Jul. 20 - Israeli medical start-up Foamix Ltd. has announced the results of its Phase II/III study of one of its lead products, PerFoam, for the treatment of lice, Globes reported. Trial data shows evidence of safety and a 96% efficacy rate. Foamix anticipates launching PerFoam in the Israeli market in 2006, and in the global market in 2006/7. PerFoam, comprised of 1% permethrin and two proprietary enhancers, is an alcohol-free, non-irritating, drip-free foam for the treatment of head lice. The study, titled, "An open study to assess the efficacy, safety and usability of a 1% Permethrin Foam, in the treatment of head lice (pediculosis capitis) in pediatric patients," was conducted at the Laniado Medical Center, Netanya. Dr. Avner Shemer, senior dermatologist was the principal investigator of the study. Fifty-six children, ages 3-16, infested with head lice, were treated with PerFoam. PerFoam was applied to the hair for 10 minutes and then washed. Treatment was repeated 10 days later. According to the study, "PerFoam proved effective in killing the lice on the first application in 54 of the 56 children (96.4%). Furthermore, in 60% of the children, lice eggs were completely eradicated after the first application. The product was easily applied and caused no discomfort to the treated children. There was no evidence of eye or skin irritation. "The efficacy of PerFoam is remarkably high, despite the commonly known resistance of lice to current treatments in this region," said Professor Arie Hadani, the entomologist of the study. It has been estimated that 10-12 million Americans are infested yearly with lice. Elementary school-age children account for a quarter of this number. The current US market for head-lice treatment products is estimated at $120 million.
July 10, 2005 - July 16, 2005

Israeli company supplies Nigerian tribal chief with impotence drug
Jul. 12 - A Nigerian tribal chief seeking to please his harem has ordered tens of thousands of dollars' worth of a prescription drug for impotence from an Israeli company, The Jerusalem Post reported. The company, Trima, located in Kibbutz Maabarot in the Sharon region, recently received a large order for the drug, which costs only $8 per bottle of pills - about 1/40th the price of more famous and expensive drugs for erectile dysfunction (ED) such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. Trima is reportedly the only company in the world that makes the non-patented drug, called Tesopalmed Forte Cum Yohimbine. It has been produced in Israel with imported bark of the African yohimbine tree since the 1930s. Company export manager Azgad Dor said on Monday that a company agent in Lagos, who is also a tribal chief, used the drug himself and was very pleased with his own performance in his relations with his many wives. He told his compatriots, which led to the large order.

Israeli researchers discover how HIV protein disables cell's call for help
Jul. 11 - The HIV virus hides out in the very immune system cells that are meant to protect the body from viral infection. But how does it prevent these cells from mounting a full-scale attack against the invader? In research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, a team at the Weizmann Institute of Science has shown how a part of a protein on the virus' outer surface interferes with the cells' normal immune response. But their work may have wider implications: this molecular fragment, which has such a devastating effect in one disease, might turn out to be an effective treatment for other disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. The research was conducted by Institute scientists Prof. Yechiel Shai of the Biological Chemistry Department, Prof. Irun Cohen of the Immunology Department and graduate students Francisco Quintana and Doron Gerber.

Israeli team reveals anti-inflammatory function of Alzheimer's Disease drug
Jul. 11 - The mechanism in anti-Alzheimer's disease drugs that inhibits the production of a destructive, inflammation-causing protein in the brain has been revealed by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Their work, described in a recent issue of the American journal, Annals of Neurology is likely to lead to the development of more efficient drugs than are currently in use for treating Alzheimer's Disease as well as other neurological conditions resulting from infections, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, or brain inflammation resulting from trauma or stroke. The research team working on this project was headed by Prof. Raz Yirmiya of the Psychology Department at the Hebrew University, Dr. Yehuda Pollak, a post-doctoral fellow in Prof. Yirmiya's laboratory; and in cooperation with Hermona Soreq, the Charlotte Slesinger Professor of Cancer Studies at the Silberman Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University, and Prof. Tamir Ben-Hur of the Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine.

Israeli radiography systems shipped to front-line US medical care units in Iraq and Afghanistan
Jul. 11 - 34 OREX Computer Radiography (CR) systems - developed in Israel - have been sent by the US Air Force to Kelly Air Force Base to be deployed into Iraq and Afghanistan. This makes more than 300 Orex systems which have been sold to the US military. OREX, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastman Kodak Company's (NYSE:EK) Health Group, is a leading provider of compact, high-performance mobile CR systems designed to deliver digital patient x-ray images from virtually anywhere via secured satellite. "The U.S. Armed Services are now benefiting from wide deployment of OREX's battlefield-proven CR solution which we have backed with extensive training, service and technical support tailored specifically for Level I, II and III medical treatment centers located around the world," said Jerry C. Cirino, president and CEO, SourceOne Healthcare Technologies, Inc, the American distributors for the device. Weighing only 88 pounds, OREX's PcCR 1417 small format CR solution is one of the most versatile and flexible compact systems on the market. With an industry leading speed of up to 150 plates per hour, OREX's CR solution is a complete plug-and-play imaging system that combines filmless laser scanners, erasable phosphor plates, advanced image management software and a PC-based review station. With wide deployment of the PcCR1417, the U.S. Armed Forces has been able to streamline its medical imaging procedures resulting in a higher standard of care in military settings. In some field locations, digital patient x-ray images are saved to a CD and sent with the patient to military medical centers for treatment. In other situations, CDs are sent in ahead of the patient so that preparations for treatment may be made in advance. Complex studies can also be read by radiologists located around the world via teleradiology made possible with secure satellite transmission of images. To date, 4,000 OREX D-CR medical and dental systems have been installed around the world. OREX is headquartered in Yokneam, Israel.

FDA approves Israeli electronic eyeglasses for treating lazy eye syndrome in children
Jul. 11 - OphthoCare, an Israeli company which develops electronic eyeglasses for treating lazy eye syndrome (amblyopia) in children, has obtained FDA approval to market its products in the US, Globes reported. CEO Rafi Herzog and medical advisor David Ben Ezra founded OpthoCare, which has raised $500,000 from the Maayan Technology Ventures (formerly the Initiative Center of the Negev) incubator. The company recently graduated from Maayan Technology, and is now looking for a $600,00 investment to market its products: initially in the US, then around the world.

Santé - Médecine - Pharmacie
Une équipe israélo-suédoise identifie un gène établissant le lien entre diabète et obésité
http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/28143.htm
Le diabète de type 2 est dit non insulino-dépendant. Il résulte de l'association de deux anomalies interdépendantes : premièrement une insulino-résistance, c'est-à-dire une sensibilité moindre à l'insuline, l'hormone qui permet aux sucres d'entrer dans les autres cellules. Deuxièmement, une maladie intensifiant la production d'insuline par les cellules bêta du pancréas. Avec le temps, les cellules bêta s'épuisent et le taux de sucre augmente dans le sang.
Une équipe de l'Institut Weizmann et une équipe suédoise de l'Université de Umea ont étudié le mécanisme par lequel les acides gras contribuent au déclenchement du diabète de type 2. Ils ont pour cela analysé le rôle de GPR40, un récepteur situé à la surface des cellules bêta. Les modèles utilisés sont deux types de souris pour lesquelles l'activité de GPR40 a été modifiée.
Dans un premier groupe, les scientifiques ont produit des souris "knock-out" pour le gène GPR40 pour empêcher la production du récepteur. Même avec une alimentation très riche en acides gras, les souris n'ont montré aucun signe dû à la suppression du récepteur.
Les souris du deuxième groupe possédaient les gènes GPR40 hyperactifs, et donc un excès de récepteur GPR40 à la surface des cellules bêta. Les résultats sont surprenants puisque la progression de la maladie est rapide incluant une insuffisance des cellules bêta à produire des taux normaux d'insuline. Or, des souris soumises à un régime alimentaire très riche en graisse et pour lesquelles l'activité du gène GPR40 n'a pas été modifiée montrent des symptômes caractéristiques du premier stade du diabète de type 2.
Selon le Pr Michael WALKER de l'Institut Weizmann, ces études montrent qu'une activité excessive de GPR40 peut entraîner chacun des deux stades de la maladie.
De plus, ces résultats établissent GPR40 comme un lien important entre l'obésité et le diabète. L'utilisation de médicaments bloquant l'action de ce récepteur pourrait alors être envisagée.

Cinq minutes pour un nouveau test VIH
http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/28146.htm
Le groupe de travail israélien AIDS (The Israel AIDS Task Force) vient d'introduire sur le marché national un nouveau test VIH appelé "Double-Check Gold" qui permet d'obtenir les résultats en cinq minutes. Le test traditionnel utilisé jusque là en Israël nécessite entre deux jours et deux semaines.
Le nouveau test serait moins cher et ne nécessiterait que quelques gouttes de sang pris au bout du doigt. En revanche, le principal point négatif du "Double-Check Gold" est le nombre important de faux positifs qui implique la répétition du test.

Une technologie israélienne pour identifier les personnes malveillantes dans un aéroport
http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/28149.htm
L'entreprise israélienne Suspect Detection System (SDS) a mis au point un outil filtrant automatisé pour identifier les personnes malveillantes entrant dans un aéroport.
Le dispositif, nommé SDS-VR-1000, est basé sur le principe que la peur se mesure en paramètres psychophysiologiques. Le passager place son passeport sur un scanner et sa main libre sur un capteur. Il doit alors répondre à une série de questions pendant qu'un détecteur mesure les réponses physiologiques.
Les données du passeport sont collectées, analysées puis comparées aux données subjectives collectées pendant que le passager est soumis aux différentes questions (reflet de la pensée, des sentiments, de la perception).
Ce test a l'avantage de ne durer que trois minutes, contre vingt actuellement, voire 90 sur les compagnies américaines.

Découverte du gène responsable de la qualité du lait chez les bovins
http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/28154.htm
L'équipe du Pr Micha RON, de l'Institut Volcani, a découvert le gène qui affecte la qualité et la quantité du lait de vache. Ce gène agirait plus précisément sur la quantité de protéines et de graisses dans le lait.
Selon Meir BRAWN, de l'association des producteurs bovins en Israël, cette découverte pourrait accroître la production et la qualité du lait en Israël. Il ajoute que c'est grâce aux investissements continus en recherche et en développement que l'industrie fermière en Israël concurrence les autres pays

Canal mer Rouge - mer Morte : le retour
http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/28155.htm
Israël, la Jordanie et l'autorité palestinienne sont en train de réaliser une étude sur la faisabilité d'un canal qui relierait la mer Rouge à la mer Morte. Surnommé le " canal de la paix ", ce canal aurait pour principal objectif de remonter le niveau de la mer Morte qui baisse dangereusement en raison des pompages excessifs de l'eau du Jourdain (la rivière qui alimente la mer Morte).
Les autres objectifs sont l'exploitation de l'énergie hydraulique (il y a un dénivelé de 400 mètres entre les deux mers), et l'apport d'eau dans cette région désertique (l'eau de la mer Morte étant inexploitable car trop salée).
Cette étude, d'un coût de 20 millions de dollars (16 millions d'euros) et d'une durée de quatre ans, va examiner cinq sujets : l'impact du pompage sur le Golfe d'Eilat, l'impact environnemental du canal sur le Wadi Arava, la région désertique entre les deux mers, la possibilité de désalinisation de l'eau acheminée dans cette région (notamment pour subvenir aux besoins en eau des Palestiniens et des Jordaniens), et l'impact sur la qualité de l'eau de la mer Morte. L'étude évaluera aussi la possibilité de construire un parc aquatique.
Le coût total du projet de construction est estimé à trois milliards de shekels (550 millions d'euros). Ce canal serait construit du côté jordanien et financé par la banque mondiale et quelques pays donateurs.
Les organisations de défense de l'environnement s'opposent au projet, prétendant notamment que la composition de l'eau de la mer Rouge est incompatible avec celle de l'eau de la mer Morte.

Pour en savoir plus :
BE Israël n°6 : " Israël et la Jordanie discutent d'un pipeline d'Aqaba vers la mer morte "
BE Israël n°8 : " L'idée d'un canal mer Rouge - mer Morte rejaillit "
Rapport d'ambassade : " Quel avenir pour la Mer Morte ? "
BE Israël n°18 : " Le niveau de la Mer morte continuera de baisser dans les prochaines années : les hôtels s'éloigneront du bord de mer "
BE Israël n°25 : " Quel avenir pour la mer Morte ? "
De l'huile de Mélaleuca à feuilles alternes pour une agriculture saine
http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/28157.htm
L'huile extraite du Mélaleuca à feuilles alternes est connue pour être un antiseptique, un fongicide et un bactéricide naturel et efficace. Cette huile est l'ingrédient clé de deux nouveaux produits, Timor et Timorex, élaborés par la compagnie israélienne Biomor. Les premiers succès de ces produits ont permis à la compagnie de remporter récemment le prix du meilleur projet sélectionné parmi les nouvelles entreprises israéliennes qui font actuellement partie du Programme des Incubateurs Technologiques du gouvernement.
Contrairement aux traitements à base de fer et de souffre, les produits dérivés de l'huile de Mélaleuca n'affectent pas les insectes bénéfiques des plantes et ils ont la propriété de s'évaporer complètement et de ne laisser aucun résidus sur les fruits, les légumes ou les herbes aromatiques. Ils sont aussi efficaces contre un grand nombre de maladies des plantes, des légumes, des herbes, des vignes et des arbres fruitiers, tenant également à l'écart le mildiou et les champignons.
Aux États-Unis, les deux produits ont été reconnus aux par l'Agence de Protection de l'Environnement comme biofongicide.

Naissance d'un bébé vautour fauve au parc national de Kochav Hayarden
http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/28158.htm
The Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority (INNPPA) vient d'annoncer la naissance d'un bébé vautour fauve, une espèce qui a diminué ces dernières années en Israël.
Cette naissance, dans un site d'élevage, est en fait un événement exceptionnel puisque l'oisillon est né de l'accouplement de deux vautours fauves devenus handicapés à cause d'une maladie appelée ostéomalacie (déminéralisation du squelette) qui touche les ailes et les corps de l'animal. Le couple vautour a couvé l'oeuf pendant 57 jours.
Il y a deux ans, une femelle vautour fauve avait pondu mais les professionnels du parc avaient choisi de placer l'oeuf dans un incubateur, et un leurre dans le nid. Lorsque le poussin est né, il a été replacé avec ses parents mais n'avait pas survécu.

Blue Security spams spammers
For every piece of spam sent to users registered with the company, its Blue Frog product sends a complain to the spammer, thereby affecting the spammer’s business.
Batya Feldman 20 Jul 05 12:15
Start-up Blue Security Inc., a developer of anti-spam and anti-spyware products, yesterday launched a beta version of a new system designed to fight spammers. The system organizes users to make a combined attack on spammers to point where the spammers’ websites are paralyzed. The goal is to force the spammers to stop sending spam to members of the user community.
Blue Security invites users to download its Blue Frog software, which uses the passive community to take active measures against spammers. Blue Security CEO Eran Reshef and EVP solutions Amir Hirsch founded the company a year ago. It raised $3 million from Benchmark Capital a few months ago.
Reshef says, “Until a few years ago, e-mail was a friendly and peaceful experience. A few hundred spammers are destroying this experience for all Internet users. I believe that it’s possible to win the battle against spammers, and force them to stop sending spam to those who don’t want it.”
Blue Security’s solution is different from other solutions on the market, which mainly filter, not always successfully, spam from users’ e-mail boxes. Blue Security takes an active approach that affects spammers’ ability to run their businesses, forcing them to stop sending spam to registered members in the community.
“Globes”: How does it work?
Reshef: “Blue Security’s command center uses sensors we developed to locate spam among registered users. The system initially sends a warning to those responsible for sending the spam. If they ignore the warning, the software begins sending complaints to the websites the spammers are advertising. A complaint is sent for every piece of spam sent to a member of the community. This significantly disrupts the functioning of the website, and its ability to provide service to genuine customers. In order to stop the flow of complaints, spammers will have to use tools supplied by Blue Security to erase e-mail addresses of members of the community from the spammers’ lists and stop sending spam.”
Reshef says initial tests prove that spammers respond to complaints. “After getting complaints from the community, several spammers tried to become more sophisticated and change their websites, in an effort to evade more complaints from members of the community. Other spammers influenced by the pressure from the user community obeyed the instructions in the complaints and downloaded the software tool that removes the e-mail address of members of the community from the spammers’ distribution lists. Initial responses from spammers demonstrate that Blue Security’s deterrence is effective.”
How will Blue Security make money? After all, you’re offering your service for free.
“For now. If the community gets stronger, we’ll offer the service for pay to large companies, whose business is disrupted by spam.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 20, 2005

Learning from Alzheimer’s
An Israeli discovery about how Alzheimer’s disease works may lead to a totally new type of anti-inflammatory drug.
Gali Weinreb 11 Jul 05
Like most brain pathologies, more is unknown about Alzheimer's disease than is known. The scant knowledge about this disease amount to a few pieces of a large jigsaw puzzle, and even those do not fit together. Nonetheless, two researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem recently managed to fit together two of the pieces, thereby discovering a mechanism that might be useful for treating this and many other disorders.
It has been known for years that Alzheimer’s kills brain cells, beginning with those that produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is essential for the functioning of other brain cells, so when Alzheimer’s begins to spread, patients are given drugs to suppress the disintegration of acetylcholine, leading to improvement in patients’ health.
Completely unrelated studies recently discovered that Alzheimer’s also involved inflammation of the brain: Interleukin-1, a primary regulator of inflammatory and immune responses, collects in the brain and does not break down. The inflammation blocks the supply of blood to cells, killing them, with acetylcholine-producing cells being the first to die.
The Hebrew University researchers discovered that acetylcholine is an anti-inflammatory substance. In other words, when given to patients in a drug, not only does it improve the actions of existing cells, it also prevents inflammation around new cells. It turns out that Alzheimer’s acts as a vicious circle. A still unknown substance kills acetylcholine-producing cells, and the loss of acetylcholine blocks the disintegration of Interleukin-1. The inflammation kills more acetylcholine-producing cells, further intensifying the inflammation, and so on.
A lack of acetylcholine also causes a deterioration in the functioning of other cells, even as the inflammation kills acetylcholine-producing cells.
”We don’t exactly which comes first, only that a negative feedback mechanism is created, which causes the disease to spread,” says Prof. Raz Yirmiya of the Department of Psychology at Hebrew University. Yermiya is working with Dr. Yehuda Pollack, who is doing his post-doctoral work at Yermiya’s lab; Prof. Tamir Ben-Hor of the Faculty of Medicine, and researchers Ofra Ben-Menahem and Adi Gilboa. Their findings were published in “Annals of Neurology”.
The researchers found that acetylcholine is an anti-inflammatory agent, a property it was not previously known to have. It will now be possible to try to use it not only to treat Alzheimer’s, but also for a variety of other inflammatory illnesses. In fact, this is already happening, although the researchers are unaware of it.
A company called Ester Neurosciences Ltd. was founded a few years ago to apply the findings of Prof. Hermona Sorek of the Department of Biological Chemistry at Hebrew University. Ester Neurosciences is beginning clinical trials of a new substance designed to prevent the disintegration of acetylcholine in the body.
”Existing treatments for Alzheimer’s, produced by almost every leading pharmaceutical company in the world, act by blocking enzymes that destroy acetylcholine. Prof. Sorek’s drug intervenes in the process at an earlier stage, by destroying the RNA that causes cells to make the enzyme that destroys acetylcholine. Two studies had similar results there is more acetylcholine. But Prod. Sorek’s drug is supposed to be effective, long-term and more specific,” says Yermiya.
Clinical trials of Sorek’s drug, 01EN1 are not designed as a treatment for Alzheimer’s, but for an autoimmune disease, Myasthenia Gravis (MG), a disorder of neuromuscular transmission. It is known that acetylcholine helps MG patients, but until now it was generally thought that it contributed toward the activity of muscles affected by MG. The possibility now arises that acetylcholine helps fight MG itself, directly.
“It’s possible that our discovery offers a new treatment for inflammatory diseases,” says Yermiya.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 11, 2005
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A secretive encounter with a Beduin robber in a Judean Desert valley has led to what one archeologist hailed as one of the most important biblical finds from the region in half a century.
Prof. Chanan Eshel, an archeologist from Bar-Ilan University, said Friday that the discovery of two fragments of nearly 2,000 year-old parchment scroll from the Dead Sea area gave hope to biblical and archeological scholars, frustrated by a dearth of material unearthed in the region in recent years, that the Judean Desert could yet yield further treasure.
"No more scrolls have been found in the Judean Desert since 1965. This encourages scholars to believe that if they bother to excavate, survey and climb they will still find things in the Judean desert. The common knowledge has been that there is nothing left to find there," Eshel said.
The two small pieces of brown animal skin, inscribed in Hebrew with verses from the Book of Leviticus, Eshel said mostly likely are from "refugee" caves in Nachal Arugot, where Jews hid from the Romans in the second century. The scrolls are currently being tested by the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Amir Ganor, head of the Authority's archeological theft unit, declined comment.
Recently, several relics bearing inscriptions, including a burial box purported to belong to Jesus' brother James, were revealed as modern forgeries.
Archeologist and Bible scholar Steven Pfann said he had not seen the fragments. If authenticated, they would "in general not be doing more than confirming the character of the material that we have from the southern part of the Judean wilderness up until today."
But, he added, "what's interesting and exciting is that this is a new discovery... this is the first time we've seen anything from the south since the 1960s."
Eshel said he was first shown the fragments last year during a meeting in an abandoned police station near the Dead Sea. A Beduin who had been offered $20,000 for the fragments on the black market wanted an evaluation, an encounter that both excited and dismayed the archeologist who has worked in the Judean Desert since 1986.
"I was jealous he had found it, not me. I was also very excited. I didn't believe I would see them again," said Eshel, who took photographs of the pieces he believed would shortly be smuggled out of the country.
But in March 2005, he discovered the Beduin still had the pieces of the scroll. Eshel said he bought them with $3,000 provided by Bar-Ilan University and subsequently handed them over to the Antiquities Authority.
"Scholars do not buy antiquities. I did it because I could not see it fall apart," Eshel said that the fragments constitute the 15th scroll found in the area from the same period of the Bar Kochba revolt against the Romans, and the first to be discovered with verses from Leviticus. (AP)
More than 1,000 ancient texts – known collectively as the Dead Sea Scrolls – were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves overlooking the western shores of the Dead Sea. Scroll find propels Dead Sea saga

La joueuse de tennis israélienne Anna Smashnova a remporté hier (dimanche) le tournoi de tennis de Modène (Italie), ce qui lui permet de passer de la 61e à la 53e place au classement mondial WTA
Les sociétés de téléphonie mobile Pelephone et Cellcom vont bientôt commercialiser un service permettant aux parents de localiser leurs enfants grâce à leur portable. (Guysen.Israël.News)
Grâce à l'utilisation de technologies GPS, les parents recevront sur leur téléphone l'adresse et le plan d'accès de l'endroit où se trouvent leurs enfants

Faites connaissance avec un casque de «Réalité Virtuelle» israélien qui permet d’accroître le Quotient Intellectuel
On ne peut accuser le Dr David Passig de vivre dans le passé. Par contre si on l’accusait de vivre dans le futur, il plaiderait certainement coupable.
Le Dr Passig est un «futuriste» dont l’enseignement et la recherche impliquent des concepts –telle la réalité virtuelle – dont on ne parle que dans les romans de science fiction. Mais tandis que ses méthodes peuvent paraître exotiques, son but est bien réel: trouver de meilleurs moyens pour aider les gens – les enfants en particulier – à étudier.
Dirigeant un Programme de Technologie Educationnelle de Troisième Cycle à l’Ecole Normale de l’Université de Bar-Ilan, le Dr Passig concentre ses efforts sur l’utilisation de la réalité virtuelle à côté d’autres multimédia dans sa croisade pour l’éducation. Il se pourrait qu’il ait trouvé un moyen de nous rendre plus intelligents.
Le Dr Passig a levé le voile la semaine dernière sur un procédé en réalité virtuelle qui permettra, selon lui, d’accroître notre Q.I.
«Il s’agit d’une percée dotée d’un potentiel énorme» dit le Dr Passig, personnage maigre et tout en nerfs, mais illuminé d’un large sourire, coiffé d’une kippa crochetée, et ne faisant pas son âge. «Elle se fait à travers des techniques cognitives qui ne peuvent être abordées différemment», affirme t’il.
Son excitation ne connaît plus de limites quand il parle des possibilités d’aider les gens par l’utilisation de la «réalité virtuelle».
«C’est comme l’invention de la roue. C’est un bouleversement paradigmatique – une manière de penser entièrement nouvelle. Pas seulement une manière différente de penser mais une approche nouvelle tout court. L’utiliser c’est transformer notre façon de concevoir et de percevoir le monde», dit-il.
Durant ces dernières années, en travaillant avec une équipe d’étudiants diplômés, Passig se livra à des expériences à l’aide de techniques d’apprentissage en réalité virtuelle. Il utilisa son invention sur des enfants ayant des problèmes auditifs, et dont les résultats aux tests d’intelligence (Q.I.) sont habituellement médiocres. Après avoir été équipés du casque de réalité virtuelle qui leur couvrait complètement les yeux, ils étaient transportés hors de leur environnement physique et placés dans une «chambre virtuelle». Là on leur demandait d’accomplir pendant 10 à 20 minutes divers exercices tels que le pilotage d’un engin spatial en rotation ou un jeu ressemblant au Tétris, par exemple.

La répétition quotidienne de ces exercices, pendant plusieurs mois, fit augmenter le Q.I. des enfants de 20% - pourcentage significativement meilleur que celui obtenu par des groupes contrôle ayant effectués les mêmes exercices dans des formats bidimensionnels.
Dans une des études, 16 enfants ne souffrant pas de problèmes d’ouïe, prirent part à l’étude comme deuxième groupe contrôle, afin d’établir si la surdité est un désavantage en termes de pensée flexible. A la suite des exercices de réalité virtuelle, l’écart entre le groupe expérimental et le groupe contrôle des enfants a diminué – mais l’amélioration chez les enfants dont l’ouïe était normale était suffisante pour indiquer que les exercices de réalité virtuelle accroissent le Q.I. chez ceux-là également.
Ce résultat a été renforcé par une nouvelle recherche dirigée par un des autres étudiants du Dr Passig qui doit être publiée sous peu et dans laquelle des enfants dotés d’une bonne ouïe étaient également capables d’accroître leur intelligence. Une nouvelle série de recherches, dit-il, démarre à présent avec des enfants mongoliens.
Le Dr Passig est le seul en Israël à être titulaire d’un Doctorat d’Etat en futurologie – diplôme qu’il a complété à l’Université de Minnesota, après y avoir obtenu sa Licence et sa Maîtrise en pédagogie. Après ses études aux U.S.A., il revint en Israël en 1994 où il fonda le laboratoire de Réalité Virtuelle et Multimédia à l’Université de Bar-Ilan, le premier en Israël à poursuivre la recherche sur la réalité virtuelle et l’éducation.
Bien qu’il y ait d’autres laboratoires de réalité virtuelle dans le domaine de l’éducation – par exemple à l’Université de Caroline du Nord et dans celle de Washington, Passig proclame que ce qu’il fait est unique en son genre.
«La plupart des autres centres utilisent la réalité virtuelle comme adjuvant à l’enseignement», dit-il. «Moi je veux la transporter à un autre niveau. Il y a quelque chose dans cette technologie que nous ne comprenons pas encore, il y a là un potentiel que nous avons à peine effleurés. Nous sommes le seul laboratoire de cette sorte dans le monde à développer une technologie visant à améliorer les aptitudes cognitives».
Il est assez difficile de contacter le Dr Passig. Quand il n’est pas en train d’enseigner dans des cours d’un niveau élevé l’éducation future, les technologies futures, les théories des systèmes, les méthodologies futures, la Réalité Virtuelle et les multimédia ou de superviser un important groupe d’étudiants en Maîtrise ou Doctorat dans l’espoir de les voir promouvoir, en utilisant leur imagination, le développement des technologies futuristes, il passe à la télévision, à la radio et à d’autres médias.
Le Dr Passig participait récemment à une conférence-débat tenue lors de la «Microsoft Israël Digital City», dans le cadre d’une exposition très importance sur les derniers gadgets et technologies; le Dr Passig s’y trouvait dans son élément – on y discutait de la technologie du futur.
Avec deux de ses quatre fils qui se trouvaient dans l’auditoire, il engagea un dialogue animé à propos de ce que nous réservent les prochaines années – depuis les voitures volantes jusqu’aux systèmes de divertissements domestiques sur ordinateur et au prochain progrès dans le domaine du transport, après le Segway.
En ce qui concerne le Dr Passig et ses recherches, demain commence aujourd’hui.
Allison Kaplan Sommer

Unesco: 8 sites israéliens ajoutés au patrimoine mondial
18 Juillet 2005
L'organisation des Nations Unies pour l'éducation, la science et la culture (Unesco) a décidé de déclarer huit sites israéliens comme faisant partie du "Patrimoine historique mondial". Il s'agit de sites à Beer Shéva, Hatzor, Meggido, Haloutza, Ovdat , Mamashit et de "la route des Parfums". Le comité de l'Unesco pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine mondial a pris cette décision, lors de sa 29ème réunion annuelle. DG

A model of the light rail-train planned for Jerusalem
18/07/2005
Jerusalem light-rail system, expected to open in 2008, gets funding deal
A long-delayed light-rail system in Jerusalem is set to move forward after Israel, banks and the group building the NIS 3.3 billion (e727 million) project reached a financing deal on Sunday.
In the initial phase of the project announced in 2000, to construct Israel's first intra-city rail system, the first of eight planned lines will be built and is expected to be operational by the end of 2008.
The line will run 13.8 km. It will stretch from East Jerusalem to the edge of the Old City through the city center- part of which will be turned into a pedestrian mall- and head west past the entrance of the city. There it will connect with a high-speed train to Tel Aviv that is expected to be completed in 2009.
A fast bus line will also be built to link to the light-rail system.
"In 2008, Jerusalem will be turned into a metropolis with one of the most advanced transportation systems in the world," Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski told a news conference.
By 2020, the city plans eight above-ground lines, stretching 50 km and with 75 stations.
The Israeli government is contributing NIS 1.3 billion to the initial stage of the project with the remaining NIS 2 billion coming from the winning consortium.
The consortium includes France's Alstom, Veolia Environnement's Connex unit, Israel's Polar Investments, Harel Insurance and local building firm Ashtrom.
The group's share of the project will partly be funded through loans from Israel's two top banks, Hapoalim and Leumi.
"The project is now in the hands of the private sector," said Alex Langer, deputy director-general of the Transport Ministry and head of the Jerusalem Public Transportation Authority.
The group, called CityPass, will operate the train system for 28 years before it gets transferred back to the government.
"This is a very important project for us because it includes civil work, rolling stock, track work, signalling and maintenance and operations for 28 years," Charles Carlier, deputy to the president of Alstom, told Reuters after the news conference. "It's a long-term project."
He said the company will be building and providing 46 train cars, with each train 32 metres long.
"It's our first big project in Israel," Carlier said, noting that Alstom has worked on smaller deals with Israel Railways.
He said Alstom plans to bid on the larger intra-city underground project proposed for Tel Aviv as well as a number of modernization deals with Israel Railways.
Some 1,000 Israeli jobs will be created during the project, while Alstom will transfer 50 people from France to Israel, Carlier said.
The Jerusalem municipality is now making infrastructure improvements so that construction can begin in early 2006.

Pourquoi les films israéliens ont le vent en poupe
www.jeuneafrique.com - 13 Juillet 2005 -
Pourquoi les films israéliens ont le vent en poupe
ISRAËL - 3 juillet 2005- par RENAUD DE ROCHEBRUNE
Omniprésentes depuis deux ou trois ans sur les écrans de beaucoup de pays, les réalisations en provenance d'Israël brillent aussi dans les festivals. Des oeuvres souvent fort peu « politiquement correctes », mais, en fin compte, très bénéfiques pour l'image de l'État hébreu.
« Un cinéma [...] engagé mais pamphlétaire. Politique mais pas primaire. Émotionnel mais jamais pleurnichard. Caustique mais toujours émouvant. Ce nouveau cinéma [...] a vraiment les capacités de ses moyens, de son courage, de sa lucidité et de ses grandes qualités tant techniques qu'esthétiques. Quand aura-t-on le courage, en Algérie, de projeter ces films très souvent superbes ? » Ce cinéma en plein renouvellement auquel l'écrivain Rachid Boudjedra, dont la plume est rarement tendre, rendait récemment un hommage appuyé dans le quotidien El Watan, c'est... le cinéma israélien contemporain.
Rien d'étonnant, en fait, à cela. Car c'est à une véritable explosion de la cinématographie israélienne qu'on assiste au niveau international depuis peu. Lors du dernier Festival de Cannes, sur les quelque trente-cinq longs-métrages retenus dans la « sélection officielle », en compétition et hors compétition, il y avait deux films israéliens - plus que toute l'Afrique ou l'Iran, autant que la Chine, presque autant que la France. L'un, Free zone, d'Amos Gitaï, récompensé finalement par le Prix d'interprétation féminine (voir p. 96), faisait partie des vingt privilégiés admis à concourir pour la Palme d'or. L'autre, le documentaire Pour un seul de mes deux yeux d'Avi Mograbi, une réflexion à deux voix (l'une palestinienne, l'autre israélienne) sur la tendance à l'autodestruction des peuples à la lumière de deux mythes antiques, a eu droit à une projection « de gala » dans la prestigieuse salle Lumière, celle que l'on atteint après avoir gravi les fameuses marches sur le tapis rouge.
Cette présence remarquée sur la Croisette en 2005 ne venait que couronner une montée en puissance perceptible dans tous les festivals et sur les écrans de beaucoup de pays depuis au moins deux ans. En 2004, deux films produits en Israël avaient déjà été primés à Cannes, le superbe Mon trésor de Keren Yedaya (Caméra d'or, autrement dit palme du premier film, toutes sélections confondues) et Soif, de l'Arabe israélien Tawfik Abu Wael. Peu après, La Fiancée syrienne, d'Eran Riklis, le récit à la fois drôle et édifiant d'un mariage contrarié par l'absurdité des réglementations et l'entêtement des autorités des deux côtés de la frontière sur le Golan, avait été plébiscitée à la fois par la critique et le public aux festivals de Locarno et de Montréal.
Entretemps, Prendre femme, de Ronit et Shlomi Elkabetz, l'histoire du combat pour l'émancipation d'une femme opprimée dans une famille séfarade, avait été récompensé à la Mostra de Venise. Enfin, bien qu'il ait été controversé, ou à cause peut-être de cela, le film-événement du dernier festival Cinéma du réel du Centre Pompidou, à Paris, en mars 2005, n'était autre que Route 181, fragments d'un voyage en Palestine-Israël, une sorte de reportage émaillé de nombreuses rencontres le long de la ligne de partage entre Israël et la Palestine instituée par l'ONU en 1947, tourné par un Israélien antisioniste vivant en France et un Palestinien installé en Belgique, Eyal Sivan et Michel Khleifi, tous deux favorables à un État binational. Et l'on pourrait citer bien d'autres exemples.
Dans les salles, toutefois, aussi bien en Israël que dans beaucoup de pays occidentaux, ce ne sont pas toujours les films cités qui ont triomphé récemment, car les préférés des festivals, les meilleurs films d'auteur, ne sont pas forcément ceux du grand public. Mais le succès du cinéma israélien est là encore patent. Dans l'État hébreu, un pays d'à peine six millions d'habitants, on a enregistré au total 10 millions d'entrées en 2004 (environ dix fois plus « par habitant » qu'au Maroc et cinq fois plus qu'en Turquie, pour évoquer deux terres d'accueil du cinéma au sud de la planète). Et les films nationaux qui atteignent 200 000 entrées annuelles malgré un parc de salles relativement modeste (370 écrans) ne sont pas rares.
Le plus gros succès de l'année 2004, Au bout du monde à gauche d'Avi Nesher (une comédie efficace mais peu subtile sur les difficultés d'intégration des immigrés marocains et indiens en Israël), a même attiré, comme seuls les blockbusters américains pouvaient jusque-là y parvenir, près de 500 000 spectateurs. Un peu plus que le champion du box-office de 2002, Mariage tardif de Dover Kosahvili, 400 000 entrées, et celui de 2003, Les Ailes brisées de Nir Berman, 220 000 entrées. Des scores que l'on retrouve parfois à l'étranger puisque, cette année, le mélodrame Va, vis et deviens de Radu Mihaileanu (le sort des Juifs éthiopiens qui ont émigré dans l'État hébreu), coproduit par Israël, a déjà dépassé nettement la barre des 400 000 spectateurs en France.
Ce succès local tout comme le rayonnement international du cinéma israélien ne sont évidemment pas le fait du hasard. Ils marquent l'aboutissement d'une évolution par étapes de cette cinématographie qui lui a permis d'atteindre l'âge adulte, et ils résultent d'une politique nationale d'aide au septième art qui s'est révélée efficace.

D'abord, et depuis le début des années 1920, rappelle Ariel Schweitzer, professeur de cinéma à l'université de Tel-Aviv et collaborateur des Cahiers du cinéma, le septième art a joué un rôle important dans la diffusion de l'idéologie sioniste, notamment « sous forme d'actualités et de films didactiques : c'était l'époque du "réalisme sioniste" par allusion au réalisme socialiste soviétique. »
À partir des années 1950 est apparu « le premier véritable genre du cinéma israélien dans des films de fiction, le genre "national héroïque" ». Les films tendaient alors essentiellement à construire « le portrait idéal du pionnier israélien », qui était toujours « un sabra, descendant des pionniers ashkénazes, un homme pragmatique et viril dévoué à sa mission de soldat et de travailleur de la terre, le contre-modèle absolu du Juif religieux de la diaspora supposé vivre replié sur lui-même dans un milieu hostile ». La promotion de cette mythologie sioniste à travers le cinéma impliquait d'ignorer totalement dans les films tous les « autres », non seulement le Juif de la diaspora mais aussi le Palestinien, le Juif séfarade et même, dans une certaine mesure, la femme », tous des personnages qui apparaissaient au mieux « dans le décor ».
Ce n'est que dans les années 1990 que ce qu'Ariel Schweitzer appelle « le récit-maître sioniste », déjà un peu ébranlé par le succès de films de divertissement populaires de type « oriental » dans les années 1960 et 1970 (ces films qu'on appelait des « bourekas »), a commencé à être sérieusement remis en question derrière la caméra. Influencés sans doute par le nouveau climat politique consécutif aux accords d'Oslo et par les thèses des « nouveaux historiens » israéliens, critiques vis-à-vis de l'histoire officielle, des cinéastes ont décidé d'aborder leurs sujets différemment.
Le pionnier de cette nouvelle approche a été Amos Gitaï, déjà actif dès les années 1980 à travers ses documentaires sur la société israélienne qui font apparaître des personnages - palestiniens et israéliens - jusque-là marginalisés. Il continuera dans les années 1990 et après l'an 2000 avec des fictions telles que Kadosh (des femmes opprimées par les Juifs religieux), Kedma (la guerre de 1948, l'expulsion des Palestiniens) ou, très récemment, Terre promise (le trafic des femmes et la prostitution en Israël et dans les territoires occupés). Les cinéastes qui font aujourd'hui triompher le cinéma israélien ont choisi cette même voie, quitte à l'orienter à chaque fois dans une direction particulière selon leurs centres d'intérêt.
L'essor de la cinématographie israélienne doit beaucoup à ces jeunes réalisateurs, qui ont pu bénéficier souvent d'une excellente formation puisque le pays compte une vingtaine d'écoles de cinéma, parfois financées par des Juifs de la diaspora comme la plus prestigieuse d'entre elles, l'École Sam-Spiegel de Jérusalem. Mais il a été surtout fortement encouragé par l'État. Une loi votée en l'an 2000 a donné un coup de fouet au septième art en lui accordant un financement accru et surtout régulier - un minimum de 12 millions d'euros d'aide à la production chaque année. Ce qui est incitatif pour « monter » avec d'autres sources de financement des projets de plus en plus nombreux. D'autant qu'un accord de coproduction signé entre Israël et la France en 2002 est venu apporter de nouveaux moyens aux cinéastes : les deux tiers environ des nouveaux films de fiction israéliens bénéficient de cet appui. Il apparaît ainsi bon an mal an environ une quinzaine de nouveaux longs-mé