News Archive: Rehovot Real Estate Deals 1992

"Anglo Saxon Real Estate Agency's Rehovot branch has reported the sale of a bi-level 400 square meter seven room luxury penthouse with balcony at a price of $340,000. A 600 square meter lot in the northern ... "

Source: Recent Rehovot deals (sales of apartments). Israel Business Today (31 July 1992)

Rehovot's Moshav Beit Gamliel stored road Nails and Oil Prepared for Targeting Highways

Putting Jewish Extremists in Administrative Detention

"Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin said Tuesday that the agency was considering putting some Jewish extremists in administrative detention.

Diskin, who was speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said he believed that most of the public who oppose disengagement were acting through legitimate means, but there were "small groups" that were marring the image of others.

Diskin characterized the group that could be detained as "Kahanists" who live in illegal outposts in the West Bank. He said the group believes in violent activity and was present at the recent demonstrations near Gaza.

MKs from both sides of the political map reacted harshly to the report of rabbis conducting a death curse (pulsa denura) against Sharon.

National Religious Party chairman Zevulun Orlev said the ceremony that had been carried out against Yitzhak Rabin had caused "immeasurable damage" to the religious public and settlement movement.

"This terrible crime cannot be repeated now," he said. Orlev added that the act had caused damage to the "legitimate, mass protest" against the disengagement plan.

Shas leader Eli Yishai said that, at this time, acts should be taken to unite the people and not sow hatred.

Meretz-Yahad MK Ran Cohen called on Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz to arrest the suspects and warned against a deteriorating atmosphere like that which preceded Rabin's assassination.

MK Uri Ariel (National Union), who is a settler leader, said the people who committed the act were "irresponsible" and spreading hatred among Jews.

Diskin categorically denied that the Shin Bet was operating "provocateurs" among groups of demonstrators. But he said the Shin Bet was taking steps against small groups of extremists that are acting secretly to commit illegal acts.

One group has been uncovered in Moshav Beit Gamliel, near Rehovot, where road nails and oil were being prepared for targeting highways. According to Diskin, the group started as regular road demonstrators.

As for the Temple Mount, Diskin said the Shin Bet has not found any groups making operative plans for an attack but was continuing to monitor the situation."

Source: Nina Gilbert. Shin Bet may lock up Jewish radicals. JPost.com (27 July 2005) [FullText]

Azrieli Tower Observatory Gallery Features Exhibition of Rehovot Artists

"TEL AVIV - A group show of artists from the city of Rehovot currently on display in a dramatic gallery setting atop a soaring Tel Aviv skyscraper shows a freedom of spirit in a modern, creative context. The exhibit combines a variety of styles and media, but taken as a whole gives off a feeling of freshness and liveliness.

Art and city at the Azrieli observatory

One unusual painting was done by Barak Nachsholi, whose art is characterized by the newspaper pages he pastes over the canvas before painting. His piece showed a group of dark figures standing on a desert landscape, gazing at the horizon. The paint itself was so thin that headlines, pictures and obituaries were visible from underneath, jolting the painted scene out of its dreamlike atmosphere into a black and white reality.

Nachsholi said he got the idea to paint on newspaper from the Jewish-Arab conflict. Seven years ago he took meaningful newspaper pages, enlarged them and used them to paint a series of paintings called, "It is the Same Blood," meaning that Jewish blood and Arab blood are the same. Since then he has continued with the technique.

"The idea came from my aspiration for peace," he said. "Now I do not always choose the newspapers for their text."

Among the painted canvases hung one photograph that appeared to have a chaos of scrachy lines under the surface. It was visible that the subject was a man, bending over to pick something up off the floor, but nothing else was clear. The unusual greens and blues of the photograph, along with the blurry surface, make the seemingly standard subject look surreal.

Photographer Yael Ever-Hadani said she used a technique she has developed herself, but she would not disclose secrets of the trade. "I based it on something I was taught," she said. "I experimented and achieved results that surprised me."

Ever-Hadani, who studied art and now paints, sculpts and takes photographs, said she draws inspiration from visiting the beach frequently. "Many of my characters come from the beach," she said. "My pictures are spontaneous, not produced."

The works, chosen by curators by Vered Alonol and Thomas Detroit, also included Leah Tokair's painting of two one-story houses, in bright colors, soft shapes and unidentifiable details, and Sarah Ezer's colorful representation of the Garden of Eden in paint and beads on canvas.

The paintings framed behind glass reflected beautifully the buildings, roads and the coast of Tel Aviv, visible from the observatory. The combination of art and city made for an unusual and satisfying art gallery experience. The current exhibition will close by the end of July. In August, the observatory gallery will feature a new exhibit by an Italian painter.
Source: Gila Babich. Skyscraper hosts art show: Azrieli Tower observatory gallery features exhibition of Rehovot artists along with breathtaking view of Tel Aviv. YNet.com (26 July 2005) [FullText]

First Real Estate Agents Workshop at Rehovot's Gishot College

"Gishot College in Rehovot, which specializes in courses and workshops in the behavioral sciences, will open its first workshop for real estate agents and sales personnel. The workshop is aimed at improving sales, particularly of apartments. The workshop is being help in cooperation with the Rehovot branch of Diur Plus, owned by Zvi Apel.

Gishot College is known as a leader in courses for training workers in all fields to improve their business behavior and performance. Its customers include the Ministry of Defense, Super Sol (NYSE: SSLTF.PK; TASE: SAE), and large industrial enterprises. The real estate workshop will be Gishot College’s first in this field.

Apel will lecture on technique for closing a deal, coping with buyer resistance, etc. Simulation games and exercises for buying and selling apartments and commercial real estate will be held."

Source: First real estate agents workshop at Gishot College: Gishot College is a leader in courses for training workers in all fields to improve their business behavior and performance. (24 July 2005) [FullText]

News Archive: From orange to red in Rehovot

"Orange Square in Rehovot, next to the shopping mall, will be renamed Manchester United Square today at noon.

Adding to the festivities, which the organizers have claimed will include free beer ..."

Source: From orange to red in Rehovot. Jerusalem Post (11 June 1999) [Search FullText]

Gush Katif: Anti-Disengagement Protesters "Are Asking for Conflict, but we will not let them have one"

"Israel Defense Forces troops and police on Tuesday encircled the southern town of Kfar Maimon in a bid to prevent opponents of the disengagement plan who are camping in the town from continuing their banned march toward the Gaza settlements.

The Yesha Council was later in the day expected to instruct the right-wing protestors on the future of the march. In their meeting, settler leaders were weighing three main contingencies: Continuing the march toward the Gush Katif settlements and clashing with security forces; remaining in Kfar Maimon; holding protests elsewhere across the country.

Police announced that they did not intend to clash with the estimated 7,000 protestors remaining in the encircled town. "They are asking for conflict, but we will not let them have one," a security forces official said. Police hope that the protestors will leave the area in the coming 24 to 48 hours.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz instructed security forces to prevent the anti-pullout protestors from continuing their march toward the Kissufim crossing at the entrance to the Gaza Strip. Police Chief Moshe Karadi also declared he would not permit marchers to move any closer to Gaza.

Settler leader Pinchas Wallerstein said nevertheles that the march would resume in the direction of the Gaza Strip. "As long as this terrible decision stands, there will be a constant presence to prevent this," Wallerstein told Army Radio, in a reference to the disengagement plan. Wallerstein said the protesters would try to keep moving toward Gaza. "Wherever they stop us," he said, "we will remain."

Israel's police early Tuesday were placed on a rare "state of emergency alert," their highest alert status. Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said Tuesday that "The issue that most concerns us, is that we see to it that no one will reach Gush Katif. That is the goal."

Police have mobilizes all of their forces, with officers returning from leaves and working longer shifts, to cover duties nationwide as more than 10,000 police and troops seek to prevent demonstrators from breaking through roadblocks.

The government, fearing that the marchers would realize their goal of reaching Gush Katif and thus obstructing the planned disengagement, last week declared the Strip off-limits to non-resident Israelis. Police further ruled the protest illegal, although police officials have allowed the planned three-day demonstration to continue much as originally planned.

Late on Monday, police officials, apparently reversing an earlier decision, allowed tens of thousands of anti-pullout demonstrators to sleep at the Israeli village of Kfar Maimon hours after protesters began their Gush Katif solidarity march from Netivot.

Zviki Bar-Hai, head of the Har Hebron Regional Council, and one of the leaders of the protest, indicated Tuesday that the protesters were determined to link up with the settlers inside the Strip

"We will not have confrontations with the soldiers," Bar-Hai said. However, he added, "Our plan is to continue on toward Gush Katif today." Protest officials said Tuesday that the march would probably continue in the evening, after the heat of the day lifted, to make it easier on marchers, a third of whom are children and youths. "We have agreed with them that there will be no exit to the west, and they will not move at all to the west," Ezra said, indicating the direction of the Gaza border, "except under full coordination with the police, and I very much hope that they will abide by that agreement."

The government is also anxious to dampen public outcry over its handling of the protests, especially in view of a Knesset vote Wednesday over a right-wing proposal to postpone the disengagement, now scheduled for mid-August.

In an unusual and controversial step Monday, police were ordered to stop buses in Israel and the territories, confiscate drivers' licenses and remove protest-bound passengers in order to keep disengagement opponents from reaching the protest site. The High Court may hear appeals to the government policies in a Tuesday session. The Association of Civil Rights in Israel has also voiced objections to the government's positions, and has offered aid to the protesters, Israel Radio reported.

Police-protester discussions end without result
The two sides began discussions at midnight after settler leaders announced plans to continue their march Tuesday morning. However, having held meetings until around 5 A.M. on Tuesday without results, the parties said they would resume the talks at 10 A.M., Israel Radio reported.

Following the conclusion of the demonstrators' "engagement gathering" at Netivot, security forces stopped the marchers, most of whom did not clash with police after receiving orders from Yesha council leaders. Police chief Moshe Karadi said his forces were determined to prevent demonstrators from reaching Gush Katif and disrupting the disengagement. Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra said the police would, under no circumstances, allow further movement westward toward the bloc. Settler leaders, however, announced they had no intention of halting their protest.

The police earlier on Monday had blocked the departure of buses from various parts of the country. The decision was made at noon after police had received information that the demonstrators were planning to set up a tent city near Kfar Maimon or the Gama junction. Police feared they would try to infiltrate from there into Gush Katif during the upcoming month.

Police initially stopped buses from departing from various cities. Later, police began allowing some of the buses to travel to Netivot. The Yesha Council of settlers is considering establishing a tent city in the area wherever the march is halted. Then they hope to break up into hundreds of small groups, each of which will attempt to circumvent the police barriers and enter Gush Katif. The settlers believe that if thousands of supporters penetrate the settlements, they will be able to prevent implementation of the pullout plan.

Police sharply criticized the refusal of settler leaders to commit to a defined route, the march's length, and the time and means of dispersal of the thousands who have flocked to the south.

Source: Limor Edrey. Anti-disengagement protesters preparing flags for the planned march in Netivot on Monday: Police, IDF encircle pullout protestors' camping site. Haaretz.com (19 July 2005) [FullText]

Many Israelis Can not Get Married in their Country

Yuri Gurevitch and Yevgenya Barzitzaki want to get married. But his mother's not Jewish. A sad, but true, story

"BAT YAM - Yevgenya Barzitzaki’s mother is Jewish. Yuri Gurevitch’s father is Jewish. Both are 24, Israeli citizens, and live in Bat Yam. Both study and work. They met five years ago, but when they decided to get married, they quickly realized they wouldn’t be able to do it here.

Their story is sure to be familiar to 300,000 other Israelis, mostly from the former Soviet Union, who have to travel overseas to get married. The issue is set to come up for discussion at Tuesday’s Knesset Immigration and Absorption Committee meeting. “Native Israelis don’t have this problem, and don’t even know about it. I didn’t choose to fall in love with Yuri, but because only his father is Jewish, we’ve got to go away to get married.

“This is the only place in the world we don’t have the legitimate right to get married,” she said.

Jewish in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani here

Yuri immigrated to Israel eight years ago. Today he works as an air conditioner technician.

In his native Azerbaijan he suffered because other people considered him Jewish. Now in Israel, he feels even more like an outsider.

“I feel bad for my boyfriend,” says Yevgenya. “I’ve got no problems, but he’s really hurt. They gave him all the rights (of a new immigrant), including citizenship, but he can’t get married."

She says she dreams of a white wedding dress, but says she will have to try to make her dream come true in Prague.

“We tried to fight it, but it was too hard, and nobody in Israel really listened to us. We could grow old waiting for something to change here, but we decided to get married in Prague. It’s very sad.”

Source: Miri Chason. Many israelis Can not get married in their country - Wedding bells... in Prague. (12 July 2005) [FullText]

Teaching the Holocaust In The United States

"Six decades later, the Holocaust remains a painful and emotionally draining topic - and a special challenge for middle school and high school teachers who have to instruct students about one of the most horrific episodes in human history.

Despite its importance, Holocaust scholarship is still just beginning to work its way into history lessons in much of the country, and teachers volunteering to tackle the subject often find themselves developing courses from scratch, without much formal training.

"My own education about the Holocaust was not close to what I am providing today in my classroom," said Kimberly Watkin, a history teacher in South Burlington, Vt., who offered her high school's first full-term course on the Holocaust this past school year.

'We discovered teachers did not know the history'

To become better versed in her subject matter, Watkin joined about 30 other educators from 11 states, plus Croatia, Lithuania and Poland, at a five-day program on the Holocaust at Columbia University last week.

It was sponsored by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, which began in 2000 to bring schoolteachers from around the country to seminars with top historians as part of a campaign to improve teaching about Holocaust.

"More often than not, you'll find that students are introduced to the Holocaust by an English teacher who wants them to read Anne Frank's diary," Said the foundation's executive vice president, Stanlee J. Stahl.

"We did this because we discovered that teachers did not know the history," she said.

Established in 1986, the foundation's primary mission is to provide financial aid to non-Jews who risked arrest and possible execution to rescue Jews during World War II. It offers care to about 1,500 surviving rescuers around the globe. But last week, it offered teachers lectures on the development of the Nazi regime, refugee policies, life under German occupation, the role of industry in the Holocaust, the efforts of rescuers and the machinery of the system that killed 6 million Jews.

As in the past, many of the participants came from schools in towns where there are few Jews, and where the Holocaust is generally taught over just a few days as part of a larger U.S. or world history course, or as part of a literature program.

'People who did this are people like all of us'

In one seminar, Robert Jan van Pelt, a professor at the University of Waterloo and the author of several books on concentration camps, posed this question: Why did the death camps use gas for mass murder?

"Shooting," he noted, "Is a perfectly fine way of killing people."

Guns, in fact, were the weapon of choice when mobile death squads began the first large-scale massacres of Jewish families in the [Nazi occupied territories of the] Soviet Union in 1941. Why switch to stationary camps and gas chambers, which were less efficient?

The answer, van Pelt suggested, may have been that Nazi leaders were concerned that the relentless killing of women and children up close with a rifle would exact a psychological toll on German troops.

Gas "allowed those who took part in the operation to remain clean," he said. "The issue is not how someone could kill, but how they could continue to do it."

His point touched on an insight that many teachers came away with: Despite the mechanization of mass killing, the killers themselves were human beings - which makes their actions all the more shocking.

"These were people much like you and I," said Mark Johnson, a teacher at the Seattle Preparatory School in Seattle, Washington. "What is it in humanity that allowed it to happen?"

U.S. Universities have only begun to offer a deeper curriculum on the Holocaust in the past 10 years, said Deborah Dwork, a professor of Holocaust studies at Clark University. She called academia's delay, "A polite form of denial."

Six states (New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, Illinois and Mississippi) now mandate at least some teaching of the Holocaust in public schools. Students "Don't understand how this could have happened, and it is tough to show them, even in a nine-week course," said James Trill, a teacher at Pioneer Valley Regional High School in Northfield, Mass.

"The challenge to us is reaching these students and saying, the people who did this are people like all of us, who have a life and have families."

Source: Teaching the Holocaust: Jewish foundation helps U.S. teachers learn how to present the Holocaust to students. Associated Press (8 July 2005) [FullText]

PM Sharon address to Jewish Olympics Athletes: "Welcome to Israel, welcome home"

"The 17th Maccabiah opened Monday night in a splash of colors as thousands of athletes from 52 countries crammed Ramat Gan National Stadium, kicking off a great pageant for the Jewish people in an opening ceremony headlining some of Israel's biggest stars. It was a functional Babel as announcers addressed some 40,000 attendants and 7,000 athletes from five continents in Hebrew, English, and Spanish introducing them to the latest installment of the Jewish Olympics.

Sports fans will be treated to some hard-edged competition in conventional sports like basketball and baseball, and the less conventional: bridge, lawn bowling, and that most Jewish of sports - chess.

"Welcome to Israel," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon addressed the crowd and athletes, "welcome home." He wasted no time in exhorting the 5,000 foreign athletes "that by the next Maccabiah you will all make aliya to the Jewish homeland and be a part of the Jewish delegation."

"The Maccabiah symbolizes our being one people, one large family," said President Moshe Katzav as he officially opened the ceremony. "You represent the Jewish people throughout all the generations here tonight," he told the congregants.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, President Moshe Katzav and other dignitaries present sat behind a screen of thick bullet-proof glass and a phalanx of guards throughout the tightly secured event. Earlier, Israel Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi toured the stadium along with Tel Aviv District Commander David Tzur. The latter said the event was running smoothly despite heavy traffic and even heavier security that briefly delayed the entrance of thousands of viewers.

The events began on a bittersweet note ­ the entry of surviving family members of the four Australian athletes drowned when a bridge collapsed beneath them at the 15th Maccabiah disaster. Singer Sarit Haddad banged out some of her hits, and David Daor gave his falsetto version of "Hatikva", the national anthem. But the entrance of the 7,000 athletes served as event's centerpiece, featuring some of Israel's greatest active athletes. Israeli pole vaulter Alex Auerbuch carried in his country's flag. Israel's only gold medalist, windsurfer Gal Friedman, lit the Maccabiah torch, and Judoist Arik Ze'evi read the "Athlete's Oath."

What the event may have lacked in spontaneity, the athletes made up for in enthusiasm. Israeli dancers in yellow and red leotards broke ranks and posed for pictures with Australian and Italian athletes. Then neat columns of nations set up by the event organizers melded into one another as the athletes mingled, trading pins, hats, and even jerseys.

The event's announcers introduced each of the delegations against the trance music pounding in the background. The Italians were meticulously arrayed in swank white pants and powder-blue jerseys. The Indian delegation arrived in blazers and ties.

The American delegation, which boasted 700 athletes led by nine-time Olympic gold medallist Mark Spitz, took twenty minutes to lap the Ramat Gan Stadium course.

Italy's delegation marched in bearing a huge banner reading "Italy loves Israel." Outside, some Israelis tried to reciprocate. Before reaching a maze of security checks, visitors to the event passed through a gauntlet of Israeli hawkers. "Welcome Israel," shouted the heavyset man in gold chains, "Lady, gentleman: Begaleh [doughy bagels] 10 shekels!"

And in the latest sign that corporate sponsorship had its finger even this sporting event, announcers asked the crowd to welcome the "Energy Children's TV Channel Delegation."

Source: Gutman M and JPost Staff. Maccabiah Sports: Sharon: "Welcome to Israel, welcome home". JPost.com (11 July 2005) [FullText]

Focusing on Rehovot: JPost Article View 1999

"REHOVOT is a city which preserves the memories of its historical past while still looking to the future. A bustling city of some 103,000 inhabitants, located about 30 minutes drive from Tel Aviv, it is also home to high tech industries, an excellent educational framework and a number of carefully preserved historical structures.

First established in 1890 as an agricultural settlement by a group of pioneers from Eastern Europe, Rehovot based its early development on agricultural cultivation, particularly on grapes and citrus fruit."

Source: Juan de la Roca. Focusing on Rehovot. Jerusalem Post (11 June 1999) [Search FullText]

New Israel Nature Reserve to be Created Near Rehovot

"Four new nature reserves will be created and the legal process that has brought them under the protection of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority will be completed, Minister of Interior Avraham Poraz announced this week, HA'ARETZ reported. The new reserves will supplement seventeen other locales declared nature reserves in 2003.

The largest of the four new reserves is Susita, south west of the Golan Heights. Susita covers an area of 5,400 dunams and touts a large variety of flora and fauna, including wolves and deer.

Another large reserve is situated along the Sorek River, close to Moshav Ramat Raziel and near the city of Rehovot in the middle of Israel's coastline. Ramat Raziel and the reserve carried out a limited land exchange, in which the moshav received land from the reserve for residential purposes and, in return, surrendered 70 dunams to the reserve.

The Avuka reserve in the Beit She'an valley is particularly unique as it contains a salt marsh: soil that becomes saline when the water running through it evaporates or permeates into the earth. Salt marsh plants, indigenous to the salty environment, flourish on the reserve. Unfortunately, many of the salt marshes along the Beit She'an valley and the Arava have been damaged over the past few years as a result of construction and agriculture projects.

The last of the four new reserves is the Adulam forest in the Lachish region in Israel's south, close to the communities of Zafririm, Nehusha and Aderet."

Source: Four New Nature Reserves Created. NCLCI.Org (15 January 2005) [FullText]

Beware of Gush Katif Anarchists call for Israel Civil War

Rehovot residents, think smart, think national: do not participate in criminal activities by Gush Katif inhabitants and few of their admirers!

Also see:

Jewish History Professor envisions Israel Society Disaster. MyRehovot.Info (1 July 2005) [FullText]

Meanwhile make sure you know that Gush Katif provocateurs call democratically elected legal Israel power a "dictatorship", call for sabotage and distruction of Israel Democracy and the entire Israel Society.

Sadly quoting Israel Insider ("The real "lynch"", 6 July 2005) publication authored by Nadia Matar:

"As in every dictatorship, the security forces seem very intimidating. But the truth is that this government fears us. It tries in every way to break our spirit, because they know that if we only organize properly, we have the ability to triumph. And so, now is the time to continue to act, with even greater energy, in the four areas that, with G-d's help, will bring victory:

* strengthening the inhabitants of Gush Katif, so that they will continue to plant and be steadfast, and not agree to sign to accept compensation.

* to continue to call upon soldiers not to obey the illegal and immoral deportation order: the tens of thousands of soldiers who will remove their uniforms on D-Day and join the residents of Gush Katif will, with G-d's help, be the surprise of the summer.

* to strengthen and encourage the youthful roadblockers, who will insure a total system breakdown in the country on D-Day."

Rehovot residents, think of the nation, think of Israel, think smart! Don't be fooled by the agent provocateurs such as Nadia Matar, co-chairwoman a grassroots women's movement claiming "to be dedicated to the security and Jewish heritage of historic Israel". Do not participate in criminal activities called for by Gush Katif pseudopatriots.

Children in Rehovot Have High Rate of Shell Shock

"A new research by the Adler Center at Tel Aviv University and the Judea and Samaria College in Ariel shows that almost half of the children in Israel suffer from shell shock due to terror attacks in Israel, MA'ARIV reported. The survey of 3,000 children was based on data collected immediately following last year's wave of terror attacks around the Passover holiday.

According to the research findings, one-fifth of the surveyed children had a relative who was a victim of terror, and more than 300 children lost a loved one in terror attacks. In addition, 42.7 percent of the respondents said that they were suffering from shock symptoms, such as flashbacks of events, nightmares, panic and troubling thoughts. Other negative symptoms included feelings of detachment, inability to concentrate and a general feeling of uneasiness. A surprising discovery showed that in places such as Rehovot and Ariel, which are less exposed to terror, the rate of shell shock in children is higher than in places like Kiryat Arba and Karnei Shomron, which experience terror attacks more frequently."

Source: Almost 50 percent of israeli children suffer from shell shock. NCLCI.Org (15 May 2005) [FullText]

Rehovot Care-Giver Suspected of Raping Ward's 7-year-old Granddaughter

"Rehovot police arrested Wednesday a 53-year-old man suspected of raping a 7-year-old girl. The suspect was employed as the care-giver of the girl's grandfather, and he is suspected of abusing her while she was visiting her grandfather with her family.Following the girl's complaint, she was questioned by a special investigator. She said that the care-giver touched intimate places on her body a number of times.

According to police, the suspect committed the crimes while he believed no one would notice what he had done. Police are treating the suspect as a rapist, and saying that he confessed to this charge.Shfela district police are continuing to investigate the incident."

Source: Yuval Azoulay. Care-giver suspected of raping ward's 7-year-old granddaughter. Haartez.com (7 July 2005) [FullText]

Keis Berko Taganiye of Rehovot believes that the entire Ethiopian Community In Israel Must Fast for 40 Days

"Keis Berko Taganiye of Rehovot believes that the entire Ethiopian community in Israel, including children and elderly, must fast for 40 days "to remove the curse upon us, if it indeed exists." When he came here from Ethiopia, he dreamed that young members of the community would fit into Israeli society, get an education and remain faithful to tradition. But for years now it has not been like that.Yesterday some 200 activists from the community looked each other in the eyes and admitted: "In many cases, the Ethiopian family unit has broken up and we are facing a great deal of catastrophes. We didn't come to Israel to destroy our children's lives and certainly not to break up family units," Taganiye said.The participants at the conference, held in a Netanaya community center, came from all over the country. Many said the purpose was simply to save the children who were getting lost between the cracks.

Data based on a series of studies done over the past few years about Ethiopian youth in Israel leave no room for doubt: The situation is bad. The heads of the community understand that sweeping the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency under the carpet, out of shame, will merely bring further shame when it gets worse.Yaakov Melakmo, one of the community's activists, presented data showing that 24.4 percent of the Ethiopian youth in Israel tried drugs of one kind or another last year, double the national average. Most of those involved were school dropouts, and the youngest were about 15.Another problem is youth alcohol consumption. One of the community center workers told those gathered: "Every week there are community parties here, festive occasions. The youths sit drinking beer. Not one bottle and not two. Afterward the neighbors here suffer. Sometimes they even come to blows. Often the police have to be called."The participants in the gathering said it all starts with the collapse of the patriarchal structure at home. Melko Salomon of Rehovot, a community activist, said that in Ethiopia, a father would beat his son to teach him; here that would land him in jail. Thus the children go into the streets, are tempted and start going downhill.According to Salomon, the violence for many years was contained within the community. He recalls how a year ago, two Ethiopian boys fought over a bicycle. One took out a sharp object and stabbed the other, who died. "No one made a fuss," Salomon said. "But last month an Ethiopian youth murdered Ma'ayan Sapir and the country has not stopped talking about it." But, he said, it is not just that, but a whole series of violent acts that has made them realize that it is time for serious action.In Kiryat Malachi in the south, three young Ethiopian youths committed suicide over the past year. In another incident, social workers prevented a group of young girls from committing suicide together, "out of despair."

Shlomo Mamo was 19 when he hanged himself last year. "He was very frustrated. He had a fight with another youth near the house and the police arrested and charged him. The court sentenced him to 19 months imprisonment; he got angry and hanged himself," said his father, Ezra. Since then the father has tried to make the community aware of the problems among the youths. "I see other youths with serious problems, like my son. I want to prevent this, and that is why I called the gathering," he said.Salomon said that the only explanation for the phenomenon is "bad absorption. ... No one respects the elders, the community heads or parents anymore. ... We have to restore the hierarchy inside the family."

After lengthy discussions yesterday, the community leaders decided to start with an intensive propaganda campaign among the youth to prevent any further acts of violence. The community heads plan to hold further meetings and confer with experts. "The fact that we are meeting is significant. This is the first time we are seriously discussing the problem," one of them said.

Source: Yuval Azoulay and Ayanao Fereda Sanbetu. Ethiopian community admits to deep-seated problems. Haaretz.com (5 July 2005) [FullText]

A Must Know for All Those Buying New Apartment In Rehovot or Elsewhere in Israel

"A couple that purchased a new four-room apartment in Rehovot could not believe their eyes. During an examination of the soundness of their apartment and its plumbing and electrical systems, the inspector knocked on the ceiling with a broom handle. The couple was astounded by the actions of this professional whom they had invited into their home, and asked for an explanation. He said he was checking the quality of the plaster on the ceiling, but the standard test for this obviously calls for the use of more sophisticated equipment.

A similar lack of professionalism was encountered by a couple from Hadera. It turns out that many engineers with insufficient training, whose knowledge is limited to certain fields, are conducting apartment inspections. Thus, for example, one engineer used a spirit level to check whether a wall was straight, instead of the special device dictated by the regulations for this purpose, while another engineer wet his finger and ran it along a wall to test the quality of the whitewash.

Some 80 building engineers and home inspection companies currently operate in Israel. The companies are supposed to provide home inspection services, to check for construction defects, to examine the property's technical specifications and to present a reliable report that will be admissible in a court if necessary.

Housing industry sources say that such inspections are essential today in light of the large number of suits due to construction defects. Data collected by the Bedek Bayit house inspection company indicates that some 4,000 suits are filed annually relating to 5,000 apartments (some suits are filed jointly), and the average suit is for NIS 120,000.

The safety factor. Industry officials fear that an apartment owner who hires an engineer or a company that is neither skilled nor professional is liable to lose out on substantial sums, due to both the erroneous assessment of the damage and the refuting of the "expert's" claims in court. There is, of course, also a safety aspect to the inspections, and construction defects have often resulted in injuries.

"Today, many new housing projects are flooded with flyers distributed by engineers who promise to find any defects and assist with a financial suit against the building contractor," says Harel Bar, CEO of Isotest, which also has a laboratory for housing and road construction testing.

Bar notes that most of the inspectors do not charge a set fee for their services, but rather collect a share of the compensation, if such is awarded to the apartment owner by the court.

"Some of those engineers are experts," says Bar, "while others are assessors who have been approved by the courts to work as inspectors. They usually arrive without the proper equipment and provide incorrect opinions of the building defects or estimates of the damage."

Part of Isotest's work, when representing contractors who have been sued, includes the videotaping of various inspectors who had been sent to apartments by their owners or by the courts. Bar relates that the tapes showed that many of the inspectors are unprofessional, do not use the proper equipment and do not work according to the regulations.

In one case that was filmed, the expert checked the gaps between floor tiles using a 10-agorot coin and a supermarket customer club card, while the regulations demand that such measurements be made using proper measuring devices. Another expert checked the dampness in a plaster wall with a device designed for measuring dampness in wood, while a third inspector checked the construction of a floor by stamping on the tiles to check for a hollow sound. Although regulations call for examining flooring to ensure the presence of correct materials, such as sand and concrete, such examination is to be done using a special device that recognizes the sound of empty space, and if the sound obtained indicates a problem, the floor must be dismantled.

Do your homework. To prevent these and other problems, the advice offered by the real professionals is to simply do one's homework. Stanislav Golod, head of engineering at Bedek Bayit, stresses that homeowners need to verify the reliability of professionals before ordering tests.

"Check whether they have an engineer's diploma, appear in the registry of engineers and architects, and if their license is valid," says Golod, adding that it is important that the engineer's expertise is in building defects, and that he has a good record of court appearances in which he has won cases. It is also essential to check which large projects have employed his services, and to examine previous reports he has written to see if he is proficient in the relevant laws and if he uses the proper equipment.

The inspections are very important when purchasing an apartment from the contractor, as he is obligated to fix any defects. Engineers and other experts note that the tests recommended upon the purchase of a new apartment are intended to examine the nature and quality of the construction. Golod explains that the tests are supposed to uncover any building defects that harm the structure's various systems, such as water, electricity and drainage - and thereby prevent future expenses and frustration.

When buying a second-hand apartment, the soundness tests are more relevant to setting the apartment's price and should closely examine all the apartment's systems, particularly if it is quite old and some of the systems could be worn out.

When buying an apartment from longtime owners, it also is important to check out the neighbors, including any complaints or disputes, how well the house committee functions, the relationship between the neighbors, any noise pollution in the surrounding area and any other environmental or health hazards. Amateur inspectors are liable to miss many negative factors, which may result in buyers paying more than they should for an apartment."

Source: Tzally Grinberg. Experts on whitewashing. Haaretz.com (20 June 2005) [FullText]

Based in Rehovot Nova Introduces New High-Tech Instruments

"Nova Continues the Introduction of its NovaScan 3090 Series for Additional Semiconductor Manufacturing Processes and OEM Integrations.

REHOVOT, Israel (5 July 2005) -- Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI - News), the market leader in Integrated Metrology (IM) and process control for the semiconductor industry, today announced the launch of the NovaScan 3090 Integrated Metrology system for CMP applications on polishers of various equipment manufacturers. This announcement follows the recent announcement of the NovaScan 3090CD system for real-time measurement of Critical Dimensions (CD), trench depth, photoresist height, thickness and shape of complex layer stacks for etch, lithography and high-end CVD applications.

The NovaScan 3090 applies non-contact Deep UV Spectrophotometry and Scatterometry to measure the thickness and topography of dielectric and conducting transparent films. The NovaScan 3090 supports all industry requirements for thin-film measurement in front-end applications, such as STI. The system enables end-users to move from solid measurement pads to array measurements, which is critical for process control of advanced 65nm (and below) technologies. The system's high throughput enables 100% pre- and post- measurements, and assists in the optimization of Closed Loop control, enabling the tightest possible wafer-to-wafer and within wafer control. NovaScan 3090 is integrated using the exact same configuration as the NovaScan 3060 system, thus offering customers an easy upgrade path. The system's main applications include thickness measurement of Dielectric, Poly-silicon and very thin conducting layers on multi-layers stacks on silicon or metal stacks.

Bents Kidron, Nova's Director of Marketing, stated: "The NovaScan 3090 delivers the measurement capability needed for control of high-end 65nm and 45nm CMP applications. It is the best Integrated Metrology solution for today's emerging industry requirements, providing the tightest control available with state of the art solutions for film thickness, residues and shape profiling for STI and cap layers, while measuring on arrays."

About Nova: Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. develops, designs and produces integrated process control systems in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Nova provides a broad range of integrated process control solutions that link different semiconductor processes and process equipment. The Company's website is www.nova.co.il Company Contact: Chai Toren, CFO, Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd., Tel: +972-8-938-7505, E-mail: info@nova.co.il , http://www.nova.co.il , Investor relations Contacts: Ehud Helft / Kenny Green, Gelbart Kahana, Tel: +1-866-704-6710, E-mail: Ehud@gk-biz.com , Kenny@gk-biz.com

Source: Nova Press Release: Nova Introduces the Integrated NovaScan 3090 With Installation of Multiple CMP SystemsTuesday (5 July 2005) [FullText at Yahoo Finance]

Rehovot's Dental Robot Makes Implants Less Painful, Less Expensive

"The company, Rehovot-based Tactile Technologies, recently obtained US Food and Drug Administration marketing approval for its novel dental implant location software. The software is a three-dimensional surgery planning solution, which will soon be marketed in the U.S.

The company's flagship product, which is in the final stages of development, is an Implant Location System (ILS) that uses a disposable micro-robot for carrying out dental implant procedures. The company promises that when this product hits the market, the process of getting dental implants will be less painful and less expensive.

A series of animal trials has been successfully completed on the system and clinical trials on humans are slated for July 2005. The company has already signed cooperation agreements with a number of leading medical research centers, including Vienna General Hospital, Boston University Hospital, and New York University.

The bone-sensing technology will enable precision three-dimensional measurement of bone tissue covered by soft tissue, without the need for invasive surgical procedures. The Implant Location System applies tactile sensing technology to offer intra-oral image-guided navigation specifically for dentists. Its computer-guided sensing, navigation and guiding suite for placement of dental implants is designed both for the general practitioner and the expert.

Tactile Technologies' aim is to help the firms that manufacture implants to find a solution for placing them that minimizes the risks and simplifies the procedure They are doing so using tactile sensing technology, three-dimensional radiological visualization and miniaturized robotic control which is changing the dental landscape.

Tactile Technologies was founded in 2003 by a group of physicists, among them Dr. Zvika Slovin, 39, who serves as CEO of the company.

"We are a group of four entrepreneurs - this is our third start-up," Slovin told ISRAEL21c. "This time, we wanted to search for a really unique startup that would not only make money but would make a difference - and that was why we chose to look into the medical market. All of our previous ventures were strictly technical."

Slovin said that when their group looked at the dental implant market, they found a highly lucrative niche "in which not a lot had changed in the past 20-30 years, and high technology has not yet made an impact."

The problem that they set out to solve was the level of technical sophistication that is necessary for dentists to perform implants, which are increasingly popular in demand.

"Every implant is a titanium screw and they are afraid of perforating a bone or damaging a nerve," Slovin said

Inserting dental implants in their proper location in the jaw is a surgical procedure that requires a great deal of experience, knowledge and expertise. Wrong placement of implants may cause implant failure and irreversible damage to anatomical structures. Performing implants is not something that is taught in standard dental curriculum.

According to Slovin, current devices still suffer from inaccuracy, high procedural complexity and high prices. 90 percent of all implant procedures are performed by only 4% of dentists, he added.

"To change this you have or provide the means for a safer and easier process," Slovin said.

The Tactile Technologies concept is a system in which most of the elements are disposable, except for a drill-guided sheath. The sheaths guide the drilling process by constraining drill movement to exactly the right position, angles and depth.

Their technology is the very first to offer accurate image-guided navigation relying on low-cost disposable elements, without involving any special sophisticated or expensive equipment.

"We're adopting the Hewlett-Packard printing strategy, where the basic equipment is affordable, and the profit is made on the cartridges," Slovin said.

The company says that the miniaturized disposable Implant Location System will be accurate, simple to use and flexible, and a safe and easy tool for planning and carrying out dental implant placement procedures.
The advantage to the patient is clear: both affordability and lack of pain - imaging of the bone surface is acquired without the need for traumatic gum removal and the protective sheath offers a high degree of fail-safeness by constraining drill movement.

Tactile Technologies' tactile sensing technology provides a mechanical image of the bone contour without removing any gum tissue. Bone contour measurements are compared to pre-operative radiological information and used for determining the exact location of the system on the patient's anatomy.

The sensor uses a matrix of micro-needles that are inserted through the gum tissue until contact with bone is attained. The needles used are ultra-thin with specially designed geometry to ensure negligible trauma. Their insertion is measured using miniature position encoders accompanied by digital signal processing electronics, achieving exceptionally high measurement accuracies. Once the optimal implant location is determined it needs to be carried out in a precise and safe manner.

The use of the Implant Location System enables implant placement without the need for painful flap surgery, which is often accompanied by potential marginal bone loss and soft tissue recession, which reduces success rate and may result in bad aesthetic results.

Tactile Technologies hopes to become a world leader in the dental image-guided surgery market by providing safe accurate and easy-to-use devices accessible to the general practitioner. It first drew attention in the world of dentistry in 2002, when Dr. Gerald Niznick invested $4 million in the fledgling company.

Niznick is recognized by many as the father of modern American implant dentistry - he developed and patented his own dental implant design which became the most widely used dental implant system in the world. Niznick accomplished this by personally training over 10,000 dentists in lectures and live surgical demonstrations.

By the end of the 1990s, Niznick held 20 US patents, including the internal connection patent that has become the cornerstone of modern implants and is licensed to nine other dental implant companies. He sold his company in 2001 for more than $100 million.

Niznick's vote of confidence in Tactile Technologies was a key development for the company, which is located in the Rabin Science Park in Rehovot. The company has 14 employees, including engineers, surgeons, researchers and ergonomic designers.

Slovin notes that there are other Israeli companies involved in bringing robotic technology to dental implants - notably, a company called Robodent - and that some of their competitors are already closer to bringing their products to market.

"Their problem is that while their concept and equipment is good and they do provide a solution, it is extremely expensive, and their systems can cost $100,000 dollars each. A neighborhood dentist in Ohio can't afford that.""

Source: A new Israeli start-up wants to put a robot in your mouth. Israel21C (17 April 2005) [FullText]

Rehovot's Rabbi Shmuel Avidor Hacohen Died At the Age of 79

"Rabbi Shmuel Avidor Hacohen died suddenly Sunday night at his home in Kvutzat Schiller, near Rehovot. Rabbi Avidor Hacohen's funeral was scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Monday, at Kvutzat Schiller.

Rabbi Avidor Hacohen was known for his "Weekly Portion" segment which he presented for many years on Israeli television's Channel 1, Army Radio reported. His publications included The Man Against the Stream, which reflected upon the works of Rabbi Yitzhak Hacohen Kook. He was also known for his work bridging between religious and secular Jews, and served as the rabbi of Kfar Shmaryahu.

Rabbi Avidor Hacohen was 79."

Source: JPost staff. Rabbi Shmuel Avidor Hacohen dead at 79. www.JPost.com (4 July 2005) [FullText]

One Can Bargain With Israel Internet Service Providers (ISP), Rehovot Mailing List Post Says

Quoting March 2005 Post at Rehovot mailing list at Yahoo:

"I just got off the phone with my netvision operator and told them that I recently saw their competitor (Internet Zahav) offering a free flat screen by joining for 15 months at 129NIS for 1.5 MB. I told netvision I am considering to switch providers. First of course the operator tried to tell me how good they are as opposed to "the competitor", but I asked them if I can get a better deal with them (I was paying 99 NIS for for 1.5MB). Finally they said, we'll give you for the next 6 months 1.5 MB at 59NIS a month. I told them ok and I'm still with them. Kinda sorry I didn't get the 15 inch flat screen. But there you have it, make your own decision, at least you now know that you can bargain with these providers."

To subscribe to Mailing List by MyRehovot.info follow this link.

News archive: 'College town' Rehovot attracts property entrepreneurs

"Tuesday, December 3, 2002 -- It doesn't have the same charm or cachet as Cambridge, England or Cambridge, Boston, but Rehovot, once a farming community 20 minutes away from Tel Aviv by train and now home to the renowned Weizmann Institute, may be Israel's closest approximation to a college town. Until recently, when the 105,000-residents were linked to Tel Aviv by the railroad, Rehovot was a simple hamlet surrounded by almond groves and ... "

Source: Jessica Steinberg. Daily Section Economics: 'College town' Rehovot attracts property entrepreneurs Jerusalem Post (3 December 2002) p.11 [Search FullText]

Jewish History Professor envisions Israel Society Disaster

Rehovot Residents, don't let Gush Katif proponents and agents provocateurs bring Israel to the Civil War and the nation disintegration

Gush Katif ..."youth in orange" are not as wonderful as they think, or as their rabbis, educators and admirers see them. They are arrogant and condescending, full of self-satisfaction and afflicted with moral blindness and distorted values - a lost generation.

Also see:
Beware of Gush Katif Anarchists call for Israel Civil War. MyRehovot.Info (11 July 2005) [FullText]

"In September 1975, I was performing my obligatory army service. It was the time of the interim agreement initiated by then-U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger. In his "shuttles" between Cairo and Jerusalem, he managed to get the two sides to sign an agreement to the effect that the conflict in the Middle East would only be resolved by peaceful means. Two years later, Israeli prime minister Menahem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat did in fact sign a peace agreement. The rest is history.

But during the days of Kissinger's shuttles, the country was in an uproar. Begin was the head of the opposition at the time, and demonstrators from the new non-establishment movement - Gush Emunim - were running wild in the streets; this was the generation of the parents of today's opponents of the disengagement.

I received a one-week leave from my Armored Corps base in Sinai. I visited Jerusalem and my heart went out to my friends who were demonstrating in the city streets. I took off my uniform and went to Zion Square where the crowd had gathered.


I met many friends. Suddenly things heated up, and the police decided to act with determination and arrest dozens of demonstrators. I was standing in the wrong place and the heavy hand of a representative of the law was placed on my shoulders. I was thrown into a police van and unceremoniously brought to the police station in the Russian Compound. My pleas were of no avail.

As opposed to the other detainees, who boasted of their arrests and were happy about them ("Let the nation know that its best sons are being thrown into prison," they convinced one another), I was embarrassed. "I was only arrested because of my kippa," I said to the investigator, "I don't belong to this demonstration, and I don't support it.

I was released the next afternoon, and the same day, I returned ashamed and confused to the base in Sinai. Thirty years have passed since then, but I still have a clear recollection of the experiences I underwent in detention.

Among the detainees were the top ranks of the settler leadership. They spent their time in jail in enthusiastic prayer, Torah lessons and a hunger strike. In the morning, an endless stream of politicians and public figures began to arrive; they came to suck up to the new prisoners of Zion and benefit from their celebrity.

Energetic attorney Elyakim Haetzni came and convened the detainees for a legal consultation. It wasn't consultation, but rather a belligerent speech whose extremism astonished me and the likes of which I hadn't heard before. "We will paralyze the country," declared Haetzni, "we will block roads. No car will move and the country will not be able to withstand that. Only in this way will we win in our just struggle."

The leaders of the settlers who heard these words did not silence Haetzni, nor did they voice any opposition. Afterward, all the detainees went out to the courtyard of the detention facility and danced and sang. They encouraged each another with the blessing, "Happy are you who were caught for observing the Torah."

Thirty years later, that occasion seems to me as if it had been the birth of seeds of disaster that were planted and grew, and that now threaten the entire Israeli public.

Although Gush Emunim and the extreme right failed dismally in their efforts to torpedo the peace treaty with Egypt, the plan of operation suggested by Haetzni in the Russian Compound made a profound impression.

Since then, an entire generation of spoiled fruit has grown before our eyes - in the settlements, in the clubhouses and yeshivas of the Bnei Akiva youth movement, in the institutions of the state religious educational system. Young men and women who, along with a strong and authentic love for the Land of Israel (which always lies beyond the Green Line) and an impressive willingness to contribute to its security - military service in combat units - feel a deep contempt for its institutions and its representatives.

These "youth in orange" (as Israel Harel affectionately dubbed them) are not as wonderful as they think, or as their rabbis, educators and admirers see them. They are arrogant and condescending, full of self-satisfaction and afflicted with moral blindness and distorted values - a lost generation.

The contempt that these young people feel toward the state is expressed in various ways. Some of the rabbis of religious Zionism are now seriously deliberating questions whose very mention until recently represented crossing a red line, such as: Should the prayer for the welfare of the state be recited, or should its content be changed, at a minimum. Or, should Israel Independence Day be celebrated as a religious event (as opposed to Jerusalem Day, which is celebrated with extreme fervor).

Until a few years ago, such scholarly dilemmas could be attributed to extremist margins; today they are reflected in the behavior of the mainstream of the national religious right.

I'm not talking about violations of the law, such as the theft of land and property, deception, denial and innumerable, disgusting tricks and shticks that are considered permissible in order to fulfill the vision of settlement in controversial areas. I want to cry out against the obscene language, the intolerance and the violence, the ingratitude and the chutzpah toward the institutions, the elected officials and the laws of the state, and the rudeness and arrogance toward policemen or soldiers.

Anyone who sees this has to feel unease, confusion and shame.

These nice children, who puncture tires and scatter nails, and even refuse to identify themselves before a judge; these young girls, who spit at soldiers and open mouths like sewers, are the educational product of the leaders and rabbis of Gush Emunim. These young people, who are probably scrupulous in their observance of the laws of kashrut, have apparently never heard of the saying attributed to the Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan - Hafetz Haim, that what comes out of one's mouth is no less important that what goes into it.

There is something rotten in the wonderful and efficient educational system of the kingdom of the settlers, and the roots of this rot go back to that same speech by Haetzni in the Russian Compound. This damaged generation, which is now furious at the "crime" of the disengagement, will not be stopped after the plan is implemented. It will be with us for many years to come, and do everything possible to embitter our lives and destroy any hope for change, any plan that involves concession, acceptance or reconciliation.

Prof. David Assaf is the head of the Department of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University."

Source: David Assaf. The seeds of disaster Haartez.com (19 June 2005) [FullText]