Yavneh-Rehovot Road Lane Change as a Reason for Not so Friendly Fire

A man in his 20s was hospitalized on Friday after being shot in the shoulder during an argument with another driver. No suspects have been detained as of yet.

The incident began at around 9:30 p.m., when the shooting victim was driving on the left lane of a road on the Yavneh-Rehovot border. According to the initial investigation, a BMW pulled up from behind and signaled with the headlights for the man to move to the right so it may pass; but the young man refused to change lanes.

Shortly thereafter the two vehicles stopped at a traffic light, at which point the driver of the BMW and four passengers stepped out of the vehicle to confront the man. A scuffle ensued, and one of those involved allegedly shot the young man in the shoulder. The assailants then rushed back into the BMW and fled the scene.

The victim, who suffered light injuries as a result of the shooting, drove to Wolfson Hospital in Holon for treatment.

Source: Eli Senyor. Road rage ends in gunfire. Man in his 20s hospitalized after being shot in shoulder during argument over lane change. (25 February 2006) [FullText]

Factoid: The First Serious War on Corruption Led to Jail Sentence For Former Rehovot Mayor

"The first serious war on corruption was waged in the second half of the 1970s, in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War, as a side effect of the public's loss of patience with its politicians. What began with the jailing for embezzlement of a candidate for the governorship of the Bank of Israel later proceeded to a housing minister's suicide, and in 1978 to an unprecedented jail sentence for a lawmaker, former Rehovot mayor and Likud MK Shmuel Rechtman."

Source: Omri's [ Sharon ] lessons. Opinions.JPost.com (16 Feb 2006) [FullText]

30-year-old Rehovot Resident Killed at a South Tel Aviv Night Club

"Tel Aviv Police arrested Sunday four people suspected of involvement in the murder of 30-year-old Rehovot resident Gaby Solomon, who was stabbed to death on the weekend at a south Tel Aviv night club. Police believed that one of the people was the stabber while the other three were accused of trying to wreck police inquiries. The motive for the murder was still unclear, Israel Radio reported.

Source: Jpost Staff. Police arrest four over Tel Aviv stabbing. Jpost.com (19 February 2006) [FullText]

Rehovot Scientist Says the Future Lies with Solar Energy

"Sitting in his book-lined office, Professor Jacob Karni likes to quote the French novelist Jules Verne.

"Yes, my friends," says Prof Karni, director of the Centre for Energy Research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, quoting from Verne's 1874 novel The Mysterious Island.

"I foresee that in the future, water will be used as fuel... water will be the coal of the future."

The professor enthuses about the French author's vision 130 years ago that the world's reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable.

But he disagrees with Verne, famous for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, in one fundamental respect.

Whereas the French writer saw water as the fuel for the future, the Israeli scientist says the future lies with solar energy.

Suntan

"Even if we were to dam every river in the world and put wind turbines where ever there is wind," says Prof Karni, "it wouldn't be enough to provide for our energy needs. But with solar energy we could meet the world's energy demands."

For the last 16 years, he has worked with colleagues at the Weizmann Institute, situated in a leafy campus in the Israeli city of Rehovot, to make renewable energy a viable alternative.

The professor, who regularly works a 12-hour day, researches how to harness solar energy in a cost effective way and then transport the energy to the user.

The institute has been researching solar panels that produce a greater yield of energy.

"One of the big problems with solar energy is that the energy is very diluted," says Prof Karni. "It can give you a suntan but not much else."

Snags ahead

But one of Prof Karni's projects has been to use solar energy to produce a non-polluting synthetic fuel that could be used, for example, to power cars.


Solar power is finding various other uses worldwide
Last summer, the Weizmann Institute published research that was "a step towards the solution", he says.

Using solar power energy, zinc oxide was heated to 1,200C. The temperature splits the ore, releasing oxygen and creating gaseous zinc, which is then condensed into powder.

When the zinc powder reacts with water, it produces hydrogen that could power a car.

The chemical reaction produces no greenhouse gases and the zinc oxide can be recycled into zinc and the process starts all over again.

Prof Karni says that the research demonstrated that the process is achievable, but problems remain.

For every kilogram of hydrogen gas produced, you would need 60 kg of zinc, which is not feasible on a large scale, he insists.

New Manhattan Project?

But with a map of China hanging in his office, Prof Karni insists we have to think big.

"We could put solar panels here," he says, pointing at west China, "and this could provide the energy for the east of China where most people live. We just need to devise an effective way to transport the energy."

The massive consumption in global energy coupled with rising pollution has made finding a renewable energy alternative more important, he declares.

Over 3.5 billion people live in countries where the consumption of energy more than doubled from 1990 to 2003, according to the Energy Information Administration.

If countries were to form a "Manhattan project" for solar energy, employing the best minds and ploughing enormous resources into research, renewable energy could be challenging fossil fuels in five years, the professor believes.

But that moment of reckoning has yet to arrive. "We will only find the solution when it's really urgent," he says."

Source: Martin Patience. Solar-powered vision of the future. BBC News website (19 February 2006) [FullText]

Rehovot's Kaplan Hospital Researchers Say Red Grapefruit Lowers Cholesterol

According to Dr. Shela Gorinstein of Hebrew University, one red grapefruit a day will keep the cholesterol away and help prevent heart disease.

A new study published in the March issue of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry by a research team led by Gorinstein found that red grapefruit in particular was more effective than white although it is not yet clear as to why.

“It is likely that antioxidants in the grapefruits are responsible for their health benefits,” said Gorinstein. Red grapefruit has more antioxidants that the white variety. “But it’s also possible that red grapefruit may contain unknown chemicals that are responsible for the observed triglyceride-lowering effect,” she said.

The research team included Professor Abraham Caspi, head of the Institute of Cardiology at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot as well as scientists from Singapore and Poland who carried out lab work for the project.

One cup of fresh grapefruit is approximately equal to a half cup of juice. Both are beneficial. Since grapefruit sometimes interacts with certain medications, researchers emphasize that people should consult with their doctor before eating the fruit or drinking the juice."

Source: Israeli Researcher: Red Grapefruit Lowers Cholesterol. IsraelNN.com (16 February 2006) [FullText]

Rehovot's Professor Nachum Kedar, Israel's King of Tomatoes

Israel’s "High Priest of Tomatoes" Professor Nachum Kedar, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot, is the recipient of the 2006 Israel Prize in Agriculture.

The Israel Prize is the highest award that the State bestows upon its distinguished citizens for their achievements. Kedar, born in Vienna, is a graduate of the Hebrew University and specialised in tomato genetics and breeding, with special emphasis on shelf-life, taste and disease resistance. He is known as the High Priest of Tomatoes, following his achievements in breeding outdoor grown tomatoes resistant to Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus, as well as breeding a wide range of hybrid tomato seeds, which are now used in Israel, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, Turkey and in other countries throughout the world.

Nearly 90 per cent of all tomatoes grown in Morocco and 40 per cent of tomatoes grown in Turkey are from seeds developed by the Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot.

Kedar noted that about 20-30 per cent of the harvested tomato crop is usually lost because of softness or rotting. This problem has now been solved by incorporating one or more of several genetic factors into commercial varieties. About 300 varieties of this type have been released and 50 are now grown successfully."

Source: High Priest of Tomatoes wins prize. Freshinfo.com (16 February 2006) [FullText]

Ashdod-Rehovot-Lod-Tel Aviv Railroad Line to Get New Station in Lod

"A new railway station will be built in Lod's Ganei Aviv neighborhood, Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit announced this week.

The NIS 20 million station, on the Tel Aviv-Rehovot-Ashdod line, is scheduled to open next year and is expected to serve 300,000 passengers a year. It will have a passenger terminal, two platforms, elevators and escalators, and a 2,100-square-meter "park and ride" parking lot.

Sheetrit said within the next few days Israel Railways would start work on the railway, linking Ashkelon and Beersheba via Ofakim, Sderot and Netivot, at an estimated cost of NIS 1 billion. "

Source: Sybil Ehrlich. Sheetrit: Lod to get new railway station. JPost.com (16 February 2006) [FullText]

Rehovot's Juvenile Offenders?

Four boys between 15 and 17 were charged yesterday in the Rehovot Juvenile Court with assaulting a 16-year-old boy. The attack occured Tuesday evening, while the boy was at a community center in Rehovot working on a school project. According to the charge sheet, one of the boys began making fun of the victim's accent. When he refused to stop, the victim hit the boy. Ten other boys then assaulted the victim, hitting him and breaking plastic chairs over his back and head. The assailants finally left when a police officer was called to the scene.

Source: Yuval Azoulay. Haaretz.com (26 January 2006) [FullText]

Happy Faces of Rehovot

Мой Реховот решил открыть новую рубрику – Счастливые лица города. Все получилось как-то само собой. В то время как наш корреспондент фотографировал автобус Егеда (*), подъезжающий к переполненной (учениками средней школы Де Шалит) автобусной остановке, две девушки – видимо из числа учениц этой же школы – очень переживали, что не попали на передний план фотографии. Представитель МойРеховот предложил смеющимся и счастливым девушкам сделать снимок, после чего поинтересовался, на какой адрес электронной почты можно послать фото. Е-Мэйл адреса у девушек не оказалось, так что не оставалось ничего другого, как предложить им разместить фото в... новой рубрике «Счастливые Лица Реховота». Вот они - ниже, счастливо-радостные лица Реховотской юности. Фото оригинального разрешения (для возможного распечатывания на принтере или в фотомастерской) можно скачать здесь.

Позже мы подумали, что хорошо было бы поинтересоваться, как же зовут девушек, и чем они – по жизни – занимаются, равно как и задать им вопрос, что им в Реховоте нравится, а что не нравится.

Так что настоящая публикация – это еще и просьба к девушкам (с фото) откликнуться, и обращение ко всем горожанам – звоните (0547 968605) или пишите (myrehovot[at]isramarket.info), если хотите, чтобы Ваше счастливое фото украшало нашу газете. При этом не забудьте подумать над поставленным Выше вопросом: что в жизни Реховота Вам нравится, а что не нравится.

*) Некоторое время назад Мой Реховот опубликовал обращение жителей города к автобусной корпорации Егед, с призывом восстановить работу одного из важнейших маршрутов, также описывающее злоупотребления в сфере оказания Эгедом авто-транспортых услуг. В ответ на эту публикацию один из читателей доложил нам о еще одном противоправном действии Егед: игнорировании потенциальных пассажиров водителем (не пожелавшем остановится на все той-же остановке недалко от школы Де Шалит после окончания в ней уроков, и одновременной остановке автобуса (для высадки) в не предусмотренном для этого месте, за метров 100 до обозначенной остановки общественного транспорта. Вот и задумал наш Корреспондент проследить, носят ли дейсвия Егед систематический характер, или есть результат самодеятельность водителя.

Важно: Настоящая публикация – оригинальный материал от Мой Реховот. Цитирование и(или) перепечатка в сетевых и печатных СМИ, прочих веб ресурсах и печатных материалах (а также публичное использование фотографий если таковые имеются) разрешается только при наличии обязательной веб-ссылки (гиперлинк) по следующему образцу: www.MyRehovot.info . Нарушившие настоящее правило использования материалов журнала МойРеховот будут наказаны в предусмотренном законом порядке