Rehovot Academic Showcase: The Hebrew University’s campus in Rehovot

The Hebrew University’s campus in Rehovot was established in 1942, and is still the home of the only University faculty in Israel that offers academic degrees in agriculture. The campus houses the Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, and hosts the studies in Veterinary Medicine.

Faculty members plan their teaching and research activities with a weather eye turned toward the changing demands of Israel’s agricultural sector, while they pursue leading-edge basic and applied studies in plant and animal sciences, genetics and breeding, food and nutrition, cell biology, genomics, proteomics and biotechnology. Always seeking to innovate, The Faculty has opened new programs such as the preservation of nature and the management of open spaces; a four-year study curriculum combining a B. Agr. with an M.B.A; a new initiative in cooperation with the Open University, called “admission channels,” which allows students who initially did not meet University admissions requirements to be accepted as second-year students at the Faculty in consideration of their achievements in their first year at the Open University.

The following units are housed on the Rehovot Campus

The Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences
The School of Nutritional Sciences
Koret School of Veterinary Medicine
Research at the Faculty has helped improve and increase the yield of fruits, vegetables, grains, flowers and cotton; helped to overcome problems of destruction by pests and contamination of the soil; led to more efficient use of water through new approaches in irrigation technologies; and helped to develop Israel’s annual export of flowers and become one of the largest flower exporters in the world.

The Faculty's scientists continue to participate in the development of innovative research in such fields as drip irrigation, solar disinfectant, development of flowers with attractive colors and smells, the development of vegetables with long shelf lives; the use of genetics to improve the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables; the feeding and breeding of fish and fowl; the biological extermination of pests and control of plant diseases; saline water irrigation; and many others.

Source: About Rehovot Campus of HUJI. The Israeli Friends of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (last viewed 12 April 2006) [FullText]

Who is the owner of Rehovot Shopping Mall?

Last month, REIT Israel finalized the purchase of the Adumim Mall in Ma'aleh Adumim from its owners, M. Aviv Building Enterprises, for NIS 80 million. Later last month, REIT began the process of buying 25% of Givatayim Mall for NIS 301 million, in partnership with Delek Real Estate (each company will pay NIS 150.3 million).

Neither property is a commercial gold mine: Adumim Mall is not considered exceptional, while Givatayim Mall, currently celebrating one year since opening, is considered a total flop.

Acquisitions of this type are not unusual on the recent commercial real estate landscape. These two malls join a growing list of malls and medium-sized shopping centers being bought up by a small group of investors that includes REIT Israel, Gazit Globe and Alony Hetz.

Judging from the behavior of these three groups, Israel is becoming a market for bargains, and in the past year these companies have been on a shopping mall shopping spree. Here is a partial list: REIT Israel, controlled by British millionaire Leo Noe, has bought half of the Rehovot mall, half of Haifa's Grand Canyon mall, and now the Adumim and Givatayim malls. REIT Israel is also negotiating to purchase the Pisga Mall in Jerusalem's Pisgat Zeev suburb.

Gazit Globe, whose main operations are in the united states, has acquired half of the Emek Power Center in Afula, the Mikado commercial center in Tel Baruch, the Rothschild Mall in Rishon Letzion and commercial land in the Tzamarot compound in Tel Aviv, in addition to the high-end YOO towers residential project in Tel Aviv. Due to a technical mistake in the filing of an offer, Gazit's win in an Israel Lands Administration tender for commercial land in Yokneam was canceled. Alony Hetz, whose operations have been mainly in Britain, has bought Amot Investments and the Orot Mall in Or Akiva.

What has motivated these companies' sudden interest in Israeli commercial centers?

Cheap money

"Cheap money," say Israeli realtors. "Investors who bring money to Israel, at low interest rates, can buy income-producing properties here at reasonable interest rates or better."

This is what prompted REIT Israel and Hetz, which brought capital from England, and Gazit, which operates mainly in the U.S., to begin favoring Israel as a center of operations.

About six months ago Hetz told TheMarker that properties in Israel with a 9-percent yield can be purchased with long-term loans carrying 4.5-5 percent interest, while in Britain and the U.S., yields are much lower and the profit margin between them and the financing costs is just 1 percent. Amir Biram, CEO of REIT Israel, said something similar in a recent interview.

"There's money here - lots of it," says Ofer Shechter, CEO of the Promall management company. "Investors who come here from abroad have plenty of opportunities. A good commercial property in New York might provide a yield of 7-8 percent. In Israel you can get as much as 10 percent or more."

If these opportunities are so attractive, why are local entrepreneurs not jumping at the bargains?

A question of reward

"What makes the difference," says Haim Ariel, a businessman who specializes in income-producing real estate, "is mainly the net return - the return after the deduction of the financing costs - and in this respect, Israel's situation may not be so good. Still, it's not so bad, and I think there are more than a few real estate business opportunities here.

"I don't accept the claim," continues Ariel, referring to private Israeli entrepreneurs, "that Israelis invest sparingly in this market due to the high cost of money here. Today any Israeli who wants can get financing from an Austrian or American bank. The point is that Israeli investors are looking for 'hit and run' opportunities, with unrealistic yields. An Israeli will be disappointed if you speak to him about 10 percent annual yields, while companies that operate mainly abroad are happy to obtain annual returns of 7-8 percent."

Big is the most prominent Israeli real estate company operating intensively in the commercial real estate sector lately. "We were here during the worst days of the intifada, we invested in our centers and continued to believe in the future here, as we do today," says CEO Eitan Bar Zev. "Lately we really have seen a greater flow of capital and demand for commercial centers than this country has witnessed for many years. Still, there are some very big obstacles in this industry, and the playing field is designed only for big players."...

Source: Arik Mirovsky. The secret charm of flopping malls. Haaretz (3 April 2006) [FullText]

Founder of a Chain Retail Stores Elected President of American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science

Norman D. Cohen has been elected President of the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science. The election was held during the annual Board of Directors meeting, which took place in Coconut Grove, Florida.

Robert Machinist, Chairman of the American Committee, said, "Norman has been an integral part of this organization for over three decades, and he will bring to this new role the wisdom and enthusiasm for which he is widely known. We are confident that he will be a superb representative of the Weizmann Institute in the U.S. and around the world."

The Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, is a world-renowned center for science and technology research; for over sixty years, the American Committee has been a major source of its support. Mr. Cohen's involvement began in 1970, when he endowed the Norman D. Cohen Chair in Computer Science. Since then, he has held many key positions, including Chairman of the American Committee and Deputy Chairman of the Institute's Board of Governors. He is a member of the President's Circle, which recognizes the organization's most generous benefactors, and Jubilee Walk on the Institute's campus is dedicated in his honor. In 1990, the Weizmann Institute awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Mr. Cohen is one of the founders of a chain of New England-based retail stores called Lechmere Sales, which was later acquired by Target Stores. He has been on the Board of Directors of several companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, including Circuit City and Claire Stores. His deep sense of responsibility is demonstrated through a wide array of philanthropic and community activities. He has served as a trustee of the Boston Ballet Company, the Cardinal Cushing School for Exceptional Children in Boston, and Camp Young Judea in New Hampshire.

Mr. Cohen succeeds Dr. Albert Willner, who has been named the American Committee's first President Emeritus. During Dr. Willner's eight-year presidency, the organization achieved unprecedented results in its fundraising efforts and in raising awareness of the Weizmann Institute around the country. A member of the President's Circle, he and his family have provided extraordinary gifts that enhance cutting-edge scientific research and help to guarantee the overall vitality of the Institute in the coming decades.

The American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science (ACWIS), founded in 1944, develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, one of the world's premier scientific research institutions. The Weizmann Institute is a center of multidisciplinary scientific research and graduate study, addressing crucial problems in medicine and health, technology, energy, agriculture, and the environment. For additional information, please visit www.weizmann-usa.org.

Contact: Gail Goldberg, ACWIS Marketing Communications & Public Affairs, 212-895-7950, GailG@acwis.org

Source: Norman Cohen Elected President of American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science. Ascribe Newswire (15 May 2006) [FullText]

Rehovot Scientist to Speak on Multiple Sclerosis at 14th Annual Women’s Health Congress

New Rochelle, NY— For reasons we do not understand, autoimmune disorders are much more prevalent in women than in men. In the case of multiple sclerosis, the female to male ratio is over 2:1. This conundrum will be explored in a dinner symposium on "Neurological and Autoimmune Challenges in Women – Advances in Multiple Sclerosis" with Ruth Arnon, Ph.D., Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, at the 14th Annual Congress on Women’s Health, June 3-6, 2006 at the Hilton Head Marriott Beach & Golf Resort. The complete program is available online at www.bioconferences.com/wh The dinner symposium is supported by an educational grant from Teva Neuroscience.

The Congress provides practical, clinical information on cutting-edge therapeutic protocols, novel diagnostic procedures, and innovative research advances that impact on patient care to physicians, nurses, and policymakers. Conference Chair Susan Kornstein, M.D., Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, a DHHS National Center of Excellence, Richmond, Virginia and Co-Chairs Gail Stuart, Ph.D., APRN, BC, FAAN, Dean, College of Nursing, Medical College of South Carolina, Charleston and JudyAnn Bigby, M.D., Harvard Medical School, have convened an outstanding faculty and an array of informative sessions that will focus on hot topics in cardiology, menopause, diagnostics and therapeutics, lifestyle medicine, integrative medicine, and common clinical conditions. This year’s Congress will also highlight obesity and weight management in women in a special morning session in collaboration with NAASO: The Obesity Society. The full program is available at www.bioconferences.com/wh

The Congress is sponsored by University of South Florida College of Medicine and Journal of Women’s Health, in partnership with the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women. Collaborating Organizations include American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, American Chronic Pain Association, American Heart Association, American Menopause Foundation, Anxiety Disorders Association of America, Arthritis Foundation, NAASO: The Obesity Society, National Stroke Association, National Women’s Health Resource Center, and WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease.

Corporate supporters include GlaxoSmithKline, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, Procter & Gamble, Procter & Gamble Feminine Care, Sanofi Aventis, Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc., Teva Neuroscience, and Wyeth.

The Congress offers 19.75 category 1 hours of Continuing Medical Education, 23.8 hours of Continuing Nursing Education credits, 19.75 ADA credits, 19.75 CE credits for psychologists, and 19.75 hours of Continuing Pharmacy Education sponsored by the University of South Florida.

Source: Renowned Researcher Ruth Arnon, Ph.D. to Speak on Multiple Sclerosis at 14th Annual Women’s Health Congress. Mary Ann Liebert Inc., Publishers (23 May 2006) [FullText]

Israel's Scientists and Presidents Have Made Rehovot Famous

Israel's scientists and presidents have made this city famous. The country's first head of state, Chaim Weizmann, founded the Sieff Institute in 1934, and it now ranks among the leading scientific research institutes in the world under its present name of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

It was while Professor Ephraim Katzir was working here that he was elected Israel's fourth president (1973-78).

The Levi Eshkol Faculty of Agriculture, directly opposite the Weizmann Institute on Rehov Herzl, is named after the late Prime Minister of Israel and is a faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

For information about free guided tours, tel. (08)948-1275. Rehovot was founded in 1890 when immigrant farmers planted vineyards and almond trees here. Citrus fruits followed and today the city prospers with food processing, chemical and other plants, in addition to being a centre for mixed farming and citrus plantations.

Selected Sites of of Interest

Citrus Packing Houses: at the northern entrance to the town and around it. Open during the season.

Weizmann Institute of Science: open from 8 a.m. - 3.30 p.m. Film on Institute's research activities 11 a.m. and 2.45 p.m. For further information, call the Visitors' Section of the Public Affairs Office, Tel. (08)948-3597.

Weizmann House: the official residence of Chaim Weizmann, the first president of the State of Israel. Open: Sun.Thurs. 10 a.m.3.30 p.m. Closed on Friday, Saturday and holidays. Entrance fee. Tel. (08)934-3328, 934-3230. Group tours should be arranged in advance.

At the end of Rehov Herzl (Road No. 412) you arrive at the Bilu junction of three roads. On Road No. 40, follow the signs to Beer Sheva on the right and pass by Israel's largest kibbutz, Givat Brenner.

Now drive through Gedera, a pleasant agricultural community, with picturesque, red-roofed houses on the hill, founded by the Bilu settlers in 1884.

You begin to feel the whiff of country air as the landscape eases into lazy orchards and wheat fields.

Turn left in the direction of Qiryat Gat (Road No. 40) and soon pass by the religious Kibbutz Hafetz Hayim, noted for the packed kosher meals that you find in Israeli supermarkets. It, too, boasts a fine guest house, with a swimming pool.

The fields stretch for dozens of kilometres and now and again you see clusters of settlements far off the eucalyptus- lined road. Suddenly the development town of Qiryat Gat looms ahead as you turn left.

Source: Travelnet.co.il (last viewed 12 April 2006) [FullText]

Man Falls Out of Window While Proving His Love

Trying to let his wife just how much he loves her, 35-year-old Ashdod resident stands with half of his body outside window, loses his balance, sustains serious wounds

Some men express their love with flowers, while others jump out of the window: A 35-year-old man from the southern city of Ashdod, who wanted to prove to his wife just how much he loves her, was seriously wounded Friday evening after falling from his apartment window located on the fourth floor.

Magen David Adom rescue services evacuated the man to the Kaplan Medical Center in the city of Rehovot.

The couple had invited two of their friends to a Friday evening dinner, during which the four got drunk. At some point throughout the evening an argument broke out between the couple, and the woman claimed that her husband did not love her as he used to in the past.

The eager man told his wife that he is willing to prove his love to her, even by jumping out of their apartment window.

Police were dispatched to the area after neighbors saw the man standing with half of his body outside the window. Meanwhile, the man's wife and friends tried to prevent him from jumping, but he lost his balance and fell.

Chief Superintendent Danny Elgarat, commander of the Ashdod police station, said that the police had launched an investigation into the incident in order to determine whether the act was criminal and whether the man was pushed by his wife or one of the other two other people present at the apartment. However, the three people's matching version will likely not lead to a further criminal investigation.

The woman, who accompanied her husband to the hospital, cried bitterly throughout the ride. She never imagined that her husband would choose such a way to prove his love for her.

Source: Tova Dadon. Power of Love: Man falls out of window while proving his love. Ynet.co.il (13 May 2006) [FullText]

22-year-old Abused Her Mother For 10 Years

A 22-year old woman was arrested on Thursday after Rehovot police discovered that she had repeatedly abused her 60-year-old mother for the past 10 years.

The daughter reportedly used to make her mother sleep sitting up, wash dishes with boiling hot water for hours, and repeat sentences she had dictated to her.

The mother reported the story to the police, after the daughter, apparently mentally ill, allegedly beat her and severely bruised her entire body.

Police arrived at the house where the two women lived and arrested the daughter, who was taken for a psychiatric evaluation, Army Radio reported.

Rehovot Police Chief Dep.-Cmdr. Alon Levavi stated that when police arrived at the scene they witnessed "blatant neglect and severe abuse."

Source: 22-year-old abused her mother for 10 years. JPost.com (11 May 2006) [FullText]

Apartments Sold and Rented

Second-hand apartments sold

Tel Aviv and central region

Petah Tikva: An 80-sq.m. three-room apartment on Yehuda Hanassi St. was sold for $140,000. A 120-sq.m. four-room apartment on Yatekovski St. was sold for $248,000. An 80-sq.m. three-room apartment on Schechter St. was sold for $122,000. A 130-sq.m. five-room apartment on Shlomo St. was sold for $242,000 (Levy Yitzhak).

Herzliya: A 100-sq.m. three-room house on Neve Amal St. was sold for $276,000. A 135-sq.m. four-and-a-half-room apartment on Hatnaim St. was sold for $258,000. (Anglo-Saxon).

Rehovot: A 76-sq.m. three-room apartment in need of renovation on Kochvei David St. was sold for $93,000. A five-room apartment on Yehuda Gur St. was sold for $160,000 (Re/MAX).

Ness Ziona: A 100-sq.m. four-room apartment on Haminyan Harishon St. was sold for $170,000. A refurbished 75-sq.m. three-room apartment on Hatayasim St. was sold for $97,000. A 125-sq.m. four-room apartment on Bialik St. was sold for $140,000. A 130-sq.m. five-room apartment on Hashiryon St. was sold for $200,000 (Anglo-Saxon).

Rentals

Tel Aviv and central region

Petah Tikva: A partly-furnished renovated three-room apartment on Ein Ganim St. was leased for $475 a month. A partly-furnished three-room apartment on Sprinzak St. was leased for $500 a month. An empty refurbished four-room apartment on Ness Ziona St. was leased for $750 a month (Levy Yitzhak).

Rishon LeZion: A refurbished three-room apartment on Ma’agal Hashalom St. was leased for $800 a month. A partly-furnished three-room apartment on Dror St. was leased for $500 a month (Levy Yitzhak).

Ra’anana: A partly-furnished four-room apartment on Borochov St. was leased for $700 a month. A furnished three-room apartment on Shavratz St. was leased for $600 a month. A furnished three-and-a-half-room apartment on Maccabi St. was leased for $675 a month. A five-room apartment on Hakalaniot St. was leased for $1,100 a month (Levy Yitzhak).

Source: Guy Yamin. Apartments sold and rented (6 May 2006) Globes [FullText]

Rehovot's Center of The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel

If You Need Help Now Call 1202 , 24 hours a day

Tair was founded in January of 1999. It is both a support center for victims of sexual violence and an educational center that works toward changing Israeli societal attitudes in the area of sexual violence. Tair serves Israel’s “shfelah” (coastal plain) region, covering many cities and towns including Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ramle, Lod, Rehovot, and Kiryat Malachi, as well as the kibbutzim in the "shfelah". Until Tair's founding, victims of sexual violence from the Shfelah region were referred to the Support Centers in Tel Aviv and in Be’er Sheva, a situation that made it difficult for the Centers to meet with victims, conduct workshops, distribute information, and work to prevent the phenomenon taking place in the Shfelah region.

Tair provides immediate and comprehensive on-hand support to victims of sexual attacks. The Center staffs a 24-hour emergency telephone line and offers personal counseling to victims of sexual violence. Additionally, and in accordance with the need, and only in cases where the victim so chooses, we also provide escort to hospitals, police stations, and the courts. We also guide them through such governmental agencies as health, social services, education, the military, etc.

As an educational center, Tair conducts programs in order to bring about a change in the way Israeli society views sexual attacks. Our educational work includes: study days, workshops, courses, and lectures for students, teachers, advisors, and people working in the various agencies who come into professional contact with victims of sexual attacks. We believe that with an increase in awareness we can contribute to a decrease in the phenomenon. We teach the subject of sexual violence not just for its informational content, but also to improve the quality of life for all.

Our long-term plan is to make our Center truly a regional center for work in the area of sexual harassment and abuse. Our work in the schools is designed to effect social change and to further a way of life that supports equality and mutual respect between the sexes. We envision not only serving the 49 schools in our current educational project, but educating students at all of the 350 schools in our region, as well as all those professionals who work in the area of sexual violence.

Currently, we work out of a nice building in Rehovot that was given to us by the local Municipality. This is where both staff and volunteers sit, where we operate our 24-hour emergency phone hot-line, train our volunteers, facilitate support groups, and carry out all the elements of our work.

Source: 'Tair' Rape Crisis Center. The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel web site [FullText]

A 71-year-old Man Arrested on Suspicion of Raping a 16-year-old Girl

"Police suspect that the rape took place on Wednesday evening, when the girl was hitchhiking next to Beit Shemesh. The man allegedly picked up the girl and took her to a moshav in the area, where he rented a room and raped her.

The girl then escaped from the room and reported the rape a social worker, who in turn told the police.

In her testimony, the girl described the suspect and the location of the incident. Police arrived at the scene to discover that the man had registered the room under his real name, and he was arrested over the weekend.

The man denied the suspicions against him. Shortly after police questioned him, he announced he felt ill, and was hospitalized at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot.

Despite his medical condition, police have requested a court order his detention until the investigation is completed."

Source: Yuval Azoulay. A 71-year-old man from Beit Shemesh was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of raping a 16-year-old girl. Haaretz.com (29 April 2006) [FullText]

Israel Independence Day and Invalids of Immigration

"Israel's Independence Day is just the right time to reiterate the fact that Israeli society - the independent one - is a wide sea of raging waves of immigration. The forefathers of the reborn Israel (like their predecessors, who paved the way for all the aliyot to follow) liked to see the immigration as an aliyah, literally, an ascent, implying that it is better to come and live in the Promised Land. "What goes up, must come down," sang "Blood Sweat and Tears." By default, leaving Israel was dubbed yerida, descent, tantamount to dissent if not to outright desertion.

States older than Israel, peopled by nations much younger and lesser than the Chosen People, were less judgmental about living in a country or leaving it. Faraway America, north or south, was a magnet for immigrants from time immemorial (well, at least for the last 300 years). In Europe you just crossed a border, with an Iron Curtain or without it, and nowadays it is even easier than in the past. This lightness of moving is no less deceptive than the value judgment implied by ascent and descent.

Those who have never immigrated can never understand what it means, and those who have find it hard to recover. In recent weeks, I have been rereading memoirs written by my mother when she was in her seventies, four years before her death (this month, 21 years ago). She left Warsaw, her hometown (in her memoirs she refers to it again and again as "my Warsaw") three times. The first time, in 1939, she was running away from a city occupied by the Nazis. In 1945, when she returned to Warsaw from Russia, she knew that none of her immediate family and very few of her close friends had survived. "My Warsaw as I knew it, practically ceased to exist." She did rebuild her personal and professional life, gave birth to my sister and me, and "in those days I was really happy," she writes.

My parents were not Communist Party members, and, according to her story, my mother was not shy about expressing her views about what was going on in Poland in those days. When in 1957 the Jews were allowed - not to say encouraged - to leave Poland, my parents decided on emigration to Israel. They did it, my mother writes, for the sake of their children's future.

"On September 15, 1957, at seven o'clock in the evening, we were seen off by more than 50 people at the Gdansk train station in Warsaw. We were all sad, as we realized that it was a last farewell. Most of us were around 40, approaching 50. Not old yet, but not young anymore. I still knew how to cry bitterly then, so I did, like many of my friends and colleagues who were there. I knew I was leaving my home. Even if bad parents throw a child out of the house, the child does not want to leave. Where will he or she go? Among strangers? It is bad at home, but it is still a family home. Even more so if the 'child' is 45-46 years old, and feels deeply attached to this home and this city. I was born in Warsaw, I finished school there (bad memories; my classmates did not like Jews) and studied there (bad memories; some of the students did not like Jews and pestered and hit them) but I feel attached to this town. I was young there, and hopeful. I travel at 46, to a foreign country, foreign culture, foreign language."

My father was more easily "absorbed" in the foreign country. He spoke Hebrew; he was a physician and started working almost immediately. My mother had it tougher. As always in those cases, it was a sad mixture of personal circumstances and objective difficulties. In 1965, after eight years of trying hard to come to terms with this new life, she went back to Poland for a two-month visit. There she saw that life in Poland was not as bad as she had feared it would become when she emigrated in 1957. She found Warsaw even more beautiful than the city she remembered leaving. "You love your family even when you are aware of their shortcomings. That is why I felt so good in Poland at the time of my visit."

I am well aware that my mother's story is not something special or outstanding. On the contrary, I'm pretty sure that tens or even hundreds of thousands of "olim" - even those who made aliyah because of Zionist fervor, and no doubt those who came here because they had no other option - felt that way about their hometowns and cultures. Israel was keen on absorbing aliyah. It was rather inept - possibly still is - in dealing with olim.

Now that some 50 years have passed since the huge immigration waves of Israel's first decade, most of us realize that the melting pot that aimed at creating a new and homogenous society left many people crippled, in soul if not in body. The Russian writer Marian Belenky told Lily Galili (Haaretz, February 9, 2005): "I'm an invalid of immigration. There is such a thing. There are invalids of wars, and there are invalids of immigration."

Jews who came here from Arab countries got at least some measure of recognition for their collective handicap, caused by cultural and social discrimination. They were railroaded by the dominant culture - in part intentionally; and looked down on as inferior to the seemingly Western Israeli society, but mostly simply because "that's how it was." Their pent-up feelings of being put down and kept down by their "absorbers" were transformed into a political force, although there is no way to heal wounded self-respect.

Olim from European countries, specifically from Eastern Europe, who were among those immigrating to Israel at a relatively advanced age, do not get the recognition of an "aliyah-handicapped ethnic group." After all, those who "absorbed" them were their kith and kin. The most they could do was point to the damage caused them by World War II and its aftermath, but what sort of a solace is that? Most of them are left with their own private story. Their aliyah handicap is a private matter."

Source: Pen Ultimate, Michael Handelzalts. Invalids of immigration. Haaretz.com (29 April 2006) [FullText]

71-year-old man suspected of raping hitchhiker hospitalized at Rehovot's Kaplan Hospital

"A 71-year-old man from Beit Shemesh was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of raping a 16-year-old girl.

Police suspect that the rape took place on Wednesday evening, when the girl was hitchhiking next to Beit Shemesh. The man allegedly picked up the girl and took her to a moshav in the area, where he rented a room and raped her.

The girl then escaped from the room and reported the rape a social worker, who in turn told the police.

In her testimony, the girl described the suspect and the location of the incident. Police arrived at the scene to discover that the man had registered the room under his real name, and he was arrested over the weekend.

The man denied the suspicions against him. Shortly after police questioned him, he announced he felt ill, and was hospitalized at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot.

Despite his medical condition, police have requested a court order his detention until the investigation is completed."

Source: Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent. 71-year-old man suspected of raping hitchhiker, 16. Haaretz.com (29 April 2006) [FullText]

Rehovot Kindergarten Teacher Convicted of Physically Abusing Children

"A kindergarten teacher from Rehovot was convicted Thursday of seven counts of child abuse which she committed over the course of the 2003-2004 school year. Another teacher at the kindergarten also confessed to taking part in some of the incidents.

According to the conviction, the teachers - Tamar Hanegbi and Sigal Sharabi - abused babies and toddlers at the kindergarten for a period spanning months. The abuse was verbal and in some cases physical.

The abuse came to light when a former employee at the kindergarten who witnessed the incidents complained to police.

The teachers would shout at the babies, curse them, call them names and occasionally deprive one of the babies of his meals.

In one instance, Hanegbi apparently picked one baby up who was crying, held her firmly by her wrist and slammed her against the cot wall. She then prevented other teachers from going to the baby and calming her down.

Yaron Levi, the presiding judge, strongly criticized Hanegbi's behavior. "The defendant chose to aim her behavior at those who need the most care and attention, the weakest babies, those with physical difficulties whose fate in life was unfortunate," the judge ruled.

The judge called her behavior "cruel and humiliating, terrorizing and disrespectful toward the mothers of each and every baby."

Hanegbi's lawyers said they intend to appeal the verdict."

Source: Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent. Kindergarten teacher convicted of physically abusing children. Haaretz.com (27 April 2006) [FullText]