Rehovot's History: Eliazar Margolin, An Anzac Zionist Hero

Eliazar Margolin - An Anzac Zionist Hero. By Rodney Goutman. Mitchell Vallentine. 194 pages

Trumpeldor and Jabotinsky are still familiar names in Israel, but few have ever heard of Colonel Patterson, commander of the Zion Mule Corps at Gallipoli and later of the Jewish battalions of the Royal Fusiliers in 1918.
Fewer still have ever heard of Eliazar Margolin, a Russian-born farmer from Rehovot who became an officer in the Australian army and won a Distinguished Service Order and several commendations for his frontline leadership at Gallipoli. Major Margolin, thrice wounded, was due to be sent home by the Australians when he transferred to the British Army to be appointed lieutenant-colonel in command of one of the Jewish Fusilier battalions, which he led in the battle for E-Salt in Trans-Jordan. But in 1921 he was deported to Australia by the British administration in Palestine, following his intervention in the Jaffa riots. He never returned.

Lazar Margolin (1875-1944) ran away to Palestine when he was 16. In Rehovot he was befriended by Moshe Smilansky, who, half a century ago, told me about Margolin.

Margolin grew grapes and enjoyed the life of a halutz (pioneer). But when the local economy collapsed in 1902 he was forced to sell his land; broke, he set out to make a new life in Western Australia. He became a naturalized Australian and joined the citizen force, a militia that later became the backbone of the volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF) that went to fight for Britain abroad. How this immigrant with a pronounced Russian accent obtained a commission in the Australian militia is not explained here.

In 1914 hundreds of Jews volunteered for the AIF, among them militiamen like Captain Margolin and Lt.-Col. John Monash, later General Officer Commanding the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac). Margolin was 40 when he sailed for the Suez Canal; Monash was 54.

Much of this book is devoted to known facts about early Zionist efforts, the hostility of Allenby's staff officers and the Mandate's officials to Jews.

How Margolin did so well as an officer is not explained. In fact, apart from the bare bones of biography, he does not come alive at all.

Author Goutman has little flair for narrative and tends to confuse military terms. Further, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, one of the Fusiliers and Israel's second president, was never prime minister, as Goutman claims twice.

In Australia, Margolin remained active in veterans' associations. His ashes were brought to Israel by his Australian wife and interred in Rehovot. His sword and medals are in the museum at Moshav Avihayil. Long ago, Moshe Smilansky based a story on him.

Source: Meir Ronnen. Book review: The heroic Margolin. Jerusalem Post Books section(14 September 2006) [FullText]

U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald Rules Biotech Firm Patent Belongs to Three Rehovot's Scientists

NEW YORK - In a blow to ImClone Systems Inc. and a triumph for a prominent Israeli research institution, a judge ruled Monday that three scientists from Israel are the true inventors of a process used in the delivery of the blockbuster cancer drug, Erbitux.

U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald directed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to replace seven names now on the controversial patent with those of Professor Michael Sela, Dr. Esther Aboud-Pirak and Dr. Esther Hurwitz. The three scientists made the pioneering cancer discovery at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehobot, Israel, in the late 1980s.

In a 140-page opinion, Buchwald indicated it was not a close call because the events described by the researchers and their experts were "strongly corroborated" by documents, while the version presented by the defendants was not. She also found that the plaintiffs' witnesses were, "as a whole, far more credible than the defendant's witnesses."

Lawyers had predicted the case could significantly affect the future of Erbitux, a colon-cancer treatment drug made by ImClone, the company whose founder, Sam Waksal, is serving a prison sentence for his role in the stock scandal that also ensnared Martha Stewart. The ruling means the company will lose exclusive rights to the process used to deliver the drug. Its patent had been due to expire in 2017.

Erbitux is ImClone's only commercially available drug. As of the date of the trial, the company had received about $900 million in revenue under its distribution agreement in the U.S. with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

It was unclear when the patent credit names would be formally changed. Appeals to the judge's ruling could be filed.

The ruling was the first judgment in lawsuits brought in five countries by Yeda Research & Development Co., Weizmann's licensing arm, against ImClone, which licenses the patent, or Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc., which owns the patent.

Other lawsuits are pending against one or both of the companies for patents obtained in England, Germany, France and Austria.

Nicholas Groombridge, who argued the case for Yeda, praised the decision and said it will be welcomed by the scientists.

Groombridge said Yeda will seek to license the patent to ImClone and "as many people as possible, anyone willing to agree to commercially agreeable terms."

He said "no one will be barred from receiving any treatment as a consequence of this decision."

Messages left with lawyers for the defendants were not immediately returned.

The invention that resulted in the patent was a finding that a particular antibody such as that in Erbitux can be combined with chemotherapy to fight the growth of cancer in a manner that has more success against some cancers than some other methods.

The discovery in the late 1980s was made by the three Weizmann researchers using an antibody provided by Joseph Schlessinger, a one-time Weizmann researcher who was working at a predecessor of Aventis. He is now chairman of pharmacology at the Yale School of Medicine.

Schlessinger, 61, whose name has been on the patent, testified on behalf of the defendants during a 10-day hearing before Buchwald during the summer that he and his colleagues "generated the only unique material here."

The judge said Monday that the Weizmann scientists were not included as inventors on the patent even though they conducted all of the experiments relating to mixing the antibody and chemotherapy drugs.

"Schlessinger in no way directed the research of the Weizmann scientists and had absolutely no interaction with them during the course of their experimentation," she said.

The judge said that the predecessor company to Aventis and later ImClone copied the text and figures from a paper drafted by the Weizmann scientists into their patent applications.

Buchwald said the Weizmann researchers did not learn Aventis and ImClone were pursuing patents until 12 years after the first patent application and only 14 months before the patent was issued. The lawsuit was brought in 2003.

The judge said Aventis and ImClone "engaged in a series of actions designed to keep Yeda and the Weizmann scientists in the dark."

She said ImClone could not claim Yeda waited too long to file lawsuits because of the "extraordinary lengths defendants undertook to prevent the named inventors from discovering their actions."

ImClone said in a news release that it will appeal because it still believes the original patent's authors were correctly named. The company said that it did not believe the ruling will adversely impact its operations, including the sale of Erbitux.

The release said ImClone will petition the court to rule that the patent is invalid if it is transferred to Yeda, because the Israeli scientists never filed their own patent application.

After 11 years of clinical trials, Erbitux was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in February 2004 for the treatment of colorectal cancer and in March for treatment of head and neck cancers.

On Sept. 19, 2001, Bristol Myers Squibb agreed to pay ImClone up to $2 billion to jointly commercialize Erbitux.

The judge noted that the $900 million ImClone had already received represented more than four and a half times its $190 million in research and development expenses.

Also at stake, besides revenue to ImClone, were the reputations of some of the world's most renowned cancer researchers.

The judge noted that Scientist magazine has said Schlessinger's publications are among the most-cited papers in the world. He testified he had been nominated for a Nobel Prize.

She said her findings were "in no way intended to impugn the professional reputations of the extraordinary scientists who testified at trial."

Sela, 82, is a former president of Weizmann. Along with others, he invented Copaxone, the most widely used drug for treating multiple sclerosis.

Sela testified that he and other researchers cared most about their work and left the pursuit of patents to others.

"I don't mind if I don't take a patent, unless it's stolen from me. Then I have to react," he said. "At the beginning, when I first saw it, I was in a state of shock. I mean, money is not important, but my name and my science, my honor demanded I should be replaced."

Also see: US National Academy of Sciences Member Rehovot's Michael Sela Says Weizmann Scientists Have Bad Ethics. MyRehovot.info (5 August 2006) [FullText]

Source: Larry Neumeister. NYC Judge: Patent Belongs to 3 Israelis. Examiner, AP (19 September 2006) [FullText]

Rehovot's Cafe Goes Global, Takes a Bite Out of the Big Apple

Rehovot's Max Brenner chocolate bar in Manhattan: "We were confident that we would have a good response from New Yorkers, but this has been overwhelming."

"Move over Starbucks, there's a new game in town - two of them, actually. In the last months, two of Israel's most popular café chains: Aroma Espresso Bar and Max Brenner Chocolate, made simultaneous American debuts in Manhattan. Coffee and chocolate junkies across the island continue to sniff out the new stores, both of which have been packed, wall-to-wall, since they opened.

"The response to the new store has been amazing," says Oded Brenner, the creative brain behind the 'Max Brenner' brand, probably the first ever American chocolate bar, located at 841 Broadway at 13th Street, just south of Union Square.

"Since we opened, there has been an endless stream of smiling patrons, expressing so much excitement about the place, and even asking for my autograph. It has been a very rewarding experience," he told ISRAEL21c. "We were confident that we would have a good response from New Yorkers, but this has been overwhelming."

Meanwhile, at 145 Greene Street at Houston Street, the location of Aroma's flagship international store in Soho, vice president of marketing Noam Berman, reports similar findings: "It has been amazing to see that not just Israelis, but New Yorkers too, love Aroma."

He says that if all goes as planned, Aroma intends to open more stores in New York, California, Toronto, and perhaps even in Europe. "For now, opening in New York has been an amazing accomplishment for us."

While the Israeli chains have already succeeded to capture the tastes (and tummies) of New Yorkers, it was only in April 2003 that America's premiere coffee concept Starbucks, was forced to pull all of its six cafes out of Israel due to a lack of popularity. The question is what makes the two Israeli brands have such universal appeal?

According to Berman, the popularity of both chains is attributable to the fact that they are unique concepts in the American landscape. Since 1994, when brothers Yariv and Sahar Sheffa opened the first Aroma Espresso Bar in Jerusalem, the brand has grown to encompass 74 franchises across Israel. Synonymous with 'coffee house' in Israel, Aroma's concept is entirely new to the US market. "Our format is very different. It's healthy, its fresh, and everything is made to order," Berman told ISRAEL21c.

The 24-hour shop, which features different blends of quality beans for espressos, cappuccinos, and regular brewed coffee, as well as a wide array of sandwiches, salads, and snacks, bakes all of its bread on-site. Both the frozen dough and the beans are shipped from Israel to Manhattan, so as not to tinker with the chain's recipe for success.

That's not to say that the Manhattan location is a carbon copy of the Israeli chain. There have been a few menu changes to suit American taste buds: Although they have kept intact the restaurant's famous 'bourekas treat' (a hardboiled egg, cheese, pickle, and tahini sandwich on a flaky pastry), Aroma has added onto the menu a BLT sandwich (made with turkey bacon), and changed the name of the 'Iraqi sandwich' to 'Mediterranean sandwich" for what Berman says are "obvious reasons".

Brenner also adjusted the menu slightly for the American palate. In addition to his decadent waffles, crepes, sundaes, chocolate pizza, fondue, and 'huggable' cocoas, he added two dishes with peanut butter, as well as 's'mores', the classic chocolate-graham-marshmallow campfire treat, to the list of sweet selections. "These are 'musts'; icons of sweets in America," says Brenner.

The Union Square location, a $2 million investment measuring 4,800 square feet and able to seat up to 150 patrons, is Brenner's biggest among five stores in Israel, 11 in Australia, one in the Philippines, and one in Singapore. A second Manhattan location, at 141 Second Ave. and 9th in the East Village, is scheduled to open soon.

Although the first branch has so far been a success, some have accused Brenner of taking too great a risk by opening a second store in succession, especially since the brand's previous attempt to penetrate one foreign market - the UK - ended in failure in 2000. Brenner is nevertheless confident about the New York locations.

"If we were opening 20 stores, it would be risky. But two is a fair trial," he says. Having two stores in two different areas of the city will help Strauss-Elite, the Israeli food company that now owns Max Brenner Chocolate, to gain a deeper understanding of the American market, a critical step in the process of opening more franchises in the future.

"To start, we are no strangers to entering foreign markets," says Brenner. "Secondly, over the last five years we have had a lot of positive responses from Americans who have visited locations in Israel, and Australia," he says. "I would say that makes our duo-debut in New York a calculated risk.

"Thirdly," he adds, "Strauss-Elite is a big business, so it can handle the risk. If we were a small operation, we might not be able to."

Brenner can remember a time when Max Brenner was a small operation. The Max Brenner Chocolate empire that exists today all started with a tiny chocolate boutique in Rehovot in 1996 called 'Handmade chocolate by Max Brenner'...

opened jointly by Oded (who had just returned to Israel from a six-year apprenticeship with a pastry and chocolate chef in Paris), and candy store owner Max Fichtman.

Shortly thereafter, in 1999, the pair opened the very first Chocolate bar in Sydney, Australia. A year later, an Israeli businessman in New York, Boaz Sheinfeld, bought Fichtman's share of the company and tried, unsuccessfully, to develop the chain in the US and London. In August, 2001, Sheinfeld sold the business to Strauss-Elite. Since then, locations have opened up around the world, the most recent of which are the two in New York. "The stores have been very successful in Australia and in Israel, and I hope the Manhattan locations can match that success," says Brenner.

Like Berman, Brenner believes that it's the restaurant's unique concept that has Americans hooked. "Chocolate is not just about taste, and the café is not just another beautiful design," says Brenner, whose slogan, "Creating a new chocolate culture in the world", betrays Brenner's greater aim: to change the world with chocolate.

Until Brenner came along, Brenner says, chocolate, like other gourmet items: cigars, wine, and cheese, were "tasted" according to a very conservative, European format.

"Chocolate in Europe is very high quality, and there is a strong chocolate tradition, but there is no culture attached to it," says Brenner. The tasting experience in Europe does an injustice to chocolate's essence. "Chocolate is an experience. It's emotional; it's sensual; it's romantic. Chocolate represents nostalgia and addiction. It arouses all sorts of responses and triggers all sorts of memories and associations in people.

"My dream was to create a place where people could fulfill all of their chocolate fantasies - they can smell it and lick it and pour it and drink it and see it in big slabs," he says. "Nowhere except in Max Brenner are people responding to chocolate in such a casual, happy, and indulgent way.

"No one has taken chocolate to this level before," he says. "We are offering a unique chocolate experience. People are constantly coming into the store and saying, 'how did no one think of this before?'"

There are other elements of Israeli culture that 38-year-old Brenner, the figure behind the insigne "Chocolate by the Bald Man", would like to see exported to the US; Brenner (who is indeed bald) would like to see Israel's "balding culture" spread around the world.

"It is only in Israel that young people who are losing their hair prematurely, just shave their heads and keep their dignity," says Brenner. "You see it from time to time in the States and Europe, but far more often you see balding men hang onto their leftovers of hair. When you start to lose your hair, just clean it all off," he advises.

This is not the only thing he misses about Israel. Although he says he loves New York (he moved there in October 2005 to open the new stores), Brenner says there is no place like home. "There is something very special about Tel Aviv," he says.

Besides missing his family, who all live in Israel, he misses the city itself. "Although it's a big city, it feels like a kibbutz. It's a beautiful city, too, but full of imperfections. Those imperfections make it feel more 'human' than New York, which oftentimes feels larger than life."

This is partly why Brenner says Starbucks failed in Israel - because it lacked a certain 'down-to-earth' appeal. Additionally, he says, ever since the gourmet revolution hit Israel a decade ago - jump-starting all gourmet industries, including coffee, wine, and chocolate - the competition between coffee chains in Israel was just too stiff for Starbucks. "Starbucks couldn't compete on a landscape that includes gourmet coffee chains like 'Arcaffe'," says Brenner. "There is no chain in the States making coffee at this level."

Berman agrees, saying that Starbucks is geared toward American taste buds. "Starbucks is gourmet for the American palate, but not for the European or Israeli one," says Berman. "But, coffee is like cigars; once you smoke a good one, you can't go back to smoking lousy ones. Once you taste great coffee, you can't go back to drinking what you drank before," he says. "This is how we intend to hook Americans on Aroma."

According to Brenner, Max Brenner Chocolate and Aroma Espresso Bar are just the beginning. "Israel has a lot to offer," says Brenner. "Israelis are very innovative, and have this amazing, entrepreneurial spirit."

Already, Israeli jewelry designer Michal Negrin, and Israeli soap store Sabon have set the US market aflame. But, says Brenner, there are still many to go. "I think once they see that we have succeeded here, it will encourage them to expand out of Israel as well," he says. As for Max Brenner Chocolate: "I hope we will open more and more in the future," he says. "It is a beautiful story that I hope will have a beautiful ending."

Source: Jenny Hazan. Israeli cafes take a bite out of the big apple. Israel21c.org(25 September 2006) [FullText]

Related Link: www.maxbrenner.com

Weizmann's Yeda Lawyers Beat The Company Of the Institute's Former Professor. An Interim Result

"In the wake of a judge's ruling that stripped ImClone Systems Inc. of key exclusive patent rights, the biotech's biggest rival wasted little time taking advantage of the situation. Meanwhile, new ImClone director Carl Icahn blasted management for the patent loss and for ImClone's "sorry record" in general, in what could lead to a full-blown power struggle.

At Wednesday's annual meeting of ImClone shareholders in New Jersey, longtime investor Icahn, who owns nearly 14 percent of the company, was elected a director. So were two of his allies, which brings his faction on the board to four out of a total of 12 directors.

When Icahn was invited last month to stand for a board seat, he made clear his displeasure with management, including interim CEO Joseph Fischer and chairman David Kies, an M&A partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York. In a letter filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Icahn reiterated his views in light of Kies' refusal to step down as chairman.

"Given what I consider the sorry record of the company under your watch, it is time for you to step aside and allow someone else to be elected," Icahn wrote to Kies. "If you fail to do so, you will have thrown down the gauntlet, and we will have to react accordingly."

Part of the record Icahn cited was the loss of exclusive patent rights behind ImClone's sole marketed product, the cancer fighter Erbitux.

After the market closed Tuesday, biotech giant Amgen Inc. of Thousand Oaks, Calif., said it had licensed the same technology to which New York-based ImClone lost its exclusive rights. Fees were not disclosed.

Amgen shares were up $1.53, or 2.2 percent, to $70.98 in midday trading. ImClone was down 16 cents or half a percent to $28.95.

Amgen struck the license deal with Yeda Research and Development Co. Ltd., the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled Tuesday that three Weizmann scientists were the legitimate owners of the patent. Yeda's outside attorney, Nicholas Groombridge of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLC in New York, immediately said the institute would license the patent nonexclusively.

The license allows Amgen to commercialize without fear of patent infringement its developmental cancer drug Vectibix, which could reach the market by early next year. Under U.S. patent law, drug companies can pursue research and development freely without worry of infringement, but they can be sued for infringement once a product goes commercial.

Vectibix is considered the main competition to ImClone's Erbitux, which treats colorectal and head-and-neck cancers mainly in concert with traditional chemotherapy agents. Erbitux is ImClone's only marketed product and has produced $900 million in revenue for the company since its launch in 2003. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. of New York holds marketing rights to Erbitux and records its revenues. Erbitux net sales nearly doubled to $172 million in the second quarter of 2006.

An Amgen spokeswoman refused to discuss terms or timelines of Tuesday's licensing deal. Wall Street analysts estimate Amgen will pay a royalty rate in the low single digits once Vectibix comes to market. In a research note, Ron Ellis of Prudential Equity Group LLC said cost-of-goods estimates wouldn't change because of the "relatively minor size" of the royalty, which he estimated at 2 percent to 3 percent of total sales.

The patent in question, known as 866 after the final three digits in its assigned code, covers the use of a specific monoclonal antibody in conjunction with traditional chemotherapy treatments. Erbitux is mostly used this way, and ImClone has enjoyed exclusive rights to the patent since Erbitux came to market in 2003. Until Buchwald ruled otherwise Tuesday, French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis SA was the patent holder.

ImClone officials said Tuesday they will appeal the judge's decision, seek to have the patent overturned and explore the possibility of licensing from Yeda, which actually could mean a lower fee than what ImClone was paying Sanofi-Aventis. "If it's not exclusive, it certainly could be less," said ImClone vice president for intellectual property Tom Gallagher."

Also see: US National Academy of Sciences Member Rehovot's Michael Sela Says Weizmann Scientists Have Bad Ethics. MyRehovot.info (5 August 2006) [FullText]

Source: Alex Lash. Icahn Blasts ImClone Management. The Deal (25 September 2006) [FullText]

Rehovot's Weizmann Institute’s Commercial Arm has plenty of innovative drugs in the pipeline

Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd. is the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel’s leading center of research and graduate education. The Institute’s activities range across the spectrum of contemporary science. Yeda holds an exclusive agreement with the Institute for the marketing and commercialization of new developments emerging from the Institute’s laboratories.

In the pipeline:

Diapep 277

Peptide vaccine for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, acts to protect the insulin producing beta-cells from auto immune destruction. DiaPep277 is licensed to Develogen (formerly Peptor Ltd.) and has successfully completed phase II clinical development. A pivotal phase III trial for the treatment of type 1 diabetes commenced in September 2005.

Hepex B

Combination of two fully human monoclonal antibodies against the hepatitis B virus surface antigen, HBsAg. It is being developed to prevent hepatitis B, known as HBV, re-infection following a liver transplant. Licensed to XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTLbio). HepeX-B is currently in a Phase IIb trial in liver transplant patients.

ProCord

Cell- based therapy for spinal cord injury. Licensed to Proneuron, currently in phase II/III (fast track) clinical trials.

Edratide

CDR1-based peptide derived from a human anti-DNA antibody. Currently in phase I clinical trials for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), licensed to Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

OxSodrol

Recombinant copper-zinc Superoxide dismutase - (CuZnSOD) for prevention of pulmonary damage in neonates, licensed to Bio-Technology General, Inc., a subsidiary of Ferring Inc. The company completed a phase II clinical trial on use of CuZnSOD in treatment of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Onercept

Recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-binding protein-1 (r-TBP-1), licensed to Inter-Lab Ltd., a Serono company. Currently in phase I clinical trials for endometriosis.

Tadekinig

Recombinant IL-18 binding protein (r-IL-18 BP), currently in phase I clinical trials for Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis, licensed to Serono.

XTL-6865

Combination of two fully human monoclonal antibodies (Ab68 and Ab65) against the hepatitis C virus E2 envelope protein. It is being developed to prevent hepatitis C, known as HCV, re-infection following a liver transplant and for the treatment of chronic HCV. Licensed to XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTLbio). Currently in phase Ia/Ib clinical trials.

Tookad

Pd-bacteriophephorbide photosensitizer (WST09) is a novel light-responsive drug, based on chlorophyll that has been shown to kill tumor tissues by destroying their blood supply after local illumination with a diode laser (763 nm). It then rapidly clears from the body. Licensed to Steba Biotech. This photodynamic therapy is currently in phase I/II clinical trials as second line therapy for prostate cancer patients who had had failed radiation therapy.

Source: Van Nadel. Weizmann Institute’s Yeda has plenty of innovative drugs in the pipeline. (24 September 2006) [FullText][Cached Version]

Teva Opens Rehovot Biogenerics Development Center

Teva opens Rehovot biogenerics development center: The center will house 20 top scientists who will focus on creating genetically engineered proteins from mammal cells.

The world's largest generic drug company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) dedicated a new biotechnology development center at the Kiryat Weitzman Science Park in Rechovot. The center cost more than NIS 15 million, and will house 20 top scientists with experience in the development of biopharmaceutical products. It will be part of Teva's biogeneric group, which includes development and production facilities in China, Lithuania, Mexico and Hungary. The center in Israel will focus on creating genetically engineered proteins from mammal cells.
Current biological drugs, and especially those for the treatment of rare diseases and disorders, can cost patients $50,000-$100,000 annually. This is why generics aim to offer imitation versions at reduced prices. Sales of biological drugs are forecast to reach $60 billion by 2010, of which one sixth will be sales of biogenerics. The potential is great also in the intermediate term.

"On the strategic level, we decided that we would be the leading company in the field," said today Teva President and CEO Israel Makov. "In the coming years, a number of products will be released in Europe for generics, and later in the US as well. Towards the end of the decade, it will be a significant area for us."

Source: Gitit Pincas. Teva opens Rehovot biogenerics development center. (19 September 2006) Globes.com [FullText]

Rehovot Wraps Up Film Festival

"The third annual Women in the Picture Film Festival concluded earlier this week in Rehovot with a documentary by Tali Shemesh, The Cemetery Club, named the festival's top submission. The film, about a group of elderly Israelis who meet regularly to discuss history, literature and other topics, also won a prize at Tel Aviv's DocAviv Film Festival in April. Shemesh will receive $3,500 from the city of Rehovot as part of her latest award.

More than 6,500 men, women and children attended the female-themed festival, which began last Wednesday and featured more than 70 movies shown at screenings around the city. An Indian filmmaker, Aparna Sen, attended the screenings of three of her films during the festival."

Source: Nathan Burstein. News of the Muse. Rehovot wraps up film festival. JPost.com (20 September 2006) [FullText]

Off-Duty Soldiers Heckled Israeli "Idol" Rocker At a Show He Gave in Rehovot

Israeli ‘idol’ apologizes: The winner of Israel’s version of “American Idol” apologized for making unpatriotic comments.

Jacko Eisenberg, who took first place earlier this month in Channel 2’s popular songfest “A Star is Born,” drew fire and boycott threats after boasting about dodging the draft and not bothering to vote in national elections.

After off-duty soldiers heckled the 26-year-old rocker at a show he gave in Rehovot over the weekend, he went on national television to apologize.

“Really, really, really, from the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry,” he said.

“I’m sorry about things that just slipped out, and ended up hurting people.”

He also explained that, as the only child of a widow, he was legally exempt from mandatory military service.

Source: Israeli ‘idol’ apologizes. JTA.org (17 September 2006) [FullText]

Marketing history: Where Is Mazkeret Batya? It is 5 km Southeast of Rehovot.

"Mazkeret Batya's 15 minutes of fame came in 1994: Talila, the yuppie heroine of the film Shirat Hasirena, gets completely befuddled on her way from Tel Aviv as she attempts to find the small moshava.

"Where, for God's sake, is Mazkeret Batya?" she asks, cursing and turning the map upside down while running increasingly late for her date with her new beau.

In reality, although badly signposted, Mazkeret Batya is easy to find. Mazkeret, as the locals fondly refer to it, is 5 km. southeast of Rehovot, 25 km. from Tel Aviv and 30 km. from Jerusalem.

And nowadays - thanks in no small part to the local council's considerable marketing strategies - it's unlikely that Mazkeret would be quite so exotic a location.

But back in 1994, Mazkeret Batya had only 2,500 residents. Now it has 9,000, and that figure is projected to jump to 17,000 within the next decade.

According to local council head Meir Dahan, the majority of the development is happening in the east of the town. "There are 1,100 new housing units up to three stories high, 400 of which are duplexes and 700 are standalone houses. There are no high rises, nothing that will stand out or clash with the small, green feel of the town," Dahan asserts. "And that will be the city's maximum capacity. There is no other land available to build on."

With or without high rises, it's a far cry from the town's roots.

Route 6 passes only five minutes away and the train stops in nearby Rehovot. If Dahan's dreams are realized, Route 6 will have an intersection at the entrance to the town and Mazkeret Batya will have its own railway station, both allowing for an easy and speedy commute to the metropolis. What was until very recently a sleepy, idyllic moshava is fast turning into a bustling little suburban hub.

ESTABLISHED IN 1883 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild as the first of the seven original moshavot, Mazkeret Batya started life as an agricultural community. Eleven families from Pavlova in White Russia made a living on land given to them by the Baron.

In establishing Mazkeret Batya (the name means Batya's Memorial, or "in memory of Batya" and was given by Rothschild in honor of his mother in 1887), the Baron used what Dahan refers to as "his Jewish kopf." The ruling Turks deemed the land of Ekron (as it was then known) agricultural, thereby forbidding the construction of private homes or public buildings.

The Baron circumvented the law by building four "Kazermot," Russian for soldiers' houses. These two-story brick buildings housed animals on the first floor and families on the second. Soon after, regular houses began to be built. Kazermot are unique to Mazkeret Batya, as are the stone barns that were built in the same era. Both these original features - as well as the synagogue that dates back to 1927 - remain, giving the town its nostalgic charm.

For the most part, the original settlers of Mazkeret Batya stayed, as did the majority of their children and grandchildren. They were joined in the Fifties by families from Morocco and Libya who were housed in 22 Amidar public housing projects that Dahan describes (quite rightly) as "the stain of Mazkeret Batya." When this population eventually moved on - many moving to private homes as their economic situation improved - their place was taken by 70 Ethiopian families whom the government settled in the town in the '90s.

The Ethiopian children of Mazkeret Batya are integrated into the local school system. Most choose to attend the religious elementary school. Due to financial constraints, these pupils, for the most part, continue on at the local - secular - high school, unlike their peers..."

For fulltext of this article go to original Jerusalem Post publication, referenced below.

Source: Atira Winchester. Marketing history. Jerusalem Post (14 September 2006) [FullText]

Rehovot's Weizmann Institute Places Number 151 on the List of World's Top Universities. Far Behind Other Israeli Institutions.

Jerusalem’s Hebrew University has been named one of the world’s top 100 universities by Newsweek magazine.

Hebrew U. places number 82 on the list, which is headed by Harvard, Stanford and Yale. It is the only university in the Middle East to be included on the list.

Newsweek said its study took into account "openness and diversity, as well as distinction in research."

A separate ranking of the world’s top 500 universities published earlier this year by China’s Shanghai Jiaotong University ranked Hebrew University in 60th place. The Chinese report rated the university in 78th place the previous year. Also placing on the report were Haifa’s Technion (115), Tel Aviv University (116), Rehovot’s Weizmann Institute (151), Bar Ilan University (303), Ben Gurion University (304) and the University of Haifa (467).

Newsweek based half of its score on the three criteria used by Shanghai Jiaotong: the number of highly-cited researchers in various academic fields, the number of articles published in Nature and Science magazines, and the number of articles listed in the ISI Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities indices.

Another 40% of the score used the four criteria that the Times of London ranking system used: the percentage of international faculty, the percentage of international students, citations per faculty member and the ratio of faculty to students.

The last 10% was based on the number of volumes in the universities' libraries.

Founded by Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Martin Buber, and Chaim Weizmann, among others, Hebrew University has a reputation for its studies in the sciences and religion, housing the world's largest Jewish studies collection. Recent Nobel Prize Laureate Robert Aumann is a professor at the university.

Source: Ezra HaLevi. Hebrew University Ranks Among World's Top Universities. INN.com (15 September 2006) [FullText]

Male Agenda Broken At The Nashim B'Tmuna (Women in the Picture) Rehovot's International Women's Film Festival

"Of the 23 directors competing at the Venice Film Festival, which ended over the weekend, only two were women. At the most recent Cannes Film Festival, the situation was not much better: Women directed only three of 20 films in the official competition. Women directed only two of the 20 films at the Berlin Film Festival, which was held in February. And yet both won the top prizes at the festival: Jasmila Zbanic, a Bosnian, won first prize for her film "Grbavica," and Pernille Fischer Christensen won the Judges' Panel award for "Soap," a Swedish-Danish production.

The status of women in the world's three most important film festivals is not very different from less illustrious film-related events. The status of women in world film is pretty bad. No woman has ever won the Oscar for best director. Only three were nominated for this prestigious prize - Lina Wertmuller in 1977 for her film "Seven Beauties," Jane Campion in 1994 for "The Piano" and Sofia Coppola in 2004 for "Lost in Tokyo."

In general, the United States is an excellent example of the sad situation facing women directors: In 2004 only 5 percent of the 250 most profitable films of the year were directed by women; 12 percent were written by women; 16 percent were edited by women and only 3 percent were filmed by women. In 2005, women directed 7 percent of the most profitable films, wrote screenplays for 11 percent of them, edited 16 percent of them and filmed only 3 percent of them.

In the rest of the world - except for France where women direct some 25 percent of films each year thanks to film funding guidelines - the situation is much the same. In Denmark, for example, only one of 31 dramas screened last year was created by a woman. And in Israel, women directed only four of some 40 films produced in the last two years. This year so far, only one woman director - Dina Zvi Riklis - has directed a drama. For her movie, "Three Mothers," she has been nominated for the Ophir Prize, the Israel Academy of Film's annual award; winners will be announced tomorrow.

The same male agenda

Today, the Nashim B'Tmuna (Women in the Picture) International Women's Film Festival opens in Rehovot, and its objective is to change this situation. Even director Michal Aviad, who serves as the festival's artistic consultant and has vast experience as an artist and as a lecturer at Tel Aviv University's department of film, has not managed to find any clear answers on this matter. "Even where I teach, I'm the only female lecturer in the applied program - who has a part-time position," she says. "Moreover, I've been teaching for over 15 years and in most cases the breakdown of students by gender is 60 percent male, 40 percent female and sometimes it's 50-50, but after a few years, after they start working and creating, the overwhelming majority are men."

Like other female filmmakers who prefer the documentary genre to drama, Aviad also made her name in the former. She directed films that dealt with Israeli subject matter from a feminine perspective. "Jenny and Jenny," her very popular film, dealt with culture in the periphery through the perspective of two enchanting young women; "Lev Ha'aretz," featured three Israeli communities in Ramle through the lives of the women there; and her latest film, "Layeladim Sheli," focused on a mother who tells her children about their family's history in response to the question of whether Israel is the last stop.

"None of my films addressed questions that the women's magazines refer to as 'feminine questions,'" says Aviad. "I make films about the things that interest all of us here, but from a different perspective, based on the argument that male-female relationships also influence the culture in which we live."

Aviad has won a grant to develop a screenplay for her first drama. "It may be that because of my femininity I didn't dare do a drama until now," she says. "Perhaps I'm also functioning within those same unconscious structures: like a woman who is afraid to direct a large number of people."

In her eyes, as in the eyes of many, the fact that only one of the five film fund directors in Israel is a woman - Ziv Naveh manages the Gesher Fund - is a problem. "However," notes Aviad, "the fact that a woman can become a fund manager, with the same male agenda, does not help. There are women who are also bound by the same images and think that our lives as women are less important or interesting than the world of men. By the same token, there could also be a woman film fund director who thinks a soldier in the battlefield is more interesting than the mother waiting at home for him."

The third Jenny

"The Secret Life of Words," directed by Isabel Coixet, which won the best film prize at the Spanish Film Academy's Goya Awards, will open the film festival tonight. The star of the film is a mysterious woman - played by Sarah Polley - who arrives on an oil drilling ship that has only male workers on board. She becomes friendly with a man who lost his vision - played by Tim Robbins - and the two develop a relationship in which each conceals essential details from the past.

During the four days of the festival, numerous films will be shown, including Israeli films, which have already been shown at other Israeli festivals and even on TV. And yet, for Aviad, the screening of these films in a feminine framework is important, as it will facilitate watching them from a different perspective. "The Cemetery Club," by Tali Shemesh, "Metamorphosis," directed by Netali Baron and "Red Fields," directed by Ayelet Heller will also be screened.

Aviad recommends four other films worth seeing. One is "Under the Ice," a German film directed by Aelrun Goette, which deals with a mother's urge to protect her children. At the focus of the film is Jenny, whose 6-year-old son is involved in the death of his friend.

Another recommended film is "A Working Mom," directed by the Israeli director Limor Pinhasov Kaftori. The documentary follows Marisa, a Bolivian woman, who in 1990, at the age of 22, leaves her two children and comes to work in Israel. Some 15 years later, she returns to her country in the hope of reuniting with her children whom she supported from a distance throughout the years, but they receive her with indifference and even hostility.

Aviad also recommends "Stolen Life" directed by Li Shaohong - a Chinese director to whom the festival is making a gesture. The film is about a young woman who grows up in Beijing and is raised by her tough aunt and grandmother. She is accepted to university, full of dreams of self-fulfillment, but meets a man, moves in with him, gets pregnant and has to quit her studies. Also recommended is the American film, "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer," directed by Georgina Garcia Riedel. This film tells the tale of three women from a Mexican-American family - a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter. "

Source: Goel Pinto. Still out of Focus. Haaretz.com (14 September 2006) [FulText]

Noted Indian Filmmaker Aparna Sen is a Guest of Honour at Rehovot's 3rd International Women's Film Festival

Noted Indian filmmaker Aparna Sen will be the 'Guest of Honour' at the third International Women's Film Festival (IWFF) in Israel scheduled to start Thursday in the city of Rehovot, near Tel Aviv.

Sen, whose classic 'Mr. and Mrs. Iyer' has been screened at several film festivals in Israel, is the star attraction at the fest where three of her films will be shown.

The Indian filmmaker’s debut film '36 Chowringhee Lane' will feature alongwith 'Mr. and Mrs. Iyer' and her latest offering in English, 15 Park Avenue .

Sen will also be answering to the queries of film enthusiasts after each of the three screenings, the organisers said.

"Women filmmakers have made a distinct mark in India and I am particularly happy, in this context, to note that the IWFF is holding a focus on the Indian film director, Aparna Sen, who is one of India's celebrated directors and actresses," India's Ambassador to Israel Arun Kumar Singh said in his message to the festival.

"The Israeli audiences have always shown great interest in Indian cinema, art and culture. I look at such interest as part of the continuing engagement between India and Israel", he said on Tuesday.

Some 46 films and documentaries will be screened at the festival from all around the world dealing with various issues related to women.

Source: Aparna Sen to be 'Guest of Honour' at Israeli Film Fest. Agencies (13 September 2006) [FullText]

Husband Suspected of Gunning Down Wife is in Rehovot's Kaplan Hospital

"Less than two days after a double murder-suicide attempt shattered an Ashdod family, the Shabbat quiet was broken in the nearby community of Merkaz Shapira on Saturday morning when, police believe, a husband fatally shot his wife and then critically wounded himself.

Kobi and Aya Elmakayis were discovered in the bedroom of their new house in the early morning hours, both suffering from severe gunshot wounds to the head and upper body. Both were taken to the advanced trauma facilities at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, where Aya, 38, succumbed to her wounds shortly after.

Doctors worked throughout the day Saturday to try to save 39-year-old Kobi, who is suspected of fatally shooting his wife and then himself. The family's four children, ranging in age from three to 14, were all asleep in their rooms when the shots were fired in the family's home on Rehov Haetrog.

No suicide note was discovered at the scene of the incident, and police said that they had no previous complaints concerning the family, nor was there any known history of abuse.

Only one month ago, the family moved from Ma'aleh Michmash to the small religious community just outside of Kiryat Malachi. Over Shabbat, the couple hosted Kobi's brother and his wife at the house. Both husband and wife were shot by the pistol that Elmakayis's brother was licensed to carry and which police recovered near the bodies.

A similar tragedy rocked Ashdod late Thursday night, when, police believe, a 33-year-old man stabbed his 36-year-old wife and her mother to death and then tried to kill himself.

Shortly before midnight, Ashdod police received an emergency call from the man, who said that he had beaten his wife and her mother, but did not elaborate as to why. Police rushed to the apartment on Rehov Harotem, only to discover that the situation was much worse than they had imagined.

"When we arrived at the scene, it turned out that the blows had turned into stabbings," said Ashdod Police Dep.-Cmdr. Daniel El-Grat. "We had two women's bodies in the house. He himself tried to end his life and stabbed himself very brutally in the stomach."

The man was brought in moderate condition to Rehovot's Kaplan Hospital for treatment, and police said they would question him as soon as his medical condition permitted.

As in the incident at Merkaz Shapira, four of the couple's children were asleep in the house at the time of the murder.

The oldest son, a 12-year-old, was not home at the time of the incident and was later found wandering around Rehovot.

An initial investigation indicated he had fled the house when his father began to assault his mother and grandmother. In this incident as well, the suspect left no suicide note, and police said there was no recorded history of previous violence in the family.

El-Grat did say, however, that on the day of the murder, there had been complaints of yelling from the family's apartment.

The five children were turned over to their mother's sister's care in cooperation with representatives of child welfare services.

The Ashdod incident is at least the third such murder-suicide to occur among Ethiopian immigrants within the past five months. While Ethiopians comprise one percent of the Israeli population, 25 percent of women killed by their husbands in the past decade have been Ethiopian and eight of the 20 most recent wife murders - 40% - have been within the Ethiopian immigrant community. "

Source: Rebecca Anna Stoil. Husband suspected of gunning down wife before committing suicide. Haaretz.com (8 September 2006) [FullText]

International Women's Film Festival to Take Place in Rehovot September 13-16, 2006

"For such a small country, Israel can't seem to get enough film festivals. A new one takes place almost every month, dedicated to some cinematic or geographic niche. In a typical year, film buffs can head out to Tel Aviv's documentary film festival (DocAviv), the Eilat International Film Festival, the Jerusalem film festival, and the Haifa film festival (just around the bend in October). Even quintessential periphery towns such as Sderot and Ashdod have their own film festivals. Now, the majority of filmmakers represented at these festivals are male. The third annual International Women's Film Festival, which takes place in Rehovot from September 13-16, hopes to raise the profile and the voice of women in cinema.

Encouraged by the success of last year's festival, which drew about 5,000 viewers, organizers have made it an annual tradition. The festival was launched three years ago by Anat Shperling, a journalist and director, and Naama Prizant, a film producer, to counter the disheartening statistics that give Israeli women filmmakers a low representation in the industry.

"If you open a newspaper and look at films playing, you find that two or three percent are done by women," says Shperling, artistic director of the festival and co-founder of the Women in Picture Association. "The perspective of women is different from that of men. We try to show the world as it is perceived by women in order to change society's thinking and conventions. We use cinema as a tool."

By bringing public attention to films by women, as well as encouraging professional dialogue among filmmakers, the founders hope to inspire and goad female filmmakers.

Shperling attributes the dearth of women filmmakers in part to the glass ceiling women encounter in many professions, as well as to the ambition of motherhood, which often supersedes professional goals.

It is only fitting, then, that a good portion of the short and long features, documentaries and animated films examine the themes of motherhood and mothering. According to Michal Aviad, artistic adviser of the festival, these films portray mothers as "complex, fascinating, autonomous characters. These films break away from the stereotypical vision of the mother as an almost mythical creature - a vision tainting most popular film."

A special program is dedicated to films by directors from the European Union. While some of these films date back to the 1990s, few have been shown in Israel. Among the most noteworthy are the German film Under the Ice about a mother's attempt to protect her child when his behavior leads to tragic consequences; the British film Mouth to Mouth about a teenager's entanglement with a street cult; and the documentary When Mother Comes Home for Christmas (Greece). The latter film, in addition to the Israeli film A Working Mom, follows the paradox of foreign workers who leave their children behind in their native country to make enough money to support them..."

Source: Orit Arfa. Women in Focus. JPost.com (7 September 2006) [FullText]

A Survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Includes Data on Living in Rehovot

"The average household expenditure in Rishon Letzion is the highest in Israel, with Ashkelon the lowest: NIS 13,329 a month compared to NIS 8,047 a month. But Tel Aviv actually wins the title for highest per capita spending per month: NIS 4,954 compared to last place Bnei Brak with only NIS 2,086 a month.

These figures were part of a survey released yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The survey compared household expenditures of the 14 largest cities in Israel.

The 14 include the five cities with over 200,000 inhabitants: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Rishon Letzion and Ashdod; and the nine cities with populations between 100,000-200,000: Ramat Gan, Netanya, Holon, Bat Yam, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva, Beer Sheva, Ashkelon and Rehovot.

Tel Aviv also led in the highest spending per month for eating out: NIS 486; while Bnei Brak again came in last with only NIS 58 a month.

For the most expensive expenditure a family has, an apartment, Tel Aviv was once again the highest with the average apartment costing NIS 1.085 million. Beer Sheva was last at an average apartment price of only NIS 440,000. Second place went to Ramat Gan, NIS 1.05 million.

The variations between household spending and per capita expenditures are a result of the difference in the average number of people in a household in the cities.

Here, Tel Aviv came in last with only 2.3 persons per household, while Jerusalem and Bnei Brak tie for first place, with 3.9 persons per household. Bnei Brak also had the highest housing density, 1.16 people per room. In contrast, the lowest density was 0.8 people per room in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Beer Sheva, Haifa and Rehovot.

Monthly rent varied from NIS 2,226 in Tel Aviv to NIS 944 in Beer Sheva.

An explanation for Rishon's high expenditure per household is the highest number of wage-earners per household: 1.6. Jerusalem, Haifa, Bnei Brak and Beer Sheva all had only 1 wage earner per household on average.

Rishon Letzion households also held the most consumer goods, with the average home containing 13 of the 17 products checked in the survey: 99.1 percent of all families in Rishon have a television, 91.1 percent have cable or satellite hookups, and 57.9 percent own a DVD player..."

Source: Moti Bassok. Rishon Letzion first in spending per household. Haaretz.com (8 September 2006) [FullText]

Does Rehovot's Weizmann Institute Professor Schwartz Lie in The Major Science Publication, PNAS USA?

A vaccination that stimulates immune cell production could be key to enabling people with serious spinal injuries to walk again, researchers say.

However, the study has been criticised by some experts in the neurological field who remain sceptical about the findings.

The controversial research claims come from a team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, who say that key immune cells can work with stem cells to mend broken spines in mice.

Their latest study involved a vaccine that increased the numbers of immune cells, known as T-helper cells, that specifically protect myelin – a protein that coats nerve cells. The vaccine encouraged and protected stem-cells in the spine as they grew and become nerve cells, to such an extent that previously crippled animals were able to resume walking, they say.

However, the new claims have reignited a major controversy in neuroscience.

Significant involvement
Traditional theory suggests that the delicate central nervous system needs to be isolated from the heavy-handed cells of the immune system in order to function properly and affect repairs.

Michal Schwartz, who led the latest study, has spent the last 10 years working on a different theory: that a significant degree of immune system involvement is needed for the central nervous system to repair itself.

In February 2006, Schwartz published a study in Nature Neuroscience demonstrating that immune cells had an important role in nerve cell regeneration.

Non-invasive treatment
Now she reports that by boosting T-cells at the same time as injecting mice with stem cells that had partially differentiated into nerve cells, she was able to reverse severe spinal damage.

Injections of the stem cells without the T-cell-stimulating vaccine had little effect. Significantly, the myelin vaccine alone had more effect than simply injecting stem cells, she says.

The findings suggest that “immuno-supressive drugs should not be used” with future stem-cell therapy for spinal injuries, she says.

The team simply injected the animals’ soft tissue, so invasive, intra-spinal injections would be unnecessary, they believe.

"No scientific basis"
Schwartz’s belief that key neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, are caused by an over-active immune system has been greeted with some scepticism, however.

Geoffrey Raisman, director of University College London’s Spinal Repair Unit, was unequivocal in his denouncement. “There is no scientific basis for this paper,” he told New Scientist.

“The experiments reported do not have validity. It is beyond the bounds of possibility that this approach could improve spinal cord injury. I am surprised that it was published,” he adds.

Diverse functions
Another leading researcher in this field, Phillip Popovich at Ohio State University, US, has been less critical of Schwartz’s theories, describing them as “encouraging”. He too, however, has called on more substantial animal research to be done before tests on humans are even considered.

Schwartz cites papers she has published in recent years in reputable journals such as Nature Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Investigation as support for her theories. “I’m aware that this research is controversial. I think that neurologists are not aware of the diverse functions of the immune system,” she says.

“I think they’re locked into the concept that the immune system can be only detrimental to the central nervous system. But I think there’s clearly evidence now to say that’s not the case.”

MyRehovot note: It is important to note that Prof. Schwartz is a key scientist behind based in Rehovot biotech company called Proneuron. This is where she holds the position of the Chairperson of the company's Scientific Advisory Board. It is therefore not clear whether Dr. Schwartz speaks for the Science, for Proneuron, or for Yeda, Weizmann Institute Commercial Branch. Contrary to the PNAS Conflict of Interest Policy and academic ethics standards, Professor Schwartz latest PNAS article is silent about her company affiliation. Moreover, Dr. Schwartz and her co-authors disinform readers that they have no financial conflict of interest, as illustrated by the following article front matter statement: "Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared." Is this a lie? One may wish to notice this article was edited by Weizmann Institutes' Professor Michal Sela, a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences USA, a publisher of PNAS. Taking into account the mechanism of submitted articles' processing at PNAS, this fact may cast additional doubts on the integrity of science by Weizmann Institute researchers.

Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( PNAS ) USA (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0603747103) [Abstract and FullText]

Source: Enlisting the immune system to fix broken spines. NewScientist.com news. New Scientist (22 August 2006) [FullText]

Rehovot's Atom Limited Releases New Version of the WSCraft Content Management Software

Rehovot, Israel - WSCraft is both a development platform and CMS. It enables Web designers who are familiar only with HTML to develop/manage dynamic sites alone, without involving a programmer. Then designers deliver a site powered by the CMS to their customers.

Atom Limited, a provider of content management solutions, has launched the new version of its WSCraft CMS for flexible building and managing powerful dynamic Websites without involving a programmer.

WSCraft enables Web designers who are familiar only with HTML and CSS to flexibly develop and maintain Web, extranet, and intranet sites alone. With WSCraft designers accomplish tasks, such as design integration, content output definition, creating multiple content representations, configuration of e-commerce capabilities, and building multi-language sites, without turning to a programmer.

With WSCraft designers can build Web, extranet, and intranet sites of any scale, from corporate sites to online portals.

WSCraft offers designers a Lego-like approach to building sites while designers define building units by themselves. Since no project stage requires a programmer, designers also are able to reduce project costs, risks, and time while to become independent on programmers.

After a site is finished, designers deliver a site powered by the fully functional content management system to their customers. Deployment of WSCraft, including design integration, customization, and installation takes a few hours and does not require involving additional implementation partners except a Web designer. It makes a total cost of ownership low and lets both Web designers and business users accurately predict the project budget and avoid unexpected costs.

If maintaining a site is under designer's responsibility, a customer can be provided with an access to content update tools only while vital features, like managing users, site structure, and design, remain the privilege of the designer.

The key development features include:

- Seamless and painless integration of virtually any design and layout into WSCraft
- Using multiple design templates throughout a site; switching between design templates in a click
- Creating any content representation, including image galleries, product catalogs, news, articles, blogs, and bulletin boards, without having to acquire additional modules; switching between content representations in a click
- Flexible manipulation of content output by editing a pure HTML/CSS code completely isolated from a programming code
- Instant assembling of pages that contain compound content extracted from multiple pages
- Full control over navigation menu look and behavior through customization of a pure CSS file
- AJAX support
- Support for localization of site interface and administrative interface
- Open architecture for integration of third parties PHP scripts into WSCraft as plugins

The key content management features include:

- Easy content update
- Multi-author content creation
- Workflow management
- Version control
- Content personalization both on a page level and text fragment level
- Forum membership integration; phpBB, vBulletin, Invision Power Board, and Simple Machines Forum are supported
- Integration with internationally recognized payment systems: PayPal, 2CheckOut, and Authorize.net
- Tracking purchases from WSCraft Administrative Panel
- Creating multi-language sites
- Automatic generation of RSS feeds
- Friendly URLs generation

The previous version of WSCraft launched on May 17, 2006 has already numerous installations around the world, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Israel, Netherlands, Spain, UK, and USA.

WSCraft has a Web browser based interface, which means that users can manage their Websites wherever they are located.

Pricing and Availability

WSCraft is distributed in two editions: Premium and Ultimate.

In addition, plugins that enhance WSCraft functionality as well as various professional services are available.

WSCraft, plugins, and professional services can be ordered through the product Website.

The evaluation copy is available for press. It can be obtained by contacting Jeff Masycheff by phone or email, or by visiting the product Website.

About Atom Ltd: Atom Ltd. is a provider of marketing communication solutions headquartered in Rehovot, Israel. The company offers full-cycle services, from strategic development to development of software that support marketing initiatives. WSCraft Software is a department of Atom Ltd. which specializes in developing Web content management solutions. WSCraft is a trademark of Atom Limited.

Source: Atom, Ltd