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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Made in Rehovot Tomato Seeds, $350,000 a Kilo

"One kilogramme of Hazera Genetics "Summer Sun" tomato hybrid seeds is sold to farmers in Europe for US$350,000, according to Hazera, Israel's largest producer and marketer of vegetable and field crops hybrid seeds.

The company said this week that the price is paid for Hazera unique yellow coloured cherry tomatoes, developed jointly by Hazera in cooperation with scientists at the Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot.

"Summer Sun" tomatoes have larger than average sugar content, giving them a taste of honey. They are marketed under the brand "Hazera Boutique", which includes a wide range of gourmet tomatoes.

Eran Shafrir, Hazera Genetics marketing manager, said strong demand from European consumers for the boutique tomatoes has escalated their retail price to US$23.70 a kilo. "European consumers are willing to pay the price owing to the special taste and the tomato's health properties, as the 'Summer Sun' tomatoes contain also high level of the antioxidant beta carotene," he said."

Source: $350,000 a kilo tomato seeds. freshinfo.com (22 January 2007) [FullText]

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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Rehovot's Water Could be Polluted

Health Ministry: Entire Sharon Region's Water Could be Polluted

"Nitrate pollution in the drinking water of a number of communities in the Sharon area may spread if the overall rise in this type of pollution continues.

"The whole coastal plain is facing exceptional nitrate levels," Shalom Goldberger, environmental health engineer at the Health Ministry, said last week.

In a few communities, the ministry has already made special preparations to allow water use.

"In Rishon Letzion a facility to treat nitrates was established, and in Nes Tziona polluted water has been diluted with water from another source. We have instructed the residents of Bet Oved not to drink the water or cook with it, but residents continue to do so," Goldberg said.

Use of the local tap water for cooking and drinking has been probited for the past few weeks in Moshav Benai Dror in the Sharon due to nitrates that exceed allowable levels.

Nitrate pollution occurs when sewage and chemical fertilizers containing nitrate compounds penetrate the water table. Last year's Hydrological Service report on the situation in 2005 revealed high concentrations of nitrates in agricultural areas from Binyamina in the north to Rehovot in the south.

About half the water in the coastal plain aquifer is currently provided by local suppliers and not by the national water company, Mekorot. To overcome the pollution these suppliers must either find ways to purify the water, or connect to the Mekorot system.

In most places where nitrates exceed allowable levels, those levels are determined by new standards. When the old standards were in place, no particular health problems associated with exposure to nitrates were noticed.

Goldberger says that while no immediate danger is posed, standards must be maintained because the presence of nitrates in the water is a health problem in general."

Source: Zafrir Rinat. Health Ministry: Entire Sharon region's water could be polluted. Haaretz.com (22 Jan 2007) [FullText]

Monday, January 29, 2007

Death of Rehovot Surgeon from AIDS Raises Controversy

News Archive 1994

"The sudden death from AIDS of an orthopaedic surgeon in Israel last week has triggered arguments over whether all health workers should undergo an HIV test. The Israel Medical Association, which represents 12 000 Israeli doctors, opposes the suggestion for "professional" reasons, and the health ministry insists its money is better spent on blood testing and educational campaigns.

Dr Gabi Ben-Meir of Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot was the first doctor known to die of AIDS in Israel. The 42 year old man took a voluntary HIV test earlier this year; the result was negative. Three months ago Dr Ben- Meir fell ill with the type of acute pneumonia characteristic of AIDS. His colleagues at Kaplan Hospital asked him to undergo an HIV test but he refused. The diagnosis was confirmed but details were disclosed only after his death.

Hundreds of the surgeon's former patients were invited by the hospital for HIV testing; of the 100 tested so far, none has been positive. But Shaul Yahalom, a member of parliament representing the National Religious Party, initiated a private member's bill that would require all health workers who perform invasive procedures in hospitals and clinics to undergo regular HIV tests.

The first Israeli doctor known to be an HIV carrier is Dr Hassan Matani, a 46 year old. The surgeon took an HIV test last year when applying for an insurance policy; he was shocked to learn that he was HIV positive. When rumours reached the media that a surgeon at Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera was HIV positive the health ministry refused to reveal his identity.

But after pressure from patients the then deputy health minister, Nawaf Massalha, persuaded Dr Matani to face the press. He said that he suspected he had been infected from a patient while performing surgery; the source of the HIV has not been proved. Over 1000 of his 1300 former patients underwent HIV tests; all were negative. Dr Matani has given up surgery and now works as a consulting physician.

Professor Zvi Bentwich of the Kaplan Hospital, a member of the health ministry's AIDS steering committee, opposes mandatory testing of medical staff. "The risk of a doctor giving his patient AIDS is infinitesimal; a patient is much more likely to infect him."

He said that "cost was not the only factor. Periodic tests of a population of tens of thousands would result in numerous false positive results." Many medical staff would refuse contact with HIV carriers or AIDS patients.

But Dr Sanford Kuvin, founder of the Kuvin Center for Tropical Diseases of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who is also chairman of the board of trustees of the US National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, advises Israel to begin mandatory testing for HIV (and hepatitis B) of health workers - and patients who undergo invasive procedures."

Source: J Siegel-Itzkovich. News: Death of surgeon from AIDS raises controversy. British Medical Journal Vol.309, p.222 (23 July 1994) [FullText]

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Weizmann’s Former President Trades Silence on the Corruption at Rehovot’s Institute

New President to Be a Puppet in Hands of Corrupted Administration?

A month ago Haaretz.com reported about an ongoing science corruption drama at the campus of the major Israel academic center, Rehovot’s Institute named Weizmann after the first President of the state of Israel (My Rehovot, 31 December 2006).

While Haaretz. and Weizmann officials say “at the heart of the episode are charges of inappropriate behavior on the part of the departing president, [Professor Ilan Chet, because of] private work he did, ostensibly without authorization”, the apparent true nature of the conflict is the corruption by the Weizmann administration mafia, and their need to have a President-puppet, not an independent and open-minded scientist, the qualities Prof. Chet attested for.

The conflict spread the world, as on the other side of Atlantic, the executive vice president of the Weizmann’s American Committee, Martin Kraar, actively participated in the campaign designed to fight the Institutes’ ninth President.

Rehovot-based academic center is a well known plot of corruption by Israel science. Many instances of ethically deficient and criminal affairs by the Weizmann Institute bureaucracy (including major racketeer presently acting Academic Head Boaz Avron; former Vice-President Yoram Groner, a professor of the Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology; and former Finance Division head Michael Netzer) were reported previously (www.MyRehovot.info/ru 25 May 2006, 4 June 2005)

In the latest sad example the corrupted machinery of the Weizmann empire selected its’ victim to be top Institute employee, President Ilan Chet. A Professor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Dr.Chet is a world removed plant scientist. At a time of joining the Weizmann, he was an outsider, not linked to the corruption by the Institute administration and dirty “academic” affairs taking place at its’ Rehovot’s municipal-tax-free grounds.

It seems that as an outsider, not linked to the institutional godfathers, apparently frustrated by witnessing the corruption during his five-year term of presidentship, he had a moral obligation to publicly uncover it.

In accord with this, Haaretz “did receive a letter, which present[ed Chet] complaints. The letter is written in a bombastic style, which is not typical of the former president, say some Weizmann Institute sources. It contain[ed] phrases such as "witch hunt," "McCarthyism," "incorrect facts," "duplicitous employees," "frightened and pressured workers," "a bunch of hypocrites who watch the show and cluck their tongues," "foul odors reeking from the garbage pile of lies in this libel."

MyRehovot has little doubt that Chet characteristics of the employee relationships at the Weizmann Institute are sincere and come from the bottom of the Presidents’ heart. My Rehovot past publications (25 May 2005, 4 June 2005, 4 September 2006) support strong words characterising the true atmosphere of the Weizmann Institute corruption.

Ilan Chet letter full text, however, was not published by Haaretz or any other publisher. Therefore, at the beginning of January 2007 we contacted Professor Chet, and requested a copy of his anti-coercing masterpiece, so, it could be publicly presented at MyRehovot e-pages. Dr. Chet appreciated our attention, sharing his vision on the true state of affairs at the Weizmann Institute, but refused to provide the letter. The reason is an agreement he reached with the Weizmann Institute in exchange of an undisclosed “good compensation package”.

Israel scholarship thus missed an excellent opportunity to make the flagship institution of Israel science corruption free. It is understandable, though, that Dr. Chet is an ordinary human being, who values monetary compensation of greater importance then true Jewish science development, and combating those who poison it. Only God knows when next such opportunity will visit the Weizmann Institute grounds.

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Thursday, January 25, 2007

Number 1 Security Tip: Use Firefox Instead of Internet Explorer and Prevent Spyware!

Free Firefox install: Join the millions of internet users who have already downloaded the Firefox Internet Browser. Firefox allows you to browse the internet faster, more safely and more efficiently than with any other web browser. Now is the time to experience the best in web browsers.

Firefox makes upgrading from Internet Explorer easy by importing your saved favorites, settings and other information from Internet Explorer. You do not need to remove Internet Explorer to use Firefox - You can even use both at the same time!

Chances are you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer right now to access this website.

Internet Explorer is one of the many browsers available, but because Internet Explorer (IE) is built-in to Windows most people just use it without even thinking of ever using something different. However, one "cannot ignore the fact that Microsoft Internet Explorer is not safe to use," experts say.

The only trouble with IE is that it is full of security holes and other issues that can allow hackers or unscrupulous websites to install all kinds of nasty things on your computer. Many experts such as Leo Laporte, Steve Gibson and The Grown Up Geek recommend that you do not use Microsoft's Internet Explorer!

You have a choice: Get Firefox and surf the Internet with Safety, Security & Privacy

There are many other web-browsers to choose from. Many experts agree that the secure and safe browser of choice is Firefox. Firefox is free for everyone, contains no spyware, and is considered the best free, safe web browser available today.

Firefox looks and functions much like Internet Explorer!

But Firefox has one main difference: Firefox is safer to browse the web with. There is no single, easier, cheaper way to surf the web more safely! Oh, did I mention that Firefox is FREE? No need to worry - Firefox is one of those very few programs that is safe to use and is free! Do what other safe web surfers already do and surf the internet safer with Firefox! Remember, you can download Firefox for FREE and it will help you prevent spyware on your Windows computer.

You do not have to remove Internet Explorer to use Firefox

When you install Firefox there is no need to remove Microsoft Internet Explorer from your PC. After installing Firefox, just double-click on the new Firefox icon to surf the web instead of the Internet Explorer icon. If for some reason you choose to use Internet Explorer, you still can - you can even use both at the same time!

Virtually all internet websites will look and function exactly the same with Firefox as they do with Internet Explorer. About the only website of any consequence that does not function properly is Microsoft's Windows Update web-page. If you ever need to visit the Windows Update website, you'll need to use Internet Explorer. But remember, if you have Automatic Updates set to "automatic", there usually no need to manually visit Microsoft's Windows Update webpage.

Get Firefox now and browse with these features:

Increased Privacy and Security for Your Computer: Help keep your computer safe and prevent spyware

Tabbed Browsing: Save time by viewing more than one page in a window

Built-in Pop-up Blocker: Block annoying pop-up ads

Built-in Proxy Connecions: Automatically connect to proxies

CSS Encoding Removal: View hidden Myspace comments or other hidden items by removing CSS encoding

Built-in Google Toolbar: Enhanced search box makes finding what you want easier

So, why wait. Try this free download now. It is just click away!

System requirements: Windows XP or Windows 2000

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Sunday, January 21, 2007

Rehovot Storm Causes Severe Flooding, Power Outages, Beseq ADSL Internet Connections Shut Down

"Rain continues to fall throughout Israel, causing flooding in Rehovot and Yavneh. Several drivers were rescued after being trapped in their vehicles, [where a severe accident (at a Kfar Gvirol rail road crossing) happened on Shabat evening, January 20, 2007. The accident was served by five ambulances and several police cars, while the traffic at the accident scene remained closed till the following morning, Sunday, January 21.]

Drivers in the [country] north of were urged to be cautious due to heavy fog in the region.

Earlier in the evening, thousands of visitors to the Hermon mountains had to be evacuated due to a severe snowstorm. The storms have also caused widespread blackouts in the south."

Source: Storms Cause Flooding, Power Outages. IsraelNN.com (21 January 2006) [FullText]

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Dust From One African Valley Feeds Brazilian Rainforest, Rehovot Scientists say

"Much of the dust needed for fertilizing the entire Brazilian rainforest originates in a single valley in the African country of Chad and travels thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean to South America, newly published research shows.

Based on satellite data, the study was conducted by an international research team headed by Dr. Ilan Koren of the Environmental Sciences and Energy Research Department at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

The data revealed that some 56 percent of the dust reaching the Brazilian Amazon rainforest comes from the Bodélé Valley in northern Chad.

It has been known for more than a decade that the existence of the Amazon rainforest depends on a supply of minerals washed by rain from the soil in the Sahara and blown across the Atlantic as dust.
By combining various types of satellite data, Dr. Koren and colleagues from Israel, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Brazil have for the first time measured the weight of this dust.

They showed that a total of some 50 million tons of African dust is deposited upon the Amazon region every year, a much higher figure than the previous estimates of 13 million tons.

The new estimate matches calculations on the quantity of dust needed to supply the vital minerals for the continued existence of the Amazon rainforest, the scientists say.

They calculate that 56 percent of the 50 million tons of dust originates in the Bodélé Valley located northeast of Lake Chad.

To arrive at their conclusion, the scientists analyzed dust quantities near the Bodélé Valley itself, on the shore of the Atlantic and at an additional spot above the ocean.

The researchers suggest that the Bodélé Valley is such an important source of dust due to its shape and geographic features.

It is flanked on both sides by enormous basalt mountain ridges, which create a cone shaped crater with a narrow opening in the northeast.

Dr. Koren says winds that "drain" into the valley focus on this funnel-like opening the way light is focused by an optical lens, creating a large wind tunnel.

Dr. Ilan Koren is a senior scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

As a result, gusts of surface wind that are accelerated and focused in the tunnel lift the dust from the ground and blow it westward toward the Atlantic Ocean. This wind action allows the Bodélé Valley to export the millions of tons of dust that sustain life in the Amazon rainforest.

The Bodélé Valley study was published in the first issue of the new quarterly journal "Environmental Research Letters," dated October - December 2006. In a commentary on the study, also published in the journal, NASA atmospheric scientist Dr. Lorraine Remer observes that on its journey across the populated regions of west Africa, the Bodélé Valley dust can be affected by smoke and urban pollution.

"Although Koren et al do not speculate on the chemical possibilities in their paper," writes Remer, "the interaction between the dust and the pollutants provides opportunity for acids to coat the dust particles and to mobilize the iron compounds, creating a highly efficient fertilizing agent for ocean phytoplankton and the biota of the Amazon forest."

Remer says the findings of Koren and his co-authors suggest that dust emission sources may be highly localized spots in the Earth's deserts that can be mapped precisely by satellites of moderate to fine resolution.

Co-authors of the study are Yoram Kaufman of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Richard Washington or the Climate Research Lab, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, UK; Martin Todd of the Department of Geography, University College London, UK; Yinon Rudich of the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology at the University of Maryland; J. Vanderlei Martins of the Institute of Physics, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Daniel Rosenfeld of the Institute of Earth Sciences at The Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Source: Dust From One African Valley Feeds Brazilian Rainforest. ens-newswire.com (3 January 2007) [FullText]

Monday, January 15, 2007

SOS! Best friend missing!

My Rehovot gladly post just broadcasted SOS message by Rehovot resident. We sincerely hope that caring community of Rehovot residents and their friends will help our reader:

Please return my grandchildren's best friend!

She is a beautiful, 5-year old boxer, missing from Moshav Kidron for about two weeks. The kids are so unhappy without her. If you have her, or have seen this "new dog on the block", please inform me (052-4417566), or just bring her home.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Rehovot takes holiday softball tournament

Rehovot enjoyed its home-field advantage to win the Eighth Annual Rehovot Hanukkah Tournament for youth softball.

Six teams, included newcomers Arad and Dimona, played a grueling six or seven games over just two days. Rehovot defeated the Merkaz 9-7 in the final, Eilat roughed up Dimona 11-6 for third place and BBS came back for a 25-24 victory over Arad in the fifth-place game. Rehovot finished the round-robin stage in first place, followed by Merkaz, Eilat, Dimona, BBS and Arad.

Rehovot and Merkaz won the semifinal games and faced off for the second year in a row in the final and Rehovot avenged last year's loss. The Merkaz jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings on RBI singles from Moshe Hyde and Oren Litz and effective pitching from Etai Mayerfeld. However, the tired Merkaz defense, with no subs available, collapsed in the fourth, allowing eight runs, capped by Dudu Zozin's two-run homer.

The Mercaz put the tying run on base in the seventh but pitcher Simon Futerman bore down for the final out. In the third-place game, Eilat rode the strong pitching of Boris Yegudayev, who struck out 12, while giving up five hits and walks to the young Dimona team. Eilat jumped in front in the bottom of the first with catcher Roy Even's two-RBI triple and added another in the second and four in the third on Yegudayev's two-run homer and Doron Moshe's two-run single to take a commanding 8-1 lead.

Tabay Ben-Israel provided the bright spot for Dimona with a homer in the three-run fifth inning, closing the gap to 9-5, but Yegudayev struck out the side in the sixth and final inning, sending Eilat home with third place for the third straight year.

Eyal Mozes of Rehovot was named tournament MVP and each team named a top pitcher, hitter and defender: Rehovot (Simon Futerman, Dudu Zozin, Eyal Mozes); Mercaz (Etai Mayerfeld, Eran Epstein, Yeoandray Gil-Levy); Eilat (Boris Yegudayev, Diego Janovski, Roy Even); Dimona (Tahor Ben Israel, Tabay Ben Israel, Hamadiya Ben-Israel); BBS (Yotam David, Hamudi Oufa, Omer Kalinsky); Arad (Omer Surkis, Tal Pheifer, Yaela Tamari).

Source: Games We Play - Softball: Rehovot takes holiday tournament. JPost.com (24 Dec 2006) [FullText]

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Rehovot's Weizmann Institute scientists prove pig is a Holy animal

An Israeli institute sees opportunities how to use pig embryo transplants for curing genetic diseases.

According to the Weizmann Institute, based in Rehovot, Israel, pig embryo tissue could induce the human body to produce blood-clotting proteins for haemophilia patients and other critical substances to cure disease.

In a recent study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, immunology professor Yair Reisner and colleagues showed how such a transplant could be made feasible.

Blood-clotting

In haemophilia, a mutated gene prevents the production of a critical blood-clotting protein – treatments to this have been proved not without risk. If the body could be induced to begin producing these proteins by transplanting healthy tissue having the abilities that are lacking, this would constitute a cure.

Reisner and his lab team found that taking spleen tissue from embryonic pigs during the 42nd day of gestation exhibits optimal growth potential as well as secreting Factor 8, the blood-clotting protein missing in haemophiliacs.

Mice

In haemophiliac mice, the treatment worked within a month or two of implantation.

Although a number of problems would need to be overcome before researchers could begin to think of applying the technique to humans, the Rehovot researchers say that the experiment is "proof of principal".

Source: Pig embryo tissue may cure haemophilia. Pigprogress.net (27 Dec 2006) [FullText]

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Monday, January 08, 2007

Rehovot Policeman Fights For Life After Stabbing

"Police searched Monday for the weapon used in the stabbing attack against Rehovot policeman Sgt.-Maj. Shlomi Asulin, as the law enforcement community tried to build a case against a convicted criminal suspected of critically wounding one of their own.

Asulin, 27, a resident of Kiryat Malachi and father of two preschool-age daughters, was on duty Sunday afternoon when police received a report that two suspicious males appeared to be breaking into a vehicle in the city's industrial zone. Asulin and his partner were the first to arrive on the scene, and began to pursue the suspects into a nearby orchard.

According to police accounts, a struggle then broke out between the two suspects and the two police officers. During the struggle, one of the suspected thieves, Tarb Abu Issa, allegedly pulled out a screwdriver and stabbed the policeman in the head. Abu Issa then fled the scene and was arrested several hours after the attack.

Abu-Issa, 23, a Tel Sheva resident, is currently serving a four-year sentence for property-related offenses including auto theft and was released on leave for Saturday and Sunday. At his remand hearing Monday, his attorney argued that Abu Issa was at home during the attack.

Police said that they received intelligence information indicating that Abu Issa was in fact in Rehovot on Sunday evening. They hope that an orange shoe left at the scene of the crime will help link Abu Issa to the attack. Forensics teams were also working to recover incriminating fingerprints from the vehicle that Abu Issa and his partner allegedly tried to steal.

But police were still searching for the weapon used in the attack, which Abu Issa would have had hours to dispose of before being apprehended by police.

The remands of both Abu Issa and his alleged partner were extended by eight days in the Ramle Magistrate's Court Monday.

Meanwhile, Asulin's family and friends remained by his hospital room, where he was fighting for his life."

Source: Rebecca Anna Stoil. Rehovot officer fights for life after stabbing. JPost.com (8 January 2007) [FullText]

Sunday, January 07, 2007

350 Policemen Chasing Car Thief Suspected of Stabbing Officer in Rehovot

"A Rehovot policeman was stabbed in the head yesterday, possibly with a screwdriver, while attempting to arrest suspected car thieves from the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva in the Negev. Policeman Shlomi Asulin - a 27-year-old father of two from Kiryat Malakhi - is being treated for cerebral bleeding at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and is in critical condition.

Some 350 police officers, including mounted policemen and a police helicopter, were searching last night for the alleged assailant, Ratab Abu Issa, 23, who fled the scene after the attack. Abu Issa's suspected partner was captured by police after a struggle, during which he sustained light to moderate injuries. After he was arrested, police discovered that he is a prisoner on furlough. He had been sentenced to jail for auto theft.

"This is the kind of incident police officers encounter every day, and it is a worrying one," said Central District commander Dudi Cohen. "They have no limits."

The attack took place shortly before 5 P.M. yesterday, after police on patrol duty in Rehovot received information about two suspects in a Mitsubishi jeep reported stolen from Rishon Letzion the night before. Police pursued the suspects and attempted to arrest them at a garage in the industrial zone of Rehovot. The suspects resisted arrest, and Abu Issa is suspected of then using a screwdriver or another sharp object to stab Asulin in the head.

Police detectives arrived at the scene and opened fire on Abu Issa, who fled to a nearby orchard, apparently uninjured. Witnesses said his partner ran into the garage, where he was subsequently captured.

"I was in the garage and suddenly I saw three detectives running into the garage after an Arab who ran away from them," said a garage employee who witnessed part of the incident. "At the same time I heard gunfire from outside. One of the policemen said there was someone wounded. I went outside and saw the policeman lying on his back and bleeding. I asked him where he was wounded and he couldn't speak. He mouthed that he was wounded in the head. I called for help."

The second suspected car thief tried to flee yet another time, after police captured him in the garage and handcuffed him, the witness reported. The suspect was taken to Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot for treatment of injuries he sustained while resisting arrest."

Source: Yuval Azoulay. 350 policemen chasing car thief suspected of stabbing officer. Haaretz.com (7 January 2007) [FullText and Picture]

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Rehovot's showcase: Kibbutz Hulda winery, Israel's second largest studio of wine making art

Established in 1990 by Shmuel Boxer and Yair Lerner, the Barkan winery combines the best of New World and Old World styles of wine producing. This state of the art winery, located in Kibbutz Hulda, nearby Rehovot, has set for itself a goal to produce excellent wines that will proudly stand against wines from the entire world.

With an annual production of about 8 million bottles, this is Israel's second largest winery, producing five regular series: domaine, and Classic, which are meant for early drinking, while Reserve, Altitude, and Superieur are the series where the winery's selected grapes are destined. American-born Ed Salzberg is Barkan's chief winemaker.

He studied his art at the University of California in Davis, and gained his practical experience working in wineries in California and the New York Finger Lakes district. Under him is Itay Lahat, a graduate of the HU Faculty in Rehovot, and Adelaide University in Australia; and Yotam Sharon, who graduated oenology studies at the Montpellier University in France.

Together they make up an exceptional team with winemaking knowledge from important wine producing countries. Barkan is now launching their Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 within the winery s flagship series Superieur. The grapes for the wines in this top notch series are grown in the winery s selected vineyards in the Golan Heights and the Upper Galilee, and are handled with extreme care and sensitivity.

The series is only crafted from the best possible harvests. When the fruit quality is less than optimal, the Superieur series isn't made. The new Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Superieur is a worthy follow-up to the Superieur 2002. It is tannic but balanced, and the Cabernet Sauvignon shines through, showing blackberry, ripe plum, and sweet spice flavors. Expensive, yes, but this is a wine of very high quality which has that edge of elegant complexity that marks a great wine. NIS 160.

The Dalton winery, located in the Upper Galilee, has also released three worthy wines in their Reserve series: Reserve, Shiraz, 2004: This is a supple, harmonious Shiraz, richly flavored and well balanced with excellent texture and length. With grapes from the vineyards at Mt. Meron and Kerem Ben-Zimra, it has vivid aromas of cherry, black pepper, and caramel, with delicate notes of mint and coffee towards the long finish. Aged for 10 month prior to bottling in American oak barrels then spent another 6 month in the cellar, this wine will definitely improve with additional aging. NIS 120.

Reserve, Merlot, 2004: The grapes for this dark red wine were harvested at four of Dalton s premium vineyards in the Upper Galilee. This medium to full-bodied, round and concentrated Merlot shows complex aromas of very ripe raspberry, plum, and plenty of oak. With soft tannins and a lingering aftertaste, this wine is excellent value. NIS 99.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2004: The mouth feel on this stunning Cabernet is absolutely distinctive. Full, lush, packed with blackberries and cassis. The wine is voluptuous, smooth and coated with a thin layer of vanilla that last through an impressively long finish. It seems to be best now, but should hold for some years. NIS 105.

Source: Ofer Zemach. When only the best will do. Jerusalem Post (19 December 2006) [FullText]

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Fiction becomes the fact. Thanks to Rehovot's Lumus optical hi tech innovation

A Rehovot "optics company has developed a miniature video projector that turns regular eyeglasses into a personal video screen.

The technology, which until now has only been seen in movies like Mission: Impossible, projects a wide screen video image unnoticeable to anyone but the bespectacled individual."

Reuters' Sonia Legg tells us why. See video report using this link.

Source: Seeing the impossible. Reuters Report (27 December 2007) [Free Video Link]
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