Rehovot Gathering of israel Police: Police chief raps 'unhelpful snipings' from predecessors

Criticism from the touchlines by former senior police officers and internal leaks will not succeed in deterring the police's fighting spirit, Israel Police Chief Insp.-Gen. David Cohen vowed Monday during an angry speech at an awards ceremony for outstanding units in Rehovot.

"A fighter's spirit will guide the police, not leaks and shameful headlines," Cohen said. He fell short of pointing out specific controversies.

Most recently, the police came under fire for its handling of the March 6 Mercaz Harav terror attack, after it emerged that the first police officer on the scene failed to enter the yeshiva to engage the gunman.

With senior figures such as former police chief Aharon Franco in the audience, Cohen angrily slammed what he called "unhelpful snipings" by former police chiefs and other commentators "who once wore the uniform."

"Terrorist attacks were always prevented [when they were in charge]," Cohen quipped sarcastically.

"I take full responsibility for any operation and event the police is involved in," he said. Addressing the police officers in the audience, he continued: "You killed four terrorists in Bethlehem. You neutralized the terrorist in Jenin. Suicide bomb vests have been captured in the Sinai... dozens of kilograms of harmful drugs have been stopped at the border, [and] you have brought down the number of crimes and robberies."

In his speech, Cohen pointed out that police in Israel were in the unique position of having to tackle violent disorders, crimes, and terrorism. Officers were also addressed by Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, who cited falling crime figures. "We have good reason to be optimistic for 2009," he said.

He expressed concern at the rising number of attacks on police officers in the field, citing the recent death of First Sgt.-Mjr. Yigal Cohen last week, who was run over after trying to flag down a vehicle. Police have expressed a suspicion that the driver hit him deliberately.

Also addressing the ceremony via videoconference was Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who offered a message of encouragement to the hundreds of officers gathered there.

"I know that civilians get angry with you sometimes. Don't worry, they're angry with me too," Olmert said, to laughter.

"The Israel Police is fighting on the front line for quality of life, sometimes for life itself. I know how complex your work is in a country like ours. Your success is our life," Olmert said.

Prize winners included the Netanya police station; the Jerusalem Central Unit; the Lachish Central District; and the Southern Technological Unit and Rehovot police station for joint creative initiatives.

Source: Yaakov Lappin. Police chief raps 'unhelpful snipings' from predecessors. JPost.com (25 March 2008) [FullText]

Rehovot scientists succeed in designing artificial enzymes that also undergo “evolution in a test tube”

BIRTH OF AN ENZYME

Mankind triumphed in a recent “competition” against nature when scientists succeeded in creating a new type of enzyme for a reaction for which no naturally occurring enzyme has evolved. This achievement opens the door to the development of a variety of potential applications in medicine and industry.

Enzymes are, without a doubt, a valuable model for understanding the intricate works of nature. These molecular machines – which without them, life would not exist – are responsible for initiating chemical reactions within the body. Millions of years of natural selection have fine-tuned the activity of such enzymes, allowing chemical reactions to take place millions of times faster. In order to create artificial enzymes, a comprehensive understanding of the structure of natural enzymes, their mode of action, as well as advanced protein engineering techniques is needed. A team of scientists from the University of Washington, Seattle, and the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, made a crucial breakthrough toward this endeavor. Their findings have recently been published in the scientific journal Nature.

Enzymes are biological catalysts that are made from a string of amino acids, which fold into specific three-dimensional protein structures. The scientists’ aim was to create an enzyme for a specific chemical reaction whereby a proton (a positively charged hydrogen atom) is removed from carbon – a highly demanding reaction and rate-determining step in numerous processes for which no enzymes currently exist, but which would be beneficial in helping to speed up the reaction. During the first heat of the “competition,” the research team designed the “heart” of the enzymatic machine – the active site – where the chemical reactions take place.

The second heat of the competition was to design the backbone of the enzyme, i.e., to determine the sequence of the 200 amino acids that make up the structure of the protein. This was no easy feat seeing as there is an infinite number of ways to arrange 20 different types of amino acids into strings of 200. But in practice, only a limited number of possibilities are available as the sequence of amino acids determines the structure of the enzyme, which in turn, determines its specific activity. Prof. David Baker of the University of Washington, Seattle, used novel computational methodologies to scan tens of thousands of sequence possibilities, identifying about 60 computationally designed enzymes that had the potential to carry out the intended activity. Of these 60 sequences tested, eight advanced to the next “round” having showed biological activity. Of these remaining eight, three sequences got through to the “final stage,” which proved to be the most active. Drs. Orly Dym and Shira Albeck of the Weizmann Institute’s Structural Biology Department solved the structure of one of the final contestants, and confirmed that the enzymes created were almost identical to the predicted computational design.

But the efficiency of the new enzymes could not compare to that of naturally-occurring enzymes that have evolved over millions of years. This is where “mankind” was on the verge of losing the competition to nature, until Prof. Dan Tawfik and research student Olga Khersonsky of the Weizmann Institute’s Biological Chemistry Department stepped in, whereby they developed a method allowing the synthetic enzymes to undergo “evolution in a test tube” that mimics natural evolution. Their method is based on repeated rounds of random mutations followed by scanning the mutant enzymes to find the ones who showed the most improvement in efficiency. These enzymes then underwent further rounds of mutation and screening. Results show that it takes only seven rounds of evolution in a test tube to improve the enzymes’ efficiency 200-fold compared with the efficiency of the computer-designed template, resulting in a million-fold increase in reaction rates compared with those that take place in the absence of an enzyme.

The scientists found that the mutations occurring in the area surrounding the enzyme’s active site caused minor structural changes, which in turn, resulted in an increased chemical reaction rate. These mutations therefore seem to correct shortcomings in the computational design, by shedding light on what might be lacking in the original designs. Other mutations increased the flexibility of the enzymes, which helped to increase the speed of substrate release from the active site.

“Reproducing the breathtaking performances of natural enzymes is a daunting task, but the combination of computational design and molecular in vitro evolution opens up new horizons in the creation of synthetic enzymes,” says Tawfik. “Thanks to this research, we have gained a better understanding of the structure of enzymes as well as their mode of action. This, in turn, will allow us to design and create enzymes that nature itself had not ‘thought’ of, which could be used in various processes, such as neutralizing poisons, developing medicines, as well as for many further potential applications.”

Prof. Dan Tawfik's research is supported by the J & R Center for Scientific Research; the Jack Wolgin Prize for Scientific Excellence; Mr. and Mrs. Yossie Hollander, Israel; Mr. Rowland Schaefer, New York, NY; and the estate of Fannie Sherr, New York, NY. Prof. Tawfik is the incumbent of the Elaine Blond Career Development Chair.

Source: Weizmann Institute Media and Publications Department

Rehovot gas station attendant stabbed after argument over 20 shekels

A 17-year-old teenager stabbed a gas station attendant [March 24] overnight in Rehovot. The attendant, who was moderately wounded, was evacuated to hospital with a stab wound in his upper torso.

Police apprehended the suspected attacker shortly thereafter and determined that he was intoxicated. Officers also uncovered a knife which was in his possession.

A preliminary investigation concluded that the motive for the attack was an argument over 20 shekels, which, according to the suspect, got stuck in the cigarette machine.

Source: JPost staff. Gas station attendant stabbed after argument over 20 shekels. JPost.com (24 March 2008) [FullText]

Against separation: Opening of a special school for Ethiopian children in Rehovot is an admission of failure

Today's festive opening of a special school for Ethiopian children in Rehovot, to be attended by the president as well as activists from the Fidel educational association, is, in essence, an admission of failure when it comes to the absorption of Ethiopian immigrants - despite the association's tremendous efforts over the past decade.

Fidel (which means education in Amharic) was established in 1996 by veteran Israelis and Ethiopian immigrants with the goal of nurturing education among the community's children. "Fidel's vision," reads a pamphlet distributed by the association, "is to involve the community of immigrants from Ethiopia living in Israel in shaping the face of society and educational and social activities in the State of Israel. The association aspires to enable each boy and girl from families that came from Ethiopia to reach their full potential in the mainstream Israeli education system." There is a very discordant discrepancy between this statement and the principle according to which the Hadarim school will be run - together with other similar schools which Fidel's leaders intend to open across the country. The message Fidel is sending right now by presenting Hadarim as its new vision is even worse than admitting a failure in absorption. It internalizes that failure, placing it on the pupils' shoulders and convincing them that it is beyond their power, or anyone else's, to integrate them into the society in which they live, and the society into which the vast majority of them were born.

The followers of this new segregation are influenced, among other things, by the multiculturalist fashion prevalent mainly among separatist African-Americans. They define integration in general as a failure, and extend this to the integration of Ethiopian children in particular. Indeed, integration has failed in many cases, especially where children from less-affluent neighborhoods are bused in every morning to attend more ambitious, stronger schools where they have difficulty finding their own place.
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Yet not all Ethiopian pupils drop out of school and many schools across Israel have succeeded in promoting talented Ethiopian children, nurturing them and providing them with the tools they need to further their successful integration. The rate of Ethiopian immigrants in the Israel Defense Forces command courses, in the army's program for academics and in the universities and the Technion is far from negligible. Fidel itself has contributed to the advancement of many children of Ethiopian immigrants through higher education scholarships. Many of the association's current activists - social workers, lawyers and others - received support when they first set out on their way.

The sense of insult among parents and activists is understandable. They cringe as they see how, despite their best efforts, dropout rates for Ethiopian children remain high, and how the community's children are having trouble integrating because of the color of their skin. But the separatism they are now proposing - for which they will not be able to provide sustainable and adequate funding anyway - is a dangerous internalization of the system's failure. Worse still, it is an acceptance of the rejection and racism that compromise the process of intergration.

A wound turn inward is not the answer, least of all when it is carried out on the backs of children who, like all immigrant children, want to be like everyone else, despite everything. Fidel and its supporters need to confront Israeli society with the diversity of its dark-skinned children and, in the best interests of all parties, and according to what it took upon itself to achieve, the association needs to open the road to integration.

Source: Haaretz editorial. Against separation. Haaretz.com (24 March 2008) [FullText]

Rehovot man gets nine years for attacks on elderly

The Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday morning sentenced Roman Simondayev, 45, to nine years in jail for the robbery and assault of four elderly women. Simondayev confessed to the charges and the indictment served came as part of a plea bargain. The 45-year-old, who had a criminal record for drug offenses, was convicted of stealing the women's wallets, assaulted them and causing them grievous bodily harm.

Simondayev, a new immigrant, said that he attacked the women and took their possessions in order to buy drugs.

The court's verdict read: "The accused took advantage of the frailty of these elderly women in order to take their assets."

The first offense occurred on July 12, 2007 in which an elderly woman, 81, left a Bank Hapoalim branch in Rehovot carrying her purse. Simondayev approached her, grabbed her purse, lifted her wallet from it and fled the scene. He was caught and the wallet was returned to the woman. Simondayev was arrested but released on bail.

Two days thereafter, the attacker entered the flat of a 74-year-old woman in Rehovot.

Simondayev grabbed hold of her and demanded she give him money. When she responded that she didn't have any, he pulled her hair, threw her to the floor and dragged her into the middle of the room. Eventually, the woman gave him 20 NIS.

But Simondayev wasn't satisfied. He emptied her purse onto the floor, demanded the keys to the apartment, took her camera and a checkbook and left the scene.

The following day, Simondayev attacked a 75-year-old woman in Lod after she entered an elevator in her apartment building. He ran after her, got in the elevator and pressed the buttons for the 4th and 5th floors. When the elevator doors closed, he turned to the woman, demanded she hand over her purse and started to pull it away from her.

When the woman resisted, Simondayev pulled her hair and grabbed her purse while pushing her to the floor. When his victim screamed, Simondayev put his hand over her mouth. She proceeded to bite his fingers, after which he threw her to the floor of the elevator where she hit her head, injuring her hand and her neck.

Source: JPost Staff. Man gets nine years for attacks on elderly. JPost.com (23 March 2008) [FullText and Talkbacks]

Rehovot Celebrates Purim 2008

File 4603 @8:27AM 20 March 2008: Purim at Behor Levi elementary school



File 4572 @8:12



File 4654 @8:58AM 20 March 2008

Great Homes and Destinations: They first lived in Rehovot... but soon afterward began looking for a permanent home elsewhere

In Israel, a Tailored Home of Zichron Yaacov, Israel

Nava Abel loves color, a fact that is apparent in every room of the house that she and her husband designed, built and decorated. The concrete block walls are painted orange, pink, blue and purple; the ceilings are yellow; the metal stairs are maroon; and the painted concrete floors mimic Arabic-style tiles, with Oriental motifs in dark reds, yellows, blues and greens.

“The house is a palette,” said Ms. Abel, an artist who teaches in Zichron Yaacov, a seafront community near Haifa.

Her husband, Michael, an architect and contractor, grew up in the United States, living in several states before his family settled in California. After graduating from college in Montana in 1982, he met his future wife, an Israeli whose family had moved to Los Angeles when she was 16 years old.

Mr. Abel followed her to Israel so she could fulfill her army duty and, after a short stint on a kibbutz, they married and moved to the San Francisco Bay area. There they started a family, with twin girls, Sivan and Talya, followed by a son, Aviv, seven years later.

They moved back to Israel in 1993 because they both missed it. Ms. Abel said she yearned for the “Israeli spirit,” while her husband did not want to rear their children in the United States.

They first lived in Rehovot, a town outside Tel Aviv, where Ms. Abel’s brother lived, but soon afterward they began looking for a permanent home. They landed in Zichron Yaacov, at the southern end of the Carmel mountain range, overlooking the Mediterranean. It was founded in 1882 by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild and named for his father, Jacob, or Yaacov. The baron established a winery there, the country’s first.

When the Abels moved to Zichron, prices hadn’t reached their current peak. A township of mostly single-family and attached homes, the typical house here is about 160 to 180 square meters (1,722 to 1,937 square feet) on one-sixteenth of an acre and sells for about $500,000, according to Yoav Etiel, who owns the BarEl Properties Group. (Real estate in Israel is valued in American dollars; other expenses and purchases are made in Israeli shekels.)

The town had been considered one of Israel’s best-kept secrets — though the secret now seems to be out of the bag: The population, which was 7,000 a decade ago, has now reached 17,000. “There’s slow growth but positive immigration into the town,” Mr. Etiel said, “because of the scarcity of land and the lack of rezoning of agricultural land into residential zones.”

Among the changes expected to spur growth is the next section of the Cross Israel Highway, due to open in 2009, which will considerably improve access to Ben Gurion International Airport, just south of Tel Aviv. Also, the local train station will reopen soon, which means a rail commute to Tel Aviv could be accomplished in 26 minutes.

Recently, Israel’s English-speaking population discovered Zichron and, while sales levels have been affected by the weak dollar, “Zichron is still cheaper than Tel Aviv and Jerusalem,” Mr. Etiel said.

Fifteen years ago, the Abels scraped together $120,000 to buy what is known in Israeli parlance as an Amidar house, a small government-built cottage in what was then a run-down part of Zichron called Neve Sharett. Mr. Abel likes to call the area “the Harlem of Zichron,” although housing prices are now similar to those in the rest of town.

Within six years, they sold their starter house for $200,000 and bought the land next door — 370 square meters (3,982 square feet) set back from the main street, but with a view of the mountains and a national park.

It took Mr. Abel a year to plan and build the house; Ms. Abel said she never looked at the plans because she trusted her husband to create what they needed.

The house is 180 meters (1,937 square feet), which is not enormous by Israeli standards, but it has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a dining room, an office and a spacious outdoor courtyard and yard, where family members spend much of the warm spring, summer and fall months.

It cost around $100,000 to build and furnish the house; they saved money by doing most of the work themselves.

The doors in the house came from construction sites, and include several Bauhaus pieces from restoration projects in Tel Aviv. The wood shelving and built-in desks in the children’s rooms were made from salvaged wood. The metal stairs between the first and second floors were meant to be temporary, but Mr. Abel decided to keep them and painted them a rich wine color.

Ms. Abel worked on the interior decorations, choosing the cheapest and brightest mosaic tiles, in orange glass, at a local store. “People are often afraid of color,” Ms. Abel said, who was a graphic designer until about seven years ago. “But everything matches when you put it together.”

Her style of painting available surfaces — from the nude on the coffee table, to the floral motif decorating the glass breakfast nook, to the Oriental motif on the kitchen cabinets, to the blue whales and surfers in the children’s rooms — began in their starter house.

It was not a great space, Ms. Abel said, “so we just kept on painting over things. That’s where this style kind of developed.”

Her style also was partially shaped by the time she spent at the California College of the Arts. She often includes bold images of her family and friends, combining realism with a strong Oriental influence. She specializes in large-scale realistic portraits, which decorate not only their home but other structures in Zichron Yaacov. Ms. Abel painted the town’s water tower with portraits of Baron Rothschild and local farmers, as well as many of the electrical boxes throughout the community.

All through the house, from the living room and dining room to the stairwell and hallways, are the bright, vivid products of her imagination.

“Everything’s a work in progress,” she said, “and it probably will be until we retire.”

Source: Jessica Steinberg. In Israel, a Tailored Home: Zichron Yaacov, Israel. NY Times (12 March 2008) [FullText]

Olmert praises scientists for 'coming home', has nothing to offer except of corrupted university system

Original title: Olmert praises scientists for 'coming home'

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met at Rehovot's Weizmann Institute of Science on Tuesday with four young scientists who returned to Israel after living abroad for years because of the lack of opportunities for teaching and research here.

"The larger the institute gets, the more scientists will join so it can advance excellence in Israeli society for all of us," Olmert said.

He was received on campus by institute president Prof. Daniel Zajfman, who presented four outstanding young scientists among 16 who returned to Israel and joined the Weizmann Institute faculty during the past year.

The four were Dr. Avishai Gal-Yam (an astronomer); Dr. Nirit Davidovich (a physicist); Dr. Michal Sharon (a biochemist); and Dr. Roni Paz (a brain researcher).

Olmert described the Weizmann Institute as a "pearl in the crown of Israeli society."

He later met with youths who are neither studying in high school nor working full time, but are part of a work-study project initiated by Dr. Ovad Kerem of the Davidson Institute for Science Education of the Weizmann Institute.

Source: Judy Siegel Itzkovich. Olmert praises scientists for 'coming home' JPost.com (11 March 2008) [FullText]

Orange to offer new jobs in Rehovot

Partner to hire 300 for new centers

Partner Communications Ltd. is opening four new call centers in Rehovot, Hadera, Afula, and Beersheva, and will hire 300 persons for its customer services network.
Partner already has 39 service and sales centers and four call centers in Jerusalem, Haifa, Carmiel, and Rosh Ha'Ayin.

Partner CEO David Avner said, "Partner added 65,000 new subscribers during the preceding quarter."...

Source: Gad Peretz. The cellular firm will open four new call centers. Globes (6 Mar 2008) [FullText]

Rehovot Birthday Celebrated: Pure gold

By Ronit Vered

In the beginning there were apparently only three: the etrog (citron), the pomelo and the mandarin. Today there are dozens of fruits and thousands of species of citrus fruit in the world, but modern genetic research indicates only these three as the family's original primeval ancestors. In ancient times, the three existed in nature as wild trees; all the rest are the product of mutations that occurred by chance and received enthusiastic encouragement from mankind, or hybrids - the product of crossbreeding among the various species.

Some of the mutations and the crossbreeding took place very early. The orange, recorded in Chinese culture over 1,000 years ago, is the product of crossbreeding a mandarin with a pomelo. Some of them are later developments: The grapefruit, which appeared in the Caribbean in the 17th century, is the product of crossbreeding a pomelo with an orange. The Clementine is one of the babies in the family, and not only due to its size. It is named after the person considered its inventor, Father Clement Rodier, a French missionary who was sent to Algeria in the 19th century to bring the Gospel to the Muslims. But even when it comes to a fruit that came into the world relatively close to our own times (between 1892 and 1904), it is not easy to separate myth from fact. Nobody can say with certainty whether the monk and his colleagues in the order, who ran an orphanage, came across the mutation spontaneously or were involved in crossbreeding and therefore invented the Clementine.

Pierre Laszlo, a French professor of chemistry, has written a fascinating book in which he tries to trace the spread of citrus fruits in the world. This journey passes through marvelous stops along the way. There are the etrog orchards of the Levant, which spread because of religion, in this case Judaism. There is the story of the scurvy- stricken fleet of British Admiral George Anson, who embarked on a trip around the world in the 18th century with six ships and 2,000 sailors in order to prevent Spanish domination of the commercial routes. The fleet returned with one ship and fewer than 200 sailors, because his competitors were aware of the strategic-economic value of the secret of curing scurvy - lemon juice - and denied Anson and his men the simple treatment.

One of the most beautiful chronicles of the history of citrus in any language is in Hebrew. The album "Pri Etz Hadar" (Citrus Fruits) written by Shaul Tolkovsky, which was published by the Bialik Institute in 1966, is based on the book "The Hesperides" which Tolkovsky wrote in English and published in London in 1938. Copies of the English edition have become rare because most of the books burned in the warehouses of the publisher during the German aerial attack on London in 1940. Copies of the Hebrew edition are available today only in secondhand bookstores.

Because up-to-date DNA studies were not available to Tolkovsky, the scientific data in his book is somewhat outdated. His detailed study, the product of an entire life dedicated to the field, is based on linguistic and cultural analyses of ancient sources - documents and works of art - that refer to the citrus family. His journey visits ancient Chinese and Indian poems, Persian gardens surrounded by orchards and Italian Renaissance villas. Anyone seeking a more active adventure can visit two places where various parts of this complex story come to life.

1. Pierre Laszlo, "Citrus: A History" (University of Chicago Press, 2007). 2. "Pri etz hadar: Toldotav betarbut ha'amim, bisifrut, beomanut ubefolklor, mi'yemai kedem ve'ad zmanenu" (The Citrus: Its History in National Culture, Literature, Art and Folklore, from the Middle Ages to the Present), Shaul Tolkovsky (Bialik Institute,1966).

There is nothing like the sight of oranges individually wrapped in thin paper and bearing seals, to squeeze the juices of nostalgia for the golden age of Jaffa oranges. Anyone who touches the piles of original papers found in the orchard museum in Rehovot, will discover that they are pinkish in color and exude a strong sweetish smell that is not particularly pleasant. The source of the smell is a chemical substance that repels insects and rot, which was essential at a time when the oranges underwent a long journey, by camel and ship, before reaching their destination. The fear that one rotten orange would spoil the entire crate was what led to the careful packaging, by hand, of each individual orange. This was done by dozens of workers, all of them members of the respected union HaOrez (meaning "the packer"), which even published an elegant book explaining the regulations of the union of Hebrew packers in the Land of Israel and the sacred work of its members.

The Minkov orchard, planted by Zalman Minkov in 1904, was the first orchard in Rehovot. In the heart of a belt of orchards planted on the ancient Via Maris leading from Egypt to Mesopotamia, he constructed the buildings of the farm surrounded by a wall. There was a guard house, stables, a packing plant and a complex irrigation system. The ground water was pumped from a huge well dug in the inner courtyard: It was 23 meters deep, the height of an eight-story building, and it was over six meters in diameter. Today one can walk above this terrifying maw on a transparent glass floor that was built during the process of renovation and restoration. The well water was channeled via an aqueduct dug in the gravel wall to a large irrigation pool, and from there to a ramified network of ditches dug around the bases of the citrus trees.

Zalman Minkov died tragically on the day his daughter Zalma was born, and his musically talented wife, who became impoverished, returned to Switzerland and sold the orchard to Moshe Tolkovsky. His contemporaries said that Moshe's son, an extroverted young agronomist - our friend Shaul Tolkovsky - liked to tour the area in a small carriage harnessed to a pair of noble horses, play the violin at night at the edge of the irrigation pool, and also to play practical jokes. The poet Rachel and other famous celebrities of the Hebrew labor movement also worked among the trees of the orchard. Its beautiful irrigation pool served as an inspiration for a short story by S. Yizhar, who wrote that "anyone who is unfamiliar with the experience of swimming in a clear pool, on the afternoon of a clear day, with everything green and blue all around, you can't explain anything to him."

This orchard changed hands many times over the years, until it was uprooted, like most of the city's orchards and the crumbling farm buildings were surrounded by residential and industrial structures. In the mid-1990s, a start on preservation and restoration was made possible with the help of a donation from the Swiss descendants of Zalma Minkov, and included a little museum, where they are still working on big plans to commemorate the local citrus culture. Alongside the gravel wall they planted an attractive orchard of various types of citrus fruit from all over the world, and the lovely entrance gate was accurately restored with the help of three 1913 photos that were discovered in the archive of photographer Avraham Suskin.

In about a week, a small temporary exhibit from the works of Yaakov Ben Dov, who worked as a guard in the orchard before he became one of the founders of the photography department in the Bezalel - Academy of Arts and Design, and in his photographs documented the innocent orange days of Jaffa and the area.

The Minkov Museum, the first orchard in Rehovot, entry from Avinoam Nahmani Street (next to the Ayalon Institute), Rehovot, (08) 946-9197

At the age of 16, Moshe Wallach asked for a guava tree for his birthday. His parents, who wanted to pamper him, got him a strawberry guava tree. That was the beginning of a life devoted to collecting exotic trees. Wallach's private collection grew over the years on a farm on Kibbutz Ein Shemer, alongside a nursery of citrus fruits for farmers, until it became his main occupation, and a nursery of exotic fruits from all over the world for the general public. Among hundreds of types and species of fruit trees, a large section is now devoted to citrus fruits, which is a paradise for chefs and amateur gourmets.

There is bergamot orange here, which means "prince's pear." The aromatic essence produced from its peel was used to create the favorite perfume of Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XV, and to produce Earl Grey tea. There is fingered citron or Buddha's hand, whose curved "fingers," which emit a strong perfume, were placed in Chinese homes as early as the seventh century. There is Japanese yuzu; Tahitian lime; lemon caviar and dozens of other species of citrus fruits of various colors and sizes. Some have a very thick peel that is suitable for producing sugared sweets and jams, while others are at their best when eaten fresh from the tree or used for cooking and pickling.

Anyone with the self control to refrain from buying a tree comprised of four different species of lemons and limes that ripen at different times and provide fresh fruit during most of the year, is a real hero. Those who are weaker and poorer and cannot afford to purchase the grafted trees, can satisfy the urge with a tree of red-cheeked Shamouti blood oranges, a local mutation of the species that made Jaffa oranges famous and appeared in the orchards of Petah Tikva in the early 20th century. This is a wise long-term investment: an entire lifetime of drinking the juices of this tasty orange, and enjoying the sensual fruit that comes in a rainbow of colors ranging from reddish-orange to scarlet-purple.

With a little bit of luck, Moshe Wallach will also get to share the spotlight with Father Clement. The crossbreeds and species he is developing may one day lead to a new species of fruit named after him. Meanwhile, he and his family offer workshops to the general public on grafting and developing species, primarily in the name of the idealistic belief in a multiplicity of species and tastes, which has not yet managed to infect the public. In a square in the yard of the wild, beautiful jungle of the nursery they sell bottles of limoncello and homemade ice cream (without preservatives) made from real fruit, produced by Tzur Barkan, Moshe's son-in-law and a professional chef. The flavors include, depending on the season and ripening times, a wonderful sorbet made of blood oranges, a green tea ice cream and an ice cream made from rice milk and cassia, a fruit from the guava family that originates in Central America.

Moshe Wallach Fruit Trees Nursery, at the entrance to Kibbutz Ein Shemer, 04-6372477, www.fruit.co.il

Source: Haaretz.com (6 March 2008) [FullText]

Happy Women's Day: Rehovot woman, daughter to be jailed for plotting abusive father's death

"A Rehovot woman was sentenced to a year and a half in prison, and her daughter to eight months, for attempting to arrange for the murder of her husband.

According to the Tel Aviv District Court ruling, the two tried to pay a Palestinian worker to kill the father because he had abused members of the family.

The father, meanwhile, was indicted for abuse of defenseless people."

Source: JPost.com (6 March 2008) [FullText]

Police looking for mother of Ashdod baby left in bag, baby is in good condition at Rehovot's Kaplan Hospital

"Hundreds of people called Ashdod city hall yesterday offering to adopt the baby found inside a plastic bag placed in the lobby of an apartment building. The infant, believed to be only about 2 hours old at the time of his discovery, is in good condition at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot. Police are appealing to the mother to come forward and say she will not face criminal charges.

City welfare officials and representatives from the National Council for the Child are to meet today to discuss placing the baby with a foster family. For now, hospital nurses are caring for the infant in shifts. Advertisement

"He was hypothermic when he arrived, with an internal body temperature of slightly under 33 degrees Celsius," hospital pediatrician Dr. Orna Fliedel said yesterday. "He was breathing a little quickly but his condition stabilized quickly. He was placed in the preemies ward, where he was warmed and given fluids intravenously as well as antibiotics, since we don't know how his umbilical cord was cut," Fliedel said.

Late Monday afternoon Ephraim Janashvili noticed a plastic bag that had been left in the lobby of his apartment building. He picked it up, thinking that a tenant had neglected to throw out a bag of trash, and then noticed the baby's head inside the bag. "My wife called the police and they started asking questions, she told them there was no time for stories and to call for an ambulance," Janashvili related yesterday.

Ashdod police detectives interviewed all occupants of the building in search of the mother and have checked with area prenatal clinics, HMOs and hospitals. "We have asked for the public's help through all forms of media, requesting that anyone who knows of a woman who was expecting and feared unable to care for her infant to contact us," Ashdod police commander Chief Superintendent Danny Elgarat said yesterday. "We received many calls but the mother has not yet been located."

Elgarat said that the baby's mother meant for the infant to be found and did intend to hurt the baby. "We want to help her, first of all. Maybe she is in distress, maybe she is all alone somewhere, injured. She has nothing to fear from questioning by the police because in such cases our prime concern is the mother's welfare," Elgarat said.

Source: Roni Singer-Heruti and Yuval Azoulay. Haaretz.com (6 March 2008) [FullText]

Rehovot born Israeli brings the Holy Land home with a US Camel Farm

"Take a stroll onto Gil Riegler and Nancy Kobert’s Ramona 34-acre property. From the animals inhabiting the couple’s farm, the scene could double for Rehovot, Israel.

Riegler is a veteran of the Israeli military who specialized in traveling with the Bedouin during his tour of duty. Riding camels throughout the barren Israeli desert proved the most reliable form of transportation in the fight against smugglers and terrorists in the desert.
That is why, on the Ramona landscape, 14 awkwardly built four-legged creatures of Biblical lore find themselves enjoying the Southern California scenery. Riegler and Kobert offer monthly tours of their camel farm to expose visitors to a lesser-known aspect of the beast’s relationship with humans and the power to bring that God-given gift home.

“The Bedouin say that the camel’s milk is medicinal,” Riegler said. Learning these creatures also sustained life nutritionally for the ancient people of Israel only enhanced their role in Judaic culture for him. Oasis Camel Dairy is the only of its kind in the nation and also utilizes the creatures’ milk to create scented soaps.

Besides the grandeur and grace of these creatures, Riegler inherited an appreciation for how the resourceful Israeli Bedouin use of camel’s milk for various functions was also delicious. There is also an additional benefit, according to the native tribe. “They also say that it is an aphrodisiac,” he said, cracking a smile.

Although he grew up in the seclusion of Rehovot and camels often appeared in the area, Riegler’s time with the Israeli military was what put him on the camel’s back. “There were some Bedouin tents near the city I grew up in, but I didn’t have much to do with them,” he remembered.

During his Israeli military service, the majesty of camels simply overtook him and the idea of Oasis Camel Dairy took root.

“I found out that there was a base in the desert that worked at catching smugglers entering Israel from Egypt on camelback. The fear was that terrorists were using this route to bring ammunition into the country. I eventually was able to make it to this base and during the next year and put myself in charge of caring for the camels that were confiscated. I didn’t know anything about camels but I just adored them.”

Riegler landed in the United States after a quick visit to his Great White North country of birth, and then arrived in Northern California for a clandestine meeting.
“After the Army I decided to visit home in Canada but the cold winter got to me,” he said. “I hitchhiked down to California and settled in Santa Cruz.”

Nancy Kobert, a graduate of exotic animal college Moore Park, was employed by San Diego’s Wild Animal Park before launching her own traveling bird show. “I used to go to her by yearly performance in San Jose,” Riegler said. “I always got there early so I would get the best seat. One time at the end of the show, Nancy announced that she would need to hire some one to help her at the San Jose County Fair. I took the job and we have been together since then.”

It was years later, while working with Dragon Slayers, that fate forced Riegler’s hand. “I was volunteering at a facility for the physically handicapped that used exotic animals in the program. One day I arrived and there was a camel on the grounds,” he said. “I looked her in the eye and I just got this feeling that I should be working with camels for the rest of my life.”

Kobert’s expertise may be avian, BUT her calling was purely camel. “Nancy is the reason that we were able to bring the bull back to our facility last week,” Riegler said. With newborns arriving in February, the male was ready for his paternal return only there was a logistical problem. Riegler uses it to warmly illustrate his wife’s integral role in the founding and running of their Ramona Oasis.

“Nancy actually figured out a harness that allowed us to get him into the trailer. She is a big part of the dairy.

“When Nancy and I decided we needed to find a ranch for camels, we looked at some places. None of them seemed right,” he said.

“Our real estate agent told us of this ranch and said that it would be available some time in the future. Once we saw the ranch – just from the road – we fell in love with it and were willing to wait. Six months later (she) called. We paid full price and signed the papers on that day.”

The Ramona land recalls his Israeli heritage. “Sometimes there are no real reasons why we chose this property. It just was the right place and still is,” Riegler said. “But come to think about it, Southern California looks like Israel. I guess it makes me feel like I am home.”

Through their tours, they do more than entertain visitors through commands the camels effortlessly execute. The venue provides an opportunity to dispel misconceptions people may have about the animals.

“I would say the spitting thing,” Riegler said is the largest fear he dispells.

“It takes a lot to get a camel to spit. You really have to work to make it angry for a long time before it will demean itself with spittle.”


Above all else, Riegler’s appreciation goes beyond the camel’s milk and its potential. The passion for the majesty of the animal arises from its intellect. A recent purchase proves his point.

“We just picked up a new camel that has had no training. He is a six-year-old bull camel. This morning I looked and found he somehow picked the gate by putting his head through it and lifting with his neck,” he said.

“I fixed the gate and put him back in his pen. He took one turn around the pen, walked over calmly to the gate put his head through it and tried to lift it. Now, that is an intelligent animal.”

Source: Joel D. Amos. The man who milks camels. San Diego Jewish Journal (6 March 2008) [FullText]

Robert H. Smith 'Feeding the Future' with $15 Million Gift to Rehovot Branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Robert H. Smith Family Foundation has pledged a $15 million challenge grant to transform The Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences in Rehovot, Israel. The gift will be the cornerstone of the university's and American Friends of Hebrew University's "Feeding the Future through Sustainable Agriculture" campaign, a $51 million reorganization and expansion plan will broaden and accelerate Hebrew University's cutting-edge interdisciplinary research in plant and animal sciences, biochemistry, nutrition and environmental studies. New buildings, state-of-the-art laboratories and greenhouses will foster collaborative work between four academic Institutes addressing major challenges, among these: hunger and malnutrition, natural resource scarcity and the impact of global warming.

In recognition of the Foundation's generosity, the Faculty will be renamed "The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences." American Friends of The Hebrew University (AFHU) is launching a $15 million fundraising campaign, seeking support from other American philanthropists and foundations.

"Thanks to the friendship and generosity of the Smith Family, The Hebrew University will expand its vital work in the field of agriculture," said George Schieren, president of AFHU. "Through this new challenge grant, Hebrew University will be able to establish two research institutes and propel agricultural research to new levels."

Robert H. Smith of Washington, DC, a visionary philanthropist, is a successful real estate developer who spearheaded the creation of Crystal City, Virginia. Mr. Smith and his family have been involved with Hebrew University and AFHU for decades. A former chairman of Hebrew University's International Board of Governors, he also served as president of the Washington DC chapter of AFHU.

The Faculty of Agriculture, including the Robert H. Smith Institute for Plant Sciences, is a worldwide leader in sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation. Innovations include: drip irrigation techniques adopted worldwide, plant-derived treatments for malaria, aquaculture and genetically enhanced produce and flowers.

"Hebrew University has led the development of technologies and techniques benefiting all semi-arid regions, and students from 155 countries have taken that knowledge home with them," said Peter Willner, AFHU's national executive director.

About The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, located on three campuses in Jerusalem and a fourth in Rehovot, is one of the world's leading academic and research institutions. Faculty and alumni of The Hebrew University have won six Nobel Prizes in the past five years.

The University has consistently been ranked among the top 100 academic and research institutions worldwide in independent surveys, including Newsweek magazine.

The American Friends of The Hebrew University

American Friends of The Hebrew University (AFHU) is a national, not-for- profit organization which conducts fund raising activities in support of The Hebrew of Jerusalem.

AFHU CONTACT: David Kaiyalethe Joyce Grossman Dukas Public Relations jgrossman@afhu.org david@dukaspr.com 212.607.8540 212/704-7385 ext 119

The American Friends of The Hebrew University

Source: PRNewswire (4 March 2008) [FullText]