Segelinan's studies are in con-
nection with his work for his doc-
torate at the Hebrew University
in Jerusalem.
* ,* *
ONE OF the aims of the re-
search is to find ways of making
salt water useful for plant life
and to make plants grow in salt-
water areas. While ways have
been found to desalt the Negev
water, the process is too expen-
sive, Segelman said.
"We are crossing desert plants
from California and Australia with
Israeli plants for the feeding of
sheep," Segelman related.
. ' "We are doing research in
the growing of cotton, corn,
sugar beets, peanuts, grain
crops, grapes and a dozen varie-
ties of fruits, on 600 acres of
experimental' farms.
"Futhermore, we are utilizing
rainwater. When the first rain
fell here on Oct. 15, we accumu-
lated, during the 40 minutes of
rainfall, enough water to fill three
small dams with seven and a half
million gallons of water—enough
to irrigate 250 acres of land for
a full year. And similar efforts
are continuing uninterruptedly."
This is being accomplished in
this city which, only nine years
ago, when Israel first became
an independent state, was a
desert. There are 40,000 Jewish
settlers here now and they have
built a flourishing city.
BEERSHEBA is not the only
spot where Detroiters are pioneer-
ing as frontiersmen.
At Urim, in the Negev area,
four Detroiters are participating
in the expansion of newly-reclaim-
ed areas. It is an isolated settle-
ment, close to the Egyptian bor-
der, but its settlers are gaining
a livelihood from farming.
The Detroiters here include
Rena Silver Schwartzberg,
Weasel Goldberg Lipshitz, Mari-
. lyn Becker Sidewater and Morry
Silver.
Mrs. Lipshitz, has a sister, Judy
Jacobs, in the settlement of Ge-
sher HaziV in Western Galilee.
Eleanor Wesley is another De-
troiter at this settlement.
There are 14 Detroiters in an-
other settlement in Galilee, Ein
Dor. Three Detroiters, Marshall
Rubin, Lionel Maslowski and Nor-
man Shiffman are at Kfar Blum.
* * *
JEWS ARE not the only ones
who have come here to partici-
pate in the frontiersmen's thrill
of defending and building a new

land for refugees frOin 70
countries.
Graham Hanna, who has
adopted the Hebrew name of
Giora, has been here for five
years and is now working as a
truck driver in Kibutz Mishmar
Haemek. This Christian De-
troiter, son of Mr. and Mrs.
James Hanna, holds two de-
grees from the University of
Chicago, but he is willing to do
menial work to help build this
land.
Another non-Jew who has come
here to settle with the Detroiters
in Urim is Benjamin McKinley.
A six-foot, 250-pound Negro, who
has had a university education,
he came here several years ago,
was enchanted by the idea of the
reclamation of the Holy Land by
persecuted Jews, and asked if he
could stay on.

It Happened Last
Year in Israel

1957, the year following the
Sinai Campaign, in which Israel
staved off an imminent threat to
her existence, was marked by a
continuation of the country's con-
structive progress, coupled with
continued concern for the con-
solidation of its security. Among
the main features of the year
were the expansion of Israel's
southern port as a gateway for
peaceful trade with the countries
of Asia and Africa; the completion
of the project for the drainage of
the swamps of the Lake Huleh
area; the renewal of mass immi-
gration and the expenditure of
large sums on the absorption of
the immigrants; significant for-
ward steps in scientific research;
and the holding of a number of
important international gatherings
in the country.
At the same time, progress has
continued in the fields of agri-
culture, industry, the development
of natural resources, education,
culture and the social services.
One of the best-loved figures in
Israel, President Itzhak Ben-Zvi,
has been reelected for a second
term Without opposition.
Israel and all her friends
throughout the world, especially
the Jewish communities every-
where, are preparing to celebrate
the Tenth Anniversary of the es-
tablishment of the State with a
series of celebrations and conven-
tions which will: take place during
the year following the Tenth In-
dependence Day.

SS alld 33ILI

Philip Slomovitz, editor of
The Detroit Jewish News, and
Mrs. Slomovitz have been visit-
ing in Israel. This is another
of his special reports for the
Free Press.
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor, The Jewish News
BEERSHEBA, Israel — Ameri-
cans who wish to reconstruct the
history of our pioneers, 300 years
ago, and to have a vision of the
life of "frontiersmen," • will do
well to come here and to see how
Israelis virtually pattern their
lives on frontiers
after those of
the Pilgrims on
the American
Continent.
Indeed, Uncle
Sam has a big
share in the fan-
tastic accomp-
lishments that
are being record-
ed here. Through
Slomovitz
the United States
Point Four Program, many ex-
periments are being conducted
here, and former Detroiters are
playing an important role in one
of the most interesting scientific
projects at work here.
At the Agricultural Research
Station for the Negev of the Israel
Department of Agriculture, in this
ancient city, whose name means
"Seven Wells" (from the term
applied to the wells dug here
3,500 years ago by the Patriach
Abraham) there is a sign which
reads: "Joint Project of the U.S.
and Israel."
* * *
• THE DIRECTOR of this station
is Gershon Segelman, former De-
troiter, who has studied at the
University of Michigan and later
gained additional knowledge about
latest agricultural methods at the
University of California.
He lived for several years at a
collective settlement before mak-
ing his specialized studies, and
returned here from Detroit last
February, with his wife and three
sons, to assume his present post
with the Israel Government.
In addition to directing the
Negev research station; he is
also on the research staff of the
Institute for Desert Research,
a hobby of Israel's Prime Min-
ister David Ben-Gurion, where
Segelman is conducting studies
to solve the problem of salt-
water utilization in the desert
area of Southern Israel known
as the Negev.

1.961 ‘g •AoN 'Sepuns

Detroiters Join the Pioneers
Reclaiming Israel Desert

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