32 Friday, May 12, 1918
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Mineral Spas Abound in Israel to Cure Ailing
By ARYEH LOUV
JERUSALEM — In Is-
rael's short history it has
learned to attract sun-
seekers, skin divers, con-
ventioneers, professionals
on study tours, nature lov-
ers, farmers — to mention
only a few of the many dif-
ferent types of people who
find Israel an alluring vaca-
tion destination.
For many years, a com-
pletely different type of
tourist has been coming to
Israel, tourists in need of
medical treatment or
therapy. A network of mod-
ern facilities has sprung up
to cater to this kind of vis-
itor, concentrated in three
areas of the country:
Tiberias, the Dead Sea
shore and Arad.
Tiberias and the Dead
Sea, both located in the
Great Rift Valley (the
geological depression ex-
tending from Syria to East
Africa) are both endowed
with thermo-mineral
springs and therapeutic
mud. The Dead Sea area
and the town of Arad are
blessed with factors bene-
ficial to various ailments.
In 1973 the Israel gov-
ernment established a
Health Resorts Authority
to plan, develop and
supervise existing and
new health resorts. Fi-
nanced by, and responsi-
ble to, the Ministry of
After fo
it's sreat
its 30th anniversary.
This year Israel is celebrating
Which is why there's never been a better time
to see our 40 centuries of history.
There's never been a better time to be overwhelmed
by the beauty of Jerusalem. Or to stand on biblical
Mount Cannel and see spectacular Haifa.
There's never been a better time to shop, dine, and
dance in hustling, bustling Tel Aviv. Or to
swim in the Red Sea. Or float in the Dead Sea.
Or relax in the hot springs of Tiberias.
and mineral content of the barely any rainfall. The low
water and for the sea's altitude makes it the richest
name: for no living crea- in the world in oxygen (10
percent more than at sea
tures can exist in it.
The Dead Sea is a fount of level) and due to an absence
life, for it contains not only of urban concentrations or
curative elements, but is industry the air is remark-
also a repository of raw ably pure. The high atmos-
chemical materials for in- pheric pressure absorbs the
dustry, agriculture and ultra-violet rays of the sun,
medicine, that are extra- so there is virtually no
cted, processed and ex- danger of sunburn, while
ported for use the world the therapeutic effect of the
sun is not affected. The sun
over.
The region is hot and dry, shines more than 350 days a
with air temperatures av- year.
This incredible evap-
eraging 86 degrees from
September through April oration produces a pecul-
and 104 degrees the rest of iar mist over the sea, a
the year. Humidity stands mist which contains a
at a low 35 percent through- large amount of bromine
out the year and there is and has a soothing effect
on the nervous system;
the low humidity, com-
bined with the high rate
of evaporation, has a
bracing effect since it in-
creases the metabolic ac-
tivity of the body.
The region has all the
elements needed to treat
sufferers from psoriasis.
The most important factors
in treating the disease are
sunlight, salt baths and re-
laxation.
Since many bathers at the
Dead Sea are fellow
patients, psoriatics are not
self-conscious about expos-
ing themselves in public.
Climatic conditions are
especially favorable in
winter, when the disease
can be most acute, and when
sunbaths are impossible in
most regions.
Between 1971 and 1975,
1,052 psoriatics were
treated at the Dead Sea,
coming from Denmark, Hol-
land, West Germany and
Austria. A total of 96 per-
cent of the patients were rid
of symptoms or showed im-
provement after a four-
week cure. These results
have induced health
authorities in a number of
European countries to cover
the cost of cures at the Dead
Sea International Center
for Psoriasis Treatment at
Ein Bokek.
At present there are
four hotels at Ein Bokek
all luxurious: one five-
star and three four-star.
Two of them have up-to-
date therapeutic
facilities on the premises.
One of these has an in-
door swimming pool with
Dead Sea water. The
waters of one of the major
mineral springs, that of
Hammei Zohar, have
been channelled into a
modern bathhouse and
•
are suited for the treat-
meet the
There's never been a better time to
ment of muscular and
men and women who turned wasteland
joint diseases
into farms, desert dunes into cities, barren hillsides
(rheumatism, arthritis),
allergies (especially of
into green valleys. To feel the energy and
the breathing passages),
see the vision of the people of Israel firsthand.
certain skin diseases and
Come stay with us
neurodennatitis.
on our 30th birthday. Sec your travel agent or write:
Bathing in the Dead Sea,
sec
And return home
is highly beneficial for the
Israel Government
skin, the bronchioles and
with 40 centuries /
Tourist Office, 5 S. Wabash \
Ave., Chicago. III. 60613
certain glands. The enor-
/
of memories.
mous concentration of min-
Israel.
360
\
Tell me more about
erals allow the body to float
effortlessly and are ideal for
Name
physioerapeutic exercises
to remedy muscular stiff-
Acklress
ness and heal fractures. An-
Zip
State
Ctly
other health -soarce- hr this
Health and the Ministry
of Industry, Trade and
Tourism, it ensures the
necessary standard of
both medical and hospi-
tality facilities.
The outstanding success
story of the authority's ac-
tivities is the appearance of
the Dead Sea region on the
international map of health
resorts. The Dead Sea is the
lowest point on earth, 1,296
feet below sea level. The
Jordan River flows into the
sea, which is also fed by
numerous mineral springs
in and near its waters. No
water flows out of the sea.
The excess is disposed of
only by evaporation which
accounts for the high salt
region is therapeutic mud,
used for muscular and joint
diseases and post-paralytic
conditions.
Nor is that the end of the
list of life-giving treasures
of the Dead Sea. The min-
eral spring at Ein Noit,
overlooking the Ein Bokek
resort, flanked by remains
of Roman waterworks and a
Roman fort, produces drink-
ing water similar to that of
the famous Muhlbrunn
spring at Karlsbad. It is
used to treat ailments of the
digestive and urinary
tracts, disturbances of the
metabolism and many
kinds of allergies.
Tiberias not only attracts
health seekers but also vac-
ationers looking for a rest-
ful vacation on the shores of
the Sea of Galilee and pil-
grims visiting the holy sites
of the region. There are
many hotels of all grades,
and due to its location, 660
feet below sea level, winters
are beautifully mild.
The waters of the
Tiberias Hot Spriffgs
have a temperature of 144
degrees, but are cooled to
100 degrees. They are
used to treat muscular
and joint diseases,
traumatic disturbances
(following accidents or
operations) and disor-
ders of the upper respira-
tory tract (sinusitis).
The various buildings at
the Hot Springs Co. have
pools, private bathing
rooms and day beds, as well
as facilities for
physiotherapy, hyd-
rotherapy, electrotherapy
and massage, and piloma
mud treatment. A thermal
medical center is being
added to the existing bath
houses and will comprise a
hotel sanitorium and a
rheumatological clinic.
Tiberias also has its own
mineral drinking water.
In Arad, the cool, dry and
pollen-free air are ideal for
sufferers of asthma, aller-
gies and breathing difficul-
ties.
Many asthmatics have
settled in Arad and in this
way solved their problem.
There are three tourist
recommended hotels in
Arad, one four-star and two
three-star.
End of War
By JOE GREEN
The war was over. The
enemy had been beaten back.
The Jew discarded the
weapons of war and took up
the tools of peace. They
grasped the plow in their
eager hands and tilled the
soil. They built factories.
The gates were thrown
wide open. The Jews came
in their hundreds of
thousands. They came from
80 lands, spoke 80 lan-
guages. Now they are one
people, speaking one lan-
guage.
Settlements by the score,
sprang up. Towns rose
where once the mosquito
droned. Gardens bloomed
where once the lizard
basked.
- -Israel lived again.