86 Friday, December 10, 1982 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Israel Marks Record Scientific Attainments By JAMES LEWIN ing countries with similar problems for many years. JERUSALEM — Sophis- Most of the world hasn't ticated scientific research yet realized, however, that and development have been Israeli scientific achieve- rapidly transforming the ments go far beyond the ancient land of Israel into a latest in drip-pipe irriga- forerunner of ultra-modern tion. As much as 20 percent technology. Surgical lasers of the entire Israeli work that enable doctors to per- force are employed in form bloodless operations, science-based industry, automobiles that run not on comparing favorably to 14 gas but on an extract of percent of the labor force in sugarcane, and an innova- the U.S. and 10 percent in tive technique for using Germany. There are 30,000 solar energy to reduce elec- scientists and engineers in tricity costs by 50 percent Israel today, in addition to are only a few of the most 185,000 skilled technicians. promising new achieve- Soon one third of all ments of Israel's unique sci- industrial production in Is- entific community. rael will be based on the In addition, Israel is one latest scientific discoveries. of the world leaders in a One example is the huge in- variety of humanitarian re- ternational success of Elron search -projects, such as the products, including Elscint quest for a cure for cancer. high-technology medical Except for potash plants equipment, which sym- in the area of the Dead Sea, bolize the potential for Israel can boast of no major superior quality products in natural resources. Since the specialized fields. withdrawal from Sinai, Approximately 500 Is- where Israel had developed raeli firms are presently rich oil fields, the country engaged in research and does not possess even a development. Kibutzim single actively-producing have become increas- oil well. ingly industrialized, and Ongoing oil explora- there is even a plan for tion has discovered only building an industrial traces of "black gold" center in the vicinity of and other natural re- Jerusalem, putting the sources are also sorely Holy City on a firm eco- lacking. Even the most nomic footing at last. basic active component One outstanding example of organic life on earth — of the potential for new water — is in chronically science-based products is short supply in Israel. shown by the work of Dr. Plentiful sun has been Menahem Zur of Beit Da- put to wide use in solar gan, who has been develop- energy projects. ing an alcoholic fuel which It has taken an extraor- can power an automibile dinary degree of ingenuity more efficiently and eco- and hard work to turn des- nomically than gasoline. ert land into green fields. Is- Dr. Zur has demonstrated raelis have always been the that ethanol, as the new fuel forerunners in the latest in is called, can be produced agricultural technology and from sugarcane, which can have been exporting their be cultivated very suc- know-how to other develop- cessfully in Israel's climate. World Zionist Press Service Thud Obligation Described By RABBI SAMUEL FOX starts when he gets mar- (Copyright 1982, JTA, Inc.) ried. A man's obligation to One of the most popular wear a talit" (prayer shawl) reasons advanced for this coincidence is the fact that the biblical obligation to at- -00.4its. tach fringes to one's four- cornered garment is im- \fovs*"`' mediately followed by the legal consequences of mar- riage (Deuteronomy 22:12,13). Some claim that this is so because both experiences indicate a ."tie," i.e., the fringes being a "tie" to one's obligations to the Almighty Doug Handler. blood recipient. and the marriage being a "tie" to one's obligations to Every day. every his wife. hour. somebody needs your type of blood Others claim that wear- to go on living. A ing the talit is a measure of healthy person can donate blood several wrapping oneself in it and times a year. Be a regular blood donor thus being enveloped by the Your blood counts. presence of the Almighty Somebody needs you. Call us. American wherever he goes. 13,4d Cross Donate blood. . A Public Senoce of tn,s Newsoacer & The Adverbs, Ccs.mcd an - , . When the process is put into large-scale production it will be able to provide superior auto fuel for $1 per gallon, as compared with current Israeli prices of over $3.50 per gallon of gasoline. Another important de- velopment is the origi- nal process invented by Dr. Yirmiahu Branover, an immigrant to Israel from the USSR now at Ben- Gurion University. He re- cently received interna- tional press coverage for his technique of using a small amount of heat to drive liq- uid metal through a large electro-magnetic field to ul- timately produce electricity at one-half the current cost. The system can function on either solar energy or the heat generated by indus- trial wastes. Commercial production can be expected to begin within about two years, in a multi-million dollar project of unlimited potential. Israel has also been ex- porting its scientific genius and technological expertise in a variety of other projects, including the use of laser beams for everything from delicate surgery to welding au- - tomotive parts; develop-. ment of new techniques for breeding and growing shrimp, which could be- come a major additional food source for people in Asia, Africa and other undernourished coun- tries of the world; use of computers for a wide variety of purposes; pes- ticides; pain-killers; new molecular particles; and the latest in new sources of energy, such as the wind-turbine. Gen. Haim Laskov Dies TEL AVIV — Gen. Haim Laskov a former chief of staff of the Israeli° army, died Dec. 8 at age 63. A native of Byelorussia, Gen. Laskov came to pre- state Israel in 1924 and joined the Hagana, which assigned him later as a guide and interpreter to the Royal West Kents, a British regiment serving in Pales- tine. During Israel's War for Independence, Gen. Laskov led a tank battalion and helped break the Arab siege of Jerusalem, and, as an armored brigade comman- der, he took Nazareth, ac- cording to the New York Times. In 1951, he was ap- pointed the officer'Min= manding the Israel Air Force. He interrupted his military service to study at Oxford, but was called home to become deputy chief of staff under Gen. Moshe Dayan. by internationally recog- nized Israeli experts such as Prof. Isaac I. Be- renblum, is now being continued by their pro- teges and the proteges- of-their-proteges in laboratories and hospi- tals in Israel. A strange but true foot- note to the distinctively Is- raeli assault on that deadly killer of humanity is the fact that foreskins of cir- cumcised infants may prove helpful in the fight against cancer. The foreskins are used to produce fibroblast interferon, a natural pro- tein that is an antidote to viruses and in some cases may prevent the spread of cancer cells. The decision to use infant foreskins was made because they are a good source of fresh and vib- rant fibroblast cells and be- cause they are readily available in Israel. And, last but not least, the techniques of artificial insemination have recently led to the birth of the first test-tube baby at Hadassah Hospital in .Jerusalem. A new technique which re- moves the woman's ovum surgically, impregnates it with her husband's sperm and replants it in her womb, could cure female infertility in a large number of cases. Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren is on record as saying that the new proc- ess is permissible according to Halakha (Jewish Law). He commanded the ar- mored corps and then the southern command, playing a key role in the Sinai cam- paign. In 1958, he succeeded Gen. Dayan as chief of staff, serving until his own re- tirement from military service in 1961, when he be- came director of Israel's Na- tional Port Authority. Comedian Marty Feldman HOLLYWOOD — Come- dian Marty Feldman, char- acterized by his trademark bulging eyes, died Dec. 2 at age 48. Born in London, England, Mr. Feldman began his career in show business as a comedy writer for British radio and television. In 1967, David Frost, then a television producer for the BBC asked Mr. Feldman to join the future Monty Python comedy troupe, and from there he became a star with his own weekly television series. He left Britain in 1974, owing thousands in `Sesame Street' Actor Will Lee NEW YORK — Will Lee, who portrayed a Jewish storekeeper, Mr. Hooper, on Public Television's "Sesame Street" program, died Dec. 7 at age 74. Mr. Lee appeared in the theater, in movies and on television in a career that spanned more than 50 years. After World War II, he appeared off Broadway in "The World of Sholom Aleichem." On television, he appeared in the controv- ersial film, "Playing. for Time." He also taught act- ing classes. The latest Israeli achievements in science and technology also include the ultra-sophisticated military defense systems which proved so vital in the recent confrontations in Lebanon. This country is also lead- ing the way in mankind's unending battle against de- adly disease. Since its foun- dation, the Weizmann Insti- tute of Science has been a center for expert Jewish sci- entists. Now a "third gener- ation" of researchers are exerting a major influence in areas of universal con- cern, such as cancer re- search. While immunity to the dreaded disease is virtually impossible to guarantee, a number of significant im- provements have been made in detection and treatment which can often add many normal years to a cancer patient's life. The basic research in this crucial field, begun GEN. HAIM LASKOV taxes, and vowed he would become a financial success in Hollywood and repay the debt. He lived to keep his promise; In the U.S. he starred in such Mel Brooks films as "Young Frankenstein" and "Silent Movie." With Gene Wilder he made "The Ad- venture of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother." _ At the time of his death, he had just completed shoot- ing the film, "Yellowbeard." He made his directorial debut with the film, "The Last Remake of Beau Geste." In loving memory of my beloved grandmother KATY RUBIN Dec. 6, 1977 26th of Kislev Who walked in dignity, who walked in love and gave me warmth. Sadly missed by her granddaughter, Carol. N Begin Letter to Commission In Loving Memory Of LEO ROSENFELD JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Menahem Begin has written a letter to the commission investigating the Beirut massacre, in which he again defends his government's actions. Begin's press spokesman denied media reports, suggesting that Begin's let- ter tried to justify the deci- sion to allow Lebanese Christian forces into the Palestinian camps. Dec. 12, 1981 We can't believe a year has passed. We miss you very much, but most of all we really miss your tender loving touch. We can't believe you've left us and forever gone away, but our wonderful memories live on each and every day. The emptiness we now have will never ever fill, for we will always love you forever and until. From Margie, Charyl, Mark, Marty, Lori and Leigh. "Over 65 years of traditional service in the Jewish community with dignity and understanding." 543.1622 HEBREW MEMORIAL CHAPEL SERVING ALL CEMETERIES 26640 GREENFIELD ROAD OAK PARK, MICHIGAN 48237 Alan H. Dorfman ..t4iiineral Director & Mgr. • t t ilo.e 4 4seebIr.i it — • • •• • Npe NI; Ar .• er .• _