ASK THE ATS
What is
Technion
doing to
ENSURE
ISRAEL'S
SURVIVAL
in the next
twenty years?
Growing AIPAC
Outreach programs yield diversity, added Israel support.
Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor
"By investing in long-term national
infrastructure projects, Israel is making
a significant statement about where
it is going as a society. Therefore
Israel must build a strategy based
on societal resilience, balancing the
ongoing political difficulties against a
high quality of life that will sustain the
spirit of the population for generations
to come." Emphatically states
Prof. Arnon Bentur, Dean of the
Faculty of Civil and Environmental
Engineering.
The following examples highlight some
of the research being done in this
Technion faculty to help improve and
maintain Israel's infrastructure:
• Remote Sensing Devices monitor
atmospheric pollution around
the clock sensing the presence of
chemical contaminants, dust and
weather patterns.
• Precision Agriculture closely reads
air above crop fields to identify
problems that could affect crop and
food production.
• Smart Systems monitor soil
displacement, something that could
help secure and maintain important
infrastructure projects. These systems
will support monitoring the stability
of earthen structures like municipal
water reservoirs, to providing
accurate read-outs of below-the-
surface earthquake damage.
• Underground fences made of fiber
optic cables buried beneath the
ground monitor the integrity of water
pipelines, tunnels and sinkholes.
• Ecological Islands: Technion holds
workshops on green construction,
recycling and waste treatment,
biological diversity, habitats, and the
affects of pollution.
N7
American
Technion
Society
Jerry Kanter, President
Scott Leemaster, Chair
Jo Strausz Rosen, Director
Alan "Geli" Gelfond, Regional Director
30230 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 155
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
www.ats.org I 248.737.1990
1400350
A20
June 12 2008
World
iN
A
mid the excitement of a successful AIPAC policy
conference last week, that included appearances by
presidential hopefuls Barak Obama, Hillary Clinton
and John McCain as well as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert, was an underlying reality.
Israel needs all the support it can get, and the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee is-seeking growth by targeting
non-traditional allies: African Americans, Hispanics, evan-
gelical Christians and college students. Though a continuing
effort, this year's conference brought it home.
"It looks pretty diverse:' David Victor of Bloomfield Hills,
newly named AIPAC national president, said during the con-
ference. "The key is we have to get bigger, we have to expand
our membership base, particularly among those who are
politically active.
"This is a call to action. A lot of initiatives go into making
a whole. We have new alliances with African Americans, the
Christian community, Hispanics."
For the last several decades, polls have consistently shown
that an overwhelming number of Americans, the vast majority
of whom are not Jewish, identify themselves as pro-Israel and
favor a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, says Josh Block, AIPAC
spokesman.
"AIPAC believes it's important to work with a broad spec-
trum of pro-Israel Americans, including Hispanics, African
Americans and religiously motivated pro-Israel Christians, to
continue to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship;'
he said.
As an example, Victor mentioned one local participant, for-
mer Detroit Lions running back and car dealership owner Mel
Farr, who attended the conference with his wife.
"He's talking about going to Israel with us and being an
ambassador to the African American community," Victor said.
He also cited the growth of the campus outreach program.
"At the conference, there were 1,200 students, including 175
presidents of student assemblies:' he said. "Only a minority of
those are Jewish; 30 to 40 are presidents of historically black
colleges."
"I was very pleased to see a significant number of African
Americans at the conference;' said Robert Cohen, execu-
tive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of
Metropolitan Detroit. "Pastor Ken Flowers [of Greater New Mt.
Moriah Baptist Church in Detroit] was on a panel speaking
about the emerging alliance between African Americans and
Jews:'
Tag Team
Jerusalem must
Obama, Clinton slam
Republicans at AIPAC.
remain Israel's
undivided capital.
Ami Eden
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Washington
A
fter months of seeking to paint each other as oppo-
sites on Middle East policy, U.S. Sens. Barack Obama
and Hillary Clinton were on the same page last week
at the AIPAC policy conference as they ripped into the Bush
administration and Republican presidential candidate John
McCain on several fronts.
In back-to-back speeches a day after Obama appeared to
clinch the Democratic presidential nomination, the two sena-
tors eschewed any attempt to differentiate themselves. Instead,
they opted to argue that the Bush administration's policies on
Iran and Iraq have hurt American and Israeli interests.
Obama and Clinton also sought to paint McCain as bent on
carrying out those same policies if he were to reach the White
House.
Obama began his remarks with praise for Clinton and her
candidacy, and the New York senator returned the favor, assur-
ing the thousands of delegates at the annual policy forum of the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee that her Democratic
rival would be a dependable ally in the White House.
"I know Senator Obama knows what is at stake here,' Clinton
said of her colleague from Illinois, adding, "Let me be very
clear: I know Senator Obama will be a good friend to Israel."
Jewish Democratic insiders said the speeches not only sig-
naled a rapprochement of sorts between the candidates but
reflected the emergence of a wider, more aggressive party strat-
egy for fending off Republican efforts to peel away Jewish votes
and contributions.
A few years ago, many Democratic activists and lawmakers
would have been content to stick with the line that both parties
were equally strong on Israel-related issues. Now, as Iran pushes
ahead with its nuclear program, support remains low for the
Iraq war and Israel continues to face Hamas rocket attacks,
Jewish Democrats see an opening to rebut the GOP's claim to be
the party that's best for Israel.
"This is a new approach:' said Steve Rabinowitz, a
Democratic consultant whose communications firm also does
work for many Jewish organizations. "Two years ago, many
thought it would be difficult to persuade people that George W.
Bush had not been good for Israel, even dangerous to try it. It's
not only a case that can be made now, it's also true'