[yshavurah] this wk's snippets incl security notes from Israel
- From: "Cherie Kurland" <kurlandc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "suetoth4" <suetoth4@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 20:12:36 -0500
From
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enDispWho=Articles%5El557&enZone=Technology&enVersion=0&:
Scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have harnessed the
power of DNA to create a self-assembling nanoscale transistor. The research,
published in the Nov. 21, 2003 issue of Science, is a crucial step in the
development of nanoscale devices?.To get the transistors to self-assemble, the
Technion research team attached a carbon nanotube - known for its extraordinary
electronic properties - onto a specific site on a DNA strand, and then made
metal nanowires out of DNA molecules at each end of the nanotube. The device is
a transistor that can be switched on and off by applying voltage to it. The
carbon nanotubes used in the experiment are only one nanometer, or a billionth
of a meter, across.
In computing technology, as scientists reach the limits of working with
silicon, carbon nanotubes are widely recognized as the next step in squeezing
an increasing number of transistors onto a chip, vastly increasing computer
speed and memory. ?these transistors may, for example, enable the creation of
any number of devices in future applications, such as tiny sensors to perform
diagnostic tests in healthcare. Though transistors made from carbon nanotubes
have already been built, those required labor-intensive fabrication. The goal
is to have these nanocircuits self-assemble, enabling large-scale manufacturing
of nanoscale electronics.?.
Editor?s Notes: Security during the General Assembly November 15-20, 2003 -
Before I left for Israel and the General Assembly November 15, I heard ?Keep
your head down!? from friends and co-workers. I?m back, in one piece, anxious
to return to Israel with my husband and eager to encourage readers to travel
there, too. Israel is as lively, diverse, and cosmopolitan as any developed
area in the US. Safeguards that various US law enforcement personnel provide
here are parallel to what I experienced there; I never felt fear or anxiety for
my safety.
What did I encounter? In the Newark, NJ airport, the El Al security assistants
asked a few questions beyond what the US personnel ask ? why I was traveling,
and what is my background. The check-in process took the same length of time
as for my flight from Ohio; however, in Ohio, I had to pause while a TSA
employee scanned me with a wand, and X-rayed my shoes. The check-in process
and questions were similar at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv; and when my husband
and I left New York City Sunday, November 22, 2003, he was scanned with a wand
and had his shoes X-rayed.
In Israel, shuttle busses took us directly to the Jerusalem General Assembly
conference location. Pre-registered conference attendees received paper
wristbands for each day of the conference, similar to the wristbands
distributed to registrants at the Ohio State University Palestinian Solidarity
Conference (see below). Those with wristbands did not have their bags
searched. Conference visitors, not pre-registered, went through metal
detectors. There were security guards and a few IDF soldiers around the
conference site; I observed a similar law enforcement presence at the 2002
AIPAC convention in Washington, DC.
I joined a few thousand conference attendees in the Solidarity March down a
pre-arranged route to Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem. The route was marked
with simple metal rails. It was wonderful to see Israelis on the sidewalks and
hanging out windows to greet us; we cheered them as they cheered us. When I
went down a sidewalk perpendicular to the main shopping area, I opened my
shopping bag for a security guard. He looked in briefly and waved me through.
When I visited a shopping mall in Akko 3 days later, I had to do the same.
Shoppers entered the mall single file and opened their bags for a security
guard. When I entered the New York City Public Library last Friday, November
21, I had to do the same before strolling in that building. There were 3 or 4
policemen on every corner of Times Square last Friday and Saturday.
General Assembly participants chose from 55 field trips for the third day of
the conference. As part of the ?Israeli-Palestinian Cooperation? tour, some 30
of us visited the Hebrew University high school in Jerusalem. An armed
security guard let us into the school, and I noticed razor wire on top of a
fence surrounding the grounds. I sighed as I recalled a larger amount of razor
wire preventing access to highway signs near Los Angeles, California, a few
years ago.
One evening I took a cab back to my hotel. The cab had to stop slightly away
from the hotel entrance in order to have its trunk searched. I remembered that
similar security measures are routine for most, if not all, government
buildings in Washington, DC. The hotel bellman was armed.
After the General Assembly, an Israeli Arab family escorted me along the
Mediterranean coast of Israel. We visited the Israel-Lebanon border at Rosh
Hanikra, at the northwest tip of Israel; there the Lebanese border guards, one
male, one female, told us not to photograph them. Along the highway, we passed
through 3 inspection points, one manned by an IDF soldier with a machine gun.
On my cab ride into Manhattan from JFK Airport, we passed through a checkpoint
before reaching the city.
We toured the seaside fortress of Akko, then the Bahai World Headquarters in
Haifa. A group of elementary school students toured the spectacular
landscaping of the Bahai grounds while we were there; these students were
guarded by two men with rifles.
News reports would have you believe that Israel is an armed camp, with Israelis
looking over their shoulders, dreading the next terrorist attack. Nothing
could be further from the truth. Israelis go about their lives the same way
Americans do. In both countries, security is ever-present, and for good
reasons. The similarities are striking. In Israel as in the United States, I
never fear for my safety. Alan and I will visit Israel again; you should too.
From www.jcpa.org/daily for 11/28/03 - Some people questioned why we encouraged
the onsite protests at OSU as well as attendance at the excellent pro-Israel
events that occurred before and after the Palestinian Solidarity Conference.
This article provides an explanation (read it all): · Campus Rally for Terror
- Lee Kaplan The "Skill Share Discussion Workshop" was entitled
"Deconstructing Zionist Responses on Your Campus." The topic? How to dismiss
concern over suicide bombings while debating the Israel/Palestine issue.
"Refuse to discuss it," said one student. "Don't get defensive," said one.
"Blame it on Israel," said another. Still another advised protesters to ask,
"Would it be better if it wasn't a suicide bomber? Is this tactic so beneath
reproach?" This discussion of defending suicide bombers was held publicly on
the campus of Ohio State University, which hosted the Third Annual National
Student Conference on Palestine Solidarity on November 7-9. (FrontPageMagazine)
Travel Opportunity: Beth Jacob Congregation of Dayton, OH offers the Mitch and
Bea Singer Israel Humanitarian Mission 12/22/03-1/1/04. This trip takes
travelers from Rosh Hanikra through Tiberias and the Dead Sea, Masada,
Jerusalem and Gush Etzion; you?ll have the opportunity to plant trees, visit
the Hall of Independence, Yad Vashem and the waterfalls of Ein Gedi; you?ll
speak with relatives of terror attack victims, an IDF veteran of Jenin during
Operation Defensive Shield. Call (937) 274-2149 for more information.
--- Cherie Kurland
--- kurlandc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
--- EarthLink: The #1 provider of the Real Internet.
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