Finding the Optimal Location for the Tribal Bonfire

Written by AUFTAU on 9 February 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

In a first-of-its kind study, the researchers developed a software-based smoke dispersal simulation model and applied it to a known prehistoric site. They discovered that the early humans who occupied the cave had placed their hearth at the optimal location – enabling maximum utilization of the fire for their activities and needs while exposing them to a minimal amount of smoke. The groundbreaking study provides evidence for high cognitive abilities in early humans who lived 170,000 years ago.

The study was led by PhD student Yafit Kedar, and Prof. Ran Barkai from the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at The Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities, together with Dr. Gil Kedar. The paper was published in Scientific Reports.

In the Back of the Cave? Or towards the front?

The use of fire by early humans has been widely debated by researchers for many years, regarding questions such as: At what point in their evolution did humans learn how to control fire and ignite it at will? When did they begin to use it on a daily basis? Did they use the inner space of the cave efficiently in relation to the fire? While all researchers agree that modern humans were capable of all these things, the dispute continues about the skills and abilities of earlier types of humans. One focal issue in the debate is the location of hearths in caves occupied by early humans for long periods of time.

“Multilayered hearths have been found in many caves, indicating that fires had been lit at the same spot over many years,” says Yafit Kedar. “In previous studies, using a software-based model of air circulation in caves, along with a simulator of smoke dispersal in a closed space, we found that the optimal location for minimal smoke exposure in the winter was at the back of the cave. The least favorable location was the cave’s entrance.”

Humans Need Balance

In the current study, the researchers applied their smoke dispersal model to an extensively studied prehistoric site – the Lazaret Cave in southeastern France, inhabited by early humans around 170-150 thousand years ago. “According to our model, based on previous studies, placing the hearth at the back of the cave would have reduced smoke density to a minimum, allowing the smoke to circulate out of the cave right next to the ceiling,” explains Kedar. “However, in the archaeological layers we examined, the hearth was located at the center of the cave.”

The team tried to understand why the occupants had chosen this spot, and whether smoke dispersal had been a significant consideration in the cave’s spatial division into activity areas. The researchers performed a range of smoke dispersal simulations for 16 hypothetical hearth locations inside the 290sqm cave. To understand the health implications of smoke exposure, measurements were compared with the average smoke exposure recommendations of the World Health Organization.

Excavations at the Lazaret Cave, France (photo: De Lumley, M. A. néandertalisation (pp. 664-p). CNRS éditions. (2018Les restes humains fossiles de la grotte du Lazaret. Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. Des Homo erectus européens évolués en voie de)

The researchers found that the average smoke density, based on measuring the number of particles per spatial unit, is in fact minimal when the hearth is located at the back of the cave – just as their model had predicted. However, Yafit Kedar and Dr. Gil Kedar explain that they also discovered that “In this situation, the area with low smoke density, most suitable for prolonged activity, is relatively distant from the hearth itself. Early humans needed a balance – a hearth close to which they could work, cook, eat, sleep, get together, warm themselves, etc. while exposed to a minimum amount of smoke. Ultimately, when all needs are taken into consideration – daily activities vs. the damages of smoke exposure – the occupants placed their hearth at the optimal spot in the cave.”

Our Ancestors Nailed It

The study identified a 25sqm area in the cave which would be optimal for locating the hearth in order to enjoy its benefits while avoiding too much exposure to smoke. Astonishingly, in the several strata examined in this study, the early humans actually did place their hearth within this area.

“Our study shows that early humans were able, with no sensors or simulators, to choose the perfect location for their hearth and manage the cave’s space as early as 170,000 years ago – long before the advent of modern humans in Europe. This ability reflects ingenuity, experience, and planned action, as well as awareness of the health damage caused by smoke exposure. In addition, the simulation model we developed can assist archaeologists excavating new sites, enabling them to look for hearths and activity areas at their optimal locations,” concludes Prof. Barkai.

In upcoming studies, the researchers intend to use their model to investigate the influence of different fuels on smoke dispersal, use of the cave with an active hearth at different times of year, use of several hearths simultaneously, and more.

TAU Breakthrough Offers New Hope to Help People With Paralysis Walk Again

Written by AUFTAU on 8 February 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Paralysis from spinal injury has long remained untreatable. Could scientific developments get people affected on their feet again sooner than imagined? In a worldwide first, Tel Aviv University researchers have engineered 3D human spinal cord tissues and implanted them in a lab model with long-term chronic paralysis, demonstrating high rates of success in restoring walking abilities. Now, the researchers are preparing for the next stage of the study, clinical trials in human patients. They hope that within a few years the engineered tissues will be implanted in paralyzed individuals enabling them to stand up and walk again.

How to Reverse Spinal Injury?

“Our technology is based on taking a small biopsy of belly fat tissue from the patient,” explains Prof. Tal Dvir who’s research team led the study. “This tissue, like all tissues in our body, consists of cells together with an extracellular matrix comprising substances like collagens and sugars. After separating the cells from the extracellular matrix we used genetic engineering to reprogram the cells, reverting them to a state that resembles embryonic stem cells – namely cells capable of becoming any type of cell in the body.”

Petri dish with tissue samples (Photo: Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology)

From the extracellular matrix the researchers produced a personalized hydrogel, that would evoke no immune response or rejection after implantation. They then encapsulated the stem cells in the hydrogel, and in a process that mimics the embryonic development of the spinal cord, turned the cells into 3D implants of neuronal networks containing motor neurons.

Neural net (Photo: Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology)

The human spinal cord implants were then implanted in two different groups of lab models: those who had only recently been paralyzed (the acute model) and those who had been paralyzed for a long time (the chronic model) – equivalent to one year in human terms. Following the implantation, 100% of the lab models with acute paralysis and 80% of those with chronic paralysis regained their ability to walk.

The groundbreaking study was led by Prof. Tal Dvir’s research team at the Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology, The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tel Aviv University. The team at Prof. Dvir’s lab includes PhD student Lior Wertheim, Dr. Reuven Edri, and Dr. Yona Goldshmit. Other contributors included Prof. Irit Gat-Viks from the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, Prof. Yaniv Assaf from the Sagol School of Neuroscience, and Dr. Angela Ruban from The Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, all at Tel Aviv University. The results of the study were published in the prestigious scientific journal Advanced Science.

Visualization of the next stage of the research – human spinal cord implants for treating paralysis (Photo: Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology)

Getting Patients Suffering from Paralysis Back on Their Feet

Encouragingly, the model animals underwent a rapid rehabilitation process, at the end of which they could walk quite well. This is the first instance in the world in which implanted engineered human tissues have generated recovery in an animal model for long-term chronic paralysis – which is the most relevant model for paralysis treatments in humans.

“Our goal is to produce personalized spinal cord implants for every paralyzed person, enabling regeneration of the damaged tissue with no risk of rejection,” says Prof. Dvir.

Based on the revolutionary organ engineering technology developed at Prof. Dvir’s lab, he teamed up with industry partners to establish Matricelf (matricelf.com) in 2019. The company applies Prof. Dvir’s approach in the aims of making spinal cord implant treatments commercially available for persons suffering from paralysis.

Prof. Dvir, head of Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology, concludes: “We hope to reach the stage of clinical trials in humans within the next few years, and ultimately get these patients back on their feet. The company’s preclinical program has already been discussed with the FDA. Since we are proposing an advanced technology in regenerative medicine, and since at present there is no alternative for paralyzed patients, we have good reason to expect relatively rapid approval of our technology.”

The research team (from left to right): Dr. Yona Goldshmit, Prof. Tal Dvir and Lior Wertheim (Photo: Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology)

And Let There Be Light

Written by AUFTAU on 6 February 2022. Posted in Magazine, Newsroom.

Efforts by TAU’s Clinical Law Program will help keep electricity running for those who are struggling to pay utility bills.

The recent drop in temperature in Israel has led to a significant increase in electricity consumption. But what about those who simply cannot afford basic necessities?

A petition jointly filed by Tel Aviv University’s Human Rights Clinic at The Buchmann Faculty of Law will help keep the electricity on for some of Israel’s most underprivileged populations. In response to the appeal, Israel’s High Court ruled that electricity must not be cut off for citizens who prove a difficult economic or medical condition, effective immediately. We spoke with attorney Adi Nir Binyamini from TAU’s Human Rights Clinic, one of the lawyers who handled the case.

Electricity – A Fundamental Right?

In a precedent-setting decision, the High Court ruled on January 20 that access to electricity should be considered a fundamental right and that the Electricity Authority must, within six months, amend the criteria for power outages as a means of collecting debt. Meanwhile, the new ruling assists electricity consumers who find themselves in serious economic or medical distress, and ensure that they will not be left in the dark or the cold and without other basic needs.

The ruling came in response to a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) in collaboration with the Human Rights Clinic at Tel Aviv University, Physicians for Human Rights and the Israel Union of Social Workers against the Electricity Authority, the Israel Electric Corp. and Energy Minister. It was filed on behalf of several poor families whose electricity had been cut off for non-payment.

The High Court of Justice ruled that, until the Electricity Authority establishes appropriate criteria and procedures (within six months from the time of the ruling), it must enable consumers facing power cuts from lack of payment to demonstrate whether they are suffering financial or health problems that justify their continued access to electric power. The court said the Electricity Authority must conduct a hearing prior to cutting a customer’s power. It gave the national electricity provider six months to revise its procedures and ordered it to pay the petitioners 40,000 NIS ($12,800) in expenses, to be divided among them. “This is a dramatic change from the previous situation, when it was possible to cut off people’s electricity access due to the accumulation of debt, except for very few exceptions,” explains Att. Nir Binyamini.

From the second hearing in Higher Court, on October 28, 2021 (from left to right): Gil Gan Mor (ACRI), Hicham Chabaita and Att. Adi Nir Binyamini from TAU’s Human Rights Clinic and Att. Mascit Bendel (ACRI)

The Beginning of a New Era

Binyamini, who has dealt with electricity litigation for several years now, says, “I feel personal and professional satisfaction that on the coldest day of the year, when people were left without heating, the High Court accepted our position and ruled not to cut off people’s electricity due to poverty and that debt must instead be collected by more moderate means.”

When asked how the Clinic got involved with the project, Binyamini explains that TAU’s Humans Rights Clinic was previously part of a legal battle over water disconnections for consumers unable to pay their water bill. “After that was successfully completed, we took on the subject of electricity and have been working on it continuously for the past eight years. The Clinic represented and handled the two petitions that were submitted to the Israeli High Court, and over the years we have dealt with hundreds of individual cases of people being cut off from electricity. We have also been guiding and assisting social workers with individual cases.”

She adds that a large number of students from the Clinic have worked on the case over the years, and stresses that such practical experience is an extremely valuable component of legal education.

Upon the court’s ruling, Binyamini along with Att. Maskit Bendel of the ACRI issued a statement, saying: “We hope that the ruling, which opened with the words ‘and let there be light,’ heralds the beginning of new era when it comes to protecting weak populations from having their electricity cut off.”

Attorney-at-law Adi Nir Binyamini from Tel Aviv University’s Human Rights Clinic (photo: Tomer Jacobson)

More than 16,000 participants on TAU’s Open Day 2022

Written by AUFTAU on 3 February 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

A New Generation of TAU-Germany Ties

Written by AUFTAU on 30 January 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Who knew that there were so many Germany-related projects going on here at TAU?

Academic collaboration between Tel Aviv University and Germany is growing, as part of TAU’s wider efforts to develop research ties with the world’s leading institutions, attract outstanding students from across the globe, and provide Israeli students with the tools they need to prosper in the globalized era in which we live.

TAU has more than fifty active agreements with German institutions, which makes the country our largest partner in Europe, third in the world only after the US and China. An average of 200 German students study at TAU annually, while another 100 participate in exchange programs. We sat down with Maureen Meyer Adiri, Director of TAU International, to learn some more about Tel Aviv University’s current collaborations with German institutions.

Bilateral Student Opportunities

Meyer Adiri tells us that we have German students in all departments of TAU – some come for a single exchange semester, some for a complete undergraduate degree, others study for their masters and still others come to do advanced research in one of our labs. And the exchange goes both ways – she explains that Israeli students typically choose to study in Germany because of the rich offerings in English, multiple scholarship opportunities, the country’s high level of education in general – and the renowned universities with which TAU partners.

Many German students choose to study at TAU through the Erasmus agreement. Also, The German Friendship Fund was established during Germany Week by the German Friends of Tel Aviv University and is intended to support German students who wish to study here.

TAU also teaches a number of online courses jointly with German professors, specifically in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Law and Engineering, and this is a growing trend. In addition, there are lots of other types of collaborations between TAU and German faculty. An example includes a recent strong partnership project between Israel and Germany, in which students from TAU’s Graduate Program in Technology & Learning at The Jaime and Joan Constantiner School of Education successfully concluded a unique multilingual, multicultural academic online course in the field of learning technologies. The project was a result of a research collaboration between TAU’s Advanced Learning and Technology Research Lab led by Dr. Anat Cohen, The University of Kassel in Germany, and the Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts in Tel Aviv.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, along with other societal challenges, have made global cooperation more important than ever. This unique collaboration brings together students from different backgrounds to create online academic collaboration as a booster for international partnerships in research, schools, and workplaces”, says Guy Cohen, a TAU research student who led the course together with Dr. Anat Cohen.

Recent Research Collaborations

Frankfurt and Tel Aviv are twin cities, and a strategic partnership has existed between Tel Aviv University and Goethe University Frankfurt since 1984. During the “Germany Week”, the two universities signed an agreement to establish a joint center for interfaith studies, The Center for the Study of Religious and Interreligious Dynamics, will become the first German-Israeli research institute of its kind.

In the near future, The German – Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF) will partner with TAU and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (with which TAU already has joint calls for proposals and funds joint research projects), to run a scientific workshop for early career Israeli and German researchers on the interface of AI and society. “I believe we’ll see a growth in joint research projects in the years to come,” says Meyer Adiri.

From the signing ceremony to establish a joint center for interfaith studies (from left to right): Prof. Menachem Fisch, Prof. Milette Shamir, TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat, German Ambassador Susanne Wasum-Rainer & Prof. Youval Rotman.

Germany Week

In celebration of the growing collaboration between TAU and Germany, the University recently celebrated “Germany Week” on campus. TAU International and the Student Union of Tel Aviv University organized a range of academic and social events celebrating German culture and academia, all of which were well attended and catered to both students and faculty members. Solid engagement of German TAU students ensured the cultural authenticity of German-themed events, which included a tour in the footsteps of German Jewry at the ANU Museum of the Jewish People; a discussion on themes in modern German literature; a Christmas market which was opened at the center of the TAU campus in collaboration with the German embassy in Israel, and much more.

“Germany Week by far exceeded our expectations from all perspectives”, says Meyer Adiri. “It contributed a lot to the awareness on campus about opportunities and collaborations that we have with our German partners, and it created an avenue for Israeli students to meet with our German students and to learn from them, have fun and party with them and to engage.” Following the event, many students have contacted TAU International, eager to assist with activities furthering internationalization. “We very much welcome students and faculty to take part in reaching out with ideas and to be involved in the next international events,” says Meyer Adiri.

German exchange students help organize and enjoyed a German-styled Christmas Market on TAU campus

Germany Week kicked off what will be a series of international events, each of which will focus on the culture of a different country with which our university has strong collaborations, or from where we have many incoming students. In the case of Germany, both criteria hold.

The purpose of the International Week series is to further internationalization at Tel Aviv University. Curious minds may wonder why Germany was the first country to feature in the International Weeks series? Meyer Adiri explains that the order of the countries was decided according to the timing of significant cultural events taking place in those countries and to celebrate that event on campus. According to this logic, Germany was celebrated in December 2021 to coincide with the country’s legendary Christmas Market; “Brazil Week” will take place between 20-24 February this year, during the country’s famous Carnival festival; “India Week during the Holi Festival; “Mexico Week” during the annual Cinco de Mayo celebration and “USA Week” during Fourth of July.

Stay posted for Brazil Week and get ready to samba!

TAU International’s Series of “International Weeks”

Annual Review – Positive Trends in Fighting Antisemitism and Radicalization around the World

Written by AUFTAU on 28 January 2022. Posted in Newsroom, Press release.

The Holocaust exhibit in the Crossroads Of Civilizations Museum (CCM). Photo credit: Ofir Winter of the Kantor Center.

The Kantor Center at Tel Aviv University presents for the 1^st time

International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2022

The Report was presented to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Legal precedents in the battle against antisemitism l Enhanced resources to protect Jewish communities l Expanded restoration of Jewish cemeteries l Top sports teams join the battle against antisemitism l The Arab World’s first Holocaust memorial exhibition |

The Holocaust exhibit in the Crossroads Of Civilizations Museum (CCM). Photo credit: Ofir Winter of the Kantor Center.

Highlights from the Report include:

The legal arena: A series of encouraging precedents in fighting antisemitism were set during 2021, restraining the so far almost unrestricted dissemination of hate propaganda. One important example was the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights against a Bulgarian MP who had disseminated antisemitic tropes in his books.
The political and legislative arena: Governments around the world increased the resources allocated to protecting Jewish communities, appointed special envoys for fighting antisemitism, and adopted the Working Definition of Antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
The cultural arena: A rising trend of restoring Jewish cemeteries was observed in Eastern Europe, while in Western Europe and North America leading sports associations and teams raised the banner of the fight against antisemitism.
The Middle Eastern arena: The Holocaust was meaningfully addressed for the first time by a public museum in an Arab country (the UAE). Other encouraging steps were also introduced by the governments of the UAE and Bahrain.

The Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University presented its inaugural report on Positive Trends in Fighting Antisemitism and Radicalization around the World, including recommendations for policies and activities that can enhance these trends. The Report was presented today, Thursday, to President of Israel Isaac Herzog at a special ceremony held at the President’s official residence in Jerusalem. The ceremony was held in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27 – the day on which the Auschwitz death camp was liberated in 1945.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog: “The global antisemitism crisis is escalating, but the international fight against it is also intensifying. We are witnessing many initiatives for combating antisemitism around the world, and we must encourage and foster these positive trends. Strengthening the light is just as important as fighting darkness. I thank the Kantor Center for its dedicated research and faithful work in monitoring antisemitism worldwide.”

Prof. Uriya Shavit, Head of the Kantor Center, Entin Faculty of Humanities at TAU: “Discourse on antisemitism and radicalization usually focuses on troubling negative trends. We decided that a positive report, describing encouraging developments and activities, should also be published – for three reasons: expressing appreciation for those already active; impelling more governments and organizations worldwide to initiate similar activities; and promoting a discussion on concrete proposals for improving existing programs.”

The Positive Trends Report was authored by a team of seven leading TAU experts from various fields, with policy recommendations formulated in a series of brainstorming sessions. Participants include: Dr. Inna Shtasker (restoration of Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe); Dr. Ofir Winter and Dr. Giovanni Quer (encouraging developments in the Gulf); Prof. Dina Porat (political and legislative developments); Dr. Tomer Fadlon (sports); advocate Talia Naamat (legal developments).

Every chapter in the report ends with a series of recommendations for organizations and governments aiming to enhance their fight against antisemitism. Recommendations include: establishing a website that provides comprehensive information and guidance on restoration of Jewish cemeteries in Europe; promoting the teaching of the Holocaust in the Arab world, (dissociated from the context of current events); establishing mechanisms for monitoring governments’ implementation of their pledges to fight antisemitism; and encouraging sports clubs in Eastern Europe to join programs that combat religious intolerance.

Positive trends and events presented in the report

The legal arena

Encouraging trends regarding the fight against antisemitism were observed in courts of law and legislative institutions worldwide.

In February 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Bulgarian MP Volen Siderov, founder of the far-right political party ATAKA, who had expressed antisemitic views in his books, published about 20 years ago.
Several national courts across Europe also ruled in similar contexts that some forms of hate speech are so virulent that they violate the rights of all persons belonging to the maligned group.
The European Commission expanded the ‘EU Crimes’ list to include hate speech and hate crimes.
The EU launched its ‘Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life,’ which urges member states to prosecute antisemitic hate speech and hate crimes.
The Ukrainian Parliament passed the Prevention and Counteraction to Antisemitism Law in September 2021. The law defines antisemitism in accordance with the IHRA definition and states that persons guilty of violating the law would be subject to punishments under the existing hate crimes law.
Several states across the U.S. passed laws to counter recent waves of antisemitism: New York prohibited displaying or selling hate symbols (such as swastikas) on public property; California introduced a hate crimes statute requiring local hate crime policies to recognize religious bias and discrimination bias and law enforcement officers to undergo educational training on hate crimes.

Sports

Racism and antisemitism are rife among sports fans all over the world, but now major sports organizations, including leading teams, have decided to combat the vile phenomenon. The fight against antisemitism in sports is conducted at all levels—from the EU and national associations through the teams, all the way to the fans themselves.

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day (27 January 2021), the English Football Association (FA) pledged to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition for antisemitism, and football teams in England followed suit.
The illustrious Chelsea Football Club launched a new website entitled ‘Say No to Antisemitism,’ marking a concerted effort to clean its own house.
The Austrian Football Association adopted the IHRA definition for antisemitism.
Two major European football clubs, the German Borussia Dortmund and the Dutch Feyenoord Rotterdam, partnered with the Anne Frank House to develop guidelines for tackling antisemitism in football, as part of an educational program against antisemitism advanced in collaboration with the fans under the title ‘Changing the Chants’.
The EU Commission presented a strategy for uprooting antisemitism in sports, with a focus on football.
The ‘Global Conference on Football’s Role in Combating Antisemitism’ was held in Vienna.
In the U.S. the professional career of NBA player Meyers Leonard ended after his antisemitic slurs during a video game were widely shared on social media. His team, Miami Heat, terminated his contract and he was fined $50,000.
In June 2021, Duxbury high school in Massachusetts fired its head football coach Dave Maimron for using antisemitic slurs.

Restoration of Jewish cemeteries.

The leading project: Restoration of the Warsaw Jewish Cemetery, established in 1806, with the support of the Polish Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with local rabbis and the Cultural Heritage Foundation.
In the city of Sosnowiec, Poland, a non-Jewish resident named Sławek Pastuszka found the funds to mow the grass at the rundown Jewish cemetery. High school students from nearby Katowice, led by history teacher Sławomir Witkowski, promised to care for the cemetery in the future.
Vladimir Spanik, a 73-year-old member of the village council of Vinodol, Slovakia, spearheaded the restoration of the village’s abandoned Jewish cemetery, in order to instill cross-racial solidarity in the young people of his community. He recruited for the project several boys from the Roma community, which had also suffered during the Holocaust.

In the small Polish city of Cieszyn, a museum employee, with the help of a teacher at the Evangelical Society School, recruited students for a Jewish cemetery restoration project, as a concrete way to engage with local history and develop intercultural understanding.
In Kielce, a city in south-central Poland, high school students commemorated the 75^th anniversary of a post-WWII anti-Jewish pogrom by cleaning the local Jewish cemetery.
In the Ukrainian town of Rohatyn a special Jewish heritage project brings together non-Jewish residents and volunteers from across the globe to restore the local Jewish cemetery and research the history of Jews in the region

Images: Ukrainian Jewish cemeteries. Photo credit: Rohatyn Jewish Heritage(RJH).

In the village of Chesnyky in Ukraine the local non-Jewish Rosolovska family established a memorial for local Holocaust victims with the support of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine and the Jewish community of Ivano-Frankivsk.
The Cultural Heritage Foundation in Poland created a website that provides guidelines for restoring Jewish cemeteries in accordance with the Jewish Halacha.
Marla Osborn, a U.S. citizen whose grandmother was born in Ukraine, created an online guide for Jewish Cemetery Preservation in Western Ukraine.

Governments and legislation

Many countries and organizations in the West use a range of tools to combat antisemitism: allocating funds for protecting Jewish communities and relevant training programs; appointing special envoys for fighting antisemitism; advancing legislation against manifestations of antisemitism; organizing international conferences; issuing public declarations; and adopting the IHRA’s Working Definition of Antisemitism.

Since 2015, and especially over the last two years, more than 800 bodies worldwide have adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
Several European countries have appointed special Envoys – officials tasked with monitoring antisemitism, raising public awareness, and promoting legislation to tackle this abhorrent phenomenon.
In October 2021, the Malmö International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism convened in Malmö, Sweden, attended by dozens of delegations and leaders from around the world, who answered the call of Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Loeven.
At the Malmö Conference the EU launched its Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life. Considered the first-ever concrete action against antisemitism backed formally by an international organization, the program aims to prevent all forms of antisemitism, protect and foster Jewish life in Europe, and promote research and commemoration of the Holocaust.
The Canadian government, responding to a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents, launched an action plan – allocating five million dollars to protect Jewish institutions, cemeteries, and monuments, fund education programs, advance legislation and enforcement measures, and promote the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, among other initiatives.
Irwin Cotler, Canada’s former Minister of Justice who currently serves as the country’s special Envoy on Antisemitism, invited Jewish students who have experienced antisemitism on campus to tell their stories at an emergency conference.
In 2020, Austria published a comprehensive action plan for combating antisemitism and appointed its Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution to oversee the fight against antisemitism.
Pope Francis and Cardinal Kurt Koch, Head of the Vatican Committee for Relations with the Jewish people, issued various declarations strongly denouncing antisemitism and advocating close dialogue between Christians and Jews.
On his visit to Budapest in September 2021, Pope Francis spoke firmly against antisemitism.

The Gulf

Image: Ahmed Obeid Al Mansoori, Founder of Crossroads Of Civilizations Museum. Photo credit: Crossroads Of Civilizations Museum (CCM).

The UAE’s Jewish community is growing rapidly, and already numbers more than 1,000 members.
A Holocaust memorial exhibition entitled ‘We Remember’ – the first of its kind in the Arab world – was launched at the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai in May 2021, in the presence of the Israeli and German ambassadors to the UAE. A synagogue has been operating openly in Dubai since late 2018, and a Jewish community center was also inaugurated.
The first Jewish school will soon open in Dubai.
Abu Dhabi is building the Abrahamic Family House – a joint religious complex including a mosque, a church, and a synagogue of similar height and façade, differing only in their internal design to fit the needs of the different religions. The complex, symbolizing harmony alongside diversity among the three monotheistic faiths, will be completed during 2022.

Image: The Holocaust exhibit in the Crossroads Of Civilizations Museum (CCM). Photo credit: Ofir Winter of the Kantor Center.

Hotels in the UAE were instructed to provide kosher food to their Jewish and Israeli guests.
Citizens of the UAE and Israel celebrate Muslim and Jewish holidays together, including a joint meal marking both Lag BaOmer and Iftar (which closes every day of fasting during the month of Ramadan).
The House of Ten Commandments synagogue in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, was reopened in March 2021 following comprehensive restoration under the aegis of King ‘Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
In August 2021, the first celebration of Shabbat services since the late 1940s was held in Bahrain, attended by local public figures.
In September, the first Jewish wedding in half a century was celebrated in Bahrain

Ketogenic Diet Likely to Reduce Damage from Traumatic Brain Injuries

Written by AUFTAU on 25 January 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and long-term disability in the developed world. It is estimated that every year over 10 million people worldwide suffer from traumatic brain injury as a result of head injuries caused by a hard object, a blow, an explosion, road accidents, sports injuries, etc. Such traumas can lead to physical, cognitive, behavioral and emotional damage and is also a risk factor for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

At this point, despite the high frequency of brain injuries, there is no proven effective treatment that can help those suffering from this injury.

A new international study piloted by the Tel Aviv University determines that a ketogenic diet may reduce the effects of brain damage after traumatic injury. The study indicates that the diet improves spatial memory and visual memory, lowers brain inflammation indices, causes less neuronal death and slows down the rate of cellular aging.

The study was led by Prof. Chaim (Chagi) Pick, Director of the Sylvan Adams Sports Institute and a member of the Sagol School of Neuroscience, and Ph.D. student Meirav Har-Even Kerzhner, a registered dietitian and brain researcher, both from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. The findings were published in Scientific Reports, a syndicate journal from the publishers of Nature.

What does a ketogenic diet consist of?

A ketogenic diet which involves changes in the consumption of common foods is based on high-fat percentages and aims to mimic a state of fasting. As part of the diet, the intake of foods that contain carbohydrates (e.g., bread, sugar, grains, legumes, snacks, pastries and even fruits) are significantly restricted and, at the expense of this restriction, high-fat products such as meat, fish, eggs, avocado, butter etc. – are eaten.

This is a diet that can be continued for extended periods of time. The diet causes an increased production of ketone bodies in the liver that are used to generate energy. These ketone bodies are transferred via the bloodstream to the brain providing optimal nourishment.

The diet has been used as a treatment in Israel and around the world for almost 100 years, among children with epilepsy, while in recent years, the ketogenic diet has become popular among those who want to lose weight. It is important to note that, due to the significant nutritional restrictions, it is necessary to consult with a professional such as a doctor or a registered dietitian.

Inspiring Hope

In the study, conducted on model animals, the researchers identified that the ketogenic diet greatly improves the patient’s brain function. For this purpose, the researchers used advanced methods that included, among other things, behavioral-cognitive tests, biochemical tests and immunohistochemical cell staining (a technique in biology for the detection and placement of proteins in a cross section of tissue). The mechanism by which a ketogenic diet succeeds in benefiting the results of brain damage has not yet been fully revealed, but studies show that it has an antioxidant and metabolic effect on mitochondria (essential organelles in the cell, the its primary function of which is energy production and respiration), lowers free radical production and raises ATP (a major molecule in cellular biochemical channels).

“The findings were unequivocal and showed that the ketogenic diet improves spatial memory and visual memory, lowers indices of inflammation in the brain and in addition, also slows the rate of cellular aging,” says Prof. Pick. “These results may open the door to further research that will inspire hope for those suffering from traumatic brain injuries, and their family members.”

Featured image: Prof. Chaim Pick and Ph.D. student Meirav Har-Even Kerzhne

Reading Tea Leaves

Written by AUFTAU on 25 January 2022. Posted in Magazine, Newsroom.

What is the origin of tea, and does the climate crisis threaten its production?

Tea – the ancient beverage comes in different flavors and colors. The Queen of England will never go without her afternoon tea, in India it’s enjoyed with milk and spices and we all like to pour ourselves an occasional cup of Earl Grey, especially when winter comes knocking. But have you ever wondered whether the saying “all the tea in China” really does indicate where tea drinking started? Or if the soothing drink may be affected by the climate crisis? Should we, in fact, be drinking it? We have, and our researchers explained, surprised us and busted some myths in the process.

When the Chinese Mystics Met the Tea Plant

We’re not going to keep you in suspense: It turns out that the coveted drink was sipped by the Indian Buddhist monks two thousand years ago – long before it became an integral part of Chinese culture and a long, long time before it became popular in Western cultures.

“The tea plant was known in China as early as the first centuries BCE, but recent studies show that the custom of drinking tea was brought to China from India,” explains Prof. Meir Shahar from The Department of East Asian Studies of The Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities at Tel Aviv University, who researches, among other things, the influence of Indian culture on Chinese religion and literature.

“In the first centuries CE Buddhism came to China from India and the Buddhist monks, who wanted to stay awake during the meditation, used to drink tea. The Chinese monks would observe this, and went on to adopt the custom as well, which then continued to spread to the rest of the Chinese population.”

While tea originates from India, the origin of the word ‘tea’ in most of the world’s languages, however, is Chinese. “In northern China it is called cha, hence the Russian chai, and in southern China it is pronounced as tcha, which is the origin of the English word tea,” reveals Prof. Shahar.

Buddhist monks on their tea break

What’s in Your Cuppa?

Buddhist monks realized long ago that tea keeps them awake and today, thanks to science, we are able to explain how the active ingredients of the plant affect us.

“Contrary to many people’s beliefs, all types of tea are produced from the same plant, namely the leaves and buds of the Camellia Sinensis plant. While there are several varieties of the plant, the types of tea that we are familiar with – white, green, oolong and black – differ according to the part of the plant from which they are produced and the way they’re processed. Green tea, for example, contains less caffeine than black tea. The leaves used to produce green tea undergo a minimal drying process while the leaves intended for black tea undergo drying and fermentation,” explains Guy Shalmon, a sports nutritionist and exercise physiologist at the Sylvan Adams Sports Institute.

“Tea leaves contain substances known as flavonoids. Their composition, however, varies from one tea to another. For example, green tea has a higher concentration of a substance called epigallocatechin 3-gallate, known for short as ‘EGCG’, than black tea which undergoes a prolonged processing process. It has antioxidant activity and is attributed various health effects,” says Guy.

“Having said that, tea may reduce the absorption of iron-derived iron minerals. The polyphenols (compounds with antioxidant properties), which exist in tea leaves, may bind inorganic iron mineral before it is excreted in the feces. In order to prevent this, one does not need to give up drinking tea, but instead make sure not to drink it while consuming iron-rich plant foods,” he advises.

Will Tea Survive the Climate Crisis?

The climate crisis brings with it many changes and different regions of the world are experiencing major climate fluctuations, ranging from heat and droughts to floods, storms and extreme cold. This could threaten the continued survival of agricultural crops. Some plants have crossed oceans and been absorbed by other continents, but what about those that require special conditions to thrive? Will the tea plant survive the changing conditions?

“A plant can adapt to new conditions up to a certain limit,” says Prof. Shaul Yalovsky of the School of Plant Sciences and Food Security at The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, who studies plant development mechanisms and their response to environmental stresses. His lab has succeeded in developing tomato varieties that consume less water and still deliver the same amounts of fruit while maintaining its quality.

“Tea is a crop that grows in very rainy areas. Therefore, it is not cultivated in an area like Israel, for example. Tea plantations are usually located on hills, where the weather is humid and cool to the appropriate extent and the soil is deep enough.”

The tea fields stretching over hills and mountains. Tea harvest in action

Disguised as Tea

Did you know that red “tea” (also known as “red bush tea”) is actually an infusion from the Rooibos plant that grows in South Africa? Because it is processed in the same way as the tea plant, it is commonly referred to as “red tea”, while in reality it is not a tea, but an herbal infusion. It is naturally caffeine-free.

Just like many other plants, tea requires specific conditions to grow: deep and airy soil rich in minerals, and an optimal temperature range between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius. “Tea is sensitive to cold, dryness, humidity and lighting conditions. For example, high humidity impairs the quality of the tea while periods of dryness increase its quality, and growing at high altitudes increases the quality of the tea but lowers the amount of crop,” explains Prof. Yalovsky.

The tea is grown in Asia, Africa and South America. The six largest tea producers in the world are China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Turkey. So what happens if growing conditions in East and Southeast Asia change? Prof. Yalovsky explains that it is necessary to adapt the types of tea plants according to their growing areas. “What works at one location does not necessarily work elsewhere: what grows well in East and Southeast Asia will not necessarily grow well in Kenya or Turkey, for example. Even if we should manage to copy a crop from one place to another, we may not succeed in maintaining its qualities and taste.”

When we drink Earl Grey tea we expect a very specific taste, and if the same tree were to be grown elsewhere – where the temperature may be the same as the original habitat but the soil is not – we would likely notice a change in the taste of the product. This is possibly one of the reasons why drinking Japanese green tea differs in taste from Chinese green tea.

With regard to the future of the in-demand beverage, Prof. Yalovsky says: “Even if the regions of the cultivated areas should experience floods – the tea plantations are positioned on the slopes of hills and mountains so it should not become an issue.” Another good news is that unlike many crops that depend on pollination to develop fruit – the tea plant is less reliant on this. “In the production of tea, we use its leaves and not its flowers or fruits and so it can be propagated by pruning (cutting a branch from a mature plant, a so-called ‘mother plant’, and creating a new plant through rooting). This method also ensures the genetic uniformity of the ‘daughter plants’, with everything that implies,” he concludes.

We made sure to ask Guy Shalmon which type of tea (if any) he recommends that our students drink during the exam period, to which he replied: “Actually, I wouldn’t say there’s any unique advantage or need to drink tea during an exam period. I’d say drink the kind of tea that you fancy and, ideally, try to rotate different types of tea. If the need for caffeine is the main consideration, black tea is the best choice, as it has the highest caffeine concentration. Black tea contains approx. 60-40 mg of caffeine per cup, while green tea contains only 20-15 mg.”

Well, who needs the exams as an excuse, anyway? If you’re like us, we suggest you pour yourself a cuppa on any day of the week – no special occasion required – and enjoy a peaceful break from everything and everyone.

How Can We Boost Our Fight Against Marine Plastic Pollution?

Written by AUFTAU on 24 January 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Plastic wastes endanger marine life in many ways: animals get entangled in large plastic items or swallow small particles and chemicals, consequently dying of suffocation, starvation or poisoning. Awareness is growing, and research is expanding, but the effort to monitor and prevent plastic pollution encounters many obstacles, first of all due to the enormous complexity and diversity of plastic debris.

A new review from Tel Aviv University has determined that global standardization of methodologies for monitoring and measuring marine plastic pollution can significantly boost international efforts to mitigate this troubling phenomenon. In a comprehensive survey of all methods described in existing literature, the researchers charted the great complexity and diversity of marine plastic pollution, which makes unified measurement and accurate evaluation very difficult. According to the researchers, this is precisely why a standardized system is urgently needed, enabling comparisons, exchange of information, and effective tools for decisionmakers.

Grave and Immediate Threat

The study was led by Gal Vered and Prof. Noa Shenkar of the School of Zoology at The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. Gal Vered is also a researcher at the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat. The review was published in Current Opinion in Toxicology.

According to Prof. Shenkar, plastic pollution, which is all human-made, poses a grave and immediate threat to the marine environment, with constantly rising amounts of plastic entering the oceans. Thus, for example, a 2013 survey conducted by Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection found that plastic accounts for about 41% of the volume of waste produced annually by Israelis. The Covid-19 pandemic, which has generated extreme demands for personal protective and single-use products, has further exacerbated the problem.

Comes in Different Shapes and Forms

The researchers explain that marine plastic pollution comprises many different types of plastic and plastic products of various shapes and sizes – from huge ghost nets to nanoparticles, as well as a vast range of chemical additives. Different methods for monitoring, sampling, and identifying plastic pollution relate to different properties of the sampled material: from size, source, and original use, through shape and color, to chemical composition and physical properties. Sampling is usually conducted with a towed net, with the size of collected pollutants dependent on the net’s mesh size, and tiny particles are identified in the lab using various spectroscopic and chemical methods. In addition to the diversity in sampling and identification methods, units used for reporting measured concentrations of pollutants also vary: from the number of plastic objects per area, to the weight of particles per organism, and more.

“These differences generate confusion and lack of communication among researchers in different parts of the world, hampering our efforts to work together toward our common goal: providing decision makers with reliable data in order to promote the efforts to reduce plastic pollution and its many hazards,” explains Prof. Shenkar. “We are in urgent need of standardized methods and comparable measures for monitoring, sampling, identifying, classifying, and quantifying marine plastic pollution and its impact.”

International Collaboration Needed

“This study is a response to problems encountered in my research, which deals with the impact of plastic and its chemical additives on marine life in the Eilat coral reef (presenting Israel’s largest marine biodiversity),” says Gal Vered and explains: “The differences in methodology make it difficult to use the findings of other researchers – as either a source of information or for comparing results. Thus, for example, most measurements worldwide relate to samples obtained with a towed net from the surface of the water, while I wish to discover which materials reach the seafloor and reef organisms.”

“Standardization will enable accurate evaluations and valid comparisons between plastic pollutions in different places on the globe. This will maximize the power of scientific research, enhance our understanding of the impact of plastic pollution on ecosystems and marine life, and help us develop effective tools for decisionmakers facing this crucial issue.”

Prof. Shenkar concludes: “Marine plastic pollution is a global problem, which requires extensive international collaboration. At the bottom line, we all wish to focus our efforts and obtain the best results. Like many others, we believe that efforts should begin close to the shoreline, in areas directly impacted by plastic pollution. However, a great deal of research is still required in order to establish this assumption and build effective strategies for managing plastic pollution. But first of all, we urgently need standardization that will enable all of us, all over the world, to work together.”

Featured image: Prof. Noa Shenkar

Start Up Nation in Ancient Canaan

Written by AUFTAU on 24 January 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

A new Tel Aviv University study has determined that thanks to advanced management methods and impressive technological creativity, about three thousand years ago, the Arava Valley’s [located deep in the Southern Negev desert in Israel, along the Jordanian border] copper industry managed to thrive and become the largest and most advanced smelting center in the ancient world. The study was conducted by graduate student David Luria of TAU’s Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures and The Sonia & Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology, and is being published in the prestigious journal PLOS ONE.

Ancient Practice of “Trial and Error”

According to Luria, the copper industry in Canaan at that time was concentrated in two large mining areas – one in Timna (north of Eilat) and the other in Faynan (in the northern Arava, in Jordan). Previous research on the subject has claimed that the high level of technology employed there was made possible thanks to Egyptian technologies brought to the region during the voyage of the Egyptian Pharoah Shishak in 925 BC. This theory was strengthened in 2014 following the discovery of a scarab bearing the figure of Shishak in Faynan, and again later in 2019, following the development of a new scientific model that claimed that a sudden technological leap had taken place around the time of Shishak’s journey.

Luria, on the other hand, argues that the great economic and technological success of the copper industry in the Arava was not related to Egyptian capabilities, but rather to the talent of the Arava people, who learned to use the two advanced methods we know today as “trial and error” and “scaling up.” “Obviously these terms were not in use in ancient times, but the application of their practical principles was made possible due to a basic understanding of engineering and common sense, which were seen in other places in the ancient world as well,” says Luria.

Luria explains that the “trial and error” method allowed the Arava metalworkers to slowly improve technological processes, as well as to increase the volume and quality of production. In addition, “scaling up” made it possible to increase the dimensions of the existing means of production using materials and processes that were common at the time, thereby developing advanced production equipment within a short amount of time and with minimum cost and technological risk.

The Secret Behind the Technological Success

“Shishak’s expedition was not intended to physically take over the copper mines in the Arava, but rather to formulate a long-term agreement with the Arava people in order to bolster local production and thus increase copper exports to Egypt, which was suffering from local production difficulties at the time,” Luria says.

“It appears that the secret of the success of the ancient copper industry in the Arava lies in the skills and abilities of efficient managers, who were assisted at every stage of their decision-making by talented technological experts. Archeology today can’t identify who these executives were, but a careful analysis of the deposits left in the area can tell us an accurate story. These findings are the residues of copper production that have accumulated as heaps of waste that can be dated, and whose size allows us to assess the volume of production at any given time. Moreover, by conducting a chemical analysis of the copper content remaining in the waste, we can determine the quality of the production; when the amount of copper in the waste diminishes, we can conclude that the process had become more efficient.”

Luria also says that traces detected at these sites show that throughout the production period, the management team was able to close inefficient mines and open more efficient ones. Moreover, at certain points a decision was taken to reuse waste from earlier periods, which was produced in less efficient processes in which a lot of copper remained, rather than use the pure mineral. These decisions could not have been made without an excellent technical team that backed management decisions with regular technological testing. The management also engaged in extensive marketing of the copper throughout the ancient world.

“The important lesson to take away from this technological success is that the high-tech savvy of individuals – educated and energetic people who lived here in the first millennium BCE – succeeded, just like it does today, in bringing about a huge revolution in the local economy,” Luria concludes. “As they say, there is nothing new under the sun.”

Featured image: David Luria

Finding the Optimal Location for the Tribal Bonfire