Latrun - the bridge between the past and the future

On Wednesday, we spent some time in Latrun. This was, and continues to be, a very important spot on the road between Jaffa (and Tel-Aviv) and Jerusalem. Avi, our guide, explained that the fortress at this point commanded the road. In 1948, Israeli forces attacked five times and were beaten back and the site was not occupied by Israeli troops until 1967, when it was found empty - which it had been for two years.

On one side of the road, on the height of land, is the Latrun Monastery, a Catholic monastery which has been there for centuries (second photo from bottom).

On the other side of the road, on land leased from the Latrun Monastery, is a tank museum: the Latrun Armoured Corps Museum. This museum showcases the various tanks which played such an important part in past battles in this region. These include the Merkava series of tanks developed and built in Israel (bottom photo).

Also on this height of land is a radar observatory for watching bird migration (top photo). Dr. Yossi Leshem who directs this observatory pointed out to us that Israel is one of the best places in the world for watching migratory birds. Many birds prefer to migrate over land, so they travel over Israel instead of crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The thermals generated along the ridges are particularly favourable to hawks and eagles, and large numbers can be seen passing this site each spring and fall.

Dr. Leshem did his thesis work on bird migration and the use of radar to follow bird migration (second photo from top shows radar tracing of migrating birds). Until he came along, collisions between aircraft and birds were a huge problem in Israel. Following his work, collisions between birds and planes, and the related loss of life, have been reduced by 76 per cent, saving more than $700 million in damage to planes.

But it's the fact that studies of bird migration bring people together which has Dr. Leshem so excited today. Migratory birds do not recognize political boundaries. Dr. Leshem now has people from many different countries working together and it is clearly an incredible example of international cooperation.

Dr. Leshem turned to me and said, pointing to the tanks in the museum, "that is the history of the past. This [bird migration] is the future." Because Israel is such a wonderful site for bird migration, watching birds here is the future for tourism and the economy. Because it promotes international cooperation, bird migration offers people a way to work together.

The Eretz-Israel Museum - and the Declaration of Independence

In Tel-Aviv on Tuesday, we visited the Eretz-Israel Museum which is the site where on May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion read the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel. The photo above shows the spot where David Ben Gurion sat when he read the declaration, and the microphone he used.

Our guide, Avi Ben Yosef, emphasized again and again to us the importance of this declaration. It specifically provided for guarantees for equal treatment regardless of race or religion or sex. As Avi told us, "Here in Israel we still do not have a constitution, so this Declaration of Independence is very important because it sets out people's rights."

A brief quote from the Declaration of Independence follows:

"It [the State of Israel] will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations."

For those who want to see the whole Declaration of Independence, it can be found at
http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/peace%20process/guide%20to%20the%20peace%20process/declaration%20of%20establishment%20of%20state%20of%20israel

Avi Feiler and the Port of Jaffa

Shortly after Naomi and I arrived in Israel, we contacted Avi Feiler who invited us over for visit. In a few minutes we were on our way to the old port of Jaffa just south of Tel Aviv. Avi greeted us warmly in the parking lot and took us through a narrow walkway between the old houses of Jaffa. We arrived at his door. It's a small door and we had to duck our heads to enter.

Inside, Avi introduced us to his friends: a crocodile farmer from Eliat and a retired seaman. We chatted for a bit and then Avi gave us a tour of his home. Looking out his window, we could see over the Jaffa harbour. Avi pointed to the rock where Andromeda sat. He told us stories of the past, of the early days 4,600 years ago when Jaffa was one of the first ports in the world. He brought us nearer to modern times and spoke of Napoleon, who 206 years ago, entered the harbour and bombarded Jaffa.

"I found several of Napoleon's canonballs in my home when we did renovations," Avi said as he picked up several of these canonballs to show us. One large one had a hole in it. "This was used to put gunpowder in, in the hope that it would explode when it hit the walls of the buildings. This one didn't." The cannonball, about 10 centimeters in diameter, was heavy and intact as I lifted it up.

Avi moved on to talk about the times when Jaffa served as the port of Jerusalem many centuries ago as well as more recently when it served as a major port in 1948 with the arrival of many Jews coming to Israel after the Second World War.

All around his home we gazed in wonder at Avi's artwork. He is a painter and on an easel in front of the big window overlooking the harbour was a piece he was still working on. It's a ship going out to sea and the detail in the waves is amazing. Golden reflections on the water move about as we moved in front of the painting.

Avi explained how he does it. Layers and layers of paint and glazes are applied, and at the right point, small flecks of gold leaf. They glittered and moved as we moved in front of the painting. It's almost magical.

Naomi and I then joined Avi and his friends for tea. We talked for a long time, then Naomi and I went for a walk along the shore of the Mediterranean on our way back to our hotel.

An absolutely wonderful introduction to Israel. The top photo shows Naomi walking along Jaffa harbour. In the bottom photo, Naomi is with Avi Feiler in his studio.

The NDP Health Care System in Manitoba is clearly not working

Marleen Wawryk can attest to the fundamental problems in the way Manitoba's health care system is working under the NDP.

She developed a very painful right knee in the Spring of 2005. Now, after 17 doctors visits and 9 months later, she still does not even have a diagnosis as to what is wrong. She has been treated with a variety of medicines, most of which are pain killers. This is like using tylenol to treat a serious infection with a fever rather than with an antibiotic to cure the infection: treating the symptoms but not the cause.

She was told she had a choice of an MRI (wait time of 6 months) or a scope to look in her knee (an arthoscopy). Rather than wait a painful 6 months for an MRI and then have to wait yet more months more for the scope, she decided to proceed directly to the arthroscopy because it should provide the diagnosis and may provide treatment at the same time.

But here's the problem: she's been told the wait will be many months but she has not been given a date or even a precise waiting length. She is in very serious pain and she has to make decisions about her life and her work. Marleen cannot even plan something as basic as this because the reality is she has no idea when the scope procedure will be done.

With the system working appropriately, the MRI should be done within a week or two, and the scope a week or so after that - perhaps even faster. If fact, a bit over a year ago, Marleen's husband had a small chip in his knee and he had a scope within 3-4 months (not ideal, but bearable) and his knee was back to normal.

The problem with the way the system is not working is this:

1) Marleen's knee is getting worse and worse while being treated only with pain killers. The additional damage to her knee while she waits is only making the problem worse and the eventual medical solution is likely to be more extensive and more expensive because of the wait.

2) Marleen's long wait is expensive because of all the extra (17 and counting) doctors visits, not to speak of drugs, physiotherapy visits, etc. as well as time lost at work and in general aggravation. Moreover, because her knee is injured, she is not able to exercise and her general health may be deteriorating as a result.

The point here is that it is less costly overall and far better care to get the diagnosis done quickly and the treatment done quickly. This NDP government is giving us worse and worse health care by the day. There is only one real answer and that is the NDP needs to be booted out of government - as soon as possible!

The photo shows me with Marleen.

Rosanna Peeling - A Manitoban who is making a difference globally

On our flight to Toronto on Sunday, we found ourselves sitting next to Rosanna Peeling, a Manitoban who is making a difference around the world.

Rosanna was working in Winnipeg in microbiology on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), when in the fall of 2000, she was invited by the World Health Organization to help develop better approaches to testing for sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea and clamydia that could be widely used in developing world countries. Diagnostic tests have to be cheap and reliable under very hot conditions if they are to be usable in many of these countries.

Within a month of accepting a one year position, Rosanna had convened a meeting of more than 50 experts on STDs from around the world. On their recommendation, she developed an approach that has got teams of people working in laboratories and at field sites to improve the approaches being used to test for these STDs in developing countries.

With this success underway, she was then asked to continue at the World Health Organization to develop improved approaches to the diagnosis of a variety of other diseases from tuberculosis, to leishmaniasis. She has been engaged in this effort since then and does this from the World Health Organization offices in Geneva, commuting back and forth to Winnipeg when she can.

Well done Rosanna. In Manitoba, we are proud of the contribution you are making to global health.