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Newsletter : 0fax0504.txt
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>JN May 4, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 81
31,000 Requests Made to ICHEIC
By Arutz-7
Since the reparations agreement two months ago, the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) has received 31,273 requests for aid. 49% of the requests came from the United States, 22% from Israel and the remainder from other countries. 2,500 organizations are now cooperating with the information bureau operating in Israel and 10,000 names have been posted on the ICHEIC website (www.icheic.org).
Three Iranian Jews Allegedly Confessed
By Dale Gavlak (VOA-Tehran)
Three of the 13 Iranian Jews accused of spying have reportedly admitted they had links with Israel's intelligence agency. One of the three -- the main defendant in the case -- told foreign reporters Wednesday he spied for Israel out of religious conviction and financial need. He also told reporters his confessions in court and on Iranian state television were not made under duress.
The defense attorney for the Iranian Jews says that a televised confession by the chief defendant, Hamid Tefilin, was not enough to prove he spied for Israel. Ismail Nasiri says Tefilin and the other defendants had been jailed for more than a year, and that under Iranian law and international procedures such admissions of guilt after a long imprisonment have no value.
The defense lawyer argues that Tefilin and his colleagues gave Israel unclassified information available in the public domain. He explains that this could not be defined as espionage under Iranian law.
Tefilin denies that his confession was made under duress and admits receiving $500 a month from Israel for information he provided.
Under Iran's revolutionary court system, there is no jury and the judge is also the prosecutor. Defense Attorney Nasiri calls the entire trial proceedings flawed. He adds that when he has asked the judge for evidence of the charges, he is silent. Nasiri argues that the Iranian government must prove that secret information damaging to its security and beneficial to an enemy country actually changed hands.
A student leader in Iran's reform movement, Akbar Atri, says that not enough is known by the public. But he says the Iranian Jews, as citizens, should have their rights protected. He adds that if it is proved they are traitors, then they should be punished.
"If it's proved that these people are spies of Israel, we must take severe action against them because they harmed our national rights and they betrayed our nation. We expect our judiciary system to deal with these judgments according to our country's laws and not destroy any of their rights."
Smell the Flowers Sent by E-mail
By Ross Dunn (VOA-Jerusalem)
Two scientists in Israel say they have found a way to capture smells and transmit them electronically. The scientists hope to develop their system for commercial use through the Internet and on television.
The scent of a flower or the aroma of a favorite dish -- these sensations may soon be transmitted around the world electronically, in the same way as sound and pictures.
That is the claim of two senior scientists at Israel's Weizmann Institute, a research center with a reputation for scientific and technological breakthroughs.
British born Prof. David Harel, dean of the faculty of mathematics and computer science, and Prof. Doron Lancet, a biochemist, have a taken out a patent after developing a mathematical formula to "translate the sense of smell."
Harel says the system has a wide range of what he says are extraordinary possibilities: "Chemicals that are fixed in the output device...fool your brain into thinking you have been smelling the original. And that is good for a whole different bunch of applications or extended applications, for example, [one could be] sitting in front of a TV and seeing a chef preparing a gourmet meal and smelling that meal in real time."
The scientists say they have developed a series of mathematical algorithms, which would command a sensor to mix a combination of chemicals and then release the odor.
Under their system, a person could send an encoded message from one computer to another. The computer receiving the information would then translate the message to a sensor, which would release chemicals imitating the smell, such as that of a flower, while for example, viewing a greeting card. Such devices might also be used in computer games.
In an effort to develop the commercial potential of their work, the scientists have joined forces with an Israeli businessman, Eli Fisch, and formed a company, which they call Sense IT.
The company will conduct trials in the hope of developing the olfactory communication devices and placing them on the market within the next two years.
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