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© 17 1975
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THE WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
REHOVOT - ISRAEL Sx wo - miaing
PROF. L. DOSTROVSKY TpOAIAVOIT..7 “HWW
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Professor Joshua Lederberg 11th December, 1973

Dept. of Genetics

Stanford University Medical School
Stanford, Calif. 94305

U.S.A.

Dear Professor Lederberg,

It has been a long time since I wrote to you last. Many things have
happened since then to disrupt the normal flow of information, and also the normal
way of life in the Institute and in Israel.

We missed your presence at the meeting of the Board of Governors last
month. This was unusually well attended and the discussions were useful. Members
of the Board were given the opportunity to have a first hand report on the military
situation from General Gazit and also to visit some of the battle areas. I also re-
ported on the situation in the Institute and about our plans for closer integration and
involvement in problems arising from the continuing National Emergency. You must
have received by now the 'Report from Rehovot' No.6 which contains a summary of
the Board of Governors meeting.

So far the various predictions and estimates regarding the National
Emergency and its impact made at the Board of Governors meeting have proved
correct. The emergency situation will continue for many months to come and I
don't think we have really begun to feel the full impact yet. The number of people
serving in the forces has not changed significantly nor is it likely to change in the
near future. Nevertheless, it was decided, in coordination with the other institutions
of higher learning, to open the academic year of the graduate school on December 23,
and to continue it through the summer of 1974. The dean of the graduate school and
the various supervisors are making individual plans of study for each of our soldier-
students and we hope that in this way the loss of time will be minimized.

The country has not faced a prolonged state of emergency since 1949, and
it will require an extensive and painful readjustment in most aspects of our life. I

personally am convinced that this adjustment can be made - there is just no

of.

CABLE ADDRESS: WEIZINST (Israet) :D?p1an> yD PHONE: 951721 :yIByv
alternative - and its success depends largely on the morale of the people. So

our immediate attention must be directed to this matter. Among the factors

which go into the makings of the morale of a people is the demonstration that its
economic and cultural life is maintained in the face of adversity. The mere fact
that the Institute, the country's highest research centre, continues to function
effectively is already an important morale builder. It also increases the credibility
of our ability to resist both enemy and 'friendly' pressures. In addition, by in-
creasing the Institute's direct involvement in the solution of outstanding problems
both short range and long term, we help bolster up our physical ability to withstand
the long siege and the morale of the people.

This involvement of the Institute should not be confined only to scientific
and technological problems but should also extend to community matters in our
neighbourhood. In this way the Institute will not only be able to help solve many
difficulties but will also be able to spread a spirit of confidence and determination.

The building program is proceeding very slowly even in the four projects
which were approved by the Board. It is possible that with the resvlution of the
transportation difficulties in the near future, construction work will pick up speed.

On the more academic level, we have resumed the examination, interrupted
by the war, of the regrouping of some of the scientific activities so as to increase
the effectiveness of the Institute. In particular, we are now setting up an independ-
ent unit devoted to research in biological membranes. The leader of this group
will be Professor Ora Kedem and the members will be drawn from the Departments
of Polymers, Biophysics and Genetics. The optimal administrative framework for
this new group is now being evolved.

With kindest regards,
Sincerely,

> ha

I. Dostrovsky