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approval by 31 July. There was considerablepraise for Israel’s commitment to the projectwithout bidding to host the facility, out ofrecognition that a centre in Israel wouldattract little participation from many of itsneighbours.

“The project would not work withoutIsrael,” says Siegbert Raither of the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (Unesco), which hosted lastweek’s meeting. “Israel is a very importantingredient to the scientific success of thisinstitution,” he says.

Participants at the meeting acknowl-edged that funding is now their biggest pri-ority. But raising the required amount — atleast US$30 million — will not be easy.

722 NATURE | VOL 399 | 24 JUNE 1999 | www.nature.com

[PARIS] A proposal for an internationalresearch centre in the Middle East, builtaround a synchrotron to be donated by Ger-many, was officially launched at a meeting inParis last week. Bids to host the centre weresubmitted by Turkey, Cyprus, Iran, the Pales-tinian Authority and Egypt.

A final decision on the location will betaken by an interim governing council,including two representatives from each ofthe candidate countries (see Nature 399,507–508; 1999).

Delegates have promised to support theproject even if the site does not fall in theirhome country. In a bid to accelerate theapproval process, the meeting called onstates in the Middle East to confirm their

Funds for the projectare unlikely to emergeuntil a decision hasbeen made on the centre’s location. Thisis partly because West-ern governments maybe reluctant to commitmoney to a centre inany country wherediplomatic ties areweak.

The proposal isbased around an offer from Germany todonate BESSY-1, a 14-year-old, fully func-tioning, 0.8 GeV synchrotron in Berlin. ButGermany may not be prepared to commit theextra costs of dismantling the machine forlater use without a firm indication that thecentre will be funded.

“The BESSY directorate is looking for aquick decision, as there is a [financial] differ-ence between the machine being scrapped or being dismantled for further use,” saysHerwig Schopper, a former director-generalof the European Laboratory for ParticlePhysics (CERN). Schopper, who was electedpresident of the project’s interim council lastweek, emphasizes that the timetable is tight.BESSY-1 is due to be taken out of service atthe end of the year.

Potential sources of funding include theEuropean Union and the Middle Eastfinance package tied to the Wye Agreement,which is working its way through the USCongress. President Bill Clinton is under-stood to have requested $1.2 billion forIsrael, $400 million for the PalestinianAuthority and $300 million for Jordan.

Observers believe that the costs of the warin Kosovo could mean that Congress isunlikely to agree to the sum requested byClinton. And most of the Wye package isunderstood to be earmarked for roads, hos-pitals and schools. William McIlhenny, theUS government’s permanent observer toUnesco, says a key question is whether gov-ernments are prepared to allocate large sumsfor a synchrotron facility instead of morepressing problems such as clean water andsewage disposal.

A centre based in the Palestinian Auth-ority is likely to be convenient for Israel. Butthe Palestinian bid, along with those fromother candidate hosts — except Egypt, andpossibly Iran — will need significant exter-nal financing.

But, despite the difficulties, participantsleft Paris in optimistic mood. “With theresponse we’ve gotten, and Unesco’s strongsupport, I am convinced that we will get themoney,” says Herman Winick of the StanfordLinear Accelerator Centre in California, oneof the project’s co-founders. Heather McCabe

Five bid to host Middle East synchrotron

Israel ‘must relax technology transfer law’[JERUSALEM] Orna Berry, chief scientist inIsrael’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry,acknowledged last week that the country’slaw on research and development (R&D)needs to be revised to take into accountchanges in intellectual property rights andtechnology exports.

Her statement reflects growing pressureon the government to liberalize its policyon technology transfer, and to liftrestrictions requiring the application ofgovernment-funded research to take placeprimarily in Israel.

Berry says that her office is planning tosubmit to the new Knesset, the Israeliparliament, proposals to modify the R&Dlaw to allow greater flexibility in theexploitation of government-fundedresearch. But many in the country’s high-tech industries argue that the proposedchanges do not go far enough.

Speaking at a seminar at Ben-GurionUniversity in Be’ersheva, Berry said that,although she has much flexibility under thecurrent law, she would prefer to see thesepolicies inserted explicitly into the law.

According to government officials, themain problem with intellectual propertyrights in Israel is that companies are oftenunaware of the value of their ideas, and sellthem overseas too cheaply. One officialestimates that there are 30 such cases a year.

Berry argues that the R&D law needs tobe changed to defend Israel’s intellectualproperty, but without restricting themarketplace. For example, the law requiresthat a company receiving an R&D grantfrom the government must carry out itsproduction in Israel or return the grant.This dissuades some start-up companiesthat expect to need overseas partnershipfrom applying for government assistance.

Berry supports this requirement as

necessary to job creation in Israel. But sheacknowledges that there are cases in whichoverseas production is more profitable, andargues that the law should be changed toallow for them. It should also help Israelifirms to acquire the managerial andmarketing know-how needed to make localproduction profitable, she said.

Another gap in the law concerns mergersand acquisitions. Companies that receivegrants must pay royalties to the governmentout of their sales. But many companies arebought by foreign companies before there isany production, and the government losesits investment.

Berry wants the law changed so thatcompanies bought out in this way must stillrepay their grants. Her insistence that mosthigh-tech production should be carried outin Israel was criticized by many industryrepresentatives at the seminar, especiallythose involved in biotechnology, whereinvestors and industrialists see overseasproduction and marketing as importantelements in developing Israel’s potential.

Critics argue that, although Israel’s lifescientists produce good research, the localmanagement and marketing expertiseneeded to turn research into commercialproducts is lacking. “No government policyin the world has made a difference forbiotechnology — it all comes from themarket,” said Ehud Geller of Medica VenturePartners, a biotech venture-capital firm.

Geller said that the Israeli governmentshould let the market do its work, includingallowing foreign companies to acquireIsraeli technologies.

Geller said pension funds and insurancecompanies — the largest investors in thecountry — invest almost nothing in biotechbecause of government restrictions andnegative incentives. Haim Watzman

Schopper: keen for a quick decision.

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