JERUSALEM - UNESCO has suggested the Ministries of Defense and War Departments be renamed Peace and, in this vein, help unite Palestinian and Israeli researchers in molecular biology, infectious diseases and biotechnology.

Fifty participants joined the three-day UNESCO Workshop on Science for Peace at the Park Plaza Hotel here recently. UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The first day was devoted to scientists for peace in the Middle East, the highlight of which was the reading by Yechiel Becker, organizer, of the "Jerusalem Statement on Science for Peace," which advocates cooperation and free communication between scientists from all countries of the Middle East.

Becker, chairman of the Institute of Microbiology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is also director of the UNESCO-Hebrew University of Jerusalem International School for Molecular Biology and Microbiology.

Naim Iraki, director of UNESCO Bethlehem University Biotechnology Center, Palestinian Authority, along with Fuad Akad, convincingly pleaded the case for a regional program for plant virus detection, referring to the numerous scientists from many Arab countries who participated in courses on plant biotechnology held in the UNESCO center. Moien Kanaan, from Bethlehem University, and his collaborator, Karen Avraham, of Tel Aviv University, showed the genetic component in deafness in Palestinian and Israeli children. The research at Kanaan's laboratory was supported by the UNESCO Granada II Process.

Other clinical work was on the parasitology of Leishmanaisis, the vectors of human herpes virus 8, and the epidemiology of rabies virus supported by the UNESCO Granada II Process.

"It was heartening to see physicians from Gaza (Palestinian Authority) presenting joint cross-border research on the epidemiology of polio and enteroviruses," Becker said. "The participation of Palestinian scientists in this workshop indicates the importance of scientific cooperation. This would have been impossible without the Granada II Process and the support of UNESCO-Venice Office."

Stephen Fulder from the R&D Galilee Society presented its research activities on Arabic Traditional Medicine of the Middle Eastern Region and Jamal Mahajna gave an approach to cancer therapy.