Peres on the tourist trail

After promoting tourism to the Negev and the Arava last week, President Shimon Peres is now turning his attention to the northern part of the country and on Monday will tour the Golan Heights.

He is scheduled to first visit Umm el-Kantir in the southwestern Golan, which in ancient times was an affluent Jewish village and which contains one of the oldest and most beautiful synagogues in the country. The synagogue, which dates back to the fifth century CE, was severely damaged by an earthquake in 749.

Rediscovered in recent years, it has been excavated and is currently undergoing restoration to make it fit for religious services. Peres will then fast forward towards the future when he visits the Hispin Midrasha which houses the College for Torah and Technology. He will host a question and answer session with the 600 students of the Midrasha, and the students will show the president some of the projects on which they have been working.

Next he will tour the GGA (Galilee Genetics Analysis) Laboratories, a relatively recent enterprise that specializes in genetic-sequencing analysis that enables early detection of breast cancer and other diseases. GGA also proves genetic links between individuals for legal purposes such as determining paternity.

It is the first laboratory of its kind in Israel and has obviated the need for sending samples for such testing to Europe. At GGA, Peres will be briefed on new developments in genetics, specifically a method of detecting cancer cells before they have had a chance to spread in the body.