A Daily Analysis
By Marc Schulman

October 7, 2009 Jerusalem Quiet, Israeli Woman Wins Nobel Prize

Jerusalem was quiet today, without any Arab demonstrations. The arrest last night of the leader of Islamic Movement's northern branch, Sheikh Ra'ad Salah, did not cause new demonstrations; he was released to his home in Um El Fahem and forbidden to return to Jerusalem for 30 days.

The major event in the city was a competition in Gan Sacker (the park below the Knesset) by vehicles without engines, to which thousands attended.

Israel celebrated the announcement today that Ada Yonah, who became the first Israeli woman to receive a Noble Prize. She shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry with two Americans. She was awarded the prize for studies on the structure of the ribosome. She is the ninth20Israeli to receive a Nobel Prize, the first being the writer Shai Agnon. Professor Yona had a her major breakthrough in 2001 and she is now 70, so it’s encouraging for those of us over 30 that not all great work is done by the young.

It is very hard to predict what will happen with Iran in the next few weeks. A bad sign could be how happy Ahmadinejad seems to be. He certainly seems to feel negotiations are going well with the West. Meanwhile planning is going forward for the largest joint Israeli-American military exercise in history. Four Stars Admiral, the commander of the US Sixth Fleet, Mark Fitzgerald arrived in Israel. He will be there for almost a month and will be commanding the exercise. This is the first time such a high ranking officer will be in charge of such an exercise. 15 US ships and a large number of troops are participating in the exercise as well.