In December Bill traveled to Israel, where he had been invited to give the 1998 Jonathon Magnes Lecture at the FISEB* meeting, which was held in the city of Eilat, on the shore of the Red Sea. The scientific conference was superb, and the accommodations were luxurious. A tour of the city turned up a kibbutz, and also the water purification plant where sea water is turned into abundant pure water in this land with annual rainfall of one-half inch. * FISEB = Federation of Israeli Societies of Experimental Biology

After the meeting ended, Bill went to Jerusalem. On Sunday he took a tour to the Dead Sea and the ancient fortress of Masada, in the Judean desert. During this time, President Clinton was visiting, and succeeded in bringing to exactly the same level two very disparate forces - the traffic in Jerusalem and the peace talks.

Another highlight for Bill was visiting his host, Rami Rahamimoff, and his students and colleagues, all of whom are his heroes. He gave another talk to the Department of Physiology, too.

On Bill's last night in Israel, there was a dinner attended by most of the department. Jonathon Magnes' widow and daughter also attended; they are shown with Rami at the top. The company and food were splendid, and Bill left with indelible and inspiring memories of a glorious trip, with the joy of having seen old colleagues, the pleasure of having made new friends, and the excitement of having heard about outstanding research, including new ideas for his own.