Marina Boykis's Profile

Indeed, according to Military Intelligence, in the lull since Operation Cast Lead ended in January, Hamas has continued to improve the range and precision of its rockets.

The introduction of Iron Dome will enable the antiaircraft division - which in recent years had to do with aging Hawk and Patriot antimissile batteries - to assume a more central role.

The defense establishment does not reveal precise data, but a single Iron Dome battery should be able to protect a medium-sized city. One battery includes three to six launchers, each containing 20 Tamir missiles that can be fired at a rate of one per second. Ashkelon's residents are thus supposed to be able to sleep more peacefully once the system is in place.

In accordance with IAF demands, all components of Iron Dome are mobile. Officers boast that an entire Iron Dome battalion and the system can be transported from Gaza to the northern border within hours.

The forces that will operate Iron Dome, like those operating the Arrow and Patriot systems, sit at screens in air-conditioned rooms but their commanders insist on calling them "combat soldiers." This stems partly from the desire to attract what the IDF calls "quality" people to these units.

To get an outstanding score, a student must have a weighted average of 90 or above if he took exams in a total of 30 or more study units, and 95 or above if he took 25 to 30 units. Only a few thousand students every year meet this standard.

Ali Assadi, Albion's principal, said his school draws its students, most of whom are Muslim, from all over northern Israel. To be accepted, applicants must have had an average of 85 or higher in junior high.

none of the teachers have tenure: "If I see a burned-out or conservative teacher, I immediately get rid of him. The ability to choose the teachers affects the students' achievements."

Rabbi Oded Meislisch, Horev's principal, declined to say how much tuition the school charges, but acknowledged that there is an entry exam. He said the school places "a very strong emphasis on Torah combined with secular studies," and "the connection to values and excellence produces the results."

the National Water Carrier went into service in 1964

The level of the lake is currently about 45 centimeters lower than it was at this time last year, but it is unlikely it will maintain this level; the Water Authority predicts that the level will fall to 214.87 meters below sea level, lower than the "black line" below which the lake's pumps cannot operate properly.

high-quality water available to farmers from three basins: the Kinneret, the Yarkon-Taninim aquifer and the coastal aquifer.