For contents and article abstracts press on Sample pages which is located on the right of the cover photo. :Participants in this volume Dr. Matti Huss Prof. Uri Ehrlich Dr. Maoz Kahana Prof. Alexander Lubotzky Prof. Yair Lorberboim Prof. Yosef Ofer Prof. Menahem Kister Dr. Avraham (Rami) Reiner Dr. Avi Shmidman

The production of this issue of Korot has marked the completion of a lengthy program of study in aspects of infectious diseases in the Holy Land over the past century or so. My own studies in the management of trachoma by the Yishuv during the British Mandate illustrated many of the features which characterized the Zionist movement of the period. These included the sense of community care and of nation building and the concern to create a new society. For some years there had been plans to bring together the research conducted by various Israeli academics working in a range of university settings on aspects of infectious diseases into one printed forum. Therefore, this issue of Korot represents the fruits of many areas of study into many different diseases as they have affected the population of the Land of Israel, with an introduction by Nadav Davidovich and Rakefet Zalashik, who have long shared my determination that this collection of essays should be published within a single volume, which sets the scene for the essays which are included here. Korot has long had a reputation for stimulating research into many aspects of the Jews and medicine, and I have relished the opportunity afforded to me to work in Jerusalem as an active member of the Editorial Board in close conjunction with Professor Samuel Kottek and with Dr. Helena Paavilainen. Medical history in Israel continues to flourish in a number of different settings, and research continues in many contemporary fields, whether it relates to social aspects of health and disease, medicine and the Holocaust, or as we portray here, to the wider impact of infectious diseases on the land and its peoples. Having a special collection of essays in this issue is an occasion of significance for the study of medical history in Israel, and it underlines the importance of this journal in showcasing the best of Israeli studies in the history of medicine. This theme of infectious diseases is also represented in this issue by a collection of essays resulting from a Symposium entitled “A Leper is Like a Dead Person,” which was held at the Van Leer Institute on June 2, 2010. The meeting was sponsored by the School of Pharmacy, Hebrew University (Ein Karem campus) and by the National Center for Hansen’s Disease at Hadassah Hospital. Organized by Dr. Yisraela Nili, it brought together many different aspects of this enigmatic medical and sociological phenomenon from ancient times to modern Israel. As the editor of Vesalius: the Journal of the International Society for the History of Medicine I have had a first-hand opportunity to see the vitality of medical history studies around the world. Israeli researchers have taken a prominent role on the world stage whether in the Congresses and Meetings of the International Society or in the submitted articles to Vesalius. Professor Samuel Kottek has long been an honored figure in the International Society, and Professor Shifra Shvarts is the Society’s Business Manager. It was interesting to see at the recent International Society Congress in Padua/Abano the continuing presence of Jewish historical issues, from the enduring presence of Jewish medical students to the role of the converso physician. While there may be no independent entity of “Jewish medicine,” the confluence of the Jews and medicine remains an area of fascination which retains the power to excite, to instruct, and for us all to learn and to share. Thus, the Editorial Board of Korot is always open to original contributions and communications on the history of Jews and medicine, medicine in Jewish sources as well as medical history topics relating to Israel. Dr. Kenneth Collins, Guest Editor

The book Biblisch- talmudische Medizin , first published in Berlin, in 1911, is a unique life's bringing together a comprehensive knowledge in medicine, Jewish and general sources. The various chapters include a broad review of the world of medicine in the Bible and the Talmud in light of Jewish law, a detailed description of the biological organs, diseases of body and mind, deformities, gynecological and sexual. There are chapters on legal medicine, preventative medicine, health cures and dietetics. The material is also based on in-depth study of Bible, Mishnah, Talmudic and Rabbinic literature, Midrash, the External Books, the works of Joseph Ben Matityahu, the New Testament, as well as ancient and modern legal literature, Likewise illuminating sources from Greek and Latin literature, western medical literature, referencing hundreds of publications from the eighteen and nineteen hundreds were used. The writer Dr. Julius Preuss (1861-1913) was born in a small town in Prussia, in which his parents' house was the only Jewish family. He studied medicine in Berlin and was close to the orthodox Jewish community, where he acquired much of his extensive knowledge in Judaism. Over the years Preuss published over thirty articles on medicine and Judaism in various scientific journals, all the while maintaining a medical practice in the town of his birth and afterward in Berlin. He passed away two years after publishing his book in German, based on his articles. Preuss' book was translated into English by Dr. Fred Rosner (Biblical and Talmudic Medicine) and was published in the United State in 1978. At a conference on Jewish and medical law, which took place in Jerusalem in 1998, the book was quoted and it was indicated that a translation into Hebrew was sorely needed. The translator into Hebrew, Uri Wurzburger, remained loyal to the original German, at the same time expanding the quoted references appearing in the book and adding modern interpretations.

Scientific investigation is a cognitive activity, aimed at revealing the truth of nature. Politics is an activity of intent, aimed at realizing specific values derive from subjective judgment. Political activity by scientists is a necessity arising out of the bitter competition over resources. Uncontrolled competition may endanger the ability of science to realize its aims, and will consequently undermine the trust of the society on which its very existence is based. The synthesis between science and politics depends on the interrelationship between daring and humility. Daring is the basis of the drive towards vigorous effort to expose the truth of nature. Humility is the origin of self-discipline and cooperation between individuals. The premise of this book is that recognition of the narrative behind scientific achievements is vital for understanding the scientific enterprise. Besides theoretical discussion the book depicts and interprets case histories relating to the conflict between politics and science: among them, the notebooks of Pasteur, the land of Darwin, the double helix, the understanding of aspirin, lithium and bipolar disorder, and the association between autism and immunization.

The book examines the connection between the health system and the National Health Insurance Law and the change processes in Israeli society, as well as connections between economics and politics. The book discusses whether the National Health Insurance Law is part of the political factors, which are partial to the values of individualism and competition and are gaining strength in Israel.

Korot is unique as the only journal devoted to Jewish aspects of the history of medicine and science. To quote Prof. Leibowitz (z”l), one of the first initiators of Korot, the purpose of the publication is: ...preference for topics based on sources not readily accessible to our colleagues abroad in their researches. Avoiding, as far as possible, a narrow parochial approach, we hope to enlarge the knowledge of medical historical facts and concepts in a field often regarded as somewhat esoteric.1 It is our hope that the present volume of Korot has succeeded in this endeavor. Our special thanks are due to Dr. Kenneth Collins for his kind assistance in the proofreading stage. Our next issue will emphasize the subject of Jews and medicine in the Renaissance period, e.g., Tuviah Cohen and Yosef Shlomo Delmedigo. Our readers are warmly invited to submit articles connected with these subjects, but also any other historical essays related to Jewish aspects of the history of medicine and science, for publication. Letters to the editor and brief historical notes are also welcome.

This book deals with rheumatic diseases that are mainly diseases of the skeletal system and muscles. It contains comprehensive and up-to-date information on more than 120 acquired and congenital joint diseases, such as various arthritis, skeletal and spinal diseases, tendon issues, vascular infections, peripheral nerve injury syndromes, and more. The book is written in a simple, clear and comprehensible language. It lists the various symptoms of diseases, diagnostic methods, including laboratory tests and various imaging methods, various therapeutic approaches, including conventional drug therapies and alternative therapies. A special chapter in the book is devoted to common questions frequently asked by the patients and the answers to them. It also presents explanations of common terms and concepts in rheumatic diseases.

The Truth of Scientific Medicine is an attempt to deal with one of the crucial problems in modern medicine: the rapid rate of exchange of truths serving as the foundation of medical practice. Unstable truths are a source of skepticism and concern among many physicians. They are also one of the main reasons for the crisis undermining the trust between patient and physician. The quest for the truth in modern medicine passes through the six core concepts of scientific truth: paradigms, methods, borders, criteria, interpretation and inference. The author deliberates each of these concepts through concrete examples at three levels: the historical, the theoretical and the political. The issues serving as the basis of the discussion are of concern to the medical world, and appear at the core of professional and sometimes the public debate: management of coronary heart disease, treatment of bronchial asthma, hormone replacement in menopausal women, early detection of breast cancer, drug therapy for diabetes, conventional vs. alternative medicine.

This introductory book deals with the bonds created between German physicians and the Nazi biomedical vision based upon racial and eugenic conceptions. These ideological connections and the attitudes of many Nazi doctors, culminating in the actions of Mengele and other SS physicians in Auschwitz , may be described as a Medicalization of the Holocaust. In July 1933, the sterilization law was enacted. Under the pretext of war, the Nazi modus operandi was changed to medical murder. It strove to stop the spread of hereditary diseases by gassing to death sick people judged “unfit” to be included among “Aryan Germans”. Although officially abandoned in summer 1941, Hitler used the expertise gained by the medical murderers to design the “Final Solution”. Nazi physicians operated the first annihilation camps like Treblinka, while others initiated the process of Ghettoization, arguing that the Jews were spreading epidemics. The second part of this book depicts the courageous efforts of many Jewish doctors to resist annihilation. In many ghettos, Jewish doctors worked on behalf of the “Judenrat” to try keep people alive. A clandestine medical faculty functioning in the Warsaw ghetto was the pinnacle of Jewish intellectual resistance. Even in concentration camps, physicians attempted to sustain the basic creeds of medical ethics by protecting and saving patients. The last chapters of the book deal with the efforts to cope with the lessons of the Nazi misuse of medicine.

The publication of Korot 2007–2008 has to our regret been seriously delayed. There has, however, already been considerable interest toward the next issues, and thus we trust that Volume 20 will appear within the annual timetable. The main part of this issue of Korot consists of research reports from a workshop on the subject “History as Argument in Biomedicine: Representations of National Socialist ‘Euthanasia’ Between Politics and Historiography, ca. 1945–2000.” This workshop was part of a research project in the context of the Coordinated Research Program “Cultures of Memory” (Sonderforschungsbereich “Erinnerungskulturen”) located at the University of Giessen, Germany. The meeting took place in Beit Hagath in Ein Karem, Jerusalem, on January 29th, 2007. Other themes presented in this volume include questions on the experimental method and on reproductive choices as seen in Talmudic literature, on medieval Jewish physicians in the Arabic cultural area, on Karaite physicians, and on the relationship between modern medicine and the Kabbala, ending with the early stages of the medical profession in Eretz Israel. They thus cover nearly 2,000 years of Jewish medical history. The volume is, as usual, bilingual (English and Hebrew), with contributions from Germany, France and Finland, in addition to Israel. Korot is unique as the only journal devoted to Jewish aspects of the history of medicine and science. To quote Prof. Leibowitz (z”l), one of the first initiators of Korot, the purpose of the publication is: ...preference for topics based on sources not readily accessible to our colleagues abroad in their researches. Avoiding, as far as possible, a narrow parochial approach, we hope to enlarge the knowledge of medical historical facts and concepts in a field often regarded as somewhat esoteric.1 It is our hope that the present volume of Korot has succeeded in this endeavor. Our special thanks are due to Dr. Kenneth Collins for his kind assistance in the proofreading stage. Our next issue will emphasize the subject of Jews and medicine in the Renaissance period, e.g., Tuviah Cohen and Yosef Shlomo Delmedigo. Our readers are warmly invited to submit articles connected with these subjects, but also any other historical essays related to Jewish aspects of the history of medicine and science, for publication. Letters to the editor and brief historical notes are also welcome. Helena Paavilainen Guest editor