Israel Institute for Biological Research
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Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) is an Israeli research and development laboratory IIBR website
/ref> It is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's Office that works in close cooperation with Israeli government agencies. IIBR has many public projects on which it works with international research organizations (governmental and non-governmental) and universities. It has approximately 350 employees, 150 of whom are scientists. Its research findings are often published in national and international scientific publications. It is widely believed to be involved in the manufacturing of biological and chemical weapons. The IIBR is currently developing a COVID-19 vaccine Brilife.


History

IIBR originated with Hemed Bet, the
Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...
biological warfare unit, which Alexander Kenyan, then a microbiology student, established in
Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
in February 1948, shortly before Israeli independence, at the direction of
Yigael Yadin Yigael Yadin ( he, יִגָּאֵל יָדִין ) (20 March 1917 – 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981. B ...
, the Haganah's chief operations officer.
Ephraim Katzir Ephraim Katzir ( he, אפרים קציר, translit=Efrayim Katsir; – 30 May 2009) was an Israeli biophysicist and Labor Party politician. He was the fourth President of Israel from 1973 until 1978. Biography Efraim Katchalski (later Katzir ...
was Hemed Bet's first commander. The institute in its current form was founded in 1952, after Hemed Bet relocated to an orange grove near
Ness Ziona Ness Ziona ( he, נֵס צִיּוֹנָה, ''Nes Tziyona'') is a town in central Israel. In it had a population of , and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams (). History Early history Lying within Ness Ziona's city bounds is the ruin of an Arab vi ...
. It was founded partly in a former
Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
mansion of
Wadi Hunayn Wadi Hunayn ( ar, وادي حنين) was a Palestinian people, Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine, Ramle Subdistrict, located 9 km west of Ramla. According to a local tradition, it was named after the Yemen ...
. Among the founders were Professor
Ernst David Bergmann Ernst David Bergmann ( he, ארנסט דוד ברגמן; 1903 – April 6, 1975) was an Israeli nuclear scientist and chemist. He is often considered the father of the Israeli nuclear program. Biography Ernst David Bergmann was born in Ger ...
, Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...
's science adviser and the head of R&D at the Ministry of Defense. Keynan was IIBR's first director. Some of the fields in which IIBR conducts research include: * Medical diagnostic techniques * Mechanisms of pathogenic diseases * Vaccines and pharmaceuticals * Protein and enzyme synthesis and engineering * Process biotechnology * Air pollution risk assessment * Environmental detectors and biosensors The institute is widely suspected of being involved in developing chemical and biological weapons. It is also assumed that the Institute develops vaccines and antidotes for such weapons. While refusing to confirm it, Israel is widely suspected of having developed offensive biological and chemical weapons capabilities, and the Israeli intelligence service Mossad is known to have used biological weapons in assassination missions. Israel has not signed the
Biological Weapons Convention The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and toxin weapons by prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpil ...
and has signed but not ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. Marcus Klingberg, the highest-ranking spy for the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
ever caught in Israel, served as the IIBR's Deputy Scientific Director. He had joined the IIBR in 1957 and served as Deputy Scientific Director until 1972 as well as Head of the Department of Epidemiology until 1978. He was arrested in 1983 and convicted of
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
. His arrest and sentencing was kept a secret for over a decade.
El Al Flight 1862 On 4 October 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft of the then state-owned Israeli airline El Al, crashed into the Groeneveen and Klein-Kruitberg flats in the Bijlmermeer (colloquially "Bijlmer") neighbourhood (part of Amsterda ...
, which crashed in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in 1992, was carrying cargo destined for the Israel Institute for Biological Research which included 190 litres of
dimethyl methylphosphonate Ethane ( , ) is an organic chemical compound with chemical formula . At standard temperature and pressure, ethane is a colorless, odorless gas. Like many hydrocarbons, ethane is isolated on an industrial scale from natural gas and as a petroc ...
, which (among many other uses) could be used in the synthesis of Sarin nerve gas, and is now a Chemical Weapons Convention schedule 2 chemical. Israel stated that the material was non-toxic, was to have been used to test filters that protect against chemical weapons, and that it had been listed on the cargo manifest in accordance with international regulations. The Dutch foreign ministry confirmed that it had already known about the presence of chemicals on the aircraft. According to the chemical weapons site CWInfo the quantity involved was "too small for the preparation of a militarily useful quantity of Sarin, but would be consistent with making small quantities for testing detection methods and protective clothing". According to British intelligence writer Gordon Thomas, the facility is surrounded by a high concrete wall topped with sensors, and armed guards patrol its perimeter. No aircraft are allowed to overfly the facility, and it does not appear on any map or telephone directory of the area. Inside the facility, code words and visual identification control access to each area, and there are numerous bombproof sliding doors that can only be opened by swipe cards whose codes are changed every day. Corridors inside the facility are patrolled by guards. Many of the research facilities are deep underground. All employees and their families undergo intense health checks every month.Thomas, Gordon: ''Gideon's Spies: The secret history of the Mossad'' (1999)


Life Science Research Israel

Life Science Research Israel (LSRI), a subsidiary of IIBR, is dedicated to the commercial exploitation of innovative technologies developed by IIBR. According to its 2000 annual report, the 2000 budget was 16.6 million NIS (about US$4 million), with revenues of 12.9 million NIS (US$3 million).מ"עב םייחה יעדמ רקחל תילארשיה הרבחה (in Hebrew)
/ref>


See also

* Israel and weapons of mass destruction


External links


Israel Institute for Biological Research
- official website
Israel and Chemical/Biological Weapons: History, Deterrence, and Arms Control
- Avner Cohen

- GlobalSecurity.org

- Nuclear Threat Initiative, information about IIBR's founding
Israeli WMD - Israel's Weapons of Mass Destruction
ZNet Z Communications is a left-wing activist-oriented media group founded in 1986 by Michael Albert and Lydia Sargent.Max Elbaum''Revolution in the Air: Sixties Radicals Turn to Lenin, Mao and Che'' London, England, UK; New York, New York, US: Vers ...
, October 11, 2002
LSRI annual report, 2000
(in Hebrew)


References

{{authority control Research institutes in Israel Multidisciplinary research institutes Ness Ziona Biological research institutes 1952 establishments in Israel Research institutes established in 1952