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Knesset Members in this article: Ariel Sharon Uri Selai – Yediot Ahronot25/02/2004 Israeli-Jordanian relations have taken a giant step forward.
A huge science center for Israeli and Jordanian students will be built near the Arava road, outside Ein Yahav, in the coming years. The center will straddle the international border, and will work on joint scientific projects, while bringing people closed together. Israel and Jordan will each allocate 300 dunam (75 acres) for the science center, which will have a kind of extra-territorial status.
Bridging the Rift Foundation, headed by Israeli tycoon Mati Kochavi, 42, is behind the ambitious project. Kochavi has resided in New York in recent years. and Jordanian government officials and senior Jordan Army officers.
The cost of the project is estimated at tens of millions of dollars.
The idea is for the center to finance peoples’ stays at the center, and the planning and fund-raising for specific projects.
Plans for the science center have lasted for five years, but were kept confidential for fear that radicals and opponents of peace from both sides would torpedo the project. All the parties involved have signed pledges and the Israeli and Jordanian governments have allocated land for the center. Jordan King Abdullah II, a full partner in establishing the center, wants to stress its importance.
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Found At: (Mati Kochavi) http://archive.globes.co.il/searchgl/Bridging%20the%20Rift%20Foundation,%20headed%20by%20Mati%20Kochavi,_s_hd_0L3OnE34qN3StD3OpDIveT6ri.html