JERUSALEM, Jan. 7 (JTA) — A recent visitor to Israel
observed the following scenario: He was at a restaurant when he
noticed two people sitting across from each other at a nearby table. Each was talking into a cradled cellular telephone against his ear. Since they were speaking at the same time, the visitor concluded that they were not speaking to each other. Stories like these abound. Indeed, cellular phone use has become ubiquitous — some would say oppressive — in Israel. It is virtually impossible in the country’s cities to get through a restaurant meal or a movie without hearing cellular phone rings and conversations. Now Israelis will find out if their obsession with cellular phones could lead to health problems. The Jewish state will participate in a World Health Organization study on whether the use of a cellular phone can lead to an increase in brain tumors. A recent study in the Australian Medical Journal suggested a link between the increased use of cellular phones and an increased number of such tumors in Australia.
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