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10 Ellul 5761 - August 29, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Observations: Israel's Other Red Cities
by A. Yechiel

Until today Haifa was often known as "Red Haifa," because it waved the red flag of the Communist Party. But now another 19 towns and cities have also been defined as "red" in terms of the percentage of the male population suffering from cancer, and another 16 towns and cities fall into the same category in terms of the percentage of the female population suffering from cancer.

A "red city," according to the geographic mapping report of malignant diseases, is a place where the disease rate is among the highest in the country. According to the report, both lifestyle and environmental factors have a significant effect on the rate of disease. Leading the list with the highest rates were Carmiel, Kiryat Yam, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Bialik, Haifa, Ramat Hasharon, Tel Aviv, Givatayim, Nes Tziona, Kiryat Tivon and Arad.

In Rahat and Netivot, on the other hand, the disease rates were among the lowest. The report attributes the high cancer rate in Haifa and the surrounding area to the severe environmental pollution caused by power plants, refineries, factories and vehicle emissions.

Cancer experts speculate that there is a direct link between the pollution emitted from these factories and the risk of developing cancerous diseases.

The report did not provide a breakdown of the factors behind the differences in disease rates among the various towns and cities, but the frequency of malignant diseases is directly tied to socioeconomic status, with higher cancer rates among the higher classes.

Place of birth was also directly related to disease rates: immigrants from Europe and the US were in a higher risk group, while immigrants from African nations were in a lower risk group.

 

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