Stephen Hawking concludes visit to Israel and Palestine

December 14, 2006 Professor Stephen Hawking today concluded his eight-day visit to Israel and Palestine. The visit was organised by the British Embassy and the British Council. The world-famous scientist and best-selling author of A Brief History of Time embodies the UK's scientific excellence and his visit has promoted Britain as the international partner of choice in science and technology collaboration.

Professor Hawking met with teenage scientists in an event organised by the British Council at the Bloomfield Museum of Science in Jerusalem on Sunday 10 December. Also on that day, Professor Hawking met the Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert.

This evening, December 14, Professor Hawking gave a public lecture to over 1,000 people at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on "The Origin Of the Universe."

In between he met other Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients and gave them courage.

He also visited the Jewish/Arab joint village of Neve Shalom/Wāĥat as-Salām, Tel Aviv University, Weizmann Institute of Science and the Birzeit University in Ramallah (in Palestine).