The plan for SESAME, or the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, is based on a facility operated by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, near Geneva.

Rabinovici said the SESAME project is allowing scientists from across the Middle East to collaborate despite hostile relations between some of their countries.

As well as Israel and Jordan, SESAME’s members include Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and the Palestinian Authority, as well as “observer” states from Europe, Britain, the U.S. and Japan, according to its website.

Rabinovici told AFP, “This program has scientific value and is also a platform that allows many states in the region to collaborate towards scientific goals. We work together towards goals that advance the interests of the entire region… thanks to the trust built between us over many years and without the pressures that dominate the political arena.”