  Stellar abundances of cerium are of high current interest based both on
observations and theoretical models, especially with regard to the
neutron--magic $^{140}$Ce isotope. A large discrepancy of $s-$process stellar
models relative to cerium abundance observed in globular clusters was
highlighted, pointing to possible uncertainties in experimental nuclear
reaction rates. In this work, the stellar neutron capture cross section of the
stable cerium isotopes $^{136}$Ce, $^{138}$Ce, $^{140}$Ce, and $^{142}$Ce, were
re-measured. A $^{nat}$Ce sample was irradiated with quasi-Maxwellian neutrons
at $kT = 34.2$ keV using the $^{7}$Li($p,n$) reaction. The neutron field with
an intensity of $3-5 \times 10^{10}$ n/s was produced by irradiating the
liquid-lithium target (LiLiT) with a mA proton beam at an energy (1.92 MeV)
just above the threshold at Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility
(SARAF). The activities of the $^{nat}$Ce neutron capture products were
measured using a shielded High Purity Germanium detector. Cross sections were
extracted relative to that of the $^{197}$Au(n,$\gamma$) reaction and the
Maxwellian-averaged cross section (MACS) of the Ce isotopes were derived. The
MACS values extracted from this experiment are generally consistent with
previous measurements and show for $^{140}$Ce a value $\approx 15$\% smaller
than most recent experimental values.
