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Demystifying Zohar Diabetes and Stress Entrepreneurial Potency Officers of Tel Aviv University

Robert Goldberg Chairman of the Board of Governors Dov Lautman Chairman of the Executive Council Prof. Zvi Galil President Prof. Dany Leviatan Rector Mordechai Cohen Director-General Dr. Gary Sussman Vice President Prof. Hagit Messer-Yaron Vice President for Research & Development

Dr. Raymond R. Sackler, STOP PRESS Michael H. Steinhardt Honorary Chairmen of the Board of Governors Dr. h.c. Karl Heinz-Kipp, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors Dr. h.c. Josef Buchmann, Stewart M. Colton, Dr. h.c. Raya Jaglom, John Landerer, Hugo Ramniceanu, Adolfo Smolarz, Melvin S. Taub Vice Chairmen of the Board of Governors

Prof. Raanan Rein Vice Rector Prof. Shimon Yankielowicz Pro-Rector Prof. Hannah Naveh Dean of the Yolanda and David Katz Faculty of the Arts TAU Innovators among Global Top 50 Prof. Ehud Heyman Dean of the Iby and Aladar Fleischman Pictured from left, Prof. Beka Solomon of the Faculty of Engineering George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Prof. Haim J. Wolfson Dean of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob and Dr. Itay Baruchi Faculty of Exact Sciences of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty Prof. Shlomo Biderman Dean of the Lester and Sally Entin of Exact Sciences were included among this Faculty of Humanities year’s top technology pioneers by Scientific Prof. Hanoch Dagan Dean of the Buchmann Faculty of Law American. See page 21. Prof. Yoel Kloog Dean of the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences Prof. Asher Tishler Dean of the Faculty of Management—Leon Recanati Graduate School of Business Administration Prof. Yoseph Mekori Dean of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine Prof. Noah Lewin-Epstein Dean of the Gershon H. Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences Prof. Yoav Ariel Dean of Students Prof. David Menashri Dean for Special Programs Cover Story: This Land Is Your Land 2 From charting the prehistoric ancestors of the Israelites to predicting earthquakes along the Dead Sea Fault, TAU researchers are providing fresh perspectives on the history of the land of Israel. Sleuthing Out the Genealogy of Zohar 12 Decades of painstaking study by a TAU scholar is resulting in the first Using Knowledge to authoritative version of the greatest work of Jewish mysticism. TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW Change Lives 10 Winter 2007/08 Winter An outreach program wholly taught by TAU students is the first in Israel Issued by the Marketing Communications Office to target society's most distressed Development and Public Affairs Division groups. Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel Tel: +972 3 6408249 Fax: + 972 3 6407080 E-mail: [email protected] Architecture and Website: www.tau.ac.il Technology of the Editorial staff for TAU Review and Insider Future 14 Editor: Louise Shalev Philosophy and architecture? Contributors: Rava Eleasari, Talma Agron, This is one of the unusual study combinations that have gained Pauline Reich, Ruti Ziv, Karin Kloosterman, Jessica recognition for TAU doctoral Steinberg, Ilana Teitelbaum, Gil Zohar students. Graphic Design: Dalit Pessach Dio’olamot Graphics: TAU Graphics Design Studio/ Michal Semo-Kovetz sections Photography: Development and Public Affairs Division Photography Department/Michal Roche Ben Ami, Michal Kidron innovations 15 Additional Photography: Yoram Reshef; Israel Images/Duby Tal, Serge Attal; Itzik Baran Illustrations/Graphics: Raffael Blumenberg, digest 20 Martin Mendelsberg Administrative Coordinator: Pauline Reich Administrative Assistant: Roy Polad newsmakers 27 Translation Services: Sagir Translations Printing: Eli Meir Printing books 28 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW Winter 2007/08

As the State of Israel celebrates 60 years, TAU Review reports cover story cover on some of the pioneering work of TAU scientists researching the land of Israel – the little slip of real estate that links Africa to Asia, that 120 million years ago lay under the sea, that fostered monotheism, and that today still lacks recognized borders This land

Land of Israel studies can tution in the world,” says Prof. Hagit Plant fossil from Lower be summed up in one snappy phrase: Messer-Yaron, TAU Vice President Cretaceous Natural history meets Jewish history. for Research and Development. sandstone, southern From studying live fallow The following is a sampling of five Israel deer – mentioned in the Book of areas that represent the wide scope of By Gil Zohar Deuteronomy, to weighing in on research being pursued at TAU. problems of water supply and bor- ders, hundreds of TAU scientists and scholars are contributing to a vast and fascinating body of knowledge that includes zo- ology, botany, anthropology, archeology, religious studies, geology, geography and Zionist history, among numerous other fields. “TAU pursues the most diverse and comprehensive research into ancient and contemporary Israel – the land itself – than any other insti-

 is your land

TAU pursues the most diverse and comprehensive research into ancient and contemporary Israel – the land itself – than any other institution in the world. Extinct: Israel Hershkovitz, who This The country’s specimen heads the collection, de- is the last scribes it as “providing cheetah to biodiversity bank hard evidence of human- Long before biodiversity and be hunted down in kind’s biological, medical ecology were buzz words in a world the Middle East, in and cultural development straining to counteract rapid human cover story cover the early in the land of Israel.” Prof. development, scholars at TAU and its 1900s. Cheetahs Hershkovitz, who holds predecessor institutions were record- once freely the Tassia and Dr. Joseph ing Israel’s natural history. Going roamed the Meychan Chair in the back seven decades, Prof. Heinrich southern History and Philosophy of Mendelssohn – one of the founders part of Israel. Medicine, is now search- of TAU – was obsessed with docu- trophy drove it into extinction in the ing for early modern menting and preserving the country’s eastern Mediterranean. The collec- humans in the Carmel region in a fast-shrinking flora and fauna. “His tion, which was in a state of decay, project that was initiated by the Dan influence has been incredible,” says is being expertly restored at TAU by David Foundation. Prof. Tamar Dayan, a zoologist at Igor Gavrilov, one of Israel’s most Alon Barash, a doctoral student in TAU’s George S. Wise Faculty of Life skilled taxidermists, who learned his anthropology who helps maintain the Sciences. “It took a lot of foresight to craft in the Soviet Union before im- collection, notes that graduate stu- do something like that in the 1930s.” migrating from Tajikistan. dents come from all over the world to The work Mendelssohn initiated The university’s collection of an- study it. “The university allows them then is flourishing today as Israel’s cient human remains is the largest to work with the original artifacts, National Collections of Natural in Israel and one of the largest in the which is unusual,” he says. History, housed at TAU and directed world, comprising thousands of skel- Among the rarest objects is a skel- by Prof. Dayan. This unparalleled etons dating from prehistoric times. eton in which the ulna bone has been scientific resource is made up of mil- TAU evolutionary anthropologist sawed off; in the 8th century BCE, lions of specimens of animal and plant life ranging from deep sea Mediterranean fish to marine algae, from early human fossils to inverte- brates, and from insects to Red Sea corals. Over 2,500 scientific papers have been based on the collections, which attract an average of 300 re- searchers from Israel and abroad each year. In recognition of this unique TAU treasure, the Israel Antiquities Authority transferred its collection of human bones from its Rockefeller Museum headquarters in Jerusalem to TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine. Similarly, Schmidt Girls College in East Jerusalem has given the uni- versity on permanent loan its centu- ry-old taxidermy collection. Among the stuffed animals is the region’s very last cheetah, as well as the last Arabian Oryx before hunters seek- ing the long-horned mammal as a

 Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

Assyrian troops hacked off the hands BCE. Rak has explored the Kabara their safe preservation and planned of killed enemy soldiers and shipped Cave on Mount Carmel – the south- growth, promote scientific research, them back to their Tigris-Euphrates ernmost point where Neanderthal and allow the public to share these homeland as testimony of their victo- bones have been discovered, and sites treasures. Major funding for the ry over the Kingdom of Israel. Other in a cave near Safed where he found project has already been raised from Michael Steinhardt, the former Chairman of TAU’s Board of Governors, and a private foun- dation. I’m not saying they were playing cards together, “Once a building is in place, but Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens lived in TAU will serve as Israel’s larg- the same caves – at different times.” est center for biodiversity and conservation research and ed- ucation, integrating activities treasures include the earliest cases of the skeleton of a Neanderthal baby in at our laboratories, I. Meier successful neurosurgery, known as 1993. Segals Garden for Zoological trephination; the largest collection The land of Israel was the south- Research and Botanic Gar- of hunter-gatherer specimens in the ernmost locale to which Neanderthals dens,” Prof. Dayan says. world; and examples of biblical dis- retreated as Ice Age glaciers covered eases such as leprosy. Europe, says Rak, who is incumbent of the Igor Orenstein Chair at TAU. Where Neanderthal meets At roughly the same time, Homo sa- Predicting the Homo sapiens piens was emerging from Africa, and “Big One” TAU paleontologist and anthropol- TAU owns the oldest skull of modern 31 BCE; 363, 749 and 1033 CE ogist Yoel Rak’s area of specialization man outside of that continent, found are the dates of major earthquakes covers the period 100,000 to 40,000 in a cave near Nazareth. that occurred in the land of Israel “I’m not saying they were playing in recorded history. “Roughly we’re cards together, but Neanderthals and talking about an interval of every 400 early Homo sapiens lived in the same years,” says TAU geologist Dr. Shmuel caves – at different times.” Their flint Marco of the Raymond and Beverly tools, he notes, are nearly identical. Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences. “It’s not inconceivable that the two The next big one is overdue, he says, groups saw each other occasionally, citing seismographic patterns in the especially in this region.” Dead Sea region recorded in histori- Rak’s current research passion is cal documents. the Neanderthal mandible. Widening The Dead Sea fault runs along a his mouth to illustrate the point, he 1,000 kilometer-long fracture in the says the huge gap in the Neanderthal Earth’s crust, which includes the Gulf mouth was considerably bigger than of Eilat, the Arava and the Jordan, that of modern man. He is using re- Kinneret and Hula valleys. The fault verse engineering to deconstruct the generates frequent earthquakes, ex- Out of Africa way the surviving jaw bone fragments plains Marco. “If the Earth continues The oldest skull of modern man worked. to behave the way it has, the simplest found outside Africa, in a Nazareth “We’re trying to figure out the answer to the question, ‘Where will cave, is examined by Tisch Fellow functional significance of the very pe- there be an earthquake?’ is where they Assaf Marom, an MD-PhD student culiar jaw of the Neanderthal.” have occurred in the past. This comes in evolutionary anatomy, and Avigail Prof. Dayan is optimistic that as no surprise to geologists. The only Ben-Dov Segal, a TAU graduate the National Collections of Natural surprise is when.” with an MSc in behavioral ecology. History will soon be housed properly Recently a series of mild earth- in a new building to be constructed quakes shook Israel averaging 4.1 on on the TAU campus that will enable the Richter scale. While these seismic  events helped release the tremendous pent-up pressure of two of the Earth’s plates grinding against each other as they drift in opposite directions, the underlying danger of a major earth- quake remains, warns Marco. Secrets of “When it strikes – and it will Tekhelet – a quake could cause vast dam- Henk Mienis, an age throughout the region includ- advisor to the mollusk ing in cities like Amman, Ramallah, collection within TAU’s Bethlehem and Jerusalem,” he pre- Department of Zoology, dicts. has a colorful story – but According to fellow TAU seismolo- it’s all in hues of royal gist Dr. Hillel Wust-Bloch, entire cit- purple and blue. Mienis ies situated on the Dead Sea fault that is an expert on tekhelet were built cheaply in the 1940s and – the little understood 1950s are “vulnerable.” These include dye referred to 48 times Eilat, Beit Shean, Tiberias and Kiryat in the Bible that colored Shmona. the tassels of the ritual prayer shawl. According to the Talmud, tekhelet is a specific azure dye pro- duced from a sea crea- When it strikes – and ture known as a chilazon. Rabbinic sages ruled it will – a quake could that other blue dyes cause vast damage were unacceptable. But throughout the region. as the Jews emigrated from the land of Israel in late antiquity, the source Better Dead than Red of the precious dye was Like Marco and Wust-Bloch, lost. Since then, Jews TAU’s Prof. Zvi Ben Avraham has an have worn plain white abiding fascination for the Dead Sea prayer shawls with un- region – the lowest point on the face colored tassels. of the planet at 420 meters below sea Over the past 120 level. years several theories were presented for reviving the biblical process of dyeing the That interest led Ben Avraham, tassels, among them one proposed by Israel’s first chief rabbi, Isaac Herzog, father of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler of Israel’s sixth President Chaim Herzog. He believed that the violet pelagic snail, Faculty of Exact Sciences, to bring a Janthina janthina, was the source of the ritual tekhelet. mini-submarine in 1999 to explore These theories have now been rejected and instead the banded rock-snail depths of 200 meters underwater. Hexaplex trunculus has been identified as the source of the biblical dye. A species The submersible boat’s color? found on the rocky coast of the Mediterranean, the snail secretes a fluid from its Yellow of course. Today, Ben Avraham directs Henk hypobranchial gland that was used by the Phoenicians to produce royal blue or Mienis with Tyrian purple. Today this dye is deemed acceptable by various religious groups for TAU’s multidisciplinary Minerva Hexaplex trunculus producing ritual prayer shawls with biblical blue tassels. Dead Sea Research Center and holds the Mikhael Moshe Nebenzahl and Dr. Amalia Grossberg Chair in Geodynamics. He collaborates at the center with fellow experts from  Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

Jordan’s National Research Authority in Amman, universities in Jordan, A TAU yellow and Palestinian professors from Al- submarine Najah University in Nablus and Al- explores the Dead Sea Quds University in East Jerusalem. Together they examine the area’s climate change, geological structure, tectonic evolution and seismic his- tory. Ben Avraham is a consultant to the World Bank’s current feasibility study on building the Red-Dead Canal. The 200 kilometer-long conduit would pump sea water from Aqaba up to the up, he responds. While the southern feature is an inner casemate wall sur- Arava Valley where it would undergo section is already an artificial lake rounded by an outer solid wall which desalinization before turning the tur- held behind earth dams, the northern is unlike remains at similar sites from bines of a hydro-electric dam. Water half will continue to subside a further that period. would cascade into the depleted Dead 100 meters. At that point, which he Piecing together the unusual ar- Sea, where it would slowly raise the predicts will arrive in approximately cheological finds and architectural water level. A fresh water reservoir two centuries, the even denser satu- grandeur with the historical writings, rated water will achieve a new equi- Lipschits has deduced that Ramat librium between winter rain runoff Rachel was an Assyrian, and later also and evaporation. Persian government center, a colonial Prof. Shmuel headquarters from which the empires Marco looks ruled Judah as a vassal province. for clues of ancient Ramat Rachel earthquakes Foreign rule in the sediment revisited Another indication of the non-Ju- of a rock Most Israelis are familiar with the dean usage of the site can be found in formation capital – the decorative top of a 2,700 the soil samples found across it; Terra year-old column – that is pictured on Rosa soil brought up from the valleys would also allow for major irrigation the country’s five shekel coin and that covered the hilltop site to a depth of projects, and contribute to solving was unearthed in Ramat Rachel, just 50 centimeters. Lipschits explains the growing drinking water crisis in south of Jerusalem, by Prof. Yohanan that just as the Assyrian, Babylonian Jordan and Israel. Aharoni, the founder of the archeol- and Persian rulers favored royal gar- Ben-Avraham has reservations ogy institute at TAU. dens with exotic trees imported from about the project: “We have to give That imposing capital, like Ramat across the empire, so too they had a deep thought to whether a canal is the Rachel itself, is an anomaly in the ar- taste for lush gardens with water- solution. Should an earthquake oc- cheology of Judah at the end of the falls. “The hypothesis is that Ramat cur, it would rupture the canal’s pipes Iron Age. This was the time of the Dr. Oded Rachel was an administrative center Lipschits and contaminate important aquifers,” Judean kings Hezekiah, Menasseh he warns. Instead he favors restoring and Josiah, says Dr. Oded Lipschits, a the equilibrium of fresh water flowing TAU archeologist at the Entin Faculty south from the Jordan and Yarmuk of Humanities, who heads the exca- rivers – which offsets the evapora- vations at Ramat Rachel. But while tion of the Dead Sea during the tor- only one capital has been discovered rid summers. Without that flow, the in Jerusalem, 12 have been found at Dead Sea level is currently dropping a Ramat Rachel. Furthermore, the site meter annually. stands out for its magnificent window What if that flow is not restored? balustrades, huge palace and gardens, The Dead Sea will never entirely dry pools and tunnels. Another unusual  cover story  include hundreds of stamped handles handles ofstamped hundreds include These period. Persian the from sions impres stamp of corpus second a on excavations, book a completing now earlier is Lipschits Aharoni’s of of occupation. foreign symbol ed site the a hat as destroyed Maccabees Thiswhy wouldLipschits. explain the Temple,”explains First the of center cultic the from far rulers, foreign for subject issupervised byProfessors Israel FinkelsteinandNadavNa’aman. Judaic caravantown, saysThareani-Sussely, whosedoctoraldissertationonthe how theJudeanrulersenabledother ethnicgroups tocoexist peacefullyina coast. Thelargest source ofEdomitepotteryinthelandIsrael,siteshows through Edom,theArava,Beershebavalley, Negev, thewestern andontothe merce andadministrationalongthetraderoute thatstretched from south Arabia BCE JudeansiteofTel ‘Aroer intheNegevdesert.Thesitewasacenterofcom of Archeology, ispictured withafemalefigurine foundatthe8th-7thcentury Yifat Thareani-Sussely, aPhDcandidateattheSoniaandMarco NadlerInstitute C As well as publishing the finds finds the publishing as well As oexistence the tradition-bound Arabs toharnesstechnology. centuries, theJewishsettlerswerebetterablethan With theadventofZionismin19thand20th : - - since 2004 in conjunction with the the with conjunction in summer 2004 since every Rahel Ramat at ing land. governor the Judean only in that Nehemiah indicating was not the rule, Persian of time the at governors the of titles and names the as well as homeland, their to returned Babylon from Jews time first the – Nehemiah and Ezra of time the from “Yehud” province the of name the bear that isht hs en excavat been has Lipschits - - to harness technology and “change “change and technology harness to Arabs tradition-bound the than able better were settlers Jewish the turies, cen 20th and 19th the in Zionism of advent the With Humanities. of Faculty Entin Environment, Human and Geography of Department of the Biger Gideon inextricably Prof. says are bound, Israel of land the boundary hasa Everything world. the throughout and Israel from volunteers numerous by joined Germany, Heidelberg, of University which which inconclusively negotiated peace able role. consider a play to likely is lishment, the to consultant estab governmentdefense and Israeli a as serves who Biger, agreement, peace Israeli-Arab an of part as drawn finally are state Syria. and Lebanon Jordan, Egypt, of modern-day into parts stretched ry territo “L.”big That a with ofIsrael” “Land the as English in and Yisrael, entity in known Hebrew lical as Eretz Israel is not with synonymous the bib- of State the that out point to quick is Israel, of boundaries the on experts state. Jewish future to the area Galilee Western the annex to rather ed in 1938 for no economic reason but found was Hanita Kibbutz example, For continues. he paramount, came be issues security and political when 1930s the in changed technology by plains. ex he them, cultivate could chinery, ma heavy their with Jews, the while them, with do to what know not did they because soils sandy and swamps low-lying them sold Arabs The ple.” peo modern a suit to landscape the The history and geography of geography and history The He was part of the Israeli team team Israeli the of part was He modern the of borders the When leading world’s the of one Biger, dictated pattern settlement This ------Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

on discourse relating to a final sta- of his interest in urban planning and Prof. Gideon Biger tus agreement with the Palestinians. virtual geographic environments. Under his formula, Arab-Israeli cities Developed together with students and villages in areas known as Wadi of TAU’s Environmental Simulation Ara and the Little Triangle would be Laboratory founded by the Charles traded for settlement blocs gained by H. Revson Foundation, the 3D visual Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. simulation software was commis- “If we want Israel to remain a sioned by the Center for Middle East Jewish state, then we can part with all Peace and Economic Cooperation, the Arab villages that were attached Washington DC, as a tool for helping to Israel after the 1948-1949 War of decision makers formulate policies re- Independence,” says Biger. “Every garding Jerusalem. state can exchange land. This is what Such computer cartography may with Syria in 1999-2000 under Prime is going to happen. It happened when help avoid the pitfalls of previous Minister Ehud Barak. To understand Jordan and Saudi Arabia exchanged negotiated borders, such as the 1916 those tortured negotiations, one must land in 1965 along their mutual Sykes-Picot Agreement, when two be familiar with the history of the boundary.” British and French bureaucrats sit- area’s changing boundaries, he ex- ting in Paris drew lines dismember- plains. In a nutshell, in the aftermath Simulating the separation fence ing Ottoman Turkey. They made The separation of World War I, France and Britain Fellow TAU geographer Prof. Juval decisions with little regard for private, barrier in arbitrarily drew lines on a map in Portugali is fascinated by maps and communal and religious property or Jerusalem 1920 to demarcate their respective the stories they tell. Portugali inti- local trade routes, setting a course for mandates granted by the League of mately knows every centimeter of the generations of conflict. Nations. Three years later, in 1923, those impractical boundaries were adjusted so that farmers would not be cut off from their fields and the international boundary between British Palestine and French Syria and Lebanon was established. In 1948, Syria invaded the nascent State of Israel and occupied some territory. Those lands became demilitarized in the 1949 armistice agreement and then some of the area was reoccupied by the Syrians until 1967, when Israel seized the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights. “Israel has never actually defined its border on the Golan Heights,” he says. “Former Prime Minister Yitzhak West Bank separation fence surround- Here, at the nexus of the ancient Rabin said Israel would leave the ing Jerusalem – even the sections and the contemporary, the prehis- Golan Heights in exchange for peace, which have yet to be built. Thanks toric and the post-modern, Tel Aviv but he never said to where.” to the border simulation software he University researchers are generating While Biger’s role in past negotia- and his students have developed, he scholarship that continues to shape tions with Syria has been important, has virtually visited the entire 125 ki- and influence our understanding of his controversial proposal to swap lometers of the Jerusalem section of Israel’s environment and human cul- land lived on by Arab Israelis in ex- the fence, seeking to resolve potential ture, and ultimately its future. change for territory in the West Bank difficulties in both design and human and Jerusalem has had a major impact interaction. That virtual map grew out

 Battered women, ex-con- victs, teenage delinquents and other groups on the sidelines of society are being given a taste of university life through TAU’s “Access for All” pro- Using gram, which offers them year-long

community introductory courses in law, medicine, management and psychology. The courses are taught by highly motivated TAU undergraduate students who re- Knowledge ceive special training and academic credit, but no payment, for their en- deavors. Demand to volunteer is high and students – who undergo a strict se- to Change lection process – are limited to teach- ing only one year to enable others to do so in subsequent years. The only program of its kind in Lives Israel, Access for All is the brainchild of Dr. Adi Koll of the Buchmann Through the access for all program, Faculty of Law, who serves as pro- TAU students volunteer-teach gram director. “The aim of the pro- gram is to give a chance to those peo- Israel’s forgotten people ple who, because of circumstances, were unable to gain an education. I know what it’s like to feel you’re not good enough, and that’s what drives me to help these people develop the By Ruti Ziv

From left: Dr. Adi Koll, Hila Bitton and Roy Homri

10 Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

self-confidence to change their life my motivation to do more.” that, although not a formal diploma, course,” she says. Law and economics student Hila gives them a sense of accomplishment. Access for All is one of a wide range Bitton, 25, taught a group of battered of community building programs women. “We prepared for about a Life-changing impact on attendees operated by the university, and “em- month before the program began, in- For some alumni, the program has bodies TAU’s active drive to initiate cluding a visit to a shelter for abused simply provided education; for others, programs that help society,” says the women. We customized the course to a trigger for making new life choices. TAU President, Professor Zvi Galil. include legal content that would be One was recently accepted to an ac- particularly relevant to these wom- credited course at an Israeli college of Harnessing student enthusiasm en, specifically family law and their higher education, several have contin- Each of the 30 students that volun- right to take their abusive partners to ued to high-school equivalency pro- teer each year brings his or her own court,” she says. grams and non-academic professional special perspective to the program, Hila felt she had much to offer the schools, and some have obtained bet- and all leave with an experience that program, having been an instructor in ter jobs. In feedback questionnaires, will stay with them forever. the military and a summer camp coun- attendees have noted increased self- One of these students is Roy Homri, selor. She also knew what it meant to esteem, enhanced social skills and 25, a TAU student of accounting, eco- overcome adversity; despite losing her academic knowledge, and a feeling nomics and management, who taught mother to cancer when she was just of being better prepared to integrate a group of teenagers with criminal 14, she excelled at school and today into mainstream Israeli society. records. Despite his rigorous triple- achieves outstanding grades at TAU. Rafi K., 46, an ex-convict and degree curriculum, Roy was only too What she got out of the experience, former drug addict, is now in his sec- happy to sign up. “I know it sounds however, was much more than she ond year of the program. “Access for corny, but I joined the program be- could have hoped for, and she is deter- All changed my whole life. It rein- cause of Zionism. I will do what- mined to put it to good use in the fu- forced me intellectually and emotion- ever I can for the State of Israel,” he ture: “I know I’ll carry on the spirit of ally. I used to harm society; today I says. “To be able to do good with my the program by working at a law firm am proud to be able to contribute to knowledge and give it to those who where they do pro bono,” she says. society instead,” he beams. really appreciate it has only increased The program is supported by Partnering with local municipalities TAU’s Sivan Center for Community About 300 teenagers and adults Initiative, private donors such as Avi take part in Access for All each year. Naor, Dov Lautman, Ariel Landau Classes are homogeneous, enabling the and Ari Steimatsky, and foundations student counselors to tailor their course including the Ted Arison Family content to the specific group they have Foundation and the Jacob Levison been assigned, such as Ethiopian youth Memorial Foundation. or teenage girls in distress. Admittance to the program is through referral by Yael’s Story: “I never social welfare services personnel and dreamed I would even visit a univer- parole officers from the municipalities sity, let alone study there,” says Yael of Tel Aviv, Holon and Bat Yam, part- Kazis, 40. A single mother of three, ners of the program. Yael is now in her third year of the Each week, participants are bussed program studying psychology as to the TAU campus and given a light part of a group of battered women. meal. All are required to take a short “The program gave me the tools and computer course and are given the op- self-esteem to completely turn my tion of being tutored in reading, writ- life around,” she effuses. Formerly a ing or math. They attend 24 four-hour house cleaner, she is now a manager sessions over the year, and are encour- responsible for 10 employees. She also aged to sign up for the other three volunteers as a counselor to battered courses at the end of each year. They women, “poor scared women who are leave the program with a certificate in the same position I used to be in.” 11 Sleuthing Out the Genealogy of Zohar A TAU scholar is helping unravel the what she describes as a “genealogy of mystery of how the greatest work of Zohar,” changes some basic assump- tions scholars have held for years. Jewish mysticism was written To begin with, Meroz discov- By DaniellaAshkenazy ered that the first Zohar texts were In today’s world, no Jewish Foundation to settle the question of in Hebrew; not all were written book except for the Bible enjoys more how Zohar was written and who its in Aramaic as everyone thought. popularity than Zohar (“the Book of authors were, and to enable Meroz to Moreover, she found that the text Splendor”), which is considered the publish an authoritative scientific edi- was a constantly expanding body of most important work of mysticism or tion, a world first. “The 16th century literature – a textual stew of sorts, Kabbalah. Interest in this 24-volume copy we have all been reading is a bubbling for centuries while different commentary on the Bible – purport- corrupt version, full of mistakes,” says scholars added their own ingredients, ed to have been written in Aramaic in Meroz. “It reflects the understanding layer-by-layer, to enhance existing the 2nd century by the venerated Safed and beliefs of the printers at that time commentary. rabbi, the Rashbi (Simeon Bar-Yohai) who were not historians, but rather – has spiraled in recent years with the saw the work as a means of hastening Settling authorship proliferation of populist Kabbalah the coming of the Messiah.” Close comparison of the wording, study centers. Trend-setting Kabbalah Meroz and her team will be pub- style and linguistic “signatures of aficionados like Madonna have made lishing two volumes: a synoptic, com- origin” of key passages in the the study of Zohar “cool.” puterized edition aimed mainly at different manuscripts holds “The correct term is Zoharic - lit scholars, and an annotated, printed clues as to when they erature or Zohar – not ‘the Book version for the wider public. were written and by of Zohar,’” says Dr. Ronit Meroz of whom. A lready TAU’s Depart- New scientific approach ment of Jewish While the 16th century edition was Ph i lo s ophy, based on only 10 manuscripts, scholars Chaim Rosen- today have access to hundreds, some berg School of 500 pages long, some only a page or Jewish Studies. a few pages long, notes Meroz. “I’m For Meroz, Zo- trying to analyze the historical frame- har has been work, structure and ideas of the work a lifelong pas- to elucidate what the original writers sion, not a fash- were trying to transmit,” she says. ion. “Zohar not Meroz introduced computer-aided only gives an- research into her methodology. Using swers to life’s a computer program developed by her quandaries; it is simply beautiful, po- husband Eylon Meroz, she assigned

Dr. Ronit etic and mysterious,” says Meroz, who numeric codes to individual passages Meroz has devoted over a decade to studying in each of 650 Zoharic manuscripts and comparing 650 out of some 1,000 that had already been dated by ex- different Zohar manuscripts archived perts. When Meroz examined the on microfilm in Israel’s National computed data, which mapped the Library. age and contents of each manuscript, This mammoth project is be- she found patterns that had previ- ing funded by the Israel Science ously escaped scholars. The result, Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

The sacred and the profane In the Jewish tradition, women are forbidden to study Zohar. The fact that Dr. Meroz is both a woman and secular Sleuthing Out the Genealogy of Zohar makes her work suspect for religious people who regard Zohar as a sacred in the 14th and 15th centuries, several mocking the Rashbi himself – a nor- text. Still, Meroz says, her articles are Jewish scholars disputed a 2nd century mally highly venerated figure. The sometimes cited in Zohar discourse basis for Zohar, claiming that the lan- passage was censored out of the regu- within religious circles, but under the guage indicated it was the work of a lar edition of Zohar known today, name R. Meroz, to conceal her identity 13th century Jew in Christian Spain, but will appear in Meroz’s scientific as a woman. Occasionally she gets Rabbi Moshe de Leon. Later scholars edition. confidential telephone enquiries. “Once, agreed but disagreed whether there Other scholars before Meroz had a Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) emissary had been one author or a chavura (a noticed textual differences that made arrived at midnight to obtain a copy of study group) of scholars together with it clear this was no 2nd century com- my doctoral dissertation on the ARI, de Leon. Meroz’s work found clear evi- position – such as the paraphrasing a venerated mystic, for a well-known dence that there were many competing of later Medieval writings; mention rabbi. Then he got into a waiting taxi study groups over the centuries. of later historic events such as the 7th and sped away,” she recounts. One of the most telling signs of a century Muslim Conquest; and lin- host of chavurot resides in an uncom- guistic clues such as the use of the plimentary passage Meroz discovered Greek concept of infinity or ein sof, literature went through three phases of which only entered Jewish philosophy development. The first manuscripts – in the late Middle Ages. the root of Zohar – were written in the 11th century in the Middle East, and Zoharic flowchart in Hebrew. Early 11th century texts, Meroz’s ten years of com- Meroz discovered, focused mainly on paring documents re- the “world of angels” while later texts vealed an undisputa- focus on the “nature of the Divinity.” ble pattern: Zoharic The majority of the text was added in Aramaic – the second stage – during a 60 year period of intense intellectual creativity in Spain toward the end of the 13th century and beginning of the 14th century. “The hidden roots of the Zoharic tree,” states Meroz, “were planted in the Muslim East, while its top spread out in Christian Spain.” In the third stage, Zohar was finalized in a number of print editions in Italy in Aramaic in the 16th century. In essence, the research has gener- ated a flowchart of Zohar’s creation. “Meroz’s attempt at scientific anal- ysis of such a large and complex body of work is an example of how TAU is contributing to modernizing Jewish studies and making them relevant to our times,” says Dean of Humanities, Prof. Shlomo Biderman, himself an expert in comparative philosophy and religion. 13 Edna Langenthal has worked Azrieli, a 1996 TAU honorary doctor for years as an architect, is married and founder of TAU’s Azrieli School to an architect and teaches architec- of Architecture. ture. A few years ago, she decided Both Azrieli Fellows at TAU are en- to turn inward and explore architec- gaged in unique combinations of inter- ture in a manner unique to her field: disciplinary studies: while Langenthal through the prism of philosophy. In pursues philosophy and architecture, a move that is almost unprecedented, Jonathan Berant combines linguistics

By Ilana Teitelbaum Langenthal is continuing her archi- and computer science. Berant, 28, is tectural studies at TAU’s School of on a direct track from his BSc degree Philosophy as a doctoral student, to his PhD, after serving as an intel- blending two seemingly unrelated ar- ligence officer in the Israeli army for eas in a manner that she hopes will five years. Berant seeks to resolve a hot revolutionize the way architects ap- debate in the academic community: proach their field. whether language acquisition in chil- Langenthal is one of two TAU doc- dren is based on innate knowledge of toral students who have been selected language, or is a cognitive mechanism Jonathan Berant for Azrieli Fellowships, awarded for like all others. language by analyzing its structure and patterns, such as the recurrence of specific word combinations, with- out having had input of grammatical rules and meanings. This research has implications for technology such as voice recognition programs and rchitecture search engines. In combining architecture and andA Technology of philosophy, Langenthal wants to get in touch with the existential and ethi- cal aspects of architecture—how it the Future relates to daily life. Most architecture today, Langenthal TAU doctoral points out, is orientated toward cre- ating a beautiful space that is self- students with contained, rather than toward cre- ating a building that is organically unusual fields of suited to its surroundings and people. “Everyone has a Guggenheim today,” study have won says Langenthal, referring to the land- mark museum in Manhattan. Such Azrieli Fellowships landmarks, she opines, “are all alike, the first time this year to Israeli stu- Where does computer science and don’t connect with the place.”

Edna dents pursuing advanced degrees in come into it? “We try to teach com- Dr. Hagi Kenaan, Langenthal’s su- Langenthal science, education, architecture and puters language without prior knowl- pervisor in the School of Philosophy, urban planning and who demon- edge of grammatical rules,” explains comments on Langenthal’s studies: strate outstanding academic achieve- Berant. He adds that if the computer “Edna is considering how buildings ment and personal merit. The fel- can be taught language, this would are tied to the question of what it lowships are supported by the Azrieli challenge the idea that language ac- means to live, to dwell. To dwell im- Foundation, a Canadian philanthrop- quisition skills are inborn. plies on the one hand being an indi- ic organization established in 1989 by The algorithms Berant has devel- vidual, while on the other hand being Canadian real-estate developer David oped enable the computer to learn a member of the community.” 14 Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

A discovery that been imprinted in neu- ral networks cultured could potentially outside the brain,” says help people with Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob of the Sackler School of brain disorders Physics, who developed or paralysis was the technology along cited as one of with Dr. Itay Baruchi. Ben-Jacob notes that his 2007’s top team’s discovery could set the stage for inven- innovations tions such as a hybrid tis- by Scientific sue combining brain cells and silicon chips to treat American neurological disorders (see story p. 21). like epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, or help paralytics regain muscle TAU researchers have become the control. His research is partially sup- first in the world to store information ported by the Lazlo N. Tauber MD in a lab-grown neural network for an TAU Takes Charitable Fund, USA. extended period. The discovery marks In the future Ben-Jacob, together an early but crucial step toward the First Steps in with co-investigator Dr. Yael Hanein invention of a computer chip with the of the School of Electrical Engine- capability to create and store informa- Creating ering, plans to extend the research to- tion like humans do. ward the imprinting of memories and “This is the first time that mul- Live Memory development of neurosensors using tiple rudimentary memories have Chips the neurochip they developed.

Spectacular Mosaic Floor Uncovered A sixth-century mosaic floor de- Archaeology and Ancient Near picting an amphora, fruit trees and Eastern Cultures have been fruit baskets was recently uncovered conducting intensive archaeo- by TAU archaeologists at the Yavneh logical work at the Yavneh Yam archaeological site near the Yam site since 1992. According present town of Yavne. The floor be- to Prof. Fischer, Yavne Yam, a longed to a Byzantine estate believed seaport from the Bronze Age to have once been the home of a char- to the early Islamic Period, served examine the settlement pattern and ismatic Georgian monk known as as a fascinating meeting point be- life in the community as depicted in a Bishop Peter the Iberian. tween diverse cultures of the East biography of the monk written by one Prof. Moshe Fischer and Itamar and the Mediterranean, in particular of his disciples. “The work provides Taxel of TAU’s Sonia and Marco Egyptian and Greek. intriguing glimpses into the ethnic Nadler Institute for Archaeology The excavation, in its seventh year, and religious nature of the commu- and Jacob M. Alkow Department of was intended, among other things, to nity,” says Fischer. 15 New Alzheimer’s breakthrough Research conducted by Prof. Ehud Feeding Gazit of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology has led to the licensing of a novel Industry Needs drug technology to treat Alzheimer’s TAU’s technology transfer arm Ramot has recently to the German company Merz Pharmaceuticals. The worldwide ex- completed five new technology transfer agreements with clusive licensing deal includes an some of the world’s leading companies. upfront fee and milestone payments, as well as royalties on future sales. TAU President Zvi Galil said of the Johnson & Johnson hones in agreement, “we believe that our coop- on applied research eration with Merz will lead to the de- An applied research fund has been velopment of long sought-after treat- jointly established by TAU’s Colton ment for one of the most devastating Family Next Generation Technologies illnesses known to date.” Institute and the Johnson & Johnson Corporate Office of Science & Novel acne treatment Technology. The Colton Institute pro- A pioneering treatment for ado- motes the development of high-tech lescent acne has been developed by and biomedical technologies that are Professors Naftali Savion and Sarah still in the lab stage but that hold great Brenner of TAU’s Sackler Faculty commercial potential. The new fund of Medicine. The treatment works will be dedicated to research projects by applying statins – materials that in the life sciences that address in- are known to inhibit the production dustry-specific needs in the fields of of cholesterol in the body – to facial therapeutics, diagnostic agents, medi- skin. The technology is being licensed cal technologies and novel medical by Ramot to Israeli startup Lovaderm, materials and devices. The fund con- which is developing the treatment in tinues a long and successful history of collaboration with a leading US com- collaboration between TAU and the preventing the spread of infectious pany. global pharmaceutical giant. agents to people.” His hunch proved to be accurate and, in July 2007, a A quieter drill Cinnamon: The key to research and licensing agreement on Ramot has signed an exclusive fighting viruses? his patent-pending cinnamon ex- licensing agreement with Scilense Ever since encountering a biblical tract was signed between Ramot and Microwave Ltd. for the develop- passage seven years ago, Prof. Michael Frutarom, a multinational nutraceuti- ment of innovative microwave drill- Ovadia of TAU’s Department of cal company based in Israel. The new ing technology pioneered by Prof. Zoology has been studying the use extract could be used to neutralize or Eli Jerby of the Fleischman Faculty of cinnamon to combat viruses. “A immunize against viruses such as hu- of Engineering. The drill uses micro- section in the Bible explains how the man flu, avian flu, herpes, Newcastle wave radiation to bore into solids such high priests would prepare a holy oil Virus disease and HIV, among oth- as concrete, ceramic materials, sili- they used on their bodies before mak- ers. But don’t try this at home, con and glass and suffers from none ing a ritual animal sacrifice,” recalls kids. Household cinnamon in large of the problems that plague regular Ovadia. “I had a hunch that this oil, amounts does not have this preventa- mechanical drills. It promises clean, which was prepared with cinnamon tive effect in large amounts and could silent drilling at a fraction of the cost and other spices, played a role in even be harmful, Ovadia warns. of lasers.

16 Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

DIMES, a TAU-led project fficient connection, in areas such as online headed by Prof. Yuval Shavitt e E In gaming and video streaming. of the Department of r te DIMES relies on the par- Electrical Engineering– o r ticipation of thousands of n Systems, is the largest of M volunteers worldwide who its kind in the world for e download a small program t measuring the Internet A to their home computers and could improve in- that periodically sends teractive media. information on how they The Internet can be seen as an are connected to the Internet enormous circle made up of layer back to the TAU team. Shavitt’s upon layer of networks, where the group has developed a new meth- “core” networks are located in the od for measuring the Internet and center and the smaller ones on the pe- generated previously-unknown in- riphery. When private users hook up formation about the Internet’s topo- to the Internet, their connection is of- logical structure. “We want to be the ten channeled via the core networks, closer to their own “layer.” major source of Internet mapping regardless of the location of their own Initiated by Shavitt, the DIMES and to share our knowledge with the Internet service provider. This round- project aims to redress this problem world,” says Shavitt. DIMES find- about method can make the Internet and make the Internet more efficient. ings are already being used by lead- connection slower than connecting Findings could lead to more advanced ing researchers in the field in the US to peripheral networks located in or applications that require a fast Internet and Europe.

study period, but the team found that a half times more likely to become those who experienced job burnout Type 2 diabetics. Diabetes and were nearly twice as likely to develop Nonetheless, Melamed notes that the disease, regardless of factors such job stress may not be the only factor as age, sex and weight. In a separate involved, and that other life stresses S t re s s analysis designed to check for the could also contribute to the develop- People who suffer from stress in possible effect of blood pressure lev- ment of diabetes. The research was the workplace may be more likely to els among subjects, the stressed-out published in the journal Psychosomatic develop Type 2 diabetes, says TAU’s employees turned out to be four and Medicine. Prof. Samuel Melamed of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine. Type 2 typically occurs after the age of 40 and in- volves excessively high sugar levels in the body due to inadequate supplies of insulin and to insulin resistance in the cells. Melamed’s research suggests that stressful work conditions could boost the risk of illness by a “magnitude similar to other risk factors, such as high body mass index, smoking and lack of physical exercise,” he says. His team analyzed the experiences of 677 Israeli workers from 1998 through 2003. Seventeen of the subjects de- veloped Type 2 diabetes during the 17 Entrepreneurial Potency In our era of fast technological Business Administration, Israel, and growth, it isn’t surprising to find that Prof. Zur Shapira of the Stern School one start-up begets another. But when of Management, New York University, And Fibronics begat Adacom which researching the evolution of the Israeli examined Israel’s successful telecom- high-tech sector, Prof. Shmuel Ellis munications sector, a total of about By Jessica Steinberg of TAU’s Faculty of Management— 1,200 companies, and the genealogies begat Optibase. And unto Optibase Recanati Graduate School of Business of six companies: Tadiran, Telrad, Administration, together with col- Rad Data Communications, ECI leagues, discovered that they could Telecom, Fibronics and Comverse. was born VCOM. And VCOM begat identify which company had a better The research team identified two chance of spawning new firms based main factors that differentiated one on the entrepreneurial characteristics genealogy from another: the entre- Mediagate. And TriceNet of the founding fathers. preneurial tendencies of the founding This process, which the researchers fathers, and their “imprinting poten- call “genealogical entrepreneurship,” tial” or ability to transmit their firms’ was the daughter of Mediagate. And could be used to forecast directions of skills, practices and knowledge onto future industry growth. new ventures. The researchers discov- Ellis and his co-investigators, Prof. ered that, just as genes are passed on TriceNet begat Pure Drop. Israel Drori of the Colman College of from parents to children and grand-

Children born in July and August ball to lengthen when it is exposed are 25 percent more likely to develop to prolonged illumination. This moderate to severe myopia (nearsight- Keep Those mechanism is associated with mela- edness) than those born in December tonin, a compound secreted by the and January, finds a joint study of pineal gland in the brain when it is TAU’s Goldschleger Eye Research BlindsChildren born Shut in the dark to control the day/night cycle Institute and the Israel Defense Forces summer, when days are long of the body, although the scientists (IDF). Results of the study into en- and bright, are more likely to are not exactly sure how it operates vironmental and genetic factors that become nearsighted in regulating eye length. “We know cause myopia were recently published that sunlight affects the pineal gland in the journal Ophthalmology. and we have indications that mela- Data collected by Dr. Yossi Mandel tonin, through other intermediate of the IDF on birth dates and vi- compounds, is involved in regulating sion problems of more than 250,000 the diameter of the eye in infancy,” IDF soldiers indicated a clear cor- says Belkin. “More sun equals less relation between summertime birth melatonin, equals a longer eye which and nearsightedness. Prof. Michael is short sighted.” Belkin, Director of the Ophthalmic Belkin warns that while eyeglasses Technologies Laboratory at TAU’s can correct shortsightedness, severe Goldschleger Institute, explains that cases of myopia can result in retinal greater exposure to light at the time of detachment requiring surgery, or birth affects the size and shape of the even loss of vision. eyeball, causing it to elongate. “When A laboratory analysis of myopia The study was conducted in coop- the eye is too long,” says Belkin, in young chickens that was part of eration with the Hebrew University “nearby objects are seen clearly, but the study suggested that the body of Jerusalem and the Technion-Israel distant objects appear blurred.” has a mechanism that causes the eye- Institute of Technology. 18 Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

children, a company’s traits or “ge- original founders of these compa- netic code” can be carried onward nies established 36 startups between by successive spin-offs and startups, them. Moreover, entrepreneurs from even six or seven generations away. one generation tended to establish However, some genealogies are sig- startups with entrepreneurs from nificantly more potent in creating off- subsequent generations, thereby di- And Fibronics begat Adacom which spring than others. rectly passing on the relevant and The first set of differences were necessary qualities from one startup discerned between Tadiran, Telrad to another. begat Optibase. And unto Optibase and ECI Telecom – large firms that The genealogical fertility was clear, were controlled by holding compa- says Ellis. Even though Rad, Fibronix nies and that had their genesis in a and Comverse were smaller compa- was born VCOM. And VCOM begat less competitive environment; and nies than Telrad, Tadiran and ECI, Rad, Fibronics and Comverse, which they “gave birth” to a greater number began as startups and had a heavy re- of startups, their growth rate was fast- Mediagate. And TriceNet search and development orientation er, and even when the market crashed from the onset. in 2000, they continued establishing Given their startup roots, Rad, startups for the next five years. was the daughter of Mediagate. And Fibronics and Comverse were en- “We think that genealogical evo- trepreneurial by nature and became lution is a key method for under- fruitful breeding grounds for future standing the rate and extensiveness of TriceNet begat Pure Drop. generations of entrepreneurs and organizational founding,” Ellis con- companies. For example, four of the cludes.

member of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of drawing board for anthropologists Medicine, found that the new skull’s seeking to complete the family tree Lucy Is lower jaw was not that of a human, of Homo sapiens. They must now con- but was actually more similar to the tend with an evolutionary gap of one jaw of Robust australopithecines, a dif- million years for which no fossils of Demoted human ancestors have been found. TAU anthropologist Prof. Yoel ferent branch of the human evolu- Lucy in Rak has debunked a decades-long tionary tree that became extinct mil- The research was carried out to- her rightful gether with Dr. Eli Geffen and place on the held belief: that Lucy, the world-fa- lions of years ago. evolutionary mous 3.2 million year-old skeleton “It is now known that evolution- Avishag Ginzburg of TAU. tree of a small woman found in Ethiopia, ary biological development does not was the prehistoric mother of the hu- take place as a continuous chain of man race. events, but is more like a tree with dif- The remains of Lucy, otherwise ferent branches,” says Rak. Scientists known as Australopithecus afarensis, previously placed Lucy’s species at a Homo sapiens were discovered in 1974 in the Afar node between the human branch of Chimpanzees region of Ethiopia and she and her development and that of Robust aus- Robust species have been considered the an- tralopithecines; however, the new evi- australopithecines cient forebears of modern humans dence proves that Lucy and her kind ever since. are not situated at a node, but rather Now, however, examination of a at the beginning of a different branch new more complete skull of the same leading to Robust australopithecines. Lucy species that Rak found at the site “Given the anatomy Australopithecus (Australopithecus where Lucy was discovered threatens afarensis shares with that species, afarensis) to turn this theory on its head. Lucy cannot be our ‘mother,’ but is Rak, one of the world’s leading re- rather our ‘cousin,’” says Rak. searchers in human evolution and a The research means a return to the 19 How Do You Say “E=MC²” in Yiddish?

Yiddish brings to mind nostalgia physicist Tuvia Shalit’s 1927 book skepticism. But the idea behind the and sentimentality rather than science on the theory of relativity, for which journal is that science, while embody- and scholarship. Yet, Yiddish, TAU re- Einstein enthusiastically wrote a short ing universal values and truths, is searchers revealed recently, was also introduction. always produced in locally, historically used in a surprisingly cerebral way Prof. Leo Corry, head of the Cohn and culturally defined contexts. The by 20th century academics working in Institute, says: “The combination Yiddish culture offers a context for various disciplines in Europe, the USA of these two worlds of science and science that has never been properly and Argentina. Yiddish is typically received with investigated.” A new collection of essays on this Scientists and scholars working in topic and translations of long-forgot- Yiddish emerged for only a brief pe- 0269-8897 ISSN ten texts were presented at a sym- riod, beginning in the late 19th century 2007 JUNE 2 | NUMBER 20 | VOLUME posium, “Science and Scholarship in SCIENCE and ending at the start of World War Yiddish,” organized by TAU’s Cohn II. The movement was supported by IN

CONTEXT Institute for the History and Philoso- SCIENCEIN CONTEXT university departments and flourished phy of Science and Ideas and the following the Russian Revolution, Goldreich Family Institute for Yiddish VOL.20 especially in countries such as the |

No.2

| Language, Literature and Culture. JUNE Ukraine and Belarus. Some scholars The event celebrated the publica- 2007 imagined that Yiddish would one day tion of these texts in a special issue become the official language used by of Science in Context, a journal Jewish scientists. edited by the Cohn Institute and Tragically, the growth of the lan- published by Cambridge University guage (spoken by about 11 million Press. Among the texts presented Jews) along with its scholarship was were Jewish mathematician and brutally cut short by the Holocaust.

The Chinese government has established a Confucius Institute at TAU, the first in Israel and one of 150 at leading Cancer Research universities around the world. The institute, which is offer- Crosses Borders ing courses in Chinese language and culture to university Starving prostate cancer cells to students and the wider public, is part of China’s efforts to death by cutting off the blood supply to promote its language and culture overseas. secondary growths was just one of the Director of the institute Prof. Meir Shahar said, “China TAU research directions presented by TAU is the fastest growing economy in the world today. Many scientists in Vienna, Austria. A delega- Israelis are interested in learning the language, history and Opens tion of some 15 researchers from the culture of the newest global superpower.” life sciences and medicine, led by He added that TAU was the natural Prof. Isaac Witz of the George. S. Wise Confucius choice in Israel for a Confucius Institute Faculty of Life Sciences, attended the because of the high number of students third joint meeting on cancer research already enrolled in Chinese studies at the Institute together with their counterparts from university’s Department of East Asian Studies. the Medical University of Vienna. The institute will operate within the framework of TAU’s S. The conference was dedicated to Daniel Abraham Center for International Cooperation and translational research that has a real Regional Studies and will hold conferences, award student chance of reaching clinical trials in scholarships and promote bilateral ties between China and the future. Other TAU presentations Israel in a variety of fields. at the event covered topics such as targeted drug carriers for cancer therapy; molecular imaging in breast cancer; slowing the pace of tumor metastasis using chemokine proteins; and the genetics of prostate cancer.

20 Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

Three TAU Researchers Make Scientific American Top 50 List TAU’s Prof. Beka Solomon, Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob and Dr. Itay Baruchi are the only Israelis in journal’s global list of innovators

A novel treatment for Alzheimer’s the Alzheimer’s Association of the disease and a memory chip made of USA and the Dana Foundation Award live neurons developed at TAU have for Neuroimmunology. been selected by Scientific American Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob and Dr. Itay as among the 50 most significant Baruchi of the Raymond and Beverly scientific breakthroughs in 2007. Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences This is the sixth year the journal’s were cited for their development of a board of editors has recognized 50 memory- and information processing trailblazers in the fields of research, chip made of living neurons. The bio- policymaking and business. Past chip is the first successful attempt to winners include former US Vice Presi- replicate human memory at the most dent Al Gore and Google founders basic level. Ben-Jacob, who holds Larry Page and Sergey Brinn. the Maguy-Glass Chair for Complex Prof. Beka Solomon of TAU’s George S. Wise Faculty of Life Physical Society and past president Sciences was cited for her novel of the Israel Physical Society. His re- therapeutic approach for treating search is partially funded by the Lazlo Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob Alzheimer’s disease in the form of N. Tauber MD Charitable Fund, USA. (left) and Dr. an experimental nasal spray. The Dr. Baruchi completed his master’s Itay Baruchi technique directs harmless bacterial and doctoral degrees at TAU under viruses to the brain where they lock the supervision of Prof. Ben-Jacob. onto and destroy plaques associated He is currently involved in developing with Alzheimer’s. The drug candidate alternative sources of energy in the is being commercialized by Ramot, high-tech sector. TAU’s technology transfer arm. TAU President Zvi Galil said the Solomon, who holds the Chair in accomplishment “demonstrates the the Biotechnology of Neurodegenera- importance of investing in basic aca- tive Diseases at the Department of demic research that could result in an Molecular Microbiology and Biotech- outstanding contribution to medical nology, is a member of the editorial Prof. Beka Solomon and scientific progress.” board of Drugs Today and Recent Systems at the Raymond and Beverly The scientists were invited to meet Patents on CNS Drug Discovery. She Sackler School of Physics and As- with President Shimon Peres and is a recipient of the Zenith Award of tronomy, is a fellow of the American Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Greening Israel’s Chemical links between green chemistry, industrial development and public health and the environment. Industry The two-day conference covered sessions on the com- Producing plastic from corn, neutralizing biological mercial applications of green chemistry; raw materials weapons and removing hazardous waste deposited by recycling; toxicity reduction; renewable fuels; environmen- munitions factories were just some of the technological tal and health aspects of home and commercial use of breakthroughs showcased at a conference held by TAU’s chemicals; and global and national policy on chemical use. Porter School of Environmental Studies. “Green Chem- Keynote speakers were Dr. David Henton of the Nature- istry – Applications, Research and Trends” was the first Works LLC Company and Prof. Terry Collins of Carnegie- conference of its kind in Israel to raise awareness of the Mellon University, both from the United States. 21 social change projects throughout the world; Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Chief The Jewish Response Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa and former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel; and to Darfur Jacqueline Murekatete, a Rwandan genocide survivor and human rights A TAU conference placed the Darfur advocate now residing in the United

Jacqueline crisis on the Israeli public agenda States. Murekatete’s visit to TAU was Murekatete initiated and sponsored by Stanley Bergman, Chair of the Advisory Board One of the worst catastrophes of ganizations and Jewish aid organiza- of the Hartog School. the 21st century, ethnic strife in Darfur, tions in the United States. Attorney Anat Ben-Dor, Head of the Sudan, has resulted in up to 400,000 The conference was part of the Refugee Rights Clinic of the Cegla people killed, a further 2 million Hartog’s School Tikkun Olam project Legal Education Program at TAU’s displaced from their homes and over to research Israel’s international aid Buchmann Faculty of Law, pointed 200,000 living in refugee camps in policy and strengthen Israeli and Jew- out that Israel was a signatory to the Chad. Some 500 of these refugees ish involvement in weaker parts of the Fourth Geneva Convention and was have made their way to Israel, which world, noted Prof. Yossi Shain, then therefore obliged to extend protection is still ambivalent about how to deal Head of the Hartog School. “Although and offer asylum to refugees. Ben- with them. However, say participants the State of Israel faces considerable Dor and a team of about 20 students in a conference on Darfur held by challenges of its own, it is established in the clinic provide free legal aid to TAU’s Hartog School of Government enough to play a meaningful role in Sudanese asylum seekers and refu- and Policy, Israel and the Jewish resolving world conflicts, especially in gees, assisting clients with a range people have a special role to play in places where massive rights abuses of issues relating to forced migration, garnering support for the victims. and even genocide are being perpe- asylum applications, detention, social The conference aimed to raise trated,” said Shain. and economic rights, and family awareness of the Darfur crisis among Guest speakers included Ruth reunification. Israelis and encourage a united Jew- Messinger, President of the American The conference was sponsored by ish response on the part of Israeli Jewish World Service, an organization the Pears Foundation of the United government officials, non-profit -or that provides support to grassroots Kingdom.

the tournament – about three times Ed Peskowitz in 2006 after meeting TAU Hosts the amount of the previous year, with the director of TAU’s Elite Sports demonstrating the growing interest Center, Arie Rosenzweig. Friendship in the games among young people “The aim of the tournament is to Games worldwide. The event was conceived get together through sport to dem- by NBA Atlanta Hawks co-owner onstrate coexistence,” says Rosen- Young Israelis recently zweig. In fact, the week proved to be faced a group of Palestinian much more than just a sporting event opponents on the TAU as the young athletes lived, ate and campus, but of a different traveled together throughout Israel. kind than usual. The What the Israeli-Palestinian game lacked in quality, says Rosenzweig, encounter took place it made up with determination and as part of a basketball heart. It ended with a win for the Is- tournament aimed at raeli team, 43 to 39, but the real win- promoting peace. ners were the students who managed to connect with each other through The second annual Friendship the universal language of basketball. Games, a week-long basketball The eventual tournament victors tournament held at TAU, attracted were the Canadian men’s team and From left: Prof. Zvi Galil, 25 college teams from the Palestin- the Polish women’s team, who were President ian Authority and 14 countries that presented with their trophies at the Shimon Peres and Arie included Jordan, Italy, Serbia and closing ceremony by Israeli President Rosenzweig China. Over 300 players took part in Shimon Peres. 22 Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

Lithographs illustrating the bible and Shakespeare by Marc Chagall were Chagall Lithographs Showcased on display at the Michel Kikoïne Foun- dation wing of TAU’s Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery. The exhibition featured 24 color lithographs illustrat- ing The Story of Exodus and 41 black and white works illustrating Shake- speare’s The Tempest. “Chagall’s love of the bible and affinity with the theater are rooted in his soul,” writes gallery curator Prof. Mordechai Omer in the exhibition catalogue. “It seems that in both, Chagall found eternal values, beyond time and place, which he strove to introduce into his art.” The Exodus lithographs were donated by President of the French Friends of TAU Hugo Ramniceanu, and the illustrations for The Tempest by Dorothy Lee and David Levinson of the United States.

Beckett New Teaching Programs and the Jews Humanities and arts join forces complex technologies developed The inauguration of the Annual A joint degree in cultural studies for by humankind. The course, which is Samuel Beckett Lecture Series at outstanding students is being offered headed by Prof. Yuval Goren of TAU’s TAU’s Department of Theater Stud- by the Entin Faculty of Humanities Sonia and Marco Adler Institute of ies was marked with the attendance and the Katz Faculty of Arts. The pro- Archeology, focuses on the study of of Irish Ambassador to Israel Michael gram includes courses from the multi- cultural artifacts from the 8th to 4th cen- Forbes. The series kicked off with a disciplinary curricula of both faculties, turies BCE including ceramics, plaster lecture on “Samuel Beckett and the as well as enrichment courses in objects and the first use of metals. Holocaust” given by Jackie Blackman creative writing and debating, among Strengthening civil society of Trinity College, Dublin. It was based others. Dean of Humanities Shlomo A master’s degree program for on Blackman’s research on Beckett’s Biderman and Dean of Arts Hana training activists for social change close contact with Jews in Ireland, Naveh said the program’s purpose organizations is being offered by the Germany and France before and after was “to promote a more culturally Department of Sociology and An- World War II, and the impact of these enlightened society.” experiences on his post-war writings. thropology at the Gordon Faculty of Sponsors of the event were the Em- Focus on ancient material culture Social Sciences. The first of its kind bassy of Ireland in Israel; the Cultural A new multidisciplinary course in in Israel, the program is run with the Division, Irish Department of Foreign technology and material culture is assistance of Shatil, the New Israel Affairs; and the Samuel Beckett So- enabling students of archeology and Fund’s training center for non-profits ciety of Israel. The event was orga- engineering to investigate the first in Israel. The program provides theo- nized by Prof. Linda Ben-Zvi of TAU’s retical and methodological knowledge Department of Theater Studies. on social issues, as well as courses The Katz Faculty of Arts has on relevant subjects such as gender, recently published a translation into social and ethnic inequality, the labor Hebrew of the collected dramatic market, immigration, environmental works of Beckett, prepared by Prof. protection, welfare policy, and more. Shimon Levy of the Department of Entrance criteria for students include Theater Studies. proven social involvement.

23 TAU Olympic prizes Fencing Hopeful Foils Competition Support for Arab TAU fencing champion Noam Mills (pictured) was recognized by TAU Student Mediators President Zvi Galil for her achieve- Two Arab master’s students in ment in winning the silver medal in TAU’s Evens Program in Mediation fencing at the “Universiade” – World and Conflict Resolution received University Games in Bangkok, Thai- scholarships from the Abraham land. Noam, a student in accounting Fund Initiatives, an organization that and economics, beat seven competi- world youth rankings, Noam hopes to promotes Jewish-Arab cooperation. tors for the title, including two former represent Israel at the 2008 Olympic The recipients are Rula Khoury-Man- world champions. Placed top in the Games in Beijing. sur, 35, a prosecuting attorney in the Israel Police Force, and Amal Az- zam, a mediator in the Arab educa- Chinese Teacher Makes French Academy tion sector. The scholarships, which Honors TAU Professor From left: were awarded in memory of Jalal TAU’s Top Twenty Rula Khoury- The creative peda- TAU history profes- Mansur, TAU Abu Toameh, a pioneering mediator President in Jewish-Arab community affairs, gogical style of Chinese sor and former Israeli Zvi Galil and are coordinated by TAU’s Konrad teacher Dr. Zhang Ping Ambassador to France, Amal Azzam Adenauer Program in Jewish-Arab won him a place in the Elie Barnavi, has been Cooperation. TAU Rector’s list of the awarded the Grand Prix 20 best teachers for de la francophonie de Dr. Zhang Ping 2007. Zhang originally Prof. Elie l’Académie française came to Israel from Bei- Barnavi (Grand Francophone jing in 1994 for a year-long student Prize of the French Academy). The exchange program in Jerusalem, but prestigious prize is awarded annu- then decided to remain in the country. ally to an individual who contributes Today, having completed his com- significantly to the development of bined PhD in Chinese philosophy and the French language throughout the Jewish studies at TAU, he is a tenured world. lecturer at TAU’s Department of East Barnavi currently serves as a mem- Asian Studies, Entin Faculty of Hu- ber of the Scientific Committee of the manities. He is fluent in Hebrew and Museum of Europe in Brussels. His has translated sacred and philosophi- recent book on radical religions, Les cal texts into Chinese. Religions Meurtrières, garnered con- TAU Math Student Wins siderable media coverage in France. SIAM Prize TAU master’s graduate in molecular genetics Michal TAU doctoral student in mathemat- Dekel (pictured) is winner of the British Council’s 2007 ics Nir Gavish (pictured) won the FameLab in Israel – a competition to identify new faces 2007 student paper competition of in science. Michal, whose master’s research focused on the Society for Industrial and Applied detecting genomic alterations affecting fertility among Mathematics (SIAM) for research that males with chromosomal defects, was selected from could have implications among nine finalists for her presentation on single sex for the use of lasers in reproduction. As the winner, she participated in the atmospheric sensing 2007 Cheltenham Science Festival in Britain. and military applica- The FameLab competition is run along the lines of tions. The paper, which popular TV reality shows in which participants give short was coauthored with presentations on their work to a panel of judges and TAU and Chinese colleagues, was a live audience. The purpose of the competition is to published in the journal Physica D: New Science encourage young scientists to inspire and excite public Nonlinear Phenomena. Star Born imagination with a vision of science in the 21st century. 24 Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

community

TAU’s Financial Education Program, sponsored by Citi Foundation (for- merly Citigroup) and now going into its second year of operation, sends TAU students of economics, man- agement and public policy to teach disadvantaged adults how to manage their personal finances, plan their spending and deal with social service agencies. Dean of Students Prof. Yoav Ariel notes, “Our students will be taking leadership positions in Israel’s public and private sectors in the future, and this program provides them with practical experience in dealing with TAU Students Get Creative real-life social issues and deepens their sense of responsibility.” in the Community A community participant from last Teddy Bear Hospital allays children’s year, “Baruch,” said that “thanks to fear of doctors TAU students the TAU student who helped me, I A one-day workshop aimed at reducing children’s have taken care of my debts and are bringing anxiety when visiting physicians was held on the TAU received assistance from a lawyer. campus. Children (accompanied by their parents) were their skills Without the student’s help, I wouldn’t encouraged to bring in their “injured or ill” toys for a even have bothered trying to do such and check-up at the “Teddy Bear Hospital.” TAU medical things.” students acted as “doctors” who examined an assort- The program is directed by the TAU knowledge ment of dolls and bears. Each child was asked to de- Unit for Social Involvement at the scribe the bear’s problem and medical history, as well as into play for Ruth and Allen Ziegler Student Ser- to rank the severity of its pain and its phobia of doctors. vices Division, in cooperation with the the benefit According to the “diagnosis,” the bears were referred to social services departments of the Tel a specialist, sent for x-rays or sent to the pharmacy. Aviv-Jaffa Municipality and the ORT of others in The event was initiated by five students from the Singalovsky College in Tel Aviv. The Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and supported by the original and association of Israeli Friends of TAU Preschool Department at the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipal- initiated the program and provides it inspiring ity. An ambulance was parked outside to allow curious with regular assistance. children to climb in, examine oxygen masks, stretchers ways. and compresses, and ask questions. TAU Students Music makes for happier patients TAU students have been giving the classical treatment to patients at the Give Financially TAU-affiliated Tel Aviv-Sourasky Medical Center – but this time they are not medical students. Rather, they are from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Sound Advice Music and have been performing classical and jazz works at the hospital three afternoons a week, together with 6th-12th grade pupils of the Tel Aviv Music Conservatory. The first initiative of its kind in Israel, the voluntary venture is turning hospital waiting rooms into concert halls and putting patients and visitors at ease. It was launched through the support and endeavors of Prof. Tomer Lev, Head of the Buchmann-Mehta School; Amit Golan, Director of the Tel Aviv Music Con- servatory; Klei Zemer, who provided all the instruments; and Bank Hapoalim. 25 people Kasa’s Dream Dan David Youth Competition Winner Meets Martin Luther King III Security Perspectives The winner of the 2007 Dan David Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Foundation’s “Name Your Hero” Martin Luther King III and (pictured left); Deputy Prime Youth Competition, Kasa Getoo, met Kasa Getoo Minister and Defense Minister with Dr. Martin Luther King’s son, that offers high school pupils univer- Ehud Barak (below left); and Martin Luther King III, who visited sity courses while still at school. IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Israel. Kasa won the competition for “I have a dream that Ethiopian Gabi Ashkenazi, were among her piece on “I have a Dream/Martin children will feel part of this country the guest speakers at a Luther King,” in which she tells of the [Israel], that they will not flee from it, conference on “Security hardships and prejudice she faces as since they do not have any other,” Challenges an Ethiopian immigrant in Israel and wrote Kasa in her prize-winning essay. st of the 21 of how she was inspired by King’s On a recent visit to London, Kasa Century” held teachings to speak out against rac- spoke to Jewish high school pupils by the Institute ism. Kasa, 19, is a graduate of TAU’s on her personal story and met with for National Youth University, a program run by members of the London Jewish com- Security Stud- the Unit for Science Oriented Youth munity and the TAU British Trust. ies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University. This year’s con- Renowned Playwright ference focused Gives Carmel Lecture on the nature of future wars and Martin Sherman, the guest speaker at intelligence challenges. the 2007 Sheila and Yossi Carmel Lecture, is a Jewish American playwright most well-known for his controversial play Bent, US University which was nominated for Best Play of the Year by Broadway’s Tony Award in 1980. Presidents Visit TAU Dr. Elie Rekhess, Director of TAU’s He has also penned other award-winning In the wake of UK-based efforts to Konrad Adenauer Program for plays, including an adaptation of Piran- impose an academic boycott on Is- Jewish-Arab Cooperation, briefed dellos’ Absolutely, and Rosa performed raeli universities, TAU’s President Zvi Democratic US presidential hopeful by the Royal National Theatre, both of Galil hosted 11 American university Senator Barack Obama during a which were nominated for a Laurence presidents and chancellors. The visit, visit to the Arab village of Fasuta Olivier Theatre Award. During the lecture, aimed at strengthening research ties in northern Israel, organized by the performers from the Israeli Cameri Theater and student exchange activities be- Jewish Federation of Chicago. presented excerpts from his works. tween Israeli and American universi- ties, was part of an eight-day seminar organized by the American Jewish TAU Honorary Doctor Presiding over Committee’s Project Interchange. Prof. Galil told the visitors, “Tel European Jewish Community Aviv University has many centers of Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor, a well-known Jewish Russian excellence, and we know you are leader and philanthropist, was elected President of the Europe- looking for collaboration.” In particu- an Jewish Congress (EJC), which promotes the interests of 40 lar, he noted TAU programs in Middle Jewish communities throughout Europe. Mr. Kantor established Eastern studies, nanotechnology, the Kantor Research Center for the History, Culture and Life neuroscience, computer science of Eurasian Jews at TAU, is a member of the TAU international Board of Governors, and is a TAU honorary doctor. He also and archeology. He also announced Moshe Kantor new exchange programs with Brown serves as Chairman of the European Jewish Fund, President of University and the University of the Russian Jewish Congress and Chairman of the EJC Board of Governors. Toronto, emphasizing that TAU offers “European Jews are strong enough to tackle the many challenges they face several programs taught exclusively and have a bright future in Europe, despite rising anti-Semitism, assimilation in English. and sharp criticism of Israel in the region,” Kantor said. 26 Winter 2007/08 TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW

Two TAU Faculty Members Appointed to Israeli Supreme Court

Israel’s Judicial Appointments Committee has selected two members of the Buchmann Faculty of Law to be Supreme Court judges, Hanan Melcer Hanan Melcer Dr. Yoram Danziger and Dr. Yoram Danziger. Melcer, a TAU alumnus, is a supporter of the Law Faculty’s Periphery Program, which admits talented young people from outlying and disadvantaged com- munities to TAU law studies. Danziger received his PhD from the London School of Economics and has taught makers commercial law at TAU for many years. His law firm, of which he is a partner, donates scholarships annually to TAU law students. Both are members of the Buchmann Faculty of Law Board of Trustees.

Prof. Yitzhak Ben-Israel, Head of Prof. Eliora Ron, Department of Molecular

the Security Studies Program at the Microbiology and Biotechnology, Wise Faculty of Life news Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences and Sciences; Prof. Vitali Milman, Raymond and Beverly Chairman of the Israel Space Agency, Sackler School of Mathematical Sciences, and Prof. has been appointed a member of Knesset. Micha Sharir, School of Computer Science, both of the Prof. Ben-Israel has received numer- Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences; ous awards for his contributions to de- Prof. Yitzhak and Prof. Shlomo Giora Shoham, Buchmann Faculty Ben-Israel fense and intelligence doctrine, among of Law, were awarded the EMET Prize given annually by them the Singapore Defense Distinguished Award, the the Israeli Prime Minister’s office for excellence in aca- Israel Defense Prize (twice) and the Itzhak-Sade Prize for demic and professional achievements. Military Literature.

Yehiel Ben-Zvi will be named Vice President by special appointment. This follows 35 years of outstanding serv- ice to the university, 27 of them as Vice President for Development and Public Prof. Eliora Ron Prof. Vitali Prof. Micha Prof. Shlomo Affairs. Yehiel Ben-Zvi Milman Sharir Giora Shoham Mr. Mordechai Cohen has been ap- Prof. Asher Tishler has been ap- pointed Director-General of Tel Aviv pointed Dean of TAU’s Faculty of University. He has held several posi- Management—Leon Recanati Graduate tions at the university, including Deputy School of Business Administration. Director-General of the Engineering and Prof. Tishler also heads TAU’s BRM Maintenance Division. Cohen also served Institute of Technology and Society Mordechai Cohen as Director-General of the Academic and Eli Hurvitz Institute for Strategic Prof. Asher Tishler College of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Management.

Dr. Gary Sussman has been appointed Roni Krinsky has been named Vice President for Development and President of the American Friends of Tel Public Affairs at Tel Aviv University. Aviv University (AFTAU). Ms. Krinsky From 2004 to 2007 Dr. Sussman was the is an experienced development executive Director of Research and Development recognized for her innovative methods at TAU’s Harold Hartog School of of donor engagement. She holds two de- Dr. Gary Sussman Government and Policy, and he also Roni Krinsky grees from Tel Aviv University and served helped revitalize the TAU Trust in Great Britain. Before as the Vice President of the Northeast making aliyah in 1992, he served as Head of the Habonim Region of AFTAU for two years. Dror Youth Movement in South Africa. 27 Appointments: • Head of the Max and Betty Kranzberg Governance and Capital – Prof. Omri Yadlin, Law • Director Research Institute for Signal Processing – Prof. Ady Arie, of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Engineering • Head of the Ela Kodesz Institute for Cardiac Studies – Prof. Eyal Zisser, Humanities • Incumbent of the Physical Sciences and Engineering – Prof. Ofer Barnea, Helen and Yehiel Leiber Chair for Cancer Research – Prof. Engineering • Head of the Harold Hartog School of Nadir Arber, Medicine • Incumbent of the Sydney A. Fox Government and Policy – Prof. Neil Gandel • Head of the Chair in Ophthalmology – Prof. Michael Belkin, Medicine • Andrea and Charles Bronfman Institute for Media of the Incumbent of the Chair for the Micromechanics of Composite Jewish People – Prof. Yosef Gorny, Humanities • Head of the Material – Prof. Yakov Benveniste, Engineering • Incumbent of Alfred Akirov-Alrov Institute for Business and Environment the Tarnesby-Tarnowski Chair for Family Planning and Fertility – Prof. Yehuda Kahane, Management • Head of the Claire Regulation – Prof. Jehoshua Dor, Medicine • Incumbent of and Amedee Institute for the Study of Blindness and Visual the newly-established Chair of Computational Mathematics Disorders – Prof. Efrat Kessler, Medicine • Head of the newly- – Prof. Nira Dyn, Exact Sciences • Incumbent of the Kalman established Prais-Drimmer Institute for Development of Anti- Lubowsky Chair of Legal Theory and Applied Ethics – Prof. Degenerative Drugs – Prof. Yoel Kloog, incumbent of the Jack Chaim Gans, Law • Incumbent of the Emma Neiman Chair H. Skirball Chair in Applied Neurobiology, Life Sciences • Head for Childbirth Research – Prof. Marek Glezerman, Medicine of the Institute for Latin American History and Culture – Dr. • Incumbent of the Edouard and Francoise Jaupart Chair of Gerardo Leibner, Humanities • Head of the Sackler Institute of Theoretical Physics of Particles and Fields – Prof. Marek Astronomy – Prof. Elia Leibowitz, Exact Sciences • Head of the Karliner, Exact Sciences • Incumbent of the Zucker Sussman Djerassi-Elias Institute of Oncology – Prof. Dov Lichtenberg, Chair in Glaucoma Research – Prof. Shlomo Melamed, incumbent of the Lady Davis Chair of Biochemistry, Medicine Medicine • Incumbent of the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. • Head of the Institute for International Scientific Exchanges Adelson Chair in the Biology of Addictive Diseases – Prof. in Medical Sciences – Prof. Joseph Moisseiev, Medicine • Moshe Rehavi, Medicine • Incumbent of the Chair in Ottoman Director of the Batya and Isachar Fischer Center for Corporate Studies – Prof. Ehud Toledano, Humanities.

Honors: 2007 Young Investigator Award of NARSAD: the Mental Health Research Association, Dr. Yuval Bloch, Medicine • President of the European Federation of Research in Rehabilitation, Prof. Haim Ring, Medicine • Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy – the National Academy for the Humanities and the Social Sciences, Prof. Ariel Rubinstein, Social Sciences • George Freeley Prize, Prof. Linda Ben-Zvi, Arts

Generals in the Cabinet Room: Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia: Islam, How the Military Shapes Christianity and Politics Entwined Israeli Policy By Haggai Erlich, Lynne Rienner Publishers, USA (2006). By Yoram Peri, United States Institute of Peace Press, USA (2006). This work surveys modern relations between Saudi Arabia in Ethiopia, beginning in the 1930s and culminating Named Outstanding Book and one of the in today’s radicalization of Islam in the region and “Best of the Best” by University Press Books Ethiopia’s transformation from a “Christian island” for Public and School Libraries, this work into a multicultural state. The conceptual dilemmas traces civil-military relations in Israel since of Ethiopia’s Christian establishments, of its Muslim the 1990s. The author argues that while communities and of the Saudis are analyzed. Haggai Erlich is profes- once Israel’s military was the servant of its sor emeritus of the School of History, Entin Faculty of Humanities. civilian political leadership, today it is the Israeli gen- erals who lead in foreign Plenty of Room for Biology at the Bottom: An Introduction to Nanotechnology and defense policymak- By Ehud Gazit, Imperial College Press, London (2007). ing. Prof. Yoram Peri is Head of the Caesarea de This book attempts to unravel the mysteries of nanobi- Rothschild School of ology from its fundamentals to the most advanced ap- Communication and plications in the field. It is an important reference for Director of the Chaim those interested in the application aspects of the field. Herzog Institute for Media, Prof. Gazit is a member of the Department of Molecular Politics and Society, Gordon Faculty of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Wise Faculty of Life Social Sciences. 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