Tag: Honours & Awards

Prof. Oded Lipschits, head of The Sonia & Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology at The Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities at Tel Aviv University was announced as a recipient of the 2022 EMET Prize (for art, science and culture). He will be awarded the prize in June this year, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Israel.

The Researcher of the Great Empires

Prof. Lipschits was born in Jerusalem, a city which is very central to his research pursuits. He has served for more than a decade as Head of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, is the Austria Chair of the Archeology of the Land of Israel in the Biblical Period and Founder and Director of Ancient Israel Studies for MA and doctoral students.

He has been directing the excavation delegation at Tel Azka since 2010, and since 2018 he has also been heading the excavations at the temple which was discovered at Tel Motza and which dates back to the biblical period.

Prof. Lipschits’ works focus on the “Age of Empires” – the period of the rule of Assyria, Egypt, Babylon and Persia – and its far-reaching effects on the southern Levant in general, and Judea in particular. One of the great contributions of Prof. Lipschits was the recognition that contrary to the accepted chronological conception, the archaeology and history of the Levant in most of the first millennium BCE were shaped by the presence and rule of the great empires.

Through a series of books and articles he has illuminated how the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple did not lead to a period of complete exile of the land (“the myth of the empty land”), and that the period of “Return to Zion” is also largely a reflection of “the myth of mass return”.

“Striving for Excellence in the Archaeological and Historical Research of the Land of Israel”

In addition to his many publications, which became important cornerstones for the study of this period, another “building block” laid by Prof. Lipschits is an innovative study of Judean traditions within administration and economy, and especially when it concerns imprints on the handles of jars, a practice which was introduced in the late eighth century and continued into the middle of the second century BCE, during the entire period of the rule of the empires in Judea. These studies demonstrate the continuity of the administration and economy in Judea during the days of the First and Second Temples, before and after the destruction of Jerusalem, during the 600 years between the reign of Ahaz and Hezekiah until the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty.

“This is a great honor for me personally, and of course for all of us in the Department and Institute of Archaeology, at the Faculty of Humanities and Tel Aviv University, my academic home since the beginning of my studies,” said Prof. Oded Lipschits.

“This is an important and significant award for striving for excellence in the archaeological and historical research of the Land of Israel, and for many years of hard work and fruitful cooperation with friends and colleagues here at TAU and at other universities and Israel and around the world. I would like to thank the award committee for choosing me, and of course my friends and colleagues, my wife Yael and our four children, for the love and support throughout the years that I’ve been engaged in excavations, research and writing.”

Tel Aviv University presented the Arditi Foundation Awards to outstanding students in the field of art in Jewish-Arab relations. Students from various disciplines at six Israeli universities – Tel Aviv University, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University, University of Haifa, and The Open University of Israel – took part in the competition to write short original plays on Jewish-Arab relations in Israel, with the shared theme of “smells, sounds and tastes.”

The three winning plays were selected by a panel of judges from TAU’s Department of Theater Arts, The Department of Literature, and The Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies. The event was hosted by The S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies, sponsored by the Arditi Foundation, and in collaboration with the Department of Theater Arts in The David and Yolanda Katz Faculty of the Arts.

First Place – Emulsion

The prize for first place was awarded to Emulsion, a play by Nir Cohen Rothschild and directed by Riki Assor. The play is about Wajdi, the pantry chef in a successful restaurant. On a particularly difficult shift, when new apprentice Uri is shadowing Wajdi, another cook is running late, pressure’s high – as are the kitchen manager’s high expectations – Wajdi and Uri are experiencing communication issues that are preventing the kitchen from running efficiently. The play shows how communication problems arise and how they can be dealt with.

“Emulsion is exactly what we need – not only here in Israel but throughout the world,” said Hanna Birach, the student who played the role of Wajdi.

“The message of the play is that it is mixing, or unmediated contact that creates a delicious dish. We mustn’t judge those who have a different faith than us, and we are not the sole bearers of the truth. Only when we learn to listen will we achieve true coexistence.”

 

From Nir Cohen Rothschild’s winning play – Emulsion (Photo: Chen Galili)

Second Place – The Country’s Chef

Second place, went to The Country’s Chef, a play by Doron Rechlis and directed by Yochai Hacker. The play follows an Arab and a Jewish contestant competing against each other in the grand finale of the popular reality cooking show.

 

From Doron Rechlis’ play The Country’s Chef (Photo: Chen Galili)

Third Place – Being Only You for the Rest of Your Life

The play Being Only You for the Rest of Your Life, written by Sigi Golan and directed by Mor Halevi, won third place. The play is about a young woman who decides to meet with a man from a dating app. He is not at all what she expected, but they learn that there is much more to the other person than what meets the eye.

 

From Sigi Golan’s play Being Only You for the Rest of Your Life (Photo: Chen Galili)

No Choice But to Live Together

Prof. Raanan Rein, head of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic which affected everyone, regardless of national or ethnic identity, in combination with the sequence of violent events between Arabs and Jews that took place in May 2021 following the military Operation Guardian of the Walls, highlighted the need to find ways to live together in this country.”

“Tel Aviv University, as a leading research institution, has a cultural and social commitment. In a time of public discourse characterized by a degree of xenophobia and racism, there is a lot of value in a competition that expresses the pluralistic nature of the University and of Israeli society and the importance we place on the need to know ‘the other.’”

The founder and head of the Arditi Foundation, Mr. Metin Arditi, is a Jewish Swiss writer and philanthropist. He congratulated the participants, saying, “In Israel, Jews and Arabs have no choice but to live together.”

“Coexistence between Jews and Arabs is the inevitable fate of the State of Israel,” he concluded.

Features image: The winning playwrights (left to right): Nir Cohen Rothschild (1st place), Sigi Golan (3rd place), Doron Rechlis (2nd place) (Photo: Chen Galili)

The prestigious Academic Influence ranking has placed Prof. Zvi Galil as 7^th among the world’s most influential computer scientists for the decade of 2010-2020. Prof. Galil is an alumnus, former faculty member and department chair, and seventh president of Tel Aviv University. Academic Influence is an American AI-based platform that ranks academic institutions and lecturers according to their impact. Prof. Galil was ranked in the top 10 in his field, in part due to his contribution to making the knowledge of computer science accessible to wide audiences, and specifically for the online MSc in Computer Science that he pioneered in 2014 at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). The launch of the online program significantly reduced the cost of obtaining an advanced degree and made it available to populations unserved by institutions of higher learning. The program was widely acclaimed, and former US President Barack Obama commended it enthusiastically. Prof. Galil is an acclaimed computer scientist who has published more than 200 papers in leading journals, and one of the most highly cited researchers in his field. Among his leaderships roles he is the former dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing and former Morris and Alma A. Schapiro Dean of Engineering at Columbia University. Prof. Zvi Galil: “It was a great privilege to initiate and lead an online master’s program in computer science which offers high academic quality at low cost, thereby enabling large numbers of students – 16,000 to date – to realize their aspirations and improve their lives.”

The 2021 Dan David Prize will focus on three fields with special resonance in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and the efforts to combat the disease. The international prize, headquartered at Tel Aviv University, awards three $1 million prizes for outstanding achievements and extraordinary discoveries in fields representing the past, present and future, with different fields selected each year. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected nearly all aspects of life in recent months, is reflected in this year’s selection, as the prize seeks to reward major contributions in the fields of History of Health and Medicine, Public Health and Molecular Medicine. “Considering fields for the 2021 Dan David Prize in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic has been a challenging task,” said Prof. Ariel Porat, the president of Tel Aviv University and chairperson of the Dan David Prize Board. “We were seeking topics that would relate to the pandemic but not be limited to the quest for a vaccine or cure. We believe the fields we have chosen are newly resonant in light of our experiences these past months.” The prize in the “Past” category will be awarded to an outstanding individual or organization making an ongoing, groundbreaking contribution to the field of History of Health and Medicine. The “Present” category will focus on an individual or organization making pioneering and prominent advances in the field of Public Health – a sphere often overlooked in the world of prizes. The “Future” award will honor an individual or organization making an outstanding and ongoing contribution to the rapidly evolving field of Molecular Medicine, which, by deciphering the molecular mechanisms of disease, can accelerate the development of new preventative, diagnostic and therapeutic tools. The pandemic also impacted last year’s Prize, which was awarded in the fields of Cultural Preservation and Revival, Gender Equality and Artificial Intelligence. For the first time since the Prize was launched in 2001 by the late businessman and philanthropist Dan David, the traditional award ceremony was cancelled as the laureates, hailing from around the globe, were unable to travel to Tel Aviv to receive their prizes in person. Previous laureates of the prize include authors Margaret Atwood and Amos Oz, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, cellist Yoyo Ma, maestro Zubin Mehta, economist and subsequent Noble Prize winner Esther Duflo, geneticist Mary-Claire King and filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen. Anyone can nominate candidates for the prize via the website  before the November 30 deadline. More details of this year’s fields and the nomination can be found there too. Alternatively, contact the Dan David Prize office on [email protected] or +972-3-640-6614/5.

The internationally renowned Dan David Prize, headquartered at Tel Aviv University, annually awards three prizes of US $1 million each to globally inspiring individuals and organizations, honoring outstanding contributions that expand knowledge of the past, enrich society in the present, and promise to improve the future of our world. The total purse of US $3 million makes the prize not only one of the most prestigious, but also one of the highest-value prizes internationally. This year’s fields are Cultural Preservation and Revival (Past category), Gender Equality (Present category), and Artificial Intelligence (Future category).

The Laureates 

Cultural Preservation and Revival (Past Category)

    Lonnie G. Bunch III was the founding director of the Smithsonian’s inspiring National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., which constitutes the most comprehensive and significant project toward the preservation of the full sweep of African American history and its impact on American and world history. With over 40,000 exhibits, the museum has been critically praised for its clear-sighted, unflinching portrayal of the African American experience. An influential curator and prolific author, Bunch serves today as the Smithsonian’s 14^th Secretary – the first historian and first African-American to be appointed to this position.     Prof. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett is a distinguished scholar of Performance studies and Jewish Studies at New York University, who led the development of the core exhibition of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, winner of the 2016 European Museum of the Year Award. The museum is a hub for Jewish historical preservation in Warsaw, tracing the 1000-year history of Polish Jews, in an effort to re-animate a vibrant and culturally rich vanished Jewish world, which she has spent a lifetime exploring – telling the story literally where it took place.  

Gender Equality (Present Category)

  Prof. Debora Diniz is the Deputy Director of the Rights and Justice Unit for the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region, where she oversees strategies to promote and protect gender equality, sex, and reproductive rights and health, and to eliminate violence against women and girls in Latin America and the Caribbean region. Her ongoing contributions span her work in sexual and reproductive health rights, social protection, and reframing the Zika virus in relation to social and racial inequalities.   Prof. Gita Sen is a pioneering feminist scholar, researcher, and advocate. For decades, she has worked expansively in the fields of population policies, reproductive and sexual health, women’s rights, poverty, labor markets and global governance, combining her academic career with policy advocacy and activism. Her innovative research on disadvantaged populations in low income rural settings, together with her mentorship of young scholars and advocates, has made a significant impact on the field.  

Artificial Intelligence (Future Category)

  Dr. Demis Hassabis is a pioneer of artificial intelligence and a widely-cited neuroscientist. He is the co-founder and CEO of DeepMind, one of the world’s leading AI research companies, which seeks to combine insights from neuroscience and machine learning with the latest developments in computer hardware, to construct a mechanism for general-purpose learning – ‘artificial general intelligence.’ To date, DeepMind has published nearly 1,000 papers – including multiple Nature and Science publications – and achieved groundbreaking results in challenging AI domains, from self-learning algorithms playing strategy games at a “superhuman” level (DQN and AlphaGo), to protein folding and medical applications.   Prof. Amnon Shashua is a machine learning and computer vision researcher at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His work and insights formed the seeds of several startups he has co-founded over the years, including Mobileye (acquired by Intel Corp. in 2017), which develops AI to enable driving assistance systems and autonomous driving technology – to date, more than 55 million cars throughout the world are equipped with Mobileye systems; and OrCam, which harnesses computer vision and natural language processing to assist the visually and hearing impaired.

About the Dan David Prize

The Dan David Prize was established by the late Dan David, an international businessman and philanthropist whose vision is the driving force behind the international Dan David Prize. His aim was to reward those who have made a lasting impact on society and to help young students and entrepreneurs become the scholars and leaders of the future. Previous Dan David Prize laureates include cellist Yo-Yo Ma (2006); former US Vice President Al Gore (2008); novelist Margaret Atwood (2010); filmmakers Ethan and Joel Coen (2011); distinguished economist and recent Nobel Laureate, Esther Duflo (2013); and discoverer of the breast cancer gene, Professor Mary-Claire King (2018). The laureates donate 10% of their award money to scholarships for graduate or post-graduate researchers in their respective fields. Ariel David, director of the Dan David Foundation and son of the prize founder, said: “We are very proud of the unique model the Dan David Prize takes in turning the spotlight on endeavors that often do not fall under traditional prize categories, yet result in outstanding contributions to humanity that define who we are and shape our future.” The Prize’s unique model implements a ‘roving’ formula that rewards achievements in all fields of human endeavor, rather than in a fixed set of categories, and every year, a new theme is selected for each of the three time categories – past, present, and future. The six laureates will be honored at the 2020 Dan David Prize Award Ceremony, to be held in Tel Aviv in May 2020.

TAU is delighted and proud to announce that Prof. Vered Noam, Chair of the Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology, will be the first-ever female recipient of the Israel Prize in Talmud this year. The Israel Prize is Israel’s highest honor. In addition to her outstanding research which has been recognized globally, Prof. Noam is widely lauded for mentoring junior scholars and for making Jewish texts accessible to the general public in Israel. Among other activities, she founded and manages a popular Facebook group for the discussion of Jewish texts. Despite women’s advances in the field of Jewish studies, women have not yet attained equality in the field, Noam told Israeli media. “In our world Jewish women have a right and a duty to be part of the multi-generational conversation of the Jewish people and to belong to study and Torah.” Tel Aviv University’s Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology is leading a Jewish renewal movement in Israel. Inquisitive, open and cosmopolitan, the School provides a fresh, cross-disciplinary approach to the Jewish continuum—and is unique in the academic world. Prof. Vered Noam (photo: Miri Shimonovic)