Academic Advisory Committee

Honorary Chair:

Ambassador Gabriela Shalev, Israel’s former Ambassador to the United Nations, is now President of Ono Academic College in Israel. Ambassador Shalev is a leading expert in the fields of contract law and procurement contracts. Ambassador Shalev was the Chief Legal Editor of the Judgments of the Supreme Court of Israel. She has won numerous awards for her research, including the Israel Bar Association Prize (2003). She chaired the audit committees of Bank Hapoalim and the Israel Electric Company and served on the boards of Ma’ariv,  Hadassah Medical Organization, Osem Investments, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Delek Ltd. Group.

 “I got acquainted with the important work of ISEF when, as the Israeli Ambassador to the UN, I hosted an event at my residence in NYC. This event brought together some young, brilliant Israeli students, together with ISEF’s supporters.This event was one of the most exciting and moving events hosted at our official residence. As an academic and a Zionist, I was happy to see the amazing role ISEF is playing in supporting those young and talented Israeli students.”

Chair:

Professor Amnon Rubinstein, holder of the Israel Prize for Law, is Professor of Law at IDC Herzliya. He had a distinguished career as a Member of Israel’s Knesset 1977-2002, and during his tenure as Israel’s Minister of Education (1992-1996), he was instrumental in instituting undergraduate colleges in Israel, which have gained in importance in the ensuing years. Prof. Rubinstein is the former dean of Tel Aviv Law School and of Radzyner School of Law at IDC Herzliya. He is a frequent media commentator and has recently completed his fifth novel. Professor Rubinstein has been a staunch supporter of ISEF and its vision for over two decades.

“ISEF makes Israel a better, more equal society. While serving as Minister of Education, I worked together with ISEF to achieve high standards of education among those Israelis who would not have succeeded in this difficult enterprise without ISEF’s assistance and devotion. We are rewarded by seeing ISEF graduates in the intellectual and political leadership of our country.”

Members:

Professor Menahem Ben-Sasson is Professor of Jewish History and President of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was a Member of Knesset from 2006-2009 and chaired that body’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. He has served on the Board of Directors of Yad Vashem, as President of the World Union of Jewish Studies, and as Vice-President of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture. He has won many prizes for his research, including the Rothschild Fellowship and the Ben-Zvi Prize for the Study of Jewish Heritage. Professor Ben-Sasson has been instrumental in facilitating ISEF’s long and fruitful relationship with The Hebrew University.

Professor Ilan Hammel is Professor of Pathology and Head of the Graduate School Faculty at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine. He serves on the Board of Directors of Triangle Research and Development Center (TRDC), a nonprofit organization sponsored by the Ministry of Science which aims to meet the community health and environmental needs of the Triangle region’s Israeli Arab community. Professor Hammel chairs ISEF’s Executive Committee in Israel and also heads ISEF’s International Fellows selection committee.

Prof. Moshe Many, M.D., Ph.D. is currently Vice Chairman of the Board of Teva, where he has been a director since 1987. President of Ashkelon Academic College since 2002, he was formerly President of Tel Aviv University. He was Chief of Urology (1976-1987) and Chairman of Surgery (1983- l 1987) at Sheba Medical Center. Professor Many serves as Chairman of the Board of Real Imaging Ltd. and as a director of BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and of Rosetta Genomics Ltd. He received the Israel Ministry of Health Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his unique contributions to improving healthcare in Israel. He has been a friend of ISEF for many years.

Professor Ze’ev Tadmor is former President of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Chairman of the Board of the Technion’s Samuel Neaman Institute for National Policy Research. He holds over 20 U.S. patents and is a member of the Israel National Academy of Sciences and Humanities, a Foreign Associate of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, and the Polymer Processing Hall of Fame. He received the Israel EMET Prize in 2005. He established the Israel Plastics Society and founded “Bashaar – Academic Community for Israeli Society” to promote education in Israel’s most marginalized communities. Professor Tadmor has been of great help in facilitating fruitful cooperation between the Technion and ISEF.