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Herzliyan
The IDC
You can contact IDC Herzliya,
wherever you are...
Israel Friends of IDC
Gili Dinstein
Phone:+972-9-952-7212 • [email protected]
WINTER 2015 UPDATE
International Friends of IDC
Michal Cotler-Wunsh
Phone: +972-9-952-7321 • [email protected]
American Friends of IDC
Galit Reichlin
Phone: +1-212-213-5961 • [email protected]
Leslie Skyba
Phone: +1-212-213-5961 • [email protected]
UK & Francophone Europe Friends of IDC
Annette Bamberger
Phone: +44 (0)778 384 6852 • [email protected]
IDC Alumni Association
Adi Olmert-Peled
Phone: +972-9-952-7249 • [email protected]
Raphael Recanati International School
Rena Neiger
Phone: +972-9-960-2801 • [email protected]
20 Years of
Partnering with
Our Students
‫משרד החינוך‬
‫מינהל תיאום ובקרה‬
‫האגף לחינוך מבוגרים‬
IDC
Summer
Ulpan
July - August, 2015
OUR ULPAN IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
university students,
parents, grandparents
and others welcome
For students of all ages, 18 and up
Placement tests
Accelerated classes for advanced students
The ulpan takes place on IDC’s beautiful campus where
6,500 students earn undergraduate or graduate degrees
This ulpan will prepare participants for Hebrew
placement tests given at Israeli academic institutions
Participants who complete the ulpan will receive a
certificate from the Israel Ministry of Education
IDC HERZLIYA
For registration and further information
[email protected]
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programs
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Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy & Consulting
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deveLopMeNt (obd)
Live in israeL, study in engLish
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Us
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ÌÈÏÂÚ ÌÈË„ÂËÒÏ Ï‰ÈÓ‰
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‫המשרד‬
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IDC
www.rris.idc.ac.il
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[email protected]
WINTER 2015
Inside
2
14
24
Managing Editor
Lara (Greenberg) Doel | [email protected]
Copy Editor
Miriam Bulwar David-Hay | [email protected]
Writers
Joy Pincus | [email protected]
Ariel Rodal-Spieler | [email protected]
Sophie Vardi | [email protected]
Photographs
Alon Gilboa, Kfir Bolotin, Yuval Chen, Yotam From,
Liyam Flexer, Revital Brandes,
Jennifer Kozin, Adi Cohen
Zedek, Oren Shalev, Sarit Goffen
Graphic Design & Print Production
Roitman Design | 03-522-2562 | www.zrdesign.co.il
The Students Are Our Partners
2
IDC’s Entrepreneurship Club
4
A New Provost for IDC Herzliya
5
The Changing of the Deans
6
Students Bring Model UN Conference to Campus
9
IDC Students Launch Public Diplomacy Center on Campus
10
In Memoriam: Dolev Keidar z”l, Tzafrir Bar-Or z”l, Amotz Greenberg z”l
12
ICT’s World Summit on Counter-Terrorism: Terrorism’s Global Impact
14
RRIS Supports its Students and Alumni
18
Israel’s Largest Academic Absorption Center
20
A Decade of Celebration at the Recanati Home
22
Graduation 2014
24
In Memoriam: Steven Sotloff z”l
27
Honorary Fellows 2014
28
In Memoriam: Dina Wind z”l
35
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
36
Second Annual IDC Run in Memory of Lt. Col. Emmanuel Moreno
39
The 14th Annual Herzliya Conference
40
The Daphna and Gerry Cramer Exchange Program
46
IDC Herzliya’s 20th Anniversary International Mission
48
Launching the 20th Anniversary International Mission
49
Enjoying TED Presentations at Israel’s ‘Start-Up’ University
52
IDC Real Estate Club Rises to New Heights
55
20th Anniversary Gala Event
56
Israel Friends Gather to Discuss the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
59
Roger and Lisa Gladstone of Raanana Host International Friends Event
60
American Friends of IDC
62
Alumni Celebrate 20 Years of IDC Herzliya
66
Academics in Action: News from IDC’s Academic Departments
70
Spotlight on Alumi: Ronen Ginsburg, CEO of Danya Cebus Ltd.
92
69
The Students
Are Our Partners
IDC Herzliya’s
openness to its
students allows their
ideas and initiatives to
flourish.
G
uided by the vision of its founder and
president, Prof. Uriel Reichman, IDC
Herzliya is intent on teaching tomorrow’s leaders and instilling in them a sense
of conscientiousness, while at the same time
encouraging independent thinking. Empowered
by this vision that views them as partners, the
students conduct themselves in accordance with
the central values of IDC, freedom and responsibility. The result is a campus where students,
faculty and administration join forces to make
things happen, and where entrepreneurship and
innovation are palpable.
“IDC’s unique worldview is based on an interdisciplinary approach, academic innovation, combining theoretical knowledge with practice, and
most of all, partnership with our students,” says
Prof. Reichman. “This partnership has given rise
to dozens of student initiatives that have become
integral parts of IDC Herzliya.”
Every year, multiple student initiatives are
launched with the support of the university.
When students speak about a need that requires
2 // IDC WINTER 2015
attention or a new idea that needs cultivating,
IDC Herzliya gives them the support to make
it happen. One such initiative, of which IDC is
especially proud, is the Public Diplomacy Center
that operated throughout Operation Pillar of
Defense in 2012 and Operation Protective Edge
this past summer (see page 10). Reichman himself spent a Shabbat at the center with the students, who were volunteering around the clock.
IDC students have initiated numerous activities on behalf of the community, including legal
aid clinics to help those with limited financial
means, programs to mentor and tutor elementary-school pupils, and activities for at-risk youth.
The university supports the students by connecting them with the appropriate bodies in the
municipality and by offering advice. Some examples of community initiatives are the Ensemble
Project, in which students teach classical music
in an underprivileged neighborhood in Herzliya;
Law Students Serving the Community, in which
students from the Radzyner School of Law volunteer in courts; and Nitsaney Habentchumi,
in which students help prepare kindergarten
IDC Herzliya’s Vision: The Students Are Our Partners
❝
IDC students have initiated
numerous activities on behalf
of the community, including
legal aid clinics to help those
with limited financial means,
programs to mentor and tutor
elementary school pupils, and
activities for at-risk youth.”
Prof. Uriel Reichman (center) with (from left): Ryan Sonic, third-year
business student from South Africa, Stella Penn Pechanac, government
and Argov program graduate 2014 from Bosnia, Robert Demgenski,
third-year government student from Germany, Jessica Solange Cohen,
second-year communications student from Argentina and Ignez Aika
Belgica, third-year communications student from the United States.
– Prof. Uriel Reichman
founder and president, IDC Herzliya
children from low socio-economic families for
the first grade.
❝
Our main goal as educators is to empower students so they
thrive and actualize all their endeavors and initiatives.”
Other student initiatives include the IDC
Herzliya Band, the Drama Club, the Debate – Prof. Mario Mikulincer, IDC provost
Club, various sports teams, and IDC Radio. The
IDC Entrepreneurship Club, founded by business students, encourages and supports students
visions and of the support given by the univerin developing their entrepreneurship abilities by
sity. IDC Idol displays students’ musical talents,
connecting them with businesses, technology
with both RRIS and veteran Israeli students
graduates and academic experts, and by organiz- competing. The International Festival emphaing networking and educational activities. The
sizes the diversity of IDC students, exposing
IDC Model U.N. Club, which operates within
participants to the many unique cultures repthe Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy
resented at the university. The festival allows
& Strategy, prepares a delegation of students to
attendees to experience the flavors of each counparticipate in the annual international Model
try through food, music, and activities.
U.N. conference in the United States and other
“IDC Herzliya was established for the students,”
smaller conferences throughout the world.
says Reichman. “Universities are entrusted with
Among the projects initiated and imple- developing the human resources of a counmented by students of the Raphael Recanati
try, those who will continue the life story of a
International School are the IDC Idol talent
nation. We view the students as our partners
show and the annual IDC International Festival. here, and are proud to see them take initiative.
Both are huge events with many participants, We do whatever we can to help them achieve
and their success is a result both of the students’ their goals.”
Prof. Mario Mikulincer, IDC provost, agrees,
saying, “Our main goal as educators is to
empower students so they thrive and actualize
all their endeavors and initiatives.”
And Yarden ben Yosef, chair of IDC’s Student
Union, says: “We at the Student Union realized
that our interests and the interests of the IDC
administration are one and the same: We both
want the best for the students. Since we understood this, we have not stopped achieving wonderful things, working in collaboration. This is
the unique spirit of IDC Herzliya.”
Some of IDC’s student initiatives are covered
in greater depth throughout this magazine.
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
IDC WINTER 2015 // 3
Student Initiative: IDC Entrepreneurship Club
IDC’s
Entrepreneurship Club:
Founded For the Students,
By the Students
The club offers students of all faculties
consultations and practical tools to help
them bring their ideas to life.
F
or business-minded students, the IDC
Entrepreneurship Club is the place to go
for advice on everything from start-ups to
crowdfunding to investor relations. The club was
founded in 2001 by students who wanted to create a platform for encouraging entrepreneurship
and business leadership at the university, giving
students opportunities to network among themselves and with leading business figures.
“As the oldest studentrun entrepreneurship club
in the country, the club
has come far and has an
incredible reach on campus
and beyond.”
– Liat Aaronson,
mentor of the Entrepreneurship Club
“The IDC Entrepreneurship Club is the leading student entrepreneurship organization in
Israel,” says Hagar Sagi, the club’s chair and a
third-year business student. “We have more than
1,500 students participating each year, from 31 different countries. We also opened a program in
English for students from the Raphael Recanati
International School. Our mission is to create
value for entrepreneurs at IDC Herzliya. The
students who participate in the club’s activities enjoy our extensive network of connections
4 // IDC WINTER 2015
with industry leaders, as well as
free consultations with law and
accounting firms, venture capital
funds, angel investors, and more.
We really try to give them the tools
they need to succeed.”
Part of the Adelson School of
Entrepreneurship, the club offers
monthly meetings with Israeli and
international businesspeople and
technology leaders. Recent meetings featured Suzanne Ackerman- The IDC Entrepreneruship Club presents its activities
Berman, transformation director at and recruits new members during Orientation Week.
the South African retail chain Pick
n Pay, and Silicon Valley’s Michael Seibel, co- that the club encourages social entrepreneurship
founder of mobile video start-up Socialcam and
as a way to increase community involvement
partner at Y-Combinator. Other events are also
among students.”
held throughout the year, including hackathons
(in which participants work for 48 hours to pro- Liat Aaronson, executive director of the Zell
duce a new app), conferences, and networking Entrepreneurship Program at the Adelson
events. The club’s Start-Up Class program helps
School, is a mentor of the club. “The Adelson
students set up their entrepreneurial endeavors
School of Entrepreneurship feels it is imperawith the assistance of mentors from the busi- tive to support this completely student-powered
ness world.
initiative,” she says. “As the oldest student-run
entrepreneurship club in the country, the club
“The IDC Entrepreneurship Club fosters the
has come far and has an incredible reach on
entrepreneurial potential of students from every campus and beyond. We view it as our role to
help boost it even further and support the stufaculty,” says Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and
president of IDC Herzliya. “Alongside endowing dents working so hard to make it all happen.”
students with theoretical knowledge, the club
provides students with practical tools in various
- Ariel Rodal-Spieler
fields of entrepreneurship. I am also very proud
IDC Herzliya Changes Provosts
❝
My predecessor
left the legacy
of collaboration,
harmony and good
will on campus.”
- Prof. Mario Mikulincer,
incoming IDC provost
❝
A New Provost
for IDC Herzliya
The per capita research
of our faculty members
compares well to other
Israeli institutions. We can
be very proud.”
– Prof. Rafi Melnick, former IDC provost
After seven years, Prof. Rafi Melnick hands the
provost’s baton over to Prof. Mario Mikulincer.
A
new era has begun for the academic
department at IDC Herzliya. After seven
years, Prof. Rafi Melnick has finished
his tenure as provost, and is passing the baton
to Prof. Mario Mikulincer, the founding dean
of IDC’s School of Psychology.
The Herzliyan caught up with both men for a
look back at the extraordinary accomplishments
of the last decade, and a look ahead toward the
achievements yet to come.
“It’s the end of what was a very exciting time for
me,” says Prof. Melnick. “Helping to transform
IDC Herzliya from a start-up academic institution into a more mature one, covering almost all
the areas of the social sciences, broadly defined,
at undergraduate and graduate levels, has been
extremely rewarding.”
During Melnick’s tenure as provost, IDC
launched many new schools and graduate programs, and became recognized nationally and
internationally. Melnick, who has been at IDC for
16 years, including a stint as dean of the Lauder
School of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy,
helped develop a number of programs at the
university, as well as supporting many student
initiatives that make IDC unique in the Israeli
academic landscape. He was also instrumental in
establishing IDC’s student exchange programs,
with some 70 universities from around the world
now sending their students to study at IDC and
hosting IDC students on their campuses. “One
area in which I placed a great deal of emphasis
was developing IDC as a research institution,”
says Melnick. “The per capita research of our
faculty members compares well to other Israeli
institutions. We can be very proud.”
After handing over the reins, Melnick is heading off to the Free University of Berlin for a
year’s sabbatical, after which he will return to
IDC as a professor in the School of Economics
and in the Lauder School. He will also remain
a member of the boards of IDC’s Institute for
Policy Research and International Institute for
Counter-Terrorism, and the Aharon Institute for
Economic Research. Melnick says that of all the
wonderful times he has had at IDC, his fondest
memories are of meeting up with alumni and
seeing how their careers have blossomed after
graduation.
Meanwhile, Mikulincer is looking to the future.
IDC is currently awaiting approval from the
Council for Higher Education to begin granting
doctorates, and is planning to create many more
graduate and post-graduate programs. Prof.
Mikulincer also plans to increase the amounts
of faculty research, collaborative endeavors with
universities abroad, and student exchange programs, particularly with those in Asia. He also
plans to raise the number of international master’s degree programs in English.
“Rafi leaves behind some very big shoes to fill,”
says Mikulincer. “The university’s second provost, he really created the office of the provost at
IDC. If you take the numbers from 2007, when
he began, of students, programs, quantity of
research and number of faculty, and compare
them with today’s numbers, you will see that
they doubled, and in some cases tripled. More
than that, my predecessor left the legacy of collaboration, harmony and good will on campus.
As a dean, it was a pleasure to work with him
and I hope that I will be able to carry on where
he left off.”
- Joy Pincus
IDC WINTER 2015 // 5
The
Changing of
the Deans
Four schools have changed leaders in the 2014-2015
academic year. Here the incoming and outgoing
deans, and two new deputy deans, speak of
their visions and reflections.
“
We are all a family here at IDC Herzliya.
We share in each others’ successes, and
it is in this spirit that I wish all of our
new deans the best of luck in their
respective schools and thank the
outgoing deans for their meaningful
work to date.”
- Prof. Uriel Reichman,
founder and president of IDC Herzliya
* See the Academic News section,
pages 70-91 for more in depth profiles on IDC Herzliya's four new deans
6 // IDC WINTER 2015
The Changing of the Deans
The Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy
P
rof. Alex Mintz, outgoing dean: “In the
past five years, the Lauder School has
emerged as one of the leading schools of
public and international affairs in the world.
We hired 12 young faculty members who came
from some of the very best schools. Excellence
in research and public service were my top priorities, and indeed, our faculty members publish regularly in top university presses such
as Cambridge, Oxford and Stanford. We have
established a number of joint academic programs, including with the Woodrow Wilson
School at Princeton and an annual workshop
series with Harvard University. We founded
a top quality M.A. program in Government
with specializations in Diplomacy, CounterTerrorism, Public Policy and Political Marketing.
We also offer the honors track in Government,
the Program for Diplomats which trains ambassadors stationed in Israel, and a workshop for
new Knesset members. I am confident that Prof.
Boaz Ganor will continue the IDC vision – to
train the next generation of policy and academic
leaders who will make a meaningful contribution to society.”
Prof. Boaz Ganor, incoming dean: “The goal
of the Lauder School’s founders, Prof. Uriel
Reichman and Prof. Ehud Sprinzak z”l, was to
prepare the next generation of Israeli leadership
in the political, diplomatic and public arenas.
This is the same objective that was promoted by
Prof. Mintz, and the same one that I will continue to work toward. I plan on establishing some
new instructional programs, after I take some
time to speak to faculty members and administrative staff to hear about their views on the
school. It is also my honor to have on board as
the new deputy dean Dr. Liza Saban.”
Dr. Saban says: “Under the leadership of Prof.
Mintz, the Lauder School has been regarded
as a first-rate teaching and research institution,
and we have a special obligation to see that this
legacy of excellence continues. I am energized
by the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Prof. Alex Mintz.
❝In the past five years, the Lauder
Prof. Boaz Ganor.
School has emerged as one of
the leading schools of public and
international affairs in the world.”
– Prof. Alex Mintz, outgoing dean, Lauder School of
Government, Diplomacy & Strategy
The School of Psychology
P
rof. Mario Mikulincer, outgoing dean:
“Founding the school, which includes one
of the leading research institutes in the
country, the Maytiv Center for the Research and
Application of Positive Psychology, was a huge
accomplishment. Our students are happy, and
this year we established new M.A. programs in
Social Psychology and Clinical Psychology. I
am sure that under the new dean the school
will continue to flourish and gain recognition
around the world.”
Dr. Eran Halperin, incoming dean: “Prof.
Mikulincer has done an incredible job. It’s not
a simple thing to establish a new psychology
faculty. It is my job is to preserve what he has
❝
built. This is a young and very unique school. In
a very short time we have become one of the top
psychology schools in the country, with amazing researchers. In addition to the new M.A.
programs, we are also hoping to launch a third
degree program.”
Dr. Ora Nakash, the new deputy dean of the
School of Psychology, says: “In my new role,
I look forward to continuing to promote IDC
Herzliya’s emphasis on world-class innovative
research. I am also very excited about launching
our new program in clinical psychology and the
new state-of-the-art community clinic that will
serve the local population.”
Prof. Mario Mikulincer.
Founding the School of Psychology … was a huge accomplishment.
I am sure that under the new dean the school will continue to
flourish and gain recognition around the world.”
– Prof. Mario Mikulincer, outgoing dean,
School of Psychology, and incoming IDC provost
Dr. Eran Halperin.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 7
The School of Sustainability Founded by Israel Corp., ICL & ORL
P
rof. Mordechai Shechter, outgoing dean:
“Our goal is for our graduates to go into
the private and public sectors to promote
long-term strategic planning regarding natural
resources, and raise awareness in Israeli society
about sustainability. This is a relatively new area
that is truly interdisciplinary, combining economy, ecology, law, and other areas. My wish for
my successor is to establish additional generations of students and absorb new faculty who
will advance research in the field.”
Prof. Yoav Yair, incoming dean: “When Prof.
Reichman offered me the position of dean, I
was eager to take on the challenge of training
students in the field of sustainability. My vision
for the school is to grow and become the leader of a ‘green agenda’ both on and off campus.
We want our students to bring environmental
issues and the governance and management
of natural resources into the public discourse.
Here in Israel, we are used to thinking shortterm, and we worry less about how what we do
affects future generations. Our faculty teaches
the students to look through that prism and
educates them on how to make decisions today
that will ensure that Israel grows in a sustainable manner.”
❝
Our goal is for our graduates to go into the private and
public sectors to promote long-term strategic planning
regarding natural resources.”
Prof.
Mordechai Shechter.
- Prof. Mordechai Shechter, former dean,
School of Sustainability Founded by Israel Corp., ICL & ORL
Prof. Yoav Yair.
The Arison School of Business
P
rof. Ron Shachar, outgoing dean: “There
are several achievements to be proud of.
One of the most significant is that, using
objective measures such as high-quality publications per capita, the Arison School is now
equivalent to the top business schools in the
world, such as Wharton and Kellog, in marketing and finance. Another front on which we have
made drastic progress is our teaching program.
After realizing the importance of agility and
innovation in management, we have reinvented
ourselves in that direction, offering innovative
new courses focusing on coping with the turbulent world, as well as working with our students on improving their managerial abilities
and interpersonal skills. Another accomplishment is our mentoring program, through which
major CEOs in the country ‘adopt’ MBA students. We also built an advisory board, improving our connection with practitioners. I know
that Prof. Eckstein will be remarkable and further strengthen the school’s international ties.”
Prof. Zvi Eckstein, incoming dean: “The Arison
School is one of the leading schools in Israel
and the world in instruction and research. Our
programs give our B.A. and M.A. students tools
to be leading business people, connect them to
the business world, and expose them to the best
knowledge in the world on management, finance,
and marketing. We have many plans, including establishing a joint M.A. program with the
School of Economics, a joint program with the
Adelson School of Entrepreneurship, and a double program in economics and management in
the international school. We are also trying to
fundraise in order to establish research institutions in marketing and finance. Our goal is to
be known internationally as the leading Israeli
business school in research and teaching.”
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
❝
Using objective measures such as high-quality publications
per capita, the Arison School is now equivalent to the top
business schools in the world in marketing and finance.”
- Prof. Ron Shachar, outgoing dean, Arison School of Business
8 // IDC WINTER 2015
Prof. Ron Shachar.
Prof. Zvi Eckstein.
Student Initiative: Model United Nations
Students Bring Model UN
Conference to Campus
This past summer, IDC Herzliya’s Model United Nations students grabbed the
opportunity to bring 55 students from 12 countries to IDC Herzliya for the
HolylandMUN 2014 conference.
M
odel United Nations is a global educational simulation and academic competition in which participants learn
about diplomacy, international relations and
the United Nations.
The HolylandMUN 2014 conference was organised by Eliana Glogauer, a third-year student
in the Argov Fellows Program at the Raphael
Recanati International School of Government,
and Daniel Gindis, an RRIS alumnus and
honors graduate of the Sammy Ofer School of
Communications.
“Having both been involved for several years
in the international MUN community, we
thought it would be interesting to bring this
initiative to IDC Herzliya,” said Gindis, who
played the role of secretary-general at the conference. HolylandMUN 2014 came into being after
another international students’ conference in
Israel was canceled due to Operation Protective
Edge. Gindis and Glogauer, who played the role
of undersecretary-general, felt it was unfair that
so many international students, many of whom
had expressed their determination to visit Israel
despite the political and military situation, would
have no conference to attend. With the support
of IDC Herzliya, in the space of just three weeks,
the entire conference became a reality.
“HolylandMUN 2014 was a fantastic student-led
initiative that provided a unique opportunity
for the participants from different countries,
cultures and backgrounds to gather together
to learn about important global issues through
diplomacy,” said Jonathan Davis, vice president
for External Relations. “It was also a wonderful
opportunity to help further place IDC Herzliya
on the global map.”
HolylandMUN 2014 was staffed by top Model
U.N. participants from Europe and Israel, matching the highest standards of global Model U.N.
excellence. The conference comprised several
committees: UNHCR (beginner level), ECOSOC
(intermediate), and Historical Security Council
(advanced). Each committee discussed and
formulated resolutions on global topics, such
From left: Imran Bhaluani, undersecretary of personnel
(University College London, Oxford University),
Eliana Glogauer, undersecretary general (IDC
Herzliya), Amb. Michael Oren, Abba Eban chair
in International Diplomacy at the Lauder School
of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy and former
ambassador to the U.S., Daniel Gindis, secretary
general (IDC Herzliya communications graduate 2010).
as the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War and the South
African occupation of South-West Africa at the
beginning of the First World War. A special session was also held, without any forewarning to
the delegates, at which the committees worked
together to find a resolution to the global threat
of the Islamic State group. While some committees reached groundbreaking resolutions
and others did not, all participants thoroughly
enjoyed the debate and learning more about the
world and the threats facing it.
“HolylandMUN 2014 was a
fantastic student-led initiative
providing a unique opportunity
for the participants from
different countries, cultures
and backgrounds to gather
together to learn about
important global issues
through diplomacy.”
“HolylandMUN 2014 was careful not to limit
itself by its location, in terms of topic choice for
the various committees. The goal of the United
Nations is to foster international relations in
all areas of the world, not limited specifically
to Israel, or to the Middle East region, and we
wanted to reflect this goal with our choice of
topics,” Glogauer said.
- Jonathan Davis, vice president of External
Relations and head Raphael Recanati
International School at IDC Herzliya
Participants at the conference practiced research,
public speaking, debating and writing skills, as
well as developing critical thinking, teamwork
and leadership abilities. Dr. Jonathan Fine, the
academic adviser to IDC’s International program in Government, Diplomacy & Strategy, said,
“HolylandMUN 2014 was a distinctive initiative,
designed and instigated by the students to prepare young people in the social and public arena.”
The conference featured guest speakers including Col. (Res.) Miri Eisen, former IDF spokeswoman, Amb. Robert Hutchings, dean of the
LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University
of Texas, Austin and visiting lecturer to IDC
Herzliya, and Amb. Dr. Michael Oren, Abba
Eban chair in International Diplomacy at the
Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy &
Strategy and former ambassador to the U.S.
HolylandMUN 2014 also included social activities, such as a historic tour of Tel Aviv, a rooftop
pool party and a traditional Friday night meal.
According to Gindis, ”The social aspect of the
conference further fostered friendships between
participants that crossed borders of background,
culture and nationality.“
And Michael Yeomans, a participant from the
University of Edinburgh, said, “I truly had an
excellent experience at IDC Herzliya and hope
this year’s conference will be the first of many
more. It was incredible to see how the participants worked together in a neutral venue, building friendships and developing new skills to find
solutions to international challenges.”
- Sophie Vardi
IDC WINTER 2015 // 9
IDC Students Fight
Israel’s Social Media
Intolerance
Terrori
Intolerance
Boycott
IDC Students Launch
Public Diplomacy
Center on Campus
Rockets
Via the Internet IDC’s students make the case
for Israel during Operation Protective Edge.
❝
IDC Herzliya, with its 1,600
international students
from over 80 countries
and speaking 28 different
languages, was in a
unique position to wage a
campaign via social media.”
– Prof. Noam Lemelshtrich Latar, founding dean of
the Sammy Ofer School of Communications
T
his past summer saw Israel once again
facing unceasing rocket attacks on its
civilians from Hamas in the Gaza Strip,
prompting the launch of Operation Protective
Edge. With the clear message that Israel has
the right and duty to defend itself, students at
the Public Diplomacy Center at IDC Herzliya
fought valiantly to expose perverse anti-Israel
propaganda and make Israel’s case on the social
media battleground. Building on the success
of the advocacy center that was active during
Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012,
the project was initiated and run by the Student
Union, with infrastructure and mentoring given
by IDC.
The center was operational for 30 days, 18 hours
a day. It engaged over 670 volunteers, including
many from the Raphael Recanati International
School, who translated information into over
30 languages. Volunteers created and distributed original content, using Facebook, Twitter,
and the center’s website, www.israelunderfire.
com, which was used by people from 117 different countries. Students monitored information online, flagging and reporting offensive
10 // IDC WINTER 2015
content. Hundreds of fake photographs were
found and reported by volunteers, and were subsequently removed. Dozens of hostile Facebook
and Twitter pages and posts were reported and
taken down. The center supported 20 Israel rallies around the world and provided them with
tailored graphics and materials.
Yarden Ben Yosef, head of the IDC Student
Union, said that “the tireless volunteer efforts
by the students combined with the vast array of
skills they brought with them made the center
very successful. The efforts continued even after
the operation. We sent a special mission to the
U.S. to train university students there and give
them the tools to initiate and run similar advocacy centers on their campuses.”
According to Prof. Noam Lemelshtrich Latar,
founding dean of the Sammy Ofer School of
Communications, “Hamas’ most effective weapon was the international media, which reported
in a biased and unethical way. They failed to
highlight the context of the war, and did not
mention that journalists reporting from Gaza
were not free to criticize Hamas without risking
Student Initiative: Public Diplomacy Center
Over
100,000
likes
11,791
followers
670 Vounteers
30 Days
their lives, nor did they report that Hamas used
hospitals and schools to launch attacks against
Israeli civilians. All of this caused damage to
Israel’s international legitimacy. Fortunately,
new media offers Israel channels to reach international audiences without the filtering of editors. IDC Herzliya, with its 1,600 international
students from over countries and speaking 28
different languages, was in a unique position
to wage a campaign via social media to tell the
world the Israeli side of the story and engage in
discussions with those who care.”
The center’s achievements were phenomenal:
Over 40 million people were exposed to its
materials and messages. Its five Facebook pages
(in English, Portuguese, German, Spanish and
Arabic) received over 100,000 “likes”, and its
Twitter feed collected 11,791 followers. The center’s volunteers appeared in 51 local and foreign
media outlets, including the New York Times
and the BBC. IDC Herzliya’s Public Diplomacy
Center was described by Israeli media and government officials as “the most prominent and
significant public diplomacy effort in Israel during Operation Protective Edge.”
Inside the campus, the praise was just as great.
Prof. Boaz Ganor, dean of the Lauder School of
Government, Diplomacy & Strategy, said, “I was
serving in reserve duty during the operation,
and throughout, I heard the advocacy center at
IDC Herzliya being praised by decision makers,
which made me very proud. The student council
should be commended.” Jonathan Davis, vice
president for External Relations and head of the
RRIS, agreed wholeheartedly, “As a lieutenantcolonel in reserves in the IDF Spokesperson’s
Office, it fills me with pride when I see students
expressing a pluralistic view of the way they see
things in Israel, using their own words, in a credible manner. “
Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and president of
IDC Herzliya, said, “The public diplomacy effort
was truly one of a kind. I am very proud of the
students, who were motivated by a strong sense
of social responsibility and Zionism, which is the
true spirit of IDC Herzliya. I want to thank all of
the volunteers from the bottom of my heart.”
Coverage in 51
local and
foreign media
outlets
Over 40 million
people exposed
Five Facebook
pages in English,
Portugese,
German, Spanish
and Arabic
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
Students and Alumni Rally to Support Those
Affected by Hamas Rocket Fire
I
n addition to the impressive efforts of IDC
students in the Public Diplomacy Center,
there were many other student-run programs
during Operation Protective Edge, including
initiatives to volunteer in the south of Israel to
run programming for children and to collect
and distribute care packages for soldiers.
IDC alumnus Adv. Lior Zagury and RRIS student Brandon Weinstock, both graduates of
the Argov Fellows Program in Leadership and
Diplomacy, along with RRIS student Gali Niv,
partnered to raise money to support IDF soldiers
and families living under constant rocket fire in
Israel’s southern communities. They raised over
$22,000, and used the funds to buy ready-made
kits for soldiers in the field and care packages for
the wounded, as well as to purchase goods and
services from businesses located in the south,
which were in turn donated to soldiers and
affected families. This initiative was supported
by Gidi Argov, as well as the Argov Alumni
Association.
“There were several volunteer initiatives,” said
Zagury. “We fundraised non-stop, raising a total
of 300,000 shekels, brought soldiers packages
and pictures drawn by children from around
the country, supported businesses in the south
that were suffering, and more. We also left a
significant amount of money for activities after
the war. We spoke to the mayor of Sderot, and
together came up with an initiative to supply
20,000 shekels’ worth of computers for a community center there. I went, together with other
IDC Herzliya students and alumni, to visit hundreds of injured soldiers in hospitals around
the country and thank them on behalf of us all.
Before work and on the weekends I would visit
all the hospitals I could make it to.”
Letters from kindergarten
children collected by IDC
students and brought to
soldiers on the front line.
IDC alumus Lior Za
gury
visits a wounded so
ldier at
Beilinson Hospital.
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
IDC WINTER 2015 // 11
In Memoriam
Among the soldiers who fell during Operation Protective
Edge were three alumni. The IDC Herzliya family mourns
the loss of Lt. Col. Dolev Keidar, Maj. Tzafrir Bar-Or and Maj.
(res.) Amotz Greenberg.
Lt. Col. Dolev Keidar z”l
D
olev Keidar was killed on Monday, July 21, at the age of 38, along with three soldiers under his command, while driving back a group of Hamas terrorists who
had emerged from a tunnel on the northern Gaza border. Keidar, commander of
the Gefen Battalion at the IDF’s Officer Training School, was the highest-ranking
IDF officer to fall in combat since 2011. He was described by several senior officers as being
on his way to the highest echelons of the military. He served most of his time in the Givati
Brigade, including as a commander of the Rotem Battalion. He also served as an officer for
the Operations Branch of the General HQ in its division on the Egyptian border, and as
the bureau chief for then-Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. (res.) Dan Harel. After Keidar’s
death, Harel said that he was “outstanding among the outstandings.”
Dolev was described
by several senior
officers as being
on his way to the
highest echelons
of the military.
Keidar studied at IDC’s Radzyner School of Law, and graduated with two degrees, an
LL.B. in Law and Government in 2003, and an LL.M. in 2006, both with honors. He was
a graduate of the Ofek Forum for Involvement in Security and Social Issues, which aims
to develop high-quality leadership among the security forces. Dr. Hillel Sommer of the
Radzyner School recalled that, as part of the school’s joint project with the Knesset, Keidar
researched the constitutional right to life.
Born and raised in Kfar Saba, Keidar lived in Modiin with his family. He is survived by
his wife, Michal, his three children – Maya, 9, Uri, 6 and Guy, 2 – his parents and his two
siblings. Following his death, Israeli television replayed a 2009 movie produced by Michal
Keidar about the families of IDF officers and their struggles, titled “Waiting for Him,”
which featured the Keidars’ life together.
“The three alumni who fell, all outstanding officers, gave the
concepts of leadership and responsibility the ultimate expression,
and this is so painful.” - Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and president of IDC Herzliya
12 // IDC WINTER 2015
In Memoriam
Maj. Tzafrir Bar-Or z”l
T
zafrir Bar-Or fell in an IDF operation in Gaza’s Shujaiyeh neighborhood on
Sunday, July 20, at the age of 32. He was a deputy commander of the Golani
Brigade’s Reconnaissance Battalion, which he had joined 14 years earlier. BarOr was raised in Akko and lived in Holon with his family. In 2012, he graduated
from the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy. He met his wife, Sivan,
when they were both studying at IDC Herzliya. Speaking at his funeral, Sivan, who was
seven months pregnant with their second child, said, “My dearest love, my amazing Tzafrir,
modest and loving of humanity, for me you will always be king of the world.”
Tzafrir was truly
dedicated to the IDF,
described by his
soldiers as a “legendary
commander”.
Friends and family described Bar-Or as bearing a deep love for the country, and spoke of
the enjoyment he would get from hiking its trails. He was dedicated to the IDF, and was
described by his soldiers as a “legendary commander.” After enlisting in the Golani Brigade,
he served in conflicts in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. He is survived by his parents
and older sister, his wife, his one-year-old daughter Lian, and his baby son Harel, born
after his death. Visiting the family home, then-President Shimon Peres said that Bar-Or
“had long been a model of courage and dedication. He loved the State of Israel dearly, and
did not hesitate to pay with his life to protect the citizens of the south. He fell as a hero.”
Maj. (res.) Amotz Greenberg z”l
I
Amotz performed his
reserve duty voluntarily,
as he had already aged
out of mandatory service.
DF reservist Amotz Greenberg was 45 when he was killed on Saturday, July
19, by Hamas gunmen who attempted to infiltrate Israel from a tunnel and
fired on his jeep as it patrolled the Israeli side of the border near Kibbutz Ein
Hashlosha. Greenberg was an operations officer who had volunteered for duty
in the reserves, as he had already passed the age of mandatory service. His family and
friends described this as one of many testaments to his dedication to the country. Raised
on Kibbutz Yotvata, Greenberg lived with his family in Hod Hasharon. He was a graduate
of the second class of IDC Herzliya’s Radzyner School of Law, earning a B.A. in Law and
Business Administration (Marketing). For the past 14 years, Greenberg worked for the
Israel Securities Authority as the head of the Department of Research, Intelligence and
Oversight. He was considered one of the most valued senior investigators in the department, and one of the most esteemed experts in his field.
Greenberg is survived by his wife, Sagit, his three children – Lihi, 16, Ori, 12, and Shira, 8
– his parents and three siblings. Ori Greenberg spoke at his father’s funeral, saying, “Once
you only seemed like Superman; now you are Superman.” Shira Greenberg described a
father who loved to dance and hike with her. “Thank you for everything you did for me,”
she said in her eulogy, “I love you.” Sagit Greenberg said her husband was the love of her
life and her best friend, who filled her life with light.
IDC Herzliya joins the families of the fallen in mourning their loved
ones’ untimely deaths. May their memories be a blessing to us all.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 13
World Summit on
Counter-Terrorism:
Terrorism’s
Global Impact
In September, shortly
after the conclusion of
Operation Protective
Edge in the Gaza Strip,
the International
Institute for CounterTerrorism at IDC
Herzliya held its
annual conference, this
year on the subject of
“Terrorism in Shifting
Context.”
I
DC Herzliya’s Institute for CounterTerrorism, one of the world’s leading academic institutions in the field, facilitates
international cooperation in the global struggle against terrorism. This year, ICT’s annual
conference brought together over a thousand
decision-makers, defense officials, scholars, and
security industry leaders from over 60 countries
to learn from each other about the challenges
posed by terrorist organizations and strategies
for dealing with them. For the first time, the
conference’s plenary sessions were held at the
Daniel Hotel in Herzliya, while the workshop
discussions took place on the IDC campus.
“Two weeks ago, we weren’t even sure that
there was going to be a conference, as we were
still in the middle of the operation [Operation
Protective Edge],” Prof. Boaz Ganor, founder
and executive director of ICT and dean of the
Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy &
Strategy, said at the conference. He cautioned
that it was still “too early to judge who the victor
was and whether Israel was successful in achieving deterrence.”
The opening keynote address was given by
Shimon Peres, Israel’s recently retired president.
Peres gave strong support for the use of economic
14 // IDC WINTER 2015
sanctions against Qatar and Turkey to punish
them for financing terrorism. He also praised
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas, saying, “While the Palestinian Authority
has a pro-terror camp, there is also a pro-peace
camp, led by Abbas.”
Several government ministers and other Knesset
members addressed the plenum, often presenting
opposing views on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. MK Tzipi Livni, justice minister,
declared that a clear distinction must be made
between the religious ideology motivating
Hamas and the nationalist aspirations of the
Palestinian Authority. “Just as it is a mistake to
try to appease religious terrorism, it would be a
mistake to let terrorist attacks work against us
finding a solution to the conflict between us and
the Palestinians,” she said. Livni called for Israel
to adopt diplomatic initiatives to better connect
it to moderates in the Arab world in light of the
threat of extremist terrorist groups operating
in the region.
MK Naftali Bennett, economy minister, criticized the Israeli Left, accusing it of holding
outdated views. “The Islamic State is moving
to the east, Hezbollah is getting stronger to the
north, Hamas is building terrorist tunnels to the
ICT’s 14th Annual International Conference
Recipients of a Congressional Citation from Representative Peter King, chairman of the Sub-Committee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, US House of
Representatives (not pictured). From left: Shabtai Shavit, Igal Jusidman, Gerry Cramer, Daphna Cramer, Dennis Monette, Prof. Boaz Ganor, Jonathan Davis and
seated, Prof. Uriel Reichman.
❝
Shimon Peres, Israel’s recently retired president, arrives at the conference to give a keynote address.
Just as it is a
mistake to try to
appease religious
terrorism, it
would be a mistake
to let terrorist attacks
work against us finding
a solution to the conflict
between us and the
Palestinians.”
– MK Tzipi Livni, justice minister
south, and the Left is continuing with its regular refrain that a Palestinian state will solve all
problems,” he said.
MK Moshe Ya’alon, defense minister, stressed
the importance of international cooperation and
intelligence sharing when dealing with terrorism. He criticized the international community’s
failure to condemn Hamas as well as Turkey, a
NATO member, for supporting it. He also said
that the IDF “takes steps that no other army
would take in warning civilians of approaching
strikes against terrorists.” He discussed the difficulty in fighting Hamas, which hides among
civilians and launches attacks from hospitals
and schools, but said, “I have no doubt that we
can defeat terrorism. There is no better incentive than the fact that we have no other choice.”
Speaking on the second evening of the conference, Avigdor Lieberman, foreign affairs minister, called for a new set of international norms
to be established. “International law must be
adapted, and quickly,” he said. “Terrorists work
in real time, and without bureaucratic restrictions. They use the Internet for recruitment, propaganda, and raising money. The laws of war
are not updated to this reality. We can’t have
any strategic breakthroughs when we are still
using old tools.”
Shabtai Shavit, chairman of the ICT’s Board of
Directors and former Mossad director, discussed
the concept of proportionality in fighting terrorism. “If your enemy does not represent an existential threat, you should practice proportionality,” he said. “But when the threat is existential,
the term has no meaning.”
Amb. Dr. Michael Oren, Abba Eban chair of
International Diplomacy at the Lauder School
and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., spoke
about the boycott, sanctions and divestment
movement’s international campaign to isolate
Israel. He referred to the BDS movement as an
existential threat that Israel does not take seriously enough.
In a session on countering terrorist propaganda,
panelists discussed the phenomenon of “soft terrorism,” which includes delegitimization and
anti-Semitism. Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor, spoke about the need for
better diligence in Western government funding for NGOs that are often linked to terrorist groups. Dr. Charles Small, director of the
Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism
and Policy, called contemporary anti-Semitism
IDC WINTER 2015 // 15
MK Avigdor Lieberman, foreign affairs
minister, with Prof. Irwin Cotler, member
of parliament and former minister of justice
and attorney-general of Canada.
Amb. Dr. Michael Oren, Abba Eban chair of
International Diplomacy at the Lauder School
and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S.
Brian M. Jenkins, senior adviser to the
president at the RAND Corporation.
Panel on countering terrorist propaganda. From left: Shabtai Shavit, Prof. Rafi Melnick, Prof. Gerald Steinberg, Dr. Charles Small, Amb. Gideon Behar, David Brog.
❝
I have no doubt that we can defeat terrorism. There is no better
incentive than the fact that we have no other choice.”
– MK Moshe Ya’alon, defense minister
a “powerful fuel for the phenomenon of radical
jihadi terrorism.”
A series of workshop sessions were held on topics
including the psychological aspect of terrorism,
the Islamic State group, the impact of the Syrian
conflict on global terrorism, the policing and law
enforcement of terrorism, and cyber-terrorism.
The film “Manhunt: The Inside Story of the Hunt
for Bin Laden,” was screened for conference participants, followed by a discussion on U.S. counterterrorism since 9/11, featuring Peter Bergen, director of the National Security Studies Program at the
New America Foundation, who wrote the book on
which the film was based, Brian M. Jenkins, senior
adviser to the president at the RAND Corporation,
and and Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Russel Howard, director of the Monterey Terrorism Research and
Education Program (MonTREP).
On September 11, a memorial ceremony was held
for the victims of 9/11 and terrorism worldwide,
16 // IDC WINTER 2015
and this year an additional ceremony was held
to honor IDC Herzliya alumni who fell victim
to terrorism in 2014. Amb. Daniel Shapiro, U.S.
ambassador to Israel, mentioned U.S. President
Barack Obama’s speech of the previous day on
the continuation of air strikes against Islamic
State terrorists. Shapiro lauded the U.S.-Israel
relationship, saying, “The U.S. strongly supported Israel against Hamas. We will work hard to
make sure that as Gaza is being rebuilt, it is not
allowed to use materials to re-arm.” He also
spoke about the importance of resilience, saying, “Terrorists achieve their goals when citizens
fail to recover and bounce back. Americans and
Israelis have demonstrated outstanding composure and resilience in the face of terrorism.”
Prof. Uriel Reichman, president and founder of
IDC Herzliya, was among those who delivered
eulogies for IDC alumni serving in the IDF who
fell in Operation Protective Edge - Maj. Tzafrir
Bar-Or z”l, Maj. (res.) Amotz Greenberg z”l,
and Lt. Col. Dolev Keidar z”l - and for RRIS
graduate Steven Sotloff z”l, who was murdered
by Islamic State terrorists.
The closing gala of the conference featured an
address by Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs at the
Israeli Defense Ministry, who said that “Iran
is still the worst threat to Israel. If Iran gets
nuclear weapons, Israeli deterrence will disappear.” However, he did offer some optimism as
well, saying, “We have a broad coalition in the
Middle East, including Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait
and Saudi Arabia.”
Dr. Mohamad Kamal Al-Labwani, founder of
the Syrian Liberal Democratic Union, said that
he had come to Israel “hoping to find friends.
We need help organizing ourselves in a coalition
against the fanatics.” Finally, Dr. Mirza Dinnayi,
chief coordinator of the Yazidi community in
Europe, spoke about the attacks on the Yazidis
ICT’s 14th Annual International Conference
A moment of silence during the memorial ceremony for the victims of 9/11 and terrorism worldwide. From left: Prof. Boaz Ganor, U.S.
Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Prof. Uriel Reichman and Jonathan Davis.
❝
Iran is still the worst threat to Israel. If Iran gets nuclear weapons,
Israeli deterrence will disappear.”
- Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs at the Israeli Defense Ministry
Prof. Boaz Ganor, Dr. Mohamad Kamal Al-Labwani, founder of the Syrian Liberal Democratic Union and
Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs at the Israeli Defense Ministry.
Dr. Mirza Dinnayi, chief coordinator of
the Yazidi community in Europe.
by Islamic State. Earlier, during the conference,
Dinnayi said the group was being supported by
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and controls
territory four times the size of Israel.
destruction.” The prime minister concluded by
saying, “We need clarity and courage, and alliances as broad as we can make them with those
who understand that we’re in a common battle.
I’m confident that militant Islam will perish, but
we must not allow anyone else to perish with it
before it goes down.”
Towards the closing of the conference, participants were privileged to hear a special keynote
address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, who said that all terrorist groups
pose “a clear and present danger to the peace
and security of the world.”
“The battle against these groups is indivisible,
and it’s important not to let any of them succeed anywhere, because if they gain ground
somewhere, they gain ground everywhere,”
Netanyahu said.
He also addressed the threat of Iranian nuclear
weapons. “I think it’s crucial not to let the fight
against Sunni extremism make us forget the
danger of Shiite extremism,” he said. “My policy
is to weaken both. And most importantly, not
to allow either of them to get weapons of mass
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
Save The Date
ICT’s 15th International Conference on Counter-Terrorism
September 7-10 2015 / www.ict.org.il
IDC WINTER 2015 // 17
RRIS Supports its
Students and
Alumni Before,
During and After
Their National
Service
With many international students
in Israel without their families, the
Raphael Recanati International School
works to help lone soldiers, or former
lone soldiers, in any way it can.
❝Our mission is to provide
special treatment for
individuals who are willing
to contribute to and defend
the State of Israel.”
– Jonathan Davis, head of the RRIS and vice
president for External Relations
M
any of IDC Herzliya’s international students have completed IDF
military service and continue to do reserve duty during their
studies. Others are recent immigrants who plan to enlist in the
IDF after they complete their courses. Either way, many of the students are
in Israel without their families, and the Raphael Recanati International
School is working to help them in any way it can.
“Our mission is to provide special treatment for individuals who are willing to contribute to and defend the State of Israel,” says Jonathan Davis,
head of the RRIS and vice president for External Relations. “It is not surprising that every year IDC Herzliya is ranked number 1 out of 64 Israeli
colleges and universities in the way it accommodates students who serve
in the IDF reserves.”
Shelly Levy, the absorption coordinator at the RRIS, says, “Students who
served in the IDF and continue to serve in the reserves are given special
consideration at IDC Herzliya. When called to reserves during the academic year, students are given free tutoring and a special exam schedule to
compensate for any missed tests. Ten days of active reserve duty a year are
recognized as interdisciplinary academic credit. We also hold an annual
gala dinner for students who serve in the reserves in recognition of their
contribution to the country.”
18 // IDC WINTER 2015
Raphael Recanati International School
❝
Ten days of active reserve
duty a year are recognized
as interdisciplinary
academic credit.”
– Shelly Levy, absorption coordinator at the RRIS
Bur Ashrov is promoted to captain, watched by his parents, who flew in from Kenya for the
event, then-IDF spokesman Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, and Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, thenhead of the Interactive Media and Communications Branch of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
Daniel Kovler served as
an officer and head of the
counter-terrorism school in
the special undercover Duvdevan unit for six
years. “I do 40 days of reserve duty each year,
and the RRIS is extremely supportive,” he says.
For RRIS students who enlist after their studies,
there is a special staffer dedicated to helping
them navigate their way. “RRIS organizes special
‘Tzahal Club’ sessions a few times a year,” says
Levy. “These sessions provide information about
army procedures and positions, and allow former
soldiers to present their personal experiences. For
students about to be drafted, we organize one-onone meetings with an IDF academic placement
officer, who interviews them and begins the
placement process. Once they are in the army,
we keep in touch with our students, and as a token
of appreciation, we send them gift vouchers on
Rosh Hashanah and Passover.” Many students
are drafted via Garin Tzabar, a program that
facilitates army service for lone soldiers.
“We find that Garin members who have graduated from university bring a different perspective and level of maturity to the program,” says
Maya Bar-Aharon, a Garin Tzabar coordinator.
Tal Dahan came to the RRIS
five years ago at the age of 18
from California and studied
communications. He initially
had no intention of enlisting in
the IDF.
“But while I was at IDC, most of my friends had
either served in the IDF or were going to, and I
really wanted to do my part,” Dahan says. “IDC
Herzliya totally supported me. Even now when
I go back to visit, I really feel that everyone is
behind me.” In 2012, as soon as he graduated,
he joined Garin Tzabar and was drafted into
the Givati Brigade’s Palchan engineering unit,
where he currently has one more year to serve.
“Enlisting with Garin Tzabar was by far the best
decision I made in going to the army,” Dahan
says. “It gave me a support network that has
helped when things became hard.” Dahan fought
in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in
the summer. “It’s not the kind of thing you can
prepare for, no matter how much training you
have,” he says. “It was tough, but if we had to do
it all again, we would.”
❝
IDC Herzliya totally
supported me. Even now
when I go back to visit, I
really feel that everyone is
behind me.”
– Tal Dahan, from the United States,
communications graduate 2012
U.K.-born Natalie Doyle was
a lone soldier who served in the
Gaza Strip from 2011 to 2012
doing naval traffic control. “I
made aliyah three years ago,
when I was 23, and was
determined to get into the IDF,” she says. “I had to
go in every day for a month to convince them that
I wasn’t too old. Even though I didn’t speak Hebrew,
I wasn’t prepared to take no for answer, and
eventually I was drafted. Even with all the struggles,
I don’t regret anything – I learned a lot.” Now a
second-year psychology student, Doyle says that
“IDC Herzliya is becoming a second home to me.
Everyone really cares, and they worked hard to find
me a scholarship so I was able to study there.”
degree in International Relations, and found the
anti-Israel sentiment on campus very difficult to
deal with. “I was working at the Israeli Embassy
in London, but decided to come back to Israel and
go to the army,” he says. Heymann served in the
Air Force’s International Affairs Department.
“IDC Herzliya was the best three years of my life.
During my army service, I lived with four friends
from IDC, all serving in different units,” he says.
❝
IDC Herzliya was the best
three years of my life.”
– Emmanuel Heymann, from Luxembourg,
government graduate 2009
Bur Ashrov, born in Israel
and raised in Kenya, returned
to Israel in 2006, at age 20, and
studied at the Lauder School of
Government, Diplomacy &
Strategy. After graduating, he
was drafted as an academic officer, and served
in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit from November
2009 to April 2014, a period that included
Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza.
“To be at the heart of the IDF’s public relations
effort was a powerful experience. I had the
opportunity to influence what the media said
about our activities,” Ashrov says. “I always felt
that I could turn to the people at IDC Herzliya if
I needed something. IDC Herzliya gave me not
only an education, it gave me another family.”
❝
Emmanuel Heymann ,
originally from Luxembourg,
studied government at the RRIS.
After graduating in 2009, he
went to the London School of
Economics to pursue a master’s
IDC Herzliya gave me not
only an education, it gave
me another family.”
– Bur Ashrov, born in Israel and raised in Kenya,
government graduate 2009
- Ariel Rodal-Spieler
IDC WINTER 2015 // 19
Israel’s Largest Academic
Absorption Center at
the Raphael Recanati
International School
RRIS counselors offer advice on finding apartments, assistance in
preparing for exams, and everything in between, to provide firstyear international students a soft landing in Israel.
❝Besides offering academic,
personal and social
support to the students,
the counselors offer
them guidance regarding
available resources on and
off campus, and help to
bridge the gap between
cultures.”
- Sylvia Kassoff, director of RRIS Student Affairs
20 // IDC WINTER 2015
S
ince 2006, IDC Herzliya students who
have completed at least one year of studies, have counseling experience, and are
familiar with Diaspora Jewry, have been vying
to be accepted as peer counselors in the Raphael
Recanati International School. Through this program, the veteran students (those who have been
living in Israel for at least five years) advise firstyear RRIS students on everything from how to
open a bank account to where to go for a Passover
Seder. They offer support, comfort and practical
information to new, and often newly arrived, students, helping them navigate Israeli culture and
bureaucracy as well as university life.
the RRIS and IDC’s vice president for External
Relations. “The reason I decided to implement
the Peer Counselors Program was so that, rain or
shine, students could know that they have immediate access to someone who can help solve their
problems. With their strong leadership abilities
and interpersonal skills, these senior students
are in an ideal position to show new students
the lay of the land.”
“One of the outstanding achievements of the
RRIS has been to face the challenge of acculturation by walking the students through the
bureaucratic steps necessary to acclimate to a
new country,” says Jonathan Davis, head of
“The screening process includes a number of
interviews and workshops. Intensive training,
particularly during Orientation Week, prepares
our counselors for dealing with various situations and challenges that students face,” says
Sylvia Kassoff, director of Student Affairs at the
RRIS, explains the rigorous vetting and training that the counselors undergo before they are
accepted.
Raphael Recanati International School
Five hundred students visit
the Negev during the RRIS
orientation trip, October 2014.
The 2012-13 counselors’ team on an RRIS trip to the north of Israel
Kassoff. “Besides offering academic, personal
and social support to the students, the counselors offer them guidance regarding available
resources on and off campus, and help to bridge
the gap between cultures. They become a kind
of safety net for the students. The counselors
are required to be present at every RRIS activity. They are a dedicated team who work hard
and contribute greatly to the well-being of our
students.”
IDC graduate Hadar Tzour experienced both
sides of the program, first as a new RRIS student,
and then as a peer counselor and coordinator.
“Having a counselor during the first year of
school is a much needed extra support system
for an 18-year-old living alone for the first time,
or for the lone soldier who was just released from
the IDF and is adapting to civilian life,” she says.
“During my first semester, I had a general sense
of being constantly overwhelmed. My counselor met with me for personal one-on-ones
and we would just talk freely about everything.
The counselors also inspired the students to be
active on campus, and engage in things like the
Student Union or the debating team.”
Tzour credits her own counselor for inspiring
her to become one herself. “I wanted to be in a
framework with other devoted students who care
about IDC Herzliya, and to help first-year students as I’d been helped,” she says. “Being part
of the counselors’ team was truly one of the best
experiences of my life. Being a counselor taught
me so much about interpersonal relationships, it
enhanced my leadership skills, and most importantly, it taught me about respect and acceptance
of the other.”
Kassoff also says that “while the counselors are
helping out the students, they get a lot back in
return.”
Rena Neiger, director of the RRIS, agrees. “The
project is a three-way win: First-year students
benefit tremendously from the personal guidance of a veteran IDC student, the counselors
further develop their compassion and leadership skills as mentors to their students, and the
RRIS staff benefit from the counselors’ valuable
insights about students that might otherwise go
unknown. The RRIS is proud of the ‘soft landing’ we provide to our international students,
and the counselors contribute enormously to
our efforts.”
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
IDC WINTER 2015 // 21
The 2014 graduating class
at the home of Staci Light
Recanati and Oudi Recanati.
A Decade of Celebration
at the Recanati Home
Annual Raphael Recanati International School graduate dinner reflects
the Recanati family’s long and enduring commitment to IDC Herzliya.
❝
His (Raphael Recanati’s)
dream continues to be
fulfilled each year when
more and more new
students come from
around the world to study
here.”
– Oudi Recanati, chairman of IDC Herzliya’s Board of
Directors
S
taci Light Recanati and Oudi Recanati, chairman of IDC Herzliya’s
Board of Directors, honored graduates of the Rapahel Recanati
International School with a dinner at their home in an annual event
that has become a meaningful tradition for students, faculty and the Recanati
family.
“This year marks 10 years of the graduate dinner at our home,” says Oudi
Recanati. “Students have told me that it is a very important event for
them, as it is for me. It allows me to have personal contact with the students and tell them face to face how proud we are of them. It charges my
batteries for the next year and fills me with pride.”
The Recanati family has been involved in IDC from the outset. “Twenty
years ago, I received a phone call from Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder
and president of IDC Herzliya, inviting me to come and visit an old army
base,” Recanati recounts. “He told me about his vision of turning it into a
prestigious university. It sounded thrilling, if not a little crazy. I decided
to help him though, and I became involved with the progress of the university over the years.
“When my father (Raphael Recanati z”l) passed away in 1999, we wanted
to honor him by establishing an international school at IDC Herzliya with
English as the language of instruction. My mother, Dina Recanati, and I
made a 20-year commitment to the school, as we wanted to be sure it was
22 // IDC WINTER 2015
2013
Raphael Recanati International School
Oudi Recanati and Jonathan Davis with
Elliot Black, business graduate.
2014
Oudi Recanati accepts a gift from the Class
of 2013 from Prof. Uriel Reichman.
With a 15 percent
increase in registration
this year at the RRIS,
the international
presence on campus
has risen to an alltime high.
Prof Uriel Reichman, Shira Recanati Taub,
business administration graduate, 2000, and
Oudi Recanati with the Maccabi Electra
Tel Aviv Euroleague winner’s cup.
sustained. We got off to a bit of a rocky start, as
the second intifada broke out just as the first
school year was beginning. But Prof. Reichman
never lost faith.”
Reichman says: “IDC Herzliya is now the most
international university in Israel, with one quarter of the student body coming from 86 countries
and studying toward undergraduate and graduate degrees in English. The creation of the RRIS
has proved that it’s possible to provide academic
excellence alongside Zionism.”
Recanati adds: “My father’s dream was to
strengthen Israel-Diaspora relations. He was very
active in the formation of the state, and always
thought it was important for Israel to remain
close with Diaspora Jewry and vice versa. His
dream continues to be fulfilled each year when
more and more new students come from around
the world to study here.”
This academic school year, the RRIS has seen a
15 percent increase in registration from last year,
making the international presence on campus the
highest it has ever been. Astoundingly, 70 percent
of RRIS graduates stay in Israel after their studies.
Staci Light Recanati, wearing a student’s
Google glasses, and Oudi Recanati.
“A fascinating experience!!!”
“IDC Herzliya has become the number one academic absorption center in Israel,” says Jonathan
Davis, head of the RRIS and IDC’s vice president
for External Relations. “On a personal level, this
is the fulfillment of a dream come true: I was a
lone soldier and a lone student, and I wish there
had been an RRIS then to help me. Now, I have
the opportunity to help others who are in that
position.”
❝
The creation of RRIS has
proved that it’s possible to
provide academic excellence
alongside Zionism.”
– Prof. Uriel Reichman,
founder and president of IDC Herzliya
One of Recanati’s greatest sources of pride is the
help the school offers the international students,
such as assisting them in finding employment.
“We are their home away from home,” he says.
Recanati plans on continuing to host the annual
graduate dinner in the coming years.
❝
IDC Herzliya has become
the number one academic
absorption center in
Israel.”
“It has become a tradition. I love tradition,”
he says. “The evening gives us all a sense of
accomplishment. My family is very happy to be
involved in the realization of Prof. Reichman’s – Jonathan Davis, head of the RRIS and IDC’s
vision. I’m sure if my father were here he would
vice president for External Relations
also be proud to see that his dream came true.”
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
IDC WINTER 2015 // 23
Graduation 2014
Prof. Uriel Reichman, president and founder of IDC Herzliya, tells the
graduating class that they must fulfill their responsibilities and be
committed to making society a better place.
❝
I live among you graduates. I am aware
of your talents, the power of your
initiative, the depth of your commitment
and your sensitivity, your love of your
country and your openness to the world.”
- Prof. Uriel Reichman
“S
tanding here today, watching your collective strength about to
flow into society, I am filled with confidence in the leadership of
tomorrow and the future of this country,” Prof. Uriel Reichman,
founder and president of IDC Herzliya, said in his parting words to the
1,500 graduates of the class of 2014at their graduation ceremony on campus.
In honor of IDC Herzliya’s 20th year celebrations and in recognition of
its commitment to freedom and responsibility, Prof. Reichman offered
his reflections on how collective responsibility, once the embodiment of
Zionism, has been replaced with the need for individual responsibility. He
emphasized that as Israel’s future leaders, the graduating students must fulfill their individual responsibilities and be committed to improving society.
“I live among you graduates. I am aware of your talents, the power of your
initiative, the depth of your commitment and your sensitivity, your love
of your country and your openness to the world,” Reichman said. He
24 // IDC WINTER 2015
Graduation 2014
Father and daughter MA in government
graduate team: Jamal Majadlla from Bakaal-Garbiya and Safaa Jabareen from Umm
al-Fahm, with Jonathan Davis (center).
Maya Trajtenberg (far left) psychology graduate, with her
parents Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg, chair of the Planning and
Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education
in Israel, and Dr. Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg, deputy
governor of the Bank of Israel and former associate dean
of IDC’s School of Economics, and her son, Rafael.
Shiree Fox, communications graduate, with
MK Pnina Tamano-Shata, deputy speaker
of the Knesset. Shiree is spokesperson and
parliamentary adviser to MK Tamano-Shata.
Galit Zvi, head of IDC’s Scholarships Department; Ester David, Israel at Heart Ethiopian Scholarship program coordinator; Prof. Uriel Reichman; Jonathan
Davis; and Dr. Yitzhak Oron, dean of Student Affairs, with the graduates of the Israel at Heart Ethiopian Scholarship program and their children.
❝
Standing here today, watching your collective strength about to flow into society, I am filled
with confidence in the leadership of tomorrow and the future of this country.”
- Prof. Uriel Reichman
Attorney Navot Tal-Zur with his daughter,
Dana, psychology graduate.
Dr. Tali Eichenwald-Dvir, head of the
MBA program, with Rona Tzur-Davis,
MBA graduate and now Israel PR manager
at Wix, and Jonathan Davis.
Limor Edri Almog, LLM graduate, Moshe Edri,
co-founder of Cinema City, and Maya Edri.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 25
Adva Madanes, psychology graduate,
with her parents, Shuki, founder and chairman
of the Madanes Group, and Levana.
Ofer Nimrodi, Israeli jurist, businessman
and former publisher, with his son, Yonatan,
business graduate.
urged the graduating students to remember to
take the moral high ground and fight inequality and discrimination. “You must conquer your
new horizons and carry with you IDC Herzliya’s
motto of ‘Freedom and Responsibility,’” he said.
class of graduates from the School of Economics.
Belachovsky described the many voluntary activities the graduates took part in, including assisting victims of the 2010 Carmel fire and organizing a Passover Seder for elderly Holocaust
survivors. He said many of the graduates had
proudly done reserve duty in both Operation
Cast Lead in 20008-9 and in Operation Pillar
of Defense in 2012. He described how during
Operation Pillar of Defense many of the students from the Raphael Recanati International
School volunteered to establish a media situation
room on campus. By using various social media
platforms to disseminate Israel’s perspective, the
student-led initiative served as a counter-measure to the deligitimization of Israel.
Referring to programs such as the Zell Entrepreneurship Program, the Argov Diplomacy
Program, the Rabin Leadership Program, and
the New Lab – Media Program, Reichman said:
“You should use the leadership skills that you
acquired during these programs, as a guide
through life.”
Moshe Fadlon, Herzliya’s mayor, also addressed
the graduates, saying, “As you enter the workplace, my door is always open to you. I look forward to supporting new entrepreneurship and
business ideas that could further develop the city
of Herzliya, a city so dear to us all.”
Yair Itzhar Belachovsky, class valedictorian and
former chairman of the Student Union, congratulated his fellow graduates, including the first
26 // IDC WINTER 2015
Belachovsky also paid tribute to Israeli Air Force
F-16 pilot Maj. Amichai Israeli Itkis, z”l, who
would have graduated with the class, but was
killed during IDF operational service. Reflecting
upon the graduates’ time at IDC, Belachovsky
said, “IDC Herzliya is distinctive as it teaches and speaks the language of Zionism, love
❝
As you enter the workplace,
my door is always open to
support new entrepreneurship
and business ideas that could
promote the city of Herzliya, a
city so dear to us all.”
- Moshe Fadlon, mayor of Herzliya
of Israel and contribution to the community.”
He cited examples of graduates such as Bianca
Sitzer, who made aliyah from Venezuela and
enlisted in the IDF, and Netanel Twito, who
was elected deputy mayor of Nazareth Illit, saying that “IDC Herzliya represents ‘the beautiful Israel.’”
Musical interludes were provided by the IDC
Herzliya band, which sang a fitting and moving
tribute, “Time to Say Goodbye.” The graduates
and staff then proudly sang the IDC Herzliya
anthem, led by its composer, Prof. Shimon
Schocken, the founding dean of the Efi Arazi
School of Computer Science.
- Sophie Vardi
In Memoriam
Steven Sotloff z”l
Steven Sotloff, a graduate of IDC Herzliya’s Raphael
Recanati International School, was brutally murdered by
Islamic State terrorists on September 2, 2014. The IDC
Herzliya family remembers him as a unique and curious
individual, a serious student, and a dedicated journalist.
“Steven was a serious,
professional journalist
and a thoughtful,
idealistic young man
who risked his life
to tell the stories of
the Arab Spring.”
– Dr. Alisa Rubin Peled, senior lecturer
at the Lauder School of Government,
Diplomacy & Strategy and academic
director of the Argov Fellows Program
in Leadership and Diplomacy
“Steve died in pursuit of
doing something that he
deeply believed in, the
values of humanity and
freedom. He taught me
to do what I believe in.”
– Benny Scholder, close friend
and former classmate
• The “Steven Sotloff Scholarship Fund”
has been set up for BA Students at
the Lauder School of Government,
Diplomacy & Strategy who display
an interest in fostering peace and
understanding in the Middle East,
seeing truth, and sharing the values of
freedom and responsibility.
A
member of the RRIS graduating class of 2008, Steven Sotloff was a student of
Government and a freelance journalist who wrote about the Middle East. His
articles were regularly printed in publications including Time and Foreign
Policy. He reported from Tahrir Square in Cairo, covering the Egyptian revolution, as well as from every other hot spot of the “Arab Spring,” including Libya,
Turkey, Yemen, Bahrain, and, finally, Syria, where he was kidnapped near the Turkish
border in August 2013 and held hostage until his death.
Sotloff, 31, grew up in Florida, the son of Arthur and Shirley Sotloff and grandson
of Holocaust survivors. Interested in exploring his Jewish roots, he embarked on a
Birthright tour to Israel while he was a sophomore at the University of Central Florida,
where he studied journalism. He eventually decided to relocate to the region, working for
ABC news affiliates in Israel and Jordan, and enrolled at IDC Herzliya.
Dr. Alisa Rubin Peled, senior lecturer at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy
& Strategy and academic director of the Argov Fellows Program in Leadership and
Diplomacy, remembers Sotloff’s “steadfast determination to pursue a career as a journalist
in the region. He was a serious, professional journalist and a thoughtful, idealistic young
man who risked his life to tell the stories of the Arab Spring.” His expertise was talking
to people on the street, giving a voice to those whose stories would otherwise not be told.
Prof. Alex Mintz, dean of the Lauder School at the time of Sotloff’s studies, said he remembers “an extremely curious individual who wanted to learn everything about the Middle
East: its people, its cultures, its politics, the rivalries and competitions in the region and
prospects for change, radicalism, and peace. He was a very special individual and a very
serious student.”
During a memorial service for victims of terror, at which Sotloff was also commemorated, held at IDC Herzliya on September 11, his close friend and former classmate Benny
Scholder gave a personal and moving eulogy, recalling Sotloff’s “one-of-a-kind, zany
style of self-deprecating humor, underneath which was a very intelligent, deeply analytical person.” Scholder spoke about his friend’s kindness and generosity, and shared the
life lessons he learned from him.
“Steve died in pursuit of doing something that he deeply believed in, the values of humanity
and freedom,” Scholder said. “He taught me to do what I believe in. In a letter he managed
to smuggle out of Syria, he wrote, ‘Everyone has two lives; the second one begins when
you realize you only have one.’”
Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and president of IDC Herzliya, said that “the murder
of Steven reminds us again who it is humanity must fight against, but also teaches us the
values of tolerance, humanity, the search for justice, and freedom of speech. IDC Herzliya
mourns the tragic death of Steven Sotloff. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
IDC WINTER 2015 // 27
Honorary Fellows 2014
Prominent figures
representing Zionism,
entrepreneurship,
social responsibility,
academic excellence,
philanthropy, and
business success are
named IDC Herzliya’s
Honorary Fellows for
2014.
E
ight prominent figures from a range of
fields were named Honorary Fellows,
IDC Herzliya’s highest acknowledgment, at a ceremony celebrating the university’s 20th birthday. The new Honorary Fellows
are Profs. Michael Rabin, Michael Sela, Aaron
Ciechanover and Dirk Olzen, as well as Aharon
Yadlin, Judith Yovel Recanati, Daniel Jusidman
and Gil Tenzer. Also at the ceremony, in recognition of IDC’s commitment to the values of
freedom and social responsibility, businesswoman Suzanne Ackerman-Berman was named
the first recipient of the Wind Annual Social
Entrepreneurship Award.
Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and president
of IDC Herzliya, gave the welcoming address,
paying tribute to Israel’s founding academic
institutions such as the Technion, the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem and the Weizmann
Institute of Science.
“As IDC Herzliya celebrates its 20th anniversary,
we express our appreciation to the universities
for what has been achieved before our time,”
Prof. Reichman said, before commending the
28 // IDC WINTER 2015
honorees on their tremendous commitment to
Israel, the Jewish people and IDC.
“The combined achievements of each of the
Honorary Fellows symbolize modern-day
Zionism,” said Jonathan Davis, vice president
for External Relations and head of the Raphael
Recanati International School, who served as
the master of ceremonies. Prof. Rafi Melnick,
IDC provost, and Oudi Recanati, chairman of
IDC’s Board of Directors, presented scrolls to
each of the honorees.
Giving the keynote address on behalf of the
new Honorary Fellows, Rabin thanked IDC
and acknowledged Reichman’s vision in establishing the university. A Turing Award winner
and Israel Prize laureate for Computer Science
whose groundbreaking research enabled Israel to
become a world leader in high-tech, Rabin said
the rapid advances in technology are presenting
challenges for the future.
“In 1952, when I set out on my career, calculus
and math defined the architecture of computer
sciences. Reliable information security methods
From left: Prof. Aaron Ciechanover, Prof. Michael
O. Rabin, Aharon Yadlin, Prof. Michael Sela,
Suzanne Ackerman-Berman, Prof. Uriel Reichman,
Judith Yovel Recanati, Daniel Jusidman, Oudi
Recanati, Prof. Dirk Olzen and Gil Tenzer.
IDC Herzliya Bestows its Highest
Acknowledgment on 8 Honorary Fellows
and Initiates New Social Responsibility Award.
have developed rapidly and continue to do so,”
he said. “You [the staff and students] must be
ready to embrace change and be open-minded.
The future is yours.”
Sela, a world-renowned immunologist with
the Weizmann Institute of Science and an
Israel Prize laureate, said that society’s greatest
strength lies in the human brain.
“Despite enormous technological advances, each generation is obliged to develop the
human brain, thus preserving its existence,” he
said. “The necessity to develop and nurture our
minds is the common denominator between the
Weizmann Institute, my alma mater and second
home, and IDC Herzliya, your alma mater and
second home.”
Sela said that Reichman’s commitment to IDC
had enabled it to be recognized among the leading teaching and research institutions in the
world.
Aharon Yadlin, a former MK and education
minister who was recognized as an Honorary
Fellow for his outstanding commitment to the
Israeli education system, described the necessity to instill the value of social responsibility
into children to bridge social gaps in adulthood.
His words were echoed by Susan AckermanBerman, recipient of the Wind Annual Social
Entrepreneurship Award, who as transformation director at Pick n Pay Holdings Ltd.,
South Africa, mentors small business owners
and farmers and helps them grow into properly
run, thriving businesses.
❝
As IDC Herzliya celebrates
its 20th anniversary, we
express our appreciation
to the universities for what
has been achieved before
our time.”
– Prof. Uriel Reichman,
founder and president of IDC Herzliya
“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity; it is
an act of justice. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You now can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom,” AckermanBerman said upon receiving her award.
The Reuben and Faigie Zimmerman Choir,
sponsored by the Zimmerman family, provided
musical accompaniment during the ceremony. After the event, Zvi and Ghila Limon, IDC
board members, hosted a celebratory dinner for
the Honorary Fellows.
– Sophie Vardi
IDC WINTER 2015 // 29
Meet the Honorary Fellows 2014
Prof. Michael O. Rabin
Prof. Michael O. Rabin is a world renowned computer
scientist who has worked on mathematical logic, computational complexity theory, probabilistic algorithms, cryptography, and distributed and parallel calculations for over
50 years, laying the theoretical foundation for computer
sciences, without which today’s technological revolution
would not have been possible.
Prof. Michael
O. Rabin is a
world renowned
computer scientist
whose over 50
years of work, laid
the theoretical
foundation
for computer
sciences, without
which today’s
technological
revolution would
not have been
possible.
Born in Germany in 1931, Michael Rabin was just four when
his family moved to Israel. From an early age he focused
on mathematics, and received his M.Sc. from the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem in 1953 and his Ph.D. from Princeton
University in 1956.
In the late 1950s, working at an IBM research center, Rabin
and colleague Dana Scott explored how machines accept
and process regular languages, and introduced the idea of
nondeterministic automata, which have come to be at the
heart of all today’s electronic devices. Their 1959 paper on
the subject is now considered a classic in the field, and won
them the 1976 Turing Award, the world’s highest computer
science award. Over the subsequent decades, Rabin conducted groundbreaking research in the field of probabilistic
algorithms, developing theories and tests that have paved
the way for the development of modern encryption systems.
His Miller-Rabin primality test, Rabin cryptosystem, and
Rabin-Karp string search algorithm, developed in the 1970s
and 1980s, have enabled the design of safe and effective communication protocols used in nearly all information security
programs today. Rabin’s more recent research continues to
focus on computer security.
Rabin served as rector of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
from 1972 to 1975, and founded the university’s Computer
Science Department, which has trained world-renowned
researchers who have positioned Israel at the forefront of
the global high-tech and computer industries.
Rabin currently serves as a professor of computer science
at both Harvard University and Columbia University, and
has taught thousands of students in some of the world’s
leading universities.
In 1995, Rabin was awarded the first Israel Prize in Computer
Science for his groundbreaking contributions to the field,
and has received numerous other awards, including the
Harvey Prize, the EMET Prize, the Dan David Prize and
the Rothschild Prize. He has six honorary degrees and is a
member of several of the world’s most important science
academies.
Prof. Aaron Ciechanover
Prof. Aaron Ciechanover is a world-renowned biochemist and Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry for his research
on ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. His work has
proved groundbreaking in the research of disease mechanisms and has been vital for the development of anti-cancer
drugs.
Prof. Aaron
Ciechanover is a
world-renowned
biochemist and
Nobel Prize
laureate in
Chemistry whose
work has proved
groundbreaking
in researching
disease
mechanisms
and vital for the
development of
anti-cancer
drugs.
30 // IDC WINTER 2015
Born in Haifa in 1947, he obtained an M.Sc. in 1971 and
graduated from the Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem
in 1972 (M.D.). He served as a naval combat physician during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and later in the IDF Medical
Corps’ research and development unit.
In 1976, Ciechanover began pursuing his doctorate in biochemistry at the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology,
under the guidance of Prof. Avram Hershko. During that
time, the two discovered the ubiquitin system, which recognizes damaged proteins in cells and disposes of them. This
system has a crucial role in regulating processes in living
cells, as such proteins can be harmful. The discovery of the
ubiquitin system shed new light on the mechanisms of several malignant diseases, including uterine cervical cancer,
and degenerative brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. This new understanding resulted in the development of
drugs for diseases such as multiple myeloma, which in turn
revolutionized the care offered to patients and significantly
improved both their lifespan and quality of life.
Ciechanover received his doctorate in 1981 and went on
to carry out post-doctoral research at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, where he made additional breakthroughs in ubiquitin research. He returned to the
Technion’s Biochemistry Department in 1984, and is currently a distinguished research professor in the Ruth and
Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, as well as holding
the Janet and David Polak Chair in Life Sciences. He is a
member of several prestigious scientific academies in Israel
and around the world.
Along with his research partners Hershko and Irwin Rose of
the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Ciechanover
received the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discoveries. He also received the 2003 Israel Prize for Biology and
numerous other awards, including the Albert Lasker Award
for Basic Medical Research and the EMET Prize.
Honorary Fellows 2014
Aharon Yadlin
Aharon Yadlin
has worked
to combine
his vision of
making the
Negev bloom
with social
activism
and with the
promotion
of Israel’s
educational
system.
For almost three-quarters of a century, Aharon Yadlin
has worked to combine his vision of making the Negev
bloom with social activism and with the promotion of
Israel’s educational system. Born in Moshav Ben Shemen
in 1926, Yadlin became involved in youth movements from
an early age. In 1946, as part of the Eleven Points in the
Negev project, he helped found Kibbutz Beeri. Later he
moved to Kibbutz Hatzerim near Beersheba, another of
the 11 communities founded at that time, where he continues to live today.
Yadlin was first elected to the Knesset in 1960, and served
five terms as an MK, variously representing the Mapai,
Alignment and Labor parties. He was deputy education
minister from 1965 to 1972, education and culture minister from 1974 to 1977, and chairman of the Knesset’s
Education Committee from 1977 to 1979. During his time
in the Knesset, Yadlin worked to modernize the curriculum,
academize teacher training, reduce gaps in student achievements, promote an extended school day in impoverished
areas, and introduce a national school lunch program.
As a young man, Yadlin was active in the Histadrut labor
movement and became a member of the executive committee, secretary-general of the Labor Party, secretary-general
of the United Kibbutz Movement and chairman of the
World Zionist Labor Movement. He studied for an M.A. at
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and helped found the
Beit Berl teachers’ college, where he taught sociology and
served as acting director from 1955 to 1957.
After retiring from the Knesset in 1979, Yadlin returned to
teach at the Eshel Hanasi youth village in the Negev, at Beit
Berl, and at the Kibbutz Movement’s Efal Seminar, and was
the United Kibbutz Movement’s secretary-general from 1985
to 1989. He has written extensively on politics and social
issues, including a book, “The Goal and the Movement,”
on socialism in Israel and worldwide.
He was also one of the founders of Ben-Gurion University
of the Negev’s Sde Boker campus, the Beersheba Theater
and the city’s orchestra, and helped establish the National
Center for Education Professionals’ Training in Jewish and
Democracy Studies at the Beit Yatziv educational campus
in Beersheba, which he still chairs.
In 2010, Yadlin was awarded the Israel Prize for Lifetime
Achievement and Exceptional Contribution to Society and
the State of Israel. He currently chairs the Prime Minister’s
Foundation for Creative Work, the Bialik Institute, and the
Yad Tabenkin Center, and is vice-chairman of Ben-Gurion
University’s Executive Committee.
Judith Yovel Recanati
Judith Yovel Recanati is a prominent entrepreneur, philanthropist and social activist. Born into the Recanati family, which has made philanthropic endeavors their guiding
principle, Yovel Recanati has worked tirelessly for social
causes, including the advancement of young adults in Israeli
society.
Judith Yovel
Recanati is
a prominent
entrepreneur,
philanthropist
and social
activist who has
worked tirelessly
for social causes,
including the
advancement of
young adults
in Israeli society.
Yovel Recanati has a master’s degree in Art Therapy from
Lesley College, Boston, and in Psychotherapy from BarIlan University. Together with her thesis adviser, Dr. Yossi
Hadar z”l, she formed NATAL – Israel Trauma Center for
Victims of Terror and War, which provides psychological
assistance for those suffering from trauma and also supports their families. Yovel Recanati remains the organization’s chairwoman.
In 2004, Yovel Recanati, together with her husband, Dr.
Israel (Rolly) Yovel z”l, and their three daughters, Daria,
Noa and Gili, formed the Gandyr Foundation, named from
their initials. The foundation works to strengthen Israeli
society by supporting social organizations, especially those
focused on the advancement of young adults, and sponsors
scholarships for IDC students who are struggling financially. In 2006, together with Zionism 2000, the Rashi
Foundation and the Jewish Federations of North America,
the Gandyr Foundation formed the Sheatufim Center for
Civil Society, which works to assist social organizations and
individual philanthropists to better fulfill their missions,
and lobbies the government on social issues.
Yovel Recanati is active in organizations that promote
philanthropy, including Committed to Give, the Jewish
Funders Network, and the Lion of Judah organization, and
serves on the boards of several bodies, including the Israel
Museum, the Yahel Foundation and Tel Aviv University.
She has been named one of the 50 most influential women
in Israel and has received numerous awards for her work,
including the 2005 Health Minister’s Award for outstanding volunteers, the 2008 President’s Award for volunteers,
and an honorary doctorate in 2013 from Tel Aviv University.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 31
Meet the Honorary Fellows 2014
Prof. Michael Sela
Prof. Michael Sela of the Weizmann Institute of Science
is a world-renowned immunologist best known for having conducted the groundbreaking research that led to the
development of the multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, the
most popular multiple sclerosis drug ever sold.
Prof. Michael Sela is
a world-renowned
immunologist best
known for having
conducted the
groundbreaking
research that led
to the development
of the multiple
sclerosis drug
Copaxone.
Born in Poland in 1924, Michael Sela was a teenager when
his family moved to Israel. He studied for a B.Sc. and then an
M.Sc. in Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
graduating in 1946 and turning his focus to life sciences.
Fluent in nine languages, Sela studied at the University of
Geneva and worked at the Israeli mission in Czechoslovakia
for several years before returning to Israel in 1950 and joining the Weizmann Institute of Science. Under the guidance
of Prof. Ephraim Katzir, one of Israel’s most respected
scientists as well as its fourth president, he completed his
doctorate in Biophysics in 1954. In 1959, aged just 35, Sela
was awarded the Israel Prize for Life Sciences for his work.
Sela headed the Weizmann Institute’s Immunology
Department from 1968 to 1975 and the Biology Faculty
from 1970 to 1973. In 1975, he was named the Weizmann
Institute’s sixth president, and held that post for a decade,
until 1985. Between 1986 and 1994, he was deputy chairman
of the Board of Governors.
It was at the Weizmann Institute that Sela and his colleagues Prof. Ruth Arnon and Dr. Deborah Teitelbaum
conducted their groundbreaking research into the triggers of multiple sclerosis, which led to their development
of Copaxone. In addition, Sela and colleagues Drs. Esther
Hurwitz and Esther Pirak developed Erbitux (Cetuximab),
used to treat colorectal cancer, some lung cancers, and head
and neck cancers.
Sela has received numerous awards for his work, including the 1968 Rothschild Prize in Chemistry, the 1995
UNESCO Albert Einstein Gold Medal, the 1998 Wolf Prize
in Medicine, and prizes from Germany, France, Belgium
and Canada. He has served as a visiting professor in some
of the world’s leading universities and has been a member
of leading scientific and academic institutions in Israel
and worldwide, including an adviser to the World Health
Organization and president of the European Molecular
Biology Organization. He currently holds the position
of institute professor of immunology at the Weizmann
Institute.
Prof. Dirk Olzen
Prof. Dirk Olzen, a law professor at Heinrich Heine
University in Düsseldorf, is a member of the Friends of
IDC Association in Germany and the driving force behind
the long collaboration between IDC’s Radzyner Law School
and Heinrich Heine University’s Faculty of Law.
Prof. Dirk Olzen,
law professor at
Heinrich Heine
University in
Dusseldorf, has
been the driving
force behind the
long collaboration
between IDC’s
Radzyner Law
School and
Heinrich Heine
University’s Faculty
of Law.
32 // IDC WINTER 2015
Born in Wuppertal in 1949, Olzen began law school at Ruhr
University Bochum in 1967 and completed his doctorate
there in 1975. Two years later, he passed his bar examinations before the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court. In 1983,
he became a professor at Ruhr University and a year later
moved to the University of Hamburg, where he taught for
10 years, becoming managing director of the university’s
Institute of Civil Law Research between 1989 and 1994.
Since 1994, Olzen has been a law professor at Heinrich
Heine University, and was dean of the Law Faculty between
1998 and 2000. Since 1999, Olzen has been director of the
university’s Institute of Health Law, and since 1989 he had
been a co-editor of the legal journal “Juristische Rundschau.
Prof. Olzen has penned several books, articles and monographs on private, procedural and health law, and is a
member of the ethics board of the North Rhine-Westphalia
Medical Association. For 25 years he has been a lecturer at
the School of Business Administration in Wuppertal and
since 2006, the academic director there.
With the inception of IDC Herzliya 20 years ago, Dr. Harry
Radzyner, founding benefactor of the Radzyner Law School
and one of the IDC’s dearest friends, expressed his desire to
promote academic ties between IDC and Heinrich Heine
University. As a member of the executive committee at the
Moe Radzyner Brückenschlag (Bridge) Foundation, which
works to promote Israeli-German academic collaboration,
Olzen was the one to help realize Dr. Radzyner’s vision of
a student exchange program between the two institutions.
IDC now hosts an annual seminar for undergraduate law
students from both universities, while Heinrich Heine
University’s Law Faculty hosts a summer seminar in
European business law for Radzyner Law School graduate students.
Honorary Fellows 2014
Daniel Jusidman
Daniel Jusidman, a
prominent Mexican
businessman,
is renowned for
his philanthropic
work, in particular
his contributions
to education and
health institutions
in Israel.
Daniel Jusidman, a prominent Mexican businessman who
headed one of the world’s leading hardware companies,
is renowned for his philanthropic work, in particular his
contributions to education and health institutions in Israel.
Yad Sarah Center in Beersheba, and several buildings in the
Neve Michael Children’s Village in Pardes Hanna, including a crisis center for teenage girls, an enrichment center
for school activities, and a family unit.
Jusidman, whose parents emigrated from Russia to Mexico,
formed a special bond with Israel in his youth when he celebrated his bar mitzvah on May 15, 1948, just one day after
David Ben-Gurion declared the inception of the State of
Israel. Jusidman was also a member of the Hashomer Hatzair
youth movement, and in 1961, arrived in Israel to study for
a master’s degree at the Technion. However, he was called
back to Mexico because of his father’s sudden death, and,
at the age of 27, took over his father’s tool manufacturing
workshop, turning it from a small business with 12 employees into a global empire with 5,000 employees. Today, Truper
Herramientas is the biggest hardware producer, exporter and
importer in Latin America, and one of the biggest companies
in the field worldwide, operating across America, Europe,
Asia and Oceania.
Jusidman advocates educational activities for disadvantaged
youth, and since 2011, has contributed to the establishment
of the Educating for Excellence Association’s center in Ramle
(“Hinuch L’Psagot”), which offers a diverse educational and
social program. The 2014-2015 school year will see the inauguration of the Jusidman Science Center for Youth at BenGurion University of the Negev. He is also involved in other
educational projects, such as Be’eri of the Shalom Hartman
Institute, a pluralistic Jewish-Israeli identity program for
Israeli youth attending non-religious state high schools;
Neurim, a program that promotes leadership development,
volunteerism, excellence and equality of opportunity in the
Druze communities; Yuvalim, an enrichment, academic
excellence and community involvement program in middle
schools; Teach for Israel, which recruits high-achieving college graduates to teach in challenging schools; and Mifras,
which fosters quality and entrepreneurship among school
principals. His latest partnership was with the Kanot Youth
Village in a long-term plan to improve the overall achievements of the students.
Jusidman retired in 2007, leaving one of his sons to head
the business. Today he splits his time between Mexico City,
New York and Tel Aviv, dedicating himself to a wide range
of philanthropic endeavors, in particular those aimed at
benefiting disadvantaged sectors in Israel.
Through Keren Daniel, the foundation headed by his son
Igal, Jusidman has sponsored the construction of a new
trauma and emergency medicine wing at Rabin Medical
Center’s Beilinson Campus in Petach Tikva, the regional
Jusidman has a close relationship with IDC Herzliya and is
a member of the American Friends of IDC. He also contributes to the research activities of the International Institute
for Counter-Terrorism.
Gil Tenzer
Gil Tenzer, co-founder of Contrarian Capital Management
and head of its real estate investments, is chairman of the
American Friends of IDC Herzliya’s Board of Trustees.
Gil Tenzer,
co-founder of
Contrarian Capital
Management and
head of its real
estate investments,
is chairman of the
American Friends
of IDC Herzliya’s
Board of Trustees.
After earning a B.Sc. in Business Administration from
Georgetown University in 1984 and an MBA from the
University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business
in 1987, Tenzer began working for leading American real
estate investor Arthur G. Cohen, and was responsible for
analysis, financing, acquisition, merging, restructuring and
asset management of diverse investments.
In 1993, Tenzer joined Oppenheimer and Co. as senior
analyst and co-head of the High Yield Real Estate Group,
which focused on distressed real estate and corporate debt
investments. Two years later, along with two partners, he
co-founded Contrarian Capital Management, and headed
the company’s real estate investments. He has also served
on several creditor and unofficial bondholder committees.
For the past 19 years, the firm has continued to manage
primarily institutional capital from its Connecticut headquarters. The company also has offices in Paris, Brazil and
Hong Kong.
In 2007, Tenzer dedicated the Atara Kaufman Auditorium
in the Arison-Lauder Building, named for his late mother.
In 2008, he established the Mimi Gishuri Scholarship
Fund for Israeli and Ethiopian students attending IDC,
named in honor of his great-aunt. In 2012, he dedicated
the Atara Kaufman Chair in Real Estate at the Radzyner
Law School, with the aim of bolstering IDC’s position as a
center of excellence in the field of real estate.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 33
Meet IDC Herzliya’s First
Wind Annual Social Entrepreneurship Award Recipient
Suzanne Ackerman-Berman
Suzanne Ackerman-Berman is a successful South African
businesswoman who serves as director of transformation
at Pick n Pay Holdings Ltd., one of the biggest retail chains
in South Africa.
Suzanne is
the director of
transformation at
Pick n Pay Holdings
Ltd. South Africa,
chairwoman of
the Pick n Pay
Foundation and the
founder behind the
foundation’s Small
Business Incubator
initiative, helping
small businesses,
entrepreneurs
and farmers to
successfully turn
their businesses
into
thriving
entities.
Quoting her father, Raymond Ackerman, the founder of the
Pick n Pay chain, Ackerman-Berman likes to say, “One is not
only in business to make money. You’ve got to do business
from the heart, make people feel safe and happy to come to
work every day.” She notes some of the ways in which Pick n
Pay’s management does so for the company’s staff of 60,000,
including subsidized hot meals, paid transportation home
at the end of shifts, clean shirts for every day of the week,
and a laundry allowance.
As chairwoman of the Pick n Pay Foundation and the founder and driving force behind the foundation’s Small Business
Incubator initiative, Ackerman-Berman has helped small
businesses, entrepreneurs and farmers to successfully develop their enterprises, penetrate markets and play a more
significant role in the economy, turning their businesses
into viable and thriving entities. In the past year, over 72
businesses and farmers have participated in the program,
promoted by the company’s Transformation Department
under Ackerman-Berman’s leadership.
During her undergraduate studies at the University of
Cape Town, where she majored in French and politics,
Ackerman-Berman became the first woman to head the
RAG (Remember and Give) Fundraising Committee. She
was later elected vice chair of the university’s Students’
Health and Welfare Centers Organization, an NGO that
seeks to improve the quality of life for underprivileged communities in the greater Cape Town area. After receiving her
bachelor’s degree, Ackerman-Berman attended schools in
The 2014 Honorary Fellows with IDC Herzliya's president,
chairman of the board, provost, and deans.
34 // IDC WINTER 2015
Switzerland and the United States and completed her studies at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of
Business. After a stint working overseas, she returned to
South Africa and joined Pick n Pay in 1995, where she worked
in various positions, from floor management to acquisitions
and marketing. In 2001, she became the company’s general
manager of corporate affairs and social responsibility, and
in 2007 she was appointed transformation director. In 2010
she was named to the company’s board of directors.
That same year, Ackerman-Berman graduated as a Fellow of
the First Movers Fellowship Program of the Aspen Business
Institute of Management. Today she lectures international
MBA students on business ethics and practices in South
Africa. She has also co-authored a book with her father on
the development of entrepreneurs in South Africa.
Ackerman-Berman’s motto in life is, “Do something to make
a difference in someone’s life, every single day, no matter
how small.” In addition to her business activities, AckermanBerman is involved with the Red Cross Children’s Hospital;
is a patron of the Sunflower Fund, which helps patients with
leukemia and other blood diseases; sits on the board of the
SMILE Foundation, which helps children suffering from
facial abnormalities, and participates in other community
initiatives. She is also a joint chair of South African Friends
of the Israel Museum. Ackerman-Berman has received several awards for her business and philanthropic activities,
including the Inyathelo Philanthropy Award for outstanding contribution to philanthropy in South Africa, and the
Lions Clubs’ Louis Volks Humanitarian Award. In 2013,
she was named an honorary member of the Golden Key
International Honor Society, an organization dedicated to
promoting excellence in academia, leadership, and public
service.
In Memoriam
Dina Wind z”l
IDC Herzliya mourns the loss of its longtime friend and
supporter Dina Wind z”l, who passed away on September 9
after a courageous battle against cancer. She was 76.
D
“As long as IDC Herzliya
exists, so too will Dina
Wind’s memory.”
- Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder
and president of IDC Herzliya
ina Wind juggled many roles during her life – as a wife and mother,
an artist, a businesswoman, and
a longtime patron of the arts. As a
sculptor, she had a gift of creating beauty
from what others perceived as “junk.” As a
businesswoman, she managed the daily operations of Wind Associates, Inc., since its inception in 1975. As an active board member, she
contributed to the Fleisher Art Memorial and
many other Philadelphia art organizations. As
a dedicated wife, mother and grandmother,
she always made time for her family.
Her intellectual curiosity was never-ending.
As a lifelong student, she earned a B.A. in
Sociology and Education from the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem in 1962 and an M.A.
from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975.
In 1977, she completed the Barnes Foundation
Program. Throughout the years, her paintings,
metal sculptures and installations featured in
numerous prestigious galleries in New York
and Philadelphia. Dina Wind referred to her
sculptures as “drawings in space.” She shared
a studio space with her son, John Wind, a
leading jewelry designer, and they explored
many overlapping interests and inspired each
other’s work.
Passionate supporters of education, Dina Wind
and her husband, Jerry Wind, a professor at
the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton “Her commitment to creativity and artistic
School, helped Prof. Uriel Reichman to estab- expression will always be there, encouraging
lish IDC Herzliya. Dina Wind was the found- me to take risks and innovate,” said John Wind.
ing secretary of the American Friends of IDC
Herzliya, and over the years, she and her hus- For many years, IDC Herzliya students and
band hosted fundraising dinners at their home
staff have gained pleasure from Dina Wind’s
sculptures, which are prominently displayed
and organized fundraising visits to Israel. The
couple established the annual Wind Social
in IDC Herzliya’s sculpture garden. During
Entrepreneurship award and financed a series
her last visit to Israel, in June, she attended the
of prestigious lectures. At the Dina Wind
annual Honorary Fellows and graduation cerCelebration of Life memorial event, held at the
emonies, and chatted with guests at an elegant
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Prof. Reichman
reception held in the sculpture garden. In her
spoke of her vast contribution to IDC Herzliya, modest way, the visit was her farewell to IDC
Herzliya and to Israel.
saying, “As long as IDC Herzliya exists, so too
will Dina Wind’s memory.”
Dina Wind is survived by her husband, two
Born Vardina Luria in Haifa, in what was
sons, a son-in-law, and a granddaughter.
then British Mandate-Palestine, she was 10
years old when Israel became an independent
The Dina Wind Scholarship has been created
state in 1948. After completing high school, in her memory, enabling an American to study
she served in the IDF as a corporal during
at one of the 10 interdisciplinary schools of IDC
the 1956 Sinai campaign, coding and decod- Herzliya. The scholarship will serve as a lasting
ing confidential communications. She met her
tribute to Dina Wind’s legacy.
husband-to-be while studying at the Hebrew
For further information, please contact
University of Jerusalem, and they married in
the American Friends of IDC:
August 1959. The couple moved to the U.S. in
Galit Reichlin, executive director –
1963 so Jerry Wind could study at Stanford
[email protected]
University. In 1966, when he was appointed to
Leslie Skyba, development director –
the faculty at the Wharton School, they moved
to Philadelphia. Dina Wind became a U.S. citi- [email protected]
zen in 1974, but retained her Israeli citizenship.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 35
Unveiling the Malka and
Amnon Lion Auditorium
Ambassadors Club Revs Up for the 2014-2015 Academic Year
Over 200 students arrived for the first meeting of the Ambassador’s Club to hear keynote
speaker Vivian Bercovici, Canadian ambassador to Israel. Photograph: Shay Druek
Amnon and Malka Lion with Prof. Uriel
Reichman display the plaque naming the Malka
and Amnon Lion Auditorium in the Radzyner
School of Law and School of Sustainability
Founded by Israel Corp., ICL & ORL building.
A Picture is
Worth a
Thousand
Words
Some special moments
with friends and
supporters,
on and off campus.
Shlomo Argov Street Named in Jerusalem
Students and alumni of the Argov Fellows Program in Leadership
and Diplomacy traveled to Jerusalem for the naming of Shlomo
Argov Street in memory of the late former ambassador.
South Africans Meet at the
2014 Herzliya Conference
A South African gathering. From left: Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Motty
Sacks, Bernard Lazarus, Dave Kaplan, Jonathan Davis and Alan Fischer.
Reporting on Israel Apartheid Week in
South Africa
From left: Meytal Zeuda, Stuart Palmer, Jonathan Davis and
Rivka Avera at the Truth be Told Israel Apartheid Week reportback evening, where the audience heard stories from campuses in
South Africa, where the delegates made the case for Israel.
36 // IDC WINTER 2015
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
The Stone Family’s First Visit to IDC
Longtime friends and supporters, Sheldon, Cindy, Allison and Greg Stone visited the IDC campus for the first time and met with IDC students. From left:
Sapir Damti, Nofar Levy, Greg Stone, Gilor Toledano, Yoav Ungar, Jonathan Davis, Cindy Stone, Sheldon Stone and Allison Stone.
Solidarity Mission from Winnipeg
Jonathan Davis, Jeffrey Morry, from the Asper Foundation,
and Dr. Noam Lemelshtrich Latar with the photograph
of the Asper Foundation launch at IDC Herzliya.
From left: Eliana Glogauer, RRIS student from Canada, Michel Aziza, Jeffrey
Morry, Jonathan Davis, Dr. Noam Lemelshtrich Latar and Michal Cotler-Wunsh.
Suzanne Ackerman-Berman
Driving the Values of Freedom
and Responsibility
While in Israel to become the first recipient of
IDC’s Wind Annual Social Entrepreneurship
Award, Suzanne Ackerman-Berman met with
students from the Student Union and IDC
Entrepreneurship Club, and inspired them with
stories of her own social responsibility projects as the
transformation director of Pick ‘n Pay, the second
largest supermarket chain store in South Africa.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 37
New South African Zionist Federation Cape
Council Chairman, Daniel Levitt, Visits IDC
From left: Josh Todes, IDC student from Cape Town, Daniel Levitt,
Stephanie Miller, David Nathan, IDC student from Cape Town,
Jonathan Davis and Harris Green, following a meeting at IDC
to discuss promoting study options in Israel for South Africans,
particularly the concept of an “academic garin.”
Photograph: Dave Kaplan
Mira Fraenkel Meets Her Treasured
Scholarship Recipients
Mira Fraenkel (seated), friend and supporter, met with first
year RRIS students, Shar and Noy Leyb and Talia Marom.
The Africa-Israel Initiative Group Visits Campus
IDC was happy to receive an African Christian Delegation from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Congo, Nigeria and South Africa, who came to discuss
the important relationship between Israel and the African continent, and study opportunities at IDC Herzliya for outstanding leaders from their respective
countries. The group was led by Pastor Sam Gordon, Bishop Joshua Mulinge and Erik Selle and comprised 79 delegates, including Kenyan Ambassador
Augostino S.K. Njoroge; Congo’s Mission Head Paul Walay, and the Congo’s First Secretary, Aimee Ibana. Photograph: Jostein Skevik
Correction and Apology
In the Spring 2014 edition of the IDC Herzliyan, we named
the people in this photograph as from left: Liat Aaronson,
Tsipi and Yori Ben-Haim and Dan Raviv. This contained an
error. The correct names are: Liat Aaronson, Sara and Avner
Platek and Dan Raviv. We apologize for the error.
38 // IDC WINTER 2015
Student Initiative: Annual Run in Memory
of Lt. Col. Emmanuel Moreno z”l
Second Annual IDC
Run in Memory of
Lt. Col. Emmanuel Moreno
T
he Second Annual IDC Run in Memory of Lt. Col. Emmanuel
Moreno, z”l, took place in November at the Herzliya Park,
attended by hundreds of people. The run is the initiative of Koral
Kratenstein, a third-year Law and Psychology student, and Maor Pe’er,
a Law and Government graduate, who met at a community volunteering event during IDC counselors’ training and decided to create the run
after learning Moreno’s story. A graduate of the Radzyner School of Law,
Moreno served in the IDF’s elite commando unit Sayeret Matkal for 16
years, carrying out numerous missions whose details are still classified.
He was killed in an operation against a Hezbollah base in the region of
Baalbek, Lebanon, toward the end of the 2006 Second Lebanon War. He
was survived by his parents, siblings, wife and three children.
Kratenstein and Pe’er met with Moreno’s father, who spoke about his son’s
contribution to the State of Israel and the safety of its civilians, and about
the fact that very few people know the extent of his contribution because
much of his work was secret. The two were moved that the IDF still imposes
a ban on showing pictures of Moreno, preventing his family from paying
tribute to him as other bereaved families do. Kratenstein and Pe’er also
learned that Moreno had been financially supporting an impoverished family, something his relatives learned only after his death. They felt that the
values by which Moreno had lived and died embodied the values of IDC.
More than 500 people participated in the first run in Moreno’s memory,
in 2013.
The Second Annual IDC Run in Memory of Lt. Col. Emmanuel Moreno
was a collaborative event by IDC Herzliya, the IDC Student Union,
and Herzliya Municipality. It included a 7-kilometer competitive run,
Miki Gornstein, manager of Herzliya municipality’s sports division;
Ilan Moreno, father of Lt. Col. Emmanuel Moreno z”l; Moshe Fadlon, mayor
of Herzliya; Dr. Ayelet Ben-Ezer, vice president for Student Affairs at IDC
Herzliya; Ilan Kowalsky, head of IDC’s sports department; Koral Kratenstein,
law and psychology student at IDC Herzliya and IDC Run initiator; and Maor
Pe’er, IDC law and government graduate and co-initiator of the IDC run.
a 5-kilometer competitive run and a 2-kilometer people’s run. After the
runs, the participants and guests gathered for a ceremony of speeches and
award presentations. Participants included Moreno’s family and friends,
former Sayeret Matkal soldiers, IDC students, lecturers and graduates,
and residents of Herzliya and surrounding areas.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 39
The 14 Annual
Herzliya
Conference
th
Daniel Shapiro, ambassador
of the United States to Israel,
delivers a keynote address.
Israel and the Future
of the Middle East
The Institute for Policy and Strategy convenes the Edmond
Benjamin de Rothschild Herzliya Conference 2014.
❝
Resilience entails
more than security;
it means being
visionary and showing
daring, determination,
innovation, leadership
and creativity.”
- Baroness Ariane de Rothschild of the Edmond
Benjamin de Rothschild Foundation
“T
he speeches delivered at this year’s
Herzliya Conference will accompany
Israel in deliberations for months to
come,” Prof. Alex Mintz, head of the Institute
for Policy and Strategy and chair of the IPS’s
Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Herzliya
Conference, said, in a statement that could not
have been more prescient. The conference’s timing – days after the declaration of a unity government between the Palestinian Authority
and Hamas, and mere weeks before Operative
Protective Edge began in the Gaza Strip – provided an opportune vantage point for analyzing
the future of the Middle East and discussing
Israel’s security and resilience.
Opening the conference, Baroness Ariane
de Rothschild of the Edmond Benjamin de
Rothschild Foundation challenged participants
to remember that “resilience entails more than
security; it means being visionary and showing
daring, determination, innovation, leadership
and creativity.”
“What makes Israel strong is its openness to the
world. The full integration of Israel in global
exchanges is its best defense and protection. The
‘Start-Up Nation’ must also be a model of social
inclusion and empowerment,” she said.
Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and president of
IDC Herzliya, expressed his appreciation to the
baroness, saying she “taught us by example how
a moral approach and integrity can make a difference in society.”
Noémie de Rothschild, Baroness Ariane de Rothschild, and Maj. Gen.(res.) Shlomo
Yanai, vice chairman of the Council of Governors, Rothschild Caesarea Foundation.
40 // IDC WINTER 2015
Special Feature: 14th Annual Herzliya Conference
❝
The speeches delivered
at this year’s Herzliya
Conference will
accompany Israel in
deliberations for months
to come.”
Profs. Uriel Reichman and Alex Mintz present Amb. Zalman Shova an award of appreciation for his
contribution to the Herzliya Conference. Awards of appreciation were also presented to Maj. Gen.
(res.) Danny Rothschild, president of NETACS, and to Israel Makov, chairman of SUN Pharma,
Biolight Life Sciences & Micromedic, and former CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
- Prof. Alex Mintz, head of the Institute for Policy
and Strategy and chair of the IPS’s Edmond
Benjamin de Rothschild Herzliya Conference IDC
Herzliya
National Security Doctrine for Israel
Prof. Mintz and Dr. Shaul Shay, IPS’s director of
studies, called for reformulating Israel’s national
security doctrine, with Mintz stating that Israel’s
special relationship with the United States is
“its most important asset in the international sphere.” A roundtable session titled “IsraelU.S. Relations: Handle with Care” expounded
on this priority, with moderator Amb. Zalman
Shoval, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S.,
pointing out “a basic disequilibrium: While the
United States may have alternatives to Israel,
Israel’s establishment,” as well as the “unrivaled intelligence sharing” and commercial ties.
But Oren said “complexities and anomalies”
unknown since the 1950s had arisen, including
the swift U.S. recognition of the Fatah-Hamas
government, the 2009 decision not to recognize the Bush-Sharon letter, and American policy decisions on Iran, all leading to “a situation
of loss of credibility for U.S. diplomacy in the
Israeli public and also among the Palestinian
leadership, restricting their latitude.”
and concluded that “we can reach an agreement
within five years.”
MK Yair Lapid, finance minister: “Not
marriage counseling, but a divorce
agreement” with the Palestinians.
MK Moshe Ya’alon, defense minister: “Claims
that the situation is unsustainable beg the
question, what are the alternatives?”
MK Tzipi Livni, justice minister:”We should
distinguish between the new Palestinian unity
government with Hamas and Hamas.”
Israel doesn’t, and wouldn’t even consider, an
alternative to America.”
The greatest news buzz during the conference
was generated by the keynote presentations
by leaders of Israel’s major parties. MK Yair
Lapid, finance minister and Yesh Atid party
chair, called for “security and separation [from
the Palestinians]; not marriage counseling, but
a divorce agreement.” MK Naftali Bennett,
economy, religious services, and Jerusalem and
Diaspora affairs minister, as well as head of
Habayit Hayehudi, claimed that his sovereignty plan, beginning with the Etzion bloc, would
“build a better life for all residents and create a
‘start-up Region.’” MK Tzipi Livni, justice minister and Hatnuah party chair, said there was
a need “to distinguish between the new unity
government [between Fatah and Hamas], and
Hamas itself.” MK Isaac Herzog, opposition
leader and Labor party chair, presented his plan
of how to deal with external and internal threats,
Israel’s top national security officials also provided assessments, led by Defense Minister MK
Moshe Ya’alon, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen.
Benny Gantz. Ya’alon’s address countered criticisms of current Israeli policy. “Claims that
‘the situation is unsustainable’ beg the question,
what are the alternatives?” he said. “The threat
that ‘we will become an apartheid state’ is likewise rubbish, as Israel’s Arabs and Christians
can testify. Likewise, the argument that ‘time is
working against us’: Time works to the benefit
of those who make the most of it. …We need to
try to avoid both wishful thinking and patronizing, namely, telling our neighbors what is best
for them. The ground is not necessarily ripe for
democracy in this region.”
Dr. Amnon Cavari, of the Lauder School of
Government, Diplomacy & Strategy, presented
survey findings showing that American support
for Israel remains strong, but that due to “congressional dysergia,” namely a lack of bipartisan
spirit, “Israel is becoming a partisan issue, which
should be of concern to all of us.”
Amb. Dr. Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and Abba Eban chair of
International Diplomacy at the Lauder School,
together with Dr. Matthew Spence, U.S. deputy assistant defense secretary for Middle East
policy, noted common values shared by the two
countries, with Oren extolling “the spiritual
bond between America and Israel that predates
And MK Gideon Sa’ar (Likud), interior minister, was the only panelist to refer to the regional
context Israel must navigate, countering critics of the “status quo policy” when major shifts
pose the foreseeable risk of territories falling
into radical hands. “Imagine if the Syrian unrest
now at our border was on the banks of the Sea of
Galilee rather than beyond the Golan,” he said.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 41
❝
Recent complexities and
anomalies have resulted
in a loss of credibility for
U.S. diplomacy.”
Prof. Alex Mintz and Dr. Shaul Shay
discuss reformulating Israel’s security
doctrine, with Israel’s relationship with
the U.S. “its most important asset.”
Amb. Zalman Shoval, Amb. Liora Herzl,
deputy director general for North America, and
Amb. Michael Oren at a roundtable session,
“Israel-U.S. Relations: Handle with Care.”
MK Gideon Sa’ar, interior minister: “Imagine
if the Syrian unrest was on the banks of the Sea
of Galilee rather than beyond the Golan.”
Isaac Herzog, opposition leader: “We
could reach an agreement with the
Palestinians within five years.”
❝
We aim for our
philanthropy to have
a transformational
impact.”
- Moe Levy, executive director of the Asper
Foundation
MK Naftali Bennett, economy minister:
“My sovereignty plan would build
a better life for all residents.”
Education, Innovation, Philanthropy and
Social Resilience
With the Herzliya Conference as a microcosm
of Israeli society, reflecting the country’s simultaneous preoccupation with immediate security threats together with harnessing personal
responsibility to build a better society, sessions
examined Israel’s constant evolution toward a
mindset that optimizes both private and public sectors.
“We prefer to do business where we’re not
dependent on governments. They interfere with
change,” said Avner Stepak, a board member
of the Meitav Dash Investment House. Allan
Hanoch Barkat, CEO of DUALI Israel Social
Moe Levy of the Asper Foundation addresses a session on philanthropy in the 21st
century: “When we take on a project, we are in it for the long haul.”
42 // IDC WINTER 2015
- Amb. Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador
to the U.S. and Abba Eban chair of International
Diplomacy at the Lauder School
Ventures Fund, added, “The current tax system
does not act to encourage investment by private
individuals for philanthropic activity in Israel.”
Moe Levy, executive director of the Asper
Foundation, said one avenue to change entails
“having a transformational impact, changing the
paradigm.” Citing the example of the Human
Rights Museum in Winnipeg, initiated by the
Asper Foundation, he said, “We brought all levels of government together and changed the very
laws of government for them to change their
funding policies, creating a national museum
outside of Ottawa. It took 14 years, but when
we take on a project, we are in it for the long
haul.” Barkat said society needs to envision “an
industry of social enterprise for a society that is
healthier and more equal.”
An enterprising Israel is incorporating the technological revolution into its educational and
higher education systems, reported Dr. Ayelet
Ben-Ezer, IDC’s vice president for Student
Affairs. Dr. Ben-Ezer said the student body in
universities is changing, and the new generation of students requires a “new paradigm of
instruction.”
Special Feature: 14th Annual Herzliya Conference
Top Experts Simulate “The Day After a Deal with Iran”
The 2014 Herzliya Simulation Game provided
the conference with a stellar centerpiece, moderated by Tommy Steiner, IPS senior research
fellow. Experts representing the U.S., Russia,
China, the EU, Israel and Iran participated in
the simulation, which presented the scenario
“The Day After a Deal with Iran.” Each representative assessed regional and global implications
from the perspective of their assigned country.
Realpolitik would likely call the shots, coinciding with the EU and NATO’s “love of stability,” meaning little chance of the EU initiating
a military intervention, according to Raphael
L. Bardaji, former national security adviser to
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and
director of the Friends of Israel Initiative.
“We understand Israel, but Iran has been a constructive partner in dealing with regional issues,”
said Prof. Sergey A. Karaganov, honorary chair
of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and
Defense Policy of Russia and dean of the School
of World Economics and World Politics. And
Dr. Jennifer Shkabatur of the Lauder School of
Government, a social development specialist at
the World Bank and a Harvard University fellow,
who was also representing Russia in the game,
added: “As a longtime ally of Syria, we would
probably side with Iran.” Prof. Wang Suolao,
director of the Center for Middle East Studies at
Beijing University, said, “China would welcome
an agreement, so that we could go back to dealing with Iran.”
❝
Prof. Alireza Nader, a senior international policy
analyst at the RAND Corporation, standing in
As a longtime ally of
for Iran with Meir Javedanfar of IDC Herzliya,
said they “don’t see Iran transferring missiles to Syria, we [Russia] would
Syria, since the provocation would cause domestic instability and in-fighting. [Iranian President probably side with Iran.”
Hassan] Rouhani’s foreign policy would then - Dr. Jennifer Shkabatur of the Lauder School
be dead in the water, since it would enrage the
Saudis. With sanctions lifted and the regime
internally stable, we are in pretty good shape.
Doing so would also expose the missiles to external attack.” Dr. Ronen Bergman, of Yedioth
Ahronoth, said: “Is Israel to be less hesitant than
in past years in Syria and Lebanon, where it has
seen great success?”
❝
Some of the world’s top strategists participated The United States would
in this year’s conference, including Prof. Edward
Luttwak, a senior associate at the Center for exercise “deterrence against
Strategic and International Studies, and Dr. broader Iranian ambitions.”
Anthony Cordesman, the Arleigh A. Burke - Dr. Anthony Cordesman, the Arleigh A. Burke
chair in strategy at the same center. The United chair in strategy at the Center for Strategic and
States would exercise “deterrence against broad- International Studies
er Iranian ambitions,” Dr. Cordesman said.
Dr. Gary Samore, former White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of
mass destruction and executive director for
research at Harvard University’s Belfer Center
for Science and International Affairs, brought
the debate back to the issue of the P5+1 talks.
Prof. Amitai Etzioni, director of the Institute
for Communitarian Policy Studies at George
Washington University, said he was “sad that
the president I voted for is so eager to finalize a
deal with Iran.”
IDC WINTER 2015 // 43
Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations
In a panel on what went wrong and where to go
on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, observers
offered stirring analyses.
“There is no moderate leader in the Arab world
to sign an agreement with Israel at present,
but more and more are willing to work with
Israel,” said Ari Shavit, of Haaretz newspaper.
“[Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud]
Abbas is not interested in a permanent solution.
The Palestinians need to assume the business of
state building.”
Ashraf al Ajrami, former prisoner affairs minister in the Palestinian Authority, criticized the
failed talks, saying, “We did not get to any basic
joint understandings on what the final goals
were, and therefore spent more time talking
about what we were going to talk about than
the actual issues themselves. We need to begin
at the end: agreeing on what we want to get to,
namely a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, based on the Arab League offer.”
“We need to learn the lessons since the
Archimedean tipping point of Oslo in 1993,”
said Zvi Hauser, former cabinet secretary. “The
Bar-Ilan speech [by Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu] stated Israel’s readiness for a dramatic historical compromise, while our adversaries see any Jewish presence as a historical sin.”
Prof. Alan Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter law
professor at Harvard University, said: “American
moves de-incentivized the Palestinians to negotiate because Israel gets all the blame, and they
44 // IDC WINTER 2015
think they’re winning anyway. … Instead of
warning Israel of ‘grave consequences,’ [U.S.
Secretary of State John] Kerry should have said,
‘We’ll fight BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] and ICCJ [International Criminal Court
of Justice] threats no matter what happens.’ But
they played this false moral equivalence, which
led to the Palestinians raising their demands.”
Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, directorgeneral of the Strategic Affairs Ministry, pointed
to “mistaken premises,” the greatest one being
“that the Palestinians want peace; in the peace
they envision, there is no Jewish sovereign state
of Israel. It’s no surprise that the talks failed.”
“With that situation, there is no possibility for a
permanent solution,” Hauser said.
❝
They [the Americans]
played this false moral
equivalence, which led to
the Palestinians raising
their demands.”
- Prof. Alan Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter law
professor at Harvard University (below, on screen
and seated fourth from left)
❝
We need to learn the
lessons since the
Archimedean tipping point
of Oslo in 1993.”
Prof. Reichman closed the conference, saying, - Zvi Hauser, former cabinet secretary
“We have covered difficult topics, existential
and controversial. Our option is one of progress based on the attempt to understand. … As
an academic institution, I see our mission as
standing at the forefront of instilling the tools
to benefit all. It is the responsibility of those
blessed with these advantages to show particular
solidarity and humanity.”
- Jennifer Roskies
For full VOD coverage of the conference:
www.herzliyaconference.org/eng
Keynote Speakers from Past Herzliya Conferences
The Herzliya Conference is Israel’s foremost global policy annual gathering, drawing together the most
senior Israeli and international participants from government, business and academia to address pressing
national, regional and global issues. The center stage for Middle East risk assessment and policy analysis,
the Conference agenda covers a broad span of issues, ranging from nuclear proliferation and the Middle East
peace process to Israeli innovation, Israeli society, world finance and energy security.
The Conference is held under academic auspices in a non-partisan, informal atmosphere, which facilitates and
encourages an informed debate on emerging challenges and policy responses. Alongside plenary sessions,
senior officials and experts convene in roundtable sessions for in-depth discussions on pertinent subjects
to flesh-out the issues in a frank and off-the-record exchange, allowing for an authoritative assessment of
strategies and policy alternatives.
For More Info:
Tel: +972-9-9527-389 | Fax: +972-9-9527-310
Email: [email protected]
www.herzliyaconference.org/eng
The Daphna and Gerry Cramer
Exchange Program
Between IDC Herzliya
and Syracuse University
❝
I learned so much detailed
and valuable information at
IDC and formed friendships
that I will have for the rest
of my life. I believe this
program should be required
for International Relations
majors specializing in the
Middle East.”
– Michael Crowley, program participant, Syracuse
University, class of 2014
46 // IDC WINTER 2015
E
very year for nearly a decade, select undergraduate and graduate students from the
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public
Affairs at Syracuse University arrive at IDC
Herzliya for a whirlwind immersion in Israeli
political affairs as part of the Daphna and Gerry
Cramer Exchange Program. The program offers
IDC students the chance to have an experience
that no money can buy, and foreign students the
opportunity to visit and meet the real Israel, in
a way no tourist can.
Hosted by the Lauder School of Government,
Diplomacy & Strategy, the undergrads receive a
special academic program that includes lectures
on Middle Eastern affairs, the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, global terrorism, Israeli politics, conflict resolution, diplomacy, strategy and decision
making. The graduate students, hosted by the
International Institute for Counter-Terrorism,
participate in ICT’s Executive Program in
Counter-Terrorism Studies, and intern at the
institute.
Gerry and Daphna Cramer and
Prof. Boaz Ganor surrounded by
with IDCs 2012 delegation upon
their return from Syracuse.
The IDC students have their share of adventure
as well. Hosted by the Maxwell School, they
enjoy a special academic program that includes
lectures on the American presidency, political system and foreign policy, and field trips
to Washington and New York City, where they
visit the United Nations and American federal
institutions.
The idea for the program was sparked when businessman and philanthropist Gerry Cramer, an
alumnus of Syracuse University and a good
friend of Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and
president of IDC Herzliya, realized that both
schools had a vested interest in building new
leadership in the public and political sector, and
that their synergy would lead to a greater whole.
According to Prof. Boaz Ganor, dean of the
Lauder School and founder and executive director of ICT, this is exactly what happened.
“We hear only praises for the program,” says
Ganor. “We hear how these educational trips
have contributed to the students’ understanding,
The Daphna and Gerry Cramer Exchange Program
The 2014 IDC Herzliya Syracuse delegation at Congress with Dor Shapira, counselor for Congressional
Affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, and graduate of the first class of the Lauder School
of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy (fourth from left), David Gillers, senior counsel to Senator
Mary L. Landrieu (seventh from left) and Irene Avidar, head of delegation (fifth from left).
❝
We hear only praises for the program. We hear how these educational trips
have contributed to the students’ understanding, skills and careers, with many
using the phrase, ‘life-changing program.’”
– Prof. Boaz Ganor, dean of the Lauder School and founder and executive director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism
skills and careers, with many using the phrase,
‘life-changing program.’”
Prof. Robert D. McClure, the Chapple family
professor of citizenship and democracy emeritus at the Maxwell School, has supervised
the program in Syracuse since its inception.
According to McClure, IDC students are “serious and focused and extraordinarily engaged
in the classroom – full of unsullied dreams that
make them wonderful to work with.” One of
McClure’s main goals is to enable the IDC students to understand the American system: “I
hope they leave with a visceral feeling of how
America goes about politics and governance.”
Michael Crowley, who graduated from Syracuse
University in 2014, called the trip “the perfect ending to my college career at Syracuse. I
learned so much detailed and valuable information at IDC and formed friendships that I will
have for the rest of my life. I believe this program
should be required for International Relations
majors specializing in the Middle East.”
Mor Albojrn, from IDC Herzliya, also felt it was
a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that exposed
her to America’s rich culture and left her with
“inspiration and motivation to continue on,
working for a better society in Israel.”
Ganor says the program’s success is due to the
unique couple who established it.
“When I met Gerry over a decade ago, we were
getting to know each other, and at one point I
wanted to ask him for a donation,” Ganor recalls.
“Now I’m not a fundraiser, and I was shy and
hesitant, so Gerry came over, put his arm around
me, and said, ‘Boaz, it seems you would like to
ask for my support for one of the IDC initiatives,
yet you are hesitating. I want you to know that
I don’t feel that I am doing you any favor; it is
you who are doing me a favor, by allowing me
to contribute to the institute’s important goals.’
I never heard this from anyone else, before or
after, and it explains who Gerry and Daphna
Cramer truly are.”
❝
The IDC students are
serious and focused and
extraordinarily engaged in the
classroom – full of unsullied
dreams that make them
wonderful to work with.”
– Prof. Robert D. McClure, the Chapple family professor
of citizenship and democracy emeritus, Maxwell
School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
- Joy Pincus
IDC WINTER 2015 // 47
IDC Herzliya's 20th
Anniversary International
Mission
Friends from across the globe gathered in
Israel in May for an unforgettable week.
O
n the occasion of its 20th anniversary,
IDC Herzliya organized a one-of-a-kind
mission to Israel, in which friends and
supporters enjoyed six days of travel, exploration, learning and networking. Dina Wind z”l,
in one of her last missions on behalf of IDC,
and her husband Prof. Jerry Wind, a founding
member of IDC Herzliya, served as the mission’s
leaders. From visiting an air force base to tasting wines, participants were exposed to a true
range of unique experiences. IDC Herzliya is
deeply appreciative to the mission members for
their support, and looks forward to many more
years of friendship.
Visiting Ramat David Air Force Base
The 20th Anniversary International Mission participants at the Ramat David Air Force Base.
Relaxing at the Carmel Winery
Bernard Lazarus, originally of South Africa,
with Rachel Hazan of Israel.
Jonathan Nadler and Corinne Arazi,
both from the United States.
Ben and Gil Tenzer from the United States
with Freddy Argi from Switzerland.
Alexander Eliezer from Israel with
Susanne Kamp from Germany.
Aimee Argi from Switzerland with
Francoise Sitzer from Venezuela.
Jonathan Davis with Daniel Jusidman of
Mexico City, New York and Tel Aviv.
48 // IDC WINTER 2015
20 th Anniversary International Mission
Launching the 20th
Anniversary International Mission
S
tudents, staff, friends and supporters
kicked off IDC Herzliya’s six-day 20th
Anniversary International Mission with
cocktails and dinner at the magnificent home of
Evelyne and Pierre Besnainou. Guests included
Moshe Fadlon, mayor of Herzliya, and Gidi
Argov, founding sponsor of the Argov Fellows
Program in Leadership and Diplomacy. Musical
interludes were performed throughout the evening by the IDC band.
Adv. Michal Cotler-Wunsh, director of
International External Relations, commenced
the evening by welcoming the guests and giving
an inspiring overview of IDC Herzliya’s milestones since its establishment. “The cumulative
feat of what has been done in 20 years represents
a triumph of the spirit and the mind, inspiring
and challenging us into IDC Herzliya’s future,”
Cotler-Wunsh said.
Jonathan Davis, vice president for External
Relations and head of the Raphael Recanati
International School, served as the evening’s
moderator, and expressed gratitude for the mission members’ generous support, in particular
the contributions for scholarships for students
in need.
Host Pierre Besnainou, chairman of IDC
Herzliya’s International Friends, said he was
proud to announce that he had received his
Israeli passport that very day. He also welcomed
the guests and lauded Prof. Uriel Reichman,
founder and president of IDC Herzliya, for the
university’s success.
Pierre Besnainou,
chairman of IDC
Herzliya’s International
Friends, and his wife
Evelyne host the event
that kicks off six days
of experiencing Israel
and the university.
“Looking back 20 years ago, everyone said it was
impossible,” Prof. Reichman said. “I had no possession or title to the land and no money, only
a depleted military base. People thought I was
mad. It was a difficult journey, but here we are.”
IDC WINTER 2015 // 49
Jonathan Davis, vice president of External Relations and head of the Raphael Recanati International School,
introduces the the evening’s keynote speakers, IDC scholarship students: Amos Wasserbach, Jordana Benchimol,
Selamweet Tadesse, Liat Kozuch, Rifka Bernstein-Dinesman, Natalie Doyle and Israel Elmekies.
Pierre Besnainou, chairman of IDC Herzliya’s
International Friends and the evening’s host.
Reichman said he believed the purpose of the
university was not only research, but to educate
the future leadership of the nation.
Lizika and Ami Sagy with Pierre Besnainou.
❝
The cumulative feat of what
has been done in 20 years
represents a triumph of the
spirit and the mind, inspiring
and challenging us into IDC
Herzliya’s future.”
“We want to tell the students that Zionism is
still alive and that they have a mission to provide a better future for us all. We feel we have
succeeded in educating a new generation, as
we now have 14,000 graduates, many of whom – Michal Cotler-Wunsh,
work in government and social entrepreneur- director of International External Relations
ship,” Reichman said.
Several IDC Herzliya students spoke about their
personal journeys and experiences. Jordana
Benchimol, a business student at the Recanati
School who made aliyah from France, said she
had “received many opportunities having studied at IDC Herzliya, not just theoretical knowledge.” Rifka Bernstein-Dinesman, a communications student from Venezuela, said that IDC
Herzliya “changed my life completely. It changed
50 // IDC WINTER 2015
my way of seeing Israel as a country and my perception of myself in the future.” Psychology student Natalie Doyle, who moved to Israel from
the U.K., said, “IDC Herzliya hasn’t just given
me an academic degree but also friendship, support, and opportunity. Something that I feel is
unique here is the network of support. I know
that I always have someone to turn to.”
Prof. Uriel Reichman, Herzliya Mayor Moshe
Fadlon and Evelyne and Pierre Besnainou.
Other students who spoke were Amos
Wasserbach, an Argov Fellow from Switzerland,
Liat Kozuch, a communications student from
the U.S. who decided to make aliyah at age 15
following an anti-Semitic incident she experienced on a trip to Poland, Selamweet Tadesse,
a psychology student and member of the Israel
at Heart Ethiopian Scholarship program, and
Israel Elmekies, a computer science student and
participant in the university’s Keren Or program
for students from underprivileged backgrounds.
The opening event left mission members inspired
and eager to experience the days to come.
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
20 th Anniversary International Mission
Michal Cotler-Wunsh, director of
International External Relations.
Amnon Lion, Prof. Uriel Reichman and Boaz
Schwartz, chairman of IDC’s Israel Friends.
Evelyne, Pierre and Sarah Besnainou
with Sarah’s fiance, Steve Benchimol.
❝
IDC Herzliya changed my life completely. It
changed my way of seeing Israel as a country
and my perception of myself in the future.”
- Rifka Bernstein-Dinesman, RRIS communications student from Venezuela.
Prof. Uriel Reichman with Freddy
Argi from Switzerland.
Eric Chicheportiche with his son, Raphael,
Business graduate, 2014, and Arik Chen.
Valerie Benmussa, Odette Barouch
and Evelyne Besnainou.
Moshe Baranes, Mira Fraenkel and Lori Baranes.
Bernie Munk from the U.S. with Prof. Rafi Melnick.
Malka and Amnon Lion with Nira Reichman.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 51
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ss
re
d
ad
e
a keynot
members, including
udents and alumni.
st
h
it
w
ct
ra
te
in
as
l
as wel
❝
The day was intended to
let mission participants
experience IDC Herzliya,
rather than just hear
about it.”
– Michal Cotler-Wunsh, director of
International External Relations
A
s part of graduation week and as a unique
element to IDC’s 20th Anniversary
International Mission, a special daylong event was held on campus to expose IDC’s
friends and supporters to the crème de la crème
of the university and give them a taste of what
students regularly experience on campus. They
met with top faculty members and heard success stories from the Argov Fellows Program
in Leadership and Diplomacy and the Zell
Entrepreneurship Program. Moderating was
Michal Cotler-Wunsh, director of International
External Relations, who organized the day’s proceedings and the mission. “The day was intended to let mission participants experience IDC
Herzliya, rather than just hear about it,” she said.
Prof. Boaz Ganor, founder and executive director of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism and
dean of the Lauder School of Government,
Diplomacy & Strategy, spoke about the challenges of terrorism and counter-terrorism academic entrepreneurship. “ICT was established
because we recognized early on that terrorism
52 // IDC WINTER 2015
is a growing phenomenon, that it is an interdisciplinary phenomenon, and that there was a
need to bring together academic knowledge and
Israeli practical experience,” he said.
Prof. Zvi Eckstein, dean of the School of
Economics and School of Business, gave an
informative briefing on the macro-economic
situation in Israel. He cited many positive trends,
such as the current unemployment rate being the
lowest it has been in 40 years (5.6 percent), the
stability of financial markets, and the surplus
in the balance of payments, but also mentioned
challenges including poverty, inequality and
Israel’s high cost of living.
Prof. Yair Amichai-Hamburger, director of the
Research Center for Internet Psychology at the
Sammy Ofer School of Communications, spoke
about the “Psychology of Life on the Internet.”
He explained how aspects of online life, such as
anonymity and control of physical exposure, can
affect well-being.
20 th Anniversary International Mission
vising
Dr. Guy Hoffman, “Impro
gence.”
elli
Int
ial
Robots and Artific
n “Policies
Argov fellow Mor Goshe
ation
to Increase the Represent
s.”
of Women in Local Politic
lity and
Prof. Zvi Eckstein, “Stabi
tion.”
Na
Up
Growth of the Start-
Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar,
e
“Positive Psychology: Th
”
s.
nes
ppi
Ha
of
Science
rusalem
Prof. Yair Zakovitch, “Je
”
.
in the Days to Come
gram
Zell Entrepreneurship Pro
ding
un
“Fo
,
rel
Zu
v
alumnus Yoa
the Start-Up FeeX.”
Biblical scholar Prof. Yair Zakovitch, of the
Nevzlin Center for Jewish Peoplehood Studies,
gave a lecture titled “Jerusalem in the Days to
Come,” which examined depictions of Jerusalem
in prophetic visions. This talk was particularly meaningful as the event took place on Yom
Yerushalayim.
company has raised $11 million and opened
headquarters in the United States. Fellow Zell
alum Yotam Cohen presented Wibbitz, the
company he founded during his time at IDC
Herzliya. Wibbitz’s unique technology automatically turns long text articles into informative
video summaries.
Dr. Guy Hoffman, co-director of MiLAB, the
IDC Herzliya Media Innovation Lab, whose
October 2013 TED talk titled “Robots with Soul”
was watched by 2.3 million people, gave an exciting presentation on robots and artificial intelligence. “We will be living with robots soon,” Dr.
Hoffman said. “There will be a robot revolution
similar to the computer revolution.”
Argov Fellows Lidor Bar David and Chen Haviv
Hay presented their brainchild, the Capstone
Project, which aims to have Israel give more
weight to China in its geostrategic relations. Mor
Goshen and Nir Zernyak proposed policies to
increase the representation of women in local
politics, pointing out that only five out of Israel’s
257 mayors are women, and that some municipalities have no female council members.
Some of the highlights of the day were
the presentations by former students. Zell
Entrepreneurship Program alumnus Yoav Zurel,
co-founder and CEO of FeeX, spoke about his
company, which calls itself a “Robin Hood for
the digital age.” Founded to expose the hidden fees that can drain retirement savings, the
gram
Zell Entrepreneurship Pro
,
hen
Co
alumnus Yotam
bbitz.”
“Founding the Start-U Wi
❝
ICT was established because
we recognized early on
that terrorism is a growing
phenomenon.”
– Prof. Boaz Ganor, founder and executive director
of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism and dean of
the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy &
Strategy
The keynote address was given by Dr. Tal BenShahar, author and lecturer. Speaking on
“Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness,”
Dr. Ben-Shahar described how to become happier by focusing on what is going well in life.
He stressed the importance of asking the right
IDC WINTER 2015 // 53
❝
We will be living with
robots soon.”
– Dr. Guy Hoffman, co-director of MiLAB,
the IDC Herzliya Media Innovation Lab
questions, such as, “What makes some individuals succeed despite unfavorable circumstances?”
The answer to this, he said, is resilience, which is
fostered by factors including a sense of purpose,
positive role models, an optimistic outlook, and
physical exercise.
Fueled by their morning of exposure to new
ideas, mission participants then enjoyed a tour
of IDC Herzliya’s Communications Museum
with Dr. Noam Lemelshtrich-Latar, dean of
the Sammy Ofer School of Communications.
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
Mission "Students" at the IDC Day TED Presentations
Jonathan Davis with Celia Michonik from Israel.
Bruce Brownstein from the United States.
Ben and Gil Tenzer of the United States.
Pearl and Bernard Lazarus, originally
of South Africa, now of Israel.
Lisa Gladstone, originally of the
United States, now of Israel.
Anthony Lefco of the United States
with Michal Cotler-Wunsh.
Francoise Sitzer from Venezuela with
Yonatan Belik, second year Business
student at the RRIS.
Gili Dinstein, director of External
Relations Israel, with Michal Shomer,
member of IDC Herzliya’s Israel Friends Board.
Jonathan Davis with Gidi Argov,
founder of the Argov Fellows Program
in Leadership and Diplomacy.
Daphna Meitar Nechmad, IDC
Herzliya board member.
Pierre, Charlotte and Stephanie Bouchoucha from France,
with Aimee and Freddy Argi from Switzerland.
54 // IDC WINTER 2015
54
Student Initiative: The IDC Real Estate Club
IDC Real Estate Club
Rises to New Heights
Established three years ago, the IDC Real Estate Club has become one of the
hottest clubs on campus, where students who share a passion for real estate
can meet weekly to share ideas and learn about a subject they love.
T
he club was founded by Daniel Efrati,
a class of 2014 graduate of the Arison
School of Business, during his freshman
year of studies at IDC Herzliya. Attracted to the
field of real estate from a young age, Efrati later
found that no academic program offered the
tools to gain expertise in the field. So he recruited two classmates, and together they established
the IDC Real Estate Club. “The start of the club
was not easy, but we wanted to stick with the
IDC spirit of innovation and pioneering in every
field – a spirit that has guided us through a successful journey,” says Efrati.
The IDC Real Estate Club enables students
to deepen their knowledge of the hottest and
most relevant topics in the field, including
urban renewal, private investments, U.S. real
estate, and commercial construction. “One of
the club’s goals is to see how one can fit into the
field afterward, either as part of a company, or
as an entrepreneur, creating one’s own projects
that are small and affordable, but also profitable,” says Efrati.
The club’s activities include lectures by top
executives, with past speakers including Ronen
Ashkenazi, CEO of Gazit Globe Israel; Manor
Gindi, owner of Gindi Investments; and Yitzhak
Hagag, founder and chairman of the Hagag
Group Real Estate Development Ltd. Members
also enjoyed a “green building tour” at the
Shikun & Binui Group, given by a representative of the Department of Sustainability.
❝
We wanted to
stick with the
IDC spirit of
innovation and
pioneering in
every field – a spirit
that has guided us through a
successful journey.”
projects. I believe the club could be laying the
groundwork for a real estate program at IDC,
and hopefully in a few years a full B.A. in Real
Estate Studies.”
- Daniel Efrati, IDC Real Estate Club
founder and business graduate 2014
The club also organized its first real estate conference, attended by professionals in the field
and students from across Israel. Held in Herzliya
and attended by the city’s mayor, it was the first
in what Efrati hopes will become an annual tradition at IDC Herzliya.
Since its inception, the club has grown rapidly.
From its initial three co-founders, it now has a
team of 12 running it, and from the first class
of 25 students, 65 students now participate each
year – and that is a mere third of those who
apply for membership.
“The results have been absolutely incredible,”
says Efrati, who now serves as the honorary
chairman of the club. “Students have landed
jobs in legal firms and real estate companies
as a result of their participation in the club.
Some have even launched their own real estate
Haim Fishelzon lecturing on “Real Estate
Entrepreneurship in the Modern Economy.”
Efrati is now completing an accounting internship with Ernst & Young’s real estate advisory
team and says that the knowledge he acquired
within the club has provided him with insights
and perspectives that give him a solid edge in the
professional Real Estate environment.
“The IDC spirit has made me sharper and more
focused in pursuing my dreams,” he says. “I
feel that this institution exemplifies excellence,
which makes me proud to be a part of it. IDC’s
unique mix of students, wonderful teachers,
and most of all, amazing college atmosphere,
has given me an experience that I will cherish
for the rest of my life.”
- Joy Pincus
IDC WINTER 2015 // 55
20th
Anniversary
Gala Event
The festive affair featured a
panel on the future of academia
and a performance by iconic folk
singer Chava Alberstein.
Current and former IDC Herzliya scholarship
students sing with Prof. Uriel Reichman.
I
t may seem unlikely that an academic institution would invite its
friends and supporters to a panel discussion debating the value of a
university degree, or whether universities will be necessary at all in
the future, given the option of learning online. But this is exactly what
happened when over 250 Israeli and international friends of IDC Herzliya,
including alumni, attended its 20th year gala event under the theme “The
Future of Academia.”
The evening began with the screening of a film featuring students relating how IDC Herzliya had changed their lives. Following the film, those
students joined Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and president of IDC
Herzliya, on stage to sing a moving rendition of the Arik Einstein song
“You and I Will Change the World.”
Prof. Reichman thanked IDC Herzliya’s partners, giving special recognition to those present who had supported the university from the outset.
“IDC Herzliya was founded for the students. We wanted to train them
to go out into the world and lead,” Reichman said. “We also teach them
that the more successful they are, the more responsibility they have for
others and for the country.”
56 // IDC WINTER 2015
Israel Friends - Gala Evening
❝
[IDC Herzliya is] A center of excellence and of Zionism.”
- Boaz Schwartz, chairman of the Israel Friends of IDC Herzliya
From left: Michael and Sara Sela, Amir Nechmad, Daphna Meitar Nechmad, Daniel Jusidman and Igal Jusidman.
Ami and Lizika Sagi, and Rachel Hazan.
Prof. Uriel Reichman with Shimon Topor.
Subhi and Suheir Tannous.
Benny and Shira Birnbaum with Gili Dinstein,
director of External Relations Israel.
Yehudah Eida, law and business graduate 2004,
Adi Olmert-Peled and Prof. Uriel Reichman.
Oudi Recanati, Staci Light Recanati
and Yoram and Anat Turbowitz.
❝
We teach our students that the more
successful they are, the more responsibility
they have for others and for the country.”
– Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and president of IDC Herzliya
Kika Schwartz, Leora and Eli Landau, Boaz Schwartz,
and Moshe Fadlon, Herzliya mayor.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 57
❝
A university degree should
provide a student with
general enrichment, not
only with a profession.”
Shira and Hanan Mor, Law graduate, 1998.
Ronit Reichman with Zvi Limon.
Celia and Jacob Michonik.
Tali Lipkin-Shahak with Dan and Nurit Raviv.
Leon and Dr. Shula Recanati with Jonathan Davis.
The panel on the future of academia: Tali Lipkin-Shahak, Prof. Uriel Reichman, and Prof. Aaron Ciechanover. On screen: Prof. Daphne Koller.
Prof. Reichman listed several of the university’s accomplishments to date, among them its
consistent number one ranking in student satisfaction, its treatment of reserve soldiers and
the high earnings of its graduates, and the fact
that IDC Herzliya grants more scholarships to
people in need than any other academic institution in Israel, even though the university is
not subsidized.
allows us to offer a world-class education to the
masses, including to those who can’t afford it.
We open doors for people who wouldn’t otherwise have access,” she said.
the fundamental problems of mankind. I took
on two simple ones –cancer and Alzheimer’s.
The more complex problems I’ll leave to others to solve.”
Over dinner, Gili Dinstein, director of External
Relations Israel, introduced the panel. Moderated
by journalist Tali Lipkin-Shahak, panel members included Reichman, Nobel laureate Prof.
Aaron Ciechanover of the Technion, and, via
video conference, MacArthur Fellowship recipient Prof. Daphne Koller of Stanford University.
The panel discussed what is in store for the academic world, including current challenges to
academia and whether it is time to redefine the
role of the university. A central point raised was
the importance of a well-rounded education that
includes culture, history and the arts, despite
the fact that many of these departments in universities around the world are facing crippling
budget cuts and even closing. All panel members
agreed that a university degree should provide a
student with general enrichment, not only with
a profession.
Boaz Schwartz, the recently appointed chairman of the Israel Friends of IDC Herzliya,
referred to the university as “a center of excellence and of Zionism,” and to what has been
achieved over the past 20 years as “a miracle.” He
said he felt he had come full circle: As a soldier
he served on the air force base that is now the
IDC campus. He said the turning of a military
base into an academic institution is in a way a
fulfillment of the prophecy of turning “swords
into plowshares.”
Prof. Koller presented Coursera, an online education platform that she co-founded and heads,
which partners with top universities around the
world to offer free online courses. “Technology
Closing the panel, Prof. Ciechanover said that he
was “a curious scientist and physician, and for
me all of the methods suggested here lead to the
same Rome – a Rome in which we need to solve
58 // IDC WINTER 2015
The gala evening concluded with a special performance by Israeli music legend Chava Alberstein,
with many in attendance singing along.
- Ariel Rodal-Spieler
Israel Friends of IDC Herzliya
Israel Friends Gather
to Discuss the IsraeliPalestinian Conflict
IDC's Israel Friends gathered for
an evening in the new School of
Psychology building on campus.
❝
On a rainy evening in late November, dozens of
friends and supporters of IDC Herzliya enjoyed
the first Israel Friends of IDC event of the 20142015 school year. Guests mingled over dinner
and wine in the newly constructed School of
Psychology building before gathering in the lecture hall for a a lecture by Prof. Eran Halperin,
the new School of Psychology dean, and to hear
from students about social action initiatives.
The event was moderated by Gili Dinstein, director of External Relations Israel at IDC. Boaz
Schwartz, chair of the Israel Friends, welcomed
guests and gave a brief overview of the exciting
developments taking place at the university.
Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and president
of IDC, said this school year would be particularly significant. “By the end of this year
we hope to be awarding doctorates, the first
unsubsidized university in Israel to do so,” Prof.
Reichman said. “Moreover, by the end of the
year we expect to expand the land on which
IDC Herzliya sits to 140 dunams. The Adelson
School of Entrepreneurship’s building will be
built this year, and we are also hoping to build
a conference center.”
Reichman also said, “This year there has been
a decrease in university registration around
the country, but here at IDC, there has been an
increase of 10 percent, which shows how much
people want to be here. We couldn’t do any of
this without our friends, and we thank you.”
Yarden Ben-Yosef, chair of the IDC Student Union,
gave an overview of the union’s activities, and
said IDC had recently received the
“Magen Miluim” award, given by the
Defense Ministry to honor institutions that support their reserve soldiers. “I am very proud to be a part of
IDC,” Ben-Yosef said. “Gandhi said that you
should be the change you want to see in the world.
I want to thank Prof. Reichman for inspiring us to
want to change the world, and to all of our friends
here tonight for helping us be able to try to do it.”
IDC students presented three different projects
in which the student union is engaged. Nel BenAmi, a law student and member of the Rabin
Leadership Program, discussed the legal aid
clinic for the elderly, sharing her own stories of
providing legal counsel to senior citizens. Alon
Ben-David, a business student, presented Red
Button, a social start-up that aims to stop cyberbullying and online violence. Ben-David said
that the organization receives 70 to 100 reports
of incidents every day, and is coming out with a
mobile app to make it even easier to report online
harassment. Ofer Shaltiel, a law and business student, spoke about “Dor Shlishi Lagil Hashlishi,”
a project run through the IDC Entrepreneurship
Club that helps Holocaust survivors by teaching
them how to use technology. The project also
hosted 100 survivors at a Passover Seder this
past year, and plans to do so again next Passover.
Prof. Halperin, the new dean of the School of
Psychology, delivered a fascinating talk followed by a question and answer session on
the topic of the psychological aspects of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Prof. Halperin’s
research investigates the psychological roots
Feelings, perceptions
and psychological
barriers prevent
people on both
sides from finding
opportunities to solve
the conflict.”
- Prof. Eran Halperin,
the new dean of the School of Psychology
of inter-group relations and emotional barriers
to conflict resolution. Halperin himself spent
three years recovering from gunshot wounds
from his time in the army. The main argument
he presented was that those who are looking for
a solution to the conflict are actually looking to
solve the wrong problem.
“Israelis and Palestinians agree on most of the
core issues,” he said. “Eighty-five percent agree
that the endgame will be the same. Sixty to 70
percent support a solution based on the same
lines. But feelings, perceptions and psychological barriers prevent people on both sides from
finding opportunities to solve the conflict.”
Halperin said that although each side tends to
believe the other will never change, he has found
that with even a small psychological intervention, people can begin to believe that groups are
capable of change.
“If we work on changing basic perceptions, we can
identify opportunities to make peace,” he said.
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
IDC WINTER 2015 // 59
Roger and Lisa Gladstone
of Raanana Host
International Friends Event
on Entrepreneurship,
Innovation and Inspiration
The fourth International Friends event
highlights the entrepreneurial spirit of
IDC Herzliya.
❝In order to ensure the
survival of Israel, we
need to train a cadre
of leaders who are
innovators and who do
not simply accept the
status quo.”
– Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and
president of IDC Herzliya
T
he International Friends of IDC Herzliya
was launched in 2013 to bring together the
university’s supporters from around the
world for inspiring events, with the idea of increasing support for IDC. In October, Lisa and Roger
Gladstone hosted an evening in their home in
Raanana, with the theme “Entrepreneurship,
Innovation and Inspiration: The Spirit of IDC
Herzliya.” The event was attended by Prof. Uriel
Reichman, founder and president of IDC Herzliya,
his wife Nira Reichman, and several friends of
IDC, including chairman of the Board of Directors
Oudi Recanati and Staci Light Recanati.
Michal Cotler-Wunsh, director of International
External Relations at IDC Herzliya, served as the
evening’s moderator. She pointed out that “there
is no better place to have held the event than in the
home of Roger and Lisa, who recently launched
the Gladstone-Nir Legal Clinic for Start-ups.”
Prof. Reichman shared with guests the vision that
led to the creation of the first private, not-for-profit
academic institution in Israel. “In order to ensure
the survival of Israel, we need to train a cadre of
leaders who are innovators and who do not simply
accept the status quo,” he said.
60 // IDC WINTER 2015
Liat Aaronson, executive director of the Zell
Entrepreneurship Program and of the Adelson
School of Entrepreneurship at IDC Herzliya,
spoke about the Zell program, which includes
students from all IDC faculties, 30 percent of
whom are women, and 30 percent of whom are
international students. She described Zell as a
“learning by doing” program in which participants learn that failure is an important part of
entrepreneurship.
Chenli Pinchevskey, a second-year student in the
honors track of the Lauder School of Government,
Diplomacy & Strategy, was active in the Public
Diplomacy Operations Room launched during
Operation Protective Edge in the summer (see
page 10). “I feel that every day that I go to IDC
I am going to a place where I can make a difference,” she said. Pinchevskey recounted the story
of how the Operations Room was founded, which
is a true illustration of the entrepreneurial spirit
of IDC Herzliya.
“During Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, students who had not been called up to reserve duty
were sitting around thinking of how they could
help,” she said. “Two of them, IDC Student Union
chair Yarden Ben-Yosef and Union spokesperson
International Friends of IDC Herzliya
Lisa and Roger Gladstone with Prof. Sharon Rabin-Margalioth, dean of the
Radzyner School of Law, home of the Gladstone-Nir Legal Clinic for Start-Ups.
Liat Aaronson with Lori and Jonathan Deutsch.
Iris and Shalom Maidenbaum,
visiting from the United States.
Andrew Somper with Ariella Zeloof.
From left: Alan and Sandy Gelman, Jonathan Davis,
Prof. Uriel Reichman and Michal Cotler-Wunsh.
Florette Shaaya with Evelyne
Tamman-Douek.
Michal Cotler-Wunsh with Debbie Ziering.
Prof. Uriel Reichman
with Dan Neuhar.
Marc (Mordechai) Kaye
with Mark Schwartz.
❝
I feel that every day that I
go to IDC I am going to a
place where I can make a
difference.”
– Chenli Pinchevskey, a second-year student in the
Honors Track of the Lauder School of Government,
Diplomacy & Strategy and member of the Public
Diplomacy Center at IDC
Staci Light Recanati, Eliana Recanati, Oudi Recanati, chairman of the Board of
Directors of IDC Herzliya, Jonathan Davis and Judith and Andrew Somper.
Lidor Bar David, went to the cafeteria and began
asking international students if they would be prepared to translate hasbara [advocacy] material to
be disseminated via social media. The next day, in
a classroom provided by IDC, dozens of students
were helping out. The center was relaunched, even
more successfully, this past summer. Every person
who wanted to get involved came and contributed
with whatever skills they had.”
Jonathan Davis, vice president for External
Relations and head of the Raphael Recanati
International School, discussed how IDC Herzliya
is in itself an entrepreneurial venture. “IDC is
innovative not only because Prof. Reichman created the first private university in Israel, not taking
any money from the government, but because it
even had the audacity to include Zionism as part
of its mission, which is unusual in Israeli academia,” he said.
Roger Gladstone delivered the closing remarks,
commenting on the unique atmosphere he had
observed at IDC Herzliya, as well as the smiles on
the students’ faces. “IDC really cares about the students’ education. I think it is the right place for my
kids to begin a successful life in Israel,” he said.
- Ariel Rodal-Spieler
IDC WINTER 2015 // 61
American Friends
Weekend in the Hamptons at the Westhampton
Synagogue and Home of Sandy and Marvin Tenzer
In July, AFIDC traveled to the Hamptons with
two Ethiopian graduates, Yaniv Jember and
Dvora Desta, accompanied by Jonathan Davis,
vice president for External Relations and head
of the Raphael Recanati International School,
and Galit Reichlin, AFIDC executive director.
They spent the weekend at the Westhampton
Synagogue, where they enjoyed the hospitality of
Rabbi Marc Schneier and synagogue members.
After Shabbat services, Davis briefed the synagogue members on the situation in Gaza. IDC
supporters Sandy and Marvin Tenzer hosted a
Saturday night reception at their home, packed
with the who’s who of Westhampton. The two
students spoke about their backgrounds, their
experiences at IDC, and their plans. The weekend concluded with a bagels and lox breakfast
at the synagogue, sponsored by the Tenzers and
by Gloria and Harvey Kaylie.
Galit Reichlin, Dvora Desta and Sandy Tenzer.
Carol and Denis Monette with Leslie Skyba.
Dvora Desta and Yaniv Jember with their
hosts, Harvey and Gloria Kaylie.
Yaniv Jember and Dvora Desta with Rabbi
Marc Schneier and his wife, Gitty.
Marvin and Sandy Tenzer with
Jonathan Davis (center).
IDC Teams up with Dartmouth College
The John Sloan Dickey Center for International
Understanding and the Tuck School of Business
at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire
cosponsored a one-day conference in November
with IDC Herzliya that brought together Israeli
venture capitalists, high-tech company representatives, and scholars from Israel and the United
States. This event took place thanks to AFIDC
board member Andy Lewin, a Dartmouth alumnus. He attended the conference with AFIDC
board treasurer Joanne Landau.
The day focused on entrepreneurship and included a panel discussion of global networks featuring IDC’s Liat Aaronson, executive director of the Zell Entrepreneurship Program. One
panelist was IDC alumnus Yaron Carni, of
Maverick Ventures. Also participating in the
conference were IDC alumni Jonathan Aharon,
62 // IDC WINTER 2015
Curt Welling and Eyal Gura.
The Tuck School’s Prof. Steve Kahl on the panel
with IDC’s star team, Yaron Carni, Jonathan
Aharon, Liat Aaronson and Eyal Gura.
of Formlabs, Eyal Gura, co-founder of Zebra
Medical Vision, and, on Skype, Eyal Toledano,
co-founder and CTO of Zebra Medical Vision.
Guy Rolnik, founder of The Marker and
Executive Education lecturer at IDC to MBA and
Zell students, also took part. The closing keynote
conversation was with Eitan Wertheimer, one
of Israel’s most successful businessmen.
American Friends of IDC Herzliya
Prof. Uriel Reichman Addresses American Friends
at the Home of Tsipi and Zigi Ben-Haim
In June, AFIDC enjoyed an evening in Soho at
the loft apartment of Tsipi and Zigi Ben-Haim,
longtime friends of IDC. Alumni and donors
gathered with Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder
and president of IDC Herzliya, and Jonathan
Davis, to view Zigi Ben-Haim’s sculptures and
hear the stories behind his creations. The group
enjoyed a video clip of the 20th year IDC graduation week festivities and heard an update on the
college’s accomplishments from Prof. Reichman.
Middle East Briefing
in Long Island
Nadav and Keren Glucklich hosted Jonathan
Davis at their home in Great Neck, Long Island,
for an updated report on Operation Protective
Edge over the summer. It was a chance for the
Glucklichs to showcase wines from the Flam
Winery and to share with concerned locals the
situation that was unfolding in Israel. The room
was filled with RRIS parents and community
members.
IDC alumni Daniel M. Roth and Beatrice Michaeli with Jonathan Davis and Prof. Uriel Reichman.
Zigi and Tsipi Ben-Haim, the event
hosts, with Prof. Uriel Reichman.
Jonathan Nadler and Corinne Arazi,
AFIDC board member.
Daniel Teper and Jonathan Davis.
Raquel Ramati, Jonathan Davis
and Tsipi Ben-Haim.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 63
American Friends of IDC Herzliya
AFIDC Launches Three-Part Lecture Series in NYC with Profs. Jacob
Goldenberg and Zvi Eckstein, and Dr. Oren Zuckerman
In late summer, AFIDC launched a three-part
lecture series, featuring some of IDC’s top professors. The lectures were held at the UJA-Federation
offices in Manhattan, and were open to donors,
parents and alumni. Gil Tenzer, chairman of
the board, attended all the events. The series
was kicked off by Prof. Jacob Goldenberg, of the
Arison School of Business, speaking on “True
Creativity is Inside the Box - How Innovation
Comes from Your Inner World.”
Reichlin briefly explained IDC, highlighted the
“Israel Under Fire” student advocacy efforts during the Gaza conflict, and made a request for
scholarship support. Prof. Eckstein spoke on
Israel’s economy and on his new book, “The
Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish
History, 70-1492.”
In September, Prof. Zvi Eckstein, dean of the
School of Economics and new dean of the Arison
School of Business, spoke at the second event.
With several new faces in the crowd, Galit
The third lecture was held in October and featured
Dr. Oren Zuckerman, head of the Interactive
Communications Program at the Sammy Ofer
School of Communications, who was joined by 15
Global MBA students. Dr. Zuckerman wowed the
audience with examples of the newest technology
coming out of IDC and the lab.
Andrew Taitz, Gil Tenzer and Gadi Slade.
Zigi and Tsipi Ben-Haim with Prof. Zvi Eckstein.
Dr. Oren Zuckerman and Andy Lewin.
Bernie Munk, Gil Tenzer and Prof. Zvi Eckstein.
Profs. Uriel Reichman, Boaz Ganor, and Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar Address
Reception Hosted by Bernstein Global Wealth Management
Jeff Wiesenfeld of Bernstein Global Wealth
Management hosted Prof. Boaz Ganor and Dr.
Tal Ben-Shahar for a joint talk on “Terrorism
and Positive Psychology.” Prof. Reichman introduced the pair, who spoke on the Middle East
and “how to be happy.” The night showcased
IDC and expanded its network of supporters in
the New York region.
64 // IDC WINTER 2015
Prof. Uriel Reichman, Gloria
Kaylie and Jonathan Davis.
Prof. Boaz Ganor with Jonathan
Davis and Jeff Wiesenfeld.
Judith Rosen and Jeff Wiesenfeld.
Naomi Vilko and Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar.
American Friends of IDC Herzliya
Zell Students Visit Chicago and New York
For the third year in a row, AFIDC board members Andrew and Dana
Taitz hosted the Zell Fellows at their Chicago home. The Zell students
presented their business proposals to a packed crowd of community and
business leaders, who asked questions and offered critiques and advice.
The event grows every year and has become a cornerstone of the U.S. tour.
AFIDC also welcomed the Zell students to New York for a cocktail reception, where they impressed alumni and donors with their entrepreneurial
talents, and perhaps even picked up some potential investors.
Anat Gotfried and Lauri Joffe, IDC
alumni, with Liat Aaronson (center).
RRIS parent Jacob Cohen (center) with Zell
Fellows (from left) Reuven Eliyahu, Aviram
Ben Moshe, Ori Ben-Zvi and Or Peled.
Philippe Lavie, Galit Reichlin, Jared
Palmer and Lee Rosenberg.
Lauren Cramer, AFIDC board member, Galit
Reichlin, Liat Aaronson and Leslie Skyba.
Dana Taitz, Anne Moreau and Scott Dann.
Zell Fellow Ori Ben-Zvi with Rotem
Geslevich and Micha Ophir, IDC alumni.
Prof. Boaz Ganor and Dr. Eitan Azani
Brief Friends on the Middle East
The American Friends of IDC Herzliya welcomed Prof. Boaz Ganor and Dr. Eitan Azani
from IDC’s Institute for Counter-Terrorism to
speak about “Transformations in the Middle
East: Understanding the Threats, Challenges
Prof. Boaz Ganor and Nina Weiner.
and Opportunities in the Region.” A room full
of alumni, donors, board members and security
professionals gathered in New York City to hear
the two experts share their knowledge and opinions on the issues.
Dr. Eitan Azani, Andy Lewin
and Galit Reichlin.
AFIDC Photographers:
John Bruno, Sarrah Bechor, Lars Blackmore,
Romy Modlin, John Mazlish
Prof. Boaz Ganor, Gerry Aylward, Gene Corcoran and Denis Monette.
American Friends of IDC
116 East 16th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10003
T: 212-213-5961 F: 212-213-6436 / [email protected] / www.idc.ac.il/eng / www.afidc.org
IDC WINTER 2015 // 65
Alumni Celebrate
20 Years of IDC Herzliya
Thousands of graduates reunite on campus for a festive
evening of networking and celebration in honor of two
decades of their alma mater.
❝
You, the alumni, have been
fulfilling our dreams for the
past two decades.”
– Adi Peled-Olmert,
director of IDC Herzliya’s Alumni Association
T
housands of IDC Herzliya alumni reunited with each other and with staff at an
event held on campus marking 20 years
since the university’s foundation. The ceremony was hosted by Radzyner Law School graduates Sivan Klein, a former Miss Israel, and
Olympic bronze medalist judoka Arik Ze’evi.
Hundreds of Raphael Recanati International
School graduates who have remained in Israel
after their studies were also present.
The evening began with class reunions at different locations on campus, according to graduating year. Alumni enjoyed mingling, sponsored
musical performances, and plenty of food and
drink. Roundtables led by IDC Herzliya graduates were held on a variety of subjects, including
social responsibility, sustainability and ecology,
66 // IDC WINTER 2015
“the Academy of the Future (no quotation marks
and capital A and F)”, the impact of technological change, private sector management, innovation and entrepreneurship, government and
security, global economy, real estate, and communications. Among the roundtable leaders
were 1999 Radzyner Law School alumna Efrat
Shaprut, director of Elem, Youth in Distress;
2010 Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy
& Strategy graduate Asaf Tzachor, senior supervisor for Strategic Planning and Sustainability
at the Israeli Ministry for Environmental
Protection; 2009 Radzyner School alumnus Nir
Caspi, founder and CEO of Landwer Café, and
2005 Lauder School graduate David Erez, former
senior adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office and
founder of Hakikar Hamerkazit, which promotes
laws made by citizens.
Alumni Association
Singing IDC’s anthem with some of the former chairs of the Student Union. From left: Tzachi Gavrieli; law and business graduate, 2003; Prof.
Uriel Reichman; Prof. Shimon Schocken, author of the anthem, Karin Konoval-Orgal, law and businesss, 2006 and LLM, 2008; Shelly Malka,
law and government, 2004, LLM, 2007; Merav Ben Ari, law and government, 2004, MBA, 2007; Ran Maya, law and business, 1998; Gil
Goshen, law and business, 1998; Lior Tamsut, law and business, 2008; Ofir Yehezkeli, law and government, 2010; Lior Reshef-Deri, law and
government, 2011, LLM, 2014; Yair Itzhar Belachovsky, law and business, 2014; and Gadi Domev, current law and business student.
Yael Dagan, business graduate, 2006, and MBA
graduate, 2014; Prof. Uriel Reichman; and
Neta Shermister, business graduate, 2006.
IDC Radio 106.2FM broadcasts live from the alumni event. Here Lena Lesin
chats to Megan Daphniel, communications graduate, 2010.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 67
Benny Glickman, law and business graduate,
2007 and LLM graduate, 2008, with Uri
Haberman, law and business graduate, 2007.
David Burg, law graduate, 2000; Dr. Eli
Bukspan, lecturer in the Radzyner School
of Law; and Shiri Haguel, law and
business graduate, 2002.
From left: Daniella Geisler, business graduate, 2011, M.A. in Organizational Behavior and Development,
2013; Adi Olmert-Peled, law and business graduate, 2002, and director of IDC’s Alumni Association;
Sharon Geisler, business graduate, 2006; Rotem Elinav, M.A. in Organizational Behavior and
Development graduate, 2013; and Miry Leon, law and business graduate, 2009, and LLM graduate, 2011.
Ron Ben Menachem, Gal Shwartz, Idit Bar-Zohar,
all law and business graduates, 2000, with Aviv
Bar-Zohar, law and business graduate, 2002.
Uri Ramot, law and business graduate,
2008; Yael Druckman, law and business
graduate, 2005; and Hila Kugler-Ramot,
law and government graduate, 2007.
❝
Speaking at the main event, Prof. Uriel
Reichman, founder and president of IDC
Herzliya, said that “the process of establishing the university was the hardest time of my
life. What kept me going during that time were
the students, many of whom are here tonight. I
want to say thank you for always having faith.
Each and every one of you has been a partner in
IDC Herzliya’s special journey over the past 20
years. Carry with you the story of IDC Herzliya
and make it a source of encouragement. Believe
that with leadership, vision and tenacity, every
obstacle can be overcome.”
Prof. Reichman said IDC Herzliya’s path has
always been different than that of the other
universities.
“We founded this place for the students and the
alumni. We always put them first,” he said. “We
wanted to provide our students with practical
tools along with theoretical knowledge. We
asked ourselves what challenges they would be
68 // IDC WINTER 2015
facing in the years to come and how we could
prepare them, and then built our programs
accordingly. The main mission we defined for
ourselves was to train the next generation of
leaders in the job market and in life. The thousands of alumni who are here today are living
proof of the implementation of this vision.”
Adi Peled-Olmert, director of IDC Herzliya’s
Alumni Association, said that as an alumnus of
the third graduating class, she remembered the
day that IDC Herzliya received approval from
Council for Higher Education.
“What a long way we have come since then,” she
said. “I am always amazed at the things I hear
about our alumni – stories of entrepreneurship,
success, and charitable work. You, the alumni,
have been fulfilling our dreams for the past two
decades.”
Peled-Olmert wrote an original song titled
“Today We Say Thank You,” that she and a
[You should] Believe that
with leadership, vision
and tenacity, every
obstacle can be overcome.”
– Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and president
of IDC Herzliya
number of students sang in a surprise performance dedicated to Reichman. A video was
shown featuring current and former students
speaking about their experiences. Finally, everyone joined Reichman in a moving rendition of
the IDC Herzliya anthem.
To cap off the evening, a special musical performance was held in tribute to legendary
Israeli singer Arik Einstein, featuring Israeli
artists Amir Dadon, Elai Botner and Yaldei
Hachutz, Harel Skaat, Keren Peles and Marina
Maximilian.
– Ariel Rodal-Spieler
Alumni Association
At Alumni Event, Students
and Staff Surprise
Prof. Uriel Reichman
with a Special Song
‫היום אומרים לך תודה‬
‫ עדי פלד אולמרט‬:‫מילים‬
‫”בהשראת השיר “עכשיו התור לאהבה‬
‫ עוזי חיטמן ז”ל‬:‫מילים ולחן‬
‫ אריק איינשטיין‬:‫מבצע‬
Lior Levana, law and government
student, Adi Peled-Olmert, Tomer
Mike, business student, Jenny
Chernovelsky, business student and
Gil Shagran, psychology student.
‫אחרי שחלמת והגשמת‬
‫היום אומרים לך תודה‬
‫אחרי שבנית ויצרת‬
‫היום אומרים לך תודה‬
‫אתה בראש המחנה‬
.‫ מנהיג וגם בונה‬,‫מוביל‬
‫וגם אם לא קלה הדרך‬
‫אצלך אין אף פעם בערך‬
!‫ היום אומרים לך תודה‬- ‫סימנת מטרה‬
‫אחרי שקיימת את מה שהבטחת‬
‫היום אומרים לך תודה‬
‫אחרי שניסית והעזת‬
‫היום אומרים לך תודה‬
‫אז בוא כי יש לך עוד זמן‬
‫הרי אתה תמשיך לחלום מכאן‬
‫כי הבינתחומי שלנו‬
‫הוא הבית של כולנו‬
!‫ היום אומרים לך תודה‬- ‫בגאווה גדולה‬
‫רצת רצת כל הזמן‬
‫חירות ואחריות הם הסמן‬
‫ציונות מצוינות‬
‫יזמות ומנהיגות‬
‫היום אנחנו חוגגים‬
‫עשרים שנה זו זכות גדולה‬
‫את ראשנו אנו מרימים‬
‫היום אומרים לך תודה‬
‫אחרי שחלמת והגשמת‬
...‫היום אומרים לך תודה‬
Today We Thank You
Words by: Adi Peled-Olmert
Inspired by the song: “Now it’s love’s turn”
Words and Music: Uzi Hitman z”l
Performed by: Arik Einstein
After you dreamed and made things happen
Today we want to say thanks
After you built and created
Today we want to say thanks
You’re a trailblazer
A leader, a mover and a builder
Even when the going gets tough
You never compromise
Your aim is true – and today we say thanks!
You’ve kept every promise
Today we want to say thanks
You dared and took chances
And now we want to say thanks
So come on – there’s still more time
We know you’ll keep on dreaming
Because IDC – our college
Is the place we all call home
With great pride – today we say thanks!
You never stopped for a second
Liberty and responsibility are your mark
Zionism, excellence
Entrepreneurship and leadership
Today we celebrate
Twenty years – it’s been our privilege
We lift our faces
And say thank you!
You’ve dreamed and made things happen
Today we say thanks
IDC WINTER 2015 // 69
Academics
in
Action
NEWS FROM IDC’S
ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS
Prof. Mario Mikulincer, IDC provost. Dr. Eric Zimmerman,
director of Research and
Global Engagement.
From the Office of the Provost:
Academic News, Research Updates and Global Engagement
Competitive Research Grants
In recent months, IDC Herzliya researchers have won more than 20 new
research and project grants from competitive excellence-based foundations in Israel and abroad. IDC’s annual portfolio of external funding
now surpasses NIS 25 million. This includes grants from the European
Commission, the Israel Science Foundation, and the German-Israeli
Foundation for Scientific Research and Development.
During the major submission season for the chief Israeli funding agencies,
IDC submitted more than 50 applications. Taken together with the number
of currently funded projects, over 50 percent of IDC’s faculty members
are actively involved in the major funds. This is a tremendous asset to
the continuing evolution of IDC as a major research-intensive institution.
Recent Faculty Appointments and Promotions
Dr. Liav Orgad
Law
Senior lecturer
New academic programs:
Dr. Nadav Levy
Economics
Senior lecturer
Dr. Galia Schneebaum
Law
New to IDC Herzliya
Dr. Ilan Gronau
Computer Science
New to IDC Herzliya
Prof. Nathaniel Laor
Psychology
Professor
Michal Reifen Tagar
Psychology
New to IDC Herzliya
Dr. Daniel Hamiel
Psychology
New to IDC Herzliya
Dr. Leo Wolmer
Psychology
New to IDC Herzliya
· M.A. in Financial Economics
· M.A. in Clinical Psychology
· M.A. in Social Psychology
· A minor in Entrepreneurship in the Arison
School of Business
· A dual major in Business and Economics
· An evening program in Law
· Courses in 21st century education
· Interdisciplinary seminars
Dr. Yulia Golland
Psychology
New to IDC Herzliya
Dr. Boaz Ben-David
Psychology
Senior lecturer
Prof. Amir Licht
Law
Professor
Internationalization
IDC continues to forge ahead on the international front. Student exchange agreements have been
signed recently with Sciences Po Lille, Sciences
Po Strasbourg, Université du Québec à Montréal,
Audencia Nantes, University of Buenos Aires,
Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico,
Universidad de Montevideo, University of Leeds,
Aarhus University.
70 // IDC WINTER 2015
Peking University HSBC Business School in
Shenzhen, China Foreign Affairs University
in Beijing, and Vytautas Magnus University in
Kaunas, Lithuania. Several new exchange agreements in China, Europe and the United States
are also in the works. In the first semester, IDC
hosted 54 exchange students from 35 universities, and 60 more are expected here in the second
semester. At the same time, 96 IDC students
traveled to 30 partner universities.
The program and current list of partners is at:
http://studyabroad.idc.ac.il/
Projects in the Spotlight
Risk and Protective Factors for Postpartum Depression among Eritrean Asylum Seekers in Israel
Principal investigator: Dr. Ora
Nakash, School of Psychology.
Funding agency: UNHCR,
the United Nations refugee
agency.
In recent years, Israel has
received an influx of African
asylum-seekers, in particular from Eritrea and
Sudan. About 20 percent of these are women.
Many asylum seekers were exposed to traumatic
experiences during their journey through the
Sinai desert, including torture, trafficking, and
sexual violence. Victims may suffer from mental health problems, and these may exacerbate
during and after pregnancy, affecting women’s
mothering. The project aims to collect data on
the prevalence of postpartum depression among
Eritrean asylum seekers in Israel, and identify
specific risk and protective factors to inform
effective mental health treatments for this vulnerable population
The relationship between terrorist ideologies and behavior
Prof. Assaf Moghadam of the Lauder School
of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy has
received a research grant of $40,800 from the
National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism
and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the
University of Maryland for a major project to
examine the relationship between terrorist ideologies and behavior. Over the next three years,
Prof. Moghadam and his co-investigator, Dr.
Gary Ackerman of START, will jointly and
systematically code the ideological tenets of
extremist groups to create data that reflects the
relationship between a terrorist organization’s
beliefs and its actions. The Terrorist Ideology
Project is currently in a pilot phase, but if the
first round of coding yields consistent results,
the project investigators will seek funding to
code additional ideologies. The database is part
of the Ideologies and Motivations of Terrorist
Organizations project, which is supported by
the U.S. government’s Department of Homeland
Security Science and Technology Directorate’s
Office of University Programs. Prof. Assaf Moghadam.
Dr. Gary Ackerman.
China Trip
Dr. Eric Zimmerman, director of Research
and Global Engagement, traveled to China in
October-November on a 15-day trip organized
by the Council for Higher Education. The trip
included meetings with prospective students in
Beijing and Shanghai, IDC partners in Beijing,
Shanghai and Hong Kong, and potential new
associates in Changchun, Hangzhou, and
Tianjin.
China is an important country for IDC’s internationalization strategy, and the university has a
Chinese information page at www.china.idc.ac.il.
At a university in Tianjin. Dr. Eric Zimmerman (third from
left) with representatives from other universities.
The delegation at the fair in Beijing with Ambassador Matan
Vilnai. Dr. Eric Zimmerman is on the far right.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 71
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
GWU Program - Special Master’s Degree Program in
Educational Leadership and Technology
IDC and the George Washington
University’s Graduate School
of Education and Human
Development are partnering to
offer IDC students a special master’s degree program in Educational Leadership and Technology.
The degree will be earned through a combination of courses in the areas of leadership,
technology, communications, policy and networking. The one-year program aims to prepare future leaders to create global change.
The first intake of selected students will begin
online classes at IDC in summer 2015, during the
last semester of their final undergraduate year.
Courses will be taken both online and in
person, and students will have the opportunity to gain practical experience through
professional internships in Washington.
For more information about the program or the
Graduate School,, visit gsehd.gwu.edu or email
[email protected].
IDC Herzliya and Washington University Launch Global Master of Finance Program
To meet the demand for next-generation financial expertise, IDC’s Arison School of Business
and Adelson School of Entrepreneurship have
partnered with Washington University’s Olin
School of Business to launch the new Global
Master of Finance program for high-reaching
students.
financial markets, policymaking, and financial
rules and regulations.
The program offers IDC students a one-of-a-kind
opportunity to study finance and innovation at
a leading U.S. management institution and gain
hands-on venture-creation and venture-advising
experience in Israel. In addition, the program
includes immersion courses in New York City
and Washington, to familiarize students with
Graduates of the 11-month program will receive
a Master of Science in Finance degree from
Washington University and a Certificate in
Innovation and Entrepreneurship from IDC
Herzliya.
Faculty in the Spotlight
Prof. Ariel Shamir is Named one of the Most Cited Researchers
Prof. Ariel Shamir, vice dean
of the Efi Arazi School of
Computer Science, is one of the
world’s most cited researchers in
the field of Computer Science,
according to Thomson Reuters’
Highly Cited Researchers website. The website
lists 117 researchers in Computer Science, four
of them Israeli, including Prof. Shamir. Highly
Cited Researchers presents over 3,200 researchers in various fields who earn the distinction
for writing the most-cited 1 percent reports in
one year, as designated by Thomson Reuters’
Essential Science Indicators.
Shamir holds a Ph.D. from the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem. His research fields
include visualization, computerized graphics,
processing of video images, geometric modeling,
digital typography, and mechanized learning.
The full list is at: http://highlycited.com/index.htm
Prof. Karine Nahon wins the 2014 ASIS&T Information Science Book Award
Prof. Karine Nahon of the
Lauder School of Government,
Diplomacy & Strategy has been
named this year’s winner of the
ASIS&T Information Science
Book Award. Prof. Nahon won
the Association for Information Science and
Technology’s award for her first book, “Going
Viral,” which deals with the rapid spread of
information and its influence on individuals
and the society.
As well as being an associate professor at IDC,
Nahon is an associate professor at the University
of Washington’s Information School, director of the Virality of Information (retroV)
research group, a member of the Social Media
Lab (SoMe Lab), and a former director of the
Center for Information and Society. She is also
an activist on issues relating to information and
72 // IDC WINTER 2015
technology policies and in promoting open government principles, and is a board member of
NGOs such as the Movement for Freedom of
Information, the Public Knowledge Workshop,
and Wikimedia
Dr. Roi Estlein, a lecturer in the Sammy Ofer
School of Communications and a research
associate at the Ziama Arkin Parent and Infant
Relations Institute at the School of Psychology,
is one of this year’s recipients of the Gerald R.
Miller Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award
from the National Communication Association.
Given annually, the award honors new scholars
for outstanding dissertations completed in the
previous academic year. Dr. Estlein’s dissertation, completed at Rutgers University, was titled
“Manifestations of Responsiveness and Control
in Husbands’ and Wives’ Marital and Parental
Communication.”
“The communication discipline has a long tradition of exceptional scholarship,” said Nancy
Kidd, NCA’s executive director. “We’re proud to
recognize Dr. Estlein’s contributions with this
well-deserved award.”
The NCA advances communication, in all its
forms and with all its consequences, as an academic discipline, and supports scholars, teachers and practitioners with professional interests
in research and teaching. Dedicated to fostering
and promoting free and ethical communication, the NCA promotes the appreciation of the
importance of communication in the public and
private spheres.
Information about the NCA’s awards program
is at: http://www.natcom.org/awards/
Zell Entrepreneurship
Program
Executive Director,
Liat Aaronson
In the name of: Sam Zell
The Zellots Take on the United States
Two-week entrepreneurial tour caps off a productive
year for the Zell Entrepreneurship Program
With a year of hard work behind them, 22
Zellots embarked on a journey to the U.S. for
- you guessed it - more hard work. The locations: Chicago, San Francisco, and New York.
The time: two weeks. The result: a great deal
of learning, many new connections and eyeopening insights.
The Zellots first headed to Chicago, the home
of the program’s generous supporter, Sam Zell.
There they had the opportunity to present their
ventures to Zell and his colleagues, soaking up
the invaluable feedback they had been anticipating the entire year. They also enjoyed a dinner
hosted by Zell at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, a
visit to the 1871 entrepreneurial accelerator, a
Zellots at Googleplex.
dinner at the home of Friends of IDC Chicago
Chairman Andrew Taitz, and a specially
designed two-day program at the University of
Chicago Booth School of Business.
From there the Zellots headed out to the San
Francisco Bay area for a little Silicon ValleySilicon Wadi connection. The group visited
the high-tech hubs of Google, Ideo, Innovation
Endeavors, Gogobot, StubHub, Automattic,
Stanford University, PayPal, TechShop and
UpWest Labs.
Properties, were hosted by Roee Adler at the
workspace provider WeWork, had a chance to
present their ventures to the FIDC New York
and let loose at JayZ’s 40/40 Club, where they
received a Powermat demonstration. They also
stopped at G&G, Outbrain, and NBA headquarters, and finished up the trip with the traditional
dinner at the home of entrepreneur Idit Harel
Caperton.
The trip capped off a long and productive year
for the Zellots.
The group’s last stop was New York, where they
visited the BBDO advertising agency, toured
the World Trade Center courtesy of Silverstein
Zellots visit IDC Zell grad Ori Zaltsman at Gogobot in Silicon Valley.
A Year of Personal and Professional Growth for the Zellots
They have presented to investors and to industry giants. They have presented to people whose
sole purpose was to find fault and give feedback.
What could possibly be more intimidating and
nerve-wracking than that? Presenting to their
families!
The journey began in April 2013, with a grueling four-month application process that saw
22 outstanding students accepted to the Zell
Entrepreneurship Program. Teams then formed
and re-formed, ideas were created and crushed
– and while that was happening, 22 people grew
personally and professionally, seeing sides of
themselves they hadn’t known.
The year came to an official close on June 15,
when all the teams gathered for the last time to
present their ventures to the people who matter
the most – their families and friends. It was a
special moment for everyone, giving the audience a chance to see how far the Zellots have
Final Event Alumni After Party hosted by Zell
grads Daro Shecter and Dan Zakai at Mindspace.
Zell Final Event.
come. Three of the teams have already secured
funding for their ventures.
Shechter. They were welcomed with open arms
into a tight-knit community that is sure to be a
presence in their life for years to come.
Once the presentations came to a close, the graduating Zellots joined older alumni for a celebration at Mindspace in Tel Aviv, a new office service provider developed by Zell 4 alumnus Dan
Zakai and managed by Zell 12 alumnus Dari
Zell 14 is now underway with 24 students, a
record number, which includes an unprecedented number of women.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 73
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
Rothschild Caesarea
Center for Capital
Market & Risk
Management
Academic
Director, Prof.
Jacob Boudoukh
Rothschild Caesarea Center
for Capital Market
& Risk Management
In the name of: The
Rothschild Caesarea
Foundation
The Rothschild Caesarea Center 11th Annual Conference
The Rothschild Caesarea Center and the Arison
School of Business held their 11th annual conference in May. Over the years, the conference has
gained international recognition and has become
one of a handful of top conferences in financial
economics research.
During the two-day conference, 12 papers,
selected from a pool of over 290 submissions,
were presented by researchers from top universities around the world. The papers were selected by a 50-member committee headed by Prof.
Jacob Boudoukh, the academic director and
head of the Rothschild Caesarea Center, and
Prof. Roni Michaely, professor of finance at the
Arison School and at Cornell University.
Among the conference participants were some
80 professors of finance from leading universities in Israel and abroad, including Columbia,
Duke, New York, Northwestern, Stanford, Rice,
LSE, the National University of Singapore, and
the universities of British Columbia, Mannheim,
Michigan, Utah, and Pennsylvania.
The Best Paper Award was presented to Prof.
Lucian Taylor of the University of Pennsylvania
for his paper titled “Scale and Skill in Active
Management.” The Outstanding Discussant
Award was presented to Prof. Yakov Amihud
of NYU for his discussion of the paper: “Do ETFs
Increase Stock Volatility?”
The Rothschild Caesarea Center's 11th Annual Conference Participants.
The 4th Conference on Capital Markets in Israel
During March to May, the Rothschild Caesarea
Center invited researchers to submit research
proposals on “The Capital Market in Israel:
Financial and Accounting Aspects.” The proposals were reviewed by an academic committee chaired by Prof. Jacob Boudoukh, the
academic director and head of the Rothschild
Caesarea Center, with the participation of: Dr.
Shimon Kogan, of IDC and the University of
Texas at Austin; Prof. Evgeny Lyandres, of IDC
and Boston University; Dr. Roy Stein, head of
Capital Markets Research at the Bank of Israel,
and Prof. Avi Wohl, of Tel Aviv University.
The committee allocated grants of NIS 5,000 to
each of five proposals, which were presented at
the fourth Capital Markets Conference at IDC
in September: Prof. Wohl presented a joint work
with Dr. Menachem (Meni) Abudy of Bar-Ilan
University titled: “Which Liquidity Measures
74 // IDC WINTER 2015
Explain Execution Costs of Liquidity Traders?”
Dr. Estery Giloz-Ran of the Peres Academic
Center presented a paper jointly written with
Dr. Ilanit Gavious of Ben-Gurion University
titled: “Does CSR Have Different Value
Implications for Different Shareholders?”
Prof. Beni Lauterbach of Bar-Ilan University
presented a paper jointly written with Sharon
Garyn-Tal of the Yezreel Valley College titled:
“Empirical Tests of the Fama-French-Carhart 4
Factor Model in the Israeli Stock Market.”
Dr. Dan Weiss of Tel Aviv University presented
a paper titled: “Internal Controls in FamilyOwned Firms.”
Ph.D. student Dan Aks of Tel Aviv University
presented a paper jointly written with Prof. Yossi
Spiegel, also of TAU, titled: “Managing Failures
in the Venture Capital Industry.”
The Rothschild
Caesarea Center 6th
Summer Finance
Conference
During July, the Rothschild Caesarea Center held
its sixth Summer Finance Conference, a threeday academic conference in which 10 research
papers and one Early Papers session were presented. The conference was organized by Prof.
Roni Michaely of IDC Herzliya and Cornell
University and Dr. Shimon Kogan of IDC
Herzliya and the University of Texas at Austin.
The conference facilitated personal and professional encounters and the creation of a research
environment, resulting in mutual enrichment
among leading researchers in the field in Israel
and from around the world.
Executive
Education Unit
Executive Director,
Shelly Gordon
A Little About Executive Education at IDC Herzliya
IDC Executive Education is active in a variety of
on organizational and business life; “Secrets
learning and leadership development programs. Behind the Reports” exposes different ways of
In 2014, it extended its global arm by build- looking at companies’ financial reports, and
ing and delivering programs under the Inno “Manhigut Bashetach” (“Leadership in Action“),
Nation brand. It hosted delegations of deans
uses challenging bike rides and unique meetings
from leading universities around the world, to expose leaders to the need to make decisions
in uncertain and unexpected situations.
and of Chinese senior executives, all coming to
explore Israel and learn about the secret ingreExecutive Education also made a step forward
dients of being the “Start-Up Nation.” Programs
also in our customized programs, designed to
are usually four to six days long, and balance
address specific, individual company needs. It
academic lectures by IDC faculty with company
developed special high-potential programs for
visits and meetings with business leaders. Four
Orbotech and Strauss, a learning development
further delegations were to arrive by the end of
2014, and even more during 2015.
program for the Bank of Israel management
team, and more. The value of most of those proWhile strengthening our Inno Nation strategic
grams is the combination of varied learning
arm, we continued running our unique and
methods – from academic sessions, to outdoor
innovative open enrollment programs, expos- activities, individual coaching and mentoring
ing executives to state-of-the-art knowledge
sessions, career development planning and more,
and breakthrough ways of thinking. To name a
that aim to address the complex challenges of
few: “Kidmat Ha’atid” (“The Future Frontier”)
current and future leaders.
focuses on constant revolutions and their impact
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
Efi Arazi School of
Computer Science
In the name of:
Efi Arazi z”l (1937-2013)
Challenging bike rides expose leaders to
the need to make decisions in uncertain
and unexpected situations.
Dean, Prof.
Tami Tamir
Living a Dream at Disney Research Labs
Three third-year Computer Science students
spent part of 2014 as interns at Disney Research
labs in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Oz Radiano,
Tal Yannay and Matan Ronen were invited by
Prof. Ariel Shamir from the Efi Arazi School of
Computer Science, who was spending a sabbatical year there and at MIT.
The students took part in research that included
trying to create visual stories from image sets of
families in parks, trying to assist the workflow of
artists and designers by recording and measuring their actions while working, and using handtracking movements for animation creation.
They also enjoyed the advantages of being in the
Boston area, from sports and cultural events to
academic relations. The Disney lab in Boston
focuses on machine-learning algorithms and
applications, and the
students participated
in numerous lectures,
learned new subjects
and experienced how
research in computer
science is conducted at
Disney, MIT, Harvard
and more.
“The unique combination of science and
art, of the world’s top
applied sciences pro- Matan Ronen, Oz Radiano and Tal Yanai.
fessors and world-class
artists, is the reason
why working at Disney has been an amazing Previous students who have taken part in internopportunity for me,” Yannay said. And Radiano ship programs with Prof. Shamir at Disneyhave
said: “I learned a lot on how research works. I returned to Israel and continued to work on
enjoyed the company of the lab associates and their projects, some of which have matured to
Cambridge area in general. I highly recommend papers featured at SIGGRAPH, the prime annual
it to anyone who can participate in one of the international conference on computer graphics.
future Disney adventures.”
IDC WINTER 2015 // 75
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
School of Psychology
Dean, Prof. Eran Halperin
Meet Prof. Eran Halperin: New Dean of the School of Psychology
At just 39, Prof. Eran Halperin, the new dean of
the School of Psychology, may be the youngest
of IDC Herzliya’s deans – but he comes into his
position with an impressive list of accomplishments. Prof. Halperin has published more than
80 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including in the acclaimed journals Science and
PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences in the U.S.), and has received a
European Research Council grant of 1.5 million euros. He is a member of the International
Society of Political Psychology and has served
as associate editor of Political Psychology,
the society’s journal. He is also a member of both the American and the
Israeli Political Science Associations.
Always up for new challenges,
Halperin also heads several research
teams in conflict resolution at IDC
Herzliya and elsewhere, and
in 2009 and again in 2012
was presented with the
IDC Herzliya award for
the highest achievements
in research. In 2012, he
was also awarded the
ISPP’s Erik Erikson
early career award.
Halperin received his B.A. in Political Science
and Psychology in 2002, his M.A. from the
School of Political Science at Haifa University
in 2003, and his Ph.D. from Haifa University in
2007. His doctoral dissertation, “The Psychology
of Group-Based Hatred in Political Systems,”
won the outstanding dissertation award from
the Israel Political Science Association.
In 2008, Halperin conducted post-doctoral
research at Stanford University in the U.S. His
main area of research focuses on psychological
and political theories and methods to investigate
different aspects of inter-group conflicts. He is
particularly motivated by the Israel-Palestinian
conflict. Reflecting upon his time at Stanford
University, Halperin says, “That time was a fundamental point in my career, both in terms of my
academic accomplishments but also in my personal development. I believe it has given me an opportune foundation for my new position as dean.”
Halperin joined IDC Herzliya in 2008, after his
time at Standford. He says he is inspired by the
“unique and amazing atmosphere between students, staff and researchers.” After serving as a
lecturer and then senior lecturer in the Lauder
School of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy,
he became a senior lecturer and then associate
professor in the School of Psychology.
Halperin aspires to show his students how principles learned in the classroom can be used to
contribute to Israeli society. “I am a real believer
in ‘bottom-up’ processes, as well as in the power
of people to create social change,” he says. This is
demonstrated by the new state-of-the-art clinic
that recently opened in the School of Psychology,
where students and the wider public can receive
psychotherapy at a relatively low cost, and students
can gain first-hand experience in the field. Prof.
Halperin is also excited to promote the new M.A.
programs in Clinical and Social Psychology, which
he believes “represents the DNA of the school.”
Halperin says the School of Psychology has, in
a relatively short time, become one of the finest
in Israel, and that he intends to continue the
vision of Prof. Mario Mikulincer, who founded the school in 2007 as a center of innovation
and excellence. He is also excited to develop the
school further and ensure that it continues to
be a source of pride for IDC Herzliya as a whole.
Halperin is married with three children.
- Sophie Vardi
IDC Herzliya School of Psychology Partners with the SHALEM Movement
It has long been known that when retirees are
given the opportunity to take part in volunteer activities, both sides benefit – the volunteer,
who continues to lead a meaningful and productive life, and the community being assisted. This awareness led to the launching of the
SHALEM movement (the National Service for
Adult Volunteering), which offers seniors the
opportunity to channel their talents, skills and
experience into a wide range of volunteer programs. SHALEM and IDC Herzliya’s School
of Psychology jointly held an academic conference in collaboration with the Communication
Aging and Neuropsychology Lab headed by Dr.
Boaz Ben-David and with Dr. Roni Tibon from
the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab headed by Dr.
Daniel Levy. Sessions at the conference were
held on subjects such as brain, emotion and cognition among seniors, and provided insights into
the innovative ideas being studied in the labs
such as communication, cognitive and sensory
integration in aging, and the creation of novel
applications to aid attention and memory. The
conference also examined how variations to cognitions, motivations and emotions in the golden
years might benefit from volunteer activities,
and facilitate the elderly citizen’s ability to successfully contribute to their community.
The collaborators from IDC Herzliya and the
SHALEM movement launch the academic conference.
Discussing “Psychology, Research of the Brain, and Social Change”
To mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment
of IDC Herzliya, the School of Psychology organized a conference titled “Psychology, Research of
the Brain, and Social Change.” During the event,
five main topics were discussed: reason and emotion in decision making; integrating the senior
76 // IDC WINTER 2015
citizen population into Israeli society; the psychology of political change in Israel; emotional,
social and cognitive challenges for children in
the 21st century and the role of the education
system, and accessibility of mental health care
as a means to social change. IDC faculty as well
as other Israeli experts in their fields presented
up-to-date research and held discussions on how
these issues affect society in general, and Israeli
society in particular. The conference underlined
the relevance of psychology to social reality and
the field’s ability to influence social change.
The LD & ADHD Unit
Head, Dr. Daphne Kopelman-Rubin
The LD & ADHD Unit Develops New School-Based Intervention Program
The LD & ADHD Unit, headed by Dr. Daphne
Kopelman-Rubin of the School of Psychology,
has developed a new school-based intervention program aimed at enhancing the academic, emotional and interpersonal skills of
elementary school students. The program is
currently being implemented, with the support
of the Herzliya municipality and the Israeli
Education Ministry, in eight schools, and seven
more will join next year. The program translates academic knowledge to a feasible teacher’s manual aimed at helpingstudents to realize
their academic potential and achieve overall
well-being. The new program is based on previous clinical programs developed by the unit
for school students with learning or attentiondeficit disorders, specifically the I Can Succeed
intervention program for middle school students, and the Interpersonal Psychotherapy
program for adolescents. These programs were
developed with Dr. Anat Brunstein Klomek
from IDC’s School of Psychology and Prof.
Laura Mufson from Columbia University in
New York. The guiding principle of all the
programs is that learning correlates strongly
with the way young people interact and communicate with others, and with their ability
to regulate their emotions. By strengthening a student’s interpersonal, functional and
emotional regulation skills, the program helps
students realize their academic potential and
achieve wellbeing.
Maytiv Center
Founded by: Ariel Kor
Head, Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar
Maytiv Center’s Positive Psychology Spreads from Israel to Costa Rica
“It’s not like a regular class. We sit in a circle,
which helps because then you can really talk
with children you go to school with for three
years, sometimes for the first time. You get to
share personal stuff with them. I understood
that I can make some change. I can lead. The
whole optimism and positivity stuff, it’s not just
words – it’s really something I can bring into
my life and lead a better life through it. Before
these classes, I had very low self-esteem, but
then I realized that there are things I should
be proud of.
Those were the words of a junior high school
student about his participation in the Positive
Psychology school program run by the Maytiv
Center for Research and Practice in Positive
Psychology under IDC Herzliya’s School of
Psychology. The Maytiv Center, which is dedicated to teaching Positive Psychology to educators in Israel and abroad, has experienced
significant growth over the last year. Maytiv
has provided its highly regarded first-year curriculum to elementary, middle and high schools
over the last five years, and is about to launch its
second-year curriculum.”
The center was established at IDC in 2010 by Dr.
Tal Ben-Shahar, an eminent Positive Psychology
teacher, lecturer, and best-selling author, and
by Prof. Mario Mikulincer, the IDC provost
and an internationally renowned developmental psychologist. The center strives to improve
Participants in the Maytiv Center’s first Costa Rican Positive
Psychology training seminar for educators, October 2014.
the well being of students and teachers with
Positive Psychology research-based interventions, believing that promoting virtuous, ethical, responsible, and caring behavior in young
children sows the seeds for the child’s wellbeing
and for a flourishing community.
The experiential lesson formats keep students
engaged and impart the lessons in memorable
ways. The school program is being taught this
year at over 50 schools, reaching 20,000 children
and 1,000 teachers in Israel, the United States,
Mexico and Costa Rica.
Maytiv applies a “train the trainer” model: the
adult curriculum is first taught to educators,
who then teach the age-appropriate curriculum
to their students throughout the school year in
regular weekly or biweekly lessons. Unlike conventional school lessons, the Maytiv curriculum
is enlivened with music videos, movie clips, stories and myriad classroom activities. Feedback
from students and teachers has been glowing.
In October, Maytiv trainers flew to Costa Rica to
conduct the first Maytiv training seminar in the
capital, San Jose. A group of 22 clinical psychologists from the country’s top private and public
schools were trained to deliver the program in
the Costa Rican school system. Maytiv is excited
to expand its impact in South America, and to
continue its growth in Israeli schools.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 77
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
School of Psychology
Dean, Prof. Eran Halperin
The Sagol Center for Applied Neuroscience
Founded by: The Sagol Family
Acting Director, Dr. Nava Levit-Binnun
The Sagol Center for Applied Neuroscience Expands
The Sagol Center for
Applied Neuroscience,
founded in 2009 by Dr.
Nava Levit-Binnun, is
expanding and now
includes a branch dedicated to the dissemination of scientific knowledge on brain research
Dr. Nava Levit-Binnun. to policy makers, health
professionals, educators,
parents, caregivers and the general public. The
driving force behind the decision to expand the
center’s activity was the realization that policies
bearing a crucial and long-term influence on well
being both at the individual and the societal level
ignore the ample knowledge about brain functioning and human psychology, and are sometimes
opposed to good practices derived from this
knowledge.
The Sagol Center researchers believe that neuroscientists have not only the ability, but also the
responsibility, to harness the great potential of
neuroscience for promoting the common good.
They aim to turn the Sagol Center not only into a
leading neuroscience research institute, but also
into a unique model demonstrating the feasibility of cooperation between academia and the
community.
The Sagol Center has unique knowledge and
expertise, specializing in translating neuroscience research findings into a language accessible
to non-scientists and in implementing these findings in educational and therapeutic settings.
The Sagol Center focuses on understanding characteristics which promote physical and mental
well-being, such as brain resilience, beneficial
interpersonal interactions, self-awareness and
introspection. The new branch allows it to disseminate knowledge on how to nurture these
characteristics, including by promoting mindfulness-based brain exercises via Sagol’s sister center,
the MUDA Center for Mindfulness, Science and
Society. The MUDA Center engages in scientific,
educational, training and outreach activities that
help establish mindfulness techniques and other
contemplative methods as valid and useful tools
for improving the psychological well being of
individuals and society as a whole.
The MUDA Center for Mindfulness, Science and Society
Head, Dr. Nava Levit-Binnun
MUDA Center Completes First Training Course for Teachers
The MUDA Center for Mindfulness, Science and
Society, now five years old, concluded its first
training course for teachers in September, with a
two- day seminar led by IDC Herzliya neuroscientist Dr. Nava Levit-Binnun and mindfulness
expert Dr. Asaf Federman. The 40 participants
in the seminar discussed the scientific evidence
on mindfulness practice from the perspective
of neuroscience, psychology and medicine. Of
particular interest was the growing research
on the contribution of mindfulness meditation to reducing the risk for major depression
and lowering anxiety, as well as preliminary
research indicating that mindfulness training
may help to prevent post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers and improve coping after it has
already developed.
The graduates of the first Israeli training course
for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teachers
78 // IDC WINTER 2015
now lead mindfulness
courses of their own
in hospitals, clinics
and for the general
public. They join a
constantly growing
group of professionals
who were trained by
MUDA’s “Language
of Listening” (“Sfat
Hakeshev”) course
to work with teachers Graduates of the first Israeli training course for Mindfulness-Based Stress
and school children. Reduction Program teachers, organized with Bangor University, Wales.
A newly developed
program for high schools headed by Simi Levi, has been accepted as a partner organization to
based on the “Language of Listening,” is now
the Charter of Compassion initiative, joining
being tested in two schools for the first time.
more than 100,000 organizations and individuals across the globe, including Yale and Stanford
Compassionate action toward oneself and others
universities.
is at the heart of MUDA’s vision, and the center
Radzyner
Law School
Dean, Prof.
Sharon Rabin-Margaliot
In the name of:
Dr. Harry L. Radzyner
Gladstone-Nir Legal Clinic for Start-Ups
Founded by: Roger Gladstone & Dan Nir
Clinic Manager, Assaf Ben-David
First of its Kind: Gladstone-Nir Legal Clinic for Start-Ups
The newly established Gladstone-Nir Legal Clinic
for Start-Ups at the Radzyner Law School is the first
of its kind in Israel providing free legal services to
selected entrepreneurs working on technologybased ventures. The Radzyner Law School provides
the ideal setting for the clinic due to its multi-disciplinary approach, combining knowledge from
both the legal and business worlds.
The clinic was established thanks to generous
donations from attorney Roger Gladstone and
businessman Dan Nir, and is managed by attorney
Assaf Ben-David. The legal services are provided
by top students who receive training by the clinic
and are supervised by the clinic’s manager. Two
of Israel’s top law firms – Yigal Arnon & Co. and
GKH Law Offices – have partnered with the clinic.
“In Israel there is a concept of, ‘If I win, then you
lose; if you win, then I lose.’ I think I’m importing a new concept to Israel, which is that of winwin,” says Gladstone. “The win-win, in this concept of a legal clinic, is that it will provide legal
services to new technology-based companies in
Israel that can’t afford legal services.”
The legal services cover a wide variety of fields,
including contract law, intellectual property, corporate law, licensing, privacy and the Internet, and
are aimed at entrepreneurs in the pre-seed stage
(before receiving any major financing) who meet
certain criteria: new immigrants, minority groups
(Arabs, Druze, ultra-Orthodox Jews), residents of
outlying areas, people with physical disabilities,
and the impoverished. Additionally, the clinic
gives preference to women, who are statistically
under-represented in the high-tech industry.
Prof. Sharon Rabin-Margalioth, dean of the
Radzyner Law School, said: “The idea of a startup clinic is something very unique. Roger came
with the idea, and trusted us to implement it. As
with any new idea in innovation and entrepreneurship, you need this basic trust to put it together.”
The three main objectives of the clinic are: to help
the specific entrepreneurs overcome legal difficulties; to create social change and more awareness of the needs of entrepreneurs in the start-up
industry, and to give the participating students
academic knowledge and practical experience
from working on real projects, while also enabling
Roger Gladstone, founder, toasts to the launch of
the Gladstone-Nir Legal Clinic for Start-Ups.
them to give back to their community. “One of
the main goals of the clinic is to help these entrepreneurs overcome any legal obstacles that they
have,” says Assaf Ben-David. “From speaking with
entrepreneurs, I found that a lot of them have legal
questions that are preventing them from moving
forward, even though they have very good business ideas.”
As well as Yigal Arnon and GKH, the law firms of
Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer Baratz and Dan Hay &
Co. were chosen to take part in the preparatory week
for the clinic’s students, and ran a series of practical
lectures on the legal issues involved in start-ups.
Zvi Meitar Institute for Legal Implications of Emerging Technologies
Founded by: The Zvi and Ofra Meitar Family Fund
Director, Dr. Dov Greenbaum
Launching the Zvi Meitar Institute for Legal
Implications of Emerging Technologies
The Zvi Meitar Institute for Legal Implications
of Emerging Technologies has opened at the
Radzyner Law School, funded by a generous
donation from the Zvi and Ofra Meitar Family
Fund. The research institute has a broad mandate to examine the ethical, social, economic
and legal issues involved in new and emerging
technologies, with a particular focus on disruptive technologies, which create new markets and
displace earlier settled technologies.
Public: The institute will focus on educating and
informing the general public on issues relating to
new and innovative technologies, through traditional and social media, and also through regular events designed to engage broad audiences.
The institute is intended to have multiple facets:
Academic: It will publish scholarly papers and
books and collaborate with similar institutions
locally and globally on various issues. It will
also seek outside funding, including grants and
awards, to expand operations.
Policy: It will provide information on relevant
and timely policy issues to governmental and/or
corporate bodies.
Pedagogic: It will engage students with individual projects, on- and off-campus symposia,
and regular events featuring local and international scholars.
Although the institute is formally part of the
Radzyner Law School and will preferentially look
to hire law students, students from all other IDC
Herzliya schools will be able to serve as research
assistants. The institute’s activities will be bilingual, enabling the English-speaking students
from the Raphael Recanati International School
to take part.
Heading the institute is Dr. Dov Greenbaum, a
renowned intellectual property and patent attorney specializing in the intersection of science and
society, who is currently an assistant professor
at Yale University’s Molecular Biophysics and
Biochemistry Department. Up to his appointment as head of the Institute in October, Dr.
Greenbaum also worked as a patent attorney at
the Reinhold Cohn Group.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 79
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
Arison School
of Business
In the name of:
Ted Arison z”l (1924-1999)
Dean, Prof.
Zvi Eckstein
Meet Prof. Zvi Eckstein: New Dean of the Arison School of Business
Prof. Zvi Eckstein begins most days with a game
of tennis before carrying out his daily duties as
the newly appointed dean of the Arison School
of Business and the School of Economics.
and the other for regularization, supervision and
enforcement of policies on the employment of
Palestinians and Jordanians in Israel.
❝
After growing up on Kibbutz Yakkum, only a
short distance away from IDC Herzliya, Prof. I was taught to always work
Eckstein says that when he sees the flourish- hard. This is my philosophy
ing orange trees on campus, he is reminded of
his youth when he worked in the orange groves. in life and I encourage my
“Nowadays there is much criticism of the kibbutz
students to always work
movement, but I have wonderful memories that
hard as it is the secret to
shaped my foundations in life,” Eckstein says. “I
was taught to always work hard. This is my phi- success.”
losophy in life and I encourage my students to – Prof. Zvi Eckstein
always work hard as it is the secret to success.”
As a researcher, Eckstein specializes in macro
Eckstein recalls that he was told by his teachers
and monetary economics, labor economics and
the economic history of the Jewish people, and
on the kibbutz that he was not a “high-flyer” and
issues related to Israel’s economy. Eckstein has
that he had poor English. But he went on to earn
a B.A. in Economics from Tel Aviv University and
won many prestigious academic and professional
then to become a leading professor in
awards and published numerous articles in leadthe department. He also gained
ing economic journals, was the editor of the
a Ph.D. in Economics from
European Economic Review and has written
the University of Minnesota
five books. His latest book, “The Chosen Few,”
and became a visiting asso- analyzes the impact of education on the Jewish
ciate professor and professor, people through the lens of economic theory..
leading courses in English
Eckstein is also a Fellow of the Econometric
in some of the most presti- Society, the Institute for the Study of Labor and
gious universities in the U.S., the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
including Yale, CarnegieMellon, Boston University, and
For many years, Eckstein gained experience
the University of Minnesota. at banks and corporations, including Bank
Eckstein also heads the Aaron
Hapoalim, the Mercantile Discount Bank, Bank
Economic Policy Institute
Leumi and the Mei Eden Corporation. Following
at IDC and is the Judith C. what he described as ”a surprising phone call”
and William G. Bollinger
from Prof. Stanley Fischer, then governor of the
visiting professor at
Bank of Israel, Eckstein was invited to become
the Wharton School
the bank’s deputy governor, and held the posiof the University of
tion from 2006 to 2011.
Pennsylvania. In
addition, Eckstein “It was an amazing experience for me. I led Israel
headed the Israeli
out of a financial crisis. During my time at the
government’s inter- Bank of Israel, I was guided by my years of
ministerial commit- research and put theory into practice. It was a
tee to formulate a
great honor,” Eckstein said. “I think one of the
policy on for- most important lessons I learned was the direct
eign workers, and important connection between the study
and he direct- of economics and conducting proper policy, as
ed two other
well as the importance of economic teaching
i n t e r m i n i s - and research to the state. It was during this time
teria l com- that I realized how the academic world actually
mittees: one
has more to offer than one may think. It was
for reviewing
for this reason, that when I finished my tenure
e mploy me nt
at the Bank of Israel, I was excited to return to
policy in Israel, academia and demonstrate to the students that
80 // IDC WINTER 2015
their years at IDC Herzliya will provide them
with the groundwork to effect policy and business strategy.”
As dean, Eckstein intends to make research a top
priority, and is eager to establish three research
centers, focusing on finance and risk management, agility and innovation, and marketing
communications. The aim is to attract highcaliber Ph.D. students and bring more conferences to the two schools to provide students
with greater global networking opportunities.
Eckstein also hopes to change the scheduling
of some undergraduate courses to match the
European system and make IDC Herzliya even
more global. And he plans to develop a full-time
MBA internship and create a specific alumni
program for the Arison School of Business and
the School of Economics. The new M.A. program in Financial Economics has already begun
at the Arison School of Business, and a joint
M.A. economics and business management program, between the School of Economics and the
Adelson School of Entrepreneurship, has been
created for the Raphael Recanati International
School. Eckstein also recently signed an agreement with Washington University to enable
American students to study for a semester in
the MBA program and receive a joint certificate
from the Arison and Adelson schools.
Eckstein is married with three children and two
grandchildren.
- Sophie Vardi
Prof. Zvi Eckstein signs his latest
book, “The Chosen Few.‫״‬
Weekly Finance and Marketing Seminars
Management Seminars
In the Finance seminars, speakers included: Prof.
Sumit Agarwal from the National University of
Singapore; Prof. Asaf Manela from Washington
University; Prof. Doron Levit from the Wharton
School of Business; Prof. Bart M. Lambrecht
from Cambridge University, and Prof. Andrew
Winton from the University of Minnesota.
In the Marketing seminars, speakers included: Prof. Jeffrey R. Parker from Georgia State
University; Prof. Gita Johar from Columbia
University, and Prof. Leonard Lee from
Columbia Business School.
The B.A. students hear speakers on the subject
“A Career Defining Moment” (one such speaker
was Gabi Rotter, CEO of Castro), while the MBA
students hear speakers on the subject “Change”
(Avi Nir, CEO of Keshet Broadcasting, spoke
on this subject).
Innovation, Agility,
and Connectedness:
The 2nd Annual Summer Events
In June, for the second consecutive year, the
school held a “Knowledge Happening” in three
different complexes that each focused on one
of the values. The lectures were short, in TED
format, with speakers from leading universities
around the world and from the Arison School.
The Arison School of Business is considered a
leader in one of the most important topics in
business administration today – “Managerial
Agility and Innovation” – and has an international center of research and practical activities
to stimulate research in the field. One of its foremost activities is the annual Summer Events, the
second of which was held at the Arison School
in June. It included a series of international
research events and featured a conference, a
workshop, a Ph.D. “summer school” and a Ph.D.
proposal competition, and brought together a
rare list of researchers and experts from top
universities around the world, including the
INSEAD business school, Wharton, Columbia,
NYU and EPFL. A select group of business executives also took part.
< Kevin Werbach, from the University of
Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, speaks
on “The Power of Game Thinking” at
the “Knowledge Happening”.
> Prof. Adam Galinsky, from Columbia University,
speaks on “From Power Differences to Sex and
Racial Differences” at the Summer Events.
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
School of Economics
Dean, Prof. Zvi Eckstein
School of Econonics
Happenings at the School of Economics
•The Aharon Institute of Economic Policy
launched its “Round Tables” program, aimed at
promoting economic growth and social responsibility in Israel by supporting research and discussion of economic policy. The institute holds
several round tables each year, each of them on
a specific subject. Two round tables have been
held so far, on trade and currency policy, and
on gas export policy.
•Together with the Arison School of Business, the
School of Economics has launched a new and
unique M.A. program in Financial Economics.
To launch the program, the 39 students met the
program’s Advisory Board members, Profs. Zvi
Eckstein and Yaniv Grinstein (co-heads of the
program) and Anath Levin (CEO at Migdal
Insurance). The meeting was followed by a tour
of the Trading Rooms at Bank Leumi.
•The School of Economics hosted a panel of
experts to discuss the question: “Does the
Government Fight Poverty?” The evening was
guided by Rotem Shemer, a third-year economics student. The necessary budget and possible
solutions to fight poverty were discussed, raising issues such as the distribution of resources,
the black economy within the ultra-Orthodox
and Arab populations, and whether government
allowances perpetuate poverty..
•Twenty students have successfully completed their internships in the public and private
sectors.
•The School of Economics celebrated the second
cohort’s graduation (the official graduation for
these students will be held in May 2015) in an
evening dedicated to their graduating projects.
In May, the first class of the School of Economics
graduated in the IDC Graduation Ceremony
The evening opened with a poster session in
which the 30 policy papers, written during the
students’ third year, were put on display for
parents, faculty and guests to view and challenge. Awards for outstanding policy papers
were presented.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 81
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
Lauder School of
Government,
Diplomacy & Strategy
In the name of: Amb. Ronald S. Lauder
Dean, Prof.
Boaz Ganor
Meet Prof. Boaz Ganor: New Dean of the
Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy & Strategy
The 9/11 memorial ceremony at the ICT 14th Annual Conference. From left: Prof. Boaz Ganor, Amb. Daniel B. Shapiro, U.S. ambassador to Israel, Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, and Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and president of IDC Herzliya.
❝
The courses offered at
the Lauder School of
Government, Diplomacy
& Strategy will enable
our students to learn the
necessary skills to become
Israel’s future leaders,
who will lead the public,
private and third (NGO)
sectors both nationally and
internationally.”
– Prof. Boaz Ganor
Prof. Boaz Ganor is closing a circle as the
newly appointed dean of the Lauder School of
Government, Diplomacy & Strategy. Following
in the footsteps of his mentor and supervisor,
Prof. Ehud Sprinzak, z”l, the school’s founding
dean, Prof. Ganor hopes to encourage and train
new young leaders for Israeli society through
the innovative courses and programs offered in
his school.
A world-renowned expert in the field of countering global terrorism, Ganor is the natural choice
to lead the Lauder School of Government, having previously served for 10 years as the school’s
associate dean and head of the Terrorism and
Homeland Security Studies programs. For the
past 30 years, Ganor has dedicated his career
to the development of the academic discipline
of the study of terrorism and counter-terrorism. “A definition of terrorism is vital to create more effective international cooperation on
82 // IDC WINTER 2015
counter-terrorism,” he says. Yet defining terrorism is no small or easy task.
In 1996, together with Prof. Uriel Reichman,
founder and president, and Shabtai Shavit, a former Mossad director who became the ICT chairman, Ganor founded the International Institute
for Counter-Terrorism at IDC Herzliya, with
the aim of establishing a research center that
strives to develop innovative and practical techniques to counter the threat of global terrorism by implementing theoretical knowledge and
drawing on practical experience, and bolsters
public resilience and fosters international cooperation. Ganor is especially proud of the annual
Prof. Boaz Ganor is interviewed
by Galei Tzahal radio.
ICT international conference, held in memory
of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and victims of worldwide terrorism, as it provides an
unequaled opportunity for experts from over
50 countries to collaborate, share knowledge,
and learn from other experts in the field. Ganor
is also the founder and chairman of ICTAC,
the International Counter-Terrorism Academic
Community, an international association of
institutions, experts and researchers devoted to
the interdisciplinary and non-partisan study of
terrorism and counter-terrorism.
Ganor initially obtained a B.A. in Political
Sciences from the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, and, in 1989, an M.A. in Political
Studies from Tel Aviv University. In 2002, he
gained his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University.
At the same time, from 1990 to 2005, he served
as an adviser to the Israeli government and to the
Israeli National Security Council. He was also a
member of the Israeli delegation to the Trilateral
(American-Palestinian-Israeli) Committee
for Monitoring Incitement to Violence and
Terrorism, and is a member of the Israeli National
Committee for Homeland Security Technologies
and of the International Advisory Council of the
International Center for Political Violence and
Terrorism Research at the Institute of Defense
and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technological
University in Singapore. In 2008-2009, Ganor
was appointed the Koret Distinguished Visiting
Fellow at Hoover Institution, Stanford University,
and taught undergraduate counter-terrorism
courses there. He also taught graduate courses at
Goldman public policy school at U.C. Berkeley.
Ganor is also the respected author of several
books, and his book, “The Counter-Terrorism
Puzzle – A Guide for Decision Makers”
(Transaction Publishers, 2005), is used as a textbook in many universities worldwide. He is the
editor of “Post-Modern Terrorism” (Transaction
Publishers, 2006), co-editor of “Trends in
International Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism”
(2007), and co-editor of “Hypermedia Seduction
for Terrorist Recruiting” (NATO Science for
Peace and Security Series: Human and Societal
Dynamics, Volume 25, 2007). His upcoming
book, “Global Alert – The Rationality of Modern
Islamist Terrorism and the Challenge to the
Liberal Democratic World,” will be published
by Columbia University Press in May 2015. It is
a systematic study of the new terrorist mindset
and how it poses a unique threat to democratic
governance.
Ganor is dedicated to providing students with
the skills to develop, analyze and implement
evidence-based policy.
“The courses offered at the Lauder School of
Government, Diplomacy & Strategy will enable
our students to learn the necessary skills to
become Israel’s future leaders, who will lead the
public, private and third (NGO) sectors both
nationally and internationally,” Ganor says.
“I look forward to seeing our students achieve
excellence and much success throughout their
time at the Lauder School of Government.”
Prof. Boaz Ganor briefs the United
States Congress in December2010.
Ganor is married with three children.
- Sophie Vardi
IDC Lecturer on the Move - Summer at Sciences Po
Dr. Daphne Richemond-Barak, head of the International Law
Desk at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism
and assistant professor at the Lauder School of Government,
Diplomacy & Strategy, spent part of the summer as a visiting professor at the Law School of the prestigious Sciences
Po in Paris. Dr. Richemond-Barak had been invited as part
of the Erasmus Mundus Action 2 program of the European
Union, which fosters institutional co-operation in higher
education between the EU and non-EU countries through a
mobility scheme for faculty members.
“This was an excellent way to strengthen IDC’s ties with the
leading French institution, which is eager to continue working on joint projects in the near future,” Dr. RichemondBarak said. “I encourage more IDC faculty to take part in
the program.”
Center for European Studies
Director, Dr. Esther Lopatin
Jolanda Noe Chair for European Integration
Europe Day Organized by the Center for European Studies
The Center for European Studies celebrated its first annual Europe Day
in May with two roundtable discussions, featuring several European
ambassadors as panelists. Speakers and guests included ambassadors Lars
Faaborg Andersen of the EU, Franz Josef Kuglitsch of Austria, Dimitris
Hatziargyrou of Cyprus, Radovan Javorcik of Slovakia, John Cornet
d’Elzius of Belgium, and Leena-Kaisa Mikkola of Finland, as well as deputy head of the French Mission Zacharie Gross and U.K. Second Secretary
Conor Myers. The participants were greeted by Prof. Uriel Reichman,
founder and president of IDC Herzliya, and Shmuel Revel, head of the
European Bureau in the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry. Questions were
posed by moderator Dr. Esther Lopatin, director of the Center for European
Studies. The discussions focused on contemporary EU politics, with subjects including EU enlargement policy and plans, relations with Russia, the
crisis with Ukraine, possible British membershiping the EU, the development of European foreign and security policy, and long-term expectations
of EU member states.
As well as the discussions, there were information booths on academic
opportunities in various EU member states, featuring representatives from
the cultural and educational sectors of each consulate. All students in the
European Studies program took part in greeting the 120 guests.
From left: Prof. Uriel Reichman, Amb. Lars Faaborg Andersen,
EU Ambassador to Israel, Dr. Esther Lopatin and Amb.Yitzhak
Eldan, president of the Ambassadors’ Club of Israel.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 83
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
The Sammy Ofer
School of
Communications
In the name of:
Sammy Ofer z”l (1922-2011)
Dean, Dr. Noam
Lemelshtrich Latar‬
Sammy Ofer School Students Win Film Prize with “Quadro” Movie
A short silent movie produced by a group of IDC Herzliya students, wins the
producers’ prize in 48-Hour Film Project in the Jerusalem Film Festival.
The film “Quadro,” a short silent movie pro- an illusion, and the film ends with him waking
up in bed in a panic, wearing a cardboard box.
duced by the 45+3 Group from the Sammy Ofer
School of Communications, won the producers’
prize in the 48-Hour Film Project contest held “This film speaks about the reality we all face. We
as part of the Jerusalem Film Festival during
want to think ’outside the box,’ on the one hand,
the summer . The contest had the second- and
be like the people around us, but also be different
third-year students specializing in visual content
and find the uniqueness in each and every one of
“It is an empowering, educational and satisfying experience, seeing how an idea becomes a
cinematic product.”
At the contest in July, the judges selected the best
film and awarded prizes in categories. “Quadro”
won the producers’ prize.
Scenes from Quadro.
competing against 60 other groups to produce
a short movie from scratch over the course of a
single weekend.
“It was a race against the clock. We knew we had
to finish shooting before nightfall. We began
filming at 5:30 in the morning and finished at 8
p.m., with almost no breaks,” said Dor Wittlin,
one of the team of student filmmakers.
The 48-Hour Film Project has been an international fixture since 2001, and has been held in
Israel since 2007. In each contest, competing
teams are assigned elements such as a genre, The Quadro team of student filmmakers.
a character, a prop and a line of dialogue and
within 48 hours must write and produce a short
film incorporating those elements. Contests are
us. But the film misleads viewers, and holds up
a mirror to their faces,” said Wittlin.
now held in more than 80 cities around the
world, and the winners of each local contest get
to enter the official global competition.
“Creating a film from A to Z within 48 hours is
a very challenging task: writing the script, pro“Quadro” tells the story of a young man who
duction, photography, direction and editing, and
lives in a square world and is looking for a way
even the original soundtrack written especially
out. He becomes fixated on the top of a distant
for the movie within these two days, in which
mountain, and becomes convinced that he has
our total accumulated sleep time amounted to
four hours,” Wittlin said.
broken free of his shackles. But this proves to be
84 // IDC WINTER 2015
As well as Wittlin, the filmmakers were: Yarden
Segev, Din Kaplan, Tal Chayat, Ben Bondy,
Dror Lerman and Idan Chekroun.
The actors and production staff were: Johnathan
Nissan, Dana Dektor, Dan Roditty, Tal Eleanor
Attar, Nitzan Miller Idan Cohen
Photographs: Johnathan Nissan
Sammy Ofer School Gears Up for DIGIT 2015
The Sammy Ofer School of Communications will host
the next DIGIT conference, the most important event for
the online media industry in Israel, on March 2, 2015.
The annual conference, which focuses on content-based and technological challenges faced
by the online media, features master classes
and workshops where industry leaders share
their knowledge and experience, as well as panel
discussions about the daily issues that concern
the digital media.
The 2015 conference, the fourth consecutive
DIGIT conference, will examine the influence
of journalists’ activism in their work, the development of the social networks as an important
source in the newsroom, the question of whether transparency can serve as an alternative to
objectivity, conflict-based journalism, and how
media outlets have transformed user-generated
content to a main source of content.
Every year, the DIGIT conference presents a
special survey that examines news consumption
habits among Israelis, and how credible they perceive online journalists to be. All the conference
events are widely covered in the media, and the
issues raised in the panel discussions continue
to be debated within the press community. The
Roy Katz, the chairman of the conference, with
Dr. Noam Lemelshtrich Latar, dean of the
conference serves as the main platform in Israel
Sammy Ofer School of Communications.
for exchanging information and perspectives on
digital media. It is committed to the understanding that only by dealing with the challenges it
Roy Katz, the chairman of the conference, said,
faces, will this industry maintain its strength “The DIGIT conference series links between qualand significance.
ity journalistic practice, technology, design, and
innovation. We are pleased that each year more
As in previous years, the Sammy Ofer School, and more participants take an active part at
together with Google, will present an award to
the conference, which has become a mandathe year’s most outstanding digital journalist
tory event for anyone who believes that digital
media is the key to the survival and success of
and/or media outlet. The NIS 15,000 prize will
the journalist’s profession.”
be awarded in a celebratory ceremony during
the conference.
Advanced Reality Lab
Director, Dr. Doron Friedman
Advanced Reality Lab Makes (Virtual) Time Travel Possible
What would it be like to be able to travel back
in time and undo past mistakes? While a real
time machine has not yet been invented, the
Advanced Reality Lab in the Sammy Ofer School
of Communications has developed a method to
experience time travel in immersive virtual reality. The project was led by Dr. Doron Friedman;
the software component responsible for reasoning out the time travel narrative, with all its
complications and paradoxes, was developed by
Keren-Or Berkers, an M.Sc. student in the Efi
Arazi School of Computer Science; and the virtual reality was developed by Rodrigo Pizzaro, of
the Event Lab for Neuroscience and Technology
at the University of Barcelona, headed by Prof.
Mel Slater.
The experiment revolved around a shooting
spree in a virtual art gallery, in a scenario that
was also planned to explore moral dilemmas.
The participant was instructed to act as an elevator operator, taking five visitors upstairs to the
gallery, leaving one visitor behind on the ground
floor. Played the first time, the elevator operator
unknowingly also took the gunman up to the
second floor, where he shot the five visitors. But
In the experiment, the participant (on the left)
wears virtual reality gear and sees himself
as an avatar in the virtual mirror, with his
actions mapped to those of the avatar.
played the second time, the participant faced the
moral dilemma of whether to keep the gunman
on the ground floor and sacrifice one visitor to
save the lives of five. The experiment compared
two conditions: In the control condition, a participant simply began again each time, similar to
a video game. In the time travel condition, a participant was embodied in a new “clone” avatar
that was able to watch their previous self-operate
the elevator, and could override their previous
actions; such as by pressing an alarm button
A participant watches her previous clone
operate the elevator in the virtual gallery.
that would stop the elevator. The researchers
found that participants who experienced the
illusion of time travel felt significantly guiltier
than participants who did not experience the
illusion. Additional findings, including preliminary insights into how virtual reality time travel
may be used for psychological treatment, appear
in a paper in the academic journal “Frontiers in
Psychology.” The story was also covered by the
press worldwide.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 85
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
The Sammy Ofer
School of
Communications
In the name of:
Sammy Ofer z”l (1922-2011)
Dean, Dr. Noam
Lemelshtrich Latar‬
The Museum of Communications
Chair, Dr. Noam Lemelshtrich Latar
Curator, Baruch Niv
IDF Radio Journalists March into Sammy Ofer School
A group of soldiers from the IDF Radio (“GaleyZahal”) journalists’ course visited the IDC
Herzliya Museum of Communications and the
Sammy Ofer School of Communications studios
in September. During their visit, the soldiers
were given a comprehensive review of the history of journalism, radio and television; heard a
short lecture on IDC College Radio and how it
IDC Radio uses the possibilities offered by the
digital world; had some fun at the TV studio,
and heard a lecture from Dr. Tal Azran, the
school’s graduate program academic adviser,
on the Al Jazeera network.
IDF Radio trains some of the media people of the
future, and the visit provided an opportunity to
expose them to the school’s advanced facilities
and impressive museum collection, as well as to
the possibilities IDC offers for study after their
military service, and also as a source of expert
knowledge. IDC spokesperson Inbal Chen presented the group with a list of IDC experts.
The soldiers found the studios impressive and
expressed a desire to study and broadcast there.
Course commander Omer Ben-Ruby said the
soldiers had undergone a unique experience that
exposed them to the nature of content creation
and the future of the medium. He added that he
would be bringing future Army Radio courses
to tour the school.
* Over 20 groups of soldiers from various IDF
units visited the museum and school last year.
One of the museum’s new guides, a first year
student, first visited the museum as a soldier in
the IDF Spokesman’s Unit and decided to study
communications at IDC.
IDC Radio 106.2FM
General Manager, Ayelet Triest
International Radio Director, Yael Azar
IDC Radio 106.2 FM During Operation Protective Edge
Real-time alarms, unique collaboration with Kol Hanegev radio station in Sderot, a variety
of interviews and programs, volunteer work with southern youth, and special programs
in memory of the fallen: IDC Radio summarizes its activities during the fighting.
Youth recording a special show in Beersheba.
During Operation Protective Edge this summer, IDC Radio 106.2 FM operated in a different
format than usual to contribute as best as possible to listeners in a time of need. The schedule was updated immediately, and thanks to
students and graduates who volunteered, the
station began broadcasting live in Hebrew and
in English, and, when sirens sounded, updated
listeners in real time.
From the very start of combat operations, a
number of shows were broadcast along with
the Interdisciplinary Students’ Association communications command center. The station produced a show promoting coexistence as well as
news, academic and cultural shows, and interviewed many distinguished guests, among them:
86 // IDC WINTER 2015
Prof. Bruce Hoffman, an international terrorist
expert from Georgetown University; Brig. Gen.
(res.) Nitzan Nuriel and students from IDC
Herzliya’s Public Diplomacy Center that ran during the Operation; Dr. Barak Ben-Zur, an expert
on terrorist and strategic intelligence from the
Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy &
Strategy; Drs. Tal Azran and Moran Yarchi of
the Sammy Ofer School of Communications,
and Drs. Boaz Ben-David and Dr. Tamar Saguy
from the School of Psychology.
Radio workshop in Ashdod.
IDC Radio’s collaboration with the educational
radio station Kol Hanegev, which broadcasts
from Sapir College in Sderot, was one of the
most important and reassuring projects of those
difficult times. The collaboration included joint
broadcasts by students from the studios in Sderot
and Herzliya in a number of special programs.
Broadcasters from Sderot also came to record in
IDC’s studios, as the Sderot studios were barred
from use by the Homefront Command.
In addition IDC Radio, in conjunction with
the Jerusalem Season of Culture, held volunteer
activities for at-risk youth in southern Israel. The
radio team visited boarding schools and hostels
in Beersheba and Ashdod and held radio workshops, in which young people recorded programs that included their personal experiences
and their musical choices, giving them a brief
respite from the emergency situation.
At the conclusion of the operation, IDC Radio
was left with one last heartbreaking task: recording programs in memory of fallen IDC graduates. The first program was in memory of Lt.
Col. Dolev Keidar z”l, with Dr. Hillel Sommer,
and alumni Aran Tegar and Yaniv Rosnai.
The radio team also recorded a program with
relatives of Maj. Amotz Greenberg z”l on the
one-month memorial after his death. A special
program was also made and recorded in memory
of Maj. Tzafrir Bar-Or z”l.
Photographs:: Gil Rouvio
The Research Center for
Internet Psychology (CIP)
Director, Prof. Yair Amichai-Hamburger
CIP Takes Part in International Forum on Internet and Privacy
Prof. Yair Amichai-Hamburger, director of the
Research Center for Internet Psychology (CIP),
was a guest speaker at an international forum
on the Internet and privacy at the Center for
Contemporary Culture of Barcelona in June.
Thee forum was the first ever meeting, in what
is hoped will become an annual event, that discusses ethical and educative implications of the
use ofnew technologies.
At the meeting, Prof. Amichai-Hamburger spoke
on the psychological impact of the Internet and
how to enhance wellbeing in the digital age. He
also took part in a panel on privacy and wellbeing with Prof. Eva Illouz, president of the Bezalel
Academy of Art and Design and professor of
sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Visiting Scholar
In June, Prof. Amichai-Hamburger was a guest
of Prof. Adrian Furnham of University College,
London. Prof. Furnham is a fellow of the British
Psychological Society and is among the most
prolific psychologists in the world. The two
professors have cooperated on several projects,
and they are now planning a research project on
personality change in the digital age.
Speaking at the international conference
on Internet and Privacy Barcelona.
World Internet Project Conference
In July, Prof. Amichai-Hamburger represented Israel at the meeting of the World Internet
Project, an international collaborative project
carried out at over 20 universities and research
centers on the social, economic and political
implications of the Internet. The project conducts detailed surveys in every member country
to help understand how individuals adopt and
use the Internet and other technologies, and
what implications this has on their everyday
lives. There 35 member countries are represented by leading research institutes. This year, the
conference was held by SDA Bocconi School of
Management in Milan.
Prof. Amichai-Hamburger gave a lecture
titled “The Good, the Bad and the Evil on the
Internet: The Psychology of Life on the Internet.”
The conference provided an opportunity to
meet some of the world’s experts on Internet
research, including: Prof. Andreina Mandelli,
from SDA Bocconi School of Management,
who hosted the conference; Prof. Allan Bell,
director of the Institute of Culture, Discourse
and Communication, Auckland University of
Technology; Prof. Grant Blank, of the Oxford
Internet Institute; Prof. Sergio Godoy, of the
Professor Sergio
Godoy, of the Catholic
University of Chile.
Prof. Grant Blank,
of the Oxford
Internet Institute.
Catholic University of Chile; and Dr. Pin-Yu
Chu, of National Chengchi University, Taiwan.
Profs. Andreina Mandelli and Yair
Amichai-Hamburger at the World
Internet Project conference.
Preparing for International Conference on Internet and
Wellbeing with the Ewndorsement of UNESCO
UNESCO has endorsed an international conference on the Internet and wellbeing being organized by the Center for Internet Psychology in
cooperation with Ben-Gurion University of the
Negev and the Open University. The conference
will form part of the itinerary of UNESCO’s
Information for All Program. The conference
will be held in February at IDC Herzliya, and
will host 25 scholars and experts from around
the world. It will form the first stage in what aims
to become a major endeavor by leading scholars,
politicians and high-tech companies to improve
the Internet in order to enhance human psychological wellbeing. The Research Center for
Internet Psychology will play a pivotal role in
this vital international enterprise.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 87
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
The Sammy Ofer
School of
Communications
In the name of:
Sammy Ofer z”l (1922-2011)
Dean, Dr. Noam
Lemelshtrich Latar‬
The Media Innovation Lab (miLAB)
Directors, Dr. Oren Zuckerman and Dr. Guy Hoffman
MiLAB Students Excel
Innovative Balance Game Selected to Represent Israel at Microsoft, Seattle
Children who suffer from physical balance dif- Science and Psychology students at miLAB as
ficulties find many ordinary tasks difficult. But part of a yearly course requiring them to design
an innovative game device that aims to help an innovative user experience on the theme of
youngsters improve their balance skills in an “assistive technology.” The chaleffective and fun way has been developed at IDC lenge this year was not only to
Herzliya’s miLAB - Media Innovation Lab – and design an assistive product, but
was selected to be featured at this year’s Microsoft also make sure that the technolResearch Design Expo in Redmond, Washington. ogy does not lessen or replace professional, human support. TiltDesign Expo is held by Microsoft annually to It was designed to be used along
showcase exceptional design processes and ideas with professional therapy for chilfrom schools around the world with the purpose dren diagnosed with balance difof increasing student involvement in develop- ficulties, capturing meaningful
ing and imagining technology. Nine teams of data for the use of the therapist
students from five countries presented projects, or other caregivers while the child
with miLAB’s Tilt-It project representing Israel. uses the device.
Microsoft’s headquarters was overwhelming. It
was such a unique and special experience to meet
designers, developers and researchers who work
”The Tilt-It project responded to the design chal- “MiLAB uses the right kind of Tali Gueta, a communications student who traveled
lenge in a thoughtful way. The IDC students design-thinking methodologies to to the expo, presenting Tilt-It to Microsoft, Seattle.
chose an appropriate and real problem and used a cultivate students who understand
human-focused design process to reach their solu- the entire product design process and put people there, and to learn from them. We also had a
tion,” said Ruth Kikin-Gil, senior UX (user experi- in the center,” said Kikin-Gil. “This approach is chance to interact with students from all over
ence) designer and Microsoft liaison for the event. aligned with the Design Expo goals of highlight- the world, most of them M.A. students, and find
ing and promoting design and encouraging out- out that we were the only interdisciplinary team,
Tilt-It is a game device that uses a balance board, of-the-box thinking, while putting people first and the only one with a fully working prototype.
an accelerometer sensor and a digital monitor and trying to solve their needs.”
Definitely an experience to remember for life! ”
to provide an enjoyable physical workout for
children. It was designed and developed by a Tali Gueta, a communications student who Photograph: David Chen, Microsoft, Seattle.
group of Interactive Communications, Computer traveled to the expo, said: “Our experience in
Student-Created Reading Tool Wins $20,000 Prize in Israeli Chief Scientists Competition
Students everywhere often struggle with the
amount of reading they have to do for their studies, and that burden can be even harder for ADD
students. But HybRead, a unique Web reader that
encourages focus using a selection of special tools
to help visual and cognitive processing, aims to
ease the reading process. HybRead was developed by an interdisciplinary group of miLAB
students from the schools of Communication,
Computer Science and Psychology. The project
has since won the $20,000 second prize in the
Israeli Chief Scientist’s student start-up competition, and the team was invited to present the
project at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond,
Washington, where team members met some of
88 // IDC WINTER 2015
the world’s leading researchers in the field of
digital reading.
HybRead works by taking articles uploaded by
the user, analyzing them, and separating the
text into defined paragraphs. The reader’s focus
is encouraged as only one paragraph at a time is
clear. HybRead also provides constant markers
for progress and location, and enables the user to
select text strings and add them to the summary
database, where they are accessible at all times.
HybRead students receive a $20,000
grant in the Israeli Chief Scientist’s
student start-up competition.
Avital Greenfest
New Jersey
Communications
Liora Welles
California
Psychology
Jack Gottesman
Illinois
Communications
Gal Goldring
California
Government
Aaron Graf
Minnesota
Government
Samantha Greenberg
Florida
Government
Afik Tori
New York
Psychology
Alene Zeitouni
Nevada
Communications
Moshe Alexander
New Jersey
Business Administration
raphaeL reCaNatI INterNatIoNaL sChooL at IdC herzLIYa
academic
programs
2015-2016
ba
LIve IN IsraeL, studY IN eNgLIsh
• Business Administration
• Business & Economics (dual degree)
• Communications
• Computer Science
• Government
• Psychology
Israel +972 9 960 2841
Us
+1 866 999 rrIs
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.rris.idc.ac.il
IDC WINTER 2015 // 89
ACADEMICS
IN ACTION
The School of Sustainability
Founded by Israel Corp., ICL & ORL
Dean, Prof.
Yoav Yair
Meet Prof. Yoav Yair: New Dean of the School of Sustainability
Prof. Yoav Yair, the new dean of the School of
Sustainability, has always reached for the stars.
“As a child I kept a notebook full of newspaper clippings of the great men who stepped on
the moon,” he says. “Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin were my heroes, and I was in awe of them.
When I was offered the chance to work at NASA,
my childhood dreams came true, beyond my
most vivid imagination.”
As project coordinator for the Mediterranean
Israeli Dust Experiment from 1998 to 2008, Prof.
Yair led a team of scientists seeking to further
understanding of world climate changes, and
also coordinated budgets, negotiations and contracts with foreign companies.
“I feel so lucky and humbled
to have been chosen for
that position. It impacted my whole career,” he
says. It was while he was
heading the project that
Yair had the opportunity
to work with Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, z”l,
and the other
scientist-astronauts on the illfated Columbia Space Shuttle.
Despite that mission’s tragic
end, Prof. Yair is keen for people
to recognize that the MEIDEX
experiment was effective. In
Ramon’s memory, Yair further
developed the study of sprites
– upper atmospheric lightning flashes – when he directed the ILAN project (Imaging
of Lightning and Nocturnal
emissions) in 2004, funded by
the Israeli Academy of Sciences
and the Open University of
Israel. In 2010, Yair collaborated with a team of international
researchers to analyze previous- Ilan Ramon z”l.
ly unseen color photographs of
sprites received from Japanese astronaut Satoshi
Furukawa. This research enabled a more sophisticated understanding of the Earth’s greenhouse
effect.
Yair earned his B.Sc., M.Sc.
and Ph.D. from the Geophysics
and Planetary Sciences
Department at Tel Aviv
University, and held senior
positions at that university and
at the Open University before
joining IDC. He has contributed to over 70 scientific journals
and written numerous books
on atmospheric and space science, and has also served on
several professional committees, including the Education
Ministry’s MUTAV program
academic committee encouraging science literacy for high
school students.
Yair says he intends to lead the School of
Sustainability “to infinity and beyond.” Inspired
by the ”energy of youth” and the ”light of science,” Prof. Yair says he is looking forward to
During the Ilan Ramon International Space
Conference held in January 2013, Prof. Yoav
Yair and the MEIDEX team met with the
Japanese astronaut Dr. Satoshi Furukawa,
to celebrate the successful continuation of
Ilan Ramon's sprite research, conducted by
Dr. Furukawa when he was on-board the
International Space Station. From left: Prof.
Yair, Dr. Furukawa, Lt. Col. Meir Moalem (Ret.,
IAF), Prof. Zev Levin (TAU) and Lt. Col. Itzhak
Mayo (Ret., IAF, ISA backup astronaut).
Yair’s main research fields are atmospheric
electricity, lightning (on Earth and other planets), space weather, solar-terrestrial relations
and sprites. His latest experiment, conducted
in collaboration with European scientists soon
after his appointment as dean of the School of
Sustainability, involved the launch of seven highaltitude scientific balloons to measure the electrical structure of the stratosphere (see next page).
The experiment has helped place IDC Herzliya
further in the limelight.
bringing global responsibility to the forefront
of his students’ minds. The newest to IDC of
all four new deans, Yair plans to continue the
groundbreaking work of his predecessor, Prof.
Mordechai Shechter, and to develop the school
even further, planning to digitize all assignments
to make the campus more “green,” to plant roof
gardens along with the Student Union, and to
develop collaborations between IDC Herzliya
and local high schools
Yair is married and has two daughters.
- Sophie Vardi
Ilan Ramon z”l Photograph: Wikimedia Commons. Originally catalogued by Johnson Space
Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
90 // IDC WINTER 2015
IDC Herzliya at 23rd International Association of PeopleEnvironment Studies Conference in Romania
Prof. Arza Churchman,
of IDC Herzliya’s School
of Sustainability Founded
by Israel Corp., ICL &
ORL, was invited to be
a keynote speaker at
the 23rd International
Association of PeopleEnvironment Studies
Conference in Timișoara, Romania, in June.
The theme of the conference was “Transitions
to Sustainable Societies: Designing Research
and Policies for Changing Lifestyles and
Communities.” The topic of Prof. Churchman’s
speech was “How We Can Contribute to the
Spatial Planning System.” The conference was
very successful, attended by hundreds of people
from all over the world.
Conference on Sustainable Water Management at IDC Herzliya
In April, an important conference
was held to discuss the water sector and issues
relating to sustainability. Prof. Moti
Schechter, of IDC
Herzliya’s School
of Sustainability
Founded by Israel
Corp., ICL & ORL, has for many years been
a central figure in planning, implementing,
studying and teaching various aspects of the
water sector, and greeted the more than 100
people who attended the conference to discuss
the issues.
At the conference, experts presented lectures on
topics such as: measures for achieving the goals
of the water sector; the technology that serves
the water sector and sustainability; the Mekorot
company and its role in the development and
operation of the water sector; regulation of the
water sector; the changing world climate and its
effects; pollution of groundwater; the need for
an official plan for wastewater treatment; local
water companies and urban sewage; and the
effectiveness of public information in changing
behavior when it comes to conserving water.
Up, Up and Away for Scientific Balloons
In October, seven scientific stratospheric balloons were launched from sites in Israel and
around the world in an unprecedented experiment to gain greater understanding of the electrical forces in the atmosphere. The balloons,
which carried cosmic ray detectors to measure
high-altitude ionization rates and electrical
charges, were set to rise to an altitude of about
30 kilometers. Such an attempt has not previously been conducted.
again from Murmansk and the Russian station in Antarctica. “Together with scientists
from Israel and Europe, seven high-altitude scientific balloons were launched recently,” says
Prof. Yoav Yair, the new dean of IDC’s School
of Sustainability and the principal investigator
responsible for the Israeli launch. “This experiment has enabled greater understanding of the
widespread distribution of the electric state of
the atmosphere.”
The first four balloons were launched simultaneously on October 22 from Israel, England, Russia
and Antarctica. In Israel, the launch took place
from the Wise Observatory, run by Tel Aviv
University, in the Negev Desert near Mitzpe
Ramon. In England, the launch was from the
University of Reading, west of London. And
Moscow’s Lebedev Physical Institute launched
from both Murmansk, in far north-western
Russia, and from the Mirny Station in Antarctica.
The research aims to identify changes in the
electrical properties of the atmosphere caused by
solar activity and cosmic rays, and to correlate
these with Earth’s climate. As well as Prof. Yair,
the scientists involved in the experiment comprise: Prof. Colin Price of Tel Aviv University’s
Department of Earth Sciences, Prof. Giles
Harrison and Dr. Keri Nicoll of the University
of Reading’s Meteorology Department, and
Profs. Galina Bazilveskaya and Vladimir
Makhmutov of Moscow’s Lebedev Physical
Institute.
The remaining three balloons were launched
on October 24 from Zaragoza in Spain, and
Prof. Yoav Yair prepares for the highaltitude balloon launch at the Wise
Observatory near Mitzpe Ramon.
Results obtained from this maiden launch are
being analyzed and compared with previous
missions conducted by the international partners. Funding for this research was provided by
the Israeli Science Foundation.
IDC WINTER 2015 // 91
Spotlight on Alumni
Spotlight on Alumni:
Ronen Ginsburg, CEO
of Danya Cebus Ltd.
An IDC Herzliya success story.
R
onen Ginsburg, chief executive officer
of Danya Cebus Ltd. since 2009, graduated from IDC Herzliya in 2005 with
an MBA in Finance from the Arison School of
Business. Danya Cebus, a publicly traded company, is the building and infrastructure arm of
the Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. group, and
undertakes projects both in Israel and abroad. It
engages, initiates, plans, carries out and operates
numerous projects for leading entrepreneurs in
Israel, for international companies that operate
in Israel, and for the Israeli government and its
constituent agencies.
“IDC Herzliya’s reputation preceded it,” says
Ginsburg. “I chose to study there because I had
been hearing from friends and from others in
the industry that it was an excellent institution
with academic programs that adapted to people
who were working in demanding jobs. During
the time of my studies, I was a regional manager
at Danya Cebus, and I was sent to study at IDC
Herzliya by the former CEO, Itamar Deutscher.
I found the faculty very impressive and the students of a very high quality. I am very proud
that I went there.”
In addition to his MBA, Ginsburg holds a bachelor’s degree, with honors, in Civil Engineering
from the Technion - Israel Institute of
Technology.
92 // IDC WINTER 2015
“I graduated from the Technion in 1992. IDC
Herzliya was a different experience. It is such a
pleasant environment. You feel that the students
are very much the focus and that the teachers
truly enjoy teaching,” he says.
Ginsburg says his degree was not easy. “My studies were actually very challenging,” he says. “I
really invested a lot of energy and devoted many
hours to the MBA. However, it was completely
worth it as I got to experience two fascinating
years. Not only did I really enjoy myself, but
I learned so many new things about management, finance, options, business analysis, business planning, and more. These are things that,
as an engineer, I didn’t know before. I found the
lectures so interesting and of such a high level. I
was sorry when my studies were over.”
Ginzburg has maintained his connection with
IDC since graduating. “I am still in touch
with my professors and my friends from IDC
Herzliya,” he says. “Now, as CEO, it is my turn
to send my employees to earn their MBAs there.
I believe it will help them as it helped me. My
experiences at IDC Herzliya have made me a
better manager.”
- Ariel Rodal-Spieler
❝
I found the [IDC Herzliya]
faculty very impressive and
the students of a very high
quality. I am very proud
that I went there.”
❝
Now, as CEO, it is my turn
to send my employees to
earn their MBAs at IDC
Herzliya. … My experiences
at IDC Herzliya have made
me a better manager.”
‫משרד החינוך‬
‫מינהל תיאום ובקרה‬
‫האגף לחינוך מבוגרים‬
IDC
Summer
Ulpan
July - August, 2015
OUR ULPAN IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
university students,
parents, grandparents
and others welcome
For students of all ages, 18 and up
Placement tests
Accelerated classes for advanced students
The ulpan takes place on IDC’s beautiful campus where
6,500 students earn undergraduate or graduate degrees
This ulpan will prepare participants for Hebrew
placement tests given at Israeli academic institutions
Participants who complete the ulpan will receive a
certificate from the Israel Ministry of Education
IDC HERZLIYA
For registration and further information
[email protected]
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WINTER 2015 UPDATE
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