The honorees with BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi (center) and Rector Prof. Zvi HaCohen (top) last night. Ben-Gurion University bestowed Honorary Doctorates upon six worthy and impressive Israelis on Ben-Gurion Day last night. Ben-Gurion Day commemorates the passing of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion.
Honoree and Nobel Laureate Prof. Yisrael Aumann praised BGU, "This magnificent university in the capital of the Negev is the most fitting and worthy memorial to this giant among giants, David Ben-Gurion. I am proud and filled with gratitude to receive an honorary doctorate tonight."
Prof. Rivka Carmi, BGU President, declared, “David Ben-Gurion’s vision that the future of the State of Israel lies in the Negev is truer now than ever before, with the implementation of the plan to relocate the IDF to the South. Our University is committed to realizing this vision through science and technology, health and welfare, the humanities and culture. We are proud of our direct contribution to developing the Negev in every area, of our academically excellent, moral and community-involved student body, and academic, administrative and technical faculties dedicated to the vision and the way. Primarily, we are committed to educating the next generation to leadership, responsibility and societal sensitivity in every field in which they will be active in the future.”
Turning to the Honorary Doctorate recipients, she declared, “You, honorees, symbolize this commitment and we proudly and joyfully welcome you into the BGU family, a family which excels academically, is concerned and active in the community, great in science and the humanities, warm and loving.”
The six individuals honored were: Nobel Prize Laureate mathematician Prof. Yisrael Aumann, poet Erez Biton, media personality Itzhak Livni, artist Michal Rovner, entrepreneur and philanthropist Judith Yovel Recanati and journalist Judy Siegel-Itzkovich. The Ben-Gurion Negev Award went to Negev activist Dodik Shoshani.
The booklet that was distributed last night containing the exact text of the scrolls the honorees received is attached.
Prof. Yisrael Aumann: "David Ben-Gurion was a giant among giants. I did not know him personally but I lived in Israel during his leadership period. He had a vision. He understood that without a vision there is no security. If you do not have the right to be here at all, then you do not have the right to security. Ben-Gurion understood our historic right to Israel and the need to realize it. "Therefore, this magnificent university in the capital of the Negev, which is named after him, is the most fitting and worthy memorial for this giant. I am proud and filled with gratitude to receive an honorary doctorate tonight." Prof. Aumann, professor emeritus at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2005 for his research into game theory, sharing the prize with Thomas Schelling. He is also a recipient of the Israel Prize.
Erez Biton: "This university is a gushing rock for youth thirsting for knowledge. It is especially moving for me to stand at the junction of a vision that has not yet ended. "I feel the desert here, the quiet that yields great insights in the great work of this university." "Today is my wife Rachel’s birthday. My honor is your honor!" Biton is a poet, author and editor of the literary journal Apirion. He is one of the first to have given voice to the experiences of Jews from Arab lands. He is the 2015 laureate of the Israel Prize for Literature, the first Mizrahi author or poet to be thus honored.
Yitzhak Livni: “My field is in trouble and I am worried. There is talk of splitting the broadcast companies up and adding more to have seven companies. I fear such a move will make each unprofitable and therefore dependent on financial backers rather than independent. “I think the recommendation to remove Army Radio from the IDF is a mistake. While it is an anomaly with its civilian character, it is a great station in a country that has few great radio stations.” Livni was instrumental in turning the IDF radio station into a news juggernaut as its commander in its formative years in the 1960s and 1970s. He went on to serve as director general of the Israel Broadcasting Authority and chairman of the steering committee at the inception of Channel 2, as well as chairman of its news corporation.
Michal Rovner said her connection to Beer-Sheva extends back to her childhood when her father owned a construction company in the city. "The world is in the throes of a major fracture. Sixty million refugees are seeking new identities. What is most important is sympathy and empathy between human beings for each other." is one of Israel’s best-known visual artists. She has put on more than 50 exhibitions around the world and was recognized by the French government for her innovative art. is one of Israel’s best-known visual artists. She has put on more than 50 exhibitions around the world and was recognized by the French government for her innovative art.
Judith Yovel Recanati: "Working in the NGO sector is an opportunity to bring the light and blessing of a rebirth to others. It is our responsibility to see the Other and improve the lives of those who need help. "There is an opportunity to collaborate with our fellows on this same mission and so we have been collaborating with BGU's Student Union for many years." Judith Yovel Recanati is a leading entrepreneur and social activist who devotes herself to strengthening and empowering Israeli society. She is the founder and chairperson of the Gandyr Group and Gandyr Foundation. She also founded and chairs Natal – The Israel Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War.
Judy Siegel-Itzkovich: "In my opinion, it is better to prevent disease than to treat it. A journalist is a messenger - don't kill the messenger. As one US President put it 200 years ago, better to have a free press and no government than a government but no free press. "I believe that we can educate the public to better health." Siegel-Itzkovich is The Jerusalem Post’s longtime health and science editor. She is one of the most prolific journalists in the world, having written more than 29,000 articles since the start of her journalistic career in 1973. She has long advocated objective, accurate journalism and struggles against the growing phenomenon of the publication of inaccurate, exaggerated and even false information by vested interests – public-relations firms, institutions and even doctors themselves – in matters of medicine and science.
A visibly moved Dodik Shoshani recalled his beginnings in the Negev. After his brother was killed in the Battle for Beer-Sheva in 1947, he came back to found Kibbutz Lahav in 1952. The kibbutz appointed him liaison to their Bedouin neighbors and thus began a lifetime of activism on behalf of those neighbors. He campaigned for better education and better housing and better facilities for Bedouin. Two Bedouin Sheikhs attended the ceremony to honor Shoshani. Shoshani remarked that BGU has played a central role in providing higher education to the Bedouin community. He received the Ben-Gurion Negev Award.
See the photograh album from the event on our Facebook page
Ben-Gurion Day Honorary Doctorate Booklet.pdf
