14 minute read
Ministerial Matters
from TAU Review 2022
by telavivuni
As a TAU student, Pnina Tameno Shete knew she had made it when a senior government official gave a guest lecture about a campaign she led on behalf of Israel’s Ethiopian community. He cited it as an example of how to effectively realize social change.
Tameno Shete, who earned a master’s degree in public policy from TAU in 2018, is Israel’s first Ethiopianborn minister, heading the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration since 2020.
Her appointment as minister and second-in-command to Blue and White Party Chairman and Defense Minister Benny Gantz (another TAU alumnus) is the most recent in a long line of breakthrough achievements for Tameno Shete, who arrived in Israel at the age of 3.
Like thousands of her Jewish compatriots, Tameno Shete trekked through the desert with her family from her native Ethiopia to Sudan, and from there was airlifted to Israel in 1984.
During the journey, people “fell like flies,” she says. “There was no burial there. It took decades for us to start talking about it.” In total, nearly 4,000 Ethiopian Jews died on their way to Israel.
“People spoke about the Hercules airplanes that landed and rescued us. There was a heroic secret mission, but … the real heroes are the Ethiopian Jews who completed that harrowing journey.”
Upon arrival, Tameno Shete fell in love with Israel and the Hebrew language immediately. “I was more Israeli than the Israelis,” she says.
At the same time, she felt different, whether it was when a neighborhood boy threw a rock at her and used a racist slur, or when the school counselor didn’t believe that she and her sisters could have such high grades as new immigrants.
TAU Alumna Brings Authentic Voice to Politics and Beyond Pnina Tameno Shete, Israel’s first Ethiopian minister, wields global influence in key government position By Melanie Takefman Tameno Shete at her graduation ceremony from TAU in 2018, with her children and current Dean of Social Sciences Prof. Itai Sened As a teenager, she led a protest against Israel’s rejection of blood donations from citizens of Ethiopian I understood that if we didn't appear on TV screens, if Israelis didn’t hear us and see us, nothing would change. descent. She felt an instinctive urge to fight for her place—and that of her community—in Israeli society. “I come from a very strong family in terms of values, but my parents didn’t know anything about the law or rights.” She pursued a bachelor’s degree in law because she saw the courts as a hub of power through which she could effect change. No one wanted to hear about their struggle to realize their rights and fight discrimination, she says. “People said we had integration difficulties. And I said, ’These are not integration difficulties. I made aliyah at age 3. This is about the color of our skin, about stereotypes and prejudices,
Pnina Tameno Shete (center) with Kesim, spiritual leaders of Israel’s Ethiopian community
about racism.’ I wanted to live at peace in the society which I loved, as an equal.”
She went on to become a reporter for Israel’s public TV channel. “I understood that if we didn’t appear on TV screens, if Israelis didn’t hear us and see us, nothing would change,” she says. Yet, she soon realized that the best way to influence society was through politics and, in 2013, she was elected to the Knesset.
Education=Empowerment
Tameno Shete believes in higher education as a tool to empower Israel’s Ethiopian community and other marginalized groups. As such, she enthusiastically endorses a new campaign by TAU and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in collaboration with Canada's Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation to provide scholarships and support services to hundreds of Israeli students of Ethiopian descent.
Moreover, Tameno Shete insists that integration toward equality must continue in the workforce and society at large. She says that Israelis of Ethiopian descent earn 40% less than the average Israeli—an unacceptable situation—and that they are still disproportionately represented among Jewish Israelis with criminal records.
Subsequently, Tameno Shete enrolled in TAU’s School of Public Policy, Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences, while on break from the Knesset. She describes her time at TAU as “amazing” because of exceptional professors and the comprehensive understanding it gave her of public policy.
When she was appointed to head the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, TAU Prof. Itai Sened, now Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, called to congratulate her and offer support and guidance. Similarly, she occasionally calls her TAU professors for consultation on various issues.
Among her priorities as Minister is the completion of a large-scale operation to bring thousands of firstdegree relatives of Israelis on aliyah from Ethiopia, most of whom have been separated from their families for decades. Two thousand have already arrived, and Tameno Shete is working intensively to ensure those remaining in Ethiopia soon follow.
As this publication went to print, the Ministry was leading national efforts to absorb Ukrainian immigrants fleeing the war in their country.
Tameno Shete is one of 90,000 members of the TAU Alumni Organization, headed by Sigalit Ben
Hayoun, which leverages the influence of TAU alumni for good and serves its members through shared knowledge, networking and opportunities. Having broken several “glass ceilings,” Tameno Shete sees herself not only as a representative of the Ethiopian community but of other groups as well. “One of the most important milestones in my life was when I swore allegiance to Israel as a Member of Knesset and Deputy Knesset Speaker at age 31. I remember thinking how important that moment was…not just for Israelis of Ethiopian descent, but for many children who started out from a very low point.”
Alumni Advisory Committee: Spotlight TAU Law Alumni Make Waves in the IDF
Udy Danino, founder and CEO of SAIPS, an international algorithmic solutions provider, is among leading alumni who devote their time and resources to TAU’s Alumni Advisory Community. Danino is a graduate of the Blavatnik School of Computer Science and Fleischman Faculty of Engineering. In 2016, under Danino’s leadership, SAIPS was acquired by the Ford Motor Company, and it now plays a central role in the development of Ford’s autonomous vehicles.
Shaping Israeli Public Health
Prof. Ran Balicer, a graduate of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, is a leading expert and spokesperson for innovation in health and Israel’s response to COVID-19. Balicer serves as Chief Innovation Officer at Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest health fund; Chairman of Israel’s COVID-19 Expert Advisory Team; and Chairman of the Israeli Society for Quality in Medicine.
Balicer recently spoke to 1,000 TAU alumni about predictive medicine in a webinar hosted by the TAU Alumni Organization. From his talk: “We live in an exciting era, thanks to technology and artificial intelligence. Instead of trying to repair the damage caused by diseases at a late stage, we now intervene early, even in the pre-disease stage, where the likelihood of a full cure is high and the damage from treatment is minimal. Israel is at the forefront of this global revolution.”
From Retail Digitization to Cancer Eradication
Joel Bar-El is the co-founder and CEO of Trax, a global leader in retail digitization, with projects in 90 countries and close to 1,000 employees in 20 offices worldwide. Bar-El is also an active investor and recently joined forces with Ramot, TAU’s technology transfer company, to establish JaxBio, an initiative aiming to eradicate cancer through early diagnostics. He is an alumnus of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences.
In November 2021, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced that Brig.-Gen. Orly Markman, alumna of the Buchmann Faculty of Law, would serve as the next president of the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Court of Appeals. The position is the military equivalent of President of the Supreme Court. With this appointment, Markman will be promoted to Major-General, making her the third woman to receive the rank in IDF history. As a result, two female generals will now serve in the IDF’s General Staff for the first time. The second is Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, another TAU law alumna.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz, a graduate of TAU’s Entin Faculty of Humanities, heads the IDF’s Judge Selection Committee. Other TAU law alumni on the Committee include Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar, also an alumnus of the Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences; Esther Hayut, Chief Justice of Israel’s Supreme Court; and her Deputy, Justice Neal Hendel.
Another Glass Ceiling Shattered
Former Member of Knesset Ayelet NahmiasVerbin, a TAU law alumna, was recently appointed chairperson of the Israel Export Institute. She is the first woman to hold this role.
NEWS IN BRIEF The Med League: TAU Spearheads Elite Global Partnerships and Programs
Tel Aviv’s standing as the capital of big ideas was bolstered with the launch of international programs and collaborations with leading institutions. The new initiatives are attracting top students and researchers and are strengthening TAU’s reputation as the epicenter of a Middle Eastern Ivy League.
Strengthening Ties with Rutgers
TAU and Rutgers University inked a deal to enhance the partnership between the two universities and establish a TAU presence at the New Jersey Innovation & Technology Hub. The agreement will establish a joint research grant program that provides seed funding for up to five collaborative research projects, each with two principal investigators—one from Rutgers and one from TAU.
“Our growing partnership will not only benefit our students and faculty, but also our local economies and the people in our communities,” said Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy joined the ceremony virtually.
Presidents Porat (left) and Holloway at TAU TAUi staffer Nofar Califa (center) is flanked by two TAU students from Germany.
Shared Master’s Degree with Johns Hopkins
TAU’s Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) have partnered to launch a cooperative degree. The two-year program will enable students to earn a Master of Arts in International Affairs at SAIS Europe, the school’s campus in Bologna, Italy, and an MA at Tel Aviv University International in one of several degree programs. Students will spend one year on each campus. The program will kick off in the 2022-23 academic year.
Interfaith Studies Center with Goethe University
In line with growing academic partnerships with Germany, TAU and Goethe University in Frankfurt established a Joint Center for Interfaith Studies. The new Center will promote research on religion, in particular the monotheistic faiths—a field in which both institutions specialize. The two universities will conduct joint research, hold academic conferences, and train students and researchers in the field.
First Online MBA at an Israeli University
TAU announced that it will launch a fully online MBA program at the Coller School of Management in spring 2022, marking the first time an Israeli university will offer this prestigious, indemand format.
The Online MBA degree will be taught in English and will give outstanding students from around the globe the opportunity to learn from TAU’s renowned innovation ecosystem. TAU ranks 5th in the world for producing entrepreneurs, and its MBA program ranks 13th globally.
On the Global Edge: Neuroscience, Management and Liberal Arts
TAU International introduced two new degree programs in the past year: the new master’s degree in neuroscience at the Sagol School of Neuroscience and a joint bachelor’s degree in management and liberal arts.
Bart Elmore
Nana Oforiatta Ayim
Past Forward: 2022 Dan David Prize Winners Announced
The Dan David Prize announced on March 1 the first cohort of winners since its relaunch as the world’s largest history prize.
Out of hundreds of early and midcareer nominees from around the world, nine winners were selected to receive $300,000 each to further their study of the human past. Among this year’s winners are: • Nana Oforiatta Ayim (Ghana), a curator, writer and public historian whose work reinstates African narratives, institutions and cultural expressions into the telling of the past • Bart Elmore (U.S.), an environmental historian who studies the global environmental impact of big businesses such as Coca-Cola and
Monsanto • Natalia Romik (Poland/France), a public historian, designer and architect whose work uncovers and preserves Jewish sites and memory in Eastern Europe
Endowed by the Dan David Foundation and headquartered at TAU, the Prize was reimagined in 2021 to focus on historians, archaeologists and all those who study the past.
“We live in a world in which the humanities, and particularly history, are devalued and attract less investment, even as it remains clear that only by deepening our knowledge of the past we can gain a better understanding of the present,” said Ariel David, Prize board member and son of the founder, the late Dan David, a longstanding benefactor of TAU.
“For this reason, we have chosen to focus exclusively on historical disciplines and support emerging scholars and practitioners when the Prize can make a bigger impact.”
The winners will be honored at a festive ceremony in Tel Aviv scheduled to take place during TAU’s Board of Governors meeting in May 2022.
More details at dandavidprize.org.
Promoting a Long and Healthy Life
TAU launched the multidisciplinary Healthy Longevity Research Center under the leadership of Prof. Karen Avraham, Vice Dean of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine. This new hub will address age-related conditions and issues, such as Alzheimer’s and hearing loss; psychology of the elderly; employment; economic policy; Holocaust survivor rights; and more. To further promote this broad field, TAU hosted a hybrid healthy aging conference in late 2021 as part of the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange (BIRAX) forum, which includes TAU, the British Council in Israel and the UK Embassy. At the event, the partners announced a new £1.6 million grant program for funding collaborations between Israeli and British researchers in the field. Pictured, from left: TAU Governor and benefactor Sami Sagol, British Ambassador to Israel Neil Wigan and Prof. Karen Avraham at the conference.
Social @TAU
@tau.main @telavivuni
@lifesci.tau @telavivuni
TAU REVIEW | 2022
Issued by the Strategic Communications Dept. Development and Public Affairs Division Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv 6997801 Tel Aviv, Israel Tel: +972-73-380-4251 E-mail: mtakefman@tauex.tau.ac.il http://taureview.tau.ac.il
Editor-in-Chief: Melanie Takefman Contributors: Julie Steigerwald-Levi, Sveta Raskin, Rava Eleasari, Ruti Ziv, Idit Nirel Photo Editors: Moshe Bedarshi and Rafael Ben-Menashe Webmaster & Editorial Assistant: David Jozsef Graphic Design: Michal Semo Kovretz Contributing Photographers: Yoram Reshef, Moshe Bedarshi, Rafael Ben-Menashe, Yael Tzur, Shachar Shachar, Michal Ben-Ami, Sivan Farag, Ran Biran, Simon Jamison, Yonatan Birenbaum, Ilya Melinkov, Shahar Hilla, Ronit and Uri Photographers, Asi Efrati, Crossroads of Civilizations Museum, Omer Har-Shai, Liron Bonano Stern, Yoav Picherski, Rohatyn Jewish Heritage, Shiraz Pashinsky Printing: Alumgraph
Tel Aviv University Lay Leadership Worldwide
ARGENTINA
Polly Mizrahi de Deutsch, President
Argentinean Friends of Tel Aviv University
AUSTRALIA
Clive Donner, President
Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University (WA) Chairperson, Australian AFTAU Pty Ltd Rosie Potaznik, President
Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University (Victoria) Jenny Hillman, President
Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University (New South Wales)
AUSTRIA
Dr. Bernhard Ramsauer, President
Austrian Friends of Tel Aviv University
BRAZIL
David Ades, President
Brazilian Friends of Tel Aviv University Renée Cohen Zaide
Brazilian Friends of Tel Aviv University Rio de Janeiro Dr. Mario Gurvitz Cardoni
Brazilian Friends of Tel Aviv University Porto Alegre
CANADA
Ariela Cotler, National President
Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University David Altshuller, Regional Chair
Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University Ontario and Western Canada Josh Cummings, Regional Chair
Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University Ottawa, Quebec and Atlantic Canada
ECUADOR
Ketty Grun, Liaison
Ecuadorian Friends of Tel Aviv University
FRANCE
Prof. François Heilbronn, President
French Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFAUTA)
GERMANY
Uwe Becker, President
German Friends of Tel Aviv University
HONG KONG
Sharon Ser, Chairperson
Hong Kong Friends of Tel Aviv University Indian Friends of Tel Aviv University
ISRAEL
Amnon Dick, Chairman
Israeli Friends of Tel Aviv University
KAZAKHSTAN
Dr. Alexander Machkevitch, President
Kazakhstani Friends of Tel Aviv University
MEXICO
Jaime Murow Troice, President
Mexican Friends of Tel Aviv University
NETHERLANDS
Dutch Friends of Tel Aviv University
NORWAY
Jan Dante, Chairman
Norwegian Friends of Tel Aviv University
PANAMA
Millie Bettsak, President
Panamanian Friends of Tel Aviv University
PORTUGAL
Lucienne Kampel, President
Portuguese Friends of Tel Aviv University
RUSSIA
Viktor Vekselberg, President
Russian Friends of Tel Aviv University
SOUTH AFRICA
Jonathan Osrin, Chairman
South African Friends of Tel Aviv University
SPAIN
Patricia Nahmad, President Isaac Querub, Honorary President
Spanish Friends of Tel Aviv University
SWEDEN
Peter Seideman, President
Swedish Friends of Tel Aviv University Swiss Friends of Tel Aviv University
UK
David Meller CBE, Chairman
Tel Aviv University Trust Glen Watson, Chairman, Scottish Group
Tel Aviv University Trust
URUGUAY
Bettina Szames, President
Uruguayan Friends of Tel Aviv University
USA
Clement Erbmann, National Chairman
American Friends of Tel Aviv University