DECEMBER 2ND, 1999

IN ISRAEL

The TAU Wise Observatory in Mitzpe Ramon hosted a team of researchers from NASA and the US Air Force who arrived on an unprecedented airborne science mission to observe the rare Leonid meteor storm produced by the Temple-Tuttle comet, best observed in the Mediterranean. The team, headed by Col. S. Pete Worden of the US Air Force, operated research instruments on the balcony of the Wise Observatory, while two Air Force research aircraft flew over the area. The event presented the scientists with the opportunity to study meteors, their relevance to the origins of life, and the associated hazards for the 500 operational satellites orbiting Earth. The Israel Space Agency in cooperation with TAU had research teams working country-wide, coordinated by Dr. Noah Brosch of the School of Physics and Astronomy. These included a team headed by Dr. Colin Price of TAU's Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, who measured extremely low frequency radio emission, and Dr. Shimon Wdowinski of the same department who operated the Israel-NASA GPS network to measure the density of electrons in the upper atmosphere.

CONFERENCES

US First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered the keynote address at a conference entitled "From Violence to Dialogue" in cooperation with ELEM-Youth in Distress, and in the presence of Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Leah Rabin, government ministers, members of the Knesset and mayors. Mrs. Clinton was invited by ELEM's chairperson Nava Barak, the wife of Israel's Prime Minister. TAU's President Prof. Itamar Rabinovich and Rector Prof. Nili Cohen opened the session. The Bob Shapell School of Social Work held a moot trial entitled "The Children and Youth of Israel versus the Society and the Government of Israel." The charge was "Giving up in the Fight against Violence." Four discussion groups on violence were conducted in and around the campus.

A production of Dancing in Lughansa by the Irish playwright Brian Friel, directed by Nola Chilton, opened the season at TAU's Department of Theater Arts.

The Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery of TAU's Yolanda and David Katz Faculty of the Arts held an exhibition entitled "Mnemosyne, Aby Warburg's Atlas of Memory," curated by Italo Spinelli and mounted in cooperation with the Unger and Warburg families in Israel, and the Goethe Institute. Greetings at the opening ceremony were delivered by Prof. Mordechai Omer, Curator of the Gallery, and Eva Unger, a representative of the family.

TAU's Institute for German History at TAU's Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities in cooperation with the Goethe Institute hosted Prof. Michael Minkenberg of the European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), who delivered a lecture entitled "The New Radical Right in Western Democracies: Comparative Observations." Opening remarks were delivered by Prof. Dan Diner, Head of the Institute.

The Institute for German History held an international conference entitled "Czernowitz as Paradigm: Cultural Pluralism and the Nationalities Question," organized by Prof. Dan Diner, Head of the Institute. Greetings at the opening session were given by Dean of Humanities Prof. Marcelo Dascal; Head of the School of History Shulamit Volkov; and Austrian Ambassador to Israel Wolfgang Paul. An introduction was given by Gotthart Wunberg, director of IFK, Vienna. The conference was held in cooperation with IFK and supported by the Austrian Embassy and the Goethe Institute.

The Morris E. Curiel Center for International Studies and the School of History, in cooperation with the Israel Council on Foreign Relations and the Israel-Germany Association of Frankfurt-Born Israelis, hosted Wolfgang Thierse, President of the German Bundestages, who gave a lecture entitled "Berlin: Myth of a City." Opening remarks were delivered by TAU Vice President Avi Primor.

The Julius Friedrich Cohnheim-Minerva Center for Phagocyte Research of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine held the second Julius Friedrich Cohnheim Lecture. Guest lecturer was Prof. Klaus Aktories of the Albert-Ludwig University, Freiburg. Prof. Edgar Pick, Director of the Center, introduced the lecturer. Prof. Lester C. Thurow of the MIT School of Business Administration was a guest lecturer of Shiluvim, the Graduate Club of TAU's Fleischman Faculty of Engineering. Prof. Thurow delivered a lecture entitled "What Will Israel Have to Do to Compete in a Knowledge-Based Economy?" Faculty Dean Prof. Gideon Langholz presented an introduction.

The Mortimer and Raymond Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies, headed by Prof. Saul Abarbanel, hosted Prof. Werner Eck of the University of Koln, Germany, who delivered a lecture on "Deceiving the Public, or: The Credibility of the Historian Tacitus."

The Curiel Center for International Studies and the National Security Studies Program hosted Zara Steiner, Professor of International Affairs, Cambridge University, to lecture on "The Greater Menace - Fascism or Bolshevism? British Perceptions on the Eve of World War II." Introductory comments were made by Director of the Center Prof. Gabriel Gorodetsky.

A Lectureship in memory of Giora Shoham, donated by Dr. Ilan and Sara Tamshas, was recently inaugurated at TAU. Giora Shoham, son of Prof. Shlomo Shoham of the Buchmann Faculty of Law, was killed in action during the Yom Kippur War. Remarks were delivered by TAU President Prof. Itamar Rabinovich and the guest lecture, entitled "The People of the Book," was given by Prof. George Steiner of Cambridge University.

The TAU Diaspora Research Institute held a conference to mark the publication of volumes 1 and 2 of The Jews in Genoa. The conference was chaired by Prof. Aron Oppenheimer, Head of the Institute. Prof. Daniel Carpi presented the books.

The Saul J. Farber Distinguished Lectures in Medicine hosted guest lecturer Prof. James R. Lupski of the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.

Twenty ambassadors participated in the Ambassador's Forum of TAU's Political Science Department, Gershon Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences, chaired by Prof. Aharon Klieman, Nahum Goldman Professor of Diplomacy. The title of the conference was "The Israeli-Syrian Peace Process."

The Unit of Human Development and Education, directed by Prof. Sidney Strauss, inaugurated the Laboratory for Research of Child Development and Education in the presence of TAU President Prof. Itamar Rabinovich, Rector Prof. Nili Cohen, and Vice President and Director-General Prof. Niv Ahituv. Remarks were delivered by Dina Tirosh and Iris Levin.

The Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Konrad Adenaur Foundation held a conference entitled "Prior to the Permanent Agreements - Is the 'Two States for Two Nations' Concept a Viable Solution?" Dr. Tamar Herman, Director of the Center, presented findings of an Arab and Jewish public opinion poll, after which there was a discussion with members of the Knesset Uzi Bar-Am, Ahmed Tibi and Silvan Shalom.

Former US Ambassador to Israel Samuel Lewis was guest lecturer of the Department of Political Science and the Dr. Nahum Goldman Chair in Diplomacy. He spoke on "Conflict Resolution Theory in Practice: Reflections of a Former Diplomat."

The Israeli English Speaking Friends, the Dr. Nahum Goldman Chair in Diplomacy, and the Department of Political Science hosted US Ambassador Edward S. Walker, Jr., who delivered a lecture entitled "Working with Israel in the Middle East."

The Mortimer and Raymond Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies hosted Prof. Stjepan Marcelja of the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, at a colloquium entitled "Information, Entropy and Visual Perception."

The Cummings Center for Russian and East European Studies held a conference entitled " Democracy and Pluralism in the Muslim Areas of the Former Soviet Union," co-sponsored by the Kazakhstan Presidential Institute of Strategic Studies and Tashkent University. The Conference was organized by Prof. Shimon Naveh, Director of the Cummings Center.

APPOINTMENTS AND AWARDS

Michael Zilberstein, a graduate of the TAU Department of Film and Television, won best Foreign Student Prize in the International Film Festival in Moscow for his film Babche.

Four graduates of the TAU Department of Theater Arts won prizes at the Acre Theater Festival: Tali Kark for best actress; Dvir Bendek and Irit Nathan-Bendek for best team production; and Ruth Kanner for best director as well as one of the two best plays for her play Amos.

Niron Hashai of the Faculty of Management-Leon Recanati Graduate School of Business Administration; Orit Rozin of the Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies; and Dr. Naama Shefi of the School of History were among the scholarship recipients of the Yitzhak Rabin Center.

The TAU Department of Theater Arts hosted the Konstanz University Theater's production of The Humanitarians by Ernst Yandl, directed by Tessa Theodorakopoulos. The show was sponsored by the Kurt Lion Foundation.

VISITS

A German fact-finding mission in chemistry visited TAU and met with Dean of the Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Prof. Uri Liberman, and with Dr. Rami Finkler, Director of Ramot. Prof. Shlomo Rosen, Head of the School of Chemistry, gave a presentation.

A delegation from the National Italian Program in Microelectronics visited the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and was hosted to lunch by Prof. Yoram Shapira, the incumbent of the Henry and Dinah Krongold Chair in Microelectronics.

A delegation of the National Council of Jewish Women visited TAU. They met with TAU President Prof. Itamar Rabinovich and Rector Prof. Nili Cohen and with members of TAU's Women Forum.

Prof. Emeritus Yuval Ne'eman hosted a delegation from the Moscow State Aviation Technological University.

Prof. Carl Amrhein, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science of the University of Toronto, and his wife Ellen visited TAU. They met with Rector Prof. Nili Cohen and Vice Rector Prof. Shimon Yankielowicz, and they visited the Multimedia Foreign Language Learning Center and the Virtual TAU Program at the School of Education.

Mr. S. Zachary Samuels, executor of the Harry Simons Estate, visited TAU together with wife Ilana. They met with Prof. Shmuel Kandel, Dean of the Faculty of Management, and attended the first annual awarding of scholarships of the Harry Simons Scholarship Fund for students of Accounting, Business Administration and Economics.

ABROAD

Germany

TAU President Prof. Itamar Rabinovich spoke on current peace efforts in the Middle East and on the developments at TAU at a meeting in Munich at the home of Board Member Dr. David Leschem and his wife Nicole.

Switzerland

Prof. Itamar Rabinovich was guest of honor at the annual gala dinner of the TAU Swiss Friends together with Lord Moore of Lower Marsh, PC, a former Minister in Margaret Thatcher's government. The event was hosted by Dr. Andre Kuy, President of the Swiss Friends, and Dr. Boaz Barack, Chairman of the Zurich Committee. Among the guests were the British Honorary Consul in Zurich Anthony McCammon and the American Consul Ellen Bruckmann.

Hong Kong

TAU Vice President Yehiel Ben-Zvi met with prominent community leaders to discuss future strategies to strengthen ties with TAU.

Australia

Sydney, NSW

TAU Vice President Yehiel Ben-Zvi was the guest of honor at the Sydney Chapter's annual dinner dance which was chaired by the President of the NSW Chapter, Mr. John Landerer, AM, CBE. Certificates recognizing their outstanding efforts on behalf of TAU were awarded to Graham Wade, Ron Moss, and Bernie Stang during the evening.

Mr. Ben-Zvi met with the University's long-time, staunch supporters as well as established new and important contacts within the Jewish community.

Melbourne, Victoria

President of the Victoria Friends of TAU Dr. Harry Perelberg, supported by the dedicated committee, organized an outstanding gala dinner honoring Sir Zelman Cowen on his 80th birthday. TAU Vice President Yehiel Ben-Zvi delivered an overview of TAU, its goals and its achievements to a 300-strong group which included the country's most prominent government and business leaders, Jewish community leaders from both Melbourne and Sydney, and the University's friends and donors.

During the evening a scholarship fund for the Lowy School for Overseas Students was launched to assist young Australians to attend the School.

This gala event was graciously hosted by Mr. Solomon and Mrs. Rosie Lew at their Toorak home.

Mr. Ben-Zvi was the guest of honor at a joint meeting of the Executive and Committee of the Victorian Friends, held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Abe Monester QC.

The Victoria Chapter has opened its first official office at TOK Corporate Center, Level 1, 459 Toorak Road, Toorak Vic, 3142, Australia, Tel. no.: 00 613 9 296 2065, Fax no. 00 613 9 296 2165. All correspondence may be directed to this office.

Bankok, Thailand

Yehiel Ben-Zvi met with Dr. Terapol Pruksathorn, member of the council of the King Mongkut's University of Technology.

France

TAU President Prof Itamar Rabinovich held his first meeting with the TAU French Friends at Chez Laurent, where he presented the University's activities and some of the new projects he has initiated, including the School for Communication, and the School for the Environment. Participants included President of the French Friends Mr. Hugo Ramniceanu.

COMING EVENTS

The Howard Gilman International Conference, co-sponsored by TAU and the Council on Foreign Relations, will take place in New York City on December 6-7, 1999. For more information contact the American Friends of TAU, New York, Tel. No. 212-687-5651.

The 9th European Regional Conference of the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University will take place at the Carlton Hotel, St. Moritz, Switzerland, on 27-31 January 2000. On the program: Benno Gitter, Chairman of the Board of Governors, will open the first session which will include lectures by TAU President Prof. Itamar Rabinovich on "TAU on the Threshold of the New Era" and by Rector Prof. Nili Cohen on "The Role of the Humanities in a Technological Age ."

Two panel discussions will be held, one entitled "The Unfolding Israeli-Arab Peace Process" with Prof. Itamar Rabinovich and Prof. Shimon Shamir of the Moshe Dayan Center, and a second entitled "High Tech: Israel's Success Story" with Prof. Yosi Y. Shacham-Diamand of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering; Eli Barkat, Chairman and CEO of Back Web Technologies Ltd. and Managing Director, BRM Technologies Ltd., USA; and Zohar Zisapel, Director, RAD Data Communications Ltd., Israel.

A lecture will be given by Dr. Norman J. Ornstein, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, DC, on "US Elections 2000."

The Gertler Quartet of TAU's Samuel Rubin Israeli Academy of Music will give two performances.

For registration contact: Brigitte Kirchheimer, Swiss Friends of TAU, Tel: 411-211 60 92; Fax: 411-211 78 32

OBITUARIES

TAU mourns the death of Sheila Jaffe, co-donor of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies. She died in the Egypt Air crash.