President Herzog submitted the letter of appointment to Prof. David Harel, replacing Prof. Nili Cohen
The official ceremony for the appointment of the president of the Israel National Academy of Sciences was held on the second day of the year 14, November 2021, XNUMX, at the President's residence in Jerusalem. President Yitzhak Herzog appointed the incoming president of the Academy, Prof. David Harel, according to the Academy's recommendation, in accordance with the Academy Law and the Academy's regulations.
The ceremony was attended by the wife of the president Michal Herzog, the outgoing president of the academy Prof. Neely Cohen, the vice president of the new academy Prof. Margalit Finkelberg, the former presidents of the academy, members of the academy council, the chairman of the search committee for the presidency of the academy Prof. Aharon Chachanover, the chief scientist of Ministry of Science Prof. Avi Domb and Director General of the Ministry of Education and Culture Ms. Michal Neuman.
President Herzog thanked the outgoing president for enriching the work at the academy and for her dedicated contribution to the promotion of scientific research and connections with foreign academies. Prof. Cohen said in her speech that she is "confident that the spiritual and geographical connection between us and the residence of the president of the country will be especially strengthened during Herzog's term of office."
President Herzog congratulated Prof. Harel and said: "Your tenure as Vice President, and certainly the decades in which you operate at the core of the scientific field, have equipped you with important tools that will assist you in fulfilling your national mission. As someone who inherited excellence from my father's house, and was honored to be the second generation of Peres Israel awardees, I am sure that you will bring your many abilities and skills to the important priesthood that you have assumed."
In his speech, Prof. Harel referred to the dichotomy that exists today between the increasing scientific achievements and appreciation for scientists and the resistance and skepticism towards science. "We must fight these phenomena as well as false beliefs and false information concerning science, and strengthen rational-scientific thinking, based on facts and logic," he said and added: "precisely because of the fact that our academy is broad and inclusive, and its members come from the natural sciences and the exact sciences as well as from the humanities and social sciences, it is interesting To prove that a similar version of this dichotomy also exists in what concerns this aspect of the world of science." These words of Prof. Harel were also in line with the statement of President Herzog, who said in his speech "When we are in the midst of a shocking fake news attack, it is our duty to strengthen the scientific forces against those who try to undermine them and challenge them - and especially the deniers of the corona and the opponents of vaccines."
Prof. Harel promised to act decisively during his term in order to minimize the gaps between the appreciation of science and the casting of doubt on it and to convey the message not only to the general public but also to the decision makers. "I am determined to do as much as I can, with Margalit Finkelberg, the new vice president, and the other council members, to glorify and increase the local and international impact of Israeli research in its various types - in the natural and medical sciences, in the exact sciences, in the humanities and Jewish and religious sciences, and in the social sciences on all their components".
At the ceremony, President Yitzhak Herzog announced the adoption of the initiative of the new president of the Academy, Prof. Harel, to establish a joint activity for the Academy of Sciences and the President's House in a series of "Wisdom and Science" meetings, which will host participants from all over the country, including youth, for a scientific discussion. Prof. Harel invited the President to visit the Academy House next to the President's residence and to tour the exhibition "House of Wise Men: 60 Years of Science and Knowledge", which was opened recently.
President Herzog emphasized that the academy faces two major challenges: dealing with the climate crisis and making science accessible to the public. "Do everything in your power to make academia and science accessible to the entire public. I am your full partner in these two tasks," said Herzog, "both through the President's Climate Forum, which I recently launched, and in adopting the initiative that you, Prof. Harel, and the members of the Academy brought to me recently."
More of the topic in Hayadan:
- The Academy of Sciences elected Prof. David Harel as President and Prof. Margalit Finkelberg as Vice President
- Misinformation campaigns are murky mixtures of truth, lies and sincere beliefs - lessons from the epidemic
- In science there is no place for a balance of opinions, part I - fair coverage or sticking to the truth?
- Conspiracy theories don't make sense but they fulfill a basic human need that needs to be addressed
- Do not believe anti-scientific videos - solar radiation is carcinogenic
