Five new members joined the Israeli National Academy of Sciences

The Academy now has 133 members

As every year on the Hanukkah holiday, the open meeting of the General Assembly of the Israel National Academy of Sciences was held on Tuesday, December 15. The five new members elected to the Academy gave their debut lectures at the event. The Academy now has 133 members.

In the spirit of the times, the meeting was held online and broadcast to hundreds of viewers. The new members were introduced by the chairman of the division for natural sciences Prof. Yadin Dodai and the chairman of the division for humanities Prof. Sergio Hart, and speeches were made by the president of the academy Prof. Nili Cohen and the vice president Prof. David Harel.

And these are the new members:

•           Prof. Uri Alon, Systems Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science

• Prof. Dan Miron, Hebrew Literature, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

• Prof. Simcha Emanuel, Talmud, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

• Prof. Yair Reisner, Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science

• Prof. Anita Shapira, History of the People of Israel, Tel Aviv University

Prof. Cohen extended her congratulations to the new members and said that the Academy is blessed by the addition of these elite researchers, with whose help it will continue to develop the extensive scientific activity in Israel in the coming years and advance its national and international goals.

Prof. Cohen also said: "This year is not just the year of the plague. This is also the year of science. The decision makers all over the world turned to science, and it mobilized with all its might to locate the source of the problem, to reveal the phenomena involved in it, to find means to help the sick and to develop a vaccine that would eradicate the plague. And for our part, here at the academy, we work even harder on the development of medical science and the promotion of physician-researchers. Science is based on discovering the truth, but as we all know, it is also riddled with arguments and is a process of trial and error. And let's just hope that the light that we all hope to see after a rather dark period will break out soon, fill us with hope and return us to the blessed routine."

The Israel National Academy of Sciences is the highest body in the scientific community in Israel. It was founded by law in 1961 with the aim of bringing together the best scientists in Israel, fostering and promoting scientific activity in the country, and advising Israeli governments regarding research and scientific planning of national importance.

to watch the ceremony