The State of Israel has a treasure trove which is science, the Israeli academy. It goes methodically and destroys it, says Prof. Magidor
Avi Blizovsky
Unlike his predecessors, a year ago, Prof. Oman did not choose to take advantage of the stage given to him in front of representatives from all the media in Israel, to condition the difficult situation of science and even more so - the attitude towards science and higher education in Israel, which the Nobel Prize shows was once better. The infrastructure that made possible the Nobel Prizes given last year and this year's already exhausted itself 20 and 30 years ago and that today there is no young generation that will bring research that can earn their performers a Nobel in the 30s and 40s of the 21st century. And if he finds one or two of these, they will win despite the system and not thanks to the Israeli education system in all its stages.
I asked Prof. Menachem Magidor, the president of the Hebrew University, whether in light of the statements of last year's Nobel laureates that the state of higher education and investment in basic science in Israel are deteriorating, something has changed, Magidor said: "The answer is unequivocally no. If anything, it's getting worse. I was debating to what extent to refer in my words to the harsh treatment. The State of Israel has a treasure trove which is science, the Israeli academy. She goes methodically and destroys it."
In a conversation with the scientist website, Prof. Oman explained that he hopes that the award and the international recognition will bring more budgets and research work to the center he heads, so that it will be possible to help solve the most important and basic problems: "The Center for Rationality is a very important center that brings together all kinds of uses of game theory. We have lawyers and psychologists and biologists and economists and international relations people and computer science people, all kinds of fields that all have something to do with the theory of desires. Unfortunately, we are having difficulty raising funds for this issue. I really hope that with the help of this award we will get some public relations, and we will be able to raise funds. I really hope. The same can be said for all the Nobel prizes, both those from last year and mine today, that it gives prestige to the research and scientific system in Israel, and that it can only be a blessing.
In a statement published at the same time as today's events, the Minister of Science and Technology, Matan Vilnai, congratulated Prof. Israel Oman for winning the Nobel Prize. According to Vilnai - "Prof. Uman, the world leader in game theory, one of the most talented mathematicians in the world who developed new theories in basic science with practical implications, is one of the talented minds that have grown into Israeli science. "
"His winning proves that the State of Israel continues to stand at the forefront of science and we as a country must continue to maintain this status. Investing in scientific infrastructure is the basis for the development of research and from which the next discoveries and scientists will come."
The President of the National Academy of Sciences, Prof. Menachem Yaari, said in response to the Academy member, Prof. Israel Oman, winning the Nobel Prize for Economics: "Academy member, Prof. Israel Oman, is one of the greatest mathematicians and economists of his generation, and the Academy is very happy and proud of the global recognition that his work has received."
