cover 2006

36 BGU NOW
University Train Station and
Mexico Bridge Dedicated
The Beer-Sheva North – Ben-Gurion
University Train Station and the
Mexico Bridge were dedicated as
part of the Ben-Gurion Day
celebrations in the presence of Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon, former
Transportation Minister Ephraim
Sneh, Beer-Sheva Mayor Yaacov
Terner, Chairman of the Board of
Israel Railways Moshe Leon,
representatives of Israel Railways
and University benefactors.
Designed by architect Danny
Lazar, the new station and bridge
create a dramatic new gateway to
the University and the city of Beer-
Sheva. Lazar explained that the
project offered him a unique
opportunity “to transform the
northern entrance to the city – to
create symbolic structures that
would carry Beer-Sheva into the
future.”
The station was built through the
combined initiative of BGU, Israel
Railways and the Beer-Sheva
Foundation and was made possible
Larry Goodman addresses the audience
through a donation by Larry
Goodman of Chicago, IL. A longtime
member of the University’s
Board of Governors and Chairman
of the American Committee of the
Beer-Sheva Foundation, Goodman
– together with his wife Lillian – has
previously built important projects
in the city of Beer-Sheva and the
University.
The Mexico Bridge was built with
the support of the Mexican
Associates, led by their President,
Ing. Pedro Dondisch, who has been
vital in promoting the legacy of the
first Prime Minister at the Ben-
Gurion Research Institute for the
Study of Israel and Zionism at
BGU’s Sede Boqer campus.
Prof. Avishay Braverman with
Ing. Pedro Dondisch at the
entrance to the Mexico Bridge