EMET_PRIZE_2017

Report
The Jerusalem
Celebrating 15 Years
of Excellence in Israel

Greetings from committee heads 3
The man behind the prize 4
NOA AMOUYAL
The joy of the prize 5
ILANA ASHKENAZI
Table of contents
The truth about winning 8
MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
Honoring outstanding contributions 12
YONAH JEREMY BOB
2016 prize winners 14
A spotlight on Israel’s two scientific pioneers 6
JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
A look at the EMET Prize committee 16
A word from the Prime Minister Netanyahu
I
congratulate you on receiving the EMET
prize for your impressive achievements
in the fields of research and innovation,
and for your contributions to our society.
The State of Israel is proud of you and your
work, which has added greatly to our quality
of life.
At the foundation of our existence as a
people is the desire to merge the old and the
new: the legacy of our ancestors combined
with the modern values of progress and
enlightenment, with breakthrough discoveries
in the fields of science and technology.
As prize winners, you represent the great
vision, whose essence connects the roots
of the tree to the topmost branches. Each
and every one of you adds a unique thread
to complete the tapestry of our Jewish and
democratic, progressive and peace-loving
State.
Wisdom and reason are not traits that are
simply inherited, but must be constantly
nurtured. I know that each of you, without
exception, has reached the summit by
climbing up step by step. There are no short
cuts on the journey to excellence, only aching
muscles and beads of perspiration along
the way. But the view from the mountain
peak makes all the hard work worthwhile.
Not only are the people of Israel benefiting
from your discoveries and developments,
but the entire world; many countries
throughout the world appreciate our desire
to make the world a better place for all
humanity, and as a result foster closer ties
with Israel.
I wish you many more fruitful endeavors,
which stem from the joy of
creating, and the perpetual
aspiration to expand your
knowledge.
Magazine Editor: NOA AMOUYAL
Copy Editor: YAKIR FELDMAN
Graphics: KIYOSHI INOUE
Cover: KIYOSHI INOUE
Images from Kobi Kalmanovitz
and Dudi Salem unless otherwise stated.
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2

The significance of the EMET prize
Award Committee member
Chairman of the Israel Federation
of Bi-National Chambers of Commerce and Industry
JAIME ARON
“The prize, for me, means, first of all, the strength of the ties,
the natural and profound and true ties, between the Jewish
people from the Diaspora with the State of Israel. Second, it
means, for me, that we are supporting the fight for excellence
in Israel. Third, by giving the prize, we recognize the
excellence of those people in Israel who receive the prize.”
Award Committee member
General Legal Counsel to the Prime Minister’s Office
“[This prize represents] academic achievement at
the highest level. We look for unique contributions
– whether their achievements will serve society as a
whole as much as possible."
SHLOMIT BARNEA FARGO
Award Committee member
Chairman of the National R&D Council
“Emet is a Hebrew acronym for omanut (art), mada (science) and
tarbut (culture). Which means it is everything. It’s not only in the
sciences or only in academics. For me, I would like the public to
speak about people who did something significant for the society
or the state, and not only football players or singers.”
MAJOR GENERAL (Ret)
PROF. ISAAC BEN ISRAEL
Award Committee member
Head of the Prime Minister’s Office National Economic Council
"The prime minister gives out very few prizes. We know that
whoever wins the EMET prize, usually goes on to win the Israel
Prize. That’s because the EMET prize is very important. I’m very
proud to be part of the award committee. The winners are
exceptional, because they are the best in their fields - they give
something to humanity, to the public. The EMET Prize is an
opportunity for the public to openly acknowledge their efforts."
AVI SIMHON
The Jerusalem
Report
May 2017
3

The man
behind
the prize
ALBERTO MOSCONA
A father figure – a modest, but generous philanthropist and
a lover of Israel – Arie Dubson reminisces about EMET prize
co-founder, the late Alberto Moscona
• By NOA AMOUYAL
When Alberto Moscona,
an immigrant from
Mexico, made aliya in
1949, his stay in Israel barely lasted
a year. His love of Israel, though, remained
eternal.
“Alberto Moscona was an example
of the old guard,” Arie Dubson,
Chairman of the A.M.N. Foundation,
says with a smile as he talks
about his friend, colleague and
mentor.
“He was born before Israel was
born; a Jew without a state.”
Although he loved Israel from
afar – specifically from his hometown
of Mexico City – Moscona
never ceased contributing to the
Jewish state. In addition to the $1
million EMET prize that has been
awarded annually since 2002, the
optometrist donated millions of
dollars to Ben-Gurion University
of the Negev, the Hebrew University
in Jerusalem, the Weizmann
Institute of Science, Haifa and Tel
Aviv Universities, and the Medical
Centers Assaf Harofeh and Rambam
for many years.
Currently, the prize money sits
in a trust that – at a minimum –
generates the $1 million prize that
is divided among five categories:
exact sciences, life sciences, social
sciences, humanities, Judaism and
art.
Any extra money in any given
year is given to scientific institutions
in Israel.
For decades, Moscona made
these donations in secret.
“Alberto never wanted people to
know he was a donor. Every project
he ever contributed to in Israel,
was done anonymously,” Dubson
explains.
Accordingly, Dubson’s attempts
to name the prize the “Alberto
Moscona Prize,” were rebuked and
instead it was given the acronym
A.M.N. Foundation (Alberto Moscana
Nissim), so Moscona’s identity
would still be able to remain
somewhat anonymous.
Growing up, Moscona was transfixed
by the Nobel Prize and always
wondered why more Israelis were
not let into that exclusive club.
Dubson is not sure where his affinity
for the Nobel Prize stemmed
from, but speculates that his lack
of a formal education may have
fueled his desire to award excellence
for those who pour themselves
into their studies.
“Unlike other prestigious prizes
in Israel, this prize is exclusively for
Israelis,” Dubson notes.
Although the EMET prize is
now celebrating its 15th year, the
path to creating the prize wasn’t
a smooth one. In search for a government
seal of approval, the idea
for the prize was initially rejected
by the president, who was Ezer
Weizman at the time. When Dubson
and Moscana approached Benjamin
Netanyahu during his first
stint as prime minister, he approved
of the idea.
When the government changed
hands and Ehud Barak became
prime minister, the process slowed
to a near halt after Barak signed the
agreement, but, eventually, after
much hand-wringing and ultimatums,
the first prize was awarded by
Ariel Sharon.
For Dubson, overseeing the EMET
prize is one of the two hats he
wears. As founder of Voyage Capital
4

Partners – a hedge fund management
company – Dubson’s work at
the EMET prize is his way of giving
back to Israel.
“I always felt it was not enough to
live in Israel – I wanted to contribute
beyond paying taxes. When [Alberto]
said he had the idea of the prize,
I saw it as a way to do that,” Dubson,
who made aliya from Mexico when
he was 24, says.
“This was my way of giving back. It
rewards excellence. The EMET Prize
is the Zionist element of my life and
Voyage Capital feeds me and pays
the EMET prize bills,” he smiles.
For Dubson, Moscona represents
something unique about immigrants
from his generation: the
unwavering desire to perpetually
give to the State of Israel.
“Alberto’s generation – the ones
who didn’t come to Israel, became
big donors. In Israel, we didn’t live
up to being so generous. There isn’t
a big culture of giving here,” he
laments, saying that most Israelis
donate, but not in the same league
as Jews in the Diaspora.
“Jews in the Diaspora need to feel
a link. Israelis here, we go to the
army, we [already] give a lot to Israel,”
he explains.
At times, Dubson is asked why the
prize rewards those who are already
very successful.
Dubson is quick to note the subject
of nominations is out of his
hands – the eight-person committee
is presented with nominations and
does not come up with the names
themselves. Further, he notes that
the prize is intended to reward
someone at the pinnacle of his or
her career.
Why is rewarding excellence so
important to the Jewish people,
especially those in the diaspora?
Dubson brushes off notions
of tikun olam – healing the world.
Instead, he believes recognizing and
paying tribute to extraordinary work
is an internal drive prevalent among
the Jewish people.
“I don’t believe in tikun olam. We
have a tradition of studying and
excellence; we needed it to survive.
This is an internal drive for us,” he
asserts.
Whether the needs are external or
internal, EMET has spent the past 15
years awarding the best of the best
in Israel and hopes to do so for years
to come.
ILANA ASHKENAZI
The joy of
the prize
I’ve been with the EMET Prize
for 13 years. It is my pride and
joy.
It is no coincidence that I refer
to the award in adjectives that
are used by parents when they
talk about their children. It is a
great privilege and a tremendous
commitment to take part in such
an important project; to preserve
and nurture the prize and to
ensure that it thrives and meets
the expectations of its founders.
Every year, I am amazed to
see the incredible names of
suggested nominees that are
presented. For such a small
country, Israel has many worthy
candidates who are engaged in
important and exemplary work.
To my dismay, some of the
candidates are not as well
known, despite their great work.
Every year, mind boggling
academic breakthroughs and
talented artists emerge and
the public is not aware of
their existence. As such, I feel
compelled to share the work of
these nominees with the entire
public - to make the entire Jewish
people realize how much good is
happening in Israel.
Ilana Ashkenazi
Director, EMET Prize
The Jerusalem
Report
May 2017
5

RUTH ARNON (Wikimedia Commons)
MICHAEL SELA (Wikimedia Commons)
A spotlight on Israel’s
two scientific pioneers
• By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Prof. Michael Sela and Prof.
Ruth Arnon – both world-renowned
scientists – have
worked together for six decades,
she originally as his student at the
Weizmann Institute of Science and
then as his research partner and
friend.
Today, he at 93 and she at 84
years of age, both continue to
work in their Weizmann labs – and
they are together members of a
eight-person Award Committee
appointed by the prime minister
and the A.M.N. Foundation for the
Advancement of Science, Art and
Culture responsible for a unique
award.
The EMET Prize is a $1 million
annual prize given for excellence in
academic and professional achievements
by the A.M.N. Foundation.
It was endowed in 1999 by the late
Alberto Moscona Nisim, a Mexican
friend of Israel who objected to the
fact that, at that time, no Israeli scientists
had received Nobel Prizes.
“This was before Prof. Avraham
Hershko and Prof. Aaron Ciechanover
(along with US scientist
Irwin Rose) received the 2004
Nobel Prize for the discovery of
ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation,”
she pointed out.
Sela is working on fighting cancer,
while Arnon is busy both on an
anti-cancer vaccine and developing
a universal influenza vaccine
that would not have to be injected
every year.
Together, however, along with
the late Dvora Teitelbaum, they
developed over many years the
blockbuster drug to alleviate multiple
sclerosis (MS) named Copaxone.
Originally called COP-1, it
was shown in their lab to efficiently
suppress experimental autoimmune
encephalomyelitis – an animal
model of brain inflammation
– and to be clinically beneficial
in MS. It has since helped many
hundreds of thousands of patients
around the world by reducing the
number and severity of neurological
attacks.
In MS, the body’s immune system
plunders and damages the
myelin sheath surrounding nerves
in the brain and spinal cord that
constitute the central nervous
system. Acting like insulation on
electrical wires, the myelin sheath
facilitates the conduction of nerve
signals along pathways. But when
it is degraded, nerve signals are
weakened or silenced, resulting in
impaired functioning of systems
that those nerves serve. “When
we started the research, we didn’t
6

even dream of discovering a
drug,” Arnon – Weizmann’s Paul
Ehrlich Professor of Immunology
– recalled.
“I have been on the committee
for several years. Michael asked
me to join, and I did. Michael has
been here since the beginning,”
Arnon said in an interview with
The Jerusalem Post. “It’s very hard
for me to say ‘no’ to Michael. I am
very busy,” said Arnon, who until a
year ago was president of the prestigious
Israel Academy of Sciences
and Humanities in Jerusalem.
“There are meetings and decisions
to be made, but they don’t take too
much time.”
The members of the committee
first have to pick the exact fields for
which the EMET Prize will be given
that year. “Then we have to choose
the three-member panels of judges
in each field. The general categories
are the exact sciences, life sciences,
social sciences, humanities
and Judaism, and art and culture.
For example, a number of years
ago, an outstanding journalist was
chosen for the social sciences category.
“Every year,” said Arnon, “the
judges are different. There has
to be at least one women on the
three-member panel. I remember
one year in which there were three
women on a panel, but they picked
a man to win the prize.”
The committee then meets
to give the judges directives and
receive their decisions and decide
whether to approve them. “I don’t
remember there having been disagreements
when the winners are
finally chosen.”
Usually, one outstanding individual
receives a whole prize and
doesn’t have to share it with someone
“unless they collaborated or
worked on two aspects of the same
subject and complemented each
other,” Arnon said. “There is no
age limit to the candidates, but
they must all be Israelis or at least
live in Israel.”
Arnon added: “The chairman of
the Award Committee is always
a retired judge. It was previously
Judge Ya’acov Kedmi, who died last
year, so another judge must be chosen
by the prime minister, who has
been very busy. In the meantime,
there is a temporary replacement.”
In any case, the prime minister
always attends the festive award
ceremony, usually in the fall, at the
Jerusalem Theater.
Despite the prime minister’s
involvement, the procedure is apolitical
– which cannot always be
said about the process in which
winners of the Israel Prizes are
selected.
“The percentage of women who
have received the EMET Prize since
its founding has been relatively
low. We can’t tell the judges whom
to choose, but we would be pleased
if there are more women laureates,”
Arnon said.
Asked how the EMET Prize is
unique, the Weizmann Institute
scientist said that “the Israel Prize
is very prestigious, but it does not
include all the subjects that the
EMET Prize does, including prizes
in the arts and culture such as theater,
music and dance.” In addition,
the EMET Prize awards much more
money. The Wolf Prize, which is
often called “Israel’s Nobel Prize”
and which both Sela and Arnon
have received, is awarded more
to foreigners than to Israelis. The
EMET Prize, she said, “gives more
of a chance for very accomplished
individuals to get the recognition
they deserve. And it is very well
run.”
WHILE ARNON is a recipient of the
Israel Prize and has served as dean
of the biology faculty at Weizmann
as well as its vice president, Sela
served as president of the outstanding
Rehovot institute.
Sela is acclaimed for his immunology
research, especially for his
research on synthetic antigens –
molecules that trigger the immune
system to respond. This led to the
discovery of the genetic control of
the immune response, as well as
to the design of vaccines based on
synthetic molecules.
His joint research with Arnon on
Copaxone took a long time: “We
started with a theoretical study
in 1967, but our results, including
on monkeys, were published only
eight years later. We then conducted
the first clinical trial, which was
published in 1977.”
The drug’s development was
taken over by Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical
Company in 1987, and
it took nine years to be approved
by the drug authorities here and
abroad. “We spent 29 years working
together on Copaxone. Developing
a drug like this takes tremendous
patience and a long life,”
both of which he and Arnon have
enjoyed.
Sela has been on the Award Committee
since the EMET Prize was
established, even he did not know
the Mexican-Jewish donor. “I was
a member of the selection committee
for the Israel Prize several times,
but never was involved in choosing
outstanding people in the arts.”
Amazingly, he himself received the
Israel Prize in 1959, when he was
only 35 years old.
His second wife, Sarah, who is
74, was introduced to Sela by Ariel
Sharon and his wife Lily, not long
after Sela’s first wife, Margalit, suddenly
died of a heart attack. “She is
my driver, taking me to Jerusalem
and elsewhere. But she is also very
busy in the executive of the Israel
Opera. I don’t know even how to
read musical notes.”
Sela recalls having a lot of satisfaction
when outstanding mathematicians,
physicists and other
scientists received the EMET Prize.
The ceremonies have usually been
without controversy, but he does
recall when author David Grossman
– whose son was killed in the
Lebanon War – refused to shake the
hand of then-prime minister Ehud
Olmert. “Olmert accepted his decision,”
the scientist said.
Sela concludes that “life is never
boring for me. I read, travel and
work in the lab. Being busy is the
only way to be at my age.”
The Jerusalem
Report
May 2017
7

DAN SHECHTMAN (2011)
The truth about winning
EMET Prize awardees strive to make excellence a way of life
• By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
Photos: Reuters
The intention of the Alberto
Moscona Nissim Foundation’s
EMET Prize is to
“acknowledge those who view
excellence as a way of life, and the
fulfillment of human potential as
essential to creating a better world
for future generations,” according
to Moscona. The annual prize is
awarded for excellence in academic
and professional achievements that
have far-reaching influence and
have made a significant contribution
to society in Israel.
How can excellence be a way of
life? Do prize winners really change
the world?
Looking at the legacies of several
winners, including those who won
not only the EMET Prize but also a
Nobel Prize, the answers to these
questions are evident.
TAKE PROF. DAN SHECHTMAN,
who earned an EMET Prize in exact
sciences in 2002 and a Nobel Prize
in chemistry in 2011. A professor
at Haifa’s Technion-Israel Institute
of Technology, Shechtman won his
awards for creating a new branch
of science through his discovery
in 1982 that while crystals may be
ordered materials, their atomic order
can be quasi-periodic rather than
periodic.
Since then, quasi-periodic materials
have developed into an exciting
interdisciplinary science with modern
application, including improving
processes such as 3D printing,
whose applications can be both
industrial and life-saving.
However, Shechtman does not
believe that being “the father of the
science of quasi-period materials,”
as he is known around the world,
will ultimately be his legacy. Rather,
he hopes that he will be remem-
8

KING CARL XVI Gustaf of Sweden walks down the stairs
with Ada Yonath, the 2009 Nobel Prize winner in
Chemistry (and who won an EMET Prize in 2006), as
they arrive for the Nobel Banquet in Stockholm that year.
AARON CIECHANOVER (2004)
AVRAHAM HERSHKO (2004)
bered for his international advocacy
for increased science education and
technological entrepreneurship,
which he sees as key to world peace
and prosperity.
“A prize is a good way of becoming
famous or leaving a legacy, but
it is not enough,” says Shechtman,
who last year alone visited 30 countries
and gave well over 100 lectures
promoting education. He also meets
with world leaders in an attempt
to convince them that education
should be the No. 1 job of every
government.
“The most important natural
resource of every country is not oil
or minerals; it is human ingenuity,”
says Shechtman. “It is sustainable
and it will last forever, but you have
to develop it.”
At home in Israel, Shechtman is
likewise influencing society in a
deep way.
He says, “I am a Zionist. My mother
was born in Israel. My grandfather
came here on the Second Aliya
and was among those who built this
country from scratch. I carry with
me this heritage, and I try to contribute
to Israel as much as I can, in what
I can do best.”
Right now, Shechtman is advocating
early scientific education and
later on technological innovation
in the Jewish State. He has worked
with the mayor of Haifa to launch
several scientific kindergartens that
are picking up traction across Israel.
Moreover, he teaches a class on
technological entrepreneurship at
the Technion, which is designed to
encourage graduates to open startups.
Over the last 30 years, 25% of
class graduates have opened startups.
“My theory is that a child who
understands the world around him
or her will like science because he or
she will understand science and vice
versa,” says Shechtman. “Once you
The Jerusalem
Report
May 2017
9

(L-R) 2005 NOBEL PRIZE laureates
Roy Glauber of the United States,
John Hall of the United States.,
German Theodor Hansch, French Yves
Chauvin, Robert Grubbs of the United
States, Richard Schrock of the United
States, Australian Barry Marshall,
Australian Robin Warren, Israeli
Robert Aumann and Thomas
Schelling of the United States attend
the award ceremony at the Concert
Hall in Stockholm that year.
embed a love of science in the mind
of young people, they will carry it
with them for the rest of their lives.”
In addition to working at the Technion,
for many years he was a guest
professor at Johns Hopkins University
and the University of Maryland.
PROF. ISRAEL AUMANN, who was
awarded the EMET Prize in 2002 for
social sciences and became a Nobel
Laureate in 2005 in economics, says
he, too, wants to contribute to the
State of Israel. He made aliya from
the United States more than 60
years ago “because I was a Zionist.”
Since then, Aumann developed
tools for precise analysis of economic
systems, where groups of participants
exercise significant influence
on the result, while the individual
influence of each participant is very
small. He also helped develop and
establish a new stage of game theory
– the mathematical modeling of
strategic interaction among rational
(and irrational) agents. Specifically,
Aumann formulated the mathematical
underpinning and then proved
that in repeated interactions, there
is more of a tendency to cooperate.
Aumann, who was born in Germany
and raised in New York,
received his doctorate from MIT in
Boston. He says he cannot judge his
contributions – “I’ll let other people
judge my work” – both because he is
modest, but also because he equates
his discoveries with his children.
“You don’t ask which of your
children you are most proud of,”
Aumann notes. “So I don’t think
there is one piece of work that I am
more proud of than any other piece.”
But Aumann has plenty for which
he can be proud. He has innovatively
used his scientific work to play
a role in Israeli society, specifically
leveraging game theory to help
understand the Talmud and Jewish
law in depth.
In 2011, Aumann came out against
Israel’s deal with Hamas in exchange
for IDI prisoner Gilad Shalit based
on the commonality between game
theory and Jewish law as it is presented
in the Talmud.
“There is a rule about redemption
of prisoners. The Talmud says
that redemption of prisoners is a
very big mitzva,” explains Aumann,
“but there is also a specific rule in
the Talmud that one should not
redeem prisoners for more than a
reasonable amount, for more than
the going price. Now comes the
game theory part of this: if we do
start redeeming prisoners for large
amounts, then the goyim will run
after us and take more and more
prisoners. What happens if you do x
and then what will happen if other
side does y.”
During the period of negotiation
between Israel and Hamas, Aumann
spoke up against the deal at a Knesset
hearing and tried to stop it from
going through.
“The Shalit redemption was a very
bad idea and we are suffering from it
up until now,” says Aumann.
The professor said he is very proud
to have won both the EMET and
Nobel prizes.
“Whatever I try to do, I try to
do perfectly. I don’t always succeed,
but I try. When you are doing
scientific work, to make sure you
do things right, that is a positive
thing,” Aumann says. “The [EMET
and Nobel] prizes are very prestigious
prizes, and naturally I feel
good about them.”
10

PROF. AVRAHAM HERSHKO has
reason to feel good about his work
and prizes, too.
The 2002 winner of the EMET
Prize in life sciences and medicine
and a 2004 Nobel Laureate in
Chemistry, Hershko significantly
contributed to the understanding
of regulation processes in the delegation
of intracellular proteins and
the opening of new horizons in
biological and medical research.
Hershko’s most recent work,
studying the roles of the ubiquitin
system in controlling the cell division
process, is playing a key role in
understanding and curing certain
types of cancer.
“My discovery has already
helped mankind, and I hope it will
continue to do so,” says Hershko,
who is an active researcher at the
Technion.
Although Hershko has received
many prizes over the last decades,
he says he is especially “glad to
receive the EMET Prize” because it
is an Israeli award.
“It gives me a lot of happiness,”
Hershko says, noting that he
received the EMET Prize before
the Nobel Prize, which means the
EMET selection committee saw the
importance of his discoveries even
before what is commonly considered
the highest scientific prize.
Hershko was born in Hungary
and immigrated to Israel in the
1950s. He attended Israeli
schools and received
his medical degree
from the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem,
where he
ultimately received
his doctorate in biochemistry.
His advice to young
researchers is to look for
something outside the mainstream
if you really want to
make a contribution. He says
if you don’t do this, then “big,
elaborate scientists will get
ahead of you,” and life will be
a lot less interesting.
At 80 years old, Hershko is
still following his own advice.
“I am still working, and I
would like to make more
contributions that may help
human health,” he says.
The Jerusalem
Report
May 2017
11

GABRIEL BACH (Wikimedia Commons)
Honoring
outstanding
contributions
Former Supreme Court Justice and
founding EMET prize committee
chair Gabriel Bach recalls his
involvement in historic Eichmann
and Demjanjuk trials
• By YONAH JEREMY BOB
As the second main lawyer in
the Adolph Eichmann trial
and the lead justice in the
historic Demjanjuk decision, former
Supreme Court Justice Gabriel
Bach was the ideal figure to be the
founding chair of the committee
that picks EMET Prize award winners.
The prize is given annually for
excellence in academic and professional
achievements in art,
science and culture that contribute in
a significant manner to society.
Bach, who served as founding chair
until 2009, said, “It is a very good
thing to give public recognition to
excellent people” for achievements
that positively influence society.
He says he has always enjoyed participating
both in the backroom discussions
about who to choose as the winners
as well as the actual event where
the organization bestows the awards.
It was not always easy to choose
from among so many good candidates,
Bach said, but that the number
of prizes each year are limited and he
found satisfaction from each winner.
“It was enjoyable to pick all of them,”
says Bach.
Bach has not always been fortunate
enough to focus his attention on heroic
figures trying to improve society,
though.
In fact, two of the cases for which he
is most famous for include two of the
greater monsters of Israel’s past.
Starting as a state prosecutor in 1953,
Bach became deputy attorney-general
in 1961 and the second of three prosecutors
in the landmark trial Eichmann
trial.
He recounts, “There have been many
special things in my life, but there was
never anything quite as special” as the
Eichmann trial.
During the nine months leading into
and during the trial, Bach recalls, he
moved from his home to Haifa and
lived in a hotel near Eichmann’s Yasgur
prison.
Bach says his first meeting with Eichmann
is still crystal clear in his mind.
He says he told the police that he could
not discuss the content of the case with
Eichmann, lest he unwittingly become
a witness, but could facilitate issues
relating to the case.
For example, Eichmann asked me,
“Who should I have as a defense lawyer?”
“His wife had suggested Robert Servatious,
who defended Nazis at the
Nuremberg trial. I said that would not
be a problem, and that he was definitely
a big expert,” states Bach.
Yet even as Bach remained focused
on his role, he says that “sitting only
12

PROSECUTOR GABRIEL BACH speaks at Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem in 1981. (Wikimedia Commons)
one meter from him, it was very
hard to stay calm.”
Next, Bach recalls the German
government’s “efficiency in sending
every file from every ministry
and army unit – millions of
documents. I split it all up among
the police and assigned officers so
everyone was looking at different
documents.”
Coming into contact with Eichmann
the human and his case
files, he says he “kept dreaming
that maybe Eichmann would sometimes
let Jews go in unique circumstances.
But every single time he
had them killed,” no matter what
the special nature of the request
was.
Giving the example of a professor
who lived in Paris who owned and
had knowledge related to patents
for radar technology that the German
army wanted to question the
professor about, a German general
asked Eichmann whether the professor
and his wife could be spared
due to their usefulness.
Eichmann said “no,” says Bach.
Describing the exchange, Bach
says the general wrote, “I am the
general of a large portion of the
army” and that he wanted the Jewish
professor spared. Eichmann
responded, “I am a commander in
the SS and I don’t care what your
rank is. The German army already
took the patents. Not even a oneday
extension can be granted.”
Bach says Eichmann won, like
countless other times, and sent the
Jewish professor to his death.
During the Eichmann trial,
Bach remembers that an American
woman traveled to Israel,
approached him and said that she
was the daughter of that professor,
that her parents had sent her
to non-Jewish neighbors and she
eventually got to the US.
“I read in the US about your case
with my parents’ names. I didn’t
know them and do not even have
a picture of them – can you help?”
In a quirk of history, Bach, Eichmann’s
prosecutor, later became
Nazi guard Ivan Demjanjuk’s savior
and releaser when he led a 1993
three-justice panel of the Supreme
Court to order Demjanjuk’s release
due to mistaken identity evidentiary
issues.
Though originally convicted by
a lower Israeli court as a Nazi guard
at the Treblinka death camp, the
Supreme Court under Bach said
that none of the witnesses could
identify him as that guard. Also,
the new evidence that was a different
Nazi guard named Ivan at
the death camps of Sobibor and
Majdanek could not be presented
when he had not had a chance to
defend against that evidence in the
lower court trial.
Bach says he had no second
thoughts about that decision even
after significant domestic criticism.
In fact, Bach states that the decision
impressed most of the world as
to Israel’s court system’s independence
and capability for justice over
just getting emotional revenge.
The former justice did say he also
got some satisfaction knowing that
decades later, in 2011, Demjanjuk
was convicted of being the Nazi
guard at Sobibor and Majdanek,
shortly before dying of old age.
Between Bach’s achievements
and the achievements of Emet Prize
winner picked by Bach, Israel has
much to be proud of.
The Jerusalem
Report
May 2017
13

Author Ronit Matalon
Culture and Arts: Hebrew Literature
2016 PRIZE
Author Avraham B. Yehoshua
Culture and Arts: Hebrew Literature
Prof. Yehuda Bauer
Humanities: Holocaust Research
Prof. Rami Benbenishty
Social Sciences: Social Work
14

WINNERS
Prof. Haim Sompolinsky
Life Sciences: Brain Research
Prof. David Kazdan
Exact Sciences: Mathematics
Prof. Zahava Solomon
Social Sciences: Social Work
Prof. Joseph Bernstein
Exact Sciences: Mathematics
The Jerusalem
Report
May 2017
15

A LOOK AT THE
EMET PRIZE COMMITTEE
PROF. RUTH ARNON
During Ruth Arnon’s tenure,
she served as the head of
the immunology department,
head of the McArthur
Institute for molecular biology of
tropical diseases, dean of the faculty
of biology and vice president
of the Weizmann Institute. In
addition she was president of the
Israeli Biochemical Society, member
of the steering committee for
the World Health Organization,
president of the European Federation
of Immunological Societies
and secretary of the International
Organization of Immunology.
In 1991 she was elected a member
of the Israel Academy of Sciences
and Humanities and has
served as its president – the first
woman to serve in this position.
She was involved in the development
of vaccines, cancer
research and research on parasitic
diseases. Together with Prof. Sela
she worked on the development
of Copaxone, a drug for multiple
sclerosis.
In 1998 she received the Wolf
Prize for immunological discoveries
and in 2001 she was awarded
the Israel Prize.
Major universities in Israel honored
her with doctorate degrees.
JAIME ARON
Attorney at Law
Jaime Aron was born in Chile
and immigrated to Israel
in 1958. He was the Israeli
ambassador to Colombia (1981
to 1984) and after that was the
head of the Aliyah and Absorption
Department of the Jewish
Agency and member of Executive
of the Jewish Agency.
From 1989 to February 2011
he served as a member of the
Board of Directors of the Israel
Aerospace Industries of Israel
and acted as Chairman of the
Finance Committee, member
of the Strategic Committee and
Planning Committee, member of
the Human Resources Committee,
chairman of the Controlling
Committee and member of the
Prospectus Committee of Israel
Aerospace Industries, honorary
president of the Israeli Latin
America Chamber of Commerce,
vice president of the Federation
of Bi-National Chambers of
Commerce, founder and member
of the executive body of the
Israeli Spain Chamber of Commerce,
honorary president of the
Commercial and Industrial Club
in Tel Aviv, honorary consul of
Colombia in Israel, civil attaché
of the Chilean Embassy in Israel.
Thanks to his extensive contacts
in Latin America, he was an
official member of the president
of Israel and Israel government
delegations during their visits to
Latin American countries.
Today he is special adviser to
the minister of the Diaspora
and Public Diplomacy on Latin
American matters.
16

SHLOMIT BARNEA FARGO
Attorney at Law
Born in Tel Aviv in 1958,
Shlomit Barnea Fargo has
served in the attorney general
to the Prime Minister’s office
since 2001. A lawyer since 1984,
she graduated from Bar Ilan University
Law School, receiving
both her bachelor’s and master’s
degrees with honors. Over the
years, she served as a member
of a number of boards of directors
and statutory corporations
– among them as a director representing
the state in the Israel
Electric Company and chairperson
of the audit committee.
She was also appointed by the
government and state attorney
general, chairman of inter-office
teams.
During the preceding 13 years
she worked in the private sector,
handling commercial law, corporations,
real estate and litigation.
She is a sought-after lecturer at
conventions and other forums,
such as the Bar Ilan University,
the Israel Management Center,
the Institute of Internal Auditors,
the Institute for Continuing
Education, the National Security
College and others.
She published a number of articles
in academic and professional
publications. She has been a
member of the EMET prize committee
since its establishment
and serves as the acting chairman
in the chairman’s absence.
MAJOR GENERAL (RET.)
PROF. ISAAC BEN ISRAEL
Born in Tel Aviv in 1949,
Isaac Ben Israel joined the
Israel Air Force after graduating
high school in 1967 and
served continuously until his
retirement in 2002.
He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy.
During his service in the Israeli
Air Force, he held several posts
in operations, intelligence and
weapon development units. His
last assignment, at the rank of
major general, was directing
the Defense R&D Directorate
of the MOD. During his service
he received the Israeli Defense
Award twice.
After retirement from the IDF
he joined Tel Aviv University as
a professor, where he founded
and is head of the Yuval Neeman
Workshop for Science Technology
and Security, head of the
Program for Security Studies and
chairman of the Interdisciplinary
Center for Technology Analysis
and Forecasting.
He was a member of the 17th
Knesset and was a member of
the Security and Foreign Affairs
Committee and chairman of the
Homeland Security Subcommittee.
He is a member of a number
of Boards of Directors and wrote
many articles and two books on
security issues. Currently, Ben
Israel is chairman of the Israeli
Space Agency (since 2005) and
chairman of the Israel National
R&D Council (since 2010).
The Jerusalem
Report
May 2017
17

ARIE DUBSON
Born in Mexico in 1956, Arie
Dubson was, in his youth,
an active member in
Habonim Zionist Youth Movement.
He graduated in mathematics
and physics at the National
Polytechnique Institute in Mexico.
He made Aliya to Israel in
1980 and completed his master’s
degree in Business Administration
and Operation Research at
the Hebrew University.
Together with Alberto Moscona
Nisim z”l and his father, Sol
Dubson z”l, he founded the
A.M.N. Foundation which supports
academic and research
institutions in Israel, among
them, Ben Gurion University
of the Negev, The Hebrew University
in Jerusalem, Weizmann
Institute of Science, Haifa and
Tel Aviv Universities, and Assaf
Harofeh and Rambam Haifa
Medical Centers. The foundation
also sponsors the EMET
prize awards.
He is a member of the Board
of Directors at Ben Gurion University
of the Negev, Tel Aviv
University and Assaf Harofeh
Medical Center and a director of
Voyage Capital Funds.
PROF. MICHAEL SELA
Member of the faculty of the
Weizmann Institute of
Science since 1950.
Appointed professor in 1963 at
the Weizmann Institute, Michael
Sela founded the Department of
Chemical Immunology. He was the
dean of the Faculty of Biology and
the sixth president of the Institute
(1975 to 1985).
He was active in many organizations
in Israel and abroad, among
them the Israel Society for Biochemistry
(president), the Israeli Society
for Immunology (chairman), as
well as a member of the Budgeting
and Planning Committee of the
Council for Higher Education.
He acted as adviser to the World
Health Organization and was
awarded the Israel Prize in Natural
Sciences (1959) for his discovery
of synthetic antigens. He also won
the Rothschild Prize for Chemistry
(1968), the Wolf Prize (1998) and
the Belgian Baillet-Latour Health
Prize (1997).
His research findings in the areas
of immunology, biochemistry and
molecular biology were published
in more than 700 articles. In the
field of drugs, he invented Copaxone,
the drug for treating multiple
sclerosis, and he discovered the synergistic
effect against cancer of an
antibody and a chemotherapeutic
drug.
He was among the first supporters
of the Batsheva Dance Company
and was deeply involved in
the Arthur Rubinstein Master Piano
Competition.
18

Since 2015, Avi Simhon has
served as head of the National
Economic Council and economic
adviser to Prime Minister
Netanyahu.
He holds a BA in Economics and
Mathematics and an MA in Economics
from Hebrew University. He
also earned a Ph.D. in Economics
from the University of Minnesota.
Through his career, he has also
served as a professor at Hebrew University.
He has lectured at that university
and the University of Haifa.
At Hebrew University, he was the
head of the Department of Agricultural
Economics.
Prof. Simhon has played a key
role in shaping economic policy in
Israel. He specializes in economic
growth, combating public corruption
and labor economic issues. His
work has been featured in several
leading economic journals.
PROF. AVI SIMHON
As Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s appointee to
head the EMET prize committee,
Jacob Turkel is the newest
member. Turkel is a former
supereme court judge with nearly
40 years on the bench. In 2010, he
gained international recognition
for his work on the Turkel Committee
where he was appointed to
lead a special independent inquiry
on the Gaza Flotilla controversy.
Born in Tel Aviv to parents who
immigrated from Vienna, Turkel
grew up in Jerusalem and graduated
from Hebrew University Law
School in 1960. As the committee’s
appointed retired Supreme
Court judge, he succeeds Jacob
Kedmi, who died last summer.
JACOB TURKEL
The Jerusalem
Report
May 2017
19

ARIE DUBSON speaks
with Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu.
EMET PRIZE audience members stand at attention at the
beginning of the prize ceremony.
ARIE DUBSON speaks at an EMET
Prize press conference as retired
judge Gabriel Bach and then Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert look on.
THE LATE Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
Arie Dubson and Prof. Michel Revel
gather at an EMET ceremony.
PROF. MICHAEL CONFINO, Prof. Ilan Chet, Prof. Ruth Gavison, Shlomit Barnea Fargo, retired Judge Gabriel
Bach, Rina Schenfeld, Arie Dubson, Victor Shem Tov, Prof. Moshe Jammer, Prof. Moshe Oren, Prof. Noam
Sheriff pose at the annual EMET Prize Gala in 2003.
The EMET Prize over the years
20