Ben-Gurion University awards honorary doctorates 2024

During a moving ceremony on Tuesday evening, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev bestowed honorary doctoral degrees on four accomplished individuals during the 54th annual Board of Governors Meeting on the Marcus Family Campus in Beer-Sheva. They included renowned Israeli singer-songwriter Yehudit Ravitz, European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life Katharina von Schnurbein, Arizona State University President Dr. Michael M. Crow, and Harvard University historian of medicine Prof. Allan M. Brandt.

Faculty member and former Hamas hostage Nili Margalit, Soroka University Medical Center, Barzilai University Medical Center, and Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital received President's Awards.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev President Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, "This year, our focus is on the virtue of resilience—a quality that has been especially pivotal to our university and community over the past seven months. In times of crisis and challenge, resilience becomes our guiding star.

"All of you dear laureates, citizens of the world from diverse fields of activity, embody the spirit of resilience. You make a profound difference in the world, and I have no doubt that Ben-Gurion would have been referring to you when he spoke of "pioneers," guided by a "pioneering spirit,"" he said. 

"Dear friends and honorees, I am sure you join me in demanding that the remaining hostages, including our Noa Argamani, be brought home now," he declared.

Rector Prof. Chaim Hames called out the hypocrisy of academia abroad, "Academia is supposed to be a beacon of light in the search for truth and knowledge for the betterment of humanity. What is happening on university campuses in Europe and the USA has given me reason to think that the pursuit of truth and knowledge is no longer perceived to be the central essence of academia. Any first-year undergraduate with a moral compass who spent an hour reading the reports and looking at the videos and pictures being published on the internet would unequivocally be able to state that Israeli citizens were brutally massacred by terrorists on the 7th of October. Any serious professor, even a radical deconstructionist, who was prepared to examine the available evidence and put it in context, would be very hesitant in using the term genocide. 

"Therefore, it seems almost beyond belief that world-leading academic institutions and academics are unable to come out with clear, concise and definite condemnations of the massacre and instead, support their students when they speak out in support of Hamas and terror and advocate for the destruction of Israel. The fudging of the truth in the statements that appeared, the sheer ignorance of the professors and students, or the attempt by some to create some sort of bizarre equation between the Israeli victims of the massacre and the Palestinian victims of the Israeli military retaliation, for example by Judith Butler, show a moral turpitude that begs the question whether these universities and their faculties still remain true to their essential raison d'etre.

"It seems that relativism and political correctness or the idea that there is no absolute truth, or there are always at least two sides to the story, or the fear of being accused of privileging one group of students over another or annoying donors, means that when the truth stares you in the face, you will look for ways to circumvent it, supposedly in the name of upholding free speech."

Honorary doctorate recipients in alphabetical order:

Prof. Allan M. Brandt is the Amalie Moses Kass Professor of the History of Medicine and Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. His work focuses on social and ethical aspects of health, disease, medical practices, and global health in the twentieth century. His book on the social and cultural history of cigarette smoking in the U.S. The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product that Defined America, received the Bancroft Prize from Columbia University in 2008 and the Welch Medal from the American Association for the History of Medicine in 2011.

Dr. Michael M. Crow, President of Arizona State University, is the co-author (with William B. Dabars) of the book The Fifth Wave: The Evolution of American Higher Education. Therein, the authors articulate a paradigm in which American higher education institutions view themselves as platforms for effecting large-scale, systemic change, measuring their success based on social outcomes in the regions where they are based.

Yehudit Ravitz, born and bred in Beer-Sheva, is one of Israel's most admired singer-songwriters. Over a career spanning decades, she has written and sung hits in multiple genres. She wows audiences on her own but has also collaborated with some of the top artists in Israel.

Katharina von Schnurbein was appointed the first European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism in December 2015. Together with her team, she has drafted and is now implementing the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, adopted in 2021. The EU Strategy lead the way for the 27 EU Member States to adopt their own national strategies addressing antisemitism and promoting Jewish life within their societies. The Coordinator collaborates closely with Jewish communities and organizations.

President's Award recipients:

Nili Margalit receives the President's Award

Honoring medical centers in southern Israel