Jerusalem, June 3, 2007 - In today's "flat world" in which "individuals can reach farther and faster then ever before," the only question to ask is, who will achieve what? said award-winning New York Times columnist and author Thomas L. Friedman Sunday at the annual convocation ceremony of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Friedman was the featured speaker at the ceremony, held at the Rothberg Amphitheater on Mount Scopus, during which he and seven others received honorary doctor of philosophy degrees Also at the convocation, 305 Hebrew University students received their doctoral degrees, among whom were 166 women (54%) and 139 men (46%). The convocation ceremony marked the opening session of the 70th meeting of the Hebrew University Board of governors.
With the introduction of the personal computer, the Internet, and the software that makes unlimited communication possible anywhere, it no longer matters where one is - all are playing on a level plane - the "flat world," as Friedman describes it. This means, he said, "that whatever can be done, will be done. The only question that one has to ask is: will it be done by you or to you."
Expanding on that theme, Friedman said that it was crucial that Israel in general and the Hebrew University in particular be in a position to take advantage of the opportunities that exist. "The country that is most responsive, most flexible" will be the country that will be a leader in world progress, he said, and to do this requires imagination and the means to apply that imagination.
"This (Israel) is a dream factory for imagination," Friedman declared, adding that the country cannot invest too much in education. "With the proper resources, this imagination can be transformed into creativity," he said.
Friedman made it clear that he strongly believed that this could be accomplished best through a multi-disciplinary approach that includes not only science and technology but also the liberal arts.
He concluded his remarks with: "I say to the Hebrew University, to its president, and to its next generation: May you go from strength to strength."
Friedman, who once studied at the Hebrew University's Rothberg International School, joined The New York Times in 1981 and has served in several positions at the newspaper, covering the globe in his reporting. He was Beirut bureau chief during the first war in Lebanon in 1982 and covered the first Intifada while serving as Israel bureau chief from 1984 to 1988. He is a three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Others who received honorary degrees at today's ceremony were: Iraqi advocate of democracy and opponent of the Saddam regime, Prof. Kanan Makiya of Brandeis University; feminist researcher and writer, Prof. Linda Nochlin of New York University; winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in chemistry, Prof. Aaron Ciechanover of the Technion; professor of organic chemistry, Sir Alan R. Fersht of Cambridge University; professor of neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ann M. Graybiel; horticultural scientist, Prof. Jules Janick of Purdue University in the U.S.; and Michael Dunkel of Sydney, Australia, longstanding friend and governor of the Hebrew University and a leader of its Australian Friends organization.
An honorary doctorate degree was also awarded earlier to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which she received at a separate ceremony held at the Hebrew University in March.
Veteran Israeli educator Michael Bahat received the annual Samuel Rothberg Prize for Jewish Education. |
