Steps Taken on Behalf of Ben Gurion U.

A new phase in American efforts on behalf of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel’s newest institution of higher learning, was inaugurated last night with the installation of Harry T. Dozor, a Philadelphia business and civic leader, as national president of the American Associates of the University. More than 350 people including leading Jewish communal personalities from cities throughout the United States. Europe and Canada, witnessed Dozor’s installation at a national dinner at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel.

Jacob Barmore, Israel’s envoy to the UN Mission, was a special guest. He discussed Israel’s position one year after the Yam Kippur War. Other speakers included Philip S. Seltzer, president of the Federation of Jewish Agencies of Greater Philadelphia; Emanual Shimoni, Israel’s Consul General in Philadelphia; and Dr. Zvi Ankori, director of the Center of Israeli and Jewish Studies at Columbia University in New York, who will shortly become the first director of the Ben Gurion Research Institute and Archives of Ben Gurion University.

Accepting the presidency of the American Associates, Dozor called for intensified effort for Ben Gurion University. He focussed attention on the university’s role in the development of the Negev, and recalled David Ben Gurion’s vision of the settlement of the Negev through “modern science and the pioneering enthusiasm of our youth.” In his address, Prof. Ankori cited three special characteristics of the university: its role as the University of the Negev; its responsibilities as the University of Beersheba. a city of immigrants; and its significance as the university bearing the name of David Ben Gurion.