French Health Minister Simone Weil received an honorary doctorate at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot Monday. In her address, she said the concept of Palestine–which at the time had meant nothing to her–had been a ray of hope for many of the Jews incarcerated with her in German concentration camps during World War II. She praised Chaim Weizmann, founder of the Institute and Israel’s first President, as a man who symbolized the synthesis between pure science and public office. Also honored by the Institute at the same doctorate ceremony was Gerhard Herzberg, of Canada, who won a Nobel Prize for chemistry.
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