Technion Awards Harvey Prize to U.S. Chemist, Talmudist

The Haifa Technion presented its prestigious Harvey Prizes tonight to two Americans–Herman F. Mark. Dean Emeritus of the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute who is an eminent polymer chemist and Prof. Saul Lieberman, Rector of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and a distinguished Talmudic scholar. The awards, which bear the name of the late Leo M. Harvey of Los Angeles, a leader of the American Technion Society, were presented by President Ephraim Katzir of Israel who is himself an internationally prominent biochemist.

Addressing the awards ceremony audience, Lieberman recalled that the Talmudic sages 15 centuries ago, faced a problem common to the modern world–the cynicism of the young. “Our sages recognized the danger of cynicism of the young when they said ‘it is easier to raise olives in Galilee than to rear a single child,'” Lieberman said. He said that cynicism among today’s youth is an even greater danger, perhaps the greatest danger of all to the modern world.

Lieberman said cynicism was created by such actions as when the United Nations applauded a criminal–PLO chieftain Yasir Arafat–who came before it with blood-stained hands. “Such an action of the UN leaders which stemmed either from hatred of Israel or love of money or both could only lead to an attitude of cynicism among the young people of the world,” he said.

DEGREE TO SOVIET IMMIGRANT

Among the 330 advanced degrees and honorary degrees awarded by the Technion was a doctorate in applied mathematics conferred on Anatol Galperin who arrive in Israel from the Soviet Union only five weeks ago. Galperin, who receive an exit visa after four years of struggle, had been denied his degree by the Soviet authorities. He succeeded in transferring his thesis to the Technion where it was accepted. Galperin presently teaches mathematics at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba.