Prof. Ephraim Katchalski told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that he was “not surprised” by an offer from Israel to succeed Zalman Shazar. The 57-year-old biophysicist said he had promised the party leaders to make no further comment until he decides whether or not to accept the nomination.
Prof. Katchalski was reached by telephone at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston where he is participating in the dedication of a fellowship in the name of his late brother, Prof. Aharon Katzir-Katchalsky. He will also attend and participate in an Aharon Katchalsky Memorial Symposium at the University of California, Berkeley, March 21-24.
Prof. Katchalski was born in Kiev, Russia, came to Palestine in 1922 and received a master of science degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1937 and his doctorate from the same institution in 1941. He joined the Weizmann Institute in 1949 and has since been a visiting lecturer or guest scientist at such prestigious American institutions as Harvard and Yale Universities and is a member of many scientific societies in Israel, Europe and the U.S.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
