"You Chose a Faculty That Combines Science and Technology in the Service of a Moral and Human Mission"
Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan addressed the 118 graduates who completed their medical studies at the Technion Dr. Yigal Haim Drummer, a fourth-generation physician, received his MD degree exactly 100 years after his great-grandfather earned his
The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine recently held its MD graduation ceremony. Attending the event were Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan; Dean of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine Prof. Ami Aronheim; guest of honor Irit Rappaport; ceremony host and Technion Executive Vice President Prof. Adi Salzberg; faculty members; graduates of the faculty’s 54th graduating class; and their families. A total of 118 graduates received their MD degrees, including 72 women and 46 men. Twenty graduated with honors, eight with distinction, and 12 completed the demanding MD-PhD physician-scientist program.
Addressing the graduates, Prof. Sivan said: “The profession you have chosen is a truly unique calling – an intellectual challenge on the one hand, and an expression of generosity, dedication, and compassion on the other. It is a privilege unlike any other, but no less importantly, it is a covenant you enter into today for the rest of your lives. There is no greater privilege and no deeper commitment. The past few years have underscored this beyond any doubt. “The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine has championed the unique integration of science, medicine, and technology since its establishment more than 50 years ago. Even then, its founders envisioned the future and understood that the future of medicine lay in the close connection between these fields. Today, it is clearer than ever how remarkably farsighted they were.”
“You are individuals with unique stories, backgrounds, values, and dreams,” Irit Rappaport told the graduates. “Each of you has your own passions, talents, and interests, yet you chose this path because you felt called to heal others. I hope that, despite – and perhaps because of – the turbulent reality surrounding us and the growing shortage of medical professionals, you will choose to remain in Israel and help shape the future of our children and grandchildren, who, like us, have no other homeland. I wish you every success in all that you do.”
Prof. Ami Aronheim told the graduates, “In addition to meeting the demanding requirements of your degree, you faced extraordinary challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic, a cyberattack on the Technion, and a war that began just two weeks before you were scheduled to start your fifth-year clinical rotations, and that continues to this day. Many of you were called up for hundreds of days of reserve duty. You rose to every challenge. More than that, your class achieved the highest average grades among all six medical schools in Israel.”
Speaking on behalf of the graduating class, Dr. Liron Krinsky Gonen reflected on their years of study: “Throughout our medical education, we were introduced to the many disciplines that make up the world of medicine, and each of us gradually discovered where our heart truly lies. Wherever we go from here, we leave with an extraordinary set of skills and the knowledge that we studied at the most demanding and professional institution there is. I am certain that each of us will carry the title of graduate of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine with immense pride, and we will prove it in every department we join.”
Four Generations, Six Physicians, One Hundred Years
One of the participants in the MD graduation ceremony was Dr. Yigal Haim Drummer, a fourth-generation physician. Yigal Haim, now 32, grew up in Kiryat Ono and studied at a yeshiva high school, followed by advanced yeshiva studies in Ma’ale Adumim. He served in the IDF’s Intelligence Research Division (Lamdan) and was discharged as a captain. He is currently completing his internship at Shaare Zedek Medical Center and plans to specialize in child and adolescent psychiatry.
Dr. Drummer is the great-grandson of Dr. Haim Abravanel, after whom he was named. Dr. Abravanel was born in 1896 in Pirot, then part of Serbia. He studied medicine in Prague and Vienna and later directed the hospital in Bitola, North Macedonia. Today, the city’s day hospital bears his name.
Dr. Abravanel’s children also became physicians. His son, Dr. Nissim Abravanel, was a surgeon in Belgrade, while his daughter, Dr. Reni Levy-Abravanel, was a pediatrician and the wife of radiologist Dr. Salvatore Levy. Nissim, Reni, and Salvatore were killed in the devastating earthquake that struck North Macedonia in 1963.
Reni and Salvatore’s daughter, Rachel-Shelly Levy Drummer – who brought her family’s story to the Technion’s attention – was orphaned in that tragic event and immigrated to Israel with her grandfather, Haim, and grandmother Berta. In Israel, she married Dr. Dov Drummer, a psychiatrist and psychogeriatric specialist who established the psychogeriatric departments at Kfar Shaul Medical Center in Jerusalem and currently works at Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center. Rachel-Shelly and Dov are the parents of Dr. Yigal Haim Drummer – bringing the family’s medical legacy to four generations.
An interesting discovery by Rachel-Shelly is that exactly 100 years separate the awarding of Dr. Abravanel’s MD degree in Prague in 1926 and the awarding of Dr. Yigal Haim Drummer’s MD degree at the Technion in 2026. Altogether, the family includes four generations and six physicians. Soon, a seventh will join them: Yigal Haim’s sister, Renana, who is currently studying medicine at Tel Aviv University.
To mark the completion of his medical studies, Yigal Haim will receive a special gift from his mother, Rachel-Shelly: his great-grandfather Dr. Haim Abravanel’s wooden stethoscope – a symbol of the human, familial, and professional legacy of the Abravanel, Levy, and Drummer families.
Photos: Shay Albaz and Avi Abutbul.
