\u201cI am proud to receive this honorary degree from the Technion as a scientist and not just as a politician,\u201d Dr. Merkel said at the ceremony, held at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem during the Chancellor\u2019s official visit to Israel earlier this week.<\/p>\n
Prof. Sivan named former Technion honorary doctorate recipients, such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Chaim Weizmann, David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin, and Margaret Thatcher, and talked of how Merkel has earned her place among these luminaries.<\/p>\n President Sivan acknowledged that Chancellor Merkel has moved from a brilliant scientific career in quantum chemistry to an \u201cunparalleled political career at a time of tectonic changes.\u201d He also spoke of her great humanity toward refugees fleeing armed conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, and her compassion and social responsibility. He described her as a \u201csteadfast friend of Israel and the Jewish people,\u201d and commended her on her public stance against antisemitism and on her unwavering support for Israel.<\/p>\n He went on to talk about the scientific ties and cooperation between Israel and Germany, which under her leadership, \u201chave grown stronger and reached unprecedented heights.\u201d<\/p>\n Chancellor Merkel, who has never forgotten the true meaning of compassion and social responsibility \u2026 is constantly striving to improve the lives of millions around the world<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n President Sivan also spoke about the Technion\u2019s long-standing relationship with Germany, which dates back to its inception in the early 1900s. For example, Prof. Sivan spoke of architect Alexander Baerwald from Berlin, who designed the Technion\u2019s first building, which was inaugurated in 1912. Later, Baerwald was appointed the first Technion Professor of Architecture.<\/p>\n Prof. Sivan referred to the Holocaust, and said that only \u201ca few epitomize the reconciliation\u201d between the two peoples while \u201ctaking responsibility for the dark times, as our Laureate today, Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel.\u201d<\/p>\n He concluded: \u201cDr. Merkel, we salute you, and wish you the best in your future endeavors. Thank you for what you have given Germany, Israel, and the world. We are forever grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Merkel responded by saying, \u201dI am proud to receive the honorary degree from the Technion as a scientist and not just as a politician, because science and technology are tools for advancing the economy and society. Israel was founded on a vision that was as scientific–technological as it was political, and some of the beginnings took place at the Technion. The Technion served as a cornerstone in the development of high tech and in what is now called the Startup Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Chancellor Merkel mentioned how \u201cthe Technion\u2019s leadership is also evident in COVID-19, with 50 laboratories engaged in related research \u2026 We are amazed at the speed with which data is collected in Israel, data that serves the entire world and contributes to the fight against the virus.\u201d<\/p>\n The Chancellor received the honorary doctorate from Prof. Sivan, in the presence of Mr. Gideon Frank, Chairman of the Technion Council; Prof. Oded Rabinovitch, Senior Executive Vice President and a Professor at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Prof. Alon Wolf, Vice President for External Relations and Resource Development and a Professor at the Faculties of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering; Distinguished Professor Yitzhak Apeloig, former Technion President and Professor at the Schulich Faculty Of Chemistry; former Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie, Chairman of Israel Friends of Technion, and Professor Emeritus in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine; Nobel Prize Laureate and Technion Distinguished Professor Aaron Ciechanover of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine; Prof. Marcelle Machluf, Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering; as well as graduate students Ms. Lina Muadlej of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering (in a joint track with the Henry and Marilyn\u00a0Taub Faculty of Computer Science), and Ms. Aseel Shomar, a Ph.D. student at the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical\u00a0 Engineering.<\/p>\n The ceremony was also attended by: Her Excellency, Ambassador Dr. Susanne Wasum-Rainer \u2013 German Ambassador to Israel; His Excellency, Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff\u00a0\u2013 Israeli Ambassador to Germany<\/p>\n Born in 1954, Chancellor Merkel started her political career in 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall. She chaired the Christian Democratic Union Party from 2000-2018; and has served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany since 2005. Throughout her career, Merkel emphasized international cooperation. She has been described as the de facto leader of the European Union. The New York Times has dubbed her \u201cThe Liberal West\u2019s Last Defender.\u201d Merkel has voiced support for Israel on many occasions, and spoken out against antisemitism. Congratulating the new Israeli government in June 2021, Merkel said that Germany and Israel are \u201cconnected by a unique friendship that we want to further strengthen.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\u05e0\u05e9\u05d9\u05d0](\"https:\/\/www.technion.ac.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/1.1-300x200.jpeg\")
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