{"id":84857,"date":"2021-12-20T12:31:06","date_gmt":"2021-12-20T10:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.technion.ac.il\/blog\/sports-center-named-in-heros-honor\/"},"modified":"2021-12-20T12:31:06","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T10:31:06","slug":"sports-center-named-in-heros-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technion.ac.il\/en\/blog\/sports-center-named-in-heros-honor\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports Center Named in Hero’s Honor"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Technion recently inaugurated the new Amos Horev Sports Arena, named in honor of the larger-than-life general and former Technion president who pushed through various projects to improve student life during his nine-year tenure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Technion is my home,\u201d said Maj. Gen. (ret.) Horev during an October 28, 2021 ceremony attended by Technion President Uri Sivan, members of the Technion administration and board of directors, Friends of the Technion, and former and current Technion leadership. \u201cI\u2019ve always been involved in education . . . and I always aspired to promote excellence. . . Without excellence, our small country will not survive,\u201d he said. \u201cThis new building is an expression of excellence. I thank all of you for your contribution to establishing this arena and am very moved to be here with you today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new 21,500 square-foot arena features a court for handball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, badminton, and gymnastics, plus a 350-seat spectators\u2019 gallery. The arena meets international standards, allowing it to host national and international competitions. Built with the generous support of the Friends of the Technion in Israel and around the world, the arena will be part of the 11-acre Technion Sports Village that provides tens of thousands of Technion students, faculty, and alumni with soccer fields, a running track, gyms, swimming pools, an indoor fitness center, and additional courts for squash, basketball, beach volleyball, and tennis.<\/p>\n

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The new Amos Horev Sports Area is unveiled<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking at the inauguration, President Sivan noted that Maj. Gen. Horev was born in 1924, the same year the Technion opened its gates. \u201cEver since, his life has intertwined with that of the Technion and of Israel,\u201d he said. \u201cDuring his years as president, the Technion\u2019s status as a leader in fields of national importance, including the development of defense technologies, was greatly strengthened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maj. Gen. Horev served in the Palmach, the elite fighting force of the Jewish underground army during the British Mandate for Palestine. He started to study mechanical engineering at the Technion, but his education was cut short with the outbreak of the War of Independence in 1948. He fought in Jerusalem and in the Negev and participated in the Burma Road convoy that broke the siege of Jerusalem. After the war, he earned his bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then continued his military career as the Israel Defense Forces Chief of Ordnance, Quartermaster General, and Chief Scientist.<\/p>\n

From 1973 to 1982, Maj. Gen. Horev served as President of the Technion, while also helping Rafael transform from a unit within the Ministry of Defense to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. During his Technion tenure, he was instrumental in doubling the size of the campus and constructing the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine building. To support the students\u2019 well-being, he had faculty members give lectures at Army outposts during the Yom Kippur War, and he established the university\u2019s Psychological Services and an audio-visual library for self-study. He hired students for security and cleaning jobs to help make ends meet, and also helped establish student dorms, the university\u2019s first pool, and the sports facilities. Maj. Gen. Horev continues today to serve as a member of the Technion Board of Directors and is Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou always had a warm place in your heart for the students and looked for ways to support them. That is why we thought that the arena, which will serve many generations of students in the future, is an exceptionally fitting way to thank you for everything you have done for Technion students,\u201d said Technion Vice President and CEO Professor Boaz Golany.<\/p>\n