Mandel Leadership Institute-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the Mandel Conference

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the Mandel Education Conference: Nurturing Leadership in Education is a Critical Step in Upgrading the Education System

Mandel Education Conference "60 Years of Education in Israel: Past, Present, Future"

Throughout the years, Israel has faced significant challenges in the realms of security, economics, welfare and education. As a country poor in natural resources, social capital is the main resource upon which Israel can rely to position itself as a leader in various fields. Thus, education is a necessary tool to develop and build a better future.

This past year marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. This occasion presented an opportunity to examine the educational practices of the last sixty years, the current educational reality as it is reflected in the field today, and the educational challenges of the future. These topics were explored at the Mandel Education Conference "60 Years of Education in Israel: Past, Present, Future", which was held on Thursday, December 18, 2008 at Kfar Ha'Maccabia in Ramat Gan.

Among the honorable guests were Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Minister of Education Prof. Yuli Tamir and the Director General of the Ministry of Education Shlomit Amichai.

The Conference was covered by the media including television, radio, newspapers and internet.

Excerpts from the Prime Minister's speech at the Conference's opening session

To read the Prime Minister's speech (full text) click here (Source: Prime Minister's Office)

Distinguished Guests,

The Mandel Leadership Institute – with whose work I have long been familiar – is greatly occupied with strengthening and empowering educational leadership among those working in education in Israel and around the world.

I wish to congratulate the Graduate Unit of the Mandel Foundation for organizing this important Conference marking 60 years of education in Israel. I welcome the fact that the Conference will deal less with the history of Israeli education and more with what it could be if we continue providing the necessary tools...

When I speak of values, I mean those which will remind us who the real heroes of a civilized society are, and, ladies and gentlemen, you will not find them on the reality television shows broadcast on our screens every night during primetime. These shows – their content and the tremendous popularity they attain – arouse penetrating social questions, and at the same time gloomy regret.

I wholeheartedly believe in the mission Mort Mandel adopted – with the assistance of my beloved friend who has passed on, the late Professor Seymour Fox – and which is now under the leadership of Annette Hochstein. The bottom line is that there is no substitute for leadership based on personal example.

There can be no excellence in education without excellence in the leadership of the education system. A school cannot be good with a bad principal, and no class can excel if the teacher is bad. Therefore, nurturing leadership in education is a critical step in upgrading the education system. The Mandel Leadership Institute took the bull by the horns... The Mandel Leadership Institute is the clearest example of nurturing excellence in the level of leadership as the basis for improving education in the State of Israel.

The education system in Israel will soar again if principals and teachers improve. I was young and now I am old, and I never saw a failed school or weak students when their teachers were excellent and the school principal was outstanding.

This is the focus of the Mandel Leadership Institute’s work. Even now, the Institute’s contribution to the education system is impressive and encouraging. And we are only at the beginning of the journey.

I am proud to call Mort and Barbara Mandel my friends, and most of all, I am proud of their tremendous contribution to education in the State of Israel.