Israel Prize Laureates
The Mandel Family Congratulates Professor Chaim Adler and Professor Miriam Ben-Peretz on Receiving the Prestigious Israel Prize for Education

The Israel Prize, the highest honor bestowed by the State of Israel to an Israeli citizen, is linked in its prestige to the high point on the national calendar.  The prizes are awarded each year at a ceremony in Jerusalem that marks the culmination of festivities on Israel's Independence Day (Yom Haatzmaut).  Broadcast live on national television and radio, these prizes for lifetime achievement in fields ranging from medicine to music reinforce public awareness that the country's existence is strengthened by the contributions of outstanding individuals.  This year, the two Israel Prize recipients for Education, Professors Chaim Adler and Miriam Ben Peretz, longtime associates of the Mandel enterprise, made the ceremony an occasion for special pride.

Professor Seymour Fox æ"ì, Former Director of Program for the Mandel Foundation, who passed away two months after the presentation of these awards commented at the time: "I have had the pleasure of working with Chaim Adler for close to 40 years.  Chaim is renowned for his important work in the sociology of education, with his main areas of research education as a factor for social change and youth culture in modern society.  In addition, he was the founding director of the National Council of Jewish Women's (NCJW) Research Institute for Innovation in Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where, together with the Ministry of Education, he introduced innovative projects which had a deep impact on Israeli education and beyond, programs such as HIPPY (Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters)."  

Professor Miriam Ben-Peretz is Professor Emeritus of University of Haifa, a former MLI faculty member and a former President of Tel-Hai College.  Professor Fox noted her "groundbreaking work in the field of curriculum and teacher education," as well as "her international reputation at universities around the world, and her work with the Carnegie Institute for the Study of Teaching and Learning."  The award committee also cited her "daring and original ideas and the significant influence that her research has had in Israel and in the world."  Both laureates have long been involved in Mandel Leadership Institute programs.  They have been actively involved in tutoring and advising fellows and graduates, with Prof. Adler playing a leading role in the MLI Graduates Unit.

In her remarks on behalf of all the Israel Prize laureates, Prof. Ben Peretz called for the dual need to provide equal educational opportunities for all segments of Israel's diverse society on the one hand, while striving without compromise for excellence and all of the investment that that entails on the other.  "This is not in heaven's hands; it is we on earth who are obligated to take action. They say that we in Israel don't hope for miracles; we count on them.  Let us work together to bring about the miracle of an educational system that is both successful and just, that will grant all necessary resources toward the cultivation of excellence."