FLORENCE – Weizmann Institute aims at new collaboration with Tuscany

On June 15, Iranian missiles devastated the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, one of Israel’s academic centers of excellence. The Weizmann Institute is consistently ranked among the top ten universities in the world for the quality of its research, just behind institutions like Princeton, Harvard, and MIT. Just a few days prior, a delegation from the institute had been in Florence to support the creation of a local section of Amici del Weizmann (Friends of Weizmann), an association aimed at spreading the institute’s values and strengthening relations. The national president of the association, Micaela Goren, visited the Jewish Community of Florence with Zohar Menshes, the executive vice president of the European Committee of the Weizmann Institute, and Larisa Claru, the director of resource development in southern and western Europe.

“This is a difficult time, and we have seen it here in Tuscany as well with the Region suspending its relations with Israel,” said Goren. “This makes our work even more important: showing the other face of Israel, its real face. The Weizmann Institute works for global well-being, and Florence, a city open to culture and science, will not fail to understand that.” Goren expressed her hope to launch “science salons” featuring prominent guests and presentations of projects and research.

“This is happening not only in Tuscany but all over Italy. A wave is taking down Israel, and it is hitting our sector as well. But many people also admire and understand our work and are aware of its impact on the world,” said Menshes. “We have to stay alert, but we can’t forget who we are and what we’re accomplishing.” Despite hard times, these are remarkable accomplishments. While demands to boycott Israel are increasing, Menshes noted that “never has the European Commission for Research financed our projects to the extent that they have this year, supporting 62% of them.

Giuseppe Burshtein, a communicator, will guide the Florence section of the Amici del Weizmann. He vowed to “open as many doors as possible” to present Weizmann and its discoveries in Tuscany.

Translated by Rebecca Luna Escobar and revised by Chiara Tona, students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, trainees in the newsroom of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities — Pagine Ebraiche.