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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a difficult time, and we have seen it here in Tuscany as well with the Region suspending its relations with Israel,\u201d said Goren. \u201cThis 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.\u201d Goren expressed her hope to launch \u201cscience salons\u201d featuring prominent guests and presentations of projects and research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis 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,\u201d said Menshes. \u201cWe have to stay alert, but we can’t forget who we are and what we’re accomplishing.\u201d Despite hard times, these are remarkable accomplishments. While demands to boycott Israel are increasing, Menshes noted that \u201cnever has the European Commission for Research financed our projects to the extent that they have this year, supporting 62% of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Giuseppe Burshtein, a communicator, will guide the Florence section of the Amici del Weizmann. He vowed to \u201copen as many doors as possible\u201d to present Weizmann and its discoveries in Tuscany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n