53 graduates from the Adelson School of Medicine at Ariel University in Samaria crossed a significant threshold yesterday, receiving their doctoral degrees and officially joining the ranks of medical professionals.

The inaugural class, culminating four years of rigorous study, stood proudly on stage – with women comprising an impressive 40 of the new doctors. Moshe Bar Siman Tov, Director General of the Ministry of Health, pledged his support to expand the faculty's student body.

In her keynote speech, Dr. Miriam Adelson, who founded the school with her late husband Sheldon Adelson, said: "I have faith in you, the nation has faith in you. Each of you bears the responsibility of ensuring the vitality of the Jewish people. Approach your patients with a warm smile. Israeli society craves your optimism – your smile will reassure them that all is well."

She continued: "Visiting the heart of Samaria has become my personal Rosh Hashanah tradition. As we usher in the new year, I'm privileged to witness the emergence of fresh talent – young men and women poised to provide medical care to every citizen of our beloved Israel. You'll alleviate the burden of illness and injury and grant the gift of life itself. While this occasion is joyous, this year's ceremony is tinged with pain."

Dr. Adelson paid tribute to Yigal Cohen-Orgad, former chancellor of Ariel University, who passed away in 2019. She added: "I remain hopeful, and my hope is twofold: first, because like you, I'm part of the Israeli people; and second, because like you, I've been blessed with the calling of medicine. As physicians, we wield an almost divine power – to heal, to revive, to lift someone from the depths of illness, or, when necessary, to provide gentle companionship in life's final moments. We perform miracles daily. Now, amidst this devastating war with no end in sight, our skills are more crucial than ever. We must tend to the wounded – both soldiers and civilians – and address the less visible but equally profound emotional and mental trauma."

The ceremony paid special tribute to Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Moshe Yedidya Leiter, 39, a platoon commander in the elite Shaldag Unit who was killed in action in Gaza in November. His family accepted an honorary doctoral degree in recognition of his sacrifice.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, attending to congratulate the graduates, remarked: "While you've rightfully earned this moment of celebration, today also marks the beginning of an immense responsibility. From this day forward, people will entrust you with their most precious possessions – their lives and their well-being. As we all know, we're in the throes of an extraordinarily challenging conflict – one that underscores the righteousness of our cause and our unwavering commitment to life, peace, and security. You've already embodied this resilient Israeli spirit in recent months, tending to patients with unwavering dedication. I'm aware that many of you have also cared for those wounded in this war."

Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of Israel Hayom.

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Ariel University in Samaria is set to make history Wednesday by conferring doctor of medicine degrees on 53 graduates from the Adelson School of Medicine. This milestone comes after an intensive 4-year journey, culminating in a ceremony attended by the president of Israel, where the graduates will officially become doctors. The cohort, completing their final year of their practicum, boasts a strong female representation, with approximately 40 women among the graduates.

Dr. Shany Shperling-Mordo, 31, an Ariel University medical graduate now interning at Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer, reflects on the mixed emotions of the moment. "It's a complex time given the current situation in the country, especially working in a hospital and witnessing everything firsthand," she says. "But I'm also incredibly excited about this event. After all the hard work, it's deeply rewarding to reach this point. There's a real sense of accomplishment."

The past five years have been transformative for Shperling-Mordo. "I've met extraordinary people, both fellow students and faculty members," she recalls. "One particularly remarkable individual was Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, who tragically fell in battle in Gaza last November at age 39. He was a commander in the Shaldag unit and played a significant role in my journey. He encouraged us to join the 'Arrow' program, which integrates top students into research at various Sheba departments. Both of us were accepted. It was a pivotal moment in my career, and I owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. He was an exceptional person who could have been an outstanding physician. His loss is profound for our country."

Looking to the future, Shperling-Mordo expresses hope: "I wish for myself and my colleagues to become skilled doctors capable of truly helping our patients. I hope we can fulfill our aspirations while remembering our roots, and importantly, that we choose to stay here to work and live in Israel. To me, that's crucial."

The Adelson School of Medicine at Ariel University opened its doors in October 2019 and currently hosts about 350 students. The four-year program is designed for those with a bachelor's degree. The inaugural class is now completing their internships, with some already securing positions in various specialties nationwide.

Dr. Dan Sagi, 32, now an intern at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, reminisces about his first day of medical school over four years ago. Since then, his days have grown longer and his nights shorter. But the journey has brought him more than just a medical degree; it's given him love and family."

"My wife is also a medical student at Ariel, a year behind me," Sagi shares. "We met while preparing for the entrance exams. By chance, I was accepted before her, even though she's far more accomplished. Ten months ago, we welcomed our beautiful daughter. It's been an incredibly intense period. Before starting, I couldn't have imagined what I was getting into," he admits. "There have been countless sleepless nights, especially this past year, but the satisfaction is immeasurable. I love this profession beyond words. Most days, I'm up before dawn, but I genuinely enjoy what I do."

In anticipation of the ceremony, Professor Shai Ashkenazi, dean of the Adelson School of Medicine, wrote to the graduates: "You're entering a noble profession that is truly a calling. It uniquely combines sophisticated science with the act of giving, helping others, and saving lives. Always treat your patients with humility, warmth, empathy, compassion, and words of encouragement. Guide them wisely and sensitively towards recovery."

Tonight's ceremony at Ariel University will be attended by President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal, Dr. Miriam Adelson, Ministry of Health Director General Moshe Bar Siman Tov, Israel Medical Association Chairman Professor Zion Hagay, University President Professor Ehud Grossman, University Rector Professor Albert Pinhasov, and School of Medicine Dean Professor Shai Ashkenazi.

The establishment of the School of Medicine at Ariel University was a pioneering move, breaking years of stagnation in opening new medical schools in Israel, partly due to resistance from established universities. The preparatory process spanned several years, involving extensive consultations with experts in Israel and abroad. The school's innovative curriculum aims to produce high-quality physicians with a strong foundation in both basic sciences and clinical medicine.

Israel is currently grappling with a shortage of doctors, a problem expected to worsen. The country's physician ratio is 3.1 per 100,000 people, significantly below the OECD average. Recent recommendations propose an immediate increase in medical student intake from 1,200 to 1,400 annually, with plans to potentially double this figure in the future.

Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of Israel Hayom. The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom.

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Dr. Miriam Adelson spoke on Sunday at an Adelson School of Medicine's ceremony at Ariel University, urging the young doctors to put politics aside as they live up to Jewish values to preserve life and health. 

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The event, which marks the end of the first phase of the studies and the beginning of the clinical experience, was attended by the dean of the school, Shai Ashkenazi, with about 70 students getting their white robes. 

Adelson, who is a physician herself, spoke in her commencement address about the role students take, which is almost akin to being God. "For five decades, more or less, I have been a doctor, but it still moves me to see how many more people join our ranks," she said. "After all, we are like a special club that deals with the secrets of the human body, we hold the powers to preserve and protect life," she continued, recalling that her late husband, the businessman and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson, would have been "so proud to see all of you, the first class of graduates from a medical school bearing his name." 

Adelson, who is also the Israel Hayom publisher, recalled how it was Sheldon and herself who agreed to fund the creation of the medical school about a decade earlier when they heard that Israel was facing a shortage of medical professionals. 

Video: Dr. Adelson speaks at the Ariel University of Samaria event // Credit: Gil Cramer

Adelson continued, coming out against the threats made by some doctors in Israel that they could end up leaving Israel if the contested judicial reform passes. 

"It is no secret that I, too, have reservations over the scope and pace of the current judicial reform, but I would never even contemplate, for example, shutting down the center for addiction treatment that I founded with Sheldon in Tel Aviv 30 years ago," she said. "My friends, my colleagues in the medical profession, our role is no less crucial than that of IDF soldiers. They protect the country with their body, and we protect the body of every citizen. Doctors are what people see when they get born and when they part this world." She then went on to say that politics should have no role in pursuing a career in medicine. 

"Medicine is a blood and life pact, it is a commitment. Just like it would be inconceivable to get rid of a patient because he has become a burden or too challenging, we must stick by our country and community, regardless of what unfolds," she said. 

Health Ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman Tov praised the young students and told them that they face a unique challenge in that Israel's population grows by 2 % every year, or about a million people every five years. "We hope that in Ariel we double the number of students that study every year so that we have 2,000 annually." 

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Days after Israel Hayom reported that the government was poised to allocate hundreds of millions of shekels to double the population of the Golan Heights, cabinet members approved the massive spending plan. Cabinet members were tested for COVID ahead of the special meeting at Kibbutz Mevo Hama on the Golan.

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The Golan Heights development program, which Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar are spearheading, includes an investment of over 500 million shekels ($159 million) to create more housing on the Golan, particularly in the community of Katzrin (the largest Jewish town in the Golan Heights), improve local infrastructure, found two new communities (to be named Asif and Matar), each of which would comprise thousands of housing units.

The plan also includes extensive demining budgets to clear large swaths of land and have them transferred from military to civilian control. About a quarter of the funds will go to improving public transportation so that residents of the area would be able to travel more easily to major cities in central Israel for work and pleasure.

A major component of the plan will include a boost to emergency medical care providers and a revamping of the education system, thus allowing more access to a variety of schooling options.

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A new building housing the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson School of Medicine was dedicated at Ariel University in Samaria, Tuesday.

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The modern building, which includes study areas and research labs, is also set to include a regional medical center with four operating rooms, a gastrointestinal imaging institute, and university clinics for paramedical professions, among others.

Also on Tuesday, President Reuven Rivlin and Dr. Miriam Adelson were awarded honorary doctorates at a graduation ceremony at the school during which 40 students received their doctoral degrees.

Video: Moshe Ben Simhon

Rivlin opened his remarks by saying, "The academia is a lighthouse of excellence, wisdom, and knowledge in society. Within just a few years, Ariel University has succeeded in proving it is in the big leagues and a magnet for Jewish and Arab, religious and secular, male and female students. Israel's youngest university is also 100% an Israeli university: Zionist, innovative, a research leader, and mainly open to all tribes and sectors in the State of Israel."

During the ceremony, Adelson said, "The school of medicine is really a home, in the sense of a place where people learn the most important life lessons. In this home, you will become doctors – perhaps the noblest profession. Doctors bring new life into the world, save lives, and improve lives – this is the work of angels."

Adelson's husband, renowned philanthropist and businessman Sheldon Adelson, passed away in January.

"The fact that the building bears his name alongside mine is particularly special to me. Sheldon was my home, and I was his home," she said. "One of my most precious memories is the memory of both of us planning this building together. This school is no less dear to Sheldon's heart than it is to me. That is also true of Ariel University, Samaria, and the entire Land of Israel."

In her speech, Adelson recalled when she worked as an internal medicine physician and chief physician at an emergency room.

"Resuscitations, a majority of them successful, were a matter of routine. Only the doctor, the patient, and God are enclosed behind the curtain, with mere seconds in which to decide whether and how to do something that in the eyes of many is like a miracle and impossible. Every additional moment on earth is a blessing."

In honoring Adelson, the university said it aimed to recognize her "outstanding Zionist and humanitarian contributions for promoting medicine, education and higher education in Israel and around the world; for her many years of devotion as a physician and researcher, and her dedication to developing new methods for treating addiction and withdrawal; and for her tireless efforts in strengthening the bonds between Israel and Jews of the Diaspora."

Adelson was also honored "for her courageous and generous partnership with Ariel University in establishing a medical school for the benefit of the entire region and for her steadfast support of medical students and cultivating a new generation of world-class physicians."

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The university said it sought to recognize Rivlin's "lifelong work to strengthen the State of Israel, to foster bonds between secular, religious, ultra-orthodox Jewish and Arab communities, his long-standing leadership in cultivating the affinity between Judaism and Zionism, his dedication to ensuring the fortitude and prosperity of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, his sincere friendship and widespread efforts for the development and advancement of Ariel University."

The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom. Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of Israel Hayom.

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The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities announced Wednesday the appointment of Professor David Harel as its president. The move drew criticism from Ariel University, an academic institution that the prominent scientist has a history of trying to discredit due to it being located in Samaria.

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In 2012, Harel was one of several academics who opposed granting the school full university status. Last year, he was a signatory to a High Court of Justice petition challenging the establishment of a medical school at Ariel University.

Before Harel even took office, Ariel University's Student Union turned to President Reuven Rivlin and Knesset members, asking them to oppose the decision.

"The appointment will directly harm the students and alumni of the university, and the research that is being conducted here," their petition read.

According to the students, Harel consistently calls for severing ties with the university and is trying to get other institutions not to recognize degrees granted by the school.

Harel declined to comment on the matter.

The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities said in a statement: "Ariel University is included in the framework of the Israel Academy of Sciences."

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Last week, a very dear man, a man of vision and action, a man who did so much for the Jewish people and the State of Israel, passed away. Many have already spoken of his various contributions on the national level, and there will be many more.  I seek to focus on his work to promote the Ariel University in Samaria, which owes its current standing largely to his support.

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Sheldon Adelson was a legendary man who believed in and worked toward the development of the academic institution in Ariel. He did this in periods of calm but also in difficult times when the world banded together to prevent our institution from becoming a university. Adelson expressed his support for us publicly, effusively, and with great pride.

Thanks to his belief and support, the Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson School of Medicine was established at Ariel University, and now there are first- and second-year medical students studying to become physicians. The establishment of the medical school was a historic event that changed the face of the university and is expected to influence Israel's medical system in the future.

Sheldon contributed a great deal to the university, but I believe his greatest contribution was not material, but moral in nature. In an institution contending with many difficulties and various boycotts, in addition to the difficulties any fledgling academic institution must face, sometimes the most important thing is your partners on the path ahead; an external figure that believes in you and your goals.

Time and time again, Sheldon gave us hope, vision, determination, and strength, and at every opportunity, took care to emphasize the academic importance inherent in a university such as ours.

I won't forget his first visit to the university when I was still the head of the molecular biology department. In one meeting he attended, Sheldon declared, "A medical school will be established here! I will help you." After that, Sheldon visited the university several times, and each time, we were excited anew by his friendly presence and his faith in us.

We have lost a dear man, but his work to promote the academy will only grow in strength. The medical school along with the medical center now under construction constitute an important milestone for regional prosperity and a wonderful tool for dialogue and the promotion of peace in our region. That was his vision, as he said at one of his last visits to the university. "I expect the establishment of the medical school and the medical center to be a good base for the advancement of peace with our neighbors, and I believe this will be the case."

One cannot help but also relate to the deep ties Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson had with another exemplary man, university founder Yigal Cohen-Orgad, who passed away last summer. They were full partners in vision and practice. Thanks to people like these and their vision, the Ariel University in Samaria is flourishing.

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We will always remember you, Sheldon, and we will ensure your legacy is preserved and bolstered. We send our deepest condolences to Miriam, the Adelson family, and the Jewish people on the loss of this great Jewish man. May his memory be a blessing.

Prof. Albert Pinhasov is head of the Behavioral and Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory at Ariel University.

S

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Thank you, Sheldon.

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Sheldon Adelson was a Jew who loved his people and his country passionately. He was a goodhearted, loyal friend, and I'm very pained at his passing. It also hurts to think about the difficulty Miri, his wife, who took such good care of him, and his loving family are having. It is a comfort that his deeds will go down in the Jewish people's Book of Chronicles.

Sheldon Adelson was not an observant Jew, but his heroic actions for the sake of the state and the people were godly. I remember that at one of our meetings, he saw on his phone that his company's stock had gained. He told me with a smile, "Listen, I just made $150 million," but immediately followed it up with, "And every cent will go to my people."

Only a few know how hard Adelson and his wife forked for Israel's security, to keep the Land of Israel whole and to continue the chain of Jewish existence from one generation to the next. These might sound like grandiose words, but it's the truth.

Everyone knows about his contribution to projects like Taglit-Birthright, to Israeli academia, and Ariel University in Samaria, including the School of Medicine we had the privilege of fighting for and founding, as well as plenty of other projects. All these are only the part that's out in the open. He did a lot more in secret.

Adelson put all his weight behind getting the US to relocate its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, even when there were Israelis leaders who balked at the move. By doing so, the dear philanthropist effectively broke the glass ceiling of Jerusalem being recognized as Israel's capital. He held endless meetings with anyone he could in order to pull the US out of the bad 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and worked to secure American recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli – as well as many other discreet activities.

Dear Sheldon, you're up in Heaven now. Rest in peace, and know that with God's help, we will continue to defend the state and the people you loved so much. May your memory be a blessing.

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I was sorry to hear of the passing of Sheldon Adelson, a Jew who loved his people and loved Israel. He was a huge American patriot, who saw anchoring the alliance between Israel and the US as a mission. While alive, his story about a kid who sold newspaper becoming a successful businessman fired up the imaginations of everyone around him. His determination and ability to spot opportunities, take risks, be daring, and carry out plans were his trademarks.

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Aside from his global businesses, in the last few decades Sheldon used his abilities to influence public life. It would be hard to count the many and varied philanthropic initiatives to which Sheldon contributed his wealth, most of which deepen the ties between the Jewish people to their land and legacy.

Sheldon fostered links between Diaspora Jewry and the state of Israel by giving to Yad Vashem, Taglit-Birthright, Garin Tzabar - Israeli Lone Soldier IDF Program, and medical and academic projects. The Innovation Center at Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and the Adelson School of Medicine at Ariel University, where we met last Hanukkah, were an investment in Israeli research, medicine, and development. The importance of founding such an institution at this time cannot be overstated. Generations of doctors and other medical workers will thank him for the initiatives, and we will all benefit from the fruits of the investment and the belief that beat in Adelson when he was determined to launch an excellent new faculty of medicine that opened its doors to all Israelis and everyone who wants to learn.

In places where there were no men, Sheldon "strove to be a man," to invest his wealth and time, to be there, to help and offer support.

More than anything, Sheldon believed in the strategic alliance between Israel and the US, and saw deepening the ties between the two countries as the surest investment in the future of the Jewish people and the state of Israel.

I extend my condolences to Miriam, the love of his life, and his partner on the path of contributing to building up the nation and the land, as well as to the entire family.

May his memory be a blessing.

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The move is a significant one because the Committee of University Heads has refused to accept the university status of Ariel (formerly Ariel University Center of Samaria).

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The Planning and Budgeting Committee handles the budget for Israel's entire system of higher education and decides on both regular budgets and development budget for the country's institutions of higher education.

On Tuesday, Higher Education Minister Zeev Elkin expressed his satisfaction at Navon-Venezia being elected to the committee, saying, "I thank the members of the Council for Higher Education for the support of Professor Navon-Venezia, despite the heavy pressure from the Committee of University Heads."

"I call on those heads to put disagreements aside and work together ahead of the start of the next academic year, in the shadow of coronavirus," Elkin said.

The Committee of University Heads issued a statement wishing Navon-Venezia success, but noted that "the election process Minister Zeev Elkin led was flawed, and could hurt academic independence in Israel."

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