Education Minister Piron calls on gov't to allocate appropriate resources in order to develop and maintain Israel’s human capital.
By DANIELLE ZIRI
Israel Prizes for 2013 were awarded in an official ceremony held in Jerusalem on Tuesday, as the country marked its 65th Independence Day.The ceremony took place in the presence of President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein, Supreme Court President Justice Asher D. Grunis, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Education Minister Shai Piron.As he addressed the audience, Piron called on the government to allocate the appropriate resources in order to develop and maintain Israel’s human capital.“Society is measured by the importance of its intellectuals and leaders,” Piron said, “We should do everything we can to make sure that the names of Nobel laureates, Israel Prize laureates, philosophers, intellectuals, writers and leaders of change will dwell on the lips of young people in Israel.”Nine Israel Prizes were awarded in eight categories: In the field of architecture and design, the prize was given to architect and urban planner Prof. Adam Mazor of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology; in the field of Earth sciences research and the study of the atmosphere, it was awarded to Prof.Gideon Dagan; for the study of life sciences, the Israel Prize was given to Tel Aviv University Prof. Nathan Nelson; and Prof. Yosef Kaplan was honored in the category of the study of the history of Israel.In addition, Prof. Chava Turniansky of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem won the prize for the study of Jewish languages and literature; Prof. Yoram Bilu was honored in the field of sociology and anthropology; and Prof. Nola Chilton in the performing arts category.The two Israel Prizes for lifetime achievement, which represent a special contribution to Israeli society, were awarded to music scholar Eliyahu Hacohen and late mayor of Ariel, Ron Nachman, whose widow, Dorit Nachman, received the award in his name.