In a bid to woo some of Israel's brightest scholars back from around the world, and with aspirations of beautifying Jerusalem, one generous couple will build an institute dedicated to nurturing post-doctoral fellows' research and personal success.
Dr. Leonard Polonsky and wife Dr. Georgette Bennett have pledged $50 million dollars to the new Polonsky Academy for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences, which will be located next door to the official residence of the President of Israel and the Jerusalem Theater.
About half of the money will be used to erect a well-equipped new building on the grounds of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. The rest will fund an endowment for 30 outstanding post-doctoral students from Israel and around the world. Each will be provided with a fellowship worth $200,000 for up to five years ($40,000 a year). The generous stipend – over 1.5 times the average Israeli salary – will make it possible for the scholars to be totally focused and undisturbed in their research while improving their own academic standings and finding work at Israeli universities. It will also ensure that future leaders in various academic and intellectual fields will stay in Israel, rather than being enticed out of country.
On May 30, President Shimon Peres and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat took part in festivities and a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the new academy. The building is expected to be completed in 2013.
Seven of the fellows have already been chosen, according to a press release issued by project organizers. They include Dr. Michal Raz, who is focusing on deficiencies in medical care, and Dr. Salman Bashir, a Druze scholar studying mysticism.