British PM lauds Israeli science
In recorded greeting in honor of Israeli Science Day, David Cameron says Israeli scientists' work is 'helping humanity in some truly profound ways.'
"I'm delighted to send my warmest wishes from the United Kingdom for Israel's National Science Day," Cameron said. "Israeli science is rightly renowned from the tests for cancer that are being developed to pioneering treatment for liver disease, from helping blind people see through sound to cutting-edge stem cell production.
"The work of your scientists is helping humanity in some truly profound ways," he added.
"The United Kingdom is also proud to be Israel's partner in science. We both have world-class universities, we both have disproportional numbers of Nobel Prize winners for our size, and in so many areas now our scientists are working together – in neuroscience, in nanotechnology, in water technology.
"Our two countries are engaged in some of the most significant projects of our age. So it's a relationship that is flourishing and it's still got room to grow, and in the years to come I want to develop this cooperation for both our mutual benefit.
"My best regards once again, and here's to the future!" the British premier concluded.
65 representatives from around the world
Israeli Science Day events were launched Tuesday evening in a gala event at the Weizmann Institute of Science in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Science, Technology and Space Yaakov Peri, Weizmann Institute President Prof. Daniel Zajfman, ambassadors from around the world and science and business people.
The guest of honor was British Minister of State for Universities and Science David Willetts.
The 65 representatives from around the world included the ambassadors of the European Union, Germany, France, China, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Brazil and the official in charge of the Egyptian Embassy in Israel.
Four Israeli Nobel Prize laureates – Prof. Aaron Ciechanover, Prof. Robert (Israel) Aumann, Prof. Ada Yonath and Prof. Dan Shechtman – took part in a special panel hosted by Science Minister Peri.
"The great attendance of ambassadors from around the world points to Israeli science's prestige and success in the entire world," said Minister Peri. "I believe that science and research are a real bridge connecting between Israel and the countries of Europe and the entire world, and we must continue nurturing it."
