A Tale of Two Mounts: The History of Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Abstract

This is the story of the establishment of the Hebrew University (HU), and within it, the sub‐story of the first school of chemistry in the Land of Israel, from 1923. It spans more than 100 years, from the publication of the pamphlet, Eine Jüdische Hochschule, in 1902, all the way to 2015. The story starts with a dream, almost in the realm of science fiction, the audacious vision of building a university in a stateless and impoverished region, and all the way to an Institute of Chemistry of HU that has served as the mother of chemistry in the State of Israel.

The 85th Annual Meeting of the Israel Chemical Society: February 18–19, 2020, The International Convention Center, Jerusalem, Israel

“…Continuing the historical remarks made by Shlomo, the decade of 1923-1933 was a heroic period for chemistry in the British Mandate of Palestine, when the Jewish population did not exceed 100,000 people. [1] Those days saw the establishment of the Technion, The Hebrew University (Figure 3), the Weizmann Institute and the Israel Chemical Society. It is amazing that since the establishment of the ICS, we kept holding our Annual Meetings regularly, although many things have happened in the world and in Israel during the past 87 years.…”

“…selectivity (3) "cycloscan" that include the design and synthesis of backbone cyclic peptide libraries with conformational diversity, and the selection of lead compound with drug-like properties (4) "Lipophilic Prodrug Charge Masking" (LPCM) that confer oral bioavailability on the selected leads. The use of these technologies was demonstrated in two cases: (1) development of an orally available N-methylated RGD containing cyclohexapeptide that selectively inhibit Integrin αVβ3. This compound was used as an adjuvant for "Vascular Promoting Chemotherapy" of resister cancers such as LLC and pancreatic cancer.…”

The Lise Meitner‐Minerva Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry: 18 Years of Israeli‐German Collaboration

“…Naming Minerva Centers is also a story that deserves a separate telling. Traditionally, Minerva centers in Israel have been named after Jewish scientists who were persecuted during the reign of the Nazi regime 2. After a discussion during the 1996 WATOC Meeting in Jerusalem, on names like Schrödinger and Born, who were founding fathers of quantum mechanics, some difficulties became apparent.…”

Collaborations between Israel and Germany in Chemistry and the Other Sciences – a Sign of Normalization?

“…[10a] Yet, despite the difficult conditions,i np articular,alack of resources,s cience in Israel began to flourish in the 1940s and 1950s in some fields,e specially chemistry( see,f or example,R ef. [ 11]).…”