The Mandel Leadership Institute held its annual graduation ceremony on June 17, 2013 at the Israel Museum. The ceremony celebrated the graduations of: cohort 20 of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership; cohort 3 of the Mandel Scholars in Education Program; and cohort 7 of the Mandel IDF Educational Leadership Development Program.
The first to speak at the ceremony was Prof. Jehuda Reinharz, president of the Mandel Foundation, who expressed the great pride of the Mandel community in its new graduates as they embark on their leadership journey into Israel’s educational sphere. Some graduates will join existing entities such as school administrations or involvement in the education ministry, others will create their own educational institutions. The Mandel Foundation, says Reinharz, does not rest on its laurels; in addition to its existing programs it also develops new projects, and builds new bridges and partnerships with different sectors of society, such as the Mandel Leadership Institute in the North and leadership programs in ultra-Orthodox society. Reinharz blessed the graduates with success when they “go out to change the world”.
MK Amram Mitzna, head of the Knesset’s Education Committee, talked about his personal acquaintance with Mr. Mandel, whom he met when he served as Chairman of the Appointed Committee [i.e. temporary mayor] of Yeruham. Mitzna described Mr. Mandel as a modest person with a sharp eye, a prudent businessman and a man with a powerful desire to help others. Mr. Mandel’s leadership capacity was revealed in all its glory, relates Mitzna, when he acquired the Phoenicia Glass Works factory in Yeruham and not only transformed it from a failing enterprise to a profitable one, but made it a business that maintains close contact with the community and that boasts workers who are proud to be a part of it.
Among others who greeted the graduates was Brig. Gen. Avner Paz-Tzuk, the newly appointed IDF Chief Education Officer; Minister of Education Shai Piron, who sent a video greeting, as he was unable to attend the ceremony; and Dalit Stauber, director general of the Ministry of Education and graduate of the Mandel Program for Senior Civil Servants. Stauber noted the importance of the Mandel Graduate Unit as a network of partnerships that helps each of the graduates to fulfill their missions.
In a moving speech, Yehonathan Schiff spoke on behalf of the graduates about the spirit of collaboration and camaraderie that has been a constant in cohort 20 of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership; a spirit that each graduate will be taking with them as they set out to reach for the stars. Dr. Eli Gottlieb, director of MLI, described the studies in the institute as a kind of threshold – a twilight zone between vision and reality – and he blessed the graduates with the wisdom to take this ”threshold spirit” back with them to their individual professional fields (to read more click here).
The last speaker was Mr. Mandel himself, who told the participants that when he established his philanthropic enterprise he only dreamed about changing the world; while today, by virtue of institutions such as MLI, changing the world has become a reality.
In the intervals between greetings, video clips were shown of Mandel graduates describing their experiences at MLI, and their individual projects.
A gallery of pictures from the ceremony can be found here.
Graduation Ceremony Highlights: June 17, 2013
Shai Piron Message Graduation Cohort 20 06 2013 large subs
