At its General Assembly meeting held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities elected six distinguished scholars as new members, bringing the Academy's total membership to 158.
The newly elected members are:
- Prof. Alon Gany, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
- Prof. Avner de-Shalit, Department of Political Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Prof. Eva Jablonka, Department of the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University
- Prof. Yigal Schwartz, Department of Hebrew Literature, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
- Prof. Sason Shaik, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Prof. Rotem Sorek, Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science
The new members will be formally inducted during a festive ceremony scheduled for Hanukkah, December 2025.
Prof. David Harel, President of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, welcomed the new members, stating:
"The Israel Academy is honored to welcome six outstanding and exceptional researchers, whose groundbreaking work, both in Israel and globally, spans diverse scientific fields. At a time when academic freedom faces unprecedented challenges from political forces, the inclusion of these new members reinforces our commitment to safeguard the independence of science and research in Israel. Academic freedom is not a luxury—it is a fundamental prerequisite for a thriving academic community and a robust society and state. I am confident that our new members will significantly contribute to the Academy's activities and to the strengthening of Israel's standing in the global scientific community. We are particularly excited about the election of Prof. Sorek, who is the third alumnus of
the Israel Young Academy to ‘transition’ to full membership in the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, underscoring the importance of the Young Academy as a catalyst for developing scientific leadership in Israel."