israel

Bar-Ilan honors Miriam Adelson

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Dr. Miriam Adelson was presented with an Honorary Doctoral Degree from Israel’s Bar-Ilan University at a gala ceremony on its campus in Ramat Gan on June 4.

The ceremony was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who placed the ceremonial hood around Adelson’s shoulders.

“Dr. Adelson has practiced internal and emergency medicine and has spent the better part of her professional life in research into finding a cure for the disease of drug addiction,” Bar-Ilan President Arie Zaban said. “She founded two highly reputed research centers in this field. Beyond that, she and her husband Sheldon’s momentous humanitarian support for worthwhile projects in Israel make her an ideal candidate to receive this special honor.”

Among the previous recipients of Bar-Ilan University’s highest accolade are Elie Wiesel; Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon and Menachem Begin; and authors Herman Wouk and Cynthia Ozick.

Born in Israel, Adelson grew up in Haifa, where her parents settled after fleeing Poland before the Shoah. She earned a BSc in microbiology and genetics from the Hebrew University and subsequently completed her mandatory military service and received a medical degree with honors from Tel Aviv University.

Specializing in diseases linked to drug use, Adelson established two research centers in Israel and the United States dedicated to fighting addiction. With her husband, she established the Adelson Medical Research Foundation, focused on the prevention of serious diseases. She is the publisher of Israel’s largest circulation daily newspaper, Israel Hayom, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor, in 2018.