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Bar-Ilan University Online Newsletter
Newsletter No. 5, October 2016

Representing Israel in the Rio Paralympics

Etai ErenlibCompeting in wheelchair tennis at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, BIU alumnus Itai Erenlib and teammate Shraga Weinberg just barely missed out on a bronze medal in the men’s Quad Doubles after falling in a third-set tie-breaker with the British team. 

But the near win itself is a cause for celebration as it attests to Erenlib’s tenacious efforts to overcome a life-changing injury incurred while serving as an IDF officer in the Paratroopers’ Special Forces.

Erenlib was critically wounded in July 2007 during an operational mission in Nablus when his task force was ambushed with a large explosive device. Nearly losing his life, he was seriously injured in one arm and both legs were amputated. “After the injury I had to re-learn how to walk, to breathe, to shower, to be myself. A new battle had begun!” After a year of rehabilitation, he returned to serve in the IDF for five more years while engaging in sports whenever possible.

“Before the injury I played basketball and ran,” relays the Israeli combat vet.  “After the injury I began to swim, and then returned to basketball and running, but about four years ago when I first started playing tennis, I realized that it’s the sport that I like most.”

Etai ErenlibAfter military service, he enrolled at BIU. Erenlib says his injury ignited his desire to pursue a career and figure prominently in Israeli medicine or security. Recently completing a BSc in Life Sciences with honors, he aims to continue his academic training in one of those fields. Reflecting on the challenges of combining academia with grueling sports training, he mentions supportive faculty, including Prof. Shulamit Michaeli, Dean of the Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, and his classmates who helped him keep pace. His graduation ceremony was an exciting moment for him and his close ones who saw him through the difficult times. “I was especially glad to see my mother happy.”

At BIU, Erenlib says he was exposed to rich Jewish content. “As part of Basic Jewish Studies, I took a class on the philosophy of Maimonides, who maintains that one must have balance in life, and that’s a lesson that I apply to my own life.”

Erenlib doesn’t consider his athletics or academics as a special rehabilitation mission; rather the real rehabilitation, he says, is making a conscious decision to get up every morning and get on with life. “From the moment that I decided to be involved in sports and to aspire to compete in the Olympics I began to train intensively and sometimes had to put my studies and work on hold.

“To win a tournament is an amazing experience, but on the way there were many painful losses. A coach once told me: ‘success is to go from failure to failure without losing the enthusiasm.’” However, Itai Erenlib has an additional motivation, “representing Israel in the Olympics is extremely important and that justifies all of the concessions made along the way.”

Also in this issue:

President's Message - Reflections for the New Year »

BIU-YU Summer Science Interns Dig Israel

Taking time out from their intensive BIU lab internships, over two dozen undergrads from YU, Cornell, and other American universities join the Tell es-Safi/Gath dig (directed by BIU's Prof. Aren Maeir) for a day. The science majors enthuse about the seven-week joint BIU-Yeshiva University (YU) program which enables them to engage in cutting edge research while being mentored by top Israeli scientists in nanotechnology, brain research, engineering, life sciences, math, chemistry and psychology.

While honing research skills, they strengthen ties with Israel and become acquainted with creative advancements via field trips to Israel Aerospace Industries, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and the Agriculture Research Organization (Volcani Center).

The program, directed by Prof. Ari Zivotofsky (far left) of BIU's Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, benefits from the generosity of Dr. Mordecai D. Katz, Honorary Chairman of the BIU Board of Trustees, and from the J. Samuel Harwit Z"L and Manya Harwit-Aviv Charitable Trust.

Trailblazing Study into Tourette Syndrome

Internationally recognized for his pioneering research into Tourette syndrome, BIU neurophysiologist Prof. Izhar Bar-Gad has uncovered the mechanism that determines the timing of tics associated with the disorder that affects millions of children and adults, an important step toward understanding and, hopefully, also controlling the involuntary head jerking, rapid blinking, "barking" and even cursing and rib punching, which exacerbate their daily lives.

 read more »

 

BIU Bible Scholar Exposes King David's Elite Commander

After an ancient clay jug found in the biblical Sha'arayim — where David fought Goliath — was painstakingly pieced together, a noted BIU Bible scholar sheds light on the inscription "Eshbaal son of Beda." Prof. Emeritus Moshe Garsiel, an authority on King David's history, believes the mysterious persona was the Sha'arayim fortress commander and co-founder of an elite military unit in the Kingdom of Judah.

 read more »

 

A Wealth of Friendship

The landmark US defense aid package signed in Sept. is an important event for Israel for three reasons, says Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror of BIU's Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. 1) It indicates the depth of the American leadership's commitment to Israel's security, despite differences of opinion between the two countries. 2) It allows the IDF to sustain its multiyear plans to bolster capabilities in every field. 3) It signals to all those plotting against Israel that Israel's friendship with the US remains strong.

 read more »

 

Scholars & Sources:
The Message of the Fast of Gedaliah

What is the significance of the Fast of Gedaliah, which we mark on the day following Rosh Hashana? How is this fast different from the others? Sharing her insights is Dr. Tova Ganzel, Director of the Midrasha at the Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies, which empowers women to play an influential role in the evolving Jewish world.

 read more »

 
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