The Woodman-Scheller Israel Studies International Program was dedicated in a moving ceremony during the 46th Board of Governors Meeting last week. The Board gathered in Sede Boqer to mark the generous leadership of Wayne Woodman and Lisa Scheller, and Lisa’s parents, Roberta and Ernie Scheller Jr.
As President Prof. Rivka Carmi noted, “It is here that the quintessential program for the study of Israel began. And it is here that program has, over time, evolved beyond its original mandate - to serve as a gathering point for outstanding young Israeli scholars – to become a worldwide center for Israel Studies; a home for what will be known from this morning on as the Woodman-Scheller Israel Studies International Program.
“Wayne has visited the University on his own or in the company of friends and colleagues each year, serving as a guest lecturer to graduate students in Israel Studies,” said Prof. Carmi, “He has also brought influential guests on several occasions; helping to broaden exposure to the University and providing us with access to great minds and insights about broader political dynamics.”
“A leading member of the AABGU Board, Wayne became a staunch advocate for the work of this Institute and for the development of the Israel Studies International Program. A year-and-a-half ago, he and Lisa committed the core funding required to place the program on a firm and secure foundation for years to come. They did so on condition that AABGU undertake an effort to provide matching funds, leveraging the Woodman-Scheller leadership pledge. Since that time, more than 260 other contributors have joined them in their commitment, bringing us together today,” she explained.
Turning to Wayne and Lisa’s other great initiative, “His vision for engaging younger people with the pioneering work of the University became the Zin Fellows Leadership Program, which he and Lisa brought to life nearly 5 years ago, and from which has sprung a growing tide of new leadership,” Prof. Carmi noted.
Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism Director Dr. Paula Kabalo praised Wayne as the good friend needed to create a new enterprise. “As David Ben-Gurion himself knew very well – it takes more than a vision to fulfill it… one needs to plan, act proactively, at times insist and even struggle – but the most important thing one needs in order to create a new enterprise is a good friend – someone that will share the vision and will be willing to invest in it – thus declaring uncompromising trust in a shared goal –
“I have never met someone that embodies these characteristics more than Wayne Woodman - the Institute's best-friend and natural partner,” Dr. Kabalo said before inviting Wayne Woodman to address the packed auditorium.
Wayne Woodman spoke from the heart about the need he sees for the Israel Studies International Program.
“My parents emigrated to America in the spring of 1940 as the Nazis conquered France. As new arrivals, Mom and Dad wanted the very best education for me and sent me to 13 years of Episcopal boys’ prep schools; one of a handful of Jewish kids amongst a swarm of WASPS. I was called a Christ killer, a kike and a dirty Jew on more occasions than I’d like to remember. A generation later, my children have never experienced anti-Semitism. And while that’s progress it has also weakened their ability to detect the presence and threat of this undying evil.
“Anti-Semitism is on the rise,” he warned, “It is on the rise in ways unseen since the 1930s.We still say "Never Forget" but despite the rush of distressing events and the creeping insinuations emanating from academic and political leaders, we tell ourselves it’s not quite time to remember; not yet, not here.
“Perhaps non-Jews think that the growth of anti-Semitism does not apply to them--we Jews may be first in line but we are never last. We are the canary in the coal mine when evil poisons the atmosphere of freedom and tolerance,” he declared.
“Our gift will fund the advanced education of students from around the world; students who will return to their home countries armed with a depth of knowledge to speak accurately and factually on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people against growing opposition within universities and government institutions,” he said of the real world need for those with an Israel Studies background.
He also shared his moment of epiphany. “There are many stories about first visit epiphanies at the Western Wall but mine came in a former bomb shelter in Sede Boqer. It is home to the academic archive of David Ben-Gurion. As Paula translated some Ben Gurion correspondence, I looked around the room filled with thousands of documents written by this great man and felt like I was inside his head, like I could feel his presence.
“That moment lives with me and enlivens my zeal for his cause,” Woodman declared. BGU and the Negev are intertwined, inseparable,” he continued. “It is the last region of Israel still in its pioneering stages. BGU is the manifestation of Ben-Gurion's vision. It is the school where ordinary kids go to gain the expertise, the mindset and the will to transform both their lives and their country. It is unlikely that any one of us will be remembered like Ben-Gurion, as a providential leader. However, collectively, we can act on his behalf and on behalf of his vision.
Turning to his fellow Board members, he urged them to examine their priorities. “Each of us has made a financial commitment to BGU. For some of us, it was generous; for others, sacrificial; for all commendable. Yet, commendable is not enough. We must each do what, for most of us, is uncomfortable. We must engage in a discussion within our communities; a discussion about how our choices from the voting booth to the synagogue and from our alumni support to our charitable giving align with the ongoing interests of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. We must tune our actions until they resonate with the music of our hearts, the song of Zion.
“Speaking as the son of ordinary parents who came to America to ensure extraordinary opportunities for their children, I want to thank you all for this great honor and supporting this remarkable school and the Institute,” he concluded to a standing ovation.
“We can already see the results,” Dr. Kabalo declared, “The students who have graduated from this program are all over the place – globally: working for their governments, the civil society arena and in the media. Some are pursuing a PhD in order to become scholars of Israel and teach Israel Studies all over the world.
“In 1963, David Ben-Gurion stood not far from here and declared he was establishing a Hebrew Oxford and a Modern Yavne in the Negev. Most of you might agree with me when I'll claim that the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research reflected the Oxford goal while the Ben-Gurion Research Institute took the Jewish peoplehood based task – to be the Modern Yavne. But we should bear in mind that the ancient center of Yavne also had its students – the young generation that arose out of this school of thought and built centers for Judaic scholarship and practice all over the world. Following that model – I'll dare to say that it is only today – thanks to the trust and partnership of the Woodman-Scheller gift that we are fully fulfilling and ensuring David Ben-Gurion’s comprehensive vision for this place – a place dedicated to the dissemination of a universal and global Israel studies wisdom – we can now go back to him and say – one more mission has been accomplished,” Kabalo concluded.
