June 25, 2008 / 22 Sivan 5768

Above: Arkady Kovelman (prize recipient); Zev Bielski (Chairman of the the Jewish Agency for Israel); ); and Judith Bokser-Liwerant (prize recipiuent), at the ceremony for the Max M. Fisher Prize for Jewish Education in the Diaspora.

Above: Arkady Kovelman (prize recipient); Zev Bielski (Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel); Miriam Barkai (Executive Director of the L.A. Pincus Fund for Jewish Eduation in the Diaspora); Julia Koschitzky (Chairman of the Pincus Fund); and Judith Bokser-Liwerant (prize recipiuent), at the ceremony for the Max M. Fisher Prize for Jewish Education in the Diaspora.

Below: Arkady Kovelman (prize recipient); Julia Koschitzky (Chairman of the L.A. Pincus Fund for Jewish Educationin the Diaspora); and Judith Bokser-Liwerant (prize recipiuent), at the ceremony for the Max M. Fisher Prize for Jewish Education in the Diaspora.

The Max M. Fisher Prize was established in 1999, by the Board of the L. A. Pincus Fund for Jewish Education in the Diaspora, to recognize Mr. Fisher’s leading role in promoting the advancement of Jewish education. Mr. Fisher z"l served as Chairman of the Pincus Fund from its establishment in 1977, until his death in 2005. The prize is awarded to educators who have made outstanding contributions to Jewish education in their communities.

The L.A. Pincus Fund for Jewish Education in the Diaspora, based in Jerusalem, works to raise standards and promote excellence in Jewish education. It supports new and innovative educational projects which respond to the changing needs of Jewish communities in the Diaspora. The Fund supports projects in all areas of Jewish education, and for all age groups. Projects are initiated and implemented by local communities.

Professor Judith Bokser-Liwerant holds a PhD in Political Science. Her academic work has reflected the convergence of scholarly fields related to contemporary Jewry and political and cultural sociology. She played a key role in designing the first academic Jewish Studies courses to be taught in Mexico, which developed into the first comprehensive university Jewish Studies program in the region. She served as Coordinator of this program from 1982-1995.

Since 1996, she has served as Director of the Graduate School in Social and Political Sciences at the National Autonomous University in Mexico. In 2003, she assumed the post of Director of the Academic Committee of the Universidad Hebraica, which has become the main center for training professionals for the Jewish education system in Mexico. Professor Bokser-Liwerant has authored and edited 10 books and more than 100 articles.

Dr. Arkady Kovelman has been active in Jewish education since the late 1980's, when it became possible to publicly deliver lectures on Jewish subjects in the FSU. In 1991, he participated in establishing the Jewish University of Moscow, which he has served both as Vice-Rector and as Rector. Since 1998, he has served as Director of the Center for Jewish Studies and Jewish Civilization at Moscow State University, one of Russia's most prestigious universities. With Pincus Fund support, Dr. Kovelman has implemented a program at Moscow State University to train Jewish educators for the FSU. He also has initiated an informal education network for high school students in the FSU.

Dr. Kovelman is author of a book and of many scholarly articles on ancient Greco-Roman Egypt. He has published two books and numerous articles about Jewish Sages and the Aggadah.