Zambia’s CU and Tel Aviv University co-operate in medicine

SUZANNE BELLING

Prof Danny Cohen, dean of the Tel Aviv Medical School; Prof Naison Ngoma, vice-chancellor of the Copperbelt University; Michael Galaun, president of the Zambian Jewish community; and Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, CEO of the African Jewish Congress.

Visiting Israel for the occasion, were Ngoma; Michael Galaun, president of the Zambian Jewish community; Ann Harris, acting president of the African Jewish Congress (AJC); and Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, spiritual leader and CEO of the AJC.

Ngoma told the story of the “news that changed everything”, when Galaun informed him of the planned project and the donation of $1million for the School of Medicine. The building at CU was expected to be completed by the end of October; it has campuses in Kitwe and Ndola.

Ngoma recalled Michael Galaun’s father, Abe, and the generosity of the Galauns and the Jews of Zambia. “Never have I been so moved by what the strength of humanity can do,” he remarked.

He referred to Israel’s achievements “against the odds. Whatever Israel has touched has turned – not to gold – but to green,” he said.

Galaun gave a brief history of the Jews of Zambia. He said Jews first came to Zambia at the turn of the previous century. Numbers grew during the Second World War and the Holocaust, when his father, Abe, settled there.

“At one stage there were 1 200 Jews and seven shuls in the various towns where Jews lived,” Galaun said. “Only about 30 Jews remain today.”

The ethos of the Jewish community of Zambia had always been the mitzvah of giving. Many illustrious people were part of the Jewish community of Zambia in its heyday, including judges, members of parliament, mayors, a Cabinet minister and Dr Stanley Fischer [who is currently vice-chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (US) and prior to that, governor of the Bank of Israel].

Galaun also acknowledged the great efforts of Edwin Wulfsohn, a former Zambian and chairman of Stenham Limited, an international financial services group; and of Dr Aviva Ron, a volunteer planning consultant at Ziv Medical Centre, both of whom were present.

“We recently sold the Lusaka Shul and, as a result, our financial coffers have expanded. We put two and two together – the University of the Copperbelt and Tel Aviv University – in the Faculty of Health because that is where it all begins.

“The CU is relatively young and Israel is on the cutting edge. This [project] is not only bricks and mortar,” he added, saying, students from Israel and Zambia would be involved in an exchange programme to visit each other’s universities.

“I think this is one of the finest days in the history of the Jewish community of Zambia,” Galaun said.

Zambia restored diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992 and there is now a Zambian embassy in Israel.