Daniel Hershkowitz ( he, דניאל הרשקוביץ; born 2 January 1953 in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, Israel) is an Israeli politician,

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, and

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

. Since 2018, he has headed the . He is

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of mathematics at

the Technion ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, and is also rabbi of the Ahuza neighborhood in

. He was president of

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...

from 2013-17.

Early life

Hershkowitz was born in

. His parents were

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

from

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, and his father was wounded in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Hershkowitz studied at a religious high school, and graduated at age 16. He served for five years in the Intelligence Corps of the Israel Defense Forces, reaching the rank of Major. Hershkowitz earned his BSc in mathematics in 1973, MSc in 1976, and DSc in 1982, all from the

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology ( he, הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל) is a public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion ...

. His

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

studies were conducted at

Mercaz HaRav Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...

; he received his '' Semikha'' (ordination) in 1995 from Rabbis She'ar Yashuv Cohen, Shlomo Chelouche, and Nehemyah Roth, as well as an additional ordination "Rabbi of the City" from the

Chief Rabbinate of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate C ...

(2001).

Academia

He has published over 80 mathematics articles in

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

s. He was President of the ''

International Linear Algebra Society The International Linear Algebra Society (ILAS) is a professional mathematical society organized to promote research and education in linear algebra, matrix theory and matrix computation. It serves the international community through conferences, ...

'' (2002-2008), and was previously a Professor of Mathematics at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

.daniel-h.co.il
In 1982, he was awarded the Landau Research Prize in Mathematics; in 1990, the New England Academic Award for Excellence in Research; in 1990, the Technion's Award for Excellence in Teaching; and in 1991, the Henri Gutwirth Award for Promotion of Research.

Political career

In 2009, he was elected to the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

as the leader of

the Jewish Home The Jewish Home ( he, הַבַּיִת הַיְהוּדִי, HaBayit HaYehudi) is an Orthodox Jewish and religious Zionist political party in Israel. It was originally formed by a merger of the National Religious Party, Moledet, and Tkuma in ...

, and was appointed Minister of Science and Technology after joining

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

.Biography
, borhatorah.org He did not contest the

2013 elections The following elections were occurred in the year 2013. Asia * 2013 Armenian local elections 26 May, 17 November, and 8 December 2013 * 2013 Armenian presidential election 18 February 2013 * 2013 Bangladeshi presidential election 22 April 2013 ...

, and subsequently left the Knesset. Since September 2018, he is the Head of the Civil Service Commission under the office of the Prime Minister of Israel.

Bar-Ilan University

He was president of

from 2013 to 2017, succeeding Moshe Kaveh and followed by Arie Zaban.Board of Trustees Approves Appointment of Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz as Next President of Bar-Ilan University
/ref>

References

External links

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, translit. ''Misrad HaHutz''; ar, وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's ...

Daniel Hershkowitz's homepage
at the Technion Mathematics Department *
Rabbinic homepageBiography
borhatorah.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Hershkowitz, Daniel 1953 births Living people Government ministers of Israel Algebraists Israeli mathematicians Israeli Orthodox rabbis Mercaz HaRav alumni Jewish scientists The Jewish Home leaders Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) People from Haifa Technion – Israel Institute of Technology alumni Technion – Israel Institute of Technology faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Bar-Ilan University faculty Presidents of universities in Israel Israeli people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Electronic Journal of Linear Algebra editors Rabbinic members of the Knesset