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| Eulogy to Two Technion Leaders |
Henry Taub, 1927-2011
Technion deeply mourns the loss of Henry Taub, an Honorary Chairman of its International Board of Governors, who passed away in New Jersey on March 31, 2011, at the age of 83. President Prof. Peretz Lavie said, “The Technion has lost a beloved friend, a visionary technology pioneer - a giant of his generation.”
Henry Taub, philanthropist and unshakeable friend of Israel and the Technion, left his imprint on every aspect of Technion life and the development of its campus. He served as American Technion Society national president from 1974 to 1976 and chair of the Technion International Board of Governors from 1990 to 2003. He gave inspiring leadership during a time of dramatic expansion and scientific advancement at the university. Henry was recognized with the highest Technion honors during his decades of dedicated leadership: an Honorary Doctorate of Science in Technology in 1983 and the Technion Medal in 1998.
Henry and his wife, Marilyn, spearheaded numerous projects including the Henry and Marilyn Taub and Family Science and Technology Center, a Technion campus landmark and home to its Faculty of Computer Science, considered one of the best in the world; the Leaders in Science and Technology Faculty Recruitment Program; and the Henry and Marilyn Taub Fund for the Future.
A legendary business leader, Taub founded Automatic Data Processing (ADP), a global provider of integrated computing and business outsourcing. He was active in many local and national Jewish and community organizations dedicated to wide-ranging causes, and took leadership roles in several. Taub was a member of the Board of Trustees of New York University. He established the Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation which provides resources for various charitable endeavors including the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital as well as the Taub Urban Research Center at New York University. The Taubs’ three children, Judith, Steven and Ira, continue the Taub Foundation.
Among Henry’s other Israeli interests are the Avi Chai Foundation and the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel.
Justice Moshe Landau, 1912-2011
Technion sadly laments the loss of Moshe Landau, an Honorary Chairman of its International Board of Governors and fifth president of the Supreme Court of Israel, who passed away at home in Jerusalem on May 1, 2011, aged 99. Gen. (res.) Amos Horev, chairman of the Israel Technion Society, describes Justice Landau, Technion’s longest-standing supporter, as the standard bearer of Technion and its Zionist values.
Landau was born in Danzig, Germany (today Gdansk, Poland) in April 1912. In 1933 he graduated cum laude from the University of London School of Law. That year, he immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine. In 1937 he was admitted to the Bar of Palestine and was the youngest ever to be appointed judge-at the age of 28. He served as judge in the Haifa Magistrate’s Court (from 1940) and was appointed to the District Court in 1948.
Moshe Landau was among the leading participants in the administrative reorganization and the writing of a new constitution for the Technion in the 1950s. He gave legal counsel and acted as informal consultant for many Technion presidents.
Justice Landau, whose demise coincided with Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, presided over the trial of Adolph Eichmann 50 years ago. In 1974, he was a member of the Agranat Commission, which investigated Israel’s lapses in the run-up to the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In addition, Landau was a member of the International Court of Justice, and served as chairman of the commission for recognition of “Righteous among the Nations” in Yad Vashem. In 1991, Landau received the Israel Prize for his many contributions to the field of law.
From 1956 to 1962, from 1965 to 1966, and from 1969 to 1971 Landau served as chairman of the Technion’s International Board of Governors. In 1980, he received an honorary doctorate from the Technion, and in 1996 he received the Technion Medal. From 1993 until his death, he was Honorary Chair of the Board.
Justice Landau and Henry Taub enjoyed a close and longstanding friendship. When the establishment of the Leaders in Science and Technology Faculty Recruitment Program in 2002 was made possible by Taub’s magnanimous gift, Henry insisted that the new recruits be named for two of Israel’s most respected public figures: Moshe Landau and Amos Horev. |
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