Was Einstein president of technion university?

Answer 1

Einstein was not president of Israel - Institute of Technology. Einstein was a lifetime supporter of the Technion and began activities to help create the institute before the first classes were initiated. The cornerstone of the Technion was laid in 1912, but it was an ambitious dream with little funding and low hope of success.

The determination of the Jewish movements and the Zionist organizations sustained the dream of an institute of technology in Palestine throughout World War 1.

In 1923, however, the institute was still just a building and a dream. Although it has gained some independence from occupying armies and had some functioning workshops, it had little funding for development.

Albert Einstein came to the Technion to visit and to endorse the vision, and on that occasion planted two palm trees in the court of the historic building in Haifa. He returned to Germany to form and chair the world's first Technion Society - a group of like minded individuals ready to contribute expertise, resources (and sometimes even furniture!) to help make the dream come true. Today, there is a global network of such societies supporting advanced education in Israel.

Einstein's participation in a time of global recession could have been a key factor in ensuring the Technion's survival. One year later in 1924, the first classes commenced and higher education for the first time became alive in the Middle East.

Just for interest, in 2012, Technion is celebrating its cornerstone centennial. It is Israel's first university to reach 100 years! A great (short) video of the history of the Technion can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzilbrH3CcA