The Yehiel Ben-Zvi Visitors Pavilion

The Yehiel Ben-Zvi Visitors Pavilion was launched during this year’s Board of Governors meeting. To be located in the Pouran and Parviz Izak Nazarian Building, the cornerstone for which was also laid in the framework of the Board, the Ben-Zvi Pavilion will serve as an attractive and welcoming entrance for all visitors to the University campus – diplomatic and foreign delegations, visiting academics, TAU board members and friends, school groups and many more. (Click here for gallery.)

The Pavilion will perpetuate the legacy of Tel Aviv University’s beloved Vice President, the late Yehiel Ben-Zvi, who passed away in 2010. Known affectionately as “Mr. Tel Aviv University,” Yehiel (pictured left) raised hundreds of millions of dollars and built up a network of lifetime friends and supporters for the University over 36 years of dedicated service. In commemoration of Yehiel’s role in raising the standing of Tel Aviv University in Israel and worldwide, and in celebration of his warmhearted and charismatic approach to developing the University, TAU joined forces with the Ben-Zvi family and other generous donors in creating the Pavilion.

“With this pavilion, I feel my father’s legacy will be continued,” said Daniel Ben-Zvi (pictured below right) at the inauguration ceremony, who was accompanied by his sister, Orly Keren-Weisberg. “It’s a great honor, and my father would have been very proud to be associated with this project.”

He went on to thank all the donors to the project: Karl-Heinz and Hannelore Kipp, Bela Gerstel, David Birene, Hanna and Shalom Blustein, Dina Ettinger and Tamar Rudich, Aviva Felber, Francois Heilbronn, Georg Katcz, Woolf and Helene Marmot, David and Shoshana Rabinovici, Loni Silleran Moos, and both the German and Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University.

Yehiel’s life partner, Bela Gerstel, said of the new Pavilion: “Yehiel believed in Tel Aviv University’s leading role in Israel. He was sure that if he could bring people to visit the campus and meet its faculty and students, they would be convinced of the same. This new initiative in his name is therefore both timely and vital.”

Born in Poland in 1931, Yehiel immigrated to Israel as a child. He was a career soldier in the IDF from 1948 to 1972, serving his final tour of duty as Deputy Military Governor of the Gaza Strip and Northern Sinai before retiring with the rank of Colonel. He founded TAU’s Public Affairs Division in 1972 and was appointed Vice President for Public Affairs in 1980, a role in which he served until 2007. He subsequently served as the TAU Vice President until his passing three years later.

The Ben-Zvi Pavilion will offer visitor facilities including a gallery for exhibitions that showcase the history of Tel Aviv University and its research achievements, as well as a 120-seat hall.