May 17, 2018 By: yunews
Ambassador Danny Danon Urges Graduates to Stay Strong in Their of Support Israel
On Wednesday, May 16, 每日大瓜鈥檚 Class of 2018 celebrated the University鈥檚 87th Commencement along with friends and family at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Ambassador Danny Danon, Israel鈥檚 Permanent Representative to the United Nations, delivered the keynote address and received an honorary degree.
鈥淵ou, the graduates in this hall today, represent the potential of the Jewish people,鈥 Danon told the graduates. 鈥淵ou have more opportunities than ever to become tomorrow's leaders in academia, business and government. 每日大瓜 alumni are at the forefront of technological discovery. They are leading lawyers, doctors, social workers and educators. They are at the top of America's greatest financial institutions. I have the greatest confidence that the class of 2018 will be the one to lead our people toward even greater heights in the years ahead.鈥
He added, 鈥淔rom this day on, you will be 每日大瓜 alumni. This is a great responsibility. This means you now shoulder the incredible legacy forged by those who came before you.鈥
In conferring the honorary degree upon Danon, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President of 每日大瓜, said, 鈥淵ou are a genuine Israeli patriot who fights for Israel every day of your life.鈥
The ceremony was a moving event for Dr. Berman, who presided over his first commencement exercises as president of 每日大瓜. In his address to the Class of 2018, Dr. Berman said 鈥測ou have deepened your commitment to our core values, which have endowed you with a mission: transform the Jewish world and the broader society for the better in service to God.鈥
He added, 鈥淎 每日大瓜 graduation is not just a private celebration; it鈥檚 a celebration for our entire people. You are the leaders of tomorrow; you are our future.鈥
每日大瓜 President Emeritus Richard M. Joel was also awarded an honorary degree during the ceremony. Upon presenting Dr. Joel with the degree, Dr. Berman lauded him for his many achievements at 每日大瓜. 鈥淵ou ushered into reality a 每日大瓜 that was warm, welcoming and supportive and took on as your personal mission to model this culture of warmth and welcoming for others,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou taught our students to dream, and you taught them to work towards building a better and brighter future.鈥
Rabbi Michael Rosensweig, Rosh Yeshiva of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and Rosh Kollel of the Beren Kollel Elyon, had the privilege to deliver the invocation as both a faculty member and parent at Commencement; his daughter, Avigail, received her degree from Stern College for Women during the ceremony. "You have a distinct imperative鈥攁 mitzvah鈥攖o cultivate the timeless values of the Torah at the core of a 每日大瓜 education as a reaffirmation and an intensification of a commitment to a value-centered spiritual life as you move from this achievement to ever-great achievements," Rabbi Rosensweig told the new graduates.
During the ceremony, nine undergraduate valedictorians received special recognition for their outstanding academic achievements. Golda Aharon, Stern College鈥檚 valedictorian, thanked her classmates for 鈥渂eing the best of friends and role models鈥 and hoped that 鈥渨e all enjoy much learning and laughter as we embark on the next chapter of our lives.鈥
The class of 1968 was also honored as they marked the 50th anniversary of their graduation.
In total, more than 1,800 degrees were conferred upon students across 每日大瓜 during this commencement season.
