An Israel Prize for a TAU Philosophy Star
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

TAU emeritus Prof. Michael Schwarz wins Israel's top award

Prof. Michael Schwarz, Professor Emeritus in Jewish Philosophy at Tel Aviv University, will receive the 2011 Israel Prize, Israel's most distinguished national honor, at a state ceremony in Jerusalem this May. The prize is awarded by the Israeli Ministry of Education.

Prof. Schwarz is an internationally acclaimed expert on medieval Jewish and Muslim philosophy.

Prof. Schwarz's award brings the university's total to 72 since the 1953 inception of the award, including Prof. Yosef Shiloh and Prof. Noam Sheriff, who are among this year's other recipients.

Prof. Schwarz will receive the prize in the presence of Israeli President Shimon Peres, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a host of other government dignitaries. Award recipients, who must be Israeli citizens, can be individuals or groups that have demonstrated excellence or broken ground in a certain field. The Israel Award is given each year on the eve of the Israeli Day of Independence.

A masterwork of translation

The Israel Prize committee especially noted Prof. Schwarz's annotated translation of philosopher Moses Maimonides' 12th-century treatise Guide to the Perplexed. This outstanding effort, the committee said, made Maimonides' work accessible to the general public while benefiting the scholarly community.

Prof. Schwarz began his studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1971, he was appointed Senior Lecturer at the University of Haifa, and in the same year he joined the faculty of Tel Aviv University part-time.

Prof. Schwarz took a full-time position at Tel Aviv University in 1974, dividing his efforts between the Department of Hebrew Langauge and Literature and the Department of Jewish Philosophy. In 1978, he was promoted to Associate Professor, and he received a full professorship in 1997.

For more Tel Aviv University news, click here.

Keep up with the latest AFTAU news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AFTAUnews.