Queen to honour Israel’s first female president of a university

The Queen is to honour Israel’s first female president of a university, making Professor Rivka Carmi a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) at Buckingham Palace.

Carmi, a stem-cell scientist whose work has saved hundreds of Bedouin lives, is being honoured for her collaboration with H.E. Matthew Gould, outgoing British Ambassador to Israel, and Oxford don Prof. Raymond Dwek.

“Her leadership and commitment to strengthen science collaboration between our countries has made a huge difference,” said Gould of the Ben-Gurion University president. “Britain is lucky to have her as a friend.”

Together with Gould, Carmi founded the UK Israel Science Council in 2010, promoting cross-border academic work in areas such as cutting-edge stem cell research to tackle some of the world’s most dreadful diseases.

“I am thrilled to accept this honour which recognises the increasing links between the UK and Israel, especially in science,” he said.

In recent months, there has been another huge increase in collaborative projects in medical research, as well as the launch of several student exchange programmes and scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge.