They shattered the glass ceiling
Three outstanding women sat on a panel at the Sydney Jewish Museum quizzed by another woman who has reached the top of the tree in her field of endeavor.
Prof. Mona Khoury-Kassabri, Camilla Freeman-Topper, Margaret Stone and Gillian Segal
The evening was a fund-raising event hosted by the Australian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem MC’d by its CEO Rob Schneider who said the university had a tradition of innovation.
A video showed the remarkable research projects using innovative methods especially in medicine.
Federal president Michael Dunkel told the audience: “As you have seen in the video, the Hebrew University continues to excel in various fields not least of which in the field of medicine, but this excellence comes at a price.
The benefits of our medical breakthroughs are not just felt in Israel but indeed throughout the world. To quote Hebrew University Professor Howard Cedar, who himself has made ground-breaking contributions to medical science in epigenetics and through the discovery of DNA methylation deciphering and its role in biology and medicine – ‘Scientists in Israel, especially those in medicine, are driven by the desire to benefit humankind. This desire is derived from Jewish precepts, and is embodied in the culture”
He added: “You will also be pleased to know that Hebrew University researchers have discovered a way of mimicking human physiology on a chip so that ethical experimentation can be done on a chip instead of on an animal.”
He emphasised that The Hebrew University depends on its friends around the world to assist the funding of the university’s innovative projects.
Answering the questions posed by businesswoman and director of major companies as being the vice-president of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry Gillian Segal were:
Professor Mona Khoury Kassabri, the Dean of Social Work Faculty at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the first Arab woman to have been appointed a Dean at any Israel university. She is an expert in cyberbullying.
Margaret Stone is a former judge of the Australian Federal Court and currently is the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security.
Camilla Freeman-Topper is an internationally well-known fashion designer and co-founder of manufacturer and retailer Camilla and Marc.
They dealt with issues such as ambition,
Camilla Freeman-Topper told the 150 attending the fund-raising event that she was very ambitious and “still am”.
Mona Khoury Kassabri was brought up in an underprivileged Arab suburb in Haifa. She recollected as being very young when the dream of becoming a dean was powered by ambition.
Margaret Stone recalled how her ambition at any given time was that whatever she was doing she would “do it well. She said the “everybody has good luck and everybody has some bad luck.” She said if you do what doing well and you succeed “that’s not good luck – it’s good management.”
The panel believed you still need a little luck and they made mention of how important it is to have good mentors as you travel down the road of ambition.
Gillian asked Margaret Stone about what is being done to keep communities safe from terrorists.. She answered: “This is a very serious subject. Communications between terrorists are not through the Internet. Encryption has made the whole business of spying so much more difficult.”
Professor Mona Khoury Kassabri spoke about cyberbullying and told the audience thar research shows that traditional bullying is still the more serious issue in terms of occurrences.
Camilla Freeman-Topper said that a new season is tantamount being a new business and “you are only as good as your last season.”
Guests showed their appreciation of a function which showed its own innovative approach in entertaining its patrons.
Photos: Nadine Saacks
