The German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF), based in Jerusalem, will be headed by Verena Shifferman from 1 February 2025.
The German-Israeli Board of Trustees of the GIF unanimously appointed her as GIF Director. This is the first time that the GIF has been headed by a German civil servant. Ms Shifferman succeeds Dr Eric Zimmerman, who has held the position since 2020.
Claudia Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, comments:
‘I very much welcome the fact that in Verena Shifferman we have succeeded in identifying a candidate who is equally supported by both the Israeli and German members of the Board of Trustees. I wish her all the best in her new role.’
Background:
GIF has been a beacon of scientific cooperation between Israel and Germany since 1986. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Israeli Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology (MOST) provided GIF with an endowment capital of 204 million euros. Among other activities, GIF has so far supported more than 2,000 German-Israeli projects and sponsored 16 Nobel Prize winners.
Source: BMBF (in German)