The Concord International Humanitarian Legal Conference Has Been Adjourned
Prof. Frances Raday
A two-day international conference took place on the College of Management Academic Studies campus in Rishon LeZion, and was sponsored by the Swiss ambassador to Israel. The conference marked 60 years since the signing of the Geneva Convention.
During the conference, central figures in the fields of international courts and human rights gave fascinating lectures, including: Prof. Frances Raday, Chairperson of the Concord Center for the Integration of the International Court in Israel; Prof. Aharon Barak, the former President of the Supreme Court; Mr. Tony Parmar, the Chief Editor of the International Red Cross Magazine; Prof. Yoav Peled of Tel Aviv University; Prof. Eyal Benvenisti of Tel Aviv University; Prof. Ruti Teitel from New York University; Prof. Alberto Costi from the University of Wellington; Marco Milanovich from Cambridge University; Andrea Breslin from the National University of Ireland, Galway; Prof. Robert House from New York University; Ingo Venzke from the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg; Prof. Orna Ben Naftali; and others.
The subjects discussed included the changes in international humanitarian law over the last 150 years, Israeli law and the Geneva Convention, international humanitarian law and modern conflicts, power restrictions, war crimes, international humanitarian law enforcement, economic sanctions, and more.
Agam Painting Sold at Sotheby's for $326,500
The painting "4 Themes Contrepoint" by the Israeli artist Yaakov Agam, who received an honorary degree from COMAS in 2009, was sold at public auction by Sotheby's, New York, for $326,500 – a record price for a painting by a living Israeli artist.
Before the public auction, in which many Israeli and American collectors participated, it was believed that the painting would only reach a price of $70,000. The record amount paid for any work by an Israeli artist was for the painting "Safed in the Galilee" by the late Reuven Rubin.
The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, with the artist Yaakov Agam during Hanukkah in Manhattan.
A Victory for the Patients' Rights Clinic:
The Ministry of Health Forces "Clalit" to Fund an Advanced Test – Operation Averted
Setting a precedent, the Ministry of Health has ordered Clalit to fund an advanced test for a 70-year-old woman, "Y". The advanced double-balloon enteroscopy enabled doctors to diagnose and remove a polyp from her small intestine. Clalit had previously denied "Y" the procedure, which is not included in the government's list of approved procedures, and sent her to undergo a full operation instead. The patient went to Mazor Center at the COMAS law school, a clinic which deals with patient rights. Her complaint was handled, and legal and medical inquiries were made. The chairperson of Mazor is Dr. Nili Karkur-Eyal.
Rishon LeZion High School Students Study in the COMAS Legal Dept.
A new class of 15-year-old students from 10th Grade at Yigal Allon High School in Rishon LeZion joined the unique study program run by the COMAS law school. The program was developed by the lawyers Adi Niv-Yeguda and Galit Bronstein, who are both lecturers in the department. The program enables 30 students to study legal basics such as contract law, constitutional law, penal law, mediation, and arbitration.
In Brief:
Carmela Jacobi-Volk has been appointed Head of the Interior Design Department .
- Prof. Dahlia Moore has been appointed Head of the Behavioral Sciences Department .
- Shimon Amsalem, the basketball star who previously played for Hapoel Tel Aviv, is now the coordinator of sports activities at COMAS. Shimon recently participated in the popular TV show Dancing with the Stars, and gained the majority of his support from the students at the college as well as sports fans.
The Design Dept.'s Festive Lighting Event Shown in the Central Square
During the lighting architectural studies course, part of the 4th year of the interior design course, a unique light event was shown before a student audience for the Hanukkah holiday. The architectural lighting showcase was combined with the lighting of six candles in the central square of the COMAS campus in Rishon LeZion. The showcase, which was designed and constructed by the students under the supervision of lighting designer Ailon Gavish, incorporated architectural lighting solutions from the perspective of observation, communication of messages, and branding. The students were asked to create a lighting concept within the college grounds – a micro-urban environment including developed areas, facades, structures, and everything that lies between. The students expressed their ideas through all of the senses – vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell – which were depicted through different intensities of light.