I feel fortunate, honored and deeply moved to be part of this reunion of the graduates of the magnificent Alliance and Shamash.
Like many of you, I carry memories of our years in these remarkable institutions. Some are happy, some are funny, some are moving, and some are not so happy.
But my fondest memories of the school are intertwined with the love and affection I have in my heart for the Babylonian Jewish community, a community which against all odds chose to put its bets on its children and dedicate much of its resources for their education. To that remarkable community I owe a great debt of gratitude.
I never ceased to marvel at the resolve of that community to provide the opportunity for prominence to those who lacked the financial means to make it on their own, so long as they were willing to apply themselves. It was there that I learned that financial need does not have to be an impediment to achievement. It was that same principle that gave me the courage to apply to graduate school when, in fact, I lacked the financial resources to pay for it.
When I was admitted to Harvard University for graduate work, I was the first graduate from any college in Israel who broke the barrier to Harvard. But it was not my college education at Tel Aviv University that did it. The spark came from way back, from the Alliance.
I am a product of the Alliance, I said to myself, I did not have the money to pay for my tuition fees of Harvard, but I was not daunted. Ability to pay was never an issue at the Alliance. It was the crucible of the Alliance that we went through at a much younger age that stood by my side throughout. I harked back to it and always came out reassured.
I will remain eternally grateful to that magnificent institution, to the dedicated men and women who ran it, and to the principles it instilled in us.
I see in the Babylonian Heritage Center an outgrowth of the pioneering spirit of the Alliance and Shamash. My friends! Let's carry forward the traditions of the benefactors of our schools. Let us, the graduates of Shamash and Alliance, be the group that takes the Babylonian Heritage Center under its wing and ensures its continued and flourishing existence.
I have a vision that this Center, supported by us, our children and our children's children, can be made to become a great center of learning where courses, lectures, seminars on the Jewish Babylonian traditions, heritage and history are offered on a daily basis, just as they are offered in other institutions of higher learning. The Alliance and Shamash were the primary and the secondary schools. It is up to us to create the university.
It has been 45 years since we left. My sister, Nava Hakeni, has lovingly organized several reunions, in the interim, for the graduates of our school. I was not able to attend any one of them and I never thought that we would live to see the day when so many of us would get together again. But here we are! Sadly, many of our classmates are no longer with us, but we are here. Some of us have come from as far away as Australia. I welcome you all, and I feel it is truly fitting for us to launch this celebration with the recitation of the "Sheheyanu" for this precious moment. We give thanks to Providence for having kept us alive, sustained us and brought us to this beautiful occasion.