2009 Honorary Doctorate Recipients

Lord David Alliance

Lord David Alliance is a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist in the UK. Born in Iran, he moved to England when he was 17. He was the founder of Coats Viyella, a successful manufacturing firm operating in 67 countries, is Chairman and main shareholder of a direct mail order company, and has businesses in finance and property. He received a CBE in 1984, a knighthood in 1989 and a life peerage in 2004. Lord Alliance has served on numerous public committees and operates the Alliance Family Foundation, which was established to help the needy and advance knowledge of religion, education and medicine. He holds a number of honorary degrees: a Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa from the University of Manchester and from the University of Liverpool, and a Doctor of Science from Heriot-Watt University. He holds an Honorary Fellowship Honoris Causa from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, an Honorary Fellowship of the Shenkar College of Textile Technology & Fashion, and Fellowships from the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce and from the City and Guilds of London Institute.

Gila Almagor 

Israel Prize laureate Gila Almagor is one of Israel’s most celebrated actresses, authors, screenwriters and media personalities. In 1963, she went to study at the Lee Strasberg Acting School in New York, and immediately upon her return to Israel embarked upon her professional career as an actress. Almagor has played over fifty major film roles and dozens on the Israeli stage in a broad variety of genres. She has also engaged extensively in charitable causes. She was a founder of the Israeli Union of Performing Artists and has chaired, among other organizations, the Tel Aviv branch of the Israel Cancer Association and the Israeli division of the International Association of Theater for Children and Young People. Her voluntary work has been recognized through various awards, among them the President’s Merit Award for Volunteers.

Miriam Ben-Porat 

Miriam Ben-Porat is one of Israel’s most prominent judges. In 1977 she became the first woman to serve on the Israeli Supreme Court, eventually rising to the role of deputy president. At the same time, she served as a professor of law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she taught and published a number of articles and books that are today canons of Israeli law. After completing her term at the Supreme Court, Ben-Porat was elected by the Knesset as State Comptroller, a role she filled with much success for ten years. She was awarded the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement as a testament to her contribution to the State. She continues to engage in research and teaching today.

Manfred Bietak