October 5, 2010


Dear students, colleagues, friends of Israel Gelfand and all who knew or did not know him,

Many of you are probably surprised by this announcement and have questions.
Indeed, Prof. Israel Gelfand was a famous and outstanding mathematician.

  • Why then is this fund for ethical bio-medicine? Why not for mathematics?
  • What is bio-medicine?
  • What is "ethical" bio-medicine?
  • Who or what is PCRM? And why is the fund created at PCRM?
Most likely, the only part that will not raise any questions is "Memorial Fund". But that is what I am going to start with before I answer other questions.
  • Why a Memorial Fund for Israel Gelfand?

Certainly, any fund in his name is something that Israel Gelfand definitely does not need now!

After Israel Gelfand passed away, many people everywhere suddenly started mentioning how kind, caring and always helping to others Israel was. People expressed how much he affected their lives in a positive and transforming way and how grateful they are to him.
Unfortunately, people rarely openly mentioned this to Israel himself.

However, I realized that if so many people indeed valued him as the person that he was, and feel grateful to him, then it would be great to use all this gratitude for "something good for all people", for mankind. What about establishing a Memorial fund or an award devoted to support "good and kind people"? But then, of course, who is a "good" person? Who is going to decide that? Israel was never a judge of anyone, and this is not a proper task for any of us either. Yet, I still felt a deep need to establish something to distinguish Israel as the kind, sensitive and helping others person that he was and not only as a mathematician.

Then PCRM came to my mind.

Who or what is PCRM?

>PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) is a non-profit organization started 25 years ago by a physician and scientist Dr. Neal Barnard with a core belief that science cannot be separated from ethics. Started as a small group, PCRM consists currently of over 100,000 members including about 10,000 supporting doctors from different areas. PCRM is effectively combining two main directions: developing preventive medicine based on nutrition and bringing high ethical standards to advance medicine and science.

Why not create a Fund for Mathematics?

First of all, Israel liked to say that one of the beauties or advantages of mathematics in comparison to other fields of knowledge is that "one does not need anything more than a pen or a pencil (well sharpened) and a piece of paper." In our current times, with the Internet and easy access to any math books and other resources, even the idea behind the Correspondence school which Gelfand organized over 45 years ago is no longer as critical.

The second concern is again selection: who would have to judge and divide students into "possibly good future mathematicians" deserving a financial support or not? Gelfand always believed that any student is talented and can be encouraged to study mathematics, and this is what he was doing throughout his life.

What is bio-medicine?

This is a short way of saying "biology and medicine". We follow Gelfand who did not like to make precise boundaries between different areas of knowledge. For example, he invited to his Biology Seminar in Moscow not only well-known biologists but also a number of doctors from a broad range of specialties.

What is ethical bio-medicine?

Ethics is one of the humanitarian values. According to Gelfand's sayings related to the ideas expressed him in his Kyoto lecture, those have yet to be defined by mankind.

We all know deep inside when ethics is being violated!

In the context of research in biology and medicine, based on "First do no harm" principle, ethical means without harming and killing animals. Ethical research in biology is what Gelfand referred to as "doing biology first and foremost with clean hands."

Why is the fund in memory of Gelfand created at PCRM?

When I thought about establishing a fund in memory of Gelfand it became clear to me that there are many parallels between PCRM, their work and Gelfand. PCRM was established on the same principals that were important to Gelfand, and they both share many similarities in the style.

Israel and I have been supporting the work of PCRM for over 13 years. We often talked about PCRM and discussed what made them stand out among other similar organizations, such as:

  • their core beliefs of connecting science, medicine and ethics in research and education,
  • their passion for teaching and helping people,
  • globality of their goals of developing a preventive medicine based on research and studies obtained from the human populations,
  • a broad range of areas in which they achieve results,
  • their commitment to base their work on strict scientific facts and data,
  • as well as their style of combining efficiency and clarity.

Based on Gelfand's support of PCRM and on the similarities I perceive in their core beliefs, attitudes and even style, I decided that a fund in memory of Gelfand at PCRM would be fitting and appropriate. This is why I have established the Israel Gelfand Memorial fund to support PCRM's work related to ethical research and ethical education in biology and medicine in the years to come.

A deep idea behind this Fund is to follow Israel Gelfand in his life long devotion to helping people. Maybe giving without a direct benefit for oneself can become a step in developing what Israel called an adequate language for humanitarian values?

I would be very grateful to all of you who would like to support my "crazy idea" with your gift to PCRM (see details below).

If you cannot make a gift in memory of Gelfand but still support this idea of the Gelfand Memorial fund I would be glad to know about your support from your message.

Sincerely,
Tatiana V. Gelfand



To make a gift in memory of Israel Gelfand, please, write a check

To: The PCRM Foundation,
with the memo "Gelfand Memorial Fund",
and mail it to:

PCRM
5100 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20016

For questions or credit card gifts contact:

Nikki Bollaert at PCRM
(202) 686-2100, ext. 363
nbollaert <at> pcrm.org

All donations to Gelfand Memorial Fund will be restricted to purposes that fall within PCRM's mission related to ethical research and ethical education in biology and medicine.