It is always a cause for celebration whenever a member of the ISET community – be they student or faculty – achieves new success, but this month has borne witness to some unprecedented good news. Professor Daniel Levy, who has visited ISET as a visiting professor every year since 2011 and is one of the institute's most loyal friends, has been elected as the 26th President of the Israeli Economics Association. It is only regrettable that Daniel is not able to visit ISET this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the community is unable to congratulate him in person. It is a testament to Daniel's tireless work ethic that he is taking on his new responsibilities since he is retaining his positions as the William Gittes Chair in Economics at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, as well as his Visiting Professorships at ISET and Atlanta's Emory University, and his Senior Research Fellowship at the Rimini Center for Economic Analysis.
Although a citizen of Israel, Daniel is no stranger to Georgia; he was, in fact, born here during the time of the Soviet Union, and his original name was Davit Leviashvili. Like many Jewish people across the USSR, Daniel and his family moved to Israel in the 1960s, and he continues to call it home. However, he has travelled extensively during his life, teaching at universities in Europe and the United States as well as at home in Israel, but Georgia remained the place of important childhood memories, and his work at ISET has helped him reconnect with the country of his birth (however, he has never lost the use of his Georgian skills, and continues to speak the language fluently).
Daniel's popularity with students, staff and faculty have become legendary in the ISET community, and his enthusiasm for teaching is matched only by the depth of his knowledge of his subject. The ISET family is beyond lucky to have such a successful, thoughtful and dedicated professional as one of its members; it can only be hoped that Daniel will be able to visit as soon as the pandemic is over, and the community can congratulate him on his latest triumph in person.
