Draft:Yeshayahu Folman

Yeshayahu Folman (ישעיהו פולמן) (January 14, 1934 – August 3, 2022) was a professor of biology and agriculture at the Hebrew University, the director of the Animal Institute at the Volcanic Institute for Scientific Research,. and the Chief Scientist at the Israel Ministry of Agriculture. He was a survivor of the Auschwitz extermination camp. Folman authored the book “The Story of the Security Fence: Life Forsaken, Indeed?” (“סיפורה של גדר ההפרדה, האמנם הפקרת חיים?”).

Early life and education
Folman was born in 1934, to Rachel (Rooja) Pitowski and Aharon Folman in Piotrków, Poland. In 1943, at the age of 9, he was captured and sent to a forced labor camp. He was later sent by the Nazi regime to the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. At Auschwitz, a number was tattooed on his arm, and he became prisoner B-1367. His son, Ron Folman, later had the number B-1367 precisely tattooed on his own arm. In January 1945, after falling ill, Yeshayahu Folman was sent on a death march. In 1947, when he was 14 years old, he immigrated to Israel on his own during the exodus of Jewish youth survivors. In 1952, he completed his high school studies and enlisted in the IDF.

Upon his release from the IDF, he began studying agriculture at the Faculty of Agriculture at the Hebrew University. In 1959, he completed his master's degree, and in 1963 he was awarded a doctorate in Animal Cultivation, specifically, sheep, and cattle. He later completed a post-doctorate in England.

Professional life
In 1959, Folman began his professional career at the Agricultural Research Station in Rehovot (subsequently renamed the Volcanic Institute), later becoming a senior researcher. In 1985, he was appointed a full professor in the Faculty of Agriculture at the Hebrew University.

In 1991, he was appointed by the then Minister of Agriculture, Raphael Eitan, as the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Prof. Folman is known as the person who completely reformed the criteria by which budgets are distributed so that excellence would become the main criterion. In 1995, with the end of his tenure as Chief Scientist, he returned to the Volcanic Institute where he remained until his retirement. In 1995, Folman worked at the United Nations Center in Vienna. From 1964 until his retirement, Folman served as a lecturer in the Faculty of Agriculture.

In 1999, Folman retired and on August 3, 2022, he passed away at the age of 88.

Publications
Folman published over 100 scientific articles. His main work revolved around the relationship between nutrition, the level of milk production, and fertility in high-yielding dairy cows. His research was published in prestigious journals and the methods he developed following his scientific discoveries gained worldwide attention. When he became the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Agriculture, he expanded his expertise to all branches of the agricultural economy in the State of Israel. His extensive overview of the Israeli agricultural economy can be found, among other publications, in the book “Israel’s Jubilee” ("יובל לישראל") edited by Haim Yavin.

In 2004 he wrote the book “The Story of the Security Fence: Life Forsaken, Indeed?”. He also published opinion articles in the press, primarily focusing on the pursuit of peace. Even though he was a Zionist through and through and was convinced that the people of Israel should know how to defend themselves.

Personal life
Most of Folman's family was murdered in the Holocaust. His wife, Dr. Ahuva (Luba) Gordon. The couple had 3 children, Michal Hayutin, Ron Folman and Orna Folman.