Shalem Chairman David Messer Tells Inaugural Class that It is One of Israel’s Most “Attractive Investments”

David Messer, Chairman of the International Board of Governors of Shalem College, addressed the inaugural class of fifty students at Sunday night’s opening ceremonies, telling them that they are providing “an investment return that is essentially infinite: a vibrant future for the Jewish people and the State of Israel.”

Messer, who along with his wife Barbara is a long-time supporter of Jewish causes in North America and Israel, was visibly gratified by the opportunity to welcome the incoming student body, on which, he stated, he and many other investors have taken a risk—with good reason. Pointing out that he, like many Shalem Founders, has spent his career in financial services, Messer explained that he approaches his support for the college as he does all his business activities, carefully weighing the merits of the opportunity—the quality of the college’s leadership, its faculty, and its students—before determining that, in the case of Shalem College, “the risk/reward is skewed wildly in favor of the investor.”

A graduate of Yale University, Messer credits his broad-based education for many of his professional accomplishments. Observing that virtually all of America’s leaders and people of influence boast liberal-arts backgrounds, he spoke passionately of the need for this sort of education in Israel, although one tailored, as is Shalem’s, to the Jewish and Israeli experience. Comparing Shalem’s vision to Herzl’s audacious dream of an independent state for the Jews, Messer concluded by expressing his confidence that the result of “over two decades of effort to turn this idea into reality” will surpass its supporters’ greatest expectations.