This is Where We Belong at This Time in History

The Late Prof. Myron Lieberman

 By Deborah Lieberman and colleagues of Myron from Israel and Abroad

Myron Lieberman, our husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away on February 11^th 2021. We are saddened by our loss but are grateful that his passing was quiet and without obvious pain, and that Myron had been able to accomplish significant goals that were important to him in his personal and professional life.

We came on aliyah to Israel in July 1971 and he celebrated his 90^th birthday in Israel on a sunny day last November, 2020.

We came to Israel with three less-than-enthusiastic children and with the knowledge that it was difficult for his parents that their only child was moving so far away, and was taking their only grandchildren with him. But Myron was determined, and when he received an invitation from Tel Aviv University to develop an Orthodontic Department for the University Dental School, he readily accepted.

Our early years in Israel were difficult ones. We were busy learning the language and customs of our new country, and Myron was very busy preparing the new Orthodontic Department: writing curriculum and the courses to be taught, recruiting faculty members and students from Israel and abroad, and developing contacts with other orthodontic departments. As one of his colleagues wrote, "Myron rose to the challenge of creating the Post-Graduate Department of Orthodontics at Tel Aviv University with a fervent desire to establish and share all that he gleaned in his field from the top schools in the United States. That was his special Zionist contribution."

Local and foreign students and staff responded, and Professor Myron Lieberman served as Chairman of the Tel Aviv University Department of Orthodontics for 38 years. He continued to teach in the Department as a volunteer until he retired because of physical difficulties.

Students from many countries around the globe were professionally educated and influenced by Myron. His colleagues claim that he was a pioneer in the annals of the history of orthodontics in Israel and made an imprint internationally. There were also claims that he was the person who brought modern orthodontics to the State of Israel.

We, his family, are proud of him as a loving husband and father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was a loving family man with a good sense of humor. We still chuckle over his response to our daughter's future husband when he asked for Myron's consent to the marriage – Myron replied "Fine, but can you also take the dog?"