Albert Einstein be followed, he suggested, by a Chemical Institute and an Institute of Microbiology, to fight the various ongoing epidemics such as malaria, which he called an "evil" that was undermining a third of the country's development. Establishing an Oriental Studies Institute, to include language courses given in both Hebrew and Arabic, for scientific exploration of the country and its historical monuments, was also important. Chaim Weizmann later became Israel's first president. Upon his death while in office in November 1952 and at the urging of Ezriel Carlebach, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion offered Einstein the position of President of Israel, a
Meyer Weisgal Weizmann Institute and are buried there, near the Chaim Weizmann House. Meyer Weisgal Meyer Wolf Weisgal (November 10, 1894 – September 29, 1977) was a Jewish American journalist, publisher, playwright, fundraiser, and Zionist activist who served as the President of the Weizmann Institute of Science and as the founding President of Beit Hatfutsot (the Jewish Diaspora Museum). Born in the Pale of Settlement, he emigrated to New York City, US with his parents at age 11, where he finished high school and studied journalism at Columbia University. He married Shirley (née Hirshfeld) in 1923. In 1926, he published the first