Background
Lev was born in Vienna to a Chassidic family.
Lev was born in Vienna to a Chassidic family.
Having decided to enter the academic world rather than become a rabbi like his grandfather, he obtained a scholarship to Queen"s University in Ontario, Canada and graduated with honors.
In 1934, his family moved to Berlin. This name, like the Germanic version Low, indicated he was a descendent of the tribe of Levi. Lev took a position as a lecturer in paramagnetic resonance at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
He became a worldwide expert in this field, and his research led to the development of microwave and magnetic resonance imaging (Medical Research Institute) devices.
Later in the 1960s, Lev decided there was a need for a college in Jerusalem that combined scientific study with the study of the Torah. Despite initial resistance from some rabbis and educators, the institution he started with seven students in 1969 grew to have an enrollment of more than 2,000, becoming one of Israel’s four accredited engineering schools.
Lev led the development of the Jerusalem College of Technology for ten years, and afterwards continued to do research and academic work. His scientific articles covered subjects including atomic physics and shock waves, and he also wrote about science in relation to the Torah.
Many of its alumni have joined Israeli high-tech firms.
In his later years he also devoted himself to compiling a family tree of the Lev family. lieutenant started with his great-grandfather’s life in Poland during the early 19th century and has grown to include approximately 1,000 descendents. He led the commando operation to assassinate Khalil al-Wazir in Tunis in 1988.
Nahum Lev died in a traffic accident in August 2000.
At the age of 16, he was able to leave Germany in order to study at the Gateshead Yeshiva in England, thereby avoiding the fate of all other members of his immediate family. The Jerusalem College of Technology has developed special programs for high school students, members of the Israel Defense Forces, ultra-Orthodox women, and members of the Ethiopian immigrant community.