The Dangoor family’s Exilarch’s Foundation has made a far-reaching impact on Imperial College London with a new five-million-pound Sterling donation to the institution, considered one of the finest universities in the world.
The gift, allocated through the Dangoor Education arm of the Foundation, will fund a pioneering hub for collaborative multi-disciplinary cancer research, support The Invention Rooms at the College’s White City Campus, and transform the heart of the South Kensington Campus.
“We trust this gift will assist the university to remain at the forefront of many of the breakthroughs in medical research, creativity, invention and innovation with which it has become synonymous,” David Dangoor said.
“This remarkable gift … strengthens our research, will improve our campus environment, and provides pivotal support for our work in the local community,” said Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London. “The partnership with the Dangoor family will benefit many and the effects of this support will be enduring and felt for decades to come.”
The Dangoors have a long history through the Exilarch’s Foundation (founded by entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Naim Eliahou Dangoor) and the Dangoor Education Fund, of supporting institutions of higher education in the UK and Israel as well as cooperation between the two countries and innovation and medical research, which is making major breakthroughs in their multidisciplinary work.
David and Elie Dangoor are both alumni of Imperial College and Trustees of the Exilarch’s Foundation. They have previously supported Imperial’s Wohl Reach Out Lab, which provides educational opportunities to school children from all backgrounds.
David Dangoor is a British businessman and philanthropist, born in Iraq, who supports many educational and scientific programs in the UK, Israel and elsewhere. In 2017 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Israel’s Bar-Ilan University for his efforts to further education, culture and science in the UK and Israel. Dangoor also helps fund an annual Imperial College Israeli Society five-day start-up and technology visit to Israel. A total of 55 students from 25 nations, including Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Malaysia, Jamaica and China, as well as several European countries, took part in the organized trip, now in its second year.
A former President of the Board of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation S&P Sephardi Community, Dangoor is President of Jewish Renaissance magazine, and a Vice-President of the Jewish Leadership Council, and has been Vice-President of the World Organisation of Jews from Iraq (WOJI) for the past ten years. His is also a Trustee of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre UK.
Dangoor is a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London and chairs the Lord Lieutenant of Greater London’s Council on Faith, an initiative that works with faith groups to assist their engagement with the wider London population. He was also recently made a Fellow of the British Exploring Society.
In 2017 Israel’s Bar-Ilan University awarded Dangoor an honorary doctorate, citing his “tireless efforts to further education, culture and art throughout the UK and Israel”. Passionate about widening access to science and medicine and active in developing a number of projects and initiatives for this, Dangoor is Hon. President of the Space Science Engineering Foundation and is also a member of the International Board of the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel.
The Exilarch’s Foundation is a charity that has initiated, guided and supported many causes, mainly relating to education and health, including Westminster Academy, Imperial College, the UK Space Design Competition, The Open University, Age UK, The UK Israel Tech Hub and the Centre for Personalized Medicine at Bar Ilan University among others. A subsidiary of The Exilarch’s Foundation is Dangoor Education, which has supported dozens of charities in the UK and Israel.