Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman was installed as the new president of Yeshiva University on Sunday.
More than 2,000 people were on hand for the ceremony, which was held in Manhattan at the university.
The invocation was given by British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis. Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter, University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought and Senior Scholar at the Center for the Jewish Future at Yeshiva University, introduced Rabbi Berman.
Guests included Dani Dayan, Israel’s consul general in New York; Danny Danon, Israel’s UN ambassador; U.S. Senator Charles Schumer; and former senator Joseph Lieberman.
Rabbi Berman, a graduate of Yeshiva University and its Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Rabbinical Seminary, becomes the fifth president of YU, succeeding Richard Joel.
“Most new presidents of universities need to learn the story of their institutions to understand their narrative and its purpose,” he said, “but I do not need to read a history book to understand Yeshiva University – it is in my heart and it is in my soul.
“In an era in which there is a breakdown of civic and civil conversation, Yeshiva University is uniquely positioned to address the most pressing moral issues of the day. Moving forward, we will continue to be steadfast in bringing to bear our vast, interdisciplinary resources on these fundamental issues both for the general public and also internally for our students. We stand proud as educators, thought leaders and moral voices for our generation.”