Passing away of Dr. Eli Tomer

Dear friends,
I am very sorry to pass on this sad news from our Israeli colleague Yuval Cohen.
I first met Eli at the 5th International Symposium in Tel Aviv and before the trip he kindly helped me to organise my visit to the Volcani Center meeting with other irrigation scientists and ecophysiologists. He was such an enthusiastic person in mango breeding and co-organised one of the best mango symposiums. As mentioned in Yuval's message, Eli contributed enormously to mango industry in Israel. He also had many friends in other countries and helped them in their mango research and/or production. To commemorate Elis' contribution to the mango sector, we will dedicate the 12th International Mango Symposium and its proceedings to Eli.
Please see Yuval's message below for more information. Please also feel free to send your condolences to Yuval to be passed onto Eli's family and colleagues.
Best regards
Ping Lu
Chair ISHS Mango Working Group

From: Yuval Cohen [mailto:vhyuvalc@volcani.agri.gov.il]
Sent: Thursday, 24 November 2016 1:18 AM
To: Víctor Galán; rcampbell@fairchildgarden.org; Yair Aron; BALLY Ian (Ian.Bally@daf.qld.gov.au); Noris Ledesma (nledesma@fairchildgarden.org); Tomas Ayala-Silva (tomas.ayala-silva@ars.usda.gov); alcapi@terra.com.br; Lu, Ping (ERA)
Subject: Eli Tomer

Dear friends,

It is with great sorrow to inform you of the passing away of Dr. Eli Tomer.
Eli died this Saturday at the age of 76 after a very long struggle.

Eli was an expert on subtropical fruit. His main focus was mango breeding. For many years, Eli led the Israeli mango breeding program. He was involved in the identification and promotion of most of the new Israeli mango cultivars. His contribution to the mango sector in Israel was enormous.

Yours,
Yuval Cohen

Dr. Yuval Cohen
Department of Fruit Tree Sciences
Institute of Plant Sciences
Volcani Research Center
Derech Hamacabim 68, Rishon Lezion
P.O. Box 15159, Rishon Lezion,
Tel: 972-3-9683407
Fax: 972-3-9669583
Email: vhyuvalc@volcani.agri.gov.il
http://www.agri.gov.il/en/people/593.aspx