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Gur Ofer, co-founder of the New Economic School (NES), passed away four years ago. NES Alumni Magazine published in a recent issue an interview with his widow, Dalia Ofer, Professor Emeritus at the Melton Centre for Jewish Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she reflects on their life together with Gur, being two scholars – a historian and an economist. Her memories span sixty-five years, from their wedding as young people on a kibbutz to the pinnacle of their international academic careers. These memories also add many new dimensions to the portrait of one of the School's founders. GURU shares an abridged version of the interview by Ekaterina Sivyakova.
– How did you meet Gur?
– That was so many years ago. We were married for almost sixty-five years: when he passed away in 2022, our sixty-fifth anniversary was only two months away.
We met when I was sixteen. Gur was almost five years older than me. By then, he had finished high school, served in the army, and was already a member of Kibbutz Haon. After that, I graduated from high school and served in the army too.
Then we got married and started our life together on Kibbutz Haon, on the Sea of Galilee. We both went to university. Gur studied economics, and I studied history. Gur was incredibly talented and successful. He was invited by Professor Don Patinkin, a very prominent economist who basically created the modern economics teaching system in Israel, to work with him (Patinkin visited NES three times – editor).
The Hebrew University’s Department of Economics was there before, but the modern approach to teaching and studying economics was introduced by Don Patinkin. He suggested that Gur should go for a PhD when he was planning further development of the Department of Economics. He supported the students he considered the best in their moving abroad for post-graduate studies, mostly to the United States in those years.
Gur was interested in the Soviet economy. His master's thesis in Israel focused on the service sector in the Jewish community in Palestine and in the early years of the State of Israel. Gur was interested in how governments improve people's lives and prosperity through social services: healthcare, education, culture. The economic side also mattered to him, particularly, how the government should plan national development, not just by chasing economic growth but also by investing in public services. This was extremely important for Israel, but we believed it was also relevant to other economies with large migrant populations.
Gur applied to several universities in the US and was accepted everywhere. He chose Harvard. At that time, the very famous economist Abram Bergson, who specialized in the Soviet economy, was a professor there, along with future Nobel laureate Simon Kuznets, who already knew Gur for his academic achievements in Israel. Kuznets used to visit Israel often and helped the university develop its Department of Economics.
That is how we ended up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Gur studied at Harvard for four years and received his PhD under the joint supervision of Abram Bergson and Simon Kuznets, and then taught for a year at MIT. After that, we returned to Israel. We left with one daughter, our eldest, Talal, and came back with three. We have four daughters, and two of them, Neta and Nurit, were born during those four years in the US.
When we came back, I continued my studies. I finished my master's thesis and then earned my PhD in history, specializing in the Holocaust. That is how we settled in Jerusalem.
I should mention that Gur’s PhD thesis at Harvard was on the Soviet economy. He had planned to visit the Soviet Union but never got the chance. An already-scheduled trip was cancelled after the 1967 Six-Day War, when the Soviet Union broke diplomatic ties with Israel.
Gur always felt that something was missing in his research on the Soviet economy. He read a lot in Russian and studied the works of Soviet economists. He always tried to be absolutely honest with himself. And although he was very successful and all his work received recognition and positive reviews, he always felt that lack of firsthand knowledge and seeing the country for himself.
Gur, like many Israelis, had a very warm attitude toward the Russian people. Many Israelis come from the Soviet Union and Russia. Gur's mother was born in the USSR, and he knew Russian language and literature very well. In Hebrew, there is an expression for having a special, affectionate, and welcoming place in your feelings and heart. So, Gur had that place in his heart for the Russian people, but not for the Soviet system. He was very critical of it and wrote and published research about it.
If I am not mistaken, he was first able to come to the USSR during Gorbachev's time. At that point, we were in the US on sabbatical. Gur was invited to the Soviet Union as part of a group of economists to discuss issues related to the market economy. This happened after many years of his work on the Soviet economy, after all those slow changes, problems, and crises. Finally, he got a chance not just to visit, but to go on a specific mission and to work on the ground to help facilitate the transition to a market economy.
– Why do you think Gur was so confident that he could (together with the other NES founders - GURU Editor) create a new institution, New Economics School, in Russia at that time?
– I think you have to consider the combination of Gur's personal qualities and his vision. He believed that the transition period in Russia should lead to an open but regulated market. That would be a market with minimal government intervention, but without chaos, where new forces could benefit from change. And he believed that the only way to achieve that was to train a new generation of professionals who understood how other economies work. It was not just about teaching and learning methods, curricula, but about the whole system of economic planning, regulation, and career-building in an environment of freedom. With certain limits, of course, because every country has its own laws and rules. Gur truly believed in this.
And so, feeling that his knowledge of Russia was incomplete, he all of a sudden got a chance to fill that gap while also contributing to something he deeply believed in. On top of that, he met people there he really connected with. Some are still with us; some have already passed away. He was absolutely convinced of their dedication to the goal. When the idea of the New Economic School came up, it was not his alone. It was the result of collaboration with those who also stood at its founding: academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Makarov, Viktor Polterovich, and other Russian scholars, including some from Moscow State University. Gur trusted these people deeply and felt a strong bond with them.
So, I think that several things came together for Gur: the chance to do something truly useful for Russia in general, the right people to work with, and, of course, his own personality. If Gur started something he believed in, he saw it through to the end. That was one of his core values in life.
– You mentioned that Gur did not like to work alone. How did he build connections, both friendly and professional?
– The main quality of Gur's character was his honesty. If he believed in someone, he believed truly and fully. He was not the type to judge people superficially, rather, he was critical and thoughtful. Because of that, he was not always the easiest person to deal with. But he gave full effort and unlimited trust to the people he valued, and he discussed issues with them openly, whether he was praising them or criticizing them. Gur never threw around empty compliments like «You're wonderful, I adore you.» He always spoke directly.
That is why, I think, Gur knew how to work with people. One could always feel his honesty. Everyone knew that Gur did not play around. Anyone had to communicate with him directly, tell him about their work no matter whether he would like it or not. Even if there was a mistake but it was necessary, they had to be honest. People appreciated that in him. And his honesty was organic, natural. He simply did not know how to pretend.
– How did Gur see the future of NES?
– His concern, especially in recent years, given the changes that were happening in Russia, was the return of alumni after they completed their PhD programs abroad. Gur understood that talented graduates of the best universities could find jobs anywhere. But he hoped they would come back and apply their knowledge at home, in Russia, just as he himself had once done when he returned to Israel from Harvard and MIT.
– What's the secret to your long-lasting marriage with Gur?
– When we were still young, my mother-in-law, Gur's mother, who was a very wise woman, told me, «It's very important that you and your husband be friends.» And I think Gur and I always remained best friends. Of course, women have close friends with a shoulder to cry on. I sometimes had to complain about Gur too, that is life. I had my friends. But Gur was my real best friend. We were always genuinely interested in each other and in what each of us was doing. That, I think, was the foundation of our marriage. Of course, we had ups and downs, and things were not always smooth.
We have four wonderful daughters, beautiful, talented women, all doing what they are passionate about. We were really happy to raise them. We spent a lot of time together, travelled a lot on weekends, and often went hiking, as is popular in Israel. We live in Jerusalem, and there are so many interesting places around it. Israel is a small country. You can get anywhere in an hour and a half: mountains, valleys, seaside – everything is close by. Our daughters loved it; and we literally walked the whole country.
It is very important for all of us to have work that excites, gives you grounding and satisfaction. It helps with everything else beyond – with family, kids. So, there is no secret: the answer is friendship.
– How would you like Gur to be remembered?
– First of all, as a very bright person, bright because of the depth of his personality. He was extremely intelligent, precise in his judgments, and at the same time very deep. And as I said before, incredibly honest and very modest.
Gur never thought of himself as a star. Although he was one in many ways, he never had a big ego. He never acted arrogantly but always spoke to people as equals, modestly and clearly.
He could stand his ground and was confident when he believed in an idea. He often convinced others. Sometimes he did not but that is normal. Anyway, Gur always remained a very intelligent, talented, deep, humble, simple, and honest man. That is how I see him.
– What is your favorite family memory of Gur?
– There are so many. For example, when Gur retired, our daughter Neta, who is a psychologist, was just starting her practice. She saw clients at our home in Jerusalem on Tuesdays; and we set aside a room for her. So, every Tuesday, she and Gur had lunch together. I was at work at the university at the time. Gur prepared the meal himself: he planned it a few days in advance and always picked something special. He would go to the store or the market, look through cookbooks. It was a very special ritual for Neta, and I think she remembers it to this day. And I enjoyed eating the leftovers in the evening.
Gur was a very devoted father. Our daughters say of him, «We knew he was always there.» I think, those are beautiful words. He was not the kind of father who is constantly hugging and kissing. But his warmth was real, without any ostentatious tenderness. That was just who he was. Having a father like that is a gift. And he was a great partner for me. We really were friends.
And one more story. When Gur was already very ill, before bed, after all the medical procedures, I would sit next to him and we would talk. One night I told him, «Always remember that I love you.» And he replied in one Hebrew word «betah» which means «of course, that is already clear.»
You cannot imagine how much that «of course» meant to me. He was already in a very bad condition but he was with me until the end. I know perfectly well that he is not here now and we cannot do things together anymore. But what I can say it to thank him for the good years we had together, and for the hard ones too. That's life. He is my love, not was but still is.
