Lydia Aran a professor emerita at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...

, is a scholar of Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

. She taught in the Hebrew University's Department of Indian Studies until her retirement in 1998.

Aran's dramatic life story began in Vilna, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, where she survived the Holocaust by being hidden, with her twin sister, in the small village of Ignalino by her high school history teacher, Kyrstyna Adolph, an ethnically Polish

Poles

thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

Catholic.

Books

• The Art of Nepal
• Buddhism: An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy and Religion (Hebrew) 1993
• Destroying a Civilization: Tibet 1950-2000 (Hebrew) 2007