Professor Joe Borman, born in South Africa and a long-term resident of Jerusalem, is a pioneer of open-heart surgery in Israel. He headed the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. Internationally perceived as an expert in his field, he performed many thousands of open-heart operations, published over 150 research articles in high-caliber professional journals, and trained a new generation of young surgeons, many of whom subsequently became independent chiefs of departments throughout the country. Professor Borman attained wide respect not only for his surgical achievements and his integrity but also for his affable bearing and for passing on his enthusiasm to his staff. Above all he is known for his humane, respectful attitude to patients and their families. It is not in vain that he has been widely referred to as the “gentleman of the medical profession