Dear members of the University community,
The academic year began today, even as the State of Israel is still at war, a war that was started by the massacre carried out on October 7 by the murderous forces of Hamas. We unreservedly support the state in any way we can, and hope that we can win and finish this war soon. However, a significant number of reservists are still on active military duty, and it is not yet known when they will be discharged. The academic year was scheduled to begin on October 15, and we have already postponed it for two and a half months because of the war. Unfortunately, we are unable to delay the academic year any longer; if it does not start now, there is a risk that it will not happen at all, and so with a heavy heart, we have opened it today, Sunday, December 31st. The two semesters will be shortened, and the quantity of material taught will be adapted to the contracted timetable. This will be the minimal quantity of material required in order to complete an academic year in a worthy manner.
It is clear to us all that starting the academic year now creates great difficulty for those in reserve duty, and particularly for those who have not yet been released from active service. The Hebrew University is fully committed to doing everything possible to enable each and every one of our reservists to successfully complete this academic year and their degree. To this end, we have a developed a series of steps designed especially to help reservists in the military (as well as their spouses, and those serving in other defense agencies), and we have raised significant donor funds to support these steps.
In previous letters (see here and here), the rector, the vice rector, and the dean of students have already presented the various plans in this regard, and here we shall briefly repeat the main points:
- We will dedicate a special week, beginning January 21, to integrating reservists and helping them complete the studies they have missed.
- We will provide financial assistance to the large majority of reservists, in accordance with very liberal eligibility criteria.
- We have significantly enlarged our psychological services, and we will provide psychological assistance and support to all who need it.
- We will provide increased academic support, including individual tutoring for those who need it.
- We will offer significant academic accommodations to those whose reserve duty service was relatively long, to include exemptions from some of the required academic credits, possibilities for pass grades instead of set numerical grades in some courses, awarding the highest grade of two in different exams, and more.
- We are determined to ensure that none of our reservists are left behind.
We are proud that the Hebrew University community contains a diverse range of groups in addition to our reservists, including secular Jews, religious and Haredi Jews, Arabs from all over the country, Druze, international students, and more. A diverse society is a great blessing, but on occasion it also presents a great challenge to living alongside one another. Over the years, and despite difficulties that have arisen from time to time, we have succeeded in creating a lively, equal, and tolerant society at the University. Recent events, beginning with the terrible massacre of October 7 and continuing with the war that is still ongoing, now pose another challenge to Arab-Jewish relations, even within our community. We have no doubt that the vast majority of us wish to continue our proud heritage of diversity and coexistence. Respectful discourse among us all is essential for maintaining the fabric of our shared community. The University has published guidelines for publicizing views and ideas within the University community (see here), and we are all requested to abide by those guidelines. In addition, the University is developing a number of programs designed to promote coexistence that includes mutual respect and an atmosphere of respectful discussion.
We mourn together with the families who have tragically lost their loved ones. We wish a full recovery to those who have been wounded, and hope and pray for the speedy return of the hostages—among them, Carmel Gat, one of our occupational therapy students, and Sagi Dekel-Chen, the son of Prof. Jonathan Dekel-Chen.
May we all have a fruitful and successful academic year!
Prof. Asher Cohen, President
Prof. Tamir Sheafer, Rector
Mr. Yishai Fraenkel, VP and Director General