Dear Faculty and Administrative Staff and Students,
The second semester of the academic year 2024-2025 begins tomorrow (Thursday), still with unbearable national and academic challenges before us.
As of today, fifty-nine hostages are still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at least 24 of whom are alive. We continue to call on the Israeli government to make the return of all hostages, both living and deceased, a top priority for the State of Israel.
At the same time, the deep political division is worsening, and issues related to the war are increasingly intertwined with the disputes that tore apart Israeli society before the October 7th massacre. The crisis is reaching its peak these days and threatens our national resilience and the democratic values of the State of Israel.
In light of the impact of this crisis on the future of the State, we will continue with the policy of containment that we have adopted in recent years. This policy stipulates that we allow faculty members and students to participate in public activities related to current events. It is the responsibility of the instructors who choose to participate in these events to complete all the material for their students in their courses, and it is the responsibility of the students who choose to participate in these events to make up any missed academic material. Attendance requirements will not be enforced. The implementation of this inclusion policy will be the responsibility of the faculties.
Across our campuses, we will continue to be committed to allocating special and extensive support resources for reservists to help them succeed in their studies. We will also continue to deal with the national and international tensions and ensure a secure shared life, alongside providing freedom of expression in accordance with the University’s values. We must all be committed to values of moderation, inclusion, and acceptance of others. We must all be committed to preserving academic freedom and rejecting any form of hate speech or intimidation so that we can continue to fulfill our chief commitment to excellent teaching and groundbreaking research. We aspire to continue to serve as a model and example for the entire country.
During this semester, our University will mark 100 years since its founding, years in which it has championed values of academic and research excellence, contributing to Israeli society and the world. Since its establishment in 1925, the Hebrew University has been a source of knowledge and innovation, with a focus on groundbreaking research in a variety of fields, and the nurturing of generations of leaders, researchers, and intellectuals. We have no doubt that our University will continue to promote these achievements and many others in the next 100 years.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Asher Cohen, President
Prof. Tamir Sheafer, Rector