Students, academic and administrative staff, the Hebrew University community,
The Hebrew University, together with the other research universities in Israel, made the following decision regarding the opening date of the academic year:
The opening of the academic year will be postponed given the war situation and the high percentage of draftees into the reserves among both students and faculty members. The semester will open at all research universities with the beginning of the release process of those recruited into the reserves, but not before December 3, 2023. Two weeks’ notice will be given before the start of the semester to allow everyone to return to routine and the academic track, at the end of which studies will begin. We aim for the academic year to be held in full and to include two full semesters. As the need arises, the academic year will also run into the summer period.
Due to our lack of knowledge regarding the war, we do not specify an exact date for the opening of the academic year. However, it is important to clarify:
We intend to have a full academic year of two semesters.
The opening of the academic year will occur close to the beginning of the process of releasing the reserve units. As long as this process starts before January, we should be able to have a reasonable academic year.
Most likely the length of each semester will be shortened. We will know this only when the academic year begins. The exam period between semesters will also be shorter than usual, and it is certain that the academic year will run into the summer months. There is no doubt that all of us, faculty and students alike, should change our plans for next summer.
Once the academic year opens, we will do everything possible to assure that all of us, students and faculty, begin on the right foot and that the yearends successfully.
Assistance to reservists and their families
Even when the academic year begins, it is likely that some of the students, as well as first-degree relatives, will still be drafted into the reserves. We will ensure optimal integration and provide help to you by any means we can: financial support, tutoring, assistance in completing the course material, extending deadlines and more. Detailed information about this will be released at the beginning of the academic year.
Assistance will also be given to faculty members who are recruited into the reserves, or to those whose spouses are recruited. Information about this will be provided separately.
What can be done in the meantime?
We encourage all students who are not recruited and who have time to volunteer where they see fit, to do so. You are invited to join our initiatives listed on a special page HU at the Forefront, which offers a wide variety of options for volunteering.
Also, some of the course pages in Moodle have been opened or will be opened soon for students who registered for the course. You can see the course syllabus and start going through the reading materials. The faculties will also hold various activities on campus or online, for the benefit of students who wish to take part in them. Notices about these activities will be sent later.
Our hearts are with you
Our hearts go out to the families of our two students who were murdered, Majed Ibrahim and Tsur Saidi, may their memories be blessed. Our hearts go out to the many members of our community whose loved ones were murdered or injured. Our hearts are with the men and women in the reserves and with the evacuees from their homes in the north and south. Our hearts go out to Carmel Gat, our occupational therapy student, who was kidnapped to Gaza. Our hearts are with our friend, Prof. Yonatan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagi, was kidnapped to Gaza. We pray, each and every one of us, in our own way, for their safe return home together with the other abductees.
Yours,
Tamir