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During divided times, this Israeli university promotes inclusion and diversity with an unusual approach
Tal Levine is the first person in her family to go to college. Her mother, a child of illiterate Moroccan immigrants to Israel who spoke only Arabic, left school after eighth grade to help her parents on their Israeli farm. Her father dropped out of high school after his own father died, and he worked his entire career in the Israeli post office.
Levine herself did odd jobs from a young age, scraping together whatever money she could.
“I’ve been working since I was 13 years old, from dog walking to waitressing to whatever I could find,” said Levine, now 28. “My parents could not help me.”
Despite her hardships, Levine found her way into dentistry thanks to a special Hebrew University diversity program that seeks out students from challenging backgrounds. Not only was Levine accepted as a student into the Hebrew University-Hadassah Faculty of Dental Medicine, but she also received a life-changing scholarship that enabled her to pursue her dream.
“I wanted to do something to help people, and not just sit in front of a screen,” Levine said of her career ambitions.
Levine’s story is not unusual: Each year, students from diverse backgrounds are actively recruited to the university, where they are eligible for financial, cultural, academic and mental health support.
It’s part of Hebrew University’s vision for the school as an oasis of diversity, coexistence and inclusion at a time when Israel is facing headwinds of division, discrimination and discord.
The university is a unique and special place in Jerusalem — and in Israel generally — where students from a wide range of socioeconomic, ethnic and religious backgrounds come together. The student body includes Orthodox haredim, Palestinian Arabs, Mizrahim, Ethiopians, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“We are working hard to bring together people from different backgrounds, where they practice listening to each other and learning about cultural diversity,” said Professor Mona Khoury, vice president for strategy and diversity and former dean of Hebrew University’s School of Social Work. Khoury made history as the first Arab woman to be appointed as a dean at the university.
“Just as an example, I recently had lunch with Arab and Jewish students from East Jerusalem and Beersheva,” she said. “Right now, it’s hard because the situation in Israel isn’t good. But even though they were very different politically, they were able to talk and had a very real and genuine conversation. This may have been the first time they had this kind of exchange. And it’s because Hebrew University purposefully enables this to happen — encourages it.”
The university seeks to promote inclusion and diversity in a variety of ways. All the signage at the university is in Hebrew, Arabic and English to make it easier for students of all backgrounds to navigate the campus. The Rothberg International School has gender-neutral bathrooms to ensure students of all gender identifications feel comfortable. Extra help with Hebrew is available to new immigrants and Arab students. Students with disabilities receive special assistance. The School of Social Work offers counseling courses in Arabic, sends out emails in three languages, and celebrates Jewish, Muslim and Christian holidays.
Each minority group in Israel faces its own challenges: Economically disadvantaged students may not have enough money even to apply to the university; haredim and ex-haredi students lack basic educational foundations, and Arab students face linguistic,
cultural and social challenges.
Tala Atieh, a 22-year-old student in education and anthropology from Kfar Aqab in Arab-populated eastern Jerusalem, has benefited directly from the university’s efforts. Although she graduated at the top of her class in high school, she did not know any Hebrew. So she enrolled in a yearlong academic preparation course that the university offers students in her situation. Within a year, Atieh’s Hebrew was fluent and she was able to get into a degree program.
Atieh and Levine are both members of Hebrew University’s Ambassadors for Diversity program: 24 students from varied communities who receive scholarships, engage in multicultural activities and commit to working 100 hours in return for their benefits. As part of the program, Atieh shares her experiences with Arab young people and talks to them about how Hebrew University can help them thrive.
“I have met people from all over the country with many different backgrounds and perspectives,” Atieh said. “For example, I learned a lot about the Jewish holidays that I did not know before. And I share my own holidays as well. These exchanges bring
greater understanding between our different peoples.”
Promoting tolerance is among the university’s core values. The Center for the Study of Multiculturalism and Diversity (CSMD) promotes the development of multicultural sensitivity and tolerance, helping students develop critical perspectives on power
relations within their society and offering courses, clinics and events that explore multiculturalism and enable students to interact with those from different backgrounds. The center is the first academic body in Israel to harness behavioral science to focus on multiculturalism, and researchers at the CSMD are developing innovative policies to foster more social integration and cohesion.
“In the Ambassadors program I encounter people I would have never met otherwise,” said Tova Abeve, 34, a master’s degree student in public policy of Ethiopian descent.
Also the first in her family to attend university, Abeve is a social influencer and content creator with podcasts and other media aimed at Jewish women of Ethiopian descent. She uses her influence to tell her followers about the opportunities that Hebrew University offers.
“Most people don’t know that these opportunities exist,” she said. “I’m sharing a vision for what the world could look like.”
Shiran Brosh, a 38-year-old Orthodox student in education, is also in the Ambassadors program. “I have never met such a special group of people with different languages and cultures,” Brosh said. “We all come together. It’s a wonderful experience.”
Abichai Tzur, 24, is a former Orthodox Jew who spent much of his teen years cut off from his family following his decision to leave Orthodoxy. In order to get into the university’s program in international relations and communication, Tzur not only needed help overcoming gaps in his education but also financial support, mental health support and mentorship. Today, in addition to studying, he works at the Ministry of Social Equality in the LGBTQ division as manager of international relations, leads the Model United Nations program at the university, and speaks to other ex-Orthodox Jews about diversity and inclusion.
“The reason I advocate for social equality and share my story is that I know what it feels like to have a disadvantage and to need some help to get on your feet,” Tzur said.
Levine also talks to prospective students about her experience.
“My message to students is simple: You can do it,” Levine said. “Even if you don’t have money, even if you don’t think you are a good student, even if you haven’t studied — you can overcome all those obstacles and succeed.”
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Vanderbilt launches inquiry into instructor after math question about Israeli occupation draws criticism
(JTA) — Vanderbilt University has launched an inquiry into a mathematics lecturer whose classroom exercise about Palestinian territory drew criticism from the activist group StopAntisemitism.
Tekin Karadağ, a senior lecturer at the university’s department of mathematics, drew the ire of the antisemitism watchdog after it obtained a slide from one of his lectures that used a pro-Palestinian protest slogan and suggested that Israel was shrinking the Palestinian territory.
“Assume Palestine as a state with a rectangular land shape. There is the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the Jordan River on the east,” read the slide. “From the river to the sea, Palestine (…) was approximately 100 km. in 1946. The land decreases by 250 sq. km per year, due to the occupation by Israel. How fast is the width of the land decreasing now?”
Karadǎg, a Turkish national who received his PhD from Texas A&M University in 2021, included the question under “examples related to the popular issues” in a survey of calculus class, according to StopAntisemitism, which wrote in a post on X that Karadǎg was “bringing his anti-Israel, antisemitic bias into his classroom.”
In a statement shared with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Vanderbilt said that the content had been removed and that an inquiry had been launched into Karadağ.
“The university has received reports alleging a member of the faculty engaged in unprofessional conduct related to content shared during course instruction,” the school said. “The content in question has been removed, and a formal inquiry has been initiated consistent with relevant university policy.”
In recent years, rhetoric about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on college campuses has grown increasingly fraught, with professors’ commentary on the region sparking heavy scrutiny and, at times, disciplinary measures when their universities have determined that they exceeded the bounds of academic freedom. A recent report by Columbia University’s antisemitism task force found that students frequently experienced pro-Palestinian advocacy in classes entirely unrelated to the Middle East — such as dance or math classes.
The inquiry was not the first time that Vanderbilt took swift action against the expression of pro-Palestinian sentiments on its campus.
In March 2024, the university, which has roughly 1,100 Jewish undergraduate students, was among the first universities to expel students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. This year, the school’s antisemitism “grade” from the Anti-Defamation League was bumped up from a “C” to an “A.”
The post Vanderbilt launches inquiry into instructor after math question about Israeli occupation draws criticism appeared first on The Forward.
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Hugh Laurie rejects ‘Zionist’ label after his tribute to Israeli ‘Tehran’ producer sparks social media firestorm
(JTA) — British actor Hugh Laurie pushed back against being labeled as a “Zionist” after facing a wave of online criticism for posting a tribute to the Israeli producer of the hit television show “Tehran.”
“Dana Eden, who co-created and produced ‘Tehran’, died on Sunday, seemingly by her own hand,” Laurie, who played a nuclear inspector in the show’s third season, tweeted last week. “It’s a terrible thing. She was brilliant, and funny, and an exceptional leader. Love and condolences to all who knew her.”
The seemingly innocuous post eulogizing Eden, 52, who was found dead while filming the latest season of the hit Apple TV+ series in Athens last week, quickly drew a volley of backlash on social media.
“She was part of the occupation force’s propaganda arm,” wrote one user in response to Laurie’s post. “What a shame, didn’t expect you to be a closet Zionist.” Another wrote that Eden “creates propaganda for Israel so that they can kill kids more effectively. People should have no sympathy for her.”
The award-winning series, which follows a young Israeli Mossad agent in Iran, was produced by the Israeli public broadcaster Kan and purchased by Apple TV+ in 2020 for roughly $20 million. Eden’s death, for which no cause has been announced, occurred during production of the show’s fourth season, which had already stalled following Oct. 7.
Laurie is not the first actor to spurn the “Zionist” label, as entertainers in recent years have increasingly faced pressure to declare their views on Israel. In December, Jewish actress Odessa A’zion pushed back on claims she was a Zionist after an image of her wearing an IDF shirt as a teenager circulated online.
On Friday, Laurie, who previously starred in the Emmy Award-winning medical drama “House,” shot back at the criticism.
“Nothing I have ever said or done could lead a sane person to believe that I am a Zionist,” wrote Laurie in a post on X. “However. If someone exults in the death of a friend of mine, yes I will block them. If you wouldn’t do the same in my position, you can f—ck off too.”
Laurie’s subsequent post also drew outcry, but this time from pro-Israel influencers who lamented the actor’s disavowal of the Zionist label, calling him “weak” and a “pathetic weasel” in the replies.
Freelance journalist Angela Epstein replied to Laurie’s post, writing, “Not Hugh Laurie as well. I thought he was one of the decent ones….”
“God almighty, why does no one understand English any more?” wrote Laurie in response to Epstein’s critique. “I have not spoken or written a word that would indicate pro or anti Zionism. That’s what those words mean. Blimey.”
The post Hugh Laurie rejects ‘Zionist’ label after his tribute to Israeli ‘Tehran’ producer sparks social media firestorm appeared first on The Forward.
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German anti-Zionist group’s plan to protest at Buchenwald memorial over kaffiyeh ban sparks outrage
(JTA) — An anti-Zionist group in Germany has drawn condemnation after it announced plans for a protest against the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial in response to a ban on pro-Palestinian symbols at the site.
The group Kufiyas in Buchenwald claims that the memorial has become a place of “historical revisionism and genocide denial.” It announced a demonstration for April 11, the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp.
“Instead of honoring the persecuted and resolutely opposing every genocide, the memorial spreads Israeli propaganda and provides the ideological ammunition for the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” the group says on its website.
Buchenwald, one of the first concentration camps built by the Nazis and one of the largest in the country, was the site of the murder of roughly 56,000 male prisoners, including 11,000 Jews, from 1937 to 1945.
Last year, a German court ruled that the concentration camp had a right to refuse entry to visitors who wear a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian headscarf that has been adopted by pro-Palestinian protesters. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit by a woman who attempted to wear the scarf to an event commemorating the concentration camp’s liberation.
The woman, who was only identified by her first name, Anna, posted a testimony about her actions on the Kufiyas in Buchenwald Instagram page in which she said she was inspired by the resistance of Buchenwald prisoners.
“Our fundamental principle is this: criticism of the Israeli government’s policies, settlement policy, or actions in the Gaza Strip is legitimate,” said the Buchenwald Foundation’s director Jens-Christian Wagner in a statement outlining the memorial’s protocols. “However, it becomes antisemitic when used to relativize the Holocaust and discredit its victims as perpetrators. We will not tolerate this at the Buchenwald Memorial.”
The campaign against the memorial has been signed onto by a host of pro-Palestinian groups, including the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and the German group Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East, which has defended the protest on X as evidence of what “commemorating past German crimes has to do with rejecting current ones.”
In a post on Instagram announcing the protest earlier this month, the Kufiyas in Buchenwald group wrote that it would hold a “public protest” in Weimar, the German city located nearby the concentration camp. The group also said it planned to host lectures and a “tour that vividly illustrates the events in the former concentration camp.”
It was unclear whether the protest is intended to take place outside the memorial itself. Kufiyas in Buchenwald did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about the location of the protest.
The protest quickly drew condemnation from German leaders, including the country’s antisemitism czar Felix Klein, who told the Swiss outlet Neue Zürcher Zeitung that the protest marked a “new low point in the unfortunately all-too-common reversal of perpetrator and victim roles.”
Michael Panse, the commissioner for combatting antisemitism for the German state Thuringia, where Weimar is located, told the outlet that the protest was “tasteless and historically ignorant.”
The protests also drew condemnation from the European Jewish Congress, which wrote in a post on X that the demonstration represents a “deeply troubling instrumentalization of Holocaust remembrance.”
“Holocaust memorial sites are places of solemn reflection and respect for the victims of National Socialism,” the post continued. “They must never be exploited to promote agendas that deny Israel’s legitimacy or glorify those who perpetrate violence against Jews.”
The post German anti-Zionist group’s plan to protest at Buchenwald memorial over kaffiyeh ban sparks outrage appeared first on The Forward.