Supporting Reserve Soldiers and Building a Resilient Academia
What’s happening
The new academic year has commenced at higher education institutions across Israel. This marks the second year that universities and colleges are opening amidst the ongoing Gaza war. A significant number of the students enrolled are reserve soldiers, who comprise about one in five, roughly 70,000. These reservists are engaged in pursuits ranging from endearing engineering and medicine to enlightening fields focused on therapeutics.
Why it matters
Israel’s universities are foundational pillars not only for education but for national advancement in sectors critical for economic strength, technological supremacy, and social cohesion. The heads of these institutions are committed to supporting reserve soldiers in balancing their academic goals alongside their national service duties, ensuring their educational journeys are unharmed despite external conflicts. Moreover, Israeli advancements, particularly in defense technologies that protect the nation, were honed in these academic crucibles, reaffirming academia’s indispensable role in national security.
The impact of the conflict
Fields such as psychological studies, social work, physical and occupational therapy, and the critical area of engineering have seen increased interest. Notably, the challenging times have kindled student enrollments in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies by remarkable margins, reflecting a growing awareness and need to understand regional dynamics better.
The leadership stance
Prof. Uri Sivan, President of the prestigious Technion—Israel’s technologic vanguard, underscores the invaluable nature of Israeli academic institutions, noting that Israel’s defensive capabilities pronounced worldwide, such as the Iron Dome, stem from innovations intrinsic to these colleges. He stresses that downsizing budgets, inhibiting academic independence, or imposing restrictions jeopardizes Israel’s future economic resilience, national security, and innovative edge.
Conclusively, as universities in Israel rise to meet fiscal and strategic challenges, the anticipated cuts and decal of independence loom as stark concerns that both demand attention and offer stirring opportunity for reinforcing academics as central to Israel’s continuing bright chapter in history.
This story was first published on ynetnews.com.