Migdal Group Insurance & Finance has pledged NIS 100,000 towards scholarships for 11 students enrolled in the actuarial master’s program at UofH. The MA program is the only one in Israel that grants an academic degree in actuarial science and  recognized by the actuarial associations in Israel and the UK. Scholarship recipients are invited to take part in Migdal Group’s leadership training program offering enrichment courses and mentorship led by the company’s experts.  The University recently inaugurated the scholarship program with a special ceremony attended by Rector Gustavo Mesch, Daphna Kaufman, President of the Israel Association of Actuaries; Ran Oz, CEO of Migdal Group; Anat Ofri, Director of Social Involvement at Migdal Group, and Prof. Udi Makov, Head of the Actuarial Program. The scholarship program was initiated by the Israeli Friends of the University of Haifa. READ MORE in Maariv (in Hebrew)

A major EU Horizons 2020 grant for the study of large forest fires has been awarded to an international consortium co-led by Dr. Avi Bar-Massada, a landscape ecologist from the Faculty of Natural Sciences. FirEUrisk - Developing a holistic, risk-wise strategy for European wildfire management will address all types of forest fires, including mega-fires, the urban-forestry interface, and the challenges of emerging fires in the northern European Union. The project includes 39 research groups from 16 countries.

The Serra Bonita mountain range in Brazil is home to the Northern brown howler monkey (pictured above) and 27 endangered species of bird.
Credit: © Bruno Miranda

Prof. Uri Shanas, a zoologist and ecologist at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, is purchasing private land across the globe to save forests and rare animals. He established TiME – This is My Earth, an NGO that strives to purchase and preserve 2.3% of Earth’s entire territory. Now, for the fifth consecutive year, his crowdsourcing NGO has managed to raise funds to acquire two plots of land in a single year: 500 acres in Brazil's Atlantic forest and 200 acres in the Dakatcha woodland in Kenya. READ MORE in the Jerusalem Post and the Jewish Press

The Turner (MBA Impact Investing Network & Training) competition offers select students at business and graduate schools from top universities around the world an opportunity to acquire unique training in impact investing. As part of the international competition, students meet leading impact investors from around the world, and gain practical experience. Three students from the Haifa Innovation Labs (HIL), the University of Haifa’s social innovation and impact entrepreneurship program, are getting ready to participate in this year’s competition. The internationally recognized MIINT program is a collaboration between the Bridges Impact Foundation and the Wharton Social Impact Initiative of the Wharton School of Business.

The late Benjamin de Rothschild. (Courtesy of Edmond de Rothschild Group)

The University of Haifa community mourns the loss of Baron Benjamin de Rothschild. The late Baron de Rothschild was considered a “visionary entrepreneur” who headed and greatly expanded the business and philanthropic activities of the Edmond de Rothschild Group that was founded by his father. The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation in Israel is dedicated to strengthening Israeli society by supporting initiatives that reduce social gaps and through its generous support for higher education. Baron de Rothschild and Baroness Ariane de Rothschild are dear friends of the University of Haifa. Their generosity has helped hundreds of students from diverse backgrounds attain academic degrees and has contributed to groundbreaking research in the computer sciences. May his memory be a blessing.

Dr. Judith Somekh (Department of Information Systems) recently identified a novel data science method that significantly shortens the identification of cell-surface receptor functions that are responsible for inter-cellular communication in the human body. This discovery may lead to the development of new receptor-targeting metabolic drugs. “Up until now, scientists have been using biological studies to uncover the functions of various receptors that can take multiple years,” explains Dr. Somekh. “The new method, based on network analysis of tens of thousands of values for gene expression, successfully predicts over 90% of the metabolic functions of different receptors, some of which were previously unknown.” The study, published in Scientific Reports, was covered in the Jerusalem Post. READ Press Release

Ariel view of the site of the Crusader-era siege ramp near Ashkelon | Credit: Dr. Rafael Lewis

An archaeological dig led by Dr. Rafael Lewis (Zinman Institute of Archaeology) has identified the remains of a massive siege ramp built near the ancient port city of Ashkelon. The coastal city was one of the most contested sites during the Crusader period. According to Dr. Lewis, this work of engineering has been protecting the city from encroaching sand dunes for almost a thousand years. “The large rampart was built probably in the 12th or 13th century as part of one of the sieges suffered during the Crusades,” explains Lewis. “Ever since it has stood as an artificial barrier against desertification, shielding the surrounding fields and even influencing the development of the modern city.” READ MORE in the Jerusalem Post

Ask us Anything: Holocaust is a student-led initiative co-hosted by the Weiss-Livnat International MA Program in Holocaust Studies and Tik Tok's global headquarters as part of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The overwhelmingly successful event was “attended” by 15,000 worldwide. Researchers from the Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam and the Jewish Agency for Israel participated in the international event. To date, the promotional video received over 200,000 views.WATCH THE EVENT HERE| READ MORE in the Jewish Press 

To learn more about Holocaust education today, view an interview with i24 News and Alexa Asher, Digital Communications and Internship Coordinator for the Weiss-Livnat International MA Program in Holocaust Studies. 

A previously unknown painting of Christ's face, discovered at the Byzantine site of Shivta in the Negev Desert. | Credit: Dror Maayan 

Dr. Emma Maayan-Fanar (Art History Department) and Father Remy Kurowski, Chaplin of the French Speaking Catholic Community in Hong Kong led the online conference “The Holy Face hidden in The Holy Land”. The event was inspired by the recent discovery of a 1,500 year-old painting  of the Baptism of Christ in Shivta (a Byzantine rural settlement in the Negev desert) by researchers from the Zinman Institute of Archaeology. The painting, a rare surviving example of early Byzantine iconography in the Holy Land, depicts Jesus as a short-haired youth – an early and less familiar depiction of Christ. The conference was coordinated by the Asia Pacific Desk. READ MORE on the discovery here 

Dr. Nirit Ofir, a research fellow at the Ezri Center for Iran & Persian Gulf Studies, recently returned from the 2021 Dakar Rally held in Saudi Arabia.  She shared her insights on changing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia in the context of the normalization processes taking place between Israel and the Gulf states. Dr. Ofir is an expert on the liberalization and democratization processes in the Muslim world. WATCH HER INTERVIEW

Tune into Coronavirus conversations on COVID-19 vaccinations with Prof. Green on BBC Radio. LISTEN TO A RECORDING

Prof. Manfted Green of the School of Public Health, is a medical doctor, epidemiologist, member of the Ministry of Health's Vaccination Advisory Committee and a member of the Ministry of Health's Pandemic Response Team.