(l-r) Prof. Alice Shalvi with her granddaughter Bat Sheva Vega Amador, and Ora Etrog Stibbe with her daughter Dr. Shir Stibbe.

“Tonight we celebrate and salute the power and wisdom of women.We must not forget that pioneering women succeeded in accomplishing their remarkable ambitions through some very difficult choices. They were both creative and talented, as well as brave enough to breach societal and gender barriers to make the world a better place.”

– Prof. Ron Robin, President

President Ron Robin, Chairman of the Board of Governors Bradley Bloom and hundreds of guests recently ‘gathered’ for a festive online award ceremony honoring two leading and influential Israeli figures, Prof. Alice Shalvi and Ora Etrog Stibbe. These two exceptional women have worked tirelessly to promote the advancement of women’s rights, human rights, social justice and gender equality.

Prof. Alice Shalvi is a revered professor and educator and a leading figure of the Israeli feminist movement. She was recognized for her profound achievements as founder of the Israel Women’s Network, a pioneer of democratic education and senior figure in movements committed to social equality and peace. Ora Etrog Stibbe is a psychotherapist, certified instructor in art therapy psychodrama, and a social entrepreneur. She was recognized for her charitable work and outstanding contributions to vulnerable populations in Israel and developing countries, and for her steadfast friendship with the University of Haifa and generous support of the International MA in Child Development Program.

The academic ceremony was followed by a fascinating conversation with Prof. Shalvi and Mrs. Stibbe on equality, social advocacy and advancing academic excellence, moderated by Keren Marciano, senior Israeli journalist and Economic editor of Channel 12 news.

The University of Haifa proudly participated in the first ever-public event between an Israeli university president and the head of an Emeriti university. Hundreds tuned in to the engaging online event, which concluded with a Q&A session highlighting the impact of the Abraham Accords on academia, and the critical roles researchers and students play in promoting regional peace. "Universities constitute a natural bridge between cultures and people," noted President Robin. "As academics we have a responsibility to learning how to look beyond borders,  transcend cultural differences and engage in difficult discussions.  

The event was co-hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) and moderated by Dr. Shahar Sadeh, Director of the Faculty Engagement Program at JCRC-NY.

(l-r) Prof. Gur Alroey, Rector, Brig. Gen. (Res.) Sima Vaknin Gill, Chief Censor of the State of Israel and Director General of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, Danny Danon, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Shira Ruderman, Executive Director of the Ruderman Family Foundation, and Adv. Dov Weissglas, Chairman of the University of Haifa’s Executive Committee.

An impressive lineup of ambassadors, politicians, researchers and key public figures in Israel and the United States participated in the Ruderman Program for American Jewish Studies’ annual conference. Several speakers drew attention to the gradual shifts taking place in the U.S.-Israeli relationship. Featured panelists included former US Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, and former US Congressman Steven J. Israel. “The Ruderman Program is the leading research body outside the US studying world Jewry with a focus on the American Jewish community,” noted Prof. Alroey who founded the program at the University in 2013. “I am grateful to Shira and Jay Ruderman for sharing and supporting the vision of this unique master’s program that is bridging gaps between Israelis and American Jews.”  

Danny Danon’s comments on the Iran deal were published in the Jewish Press.

The event was held in Hebrew and English with transcriptions in both languages.

Congratulations to Prof. Simone Shamay-Tsoory (Department of Psychology) on receiving an ERC Advanced Grant to explore neurological interbrain plasticity in interaction-based learning. This new approach may dramatically change our understanding of how we learn in social interactions. “Although social interactions influence learning to a large extent, neuroplasticity research is firmly rooted in probing changes in brain structures and networks within an individual brain,” explains Prof. Shamay-Tsoory. “We will use an interaction-based learning approach that focuses on the dynamics of interbrain coupling.” More on her research in The Neuroscientist.

Prof. Shamay-Tsoory is head of the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, promoting brain and behavior research activity across faculty and departments at the University.

The research teams, pre-Corona.

Researchers from the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime studies headed by Prof. Assaf Yasur-Landau and their partners from Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology at UC San Diego led by Prof. Thomas E. Levy, were recently awarded the 2021 Innovations in Networking Award for Research Applications from the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC). The teams were praised for their innovative use of high-tech tools and methods to keep up their marine excavation project during COVID-19 . READ MORE

Credit: Amanda Cotton

Prof. Dan Tchernov (Department of Marine Biology), Dr. Roee Diamant (Hatter Department of Marine Technologies), Dr. Bracha Nir (Department of Communication Disorders) and additional marine scientists from the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, are taking part in a high profile, international research project that aims to decipher communication signals of sperm whales, in an effort to communicate with them one day. The joint interdisciplinary research study with Harvard, MIT, Imperial College London, UC, Berkeley and City University of New York, combines expertise from several different fields of study including marine biology, marine acoustics, artificial intelligence and linguistics. Read more in the Times of Israel and Israel Hayom.

 
Dr. Dan Schueftan (School of Political Science) explains the Iranian military threat against a backdrop of the new alliances being forged between Israel and countries of the Arab world. Tune into the Times of Israel podcast.

Prof. Ilana Berman-Frank (Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences) discusses the often overlooked significance of the sea to Israel’s development in a special Earth Day report featured in JNS.

According to Dr. Shay Bar (Zinman Institute of Archaeology) four out of five archaeological sites in the West Bank have been damaged. Of the 365 sites that were surveyed, 80% have been harmed by vandalism, theft, unsupervised construction or agricultural activity. READ MORE

The University of Haifa has the highest percentage of female faculty members among all Israeli universities. They are at the forefront of research in cancer, education, law and society, climate change, oceanology, community mental health, neuroscience, and spirituality and the human spirit.