(l-r) Prof. Israel (Issi) Doron, Mrs. Herta Amir and President Ron Robin.

We were honored to welcome Mrs. Herta Amir to the Mt. Carmel campus and grateful for a major gift from the Herta and Paul Amir Foundation that allowed us to dedicate the new Herta and Paul Amir Building. Herta and Paul z"l, have been staunch supporters of the University and Israel, and are both recipients of UofH Honorary Doctorates. The Herta and Paul Amir Building is home to the Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences. President Ron Robin, Prof. Issi Doron (Dean of the Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences), and faculty members met with Herta during a tour of the facilities and presented their innovative research and academic activities.

Barry and Karen Fierst (center) with Jack and Minnie Levenson Music Scholars.

The Department of Music hosted American friends Barry and Karen Fierst. Barry helped facilitate a generous gift from Stephen Levenson (z’’l) for music scholarships in memory of his parents Jack and Minnie Levenson. Karen and Barry met with Prof. Elias Taiseer (Chair of the Music Department and Conductor and Musical Director of the University's Arab-Jewish Orchestra) and four recipients of the Jack and Minnie Levenson Music Scholarship, who discussed their shared living experiences on campus. They also met with President Ron Robin and Dr. Tammy Harel Ben-Shahar, Academic Director of the Legal Clinics for Social Change.

The breakthrough deal was signed during a virtual ceremony between President Ron Robin and Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, UAE’s Minister of Culture and Youth and President of Zayed University. The agreement will foster joint research projects across a variety of disciplines including marine sciences, education and natural resource management, with emphasis on environmental issues. Additionally, the universities will conduct student and faculty exchange programs, as well as joint seminars, conferences and workshops. Israel’s Ambassador to the UAE Amir Hayek, and the UAE’s Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Mahmoud Al Khaja were also present at the event.

In the face of the many shared challenges posed by climate change, this kind of academic cooperation is essential to preserve what all of us call home — the planet. – President Ron Robin

A new MBA Program Specializing in the Field of Technology Team will welcome thirty ECNU students to the Haifa campus this year. The program is one of several joint initiatives between the University of Haifa and ECNU, which includes student and faculty exchange as well as research activities and international seminars. UofH President Ron Robin and ECNU President Qian Xuhong attended the Program's virtual opening event.

University of Haifa and ECNU also recently held the 3^rd Haifa-ECNU Joint Business Seminar, with students from UofH's International MBA Program and ECNU's Business School. Five bi-national teams presented their business projects at the event, aimed at fostering cooperation between Israeli and Chinese firms in several industrial sectors including digital health, sensors, semiconductors and Internet of Things applications for automotive vehicles, remote care and monitoring. The teams worked under the direction of Prof. LI Zhen (ECNU) and Prof. Chalom Schirman, Director of the International MBA (Haifa).

Minister of Justice Mr. Gideon Sa'ar. Credit: University of Haifa

The Faculty of Law's annual conference, considered one of the most influential events in the legal field, featured a distinguished line-up of Israeli leaders, including President Herzog, Attorney General Mandelblit, State Attorney Aisman, former Supreme Court Presidents Prof. Aharon Barak and Prof. Asher Grunis. The Law Conference received extensive media coverage in Israel for highlighting timely and contentious topics, ranging from protecting the separation of powers and the dangers of incendiary political rhetoric, to fighting crime in the Arab sector and sustainability and the law in times of change.

COVERAGE OF THE EVENT IN THE MEDIA:

(l-r) Professors Eli Salzberger and Fania Oz-Salzberger with German Ambassador to Israel, Dr. Susanne Wasum-Rainer.

Longstanding members of the Haifa Center for German and European Studies (HCGES), Professors Eli Salzberger and Fania Oz-Salzberger were recognized for their contributions to enhancing Germany’s standing in Israel and its relations with Israel. German dignitaries, the Dean of the Faculty of Law Prof. Oren Gazal-Ayal, Prof. Stefan Ihrig, Director of the HCGES, and family members attended the festive ceremony held at the German Embassy. Fania Oz- Salzberger is Professor Emerita of History at HCGES and the Faculty of Law. Prof. Eli Salzberger is Head of the Minerva Center for the Study of the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions, President of the European Association for Law and Economics, immediate past HCGES Director, and former Dean of the Faculty of Law.

(l-r) Prof. Ofira Ayalon and Prof. Beverly Goodman-Tchernov.  

A list of twenty Israelis leading the way out of the climate crisis, compiled by Israel 21c ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow last week included Profs. Beverly Goodman-Tchernov (Head, Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences) and Ofira Ayalon (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management). Prof. Goodman-Tchernov is a National Geographic Explorer, who studies ancient marine and coastal mysteries around the world. Prof. Ayalon heads the Environment & Energy Cluster at the Technion's Samuel Neaman Institute, and was the former director of the Israel Climate Change Information Center.

We’ve passed the point where we can ask if climate change is really happening and who’s to blame. The real question now is whether we’re going to carry on the same ‘normal’ that our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents gave us or whether we’re ready to take on a new normal where we can use the technology and knowledge we have to slow, and perhaps even reverse, the damage we’ve already done. – Prof. Beverly Goodman-Tchernov


A joint effort of countries, organizations, investors, innovators, entrepreneurs, NGOs and all humankind to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and take the crucial measures to adapt to these effects, is compulsory.  – Prof. Ofira Ayalon

This year we celebrate the University's 50th Anniversary. From its simple and humble beginnings in 1972, we have grown to become one of Israel's leading universities with campuses on the Carmel Mountain, in the City of Haifa and by the Mediterranean Sea. The most pluralistic institution of higher education in the country, University of Haifa is committed to addressing environmental and social sustainability issues with local and global impact, supported with fundamental values of inclusion, equality and justice through shared society.