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In preparation for the opening of the academic school year on January 14, 2024, a special program was launched this week at the Technion that will facilitate and assist all students, and especially the reserve officers, to return to routine as easily as possible

Mindfulness as a tool to reduce stress and tension, a shared singing space, laughter and movement therapy, playing the drums. These are some of the activities initiated by the Dean of Students Office and the Technion Student Association (AST) as part of the “Back on Track” program. This program is one of the unique initiatives inorganizing academic year and its purpose is to make it easier for all students to return to campus. Other workshops to be held as part of the program are storytelling for the world of work, art workshops and guided imagination, learning strategies and time management, building a career in a changing world and experiences from a trip to Everest

Students in a workshop for making decorative inspirational signs

“We are in the midst of a war for our existence,” said Dean of Students Prof. Ayelet Fishman. “Many of our students are still serving in the reserves and I send them all our support and hugs from here. It is important for me to emphasize that we will do everything to help all of you to integrate back into your studies upon your return to campus. The Technion wishes you a soft landing and a fruitful academic year to all students and especially to all students from the reserve services. We are waiting for you all on campus.”

Students in a common poetry space

In the months since the outbreak of the war, thousands of Technion students have served in the reserves, called up by order 8, in addition to many members of the academic and administrative and teaching staff. Since the outbreak of the war, the Technion has done everything it can to support them. With the help of friends of the Technion in Israel and around the world, a special aid fund was established, which enabled the Technion to grant each of these students 6,000 shekels to help them with the various payments related to the Technion. In addition, a series of academic and other adjustments were established, including extended adjustments .for those recruited in Order 8 for the “Iron Swords” War

Students in a yoga session

The “Back on Track” program takes place from December 24th to January 11th under the leadership of the Dean of Students Office. It will help the students, and especially the reservists, to return to routine as smoothly as possible, to refresh and to fill the gaps. Every day, workshops and activities will be held on campus between 10:30 and 15:00, and in the afternoon, Zoom lectures by experts from various fields will be held. Participation is based on available space and there is no pre-registration.

Students in a workshop for learning time management strategies



For the full program of activities click here.

Daniel Widerker, company commander in the engineering brigade and doctoral student at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Widerker, who leads his company in the fight in Gaza, received notice there that his article had been accepted to the prestigious science magazine, Advanced Materials Technologies.

Major Daniel Widerker

This is… after sending from Gaza (!) the latest changes he made the old way – pen on paper – and sent to his two moderators, Prof. Moran Berkovich of the Technion and Prof. Govind Kaigla of the University of British Columbia.

Daniel’s Article Corrections on Paper

In his letter to both of them, he states that “your support over the years, and especially during this crazy period, has not only given me strength in my professional career, but also provides me comfort and peace of mind. “

And Daniel’s message is “40 days since I went into battle. 40 days that the power of our people and the support of the front gives us strength every day to carry out the most important mission of all: to protect our homeland and to bring our people home.”

We all send you blessings for success in your twin missions from back home at the Technion.

The Technion awarded Aviv Heine a scholarship in memory of her partner, the late Sergeant Yonatan Maimon, 
who fell in Gaza. The two met in the "Desert Eagles" group of the Technion's FIRST robotics program

The dream of Aviv Heine and her partner Yonatan Maimon was to study engineering together at the Technion. 
Yonatan and Aviv, residents of Ofakim, were introduced to FIRST, an educational program led by the Technion, designed to arouse 
technological curiosity in children and teenagers and cultivate them as science and technology leaders.

Sergeant Yonatan Maimon, Z”L

The late Yonatan was born in Bnei Brak to an ultra-Orthodox family of 12. When he was in eighth grade, the family moved to Ofakim. Jonathan gradually abandoned the orthodox way of life. His mother tried to help him integrate into the secular education system, but he moved from one setting to another and was unable to integrate.

The Yeshiva High School in Ofakim accepted him even though he did not meet the threshold conditions. Yeshiva director Sigalit Hadad, who believed in his abilities, worked to integrate him into one of the FIRST robotics groups in Ofakim, “Desert Eagles FRC #6104” – a unique group that combines Yeshiva students, Ulpan girls and high school students.

Yonatan and Aviv

“Yonatan was received by the members of the group with love and a huge hug,” says the group’s mentor Ruth Naamani. “Yonatan told me that his knowledge of arithmetic is very limited and he does not know the letters in English. I asked who in the group was willing to help him with these issues, and the group captain Aviv Heine – an excellent student in the scientific excellence class – answered immediately.”
Aviv helped and mentored Yonatan for an entire summer, which allowed him to return to the education system, and what’s more, to finish high school with a full matriculation in physics (5 units), English (5) and mathematics (4). Yonatan was also involved in the “Desert Eagles” group as a team leader and as a kashrut leader.

The friendship between Aviv and Jonathan turned into a great love, but it was cut short on November 4 with the tragic death of the late Yonatan, a fighter in the Nahal Brigade, who fell in the northern Gaza Strip.

FIRST CEO Ido Mazursky, who met Aviv during the traditional seven mourning days for Yonatan, turned to Prof. Menachem Katopori, who previously led FIRST activities at the Technion, and Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan. This is how the idea for the special scholarship for Aviv Heine was born.

“I share in my deep sorrow for the death of your spouse, the late Yonatan Maimon, who fell in the war to defend the State of Israel,” Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan wrote to Aviv. “I learned that your dream and Yonatan’s dream was to study engineering, and in this way influence all of humanity. Out of deep appreciation for your work and your leadership and in order to help you realize your dream, the Technion has decided to grant you a tuition scholarship for two years. I hope that the scholarship will brighten your day a little in these difficult times, and will serve as a token in memory of the late Yonatan.”

Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan’s letter to Aviv Heine

Last week, on the thirtieth day after Jonathan’s passing, Aviv received the Technion scholarship letter from their mentor, Ruth Naamani.

*Photos courtesy of Aviv Heine

Naor Iluz, a student in the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering at the Technion, was injured in the fighting in Gaza, faces the reconstruction process with optimism and dreams of a thriving space industry in the Negev

Thousands of soldiers have been injured since Shabbat in October, including students at the Technion. One of them, Naor Iluz, a student at the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering, was born in the center of the country and grew up in Mitzpe Ramon – “I spent my entire childhood there. I was a naughty boy. In middle school I attended an ultra-orthodox school that I now know operated without a license, and I really did not get a good educational foundation.” In high school he studied at the ‘Or Etzion’ high school yeshiva and two years at a military boarding school. “In the 10th grade, I was transferred to the ‘Aspiring’ group, where they studied for 3 units in mathematics. I got really upset and decided that I would just sit in on a 5-unit class. They tried to get me out. Called the manager. They even caught me copying on the first test, but they gave me a chance and on the second test, I scored the highest. In the twelfth grade, I completed physics at an external school, and thanks to the investment in the last two years of high school, today I am studying at the Technion, in the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering.”

Naor Iluz with Prof. Tal Shima, Dean of the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space at the hospital

Fast forward to the War of the Iron Swords. Iluz, who served previously as a combat medic in the Engineering Corps, was drafted into the reserves by Order 8 as a medic in the patrol division of Auxiliary Company 198. On the morning of November 8, a month and a day after the Hamas attack on Israel began, a surprise IDF raid was launched on outpost 17 of Hamas. The raid, which was based on intelligence information that included tunnels and dozens of Hamas operatives in the target area, combined attacks from the air, engineering tools, tanks and several infantry battalions and other forces.

“The auxiliary gained confidence in the field during many days of fighting,” says Iluz, “and that’s why we got the right to lead the foot forces in this raid. At around 9:45, we arrived at the first structure and cleared it to cover a central axis in that location.”

The building had three floors. Iluz’s unit was placed on the third floor and another unit on the second floor. The stay there was planned to be short, but every plan is subject to change.

In a short time, A., one of the soldiers, was injured, and Iluz, the medical authority in the field, ordered him to be moved to an inner room and joined him. At 10:10, a long burst of gunfire was heard from inside the house and one of the soldiers shouted that he recognized a terrorist with an RPG. Two minutes later, shooting began at the soldier guarding the entrance to the building. The commanders made a situation assessment and it was decided that Iluz’s department would launch a counterattack on the terrorists’ house.

“Since A. was still dizzy and unbalanced, it was decided that only he and I would stay on the third floor in the same inner room. The platoon went to attack the house, the terrorist was waiting for them in the staircase and threw grenades at them. The first one did not explode but the second one did and several soldiers were injured to varying degrees. They were concentrated in a nearby warehouse.”

Naor in the reserve service

In the meantime, the first building was also hit by an RPG, and the entire floor where Iluz and A were staying was surrounded by smoke. “I heard the shouts from the building next door and I hoped they weren’t injured, but 10 seconds later I heard shouts ‘Iluz, Iluz, there are wounded and the MP was also injured.” Iluz joined M., his close mate, and immediately shots began to be fired at them. “Lots of bullets hit us millimeters from our shoes and legs, and I tell him ‘we are being shot at.’ When I assessed that they were changing cartridges, I asked M. to give a shot and I entered the narrow alley between the two houses. M. gave a burst of fire and I ran close to the right wall of the alley, but immediately a bundle of Kalashnikovs was fired at me.” One of the bullets hit Iluz’s shoulder and many shrapnel flew in front of him from the block wall next to him. Two other bullets were aimed at him and stopped – one in the vest and the other in the grenade that was in the pouch. “When I got to the door of the warehouse where the wounded were, I grabbed another bundle of Kalashnikovs.” One of the bullets entered the right side of the right thigh, breaking the bone and tearing the femoral artery and the main vein in the thigh. Everything happened in slow motion.

Iluz opened his emergency bag and tried to place a tourniquet on himself, without success. “I called A.M. and he put the blocker on me. While doing so, I look at the condition of the wounded and see to my left the MP sitting quietly with a broken leg from shrapnel from the grenade, see T shirtless at the end of the warehouse smoking a cigarette, look to the right and see C. with a sullen look and bleeding in the armpit area. At this point I realize that I am the worst injured and that I need a moment to take care of myself. A.M. Another tourniquet is placed on me. I lost a lot of blood and my consciousness was on and off. I said no, took my medic’s scissors from the vest and tore off my uniform and saw more bleeding, then stripped the rest of the wound.”

And all the while the fighting continues, the support covers the wounded and another wounded man joins his comrades in the warehouse – a wounded man who was shot in the hand. “Every 20 seconds someone else shakes me and shouts at me so that I continue to remain conscious, and everyone looks at me helplessly, after all, I’m the only medic here – and the most seriously injured.”

In the end, Iluz was laid on a stretcher and turned under fire to one of the tanks that arrived on the scene. The back corridor of the tank was opened, but the stretcher was too big and he was carried through it. ” At that moment, the most difficult psychological war of my life began. Excruciating pain, weak on the verge of losing consciousness, naked and frozen. I felt like a sardine in a can. I asked the tanker to bring me water and turn on the air conditioner so that it would be easier for me to breathe. To keep myself awake, I sang Eyal Golan’s ‘We went for a walk, we picked an anemone’ and ‘Buy you a diamond’. I repeated over and over the names of my nuclear family, including the dogs. Just stay awake.”

Dreaming of establishing a space industry in the Negev

About an hour after the incident, the tank arrived at a safe area where it connected with an Eitan (a new IDF APC) and where he met a paramedic for the first time. “Out of strength, I grabbed him, shook him and screamed: ‘Ketamine, Ketamine, Ketamine!’ And why does it take him so long to open a vein for me? But in retrospect I know that I quickly received the anesthetic. I don’t know what dose, but I started having hallucinations of life. I saw long corridors, destroyed houses of Gaza that shrunk and turned into a virtual game on the computer, I saw a screen of smoke and then total darkness descended, and immediately after that the black became a condensed black – what I felt at that moment was like death.”

When they reached the border, Iluz was transferred to a military ambulance. “I woke up from the sunlight and saw an Israeli electricity pole, which gave me a lot of hope for life because I knew I was close to a hospital.” He remembers how the mobile door opened when they arrived at Barzilai Hospital. “They put me in an operating room and I saw dozens of people in gowns and I shouted to them ‘put me to sleep put me to sleep’. And that’s what they did.”

That evening Iluz woke up at seven o’clock, and to this day he has a hard time digesting what happened to him in Gaza. Since the interview with him, he has moved from the Barzilai hospital to the rehabilitation department in Tel Hashomer. He maintains optimism and believes that he was not injured for nothing, because “it is a privilege.” We were called to protect the house.” The future is clear to him, at least at the national level: “My dream is to establish an aviation and space industry in the Negev, so that the State of Israel will not be dependent on external factors and that Israel’s air superiority in the Middle East will be maintained.”

The Technion has delayed the start date for the academic year, moving it to January 14, 2024.

Since the beginning of the war, the Technion has been steadfast in its commitment to aiding students engaged in military reserve duty, offering them comprehensive academic and financial assistance.

In response to requests from IDF officials and after constructive discussions with them, the Technion’s administration has opted to postpone the start of the academic year by an additional week, now commencing on January 14, 2024. This adjustment, different than the approach adopted by other universities, aims to facilitate the return of more students from reserve duty and ease their return, ensuring smooth reintegration into academic life.

To further aid returning reserve duty students, the Technion has implemented various academic initiatives, including personalized academic mentoring and tutoring services. Additionally, a comprehensive support package has been designed to assist reservists, offering emotional support, financial aid, and more.

In English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Dutch, Moroccan, Italian, and 8 other languages – the Technion president Professor Uri Sivan, Nobel Prize laureates, and members of the academic and administrative staff of the Technion, all call with one clear voice to bring the hostages home now!

https://youtu.be/UwpUrhPVVmU

Public Statement of Israel Research Universities Presidents Regarding American Universities Presidents’ Statements in Congressional Hearings

Since the horrifying atrocity of October 7th, there has been a distressing surge in anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment on numerous campuses across the United States, including some of its most esteemed universities. Instead of offering empathy and support to Israeli and Jewish students in the wake of the brutal massacre of Jewish communities in their homeland, campuses have witnessed protests advocating for the annihilation of the State of Israel (“from the river to the sea”) and endorsing terrorist activities against Israeli citizens (“intifada”). There has been a disturbing display of hatred towards Jews and Israelis, causing fear among this community on American campuses. This resurgence of hostility evokes memories of dark chapters in Jewish history.

Under these distressing circumstances, there is an urgent need for firm leadership on American campuses—leadership that unequivocally declares, “This far, no further.” Regrettably, such resolute leadership appears to be lacking at present. While some individual academic leaders have vocally opposed anti-Semitism and actively worked against it, many others have remained silent.

In a disconcerting recent hearing held in the U.S. Congress, presidents from three prominent universities (Harvard, MIT, and Pennsylvania) were questioned about their stance on severe instances of anti-Semitism on their campuses. Although these leaders acknowledged the existence of anti-Semitic expressions, they maintained that curbing a significant portion of these expressions is challenging due to their protection under the banner of free speech.

During a critical moment in the congressional hearing, the university presidents were asked whether a call for the genocide of the Jewish people aligns with their institutions’ codes of conduct. Astonishingly, they struggled to provide a straightforward “no” and instead offered vague responses, suggesting that the response depends on the context. This hesitation raises concerning questions about the interpretation of free speech.

Following the hearing, the president of Harvard University released a brief statement emphasizing the institution’s prohibition of anti-Semitic expressions, a sentiment echoed by the president of the University of Pennsylvania.

The positions taken by the university presidents during the congressional hearing, suggesting that anti-Semitic expressions and calls for genocide may fall under the umbrella of free speech, defy the principles of the U.S. Constitution. A nation that permits a call for genocide in the guise of freedom of speech does a disservice to its values. Freedom of speech, while a fundamental right, must yield in the face of incitement, hatred, and calls for violence, especially a call for genocide. This principle holds true not only in the United States but also in all democratic countries globally.

The university presidents’ failure to provide a firm stance in dealing with instances of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment on many campuses in the United States is alarming. Apologies and expressions of regret are not enough; what is required are clear and decisive actions. In their testimony before Congress, the university presidents mentioned measures taken or planned to protect the security and well-being of Jews and Israelis on campuses.

It is now their responsibility to ensure the effectiveness and sufficiency of these measures. The burden lies on their shoulders to demonstrate that the universities they lead not only excel in academics but also uphold universal humanistic values and defend the rights of minorities. It is imperative that everyone understands that advocating for the destruction of a people is strictly prohibited at Harvard, MIT, Pennsylvania, and everywhere else in the world.

Prof. Arie Zaban, President of Bar-Ilan University; Chairperson of Association of University Heads, Israel – VERA

Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Prof. Alon Chen, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science

Prof. Asher Cohen, President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Prof. Leo Corry, President of the Open University

Prof. Ehud Grossman, President of Ariel University

Prof. Ariel Porat, President of Tel-Aviv University

Prof. Ron Robin, President of the University of Haifa

Prof. Uri Sivan, President of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

VERA – Statement on U.S. Congressional Hearing – 12.7.23

More than 250 volunteers from the Technion mobilized to help teach students who were evacuated from their homes

About a week after the outbreak of the war, in mid-October, Prof. Yohai Carmel from the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering came across a volunteer academy project . This new and exciting initiative is designed to harness members of the academic and administrative faculty, doctoral and master’s students to assist in the teaching of students evacuated from the north and south during the war and to support them. Prof. Carmel contacted the originator of the initiative, Dr. Lev Talor from Ariel University, and offered to help not only with the teaching but also with the organization.

Following this, Prof. Carmel is currently coordinating the initiative in the Northern District. Meanwhile, Dr. Ronit Cohen, director of the Ecology Laboratory at the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, has taken it upon herself to coordinate the activity in the Haifa District. In cooperation between them and Michal Meir, who coordinates the “Mutual Guarantee” initiative at the Technion, an email was sent to all Technion faculty members, and as a result, many academic faculty members and managers from the Technion volunteered for this initiative. According to Prof. Carmel, “More than 500 volunteers are currently registered in the ‘Volunteer Academy’ in Israel. Happily, the Technion leads by a margin over all other academic institutions, with more than 150 volunteers.”

The students at the Technion also joined the teaching effort, and this initiative is led by Amit Pelati, a master’s student at the Faculty of Science and Technology Education who works at the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning at the Technion. “So far, about 120 students have volunteered to teach math, science and English,” he says. “I am working on the connection between the volunteers and the temporary schools set up for the evacuees in hotels (for elementary schools) and colleges (for high schools). It is very complex, because things are very dynamic. It happens that we arrange for a student to volunteer at a temporary school – and the next day we receive an update that there is no longer a school there. These are huge numbers: thousands of evacuees from the north are in temporary places in Haifa, Karmiel and around the Sea of Galilee, apparently for a long time, and assistance to the educational teams is really essential these days.”

The main volunteering within the “Volunteer Academy” is in the schools, but many also volunteer in learning centers that operate in the afternoon. In the supplementary learning center at the Hof Guy Hotel in Kinneret, for example, volunteers are Prof. Yizhar Or from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Dean of the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering Prof. Giti Frey, Dr. Yosef Frey, Dr. Moran Benhar from the Rapaport Faculty of Medicine. The learning center is attended by students from the evacuated schools of kibbutzim and moshavim in the Nahariya area, which were integrated into the Kaduri High School.

Prof. Carmel himself teaches science in grades 8-10. According to him, “I don’t stick to the curriculum but try to be interesting and relevant for them. Even so, it is difficult for them to concentrate on their studies during this period, after they were displaced from their home and moved to live in a temporary hotel, for an unknown period of time.”

The Technion is exempting students serving in the IDF reserves for significant amounts of time from taking scheduled final exams for spring and summer 2023 classes

The Technion is enabling students who served extensively in the army reserves during the current war to receive exemptions from regular and make-up final exams for classes they took in the spring and summer semesters of 2023. These exemptions, combined with other benefits the Technion has already announced on behalf of students in the reserves, will allow them to begin the new academic year as smoothly as possible. These benefits include a NIS 6,000 grant for each student serving in the reserves, as well as exemption from paying dorm rent, Emotional support and more.

Since the start of the war thousands of Technion’s students received emergency call-up notices, as did many faculty members and academic and administrative staff. Exempting reservists from the need to take exams from last year’s courses will enable them to complete their military duty and return as quickly as possible to their studies at the Technion. Due to the special nature of the studies at the Technion and the disciplines taught at the university – engineering, medicine, science, architecture, and education – a small number of make-up exams for courses defined as crucial for the students’ professional and academic training will not be exempt. Moreover, the exemption does not include the obligation to submit projects and assignments. However, it does include students who are parents and whose partner is serving in the reserves, as well as members of the “Atudaim” program who were mobilized, and students in mandatory service and in the standing army who meet the criteria mentioned above.

Make-up exams for the spring semester and final exams for the summer semester will take place at the Technion from December 17, 2023, through January 5, 2024. Since the war interrupted the original exam schedule and some students are required to complete their exams before the start of the new semester, the Technion announced a special plan for additional academic adjustments for students serving in the army reserves during the war. As a result, the remaining exam period for the last academic year will be separated from the upcoming academic year and there will be no overlapping between the two. This change, along with the exemptions for reservists, will enable all students to begin the new academic year without worrying about lingering obligations from previous years.

“At the Technion, we are very proud of our students who are serving in the reserves and pray for their safe return,” says Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan. “We understand that given the situation and the ongoing war, the students serving in the reserves are experiencing long periods of mobilization with a great deal of challenges, which makes it especially difficult to return to academic life and to exams. Therefore, already from the beginning of the war, the Technion’s management started formulating a series of adjustments to relieve some of the pressure for all students, and especially for those serving in the army during the war. The adjustments for the exams and for the beginning of the academic year will make it possible to open the winter semester at the earliest feasible date, so that we will be able to proceed with a balanced academic year as much as possible.”

Students who served in the reserves for at least 30 days between October 7, 2023, and the start of the exam period are eligible to be exempted from taking exams for the spring and summer semesters of 2023. These students can choose to receive an exemption for classes for which they were supposed to take exams between December 17, 2023, and January 5, 2024. The “exemption” mark is intended to replace the grades of make-up exams. Students who wish to do so can forego the exemption option and can take make-up exams during their scheduled “moed bet” or “miluim” times.

Click here for details.

The Forum of Deans of Medical Faculties in Israel, including Prof. Eli Pikarski, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine at @HebrewU, has developed a framework for the admission of students studying medicine abroad, conscripted to the IDF under Order 8, who are unable to resume their studies. This initiative acknowledges their contributions and aims to mitigate any disruption they may face.

After extensive deliberations, the forum has outlined criteria allowing for the integration of these students into medical faculties in Israel as early as the upcoming academic year of 2023-2024. To implement this plan, a national admissions committee has been established, comprising representatives from all medical faculties in Israel. This committee will review applications and determine the number of accepted students based on each faculty’s capacity to accommodate additional students.

It’s important to highlight that securing full state funding is a prerequisite for executing this framework.

For comprehensive details on the outline, candidacy criteria, and specific conditions, please refer to the full document attached below.

Interested candidates can submit their applications, along with the required documents, to the following email address: VERA.refua@gmail.com

Furthermore, the deans’ forum has decided to extend recognition to candidates enrolled in medical studies this year (2023-2024) who were also conscripted to serve in the IDF under Order 8 on October 7, 2023. These individuals, having completed the entire medical admission process but falling short of a few points for admission, will also be considered. A limited number of these candidates will be selected promptly, with details announced separately.

Please see the attached document for the full announcement text.

FINAL Faculties of Medicine VERA PR – 12.5.23