Bar-Ilan University takes part in the "Am Olam" Conference
President of the University Prof. Arie Zaban as well as several members of the Faculty participating in the Makor Rishon newspaper's conference marking the Reunification of Jerusalem
On Jerusalem Day, Bar-Ilan University participated in Makor Rishon’s second Convention of Diaspora Jewry, “Am Olam.” The convention marked 54 years since the reunification of Jerusalem and dealt with issues of Jewish identity and leadership in the changing world.
President of the University, Prof. Arie Zaban, who took part in the opening night, stated: “Judaism in the diaspora is a significant and strategic asset that we must protect. We continue to grow further apart from one another, and therefore, Bar-Ilan established a strategic mission to connect with the Jewish World, a mission we work towards a great deal. When we initially looked at this issue, we developed a vision that would enable us to minimize mutual ignorance and hopefully, in this way, strengthen the Jewish people here and in the Diaspora. Thank you to Makor Rishon for making this convention happen, and I hope that over time, it will transform into something national. Together we will all understand each other as a unified Jewish people.”
Over the course of the convention, many of our Faculty members took part in a panel called, “Academia – the Great Jewish Network.” Prof. Yaron Harel, Dean of the Faculty of Jewish Studies and Head of the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, moderated the panel. Along with him were Vice President of Global Resource Development Dr. Sharon Goldman, Dr. Ronit Irshai of the Gender Studies Program, Prof. Hanoch Ben-Pazi from the Department of Jewish Philosophy and Prof. Yehudah Mirsky from Brandeis University in Massachusetts, USA.