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October 30 2023
Dear RRIS students, faculty members, partners,
As we enter the fourth week of the October 2023 war, we would like to inform you of the university administration’s decision to commence the academic year in the Raphael Recanati International School (RRIS) for undergraduate programs on November 19, 2023; subject to the security situation at that time and the directives of the Home Front Command. (This does not apply to the programs in computer science, graduate and selected honors programs – more info will be sent soon on the subject).
This decision was taken after thorough consideration and careful deliberation, following an extensive process involving consultations, surveys, conversations, and personal correspondence with students. Many support this decision and are eager to begin the school year, while others express opposition to it.
Over the last four weeks, Israel has been thrust into a difficult war whose end-date is unclear.
The ultimate outcome is certain: we will emerge victorious, due to the indomitable spirit, fortitude, and strength of our civilians and soldiers, including many students, faculty, staff and alumni of Reichman University.
Our enemies also know that they will lose the military campaign, but they will do everything in their power to inflict losses and damage to the front-lines and the home-front, severely disrupt civilian life in Israel, cause harm to the Israeli economy and society, damage our morale, and undermine Israel’s international legitimacy and its right to defend itself.
Therefore, while our soldiers are fighting on the front lines to defeat our enemies and provide the home-front with a safety net that will allow it to function, our civilians are called upon to conduct an “emergency routine” to the fullest extent possible. We, as a university, are committed to contributing our part to the civilian war effort. Despite the immense challenges faced by our students, academic faculty, and administrative staff, we must demonstrate this commitment by commencing the academic year for those who came to Israel specially to begin their studies.
The RRIS is fundamentally different from the Israeli schools, due to the fact that it is home to hundreds of students from all over the world. Some of them are currently abroad and want to express their solidarity with Israel by choosing to study remotely at an Israeli university; until the situation stabilizes. Others have opted to come to Israel (some even after the war began) and are living in the dormitories and waiting for the school year to begin. We, the university administration, have a deep commitment to these students. We also bear a special responsibility towards the third-year students who are slated to complete their degrees this year, some of whom have even registered for master's degree programs next year.
In addition to our international students, Israeli students are also enrolled at the international school. Hundreds of them have been called up to serve in the IDF and are making significant contributions to Israel's security. We are equally committed to these students and are dedicated to ensuring that they do not suffer any academic setbacks.
Hence, the decision has been made to commence the academic year for undergraduate students at the international school in an online format (hybrid and zoom) on Sunday, November 19, 2023 (with the exception of the Efi Arazi School of Computer Science and certain special programs; as well as master's degree programs). It is our hope that these programs will open with the Israeli schools on December 3rd).
We, at Reichman University, believe that it is our duty to begin classes for our international students. This decision as difficult as it is, reflects a national and Zionist commitment at this critical time. It is clear to us that some students will need help strengthening their mental resilience during this difficult time, and the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology is committed to providing support to all those who need it.
We take immense pride in our students who have been called up to serve in the reserves.
During routine times, we offer special treatment and a warm embrace to our reserve soldiers; and even more so in times of emergency. The safety, well-being and education of the reservists are at the forefront of our minds.
Therefore, we are dedicated to smoothly reintegrating the students serving in the reserves back into their studies upon their safe return from the war. Each returning student will receive personal and individualized support, ensuring that no student recruited into the reserves will face any negative consequences due to the decision to commence the academic year at the international school.
In light of this, we have made some important decisions:
- We will allow Israeli students who received an emergency call-up (Tzav 8) and are enrolled at the RRIS to integrate into the curriculum of the relevant track in Hebrew after their release from the reserves, should they choose to do so. For the first semester, they will study alongside other released reservists in this track and then return to the international track for the second semester.
- We will set up a special scholarship fund for reservists who were called up on a Tzav 8 for the war and who are struggling financially.
In addition, we intend to provide the reservists with, among other things, the following support:
- Personal guidance from academic advisors who will help students structure their curriculum in a way that will enable them to make up the studies they missed quickly and efficiently.
- Reserve soldiers will receive academic credit for their active reserve service.
- We will offer special study and tutorial groups for those released from the reserves, to be conducted by the school faculty. In addition, if necessary, we will provide them with individual guidance by a faculty member.
- Released reservists will be granted the necessary concessions and accommodations in their academic responsibilities, without any compromise on academic standards. They will also receive access to all recordings of the lectures and classes they missed, as well as asynchronous learning materials.
- The School of Psychology will offer students resilience sessions to allow them to process the emotional pressures they were under.
Dear students,
We consider it our personal duty to ensure that no Israeli student studying at the international school and serving in the reserves during this period be adversely affected by the decision to commence the school year. Many of us — members of the university administration — have acquired personal experience from prolonged periods of emergency in Israel (including the Yom Kippur War, the First and Second Lebanon Wars, the First and Second Intifadas, and others). We have served during these periods of crisis in the IDF or within the security establishment, and we are able to understand and empathize with the anguish, concerns, and deliberations of the soldiers engaged in arduous daily combat, risking their lives, while the home front is trying to maintain an “emergency routine” under impossible circumstances. Yet, at the same time we remain mindful that the essence of the IDF — the Israel Defense Forces — is to fight to defend the State of Israel in order to allow the home front to continue to sustain civilian life to the greatest extent possible.
And this too is the essence of Reichman University — to function and maintain an academic emergency routine to the best of our abilities, despite the challenges that have been imposed on us by our enemies. In our eyes, this is a Zionist and national mission.
As always, we are here for you; take care of yourselves and together, we will win!
Sincerely,
Prof. Uriel Reichman, Founding President and Chairperson of the Board of Directors
Prof. Boaz Ganor, President
Prof. Varda Liberman, Provost
Dr. Ayelet Ben Ezer, CEO and Vice-President
Jonathan Davis, Head of the Raphael Recanati International School & Vice-President for External Relations
