American Friends of Bar-Ilan University

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American Friends of Bar-Ilan University

Bar-Ilan University: Where Tradition Meets Innovation

AFBIU's page will present news, projects and events that reflect the University's embrace of Jewish and Zionist principles, which are core to Bar-Ilan's initiatives in the sciences, law, nanotechnology, engineering, business, the humanities and its Medical School in the Galilee.

10/07/2026

October 7. Three years later, we remember. 🕯️

Three years have passed since the attacks of October 7, 2023 — a day that forever changed Israel, the Jewish people, and communities around the world.

Today, we pause to remember all those who were murdered on that devastating day, and those who have lost their lives defending their country in the three years since.

We hold close the families who continue to live with unimaginable loss, those whose lives were forever altered, and a Bar-Ilan University community that has carried the weight of these years while continuing to support one another.

Time moves forward, but remembrance remains.

Today and always, we honor those we lost and stand together with the people of Israel.

May their memories be a blessing. 🕯️

10/06/2026

🇮🇱 Honoring Their Service. Supporting Their Future. 📚

As we approach the third anniversary of October 7, we remember the lives lost and recognize the extraordinary burdens Israel’s students continue to carry, from reserve duty to grief to uncertainty.

At Bar-Ilan University, the award-winning Academic Armor initiative helps students move forward. During 2026, it supported 6,000 Bar-Ilan students, providing academic, financial, and emotional assistance to help them pursue their education while meeting the demands of service.

Launched in response to the mobilization of more than 30% of Bar-Ilan’s student body after October 7, Academic Armor offers tailored support ranging from tuition assistance and personal advising to tutoring and emotional counseling. In 2025, the initiative earned Bar-Ilan the Minister of Defense Award of Recognition for its exceptional commitment to student reservists and members of the security forces.

Supporting these students means investing in the people who will shape Israel’s future. They have shown up for their country. Together, we must continue showing up for them.

10/02/2026

🌿📖 As Sukkot draws to a close, we look ahead to Shabbat and the celebrations of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

At Bar-Ilan University, Jewish tradition and the pursuit of knowledge have always gone hand in hand — connecting generations, inspiring new ideas, and shaping a community rooted in both heritage and discovery.

As we celebrate the completion of one Torah cycle and the beginning of another, we wish our Bar-Ilan community, friends, and supporters a meaningful and joyful holiday.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach from American Friends of Bar-Ilan University!

09/30/2026

🇮🇱 Israelis Head to the Polls: What You Need to Know 🗳️ ☑️

What's at stake in Israel's election this month? Join our next webinar for access to expert analysis from Bar-Ilan University professors, exploring the forces shaping the country’s next government and its democratic future.

On Wednesday, October 14 at noon ET, Dr. Liron Lavi and Dr. Ilana Shpaizman, both from Bar-Ilan's Department of Political Studies, will offer a wide-ranging and thought-provoking election preview that covers:

▪️ Public trust, citizens’ sense of representation, and support for democratic institutions amid deep political polarization.
▪️ Israel’s shifting political landscape.
▪️ The challenges of translating election results into a viable governing coalition.
▪️ The competing priorities that are likely to shape the formation and functioning of Israel’s next government.

🚨 REGISTER TODAY:

09/29/2026

🏠 Sukkot: Bridging the Material and Spiritual 🌿

As Sukkot continues, the holiday offers an opportunity to reflect on the deeper meaning behind its traditions — and what they can teach us about the relationship between our physical and spiritual lives.

In a reflection for aish.com, Rabbi Ari Kahn, Director of Foreign Student Programs and Senior Lecturer in Jewish Studies at Bar-Ilan University, explores how Sukkot brings these two dimensions together. From the temporary shelter of the sukkah to the holiday’s agricultural traditions, he examines how Sukkot celebrates the material blessings that sustain us while reminding us to look beyond them.

“Our physical existence is brought into sharp contrast with our spiritual life, and the two aspects of Sukkot coexist,” Rabbi Kahn writes.

Read Rabbi Kahn’s full reflection here: https://aish.com/sukkot-the-universal-holiday/

09/28/2026

🤝 A Groundbreaking Partnership for the Gap-Year in Israel 🌎 🇮🇱

Bar-Ilan University's Israel XP gap-year program and Florida Atlantic University have embarked on a first-of-its-kind partnership, enabling Israel XP participants to receive transfer credit toward an FAU degree through approved course equivalencies.

Israel XP is Bar-Ilan's gap-year experience for students from around the world, who complete one year or one semester of studies at the Ramat Gan campus. Conducted in English, this unique program features Jewish studies in the morning hours followed by Hebrew-language (ulpan) and general studies in the afternoon.

Rivka Tuval-Mashiach, Bar-Ilan University’s vice president for international affairs, described the collaboration with FAU as "as an excellent opportunity to strengthen research cooperation between our two universities, building on the outstanding work both institutions are doing in fields such as engineering, health sciences, quantum science, and more.”

Read more: https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/gapyearrelease

09/24/2026

🌿 What can the sukkah teach us about growth, protection, and letting go?

Ahead of Sukkot, Bar-Ilan University Bible lecturer Rabbi Ari Silbermann reflects on the deeper meaning of the sukkah in a new essay for Tablet Magazine.

The sukkah, he writes, offers a unique kind of shelter: protective enough to make us feel secure, yet deliberately fragile and open enough to let us look toward the stars and what lies beyond.

As Rabbi Silbermann explains, “A journey of growth begins with holding and then letting go.”

Read “The Peculiar Shelter of the Sukkah” here: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/sukkah-peculiar-shelter

Chag Sukkot Sameach from American Friends of Bar-Ilan University! 🌿

09/22/2026

Turning Research Into a Pursuit of Justice ⚖️

On October 6–7, scholars from Bar-Ilan University and Brandeis University will come together for an important conference examining conflict-related sexual violence, the legacy of October 7, and the pursuit of accountability and justice for victims.

The conference, convened by the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute together with The Dinah Project at Bar-Ilan’s Rackman Center, will bring together international experts to explore how sexual violence in war is addressed under international law, the challenges of denial, and pathways toward justice.

The gathering builds on the work of The Dinah Project and Bar-Ilan Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari and her colleagues to document sexual violence connected to October 7 and its aftermath and advance concrete legal strategies for accountability.

Read more in the Jewish Journal of Greater Boston: https://jewishjournal.org/2026/09/17/brandeis-conference-to-examine-sexual-violence-on-oct-7-and-in-war-zones-globally/

09/18/2026

As Yom Kippur approaches, we join together in a time of reflection, prayer, and renewal. 🕯️

May this sacred day inspire us to look inward and move forward with greater purpose, compassion, and hope.

Shabbat Shalom and G’mar Chatima Tova from American Friends of Bar-Ilan University. May you and your loved ones be sealed for a good year.

09/16/2026

For Eliyahu, a computer science student at Bar-Ilan University, one phone call in the weeks after October 7 has stayed with him.

A professor whose class Eliyahu had previously taken called simply to ask how he was doing while serving in reserve duty. What made the gesture even more meaningful was that the professor was grieving the loss of his own nephew in the October 7 attacks.

“He told me he just wanted to hear me, and hear how I am doing in the field and if everything is fine.”

During our recent webinar, “Resilience, Purpose & Promise: Israel’s Students Look Back and Ahead,” Eliyahu reflected on the people and sense of community that supported him through an extraordinary period.

Hear Eliyahu’s story below, and watch the full webinar here: https://youtu.be/I7HCQItNP2w

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