BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY | THE WAY FORWARD

Aliyah to Academia The Aliyah to Academia program was established in 2022, offering hope and a path forward to Russian-speaking immigrants who arrived in Israel following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. In 2025, in the midst of growing worldwide antisemitism, the program was extended to serve new English-speaking immigrants. In addition to providing intensive instruction in Hebrew, participants take academic courses, giving them a jump-start on their undergraduate studies; the course content and exams are the same as those taken by other BGU students, however Aliyah to Academia participants are taught and tested in Russian or English. The program also provides comprehensive support services, including mentorship, tutoring, and counseling. The program consists of two tracks: (1) engineering and natural, computer/data sciences (for Russian and English speakers), and (2) humanities and social sciences (for English speakers). In 2025-26, participants hailed from the US, Canada, Australia, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Belarus. To date, 71 students have graduated from the program and enrolled in BGU degree programs. Donor support has been integral to the program. With 40 hours a week of courses, plus homework, scholarships are essential, and donors have partnered with BGU to ensure that participants can focus solely on their studies and acquire the Hebrew skills and course grades needed to get accepted to BGU and complete their undergraduate degrees. While registration is still underway for the coming year, interest remains strong for all of the tracks. Gateway to Academia and Ofek Preparatory Program for the Bedouin Community Programs like Ofek and its precursor, the Gateway to Academia program, are aimed at increasing the number of young adults from the Bedouin community pursuing higher education. Designed to meet the special needs of these students and provide them with the necessary tools and support needed to succeed in academia and a path to university admission, without the required psychometric admission exam which

can serve as a barrier to Bedouin young people, programs like these are empowering and often game-changing. Participants take part in intensive courses and workshops to improve their Hebrew, English, and study skills, and are also introduced to coursework at BGU through tracks in the health sciences, humanities and social sciences, and engineering, computer science, and natural sciences. Supportive services, including tutoring and enrichment, academic and social mentorship, and drop out prevention programs, study skills and test taking workshops, and academic, career, and psychological counseling, are available to minimize drop-out and maximize academic achievement. Donor support of student scholarships has created a supportive pathway to higher education for young adults from the Bedouin community. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION The academic arena offers many Jews and Arabs their first significant opportunity to be in a shared space and get to know one another, and consequently, it may also serve as a basis for friendships and collaborations outside of academia. Intergroup encounters can counter polarization and raise awareness of discrimination, by replacing negative stereotypes with positive ones and improving attitudes toward other groups. Through shared encounters and experiences of sharing we can create a shared future in which our differences do not inspire fear or hostility but rather are valued and prized in a shared society built on mutual respect and human dignity. The likelihood of this happening serendipitously is slim, and there is a need to facilitate such encounters and provide opportunities for interaction. Since its establishment, the Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion has initiated several programs aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion and creating shared space on campus, emphasizing the need to foster sustained encounters, dialogue, and meaningful engagement between Jewish and Arab students, and nurture the mixed communities formed.

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