BGU&U | SPRING 2022

Halutz Initiative fellows hear from Dr. Adi Portughies of the Ben-Gurion Archive at Sde Boker

The Halutz initiative’s first cohort boasts 13 fellows from 12 different countries David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s national founder and first prime minister, would undoubtedly make Sinek’s shortlist of visionaries. His insistence that the Negev holds the key to Israel’s economic strength and security spurred the pioneering development of the country’s southern region, in which Ben Gurion University of the Negev plays a key role. Now, with the establishment of the Halutz (“Pioneer”) Global Leadership Initiative, an elite community dedicated to Ben-Gurion’s ambitious vision

are learning how they, too, can turn their passions into practical solutions—for BGU, for the Negev, for Israel, and for the world. An incubator for a new generation of powerful proponents of Israel’s potential to help solve the world’s most pressing problems, the Halutz Initiative “is a unique opportunity for bold, big picture supporters of Israel to learn about the true complexity of the issues that concern them most, and to see how BGU can be a vehicle for transformative change,” says Jeff Kaye, BGU’s Vice President for Public Affairs and Resource Development. “The University sees Halutz as a strategic investment in

Members of Kibbutz Nirim in the Negev on the way to work, 1947. Photo: Kluger Zoltan, National Photograph Collection

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