BGU&U | SPRING 2026

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Noah Tratt (3rd from right) at Board of Governors Meeting, May 2024

“The program was exceptional… the people, the ideas, the energy, it all combined into an incredible experience,” he reflects. That experience has since evolved into sustained leadership. Today, Tratt is actively involved in shaping the Zin program’s future and strengthening alumni engagement, helping expand the University’s global network. The connections formed through the program, he says, are “profound and personal,”

creating a lasting sense of commitment to BGU’s mission. This progression, from participant to partner, is at the heart of both programs. Halutz and Zin are not only introductions to BGU, but entry points into a global community of engaged leaders who continue to contribute long after the program ends.

matters more than ever. Through Halutz and Zin, BGU is building relationships that extend far beyond campus, connecting people, ideas, and initiatives across borders. And for those who stand overlooking the Zin Valley at the close of the program, what begins as a visit to BGU often becomes something more enduring: a commitment to be part of its future.

At a time of ongoing global uncertainty, that community

The BGU community and the Halutz family were saddened by the untimely death of Mikhail (Misha) Libkin, a Halutz Fellow from Cohort IV, in March 2026. Misha is pictured on the right in the photograph on page 38.