National Imperative

From Application to Graduation:

Mainstreaming Haredi Students into Regular Campus Studies

Pioneering TAU initiative is helping Ultra-Orthodox Jewish students build professional careers previously unattainable to most

By David Jozsef

As an Ultra-Orthodox girl educated in a Jerusalem seminary, Ester Tayar was taught at an early age that challenging the teacher was not only frowned upon, it was indicative of a ‘problem child.’ “Since third grade I learned that I had to suppress my desire to understand, to know why,” explains Ester. Now, the 31 year-old wife and mother of two small children is a second-year law student at TAU’s Buchmann Faculty of Law. For the first time in her life, not only is asking questions encouraged, it is expected. “Our professors told us in our first semester to be critical thinkers, that everything you are told must be questioned. Never accept anything at face value. I was amazed,” she says. Ester is one of 50 fulltime Haredi students currently studying at TAU under a new framework called Trailblazers: The Program for Integrating the UltraOrthodox into Tel Aviv University. The program is unique in its threefold approach to mainstreaming Haredim into regular study programs: first, men and women learn together in non-segregated classrooms alongside secular students. Second, acceptance criteria are adapted to meet individual educational backgrounds. Third, dedicated academic and other support services are centralized into a “one-stop-shop” of holistic assistance that accompanies students from the moment they apply to the moment of graduation.

Overcoming hurdles

Ultra-Orthodox Israelis educated in yeshivas and seminaries face greater challenges than their secular counterparts when applying to university. They

have not been taught many of the core subjects needed both to successfully matriculate and to pass the university entrance exams, particularly English and mathematics. Because strictly observant boys and girls are never educated in a mixed classroom environment, families and communities are not readily disposed to the idea.

First-year law student Yechiel Vaknin, a 34-year-old father of four, acknowledges that the gender integration poses challenges at times. “It is not easy,” he says, “but it’s part of everyday life, whether here on campus or anywhere else. I try my best to stay focused on my work.”

Financial pressures are another obstacle which makes higher education a dream for many Haredim wishing to pursue careers in fields such as engineering, medicine or law. The Council for Higher Education in Israel has been supportive of Trailblazers, providing partial funding. Various organizations in Israel and abroad donate additional funds for student aid.

A national imperative

The Israeli government has made integrating Ultra-Orthodox Israelis into the workforce a national priority. Although more Haredim are entering the workforce, the jobs tend to be lower paying, which keeps them trapped in a cycle of poverty. As the Israel Democracy Institute notes in its 2016 report, A Master Plan for UltraOrthodox Employment in Israel, “Despite the impressive success in getting the Ultra-Orthodox to enter the labor market and increasing employment rates among Ultra-Orthodox men and women in recent years, current policies have not been able to extricate the sector from its deep poverty. The salaries of Ultra-Orthodox workers remain low and do not provide real economic and social security.”

The objective is to get them into the higher-paying jobs, which, as the report concludes, “…would benefit the UltraOrthodox community, Israel’s economy, and Israeli society as a whole.”

The TAU leadership views Trailblazers as answering a societal need while also advancing TAU’s policy of being an all-inclusive academic institution. TAU Dean of Students Prof. Tova Most, who heads the program, says: “We want the best students studying here; Jews, Arabs, secular, religious and international students are all welcome.” The obstacles faced by Ultra-Orthodox students are unique and daunting, but, as Prof. Most explains, the University has been proactive in providing all the resources necessary for them to succeed. The University will begin a new marketing campaign targeting the Haredi community with the goal of attracting even more candidates to the Program.

To help cope with the stresses of adapting to university life, Program Coordinator Galia Givoly is the onestop, centralized resource for these students. Rather than spending precious study time trying to find help, they all turn to Galia, the driving force behind Trailblazers. With a mother’s devotion, she sources tutors, arranges psychological or career counseling, organizes mentoring programs, holds numerous social events and helps with finding financing.

For Yechiel, between his full-time studies, a full-time job, volunteer work as a paramedic for Magen David Adom and raising his children, including a 5-year old autistic son, juggling all the demands is perhaps the greatest test. “I like the challenge,” he says. “My goal is to learn more, to have a profession. I hope to succeed.”

Trailblazers has evolved over 3 years from a pilot project with two students studying law to one with students in many fields, including law, medicine, dentistry, engineering, business, sociology and public policy. “TAU sees itself as a microcosm of the wider Israeli society, so it is important for the University to have all sectors of Israeli society represented.” says Galia. “Haredim should also have access to the best education possible.”

Ester says, “When I returned to Tel Aviv University for my second semester, I walked in with a big smile on my face. I knew I was lucky to be here and I felt good here, but I didn’t know how much it had become a part of me. I felt at home.”

From left: Program Coordinator Galia Givoly with students Ester Tayar and Yechiel Vaknin

By Michal Alexander

Alumni Profile: Marius Nacht

He’s investing in a healthier future

As his father was dying of cancer, TAU alumnus and Check Point cofounder Marius Nacht resolved to invest in Israeli research that would bring a cure to others.

The agonizing illness and death of his father changed Nacht’s outlook on life. Nacht, who obtained his MSc in Electrical Engineering from TAU in 1986 and went on to co-found the pioneering Israeli high-tech company Check Point Software Technologies in 1993, was suddenly drawn to a field aimed at saving lives: the life sciences.

“Check Point was the focus of my professional career for two decades,” he recalls. “I was fascinated by our new technologies in IT security, I worked hard to extend the company’s global impact, and I still serve as its Chairman. But sitting by my father’s bedside, helplessly watching this vigorous man waste away, something inside me changed. I felt a deep urge to do anything I could to prevent such suffering.”

For Nacht, a highly experienced and successful investor and entrepreneur, doing “anything he could” meant establishing two new enterprises in healthcare and biomedicine.

“The whole field of healthcare is becoming increasingly technological,” says Nacht. “Its innovations are immensely improving our prospects for living long, productive and enjoyable lives. And Israelis, with no less than 1,700 healthcare startups to date, are definitely a powerful engine, a driving force in every aspect of this revolution. Our country’s researchers and inventors lead the way toward new drugs and medical devices, groundbreaking diagnostics and digital health inventions.”

To support this buzzing activity, Nacht founded the aMoon Fund, which, under the slogan “Accelerating a Cure,” channels hundreds of millions of dollars into the discovery and development of promising new ideas and ventures in the life sciences.

“We focus on initiatives that combat the major killers – especially cancer and cardiovascular disease, alongside those illnesses that incur substantial healthcare expenses, such as dementia, high blood pressure and diabetes,” describes Nacht. One of his main partners in this endeavor is Ramot, the technology transfer arm of Tel Aviv University, through which he sponsors selected research efforts within TAU, licensing out the resulting technologies. “Already we have two groundbreaking discoveries made in TAU laboratories that may ultimately revolutionize the treatment of cancer all over the world,” he declares with unmistakable passion.

At the same time, recognizing the shortcomings of Israel’s healthcare ecosystem, Nacht established 8400 – the Health Network, an NGO that works with medical centers, universities, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, and other relevant bodies to remedy public healthcare flaws. One of its main objectives, according to Nacht, is to create a much friendlier environment that will encourage investors – both private and institutional, local and international – to back biomedical research in Israel.

Ultimately, this bold and caring TAU alumnus addresses his call to action to all friends of Tel Aviv University: “Financial involvement in Israel’s life sciences industry is a most worthy channel for your investments. In fact, it’s a priceless opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to everything we care about: our University, the State of Israel, and indeed the future of all humankind. Right at this moment, brilliant Israeli scientists are waiting for our sponsorship – to help them on the road to eradicating disease and suffering!”