From the Dean’s Desk
Dear partners, colleagues, and friends from around the globe,
Sixteen months have passed since the tragic events of October 7, which deeply impacted our region. The ongoing war continues to shape the realities of life in Israel and Gaza, affecting each and every one of us in countless ways, and many in our Hebrew University community are still working to regain a sense of routine in their teaching and research.
Despite these challenges, we have demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability. Over the past year, we have made necessary adjustments to ensure our academic programs continue to run strong and uninterrupted. The new academic year opened as planned, and we were proud to launch our international Liberal Arts B.A. program in English, expanding opportunities available in the Faculty for students worldwide.
Our mission remains unchanged – delivering high-quality education, advancing outstanding research, engaging with the global academic community, and fostering a more inclusive, equitable society.
Equally important is our dedication to maintaining Hebrew University as a space for open dialogue and mutual respect. Our campus continues to bring together academics, administrators, and students from diverse backgrounds – Jews, Palestinians, and others – who learn and engage with one another in an environment of shared inquiry and free exchange. In doing so, we sustain an idealized microcosm of Israeli society and a model for coexistence, both within our campuses and beyond.
In this 4th issue of Humanitas, we highlight the many ways our faculty continue to push the boundaries of knowledge. Prof. Ronit Ricci’s work on interlinear translation and colonial exile explores the intersections of language, literature, and culture across Southeast Asia. Dr. Naomi Yuval-Naeh traces the historical links between science, nature, and society, from early Zionist botany to Victorian-era plant culture. Dr. Avigail Manekin-Bamberger examines the magical, social, and legal dimensions of Aramaic incantation bowls in Babylonian Jewish society, and Dr. Yael Fisch reinterprets ancient Jewish and Christian texts through a literary lens, revealing their imaginative depth.
Beyond these faculty and research highlights, we also celebrate the success of our first-ever Ladino International Summer School, which welcomed students from around the globe to engage with this endangered language and its rich heritage.
In this spirit of collaboration, I invite you to connect with us to explore academic partnerships in the humanities – and, of course, to visit us in Jerusalem.
Prof. Nissim Otmazgin
Dean, Faculty of Humanities