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$2M Matching Fund for Israel Studies Fellowships

$2M Matching Fund for Israel Studies Fellowships

January 12, 2015

Israel Studies, Culture & Jewish Thought, Press Releases

Effort to Combat Worldwide Anti-Semitism Funded by Pennsylvania’s Woodman-Scheller Family

PHILADELPHIA, PA – January 13, 2015 — The Woodman-Scheller Graduate Fellowships in Israel Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) was just launched in part to combat growing worldwide anti-Semitism. All gifts made in support of BGU’s Israel Studies International Program will be matched dollar for dollar up to $2 million.

The fund was established by American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Americans for Ben-Gurion University) Vice President Wayne Woodman, his wife, Lisa Scheller; and her parents, Ernie Scheller, Jr., also an Americans for Ben-Gurion University vice president and a member of BGU’s board of directors, and his wife, Roberta Scheller, all Pennsylvania philanthropists and longstanding BGU supporters.

According to Wayne Woodman, “It is expected that graduates of this program will attain key political, diplomatic and academic positions related to Israel and the Middle East in their home countries. They will be armed with truths to combat malicious myths, essentially becoming ambassadors of Israel. Learning about Israel in its natural ‘laboratory’ is a most effective way to combat ignorance and misinformation.”

The Israel Studies International Program (ISIP) at Ben-Gurion University, taught under the auspices of the University’s Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, draws graduate students from around the world, Jews and non-Jews, to study the only successful democracy in the Middle East. Students from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Georgia, Germany, Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, and even the West Bank aspire to become experts in Israel’s history, politics and society.

The Woodman-Scheller matching funds will facilitate many annual fellowships, dramatically increasing the number of students who enroll in the graduate program. ISIP is taught in English by faculty from the Ben-Gurion Institute, an interdisciplinary group of experts from a broad range of academic disciplines that includes history, sociology, politics, philosophy, cultural studies, and Middle Eastern studies.  

“Now is the time to invest in Israel studies and to recruit outstanding pupils from Africa, Asia and Europe, which requires a significant base of philanthropic support to provide fellowships for deserving students who might seek studies elsewhere without this opportunity,” explains Ernie Scheller, Jr. “Donors will also be helping to enhance academic research on the history of the Jewish people, while simultaneously enabling BGU to grow as Israel’s leading academic institution in the study of modern Jewish history in the Middle East.”

BGU is leading the way in studying and understanding the history of the modern Zionist movement, the creation of the State of Israel and its culture. The Ben-Gurion Research Institute on BGU’s Sde Boker campus houses one of Israel’s most precious historical repositories and a national treasure: the David Ben-Gurion Archives. Adjacent to the Ben-Gurion gravesite and overlooking the biblical Zin Canyon, this campus is ideally located for inspirational study of Israel.

“The accounts of growing anti-Semitism throughout the world cannot be ignored,” adds Doron Krakow, executive vice president of Americans for Ben-Gurion University. “BGU’s Israel studies program will not only help minimize the delegitimization of Israel, it will also make a tangible difference to helping the uninformed and misinformed comprehend Israel’s importance and role in the region. I am grateful to the Woodman-Scheller family for establishing this generous matching fund to create more ‘ambassadors’ for Israel.”

Read more about Israel studies at BGU>>

ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY

By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.

About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.

We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.

BGU at a glance:  

20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.

 

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