Israel Studies, Culture & Jewish Thought

David Ben-Gurion dreamed of creating a Hebrew Oxford in the Negev as a modern Hebrew Yavneh.

Home to the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, Heksherim – the Research Institute for Jewish and Israeli Literature and Culture, and the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought, BGU is uniquely positioned to promote the interdisciplinary study of Israel, Jewish culture and thought.

Ben-Gurion University is leading the way in the academic exploration of the founding and development of the State of Israel, the re-birth of the Hebrew language, and the connection between culture and community in Jewish and Israeli society.

Hebrew Literature

Israel Studies

Jewish Thought

“We ask questions about Judaism the same way you’d ask questions about literature, language and the natural sciences.”
– Prof. Uri Erlich, BGU’s Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought