The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of California, Los Angeles are establishing new frameworks for collaboration in Israel studies and biomedical research, formalizing academic ties at a time when universities face growing pressure over their relationships with Israeli institutions.
The agreements were signed at UCLA on September 22 by UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk and Hebrew University President Prof. Tamir Sheafer. One agreement is a memorandum of understanding between UCLA’s Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and Hebrew University, while the second establishes a framework for future biomedical research collaboration between UCLA, Hebrew University and American Friends of the Hebrew University.
The Israel studies agreement is intended to create opportunities for faculty and scholar exchanges, cooperation in postgraduate education and training, joint conferences and other academic meetings, exchanges of academic information, graduate and professional student exchanges, and joint research programs.
The agreement does not, however, establish all of those activities immediately. The institutions said that formal agreements covering specific initiatives will be concluded as funding, space and other resources become available.
For Hebrew University, the agreements carry significance beyond the academic programs themselves. Sheafer explicitly linked the collaboration to what he described as efforts to restrict academic exchange with Israel.
“At a time when academic boycotts seek to limit exchange and cooperation, partnerships such as these affirm the value of open scholarship and the shared pursuit of discovery,” Sheafer said.
The two institutions are also seeking philanthropic funding for joint research projects, with the aim of bringing their scholars and scientists together around shared research challenges.
The biomedical agreement is broader in scope. The UCLA-Hebrew University Biomedical Research Collaboration will establish research priorities, encourage interdisciplinary projects and create opportunities for scientific exchange. UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine will manage the research program for UCLA, although participation will not be limited to medical school faculty.
Both universities describe biomedical research and medical education as areas in which they have established strengths, and the agreement is intended to create a structure for researchers from the two institutions to work together and potentially translate scientific discoveries into patient care.
“By bringing together complementary expertise and resources, we can help accelerate discoveries that benefit patients far beyond our own institutions,” said Dr. Steven Dubinett, dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine and UCLA associate vice chancellor for research. “Establishing this framework is an important first step.”