2006 - Rothberg International School

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Rothberg International School
F cusRothberg
Fifty Years Later...
More than onepthird of the alumni from the Hebrew University’s
first yearplong international program are returning for a fiftyp
year reunion on June 8. Ten former students, together with their
spouses, will meet for six days of activities, culminating in a gala dinner with
the Board of Governors on June 13. Many of these alumni have not seen
each other since they were students at the Hebrew University. “Some peop
ple thought of having the reunion in New York, but I wanted to bring it to
Israel,” explains Dr. David Blumenfeld, chairman of the alumni (cont. on page 2)
Newsletter of the
32
International School
Spring 2006
3
From the Provost's Desk
4 Three Generations Attend One Year
Program
Inside
6
12
Prof. Reuven Amitai Takes Pride in
Graduate Program
Bible Translators Program
Flourishes
In the photo: First class to formally attend an international
program at the Hebrew University in 1955-1956.
(See also stories on pages 4-5)

2
FOCUS 32 3
In March, Nobel laureate Prof. Robp
ert J. Aumann, of the Hebrew Unip
versity’s Einstein Institute of Mathp
ematics and Center for the Study of
Rationality, came to the RIS to lecture
to students enrolled in a new underp
graduate course in Game Theory. The
course is taught by his former student
and colleague, Dr. EinpYa Gura, who is
also the coordinator of mathematics
at the RIS Mechina. Prof. Aumann told
the class how he became involved in
game theory, including meetings he
had with Prof. John Nash, a 1994 Nop
bel Prize winner and the subject of
the movie A Brilliant Mind.
“It was a privilege for the students to
be in a class with a Nobel Prize winp
ner,” says Yoel Nesson, director of the
Division of Undergraduate Studies.
Fifty Years Later (cont. from page 1)
reunion committee. “In New York, we
would just be some oldptimers shootp
ing the breeze, but in Israel, we can
join in solidarity with the Board of
Governors. We want to raise the profile
of the international program. We were
the pioneers, and now we are returnp
ing fifty years later with hope for a sucp
cessful future.”
Congratulations
The following RIS and Hebrew
University academic staff received
citations from the Rector’s office
for excellence in teaching at the
RIS, according to a student survey:
Dr. Pinhas Bibelnik
Mr. Albert Dwek
Prof. Moshe Idel
Ms. Sara Israeli
Prof. Israel Levine
Ms. Shachar Loshinsky
Ms. Bruria Ettinger-Rehavi
Nobel Games
Prof. Robert J. Aumann lectures to RIS students.
The program for the reunion will alp
low the former students and their
spouses to reacquaint themselves
with Jerusalem and, specifically, bep
come acquainted with the Rothberg
International School, which did not
exist in 1955.
On June 8, there will be an RIS dinner
for alumni at the Inbal Hotel with the
RIS provost, vice provost and academp
ic directors. In addition, three distinp
guished former teachers of the group,
Prof. Haim Beinart, Prof. Dov Noy and
Prof. Shemaryahu Talmon, will be
present. On June 12, the group will
tour the RIS and meet with current dep
partment heads, senior lecturers, and
students, visit classrooms and watch
a presentation of new Hebrew multip
media programs. In the afternoon, the
alumni will meet with former teachers
and tour the Boyar Building.
Blumenfeld, along with many other
alumni, credit the year with addp
ing an important dimension to their
lives. “Aside from becoming a rabbi,
I received a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Litp
erature and Language because of my
year at the Hebrew University. It very
much influenced me,” he asserts.
David L. Kline remembers turning 20
in Israel. To him, the year was eventful,
memorable and influential. “Adapting
to a world beyond the protection of
home and college left me more sep
cure and open to fresh possibilities,”
he recalls. “The atmosphere at the Hep
brew University reversed my sophop
more blues and the Bible teachers
there, [Shemaryahu] Talmon, [Menap
hem] Haran, and [Nechama] Leibop
witz, introduced me to what became
a lifelong interest.”
For Frieda (Lustig) RosemanpResnick,
the reunion is practically in her backp
yard. She is one of two members of
her class to make aliyah, and she credp
its her aliyah to the year spent at the
Hebrew University. “I’m coming to the
reunion in order to reacquaint myself
with my former classmates and find
out about their lives in the last 50
years,” she says. “It’s hard to realize that
the year of 1955 really belonged to anp
other world – another century – and
another era – as compared to 2006.”
From the
Dear Students and Friends,
It is a great pleasure for me to address
you in the current issue of FOCUS.
The past school year, 2005/2006, has
been a wonderful and highly rewardp
ing year for all of us at the Rothberg
International School – a year of conp
tinuing growth in student enrollment,
accompanied by the introduction of
new courses and development of new
study programs.
The significant increase in student
numbers is a direct reflection of the
marked improvement in personal sep
curity, which influenced the decision
of universities in the U.S. to reinstate
their study abroad programs in Israel,
previously suspended in the wake of
the Intifada.
Newly introduced academic prop
grams include a onepyear Program for
Training Teachers of Hebrew as a Forp
eign Language. This program is conp
ducted by the RIS Division of Hebrew
Language Instruction and the School
of Education, and provides the gradup
ates with a teaching certificate from
the Hebrew University. Currently, Isp
raeli students are participating in this
program, which will admit overseas
students as well for the 2006/2007
academic year.
A new M.A. program in Community
Leadership and Philanthropy is awaitp
ing final approval by the University
academic authorities. This innovative
and timely program was developed
in cooperation with the Paul Baerwald
School of Social Work and Social Welp
fare, and aims to provide professional
leadership for communities all over
the world, including Jewish commup
nities in the Diaspora.
New science courses have been
introduced into the teaching curricup
lum of the Division of Undergraduate
Studies, aiming to attract science map
jors to the RIS. We are now considering
the introduction of a special Freshman
Program in Science, as well as offering
research lab experience combined
with appropriate course work.
We are continuing our important
contribution to the absorption of
newly arrived immigrants from Rusp
sia, France, Latin America and the U.S.
enrolled in our Mechina year program,
which also hosts immigrant Israeli
army veterans. This is one of the ways
in which we participate in the imporp
tant mission of the Hebrew Univerp
sity to be the University of the Jewish
People.
The Office of Student Activities
(OSA) continues to introduce new
activities and to be staffed by well
trained, dedicated madrichim. We have
also hired a partptime psychological
counselor, who has made significant
contributions to the wellpbeing of our
students and staff.
You will find in the present issue of
FOCUS touching testimonies of our
students on a trip to Poland and their
exposure to the life of Jewish comp
munities annihilated during the Holop
caust, on volunteering in the commup
nity, and on the personal experience in
Israel of students coming from as far
as Mongolia. Additional articles deal
with our teachers and other aspects of
our life at the Boyar Building on Mount
Scopus.
At Newsletter the time you of the read this newsletp
ter,
Rothberg
we will be
International
hosting a group
School
of U.S.
alumni who attended in 1955/1956
the first onepyear program for overseas
students at the Hebrew University,
which set the ground for what would
later become the RIS. These alumni
will meet with some of their teachers
and with current staff and students at
the RIS. We salute warmly the “Class
of 55/56” and wish them continued
good health and happiness. Likewise, I
would like to salute all our alumni since
1955/1956 and invite them to join us
in strengthening their alma mater, the
Rothberg International School.
I would also like to thank all the teachp
ers and staff of the RIS for their remarkp
able professional work and dedication
to our School, and look forward to a
rewarding and enjoyable school year
in 2006/2007.
Prof. Jaime Kapitulnik
June 2006

4
FOCUS 32 5
Mark Meskin and Ilana Perlman (Meskin) during
their year at the Hebrew University.
From North America to Hebrew University:
Three Generations Att end One Year Program
The Meskins: (left to right) Myra, Ilana, Mark, Diane
Fifty years ago, a group of North American students traveled to Israel
for fourteen days on a ship in order to study at the Hebrew University’s
nascent international program. One member of the group, Melvin Perlp
man, who was a student at Yale University, had never been to Israel and felt
that he was at a crossroads in his life: Should he go to rabbinical school or
pursue other academic channels? The year in Israel would end up having a
profound impact on his life in more than one way, although it was not an
easy year. “My father was literally hungry all year,” his daughter Ilana Meskin,
OYP 1976p77, recalls him saying, “He was so poor that he did not have enough
money to buy food!”
On the other hand, studying at the Hebrew University sparked an interest in
archeology, which in turn led to his pursuing a doctorate at Oxford University
in anthropology. Aside from giving him professional direction, the year ended
with his marriage. “He became friendly with a woman named Tina Waxsman,”
says Ilana. “When he decided to go to France at the end of the year, she gave
him two names of women who spoke some English to show him around, and
one was the name of the family of his future wife.” Pat Penn, an alumna from
that year, remembers that by the time the group returned by ship, Perlman
had a new bride, Eva.
This year, the original group of students is having a 50th anniversarypyear rep
union in Jerusalem [See front page]. Many of them are bringing their children
and grandchildren on the trip. Unfortunately, though, Mel Perlman will not be
one of them. He died of leukemia 18 years ago, but his legacy as a student at
the Hebrew University remained in the family. First, his daughter, Ilana Perlp
man Meskin, came in 1976, and this year, his granddaughter, Diane, is studyp
ing at the RIS (see article below).
Diane Meskin, 20, is a student at
the University of California at
San Diego, majoring in political scip
ence with an emphasis on internap
tional relations and a minor in Midp
dle East relations. For Diane, coming
to Israel was a natural move. First
and foremost, her family fostered
her love for Israel. She is the third
generation from her family to come
and study here. “It is special to feel a
sort of legacy,” she says with a smile.
“It is amazing that, 50 years after my
grandfather studied here, the School
is still strong and flourishing.”
“My parents were my ardent supporters when I decided to come to study at
the Hebrew University,” recalls Ilana. “When I came, there was a good internap
tional contingent at the School. We lived on Mount Scopus already, although
the Ulpan was in Givat Ram.” Following in her father’s footsteps, she came
home with her future husband. “I met Mark in Pesach Schindler’s Talmud class.
We both went to the Chanukah party at his house, although we only started
dating officially at Purim time,” she says.
After getting her bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from York University in Canp
ada, she married Mark and they moved to Los Angeles, where she currently
works as a director of human resources at Amgen. The year in Israel also gave
her husband Mark his professional orientation, albeit in a unique way. He bep
came interested in Jewish dietary laws, which led him to pursue a doctoral
degree in Nutrition. Today, he is the director of the Clinical Nutrition program
at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Mark fondly recalls that
the year was full of tiyulim around the country, including trips to places like
Hebron and Sinai, no longer destinations for students today.
Twentypnine years after their year at the Hebrew University, Mark and Ilana,
together with their younger daughter Myra, came to visit their daughter Dip
ane at the RIS. “One of the highlights of my visit this year was walking into the
conference room at the RIS and seeing a photo of the class of 1955 with each
person’s name handwritten below the picture. When I saw my father’s face, I
burst into tears,” she says. Meskin then promised RIS Provost Jaime Kapitulnik,
that her daughter would return from the Passover vacation with a huge, high
quality photo of the original class [featured on the front page]. “This is our way
of participating in the reunion and honoring my father’s memory,” she says.
“The Perlman/Meskin family cherishes their experiences and memories of life
on Mount Scopus – today, as well as 29 and 50 years ago.”
Second, she had spent three months
living with a family in Tel Aviv and
studying in high school as part of
an exchange program at the Milken
Community High School in Los Anp
geles, so she knew she wanted to
come back. She is also involved in
Israel advocacy on her college camp
pus. At the end of her freshman year,
she became heavily involved in the
San Diego Israel Alliance. She fought
to get the Israel program at the Unip
versity of California reinstated, but to
no avail. [UC cancelled their recognip
tion and representative to the RIS in
2001.]
Diane was sone of the first students
to be accepted into the new Middle
East Honors Program at the RIS. [See
box.] “This is a really strong program
and it is a good thing to offer stup
dents who have background,” she
comments. In addition to her studp
ies, Meskin is also interning at the
Jerusalem Post, writing about cultural
events in the Billboard Section of the
newspaper. “It is an interesting expep
rience,” she says. “I’ve always thought
of writing in some way, so any expep
rience is good.”
Dr. Melvin Perlman:
Ilana's father,
Diane's grandfather
Middle East Honors
Program
Newsletter of the
Rothberg International School
he RIS One Year Program instituted an
T honors program this year in Middle East
Studies. The program is open to a limited
number of students who have advanced
standing or are majors in Middle East studp
ies, international relations or political scip
ence. Application is competitive and an adp
visory committee selects participants.
“The program was instituted to offer more
challenging courses to outstanding stup
dents with related backgrounds coming
to study at the RIS,” explains Yoel Nesson,
administrative director of the Division of
Undergraduate Studies. In addition to adp
vanced seminars and a reading group, the
participants go on special field trips and are
privy to selected guest lectures. Twentyp
seven students were accepted into the prop
gram for spring semester. “This was our first
year of operation and it was extremely sucp
cessful,” says Nesson. “Next year, the School
plans to open a similar honors program in
Israel Studies, as well.”

6
FOCUS 32 7
Prof. Amitai Takes Pride in Graduate Program
Prof. Reuven Amitai
Portrait
of an M.A.
Student
When Professor Reuven Amitai made aliyah from Philadelphia in 1976,
his plans were to live and work on a kibbutz, and in his spare time
topursue his interest in Middle Eastern Studies. He spent six years on
Kibbutz Harel working as a welder, but life in a small collective village proved to
be too quiet for him.
“Did I want to be a kibbutznik with a hobby or a scholar with kibbutz memories?” he
asked himself before enrolling in the Hebrew University to pursue a Master's degree
in Middle Eastern Studies. Prof. Amitai was impressed with the level of Arabic studip
ies at the University and, in general, with the academic level. Although he had been
engrossed by the modern Middle East while studying for his B.A. at the University
of Pennsylvania, his interests changed when he came to Jerusalem. He decided to
focus on a much earlier period in the history of Islam, namely: the time of the Crusp
sades, the Mamluks and the Mongols (roughly 1,000 c.e.through 1,500 c.e.).
After finishing his Ph.D. at the Hebrew University in 1990, and spending a year at
Princeton University doing post-doc research, he came back to teach at the Hebrew
University, and soon after at the new RIS graduate program in Islamic and Middle
Eastern Studies.
As he took on increasingly senior administrative positions at the Hebrew University,
first as chairman of the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (from
1997) and then as director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies (2001-03),
Prof. Amitai also became more interested and more involved in the Division of
Graduate Studies at the RIS. “One of the first things I did was to help get appointed
an advisor from the Department – Dr. Roni Shaham – to act as a coordinator in the
graduate program. I wanted to have a contact person who would know what was
going on with the classes and with the students but also knew what the Departmp
ment was about,” explains Prof. Amitai. “Because I had been teaching in the program
and was from abroad, I had an interest in seeing the program develop.” Prof. Amitai,
together with colleagues, also engaged in a creative marketing strategy to attract
more international students. Instead of working through campus Hillel offices or
the Friends of the Hebrew University, they directed their recruitment efforts to the
Middle Eastern Studies departments at different universities abroad.
To his satisfaction, Prof. Amitai feels that the RIS program has gradually developed
from the inside with a stronger caliber of students attending and a higher level and
Maya Kroitoru, 24, had wanted to study in Israel since her undergraduate
years at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she majored in internp
national affairs and economics. When she received a scholarship through
the National Security for Education Program, intended for study abroad in world
areas critical to U.S. National Security, she thought that she had literally found her
ticket. Unfortunately, the program would not allow her to study in Israel because of
security restrictions at the time. Instead she went to Prague, where she enrolled in a
Jewish Studies program, and from there she traveled to Morocco, where she enrolled
in an Arab Studies program. “When I was in Morocco, I became convinced that my
next step was to come to Israel,” she says. In addition to her academic interest in the
country, Kroitoru has a personal interest: Her father is Israeli.
After graduating college, she applied for and was granted an Anna Sobol Levy Fellp
lowship to study the RIS Division of Graduate Studies. Kroitoru began her studies last
wider variety of classes being taught. “The internal dynamic in the program has
improved. We are attracting students with a proper background in Middle Eastern
Studies,” he maintains. “This year we have 40 applicants. I understand that it is the
most popular program in the Division.” In addition to the quality of the teachers,
Prof. Amitai is certain that the location is a draw for students. “Jerusalem has a very
good reputation for providing a world class university (certainly in Middle Eastern
Studies) that physically neighbors the Arab world. As students take classes in the
Middle East, they can hear the muezzin calling Muslims to prayer. The program has
definitely become a flagship for the School,” he says.
Prof. Amitai enjoys teaching at the RIS. “The students are interested in scholarship.
They generally do the reading – and in my class,” he admits, “there is a lot of reading!
It is a lively crowd and discussions are on a high level.” Prof. Amitai promotes the
involvement of RIS students in his Department’s activities, encouraging those with
a good command of Hebrew to attend lectures or seminars. He would like to see
more graduates of the School’s M.A. program continuing to pursue a doctorate at
the Hebrew University.
Recently, Prof. Amitai was appointed director of the Nehemia Levtzion Center for
Islamic Studies, which opened less than two years ago. The goal of the Center is to
encourage research and public activity, related to Islamic studies. “We have great
departments at the University [e.g. Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic
Language and Literature], but this is going beyond teaching,” he says.
Activities have included a one- day conference with Yad Ben Zvi on the formation
of Islamic society in the Land of Israel, a conference in conjunction with Mishkenot
Sha’ananim on contemporary Islam, an ongoing discussion group about religious
experience in its social context, and a new lecture series in conjunction with the
Forum for European Studies on Islam in Europe.
“In general, we try not to be either polemical or apologetic at the Center,” explains
Prof. Amitai. “I believe there needs to be dialogue between scholars studying the
pre-modern and modern Middle East and Islam. The modernists sometimes have a
certain lack of regard for scholarship on the 'medieval' period and vice versa, but it is
only while working together that we can present a complete picture of the Muslim
world to the public. Our Center is trying to bridge that gap.”
year, but after four months she realized one year would not be enough to accomp
plish her goal of becoming proficient in both Hebrew and Arabic. She requested to
extend her fellowship for a second year in order to finish her M.A. degree in Islamic
and Middle Eastern Studies. She then plans to return to the U.S. to pursue a career in
international relations, ideally in some sort of analyst position at a research institute in
Washington, D.C. “I decided on this career after reading Thomas Friedman’s The Lexus
and the Olive Tree,” she says. “I am mostly interested in American-Israeli relations and
ethnic conflict .” Given her professional interests, she was very pleased to be one of
the RIS students chosen to meet with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard H. Jones (see
page 16). “We held a fairly serious discussion about cross-cultural experiences,” she
says. “He talked to us about his diplomatic career, and he inspired us to get further
involved in policy making and in learning languages.” Thanks to her studies in Israel,
she has mastered the Hebrew language.
”This year we have
40 applicants.
I understand that
Middle Eastern
Studies is the most
Newsletter of the
Rothberg International School
popular program in
the Division.”
Maya Kroitoru

8
FOCUS 32 9
5
French Mechina students dressed up as Indians as part
of the Purim festivities: at the RIS this year (from left)
Bismuth Lary from Nice and Chloë Haïk from Paris.
1
2
3
4
Students take a break during the annual SeaptopSea trip, which took place in late April.
For four days, the hikers walked from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee.
Marina Brener from Buenos Aires, Argentina, stands next to Yoshiko Takeda from
Japan, after both participated in a Mechina hatpmaking workshop in honor of Purim.
Twentyptwo doctors, nurses, researchers and senior officials from various countries, inp
cluding a delegation from Sri Lanka, which was hit by the tsunami, participated in a
twopweek seminar last summer called “Medicine and Society: Emergency Preparedness
and Response.” The course combined lectures, practical exercises and field visits.
1
2
RIS students enjoyed a navigap
tion race in the Ben Shemen
forest outside of Jerusalem last
November. The race was part of
a series of activities sponsored
by OSA. Students were given
maps and compasses and had
to navigate their way to a desp
ignated finishing point.
5
6
Swing of Purim
Newsletter of the
Rothberg International School
3
4
6
Mechina students get into the swing of Purim at a party
held in the courtyard of the Boyar Building.

10
FOCUS 32 11
Internships for credit are popular at
the RIS. They allow students to get
to know the country from the inside,
to im prove their Hebrew and, often, to
combine an academic or professional
interest with “hands-on” experience.
Miriam Schwartz, 21, from St. Louis,
Missouri, wanted to foster a growing
interest in Ethiopian Jewry. Schwartz,
a student at the New College of
Florida, is attending the RIS One Year
Program, where she also participates
in the Lainer Interns for Jewish Educp
cation Program sponsored by JESNA.
“My Jewish identity is very important
to me and I want to consider living in
Israel,” says Schwartz. In addition, she
is seriously considering pursuing Jewip
ish education in graduate school. Back
Interns Gain
Hands-On
Experience
Jonah Gordon with lemurs at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.
home, she is the president of the camp
pus Hillel, she taught Hebrew School,
and was a USY youth advisor.
As a Lainer Intern, she needed to find
an internship related to Jewish educp
cation. She knew from the start that
she wanted to work with Ethiopian
children. For one, she had presented a
huge project on Ethiopian Jewry for a
class on Race and Ethnicity at New Collp
lege. In addition, she had volunteered
at an Ethiopian Immersion center, with
kindergartners. As requested, she was
assigned to tutor English to four sixth
grade Ethiopian girls in the Neve Yaakp
kov neighborhood in Jerusalem.
She meets with her pupils three hours
a week. She teaches them English and
they teach her about being Ethiopian
in Israel. “The girls are energetic and
smart and quick to pick up things.
The challenge is to discipline them,”
she says. One of her most creative and
successful ideas was bringing music to
the tutoring session and helping the
girls translate the hip-hop songs into
Hebrew. “I try to show them how relep
evant English is,” she explains.
“I am always telling them how smart
they are, giving them treats when
they’re good and raising their confidp
dence.” Schwartz believes “they have
taught me the challenges of the immigp
grant experience, but also the positive
energy that Ethiopians have brought
to Israel.”
Jonah Gordon, 26, a psychology
major at York University, in Toronto, is
spending spring semester at the RIS.
Hoping to find a way to express his intp
terest in animals, he asked Keri Rosenbp
bluh, the RIS internship coordinator, if
there was an internship at a local zoo.
She immediately pointed him towards
Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo.
Gordon was thrilled. He had spent the
past two summers working for Canadp
dian Young Judaea, taking campers
on canoe trips in Killarney Park, where
he was surrounded by such wildlife as
moose, bears and beaver. He became
interested in African-based animals, esp
pecially primates, after taking a course
in Animal Behavior.
“It is incredible to see the physical and
emotional similarities between chimp
panzees, lemurs and humans,” says Gordp
don. When I look into their eyes I feel as
if there is a mutual understanding. As I
watch the way they move and interact
with each other, I can see where we
come from.”
The zoo assigned him to work with the
chimpanzees, lemurs, mandrills and
squirrel monkeys. Once a week, Gordon
joins other volunteers for several hours
of cleaning out cages and giving out
the animals’ food. Every morning physicp
cal examinations are done to check the
limbs and torsos of all the monkeys.
The animals have been trained to line
up alongside the bars and hold out
their arms, legs, fingers and toes upon
request. “The staff hardly ever go into
the animals’ cages, rather they work
with them through the bars,” he exp
plains. “The whole idea behind caring
for these animals is to know that they
are not human and do not want to be
treated as humans. Their thought procp
cesses are very different from ours.”
What most impresses Gordon is the
tremendous number of volunteers
that work together at the zoo. “There
are foreigners and Arabs and Israelis
all working together to keep the zoo
clean and the animals comfortable,”
he says. He hopes to work or volunteer
at the Metro Toronto Zoo when he retp
turns home.
Poland Trip Overwhelms Students
For the first time in four years, 16
undergraduate students from
the RIS traveled to Poland durip
ing the winter intersession on a seminp
nar called “The Jews of Poland from
Kehilla Origins to the Holocaust.” The
smaller attendance rate at the School’s
One Year Program in the last few years
had led to the seminar’s cancellation.
However, as a sign of renewed growth
at the RIS, the trip was reinstated this
year. The students could elect to take
the seminar, which was led by Dr. Davp
vid Silberklang, for academic credit by
completing a paper.
Many of the participants felt that journp
neying to Poland was a means of connp
necting with grandparents who had
survived the Holocaust or escaped
Europe before World War Two, leavip
ing family behind. Sari Disenhouse,
21, from Toronto, who is a student at
Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, has maternal grandparents
who arrived in Canada right before
the outbreak of the war. “They both
lost family there,” she says. “I felt that
this was so important to see in person.
It was very powerful going in the middp
dle of the winter. Walking along the
train tracks and throughout the camp
in ankle deep snow really made me
wonder in awe how people survived
this in the conditions they were in. In
addition to the camps and the gas
chambers, we saw the remains of
communal life in the shtetls and synagp
gogues. We were not remembering
only their deaths but also the lives
they led,” she explains.
One of the most intense moments for
Disenhouse was standing near the gas
chambers in Birkenau and responding
to the mourner’s prayer of Kaddish. “So
many did not have the Kaddish said
for them,” she says with a sigh.
Sara Cuneo, 21, from Hamilton, Ontp
tario, a student at McMaster Universp
Students march to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Newsletter of the
Rothberg sity, where International she is majoring School in politicp
cal science and religious studies, has
grandparents who survived the Holocp
caust. She is the first family member
to make a trip to Poland. “My Bubie’s
family died in Auschwitz. She herself
survived the camp. I went for my Bubp
bie and Zadie,” she says.
For Sara Cuneo this was a very emotp
tional trip. “So much information was
thrown at us but I took little in,” she
admits. “It was the imagery that captp
tured it for me. I felt very close with
my Bubie on the trip and I had such
respect for her because she made it
through.”
The students also met with Rabbi
Michael Shudrich, the chief rabbi of
Warsaw, and with some of the membp
bers of the small Jewish community
remaining in Poland. “A lot of time we
focus on the Holocaust and forget
there are people who are still trying to
be Jews in this country,” says Cuneo.

12
FOCUS 32 13
Bible Translators Program Flourishes
in the Land of the Bible
Nestled in the mountains of the
Jerusalem suburb Mevasseret
Zion is the Home for Bible
Translators (HBT). Established in 1995,
the Home runs a program together
with the RIS for bible translators who
come from abroad to study Modern
and Biblical Hebrew, translating and
text analyses.
Miriam Ronning, a Bible translator
from Finland who has been living in
Israel for the last 25 years, organized
the program out of her love for the
Bible and for Israel. “I personally exp
perienced the difference between
translating with and without a Hebp
braic background,” explains Ronning.
“We talked to linguistic societies who
acknowledged the lack of Hebrew
amongst their translators. Our studp
dents are all professional translators
before they come here. They all come
out of their love for the Bible.”
Most of the students who come are
citizens of African and West African
countries, such as Cameroon, Toga,
Benin, Chad and Nigeria. However,
there is an increasing presence from
Zumbeck Molonz
Asian countries. This year, the Home
has students for the first time from
Papua New Guinea and Mongolia.
Zumbeck Molonz, from Papua New
Guinea, has been peripherally invp
volved in Bible translation since 1972,
when he worked as a consultant
for a linguistic organization to help
its members learn his language. He
worked in the pastoral ministry for
the Lutheran Church before coming
to work as a Bible translator. Although
Papua New Guinea is a small country,
about the size of the state of Californp
nia, its population speaks a total of
855 indigenous languages. Thus, the
need for a national team supervised
by the Bible Translation Association
that will work together to translate
the Old and New Testaments into all
of those languages.
Molonz came to Israel together with
a colleague from the team, Victor
Opung. “Our main interest is that we
want to learn the language and not
have others come and teach it to
us,” he says. “This is a wonderful start.
Knowing Biblical Hebrew enriches
knowledge and understanding of the
text.”
Although most students at the Home
for Bible Translators leave their families
back home when they come to study
for a semester at the RIS, Bayaraa Gar
ram came to study together with his
wife Yanjaa, who was also accepted
to the HBT program. In addition, the
couple has two children, Michael, 4,
and Grace, 2. Instead of living at the
Home in Mevasseret, the couple lives
about 10 minutes away in a small
rented apartment. Bayaraa and Yanjaa
are the first students from Mongolia to
study at the RIS. Bayaraa is also the first
student to receive a scholarship for his
tuition from the Foreign Ministry becp
cause of his outstanding academic
performance.
Bayaraa is currently a graduate studp
dent at the Gordon-Conwell Theolp
logical Seminary outside of Boston,
although his Bachelor’s degree, from
a university in Mongolia, was in Bankip
ing and Finance. Both Bayaraa and
Yanjaa grew up in Ulaanbaatar, the
capital of Mongolia. Bayaraa worked
Bayaraa and Yanjaa Garam with children Michael and Grace.
as a finance manager for six years
and was simultaneously involved
with the Christian Ministry. All along,
he was extremely interested in how
the Bible [Old and New Testaments]
came to be translated into Mongolp
lian and wanted to try to access the
original texts. However, he knew neitp
ther Hebrew nor Greek and was thus
limited to English translations. Before
commencing his graduate studies,
Bayaraa worked as a project manager,
overseeing the translation of a Bible
dictionary into Mongolian. The projep
ect took two years and the end result
was 900 pages. He also worked as a
translator in different fields, including
economics and finance, as well as
Bible related material. Only after accp
cruing a significant amount of translp
lating experience did he embark on
graduate studies in the United States.
“My vision is to translate both Bibles
into Mongolian from their original
languages,” he says. “There is a need
to reflect the original Bible as closely
as possible.”
Yanjaa studied in a teacher training
college to become an elementary
school teacher and she also received
her B.A. in Business Administration.
However, she too left her original
field of study and began working as a
Mongolian language tutor and Englp
lish language translator for five years
for Christian missions in Mongolia.
She then worked as a project manap
ager for World Vision, a humanitarian
Christian organization, which helps
to improve the condition of children
in developing countries. While her
(cont. on page 16)
Nativ directors, past and present, pose at the 25th anniversary gala dinner. From left to right:
RIS Vice Provost Shimon Lipsky Nativ 1-8
David Keren Nativ 9-24
Yossi Garr Nativ 25
Newsletter of the
T he Nativ College Leadership Program Rothberg in Israel, International a joint venture School of the
Hebrew University and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaip
ism, celebrated its 25th anniversary at a gala happening in the Shalp
lom Jerusalem Hotel in early January. Over 230 people were in attendance,
including alumni and current students.
RIS Vice Provost Shimon Lipsky was the first director of the Nativ program
and has been involved in all aspects of the program. He helped to create
the program and served as its director for eight years. When he first came
to work at the RIS, he supervised Nativ’s academic program. “The success
of the program has been overwhelming,” asserts Lipsky. “It has served as a
model for programs of a similar nature that combine leadership training and
academic studies.”
Nativ’s popularity has been growing in recent years. This year, a record numbp
ber of 64 students studied at the RIS, and David Keren, the director of USY
programs in Israel, expects that number to increase next year. “I think there
has been a change in the mindset in the USY movement. People are beginnp
ning to understand that spending a year in Israel before college is a valuable
option,” Keren explains. “Of course, as the program becomes more popular,
word of mouth helps, and so does the quality of the program.”
Nativ students spend an exclusive mini-semester and autumn semester at
the RIS. They live at Beit Nativ, in Jerusalem's center, and participate in culturap
al and social activities within the Nativ Institute. During the spring semester,
participants choose between living on a kibbutz and community service.

14
FOCUS 32 15
In Memoriam
In recent months we were saddened by the
news of the passing of two remarkable womep
en who made significant contributions to the
Rothberg International School:
Lillian Silbert z"l and
Andrea Bronfman z"l.
Lillian Silbert was the wife and partner of
the late Harvey Silbert, who served on the RIS
Board of Overseers for many years. Among
the various buildings and programs that they
worked to establish at the Hebrew University
is the Lillian and Harvey L. Silbert Family Wing
in the Boyar Building, which houses the Rothbp
berg International School.
Andrea Bronfman and her husband Charles
R. Bronfman had studied Hebrew at the RIS
Jerusalem Ulpan and were inspired, following
their summer of study, to initiate and fund an
innovative and interactive umbrella program
called Sfatarbut (“Language and Culture”). The
goal of Sfatarbut was, among other things, to
integrate RIS students directly into Israeli sociep
ety with the help of Israeli “friends”. In addition
to the social component, Sfatarbut funded
the expansion of Hebrew language learning
tools, including textbooks, and multimedia
programs. “Andrea wanted students at the RIS
to integrate into Israeli society and not remain
outsiders. The social element was very importp
tant to her,” says Varda Yishai, coordinator of
Sfatarbut.
After completing special six-month MASA Mechina at RIS:
Latin American Students Pursue Degrees at HU
Last year’s MASA students from South America are this year’s Hebrew Universp
sity students. Several of the South American students who attended an accp
celerated six-month Preparatory-Program (Mechina) at the RIS as part of the
Government of Israel’s initiative to bring thousands of Jewish youth from around the
world to study in Israel for at least six months, have remained in Israel. One of the
goals of the MASA program vis-a-vis South America was to encourage outstanding
high school students to come study at the Mechina and facilitate their acceptance
into the Hebrew University. Both Tamara Kohn and Jessica Sidovsky came to the RIS
right after finishing high school in Argentina.
Tamara Kohn, 19, is studying English and Art History at the Hebrew University. “I
decided on my own that I wanted to move to Israel but I did not want to move to an
absorption center. Luba [Glikin – administrative director of the Mechina Program]
offered me the possibility of studying for one semester in the Mechina and living in
the dormitories. It helped me tremendously with my absorption into the country,"
says Kohn.
Jessica Sidovsky, 19, loved the time she spent at the Mechina. “It gave me an opp
portunity to meet others from all over the world,” she says. “I also really enjoyed my
studies.” Today she is studying at the University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicp
cine. Although the studies are difficult because of the language, “others are helping
me and it is all good,” she says enthusiastically.
Cynthia Najmarovich, 25, from Argentina, believes that, thanks to her studies at
the Mechina, she achieved high scores on her psychometric exam. “The best thing
was to enter the Hebrew University after having time to acclimate to the environmp
ment,” says Najmarovich. She is studying occupational therapy. “I always wanted to
live in Israel, although I did not really know why, “she says. “Now I know that I want
to live my whole life here.”
Dana Rajchman, 21, from Uruguay, also participated in the six-month accelerated
Mechina program. “I was told that studying at the Mechina would be good for my
absorption and that it would be easier to be accepted into the Hebrew University,”
she says. “My Hebrew and English improved while I was there, and I was accepted
as a second-year biology student thanks to courses I took in Uruguay. It is harder this
way but, in general, it is good.”
New Appointments
Prof. Lawrence Besserman of
the Hebrew University Department
of English has been appointed
Academic Director of the Division of
Graduate Studies. Prof. Besserman
served as Director of the School’s
Office of Academic Affairs in the U.S.
in 1988-91.
Amitai Barkol has replaced Gila
Preisler as As sistant Director of
the Division of Hebrew Language
Instruction. Preisler is continuing to
teach Hebrew at the RIS.
Judith Azerrad has assumed the
new position of psychological counsp
selor at the RIS.
Adrian Kramer has been app
pointed administrative director of
the Division of He brew Language
Instruction, replacing Yochi Moshe,
who is now serving as the Assistant
Academic Secre tary of the Hebrew
University.
Motty Butbul has replaced Adrian
Kramer as Director of the Office of
Student Activities (OSA).
Keri Rosenblu has been app
pointed Freshman Program Advisor,
replacing Ronny Perlman, who
retired.
Sara Wilner has been appointed
Student Advisor for RIS Mechina
students from English-speaking
countries. Wilner is an alumna of
the RIS, who received an M.A. in
Society and Politics in Israel in 2004.
Fatin Fahdan is serving as the
Student Advisor for Arab students
from East Jerusalem in the RIS
Mechina. She is pursuing a Master’s
degree in Criminology at the HU
Faculty of Law.
Moshik Galanty has been
appointed Student Affairs
Representative in Canada. Galanty
was formerly tour coordinator for
OSA.
Shoshana Bloom has replaced
Anthony Green as the Student
Affairs Representative in Eng land.
Bloom previously attended the
Jerusalem Ulpan at the RIS.
Marie Herbert has been
appointed Stu dent Affairs
Representative in France. She is a
recent graduate of the School’s M.A.
program in Society and Politics in
Israel.
Veteran Hebrew teacher
Bruria Ettinger-Rehavi
has been promoted to Senior
Teacher in the Division of He brew
Language Instruction.
Ten Tulane University students were given a
warm welcome at the RIS during the 2005 autp
tumn semester. The students were forced to
leave Tulane, located in New Orleans, followip
ing Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the city.
All of the students received full tuition scholap
arships from the Hebrew University and additp
tional aid from MASA and the Jewish Agency.
Two students have remained to complete the
academic year at the RIS.
In the photo: Former Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon met with several RIS students, including
those from Tulane, at a MASA-organized event.
Ami Silver, 22, from McGill University, Montreal,
was one of RIS students chosen to meet with
Sharon. “The meeting itself was bizarre and
kind of shocking in retrospect,” says Silver sadlp
ly. Sharon suffered a massive stroke the next
day and is still in a coma. “I was concerned for
his health [he had suffered a mini-stroke the
previous week] although he was not showing
any signs of weakness. I fervently wished him
a refuah shelemah (speedy recovery).”
For Further Information
Website: http://overseas.huji.ac.il
Israel
Rothberg International School:
info@mscc.huji.ac.il
Tel: + 972 2 5882600
Australia
NSW Friends of the Hebrew University:
studynsw@austfhu.org.au
Tel: 02 9267 7144
Victorian Friends of the Hebrew University:
vicfhu@austfhu.org.au
Tel: 03 9272 5511
Canada
Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University:
admissions@cfhu.org
Tel: 1 888 HEBREWU or 416 485 8000
France
UHJ-Rothberg:
rothfr@mscc.huji.ac.il
Tel: +33 1 47 55 46 29
United Kingdom
Friends of the Hebrew University:
students@fhu.org.uk
Tel: 0207 691 1478
United States
Office of Academic Affairs:
hebrewu@hebrewu.com
Tel: 1 800 404 8622 or 212 607 8520
Credits
Editor: Nechama Goldman Coordinator: Siva
Azoulay Design: Liat Yehuda Studio
Photos: Yoram Aschheim, Nechama Goldman,
Douglas Guthrie, Yoel Nesson, Sasson Tiram,
courtesy of: Ilana Meskin, OSA, HU Photo Archives

Bible Translators
(cont. from page 13)
husband took graduate classes at the
Seminary near Boston, she audited
some of the same classes, including
Biblical Hebrew and Greek. At the RIS
she is taking classes in the morning in
modern and Biblical Hebrew. In the afp
ternoons she looks after her children,
who are learning to speak Hebrew
even more rapidly than their parents
in Israeli nursery schools.
As someone who teaches language,
she was amazed at how the teachers in
the RIS Division of Hebrew Language
Instruction are able to teach Hebrew
no matter what the level of the class
without reverting to English. She has
picked up very good teaching techp
niques that she hopes to incorporate
into her own professional life. Both Gap
rams are looking forward to joining a
bigger team of Bible translators.
“We are really glad to be here,” says
Bayaraa. “We have a saying in Monp
golia – it is better to see than hear
something 1000 times. Learning Hep
brew here in Israel only highlights this
saying. Back home, we learn to read
[Hebrew] only from the page. Here, it
is all around us, in the culture, in the
people. We are learning Modern Hep
brew which, at the same time, makes
the Biblical Hebrew come alive.”
A
select group of RIS students from the undergraduate and graduate
divisions met with the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard H. Jones.
Students were impressed with the interest Ambassador Jones
showed in their experiences studying in Israel.
Stephie Mohr, 20, from Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, said
that “It was great that the Ambassador wanted to meet with students from
abroad and hear about our experiences in Israel. He showed a genuine interp
est in us.”
U.S. Ambassador Jones, flanked by Hebrew U. President Prof. Menachem Magidor on the left and RIS Provost Prof.
Jaime Kapitulnik on the right, meets with RIS students.