Biu Aerial photograph of Bar-Ilan University (21004322376)

Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...

in the

Tel Aviv District The Tel Aviv District ( he, מָחוֹז תֵּל אָבִיב; ar, منطقة تل أبيب) is the smallest and most densely populated of the six administrative districts of Israel with a population of 1.35 million residents. It is 98.9% Jewi ...

city of

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and man ...

, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has about 20,000 students and 1,350 faculty members. Bar-Ilan's mission is to "blend

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

tradition with modern technologies and scholarship and the university endeavors to ... teach the Jewish heritage to all its students while providing nacademic education."

History

First Graduation at Bar Ilan University - Ogden Reid 1959

Bar-Ilan University has Jewish-American roots: It was conceived in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in a meeting of the American Mizrahi organization in 1950, and was founded by Professor Pinkhos Churgin, an American Orthodox

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and educator, who was president from 1955 to 1957 where he was succeeded by Joseph H. Lookstein who was president from 1957 to 1967. When it was opened in 1955, it was described by ''The New York Times'' "as Cultural Link Between the sraeliRepublic and America". Presidents who followed were Max Jammer (1967–77), Emanuel Rackman (1977–86), Michael Albeck (1986–89),

Ernest Krausz Ernest (Kopul) Krausz (ארנסט קראוס; August 13, 1931 - December 10, 2018) was an Israeli professor of sociology who served as rector and Acting President of Bar Ilan University. He also taught at Netanya Academic College. Biography Ernes ...

(1989),

Zvi Arad Zvi Arad ( he, צבי ארד,16 April 1942, in Petah Tikva, Mandatory Palestine – 4 February 2018, in Petah Tikva, Israel) was an Israeli mathematician, acting president of Bar-Ilan University, and president of Netanya Academic College. Biograp ...

(1989–92), and

Shlomo Eckstein Shlomo Raber Eckstein (1 November 1929 – 12 January 2020) was an Israeli economist, and President of Bar-Ilan University. Biography Eckstein was born in Wiesbaden, Germany. His family emigrated from Germany before World War II to Mexico, which ...

(1992–96). The university was named for Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan (originally ''Meir Berlin''), a

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...

leader who served as the inspiration for its establishment. Although he was trained in Orthodox seminaries in Berlin, he believed there was a need for an institution providing a dual curriculum of secular

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

studies and religious

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

studies. BIU's student population is diverse and includes both Jewish and non-Jewish students. At least ten courses in Jewish studies are required for graduation. These are available as academic Jewish studies courses, as well as through more traditional

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the '' mitzvah'' ("com ...

, offered primarily by the ''Machon HaGavoah LeTorah'', established in the 1970s. The "Machon" operates a

kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

bet midrash A ''beth midrash'' ( he, בית מדרש, or ''beis medrash'', ''beit midrash'', pl. ''batei midrash'' "House of Learning") is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall." It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth kness ...

for men, and a

midrasha A ' (Hebrew: , pl. ') is an institute of Torah study for women, usually in Israel, and roughly the equivalent of a yeshiva for men. A "seminary" (Hebrew ''seminar'', sometimes ''seminaria'')

for women. The kollel offers traditional

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

studies with an emphasis on

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

and

Halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

(Jewish law), while the midrasha offers courses in

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' ''Machshavah'' (Jewish philosophy). The midrasha is the largest in Israel. These programs are open to all students free of charge. Yitzhak Rabin's convicted assassin,

Yigal Amir Yigal Amir ( he, יגאל עמיר; born May 31, 1970) is an Israeli right-wing extremist who assassinated former Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin. At the time of the assassination he was a law student at Bar-Ilan University. The assas ...

, was a student of law and computer science at Bar-Ilan, prompting charges that the university had become a hotbed of political

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

. One of the steps taken by the university following the 1995 assassination was to encourage dialogue between

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

and right-wing students. Under university president Moshe Kaveh (1996–2013), Bar-Ilan underwent a major expansion, with new buildings added on the northern side of the campus. New science programs have been introduced, including a multidisciplinary brain research center and a center for nanotechnology. The university has placed

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

as one of its priorities, and this includes excavations such as the Tell es-Safi/Gath archaeological excavations and the recently opened Bar-Ilan University/

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli unive ...

joint program in Archaeological Sciences. Bar-Ilan's Faculty of Law made headlines in 2008 by achieving the highest average Israeli bar exam grade of 81.9 by its graduates. Daniel Hershkowitz was university president from 2013 to 2017. Arie Zaban became the president of the university in 2017.

Academics

Bar-Ilan University has nine faculties: Exact Sciences, Life Sciences,

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

, Jewish Studies,

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, and

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. There is also a special Unit of Interdisciplinary Studies. At the undergraduate level, as mentioned, ten courses in Jewish studies related subjects are required from all students. Bar-Ilan offers several special programs, including its international B.A. program, taught entirely in English, and is the first university in Israel to offer a full undergraduate program taught entirely in English. Currently students can choose between a B.A. degree in interdisciplinary social sciences, where students can choose between a macro track in economics, political sciences, and sociology, or the Micro Track in Criminology, Psychology, and Sociology, or a major in communications, with a minor in either English literature or

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. The degrees are internationally recognized and are open to students from all over the world. In addition, Bar-Ilan offers a preparatory program that readies new immigrants for Israeli colleges. The university also runs a one-year overseas program called ''Tochnit Torah Im Derech Eretz'', which combines traditional

studies in the morning, separate for men and women, as well as co-ed general university studies and

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenisti ...

classes in the afternoon. Many American students enrolled in regular programs of study in the university also take these Jewish history classes to fulfill their Jewish studies requirements. Bar-Ilan also houses several research institutions such as the above-mentioned Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, focused on

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...

, which may have their own requirements.

Awards and recognition

The Bar Ilan Responsa Project was awarded the Israel Prize in 2007. The university's Bible project, in danger of being eliminated by continued budget cuts, was saved at the last minute by an anonymous donor. In its capacity as a business school, Bar-Ilan was placed as the fourth best business school in Africa and the Middle East in the 2010

QS Global 200 Business Schools Report Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a British company specialising in the analysis of higher education institutions around the world. The company was founded in 1990 by Nunzio Quacquarelli. History On 5 October 2017, QS Quacquarelli Symonds acquired Hob ...

Notable alumni

(1942–2018) – mathematician, acting president of Bar-Ilan University, president of Netanya Academic College *

Ami Ayalon Ami Ayalon ( he, עמיחי "עמי" איילון, born 27 June 1945) is an Israeli politician and a former member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. He was previously head of the Shin Bet, Israel's secret service, and commander-in-chief of th ...

– former head of the

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...

and member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for the Labor Party. *

Michael Ben-Ari Michael Ben-Ari ( he, מיכאל בן ארי, born 12 October 1963) is an Israeli politician, and former member of the Knesset. During the 18th Knesset, Ben Ari was a member of the National Union party, until it broke up as elections for the 1 ...

– Israeli politician and formerly a member of the Knesset for the National Union Party. * Kotel Da-Don – Croatian Orthodox rabbi of the Bet Israel community in Zagreb. *

Avi Dichter Avi Dichter ( he, אָבִי דִּיכְטֶר, ; born 14 December 1952) is an Israeli politician. A former Minister of Internal Security and Shin Bet director, he resigned from the Knesset and left Kadima in August 2012 in order to become M ...

– former minister of home front defence. Former

director. * Yuval Diskin – 12th director of the Israeli Internal Security Service

. * Esther Farbstein – Holocaust scholar *

Baruch Fischer Baruch Fischer (Hebrew: ברוך פישר) is an Israeli optical physicist and Professor Emeritus in the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Technion, where he was the Max Knoll Chair in Electro-Optic ...

- Professor Emeritus in the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion *

Tzipi Hotovely Tzipi Hotovely ( he, צִיפִּי חוֹטוֹבֵלִי, born 2 December 1978) is an Israeli diplomat and former politician who serves as the current Ambassador of Israel to the United Kingdom. She served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affair ...

– Israeli diplomat and former politician who serves as the current ambassador of Israel to the United Kingdom. Formerly deputy minister of foreign affairs, minister of diaspora affairs, minister of settlement affairs, and as a member of the Knesset for the

Likud Party Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...

Gila Gamliel Gila Gamliel (; born 24 February 1974) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as the Ministry of Intelligence (Israel), Minister of Intelligence and as a member of the Knesset for Likud. She also previously served as Pensioner Affairs Mi ...

– Israeli politician for the

. Formerly minister for social equality, and minister of environmental protection * Anat Guetta – chair of the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) since 2018 * Michael Harris – named the best Israeli in the field of academics, as one of "The 10 Most Successful Israelis in 10 Different Fields in the World" by ''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening ''Shema'' and '' Amidah''. The service will often begin with two verses from Psalms ...

'' in April 2012. * Joseph Klafter –

chemical physics Chemical physics is a subdiscipline of chemistry and physics that investigates physicochemical phenomena using techniques from atomic and molecular physics and condensed matter physics; it is the branch of physics that studies chemical process ...

professor, the eighth president of Tel Aviv University * Joshua Kulp – Talmudic scholar *

Norman Lebrecht Norman Lebrecht (born 11 July 1948) is a British music journalist and author who specializes in classical music. He is best known as the owner of the classical music blog, ''Slipped Disc'', where he frequently publishes articles. Unlike other ...

(born 1948) – British commentator on music and cultural affairs, and novelist * Tzipi Livni – Israeli lawyer and politician, head of the Opposition from 2009 to 2012. Formerly minister of justice, and in charge of negotiations with the Palestinians *

Gadeer Mreeh Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh ( ar, غدير كمال مريح, , , born 21 June 1984) is an Israeli Druze politician and journalist. She became the first Druze woman to anchor a Hebrew-language news program on Israeli television in 2017. In April 2019, sh ...

(born 1984) – first woman of Druze descent to become a member of the

* Orit Peleg – professor of biophysics at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

* Avi Weinroth – lawyer represents corporations in Israel and governmental companies.

Notable faculty

* Doron Aurbach * Nathan Aviezer * Moshe Bar * Avi Bell * Pinkhos Churgin *

Cyril Domb Cyril Domb FRS (9 December 1920 – 15 February 2012) was a British-Israeli theoretical physicist, best known for his lecturing and writing on the theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena of fluids. He was also known in the Orthodox ...

Adam Ferziger Adam S. Ferziger (born November 10, 1964, in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn) is an intellectual and social historian whose research focuses on Jewish religious movements and religious responses to secularization and assimilation in modern and c ...

* Jonathan Fox *

Hillel Furstenberg Hillel (Harry) Furstenberg ( he, הלל (הארי) פורסטנברג) (born September 29, 1935) is a German-born American-Israeli mathematician and professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a member of the Israel Academy o ...

* Ruth Halperin-Kaddari *

Oren Harman Oren Harman is a writer and historian of science. Biography Oren Harman was born in Jerusalem on January 25, 1973. He grew up and was educated in Jerusalem and in New York City, where he attended the Collegiate School for Boys and excelled at ...

* Shlomo Havlin * Arye L. Hillman * Max Jammer *

Efraim Karsh Efraim Karsh ( he, אפרים קארש; born 1953) is an Israeli–British historian who is the founding director and emeritus professor of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at King's College London. Since 2013, he has served as professor of p ...

* Mordechai Kedar * Sarit Kraus *

* Baruch Kurzweil *

Aren Maeir Aren Maeir (born 1958) is an American-born Israeli archaeologist and professor at Bar Ilan University. He is director of the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project. Biography Aren Maeir was born in Rochester, New York, United States. He immig ...

* Arie Reich * Tamar Ross * Mary Schaps *

Daniel Sperber Daniel Sperber (Hebrew: דניאל שפרבר) is a British-born Israeli academic and centrist orthodox rabbi. He is a professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and an expert in classical philology, history of Jewish customs, Jew ...

* Avraham Trahtman * Eli Vakil * Zeev Zalevsky

Gallery

File:Bar-Ilan University. Engineering (11908490355).jpg, Faculty of engineering File:(המרכז לחקר המוח ע"ש לסלי וסוזאן גונדה (גולדשמיד (11795483624).jpg, Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center File:בית הרב יעקובוביץ - מרכז סמי שמעון ללימודי פילוסופיה אתיקה ומחשבת ישראל (11908099463).jpg, Centre for the study of philosophy, ethics and Jewish thought File:בנין פסיכולוגיה ע'ש אנה ומקס ווב ומשפחתם (11795059335) - fixed.jpg, Anna & Max Webb and Family Psychology Building at the Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel File:המרכז למבקרים ומצפה לב הקמפוס ע"ש ונגרובסקי (11562183273).jpg, Wengerovsky Center at Bar-Ilan University File:הטריפלקס לננוטכנולוגיה ע"ש לסלי וסוזן גונדה גולדשמיד (11513855913).jpg, Nanotechnology building File:הפקולטה_לרפואה_(15472290024).jpg, Bar-Ilan Faculty of Medicine File:מרכז המחשבים והמתמטיקה ע"ש עוזיאל שפיגל יד עוזיאל (11530019123).jpg, Bar-Ilan Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science File:Bar-Ilan University. Machon (17287812905).jpg, ''Machon HaGevoah LaTorah''

References

External links

*
BIU History

Bar-Ilan University – Study Programs for Olim/Foreign Students

Bar Ilan details in WHED (World Higher Education Database) Website (IAU-001455)Bar-Ilan responsa website

Bar-Ilan Faculty of Medicine

Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA)

Bar-Ilan Faculty of Law
*
Bar-Ilan Students Union
*
Amigos Latinoamericanos de la Universidad de Bar Ilan
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1955 Orthodox Jewish universities and colleges Buildings and structures in Ramat Gan Religious Zionism Research institutes in Israel Universities in Israel Education in Tel Aviv District 1955 establishments in Israel Law schools in Israel