Dear friends,
At this challenging time for us here in Israel and for Jewish communities around the world, I would like to share a brief update from Zefat Academic College.
As you know, the college is in the heart of the Upper Galilee, close to Israel’s northern border. Since the outbreak of the most recent war with Iran, and the subsequent involvement of the terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon, our region has been under periodic missile fire. Like many communities in northern Israel, our students, faculty, and staff have been facing these challenges while striving to continue the College’s vital educational mission. Their fortitude, and that of all Israelis, is a source of tremendous inspiration and pride.
To ensure the safety of our community while enabling our learning to go on, we began our second semester last week in an online format. We will maintain this mode of instruction so long as Home Front Command restrictions preclude a return to regular classroom teaching. I’m pleased to be able to emphasize that our faculty and academic staff have made extraordinary efforts to retain the quality of instruction, so that not a single student falls behind. At the same time, our senior leadership, administrative teams, security personnel, and maintenance staff have arrived at campus each day to keep the institution operating smoothly.
Of course, a significant number of our students have been mobilized for reserve military service. We remain in close contact with them and are committed to supporting them and their efforts to remain engaged with their studies. We provide them with recorded lectures, for example, as well as lesson summaries and flexible learning opportunities for when circumstances permit. Upon their return from reserve duty, they will also receive additional academic assistance—including supplementary classes and other kinds of support—to help them complete the material they missed.
As a college that is also dedicated to advancing the city of Zefat, we are grateful to be able to make our campus shelters available to the surrounding community. Residents living nearby frequently use these protected spaces during missile alerts, and local youth movements have been permitted to use our facilities in accordance with Home Front Command guidelines. Even our students dorms have been made available to IDF soldiers while our students are studying from home
Finally, the academic and administrative leadership of the college have taken a proactive approach to addressing the emotional, financial, and other needs of students—Jews, Arabs, Druze, and others—affected by the war. As the institution that plays a leading role in educating the region’s future healthcare professionals, social workers, and community leaders, Zefat Academic College is both uniquely suited to this task and deeply aware of the importance of our work to the strength and resilience of the Galilee.
We are profoundly grateful to our friends around the world whose partnership allows us to persevere in our educational vision, for the benefit of the entire Galilee. It has never been more vital to prepare a new generation of professionals capable of building a stronger, healthier, and more resilient northern region.
As the holiday of Passover approaches—a holiday that celebrates freedom, renewal, and hope—I wish to extend my warmest wishes to you and your family. Here in Israel, in our region, and everywhere in the world, may we soon enjoy true peace and security.
With gratitude and warmest regards,
Prof. Yechezkel Taler
President
Zefat Academic College