Negev Connection - Winter 2023 by Americans for Ben-Gurion University

Issue #10 Winter 2023

Your link to the most innovative initiatives at Ben-Gurion University

NEGEV CONNECTION

Table of Contents 4

A UNIVERSITY AT THE FRONTLINES Israel suffered horrific losses on October 7th and the ensuing weeks. The Negev bore the brunt of it, and with it the BGU family.

RECOGNIZING SHANI LOUK, Z”L AND NOA ARGAMANI

BGU community members, Shani Louk and Noa Argamani, attended the Nova Festival on Oct. 7 to enjoy music amid nature, and never returned home.

MEDIC UNDER FIRE Dr. Oren Wacht reflects on the most difficult day of his career as a paramedic and his students who underwent a baptism by fire saving lives.

A LIFE UPENDED There is not a single aspect of this war that does not affect BGU student Ester Cohen personally.

FROM STRENGTH TO GREATER STRENGTH: BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY’S EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Through Negev Prevails: BGU’s Emergency Response, A4BGU is supporting BGU’s immediate needs, as well as the University’s evolving needs, during this difficult time.

LOVE LETTERS TO ISRAEL In just 3 weeks, BGU received over 260 letters from friends around the world and distributed them to the grieving families.

(800) 962-2248 info@a4bgu.org a4bgu.org

Partners in the Remarkable

Doug Seserman, CEO of Americans for Ben-Gurion University

In the hours and days after Sukkot, Israel and the Jewish people suffered unimaginable loss.

At Americans for Ben-Gurion University, we grieve the senseless deaths of members of our community and beyond, and pray for those kidnapped from their homes and held hostage. We watched with horror as David Ben-Gurion’s beloved desert became the site of countless atrocities. It was, and continues to be, a dark time. And yet, at the same time, we can tell a story of hope: Through a haze of fear and pain, our university has come together to serve as a beacon of light for the nation of Israel – and the world. Over 500 medical students got to work immediately at the nearby Soroka Medical Center, caring for hundreds of civilians suffering from traumatic injuries.

Join us in our mission to fulfill Ben-Gurion’s vision of Israel in the Negev by supporting the Ben-Gurion Annual Fund today. Visit a4bgu.org/ negevconnection, mail a gift in the enclosed envelope, or call us at 800-962-2248.

The newly-created Resilience Center is providing psychological and social counseling, temporary housing, and financial aid while students called to the front lines are being supported and guided by our IDF Reservist Program. Hundreds of students quickly organized an aid operation to provide food, clothes, and supplies for civilians fleeing their homes – and for the soldiers passing them in the opposite direction. Shortly after October 7, A4BGU created an emergency appeal named "Negev Prevails" to help support these efforts.

In this edition of Negev Connection, you will discover how amidst unthinkable tragedy, BGU stands as an anchor in the Negev community, going above and beyond to strengthen and support. Not only is Israel a nation built on hope, Israel is a nation that inspires that same hope around the world. Israel shows the world how to grieve, heal, and stand up against terror – all while solving some of the greatest problems humanity faces. My colleague and friend Professor Daniel Chamovitz, President of BGU, said it best: “If we lose our humanity, then everything is lost. And if we can maintain our humanity, which we’re doing at Ben-Gurion University, in the face of such destruction, then that gives us hope for the future.” As BGU’s education and research paves the way forward, we have hope. As the innovations emerging from our state-of-theart classrooms and laboratories transform the world for the better, we have hope. As the desert blooms and we begin to heal as a community, we realize the vision of David BenGurion – and we have hope. With your support, we can share that hope with the world in meaningful, actionable ways. I hope you’ll join us.

TOGETHER WE WILL PREVAIL

A University on the Frontlines Israel suffered horrific losses on October 7th and the ensuing weeks. The Negev bore the brunt of it, and with it the BGU family. Classes have been suspended through the end of the year.

Partners in the Remarkable

ISRAEL*

1200 killed

239

hostages

communities and towns affected

BGU*

1,000

BGU community members murdered (students, staff, faculty, retirees, and family members)

missing

5,729

BGU community members injured

displaced from their homes

IDF Reservists * Data as of December 4, 2023. Information remains incomplete.

TOGETHER WE WILL PREVAIL

Recognizing Sha and Noa Argama

Following the devastating massacres on October 7th, our community and its thousands o be the same. Two of these individuals, now known across the world, are Shani Louk and N and Noa attended the Nova Festival to celebrate peace and enjoy music amid nature, and n

Shani Louk, z”l

Shani Louk was a 22-year-old German-Israeli tattoo artist who grew up in Israel and the United States. Her brother remembers her as someone without a dark side, a light in the world, artistic in everything she did, from the way she spoke to the way she danced. Her life was unjustly cut short when she was brutally murdered by Hamas, an atrocity that has devastated the BGU community, where her sister Adi is currently a third-year student. “She went through this whole life without being a bad person for a second,” her brother Amit told Sky News. Shani lived in Tel Aviv. She was a pacifist with a love for travel and had amassed a devoted following of thousands on Instagram and TikTok where she posted her tattoos and art, and videos of her eclectic style. Those who knew her say they’ll remember her joy, wisdom, and kindness. Her father, Nissim Louk, told N12 he takes comfort knowing his daughter spent her last day in this world dancing and cheering, surrounded by her closest friends.

Shani Louk, z”l

Partners in the Remarkable

"She is a beautiful girl who loves to dance," Louk said. "Everyone loves her. She is very smart and witty. That's how I want her to be remembered." Together with her family and friends, we mourn Shani, a light extinguished too soon.

ani Louk, z”l ani Noa Argamani

of members will never Noa Argamani. Both Shani never returned home. This year, Noa Argamani’s chair was empty at her birthday dinner. The second-year engineering student at BGU turned 26 in captivity after she was taken hostage in the early morning of October 7th. In a widely circulated and harrowing video, Noa begged for her life while reaching for her boyfriend and fellow BGU student, Avinatan Or, also taken hostage, as Hamas terrorists kidnapped her by motorcycle. Just five days after the attacks, her parents marked her birthday at their home in Beer-Sheva, mourning the absence of their guest of honor, their only daughter. Noa loves meditation and yoga, and scuba diving with her boyfriend. She has all kinds of plans for the future – from the small garden she was preparing for her shared apartment patio, to moving in with Avinatan, who her father describes as humble, peaceful, and quiet. She is also full of optimism. Noa’s mother, Liora, is battling stage 4 brain cancer, and her daughter played a big role in her healthcare before she was taken hostage, making appointments and arrangements for treatment. She was also her mother’s biggest cheerleader. Liora’s health has deteriorated since Noa was kidnapped, and her family worries she may not see

Noa Argamani

her daughter again. “My one wish would be to hug and see Noa before something happens to me due to my medical condition,” Liora told The Daily Mail. In the meantime, she takes comfort in imagining the moment she’s reunited with her daughter. We pray for Noa’s safety and release.

TOGETHER WE WILL PREVAIL

IDF medical teams undergo trauma training at the Field Family Medical Simulation Center. October 24, 2023

MEDIC under Partners in the Remarkable

Dr. Oren Wacht talks about the most difficult day of his career as a paramedic and his students who underwent a baptism by fire saving lives On October 7th, as the first victims were arriving at Soroka University Medical Center, BGU students and graduates in a range of healthcare professions underwent a baptism by fire in impossible, unimaginable conditions, as they helped tend to hundreds of victims with varying degrees of injury. Drawing on their resourcefulness and still incomplete training, they assisted the more experienced medical teams perform countless life-saving operations. For students and graduates of the Department of Emergency Medicine, theory became practice instantaneously. Their mentor, Dr. Oren Wacht, head of the BGU Department of Emergency Medicine and an active paramedic with Magen David Adom, was already on board one of those first ambulances that raced to Soroka.

Dr. Oren Wacht in uniform, in the immediate days following the attack

r Fire 9

On that never ending first day, Dr. Wacht moved from one bloody scene to the next, treating dozens of wounded, sometimes under fire. Once he had delivered the wounded to the emergency room, he didn’t think twice about turning right around and returning to the battlefield. He was pulled over multiple times along the way as wounded soldiers and policemen were transferred to his care. Dr. Wacht shared some of his experiences of those traumatic events in a long interview with BGU Radio: "We stopped bleeding. We put people out to help them deal with the intensity of the pain. There are people here with us today who would have died if we hadn't treated them." In the same breath, Dr. Wacht praises the soldiers who saved their brothers in arms who were wounded on the battlefield. "I also treated wounded who received first aid in the field. The medics, together with untrained soldiers,

TOGETHER WE WILL PREVAIL

gave them inspiring first aid. Without them, their comrades might not have survived." It all began with the cacophony of sirens that pierced the quiet holiday morning across large parts of Israel. "I woke up to the sirens, got myself together, put on a uniform. I was sent to Ofakim and the Gaza envelope settlements. From eight in the morning till ten at night, we treated dozens of wounded. The next day, on Sunday morning, I was officially drafted and have been on reserve duty ever since." Dr. Wacht quickly realized where the situation was headed. "I saw the wounded and it was clear to me that this was a complex, difficult and dangerous event. I switched into intense action 'mode'. In those critical first hours, many of my students who had completed their degree in emergency medicine worked alongside me. This was their first experience with such a difficult event. Their education was a three-year long process, and they were supposed to gradually become professionals. Here, the circumstances shortened that process.” Two close friends, senior doctors at Soroka, were among the victims of the massacre and Oren is still having trouble accepting their loss. "They were more than close friends, they were like members of my family." This was different than any other previous experience, Dr. Wacht said. “This time I had the feeling that it was endless, never-ending. I found myself in situations where there were four people with gunshot wounds in the ambulance at the same time and I was completely alone with them. During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, in comparison, I intermittently treated individual wounded soldiers, and things were relatively normal." In the first days of the war, terrorists still roamed the roads that served as transport routes for evacuation and rescue vehicles, which made the task even more complicated. "The mortal danger was palpable; we treated the wounded under fire. I had never experienced such a level of risk," he says candidly. Dr. Wacht, now 49, traveled to India for his “postarmy” trip and volunteered at a hospice there. That was where he realized that his vocation in life was to take care of people, and this led him to a career as a paramedic. Later, he studied for a doctorate in emergency medicine at Ben-Gurion University while working as a paramedic at Magen David Adom. As a lecturer and then as head of

Partners in the Remarkable

the department, he teaches his students how to function in volatile situations without losing their cool. He was instrumental in the establishment of Field Family Medical Simulation Center, where training involves the simulation of real scenarios, and now serves as its academic director. Being a paramedic means choosing a way of life based on helping others. "It is a profession that envelops you in all areas of life; a world in itself that is very challenging", he explains. "It gives you the privilege to stand by people's side in their most challenging moments in life, and sometimes this is no less important than CPR. You need to put yourself in the shoes of the patient and their family. They expect 100 percent of your attention, and you should treat each patient as if they were a member of your own family." As the war now enters its third month, Dr. Oren Wacht eyes the future with a sober gaze.

Medical Simulation Center Prepares Medical Teams for War

Sahar Gavish of the Field Family Medical Simulation Center helps train IDF Medical Teams, October 24, 2023

"Take a deep breath. We have been through a collective traumatic experience, an extreme situation. For one’s personal resilience, it’s important to be active – anything from helping harvest cucumbers in the western Negev to volunteering at the hospital. Don’t sink into depression; spending entire days in front of the TV watching the news is definitely not recommended. We are strong and we will get through this too."

For the entire interview with Dr. Oren Wacht on BGU Radio (in Hebrew): https://www.facebook.com/

reel/716191230357123

The Field Family Medical Simulation Center in the Rachel and Max Javit Medical Simulation and Classroom Building – inaugurated just last year – offers stateof-the-art medical simulation rooms for the training of doctors, nursing staff, and paramedics. These simulation rooms meticulously reflect real-life medical scenarios, from mastering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques to lifesaving procedures for trauma victims, such as stopping bleeding, airway management, and emergency surgeries. Menachem Blumenthal, administrative director of the Field Family Medical Simulation Center, commented on the Center's switch to a field hospital-style training facility, saying: "Since October 7, many medical teams, from the army and civilian organizations, have been asking to train at our simulation center, and we are trying to accommodate them all. On routine days, students, military, and police personnel train with us hoping their services will not be needed. Unfortunately, now it is "for real.” The simulation center’s innovative approach, including the use of advanced simulators and a trauma room, has been significant in the preparation of many IDF teams in recent days and these sessions will continue as needed.

TOGETHER WE WILL PREVAIL

Ester Cohen recently completed a degree in psychology and is waiting to begin a clinical master's program

There is not a single aspect of this war that does not affect BGU student Ester Cohen personally

Partners in the Remarkable

A Life Ester Cohen finished her BGU undergraduate degree in behavioral sciences earlier this year and is working in the Department of Publications and Media Relations while she prepares for the entrance exam to the clinical psychology program. Ester is remarkably composed. It is only an occasional sheen in her eyes, a tremble in her voice, and the pause that extends a second

too long that hints at the turmoil roiling underneath. Why remarkably? Because there is not a single aspect of this war that does not affect her personally and intimately. Her study plans were disrupted, her family scattered across the country after the village she grew up in was evacuated, her partner and two brothers were called up for reserve duty, and there were numerous victims among her circle of friends. It is only by chance that Ester’s partner, Ben Shultz, also a BGU student, chose to go to a nature party in the Arava on October 7 and not the one that turned so deadly near Reim. On October 7, Ester was woken by increasingly worried phone calls from family and friends at the apartment she shares with Ben in Beer-Sheva. She managed to reach her parents and siblings who live in Mavki’im, a moshav 7.2 kilometers from the northern border of Gaza. For now, they were alright. Her friend Alon Amir, another BGU student who is from Kfar Azza, came over to her apartment to try and make sense of the calls and messages they were getting: of terrorists in the streets, families and friends Ester and Ben had a few hours during a brief leave, Oct. 15, 2023

Upended huddling in their secure rooms. They were still together at 4 pm that day when Alon learned his father had been murdered protecting his sisters and a niece. He had put the girls in the shower in the secure room, but stayed in the outer room himself, figuring, tragically and correctly, that once the terrorists discovered him, they would shoot him but move on thinking he was alone.

Ben returned from the nature party in the Arava with Nave Avraham, another student, during the day. Nave’s mother survived by hiding in their secure room in Nahal Oz. By the time they fell asleep at 3 AM, Ben had already gotten his call to report for duty.

TOGETHER WE WILL PREVAIL

Ester and Ben drove to his parents in Kiryat Ono near Tel Aviv and from there to an induction center where he was kitted out and headed north to serve as an engineering officer. For now, Ester is staying with Ben’s parents in Kiryat Ono because her apartment in Beer-Sheva does not have a secure room, and she does not feel safe staying there alone.

Growing up in Gaza

Ester’s village, Mavki’im, has been largely evacuated. Her parents are in Eilat with her youngest brother. A sister-in-law whose husband was called up for reserve duty is staying in Kibbutz Tzova near Jerusalem. Another brother and his wife are in Tel Aviv. If her younger brother, Gal, 24, gets leave from his reserve duty, he will have nowhere to go. So, Ester keeps a safe place at Ben’s parents’ house for him.

Of her childhood, Ester says, ironically, “It was a great place to grow up. We had no worries. There was a kind of innocence about us. The backdrop of our lives was soldiers and jeeps, but we felt safe.”

It is often forgotten that many of the families who live around Gaza once lived in Gaza in Gush Katif. Ester was born and raised until the age of 10 in Rafiah Yam, “an idyllic spot in the southernmost corner of Gaza right on the water. We were just 24 families.”

After the disengagement in 2005, her family moved to Moshav Mavki’im. Ester, who recently turned 28, is one of five siblings, with two older brothers and two younger brothers. Omri, 32, was called up at the beginning of the war.

The Cohen Family in better times. Left to right: Matan, Omri, Ofek, Ester, Gal, Osnat, and Moshe. 2020

Partners in the Remarkable

Israel's president, Isaac Herzog (left), visited Ben's (right) unit on October 17, 2023

Growing up in Mavki’im, Ester and her friends spent most of their time outdoors. Birthdays and graduations were always celebrated on Zikim Beach, where terrorists came from the sea on that fateful Saturday. Some of the terrorists stopped there had detailed plans of the layout of Mavki’im in their pockets. “I know every street, every turn, they needed to come through to get to Kfar Azza, to Sderot. When I saw a picture of a terrorist jeep on a street in Sderot, that really got to me, because I know exactly where they had to go to reach there. Those were the streets of my childhood, and it’s hard knowing that these terrorists traveled the same route sowing destruction,” she says.

Ester is also struck by the randomness of who survived and who did not, whose house is still standing and whose was consumed by fire. At some point, she saw a video of a guy leaping out of his window into a passing IDF jeep in Kfar Azza on the news. Later, her friend Simon Peretz called and said, “Did you see that guy jumping out the window? That was me.”

“What crazy luck that a jeep was passing, and he seized the chance to escape. People in the next house over from him were murdered,” Ester says quietly. Meanwhile, Moshe and Osnat, Ester’s mother, are refugees in Eilat. They need to explain to their grandchildren why there are explosions over the city despite having told them there were no rockets in Eilat. Under other circumstances, the disruption to Ester’s own future life path would be significant. Now, it pales in comparison. She had been studying intensely for the certification exam for the master’s program in clinical psychology at BGU. The test is offered once a year — and its date was October 10. Ester’s academic and professional life is on hold until she can take the test, which has yet to be rescheduled. But it almost doesn’t matter as she worries about Ben and her brothers on the frontlines and helps her parents and other family members with anything and everything she can.

TOGETHER WE WILL PREVAIL

From Strength to Greater Strength: Ben-Gurion University’s Emergency Response Partners in the Remarkable

Only 22 miles from Gaza, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has suffered greatly since the October 7th attacks and war that followed. Eightyfour community members’ lives were tragically lost. Thirteen individuals were injured and five are still missing. One thousand families were forced to flee their homes, while 5,729 have been called up for reserve duty, often leaving behind young children and spouses. From the earliest days of the crisis, A4BGU embraced its role as a support system for the anchor institution in the Negev, BGU. A key player in relief and recovery efforts and central to rebuilding Israel for the future, A4BGU quickly mobilized to raise money for emergency relief. A4BGU has raised money to support the university as it has transformed itself into a haven for displaced people, hosting kindergarteners and high schoolers from kibbutzim around Gaza. Even with classes on hold, BGU students volunteered in the Soroka Hospital ER, and the student union building became a distribution center for getting necessities out to those affected in the south. The university has since emerged as a leader in the emergency response, drawing support from the global philanthropic community to help fortify itself as a beacon of strength in the days ahead, and A4BGU has helped them do so every step of the way.

A Hub of Critical Support: $18M Global Fundraising Initiative BGU’s plan to address the community’s needs entails an $18M global fundraising initiative to be dispersed through several concentric circles of support.

$5.6M

$3.4M

for The Broader Negev Community

for Private Industry and Partner Organizations

These funds will address the BGU community’s immediate needs. After many evacuees escaped with only the clothes on their backs and headed to temporary accommodations, BGU committed to providing them with financial assistance and basic necessities. In addition, this portion of fundraising will go towards financial assistance – like relief grants for every student called to reserve duty – as well as counseling and mental health support, emergency infrastructure and security equipment, crisis management systems, and training and childcare services for those who need it.

Rebuilding the surrounding Negev community is necessary to respond to evolving crises. Logistical hubs providing relief require supplies and coordination, and volunteers need room and board. A mental health first aid call center was opened to provide support to all members of the Ben-Gurion community and their families.

With businesses also impacted, BGU is focused on helping struggling companies in the Startup Nation. These funds will ensure that the Negev’s promising startups can stay afloat and will support collaborations with local partners like Soroka Medical Center, Israel Defense Forces, One-Heart Initiative, the Barzilai Medical Center, and Sapir College.

Funds will also go towards community-wide psychological assistance, shelter and schooling for displaced families in Beer-Sheva and Eilat, and expansion and support of the Duet Center: Parenting in Duress.

$8M

for BGU Employees, Students, and Families

$1M

for Evolving Needs These measures are only the beginning of a long journey toward recovery, and BGU anticipates a need for housing, rebuilding initiatives, tuition waivers for students, and other support for the surrounding community in the months ahead.

Marcus Family Campus daycare center. October 29, 2023

The time is now for our global community to make a difference. Together, we will overcome these unprecedented challenges and secure Israel’s future.

TOGETHER WE WILL PREVAIL

Eilat Campus Embraces Evacuees

Community outreach

◘ The University made the U-Tel and some of its dormitories available to medical teams who came to help at Soroka, as well as to family members of patients in the hospital. ◘ Countless volunteers from across the University helped at aid logistics centers, organizing donated goods, preparing kits, and distributing them to displaced families and soldiers.

The culinary school kitchen at the Eilat Campus fed hundreds daily

Ben-Gurion University’s Eilat Campus opened its doors to residents of the South who left their homes. Dozens of families have been housed in the student dormitories, and campus staff are taking care of them. “Families who evacuated from Ofakim, Netivot, Sderot and Ashkelon came to us, and we are prepared, if necessary, to absorb even more residents, including those who left Kiryat Shmona,” said Eilat Campus Dean Prof. Ofer Ovadia. “The entire campus is committed to meeting the needs of students, families and evacuees who have come to us, and we do so with dedication and love.” Accommodations were provided to dozens of preparatory students from Sderot who arrived in Eilat late at night, and every classroom was taken over by some 600

Partners in the Remarkable

elementary and high school students, entire schools from Shaar Hanegev and Eshkol regional councils, who are in the city. In addition, housing assistance was provided to medical teams, including psychologists and psychiatrists, who came from central Israel to reinforce Yoseftal Hospital. The Eilat Campus is home to an international school for culinary studies, and the knowledge accumulated by its graduates is being put to good use. In the first couple of weeks of the war, the campus’s kitchens fed hundreds of people, both those staying in student dormitories, and reservists and medical teams stationed in Eilat. “Everyone contributes whatever they can to the war effort, “said Ami Levy, head of the Eilat Campus administration. “We are working around the clock for the people staying with us during these difficult times.”

◘ The University opened its doors to Lev Echad, an organization coordinating relief efforts, which used the basement of the Zlotowski building as a logistics center, and its study spaces for a massive call center. ◘ The Community Action Department launched the BGU For You Program, with student and staff volunteers visiting families of reservists and the elderly. ◘ Students from the Perach project are working with families of enlisted reservists, to help with childcare and activities for young children.

missions to support the home front, primarily in farms throughout the south. ◘ The Student Union is involved in a range of initiatives, including the moving installation in the Zlotowski Student Center calling for the return of the hostages. There are so many more initiatives and actions carried out by BGU's various units, employees, and students, all dedicated to supporting both the home front and the frontlines.

BGU President Prof. Danny Chamovitz

◘ Over 30 students from the Charlotte B. and Jack J. Spitzer Department of Social Work are running activities for children of the evacuees in Eilat, Mitspe Ramon, and Kramim. ◘ Over 80 students from the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, led by six faculty members, volunteered to organize and improve the methods and logistical operations of the civilian operations rooms that opened throughout the south. ◘ The university administration approved organized departmental volunteer

"Every Hostage Has a Story" installation in the Zlotowski Student Center

TOGETHER WE WILL PREVAIL

"For the sake of every Jew around the world, stay strong, keep praying, and never give up."

Love Letters In just 3 weeks, BGU received over 260 letters from friends around the world and distributed them to the grieving families. Our heartfelt thanks to all of you – in the USA, Argentina, South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, Israel, UK, and Australia – for this touching gesture.

rs, and a e t y art, m ere "My he t hug are th n my gia , all of you, u o with y ." always

"Know that those of us in the Montrea Jewish Com l munity, espe cially those like us who actively s Ben-Gurion University [… upport ] stand with you. You are not alone!"

Partners in the Remarkable

"Your American friends stand with you and are holding you close."

s to Israel ave York h at w e N of th eople ten, I hope p e h t t s o ll "Just a but not forg nd Israel wi a , rebuilt your family uild soon." b d you an heal and re to begin

TOGETHER WE WILL PREVAIL

JOIN US IN SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL

BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY’S 54TH BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING MAY 15 – 23, 2024 MAY 15 – MAY 19, 2024

MAY 19 – MAY 23, 2024

EILAT PRE-TRIP

54TH BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING

Accompany fellow BGU supporters for a pre-Board of Governors Eilat experience to discover Ben-Gurion University’s inspiring campus near the Red Sea.

For more information, contact Sheryl Korelitz at sheryl@americansforbgu.org

*$3,200 for double occupancy. $1,100 single supplement. TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

Join us for an enjoyable and enriching four-day experience at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where you’ll have the opportunity to be part of BGU’s vibrant campus life, get to know its passionate and inspiring students and learn from world-renowned faculty members. TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

• Meet with faculty and “First for a Degree” students

• Learn about BGU’s world-renowned programs

• Find out why the Eilat campus is critical to A4BGU’s mission

• Visit Eilat’s famous beautiful beaches and restaurants

• Immerse yourself in the Negev

• Attend exclusive briefings

• Be a student again

• Honor the world’s luminaries

• Celebrate American dedication to BGU

• See where science meets the desert

Your Philanthropic Legacy: How do you want to be remembered? Endowment to fund your legacy in perpetuity

EXAMPLE GIFT TYPES

Naming opportunities for building or capital project

Direct Gift of Cash or Appreciated Asset

Fund specific research initiatives and/ or programs of your interest

Charitable Bequest Real Estate

Faculty chair and recruitment opportunities

Life Insurance

Scholarships and fellowships

Pension, Retirement Plan, or IRA* Charitable Remainder Trust Charitable Gift Annuity

Already included A4BGU in your estate plans?

For more information plannedgiving@americansforbgu.org 646-452-3689 americansforbgu.org/planned-giving

Let us know so we can welcome you to the Living Legacy Society.

Make Ben-Gurion University of the Negev part of your legacy by establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity. NOTES: • The rates are for ages at the nearest birthday. • In the month you use cash to establish a gift annuity, a final calculation is made determining the portion that will be paid to you tax-free.

*New for 2023 and 2024: donors over the age of 70 1/2 can make tax-free Qualified Charitable Distributions from their IRAs of up to $50,000 in one calendar year in exchange for one or more charitable gift annuities. Contact us for more details.

CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITY FIXED LIFETIME RATES Age

Rate%

Tax Free %

Age

Rate%

Tax Free %

5.4

54.3

7.2

68.1

5.5

55.3

7.4

69.1

5.6

56.3

7.6

69.6

5.7

57.4

7.8

70.9

5.8

58.5

8.1

71.5

5.9

59.7

8.3

72.2

6.0

60.6

8.5

73.1

6.2

61.6

8.7

74.2

6.3

62.6

8.9

74.4

6.4

63.7

9.1

74.8

6.6

64.9

9.3

75.5

6.8

65.7

9.5

76.4

7.0

67.1

90 and Over

9.7

76.2

Rates effective as of October 1, 2023 (New rates will go into effect January 1, 2024)

1001 Avenue of the Americas, 19th Floor New York, NY 10018 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

We are embarking on a global campaign to raise

$1 Billion over 10 years in philanthropic support for the future of our University. BGU is forging the way forward, and we simply cannot do it without you.

Join us in building the remarkable.

Join us in our mission to fulfill Ben-Gurion’s vision of Israel in the Negev by supporting the Ben-Gurion Annual Fund today. Visit a4bgu.org/negevconnection, mail a gift in the enclosed envelope, or call us at 800-962-2248.

Donate now

Partners in the Remarkable