AUSTFHU Year book 2022/2023

High Profile

Australian Academics visit the Hebrew University

In early January, the Hebrew University hosted a high-profile delegation from Australia. The group was composed of 20 academics and professionals from major Australian universities (ANU, Monash, Macquarie, Melbourne and others) in the fields of Law, Biology, I.R., and Education and also included the CEO of the Sydney Jewish Museum.

The visit to Israel was organized by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry with the aim of the group exploring Israel and learning more about the issues facing the country including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The visit to Israel was generously sponsored by the Pinshaw Family Foundation and Peter and Yvonne Halas.

The group’s visit to the Hebrew University was facilitated by the Australian Friends of the Hebrew University and the Hebrew University Visitors Unit and was held at the ASPER-HUJI Innovate offices on the Givat Ram campus in Jerusalem.

The visit commenced with a welcome and lively discussion with Vice President for Strategy and Diversity Professor Mona Khoury-Kassabri , who introduced them to the University’s work and accomplishments in both these areas. The

issue was of great interest to the group, and one of the group was heard to say “they just couldn’t get enough of Professor Khoury-Kassabri and the information she was presenting.”

Later, the delegation met with Orit Sagi, the Asper-HUJI Innovate Community Manager, who introduced the Center and its ground-breaking work and achievements followed by a meeting with Hebrew University Professors Dan Avnon and Avraham Sela, who briefed them on the current political, social, and international status of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Part of the group then visited the Einstein Archives where they were hosted by Archives Information Officer Anna Rabin. Their visit can be best described in the following quote from Dr Kim Huynh, lecturer in political philosophy, refugee politics and International Relations at the Australian National University “The Einstein Archives at Hebrew University is a treasure trove for anyone interested in science, history, politics, and humanity. Information officer Anna Rabin selected material that was of particular interest to our group from over 84,000 items. This included a gifted book about Australia, his childhood trigonometry text (with his handwritten

calculations), and requests for him to become Israel’s President (along with his polite decline). Seeing and holding exact replicas of his paper on special relativity, where he wrote E=mc2, and his Nobel Prize were highlights of what was an unforgettable experience. And for those who are into social media, there’s an infinite number of snap ‘n’ post opportunities!”

And from Dr Karen Dunwoodie, deputy director and research fellow at the Deakin University Centre for Refugee Employment, Advocacy, Training and Education (CREATE) “What a privilege it was for my colleagues and I to meander amongst books, archived documents and to hear the untold stories of Albert’s life...he came to life as we sat, read, listened and pondered. An honest, sobering, and vivid insight into the man and his work. I walked away thinking...If only we could harness Einstein’s superpowers to resolve the many humanitarian issues confronting the world today.”

The Einstein Archives visit was perhaps best summed up by Gavin Briggs, Course Coordinator

of the Graduate Program in International Relations and National Security at Perth’s Curtin University who said “The opportunity to experience a visit to the Einstein Archives was one of the highlights of my study tour to Israel. To stand at Einstein’s reading stand, and hold a book that he once read, was truly awe-inspiring. It is the great respect and care which the staff at the Einstein Archives take with his collection of books and writings that is to be highly commended.”

All in all, it seems like the group had both an enjoyable and informative visit to Israel and, in particular, to the Hebrew University. The Australian Friends of the Hebrew University commends the ECAJ and the sponsors on this initiative and was delighted to have a role in organising the visit to the University.

Professor Mona Khoury-Kassabri and the group enjoyed a lively discussion.

Orit Sagi, the Asper-HUJI Innovate Community Manager meeting with the group

At the Einstein Archives from L/R Philip Moloney, Dr Kim Hunyh, Dr Karen Dunwoodie, Gavin Briggs, Anna Rabin and Kevin Sumption PSM