Educational Pioneer Unveils New Partnership in Israel YAFFA ZILBERSHATS, PH.D. Academic Chair, Yeshiva University in Israel Professor, Bar-Ilan University School of Law Former head of Israel’s Council for Higher Education’s Planning and Budgeting Committee
S he revolutionized Israel’s education system. Now, Israeli powerhouse Yaffa Zilbershats is doing it again. This time, as the Academic Chair of the Yeshiva University in Israel (YUI). The first project of YUI is to establish an undergraduate pro- gram in Israel. This unique four-year program, a collaboration between Yeshiva University, Tel Aviv University and Bar-Ilan Uni- versity, offers a specially designed curriculum taught in English. Students can earn a YU degree while living in Israel, preparing them to enter an ever-more-competitive global job market. Launching this fall, the first-of-its kind program integrates rig- orous coursework with YU’s distinctive dual curriculum, balancing world-class Torah studies and top-tier academics. Students can choose to study Business and Management through Tel Aviv University, or Psychology and Multidisciplinary Jewish Studies through Bar-Ilan University. Set on YU’s Israel cam- puses, every aspect of YUI is informed by the spirit, standards and vision of Yeshiva University. “This groundbreaking collaboration deepens YU’s academic presence in Israel, connecting students with top Israeli universities,” said Dr. Zilbershats, an international lawyer and the first woman to head Israel’s powerful Council for Higher Education’s Planning and Budgeting Committee. “But this is just the beginning.” With antisemitism growing worldwide, Dr. Zilbershats—a mother of three and a grandmother of seven, including a grandson who is an active IDF officer—feels a special urgency for a program like YUI, emphasizing its potential to create a stronger, more uni- fied Jewish community. “I’ve always felt that the best way to bring Am Yisrael [the Jewish people] together is by strengthening ties to Israel,” she said. “Connecting American Jewish students with our elite universities is a great way to accomplish this.” If anyone is up to such a task, it’s Dr. Zilbershats. She’s made her mark in a nation known for its considerable intellectual capital and distinguished high achievers, transforming the country’s educa- tional landscape. As chair of the Council for Higher Education’s Planning and Budgeting Committee from 2015 to 2021, she promot- ed and implemented long-distance digital learning to make higher education accessible to all segments of the population. She did not know at the time how valuable a tool digital education would be- come. “Before COVID, I envisioned that we would have to use our digital capacity, which is relevant to all teaching but mostly in aca- demic teaching,” she explained. Once the pandemic hit the country and prevented children from
going to school, the Finance and Health Ministries asked her to de- termine whether the academic digital teaching system could be used for elementary and high schools. The unanimous answer from developers throughout Israel who had created these systems: “We can do it all.” And so it was that Dr. Zilbershats helped pave the way, not only for digital learning during the pandemic but also for today’s “any- where, anytime” learning environment in which people from across the globe can access Israel’s exceptional educational system. “Our project, which was supposed to be an evolutionary change in the method of teaching, transformed overnight to one of the big- gest revolutions in the past decades,” she said. Indeed, when it comes to making what she considers clear and necessary changes in the world, Dr. Zilbershats thinks big. And when Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University, was introduced to her, he recognized her as the ideal person to power the budding dream of a full-degree program for Yeshiva University in Israel. For Dr. Zilbershats, too, the idea resonated deeply; and with their shared commitment to academic excellence and Torah education, plus a profound bond to the country, a partnership made perfect sense. “He offered me the job, and of course I took it,” she said. “I am a big believer in what YU stands for. It’s the only institu- tion in America that creates strong, well-rounded leaders of char- acter by combining world-class academics and Torah values.” Dr. Zilbershats envisions a wide-reaching partnership across Israel, connecting YU with numerous Israeli universities and in- corporating a broad range of disciplines. She believes this collabo- ration will greatly impact Jewish communities in both America and Israel. “I’ve done my bit for Israel,” she said, “and now I’d like to do something for the Jewish people as a whole.” Born in Tel Aviv to a family with deep roots in Israel’s history, Dr. Zilbershats infuses her work with personal significance. She was inspired by her mother, a Holocaust survivor, and her father, whose family immigrated to Israel before WWII and who helped build the city of Tel Aviv. Her service in the Israeli army was fol- lowed by many academic achievements—including a master’s de- gree from New York University and a Ph.D. from Bar-Ilan. Yeshiva University in Israel is the realization of a dream, its ramifications potentially enormous. “With YUI, students will get the best of all worlds: an education that combines the excellence of Yeshiva Uni- versity and our Israeli universities, a deep, life-long connection with the country, and a profound bond with the Jewish people.”
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