A post by Ohad Moser, sophomore at the Hebrew University

When I think of American Colleges, a lot of sports come to mind.  It seems like everybody has a team they’re on – football, soccer, basketball, golf… I’ve even heard of a frisbee team. Unfortunately for me, all that doesn’t exist here in Israel. Well, not formally at the University anyway. I regret that. But it doesn’t mean that us Israelis are couch potatoes. In fact it’s quite the opposite. We just like to get fit in a less competitive way.

The Mount Scopus campus at the Hebrew University offers us the Lerner Indoor Sports Complex.  To tell you the truth, it meets all my expectations. The standards are very high and the facility is well maintained. The staff is willing and friendly and the environment is pleasant. One big problem remains, and that is the price – 1,400 Shekels per year. That’s about  $380 CAD! It might not sound a lot for a year, but my friends at other Universities pay much less. Then again, the complex is very modern. Oh well, I guess it’s worth the price.

To say that we don’t have team sports is not quite correct. There are some informal gatherings of rugby or ultimate frisbee at the parks across the city. But those are organized – surprise, surprise – mostly by foreign students. I rarely get to go to these, since my busy schedule doesn’t give me much free time, but I’ve heard that it’s catching on recently. Who knows, maybe one day the University will adopt it and we’ll be just like the American Colleges. On the other hand, do we really want that?

I love Israel but I miss ice skating. So when I heard that Safra Square – our famous Municipal Centre was creating a giant ice rink, I was excited. “Rockefeller in Jerusalem” runs from March 10 – April 14. The whole of Safra Square will be turned into a 500 meter ice skating rink!  Then there’s 200 meters of non-ice space for hanging out with coffee shops and shopping. If you’re missing Canada, the opening night will cure any homesickness with an artistic figure skating show featuring the best of Israeli ice skaters, as well as an ice hockey game.
Safra Square has always been a grand headquarters for Jerusalem.  It is a fitting home to Israel’s 3000 years of municipal government with beautiful, vintage architecture. I found it fascinating that it sits evenly over the  pre-1967 split line between Jerusalemites from both the eastern and western parts of town. There is a Municipality building, as well as the courthouse and historical buildings from the British Mandatory period. The view over Mt Scopus is breathtaking. Safra is also home home to our Jerusalem lion symbol. I’ve posted some pictures which say it better than I can. This will be a great event! See you there.

Check out more at http://www.gojerusalem.com/discover/item_11869/Rockefeller-in-Jerusalem-Ice-Skating-in-Safra-Square

By Yochana Storch:

My first place of residence as a student of the Hebrew University was the Student Village. Within a few months, I had decided to transfer to the Reznik Dormitories and have lived there ever since.

The Student Village is a large complex of multistoried buildings. Each houses several dozen 5 bedroom apartments. The apartments are complemented by central heating and air-conditioning, a large kitchen and duel bathrooms. The population of the village represents the diversity of Israeli society and the Hebrew University. Native Israelis share apartments with Jews and none Jews from around the world. For instance, I was once planning a dinner with friends from Japan, Malaysia, Argentina and the US, when someone came up with the bright idea that we should each bring a ‘Traditional dish’ from our respective home country. After a brief discussion, it became painfully clear that to us, a ‘Traditional dish’ was more of a theoretical concept that something you could actually cook and eat. Despite our lack of authenticity, the end of the year heralded a mash up of the best of Hanukkah, Christmas and the Chinese New Year.

Unfortunately, being the bigger, better more modern dormitories, the Student Village is also more expensive to run, and residents of the apartments have to pay utility bills on top of the basic rent. Additionally, the warm company did nothing to improve the harsh esthetic of the newly minted complex. Promising to keep in touch through Facebook, I packed up and moved the Reznik, the oldest surviving dorms of the Mount Scopus campus. There, separate rooms, 10 to a floor, share a communal bathroom and kitchen. Residents can either rent their own room or share with a room mate. Situated across the street from the University, Reznik is a five minute walk from most classes.

When I arrived in Reznik, the sharp scent of fresh paint and aggressive cleaning material was replaced by the far more welcoming fragrance of damp plywood. The aura of decay gives the place a ‘lived in’ feeling. While the Student Village is beautified by the occasional shrub and dominated by bricks and mortar, Reznik has a far gentler landscape of trees, hedges, grass and false hills. Though more homogeneous then the Village, the mash up dinners are still to be found, if you know where to look. I’ve heard that there are social clubs and pubs on the grounds, but never bothered to follow up. Either way, both dorms have stops for the #19 bus, which is a direct and fast line to downtown (at least it was before they decided to build a light rail train straight through the heart of the city. These days, all bets are off). It’s a tough choice between the Student Village, which is somewhat desolate but blessed with great living conditions, and the more minimalist (borderline shabby) and homely Reznik. I’ve heard that the Bronfman Edelson dorms, down the street the Village, are a good compromise.

All the dorms have regular maintenance staff, who – in my experience at least – respond quickly to any crisis. A professional security staff provides round the clock security and is ready to respond to a variety of events, including excessive noise after hours or indoor smoking.

Staying at Hebrew University means your home away from home could be on one of three campuses in Jerusalem:

1)   Mt. Scopus (Har Ha’tzofim)

2)   Givat Ram, and

3)   Hadassah Ein Karem.

So what’s the difference? Mt. Scopus is located on the border between East and West Jerusalem and is known as the humanities campus. Givat Ram, which houses the engineering and sciences is located near the Knesset and is about a 30-40 minute walk to downtown. Hadassah is the medical campus and located above the village of Ein Karem which is about a 20 minute drive out of the city.

Which dorms are the best for you?

Unless you are actually working on Mt. Scopus, I would advise living in the dorms in Givat Ram. The Lieberman Dorms are really great. It is a graduate dorm and the most modern dorm on campus. All the rooms are have a bed, kitchenette, and bathroom in the room. You have to buy or bring your own linens, pillow, and kitchen supplies – but its excellent having all the facilities available.

In Givat Ram there is a minimart really close to the dorm. A cheaper option is a super market that is a 15-20 minute walk downhill and off campus (from the side gate).

You can do your laundry in another dorm near Lieberman – but you need a laundry card first that you can add cash to at the card machine in the dorm office building.

What’s Mt. Scopus like?

At Mt. Scopus you will live in the Student Village in the French Hill neighborhood next to the university. It is just a half mile from the university. The difference is the rooms are apartments with 5 single rooms, and a shared kitchenette and bathroom. You will have to buy or bring your own linens, pillow, and kitchen supplies. Rent is $600/month. Additionally there is a $255 program fee charged by the Rothberg International School.

For a closer look at dorm options take this cool 360 degree tour at http://multimedia.huji.ac.il/tour360/dorm360list-e.html

What are your options?

Living off campus can be a great option too (unless you need to be on campus every day). By planning ahead you can find accommodation that might be better – and cheaper than the dorms.  Look on craigslist or yahoo ‘’flathunting’’ group – or ask the university for off-campus housing options. Places to look are: Old City, Mamila, the German Colony, Rehavia, Baka, Ben Yehuda, and Yemin Moshe. When planning to rent a place, make sure you nail down out all the details of the lease (cost, length of time, heating, tax etc).

One thing for sure, where you stay is really important to how you enjoy your experience at Hebrew U. If you start at one accommodation and don’t like it, do not be afraid to move to another. There are definitely options – and something for everyone’s taste and budget.

Yonny

This year the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University (CFHU) has decided to reach out to our students in Israel to ensure that the students are aware of the profound effect CFHU has on the Hebrew University as a whole. This new initiative allows the Canadian students studying at the Hebrew University to come together at CFHU sponsored events in Israel to connect with the organization and each other right from the beginning. This way they will learn more about the various ways CFHU contributes to the Hebrew University each and every year.

To kick off this project CFHU’s National President, Nathan Lindenberg, talked over pizza with the students at the beginning of the school year. This was an opportunity for the students to meet an alumnus of the Hebrew University who has maintained his connection with the school in a very powerful way. This was the first time that the students became aware of some of CFHU’s projects and contributions to the Hebrew University. Nathan spoke to students about the organization and encouraged them to stay connected upon their return to Canada.

Additionally, the students had the chance to participate in the parent’s night “Evening with the Stars” for CFHU’s newest project, Lend a Hand to Heal: Sderot Youth Summer Knowledge Camp. This evening showcased one of the many ways that CFHU contributes to the University and Israel as a whole and brought together campers and their parents for an evening of stargazing – first through Albert Einstein’s long lost telescope followed by a performance by Israeli singer Shlomi Bar-el. The students enjoyed taking part in such an exciting event and will hopefully visit Sderot during the year to see firsthand why CFHU thought it was so important to provide children from this city, which has been an ongoing target of Qassam rockets, to have the opportunity to have a carefree experience at summer camp.

Most recently CFHU’s National Director, Rami Kleinmann, hosted the students for a night on the town in Tel Aviv. They started off having dinner at Prime Grill which was followed by a concert by well known Israeli musician, singer and songwriter Meir Banai at Zappa Tel Aviv. The students all found this evening to be a wonderful opportunity to get to know Rami and each other better and a fun way to experience Tel Aviv nightlife.

Many of the students have expressed an interest in planning and participating in many more CFHU events throughout the rest of the year. There have been a variety of ideas proposed for the remainder of the year and we look forward to a great deal more fun activities together during second semester. If you are a Canadian student studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem this year and would like to get involved please contact Moshik at mgalanty@cfhu.org or Faren at fgurvey@cfhu.org.

CFHU Student Ambassadors

If you’re looking for someone on your campus to tell you about the Hebrew University, you’ll likely find one of our student ambassadors more than willing to help you out! This year the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University (CFHU) has launched its student ambassador program which puts students who have just returned from the Hebrew University in a position to help CFHU promote our programs and recruit new students. This year we have ambassadors at the University of Manitoba, Western, Queens, the University of Toronto, McMaster and McGill however we plan on extending this program across the country in years to come.

This program started with the idea that a lifetime connection with the Hebrew University starts at the beginning. CFHU wanted to keep students engaged with our organization upon their return from Israel and thought that this was the perfect opportunity to do so. Some of the responsibilities of the student ambassadors include helping to recruit other students by telling then about their own personal experiences, promoting the Hebrew University on their campuses by organizing events, facilitating information sessions, contacting school newspapers for advertising opportunities, liaising with other student clubs on campus and to get involved with CFHU events held by their local chapters.

Ten enthusiastic students were chosen from campuses across Canada to be the 2010-2011 student ambassadors. These students have already shown commitment and dedication to their roles as CFHU student ambassadors by helping out at international fairs, recruiting students and sharing their own ideas for programs with CFHU. Additionally, to keep the students engaged, CFHU has made a point to include them in events. Most recently some of the students had the opportunity to attend the CFHU Montreal Gala and saw firsthand some of the ways that CFHU contributes to the Hebrew University. At the end of the academic year, in return for the ambassadors’ hard work, CFHU is prepared to cover a portion of the expenses for these students to return to the Hebrew University to take a summer course.

Based on the success so far of the first year of the student ambassador program, we look forward to continuing it for many years to come. For more information on the Student Ambassador Program or to get involved in other ways please don’t hesitate to contact Moshik Galanty at mgalanty@cfhu.org.

Shalom Chaverim,

First of all, I would like to thank all those people who went out of their way to answer some of the questions on my previous blog. Your answers really mean a lot to me and to the rest of the students who are looking forward to attending school in Israel. After reading some of your responses, my fellow peers and I truly felt a sense of comfort and relief. We now understand that not only do we have the ability of attending Hebrew University, but we also have the capability of succeeding and developing in all parts of student life. Nevertheless, my friends and I are fully aware that university life is very different to high school, in the sense that the workload and material being covered is very different and challenging My question this week for the students of Hebrew U. is: What kind of workload should us new students expect once we begin university? What are the classes like? What are the professors like? Once again, thanks so much for your time and I hope to hear from you guys soon!

Lehitraot, David

A new, safe and uncomplicated insect control method, developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, can bring about a serious decline in malaria-bearing mosquitoes in afflicted regions in the world.

Research carried out in Mali, West Africa, by the Kuvin Center for the Study of Tropical and Infectious Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem  showed how fruit or flowers can be baited with a toxic sugar to reduce the populations of the malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. Their work in the use of the Hebrew University-developed Attractive Toxic Sugar Bait Method (ATSB) was applied to control malaria-bearing mosquitoes in the semi-arid Bandiagara District of Mali, West Africa.

Control and treatment sites were selected along a road that connects villages and that had  man-made ponds en route. These were the home to larva of Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes. Guava and honey melons, two local fruits that have been found to be attractive to both species of mosquitoes, were used to prepare solutions of Attractive Sugar Bait (ASB) and ATSB, the latter containing  an additive of  boric acid as an oral insecticide. Both included a color dye marker to determine which mosquitoes were feeding on the solutions.

ASB solution in the control site and ATSB solution in the treatment site were sprayed on patches of the vegetation. The result was that  the relative abundance of female and male mosquitoes in the ATSB-treated site declined dramatically by about 90% and remained low during one month of monitoring. The females in the diminished population were mostly too young to transmit malaria. In parallel, dye marking in the solutions sprayed in the control site proved that most of the mosquitoes were feeding on the sprayed solutions.

Their work is detailed in a recent issue of the Malaria Journal.  The scientists involved  in the project are Prof. Yosef Schlein and Dr. Gunter C . Muller of the Kuvin Center and the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), Prof. John C. Beier of the University of Miami, Florida, and Prof. Sekou F. Traore, Prof. Seydou Doumbia, Dr. Mahamadou B. Toure, Dr. Mohamed B. Traore and Dr. Sekou Bah, all of the University of Bamako, Mali.

The researchers concluded that the study in Mali shows that even a single application of ATSB can substantially decrease malaria-bearing mosquito population densities and longevity. It is thus likely that ATSB methods can be used as a new, powerful tool for the control of malaria insect carriers, since this approach is highly effective for mosquito control, technologically simple, inexpensive and environmentally safe.

The work in Mali is very much connected to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funding of early studies, and this initial report can set the stage for bigger efforts in African countries. It is one of the first new dimensions to control African malaria vectors, yielding good indications that use of ATSB in outdoor environments will complement the current measures to control mosquitoes inside houses.