“Helping young people help themselves through quality education” - This important mission statement guides WLI from the day it was established. One of the ways by which we realize this goal is through long-standing cooperation and ongoing assistance to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, one of the leading academic institutions in Israel, and world renowned.
The support and cooperation with the university began shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel. The young state was desperate for new academics, and WLI, by then an experienced philanthropic organization, volunteered to help. It endowed a Chair in Sociology and built the first dormitories for female students on the Givat Ram campus. WLI also built the cafeteria, the student center, and a three-building complex, which also houses the gym.
Following the six-day war (1967), Mt. Scopus , which was the original site of the Hebrew University again became accessible, and WLI built a three-winged dormitory on the campus. Following the Yom Kippur War (1973), WLI established a scholarship fund for low means students. Students whose studies were interrupted by the war got priority, even more so those injured in battle .
Following Operation Entebbe (1976), WLI established a scholarship in memory of Lt. Colonel Yehonatan Netanyahu, killed in that action. In 1985 WLI began funding teaching positions in the Nutritional Science Faculty in Rehovot. In 2002, following a terror attack in the cafeteria, WLI helped rebuilding it.
In 2008, WLI created a 1.5-million-dollar scholarships fund for outstanding BA students. In 2017, another 1.4-million-dollar fund was created for scholarships for outstanding MA and PhD students.
Each year, WLI grants approximately 40 full scholarships to students, freeing them from worry about finances and enabling to dedicate their time and effort to study and research.
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View dedications at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
