As part of the donor-funded emergency aid program at Hebrew University (HU), 18 refugees have been accepted to continue their studies and 10 have already begun. To contribute to the HU Ukrainian Emergency Aid Program, click here.

One of the refugees, Dr. Anastasiia Zinevych, recently arrived in Israel with her husband. During the first day in school after Winter break at Odessa National Economic University, the buildings shook as bombs fell and the airport was severely damaged. With “the supermarket shelves bare of food and the pharmacies out of medicine,” she and her husband decided to leave Ukraine. “All we took with us were two laptops and a copy of my husband’s poetry,” Zinevych says. In need of medical attention, the couple chose Israel because they had “heard good things about Hebrew University-Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.”

After a harrowing trip crossing into Poland, the pair arrived in Israel. “I literally exhaled for the first time in weeks when our plane touched down in Israel and knelt down to touch the earth. I’m not Jewish, my husband is, but I felt such gratitude for this country and to Hebrew University for taking us in.”

Zinevych has been living in a university-affiliated apartment and is working with Professor Ran Hassin at HU’s Center for the Study of Rationality where she will continue her studies. She is one of nine other Ukrainian refugees at HU. Several undergraduate students are continuing their studies in Israel at HU’s Rothberg International School, and a number of professors have joined HU’s Psychology, Sociology, History, Jewish Studies, Computer Science, and Agriculture departments.

The University established its Emergency Aid Campaign for Ukrainian Researchers and Students to enable them to continue their academic studies and research, which had been halted due to the unfolding crisis. The aid provides a minimum of four months’ tuition and a living stipend. Each researcher has been matched with a HU faculty member who will serve as their mentor during their stay.

HU is offering temporary academic posts to Ukrainian academics and graduate students and has invited professors to continue their research at the Hebrew University for a period of up to four months.

A similar offer has been offered to Ukrainian graduate students currently pursuing M.A. degrees and Ph.D.s at Ukrainian institutes of higher learning. These students will be able to continue their studies/research at HU for up to four months and will receive a monthly stipend of $2,000, plus free board at university dormitories.

“The help we are offering is admittedly modest,” said HU President Professor Asher Cohen. “However, it is heartening to see institutions like ours, both in Israel and worldwide, have joined to help the Ukrainian people during this trying time.”