Reflections on My Time at Hebrew University
By Galit Baram, Toronto
I am the daughter of a physician and a teacher, both alumni of Hebrew University. I spent my early childhood in the family dorms of Hebrew U, until my parents completed their studies. I grew up, served in the IDF, and graduated from Tel Aviv University 25 years ago, after which I joined the Israeli Foreign Service. Diplomacy was a dramatic change for me, an archeologist by training. I very quickly found myself in Moscow, on a first and very exciting posting.
Returning to Israel five years later, I was now married to fellow diplomat Nissan Amdur, and the mother of a baby boy. We settled in Jerusalem. The mandatory time gap between diplomatic missions provided an excellent opportunity for both of us to continue our academic studies and obtain an MA. Good diplomats need to be adaptable and a bit adventurous, as well as versatile and resilient. They should also have a wide range of interests and an excellent education in order to perform well, so advanced academic studies are encouraged. Nissan and I found ourselves juggling work, family duties and academic studies at Hebrew U for almost three years.
While Nissan continued his studies in Middle Eastern Affairs, I chose American Studies, a subject that was obviously closer to my profession than archeology. My curriculum included American foreign policy, but also American history, with great emphasis on the history of North American Jewry. Frankly, I didn’t understand the insistence on this particular component but as it was a requirement, I obediently followed the curriculum. Nissan and I obtained our Masters degrees, and our careers immediately swept us to Cairo; Washington, D.C.; and Toronto.
My studies soon proved to be a real asset in my everyday work. My knowledge of North American domestic politics, foreign policy, culture and economy has made me a better diplomat and a more effective representative of the State of Israel. An in-depth understanding of North American Jewry served me well in Washington, D.C., and has been vital in my work in Toronto and Western Canada. This knowledge has helped me function as a bridge – one among many – between Israel and the Diaspora, and for that I am grateful to my excellent professors.
But all this is professionally speaking. On a personal note, who can forget the greatest benefit of studying at Hebrew U: the breathtaking view of the Old City from Mount Scopus at sunset? “Jerusalem of Gold” indeed. Nothing compares to it.
(In memory of David Diego Ladovsky, z”l, a promising young Israeli diplomat, a colleague and a friend, who was killed in a terror attack on Mount Scopus Campus on July 31, 2002, just 29 years old. On that terrible day, he was submitting his last MA paper, only a few days before he was supposed to depart for Lima, Peru, on his first diplomatic mission. May his memory be for a blessing.)
Galit is the Consul General of Israel in Toronto and Western Canada
Reflections on My Time at Hebrew University
By Nissan Amdur, Toronto
I was born into a family of Polish immigrants who made Aliyah in the 1950s. As first-generation Sabras, my sister and I were also the first in our family to attend university. The path I chose is closely linked to my great interest in Arabic and in the history, culture and politics of the Middle East and the Muslim world. I started these studies in high school and continued during my military service and as an undergrad at Tel Aviv University.
In 1994, I joined the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In that year, a few months after the signing of the Oslo Accords, the Foreign Ministry was recruiting many Arabic speakers and Middle Eastern Studies graduates. There was the expectation that the new recruits would soon staff Israeli diplomatic missions in the Arab world. In retrospect, the challenges facing Israel then, and which it still faces today, were great. Many of us ended up serving in the Middle East and in Muslim countries, and have contributed our share to building Israel’s diplomatic relations with our neighbours.
Immediately after joining the Foreign Service, I moved to Jerusalem which has become our home. I obtained my Master’s Degree in Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies from Hebrew U, in the Faculty of Social Studies, on the Mount Scopus campus. On that architecturally challenging campus, which the Egyptian writer Ali Salem described as a “maze,” I studied under excellent professors, who were among the leading scholars in their field. The special atmosphere on campus turned my academic studies into an enriching experience that bears fruit even today, years after my graduation.
This acquired academic knowledge opened the Arab and Muslim world for me, and helped me serve the State of Israel with professionalism and expertise. I maintained interfaith relations with Muslim leaders in Moscow, and followed our developing relations with the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. I was fortunate to serve in two important regional capitals – Ankara and Cairo. My academic knowledge was also put to good use when I was posted in Washington and I continued my research at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
My student days are not yet behind me, as I’m thinking of returning to school for my PhD. The Arab world is changing rapidly and we Israelis have to keep up with the times. After all, as the Red Queen told Alice: “It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place.” It will take even more to move forward.
Nissan Amdur is currently Israel’s Deputy Consul General in Toronto and Western Canada
