eretz
Blooming
In The
Desert
Ben-Gurion University spurs
development of Israel’s Negev.
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
QUICK FACTS
• Israel’s desert (Negev) region comprises 60 percent of
its land mass but only 10 percent of its population.
• Partly because of BGU, Be’er Sheva’s population has
doubled in 15 years to more than 200,000, making it
Israel’s fourth-largest city.
• Visit https://aabgu.org for more about BGU.
MICHIGAN CONNECTIONS
• Three Americans will graduate from BGU’s Medical
School this year and begin residencies in Michigan,
including Judah Weiss at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
• Elizabeth Warburton, Ph.D., of Kalamazoo is a
Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar at BGU’s Institute for
Desert Studies. She is a parasite ecologist, studying
interactions between desert-dwelling animals and
parasites.
• BGU and the University of Michigan School of Public
Health have been research collaborators for more than
30 years and will announce a major expansion of their
partnership this summer.
• Jewish Detroiters are active in BGU’s American
Associates, a philanthropic group providing the largest
share of private donations, which help with capital
projects, scholarships, laboratory equipment and
research.
TRANSFORMING BE’ER SHEVA
Be’er Sheva was part of the 19th-century Ottoman
Empire, and its architecture reflects that history with
many single-story white stone structures adjacent to
sidewalks and streets. Young Israelis are beginning to
recognize their potential for retail development. A popular
bookstore/cafe/performance space, a high-end gift
boutique and a community-run concert venue opened
recently near each other in Be’er Sheva’s Old Ottoman
City. That the mayor reportedly supports revitalization
of the old city and its low-cost real estate (compared to
other Israeli cities) may be an incentive for development.
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May 11 • 2017
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I
srael is well-known and
admired worldwide as a cen-
ter for high technology and
the creation of new companies in
numbers far beyond what would
be expected of a small nation.
And Israel’s Ben-Gurion University
(BGU) is a leading catalyst for this
economic progress in the Be’er
Sheva desert region.
University scientists are develop-
ing new technology for medicine,
bioengineering and robotics, using
innovative software and data ana-
lytics that are being patented and
marketed in Israel and beyond.
From tissue regrowth using algae
to the creation of user-friendly
robots to aid stroke rehabilitation,
BGU scientists are creating new
knowledge to reshape health care,
transportation and manufacturing.
The university also fosters
research and economic develop-
ment as a partner with the city
of Be’er Sheva in its Advanced
Technologies Park (ATP), located
near BGU’s main campus. Begun
three years ago, the ATP already
has five office buildings with 1,500
employees of both new Israeli
companies as well as such inter-
national corporations as Oracle
and Deutsche Telecom. The Israeli
army plans to bring cyber and
intelligence units to Be’er Sheva,
which will intensify the area’s tech-
nology focus.
Established as the University
of the Desert in 1969, BGU was
renamed in 1973 after the death
of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first
prime minister and defense min-
ister. Ben-Gurion believed Israel’s
future would be in the desert, and
ABOVE: Ben-Gurion University students
in front of the Student Center on the
main Marcus Family Campus.
David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime
minister and defense minister, is
pictured overlooking the Zin Canyon on
BGU’s southern Sede Boqer Campus,
where he was buried.
the university has developed exper-
tise in desert-related water and
solar research. But desert ecology
was only the beginning.
“We see ourselves as a force of
change in the region, not just mak-
ing it green but in welfare, culture,
biomedicine and high technology,”
says Professor Rifka Carmi, BGU’s
president, a prominent pediatric
geneticist. She is proud of the uni-
versity’s innovative medical school
where, she says, “medical students
interact with patients from day
one. Our graduates are very com-
passionate.”
The Soroka Medical Center,
affiliated with the university, was
a new, small institution when she
joined BGU and now is considered
one of Israel’s leading hospitals.
TIED TO COMMUNITY
Community involvement is also a
BGU focus. Be’er Sheva has a very
diverse population comprised
of many immigrants from North
Africa, Russia and Ethiopia, as
well as a large Bedouin popula-
tion.
“We have an outreach program
that brings high school students
to the campus to encourage them
to attend. We try to promote
an interest in science,” Carmi
explains.
BGU encourages student
engagement by providing 100
students with rent-free apart-
ments in low-income Be’er Sheva
communities. These students help
with after-school activities and
community service programs in
their neighborhoods.
Unlike Israel’s other universi-
ties, Ben-Gurion University has a
large residential student popula-
tion that enjoys an American-style
campus with dormitories, a busy
student center and many extra-
curricular organizations and
activities. One-third of its 20,000
students are pursuing advanced
degrees and many of these pro-
grams are taught in English.
BGU faculty members engaged
in scientific research typically
have advanced degrees from
American universities and have
taught or conducted research
here before returning to BGU.
Besides the appeal of returning
home to Israel, they want to be
part of the university’s continuing
growth and success. •
Shari S. Cohen attended a media orientation
for Ben-Gurion University in March. Look
for stories about BGU’s research suc-
cesses in future issues.