 TORONTO - The presidents of six Canadian universities visited Israel recently. Their one-week tour took place last month and culminated in a Canada Day reception at the Canadian ambassador’s residence in Herzliya, a Tel Aviv suburb.
It was the fourth mission of its kind since 1993. The mission was co-hosted by two Canadian academics, University of Toronto law professor Ed Morgan and York University historian Irving Abella, both of whom have led previous missions.
Participating on the trip were David Johnston, Sheldon Levy, Luc Vinet, Peter MacKinnon, Allan Rock and William Barker, the respective presidents of the University of Waterloo, Ryerson University, Université de Montréal, the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Ottawa and University of King’s College in Halifax.
The president of McGill University, Heather Monroe-Blum, joined them for one day.
“The purpose of the trip was to increase the familiarity of Canadian academics with the breadth and depth of the Israeli university scene, with a view to fostering faculty and student exchanges, graduate student fellowship opportunities, joint research projects and collaborative teaching and scholarships,” explained Morgan, a former national president of Canadian Jewish Congress.
Abella, who is also a former CJC national president, said the objective was three-fold: to introduce the Canadians to their Israeli counterparts, to allow them to see first hand the quality of education and research at Israeli universities, and to encourage the creation of joint research and exchange programs.
The visitors met the presidents and senior administrators of Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, Bar-Ilan University, Haifa University, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, the Weizmann Institute, the Technion and the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center.
In addition, they conferred with officials of Al-Quds, a Palestinian university in eastern Jerusalem.
Abella hoped that the presidents would be able to visit Palestinian universities in the West Bank, but the idea was scotched when the Canadian Embassy expressed concerns about their safety.
Morgan said the trip generally focused on education, culture, arts, science and technology rather than politics.
“Canada and Israel share much in terms of education policy, struggles with public funding of universities, the balance between broad access to higher education and academic excellence, a focus on fostering culture and cultural industries, and an open minded and liberal educational environment,” he explained.
He added, “In a shrinking world, there is much more to be gained on both sides from increased exchanges.”
The trip yielded immediate results, Abella disclosed.
Tel Aviv University and the Université de Montréal signed a student exchange accord in the sciences, while Haifa University and the University of Ottawa agreed to launch an exchange program in law.
In the past, Canadian and Israeli universities have signed agreements establishing joint research programs.
Speaking generally, Abella said such trips are effective because they expose influential Canadians who have never visited Israel to the fact that life goes on and flourishes in a country that is under constant threat.
Visitors are also amazed by the level of sophisticated research conducted at Israeli universities and
struck by the perception that universities in both countries face similar problems.
Levy, not a first-time visitor to Israel, said he was able to “talk through” common issues with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts and explore opportunities for relations with the Technion.
He seemed particularly bowled over by the Weizmann Institute. “Impressed would be an understatement,” he observed.
Johnston, who has also visited Israel before, described last month’s trip as “a very interesting followup,” saying he expected to build on previous exchanges.
The trip was partially financed by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA) and private donors, but participants contributed toward their own travel expenses, Morgan said.
Susan Davis, CIJA’s executive vice-president responsible for campus advocacy, said these tripsbuild relationships between Canadian and Israeli universities.
“That’s the primary outcome we strive for. We also want [participants] to understand Israel beyond the Arab-Israeli conflict.”
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