Higher education in Israel: an historical perspective

Through an analysis of the origins and development of Israel's universities, the paper illuminates the Israeli variation of the wide-spread phenomenon of transfer and adaptation of western concepts of higher education to developing countries. Following the examples of the German university and the use of scientific research in the German colonization effort, the World Zionist Organization supported the establishment the Technion (opened 1924) and the Hebrew University (opened 1925). From the beginning there has been a strong utilitarian emphasis which is examined in three areas: contributions of higher education in settling the land and developing the economy, in the regeneration and redefinition of a national culture, and in enhancing national security. It is further suggested how an emphasis on utlity as defined by perceived national needs has contributed to the structure of institutions, defining areas of research and shaping the curriculum. It is argued that even with independence (1948) and the enormous expansion of Israeli higher education since the 1960s in size and number of universities, continuities with the pre-State practical ethos still dominate. Continuities have also been maintained in governance and finance for, unlike other national systems, foreign citizens still play a significant role in the management and support of Israeli universities. This phenomenon may even contribute to maintaining well-established patterns of service since it is the opportunity to participate in nation-building that continues to excite the imagination and define the responsibility of Diaspora Jewry which initially defined the purposes of Israeli higher education.