Abstract
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.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alpert, Carl (1982). Techniion; The Story of Israel's Institute of Technology. New York: American Technion Society.
Aranne, Lydia (1970). Government Policy Toward Higher Education in Israel. Jerusalem: Center for Policy Studies.
Ashby, Eric (1967). ‘The future of the nineteenth century idea of the university’, Minerva 6, 3–17.
Band, A. (1987). ‘Gown and town’, in Brinner, W. and Rischin, M. (eds.), Like All the Nations?; The Life and Legacy of Judah L. Magnes. New York: State University of New York, pp. 155–163.
Ben-David, Joseph (1986). ‘Universities in Irael: dilemmas of growth, diversication and administration’, Studies in Higher Education 11 (2), 105–130.
Ben-Gurion, David and Ben-Zvi, Izhak (1979). Eretz Israel in the Past and in the Present. Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi. (Hebrew)
Bentwich, Norman (1912). Jewish Schools in Palestine. New York: Federation of American Zionists.
Bentwich, Norman (1961). The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1918–1960. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Biale, David (1987). ‘The idea of a Jewish university’, in Brinner, W., and Rischin, M. (eds.), Like All the Nations?; The Life and Legacy of Judah L. Magnes. New York: State University of New York, pp. 127–137.
Bialik, Chaim N. (1937). Bialik's Speeches on the Hebrew University. Jerusalem: Azriel. (Hebrew)
Buber, Martin, Feiwel, Berthold and Weizmann, Chaim (1958). Eine Jüdische Hochschule. Jerusalem: Magnes. (Hebrew)
Council of Higher Education, Planning and Grants Committee (1980). Studies for the ‘Bachelor's’ Degree in the Basic Sciences in Israel. Ben-David, J. and Nevo, Y. (eds.). Jerusalem.
Council for Higher Education, The Planning and Grants Committee (1981). Annual Report No. 8; Academic Year 1980/81.
Goren, Arthur A. (1982). Dissenter in Zion; From the Writings of Judah L. Magnes. Cambridge: Harvard University.
Grunwald, Kurt (1975). ‘Jewish schools under foreign flags in Ottoman Palestine’, in Maoz, Moshe (ed.), Studies of Palestine during the Ottoman Period. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, pp. 164–174.
Hadari, Ze'ev and Tal, Hila (1984). Chapters in the History of the University. Beer-Sheva: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. (Hebrew)
Hashimshoni, A., Schweid, Y. and Hashimshoni, Z. (1972). Jerusalem Master Plan 1968. Jerusalem: Municipality of Jerusalem. (Hebrew)
Hebrew Technical College, Haifa (1948). The Technion and its Future. London: Kisch Laboratories Extension Fund.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1925). Inauguration of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Jerusalem: Azriel.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1939). Hebrew University Jerusalem: Its History and Development. Jerusalem: Azriel.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1942). The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Its History and Development. Jerusalem: Azriel.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1950). The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1925–1950. Jerusalem: Azriel.
Iram, Yaacov (1980). ‘Higher education in transition - the case of Israel - a comparative study’, Higher Education 9, 81–95.
Iram, Yaacov (1987). ‘Quality and control in higher-education in Israel’, European Journal of Education 22(2), 145–159.
Klausner, Joseph (1940). Menachem Ussishkin; His Life and Work. London: Joint Zionist Publications.
Kroyanker, David (1988). Jerusalem: Conflicts over the City's Physical and Visual Forms. Jerusalem: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.
Lowdermilk, Walter C. (1944). Palestine: Land of Promise. New York: Harper.
Orren, Elchanan (1978). Settlement in the Years of Struggle; Settlement Strategy Before the State, 1936–1947. Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi. (Hebrew)
Penslar, Derek (1987). ‘Engineering Utopia: the World Zionist Organization and the settlement of Palestine, 1897–1914’. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.
Ratner, Yochanan (1979). My Life and Myself. Tel-Aviv: Schocken. (Hebrew)
Reifenberg, A. (1953). ‘The struggle between the desert and the sown’, in Desert Research. Jerusalem: Research Council of Israel.
Rinott, Moshe (1971). Hilfsverein der deutschen Juden - Creation and Struggle. Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi. (Hebrew)
Rudolf, Frederick (1965). The American Colege and University; A History. New York: Knopf. Sachar
Harry (1918). A Hebrew University for Jerusalem. London: Zionist Organisation.
Sherman, Arnold and Hirschhorn, Paul (1986). Handbook of Israeli High Technology. Jerusalem.
Troen, S. Ilan (1989). ‘Calculating the “economic absorptive capacity” of Palestine; a study of the political uses of scientific research’, Contemporary Jewry 10(2), 19–38.
Troen, S. Ilan and Ackerman, Walter (1991). ‘The history of childhood in Israel’, in Hiner, Ray and Hawes, Joseph, Children in Comparative and Historical Perspective; An International Handbook. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Veysey, Lawrence (1965). The Emergence of the American University. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Weizmann Institute of Science (1989). Rehovot 10, 4.
Wigoder, Geoffrey (1985). The Crown of Wisdom; Sixty Years of the Hebrew University. Jerusalem: Hebrew University (typescript).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Troen, S.I. Higher education in Israel: an historical perspective. High Educ 23, 45–63 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00141144
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00141144