In a Time of Crisis, Bar-Ilan University Demonstrates Resilience in Action

Israel is under attack, as Iranian missiles are persistently targeting civilians, even with the announcement of a ceasefire. Cities are on edge. Families are once again scrambling for safety. These aren’t abstract headlines—they’re lived realities for every Israeli.

Knowing that the Bar-Ilan campus is at “ground zero”—meaning it is literally in the middle of the country—we assess the daily effect that this war is having on the 27,000 students and faculty members. For the Bar-Ilan University community, this moment is deeply personal. Nearly 5,000 members of our community (25%)  have been called up to serve in the IDF. Some have lost loved ones that are serving. Others have lost their homes. All are navigating a multifront war but this time feels different. 

Like the rest of the country, the university needs to pivot quickly. With two weeks left of the semester, we put all classes on Zoom. Exams have been postponed. Academic events are moving online. Our libraries are closed, and most research is on pause unless deemed essential. We’ve fortified our cybersecurity systems. We’ve prioritized students and faculty serving in uniform. Every decision we make is grounded in guidance from Israel’s Home Front Command—and in our unwavering commitment to protect and support our community.

In Jewish tradition, we say that “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh”—all Jews are responsible for one another. That’s not just a value we teach in our classrooms. It’s the one we live by, and never more so than in moments like this.

Bar-Ilan has always stood at the intersection of academic excellence and national service. What’s happening now only deepens that role. Our students aren’t just learners. They’re leaders, innovators, first responders, and defenders of Israel. Many are juggling coursework with combat boots. Faculty members are keeping courses running while managing their own reserve duties or supporting children on the front lines. Staff members are showing up for their colleagues and students in every way they can, even while they’re under threat themselves.

This is resilience in action. Not in words, but in quiet acts of perseverance. Daily, members of the Bar-Ilan community make the conscious choice to keep teaching, keep learning, and keep helping—even as missiles fall.

On an institutional level, Bar-Ilan has embraced its role as a force for healing throughout this prolonged period of war. The university’s Academic Resilience Center offers free courses to any wounded soldier who is recovering at Sheba Medical Center and provides them with whatever additional support they need to participate in those courses—tutors, one-on-one sessions with professors, and transportation/mobility assistance for attending the lectures on campus when possible. In a heartfelt thank-you note to the Center, one student wrote, “Rehabilitation and disability fill every moment of the day, and this course brings a sense of sanity and normalcy during this time. The literature course is so interesting and gives me two hours a week that takes my mind off the injury. The course has taken on a deeply meaningful role in my recovery and gives me strength to keep coping with the challenges the injury brings.”

Bar-Ilan is also positioned on the front lines of the healing journey for returning hostages and more specifically, in the design and implementation of Israel’s constantly shifting protocols surrounding the returnees’ mental health. These protocols include a comprehensive trauma-informed procedure, including young children as well as their caregivers and families. Dr. Yael Shoval Zuckerman—head of the Bachelor’s Degree Program at Bar-Ilan’s School of Social Work—is one of the few people assigned to immediately greet each hostage upon their return home to Israel from Hamas captivity. That group also includes two women who earned their Ph.D. degrees from Bar-Ilan. 

With the Iran conflict now exacerbating the Israeli people’s collective anxiety, stress, and trauma, initiatives that build resilience are needed today more than ever. But resilience alone isn’t enough. It needs reinforcement. That’s our role as Jews in the diaspora. 

In the days and weeks ahead, Americans Friends of Bar-Ilan University (AFBIU) will continue to assess the evolving needs on the Bar-Ilan campus. But one thing is already clear: The road forward will require support. Emergency aid for displaced or bereaved students. Counseling services. Academic flexibility. Resources for digital learning. These pressing needs all reaffirm that our mission matters and makes a difference.

At Bar-Ilan and AFBIU, we don’t just endure—we lead. And we’ll continue to do so, during this war and in more peaceful times alike. Our responsibility isn’t only to this moment, but to the future we’re still building.

We invite you to stand with us.