Surging Support for Bar-Ilan University: We’re Just Getting Started

“Every night, he read letters from students who received his scholarships.” With those words during the recent dedication ceremony of Bar-Ilan University’s new main entrance, The Haron Dahan Foundation’s President Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg did more than deliver a tribute to the late philanthropist Aharon Dahan. He powerfully captured the very essence of Bar-Ilan’s mission—and the future of Israeli education.

At that same ceremony which inaugurated the Aharon and Rachel Dahan Gate, The Haron Dahan Foundation announced a new $20 million gift to Bar-Ilan that will significantly expand the university’s pioneering Dahan Youth Program—a flagship STEM initiative designed to inspire, educate, and empower Israel’s next generation of scientists and innovators.

Thanks to the Dahan family’s generosity, Bar-Ilan is ensuring that all Israeli young adults—regardless of their background—have access to high-quality STEM education. By investing in the next generation of scientists and innovators, we’re advancing Israel’s global leadership in science and technology while empowering individual students to pursue their dreams.

And this $20 million gift is far from an isolated act of generosity. It’s part of a rising tide of philanthropic momentum that’s redefining what’s possible for Bar-Ilan University.

It started in May 2024 with a historic $260 million gift—one of the largest bequests ever made to an Israeli institution. The gift was made anonymously by a North American Jew and Columbia University graduate who served in World War II. This benefactor’s transformational donation is powering a significant investment in Bar-Ilan’s Deep Tech infrastructure, spanning the sciences from advanced artificial intelligence to bio-convergence and alternative energy to sustainability. Bar-Ilan’s focus on Deep Tech will propel Israel’s security, economy, and society forward for many years to come.

More recently, American Friends of Bar-Ilan University announced a major gift from the Adelson Family Foundation to support the establishment of Bar-Ilan’s Adelson Institute for Smart Materials. This center empowers researchers, technological developers, and practitioners to work together to create cutting-edge solutions, accelerating the development of medical treatments, display technologies, and energy storage solutions.

Additionally, Bar-Ilan launched a research lab complex this past March for the development of more efficient and environmentally friendly battery storage devices and fuel cells, funded by a $6.6 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

In fact, this wave of generosity includes two additional seven-figure gifts received earlier this year from first-time donors—a powerful indication that new supporters are recognizing Bar-Ilan’s distinctive value and stepping up in transformative ways.

What’s driving this groundswell of giving to Bar-Ilan? For some observers, it’d be natural to point to the rising appeal of Israeli universities in general, given the current challenging climate for Jewish students in the U.S. But at the same time, Bar-Ilan in particular is standing out as Israel’s leading Jewish university with Jewish values, coupled with excellent research initiatives.

The research of Robert Putnam—professor emeritus of public policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the winner of Bar-Ilan’s inaugural Jonathan Sacks Institute Prize—sheds light on why Jewish character makes a difference. Prof. Putnam has found that participation in a group with shared values and beliefs can be related to happiness, derived from the social connections formed within communities. Having close friends within one’s shared values and beliefs plays a significant role in enhancing wellbeing and life satisfaction.

Community matters. Connection matters. Relationships matter. Why else would Aharon Dahan stay up at night reading letters from the students who received his scholarships?

Bar-Ilan’s institutional character is strongly resonating with a growing audience, precisely at a moment when Jews in America and worldwide are searching for inspiration, meaning, and a morale boost. At Bar-Ilan—the only one of Israel’s eight recognized research universities with a Jewish studies requirement—students graduate with a deeper understanding of what it means to be Jewish and to have a Jewish state. Jewish students often discover new and more profound ways to connect with their own identity, while non-Jewish students develop a greater appreciation for Jewish history and tradition. By engaging all students in Jewish (not necessarily religious) studies, Bar-Ilan fosters a shared sense of responsibility to preserve and celebrate Judaism across the Jewish state.

This mentality is increasingly embraced by the university’s supporters in America and across the globe. Bar-Ilan is part of world Jewry—not just part of Israel. The entire Jewish people have a role to play in this institution’s success, and at the end of the day, our success will amplify Israel’s prosperity.

At Bar-Ilan, the dreams of Aharon Dahan—and of so many visionaries like him—are becoming reality every day. As Rabbi Wohlberg reminded us, “We’re just getting started.” With the unwavering support of our global community, the next chapter in Bar-Ilan’s story will be one of even greater impact—for Israel, and for the Jewish people everywhere.