The Hebrew University of Jerusalem will open its new academic year tomorrow with an anticipated enrollment of 3,000, the largest in its history, it is announced here today by Dr. George S. Wise, president of the American Friends of the Hebrew University.
The University has been isolated from its buildings on Mt. Scopus since 1948 by Jordan troops who control the road from Jerusalem. Instruction and research have therefore been transferred to makeshift laboratories and improvised classrooms in some 30 buildings scattered throughout Jerusalem. The anticipated enrollment represents an increase of 500 over the previous semester and an almost threefold growth since 1948, the last term of operation in the University’s permanent buildings on Mt. Scopus.
Of the 3,000 students expected for the coming semester, approximately 2,800 will be undergraduates, Dr. Wise said. The remainder will be postgraduate students working toward their doctorate degrees. The Hebrew University is now in its 28th year of existence and its fifth in exile. It comprises schools of science, medicine, agriculture, education, humanities and law.
The New York Chapter of the American Friends will mark the occasion tomorrow with a reception at University House here. The principal speaker will be Professor Naftali H. Tur-Sinai (Torczyner), internationally famous Biblical scholar, Semitic philologist, and chairman of the Hebrew University’s Institute of Jewish Studies. Other chapters throughout the country will hold similar celebrations.
The New York Times, in an editorial yesterday, pointed out that for the fifth year the University will operate in “exile,” but that despite this handicap “it still manages to flourish” and increase its enrollment. “This great institution looks forward to the day when it can return to its rightful location on Mount Scopus; but meanwhile under the most severe handicaps it will continue to furnish light and leadership to the sons of Israel,” the Times added.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
