JERUSALEM (JTA) — Ben-Gurion University and a Heidelberg university are establishing the first joint Israel-Germany degree program.
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the College of Jewish Studies in Heidelberg signed an agreement this week to launch the Israel Studies program with a specialization in modern Jewish life and culture.
The program will be held at Ben-Gurion’s Sde Boker campus in southern Israel and in Heidelberg beginning in the 2014-15 academic year. It will be open to Israeli and German students.
Paula Kabalo, the director of the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, noted in a statement Thursday that 2014 is the 50th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany.
“There is a lot of symbolism in the fact that the university which bears David Ben-Gurion’s name is establishing the first bilateral degree program between Israel and Germany,” she said.
