Columbia is partnering with the nationwide program Kalaniyot to bring Israeli researchers to the University and promote further understanding and inclusion of the Jewish and Israeli academic community on campus. The program, which originated at MIT, was created in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attacks. Columbia joins Dartmouth, Penn, and Harvard Medical School in opening chapters; more are expected to launch soon across the country.
Columbia’s Kalaniyot chapter is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan effort to bring a diverse population of postdoctoral research fellows and visiting faculty from Israeli academic institutions to Columbia to engage in scholarly inquiry and civil dialogue on a wide variety of topics in STEM, medicine, law, and business. “These scholars will include alums of Israeli universities of various religions and nationalities,” says Jacob Fish, a professor of civil engineering and the founder of Columbia’s chapter.
Kalaniyot at Columbia aims to bring ten new postdoctoral fellows every year, each staying for one to three years. (The program is designed specifically for postdoctoral fellows, rather than undergraduates or graduate students.) An additional goal is to host one or two visiting faculty scholars annually, for six months to a year.
At the outset, the focus will be on five schools and divisions: engineering, medicine, business, law, and the natural sciences division of Arts and Sciences. Over time, Kalaniyot at Columbia plans to expand the initiative to include additional schools across the University.
