Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s “Wartime Assistance for Students” Fund
Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s “Wartime Assistance for Students” Fund
July 22, 2014
Negev Development & Community Programs
With as many as 5,000 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev students expected to be impacted by Operation Protective Edge, Americans for Ben-Gurion University established a $1 million Wartime Assistance for Students Fund to assist those now serving in combat.
Requested by BGU’s president, the fund will provide special scholarship assistance for students who are unable to work this summer and earn the income necessary to cover their tuition and expenses. Many students are married with young children.
“BGU students serve in combat units in larger numbers than any other Israeli university,” explains Doron Krakow, executive vice president of Americans for Ben-Gurion University. “We do not know when this conflict will end, and we need to make sure that these students do not return in dire straits with all that they have already had to bear putting their lives on the line to keep Israel safe.”
Due to the daily influx of rockets, BGU has been closed for two weeks. According to one BGU professor, “Beer-Sheva is a mess, with continuous rockets all over. BGU is safe and well sheltered, but the problem is on route — I several times had to lie on the road with my hands over my head as the only protection.
“People from work who live in the city are fed up – most don’t have shelters, so they sleep with their kids in the stairway, which is protected. But everyone is very tense and the nonstop running in and out of shelters cannot be sustained for long…”
BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi says, “The University remains open to administration and faculty. However, their work is compromised by the periodic sirens and movement back and forth to the shelters, as well as their unrelenting concerns about siblings, fathers and friends called to active duty.”
For now, the University remains closed for an undetermined amount of time, signifying that the security establishment in Israel is expecting Operation Protective Edge to be a relatively long one.
“Typical of the community spirit at BGU, hundreds of our students are staying in Beer-Sheva to volunteer, providing support and assistance to those in need throughout the city and the surrounding communities,” Krakow explains.
“And, the University has set up a special day care program on campus to provide extra support and assistance to those faculty and staff without better recourse.
“In times like this, we need to shore up our support for Israel and we need to let our student-soldiers know that we have their backs.”
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