David Ben-Gurion dreamed of creating a Hebrew Oxford in the Negev as a modern Hebrew Yavneh.
Home to the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, Heksherim – the Research Institute for Jewish and Israeli Literature and Culture, and the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought, BGU is uniquely positioned to promote the interdisciplinary study of Israel, Jewish culture and thought.
Ben-Gurion University is leading the way in the academic exploration of the founding and development of the State of Israel, the re-birth of the Hebrew language, and the connection between culture and community in Jewish and Israeli society.
“I went to a cultural event on campus and immediately fell in love with it. So I started teaching there.”
– Etgar Keret, acclaimed Israeli writer and teacher in BGU’s creative writing program
Israel Studies, Culture & Jewish Thought News
see all newsBGU Poet Honored as Visiting Artist in U.S.
Dr. Dory Manor will join nine other Israeli artists to teach at top U.S. universities from 2019 to 2020.
The Way We Were: Biography of the 1948 Generation
Prof. Hanna Yablonka discusses her new book in this 40-minute podcast.
Jazz Comes to the Desert
A live concert highlights a conference at BGU that will explore the impact of jazz on Israeli culture.