The Mandel School, part of the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is situated in a beautiful building, the Mandel House, on Mount Scope in the south of Jerusalem. From there, one has a magnificent view to the west over the Old City of Jerusalem, with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. To the east, one looks down upon the neighbourhood of Issawija, which still forms part of Jerusalem, where the majority of the population are Palestinians living in poverty and misery. Some time ago, Professors Israel Yuval and Richard Cohen set themselves the goal of doing something to bridge this contrast between the ‘town’ of Issawija and the university, with its professors and students in academic gowns. The invitation extended to young Palestinians to visit Mount Scope to learn about research and teaching at the university there was followed by initial scholarships valid for one year. Since 2021, we have been supporting this project run by the Mandel School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Up to 15 scholarships are now awarded annually to young Palestinians from Issawiya.

Another project run by the Mandel School in collaboration with the university’s Diversity Department is the Sadara preparatory programme for Palestinian high school leavers. Through one-year courses, these young school leavers are prepared for their subsequent degree programmes by learning Hebrew and receiving an introduction to academic work. This programme has helped to ensure that the number of Palestinian students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has now grown to over 500.