September 16 marks International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, which was first proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1994, commemorating the date, in 1987, of the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The purpose of marking this date is to limit the production and use of anthropogenic (man-made) chemical substances that caused the ozone hole.
On October 30, 1957, the draining of the Hula lake and swamp by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) was completed. The processes that have taken place since then are an important lesson in nature conservation. Dotan Rotem, a doctoral student in Bar-Ilan’s Department of Geography and Environment and a landscape ecologist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, briefly presents the story of the rare habitat.
At a ceremony celebrating ten years since its establishment in the heart of the northern Israeli city of Safed, the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University this week awarded MD degrees to 92 new physicians.
Israel is facing a serious environmental crisis: some of the highest landfill rates in the Western world, no climate law, and major disparities between cities and towns when it comes to environmental protection and enforcement. These gaps are especially pronounced in disadvantaged neighborhoods and peripheral communities, where infrastructure investment is sorely lacking.
A comprehensive new Israeli study is challenging one of the most explosive accusations of the Gaza war—claims of genocide—and is urging the global community to rethink the way conflicts are analyzed and reported.
When you speak with Shimon Dayan, now Dr. Dayan, you quickly understand that beneath his quiet humility lies a force of nature.
At 35, he’s a husband to Shani, a father to little Yarden (almost two) and newborn Amit (just two months old), a deputy company commander in one of the IDF’s toughest medical units, and—starting today—a doctor.
As a teenager in a peripheral high school that didn’t offer advanced-level matriculation exams, no one could have predicted what would come next for Ray Bitton. No one except her.
Ray Bitton wasn’t born with a springboard. She built one with her bare hands.
Today, she’s Dr. Ray Bitton: a nephrology specialist, department head at Barzilai Medical Center, social justice advocate, IDF officer, mother of three daughters and one of the clearest voices shaping a more equitable future for Israeli healthcare.
A Long Road to Fulfillment
This week, 245 new physicians received their Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees—a powerful testament to their perseverance and dedication in a time of national crisis. The unusually high number of graduates this year reflects not only the determination of the students themselves but also the resilience and commitment of the faculty at Bar-Ilan University’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee.
Training Amid Sirens and Reserve Duty
