The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which was set up in 1913 at the 11th Zionist Congress, is an important pillar of Israeli society. In an article published by Dr. Uri Cohen ("The University and the Eastern Problem", 22.01.20), the Hebrew University "acted to distance Mizrahim from the Israeli academy, thereby depriving them of a necessary channel for social progress." Cohen's method, in order to deal with this situation, led The Likud since the 1990s "The College Revolution, which made the Mizrahi Academy accessible."

Apart from remarking that the one who led, with great determination and success, the "College Revolution" was Amnon Rubinstein, while serving as Minister of Education in the Second Rabin Government, we do not intend to disagree with Cohen about the history of the Hebrew University and the contribution of the right and left to promoting equality. We would like to provide information on some of what is currently being done in the Hebrew University.
A major factor in the severe inequality in Israeli society is the separation, in residence and in schools, of students from different socio-economic backgrounds. A person's chances of obtaining a higher education and improving his socio-economic situation are determined primarily by the human capital (and not necessarily the economic) of the environment in which he grows. While parental human capital is a given factor, the educational and social environment can be adapted to ensure equality promotion.

The Hebrew University works on the basis of the recognition that a necessary condition for excellent academic training, in all fields, is the joint study of students from a variety of groups in Israeli society. On the economic level, the university offers scholarships of approximately NIS 15 million a year, to remove financial barriers to university studies. The acceptance threshold for the Hebrew University is indeed high in Israel, but it offers alternative means of acceptance, to promote equal opportunities. Among other things, the university has five dedicated preparatory courses (general preparatory, preparatory for ultra-Orthodox, new immigrants, residents of East Jerusalem and matriculation), where about 1,000 students attend a year, almost all of whom are exempt from tuition. The university invests about NIS 6 million a year in recognition of its social commitment and diversity is a prerequisite for excellence. In addition, programs for affirmative action, in which students from disadvantaged backgrounds ("deserving of promotion"), are added to the admissions score (approximately 5 percent of undergraduate students are accepted in this framework). To all these are added different individual and group mentoring programs.

These efforts bear fruit. This can be learned from the CBS data on the proportion of students in each of the ten socio-economic clusters (by locality of student housing when they were 18). The three low clusters constitute about 31 percent of Israel's population. The proportion of students from the three low clusters in Israeli universities is about 20 But at the Hebrew University, however, the rate stands at 32 percent - and it has been on the rise in recent years, reflecting the efforts the Hebrew University is making, as well as other universities in Israel, to fulfill its mission of ensuring equal opportunities for all citizens of the state and its residents.

Adv. Michal Barak is the Head of the Unit for the Promotion of Diversity and Multiculturalism at the Hebrew University; Prof. Barak Medina is the Rector of the Hebrew University