Send us Fan Mail The Israeli Bond | Ep. 675: Penn’s Academic Bridge Fellowship After October 7 | HMTC After the October 7 attacks, a group of University of Pennsylvania faculty members traveled to Israel with a desire to listen, understand, and help. They returned with the beginnings of an idea that became the Academic Bridge Fellowship, a summer program connecting young Israelis with research laboratories, academic mentors, and communities at Penn. In Episode 675 of The Israeli Bond, host Gal Swisa Cohen welcomes Israeli attorney Neta Dagan for a conversation about the fellowship’s creation, development, human impact, and potential to become a model for other American universities. Neta was born and raised in Israel, studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and came to the United States to pursue a Master of Laws degree at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. She was studying at Penn on October 7 and later became involved in developing and leading the Academic Bridge Fellowship. During their mission to Israel, Penn faculty members heard university leaders describe what they believed was a growing academic isolation of Israeli institutions. They reported declining international participation, reduced funding opportunities, and research papers being rejected under circumstances they believed had changed since October 7. The faculty returned to Penn asking a practical question: What can we do? Their answer was to bring approximately 40 Israeli students and recent veterans to Penn for an intensive summer of research, mentorship, lectures, and community engagement. Fellows lived together on campus, worked full days in active research laboratories, attended academic presentations, and met local families, Jewish organizations, university leaders, and people with perspectives different from their own. Unlike a traditional exchange program, the fellowship is built around participation in ongoing research rather than classroom instruction. Fellows work directly with professors and laboratory teams, develop professional relationships, and, in some cases, continue collaborating after returning to Israel. The fellowship also created unexpected personal benefits. Some members of the first cohort had recently completed extended military service. For them, the program provided a rare opportunity to sleep without fear of being recalled, step away from the constant tension in Israel, and begin thinking again about their academic futures. Neta explains that a bridge must have two sides. Israeli fellows shared their experiences after October 7, but they also learned about the challenges faced by Jewish students and communities in the United States. The program included Druze participants and was structured as an academic opportunity open to qualified Israeli students from different backgrounds. The Academic Bridge Fellowship has grown increasingly competitive and academically focused. Its third cohort received more than 1,000 applications for fewer than 40 available places. Many Penn mentors returned for subsequent cohorts, and some fellows were invited to continue collaborating remotely, return to their laboratories, or consider future doctoral studies in the United States. Support came from private donors, Penn faculty members, university offices, Israeli universities, Hillel, Chabad, and local community members who opened their homes and gave their time. Their involvement demonstrates that contributing to a meaningful cause does not always require a large financial donation. Mentorship, hospitality, conversation, and human connection can also create lasting change. Neta hopes the fellowship will develop into a strategic five-year program and inspire similar initiatives at other universities. Her central lesson is simple: begin. The program’s founders did not have every goal, source of funding, or logistical detail settled when they started. They acted on a shared concern, learned along the way, and created an opportunity capable of changing lives and building enduring academic relationships. The Israeli Bond on hmTv | Host: Gal Swisa Cohen | Guest: Neta Dagan Executive Producer and Director: Bernie Furshpan A production of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County 🌐 hmtcli.org 🎙 buzzsprout.com/2449781 ▶️ youtube.com/@hmTv-hmtc ─── CHAPTERS ─── 0:00 Opening and guest introduction 1:01 Meet Israeli attorney Neta Dagan 2:04 The Academic Bridge Fellowship 3:07 Penn faculty members travel to Israel 4:24 Reports of an academic boycott 5:16 Building personal and professional bridges 7:48 Conversations beyond the Jewish community 9:18 More than a traditional exchange program 11:59 Academic and personal benefits for Israeli fellows 15:20 Inside the five-week fellowship 17:26 How the cohorts evolved 20:16 Funding and institutional support 21:54 Penn, antisemitism, and academic neutrality 24:08 Could other universities adopt the model? 25:47 Results and success stories 28:23 Giving means more than donating money 30:48 Planting seeds for long-term collaboration 33:14 A five-year vision for the fellowship 34:00 How to support or expand the program 34:50 The central lesson: Just begin 36:09 Closing reflections 36:40 hmTv outro ────────────────── #TheIsraeliBond #NetaDagan #AcademicBridgeFellowship #UniversityOfPennsylvania #IsraeliStudents #October7 #AcademicCollaboration #BridgeBuilding #JewishCommunity #CampusAntisemitism #Israel #HMTC Support the show
