January News and Updates from AFRU

Dear friends, supporters, parents, and alumni,

As we embark on a new year, we are hopeful for better times in the land of Israel and around the world.  It was with great sadness that we had to say goodbye to two students during the past few weeks, David Schwartz z"l, a Government and Law student and Joseph Gitarts z"l, a second-year Computer Science student. David and Joseph are among the seven other courageous individuals from Reichman University who were murdered on Oct. 7 or sacrificed their lives in the resulting war.

During these challenging times, we find solace in cherishing the memories of Major (Res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter z"l, Staff Sgt. (Res.) Omer Balva z"l, Major Benji (Benjamin) Trakeniski z"l, Ilay Nachman z"l, Liam Shrem z"l, and Omri Ram z"l. Their bravery and dedication serve as an enduring source of strength and inspiration for us all.

We must continue to stay strong and persevere in this fight for the Jewish State to honor their memory and all who have given their life so valiantly.  We continue to pray for the hostages to be released. It is difficult to watch from so far away and we have been tirelessly working to help in any way we can from the States.  We are always with you, Israel. 

Our campus is open. Students are studying and going on with life as best they can.  New projects and programs are being developed. We are actively recruiting students for the 2024-2025 academic year which we are sure will come with brighter days ahead for all of us. If you are going to Israel, I encourage you to stop in and see our beautiful campus. It is sure to bring you some joy and hope for the future.

Wishing you and your families a healthy and above-all peaceful 2024.

Am Yisrael Chai,

Leslie   

Read the newsletter here.

November News and Updates from AFRU

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Parents,

I hope you and your families are all safe and managing through these difficult times.

Yesterday our office joined the March for Israel in Washington, D.C. It was a beautiful day with almost three hundred thousand people together, despite many obstacles attempting to stop it. There were no arrests, no tearing down American flags, no hateful chants of genocide, just a peaceful gathering of people for humanity. Our hearts were full of joy to see so much support for Israel and the Jewish people.

I hope that you will take some time to read through the many activities taking place on the Reichman campus to assist in the war efforts and support our students, reservists, and the entire State of Israel.

I would also like to thank our donors for their extreme generosity in our time of need.

The outpouring of support has given us such hope in the future and we are forever grateful to you all.

Am Yisrael Chai,

Leslie

Leslie Skyba Executive Director American Friends of IDC (Reichman University)

Read Newsletter Here.

August 2023 Newsletter

Reichman University partners with veteran navy seals for startup launch

Reichman University, in collaboration with the Atalef Foundation and the American Friends of Israel Navy SEALs (AFINS), and the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, has launched the Version Bravo accelerator, an initiative aimed at assisting veterans of Israel’s Navy SEALs (Shayetet 13) and former US Navy SEALs in launching their startups in civilian life. The program, developed to aid elite naval commandos from both nations to leverage extraordinary work ethic, leadership skills and entrepreneurial spirit of military special forces to develop and grow their own business ventures and to form and benefit from a peer-community of special operators turned entrepreneurs.

The program was born after successful discussion and cooperation between Prof. Boaz Ganor, Executive Director of Reichman University's International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Jonathan Davis, Head of the Raphael Recanati International School and Vice President of External Relations, Eric Zoller, Chairman & Founder of AFINS, Robert Brenner, Executive Director of AFINS and Yotam Dagan, Israel Director of Version Bravo. All sought ways to assist elite veterans dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress by integrating their ideas in the most entrepreneurial manner and channeling their passion and energy toward constructive endeavors. Leading the program's academic direction is Dr. Gali Einav, Head of the International undergraduate degree in Entrepreneurship at Reichman University in partnership with Prof. Thomas Knapp of the University of Southern California’s Marshal School of Business.

Read the full article here.

Read the August newsletter here.