UC chancellors whose campuses were among those touched personally by the July 31 bombing at Hebrew University have expressed shock and sadness over the event. The incident took the life of a UC Berkeley alumna and was witnessed by a UC Davis student who is studying in Israel independently.
In a letter penned immediately following the bombing, Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef expressed support and condolences to Menachem Magidor, president of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
"Your university, along with most others in the world, are places that teach tolerance, understanding and respect for others. To have a terrorist bomb specifically target such a setting is almost incomprehensible to the rational mind," Vanderhoef said.
Among the seven people killed in the blast was Marla Bennett, 24, a graduate of UC Berkeley. She was enrolled in the Hebrew University-Pardes Institute joint program. Bennett graduated in May 2000 with a bachelor's degree in political science. She was completing the second year of a three-year master's program in Judaic Studies. During her days at Cal, she was active in Berkeley Hillel, the Jewish cultural center near campus.
On Aug. 1, UC Berkeley chancellor Robert Berdahl issued a statement conveying his sorrow about the bombing and offering condolences to Bennett's family. "The fact that a member of the UC Berkeley community is among the latest victims of the continuing violence in the Middle East has left us all the more shocked and grief-stricken," Berdahl said.
Berkeley Hillel held a ceremony Aug. 1 to remember Bennett, said Hillel representative Lesley Said. A memorial also is planned for the end of the traditional Jewish 30-day mourning period.
Hebrew University had been recognized as a place somewhat set aside from the conflict, where Jews and Arabs - and visiting and full-time students from Asia to the United States - mingled and freely and collegially debated their differences.
UC Davis and Hebrew University have for years enjoyed a collaborative relationship through programs including the Bi-National Agricultural Research Program and UC's Education Abroad program, Vanderhoef said. "Students and faculty have moved freely between our campuses for many years to our mutual benefit," he said.
As violence escalated in the Middle East this spring, however, the Office of the President made the decision to recall to the United States the students who were participating in UC's Education Abroad Program in Israel. The April 2 decision affected 27 students enrolled in programs in Israel.
"It was a safety decision," said UCOP spokesperson Hanan Eisenman. "When we have students overseas, our top priority for them is always safety."
By the time UC temporarily suspended its Education Abroad program in Israel, another 28 students who started the academic year had already voluntarily decided to leave the program. But a few students have chosen to independently pursue studies in Israel, Eisenman said.
"To the best of our knowledge, three students currently enrolled at the Hebrew University had been enrolled at UC campuses last term," he said, noting, "We are told that all three students are safe and uninjured."
The students hail from UC Davis, UC San Diego and UC Irvine.
UC Davis student Sophia Aron, who is studying independently for a year at Hebrew University watched as emergency workers tended to the more than 80 victims outside the Frank Sinatra student center cafeteria.
"I was standing in the forum and watching them bring people on stretchers, and I saw blood and shoes and I.V.'s on the ground," the 19-year-old Los Angeles resident told The New York Times. Despite the incident and continuing conflict in the region, Aron said she had no plans of leaving.
When students were recalled this spring, UC also placed its Education Abroad program in Israel on hold for the fall term.
"As of now, we're not going to have the program (this fall)," Eisenman said. "The safety situation in Israel makes that the prudent thing to do."
However, he said, UC has left in place in Israel its Education Abroad Program infrastructure, including three study center representatives. The UC employees are on hand to address any academic or administrative needs that arise now and are preparing for an eventual return of Education Abroad programs in Israel.
Meanwhile, UC is closely monitoring tension levels in the area with the U.S. State Department in an effort to determine when it will be safe for EAP students to return, Eisenman said.