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Pioneers of exchanges

 

German and Israeli researchers were among the first persons to initiate relations between the two countries. From the very start, these working relationships have been vibrant, multifaceted – and very successful.

 

The research relationships among German and Israeli scientists are regarded as having been a key driver of the launching of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In 1959, the Weizmann Institute for Science (WIS), which is headquartered in in Rehovot, invited a delegation from Germany's Max Planck Society (its acronym in German: “MPG”) to visit it. This visit to Israel constituted the inceptions of the Minerva Foundation, whose programs still form one of the hubs of the working relationships between Israeli and German researchers. From their very start, these relationships shared two key thrusts: enabling the conducting of peak-level research and facilitating friendships between the researchers themselves and the institutions of which they form part. 

 

German and Israeli institutions of science will join the rest of the two countries in celebrating in  2015 this key anniversary in this bilateral relationship. The institutions have a lot to celebrate. Their working relationships are longstanding, highly variegated and close. The institutions are well aware of the role they played in pioneering the above relationship – and in keeping their side of it so vibrant and productive. All of Israel's universities and many of the country's colleges have concluded agreements of cooperation with German institutions of higher education. These encompass the joint conducting of research. The large numbers of docents and students visiting the other country have fostered ties and understanding between Israel and Germany. Hearing German at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot and Hebrew at the Humboldt University in Berlin has become a feature of daily life. Many universities have facilities sponsored by and linked to Germany. Of especial note is the Hebrew University in Jerusalem's German Cluster. It is comprised of the Martin Buber Foundation Fund, the Center for German Studies, the Franz Rosenzweig Minerva Research Center for German-Jewish Literature and Cultural History, and the Koebner Center for German History. Other major German clusters are found at the Universities  of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The former is formed by the Minerva Center for Human Rights and the Minerva Institute for German History; the latter by the Bucerius Institute for Contemporary German History and Society and by the Haifa Center for German and European Studies. The Ben Gurion University in Be'ersheba and the University of Heidelberg offer a master degree program in “modern Jewish life and culture”.

 

Important research topics

 

These working relationships in the area of scientific research have been complemented by the programs maintained since 1973 by the partnership forged between Germany's BMBF Ministry of Education and Research and Israel'S MOSTS Ministry of Science, Technology and Space and Ministry of Economic Affairs. The programs facilitate research into water technologies, the oceans, the life sciences, civil security, and other important topics. An especially important role is played by the programs of the Minerva Foundation, by the German-Israel Foundation for Scientific Research (GIF), the DIP German-Israeli Project Cooperation, and the Martin Buber Foundation Fund.

Also providing support to the pursuit of working relationship with Israeli partners are Germany's BMWi Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, its BMEL Ministry of Food and Agriculture and its BMUB Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, Construction and Reactor Security. Both countries' governments emphasized at the bilateral governmental consultations held in 2014 in Jerusalem  the importance of bilateral research. To this end, they signed a “Joint Declaration on the Strengthening of the Working Relationships in the Sciences, Research and Technology”.

 

A large range of support

 

In addition to Germany's ministry of education and research, which operates a large number of programs, a range of state-supported organizations provide support to bilateral research. These organizations include the DFG German Research Association, DAAD German Academic Exchange Service and a range of private and political foundations. Prominent among these foundations: the Alexander von Humboldt one. Its  German-Israeli Frontiers of Humanities Program provides young German and Israeli humanities scholars with new ways of jointly pursuing research. The Program's partner in Israel is the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The two partners have agreed to stage on an annual basis a three-day symposium. It is to be attended by 25 German and 25 Israeli scholars of the humanities. The Humboldt Foundation confers scholarships upon Israeli scholars wishing to research in Germany. The Foundation's Feodor Lynen scholarships enable German scientists to pursue their scholarly interests in Israel.

 

German and Israeli scientists have joined to try to solve the world's most urgent problems. They are trying to find cure for such neurodegenerative diseases as Parkinsons and Alzheimers, for cancer, and for malaria and other epidemics.  Another trust is the creation of alternative forms of energy production. Since March 2014, German and Israeli researchers have been working  on projects in the  Max Planck – Weizmann Laboratory for Experimental Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurogenetics in Rehovot.

Since 1960, DAAD's lecturers in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa have been briefing Israeli students and teachers about Germany's institutions of higher education and science. This briefing has been highly productive. In 2013, some 270 Israeli students went to study in Germany, with 370 German ones coming to Israel.  As of this writing, Germany is the venue for the academic time abroad of one out of ten Israeli students. To foster this trend,  DAAD commissioned in March, 2014 in Tel Aviv an information center. This is the central point of contact of and briefing for scientists and students.

 

European perspectives

 

Israel's participation in “Horizon 2020” of the European Union represents a further chapter in this unique story of success. “Horizon 2020” is the EU's new framework program for the conducting of research and engendering of innovations. Nearly half of all European-Israeli scientific projects feature a German partner. These are often the institutes forming Germany's Fraunhofer and Max Planck Societies, as well as the German Aerospace Center and the Jülich Research Center. Israel's participation in “Horizon 2020” augments German-Israeli working relationships by incorporating pan-European perspectives. This secures the future of the strategically-important partnership of the sciences entered into by the two countries.

 

Further information on this German-Israeli working relationship is available on the dedicated joint Website www.cogeril.de.

Partner

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

This is the archived content of official bilateral website that was founded by the German and Israeli government on the occasion of the Jubilee Year 2015. This website contains the articles of the bilateral website, but will be static and will not be maintained. It serves as documentation of the multi-faceted cooperation between Germany and Israel We hope you enjoy exploring 50 years of German-Israeli relations!

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