Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with the past president of The Hebrew University, Prof. Asher Cohen.

During the eight years Cohen served as university president, Israel encountered numerous challenges, including the coronavirus epidemic from February 2020, the uproar over the Judicial overhaul and, most seriously, of course, the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught on southern Israel that left 1,200 murdered and 250 taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. It also meant a major call-up of reserves, which greatly impacted the pool of students over the past two years.

Even more threatening to Israel's future, argues Cohen, is that following the beginning of the war, Israeli academics began facing boycotts and funding drops. Without collaborations with institutions abroad, the Ivory Tower will quickly crumble, we hear.

But we’re also going to look to the future, because Cohen is spearheading a national AI infrastructure initiative which the government has approved, to the tune of $500 million.

And so this week, we ask Prof. Asher Cohen, what matters now.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Prof. Asher Cohen (Igor Farberov)/ The Albert Einstein privet library, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, March 19, 2012. (MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)

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What Matters Now to Prof. Asher Cohen: Academic boycott of Israel is 'catastrophic'

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What Matters Now to Prof. Asher Cohen: Academic boycott of Israel is 'catastrophic'