The MOU envisions the two parties working together on a range of academic activities.

September 23, 2026 — The UCLA Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, a constituent part of the UCLA International Institute, has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Hebrew University of Jerusalem on pursuing complementary academic activities.

The MOU was signed at UCLA on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 by UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk and The Hebrew University President Tamir Sheafer at a brief ceremony with remarks, and will remain in effect for five years.

The MOU envisions the two parties working together on such activities as visits and informal exchanges of faculty and scholars for teaching and research; cooperation in post-graduate education and training; joint conferences and other meetings; academic information exchange; graduate and professional student exchanges; and joint research programs. Formal agreements on specific activities will be concluded as funding, space and other resources become available for their implementation.

"I am delighted that with this MOU, the Nazarian Center and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem signal their formal intent to work together on a broad variety of mutually beneficial academic activities,” said UCLA Professor Steven E. Zipperstein, director of the Nazarian Center.

“The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is one of the premier institutions of higher learning in the world, featuring internationally renowned faculty, teaching, research and scholarship. We are thrilled to launch this collaboration with our colleagues in Jerusalem,” Zipperstein said.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was founded in 1918 and is today an Israeli public university with 14 schools, 7 faculties and 6 campuses. The university is ranked among the top 100 universities in the world, with a student body of 23,500 students from Israel and 65 other countries. Actively engaged in international cooperation in research and teaching, the university has signed 150 agreements for joint projects with other universities and 25 agreements for student exchanges with 14 countries. Hebrew University is a leader in bringing about global changes in agriculture, environmental quality and public health.